The narrative of life on Earth has been built upon billions of years of existence, with therapsids playing a crucial role in this evolutionary story.



These ancient creatures are the direct predecessors of one remarkable group: the mammals.



Mammals, relatively recent additions to the evolutionary timeline, trace their inception to nearly 200 million years ago, amidst the prolific era of dinosaurs.



However, even mammals have antecedents, all categorized under the collective term "therapsids."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-therapsids-the-basics">Understanding therapsids -- the basics</h2>



Therapsids thrived during the Permian period, which was over 250 million years ago. They came in all shapes and sizes, from small, nimble hunters to larger, plant-eating giants. 



What made therapsids special was their mix of reptile-like and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-will-happen-if-modern-large-mammals-become-extinct/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mammal-like features</a>, such as differentiated teeth and more advanced jaw structures, which set the stage for the evolution of true mammals later on.



For instance, therapsids had openings on the sides of their skulls to anchor jaw muscles, as well as structures in their jawbones that eventually evolved into the distinct middle ear bones found in mammals.



As time went on, therapsids started to dominate the land, filling niches that today’s mammals occupy. 



Some therapsids even showed early signs of having warm-blooded metabolisms and better ways to regulate their body temperatures, which are key traits of mammals. 



Unfortunately, most therapsids didn’t make it past the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saber-toothed-predator-was-king-prior-to-the-great-dying/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Permian-Triassic extinction event</a>, the biggest mass extinction in Earth’s history. 



However, a few lineages survived and eventually evolved into the diverse mammals we see today. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gorgonopsians-and-saber-teeth">Gorgonopsians and saber teeth</h2>



In a recently published paper, scientists are buzzing about the find of a lifetime -- an ancient therapsid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gordonia-traquairi-pig-like-creature-discovered-roamed-earth-250-million-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fossil</a>, potentially the most ancient of its kind, that hails from an era perhaps far older than any therapsid discovery thus far.



This fossil belongs to a group known as the "gorgonopsians," and its features suggest something akin to a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mummified-baby-saber-toothed-cat-found-with-fur-and-toes-intact/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">saber-toothed</a> predator with a slightly canine touch.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/gorgonopsian_oldest-mammal-ancestor_saber-tooth-fossil_credit-Anna-Sole_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/gorgonopsian_oldest-mammal-ancestor_saber-tooth-fossil_credit-_1s.webp" alt="Saber tooth of the therapsids gorgonopsian (cast). Credit: Anna Solé / Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont" class="wp-image-1954542"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Saber tooth of the therapsids gorgonopsian (cast). Credit: Anna Solé / Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont</figcaption></figure>



The newly found fossil, yet to receive a species name, introduces an exciting anomaly into the therapsid fold.



Gorgonopsians, according to Ken Angielczyk, MacArthur Curator of Paleomammalogy at the Field Museum's <a href="https://nirc.fieldmuseum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Negaunee Integrative Research Center</a>, are closer relatives to mammals than any other living species we are aware of.



"They don't have any modern descendants and, while they're not our direct ancestors, they're related to species that were our direct ancestors."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breaking-age-records">Breaking age records</h2>



Prior to this discovery, the record for the oldest known gorgonopsian was set at approximately 265 million years. 



The new fossil, however, has potentially pushed this benchmark back even further, dating back to somewhere between 270 and 280 million years ago.



"It is most likely the oldest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saber-toothed-predator-was-king-prior-to-the-great-dying/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gorgonopsian</a> on the planet," proclaims Josep Fortuny, a senior author of the study and head of the Computational Biomechanics and Evolution of Life History group at Spain's Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (<a href="https://www.icp.cat/index.php/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ICP</a>).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-amount-of-bones">Surprising amount of bones</h2>



The surprising find was unearthed on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, which is part of modern-day Spain.



During the age of the gorgonopsians, however, Mallorca was a strip of land nestled within the supercontinent of Pangea. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/gorgonopsian_oldest-mammal-ancestor_fossil-fragment-outline_credit-Nat-Commun_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/gorgonopsian_oldest-mammal-ancestor_fossil-fragment-outline_credit-Nat-Commun_1s.webp" alt="The silhouette of the described animal showing the different anatomical elements recovered during the excavation. Credit: Eudald Mujal / SMNS" class="wp-image-1954540"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The silhouette of the described animal showing the different anatomical elements recovered during the excavation. Credit: Eudald Mujal / SMNS</figcaption></figure>



“The large number of bone remains is surprising. We have found everything from fragments of skull, vertebrae, and ribs to a very well-preserved femur," explains Rafel Matamales, curator of the Museu Balear de Ciències Naturals (MUCBO | MBCN), research associate at the ICP, and first author of the study.



"In fact, when we started this excavation, we never thought we would find so many remains of an animal of this type in Mallorca.” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-glimpse-into-the-past">A glimpse into the past</h2>



These skeletal remnants have allowed scientists to piece together what this ancient beast might have looked like. 



