The cooperative behavior of bees, resembling a singular "superorganism," is something uniquely remarkable in the world of nature.



It is not uncommon for thousands of worker bees to function collectively to protect the colony, feed it, and look after the offspring. This intricate social conduct unifies their individual actions into a concerted effort.



But how is this complex behavior encoded and inherited among generations of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bees-spread-viruses-to-bumblebees-in-the-spring/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">honey bees</a>? The answer lies in a special gene, as unveiled by a team of scientists.



The research was led by experts at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (<a href="https://www.hhu.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HHU</a>), along with colleagues from Frankfurt/Main, Oxford, and Würzburg. The study has uncovered the genetic underpinnings of honey bee cooperation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-behind-cooperative-bee-behavior">Genes behind cooperative bee behavior</h2>



The principal investigator and the head of the Institute of Evolutionary Genetics at Heinrich-Heine University, Dr. Martin Beye, and his team have made this breakthrough discovery. The research was focused on a gene called "doublesex" or "dsx."



"The behavioral repertoire of the individual bees and their function in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bee-colonies-are-collapsing-as-climate-change-progresses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">colony</a> are not learned, but rather inherited. Until now, it was not known how such complex behaviors were genetically encoded," said Dr. Beye.



The key discovery is that the dsx gene influences worker bee-specific behavior, noted study first author Dr. Vivien Sommer.



"The gene programs whether a worker bee takes up a task in the colony and for how long. This includes collective tasks such as caring for the larvae or foraging for food and social exchanges on food sources, for example," said Dr. Sommer. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gene-editing-in-bees">Gene editing in bees</h2>



The team used the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique to modify the dsx gene in select bees, attaching a QR code to the manipulated bees.



Cameras inside the hive monitored the bees' behavior, and with the assistance of artificial intelligence, video sequences were analyzed to determine individual behavioral patterns.



"Our central question was whether and how the inherited behavioral patterns changed as a result of the gene modification. Such changes must be reflected in the nervous system of the worker bees where the specific behaviour is controlled," said Dr. Sommer.



Adding a twist, the researchers introduced a green fluorescent protein (GFP) into the dsx sequence to visualize the neuronal circuits. 



They found that the dsx gene plays a crucial role in creating specific neural pathways in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-explores-the-basis-of-social-behavior-in-the-insect-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bee’s brain</a>, according to doctoral researcher Jana Seiler, who is also a co-author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-chapter-in-bee-behavior">New chapter in bee behavior </h2>



"Our findings indicate a fundamental genetic program that determines the neuronal circuitry and behavior of worker bees," said Dr. Wolfgang Rössler, an expert in the Department of Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology at the University of Würzburg.



The next challenge is to move from the individual honeybee to the whole bee colony and understand how the gene influences the “superorganism.” 



"We hope to find the link between individual programming and the coordinated behaviour of many individuals," said Alina Sturm, a doctoral researcher at HHU.



Revealing the genetic secret behind the collective behavior of honey bees is more than just a scientific breakthrough. It’s a tribute to the remarkable complexity of nature and its infinite capacity for surprise. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-bee-behavior">Broader implications of bee behavior</h2>



The discovery of a gene that influences honey bee behavior has implications beyond the study of bees.



Understanding how a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-single-gene-allows-cape-honey-bees-to-reproduce-asexually/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">single gene</a> can shape complex social dynamics could inspire innovations in fields such as robotics and artificial intelligence.



For example, roboticists often look to nature for insights into building more efficient, cooperative systems. The hive’s "superorganism" structure could serve as a model for developing autonomous swarm robots designed to work together toward a shared goal.



Additionally, the study of bee cooperation offers valuable insights for ecology and conservation. 



Honey bees play a critical role in pollination. Identifying the genetic foundations of their social behavior could lead to better strategies for supporting bee populations amid environmental threats.



By shedding light on the inner workings of the hive, this research adds a new dimension to preserving biodiversity and maintaining the stability of ecosystems that rely heavily on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-honey-bee-day-protecting-our-vital-pollinators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pollinators</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp3953?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D91765132952246405812279585398434020131%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1730680771" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Bees do not learn to be cooperative - it is in their genes

The cooperative behavior of bees, resembling a singular "superorganism," is something uniquely remarkable in the world of nature. It is not uncommon for thousands of worker bees to function collectively to protect the colony, feed it, and look after the offspring. This intricate social conduct unifies their individual actions into a concerted effort. But how is this complex behavior encoded and inherited among generations of honey bees? The answer lies in a special gene, as unveiled by a team of scientists. The research was led by experts...

