When you think of gaming and Virtual Reality worlds, you probably picture people with VR headsets dodging virtual bullets or exploring fantastical landscapes, not animals hooked to electrodes.



But now, this technology is being used for something completely different -- studying the behavior of small creatures, like hoverflies and crabs, when they're exposed to "fake" or "augmented" worlds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dynamics-of-flight">Dynamics of flight</h2>



This novel approach emerged from a desire to comprehend the aerodynamics of flying insects, along with other enigmatic animal behaviors.



A study led by Flinders University introduces us to a whole new way of observing how invertebrates react to, communicate with, and traverse through the virtual "worlds" that today's avant-garde entertainment technology can create.



This exploration could provide <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-tool-superanimal-can-accurately-analyze-animal-behavior/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">invaluable insights</a> that offer a push forward in the realm of new technologies, like aviation and precision devices.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-developing-virtual-reality-tech-for-animals">Developing virtual reality tech for animals</h2>



The development of this unique software was a collaborative effort by several experts at <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flinders University</a> in Western Australia, in collaboration with researchers from Germany.



Among the key contributors are Professor Karin Nordström, who leads the Hoverfly Motion Vision Lab, and her co-researchers including Dr. Yuri Ogawa, Dr. Richard Leibbrandt, and Raymond Aoukar.



Their combined expertise and dedication have made it possible to open up this specially designed software platform to researchers worldwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-observing-animals-in-a-virtual-world">Observing animals in a virtual world</h2>



Dr. Ogawa, a research fellow in Neuroscience at the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, explained how their team developed computer programs to create an immersive VR experience for the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-and-possibly-even-insects-have-emotions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creatures</a>.



"Using machine learning and computer vision algorithms, we could observe the animals and decode their actions, from a hoverfly attempting to make a left turn during flight to a fiddler crab dodging a virtual bird," said Dr. Ogawa.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/virtual-reality_CAVE-system_animal-testing_illustration_Flinders-U_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/virtual-reality_CAVE-system_animal-testing_illustration_Flinders-U_1s.webp" alt="Trackball set-up. The crabs were placed on an air cushioned treadmill. Stimuli consisted of a virtual crab below the horizon (dark grey) and virtual bird above the horizon (pale grey) which were presented on either of the four adjacent stimulus monitors surrounding the treadmill. The experimental crab was held in place by a rod attached to its carapace that allowed it to slide up and down and rotate freely around the center of the ball, but not move away. Credit: Flinders University" class="wp-image-1951730"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Trackball set-up. The crabs were placed on an air cushioned treadmill. Stimuli consisted of a virtual crab below the horizon (dark grey) and virtual bird above the horizon (pale grey) which were presented on either of the four adjacent stimulus monitors surrounding the treadmill. The experimental crab was held in place by a rod attached to its carapace that allowed it to slide up and down and rotate freely around the center of the ball, but not move away. Credit: Flinders University</figcaption></figure>



But that's not all - the software also modifies the digital landscape to sync with the animals' movements. 



The machine learning technologies used in this experiment are already disrupting various industries, from agriculture to medicine, architecture, and transportation, as noted by Dr. Leibbrandt.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-playground-for-invertebrates">New playground for invertebrates</h2>



The emergence of virtual reality for invertebrates has started unveiling novel methods for studying animal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-is-contagious-and-this-applies-to-animals-too/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">behaviors</a> more intimately than ever before.



Raymond Aoukar, a computer science graduate from Flinders University, emphasized the significance of this project.



"The past two decades have witnessed rapid progress in gaming, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and high-speed computation using specific computer hardware in graphics cards," said Aoukar.



"Today, these technologies are mature and accessible enough to operate on consumer computer devices. This accessibility offers the opportunity to look at animal behavior in an environment that's systematically controlled but more natural than a typical lab experiment."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bridging-gaps-between-disciplines">Bridging gaps between disciplines</h2>



The intersection of technology and biology in studying animal behavior is an exemplary case of interdisciplinary collaboration. 



By bringing together expertise from areas such as computer science, neuroscience, and biology, researchers can leverage technological advancements to deepen our understanding of biological processes. 



