Flora & Fauna: Axolotl is the 'comeback king;' corn seed miracle; big snake haul; two-note song; tracking butterflies

Known for their regenerative powers, scientists are learning
from the 'adorable' axolotl. (Photo by TK, Unsplash)

Limb regeneration may sound like an 'X-Files' episode, but U.S. scientists are working on it. "With a silly smile and frilly gills, the axolotl has wriggled its way into the hearts of millions," reports Dino Grandoni of The Washington Post. "But this adorable species of salamander is also helping researchers investigate a serious medical mystery: Could the human body be coaxed to regrow a severed arm or leg? Scientists are turning to the axolotl because it is an expert at regeneration. . . .The species is also a comeback king, able to regrow not only lost limbs but also tissue in the heart, lungs and even the brain."

It's hot and humid, and corn tasseling season is almost here. "If someone writes a book about the 'seven great wonders of agriculture,' tasseling and pollination must be on the list," reports Tom J. Bechman of Farm Progress. "The process of producing hundreds of new corn kernels per plant, all from one original seed, is simple yet complex at the same time." Read how the miracle of corn happens here.

135lb female Burmese python found while radio-tracking 
a male scout snake. (Conservancy of Southwest Florida photo)

'Snakes on a Plane' might be a good summer movie fun, but in Florida, hundreds of people drop the film drama and eradicate snakes on land. "It was a milestone moment in Florida’s 25-year war on invasive Burmese pythons: an eye-popping announcement that biologists had removed 20 tons of the slithering invaders from waters in and around the Everglades in little more than a decade, as well as shattering their previous record for a single-season haul," reports Richard Luscombe of The Guardian. "The successes of the team at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida showcase the progress that has been made in efforts to reverse the snakes’ takeover of the state’s natural wilderness."

The only thing sharks can regenerate is their teeth.
That's probably enough. (Photo by Wai Siew, Unsplash)

Two notes + Razor-sharp teeth = One summer blockbuster. “Da, duh. E and F have become synonymous with tension, fear and sharks, representing the primal dread of being stalked by a predator," writes media history scholar Jared Bahir Browsh for The Conversation. "Fifty years ago, Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster film – along with its spooky score composed by John Williams – convinced generations of swimmers to think twice before going in the water. . . . I decided to take a deeper dive into the staying power of these two notes. . . "

Pollen is a way to track butterflies.
(Jozsef Szabo photo, Unsplash)

If you want to help the world be a better place for all creatures, then do one small thing to help insects: Provide an insect-friendly habitat. "This includes supporting a variety of native plants that can provide both nectar and leaves, which are food for many herbivorous insects throughout their lives. A good habitat also provides places for insects to nest, such as bare ground or leaf litter. Bigger patches are better, but even small gardens can be helpful," write Christopher Halsch and Eliza Grames for The Conversation. "At the same time, limiting exposure to other threats is important. Actions such as dimming artificial lights at night and reducing the use of pesticides can help."

How can the fluttering trails and migrations of butterflies be traced and mapped? With pollen. "Those tiny pollen grains are helping researchers study a process that until now has been largely inscrutable: the migratory patterns of insects as they move around the globe," reports Saugat Bolakhe for Knowable magazine. "Analyzing pollen collected from 264 butterflies from 10 different countries . . researchers identified 398 different plants they could use to track the butterflies’ movements."

If you get bitten by a tick, save it -- and other tips for dealing with ticks' ever-spreading presence

Illustration of a tick biting. 
(Art by Sebastian Kaulitzki, Adobe Stock)

What's to like about ticks? They are an important food source for wildlife, such as birds, lizards and bats. What's not to like? For humans, the list is long. 

Ticks can carry and spread more than 12 different "disease-causing agents including toxins, allergens, bacteria, parasites and viruses," reports Pien Huang of NPR. Across the U.S., some 31 million people are bitten by ticks every year.

Although not every tick bite ends in disease, many do. "Most reported cases of vector-borne disease (including mosquitoes) come from ticks, which can carry pathogens with terrible consequences," Huang explains. "Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the U.S., estimated to affect more than 470,000 people each year."

When it comes to ticks, working to avoid contact is the first line of defense; however, knowing what to do if you find one attached or have suspicious symptoms such as a rash is just as important.

If you find a tick attached, remove it immediately, but place it in a plastic bag or container it can't escape. Huang writes, "Identifying some key information about the tick can help determine your risks. That includes what kind of tick it is, whether it's in the nymph or adult stage and how long it's been feeding on you." 

The University of Rhode Island's website contains tick identification tools and instructions on how to submit the tick's photo to a tick-tracking expert.

An engorged deer tick. (CDC photo)

The ever-growing list of diseases ticks carry often depends on geography, although warming temperatures have led some tick species to spread into new regions. "In the past 20 years, scientists have discovered at least seven new tick-borne pathogens in the U.S.," Huang reports. "The mid-Atlantic recently saw its first fatal case of Heartland Virus."

For people heading outdoors, Huang provides this tick-avoiding guidance from CDC experts:

• Do careful and frequent tick checks on yourself and your family members and pets.
• If you're hiking, it helps to stay in the middle of a well-maintained trail, since ticks tend to hang out in the shrubs and foliage around the edge.
• Treat outdoor clothing with permethrin, a chemical similar to chrysanthemum extracts that stops ticks from biting.
• Additionally, treat your exposed skin with EPA-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picardin, or other active ingredients that deter ticks. (Use the EPA's search tool to find one that works.)

Cooling off from summer sizzle will cost nearly 4% more this year

A hose may be the cheapest way to cool off
this summer. (Photo by J. Tyson, Unsplash)

Summer sun and heat might be good for beachgoers, but climbing summer temperatures will mean spiking power bills for U.S. consumers. Reasons for ballooning energy costs include higher natural gas prices, grid upgrade costs passed on to utility customers and increased domestic demand.