A new water <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/boozing-beetles-alcohol/">beetle</a> discovered in Malaysian Borneo by a team of experts and citizen scientists has been named after actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio. The name is a tribute to the 20th anniversary of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) in recognition of the organization's efforts to protect biodiversity.

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is committed to supporting “the long-term health and wellbeing of all Earth's inhabitants.” 

Founded in 1998, the LDF has awarded $80.1 million in grants to 132 environmental organizations in 50 countries. These grants have funded over 200 climate change mitigation, wildlife conservation, and habitat preservation projects.

Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi is one of three previously unknown water beetles found during the first field trip of Taxon Expeditions, an organization that unites nature enthusiasts and international experts to search remote regions for new species.

The group recovered G. leonardodicaprioi at a waterfall in the Maliau Basin. Dr. Iva Njunjic is an entomologist and the founder of Taxon Expeditions.

“Tiny and black, this new beetle may not win any Oscars for charisma, but in biodiversity conservation, every creature counts,” said Dr. Njunjic.

Taxon Expeditions hopes to harness the power of citizen scientists for biodiversity discovery and protection. Despite 250 years of research, scientists estimate that only 20 percent of the world's species are currently known.

In 2016, Leonardo DiCaprio said in a statement, “We've been given this gift, our planet, and we've found no other place in the universe that we can inhabit. I want to do something to create radical change to help save it. It's our responsibility.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://zookeys.pensoft.net/">ZooKeys</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Taxon Expeditions - Hendrik Freitag

New beetle named after Leonardo DiCaprio for his environmentalism

A new water beetle discovered in Malaysian Borneo by a...

Acanthochromis polyacanthus/ spiny chromis

An international team of researchers is reporting that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-saving-coral-reefs/">reef fish</a> are more equipped to handle global warming than previously realized. The experts have discovered that the ability to adjust to warming ocean waters is passed down in reef fish from parents to offspring.

The study, which was led by the <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/">ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies</a> (Coral CoE) is the first to demonstrate the potential for reef fish to adjust to global warming on a genetic level.

“When parents are exposed to an increase in water temperature, we found that their offspring improved their performance in these otherwise stressful conditions by selectively modifying their epigenome,” said senior author Professor Philip Munday.

Epigenetic changes are modifications of the DNA that signal genes to be expressed or suppressed. These adaptations are influenced by many factors, and the study revealed that heat stress has triggered such changes in reef fish.

The researchers found that when both parents and offspring were exposed to the same warmer water temperatures, epigenetic changes took place that enhanced the next generation’s tolerance of the elevated temperatures.

“We reared spiny chromis damselfish, a common Indo-Pacific reef fish, for two generations under three different water temperatures, up to 3 degrees Celsius warmer than current-day ocean temperatures,” explained study co-author Timothy Ravasi.

“The next generation appeared to be advantaged by parental exposure to elevated temperatures. The offspring's altered gene expression, also referred to as ‘acclimation,’ allowed them to maximize oxygen consumption and energy use.”

Professor Munday added, “Acclimation may buffer populations against the impacts of rapid environmental change and provide time for genetic adaptation to catch up over the longer term.”


While this is great news for reef fish, the study authors pointed out that these fish are still seriously threatened by climate change due to the loss of  their coral habitats.


The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/">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

Image Credit: ARC CoE for Coral Reef Studies/ Jennifer Donelson

Some reef fish have genetically adapted to global warming

An international team of researchers is reporting that reef fish...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a> have investigated how fish adapt their bodies to acclimate to the shifting water flow in streams caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-sea-levels-and-increased-urbanization/">urbanization</a>. A species of minnow was found to adjust to environmental changes in urban areas by becoming more streamlined and sleek, while a close relative species living in the country grew deeper-bodied.

Urban development creates conditions that make streams flow more rapidly and less predictably during rain storms. A team of biologists theorized that fish would respond by evolving a body shape to improve their swimming.

