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...

According to a new <a href="https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/46437">assessment</a> by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gray-whales-are-dying-in-alarming-numbers/">gray whales</a> which migrate along the West Coast of North America continued to decline over the past two years, the population being now down 38 percent from its peak in 2015 and 2016. Moreover, as an accompanying <a href="https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/46436">report</a> explained, the whales also produced the fewest calves this year since counts began in 1994.



Although this decline from a peak of about 27,000 whales in 2016 to 16,650 this year resembles past fluctuations in the eastern North Pacific population, it warrants continued monitoring. “Given the continuing decline in numbers since 2016, we need to be closely monitoring the population to help understand what may be driving the trend,” said David Weller, the senior author of the reports and director of the <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/marine-mammal-and-turtle-division-southwest-fisheries-science-center">Marine Mammal and Turtle Division</a> at NOAA. “We have observed the population changing over time, and we want to stay on top of that.”



A significant increase in gray whale strandings led NOAA Fisheries to declare an “Unusual Mortality Event” (UME) in 2019, prompting an investigation into the possible causes of this population decline. According to the scientists, some of the contributors include changes in the Arctic seafloor and the amphipods and other invertebrate species that gray whales feed upon in the summer, predation by killer whales, or accidents involving ships. Since the number of strandings spiked in 2019 and subsequently fell, most of the gray whale population decline probably occurred in the years before the UME was declared.



“There is no one thing that we can point to that explains all of the strandings,” said Deborah Fauquier, a Veterinary Medical Officer at NOAA Fisheries’ <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-distress/marine-mammal-health-and-stranding-response-program">Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program</a>, who coordinates the UME investigation. “There appears to be multiple factors that we are still working to understand.”&nbsp;



Since many gray whales migrate between their feeding grounds in the Arctic during summer and lagoons in Baja Mexico in the winter where they nourish their newborn calves – a 10,000 miles-long roundtrip – they most likely encounter many stressors along the way, a factor which led to population declines in previous decades too. These stressors affecting whale survival also had a major impact of their reproductive capacities, leading to lower calf production.



Fortunately, after most of the previous declines, the number of gray whales increased again.&nbsp;“The population has rebounded multiple times from low counts in the past,” said Tomoharu Eguchi, the lead author of the reports and an expert in Cetacean Health at NOAA. “We are cautiously optimistic that the same will happen this time. Continued monitoring will determine whether and when they rebound.”&nbsp;



&nbsp;“What we hope to see in the next few years is that the abundance stabilizes and then starts to show signs of increase. We will be watching closely,” concluded co-author Aimee Lang, a research scientist at NOAA.



Image Credit: NOAA Fisheries



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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

Gray whale populations continue to decline

According to a new assessment by the National Oceanic and...

It is a common misconception that over time, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/viruses-have-eyes-and-ears-on-their-hosts/">viruses</a> become milder within a population as they become endemic. New research led by Penn State has found that a virus among rabbits called myxoma has evolved to become more deadly.&nbsp;



The new findings highlight the need for rigorous monitoring of human viruses. For example, many people assume that once COVID-19 becomes endemic, it will also become milder.&nbsp;



“However, we know that the Delta variant was more contagious and caused more severe illness than the original strain of the virus, and Omicron is even more transmissible than Delta. Our new research shows that a rabbit virus has evolved to become more deadly, and there is no reason why this couldn’t happen with SARS-CoV-2 or other viruses that affect humans," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



Myxoma was introduced to Australia in the early 1950s to control a non-native rabbit population. The disease caused terrible symptoms such as puffy, fluid-filled skin lesions, swollen heads and eyelids, drooping ears and blocked airways. The deadly virus killed an estimated 99.8 percent of the rabbits within two weeks.



Over time, the virus became milder, killing only 60 percent of the rabbits it infected and taking longer to do so. At the time, scientists referred to this as the "law of declining virulence" - the idea that viruses become milder to ensure that they do not kill their hosts before they’ve transmitted to others.



However, when the research team studied the myxoma virus in 2014, they found that the virus had regained strength and was killing rabbits at a higher rate.&nbsp;



The team examined several myxoma virus variants collected between 2012-2015 to determine their virulence. The experts determined that the viruses fell into three lineages: a, b and c.