"If you saw this animal walking down the street, it would look a little bit like a medium-sized dog, maybe about the size of a husky, but it wouldn't be quite right," detailed Angielczyk.



"It didn't have any fur, and it wouldn't have had dog-like ears," "But it’s the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-of-earths-earliest-animals-found-in-australia/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oldest animal</a> scientists have ever found with long, blade-like canine teeth."



The elongated, blade-like canine teeth were a distinct feature, suggesting it was likely a top predator in its ecosystem.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-therapsids-and-mammal-evolution">Therapsids and mammal evolution</h2>



The existence of this ancient gorgonopsian that predates its closest relatives by tens of millions of years, redefines when scientists believe therapsids first evolved.



This significant milestone also alters our understanding of the eventual emergence of mammals, shedding light on our own evolutionary history. 



"Before the time of dinosaurs, there was an age of ancient mammal relatives. Most of those ancient mammal relatives looked really different from what we think of mammals looking like today," acknowledges Angielczyk. 



"But they were really diverse and played lots of different ecological roles. The discovery of this new fossil is another piece of the puzzle for how mammals evolved."



---



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54425-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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World's oldest mammal ancestor discovered so far had 'saber teeth'

The narrative of life on Earth has been built upon billions of years of existence, with therapsids playing a crucial role in this evolutionary story. These ancient creatures are the direct predecessors of one remarkable group: the mammals. Mammals, relatively recent additions to the evolutionary timeline, trace their inception to nearly 200 million years ago, amidst the prolific era of dinosaurs. However, even mammals have antecedents, all categorized under the collective term "therapsids." Understanding therapsids -- the basics Therapsids thrived during the Permian period, which was over...

New research shows that the red panda, despite having fans everywhere, is being pushed closer to the precipice of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unchecked-emissions-may-lead-to-marine-mass-extinction/">extinction</a>. When PhD researcher Damber Bista of the University of Queensland tracked red pandas using GPS collars, he discovered that their habitat is being fragmented.



“Our research findings show that current patterns of habitat fragmentation and forest exploitation, from infrastructure projects such as new roads, are placing the red panda under increased threat,” said Bista.



“Because of this, red pandas are changing their activity to minimize their interactions with disturbances, such as humans, dogs, or livestock, and this is drastically interfering with natural interactions between the animals, resulting in population isolation.”



Bista traveled to Nepal to tag and collar pandas, which allowed him to track the animals remotely from Queensland on his computer. COVID restrictions made it impossible for him to return to Nepal, as was the original plan.&nbsp;



“The satellite tracking allowed me to monitor the red pandas remotely here in Brisbane, while I relied on my friends and colleagues in Nepal to install cameras and conduct the field surveys," said Bista. "It was a surreal experience, I would spend many hours a day during COVID lockdowns in my home, watching the movement of red pandas in Nepal on my computer.”



This study is only the fifth of its kind to be conducted on wild red pandas, and the second carried out in Nepal.&nbsp;



“It’s difficult to know how many red pandas are left in the world, but it is estimated that 10,000 are left in the wild, and between 500 to 1000 are in Nepal,” said Bista.“With the findings from this study showing fragmentation of their habitat, together with a previous study on the impacts of poaching, I am concerned about the future of this species."



“While red pandas can adapt to habitat impacts to some extent, they may be susceptible to local extinction under these conditions, placing the wider population of the species at risk.”



The shrinking forest habitat of the panda forces the animals to make hard decisions. For instance, they have to decide whether to live closer to predators or adapt to life near encroaching humans.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“As you’d expect, it’s in an animal’s best interest to avoid its predators, but as we continue to build more roads and infrastructure, that drastically reduces the capacity for red pandas to do this,” Bista said, “As the availability of suitable forests shrink, it’s up to the red panda to weigh up its options on how to best survive.



Unfortunately, these types of compromises can lead towards a decline in red panda populations and possibly to eventual extinction.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10980">Landscape Ecology</a>.



---



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

Red pandas face shrinking habitats and tough decisions

New research shows that the red panda, despite having fans...

