Just imagine a world where humans no longer exist, who would take over? Well, it may not be another mammal. Believe it or not, octopuses could be the ones to dominate Earth after humans. 



Scientists have recently made a riveting claim that these eight-limbed, marine invertebrates could become the dominant species on Earth should homo sapiens vanish from existence. It's an intriguing idea, but how is it possible?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hypothetical-world-without-humans">Hypothetical world without humans</h2>



What if humanity were utterly wiped out through wars or climate change? It's a grim concept but it is fascinating to wonder about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopus-arms-inspire-more-human-like-robots/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">potential successors</a> of our civilization.



According to leading experts, octopuses possess the "physical and mental attributes necessary" to evolve into the next civilization-building species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-octopus-taking-over-humans">Octopus taking over humans</h2>



Tim Coulson, a professor at the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oxford</a>, presents an interesting case for these eight-legged creatures. His argument hinges on the octopuses' "dexterity, curiosity, ability to communicate with each other, and supreme intelligence."



These traits, according to Professor Coulson, equip octopuses with the potential to develop complex tools and methodologies necessary to birth a vast Atlantis-like civilization under the ocean.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-not-primates">Why not primates?</h2>



One might think that primates, our closest relatives, have the best shot at stepping into our shoes if we were to vacate the world. They have opposable thumbs, use tools, and walk on two legs, right? But according to Professor Coulson, it's not that simple. 



He reasons that primates would face the same threats that could potentially wipe out humanity and thus are also at risk of extinction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-octopuses-competing-with-humans">Octopuses competing with humans</h2>



In an interview with The European magazine, Professor Coulson, who has held positions at institutions like <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Imperial College London</a> and <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cambridge University</a>, elaborates on why octopuses are a strong contender.



He refers to them as "the most intelligent, adaptable, and resourceful creatures on Earth," lauding their abilities to solve complex problems, manipulate objects, and even camouflage themselves with near-perfect precision.



Their decentralized nervous system and advanced neural structure, coupled with their exceptional problem-solving skills, make octopuses uniquely suited for an unpredictable world. 



Professor Coulson sees these intelligent cephalopods as an underappreciated contender who could step up as the planet's next intelligent species after humans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-adaptable-survivalists">Adaptable survivalists</h2>



If humans were to go extinct, most scientists concur that the creature to "replace" us should be dextrous. Dexterity, in this context, pertains to the ability to modify their environment and colonize the planet using complex tools, much like humans.



Octopuses' abilities to distinguish between real and virtual objects, solve puzzles, manipulate their surroundings, and adapt to a broad range of environments make them a viable candidate for future rulers of Earth. 



They are also adept at surviving in harsh conditions and are formidable hunters with a wide variety of prey including clams, shrimp, lobsters, fish, sharks, and even birds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-octopuses-and-human-like-settlements">Octopuses and human-like settlements</h2>



With relatively short lifespans, from between 1.5 to five years, one could argue that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-octopus-has-mastered-the-art-of-multispecies-hunting/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">octopuses</a> are on the back foot for the long evolutionary race. But here's a counterintuitive thought. 



What if their hasty reproduction and quick intellectual maturity actually give them an advantage in rapidly changing environments, thereby accelerating their evolutionary progress?



According to our Professor Coulson, while octopuses are unlikely to evolve into land-based animals due to their lack of a skeleton and associated challenges with mobility out of water, they could potentially develop underwater cities and towns akin to human settlements on land.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-possible-yes-probable-maybe">Possible? Yes. Probable? Maybe.</h2>



In the end, as Professor Coulson reminds us, these are all just speculations. "It's important to remember that these are just possibilities, and that it's impossible to predict with any degree of certainty how evolution will unfold over extended periods."



However, given the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopus-suckers-the-future-of-underwater-adhesives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">octopuses</a>' remarkable intelligence, adaptability, and diverse range of survival strategies, they could indeed emerge as a potential successor to humanity.



Now, whether the octopuses would build vast underwater cities or venture onto land to hunt terrestrial mammals is yet to be determined, and we may never really know.



For now, we will continue to marvel at these fascinating creatures and their potential for becoming the torchbearers of intelligent life on Earth, albeit in the far-flung future.



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Octopuses could dominate Earth if humans vanish

Just imagine a world where humans no longer exist, who would take over? Well, it may not be another mammal. Believe it or not, octopuses could be the ones to dominate Earth after humans. Scientists have recently made a riveting claim that these eight-limbed, marine invertebrates could become the dominant species on Earth should homo sapiens vanish from existence. It's an intriguing idea, but how is it possible? Hypothetical world without humans What if humanity were utterly wiped out through wars or climate change? It's a grim...