“We wanted to test rapid body shape evolution in western and central North Carolina stream fish in response to urbanization,” said study senior author Brian Langerhans. 

“While some species cannot handle the altered conditions and have disappeared or reduced in abundance, some remaining species may rapidly evolve adaptive trait changes to contend with the human-induced changes in their environment.”


The researchers documented patterns of different fish species in streams located in western and central North Carolina. They used fish in museums to track changes in body shape, and analyzed whether the changes were due to nature or nurture using lab experiments.

A minnow called western blacknose dace exhibited the changes in body shape predicted by the researchers, becoming more streamlined in urbanized areas. In rural areas, this minnow maintained its original body shape and was less sleek.

A cousin of the western blacknose dace, the creek chub, was found to evolve in the opposite manner. These fish adapted deeper bodies in urbanized areas surrounded by impervious surfaces such as sidewalks.

“One species showed morphological changes that nicely matched evolutionary predictions of increased streamlining to better handle the altered conditions, but the other species showed a change that did not match our simple prediction, highlighting how different species can solve similar problems in different manners,” explained Langerhans.

When creek chub minnows from both rural and urban areas were raised in a common environment in the lab, the same differences were found as those identified in the field. Urban creek chub individuals became less streamlined than rural individuals, demonstrating that changes in body shape were more influenced by nature than by nurture.

“Human activities are having real-time evolutionary impacts on the organisms capable of living in our human-dominated environments; some of these changes may be predictable and some may be difficult to predict,” said Langerhans.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit:  Elizabeth Kern

City fish develop different body shapes than rural fish

Researchers at North Carolina State University have investigated how fish...

Horses can sense and remember human facial expressions, emotions. A team of psychologists led by the <a href="http://www.sussex.ac.uk/">University of Sussex</a> has found that horses remember people's facial expressions, which allows them to identify individuals who may be a threat.

Professor Karen McComb is a specialist in animal behavior and a co-lead author of the study.

She explained, “What we've found is that horses can not only read human facial expressions but they can also remember a person's previous emotional state when they meet them later that day - and, crucially, that they adapt their behavior accordingly. Essentially horses have a memory for emotion.”

For the investigation, the researchers showed images of happy or angry human faces to domestic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/domesticating-wild-horses-genome/">horses</a>. Several hours later, the individuals from the photographs were presented to the horses with a neutral facial expression.

The experts found distinctive differences in how the horses responded to individuals depending on the emotional expression conveyed in the images. The head orientation and gaze direction of the horses showed that individuals who looked angry in the photographs were perceived more negatively.

Previous studies have demonstrated that animals usually view negative events with their left eye. This is due to the fact that threatening stimuli are processed in the corresponding right brain hemisphere.

In order to prevent the humans from behaving a certain way, they were not informed of whether the horse was shown an angry or happy picture of themselves. The researchers also noted that the cautionary reactions observed in the horses were only given in response to the people they had previously seen with angry expressions and not to other individuals.

“We know that horses are socially intelligent animals, but this is the first time any mammal has been shown to have this particular ability,” said co-lead author Dr. Leanne Proops from the <a href="http://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a>. 

“What's very striking is that this happened after just briefly viewing a photograph of the person with a particular emotional expression - they did not have a strongly positive or negative experience with the person.”

This is the first study to demonstrate that horses have a memory of emotional experiences with specific humans, an ability that may inform their decision to bond with people or to avoid them.

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Horses can sense and remember human facial expressions, emotions

Horses can sense and remember human facial expressions, emotions. A...

The last remaining population of wild red wolves in North Carolina has dwindled down from 120 to 40 in just a decade, according to a new report by the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2018/04/red-wolf-remains-endangered-and-work-continues-on-future-management-of-non-essential-experimental-population-in-eastern-north-carolina/">U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. </a>

Conservation efforts including releasing captive wolves and controlling the coyote population brought the species back from the brink of extinction in the 1980s, and for a brief period, the wolves seemed to bounce back with populations numbering over 100. 

However, hunting, collisions with cars, and disease have all taken a major toll on the wolves. 

The new report which included a five-year assessment of the wolves found that their remaining population cannot be sustained in the wild and could be wiped out in the next twelve years. 

