For decades, tool use was seen as the hallmark of human evolution. Later, researchers began to notice this skill in chimpanzees, crows, and even sea otters. But one group remained conspicuously absent from this conversation - fish.



They were thought to be too simple, too instinct-driven, and too limited in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-select-the-best-materials-for-termite-fishing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cognitive ability</a>. That belief no longer holds.



A new study has revealed something remarkable: several wrasse species have been observed using hard surfaces to break open prey. 



These behaviors don’t just challenge assumptions - they expand the very definition of what it means to be intelligent.



Dr. Juliette Tariel-Adam, the study’s lead author from Macquarie University, has spent years watching these small but clever reef fish. Her team tracked and recorded behaviors that were previously dismissed or unnoticed.



"Tool use is typically associated with humans, but this behavior is proof that fish are far cleverer than they get credit for," said Dr. Tariel-Adam.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-use-tools-to-smash-prey">Fish use tools to smash prey</h2>



Wrasses are colorful reef fish found in warm oceans across the world. In this study, several <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-evolve-rapidly-by-switching-between-simple-and-complex-teeth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> were observed picking up crabs, mollusks, and brittle stars in their mouths and striking them against rocks or coral heads. 



This behavior is known as “anvil use,” a form of tool use that allows the fish to access prey they otherwise couldn’t consume.



The wrasses showed clear intentionality. They didn’t just drop their prey. They positioned it, swung their bodies with force, and adjusted their angles between strikes. They seemed to know what they were doing. This wasn’t random behavior - it was targeted, practiced, and often successful.



The study documented 16 new observations across five species within the New World Halichoeres group. Three of those species had never been seen using tools before. Two others were suspected to use tools, but now video evidence confirms this.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tool-use-across-oceans">Tool use across oceans</h2>



These discoveries were made possible by a community <a href="https://fishtooluse.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">science initiative</a> called Fish Tool Use. 



Through social media outreach, emails, and public engagement, the research team gathered videos and reports from divers and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-fish-coelacanth-presumed-extinct-for-60-million-years-before-rediscovery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine</a> enthusiasts. 



The observations came from Brazil, Colombia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and beyond.



All five species observed belong to a closely related group in the Labridae family, the second most species-rich group of marine fish. 



The team believes this behavior may have evolved in a common ancestor and persisted across related species.



Alternatively, anvil use may have emerged multiple times independently - a question that future research may help to answer.



"With these newly discovered tool-using species, it becomes clear that many species of wrasses use tools that we previously didn't know about," said Dr. Tariel-Adam.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flexibility-of-fish-tool-use">Flexibility of fish tool use</h2>



One surprise in the study was the absence of laterality. In primates and crows, tool use often involves a dominant hand or claw. 



Wrasses, however, appeared to use both sides of their bodies equally. In video analyses, they struck with either side depending on their position in the water.



This flexibility might offer an advantage. While lateralized tool use can be efficient, it also limits an animal’s options when environment or position changes. 



Wrasses, on the other hand, can exploit anvils in any orientation, giving them a broader range of usable surfaces.



In addition, wrasses used many different types of anvils. Rocks, coral heads, rubble, even a live conch shell - all served the same purpose. They did not show strict preferences. They adapted to what was around them.



This suggests not only cognitive flexibility but a level of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-deep-sea-fish-survive-the-crushing-depths-of-the-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental awareness</a> as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-food-and-competition-on-the-reef">Food and competition on the reef</h2>



Using tools to break open hard prey is not without its costs. The action requires energy, especially when it involves several powerful strikes. 



Videos show the fish sometimes lose their grip or need to readjust by spitting out and re-securing their prey. Despite this, the behavior is consistently successful.



Sometimes, other fish circle the scene. In 12 of 19 observations, nearby fish either attempted to steal food or got chased away. In one case, a juvenile wrasse stole a brittle star from an adult just after it had broken off a piece. Tool use brings not only food, but attention - and not always the good kind.



Still, the benefits seem to outweigh the risks. Access to shelled prey means more food options and better nutrition. 



For smaller wrasses, who might not have the jaw strength to crack shells without help, this strategy opens a new dietary path. It allows them to eat prey that would otherwise be unavailable to them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-puzzle-of-tool-use">Evolutionary puzzle of tool use</h2>



The study’s results open a new chapter in animal cognition. Fish now join a growing list of tool-using animals that includes primates, parrots, octopuses, wasps, and crabs. But why have only some species developed this behavior?



Tool use is likely influenced by ecological pressures - scarce food, competition, or environmental structure. In the case of wrasses, their diverse habitats, sharp learning skills, and wide range of prey may all play a role. Yet, the exact reasons remain unclear.



Professor Culum Brown, senior author of the study and head of Macquarie University’s Fish Lab, believes this behavior sheds light on the broader story of intelligence in the animal world. 