This collaboration fosters innovation and ensures a more comprehensive approach to problem-solving.



The project's success highlights the importance of bridging gaps between distinct fields, leading to brand new insights and applications that have far-reaching implications beyond the immediate study of invertebrate behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-virtual-reality-for-future-animal-research">Virtual reality for future animal research</h2>



The implications of utilizing virtual reality to study animal behavior are vast and promising. 



This state-of-the-art approach promises to shift paradigms in ecological and biological research by enabling scientists to simulate complex environments and observe real-time interactions in a controlled manner.



Future research could expand the application of these technologies to more animal species, potentially revolutionizing how we study and interact with wildlife. 



Moreover, this innovative intersection has the potential to influence other technological advancements, setting a precedent for future endeavors that merge the realms of technology with nature to solve intricate mysteries of the natural world. 



Such advancements are poised to contribute to more sustainable technological and ecological systems, thus enhancing our understanding and preservation of biodiversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-virtual-reality-to-identify-animal-behavior">Virtual reality to identify animal behavior</h2>



Apart from simply observing and quantifying behavior through virtual reality, the new approach allows the identification of visual triggers for certain behaviors in animals.



Other research groups have already started showing interest in using this revolutionary platform. The researchers look forward to employing VR to dig deeper into the decision-making processes of insects.



To simplify experimental design and data storage, the team developed a user-friendly Unity Editor interface that doesn't require coding. 



The CAVE, an open-source project from the <a href="https://hoverflyvision.weebly.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hoverfly Motion Vision Lab</a>, streamlines the process of setting up a Tethered Flight Arena.



This new virtual playground for insects and other small creatures may have started as a fun experiment, but its implications and potentials are nothing short of fascinating. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.14449" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Methods in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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Animals were wired and placed in Virtual Reality worlds just to see what would happen

When you think of gaming and Virtual Reality worlds, you probably picture people with VR headsets dodging virtual bullets or exploring fantastical landscapes, not animals hooked to electrodes. But now, this technology is being used for something completely different -- studying the behavior of small creatures, like hoverflies and crabs, when they're exposed to "fake" or "augmented" worlds. Dynamics of flight This novel approach emerged from a desire to comprehend the aerodynamics of flying insects, along with other enigmatic animal behaviors. A study led by Flinders University...

Nothing gets your pooch’s tail wagging and excitement up like the w-word, walk. That and maybe seeing you after a long absence. Well, let’s face it, dogs are pretty easily pleased overall. That’s why we love them. But one study out of the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> and Center for Diet and Activity Research at the <a href="http://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> showed that owning a dog and walking them regularly had a hugely positive impact on keeping older adults more active.

The results were found using data from the EPIC Norfolk cohort study, which currently looks at the health of residents of Norfolk. 

The study particularly focused on those who were less likely to be active later in life and in climates with bouts of bad weather. Research teams looked at over 3,000 adults who were asked if they owned a dog and were given an accelerometer to wear for seven days to measure physical activity. 

The end results found that those who owned a dog were far more active than those who weren’t (30 minutes more), even if the weather was poor. After all, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rainfall-carbon-emissions-soil-microbes/">rain</a> or shine, Rover has to go. In fact, this is one thing professor and project lead Andy Jones mentioned in his findings.  He said, “Being driven by something other than our own needs might be a really potent motivator and we need to find ways of tapping into it when designing exercise interventions in the future."

The confirmed findings, although not suggesting that everyone get out and buy a puppy, were helpful to show even small ways that can counter inactivity later in life no matter the weather. According to the study, bad weather was one of the biggest hindrances to regular exercise.

--

By <a href="mailto:rarnold@earth.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dog walking found to keep older adults more active

Nothing gets your pooch’s tail wagging and excitement up like...

In a strange, natural phenomenon, humans are able to experience empathy for the pain of other humans. But could mice be capable of this as well?

This brain activity occurs in the somatosensory cortex, the insula (INS), and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) – the same regions that are associated with pain itself. Often, we’ll associate phenomena such as this to an ability that is unique in humans, given its complexity. But researcher Monique Smith and her colleagues set out to determine whether or not this same trait occurs in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mice-no-smell-burn-fat/">mice</a>.

