Wandering salamanders, also known as "skydiving salamanders," have fascinated scientists for years with their ability to jump and glide effortlessly through the towering canopies of coastal redwood forests. 



Despite their small size, these amphibians navigate high-altitude branches with precision, sticking their landings and taking off with ease. 



Until recently, the mechanics behind their remarkable acrobatic movement remained a mystery. Now, a new study reveals a surprising answer: blood-powered toes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-salamanders-that-control-blood-flow">Salamanders that control blood flow</h2>



Researchers at Washington State University discovered that wandering salamanders (Aneides vagrans) can rapidly control the blood flow in their toe tips.



This ability allows them to grip, detach, and move through their arboreal environment with remarkable efficiency. 



The study not only sheds light on an unknown aspect of salamander physiology but also has potential implications for technological advances in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopus-suckers-the-future-of-underwater-adhesives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">adhesives</a>, prosthetics, and robotic limbs.



The research team found that salamanders can fill, trap, and drain blood within their toe tips. 



This process helps them fine-tune their attachment and detachment from surfaces, providing the grip necessary for climbing and the release required for efficient movement.



The discovery challenges previous assumptions about the function of the visible red “lakes” of blood in their translucent toes. These structures were long thought to aid in oxygenation, but no scientific evidence supported that claim.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-advantages-of-the-control">Advantages of the control</h2>



The study suggests that controlling blood flow in the toes allows <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-salamander-like-beast-gaiasia-jennyae-top-predator-before-dinosaurs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">salamanders</a> to adjust pressure asymmetrically.



 This fine-tuned control helps them navigate the irregular surfaces of tree bark. Surprisingly, the blood influx before “toe-off” does not aid in attachment but rather helps the salamanders detach. 



By slightly inflating their toe tips, they reduce the surface area in contact with the bark, minimizing the energy required to let go. This efficiency is crucial when gliding between branches and ensuring safe landings.



“Gecko-inspired adhesives already allow surfaces to be reused without losing stickiness,” said Christian Brown, lead author of the study, and a postdoctoral researcher in integrative physiology and neuroscience at <a href="https://wsu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Washington State University</a>.



“Understanding salamander toes could lead to similar breakthroughs in attachment technologies.” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-documentary-shoot">A documentary shoot</h2>



The origins of this study trace back to an unexpected moment during the filming of the documentary The Americas, which will air on February 23, 2025 on NBC and Peacock.



Brown was assisting on set as a salamander expert when he noticed something unusual through the production team’s high-powered camera lenses.



Just before a wandering salamander took a step, blood appeared to rush into its toe tips. Brown and camera assistant William Goldenberg observed this phenomenon multiple times. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/salamandar-wandering_Aneides-vagrans_hindfoot_suction_blood-flow_credit-WSU_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/salamandar-wandering_Aneides-vagrans_hindfoot_suction_blood-flow_credit-WSU_1s.webp" alt="The hindfoot of a live wandering salamander (Aneides vagrans). In the background, blood can be seen filling a toe tip. Photo: William P. Goldenberg/WSU" class="wp-image-1958372"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The hindfoot of a live wandering salamander (Aneides vagrans). In the background, blood can be seen filling a toe tip. Photo: William P. Goldenberg/WSU</figcaption></figure>



The repeated occurrence caught their attention. “We looked at each other like, ‘Did you see that?’” Brown related.



Although the documentary team moved on to other subjects, Brown’s curiosity lingered. After filming wrapped, he reached out to Goldenberg and proposed an experiment. 



Using high-resolution film equipment, they would investigate whether salamanders consistently displayed this blood-powered toe mechanism under controlled conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-salamanders-regulating-their-blood-flow">Salamanders regulating their blood flow </h2>



The research team conducted detailed video trials and microscopic analysis at Washington State University’s <a href="https://fmic.wsu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Franceschi Microscopy &amp; Imaging Center</a>. 



Their findings confirmed that wandering salamanders regulate blood flow to each individual toe tip, which allows them to modify grip strength as needed.



This discovery provides insight into how salamanders navigate the complex terrain of the redwood canopy. The ability to release their grip efficiently is particularly significant. 



“If you’re climbing a redwood and have 18 toes gripping bark, being able to detach efficiently without damaging your toe tips makes a huge difference,” Brown said. 



The research suggests that this mechanism plays a crucial role in the salamanders’ ability to thrive in the towering heights of their natural habitat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-beyond-one-species">Implications beyond one species</h2>



While this study focused on&nbsp;Aneides vagrans, the findings could have broader implications. Other salamander species, including aquatic ones, also have vascularized toe structures. 



These structures may serve different purposes depending on the environment, from regulating grip on wet surfaces to enhancing movement across diverse landscapes.



The discovery could also inspire <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-is-pushing-the-u-s-toward-an-unpredictable-transformation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">innovations</a> beyond biology. Scientists studying bioinspired design are particularly interested in nature’s solutions to movement and adhesion problems.