There are thousands of Pleistocene sites across Australia where the fragments of giant egg shells have been found. These shells often have characteristic burn marks, indicating that they have been cooked, rather than scorched in bush <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-will-release-massive-amounts-of-carbon-by-mid-century/">fires</a>. They date to around 50,000 years ago and are thought to represent a source of food for the first Australians. However, scientists have not yet been able to identify the species of bird to which the eggs belonged because the shells have spent thousands of years out in the Australian heat and the DNA has degraded beyond recognition.



There were always two contenders for the bird species responsible. The first, and most likely, was Genyornis, an extinct flightless bird that&nbsp;stood over two meters tall, weighed 220–240 kg, and laid melon-sized eggs of around 1.5 kg in mass. But some scientists argued that, because of the shell shape, size and thickness, the eggs may have been laid by the giant malleefowl, Progura, instead. This extinct bird was far smaller, being similar in size to a large turkey and only weighing in at around 5–7 kg.



The distinction is important because Genyornis is thought to have become extinct only a few thousand years after the arrival of the first Australians, some 65,000 years ago. Although there is no fossil evidence of kill sites where the birds were butchered, the thousands of sites where eggs have been cooked (and presumably eaten) lend support to the idea that humans were involved in the demise of this mega-faunal species.&nbsp;



If, on the other hand, the eggs belonged to Progura, which is a flying bird that laid its eggs in mounds on the ground, then humans would in no way be implicated in the extinction of the giant Genyornis. In fact, there would be no direct proof of human–Genyornis&nbsp;interaction at all, and it may even be possible that this species had already gone extinct by the time humans arrived in Australia.&nbsp;



An international team led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> has now undertaken a multipronged analysis in order to identify the mystery egg-layer. The experts have used the very fragmented ancient DNA, but have also extracted ancient proteins from the powdered eggshells and compared the protein sequences to those of living bird species using a vast new database of biological material, known as the Bird 10,000 Genomes (B10K) project.&nbsp;



The results indicate that the eggs were indeed laid by the extinct giant bird, Genyornis. Also known as mihirung – or “Thunder Bird,” this huge bird with tiny wings and massive legs roamed prehistoric Australia, possibly in flocks.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“There is no evidence of&nbsp;Genyornis&nbsp;butchery in the archaeological record. However, eggshell fragments with unique burn patterns consistent with human activity have been found at different places across the continent,” said senior co-author Professor Gifford Miller from the University of Colorado.



“This implies that the first humans did not necessarily hunt these enormous birds, but did routinely raid nests and steal their giant eggs for food. Overexploitation of the eggs by humans may well have contributed to&nbsp;Genyornis&nbsp;extinction.”



The analysis and comparison of protein sequences enabled the researchers to conclude definitively that the eggshells did not belong to a species of the Magapodiidae, such as Progura. The researchers were also able to draw up an evolutionary tree using the protein sequences of other extinct and extant birds in closely related groups, and identify the position of the egg-layer in relation to other bird taxa.&nbsp;



“The&nbsp;Progura&nbsp;was related to today’s megapodes, a group of birds in the galliform lineage, which also contains ground-feeders such as chickens and turkeys,” said study first author Professor Beatrice Demarchi from the University of Turin.



“We found that the bird responsible for the mystery eggs emerged prior to the galliform lineage, enabling us to rule out the&nbsp;Progura&nbsp;hypothesis. This supports the implication that the eggs eaten by early Australians were laid by&nbsp;Genyornis.”



The study confirms that using the sequences of ancient proteins is a powerful tool for reconstructing the evolutionary history of ancient organisms and clarifying their phylogenetic positions. Proteins from the ancient eggshells provided a reliable source of information in a situation where DNA analysis gave inconclusive results.&nbsp;



“Time, temperature and the chemistry of a fossil all dictate how much information we can glean,” said study co-author Professor Matthew Collins from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Archaeology.&nbsp;“Eggshells are made of mineral crystals that can tightly trap some proteins, preserving this biological data in the harshest of environments - potentially for millions of years.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The researchers point out that the&nbsp;Genyornis&nbsp;egg exploitation behavior of the first Australians likely mirrors that of early humans with ostrich eggs, the shells of which have been unearthed at archaeological sites across Africa dating back at least 100,000 years.&nbsp;



“While ostriches and humans have co-existed throughout prehistory, the levels of exploitation of&nbsp;Genyornis&nbsp;eggs by early Australians may have ultimately proved more than the reproductive strategies of these extraordinary birds could bear," said Professor Collins. &nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



Image Credit: Peter Trusler



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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

Eggs eaten by early Australians were from huge flightless birds

There are thousands of Pleistocene sites across Australia where the...