"Electricity prices across the country have increased 4.5% in the past year, topping the 2.2% jump in the price of groceries," reports Jennifer Hiller of The Wall Street Journal. "Consumer prices rose 2.4% in May from a year earlier."

Whether U.S. consumers flip on fans or crank the air, most will pay roughly 4% more "because of a jump in natural gas prices, the largest source of power generation," Hiller explains. "Natural gas deliveries to power plants will cost about 50% more from June through September than last year."

That's painful. "The higher bills are putting a strain on the wallets of consumers who are already stretched thin by rising costs for food, shelter and insurance," Hiller writes. "The average household power bill will reach $784 for the combined period from June to September."

Many Americans started the summer months already behind on their electrical bills. "Mark Wolfe, the executive director at the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, said one of every six U.S. households is behind on their electricity or natural gas bills," Hiller reports. "Customers owed gas and electric utilities more than $24 billion in late payments as of March."

Despite the pinch consumers are bound to feel, several utility companies are asking regulators to approve rate increases. "In Florida, NextEra Energy’s Florida Power & Light is asking regulators to let it increase rates between 1% and 5% a year through 2029," Hiller adds. "About $9.3 billion in additional electricity costs will begin trickling down to customers in the PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest grid operator and wholesale electricity market."

In some markets, AI data centers are "stressing the grid." In other places, increased demand is partially driven by electric vehicles. "Across the U.S., the growing pains are sparking fights over how to pay for upgrades and costs," Hiller reports. "The power industry also warns that a rollback of the clean-energy tax credits offered under the Inflation Reduction Act would push electricity prices higher, too."

Quick hits: Appalachian brooms; soap science; school lunches on tour; summer train traveling; escaping the heat

Cynthia Main makes handmade brooms, Appalachian style.
(Sunhouse Craft photo via the Yonder)

When a talented crafter with an entrepreneurial bent got busy making handmade brooms, a new sustainable business in Appalachia was born. "Rural arts programs helped Eastern Kentucky maker Cynthia Main develop Sunhouse Craft, a sustainable business with an Appalachian sense of place," reports Kim Kobersmith of The Daily Yonder. "Main is driven by sustainability and community. With larger revenues, she can pay her small staff a living wage and offer her restored historic storefront as a community gathering space, while moving closer to her goal of developing a 100% local supply chain."

Pioneering women of the 1800s spent grueling hours over a fire making soap every spring. Sounds horrible, but soap itself is somewhat of a miracle. "The discovery of soap dates back approximately 5,000 years, to the ancient city of Babylon in what is today the country of Iraq," writes Paul E. Richardson for The Conversation. "Although billions of people use soap every day, most don’t know how it works. As a professor of chemistry, I can explain the science of soap. . . Soap molecules come together and surround the grime on your hands. The water-loving heads of the soap molecules are on the surface, with the water-fearing tails inside the micelle. This structure traps the dirt, and running water washes it all away."

 

Philadelphia children eating a 'three-cent dinner' at school.
(Science History Institute photo via Smithsonian)

Since the late 1800s, Americans have been arguing over kids' school lunches, but beyond the controversies, the topic offers an interesting look at the U.S. diet. "A new exhibition in Philadelphia spotlights the evolution of American nutritional health through a unique lens: the school cafeteria," reports Sonja Anderson for Smithsonian magazine. "Medical inspections revealed that schoolchildren were malnourished. Many had scurvy or rickets, diseases caused by vitamin deficiencies. . . . Philadelphia and Boston became two of the first cities to offer meals to public school students in 1894. According to a statement from the museum, the exhibition features a tiny aluminum token from 1909, which a Philadelphia child would have used to purchase a 'penny lunch' at school."

A California Zephyr trip is chockablock with scenic
views. (Amtrak photo)

Summer is a time for growing gardens, hiking, swimming, dodging mosquitoes, slathering on sunscreen, and, if you're lucky, taking a long vacation. "Here's how one writer used the $500 Amtrak rail pass to criss-cross the U.S. over the course of one month," writes McConnell Quinn for Condé Nast Traveler. "Unlike planes, where everyone stays in their bubble, trains are oddly social — a rotating cast of characters and glimpses into lives I’d never otherwise encounter. With the USA Rail Pass, I crossed the country three times in 30 days. . . I watched the Pacific creep into view on the Coast Starlight, rode the California Zephyr through the Rockies at sunset, and drifted to sleep somewhere in Texas on the Sunset Limited."

July's heat is surely coming, and for those of us with limited air conditioning options, planning where you will go to keep from baking -- beyond grocery store freezer aisles -- is a priority. One of the all-time favorite spots for escaping heat and humidity is movie theaters. AMC theaters must know they are part of some people's melting prevention plans because "beginning July 9, the movie theater chain will offer 50% off adult movie tickets on Wednesdays for those part of the AMC Stubs rewards program," reports Ramishah Maruf of CNN News. 

Summer is also a time for great reads. It could be on a beach, by the pool, in the grass with your horse or any number of amazing places to chill out and read. Not sure which book to kick off your summer escape? Try one from this list of books that will be made or have already been released as 2025 movies. Wilson Wong of The New York Times writes, "Here are some of the thrillers, romances, sci-fi page turners and detective novels coming soon to a screen near you. This is a running list. Check back for more updates as the year goes on."

"The first novella in the Murderbot Diaries series, 'All Systems Red,' follows a security android that secretly hacks its own operating system, allowing it to think and act independently," Wong writes. "But when an expedition goes strangely awry, resulting in several scientists’ deaths, the robot must help the humans in its own unit unravel the mystery before a similar tragedy befalls them." Murderbot premiered on Apple TV+ on May 16.