“The population cannot recover from their losses and overcome mortality resulting in a steadily declining population,” <a href="https://www.fws.gov/southeast/pdf/five-year-reviews/red-wolf-2018.pdf">the review</a> says.

Leopoldo Miranda, an Assistant Regional Director for the Fish and Wildlife Service told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5652969/Government-Wild-red-wolf-population-soon-wiped-out.html">Daily Mail</a> that the agency already spends $1 million on red wolves annually. 

“The conditions conducive to self-sustainability are not present at this time in eastern North Carolina,” Miranda said. 

230 wolves are currently living captivity but this is not likely to have any impact on the wolves living in the wild as efforts to release captive red wolves have halted in recent years. 

The purpose of the assessment, according to the report, was to examine the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/judge-us-failed-protect-red-wolves/">red wolves</a> to see if their status had changed at all since they were first declared endangered. 

The two major factors impacting the wolves decline were gunshots resulting in more than 80 deaths over a 25 year period, and collisions with vehicles that caused 70 deaths during that same period. 

The results show that the species is still endangered and may well be on the fast track to extinction. 

However, while the outlook is bleak, conservation groups are claiming federal officials were negligent and have not done enough in recent years to protect the wolves. 

“The Fish and Wildlife Service is not taking the action that is required to recover the species, and indeed these documents indicate that they're going to continue down that path,” Sierra Weaver, an environmental lawyer told the Daily Mail. 

Weaver is part of a group of lawyers working on a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service stating that the agency has purposely stopped recovery efforts in the last five years. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wild red wolves confirmed as endangered and only 40 remain

The last remaining population of wild red wolves in North...

Anyone familiar with scuba-diving has probably heard of the bends, the potentially fatal “diver’s disease” where surfacing too quickly can cause nitrogen bubbles to build up in the bloodstream. 

While diving to high-pressure depths, our lungs, and the lungs of any air-breathing mammal, compress and nitrogen bubbles build up in the body's tissues. 

These nitrogen bubbles need an adequate amount of time to be exhaled from the lungs but ascending too quickly can cause nitrogen bubbles to build up in the bloodstream. 

While the bends are a problem for human divers, what about marine mammals like whales who spend their lives effortlessly diving down for prey and surfacing back up again for oxygen? 

Previous research has found that marine mammals are capable of succumbing to the bends, but a new study may have identified the biological mechanisms that reduce the risk of decompression sickness in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossils-earliest-toothless-whales/">whales</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bottlenose-dolphins-canadian-pacific/">dolphins</a>. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="http://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> (WHOI) and the <a href="https://www.oceanografic.org/fundacion/">Fundacion Oceanografic</a> in Spain and published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 

“How some marine mammals and turtles can repeatedly dive as deep and as long as they do has perplexed scientists for a very long time,” said Michael Moore, the co-author of the study. “This paper opens a window through which we can take a new perspective on the question.”

The researchers hypothesized that the unique lung structure of whales, dolphins, and porpoises allows them to dive and surface with more freedom than humans. 

The team examined this lung architecture by taking CT images of a deceased dolphin, seal, and pig in a pressurized hyperbaric chamber. 

In the pressure chambers, their lungs created two pulmonary regions and one collapsed while the other was filled with air. 

The researchers suggest that the constricted pulmonary region allows blood flow but limits nitrogen bubbles from entering the bloodstream and tissues. This could help explain why marine mammals don’t get the bends as frequently as humans do. 

However, the system could be interrupted and fail, causing the same decompression sickness symptoms in whales and dolphins as are experiences by humans. 

“Excessive stress, as may occur during exposure to human-made sound, may cause the system to fail and increase blood to flow to the air-filled regions,”  said Daniel García-Parraga, the study’s lead author. “This would enhance gas exchange, and nitrogen would increase in the blood and tissues as the pressure decreases during ascent.”

There have actually been reports of <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/sonar-could-be-giving-whales-the-bends-700901.html">catastrophic whale beaching incidents</a> related to nearby naval sonar testing. 

The researchers hope this study will aid in future research aimed at understandings how lung blood flow and ventilation patterns change due to different stressors in marine mammals. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Lance Wills, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Secret weapon helps marine mammals avoid the bends

Anyone familiar with scuba-diving has probably heard of the bends,...