Nomadic pine siskins are a type of finch often seen on backyard feeders. Studies of migrating pine siskins have shown they exhibit “nocturnal migratory restlessness.” This means the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-and-bats-are-eating-midge-flies-that-contain-pesticides/">birds</a> move around a lot at night instead of resting. Their bodies also adapt to support migration by gaining muscle and fat deposits to use as fuel during flight.



However, a new study from <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> has revealed that the natural migratory behaviors of pine siskins can change in the presence of settled birds.&nbsp;



“The presence of another bird that isn’t migratory seems to be a really potent cue to stop migration,” said study co-author Heather Watts. “We saw changes in their behavior and changes in their physiology associated with the energetics of migration.”



The researchers captured 44 male pine siskins from across the Western U.S. near the end of the spring migrating season. The birds were divided into migratory and non-migratory bird categories.&nbsp;



The experts found that the migratory birds placed with more settled birds lost much of their nocturnal restlessness and body mass, responding to signals to stop migrating. Meanwhile, the solo migratory birds in the control group continued to display behaviors and physical signs related to migration.



The results may also provide new clues about other animals’ nomadic behavior. As of now, not much is known about how the less predictable nomads choose their destinations.



“We suspect this is probably a more general phenomenon - that other animals’ attention to social cues may be important in migratory decisions for a whole variety of species.” said Watts.&nbsp;



Some migrating animals have predictable patterns, like geese and Monarch butterflies that travel to the same breeding and wintering areas each year.&nbsp;



Many nomadic animals depend on food sources that are variable, which explains their unpredictable migrating patterns. For instance, owls have been known to follow boom and bust cycles of rodents. Birds may also be looking to other animals to determine where to land.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We think these animals probably rely on local cues to assess whether an area is potentially a good site or not,” said Watts. “One type of cue comes from other individuals - if these birds come into an area where there are already birds settled that might tell them it’s a good place to stop.”



According to Watts, this also may be why backyard birders notice that pine siskins suddenly swarm or disappear completely from their feeders.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl">Biology Letters</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

Migratory birds can change their restless ways

Nomadic pine siskins are a type of finch often seen...

<a href="https://sites.google.com/d51schools.org/phs-fish-hatchery">Palisade High School</a>, a twenty minute drive from where I live in Colorado, has something unusual - a fish hatchery. When I read about this, I had to visit the school to see for myself.



Razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus), the only fish raised at Palisade’s hatchery, once lived throughout the Colorado River Basin from Wyoming to Baja California, Mexico.&nbsp;As is typical of many fish native to the western US, damming of rivers, introduction of non-native sport fishes and irrigation channels have taken a toll.



The <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/23162/174781799">critically endangered fish</a> is still found in small and fragmented populations throughout the Colorado River Basin and a few reservoirs created by the river. Razorback suckers are missing from large parts of their former southern range. Since 1991, the fish has been formally protected by the US federal government.&nbsp;



According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the fish population is still dropping. There is some hope, as the razorback sucker has been re-established in the Grand Canyon and more southerly parts of its range but it’s still a struggle. A teacher and his students are doing something about it, while also looking more closely at the connection between humanity and the rest of nature. 



I met Pat Steele on a cool, windy spring day in front of Palisade High School. He warmly welcomed me to the school and walked with me along the edge of a sport’s field towards a gate in the chain link fence. He talked over the wind as we walked, telling me how all the money for their fish hatchery came from local donors. Beyond the gate was a small shed, which Steele said was previously used to store astronomy equipment for the school. 



The inside of the shed was filled with three large black tanks with small clear windows cut in the sides. Around the corner was an aeration pump system. Inside the tanks there were approximately 300 fish. The shed was filled with the sound of water bubbling and pumps humming. Pat said he hopes to make the fish hatchery central to the school. Chemistry students could monitor the pH of the water for instance or art students could practice Japanese fish printing with the few fish that accidentally die and are frozen. 



Pat also teaches a river dynamics class, something of utmost importance for understanding the western landscape and our place in it, especially in these challenging times. He hopes this sort of teaching and the hands-on work with the fish, creates a connection between students and the river. His students hosted a class of younger students from another nearby school and showed them invertebrates and fish living in the river. The students walked from their school along the river, picking up trash as they went. To me, this seems like a perfect model for environmental education - personal, hands-on and tailored to the student’s own backyard as well as scientifically rigorous.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



In Palisade High School’s fish hatchery, students and a handful of special volunteers do all of the work. They change filters and water, monitor the health of the fish and isolate any that are acting strangely. Before they’re released, the students insert rice-grain sized PIT tags into the fish just behind their fins. These tags allow scientists to check the provenance of the fish they catch and hopefully monitor the success of the school’s hatchery program. At the end of all this work, the fish are released into the Colorado River, which is a short walk away from the hatchery they’re raised in.&nbsp;



Palisade High School isn’t alone in this endeavor, although it seems to be the first inland project of its kind. When Pat Steele was planning on creating a hatchery he took a few students with him to Petaluma, California to visit Casa Grande High School and<a href="https://abc7news.com/coho-salmon-extinction-casa-grande-high-school-fish/11062269/"> their hatchery</a>. Casa Grande’s United Anglers has been running a hatchery since 1993. Typically the school raises steelhead trout but recently they were asked to take care of endangered Coho Salmon, due to rising water temperatures at their hatchery at Lake Sonoma.         