By understanding how salamanders control their grip with blood-powered toe tips, researchers may be able to develop new adhesives and prosthetics that mimic this ability.



Brown and his colleagues plan to expand their research to investigate how similar mechanisms function in other salamander species. 



“This could redefine our understanding of how salamanders move across diverse habitats,” Brown said. The findings could help explain how different species adapt to their environments and refine our knowledge of biomechanics in amphibians.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-perspective-on-salamander-movement">New perspective on salamander movement</h2>



The discovery of blood-powered toes in wandering salamanders challenges previous assumptions about their movement and grip strength. 



As scientists continue to study these remarkable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frogs-and-toads-face-new-risks-as-their-habitats-dry-up/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amphibians</a>, they may uncover even more secrets hidden within their physiology. 



For now, the ability of wandering salamanders to control their grip with precision remains an intriguing discovery in animal biomechanics.



The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.70026" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Morphology</a>. 



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'Skydiving' salamanders can fully control blood flow in their toes

Wandering salamanders, also known as "skydiving salamanders," have fascinated scientists for years with their ability to jump and glide effortlessly through the towering canopies of coastal redwood forests. Despite their small size, these amphibians navigate high-altitude branches with precision, sticking their landings and taking off with ease. Until recently, the mechanics behind their remarkable acrobatic movement remained a mystery. Now, a new study reveals a surprising answer: blood-powered toes. Salamanders that control blood flow Researchers at Washington State University discovered that wandering salamanders (Aneides vagrans) can rapidly control...

Honey,Bee,Collecting,Pollen,On,Purple,Flower.,Bumblebee,On,A

We are all familiar with the engaging antics of young mammals and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-are-crossbreeding-in-human-altered-landscapes/">birds</a> as they play. They undertake activities with no apparent immediate purpose, other than to bring enjoyment. But is it possible that insects may also have a sense of playfulness?&nbsp;



In previous research on bumble bees, scientists found that they could train bees to roll small wooden balls along in exchange for a sugary reward, but they also observed that the same bees went out of their way to visit the balls and roll them around, even when there was no reward involved. This led the researchers to wonder whether these bees were actually engaging in play.



According to behaviorists, play can be defined according to five criteria. It is activity that has no immediate adaptive outcome, is voluntary and spontaneous, is different from usual functional behavior, is often repeated but not stereotyped, and is initiated when an animal is in a relaxed, unstressed state. With these criteria in mind, a research team led by <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University</a> set out to test whether the bumble bee behavior of rolling balls around fulfilled the definition of play.&nbsp;



Their initial experiment followed 45 novice bumble bees as they made their way from a nest to a feeding area where ‘nectar’ and pollen were available. On the way there, the bees could choose a direct path or could deviate into areas where either mobile or immobile wooden balls were available on the floor. The balls were all 15 mm in diameter and were either painted yellow or purple, or left the natural wood color. The experiment ran for 3 hours each day, over 18 days, and video recordings were made of all the bee movements.



The study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.08.013">Animal Behaviour</a>, reported a total of 910 ball-rolling actions by the 45 bumble bees. Individual bees rolled balls between 1 and 44 times on an experimental day, and between 1 and 117 times across the whole duration of the experiment. In addition, individual ball-rolling actions lasted between 0.4 and 31&nbsp;s, and for distances between 2 and 601&nbsp;mm. Statistical analysis showed that, after a bee’s first ball-rolling experience, it was more likely to enter the area of mobile balls than the area of fixed balls. As no food reward was associated with visits to the balls, the researchers concluded that the bees were choosing to visit the balls for reasons not related to foraging or any other functional purpose.&nbsp;



The study also found that younger bees (less than 7 days since emergence) rolled more balls than older bees, mirroring the more playful behavior of young humans and other juvenile mammals and birds. Furthermore, although male and female bees rolled comparable numbers of balls, male bees rolled them for longer time periods than their female counterparts.&nbsp;For female bees the ball-rolling behavior peaked at the age of 3 days while for males it peaked at the age of 5 days.&nbsp;



In a subsequent experiment, the researchers first gave 42 bumble bees access to two chambers, each of a different color. One chamber always contained movable balls and the other had no objects inside it. Once the bees were accustomed to finding balls in a chamber of a particular color, they were tested and given a choice between the two chambers, this time though, neither one contained any balls. The bees showed a striking preference for the color of the chamber previously associated with the wooden balls. These results again suggest that bumble bees find ball rolling rewarding and seek to repeat the experience.