Scientists are able to learn extremely detailed and interesting things about long-extinct species just by examining the teeth they left behind. They’re often able to assess everything from what food they ate to how they caught their prey. 

In a new study published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home?code=cell-site">Current Biology</a>, researchers reveal that predatory, bird-like theropod <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-asteroid-struck/">dinosaurs</a> that existed during the Upper Cretaceous (100.5 to 66 million years ago) in Spain and Canada, all used the puncture-and-pull bite method to kill and consume their prey. However, these dinosaurs weren’t always in competition for their next meal. The researchers found that some would prey on larger, struggling prey, while others would go for smaller and less tough prey.

“All these dinosaurs were living at the same time and place, so it is important to know if they were competing for food resources or if they were aiming for different prey,” says Angelica Torices of <a href="http://www.unirioja.es/">Universidad de La Rioja</a>, Spain. “Through this work we [can] begin to understand the interactions between these predatory dinosaurs in the ecosystem a bit better.”

Torices examined the microwear – which is the patterns of tiny scratches on the teeth – of these dinosaurs to see if there was any pattern to the way certain dinosaurs were eating. Her research team used a modeling approach known as finite elements analysis, used to solve problems in mathematical physics and engineering, in order to determine how the dinosaurs’ teeth likely behaved at different cutting angles.

The results of these analyses showed that all of the dinosaurs studied used a puncture-and-pull feeding movement, which caused parallel scratches to form while they bit down into their prey, then oblique scratches as the head pulled backwards with the jaw closed. But they also determined that different tooth shapes performed variably under a number of simulated biting angles.

[caption id="attachment_1213967" align="aligncenter" width="996"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/theropod-dinosaurs.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-1213967" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/theropod-dinosaurs-1024x500.jpg" alt="" width="996" height="486" /></a> Image Credit: Sydney Mohr/Current Biology[/caption]

The teeth of Dromaeosaurus and Saurornitholestes were well suited for holding struggling prey, or for processing bone as part of their diet. On the other hand, Troodon teeth were less likely to succeed at awkward bite angles, and the findings suggest that troodontids may have preferred softer and smaller prey that would require less bite force or could be swallowed whole. They also may have gone after immobile prey, such as carrion. 

Torices is continuing this line of research, as her team is working to develop more complex models that include the roots of teeth as well as dinosaurs’ jaws, in order to get a better idea of their biting process and thus their eating and hunting strategies.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Teeth fossils reveal how dinosaurs attacked and ate their prey

Scientists are able to learn extremely detailed and interesting things...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.nig.ac.jp/nig/">National Institute of Genetics</a> (NIG) in Japan recently investigated the perceptive ability of animals to sense danger. The researchers found a neural circuit which is responsible for “fear conditioning” in zebrafish, and they theorize that this mechanism has been selected throughout the evolution of vertebrates.

When animals encounter dangerous situations, they memorize the signs associated with these events and learn to be cautious of them in a learning process known as fear conditioning.

“In mammals including human and mouse, fear conditioning is mediated by a brain area called the amygdala. The amygdala integrates information about dangerous events, like electric shock, and some signs, such as visual or auditory stimuli. However, in fish, such neurons have not been found,” explained lead author Professor Koichi Kawakami.

“It is important to explore such neurons in fish because we can increase the knowledge about fundamental neural circuits for animals to perform evolutionary conserved fear conditioning.”

Using groundbreaking technology, which had been previously developed by Professor Kawakami's team, the researchers were able to manipulate specific neurons in zebrafish. The scientists conducted a behavioral analysis in which the fish relied on fear conditioning to escape mild electrical shocks that coincided with green LED lights.

The study revealed that neurons in the dorsomedial (Dm) area of the telencephalon are responsible for fear conditioning in thzebrafish. These neurons are functionally equivalent to the amygdala of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/whales-largest-mammals/">mammals</a>. 

The findings of this study will provide scientists with new insight on the structure and evolution of the neural circuit that is utilized in fear conditioning. Professor Kawakami said the study is also expected to provide the foundation for a better understanding of the cause of diseases involving fear and anxiety.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/">BMC Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Animals can sense danger due to special fear conditioning

Scientists at the National Institute of Genetics (NIG) in Japan...