"They demonstrate flexible and dexterous tool use, expanding our understanding of tool use evolution in the animal kingdom," noted Professor Brown.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next</h2>



The researchers want to see more. Most documented tool use events are still opportunistic. Controlled studies - where prey is offered in experimental settings - could bring new insights.



The team hopes to receive more submissions from the public, helping them fill the gaps in geography and species data.



Those interested can contribute through Fish Tool Use, where divers and marine observers are encouraged to share footage or descriptions of wrasse behavior. With more data, scientists can explore whether anvil use is common across the family or limited to just a few clever species.



For now, wrasses have made one thing clear: we’ve underestimated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-vessels-most-industrial-fishing-activity-is-not-publicly-tracked/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fish</a>. Not only are they smart, but they’re capable of innovation, planning, and creative problem-solving. 



Tool use may no longer be the preserve of a few gifted animals. It may be far more widespread - if we only care to look.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-025-02633-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coral Reefs</a>.



-----



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Some clever fish use tools to crack open prey

For decades, tool use was seen as the hallmark of human evolution. Later, researchers began to notice this skill in chimpanzees, crows, and even sea otters. But one group remained conspicuously absent from this conversation - fish. They were thought to be too simple, too instinct-driven, and too limited in cognitive ability. That belief no longer holds. A new study has revealed something remarkable: several wrasse species have been observed using hard surfaces to break open prey. These behaviors don’t just challenge assumptions - they expand the...

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is famously billed as the ‘last great race on Earth’.  The race is a 1,100 mile long endurance test in one of the most grueling environments in the world.  The last winner took 9 ½ days to complete the Iditarod, but the slowest <a href="https://iditarod.com/about/trivia-facts/">winning time</a> was over 20 days in 1974.  The longest time taken to complete the race is an excruciating, 32 days, 15 hours and nine minutes. A lot of the time it takes to finish a dog race like the Iditarod comes down to conditions outside of a musher’s control, conditions like weather, snow, ice, wildlife attacks.      

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tooth-alaskas-first-inhabitants/">Alaska</a> places much of its local identity on ruggedness and the Iditarod is part of that; photos of sled dogs cover postcards, press clippings decorate Alaskan restaurants.  I remember a sign in one Alaskan establishment that proclaimed, “Alaska, where the men are men and women win the Iditarod”. That sentiment becomes more and more true each year.  

<a href="https://www.biography.com/news/libby-riddles-facts-biography-iditarod">Libby Riddles</a> was the first woman to win the Iditarod more than thirty years ago in 1985.  Over the course of the race, the temperature dropped to -50°F and Riddles pushed through weather conditions other sat out in safety and relative comfort.  Libby Riddles seems to have paved the road for future female adventure athletes. 

Born in Massachusetts and educated at Colorado State University where she studied to be a veterinarian technician, <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/susan-butcher-222295">Susan Butcher</a> won the Iditarod four times, in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1990.  Only one person, Rick Swenson, has <a href="https://iditarod.com/about/champions-records/">won more Iditarods</a> (5) to this day.  Butcher first competed in the Iditarod in 1978 and over her career set several records before retiring and passing away from Leukemia in 2006.  In 2008, the state of Alaska established a Susan Butcher day, celebrated the first Saturday of March. 

Butcher, like Riddles, and every racer in the Iditarod faced hardship. She had to drop out of the race in 1985 when two of her dogs were killed and several were injured by a moose.  The Iditarod is still a male dominated race; a woman hasn’t won the race in 25 years, but that’s bound to change soon. Now almost a third of the racers are women <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/03/01/699390413/blair-braverman-and-her-ugly-dogs-compete-in-their-first-iditarod">NPR</a> reports.  Besides concerns of gender equality, often raised in sports, another controversy has plagued the Iditarod – treatment of dogs.

The Iditarod was originally formulated as a tribute to the Iditarod trail.  The trail was originally a life line for non-native Alaskans to the rest of the world where food and medical supplies could be delivered to remote outposts of the Alaskan ‘frontier’.  As such, the race is a tribute to the harsh realities of the Alaskan environment and a partnership between humans and non-humans to survive there. Things have changed since the times when a dog sled was the only way to deliver important medicine to Alaskan villages.       

The world of 2019 is a very different one from the world of 1973 when the <a href="https://iditarod.com/about/history/">first Iditarod</a> was officially run.  1973 was less than twenty years after the official founding of Sea World in 1959 and decades before the 2013 documentary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNtUK3rW5K4">Blackfish</a> revealed a lot of problems with that park.  It was only in 1966 that the <a href="https://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/animal-welfare-act">Animal Welfare Act</a> was signed into law, less than ten years before the first Iditarod.  Several amendments have been made to the Animal Welfare Act since it was first created, the last being in 2013.  According to <a href="https://foodrevolution.org/blog/vegan-statistics-global/">FoodRevolution.org</a>, veganism has increased by 600% in the US from 2014 to 2017 alone.  It’s not surprising considering how views of animal treatment have changed in the US that a race that in some ways supports an antiquated relationship between humans and dogs has its own controversies.

