Every day, deep within the lush landscapes of Brazil's Serra da Capivara National Park, a fascinating spectacle unfolds. Here, wild bearded capuchin monkeys learn to solve problems and access food by keenly observing other successful members of their social group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-s-smart-enough-to-take-the-banana">Who's smart enough to take the banana?</h2>



A research team from Durham University's Department of Anthropology set up a large box containing food in the park. The box could be accessed by lifting a door or pulling a knob. 



As scientists observed from their treetop offices, they were keen to discover which monkeys would figure out how to access the meal inside the box. And more importantly, they were interested in how this knowledge would <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/immigrant-birds-learn-useful-behaviors-from-their-neighbors/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ripple across the group</a>. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-tolerance-and-learning">Social tolerance and learning</h2>



The focus of this study was not the intelligence of the monkeys but the role of social tolerance in the learning process. 



Social tolerance, in this context, refers to who can hang out with whom and who gets access to what goodies, such as food or information. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monkey-see-monkey-learn">Monkey see, monkey learn</h2>



The findings of the study highlighted that the monkeys primarily learned through direct observation.



The researchers found that social tolerance among the monkeys, particularly among those who groomed each other, served as a good indicator of who would <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-availability-influences-social-learning-among-orangutans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">learn</a> from who. So, the friendlier the monkey, the better the learner.



Beyond the influence of social tolerance, monkeys who had yet to learn the trick of the box were more likely to observe and potentially learn from successful males in the group. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-learning-in-monkeys">Social learning in monkeys</h2>



This intriguing study was co-supervised by Professor Rachel Kendal of Durham University's Department of Anthropology. 



"Bearded capuchins possess the largest ‘toolkit’ among monkeys, and this is likely due to social learning, enabling skills to be passed down the generations," Kendal notes.



The research team wanted to investigate what influenced who was <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animal-learning-speed-keeping-pace-with-a-changing-environment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">learning</a> from whom once they had established that social learning was taking place. 



They discovered that socially tolerant individuals, who often groomed or ate together, were more likely to observe each other when interacting with the "puzzle box." This tolerance also affected how information about solving the box problem spread among the group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-getting-ahead-in-the-monkey-world">Getting ahead in the monkey world</h2>



Of course, status matters, even in the monkey world. For instance, even if a monkey has a skill, others may not learn it if the skillful one doesn’t have sufficient status to be observed. 



The flip side holds true as well - if a monkey is intolerant and doesn't allow others to watch him, others won't learn. So, the ability to learn from success is biased towards socially tolerant individuals. 



This is not so different from humans, is it?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-human-societies">Implications for human societies</h2>



The parallels between the social dynamics of capuchin monkeys and human societies are captivating. 



The study's revelations about social tolerance and observational learning can shed light on how cultural and knowledge transmission occurs in humans. Like our primate cousins, humans rely on social networks to pass down technology, skills, and traditions - helping to maintain societal cohesion.



This research can thus provide valuable insights into the evolution of our cooperative behaviors and the foundational role of social tolerance in cultural development.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-social-learning-research">Future social learning research </h2>



Building on these findings, future research could explore the extent to which these learning dynamics apply to other primate species and even other animal groups. 



Comparative studies could help unravel the complexities of social learning environments and further dissect the influence of hierarchy and social bonds. Moreover, integrating this understanding with cognitive neuroscience could illuminate the underlying neurological processes driving social learning. 



This multifaceted approach may ultimately enrich our comprehension of both primate societies and the evolutionary pathways that have shaped <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/migratory-behaviors-are-shaped-by-experience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social intelligence</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-this-mean-for-us">What does this mean for us?</h2>



These fascinating findings from <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Durham University</a> might shed light on the evolutionary forces involved in primate, including human, cultural abilities. 



Research partners in this project also included Eduardo B. Ottoni of the Institute of Psychology at the <a href="https://www5.usp.br/english/institutional/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of São Paulo</a> and lead authors Camila Galheigo Coelho and Ivan Garcia-Nisa, both former PhD researchers in the Anthropology Department at Durham University.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2322888121" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Social bonds drive learning in monkeys and humans alike

Every day, deep within the lush landscapes of Brazil's Serra da Capivara National Park, a fascinating spectacle unfolds. Here, wild bearded capuchin monkeys learn to solve problems and access food by keenly observing other successful members of their social group. Who's smart enough to take the banana? A research team from Durham University's Department of Anthropology set up a large box containing food in the park. The box could be accessed by lifting a door or pulling a knob. As scientists observed from their treetop offices, they...

Faster sound transmission in the oceans due to climate change will alter the underwater soundscape marine organisms rely on for survival. New research published by the <a href="https://www.agu.org/">American Geophysical Union</a> reveals that climate change will significantly alter how sound travels underwater, as sound waves move faster and farther in warmer water.



The <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021EF002099">new global study</a> demonstrates how changes to ocean soundscapes could impact essential activities of marine life. The ocean soundscape is made of vibrations produced by living organisms, waves and cracking ice, and human caused sound such as ship traffic and resource extraction.&nbsp;



“We calculated the effects of temperature, depth and salinity based on public data to model the soundscape of the future,” said study lead author Alice Affatati. These factors all affect how fast and how far sound travels in water.