The research team had previously shown that “bystander” mice kept with other mice undergoing withdrawal from opioids or alcohol experienced hyperalgesia – which is a heightened sensitivity to pain – similar to the induced-withdrawal mice. Now they wanted to determine whether or not this social transfer of pain was resulting in the same brain region as it was in humans.

In their study, they compared the brain activity of “primary” mice with access to increasing concentrations of ethanol to that of “bystander” mice housed in the same room. 

They found that primary mice exhibited increased activity in the dorsal medial hypothalamus once their access to alcohol was cut off. This is likely indicative of this region’s role in alcohol withdrawal. At the same time, bystander mice showed increased activity in the ACC and INS. Furthermore, they found that hyperalgesia could be reversed in both primary and bystander mice by inhibiting activity in the ACC.

Ultimately, these findings point to a potential neural overlap between physically-induced and socially-transferred hyperalgesia, increasing our understanding of both pain and empathy for pain in mice – and possibly humans as well.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a>

Study reveals that mice are capable of empathy

In a strange, natural phenomenon, humans are able to experience...

Dogs have become much more friendly with humans after their genetic divergence with wolves thousands of years ago. Researchers have now identified a genetic marker in domestic dogs that is also found in people who have Williams-Beuren syndrome, a developmental condition that causes extremely sociable and outgoing behavior.

“The genetic basis for the behavioral divergence between dogs and wolves has been poorly understood, especially with regard to dogs’ success in human environments,” said Monique Udell, an animal scientist at Oregon State University.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> and <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> developed problem-solving tasks to evaluate 18 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-developed-wolves-europe/">domesticated</a> dogs and 10 human-socialized wolves. 

For the first experiment, the animals were given boxes containing sausages, and were allowed two minutes to figure out how to open the boxes. A person was placed in the room in order to test the responses of both groups to the presence of a human. The dog most often abandoned the task and focused their attention on the person, while the wolf was not concerned with the individual and attempted to complete their challenge.

In a second evaluation, a person was placed inside of a marked circle. First, the human attempted to make contact with the animals and called out their names. Next, the individual sat inside the circle without attempting any physical contact. Both wolves and dogs immediately approached the person in both phases of the test. However, the wolf lost interest within seconds and wandered away, while the dog stuck around for long periods of time.

The team used molecular tools to analyze blood samples from the animals. The blood tests revealed that dogs have the same genetic markers of people who suffer from Williams-Beuren syndrome, a condition that is characterized by hypersocial behavior.

“It was once thought that during domestication dogs had evolved an advanced form of social cognition that wolves lacked,” explained Udell. “This new evidence would suggest that dogs instead have a genetic condition that can lead to an exaggerated motivation to seek social contact compared to wolves.”

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a>

The real reason why dogs are so friendly and love everybody

Dogs have become much more friendly with humans after their...

Climate change is set to reshape our coastlines, weather events, economies, and basic daily life. But it could also bring along the the end of some of our most lovable animals species. Remember Arthur the Aardvark?

The aardvark, a nocturnal, burrowing mammal in Africa, could be threatened with extinction by climate change, according to a new study.

The study was performed by researchers at the <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/">University of Witwatersrand</a> and published in the journal <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/13/7/20170301">Biology Letters</a>.

“Our results do not bode well for the future of aardvarks facing climate change,” the authors wrote. ”Their survival may be threatened by climate change via direct and indirect effects of increasing heat and aridity.”

The researchers implanted devices to measure temperature and activity of six adult aardvarks in the Kalahari desert. Five of the six were found dead during a severe summer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fluctuating-sea-temperature-droughts/">drought</a> in 2013.

The aardvarks “did not exhibit sufficient physiological plasticity to survive a summer drought in a semi-arid desert,” the study found.

The drought also appeared to reduce aardvark prey, such as ants and termites, the study said.

A drop in the aardvark population could also affect other species who live in their burrows to escape.

“The burrows excavated by aardvarks provide thermal refugia for at least 27 vertebrate species,” the study said. “With climate change, these refugia will become increasingly important for those species to buffer climatic extremes.”