The set-up of the experiments removed any notion that the bees were moving the balls for any greater purpose other than play. Rolling balls did not contribute to survival strategies, such as gaining food, clearing clutter, or mating and was done under stress-free conditions.&nbsp;The researchers concluded that the seemingly functionless ball-rolling activity is analogous to object play in mammals, and fulfils all the criteria of play behavior.&nbsp;



“It is certainly mind-blowing, at times amusing, to watch bumble bees show something like play. They approach and manipulate these ‘toys’ again and again," said study first author Samadi Galpayage. "It goes to show, once more, that despite their little size and tiny brains, they are more than small robotic beings. They may actually experience some kind of positive emotional states, even if rudimentary, like other larger fluffy, or not so fluffy, animals do. This sort of finding has implications for our understanding of sentience and welfare of insects and will, hopefully, encourage us to respect and protect life on Earth ever more.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This research provides a strong indication that insect minds are far more sophisticated than we might imagine. There are lots of animals that play just for the purposes of enjoyment, but most examples come from young mammals and birds," said Professor Lars Chittka, author of the recent book The Mind of a Bee. “We are producing ever-increasing amounts of evidence backing up the need to do all we can to protect insects, that are a million miles from the mindless, unfeeling creatures they are traditionally believed to be."



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bumble bees can "play" with objects for fun

We are all familiar with the engaging antics of young...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a> has found that hybrids of two common North American <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-have-some-impressive-cognitive-skills/">songbirds</a> – the black-capped and mountain chickadee – are more likely to be found in areas where humans have altered the landscape in some ways. This is the first study to positively correlate hybridization in any animal species with anthropogenic landscape changes and to examine this relationship across the entire range of a species – in this case, almost all of western North America. 



The findings also contradict the widespread assumption that these two bird species rarely hybridize. In fact, black-capped and mountain chickadee hybrids seem to occur frequently across the U.S. and Canada.



“These are common birds. If you go anywhere in North America, you’ll find a chickadee,” said study lead author Kathryn Grabenstein, a postdoctoral fellow in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU Boulder. “And what we’re finding now is that if you see a chickadee in a place where both black-capped and mountain chickadees live, they’re probably at least a little bit of a hybrid chickadee.”



Scientists have long known that climate change, for instance, shifts the range of various species, bring them into contact with other species they would not usually interact with, and thus leading to hybridization. In this study, the researchers explored another important phenomenon: how human “disturbances” – such as building cities, clearing land, planting trees, or creating noise pollution – can affect the interactions between two related species whose ranges already overlap.



“What are the consequences of the ways we modify the landscape? We think about it mostly in terms of habitat loss, not necessarily in terms of species interaction modifications,” said study co-author Scott Taylor, an associate professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU Boulder. “This paper changes our understanding of this system incredibly.”&nbsp;



By comparing observational data from <a href="https://ebird.org/home">eBird</a> (an online database of bird observations) and DNA samples from 196 black-capped and 213 mountain chickadees at 81 sites in North America, the scientists discovered a positive, significant correlation between hybrids of these two species and regions where humans have disturbed their habitats.



“It’s hard to say whether this hybridization is good or bad, but it’s happening, and we will only understand the impacts through continued study. It is certainly something to consider when thinking about the future of some of these birds that we’re really familiar with in our backyards,” Taylor concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16476">Global Change Biology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Songbirds are crossbreeding in human-altered landscapes

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder...

A new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mystery-fossil-found-to-be-an-early-relative-of-pterosaurs/">fossil</a> specimen of a long-extinct lizard, discovered on the Isle of Skye, has given paleontologists insight into the earliest origins of this reptile group. The tiny vertebrate, Bellairsia gracilis, is only 6 cm long and dates from the Middle Jurassic, around 166 million years ago. It was found in 2016 by a team led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> and National Museums Scotland, and is one of several new fossil discoveries from the island that cast light on the early evolution of vertebrate groups, including amphibians, reptiles and mammals.&nbsp;



Details of the exceptional new fossil, which comprises the most complete skeleton of a fossil lizard anywhere in the world, have been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05332-6">Nature</a>. The research represents a joint project between scientists from the universities of Warsaw, Oxford and UCL, and it reports on the mixture of ancestral and modern features present in this early representative of the group known as the squamata – the largest group of living reptiles that includes lizards, chameleons and snakes.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This little fossil lets us see evolution in action. In paleontology you rarely have the opportunity to work with such complete, well-preserved fossils coming from a time about which we know so little. Bellairsia&nbsp;has some modern lizard features, like traits related to cranial kinesis – that’s the movement of the skull bones in relation to one another. This is an important functional feature of many living squamates," explained study first author Dr. Mateusz Tałanda.



"It was one of the first fossils I found when I began working on Skye. The little black skull was poking out from the pale limestone, but it was so small I was lucky to spot it. Looking closer I saw the tiny teeth, and realized I’d found something important, but we had no idea until later that almost the whole skeleton was in there," said study co-author <a href="https://palaeobiology.web.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-elsa-panciroli">Dr. Elsa Panciroli</a>.