Two “acoustic hotspots” of sound speed increases are predicted in the east of Greenland and in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, East of Newfoundland.&nbsp;



These hotspots can expect the most change at 50 and 500 meter depths, where the average speed of sound is likely to increase by more than 1.5%, or approximately 25 meters per second by the end of the century.



Marine animals use sound to communicate and navigate their underwater world. Changes in sound speed can impact day to day activity such as finding food and mates, avoiding predators and even migrating.



“The major impact is expected in the Arctic, where we know already there is amplification of the effects of climate change now. Not all the Arctic, but one specific part where all factors play together to give a signal that, according to the model predictions, overcomes the uncertainty of the model itself,” said author Stefano Salon.



To consider how these changes impact species, the study also modeled vocalizations of the North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-right-whale">inhabiting both north Atlantic acoustic hotspots</a>. This found that&nbsp; whales’ typical “upcall” at 50 Hertz is likely to travel farther in a warmer future ocean.



“We chose to talk about one megafauna species, but many trophic levels in the ocean are affected by the soundscape or use sound,” Affatati said. “All these hotspots are locations of great biodiversity.”



This study has inspired future work to combine the global soundscape with anthropogenic impacts in the oceans to identify areas of combined stressors, or direct needed observational research.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/23284277">Earth’s Future</a>.



---



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

Climate warming is transforming the underwater soundscape

Faster sound transmission in the oceans due to climate change...

A research team led by <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> has recently investigated the types of Salmonella enterica - a pathogen that sickens millions of people each year – circulating among wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dads-lead-young-birds-on-their-first-migration/">bird</a> populations. While domestic birds are known to carry antibiotic-resistant Salmonella strains, the scientists discovered that, fortunately, the strains of bacteria found in wild birds did not usually harbor antimicrobial resistant genes.



Scientists have long worried that wild birds carrying antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella may pose a high risk to public health because they could spread the resistant bacteria across vast areas in short periods of time. In order to clarify whether this was indeed the case, the scientists fully sequenced 375 Salmonella enterica strains from wild birds collected in 41 U.S. states from 1978 to 2019.&nbsp;



&nbsp;“To find what antibiotics a particular Salmonella strain is resistant to, we don't have to run the traditional lab-based tests anymore - where you grow it on some type of media, expose it to antibiotics, and it either grows or it doesn't,” explained study senior author Edward Dudley, a professor of Food Science at Penn State. “Now, we can sequence the entire genome, and by identifying certain gene markers, we can predict - with almost perfect precision - what antibiotics the organism will be resistant to.”



The genetic analyses revealed that the most dominant Salmonella enterica strain found in wild bird populations was Typhimurium, accounting for 68 percent of the bird isolates. However, less than two percent of these isolates were identified to be resistant to antibiotics or heavy metals. Interestingly, all the multi-resistant strains were isolated from raptors or water birds, while none were found in songbirds.



“While we've known for a while that wild birds can carry Salmonella, the strains they carry appear to be of lesser concern to human health. The assumption was that these Salmonella - like the bacteria we can isolate from domesticated farm animals - would carry large numbers of antimicrobial-resistance genes. We found the opposite to be true,” Professor Dudley concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1462-2920.15865">Environmental Microbiology</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

Wild birds do not carry antibiotic-resistant Salmonella

A research team led by Pennsylvania State University has recently...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">University of Plymouth</a> has found that the worldwide proliferation of energy efficient broad spectrum artificial lighting is increasingly disrupting a variety of visually guided ecological processes. Many animal species that rely on darkness to forage and feed are losing their camouflage efficacy due to advancement in the lighting used to illuminate cities and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-levels-on-the-u-s-coast-will-rise-one-foot-by-2050/">coastlines</a> at night, and can be more easily spotted by predators as a consequence.



“This study clearly indicates that new lighting technologies will increase the conspicuousness of prey species by reducing the efficacy of their camouflage,” said study lead author Oak McMahon, a PhD student at the University of Plymouth.



McMahon and his colleagues assessed the conspicuousness of three distinct color morphs of Littorinid snails - a species commonly found along the world’s coastlines - under different forms of artificial lighting. They found that under the 20th century narrow spectrum Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) lighting, all snails were effectively camouflaged and could not be easily spotted by three of their most common predators.&nbsp;



However, under more recent, broad spectrum lighting - such as High Pressure Sodium (HPS), Light Emitting Diodes (LED), or Metal Halide (MH) - yellow snails were significantly more visible compared to brown or olive ones, increasing their risk of being killed by predators.



“Our findings revealed that species of Littorinid snails found commonly on our coastlines will remain camouflaged when illuminated by older style lighting. However, when illuminated by modern broad spectrum lighting, they are clearly visible to predators and at far greater long-term risk as a result,” explained McMahon.



“As technologies develop, there has been a shift from narrow spectrum to lighting that enables us to live and travel in a safe, secure manner. However, estimates suggest that a quarter of the planet between the Arctic Circle and Antarctica is now being affected by night-time light pollution,” added study senior author Dr. Thomas Davies, a lecturer in Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth.