According to <a href="https://helpsleddogs.org/the-harsh-reality/dog-deaths/">Sled Dog Action Coalition</a>, at least 153 dogs have died in the Iditarod; meanwhile no humans have died during the race.  Statistics of dog deaths from the early years of the race weren’t kept but a resident of Alaska for 40 years, Ted Almasy is quoted:

“That first race, from Anchorage to McGrath, all you could see along the trail was dog blood and dead dogs. That’s when I got into it with them. After each Iditarod, we used to see dead dogs at the dump. You’d see them [Sic] poor dogs, blood coming out of both ends. ”

Words like these raise serious questions of the ethics of a race that simultaneously romanticizes a team of dogs and risks their health and lives without consent.  Indeed, in most of the US, keeping a dog outside in below freezing temperatures for 12 days warrants an animal cruelty conviction, according to <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/iditarod-trail-sled-dog-race-and-animal-cruelty-127645">ThoughtCo</a>.  The race is trying to adapt a bit to changing views on animal treatment ethics. 

Any musher that has been convicted of animal cruelty is disqualified from the race.  There are checkpoints where a veterinarian can check the health of dogs but racers aren’t required to stop at these checkpoints.  Ramy Brooks, a musher, was disqualified for blatant cruelty, such as beating dogs for not continuing across an icefield. Brooks was allowed to race in later years and one of his dogs died in the 2007 race, but it was concluded that the death was unrelated to beating.  Beyond the race itself, culling dogs that aren’t good racers is a common practice among kennels training to compete. A question worth asking is if the Iditarod is capable of changing enough to be seen as morally acceptable in a world where animals are recognized as having more rights and capacities than previously?

Could the answer to change in the treatment of animals be in who the mushers themselves are?  An article in the <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/community-blogs/do-men-care-less-about-animals-than-women">Vancouver Sun</a> asked, “Do men care less about animals than women?”  The answer seems to be as a group, yes.  One study examining 268 prosecutions of animal cruelty found that men are convicted in a ratio of 29 to 1 compared to women in animal abuse.  Other studies have found that women as a group nearly always have more sympathy for animals than men. 

Are the women now racing in the Iditarod a wind of change that could not only lift the status of women in a rugged wilderness race but also push for better treatment of dogs or are the women now racing pushing for victory at all costs?  Blair Braverman in particular, a nature writer and first time competitor in this year’s Iditarod, has already pushed back on the male stereotypical view of man vs. nature, promoting a more feminine perspective on nature in <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/49.19/the-west-when-women-are-telling-the-story?utm_source=wcn1&amp;utm_medium=email">High Country News</a>.  

Will more female competitors mean more female spectators that may in turn raise more questions about the treatment of sled dogs?  Only time will tell. We can only hope that the race, one that celebrates wilderness and human animal collaboration, can fulfill its promise or simply cease.  

--                

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Women in the Iditarod and the treatment of racing dogs

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is famously billed as...

Coyotes are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coyotes-exploded-north-america/">expanding into urban areas</a> and getting more and more used to living alongside humans. 

Now, a new study shows that being comfortable near humans may be an inherited trait as coyote parents who are unafraid of being near people raise pups that have the same fearlessness. 

Because coyote and human interactions are becoming more frequent, it raises the risk of coyote attacks, and researchers from the <a href="http://www.tacoma.uw.edu/">University of Washington Tacoma </a>set out to address some of the factors driving how coyotes adapt to being near well-populated areas and people. 

The study was published in the journal Ecology and Evolution. 

“Even if it's only 0.001 percent of the time, when a coyote threatens or attacks a person or a pet, it's national news, and wildlife management gets called in,” said Christopher Schell, the first author of the study. “We want to understand the mechanisms that contribute to habituation and fearlessness, to prevent these situations from occurring.”

For the study, Schell and a team of researchers monitored eight coyote families at the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">US Department of Agriculture's</a> <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/wildlifedamage/programs/nwrc/research-areas/predator-research/ct_predators">Predator Research Facility</a> in Utah.

Coyotes were not always eager urban explorers, but when their main predator, wolves, were hunted to near extinction in the early 1900s, the coyotes became emboldened to expand into new areas. 

Today, it is not uncommon to hear about coyote sightings in New York City, Los Angeles, and cities in the Pacific Northwest.