Humans often engage with natural biodiversity because it is beautiful, be this on the species level or in terms of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-feces-can-harm-the-environment-and-disrupt-ecosystems/">ecosystems</a> or habitats. It seems that people value this beauty and are more likely to support conservation efforts when the subject has an intrinsic aesthetic value, irrespective of its ecological role or conservation needs. This does not bode well for the “ugly” animals of this world, despite the fact that they may be crucial in maintaining functional ecosystems or that they may be highly endangered and threatened with extinction.&nbsp;



In a new study led by Nicolas Mouquet from the University of Montpellier, this approach by the public was found to apply to reef fishes. The study reveals that reef fish which are considered to be the most ugly also tend to be the species most in need of conservation support.&nbsp;



The research involved an online survey that was completed by 13,000 members of the public. The respondents were asked to evaluate the aesthetic attractiveness of the ray-finned reef fishes in 481 photographs, and this data was used to train a convolutional neural network. The researchers then used this machine learning to generate predictions for an additional 4,400 photographs that featured 2,417 of the most encountered reef fish species.&nbsp;



When the experts combined the public’s ratings with the neural network’s predictions, they found that bright, colorful fish species with rounder bodies tended to be rated as the most beautiful. In addition, the most attractive species tended to be closely related in phylogenetic terms, and to have broadly similar ecological roles in the ecosystem. They also tended to be categorized as species of “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List, and therefore less in need of conservation support.



In contrast, less attractive or unattractive species were more likely to be listed on the IUCN Red List as “Threatened.” This was despite the fact that they had more diverse roles in ecosystem functioning and were from diverse evolutionary backgrounds. Unattractive species were also of greater commercial interest, whereas aesthetic value was not correlated with a species’ importance for subsistence fisheries.



Biases in research and conservation efforts have been documented for many taxa. For example, vertebrates are more commonly the subjects of scientific articles in conservation journals and of records in biodiversity data sets. More than half of the billions of records reported in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) are for birds, despite the fact that birds represent only one percent of all the species on the GBIF. Humans prefer the groups and species that are aesthetically appealing.



We have innate preferences for shape and color that are probably a consequence of the way the human brain processes colors and patterns, the authors say, but mismatches between aesthetic value, ecological function, and extinction vulnerability may mean that the species most in need of public support are the least likely to receive it. The ecological and evolutionary distinctiveness of unattractive fishes makes them important for the functioning of the whole reef, and their loss could have a disproportionate impact on these high-biodiversity ecosystems.



While it is easy to understand that certain species have a higher aesthetic value to people, this phenomenon is also applicable to communities and ecosystems. Less research has been done on understanding the value that people attribute to communities and ecosystems and the impact that this has on conservation efforts. However, measuring a species’ aesthetic value helps understand and predict the willingness of the public to protect that species, or even the reasons behind the success or failure of conservation efforts.&nbsp;



“Our study provides, for the first time, the aesthetic value of 2,417 reef fish species. We found that less beautiful fishes are the most ecologically and evolutionary distinct species and those recognized as threatened," said Mouquet. "Our study highlights likely important mismatches between potential public support for conservation and the species most in need of this support.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001640">PLoS Biology</a>.



---



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

Public is less likely to support conservation for “ugly” reef fishes

Humans often engage with natural biodiversity because it is beautiful,...

A research team led by the <a href="https://www.uark.edu/">University of Arkansas</a> has recently gathered extensive data on hundreds of vertebrate and invertebrate species in order to shed more light on the specificity of the visual systems of various animals. The experts found that terrestrial animals are able to distinguish more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-iridescent-colors-protect-animals-from-predators/">colors</a> than their aquatic counterparts, while animals adapted to open terrestrial habitats see a wider range of colors than those adapted to live in forests.&nbsp;



Most importantly though, evolutionary history appears to be a key factor structuring which colors different types of animals can see. For instance, the scientists discovered that invertebrate species see shorter wavelengths of light compared to vertebrate ones, due to the distinct evolution of some of their retinal cells.



“Scientists have long hypothesized that animal vision has evolved to match the colors of light present in their environments,” said study co-author Erica Westerman, an assistant professor of Biology at the University of Arkansas. “But this hypothesis is difficult to prove, and there is still so much we don’t know about animal vision. Gathering data for hundreds of species of animals living in a wide range of habitats is a monumental task, especially when considering that invertebrates and vertebrates use different kinds of cells in their eyes to turn light energy into neuronal responses.”



According to the researchers, animals’ ability to detect and process visual information depends on the wavelengths and intensity of light in specific environments, together with the sensitivity of a type of retinal proteins called opsins, which determine the spectrum of light a species can see. By collecting data for 446 animal species spanning four phyla, Professor Westerman and her doctoral student Matthew Murphy found that vertebrates and invertebrates use phylogenetically distinct opsins in their retinae.&nbsp;



Due to the physiological difference between ciliary opsins in vertebrates and rhabdomeric opsins in invertebrates, the latter appear to be better at seeing short wavelength light, even in cases when habitats should select for vertebrates to also be able to detect similar patterns. However, this difference could occur due to stochastic genetic mutations found in vertebrates, which may limit the range of light that they can perceive.



“Our study answers some important questions, but it also generates more questions that could help us understand animal vision even better. We can do more to assess differences in the structure of the vertebrate and invertebrate retinae, or how their brains handle visual information differently. These are exciting questions,” concluded Murphy.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2022.0612">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



---



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

How do different types of animals see?

A research team led by the University of Arkansas has...