“Some predictions say that LED bulbs will account for 85 percent of the global street lighting market in around five years, and our study highlights that such advances will have repercussions for humans and animals alike now and in the future.”



According to the scientists, there are a variety of mitigation methods available to urban planners and environmental managers when considering the ecological impact of broad spectrum lighting, such as reducing the amount of light used, shielding lights in order to reduce their range, employing night-lighting only during times of peak demand, or manipulating the spectra of lighting to minimize ecological impact.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14146">Journal of Applied Ecology</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

Animals are losing their camouflage under modern street lights

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

Bird migration has long fascinated scientists, who continue to question how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-laying-their-eggs-earlier-to-adapt-to-climate-change/">birds</a> learn to find their way to distant locations. While it has been well established that birds migrate in groups, there is limited information on how individuals that migrate together interact. To investigate, a team of researchers from Finland, Sweden and the UK tracked bird families with GPS devices.



“We wanted to get a better idea of how the migratory skills of birds are passed from one generation to another in a species where individuals normally migrate together,” said study lead author Patrik Byholm of the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a>.



Caspian terns were selected for the study. They are a fish eating waterbird that normally migrates in small groups. GPS tracking of the birds showed that the male parents are responsible for leading their young during their first migration from the Baltic Sea to Africa.



This is known as "guiding behavior'' which the study identified as the responsibility of the biological father, and in one case a foster father took on this role. The researchers were unable to determine why males, instead of females, were leading their young.



“This is very fascinating behavior, which we really did not expect to find when setting up our study,” said Byholm.



The experts also found that during migration, young individuals kept close to an adult bird. In cases where young birds lost contact with their parent, they did not survive. Staying close to an experienced adult is critical for young birds to survive their first migration.&nbsp;



The study revealed that during the first solo return trip, the young terns used the same migratory route their father guided them on. 



“This indicates that in Caspian terns, migration knowledge is inherited through culture from one generation to another. This has consequences on the decisions individuals make years after they first migrated with their father,” said study co-author Susanne Åkesson from Lund University. Learning the right migratory routes is critical to survival.&nbsp;



Understanding how Capsian terns and other birds learn how to migrate is important to predicting how these birds will fare in a changing climate. This study highlights how the future survival of Caspian terns relies on passing migration knowledge down from one generation to the next.&nbsp;



The research 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

Dads lead young birds on their first migration

Bird migration has long fascinated scientists, who continue to question...

Coral reefs around the islands of the Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean are isolated, protected and largely immune from the effects of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/noise-pollution-is-a-major-risk-factor-for-heart-attacks/">pollution</a>, overfishing and disturbance in general. However, they cannot escape the marine warming events that have become more common in recent times due to climate change and global warming.&nbsp;



Two major global heating events have affected the coral reefs of these remote islands; one in 1997/1998 and the other in 2015/2016. Both these events caused wide-spread coral mortality down to a depth of 25 m. While most of the reefs recovered to pre-bleaching levels of coral cover and community composition within seven to ten years after the 1997/1998 event, recovery after the 2015/2016 event is the subject of an ongoing investigation.&nbsp;



In a recent publication in the journal <a href="https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19395590">Limnology and Oceanography</a>, marine scientists from the University of Exeter describe how they have assessed the recovery of 12 different reefs on the atolls of the northern Chagos Islands. They quantified changes in live coral cover, species diversity and ecosystem structure in 2015, 2018 and 2021 in order to monitor the recovery of these reefs after the bleaching event. In addition, they used the ReefBudget&nbsp;methodology to assess the state of calcium carbonate deposits associated with the reefs.&nbsp;



While there are excellent previous studies that have explored recovery trajectories of coral cover and community composition after the global 1997/1998 bleaching event, the recovery of reef carbonate budget states is poorly documented. Carbonate budgets on reefs are affected by the total of processes that deposit calcium carbonate, for example by the action of corals and crustose coralline algae, and the processes that erode away these deposits.



For example, foraging parrot fish excavate and scrape the corals, and sea urchins scrape the surfaces, thereby breaking down the calcium carbonate structures. Boring by worms, bivalves, and microorganisms also erodes the reef framework. Gross carbonate production, gross carbonate erosion, and net reef carbonate budgets were estimated in this study using the Indo-Pacific ReefBudget&nbsp;methodology.&nbsp;&nbsp;



After the 2015/2016 bleaching event, coral cover on the Chagos reefs was severely reduced and all sites shifted toward communities characterized by higher cover of crustose coralline algae, turf, sand, and rubble. The survey of 2018 showed that the coral cover was still “shrinking," and that calcium carbonate production was 70 percent lower than it had been before the bleaching event, when the reefs were thriving. Furthermore, the erosion processes in action far exceeded the rate of new coral growth in 2018.&nbsp;



When the researchers returned in 2021, however, all the reefs were on a trajectory of recovery, although the extent of recovery varied from site to site. It was clear that, where key coral species had returned quickly and the physical reef structure had stayed intact, there was a rapid transition back to positive growth only six years after the mortality event. This is considered to be a fairly rapid recovery and is indicative of a reef’s health and resilience.&nbsp;



“Such high rates of coral recruitment and the rapid restoration of reef functions are a very nice surprise and imply that this location is showing some resilience, thus far, to ongoing ocean warming,” said lead author&nbsp;<a href="https://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Ines_Lange">Dr. Ines Lange</a>, a postdoctoral research fellow in a multi-institutional project funded by the Bertarelli Program in Marine Science. “A full recovery of reefs across the Chagos Archipelago over the next few years is likely if the region is spared from recurring marine heating events."