[caption id="attachment_1869563" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/coyote-pups.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869563" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/coyote-pups.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="357" /></a> Coyote pups, Image Credit: Christopher Schell[/caption]

The researchers studied the coyote families in Utah over two breeding seasons. Coyotes mate for life and evenly share parental duties. At the Utah facility, the coyotes are raised and live in very little contact with humans, but the researchers wanted to test the coyotes’ comfort levels. 

Typically, food for the coyotes is scattered throughout the enclosure, but the researchers placed all food at the entrance and then sat outside the compound near the food starting five weeks after the birth of a new litter until the pups were 15 weeks old. 

“For the first season, there were certain individuals that were bolder than others, but on the whole they were pretty wary, and their puppies followed,” said Schell. “But when we came back and did the same experiment with the second litter, the adults would immediately eat the food -- they wouldn't even wait for us to leave the pen in some instances.”

With the second litter, the researchers saw this pattern of fearlessness continue and these puppies were even bolder than the pups in the first. 

The researchers collected samples from both litters and from the mothers to test hormone levels, and while the mothers had higher levels of cortisol during their second pregnancy, the researchers say this didn't affect the pups or their willingness to get food. 

“The discovery that this habituation happens in only two to three years has been corroborated, anecdotally, by evidence from wild sites across the nation,” said Schell. “We found that parental effect plays a major role.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main image credit: Steve Guymon/National Wildlife Research Center

Coyote parents who are used to humans raise more fearless pups

Coyotes are expanding into urban areas and getting more and...

Scientists pinpoint areas where wild animals can seek refuge from humans. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a> (WCS) has mapped the world’s remaining “cool spots” where species are still thriving, as well as regions where <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/human-activity-shrink-natural-habitats-species/">human activities</a> are making it a challenge for species to survive, or “hot spots.” Land clearing and unregulated hunting are shrinking the areas where wildlife can escape the pressure of humans. 

Study lead author James Allan of the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> said the results revealed a sobering picture. 

“Nearly a quarter of the species assessed are threatened across nearly 90 percent of their distribution,” Allan said. “Most distressingly, 395 species are impacted throughout their entire range and will almost certainly face extinction without action to remove the threats.” Scientists pinpoint areas where wild animals can seek refuge from humans

There was a total of 5,457 species examined for the study, including 2,060 amphibians, 2,120 birds, and 1,277 mammals. Across 84 percent of the Earth's terrestrial surface, human activities were found to affect these species. For many charismatic animal species, such as elephants and lions, humans impacted the majority of their ranges.


The top “hot spots” identified in the study were areas of Southeast Asia where there is an increasing human presence throughout tropical forests. “Cool spots” were found in parts of the Amazon rainforest, Andes Mountains, and in the forests of Russia and North America.

[caption id="attachment_1869570" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/map.png"><img class="wp-image-1869570" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/map.png" alt="" width="650" height="374" /></a> Image Credit: WCS/UQ[/caption]

According to the researchers, the results of the study should serve as a roadmap of where to direct future conservation investment. The findings could also be used to develop strategies to directly address activities that are driving species declines.

James Watson of the WCS explained: “It is obvious that the vast majority of imperiled species that are not extinct yet, will be if we don't take pre-emptive action. We still have time to adjust and improve, but we need to use the results of this study to focus on saving those areas that as strongholds for these species.”


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists pinpoint areas where wild animals can seek refuge from humans

Scientists pinpoint areas where wild animals can seek refuge from...

Planthoppers, so named for their quick “hop” reflex that allows them to leap away from danger, are small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-wings-host-plant/">plant-eating bugs</a> found in most corners of the world. 

One unusual trait of the planthopper is the way the bug attracts a mate by sending vibrational calls along the plant stems that they perch upon. The strong vibrations travel along the stems, and both males and females use this unique mating call to signal to one another. 

To produce a strong enough vibrational call, the bug needs to expel a large amount of energy and quickly release it. 

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> discovered the secret behind the planthopper’s quick release of stored energy, a complex organ that quickly snaps open and closed to produce the vibrational calls. 

The research was published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000155">PLOS Biology</a>. 

With the snapping organ, the bug can release stored energy like a catapult, and the release occurs cyclically in a repetitive pattern.  

Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou, the lead author of the study, was examining 3D images of planthoppers when he discovered the organ. 

“I was studying 3D images of planthoppers that I had collected using X-ray imaging in a particle accelerator, trying to understand the evolutionary relationships between different groups," said Davranoglou. “But as I dissected the bugs in virtual reality on my computer, I immediately realised that I was looking at something entirely new, so decided to investigate further.”

Davranoglou, along with a team of researchers, collected live planthoppers around Athens to see if the snapping organ was found in other species of planthoppers and to understand how the mechanisms worked. 

The snapping organ was found in all the specimens collected and was present across different families of the bug. 

The researchers made a series of measurements, cross sections, and vibrational scans using microtomography, laser vibrometry, confocal microscopy, and high-speed video recordings. 