As a group, the squamates show numerous specialized features of the skull and skeleton today, but fossil evidence of the origins of these features is rare. Although we know the earliest representatives were present some 240 million years ago, the lack of fossil evidence from the Triassic and Jurassic Periods has made it difficult to map out the evolution of their anatomy. Comparing the new fossil to other examples of living and extinct squamates confirms that Bellairsia&nbsp;belongs to the "stem" of the squamate family tree. This means that it split from other lizards just before the origin of modern groups.&nbsp;



The researchers used X-ray computed tomography (CT) to study the details of the Bellairsia fossil, in much the same way that medical CT methods produce 3D images of a human body without needing to enter within. The researchers were able to obtain images of the entire fossil without removing it from the rock in which it formed all those millions of years ago. Whereas medical scanners work at the millimeter scale, the Oxford University CT scanner revealed details of the little lizard’s skeletal anatomy down to a few tens of micrometers.



Parts of the skeleton were then imaged in even greater detail, including the skull, hindlimbs and pelvis, at the European Synchrotron (ESRF, Grenoble, France). The intensity of the synchrotron beam permits a resolution of 4 micrometers, revealing details of the very smallest bones in the skeleton.



“Fossils like this&nbsp;Bellairsia&nbsp;specimen have huge value in filling gaps in our understanding of evolution and the history of life on Earth," said study co-author <a href="https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/people/roger-benson/">Professor Roger Benson</a>. "It used to be almost impossible to study such tiny fossils like this, but this study shows the power of new techniques, including CT scanning, to image these non-destructively and in great detail.”



Study co-author Professor Susan Evans (UCL) first described and named&nbsp;Bellairsia&nbsp;from a few jaw and skull bones from Oxfordshire 25 years ago. “It is wonderful to have a complete specimen of this tantalizing little lizard, and to see where it fits in the evolutionary tree," said Professor Evans. "Through fossils like&nbsp;Bellairsia&nbsp;we are gaining a better understanding of early lizard anatomy. Angus Bellairs, the lizard embryologist after [whom]&nbsp;Bellairsia&nbsp;was originally named, would have been delighted.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scottish fossil sheds light on early lizard anatomy

A new fossil specimen of a long-extinct lizard, discovered on...

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are iconic Arctic marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-fight-over-scarce-resources-in-brutal-environments/">mammals</a> that show seasonal migrations in response to the presence of ice. They spend their summers in ice-free coastal waters around Arctic Greenland, Canada and Russia, and move to deeper waters that are 95 percent covered in ice for the winter. They need to time their fall migration to coincide with the formation of ice floes so that they do not become stuck in the fast ice. As the climate has changed, ice has formed later each year and melted earlier in the spring, and researchers have wondered what impacts these environmental changes are having on narwhal seasonal movements.&nbsp;



The small whales, also known as ‘unicorns of the sea,’ are creatures of habit, following relatively inflexible migratory paths and patterns each year. And, since they are long-lived – most survive until they are at least 50, and some until they are 100 – it has always been thought that they would be more susceptible to the impacts of climate change. Animal species with long lifespans produce offspring relatively slowly and take longer to manifest genetic change or evolution than animals with shorter lifespans.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In a new study, published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121092119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, researchers from universities in Canada and Denmark have used satellite telemetry to track the seasonal movements of 40 narwhals between 1997 and 2018. They have focused particularly on the timing of the animals’ movements and compared them with data on local and regional changes in temperature and ice formation.&nbsp;



The results of the long-term study show that, over the 21 years, narwhals have delayed the timing of their fall departure by around 10 days per decade. They leave their summer grounds later and later each year, and also take an average of about four days extra in the earliest phase of their transit. Currently, the pod of narwhals leaves its summer grounds 17 days later than it did in 1997.



“We looked at satellite tracking data spanning 21 years from the Canadian Arctic, and found significant delays in the timing of narwhal autumn migrations, where narwhals were remaining longer in their summer areas at a rate of 10 days per decade,” said Dr. Courtney Shuert, lead author and post-doctoral fellow in the Statistical Ecology Research Group in the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). “There were also sex-specific differences in departures, with the male narwhals starting the migration out of the summering areas, while females, potentially with dependent young, departed later by almost a week.”



Narwhals have a preference for cold water, and their space use is largely tempered by ice cover and the availability of open water regions. As a result, they may be residing in coastal waters within the larger summering areas, until ice formation in the autumn, and an increasing risk of entrapment, forces them to move off to deeper waters in the wintering areas in central Baffin Bay.&nbsp;Other research has shown that ocean freeze-over in this area is shifting to occur, on average, around five days later per decade, thus matching the pattern of narwhal movement changes.



“There’s this general trend [towards delaying migration], but there’s also a lot of inter-annual flexibility, which highlights that they’re having this strategic approach to when they’re leaving and they’re tracking these broad-scale climate trends,” Shuert said.