As an attempt to mitigate anthropogenic climate change, planted forests have become a widespread <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/intense-nature-restoration-needed-to-address-the-climate-crisis/">restoration</a> strategy across the globe. However, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> in the UK and the <a href="http://www.ufopa.edu.br/ufopa/">Federal University of Western Pará</a> in Brazil has found that restoration initiatives using non-native tree species can have a significant impact on tropical insects in neighboring forests, disrupting their distribution and behavior. Thus, while well-intended, exotic tree plantations can have wider, unforeseen influences on the native biodiversity of hyper-diverse tropical forests.



In ecology, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/edge-effects">edge effect</a> research focuses on how biological populations change at the boundary of two or more different habitats. In order to investigate the edge effects of newly planted Eucalyptus trees on native ecosystems in the Amazonian rainforest, the scientists collected over 3,700 dung beetles from 49 species.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Our findings for dung beetles offer new insights into the importance of considering how proximity to exotic tree plantations can affect tropical forest biodiversity,” said Filipe França, a lecturer in Biology at the University of Bristol. “Importantly, edge effects varied across dung beetle responses and were species-specific. For example, we found more dung beetle species far away from Eucalyptus plantations, but some species also thrived and had higher abundances closer to plantation edges.”



These findings suggest that some dung beetles may be more sensitive to the introduction of new plant species close to their territories, while other, edge-affiliate and more generalist species, are able to thrive in novel environments.



“Understanding multi-species responses to anthropogenic disturbances is crucial to tackle the current biodiversity crisis and our findings are vital for forest managers and conservation planners aiming to maintain forest-specialist biodiversity in native ecosystems across the tropics,” concluded study senior author Rodrigo Ferreira Fadini, an expert in biodiversity at the Federal University of Western Pará.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/forest-ecology-and-management">Forest Ecology and Management</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

Exotic tree plantations often disturb local wildlife

As an attempt to mitigate anthropogenic climate change, planted forests...

For the first time, experts at the <a href="https://www.buckinstitute.org/">Buck Institute</a> have identified a link between diet, circadian rhythms, eye health and lifespan. In addition, the researchers found that processes in the eye of a fruit fly are driving the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-sea-squirts-may-reverse-aging-processes/">aging</a> process.



In humans, previous studies have shown an association between eye disorders and poor health. “Our study argues that it is more than correlation: dysfunction of the eye can actually drive problems in other tissues,” said study senior author Dr. Pankaj Kapahi. “We are now showing that not only does fasting improve eyesight, but the eye actually plays a role in influencing lifespan.”



“The finding that the eye itself, at least in the fruit fly, can directly regulate lifespan was a surprise to us,” said study lead author Dr. Brian Hodge.



The explanation for this connection lies in circadian “clocks,” the machinery within every cell of every organism. These cells have evolved to adapt to changes in light and temperature caused by the rising and setting of the sun. These 24-hour oscillations, or circadian rhythms, affect complex animal behaviors, such as predator-prey interactions and sleep/wake cycles.&nbsp;



In 2016, Dr. Kapahi’s lab published a study which demonstrated that fruit flies on a restricted diet had significant changes in their circadian rhythms and a longer lifespan. For the current study, the researchers set out to investigate how circadian functions were altered by dietary change, and whether circadian processes were required for the longer lifespan associated with dietary restriction.



“The fruit fly has such a short lifespan, making it a really beautiful model that allows us to screen a lot of things at once,” said Dr. Hodge.&nbsp;



The study began with a broad survey to see what genes oscillate in a circadian fashion when flies on an unrestricted diet were compared with those fed reduced proteins.



The experts found that numerous genes were diet-responsive and also exhibited ups and downs at different time points, or “rhythm.” Under a restricted diet, the rhythmic genes activated were coming from the eye, specifically from photoreceptors, the specialized neurons in the retina of the eye that respond to light.



This led to a series of experiments to understand how eye function fits into the connection between dietary restriction and extended lifespan. The researchers used bioinformatics to ask: Do the genes in the eye that are also rhythmic and responsive to dietary restriction influence lifespan? The answer was yes.



Since the eyes are exposed to the outside world, immune defenses are active, which can lead to inflammation. When present for long periods of time, inflammation can cause or worsen chronic diseases. Light in itself can cause photoreceptor degeneration and lead to inflammation.



“Staring at computer and phone screens, and being exposed to light pollution well into the night are conditions very disturbing for circadian clocks,” said Dr. Kapahi. This could have consequences beyond vision, such as damaging the body and brain.&nbsp;



How eyes regulate the lifespans of other organisms, such as humans, is yet to be understood. Photoreceptors in mammals may not affect longevity as much as fruit flies, as the majority of energy in a fruit fly is devoted to the eye.&nbsp;



Dr. Hodge explained that since photoreceptors are just specialized neurons, the stronger link is likely the role that circadian function plays in neurons, and how these can be harnessed to maintain neuronal function throughout aging.