The<a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/wa/newsroom/features/?cid=nrcs144p2_036468"> US Department of Agriculture </a>reports that in the first year of a program in Washington State, 350 students from six to seven classes helped raise salmon. By 2006, that number had grown to 1,100 students in twenty schools in three counties. In this program, the fish are hatched in small tanks within the classroom from 500 eggs delivered by the <a href="https://yakamafish-nsn.gov/">Yakama Indian Nation </a>Fish Hatchery. The students place the eggs within gravel at the bottom of the tank. As they learn about the life cycle of the fish, they can watch them develop right in their class.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Seeing Palisade’s modest hatchery with its three tanks along with the nature trail behind the school within a stone’s throw of the Colorado River, I couldn’t help but be hopeful. I felt more hopeful for the environment than I’ve felt in a long time. The hatchery seems like the perfect balance of a project doing something directly beneficial for an endangered fish as well as giving indirect benefits. The indirect benefits are in the minds of the students who handle the fish, who watch them and try to understand their lives and the lives of everything in those great streams of water everyone in the west depends upon.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We want kids to understand the fish, get to know them," said Steele. "Every time they go by the river or they drive over it or whatever…hopefully it makes them think about being a little more sensitive to water conservation, you know, taking care of our rivers."



Image Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service



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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

Colorado high school is fighting to save razorback suckers

Palisade High School, a twenty minute drive from where I...

Although fever is a crucial response that helps organisms combat infections, it has a rather high cost in terms of energy expenditure. For this reason, through a process called “regulated hypothermia,” mammals and birds sometimes lower their temperature instead of raising it when conditions are unfavorable for the production of a fever, postponing the fight against <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pigs-are-highly-resistant-to-sars-cov-2-infection/">infection</a> until energy is once more abundant. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.international.unesp.br/">São Paulo State University</a> (UNESP) in Brazil has described how regulated hypothermia can help chicks tolerate infection and save energy.



In a previous <a href="https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP281385">study</a>, the UNESP scientists have already shown that regulated hypothermia – a process initially described in mammals – also existed in birds. This suggests that the strategy may have been inherited from a distant ancestor common to both mammals and birds, or that it developed independently in the two groups. In the present study, scientists shed more light on how this process functions in broiler chicks.



“This time we infected broiler chicks with a large dose of a lipopolysaccharide from the cell walls of a bacteria to simulate infection without actually causing disease. We then measured how they coped with infection in four different scenarios: when they were warm and well-fed, cold and well-fed, warm and hungry, or cold and hungry,” said&nbsp;study lead author Lara do Amaral Silva, a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://www.uncg.edu/">University of North Carolina at Greensboro</a>.



While a fever appeared in the warm and well-fed chicks about three hours after they were infected, the body temperature of cold and hungry chicks fell 2°C in the first hour after infection and then rose gradually. However, even six hours after the infection, their temperature was still 0.5°C lower than normal. For the other two groups of chicks, the results lay between these two extremes.



“When the cold fasting chicks were infected, they directed more blood to the skin and panted to let more heat leave their bodies. They were clearly keeping themselves cool, very probably in order to save energy while prioritizing maintenance of vital functions over fighting the infection,” said study senior author&nbsp;Kênia Cardoso Bícego, an expert in Comparative Physiology at UNESP.



In order to clarify whether the cold and hungry chicks were still able to raise their metabolic rates and produce fever, the scientists injected them with a drug that increases metabolism, which would theoretically provide them with enough energy to raise their temperatures. However, the chicks continued to actively seek to lose heat, showing that inhibition of fever was regulated by their organism instead of being a failure of their immune systems.



“The results underscore the conclusion that a drop in temperature during severe infection isn’t a collapse of the organism, as has been argued. On the contrary, it’s an energy-saving response, given that raising the body’s temperature requires a great deal of energy. In addition, lowering body temperature was prioritized when the chicks had to cope with other challenges, such as cold and hunger,” Professor Bícego concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243115">Journal of Experimental 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

Regulated hypothermia helps chicks overcome infection

Although fever is a crucial response that helps organisms combat...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a> has found that the brains of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) are highly specialized for echolocation and flight, with motor areas of the cerebral cortex that are involved in sonar production and wing control. While previous theories of motor cortex organization have assumed that muscles are represented individually in the motor cortex, this study has found clear evidence that cortical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/headbutting-animals-can-suffer-from-traumatic-brain-injuries/">brain</a> areas represent common synergies of muscles across diverse body regions rather than individual muscles.