These findings raise hope that narwhals in particular, and long-lived species in general, may be able to survive global warming despite their slower genetic evolution. Changing behavior patterns may be one of the only adaptive strategies available for species that exhibit high site fidelity and strong ties with migration routes, and that are faced with climate change.&nbsp;



Prior research has shown that many&nbsp;<a href="https://phys.org/tags/land+animals/">land animals</a>&nbsp;and birds have been able to alter their migration patterns as the planet has grown warmer. But, as the researchers involved in the current study note, little research has been done to find out if marine species are doing the same. “The rate of change that we’re seeing now in the Arctic is a huge concern for a lot of animals because it could exceed how quickly the animals can adapt through evolution,” said Shuert. “But [these findings] really show this idea of behavioral flexibility and how important it can be to bolster these populations against change.”



Does this change in behavior mean that narwhals will be able to adapt to climate change successfully? “Unfortunately, departing later is not necessarily good news for the narwhal,” said Dr. Marie Auger-Méthé, senior author and an associate professor in the IOF. “Because staying in the summering grounds could result in further exposure to shipping traffic associated with the new iron mine, it may not be beneficial to the narwhals in the long term. We know they are sensitive to shipping disturbance, and that their stress levels have been rising over the past 20 years.”



“In addition, staying in their summering grounds longer could increase the chance of narwhals being caught in quickly freezing ice. Such ice entrapments can kill hundreds of narwhals.” The narwhals may also increase their exposure to predators, such as Orcas, by staying back in summering grounds or leaving the wintering grounds too early.



Climate change and loss of sea ice is creating stressors for these animals, and they are adapting to a new life in the Arctic. “Natural resource exploitation, ice breaking, and tourism are also impacting narwhal migratory patterns, “Auger-Méthé said. “Climate change and increased human exposure are creating additional stress for these whales, and with it, comes consequences for human activity as well.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Narwhals are modifying their behavior due to climate change

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are iconic Arctic marine mammals that show...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">King’s College London</a> (KCL) has found that seeing or hearing birds could lead to improvements in mental wellbeing which could last up to eight hours. Such an improvement was also noticeable in people suffering from depression – the most common mental illness worldwide – suggesting that exposure to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birdsong-frequency-is-influenced-by-sexual-selection/">birdsong</a> could have a potential role in helping those with mental health issues.



The scientists used the smartphone application <a href="https://www.urbanmind.info/">Urban Mind</a> to collect people’s real-time reports of their mental wellbeing, together with their reports of seeing or hearing birds. The study was conducted between April 2018 and October 2021, with 1,292 participants from a variety of countries (with the majority based in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States though) completing 26,856 assessments using the Urban Mind app. The participants had to report through this app three times per day whether they could see or hear birds, followed by inquiries regarding their mental wellbeing.&nbsp;



“There is growing evidence on the mental health benefits of being around nature and we intuitively think that the presence of birdsong and birds would help lift our mood. However, there is little research that has actually investigated the impact of birds on mental health in real-time and in a real environment,” said study lead author Ryan Hammoud, a research assistant in Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at KCL.



“By using the Urban Mind app we have for the first time showed the direct link between seeing or hearing birds and positive mood. We hope this evidence can demonstrate the importance of protecting and providing environments to encourage birds, not only for biodiversity but for our mental health.”



The researchers also collected information on existing diagnoses of mental illness and discovered that hearing or seeing birdlife was associated with improvements in mental wellbeing in both healthy participants and those diagnosed with depression. According to the scientists, these links between birds and mental wellbeing could not be explained by other co-occurring environmental factors, such as the presence of plants, trees, or waterways.



“The term ecosystem services is often used to describe the benefits of certain aspects of the natural environment on our physical and mental health,” explained study senior author Andrea Mechelli, a professor of Early Intervention in Mental Health at KCL. “However, it can be difficult to prove these benefits scientifically. Our study provides an evidence base for creating and supporting biodiverse spaces that harbor birdlife, since this is strongly linked with our mental health. In addition, the findings support the implementation of measures to increase opportunities for people to come across birdlife, particularly for those living with mental health conditions such as depression,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-20207-6">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The presence of birds can improve mental health

A new study led by King’s College London (KCL) has...

On Tuesday, October 26, 2022, the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> listed Antarctica’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emperor-penguins-may-not-survive-climate-change/">emperor penguin</a> (Aptenodytes forsteri) as an endangered species. Although this species is highly resilient and can endure strong winds and freezing temperature in order to breed and protect their eggs and offspring, melting sea ice is currently upending the habitat they need to breed, feed, and protect themselves from predators, possibly bringing them on the brink of extinction by the end of the century.



“This listing reflects the growing extinction crisis,” said Martha Williams, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Climate change is having a profound impact on species around the world.”