Next, the researchers created a theoretical model of the organ to help aid in future studies into the planthopper’s unique anatomy. 

“These insects include several economically important pest species, including the brown planthopper, which is one of the most serious pests on rice in the developing world,” said Dr. Beth Mortimer, a co-author of the study. “Understanding how these insects signal to each other may help in disrupting their communication channels or detecting their calls. Silent to the ear, the planthoppers have come up with their own novel way to communicate with potential mates.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: L.-R. Davranoglou

Planthoppers vibrate plants with a “snapping” organ as a mating call

Planthoppers, so named for their quick “hop” reflex that allows...

The Western Ghats mountain range in Southern India is one of the most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-dictates-biodiversity-hotspots/">biodiverse regions </a>on Earth, and yet the area has remained largely unexplored. 

Researchers led by S.P. Vijayakumar, a postdoctoral scientist at <a href="https://www.gwu.edu/">George Washington University,</a> and Kartik Shanker, an associate professor at the <a href="https://www.iisc.ac.in/">Indian Institute of Science</a>, conducted a large scale survey of amphibians and reptiles across the Western Ghats.

The researchers set out on nocturnal expeditions to better understand the biomass and diversity of frogs and reptiles in the region. 

These expeditions led to the discovery of a small frog that has a vivid orange belly and white spots around its face.

Because the species of the frog was unknown, the researchers sequenced the frog’s DNA to help identify where it belonged in relation to other groups of amphibians. 

“We used molecular sequence data to estimate the historical relationships of this ancient lineage, along with 3-dimensional micro-CT scans of the skeleton,” said R. Alexander Pyron, a co-author of the study. “This gives us crucial information about the historical evolutionary relationships of not only Western Ghats frogs, but also of the deeper structure of the Amphibian Tree of Life.”

[caption id="attachment_1869529" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/frog.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869529" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/frog.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="433" /></a> Astrobatrachus kurichiyana, also known as the Starry Dwarf Frog. Image Credit: S.P.Vijayakumar[/caption]

While the DNA sequencing results showed that the frog was related to two endemic subfamilies of frogs in the area. The frog was also genetically and morphologically different enough that the researchers discovered it was a new species belonging to a new subfamily.

The researchers gave it the name Astrobatrachus kurichiyana or Starry Dwarf Frog.

“The Western Ghats is a critical region that houses many ancient lineages and spectacular radiations,” said Dr. Vijayakumar. “This new frog is a window into the deep history of the landscape. Persistence of such evolutionarily old frogs in the southern parts of this mountain range is a potential signature of a historical climatic refugium in this Gondwanan fragment.”

The researchers detailed their findings in a new study published in the journal PeerJ. 

Future surveys will help determine how abundant the Starry Dwarf Frog is in the area and if conservation measures are needed to help protect the new species.

The study illustrates the rich biodiversity of the Ghats and emphasizes the importance of surveying and studying the region.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: S.P.Vijayakumar

New frog species discovered in biodiversity hotspot in India

The Western Ghats mountain range in Southern India is one...

The fossilized teeth of a newly described but long-extinct species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dna-analysis-mysterious-monkey/">Old World monkey</a> found in Kenya are helping researchers fill in blanks of Old World monkey evolution and diet.  

Between the discovery of a 25 million-year-old fossil monkey tooth found in Tanzania and a 19-million-year-old fossil tooth discovered in Uganda, researchers have been unable to find a fossil that helps link the two.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> and <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington University in St. Louis </a>decided to focus on a fossil-rich area in West Turkana that millions of years ago would have been home to thriving populations of Old Work monkeys in the hopes of filling the six-million-year void. 

“For a group as highly successful as the monkeys of Africa and Asia, it would seem that scientists would have already figured out their evolutionary history,” said John Kappelman, the corresponding author of the study. “Although the isolated tooth from Tanzania is important for documenting the earliest occurrence of monkeys, the next 6 million years of the group's existence are one big blank. This new monkey importantly reveals what happened during the group's later evolution.”

In West Turkana, the researchers found many fossils from reptiles and mammals dating from 21 million years to over 24-million-years-old. Among these fossils were primitive monkey teeth that lacked the molar crests or “lophs” that other Old World monkeys possess. 

The newly described species is called Alophia metios.

[caption id="attachment_1869526" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/fossil-jaw.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869526" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/fossil-jaw.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="530" /></a> A fossil jaw of the newly discovered ancient Old World monkey named Alophia. Image Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA[/caption]

The findings, published in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that monkeys later evolved lophs to fit a more varied diet. Today, Old World monkeys can eat plants and animal foods with ease. 

“You can think of the modern-day monkey molar as the uber food processor, able to slice, dice, mince and crush all sorts of foods,” said Mercedes Gutierrez, an anatomy professor at the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a>.