This, in turn, could cause an “ecological cascade,” as seen with digging mammals in Australia, the researchers added.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/13/7/20170301">Biology Letters</a>

Climate change threatens the future of the aardvark

Climate change is set to reshape our coastlines, weather events,...

Scientists have discovered that male northern elephant seals have a talent previously believed to be unique to humans. Research revealed that these mammals have the ability to recognize their rivals according to the timing and the tone of vocalizations.

"This is the first natural example where on a daily basis, an animal uses the memory and the perception of rhythm to recognize other members of the population," said first author Nicolas Mathevon. "There have been experiments with other mammals showing that they can detect rhythm, but only with conditioning."

The research team focused their study on an elephant seal colony in California’s Año Nuevo State Park for several years. Mathevon explained that the researchers were able to recognize many of the individual animals just by the rhythm of their voices. The scientists developed a test to determine if the elephant seals were able to make these distinctions in the same way. 

The experiment was based on the social behavior of the colony's beta males, who become submissive and retreat at the sound of a robust alpha male call. On the other hand, the beta males confront or ignore other beta males and weaker outside <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-determines-social-dominance/">males</a>.

The scientists altered the pitch and the tempo of the alpha male calls, and observed the responses of the beta males. If the computer-modified call closely resembled the sound of an alpha male call, the beta males fled the scene. If the alteration was more extreme, the beta males did not retreat. 

The findings of the study, published today in <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>, suggest that the seals are perceptive to both the rhythm and tone of the calls when identifying potential rivals.

"It is possible that maybe the ability to perceive rhythm is actually very general in animals, but it's extremely important for elephant seals, to the point of survival, explained Mathevon. “Competing for females, the males fight very violently, even to the point of killing one another. So it's very important for them to accurately recognize the voices, to be able to choose the right strategy, to know to avoid a fight with a dominant male, or even to start a fight with an inferior one."

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>

Image: Nicolas Mathevon

Elephant seals can identify rivals by the rhythm of their calls

Scientists have discovered that male northern elephant seals have a...

The modern dogs we know and love emerged 20,000 to 40,000 years ago in Europe from the domestication of a population of gray wolves, according to a new study.

An international research team led by Krishna R. Veeramah of <a href="http://www.stonybrook.edu/">Stony Brook University</a> analyzed DNA from two prehistoric <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/test-predicts-best-guide-dogs/">dogs</a> from Germany. The genomes of the dogs were the probable ancestors of modern European dogs, the study concluded.

In 2016, an <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">Oxford University</a> research team used emerging paleogenomics techniques on DNA from a dog that lived 5,000 years ago in Ireland. The Oxford scientists suggested dogs were domesticated not once, but twice. An indigenous dog population domesticated in Europe was replaced by incoming migrants domesticated independently in East Asia sometime during the Neolithic era, they suggested.

The new study reached a different conclusion.

“Contrary to the results of this previous analysis, we found that our ancient dogs from the same time period were very similar to modern European dogs, including the majority of breed dogs people keep as pets,” Veeramah said. “This suggests that there was no mass Neolithic replacement that occurred on the continent and that there was likely only a single domestication event for the dogs observed in the fossil record from the Stone Age that we also see and live with today.”

Dogs were the first animal to be domesticated by humans, the study said. The oldest dog fossils that can be clearly distinguished from wolves are from the region of what is now Germany from around 15,000 years ago.

The new study found evidence that the 5,000-year-old dog from Ireland was a mixture of European dogs and something that resembles current central Asian/Indian dogs. This may reflect that people moving into Europe from the Asian Steppes at the beginning of the Bronze Age brought their own dogs with them, the study said.

The research was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.stonybrook.edu/">Stony Brook University</a>

Study: Modern day dogs developed from wolves in Europe

The modern dogs we know and love emerged 20,000 to...

Bamboo sharks use their shoulders to serve as tongues to help them eat, according to a new <a href="http://www.brown.edu/">Brown University</a> study.

The sharks pull their "shoulder girdles" back, creating the suction required to push food through the back of the mouth and into the digestive tract, said Ariel Camp, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University and lead author of the study.