Horse found buried in a ceremonial tomb 3,000 years ago. The remains of an ancient horse recovered along the Nile River Valley is providing scientists with new insight into the relationship between humans and animals over 3,000 years ago. The researchers were amazed to discover that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-horses-western-us/">horse</a> had been given a proper funeral with a burial shroud.

The horse was found in 2011 in Tombos, Sudan, more than 5 feet underground in a tomb. The skeleton was so well-preserved that some chestnut hair still remained on the horse’s legs.

“It was clear that the horse was an intentional burial, which was super fascinating,” said Professor Michele Buzon of <a href="http://www.purdue.edu/">Purdue University</a>. 

“Remnants of fabric on the hooves indicate the presence of a burial shroud. Changes on the bones and iron pieces of a bridle suggest that the horse may have pulled a chariot. We hadn't found anything like this in our previous excavations at Tombos. Animal remains are very rare at the site.”

Professor Buzon has been studying remains at this dig site in Sudan since 2000 with Stuart Tyson Smith, an Anthropology professor at the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California, Santa Barbara</a>.

The team excavates and analyzes artifacts to understand the lives of Nubians and Egyptians during the New Kingdom Empire, which is when Egyptians colonized the area to access to trade routes on the Nile River around 1500 B.C. Hundreds of pieces of cultural evidence recovered at this burial site, such as tools and pottery, have been attributed to around 200 people. 

“Finding the horse was unexpected,” said study lead author Sarah Schrader. “Initially, we weren't sure if it was modern or not. But as we slowly uncovered the remains, we began to find artifacts associated with the horse, such as the scarab, the shroud and the iron cheekpiece. At that point, we realized how significant this find was. Of course, we became even more excited when the carbon-14 dates were assessed and confirmed how old the horse was.”

Radiocarbon dating traced the age of the horse back to the Third Intermediate Period, from 1050-728 B.C.E.

“The horse was treated well in life, seeing as how it lived to a mature age,” said Schrader. “It also was important to the people of ancient Tombos because it was buried - a rite that is usually reserved for humans. Furthermore, the fact that one of the earliest pieces of iron from Africa was found in association with the horse reiterates how special it was to the people. It is also important to assess the context of Tombos with regard to the horse - the horse is an important and rare find. The fact that it is buried at Tombos indicates that this town may have served an important function in the post-colonial Napatan Period.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/">Antiquity</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: <a href="http://www.purdue.edu/">Purdue University
</a>

Horse found buried in a ceremonial tomb 3,000 years ago

Horse found buried in a ceremonial tomb 3,000 years ago....

Birds are the most widely studied taxonomic group of animals on Earth, and according to a new five-year report, more and more species are in decline and could even go extinct. 

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baby-birds-hatch-late/">Birds</a> make up some of the most colorful and diverse species on the planet, and from pet parrots to hunting with falcons, we as humans are drawn to the winged animals. 

But according to the <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/sites/default/files/attachments/BL_ReportENG_V11_spreads.pdf">State of the World’s Bird Report,</a> as many as one in eight bird species is now at risk of extinction.

Human activities are the biggest drivers of these new worrying numbers as agriculture, logging, and hunting are threatening populations of many different bird species including the turtle dove, the Atlantic puffin, and the snowy owl. 

The State of the World’s Birds Report analyzed bird population data, particularly focusing on the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List</a>, which is the leading standard for threatened species records. 

The report, which is produced by the organization <a href="http://www.birdlife.org/">BirdLife International</a>, revealed that agriculture was the biggest culprit, accounting for 74 percent of the 1,469 bird species at risk of extinction around the world. 

The other major activities impacting population declines were logging, invasive species, and hunting. Hunting accounted for the reduced population in 35 percent of endangered birds worldwide. 

Hunting is a problem for species like the yellow-breasted bunting, which has lost 90 percent of its populations over the years as its considered a Chinese delicacy. 