The study rabbits exhibited different symptoms than those induced by viruses collected in the first decades after the release. For instance, the rabbits had more bacteria distribution, which is a symptom of immunosuppression. The researchers considered this a virus adaptation to the resistance gained among wild rabbits.&nbsp;



Lineage c, however, produced a slightly different response. Rabbits infected with lineage c had more swelling at the base of the ears and around the eyelids, where mosquitoes typically bite. These areas also contained extremely high amounts of virus.



“We hypothesise that lineage c viruses are capable of enhanced dissemination to sites around the head where mosquitoes are more likely to feed and that they are able to suppress inflammatory responses at these sites, allowing persistent virus replication to high amounts.”&nbsp;



The findings demonstrate that viruses do not always evolve to become milder. While organisms can develop adaptations to viruses, an evolutionary arms race occurs with counter-adaptations developed by the virus itself.&nbsp;



The study revealed that myxoma evolved to cause greater rabbit mortality. Most likely, rabbits will respond by gradually developing resistance to these changes.&nbsp;



A similar arms race could occur with COVID-19 and other human viruses as immunity strengthens. This demonstrates the importance of vaccines to keep up with new variants, and for the public to stay up to date on vaccines. A stronger solution could be developing a universal vaccine against all variants, which would be more effective over time.&nbsp;



The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases supported this research, which was initially stimulated by a seed grant from Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jvi.00886-22">Journal of Virology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rabbit virus evolved to become more deadly

It is a common misconception that over time, viruses become...

Over the past half a century, scientific awareness of non-native species – often called “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/managing-invasive-species-can-improve-climate-resilience/">invasive species</a>” – has increased substantially, to the point where anyone with a “green conscience” has heard of them and their negative impacts. However, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.brown.edu/">Brown University</a>, the long-standing biases against these species have hindered the acknowledgement and understanding of some of their benefits.



“Positive impacts of non-native species are often explained as serendipitous surprises - the sort of thing that people might expect to happen every once in a while, in special circumstances,” said study lead author Dov Sax, a professor of Environment and Society, and of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology at Brown. “Our new paper argues that the positive impacts of non-native species are neither unexpected nor rare, but instead common, important, and often of large magnitude.”



“We want to provide a framework for the way that scientists can think about non-native species constructively going forward and explicitly document their benefits. It’s only then that we’ll be able to accurately and fully compare and contrast them in order to perform the kind of cost-benefit analyses that can be truly helpful in making policy decisions.”



While some non-native species, such as introduced pathogens and agricultural pests involve indisputably large net costs and provoke significant damage to humans and various ecosystems, most domesticated non-native species, such as wheat, tomatoes, cotton, wool, and pets like dogs or goldfish, provide large net benefits to human societies.&nbsp;



By focusing on non-native species that are not directly managed by humans – so-called “wild” or “naturalized” species – Professor Sax and his colleagues found that many of these provide both costs and benefits for humans and nature.



For instance, while earthworms can negatively change forest ecosystems, they also often augment organic agriculture, significantly increasing agricultural productivity and decreasing food costs. Another example of a non-native species with major benefits is the brown trout. After reaching New Zealand, the brown trout became valued for its nutritional benefits, leading authorities to establish new environmental regulations to protect it.&nbsp;



The researchers advocate to apply the same framework used to discuss the benefits of nature and biodiversity to non-native species too. “How people relate to nature, to the intrinsic value of nature, to the ecosystem services, to the provisioning of resources - these are all things that we value in native species, and there are also ways to see that non-native species are contributing to these benefits, too,” Sax explained. “It’s not like there’s some inherent trade-off: Non-natives aren’t the boogie man.”&nbsp;



For instance, while non-native species can be a major cause of species extinctions, they can also contribute through their migration to regional biodiversity. Similarly, they can reduce some ecosystem functions, such as water clarity, while increasing others, like erosion control, and they can provide new valuable resources, such as fishing or hunting opportunities.



“We argue that long-standing biases against non-native species within the literature have clouded the scientific process and hampered policy advances and sound public understanding. Future research should consider both costs and benefits of non-native species,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.08.005">Trends in Ecology &amp; Evolution</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

Non-native species can have unexpected benefits

Over the past half a century, scientific awareness of non-native...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-exposed-to-wildfires-are-at-risk-of-deadly-blood-clots/">Cats</a> are popular pets all over the world, to the extent that they may be considered the most prevalent introduced animal species of all. In urban settings, domestic cats are usually given free access to outside habitats and this inevitably brings them into conflict with other wildlife species. They are known to have significant negative impacts on populations of songbirds and small mammals upon which they prey, but may themselves be consumed by other urban carnivores.