Although the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/">Center for Biological Diversity</a> already petitioned Fish and Wildlife to add the emperor penguin on their Endangered Species Act in 2011, no actions have been undertaken for more than a decade, thus further increasing the risks this species is exposed to. As previous <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15806">studies</a> have argued, while sea ice around Antarctica has proven more durable than that at the North Pole, almost all emperor penguin colonies in the southern continent could be pushed to extinction by the end of 21st century, unless urgent actions to dramatically decrease global greenhouse gas emissions are taken.&nbsp;



“That body of science really helped to make this decision really clear,” said Shaye Wolf, the Center for Biological Diversity’s climate science director. “That the penguin is endangered by climate change and needs all the protection it can get.”&nbsp;



Although the emperor penguin populations appear to be stable at the moment – with 625,000 to 650,000 birds shuffling around Antarctica – there are already ominous signs of what the future may hold for this iconic bird. For instance, in recent years, the breaking of sea ice before the chicks were ready to swim at Cape Crozier or Halley Bay led to breeding failures.



Scientists and conservationists hope that the listing of this species as endangered will lead to stricter limits on fishing for krill – the penguin’s main food source - around Antarctica, as well as compel United States officials to consider the climate implications of various federal projects before approving them.



“If we manage to take action, and especially action now, we can still avoid the extinction,” concluded Stephanie Jenouvrier, a scientist at the <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> who studied the current situation of Antarctica’s emperor penguins.



The official document listing the penguins as endangered can be accessed <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-23164.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antarctica’s emperor penguin officially listed as endangered

On Tuesday, October 26, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife...

A recent study led by a team of scientists from the <a href="https://www.jcu.edu.au/">James Cook University</a> in Queensland, Australia, has found that over 63,000 people died from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/snakebites-hidden-health-crisis/">snakebites</a> in 2019, largely due to lack of proper antidotes in rural areas. The vast majority of these deaths was in India (51,000), with only two deaths being recorded in Australia. These findings suggest that <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a>’s target to halve snakebite deaths by 2030 will most likely not be met.



“Interventions to ensure faster antivenom delivery must be combined with preventive strategies such as increased education and strengthening of the rural health system,” said study lead author Richard Franklin, a professor of Public Health at James Cook University.



“Ensuring timely antivenom access across rural areas of the world would save thousands of lives, and greater investment in devising and scaling up these interventions should be prioritized to meet WHO targets for snakebite envenoming and neglected tropical diseases.”&nbsp;



By collecting autopsy and vital record data from the <a href="https://www.healthdata.org/gbd/2019">Global Burden of Disease</a> datasets, the scientists modeled the proportion of deaths caused by snakes by location, age, sex, and year. The analysis revealed that the majority of deaths from snakebites occurred in South Asia, particularly in countries such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In India, the deathrate caused by snakes was estimated to be a staggering four per 100,000 people – significantly higher than the global average of 0.8. The sub-Saharan Africa region came second, with Nigeria having the largest number of deaths (1,460).



According to Professor Franklin, the likelihood of death from a venomous snake bite increases substantially if antivenom medicine is not administered within six hours after the bite. “However, in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, many seek traditional healers or attend clinics with inadequate training on how to treat snakebites, or lack antivenom to administer life-saving treatment,” he explained. “People who reach hospital often have inadequate access to dialysis, ventilators, and blood transfusions, which are essential to manage the complications of poisoning.”



Unfortunately, the researchers predict that the number of snakebite deaths is expected to rise to over 68,000 by 2050, mostly due to population increases. “We predict that mortality will continue to decline, but not sufficiently to meet WHO targets. Improved data collection should be prioritized to help target interventions, improve burden estimation and monitor progress,” the scientists concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33627-9">Nature Communications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Snakebites caused over 63,000 deaths in 2019

A recent study led by a team of scientists from...

While the journeys of night-migrating birds are already fraught with dangers – such as increased risk of collisions with buildings or communication towers – a research team from <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> has identified yet another hazard these birds currently face. According to the experts, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/migratory-birds-can-change-their-restless-ways/">migratory birds</a> attracted by the glow of artificial lights at night are drawn into regions in which they are also exposed to higher concentrations of airborne toxic chemicals.&nbsp;



“We examined the correlation between the concentration of airborne toxic chemicals, artificial light at night, and the weekly abundance of 165 nocturnally migrating songbird species,” said study lead author Frank La Sorte, an expert in Ornithology at Cornell. “What we found is that light pollution does indeed increase exposure to toxic chemicals when birds stop to rest during spring and fall migration. Surprisingly, we also found that exposure to toxic chemicals is high during the non-breeding season, a time when birds typically avoid light pollution.”



In a first step of the study, the scientists compared levels of artificial light at night with the presence of 479 toxic chemicals from 15,743 releasing facilities across continental U.S., and found that higher light pollution did correlate with higher levels of airborne toxic chemicals. Then, they cross-referenced these data with the weekly abundance of 165 night-migrating songbirds throughout their annual life cycles.



The analysis revealed that the only instance without increased exposure to toxic chemicals was during these birds’ breeding season, when they usually nest in habitats far away from areas with intense human activity.&nbsp;



“One region of special concern is along the Gulf of Mexico, especially in Texas and Louisiana,” La Sorte reported. “Migratory birds that spend the winter in this region are being exposed to higher concentrations of airborne toxic chemicals for a longer period - the non-breeding season makes up the largest portion of these species’ annual life cycles.”