Egyptian fruit bats are unusual among bats because they use their tongue rather than larynx to echolocate. Thus, they have precise motor control of their tongues and are able to aim sonar beams in various directions by manipulating their tongues within their mouths, without needing to move their heads.&nbsp;



By using electrodes to stimulate different areas of the motor cortex in anesthetized bats, the scientists discovered that their motor cortex has an unusually large area representing tongue movements, with over 40 percent of the sensory and motor cortex producing tongue movements – far more than in other species, such as rodents or primates.&nbsp;



Through similar methods, the researchers have also investigated how these bats’ brains organize their flight. Since a bat’s wing is composed of membranes spreading across its forelimbs, hindlimbs, and tail, moving any of these body parts can affect wing shape and consequently change the path of flight.&nbsp;



The scientists found that, while very few areas of the bats’ motor cortex represented forelimb movement alone, most of the cortex represented synergistic movements that involved both forelimbs and hindlimbs. These findings reflect the fact that when bats fly, the power for wing movement comes from shoulder muscles, while the fine adjustments that are necessary for flying emerge from complex coordinated movements of both shoulder and hindlimb muscles.&nbsp;



However, some areas of the cortex did seem to produce movements of the hindlimb muscles alone. These brain regions are likely involved in bats’ locomotor behaviors, such as “walking” around in trees by gripping branches with their hindlimbs.



Study senior author Leah Krubitzer is a neuroscientist at UC Davis studying the brain organization of a wide variety of mammals, including rodents, primates, opossums, and tree shrews. According to Krubitzer, comparing the brains of various animals could shed more light on the structure and functioning of the human brain too. “When we can look across species, it becomes a really powerful approach for making extrapolations to the human condition,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.094">Current 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

Bats’ brains are highly specialized for flight

A new study led by the University of California, Davis...

Anyone who’s heard of the problems in the Everglades probably knows that released <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/praying-mantises-are-becoming-more-popular-as-pets/">pets</a> can become invasive. Non-native plants and animals often outcompete native wildlife and harm ecosystems. Unfortunately, releasing a pet into the wild can mean hurting other wild creatures.&nbsp;



Unsurprisingly, fish are one of the most commonly released pets. In fact, released pets make up one third of aquatic invasive species. Goldfish have been domesticated for thousands of years and are extremely popular. These fish have established non-native populations all over the planet.&nbsp;



Now, a study published in the journal <a href="https://neobiota.pensoft.net/">NeoBiota</a> looks at goldfish and another pet fish, the white cloud mountain minnow in Northern Ireland. The researchers developed new techniques for assessing the potential risks and impacts of invasive pet species.&nbsp;



Goldfish, in particular, appeared to be dangerous to the native ecology of Ireland. Goldfish ate more food than either the white cloud mountain minnow or native Irish fishes. Goldfish were also brave, a trait thought to promote invasive behavior.&nbsp;



“Our research suggests that goldfish pose a triple threat. Not only are they readily available, but they combine insatiable appetites with bold behavior," explained study lead author Dr. James Dickey from Queen’s University Belfast.



"While northern European climates are often a barrier to non-native species surviving in the wild, goldfish are known to be tolerant to such conditions, and could pose a real threat to native biodiversity in rivers and lakes, eating up the resources that other species depend on.”



The scientists hope that they not only show that goldfish are potentially dangerous to ecology, but also help others assess risks of goldfish and other pets in other locations in the world.&nbsp;



“Our research highlights that goldfish are high risk, but we hope that the methods developed here can be used to assess others in the pet trade across Ireland and further afield," said Dr. Dickey.



"Readily available species are most likely to be released, so limiting the availability of potentially impactful ones, alongside better education of pet owners, is a solution to preventing damaging invaders establishing in the future.”



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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

Releasing goldfish is a threat to native wildlife

Anyone who’s heard of the problems in the Everglades probably...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/showing-signs-of-stress-could-make-you-more-likeable/">Stress</a> is a widespread phenomenon among humans, usually occurring when we feel threatened or overwhelmed. Humans often communicate to others that they are stressed through their behavior or physiological changes. Thus, stress can also convey information, and even be useful in certain situations. 



However, since stress can be easily transmitted from one person to another, it frequently leads to dangerous situations, such as mass panics. Now, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.uni-konstanz.de/en/">University of Konstanz</a> has found that the transmission of stress can also be observed across various animal species.&nbsp;



“It has been repeatedly shown that stress can be transmitted from one human to another,” said study lead author Hanja Brandl, a behavioral ecologist at the Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior at the University of Konstanz. “Often a similarly strong physiological response is triggered, even though you have never experienced the stress yourself.”