Dr. Hodge said that once the researchers understand how these processes work, they can target the molecular clock to slow aging, “It might be through diet, drugs, lifestyle changes… A lot of really interesting research lies ahead."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</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

Study reveals a link between eye health and lifespan

For the first time, experts at the Buck Institute have...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.buffalo.edu/">University of Buffalo</a> has explored the intertwined evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/polar-bear-diets-reflect-environmental-changes/">polar bears</a> and brown bears. The experts estimate that polar and brown bears started to become distinct species between 1.3 and 1.6 million years ago, but they continued to mate with each other for quite some time. Thus, rather than simple splitting events, the species histories of polar and brown bears hide convoluted stories of divergence and interbreeding, similar to those that complicate human evolutionary history.



“The formation and maintenance of species can be a messy process,” said study lead author Professor Charlotte Lindqvist. “What’s happened with polar bears and brown bears is a neat analog to what we’re learning about human evolution: that the splitting of species can be incomplete."&nbsp;



"As more and more ancient genomes have been recovered from ancient human populations, including Neanderthals and Denisovans, we’re seeing that there was multidirectional genetic mixing going on as different groups of archaic humans mated with ancestors of modern humans. Polar bears and brown bears are another system where you see this happening.”



By analyzing the genomes of 64 modern polar and brown bears, as well as that of a polar bear which lived 115,000 to 130,000 years ago in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago - its DNA was extracted from a tooth attached to a subfossil jawbone - Professor Lindqvist and her colleagues discovered a complicated, intertwined evolutionary history among brown and polar bears, with the main direction of gene flow going into polar bears from brown bears.&nbsp;



Moreover, after becoming a distinct species, polar bears endured dramatic population decline and a prolonged genetic bottleneck, leaving them with much less genetic diversity than brown bears.



The discovery that Arctic-adapted polar bears have continued capturing genetic material from brown bears long after their species diverged could be of high interest for scientists investigating the impact of climate change on threatened species. Since global warming and subsequent Arctic sea ice declines could make polar and brown bears run into each other more frequently in places where their ranges overlap, a better understanding of their tangled evolutionary histories could help scientists predict how climate change may affect these species in the near future.



“Population genomics is an increasingly powerful toolbox to study plant and animal evolution and the effects of human activity and climate change on endangered species,”&nbsp;concluded study co-author Luis Herrera-Estrella of Texas Tech University. “Bears don’t provide simple speciation stories any more than human evolution has. This new genomic research suggests that mammalian species groups can hide complicated evolutionary histories.”



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



---



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

Untangling the history of polar bears and brown bears

A new study led by the University of Buffalo has...

Domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) are distributed around the world and are a familiar source of meat and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/an-egg-a-day-may-keep-the-heart-doctor-away/">eggs</a> for almost everyone on the planet. It is easy to assume that the species was domesticated primarily as a food source and transported around the world by people wishing to ensure a supply of meat and eggs. There is, however, little evidence to support this hypothesis, and new research by a team of international scientists has concluded that chicken history may be very different from what is currently accepted.



Previous research, involving a review of literature, has proposed that chickens were domesticated in Southeast Asia around 6,000 BC, before quickly becoming established in China and spreading rapidly into western Eurasia. According to this research, domestic chickens arrived in Eastern Europe by the Neolithic, spread throughout the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age and reached temperate Europe in the Iron Age. Much of the evidence upon which this approach is based is speculative or unverified at best and, in the opinion of the current team of international experts, the conclusions are wrong.&nbsp;



The findings of the current study involved re-analysis of more than 600 chicken bones from museum collections and various archaeological sites in 89 countries. The researchers used radio carbon dating and stable nitrogen isotope ratios to establish the ages of the bones, as well as morphometric analysis to ascertain that the bones were indeed from chickens.&nbsp;



In many instances the scientists found that the chicken bones did not agree in age with the stratigraphic dating from the archaeological sites. It appears that chicken bones may easily become introduced into deposits, particularly in farm situations where the earth is regularly turned, or where other factors may disturb the stratigraphy of a deposit. Furthermore, some of the bones belonged to pheasants, and not to chickens at all. These findings cast doubt on the quality of the evidence initially used to investigate domestication and dispersion of chickens in Southeast Asia, China and Europe.



The researchers found that the oldest authentic chicken bone among their samples was found at the Neolithic site Ban Non Wat in central Thailand, and was dated at between 1,650 and 1,250 BC. This is significantly more recent than the 6,000 BC that was proposed in earlier research.&nbsp;



The new studies also show that the driving force behind chicken domestication was the arrival of dry rice farming into Southeast Asia, the region occupied by their wild ancestor, the red jungle fowl. The availability of dry rice drew the jungle fowls down from the trees and brought them into a closer relationship with people, which resulted in their ultimate domestication.&nbsp;&nbsp;



This domestication process was underway by around 1,500 BC in the Southeast Asia peninsula. The research suggests that chickens were then transported first across Asia and then throughout the Mediterranean along routes used by early Greek, Etruscan and Phoenician maritime traders.