“The study shows that in remote and protected areas without local impacts such as fishing or pollution from land, coral reefs and the important functions they provide are able to recover relatively quickly, even after large-scale disturbances.”



“Proximity to healthy coral populations and the maintenance of a complex reef structure seems to boost recovery speed, which may help to manage reefs under the threat of increasing frequency of bleaching events predicted for the near future,” explained Dr. Lange.



Study co-author&nbsp;<a href="http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Chris_Perry">Professor Chris Perry</a>, from the University of Exeter, developed the census-based&nbsp;<a href="https://geography.exeter.ac.uk/reefbudget/">ReefBudget method</a>&nbsp;to quantify reef carbonate budgets. These are important indicators of a reef’s health and ability to provide habitat to marine life. In this study, Professor Perry and Dr. Lange optimized the method for the central Indian Ocean by quantifying and integrating local rates of coral growth and erosion by parrotfish.



The authors state that, although reefs on some of the Chagos Islands still had more erosion than new coral growth in 2021, reasonably fast recovery of coral cover and carbonate budgets was evident across all sites. This suggests potential for full recovery of these reefs and their important ecosystem functions within the next few years. This pattern of recovery represents the potential scenario on isolated, undisturbed reefs, and helps scientists to understand the ecological factors influencing recovery rates in the absence of local stressors.



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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

Bleached coral reefs recover quickly in the absence of human influences

Coral reefs around the islands of the Chagos Archipelago in...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.fiu.edu/">Florida International University</a> (FIU) has investigated the social lives of great white <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shark-attacks-linked-to-phases-of-the-moon/">sharks</a> that gather seasonally around Mexico’s Guadalupe Island, and found that these animals tend to form “friendships” as they prowl the oceans in search of prey. By using an innovative combination of tracking tools, the scientists discovered that sharks tended to stick together while patrolling to check out seal colonies or other food sources around the island.



“Most associations were short, but there were sharks where we found considerably longer associations, much more likely to be social associations,” said study lead author Yannis Papastamatiou, a marine biologist at FIU. “Seventy minutes is a long time to be swimming around with another white shark.”



Since the Guadalupe Island is rife with tuna and seals, it has become a hotspot for white sharks in search of prey. While close to South African and Australian coasts, the waters are murkier and white sharks leap out of the water to launch sneak attacks and ambush prey, Guadalupe Island’s waters are very clear, making it much easier for predator and prey to notice each other. According to the researchers, these environmental peculiarities are forcing sharks to adapt their hunting strategies.



In order to study and understand these behavioral changes, the scientists combined different commercially available technology into a “super social tag” which collected data for up to five days before popping off the sharks’ dorsal fins and floating to the sea surface. These instruments were equipped with a video camera and various sensors, including special receivers that could detect if other sharks were nearby.



The researchers tagged six sharks (three males and three females) over a four-year period and found that they often associated with other sharks, most likely in order to take advantage of other sharks’ hunting success.



“The important question we still have to answer is what is the reason for being social for these sharks? We still don't know. But it is likely they may stay in proximity of other individuals in case those individuals are successful in killing large prey,” explained Dr. Papastamatiou. “They aren't working together but being social could be a way to share information.”



Although the researchers admit that the study’s sample size is small, they nevertheless argue that it provides more evidence that sharks are forming non-random social associations and can offer new insights into when and why such associations occur.&nbsp;



Further research with better technological tools is needed to fully understand the complex social lives of white sharks. “Technology now can really open up the secret lives of these animals. We’re going beyond tracking where they are and where they go. As the technology gets better, we can keep answering more questions,” concluded Dr. Papastamatiou.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0599">Biology Letters</a>.&nbsp;&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

Great white sharks form social bonds while hunting

A new study led by Florida International University (FIU) has...

Gelada monkeys are unique, living far above their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sticking-together-can-come-at-a-cost-for-baboons/">baboon</a> relatives in the Ethiopian highlands at elevations of 6,000 to 14,000 feet above sea level. Scientists wanted to look at how these monkeys survived at these elevations, and even thrived, peacefully grazing on mountain grasses. The question is especially interesting as geladas have lived at high elevation much longer than any human population.&nbsp;



A team of experts from <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> (ASU) led by Professor Noah Snyder-Mackler and postdoctoral researcher Kenneth Chiou set out to discover the genetic adaptations that allow the monkeys to live in the mountains.&nbsp;



“Life at high altitude is very difficult. The air is colder and contains less oxygen,” said Snyder-Mackler. “Our team has studied geladas living in such extreme environments for over a decade, so we have a firsthand understanding of how challenging it can be to live at such heights over extended periods of time. Yet geladas have survived for much longer, making us wonder how exactly they have shifted their biology to adapt to their challenging environments.”