As most animals spend at least parts of their lives associating socially with their conspecifics, stress is also transmitted among them. “Other animals in the group can be just as stressed as the friend who experienced something bad. Stress is evolutionarily deeply rooted and the process is similar in all vertebrates,” Dr. Brandl explained.



According to the researchers, wild animals are primarily stressed by naturally occurring threats, such as predators. However, human influences can also raise animals’ level of stress. “Increasing changes in the habitat or noise and light pollution also have an impact, as these massively affect the environment of the animals,” said Dr. Brandl.&nbsp;



While animals are usually flexible and can adapt to changing circumstances, when both natural and anthropogenic stressful factors accumulate, stress is exacerbated and is often transmitted through animal collectives, becoming unhealthy for both individual animals and the groups in which they live. “At some point, the stress response – the adaptations that otherwise help animals better escape stressors like predators – no longer gives them a survival advantage.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Clarifying how the underlying mechanisms of stress work at both the individual and collective level can help scientists find better ways to protect animals. Moreover, understanding the evolutionary roots of stress responses could also shed more light on how humans experience such phenomena, and open ways for mitigating the negative impact stress often has on health.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.2158#d1e853">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</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

Stress gives animals a survival advantage, but only to a point

Stress is a widespread phenomenon among humans, usually occurring when...

The <a href="https://www.cabi.org/products-and-services/one-health-resources-cabi/one-health-journal-cabi/">CABI One Health</a> journal has published a commentary calling on government and experts to “recognize the importance of animal welfare for sustainable development, and to aspire to harm animals less and benefit them more as part of sustainable development governance.”



This commentary comes ahead of the UN Stockholm+50 Conference on June 2-3, 2022. The conference will include a number of environmental proposals and suggestions to address <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-threatens-the-health-of-billions-of-people/">climate change</a>.&nbsp;



The commentary calls attention to the fact that animal welfare has not been considered since the UN Conference on the Human Environment began 50 years ago. To be clear, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development may include protecting species as a whole, but ideas on how to protect the welfare of those animals were not considered. The commentators are perplexed as to why animal welfare has not been a part of the discussion.



“Human, animal, and environmental health are linked,” explained Jeff Sebo of New York University, a lead author of the commentary. “Governments need to take steps to include animals in sustainable development governance for the sake of human and non-human animals alike.”



To see an example of the link between the environment, humans, and non-human animals, look no further than the industrial animal agriculture complex.



The commentary authors noted that animal agriculture requires more land and water and produces more pollution and waste than plant-based foods. And, of course, the industry is the leading cause of climate change.



We can also consider the current outbreaks of bird flu which have led to the deaths of millions of birds and can be attributed to overcrowding and the overuse of antibiotics.&nbsp;



Cleo Verkuijl of the Stockholm Environment Institute mentions an even more omnipresent disease caused by a lack of attentiveness to animal welfare. “COVID-19 reminds us that industries like industrial animal agriculture and the wildlife trade not only harm and kill many animals per year but also contribute to global health and environmental threats that imperil us all.”&nbsp;



Over 180 experts have endorsed the commentary as of May 23, 2022. But, its authors encourage more experts and governments to acknowledge the “intrinsic value of animals and consider their interests when making policy decisions that affect them.”&nbsp;



Professor Maria José Hötzel of the Federal University of Santa Catarina emphasizes that “governments cannot afford to wait another 50 years to take this issue seriously.”&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

Animal welfare is essential to sustainable development

The CABI One Health journal has published a commentary calling...

Divers who visit ocean coral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/without-action-coral-reefs-could-disappear-in-the-next-three-decades/">reefs</a> can hear the sounds of the reef organisms as they go about their daily business of feeding, communicating and moving about. The underwater sounds are reminiscent of static on a poorly-tuned radio, or the tantalizing hiss of eggs and bacon frying in the pan. In fact, when it is teeming with life, a coral reef is one of the noisiest places in the ocean, say scientists.



The characteristic sounds come from many sources, including the rasp of urchin and starfish teeth as they graze against the hard surfaces, shrimps that stun their prey with loud bubbles produced by their pincers, and fish that pluck off bits of coral. Added to these are the distant sounds of dolphins and whales communicating, and the zinging of tiny bubbles of oxygen as they zoom towards the sea surface. In fact, the more complex the soundscape, the more healthy the reef.&nbsp;



For researchers, sound recordings of these underwater activities could be an effective and economical way to assess the health of vulnerable reefs, since reefs that degrade tend to become quieter and less diverse in their acoustic characteristics. This type of monitoring offers a long-term and nonintrusive way to assess the state of reefs around the world, which are threatened by the effects of fishing, pollution and climate change.&nbsp;



At the upcoming 182nd Meeting of the <a href="https://acousticalsociety.org/">Acoustical Society of America</a>, Lauren Freeman of the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport, will present the results of her experiments using passive acoustic monitoring to evaluate the health of coral reefs. Her presentation, "Coral Reef and Temperate Coastal Soundscape Features Evident in Directional and Omnidirectional Passive Acoustic Time Series," will take place on May 25th.