According to La Sorte, efforts to reduce light pollution during the spring and autumn could reduce the chances of toxic chemical contamination during migration stopovers, thus improving the birds’ survival and reproductive success. “However, this would have no effect on the long-term exposure occurring along the U.S. Gulf Coast, a region that could be a significant source of toxic chemical contamination for North American birds,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16443">Global Change Biology</a>.



Image Credit: Craig Kerns, Cornell Lab of Ornithology



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Light pollution exposes migrating birds to toxic chemicals

While the journeys of night-migrating birds are already fraught with...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.parisnanterre.fr/">Paris Nanterre University</a> has found that cats may change their behavior when they hear their owner’s voice talking in a tone directed to them, but not when hearing the voice of stranger addressing them, or the voice of their owner directed at another person. These findings suggest that cats may form strong affective bonds to their owners.



Scientists have long known that human tone varies depending on who the speech is directed to, such as when talking to infants or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-know-how-to-use-catnip-as-a-potent-insect-repellent/">pets</a> versus when talking with other adults. While previous studies have shown that the tone of human speech changes when directed to cats, little has been known about how cats react to this.



Now, the researchers investigated how 16 cats reacted to pre-recorded voices from both their owners and strangers when saying phrases in cat-directed and human adult-directed tones. The scientists examined three conditions: in the first, the voice of the speaker changed from a stranger’s voice to the cat’s owner, while in the second and third, the tone of the cat’s owner and a stranger’s, respectively, changed from cat-directed to adult-directed.



In the first condition, ten out of 16 cats exhibited a decrease in behavior intensity while they heard three audio recordings of a stranger’s voice calling them by their names. When hearing their owner’s voice though, their behavior intensity significantly increased again, and the cats started displaying behaviors such as turning their ears to the speakers, moving across the room, and showing pupil dilation. According to the experts, this shift in behavior shows that cats can discriminate their owner’s voice from that of a stranger’s.



In the second experimental condition, ten cats decreased their behavior intensity when hearing audio recordings of their owner in an adult-directed tone, but significantly increased it when hearing their owner speak in a cat-directed tone. Such a change in behavior intensity was not identified in the third condition, when a stranger was speaking in either adult-directed or cat-directed tones. Thus, the cats appeared to be able to distinguish when their owner was talking in a cat-directed tone compared to an adult-directed one, but did not react differently when a stranger’s voice shifted its tone.



However, further research is needed to investigate if these findings could be replicated in the case of more socialized cats that are used to interact with strangers.



“These findings bring a new dimension to the consideration of human–cat relationship, as they imply the development of a particular communication into human–cat dyads, that relies upon experience. Our results highlight the importance of one-to-one relationships for cats, reinforcing recent literature regarding the ability for cats and humans to form strong bonds,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10071-022-01674-w">Animal Cognition</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cats can tell when speech is directed at them

A new study led by the Paris Nanterre University has...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vitamin-d-is-essential-for-heart-health/">Vitamin D</a> deficiency is currently considered by many as a pandemic, affecting over one billion people worldwide. This vitamin is well-known for its major role in maintaining calcium levels in the body, contributing to the proper functioning of bones and muscles. However, its range of biological functions is much wider, and prolonged vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a variety of health conditions, such as heart and autoimmune diseases, cancers, and respiratory infections.



While vitamin D’s function in humans has been widely explored, comparatively little is known about its role in non-human primates. Now, an international team of scientists and zoo veterinarians has set up a Europe-wide research project to investigate the presence and role of this vitamin in chimpanzees. Their analysis revealed that inadequate vitamin D levels are widespread in chimpanzees living in Europe, which could turn out to be a significant risk factors for the development of Idiopathic Myocardial Fibrosis (IMF), a mysterious heart condition that commonly affects them.



“This is essential research to further understand the factors contributing to maintaining a healthy in-human-care chimpanzee population for the future of the species. Such a wide range of individuals and locations has not been explored before and this reveals potential new ways to care for these animals,” said study co-author Melissa Grant, a senior scientist at the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a>.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples from around 20 percent of the chimpanzees living in Europe in 32 zoos and sanctuaries, and found significant vitamin D deficiencies in many of these samples. However, the findings showed that unlimited outdoor access resulted in higher vitamin D levels, even for animals living in Northern Europe, where sunny days are relatively rare. Moreover, there were also differences in vitamin D between seasons – as it happens in humans too. Yet, for many chimpanzees their end-of-summer vitamin D levels are usually not high enough to avoid winter deficiencies.&nbsp;



“Vitamin D plays an important role in the transcriptional control of pro-fibrogenic and pro-inflammatory factors in the body, so adequate Vitamin D levels are vital for the health of chimpanzees in our care,” said study senior author Kerstin Baiker, a pathologist at the <a href="https://www.cityu.edu.hk/">City University of Hong Kong</a>.&nbsp;



These findings could inform how chimpanzees are cared for in zoos and sanctuaries, hopefully contributing to improvements in welfare standards. “This is a really good example of clinical research informing best practice: unlimited outdoor access for these captive animals is likely to be more important than we previously thought,” concluded co-author Kate White, an expert in Veterinary Medicine at the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/">University of Nottingham</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-21211-6">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Many European chimps suffer from vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency is currently considered by many as a...