“This comprehensive re-evaluation of chickens firstly demonstrates how wrong our understanding of the time and place of chicken domestication was. And even more excitingly, we show how the arrival of dry rice agriculture acted as a catalyst for both the chicken domestication process and its global dispersal," said Professor Greger Larson.



Additional dating results indicated that chickens did not arrive in Europe until around 800 BC, thus dispelling the claims that they were present before the first millennium BC. After arriving in the Mediterranean region, it took almost 1,000 years before chickens were established in the colder climates of Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia and Iceland.



"This is the first time that radiocarbon dating has been used on this scale to determine the significance of chickens in early societies," said Dr. Julia Best. "Our results demonstrate the need to directly date proposed early specimens, as this allows us the clearest picture yet of our early interactions with chickens.”



The results of these analyses also allowed the researchers to evaluate the changing relationship between humans and chickens over time. During the Iron Age in Europe, chickens were venerated and generally not regarded as food. The studies showed that several of the earliest chickens are buried alone and un-butchered, and many are also found buried with people. Male humans were often buried with cockerels and females with hens.&nbsp;



It was only during the time of the Roman Empire that the use of chickens and eggs as food was popularized. For example, in Britain, chickens were not regularly consumed until the third century AD, mostly in urban and military settings.



“Eating chickens is so common that people think we have never not eaten them," explained Professor Naomi Sykes from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>. "Our evidence shows that our past relationship with chickens was far more complex, and that for centuries chickens were celebrated and venerated.”



The team concludes that, with their adaptability in terms of a largely cereal-based diet, domesticated chickens were relatively quickly and easily transported along the land and sea trade routes to Asia, Oceania, Africa and Europe.&nbsp;



“The fact that chickens are so ubiquitous and popular today, and yet were domesticated relatively recently is startling,"said Dr. Ophélie Lebrasseur. "Our research highlights the importance of robust osteological comparisons, secure stratigraphic dating and placing early finds within their broader cultural and environmental context."



The research is published in two separate scientific articles, appearing in Antiquity and the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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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

Study sheds new light on history of domestic chickens

Domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) are distributed around the world...

A noisy songbird from subtropical Asia could soon dominate the morning chorus of native warblers, robins, and blackbirds in Britain, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/">UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology</a> (UKCEH). The experts report that the red-billed leiothrix could become as familiar in Britain as ring-necked parakeets, whose numbers have risen rapidly in the UK in recent decades.



The red-billed leiothrix has already become established in several other parts of Europe, and recent sightings in Britain indicate that the species is gaining momentum there as well.&nbsp;



The leiothrix sings a song that is similar to that of blackbirds and robins.&nbsp;Just like parakeets, the non-native birds are kept as pets and have either escaped or been released into the wild. 



“If the red-billed leiothrix becomes established in Britain, they could soon be a familiar sight in our gardens, parks and woodland, with their rich song altering the dawn chorus as we know it today," said Dr Richard Broughton, who led the study.



“Our study is the very first assessment of this species in Britain, and raises awareness of the fact that the birds have been sighted in Britain. The potential for the red-billed leiothrix to become established here had seemed very low, but the cluster of records in southern England suggest we need to take it seriously as a potentially new invasive species.”



According to the researchers, milder winters as a result of climate change will make it easier for the red-billed leiothrix to become established throughout Britain.&nbsp;Native to southern China and the Himalayas, the species already has a strong presence in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Japan and Hawaii.



While the invasive birds may pose a threat to native species through competition for food, further research is needed to investigate the potential long-term effects.&nbsp;



Dr. Broughton said that monitoring of the red-billed leiothrix in Britain will be crucial in determining its prevalence in this country, and has asked the public to report sightings via the British Trust for Ornithology’s BirdTrack app or the iRecord app.&nbsp;



Image Credit: P Mumby



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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

Invasive bird may change Britain's morning soundscape

A noisy songbird from subtropical Asia could soon dominate the...

Electric organs help electric fish do a variety of amazing things, such as sending and receiving signals that are similar to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-bird-songs-of-spring-are-getting-quieter/">bird songs</a>. These signals allow the creatures to recognize other electric fish by species, sex, and sometimes even individual. A research team led by the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> and <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a> has now found that small genetic changes enabled these fish to evolve electric organs.&nbsp;



While all fish have duplicate versions of the same gene which produces tiny muscle motors, called sodium channels, electric fish turned off one duplicate of the sodium channel gene in muscles and turned it on in other cells. Thus, the small motors which typically make the muscles contract were repurposed to generate electric signals.