"They have this long pharynx, and they have to keep food moving down it," Camp said. "We think this is part of a 'hydrodynamic tongue.' Sharks and fishes that don't have a tongue control the motion of fluid within their mouths to manipulate food."

Researchers used a technology developed at Brown called X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM). It combines CT scans of the skeleton with high-speed, high-resolution X-ray movies. Tiny implanted metal markers create precise images of how bones and muscles move within animals and people.

The team used XROMM to watch three bamboo sharks eat pieces of squid and herring.

Bamboo sharks are among several species that use suction to slurp up prey out of rocky crevices or silt, Camp said. Opening their mouths widely and quickly, sometimes using muscles deep in their bodies, can create the suction they need.

The shoulder girdle is not connected directly to the jaws or head, so many scientists suspected it wasn’t involved in suction feeding.

However, the XROMM measured a swing in the shoulder girdle of all three sharks tested while they were eating. Just a fraction of a second after the sharks closed their mouths, the cartilage quickly rotated from head to tail by about 11 degrees.

Camp suspects other suction-feeding sharks move their shoulders the same way. The research may help scientists better understand how the shoulder girdle evolved in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharks-secret-longer-life-humans/">sharks</a> and other fish, and could help explain how some creatures eventually made it into land, she added.

"The girdle shows up [in the fossil record], around the time that jaws evolved," Camp said. "We aren't sure exactly what structures it evolved from or how that happened. Part of understanding that history is understanding what were the functions this structure had to carry out."

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.brown.edu/">Brown University</a>

How sharks use their shoulders to eat

Bamboo sharks use their shoulders to serve as tongues to...

In an effort to meet the worldwide demand for chicken, scientists have examined how best to maximize size and weight in chickens. Swedish researchers have now identified genetic “hotspots” that influence weight in chickens.

The <a href="https://www.uu.se/en/">Uppsula University</a> scientists used two lines of White Plymouth Rock chickens, which have been bred since 1957 for their high and low weights, to gain a better understanding of the genetic architecture behind chicken weight.

The scientists identified 20 different genetic points that explained more than 60 percent of the genetic variance for the selected trait of either high or low weight.

"Our work with this long-term selection experiment has revealed that different variants at many genetic loci (points) contribute to the large divergence between the lines selected for high and low weight," said corresponding author Orjan Carlborg. "This is an interesting experimental illustration of how even small and phenotypically homogenous populations, such as the founders of our divergent lines, can harbor many genetic variants that do not diversify the population normally.”

The researchers further focused on seven of the genetic hotspots, known as quantitative trait loci. Only two could be more mapped to a single, well-defined loci; the other five contained linked loci with multiple gene variants.

The detailed dissection of the loci provides “a deeper understanding of the genome-wide mechanisms involved in the long-term selection responses,” the scientists said.

They hope to further explore their findings to increase understanding of the genetic mechanisms of chicken body-weight <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-high-income-countries-making-progress-with-climate-adaptation/">adaptation</a>.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe">Molecular Biology and Evolution</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe">Molecular Biology and Evolution</a>

Image: Paul B. Siegel

Study examines chicken weight to keep up with demand

In an effort to meet the worldwide demand for chicken,...

The sheer size and weight of the Tyrannosaurus rex would have made it impossible for the giant dinosaur to run, according to a new study.

The creature’s leg bones would have buckled under its own weight, the <a href="http://www.manchester.ac.uk/">University of Manchester</a> study said, contradicting previous estimates that the T-rex could run at speeds up to 45mph.

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-species-dinosaur-canadian/">dinosaur</a> was limited to walking speeds of about 12 mph. This is less than half the speed of the fastest man on Earth, Usain Bolt, whose personal record hit 27.8 mph.

“The running ability of T. rex and other similarly giant dinosaurs has been intensely debated amongst paleontologist for decades,” said William Sellers, lead author of the study. “However, different studies using differing methodologies have produced a very wide range of top speed estimates and we say there is a need to develop techniques that can improve these predictions.”