One of the first things the researchers checked was the gelada’s hemoglobin and right away they found changes in the molecular sequence of the gelada hemoglobin. At first, the researchers thought that the hemoglobin was modified to hold greater concentrations of oxygen. This idea was quickly challenged however when the scientists tested the oxygen concentration of gelada blood against that of baboons and humans, which all ended up being the same.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The absence of an elevated hemoglobin concentration in wild geladas living at high altitude suggests that they can still provide enough oxygen to tissues in spite of the reduced availability of oxygen,” explained Chiou. “There are a lot of other ways geladas could be physiologically compensating for low oxygen and these could entail many kinds of changes to respiratory or circulatory traits that affect oxygen transport.”



The scientists compared the chest sizes of geladas with baboons and found that indeed, geladas have bigger chests. The chests may be larger to hold larger lungs as an adaptation to high elevation (and thin air) living. This, the scientists explain, is similar to chest dimensional changes of people native to the Andes mountains, also seen as an adaptation to high elevation. It’s uncertain if the gelada chest size is due to genetics or from growing up at high elevation.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Next, the scientists returned to their genetic analysis. After sequencing the gelada genetic code, the researchers found 103 genes that might have been selected for adaptation to highland life. Genes that were selected for include parallels to humans, such as genetic adaptations found in Tibetans, Ethiopians, Nepalese Sherpas and Bajau deep sea divers. However, a lot of the genes had no parallels.&nbsp;



“While we found a lot of overlap between pathways under selection in geladas and human populations living at high altitudes, aside from notable examples listed above, few genes identified by our analysis were shared with candidate genes reported by studies of high-altitude human populations or other high-altitude primates,” said Chiou.



The experts did make another important discovery though. They found chromosomal differences between geladas in the northern and central areas. This suggests that they may actually be two separate species, unbeknownst to science.



“Given that chromosomal rearrangements tend to be associated with infertility–like mules, which are the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey, our findings suggest that geladas may encompass at least two distinct biological species,” said Chiou.



The accidental discovery has important conservation implications, if the geladas are actually two species, it means two smaller and potentially more vulnerable species. This possibility calls for more research into these unlikely mountain monkeys.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</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

Gelada monkeys hold secrets of high altitude adaptation

Gelada monkeys are unique, living far above their baboon relatives...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-snakes-evolved-from-just-a-few-surviving-species/">Snakes</a> that constrict their prey and squeeze them to death have an interesting challenge to face. How does a snake squeeze its prey so hard that it stops breathing while, at the same time, ensuring it doesn’t squash its own lugs and suffocate itself? The latest study on this topic concludes that snakes, such as boa constrictors, are able to breathe with different parts of their ribcage, depending on whether they are throttling a prey, eating a meal or digesting their most recent dinner.



“With no diaphragm, they rely entirely on motions of their ribs,” said John Capano from Brown University, USA. He added that the earliest snake ancestors must have overcome the challenge of breathing while squeezing and digesting dinner, but it was not clear how modern snakes prevent themselves from suffocating while constricting their victims.&nbsp;



The researchers considered the possibility that boa constrictors adjust the region of the ribcage they use to inhale, depending on whether they are resting, constricting a prey animal or digesting. But no one had monitored in detail the breathing patterns of snakes in the act of subduing their dinner to check whether the animals can indeed adjust which section of the ribcage they use.



Capano and co-author Elizabeth Brainerd (Brown University) investigated the way in which boa constrictors breathe by first attaching small metal markers to two ribs in each of the study snakes. One marker was a third of the way down the snake’s body, while the second marker was halfway along the body. They then used X-rays to monitor how the ribs moved while the snake carried out various activities.&nbsp;



The researchers placed a blood pressure cuff around the ribs of the snakes in the same regions where the rib markers had been placed. As the cuffs were inflated, the increasing pressure immobilized the snake’s ribcage and breathing became more difficult. What they discovered was that the snakes simply used different sections of the rib cage with which to breathe when the ribs were prevented from moving freely by the blood pressure cuffs. In this way, the hind section of the snake’s lung works like a bellows, to pull air into the lung when the ribs further forward can no longer move, as would be the case when squeezing a prey item to death.



The findings of the study, published today in the <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb">Journal of Experimental Biology</a>, clearly show that when a boa constrictor is squeezed by the blood pressure cuff a third of the way along the body it breathes using the ribs further along, while when the ribs are constricted halfway along the body, the snake breathes using ribs closer to its head. Breathing is thus compartmentalized along the body, with different regions being able to move independently.



“Either the animals did not mind the cuff or became defensive and hissed to try to get the researcher to leave,” recalls Capano, explaining that the reptiles really fill their lungs when hissing: “this was an opportunity to measure some of the biggest breaths snakes take."