“This is exciting because we can see how a small change in the gene can completely change where it’s expressed,” said study senior author Harold Zakon, a professor of Neuroscience and Integrative Biology at UT Austin. According to Professor Zakon and his colleagues, a short section of the sodium channel gene – about 20 letters long – which controls whether the gene is expressed in any given cell, is either altered or entirely missing in electric fish.&nbsp;



Before an electric organ could evolve, the sodium channel gene had to be turned off in the muscle. “If they turned on the gene in both muscle and the electric organ, then all the new stuff that was happening to the sodium channels in the electric organ would also be occurring in the muscle,” Professor Zakon explained. “So, it was important to isolate the expression of the gene to the electric organ, where it could evolve without harming muscle.”



The scientists have also found that the way in which electric organs developed was different in the two main groups of electric fish (the African and the South American). While the electric fish in Africa had mutations in the control region, those from South America lost it entirely.



The implications of these findings go well beyond the evolution of electric fish. “This control region is in most vertebrates, including humans. So, the next step in terms of human health would be to examine this region in databases of human genes to see how much variation there is in normal people and whether some deletions or mutations in this region could lead to a lowered expression of sodium channels, which might result in disease,” concluded Professor Zakon.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm2970">Science Advances</a>.



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

How did the organs of electric fish evolve?

Electric organs help electric fish do a variety of amazing...

Decades of climate change has caused species to shift between the better and worse parts of their climatic niches, especially in higher altitudes.&nbsp;



Climate change is occurring at unprecedented rates, particularly in northern regions, threatening biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. A new study led by researchers of the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a> reveals just how large the impacts of climate change have been.&nbsp;



The study is the first to combine long-term data for various groups of species in an effort to evaluate overall biodiversity change in Finland. By combining data from different sources on such a large number of species, the researchers were able to reveal the extent and causes of change.



Over the past four decades, the world’s climate has drastically changed, leading to impacts such as increasing temperatures and shorter duration of snow cover. The study results show that in Finland, climate change has resulted in northward ecosystem shifts.&nbsp;



For example, conditions in the middle of Finland resemble past conditions in the south, while the north has inherited the climate of the mid-country. These changes, which are particularly pronounced in the far North, have a direct impact on biodiversity.



Many species have shifted between the “good,” “ideal” and “worse” parts of their climatic niches. Some species have benefited from a warming climate, while others cannot withstand hotter temperatures. As climate change progresses, conditions are turning more or less advantageous for individual species.



“Our results reveal a clear signal of more species responses towards the pole, where changes in climate have also been stronger,” said study co-lead author Laura Antão. “We also showed that the importance of temperature and snow duration varied between the different groups of species.”



The researchers are concerned about the future integrity of these ecosystems. “If species which depend on one another respond in different directions, or to different variables, then this can affect entire communities and ecosystems,” said study co-lead author Benjamin Weigel.



The research provides important insight into the effects of climate change on biodiversity. “In our study, community changes were mainly driven by species being favored or disfavored by the changes in climate, and thereby occurring more or less frequently in local species combinations. This seems to be another key effect of fast climate change - that now needs to be accounted for,” explained study senior author Anna-Liisa Laine.



The research is the first output of a unique collaboration between the <a href="https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/research-centre-for-ecological-change">Research Centre for Ecological Change</a> (REC), University of Helsinki, and other key national institutes, namely the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and the Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS).&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</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

Animal communities are being reshuffled by climate change

Decades of climate change has caused species to shift between...

A breakthrough study led by <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">UC Santa Barbara</a> is shedding new light on a network of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-of-monarch-butterflies-are-killed-by-parasites-yearly/">parasites</a> shared by wild and domestic animals. The study may ultimately provide critical new insight into disease transmission among animals and humans.&nbsp;



"Parasites account for a large fraction of animal diversity and are key constituents of food webs. They are also pivotal in determining the health, fitness, population dynamics, and community composition of their hosts," wrote the study authors. "Nonetheless, our understanding of parasite diversity remains limited."&nbsp;



The researchers say that this limited knowledge is largely due to logistical constraints, explaining that many studies focus on single-host and single-parasite interactions, even though most parasites are capable of infecting multiple hosts.



The international research team analyzed DNA from the animal dung of large herbivores. The experts stumbled upon an entire network of gastrointestinal parasite sharing among 17 wild and domestic herbivore species.&nbsp;



The research reveals a previously unknown pattern of parasite diversity at the wildlife-livestock interface. For example, the researchers found that gastrointestinal parasites tend to infect hosts with similar gut types and evolutionary history, and that domestic animals play a central role.&nbsp;



Study lead author Georgia Titcomb set out to investigate how large, wild and domestic animals might be sharing parasites at water sources where they gather. She became frustrated using typical methods of manually identifying and counting parasite eggs.&nbsp;



“I’d pore over the microscope and see eggs that all looked exactly the same,” said Titcomb. “There was no way to tell if the amorphous microscopic oval I found in cow poop could be capable of infecting an antelope.”