Freeman and her team used an acoustic array to monitor reefs off the coast of Hawaii, with the premise that degraded coral reefs become unsuitable for marine organisms and, as they abandon the communities, the soundscapes become less rich and diverse. In degraded communities, there tend to be fewer fish calls and a greater preponderance of high frequency noise from algae photosynthesizing and releasing bubbles of oxygen, which ring out as they rise through the water.



“There is a natural competition between corals and macroalgae on all coral reefs. In most cases with a dying or degraded reef, the macroalgae is winning and covers a lot more of the surface,” said Freeman. “On a pristine reef, you would see very little macroalgae, and a lot of herbivorous fish that help eat the macroalgae.”&nbsp;



Freeman and her team compared the results from Hawaii to similar data from Bermuda and New England. Interestingly, Hawaii and Bermuda both showed a characteristic reef evening chorus, where the sound levels increased immediately prior to sunset. The New England reef underwent similar changes near dusk. &nbsp;&nbsp;



“Almost every time I conduct an experiment, we learn more about the complexities and intricacies of ambient biological soundscapes,” said Freeman. “It's so exciting to continue to discover more about ocean ecosystems.”



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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

Healthy coral reefs crackle with the sounds of busy inhabitants

Divers who visit ocean coral reefs can hear the sounds...

For decades, paleontologists have debated whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-dinosaurs-died-in-the-springtime/">dinosaurs</a> were cold-blooded, like reptiles, or warm-blooded, like mammals or birds. Since cold- and warm-bloodedness are closely related to animals’ metabolic rates – how quickly their metabolism could transform oxygen into energy - clarifying this issue could shed more light on how active dinosaurs were and what their daily life looked like.&nbsp;



A research team that included scientists from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> in Chicago has now developed a new method for studying dinosaurs’ metabolic rates by using clues in their bones which indicated how much oxygen they breathed. By using this groundbreaking technique, the experts found that most of the dinosaurs, such as the theropods or sauropods (the so-called ornithischians, or bird-hipped dinosaurs), were warm-blooded, while saurischian (lizard-hipped) species, such as the Triceratops and Stegosaurus, were cold-blooded.&nbsp;



“This is really exciting for us as paleontologists - the question of whether dinosaurs were warm- or cold-blooded is one of the oldest questions in paleontology, and now we think we have a consensus, that most dinosaurs were warm-blooded,” said study lead author Jasmina Wiemann, a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/">California Institute of Technology</a>.



When animals breathe, side products from this activity react with proteins, sugars, and lipids, leaving behind molecular “waste” which is extremely stable and water-insoluble. This waste is preserved during the fossilization process, leaving behind a reliable record of how much oxygen a dinosaur was breathing in, and thus, its metabolic rate.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed the femurs of 55 different groups of animals, including dinosaurs and some of their relatives such as the pterosaurs or plesiosaurs, as well as modern birds, mammals, and lizards. By comparing the amount of breathing-related molecular byproducts with the known metabolic rates of the living animals, they found that dinosaurs’ metabolic rates were generally high, suggesting that they were warm- or even hot-blooded. For instance, bird-hipped dinosaurs – including predators such as Tyrannosaurus Rex or Velociraptor, as well as giant, long-necked herbivores such as Brachiosaurus – had extremely high metabolic rates, comparable to those of modern birds, and much higher than mammals. However, most of the lizard-hipped dinosaurs, such as Stegosaurus or Triceratops, had low metabolic rates similar to those of modern reptiles.



These findings could over fundamentally new insights on how various dinosaurs lived. “Dinosaurs with lower metabolic rates would have been, to some extent, dependent on external temperatures,” said Wiemann. “Lizards and turtles sit in the sun and bask, and we may have to consider similar ‘behavioral’ thermoregulation in ornithischians with exceptionally low metabolic rates. Cold-blooded dinosaurs also might have had to migrate to warmer climates during the cold season, and climate may have been a selective factor for where some of these dinosaurs could live.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



On the other hand, hot-blooded creatures were likely more active and needed to eat a lot. “The hot-blooded giant sauropods were herbivores, and it would take a lot of plant matter to feed this metabolic system. They had very efficient digestive systems, and since they were so big, it probably was more of a problem for them to cool down than to heat up.”