In many urban settings in the U.S., coyotes (Canis latrans) have become common residents as they respond to the continued expansion of cities into areas of their natural habitat. They are known to prey on cats, although numerous studies have shown that cats only make up a small percentage (0–2 percent) of the diets of urban coyotes. Unfortunately for cats and cat owners, this is not the case in Los Angeles, southern California, where up to 20 percent of coyote scats contain the cat remains. This brings coyotes into conflict with humans and necessitates further investigation to understand the predator-prey interactions in operation here.



After residents in Culver City, a suburb of Los Angeles, reported that 72 cats were killed in 18 months, allegedly the victims of coyote attacks, Rebecca Davenport and colleagues from the Center for Urban Resistance (CURes) at Loyola Marymount University began a research study to understand this anomaly. They installed 20 motion-sensor cameras in Culver City parks, neighborhoods, and green spaces to monitor the presence of cats, coyotes and cottontail rabbits for six months.&nbsp;



Coyotes in urban settings tend to be bolder, consume novel foods such as cats, garden fruits and garbage, and habituate to people when fed. This brings them into conflict with humans and their pets, although coyotes in most other U.S. studies have been found to prefer open areas such as golf courses, parks and cemeteries in which to hunt prey such as mice and cottontails. They are also strictly nocturnal, which should reduce their temporal overlap with domestic cats that are mostly active in the daytime.&nbsp;



Residents often have a common perception that coyotes intentionally hunt down pets within their neighborhoods, despite the findings that show coyotes tend to utilize open green spaces around the city in preference to entering built-up areas. There are plenty of prey species available in these green areas and thus it is unlikely that coyotes would choose to leave their preferred habitat in order to seek out domestic pets. However, Davenport and her colleagues sought to understand the temporal activity patterns of coyotes and cats in Culver City and to identify the ways in which both species utilize the available habitats in the area.



Culver City in Los Angeles County has a population of around 40,000 people and is bordered on one side by Baldwin Hills, a green space that may be a potential point of origin and entry for urban coyotes. There are eight major public parks distributed throughout Culver City and the nearby Ballona Creek provides a water source for wildlife. Previous research on the coyotes in the area confirmed that there are only one or two packs of coyotes that use the area on a regular basis.



The six months of data capture, amounting to 3,736 camera sampling nights, produced 892 images of free-ranging cats, 510 coyote images and 1,747 cottontail rabbit images. Analysis of these results, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14169">PeerJ – Life and Environment</a>, provided some surprises. Similar to other studies, the researchers found that coyotes prefer green spaces to urbanized and/or residential areas. However, cats in Culver City did not display a preference for a particular habitat type and were found equally commonly in parks, open spaces and residential areas.&nbsp;



This result is contrary to expected, as studies in Chicago and North Carolina found that cats prefer residential areas and directly avoid areas where coyotes are prevalent. Instead, cats in Culver City were present in all the same green space fragments as coyotes. This implies that cats are not avoiding the areas where coyotes are more common and, in fact, both the cats and the coyotes may be choosing these areas in order to prey on cottontail rabbits. Additionally, cats in this Los Angeles suburb displayed more nocturnal behavior than is typical for urban cats, which would bring them further into contact with the coyotes in the area.&nbsp;



These unexpected results may explain why there have been such frequent cases of cat mortality in Culver City.&nbsp;Although much attention is commonly directed towards the control of “problem” coyotes, these results suggest that restricting the nocturnal roamings of domestic cats instead may provide a solution that eases the human-wildlife conflict in Culver City. The authors recommend that future management protocols consider restrictions or control measures for outdoor cats, rather than solely focusing on the role of coyotes in urban human-wildlife conflict.&nbsp;



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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

Control the cats, as well as the coyotes

Cats are popular pets all over the world, to the...