With a population of over 7,000 individuals spread across the Carpathian Mountains and neighboring areas, Romania has the highest density of brown <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/untangling-the-history-of-polar-bears-and-brown-bears/">bears</a> in Europe. However, as they often inhabit human-populated areas, conflicts with people are not uncommon. Recently, a team of researchers led by the&nbsp;<a href="https://unibuc.ro/?lang=en">University of Bucharest</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.asociacionchelonia.org/inicio">Chelonia Romania</a> has explored how Romanian media depict human-bear interactions, and found that media depictions are largely negative, thus hindering conservation efforts.



“The media play an influential role in how the public perceives brown bears, thus, it can promote human-wildlife coexistence or exacerbate future conflicts,” the scientists explained. Their investigations revealed that news stories related to brown bears became common only after 2016, following a one-year ban on culling, and increased dramatically in 2021, after the whistleblowing of an alleged trophy hunting event.&nbsp;



Most of the media reports were about human-bear interactions, hunting, and poaching, offering to the public very little context and information on how to avoid conflicts. Moreover, articles focusing on the biology and ecology of brown bear were scarce, indicating less consideration of the ecological significance and impact of human activities on bears’ conservation status.



These articles’ attitude toward brown bears was predominantly negative (in 53 percent of the cases), using phrases such as: “At any moment the people can find themselves in front of a hungry bear;” “Beyond the horror they live with every day, they have lost their patience and trust in the authorities;” and “People are afraid of the worst.”&nbsp;



Even when reporting encounters with bears with no casualties, Romanian media continued to promote a negative image of the bears to their audiences. “Focusing on alarming messages without offering evidence or advice can increase fear and undermine efforts to protect the species and the welfare of society,” the researchers wrote.



Most importantly, the experts discovered that media outlets failed to consult wildlife and conservation biologists when reporting on human-bear interactions. According to the scientists, this could be because the experts are reluctant to take part in these debates, or because the media is not interested in bringing more scientific context to their reports.



“In conclusion, increasing the frequency of reporting interaction events with alarming messages can only lower the level of tolerance for wildlife and negatively influence political decisions regarding the management of the brown bear population. Evidence-informed news can help authorities better understand conflicts and create bottom-up pathways toward an optimistic future for brown bears and Romanian society,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.50.86019">Nature Conservation</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How are brown bears depicted by Romanian media?

With a population of over 7,000 individuals spread across the...

The Southern Ocean is important to the health of the planet. The waters around Antarctica play key roles in global temperature and sea levels. This frigid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/open-water-is-accelerating-ocean-acidification-in-the-arctic/">ocean</a> is also teeming with a surprising amount of life, including sea lions, penguins, and whales. 



While the international community has long afforded the Southern Ocean some protection, a new paper published in the journal <a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.add9480?adobe_mc=MCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1666364390&amp;_ga=2.171266976.1096385489.1666364390-737731294.1666364390">Science</a> shows that this protection isn’t enough. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> and other institutions are calling on the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCAMLR) and other nations to do more.



“With no Indigenous Peoples in Antarctica, and no local fishing communities, exploitation of the waters surrounding Antarctica has always been the result of industrial distant water activities,” explained study lead author Dr. Cassandra Brooks, professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.&nbsp;



“Species such as toothfish, the region’s top fish predator, Antarctic krill, and mackerel are being overexploited by fishers, to the detriment of the Southern Ocean ecosystem, including local fauna, such as whales and native seabirds.”&nbsp;



Dr. Brooks pointed out that the krill fishing industry in the area killed three young humpback whales, 16 seals, and 59 seabirds over the period of two seasons.



Climate change will make the situation worse, and with warming oceans, it may be possible for the area to host year-round fishing, increasing the pressure on wildlife. Fishing in such remote areas also creates a much bigger carbon footprint than in many regions.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Antarctic fish have been easily overexploited, and many of these fisheries continue to be economically viable only on account of government subsidies which, as has been shown, contribute to overfishing,” said study senior author Dr. Rashid Sumaila, professor at the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF).&nbsp;



“The remoteness of the Antarctic means that fuel use is high, leaving a disproportionate carbon footprint for fishing. Further, some fisheries are still targeted by illegal, unregulated, and unreported fisheries.”



The researchers hope that protected areas can be expanded and more strict fishing regulations implemented during the CCAMLR meetings over this week and the next.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Experts are calling to halt fishing in Antarctica

The Southern Ocean is important to the health of the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Santiago, Chile in South America

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Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...