In addition, Capano, Scott Boback and Charles Zwemer (both from Dickinson College, USA), filmed and recorded the nerve signals controlling the rib muscles when constricted by the blood pressure cuff. Boback also filmed a snake with a GoPro as it dined, which revealed that the ribs were not simply being held immobile. There were no nerve signals in the constricted muscles; the snakes had shifted to breathing by activating a different set of ribs further along the body.



Subduing and digesting a victim are two very energetic things that boa constrictors do and it would have been crucial for them to evolve the ability to breathe using different regions of the rib cage before they adopted the strategy of squeezing their prey to death. If this had not happened, they would have suffocated themselves each time they tried to constrict a prey. “It would have been difficult for snakes to evolve those behaviors without the ability to breathe," concluded Capano.



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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

How boas keep themselves from suffocating while digesting dinner

Snakes that constrict their prey and squeeze them to death...

Alpacas,On,A,Ranch,On,A,Farm,In,A,Field

After more than two years of dealing with and adapting to life with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-doubles-the-risk-of-severe-pregnancy-complications/">COVID-19,</a> the virus that causes this disease is still with us. And it looks set to be with us long into the future. Despite the use of vaccines and antiviral treatments, people are still suffering and even dying from serious COVID infection.&nbsp;



In addition, millions of people in poorer countries have not yet received access to vaccines, making them more susceptible to the effects of serious COVID. With this in mind, any effective treatment that may increase the chances of surviving severe infection is a high priority.



One area of interest has been the use of nanobodies, or miniature antibodies. Nanobodies are like small fragments of an antibody that bind only to a specific section (domain) of an antigen, such as the spike protein. They can immobilize a virus in this way, with their small and nimble structure making them able to get into folds and crannies in a viral spike protein. Nanobodies are produced in members of the camel family, including llamas, alpacas and camels, in response to infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.&nbsp;



Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have recently developed a novel strategy for identifying potent nanobodies from alpacas, in particular, that are effective against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. They have identified multiple different nanobodies and tested them in cell cultures, and in live mice, to find out whether they blocked infection by different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The findings are reported in two publications - one in the recent past in Nature Communications&nbsp;and&nbsp;the other, today, in <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</a>.&nbsp;



“With the help of advanced laboratory techniques, we were able to identify a panel of nanobodies that very effectively neutralized several variants of SARS-CoV-2,” said Professor Gerald McInerney, joint senior author of both studies.



Despite the roll-out of vaccines and antivirals, people in many countries still don’t have the access to COVID treatments that they need. Nanobodies from alpacas can be adapted for use in humans and carry several advantages over conventional treatments and antibodies. For example, they are cheap to produce on a mass scale and have favorable biochemical properties that make them effective in the treatment of different viruses.&nbsp;



The first report in&nbsp;Nature Communications&nbsp;describes a single nanobody, Fu2 (named after the alpaca Funny), that significantly reduced the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in cell cultures and live mice. Using electron cryo-microscopy, the researchers found that Fu2 binds to two separate sites on the viral spike protein, thus inhibiting the virus’ ability to enter the host cells. This part of the study was conducted in collaboration with Hrishikesh Das and Martin Hällberg at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet.



In the next phase of the study, the researchers combined a range of advanced laboratory techniques and computational methods, to assess the diversity of alpaca nanobodies and find out whether they would be effective against different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The results, presented today in&nbsp;Science Advances, revealed several additional nanobodies that effectively neutralized both the initial and beta variant of SARS-CoV-2 and even the more distantly related SARS-CoV-1.



“These nanobodies represent promising therapeutic candidates against several SARS-CoV-2 variants,” said study first author Leo Hanke, a postdoctoral researcher who established the nanobody technology in the McInerney group.



The researchers are currently applying the same techniques to identify which nanobodies from this set are best able to neutralize omicron, the variant of SARS-CoV-2 that is currently dominant in many countries worldwide.&nbsp;



“Once established, these libraries can be expanded and mined for nanobodies that neutralize new emerging variants,” said Professor Ben Murrell, also joint senior author of both studies.



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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

Alpaca nanobodies can neutralize coronavirus variants

After more than two years of dealing with and adapting...

New research from scientists at the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> looked at the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grooming-behavior-exposes-the-complex-social-lives-of-dairy-cows/">social lives</a> of male dolphins living in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Analyzing 30 years of behavioral observations of 85 male dolphins as well as paternity tests for over 400 dolphins, they made some interesting discoveries.&nbsp;



"Understanding determinants of differential reproductive success is at the core of evolutionary biology because of its connection to fitness. Early work has linked variation in reproductive success to differences in age, rank, or size, as well as habitat characteristics. More recently, studies in group-living taxa have revealed that social relationships also have measurable effects on fitness," wrote the study authors. "The influence of social bonds on fitness is particularly interesting in males who compete over reproductive opportunities.