The process of catch and release is harming sharks, according to an international research team led by Lucy Harding, a Ph.D. candidate at <a href="https://www.tcd.ie/">Trinity College Dublin</a>. Catch and release is a tactic used by recreational anglers and scientists and is viewed as a more humane way of fishing. However, we still don't fully understand this practice's impact on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-sharks-are-walking-to-find-more-favorable-conditions/">sharks</a>, which is particularly concerning since many species are endangered.&nbsp;



The researchers took to the seas and explored one aspect of this question. The team traveled to the coasts of the Bahamas, Cape Cod, and Ireland to investigate how catching and releasing Blue sharks (Prionace glauca) and Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) affected their body temperature.&nbsp;



"The temperature measurements we took show that catching sharks on a line resulted in rapid spikes in their body temperature, with one blue shark showing an increase of 2.7°C in just a few minutes – which, in physiological terms, is a huge elevation," explained Harding.



By attaching biologging devices to the sharks, the researchers found that it took up to 40 minutes for the animals to regain their normal temperature.&nbsp;



"Results like these illustrate the physical exertion sharks undergo during catch-and-release fishing. We don't yet know whether the rapid, fishing-induced heating has a damaging effect on shark physiology but it's something that is important to study in more detail in the future," explained Professor Nick Payne.&nbsp;



The researchers are confident that sharks do not experience these radical temperature changes in normal circumstances. They hope this study will inform current and future management.&nbsp;



"Results from these studies could be used to design best handling practices for shark angling going forward; if we can adopt the least stressful fishing methods then it's a win for the sharks and also for future generations of anglers," said Dr. Payne.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/10/1/coac065/6725753">Conservation Physiology</a>.



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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

Catch and release practices are harmful to sharks

The process of catch and release is harming sharks, according...

A small, bipedal creature that lived in the Triassic, Scleromochlus taylori has often been the subject of a debate over its place in the tree of life. The first specimen was discovered over 100 years ago in northeastern Scotland.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



In a new study led by Dr. Davide Foffa of National Museums Scotland, along with scientists at the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a> and Virginia Tech, CT scans were used to reconstruct the skeleton of S. taylori. The virtual reconstruction revealed that the small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/past-climate-change-drove-the-rapid-evolution-of-reptiles/">reptile</a> is part of pterosauromorpha, meaning it’s a close relative to pterosaurs. Pterosaurs are the group containing the famed pterodactyl. More specifically, S. taylori seems to be related to the family lagerpetidae.



Lagerpetids were cat or dog-sized reptiles living 240 to 210 million years ago, but S. taylori was even smaller at just under 20 centimeters long. The CT scans support the idea that S. taylori bridges the gap between Lagerpetids and pterosaurs, being a step towards the flying reptiles.&nbsp;



“It’s exciting to be able to resolve a debate that’s been going on for over a century, but it is far more amazing to be able to see and understand an animal which lived 230 million years ago and its relationship with the first animals ever to have flown," said Dr. Foffa.



"This is another discovery which highlights Scotland’s important place in the global fossil record, and also the importance of museum collections that preserve such specimens, allowing us to use new techniques and technologies to continue to learn from them long after their discovery.”



"The Elgin reptiles aren't preserved as the pristine, complete skeletons that we often see in museum displays. They're mainly represented by natural moulds of their bone in sandstone and – until fairly recently – the only way to study them was to use wax or latex to fill these moulds and make casts of the bones that once occupied them," explained Professor Paul Barrett at the Natural History Museum.



"However, the use of CT scanning has revolutionized the study of these difficult specimens and has enabled us to produce far more detailed, accurate and useful reconstructions of these animals from our deep past."



The research, which is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05284-x">Nature</a>, highlights how modern techniques can breathe new life into the study of old fossils and improve our understanding of evolution.&nbsp;



Image Credit: Gabriel Ugeuetto



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mystery fossil found to be an early relative of pterosaurs

A small, bipedal creature that lived in the Triassic, Scleromochlus...

New research has identified a lack of appropriate control tools for many infectious diseases of animals that could impact the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The impacts of animal disease go beyond public health and can lead to socio-economic effects for those who rely on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scavengers-protect-livestock-from-infectious-disease/">livestock</a> for income.&nbsp;



In most cases, animal diseases are global problems and need a global approach to control them. For this study, an international team of animal health experts assessed the current state of available control tools for 53 major infectious diseases of animals.



The scientists used DISCONTOOLS – an open-access database for animal health research to assess the current state of appropriate control tools for 53 major infectious diseases of animals.



The DISCONTOOLS resource was then used to prioritize the list of infectious animal diseases where appropriate control tools are lacking and where addressing this need would help achieve the relevant SDGs.