However, it is not well understood when Old World monkeys developed their highly useful and effective teeth. 

The researchers hypothesize that Old World monkeys evolved lophs when they started eating leaves, something the Alophia would have been unable to do. 

“It is usually assumed that the trait responsible for a group's success evolved when the group originated, but Alophia shows us this is not the case for Old World monkeys,” said Samuel Muteti, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.museums.or.ke/">National Museums of Kenya</a>. “Instead, the characteristic dentition of modern monkeys evolved long after the group first appeared.”

The researchers will continue hunting for fossils that will help confirm their hypothesis and shed more insight into the evolution of Old World monkeys. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA

Fossilized monkey teeth help fill six million year gap in evolution

The fossilized teeth of a newly described but long-extinct species...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.zsl.org/">Zoological Society of London</a> (ZSL) are reporting that the UK's wild newt population appears to be unaffected by the lethal flesh-eating fungus that has been plaguing privately-owned amphibian populations in Western Europe. The scientists are urging private owners to abide by strict regulations to protect <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/killer-fungus-amphibians/">amphibians</a> in the wild.

In 2010, the deadly fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) killed 99 percent of fire salamanders in a population that was being monitored in the Netherlands. There were also drastic declines of the amphibians across Belgium and Germany, with some local populations becoming totally extinct within months of exposure. 

For the current investigation, the researchers collected skin samples from more than 2,400 wild newts in ponds across the UK, and testing showed that Bsal was not present. Study lead author Professor Andrew Cunningham is the Deputy Director of Science at ZSL.

“Identifying potential wildlife health risks before they develop is crucial to protecting species from the potentially devastating impacts of disease,” explained Professor Cunningham. “Having identified that Bsal appears to be absent from wild newts in the UK, we now need to ensure effective biosecurity policies governing the trade of amphibians into the UK are in place, including adequate quarantine and testing of imported amphibians.”

[caption id="attachment_1869501" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/uk-wild-newt.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869501" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/uk-wild-newt.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="867" /></a> Image Credit: Angelia Julian[/caption]

Dr. Becki Lawson added, “We know that infection with Bsal fungus is widespread in captive amphibians in the UK, therefore amphibian owners must take steps to avoid any direct or indirect contact between wild and pet newts, by keeping animals indoors and disinfecting equipment and tanks thoroughly. These actions will help to safeguard the health of both wild and captive amphibians.”

“ZSL's Garden Wildlife Health Project monitors the health of the wildlife found in British gardens, through collating public reports of ill or deceased animals and undertaking subsequent post-mortem examinations. Reports from the public provided crucial information for this study.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Andy Harmer

Wild newts escape a deadly flesh-eating fungus

Experts at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) are reporting...

West African chimpanzee numbers have declined dramatically in recent years. Habitat loss due to mining is the biggest driving factor behind the chimpanzee declines, and populations have decreased by nearly 80 percent. 

But the chimpanzee isn’t the only endangered animal suffering from habitat loss and climate change-driven habitat degradation. Other great apes like bonobos, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/recycling-phones-endangered-gorillas/">gorillas</a>, and orangutans are classified as endangered or critically endangered.

Conservationists working to manage West African chimpanzee populations and find a way to protect chimpanzees and other animals at risk of habitat loss without stifling mining operations, which are a great economic boon to the people of Senegal and other West African countries. 

The problem is that there are concerns that protected areas do little to help species in these regions. For example, locals outsides of the Niokolo-Koba National Park have said that the animals in the park were all gone.

To see if this was the case, Stacy Lindshield, a biological anthropologist at <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/">Purdue University </a>conducted a study comparing Chimpanzee populations both inside and outside the park. 

The study was published in the journal Primatologica. 

“We saw the same number of chimpanzee species inside and outside the park, but more species of carnivores and ungulates in the protected area,” Lindshield said. “There were qualitative and quantitative differences between what people were telling me and what I was seeing in the park. Niokolo-Koba National Park is huge, and the area we study is nestled deeply in the interior where it's difficult for humans to access. As a consequence, we see a lot of animals there.”

Lindshield led a team of researchers and conducted field surveys around two sites, one inside the park and one outside. The researchers also set up cameras to record rarely spotted nocturnal animals. 

Even though the chimpanzee populations were the same at the two sites, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carnivores-healthy-ecosystem/">carnivore populations</a> were 14 percent higher, and hooved animal populations were 42 percent higher in the park. 

One reason for the similar chimpanzee populations is that in some other West African countries, chimpanzees are hunted and killed for meat. The researchers theorize that if parks were utilized in other countries, there might be more noticeable differences in populations in protected areas. 

However, the fact that both carnivore and ungulate (hooved animals) populations were higher in the park shows that national parks in developing regions offer protection and allow populations to grow. 