It turns out that male dolphins form strong social bonds among themselves, creating stable alliances. These alliances work together to compete with each other for access to females and defending each other.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This kind of male cooperation for the purpose of reproduction is highly unusual in the animal kingdom. It’s only been observed in a much less complex form in some other primates,” said Livia Gerber, a former PhD student at the Department of Anthropology of the University of Zurich.&nbsp;



Interestingly, how popular an individual male dolphin is impacts the size and strength of his alliance. The size and strength of the alliance in turn affects how successful a male dolphin may be at stealing females away from other alliances and mating.&nbsp;



“Our study is the first to show that social bonds among male dolphins positively impact their reproductive success and are, therefore, directly linked to fitness,” said senior author Michael Krützen. “This had previously only been observed in male chimpanzees and some other primates. Our study expands upon previous findings on land mammals and provides compelling evidence that such highly complex, multi-level social systems also developed independently in the ocean.”



Social interaction among males and some other animals is incredibly common and important, sometimes even for survival. This research shows that it is important for reproduction as well, having important implications for evolution. It may be even that this sort of reproductive success could drive the evolution of social bonds in general. Future research could shed more light on this idea in dolphins as well as other animals.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current 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

In dolphins, popular boys have more babies

New research from scientists at the University of Zurich looked...

Kittiwake,Sittig,On,A,Nest,With,Two,Eggs

The Field Museum’s collection of birds’ eggs fills an entire room that is crammed from floor to ceiling with cabinets. There are thousands of specimens packed in small boxes, each one with its contents blown out, and each one marked meticulously with a label, often hand-written, recording the species of bird, where the egg was collected and when – down to the precise day.&nbsp;



According to&nbsp;John Bates, curator of birds at the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>, this collection of eggs is a veritable treasure trove of data, even though the specimens were mostly collected more than 100 years ago. “Egg collections are such a fascinating tool for us to learn about bird ecology over time,” he said.



“These early egg people were incredible natural historians, in order to do what they did. You really have to know the birds in order to go out and find the nests and do the collecting,” says Bates. “They were very attuned to when the birds were starting to lay, and that leads to, in my opinion, very accurate dates for when the eggs were laid.”



After editing a book about birds’ eggs, Bates got interested in studying the museum’s egg collection and wondered whether the information could be used to assess changing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-have-a-high-risk-of-disease-due-to-inbreeding/">breeding</a> patterns over time.&nbsp;



“Once I got to know our egg collection, I got to thinking about how valuable that collection’s data are, and how those data aren’t replicated in modern collections,” said Bates. He decided that, by comparing data from the century-old eggs preserved in museum collections with recent observations of bird breeding times, one would be able to quantify any changes in the start of breeding activity.&nbsp;



The Field Museum’s egg collection stopped expanding after the 1920s, when egg-collecting ceased to be popular with both amateur hobbyists and scientists. So Bates needed to find some recent data sets on the timing of bird breeding to use for comparison with the museum data.



Bates’s colleague Bill Strausberger, a research associate at the Field Museum, had suitable data from his years of studies on cowbird parasitism at the Morton Arboretum in the Chicago suburbs. To collect his data, he had climbed ladders to examine nests where brown-headed cowbirds may have laid their eggs for other birds to raise.



“He had to get out there every spring and find as many nests as he could and see whether or not they were parasitized, and so it occurred to me that he had modern nesting data,” explained Bates.&nbsp;



In addition,&nbsp;Chris Whelan, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, also contributed to the modern data set with songbird nesting data collected in Chicagoland from 1989, when he began work at the Morton Arboretum. Whelan and Strausberger’s contributions to the study were critical, Bates says, because “finding nests is a lot harder than almost anybody realizes.”



“Finding nests and following their fate to success or failure is extremely time-consuming and challenging,” said Whelan. “We learned to recognize what I called ‘nesty’ behavior. This includes gathering nest material, like twigs, grass, roots, or bark, depending upon bird species, or capturing food like caterpillars but not consuming the food item – this likely indicates a parent is foraging to gather food for nestlings.” Whelan and his team used mirrors mounted on long poles to peer into high-up nests and kept close track of the dates when eggs were laid and hatched.



These field studies provided the modern data set, from about 1990 to 2015, while the museum data was collected between 1820 and 1920. “There’s a gap in the middle, and that’s where Mason Fidino came in,” said Bates. Fidino, a quantitative ecologist at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo and a co-author of the study, built models for analyzing the data that allowed them to address the gap in the middle of the 20th century



The results of the analyses, published today in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652656">Journal of Animal Ecology</a>, show a clear trend in the timing of spring breeding in birds. Of the 72 species for which historical and modern data were available in the Chicagoland region, about a third have nested earlier and earlier as time has gone by. Among those, the first eggs are now laid an average of 25.1 days earlier than they would have been 100 years ago.&nbsp;



When the researchers considered the reason behind this very clear trend, they turned to rising temperatures as a possible explanation. But when they couldn’t find temperature records for the area that went back 100 years, they had to find an alternative. Instead, they used a proxy for temperature, namely the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.



“We couldn’t find a single source of long-term temperature data for the Midwest, which was surprising, but you can approximate temperature with carbon dioxide levels, which are very well documented,” said Bates. The carbon dioxide data comes from a variety of sources, including the chemical composition of ice cores from glaciers.