The results show that there is an urgent need for the development of diagnostics that can differentiate infected animals from vaccinated animals and assess disease characteristics like transmissibility, impact on animal productivity and welfare.



Utilizing technological advances could also help make diagnostics widely available and affordable. The scientists call for further research to improve the convenience of use and duration of immunity, and to establish performant marker vaccines.



“Animal health is a prerequisite for global health, economic development, food security, food quality and poverty reduction while mitigating against climate change and biodiversity loss," said Dr. Johannes Charlier, project manager of DISCONTOOLS.



“If we are to achieve the SDGs, further research into appropriate control tools is needed to reduce the burden of animal diseases, including zoonoses, and to manage emerging diseases, pandemic threats and antimicrobial and antiparasitic resistance.”&nbsp;



The research team also noted that the largest gap in animal pharmaceuticals is the threat of pathogens developing resistance to available drugs, namely bacterial and parasitic pathogens.



Five research priorities for animal health that will help deliver a sustainable and healthy planet were identified by the research theme. These include vaccinology, antimicrobial resistance, climate mitigation and adaptation, digital health and epidemic preparedness.



“The potential for transfer of infectious diseases between animals and people is a One Health challenge recognised at the highest level, signalling that it is high-time for all of us to move from firefighting to fire prevention," said Roxane Feller, secretary general of <a href="https://animalhealtheurope.eu/">AnimalhealthEurope</a>.



“By public and private investments in innovative early research, the animal health industry as a whole can focus on unlocking the secrets needed to develop new generations of vaccines, diagnostics and other therapies to prevent animal disease and avoid the negative effects.”



International efforts should focus on developing control tools for a range of priority infectious diseases of animals, including African swine fever, foot and mouth disease, and bovine tuberculosis.&nbsp;



However, progress is needed across a wide range of zoonotic, endemic and epidemic diseases to secure a healthy planet for humans, animals and the environment.



The study is published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/PIIS2542-5196(22)00147-4">The Lancet Planetary Health</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tools are needed to control infectious animal diseases

New research has identified a lack of appropriate control tools...

A recent study led by the <a href="https://www.mbari.org/">Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute</a> (MBARI) has shed new light on the movements of mysterious, endangered blue whales. The experts used a directional hydrophone – a specialized underwater microphone that records sounds and identifies the direction from which they originate – to listen for the booming vocalizations of blue whales. By using these sounds, they tracked the movements of blue whales and discovered how these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-making-the-ocean-more-acidic/">ocean</a> giants respond to changes in the wind.



Along California’s Central Coast, both spring and summer bring coastal upwelling. From March to July, seasonal winds push the upper layer of water out to sea, allowing the colder water below to rise to the surface. This nutrient-rich water fuels massive blooms of phytoplankton, jumpstarting the food web in the Monterey Bay, from tiny krill all the way to gigantic whales. The scientists discovered that, when the winds create such an upwelling event, blue whales seek out the plumes of cooler water, where krill are most abundant, while when the upwelling stops, these whales move offshore into habitats that are often transected by shipping lanes.



“This research and its underlying technologies are opening new windows into the complex and beautiful ecology of these endangered whales,” said study lead author John Ryan, a biological oceanographer at MBARI. “These findings demonstrate a new resource for managers seeking ways to better protect blue whales and other species.”



The study built upon previous research which revealed that swarms of forage species, such as anchovies and krill, responded to upwelling events. This time, the scientists combined satellite and mooring data of upwelling conditions and echosounder data on krill aggregations with the acoustic tracks of foraging blue whales logged by the directional hydrophone.



“Previous work by the MBARI team found that when coastal upwelling was strongest, anchovies and krill formed dense swarms within upwelling plumes. Now, we’ve learned that blue whales track these dynamic plumes, where abundant food resources are available,” Dr. Ryan explained.



According to the researchers, blue whales recognize when the wind is changing their environment and identify places where the wind aggregates krill, their main type of food. While scientists have long known that blue whales seasonally occupy Monterey Bay during the upwelling season, this new study has revealed that they are able to closely track the upwelling event on very fine spatial and temporal scales.



“Tracking many individual wild animals simultaneously is challenging in any ecosystem. This is especially difficult in the open ocean, which is often opaque to us as human observers,” said study co-author William Oestreich, a postdoctoral fellow at MBARI. “Integration of technologies to measure these whales’ sounds enabled this important discovery about how groups of predators find food in a dynamic ocean. We’re excited about the future discoveries we can make by eavesdropping on blue whales and other noisy ocean animals.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.14116">Ecology Letters</a>.