“This provides evidence that the protected area is effective, at least where we are working, counter to what I was hearing from the public,” said Lindshield. “The management of protected areas is highly complex. Myriad challenges can make management goals nearly impossible, such as funding shortfalls or lack of buy-in from local communities, but I think it's important for people to recognize that this park is not a lost cause; it's working as it's intended to at Assirik, especially for large ungulates and carnivores.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

National parks provide a safe habitat for endangered species

West African chimpanzee numbers have declined dramatically in recent years....

Warmer temps have led to a rise in stink bugs in the US and Europe. The <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/">Royal Horticultural Society</a> (RHS) in the UK recently listed the southern green shield bug as number 6 on its top 10 list of the country’s worst garden pests. 

2018’s unusually hot and dry summer was the catalyst and created the optimal climate for the pest to thrive and wreak havoc in vegetable gardens. The pest is an invasive bug from mainland Europe, and it’s a sap feeder. 

In recent years in the US, there has been a rise in invasive stink bug infestations, and other troublesome pests include aphids and the spotted lanternfly. 

Like the green shield bug, the <a href="http://npic.orst.edu/pest/stinkbug.html">brown marmorated stink bug</a> in the US is also benefiting from climate change. Increases in temperatures are bringing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spring-arriving-earlier-animals/">earlier springs</a> in the US, giving the stink bug more time to feed on plants. 

The stink bug’s <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29069361">rapid spread worldwide</a> is a major cause for concern due to the damage the pest can inflict on crop yields. 

The Royal Horticultural Society reported that besides shield bugs, pear rust is becoming an increasing problem for gardeners due to the warmer summer seasons. 

“Our pest and disease ranking may be evidence of how climate change is impacting on what we find in our gardens,” said Matthew Cromey, the principal scientist at the RHS. “With the UK predicted to see wetter winters, warmer summers, and more extreme weather events, root diseases of trees and shrubs could become even more problematic and the array of pests is likely to change.” 

Box tree caterpillars are spreading across the UK and into northern Ireland, and the bug is ranked first on the RHS top ten list. 2018 marks the third time that box tree caterpillars topped the list in the UK.Warmer temps have led to a rise in stink bugs in the US and Europe 

As climate change continues to shift seasonal temperature norms creating dry summers, wet winters, and weather extremes become more and more common, the impacts that these weather changes pose to agricultural operations will need to be heeded to ensure that crop yields can meet rising food demand. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Warmer temps have led to a rise in stink bugs in the US and Europe

Warmer temps have led to a rise in stink bugs...

Suitable conditions for marine microorganisms will become extremely limited in the Southern Ocean by the end of the century, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a>. At the current rate of ocean acidification, the researchers found that the depth at which some shelled organisms can survive will shrink from an average of 1,000 meters to just 83 meters by the year 2100.


In localized areas, this drastic drop in viable habitat could happen suddenly over a period as short as one year. A transformation of this magnitude would cause cascading changes across ocean ecosystems, severely impacting marine food webs and disrupting global fisheries.

Study co-author Nicole Lovenduski is a professor in CU Boulder's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) and Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR).


“These calcifying organisms will struggle to build and maintain their shells as acidification proceeds,” said Professor Lovenduski. “In the future, a pocket of corrosive water will sit just below the surface, making life difficult for these communities of primarily surface-dwelling organisms.”

Simone Metz is the program director for the National Science Foundation's Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the research. 

“This study shows that our current carbon dioxide emission rates are influencing not only the chemistry of the Southern Ocean but its food web structure as well,” said Metz.


[caption id="attachment_1869408" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/pteropod.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869408" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/pteropod.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="455" /></a> Southern Ocean pteropod, Image Credit: Kristen M. Krumhardt[/caption]

The colder waters of the Southern Ocean increase the solubility of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/high-co2-levels-stratus-clouds/">CO2</a>, making this region particularly vulnerable to acidification. The Southern Ocean also experiences a persistent upwelling that pulls carbon-rich water closer to the surface.

The research team used data from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) to predict ocean acidification under several CO2 emission scenarios, and analyzed water samples collected from the Southern Ocean.

“We suspect that previous studies have overlooked the emergence of the shallow horizon by averaging together data from a number of different models as opposed to looking at individual model realizations,” said study lead author Gabriela Negrete-García, formerly of INSTAAR and now a graduate student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

While the exact timing of the transition is not clear, the research suggests that the change is inevitable in large regions of the Southern Ocean.

“If emissions were curbed tomorrow, this suddenly shallow horizon would still appear, even if possibly delayed,” said Professor Lovenduski. “And that inevitability, along with the lack of time for organisms to adapt, is most concerning."

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/natureclimatechange">Nature Climate Change</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Rising CO2 levels will limit habitats for life in the Southern Ocean

Suitable conditions for marine microorganisms will become extremely limited in...