Titcomb explained why she reached out to study co-author Rob Pringle of Princeton, who had used DNA sanples from herbivore dung to analyze their diets. “I was inspired by their paper. I wondered: What if we could adapt this method to discover the immense diversity of parasites in these herbivores?”&nbsp;



“We wanted to understand the factors that influence the composition and similarity of parasite communities in different host species, as well as get a sense for who might be sharing parasites with whom," said Pringle.



The researchers used a method known as DNA metabarcoding to identify parasites in 17 large herbivore species found at Mpala Research Centre in central Kenya.&nbsp;



“Having such a rich diversity of herbivores that all overlapped in one study location allowed us to investigate a wide range of factors that might explain their parasite infections,” said Titcomb.



After considering variables like body size, diet and social group size, the researchers noticed some patterns in the spread of parasites among the animals.&nbsp;



“The most important factor was the evolutionary history of the host,” said Titcomb. “More closely-related hosts had more closely-related parasites.”&nbsp;



Furthermore, the structure of the host’s gut could predict the community of parasites that were present. The researchers were surprised to find that several livestock species played a central role in the parasite-sharing network that they uncovered.



“Camels, cows and donkeys each shared parasites with multiple wildlife species. Despite being dewormed at weaning, cows still shared parasites with at least eight other species," said Titcomb.



The study authors say that the discovery of substantial parasite sharing at the livestock-wildlife interface suggests that regularly deworming camels and donkeys could be an effective local management intervention to reduce transmission between livestock and several globally threatened ungulates.&nbsp;



"More broadly, our results suggest that changes to domestic animal communities or their parasite loads (e.g. via stocking density, ranging patterns or anthelmintic treatment) will impact parasitism in sympatric wild hosts.'



The researchers also explained why the DNA metabarcoding method is not perfect. “There are many aspects to consider when using these techniques, which are constantly evolving,” said Titcomb. “Additionally, we aren’t yet able to reliably quantify the intensity of an infection, which is important for animal health and for detecting potential superspreaders.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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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

New clues about disease transmission among animals

A breakthrough study led by UC Santa Barbara is shedding...

The Shelta Cave crayfish, (Orconectes sheltae) is a small crayfish living in a cave owned and managed by the National Speleological Society (NSS), whose headquarters are next door. The Shelta Cave crayfish was first studied in the 1960’s by Dr. John Cooper, a biologist and member of the NSS who used the research as part of his dissertation.&nbsp;



“The crayfish is only a couple of inches long with diminutive pincers that are called chelae,” explained Dr. Matthew L. Niemiller of the University of Alabama Huntsville. “Interestingly, the crayfish has been known to cave biologists since the early 1960s but was not formally described until 1997 by the late Dr. John Cooper and his wife Martha.”



The cave was once a place of crayfish diversity with at least three species of crayfish alone and a total of twelve cave dependent species all together. “No other cave system to date in the U.S. has more documented cave crayfishes co-occurring with each other,” said Dr. Niemiller.



Unfortunately, this crayfish’s paradise wasn’t to last. The NSS installed a bat gate, usually a device that keeps people out but allows bats to move freely in the 1970’s.&nbsp;



“The initial design of the gate was not bat friendly, and the bats ultimately vacated the cave system,” said Dr. Niemiller. “Coupled with groundwater pollution and perhaps other stressors, that all may have led to a perfect storm resulting in the collapse of the aquatic cave ecosystem.”



The Shelta Cave crayfish was always rare and after the crash scientists couldn’t find the rare animal. Now, Dr. Niemiller and his team found the rare crayfish where it’s always been in Shelta Cave.



“To the best of our knowledge, only 115 individuals had been confirmed from 1963 through 1975. Since then, only three have been confirmed – one in 1988 and the two individuals we report in 2019 and 2020,” said Dr. Niemiller, “After a couple of decades of no confirmed sightings and the documented dramatic decline of other aquatic cave life at Shelta Cave, it was feared by some, including myself, that the crayfish might now be extinct.”



The news that the Shelta Cave crayfish is still alive is undoubtedly good but it points to its precarious position, dependent on groundwater below an urban area. The crayfish will only survive so long as groundwater is clean and abundant, something very much controlled by humans above.&nbsp;



The Shelta Cave crayfish is not alone either, there are many species dependent on caves and some living in only one cave in the US. These ecosystems below us are easily overlooked, below our feet are entire worlds of life and geology hanging on the balance of our decisions.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://subtbiol.pensoft.net/">Subterranean Biology</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

Rare crayfish rediscovered in a cave in Huntsville

The Shelta Cave crayfish, (Orconectes sheltae) is a small crayfish...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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



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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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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



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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



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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



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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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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