Image: Goldbogen Lab/Duke Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab (NMFS Permit 16111)



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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

Blue whales use changes in the wind to locate food

A recent study led by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research...

Every spring, swarms of colorful butterflies called painted ladies can be spotted in Southern California as they make their way back to breed. Some years, the number of migrating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-forecast-the-future-of-monarch-butterflies/">butterflies</a> is in the millions.&nbsp;



California is also home to painted lady populations that do not migrate and require food sources year-round. By documenting new nectar plants, scientists have renewed hope these butterflies may be resilient to climate change. There have been concerns that the butterflies are negatively affected by hotter, drier weather and habitat loss.



“The lack of rainfall in Southern California likely impacts the butterflies’ ability to move through the state, potentially decreasing nectar sources and causing them to die without reproducing,” said Jolene Saldivar, an ecologist at <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a>. “There’s so much to be learned about these butterflies before drought and climate change damage them irreparably."



The research team sorted through 10,000 images of painted ladies in California shrublands. Any images in which the butterflies were not obviously feeding were omitted from analysis. The experts identified 195 new nectar plants as food sources for the species.&nbsp;



Of the top 10 plant species identified as food sources, seven are native to California. The butterflies also feed on showy ornamental plants common to California landscaping, such as lantana, butterfly bush and rosemary, as well as flowering weeds.&nbsp;



“Much of what we identified could responsibly be planted during a drought,”&nbsp; said study co-author Erin Wilson-Rankin.



Painted lady caterpillars consume plants, but they do not eat any agriculturally important species. They also serve as prey for insects, birds, wasps and reptiles, and mature butterflies can pollinate some of the many plants they visit.



“It might be getting tougher for painted ladies in some places, but these butterflies will feed on what flowers are available - even a few plants in a window box could help them,” said Wilson-Rankin.&nbsp;



Saldivar believes the results of this paper may encourage community scientists, whose contributions to knowledge should be celebrated and promoted.&nbsp;



The new identified food sources offer hope for imperiled butterflies.



“Adding a photo and a little information to a community science website or through an app on your smartphone might seem minor, but in the big picture, it helps inform us about ecological processes we’d otherwise be very challenged to learn about,” said Saldivar.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Painted ladies may be resilient to climate change

Every spring, swarms of colorful butterflies called painted ladies can...

Interacting with animals, but especially with dogs, is known to help people dealing with stress and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-media-increases-depression-risk-across-all-personalities/">depression</a>. Because of this phenomenon, researchers from the <a href="https://www.unibas.ch/en.html">University of Basel</a> in Switzerland wanted to look at what happens in the brain when we interact with dogs.&nbsp;



The research, led by Rahel Marti, was published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274833">PLOS ONE</a>. The scientists measured activity in the prefrontal cortex as study participants viewed a dog, sat with the dog against their legs, and petted the dog. The same trial was carried out with a stuffed lion holding a water bottle to mimic the weight and temperature of the dog.&nbsp;



"Twenty-one healthy individuals each participated in six sessions. In three sessions, participants had contact with a dog, and in three control sessions they interacted with a plush animal. Each session had five two-minute phases with increasing intensity of contact to the dog or plush animal from the first to the fourth phase," explained the researchers.



"We measured oxygenated, deoxygenated, and total hemoglobin and oxygen saturation of the blood in the frontal lobe/frontopolar area with functional near-infrared spectroscopy to assess brain activity."



Unsurprisingly, the human brain reacted differently to a real dog when compared to the stuffed toy. The prefrontal cortex activity was greater while interacting with the dog, especially when petting the dog. This brain activity also lingered for a time after the dog was gone. This is interesting because it is thought that the prefrontal cortex is important in regulating social and emotional interactions.&nbsp;



"The present study demonstrates that prefrontal brain activity in healthy subjects increased with a rise in interactional closeness with a dog or a plush animal, but especially in contact with the dog the activation is stronger. This indicates that interactions with a dog might activate more attentional processes and elicit stronger emotional arousal than comparable nonliving stimuli," explained the study authors.