“Each time we undertake this assessment we see slightly more species at risk of extinction – the situation is deteriorating and the trends are intensifying,” said Tris Allinson, Senior Global Science Officer for BirdLife International, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/23/one-in-eight-birds-is-threatened-with-extinction-global-study-finds">The Guardian</a>. “Now we're seeing once widespread and familiar species – European turtle doves, Atlantic puffins, and kittiwakes – under threat of global extinction.”

The report shows that most of the drivers of species loss identified are anthropogenic, or human activities, which means that reversing the trends of decline is not an impossible feat. 

Rather, according to Allinson, it would take a mass conservation and management effort aimed at preventing species endangerment rather than simply saving one species from the brink at a time. 

“Everything is reversible because everything is unfortunately of humankind’s making,” Allinson told The Guardian. “It’s one thing to work at the last-minute on particular species and drag them back from the edge but what we do need is wide-scale solutions to agricultural intensification and expansion in particular – they are the biggest driver of extinction in birds.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Farming, logging, and hunting driving many birds to extinction

Birds are the most widely studied taxonomic group of animals...

As the winter season becomes shorter and spring arrives sooner, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warming-shifting-climate-boundaries/">global warming</a> is disturbing the natural rhythms of forest ecosystems. Research led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has revealed that baby birds are hatching too late to benefit from peak numbers of caterpillars, which the chicks feed on.

“Forests have a short peak in caterpillar abundance, and some forest birds time their breeding so this coincides with the time when their chicks are hungriest,” said Dr. Malcolm Burgess of the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>.

“With spring coming earlier due to climate change, leaves and caterpillars emerge earlier and birds need to breed earlier to avoid being mismatched. We found that the earlier the spring, the less able birds are to do this.”

The researchers compared the emergence of spring oak tree leaves and caterpillars to the timing of nesting in three bird species across the UK.

Dr. Burgess said that the biggest mismatch was found among pied flycatchers. “As migratory birds, they are not in the UK in winter and therefore are much less able to respond to earlier spring weather,” he explained.


The study, which was largely dependent upon data collected from citizens scientists, is the first to analyze whether the mismatch is greater in southern parts of Britain.

“We found no evidence of north-south variation in caterpillar-bird mismatch for any of the bird species,” said study co-author Dr. Ally Phillimore. “Therefore, population declines of insectivorous birds in southern Britain do not appear to be caused by greater mismatch in the south than the north.”


The scientists determined that the hatching of chicks in the forest will become increasingly mismatched with an abundance of caterpillars unless the birds adapt by shifting the timing of their breeding.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Tom Wallis

Earlier spring causing baby birds to hatch too late to find food

As the winter season becomes shorter and spring arrives sooner,...

Glass frogs are found in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/10-largest-rainforests/">rainforests</a> of Central and South America and remain one of nature’s more fascinating oddities. It’s name perfectly matches its physical appearance, with translucent skin so clear you can see the frog’s organs.  

The lack of pigmentation that allows us to see the glass frog’s heart pumping and innards hard at work is a mystery to scientists, but they are an impressive sight nonetheless. 

Photographer Jamie Culebras recently published a stunning series of new photos of a female glass frog that appeared in the <a href="http://dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>.

Culebras was making an inventory of amphibians and reptiles in the Mashpi Reserve in Ecuador when he came across the female glass frog. 

“In the picture you can see perfectly the internal organs of the glass frog,” Culebras told the Daily Mail. 

What makes these new photos so noteworthy is the fact that you can see the eggs of the female growing inside her. 

“It is a female and you can also see the eggs that are growing inside, the green balls, which will later lay on the underside of a leaf of a plant over a stream and whose mass eggs will be taken care of by the male,” said Culebras. “After seeing this you can understand why these kind of frogs are called glass frogs.”

Glass frogs, unlike most other frog species, do not abandon their eggs and instead, the female lays them and the males carefully stand guard over the eggs 24/7. The males ward off predators until the frogs hatch into tadpoles. 

Male glass frogs are also extremely territorial and will fight other trespassing males. 

“I love this picture because I love to show wildlife behaviours and curiosities and interesting nature facts,” said Culebras. “It's wonderful. Every day nature surprises me.”

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Caters News Agency, <a href="http://dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>

Transparent skin of glass frogs reveals eggs waiting to be hatched

Glass frogs are found in the rainforests of Central and...

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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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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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?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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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...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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