On Friday, March 8th, the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/">U.S. Food and Drug Administration</a> (FDA) lifted a ban on AquaBounty, the company behind genetically modified salmon that grow twice as fast as normal salmon. The ban previously prohibited AquaBounty from importing its modified <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/salmon-smell-ocean-acidification/">salmon</a> eggs to an Indiana growing facility, where the fish would be grown for about 18 months before being sold for human consumption.

The FDA stated that AquaBounty salmon have undergone safety reviews and the ban has been lifted due to a new regulation that states companies must disclose when a food product is “bioengineered.”

AquaBounty, which was founded in 1991, have modified the Atlantic salmon using DNA from other fish species in order to make the salmon grow faster. The company says they are therefore helping to feed the growing population and meet the demand for animal protein, according to the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/1be7085378684f4990e240870e7c546c">Associated Press</a>.

Despite the ban being lifted, AquaBounty still has hurdles to jump before they’re able to sell their salmon in the U.S. A coalition of consumer, environmental, and fishing groups has challenged the FDA’s decision and have recently filed a lawsuit to prevent the fish, dubbed AquAdvantage, from being sold.

“We think a remedy in our case would stop sale of the fish before they’re allowed to be sold,” said George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety, one of the groups suing the FDA.

The concern is that the AquAdvantage salmon, although all bred to be sterile female fish, may leak into the surrounding natural environment. And if not all of the AquAdvantage fish are sterile, as tests have shown can be possible, the entire species of Atlantic salmon may be at risk for being genetically modified.

Furthermore, Kimbrell and others against the decision also fear that the term “bioengineered” is less recognizable to the consumer than “genetically modified,” and using the former term on packaging may lead unwitting consumers astray.

However, AquaBounty CEO Sylvia Wulf told the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/1be7085378684f4990e240870e7c546c">AP</a> that AquAdvantage fish have already been sold in small quantities in Canada, a country that does not require marked packaging for genetically-modified foods, without issue. Wulf doesn’t believe the lawsuit will affect the company’s progress in the U.S.

The implementation of the new regulation to simply label packaging of bioengineered foods will begin in 2020, and all companies must comply by 2022.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

FDA green lights genetically modified salmon for consumption

On Friday, March 8th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

A new species of small <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-flourishing-killed-off/">dinosaurs</a> has been described based on the discovery of five fossilized upper jaws in the Gippsland region of southeastern Australia. The fossils were embedded in 125 million-year-old rocks that date back to the Cretaceous period.


The new dinosaur, Galleonosaurus dorisae, was a small-bodied herbivore within the larger family of ornithopods. Study lead author Dr. Matthew Herne of the <a href="https://www.une.edu/">University of New England</a> explained, “These small dinosaurs would have been agile runners on their powerful hind legs.”

Dr. Herne also pointed out that the “jaws of Galleonosaurus dorisae include young to mature individuals - the first time an age range has been identified from the jaws of an Australian dinosaur.”

Galleonosaurus dorisae was named after the shape of its upper jaw, which resembled the upturned hull of a sailboat called a galleon, and for the work of Dr. Doris Seegets-Villiers.

[caption id="attachment_1869413" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/fossils.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869413" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/fossils.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="576" /></a> Fossils and 3D CT model of Galleonosaurus dorisae. Image Credit: Matthew Herne[/caption]

The species represents the fifth small ornithopod genus named from Victoria. According to Dr Herne, this fact “confirms that on a global scale, the diversity of these small-bodied dinosaurs had been unusually high in the ancient rift valley that once extended between the spreading continents of Australia and Antarctica.”


Prior to the new study, the only other ornithopod from the Gippsland region was Qantassaurus intrepidus, who was discovered in 1999. Dr. Herne explained that Qantassaurus had a shorter more robust snout than that of Galleonosaurus. He added, “We consider that these two, similarly-sized dinosaurs fed on different plant types, which would have allowed them to coexist.”

The researchers determined that the ornithopods from Victoria are closely related to those from Patagonia. “We are steadily building a picture of terrestrial dinosaur interchange between the shifting Gondwanan continents of Australia, South America and Antarctica during the Cretaceous period,” said Dr. Herne. He added that these are exciting times for dinosaur research.

“Using advanced techniques, such as 3D micro-CT scanning and printing, new anatomical information is being revealed on dinosaurs such as Galleonosaurus dorisae. These techniques are helping us to delve deeper into the mysterious world of dinosaur ecology - what they ate, how they moved and how they coexisted - and their evolutionary relationships with dinosaurs from other continents.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/jpaleontol">Journal of Paleontology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main image copyright James Kuether

New small dinosaur species discovered in southeastern Australia

A new species of small dinosaurs has been described based...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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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;



---



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

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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