“This new study adds a fundamental piece of the puzzle in understanding the evolution of physiology in deep time and complements previous proxies used to investigate these questions,” concluded study co-author Matteo Fabbri, a postdoctoral fellow at the Field Museum. “We can now infer body temperature through isotopes, growth strategies through osteohistology, and metabolic rates through chemical proxies.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04770-6">Nature</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

Most of the dinosaurs were warm-blooded

For decades, paleontologists have debated whether dinosaurs were cold-blooded, like...

A team of Argentinian scientists has recently discovered the fossilized remains of a huge flying reptile, Thanatosdrakon amaru, that lived alongside the dinosaurs 86 million years ago&nbsp;in the Andes mountains in Argentina's western Mendoza province. With a wingspan measuring over nine meters in length – as long as a yellow school bus - the “dragon of death" is the largest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mystery-solved-pterosaurs-had-colorful-feathers/">pterosaur</a> discovered in South America and one of the biggest flying vertebrates that ever lived.



This discovery suggests that predatory flying reptiles roamed the Earth at least 20 million years before the asteroid impact in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula that wiped out the dinosaurs - together with three-quarters of life on Earth – 66 million years ago.



Project leader Leonardo Ortiz, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.uncuyo.edu.ar/">National University of Cuyo</a> in Mendoza reported that the fossil’s peculiar features required a new genus and species classification. 



“The remains of Thanatosdrakon present different particularities that allow us to differentiate them from other known pterosaurs,” said Dr. Ortiz. “Fundamentally, these characteristics are found in the vertebrae and limbs. This allowed us to establish a new species of pterosaur.”&nbsp;



The term “thanatosdrakon” combines the ancient Greek words for death (thanatos) and dragon (drakon). “It seemed appropriate to name it that way,” explained Dr. Ortiz. 



“It's the dragon of death. We don't have a current record of any close relative that even has a body modification similar to these beasts. This species had a height similar to that of a giraffe, and a wingspan that defies the limits of our biological understanding.”



T. amaru belonged to a family of pterosaurs called “azdarchidae” which lived mostly in the Late Cretaceous period (100.5 to 66 million years ago) and are well-known for their enormous heads – sometimes even larger than their bodies – and their hyper-elongated necks and short, robust bodies.



The fossils – described in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667122000921?via%3Dihub#!">Cretaceous Research</a> – are currently house in the Laboratory and Museum of Dinosaurs at the National University of Cuyo.&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

Giant “dragon of death” unearthed in Argentina

A team of Argentinian scientists has recently discovered the fossilized...

Invasive, long-nosed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reconstructing-300-million-years-of-beetle-evolution/">beetles</a> known as palm weevils are destroying palm trees across California. In San Diego County alone, palm weevils have killed more than 20,000 palm trees since they were first detected in 2016.



Now, scientists at <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a> are testing the effectiveness of a pheromone to attract and kill weevils. By seducing the beetles with the chemicals, experts may be able to save palm trees without harming bees.



According to study co-author Mark Hoddle, the weevils’ ability to produce very large populations is currently unchecked as there are no native natural predators that control this pest.



“Near Chula Vista there’s a road called Palm Avenue, but it’s all stumps and dead trees now, and the weevils are transforming the visual appeal of Old Town San Diego as well,” said Hoddle.



Currently, the only way to control palm weevils is with the application of insecticides. These treatments are expensive, and are applied several times a year.



“A weevil infestation is a death sentence for the palm. These insects have 100% kill rate in three to six months, unless the tree is treated very aggressively. Even treatment may not be enough to save an infected palm,” explained Hoddle.



The pheromone strategy represents a much more environmentally friendly way to reduce weevil populations compared to insecticides.



“One of the only ways we’re currently able to kill them is by spraying 60-foot palm trees. It’s literally raining insecticide from high-pressure hoses,” said Hoddle.



Some city managers are injecting the surrounding soil with insecticides, but this can have unintended negative effects on bees. “The insecticide they’re using belongs to a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, which has been implicated in bee decline,” explained Hoddle.&nbsp;



The pheromone is specific to the South American palm weevil, and is attractive to both male and female weevils.&nbsp;



“The weevil flies to it, walks over it several times, realizes there’s nothing in it to mate with and flies off. But by the time it’s gone, it’s gotten a lethal dose of insecticide,” said Hoddle.



According to the researchers, this new approach could provide weevil control at much lower costs, as well as reducing the amount and types of insecticides applied. The treatment may ultimately prevent the migration of palm weevils to Coachella Valley, which is home to a $100 million date palm industry.&nbsp;



Just a few “super flyers” could enable such an infestation of Coachella Valley, Hoddle said. “The date growers in Coachella could really use this. If it works in San Diego, we’ll have a tool ready for them.”



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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

Pheromones could help control deadly palm weevils

Invasive, long-nosed beetles known as palm weevils are destroying palm...

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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...