Although the temperature changes for the past 100 years have been relatively small in the study area, these subtle changes may have significant consequences for the timing of plant flowering or the emergence of insects from their pupae or eggs. These changes would affect the abundance of food for birds, and therefore their breeding success.&nbsp;



“The majority of the birds we looked at eat insects, and insects’ seasonal behavior is also affected by climate. The birds have to move their egg-laying dates to adapt,” said Bates.



It may seem that laying eggs a few weeks early is unimportant in the larger scheme of life, but Bates notes that it’s part of a larger story. “The birds in our study area, upwards of 150 species, all have different evolutionary histories and different breeding biology so it’s all about the details. These changes in nesting dates might result in them competing for food and resources in a way that they didn’t used to,” he said. “There are all kinds of really important nuances that we need to know about in terms of how animals are responding to climate change.”



In addition to giving a stark warning about climate change, the study also highlights the importance of museum collections, particularly egg collections, which are often under-utilized. “There are 5 million eggs out there in collections worldwide, and yet, there are very few publications using museum collections of eggs,” said Bates. “They’re a treasure trove of data about the past, and they can help us answer important questions about our world today.”



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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

Birds are laying their eggs earlier to adapt to climate change

The Field Museum’s collection of birds’ eggs fills an entire...

Off the northeastern coast of Japan, marine scientists have been monitoring the diets of sea turtles for the past 15 years. Live turtles caught as by-catch (mainly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loggerhead-turtles-migrate-using-a-secret-thermal-corridor/">loggerhead</a> and green turtles) are brought to the International Coastal Research Center of the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, where they are kept in individual tanks for up to 3&nbsp;months to collect their feces. Sadly, many of the turtles have ingested marine debris, as evidenced by the undigested remains in their feces.&nbsp;



Although the scientists are used to recording plastics in the feces of living turtles, or in the guts of dead turtles, they were shocked by the fecal contents of a young green turtle, caught in their study region on 10 August, 2021. This turtle should have been feeding on a diet of jelly fish, seaweed and seagrass but, instead, its feces contained barnacles, wood chips and plastic – in the form of a disposable face mask.&nbsp; This is the first time that the researchers have direct evidence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the marine turtles of the area.&nbsp;



The scientists have published their findings on the fecal and gut contents of 76 sea turtles caught in the region over the past 15 years, including the individual that had consumed a face mask. Their report is available online and also in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/marine-pollution-bulletin">Marine Pollution Bulletin</a>.



“Face masks had never been found in this survey before the pandemic, and, unfortunately, this is the first detection,” said paper author Takuya Fukuoka, a post-doctoral researcher in the Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry (LOG) at <a href="https://www.tuat.ac.jp/en/">Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology</a>. “The turtle, in this case, excreted the mask; however, the physical consequences of debris ingestion in many marine species are under discussion.”



And it is not only the physical consequences of eating marine debris that are of concern. Many plastics contain chemicals that can disrupt the normal endocrine (hormone) cycles in the body, thus having far-reaching impacts on individual animals.&nbsp;



The researchers conducted a chemical analysis of the mask, as well as of five other common brands of masks that are readily available in stores. All the masks were made of polypropylene, a plastic with a low density that floats in the water column. This plastic can contain additives that leach into the digestive fluid of marine organisms that ingest it, according to Hideshige Takada, professor in the LOG.



“We detected UV stabilizers in four out of five brands of face masks we tested, ranging from 1.4 to 848 nanograms per gram of material,” Takada said. “This concentration range is similar to those detected in plastic bottle caps, shopping bags and food packaging.” Three of the detected UV stabilizers are known to interfere with the molecules involved with hormone regulation, according to Takada.



“Exposure of marine organisms that ingest PPE waste to the chemicals and the consequential endocrine-disruption are of further concern,” Takada said. “We urgently need to study the ecotoxicological consequences of the ingestion of waste PPE by marine organisms and potential endocrine disruption. As a precautionary action, it is necessary to establish appropriate waste management systems to stop the entry of PPE into the environment and the use of safer additives to PPE.”



Not long ago, sea turtles that had plastic drinking straws stuck in their nostrils became the champions of the movement to reduce single-use plastics and promote the production of non-plastic food containers. It seems that they are again sending humanity a warning that the irresponsible disposal of PPE into the oceans has the potential to harm innocent marine organisms.&nbsp;



Although personal protective equipment (PPE) has been crucial in protecting people from the spread of coronavirus in the past two years, these items need to be disposed of in such a way that they do not enter the marine environment. The researchers plan to continue studying how COVID-19-derived plastic debris enters the environment, as well as how organic pollutants and additives from plastic waste transfer into marine organisms, in efforts to mitigate further harm.



“As the pandemic continues, the usage of disposable personal protective equipment (PPE) continues,” Takada said. “The COVID-19 pandemic affects not only human life, but also marine life through waste management issues. Unless appropriate waste management is instituted, the ingestion of PPE, associated chemicals and microplastics will increase in a variety of marine life very soon.”



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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

Sea turtles are now ingesting disposable face masks

Off the northeastern coast of Japan, marine scientists have been...

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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

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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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



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



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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

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