The researchers hope their findings may be used in the future to improve animal assisted therapy. The study was carried out on healthy, emotionally stable people. A follow up study could look for the same effect in those with socioemotional deficits.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Petting dogs has an interesting impact on the brain

Interacting with animals, but especially with dogs, is known to...

Unrefined – or “crude” – oil has been spilled into the sea in massive amounts following ecological disasters such as the Exxon Valdez or the Sea Empress spills. Moreover, oil is also routinely released into the environment in moderate volumes due to extraction and transportation activities. According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucc.ie/">University College Cork</a> (UCC) in Ireland, oil pollution poses a significant threat to many already endangered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seabirds-are-damaging-their-health-by-eating-plastic/">seabird</a> populations.



The experts found that even tiny amounts of crude oil on the water surface – less than one percent of the thickness of a hair – could severely damage seabird feathers. After collecting feathers from the Manx shearwaters – a species considered to be at-risk from oil pollution – the scientists examined them to asses how quickly water would pass through after exposure to increasing concentrations of oil. Moreover, they also studied the feathers under high-powered microscopes to examine structural changes occurring after contamination.



The analyses revealed that even very thin oil sheens, between 0.1 and three micrometers in thickness, were enough to have a significant effect on feather structure and impacted waterproofing. Thus, seabirds exposed to oil are more likely to become waterlogged, cold, and less buoyant, as several other studies have already shown.



“Chronic small-scale oil pollution is commonly overlooked in the marine environment, though it has been shown to have serious implications for the fitness and survival of seabirds,” said study lead author Emma Murphy, a graduate student in Environmental Science at UCC. “This study examined one species, but the results can be extended to other species that rely on waterproofing to stay healthy when at sea for long periods.”



Murphy and her colleagues concluded that even when oil is released in moderate amounts from extraction and transport infrastructure, it can spread quite quickly across the surface of the sea, causing large marine areas to be coated by oil in concentration that are harmful for seabirds.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220488">Royal Society Open Science</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

Even a tiny amount of oil can damage seabird feathers

Unrefined – or “crude” – oil has been spilled into...

Over 200 years ago, Ichthyosaurs were discovered by Mary Anning at Lyme Regis, England. Anning sold the first Ichthyosaur <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plesiosaur-fossils-found-in-a-100-million-year-old-river/">fossil</a> she found for enough money to support her family for six months and thus began her life as a celebrated commercial paleontologist.



Ichthyosaur means "fish lizard," reflecting the different features embodied by the animal, which seems to almost be a reptilian dolphin. Although all Ichthyosaurs share similar traits, there are differences as well. Some of Anning’s specimens have long, slender snouts, while others have short, stout ones.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



New research is shedding light on some of these old Ichthyosaur specimens. A study from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> shows that Ichthyosaurs may have had different diets.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Functional studies need excellent three-dimensional specimens, and the Lower Jurassic ichthyosaur fossils from Strawberry Bank in Ilminster are just that. Mary Anning’s fossils are amazing, but they are mostly squashed flat," said Matt Williams of Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution.



“Our idea was to CT scan the specimens,” said Dr. Ben Moon, of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences and a supervisor of the study. “The scans allow us to make a detailed, 3D model of the skull in the computer, and it can then be tested for the likely forces experienced during biting.”



“After we had the models, we could stress test them,” said supervisor Andre Rowe. “We tested and confirmed the hypothesis that the slender-snouted ichthyosaur had a quick but weak bite, and the broad-snouted ichthyosaur had a slow but powerful bite.”



“Confirming the supposition was important,” added Professor Michael Benton. “It’s important we apply rigorous scientific approaches such as these engineering analyses. The two species of ichthyosaur presumably chased fast-moving prey (the fast biter) and slower, tough-shelled prey (the slow, powerful biter).”



Professor Benton noted that modern marine predators comparable to Ichthyosaur (like orcas and sharks) eat whatever they can, so it’s interesting that these marine reptiles had specialized feeding habits. "The work can be extended to explore other marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs and crocodiles, so we get a detailed picture of these amazing and alien worlds of the Jurassic oceans.”



The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14697580">Journal of Anatomy</a>



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ichthyosaurs had specialized diets to peacefully coexist

Over 200 years ago, Ichthyosaurs were discovered by Mary Anning...

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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

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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

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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

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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 



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.

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



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 city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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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



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 province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" 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> 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



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 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

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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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

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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

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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



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 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...