The new study extensively examined the gait and biomechanics of the world’s most famous dinosaur. It used high performance computing technology to create a new simulation model to test the findings.

The results demonstrate any running gaits for Tyrannosaurus rex would probably lead to “unacceptably high skeletal loads,” and would simply break the dinosaur’s legs.

“Here we present a new approach that combines two separate biomechanical techniques to demonstrate that true running gaits would probably lead to unacceptably high skeletal loads in T. rex,” Sellers said.

The findings have forced scientists to re-examine how T-rex caught its prey, Sellers told <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-trex-running-idUSKBN1A3182">Reuters</a>.

"It certainly would not have been able to chase down faster-moving prey animals," said Sellers. "That leaves other hunting options such as ambush, and of course it means that (discredited) ideas such as 'T-rex the scavenger' have to be reconsidered."

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.manchester.ac.uk/">University of Manchester</a>, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-trex-running-idUSKBN1A3182">Reuters </a>

Why the Tyrannosaurus rex was too big to run

The sheer size and weight of the Tyrannosaurus rex would...

A new species of dinosaur has been identified by Canadian scientists and named after esteemed paleontologist Philip J. Currie. The name Albertavenator curriei, which means “Currie’s Alberta hunter,” honors Currie for decades of work focused on predatory dinosaurs of Alberta.

The bones of Albertavenator were initially thought to belong to Troodon, which lived 5 million years before Albertavenator. Both of the closely-related dinosaurs were around the same size as humans, walked on two legs, and were covered in feathers. 

Scientists from the <a href="https://dinomuseum.ca/">Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum</a> and the <a href="http://www.rom.on.ca/en">Royal Ontario Museum</a> distinguished Albertavenator from its predecessor Troodon through a meticulous comparison of bones found in the dinosaurs’ heads. They discovered the skull of Albertavenator was noticeably shorter and more robust than that of Troodon. 

Dr. David Evans, Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Royal Ontario Museum, led the study.

"The delicate bones of these small feathered dinosaurs are very rare. We were lucky to have a critical piece of the skull that allowed us to distinguish Albertaventaor as a new species." said Dr. Evans. "We hope to find a more complete skeleton of Albertavenator in the future, as this would tell us so much more about this fascinating animal."

It is challenging for scientists to identify new species from fragmentary fossils. Also, hundreds of teeth found in Alberta will not be helpful in this study considering that teeth of Albertavenator would closely resemble teeth of Troodon.

"It was only through our detailed anatomical and statistical comparisons of the skull bones that we were able to distinguish between Albertavenator and Troodon," said Thomas Cullen, a Ph.D. student of Evans at the University of Toronto and co-author of the study.

The identification of this new species indicates that small dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous of North America were more diverse than research has shown. Derek Larson is the co-author on the study and Assistant Curator of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.

"This discovery really highlights the importance of finding and examining skeletal material from these rare dinosaurs," said Larson.

This is not the first time a new species of dinosaur has been identified by re-examining museum research collections. The study, published today in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, suggests that revisiting fossil collections could uncover more dinosaur species.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.rom.on.ca/en">Royal Ontario Museum</a>

Image: © Oliver Demuth

New species of dinosaur named after Canadian science star

A new species of dinosaur has been identified by Canadian...

The Tardigrade, an eight-legged micro-animal, may be the world’s most indestructible species and will exist for at least 10 billion years - far longer than the human race, according to a new study.

The water-dwelling micro animal, also known as the water bear, is toughest, most resilient form of life on earth, the study by <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> and <a href="http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> researchers said. It is able to survive for up to 30 years without food or water, and endure temperature extremes of up to 150 degrees Celsius, the deep sea, and even the frozen vacuum of space. 

The study implies that that life on Earth in general, will extend as long as the sun keeps shining. In their study, researchers considered three potential events that would destroy the Tardigrade while there is still sunshine: large asteroid impact, exploding stars in the form of supernovae, or gamma ray bursts.

There are only a dozen known <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/happens-asteroid-earth/">asteroids</a> and dwarf planets with enough mass to boil the oceans but none will intersect the Earth's orbit and pose a threat to tardigrades, the study concluded.

Gamma-ray bursts are too far away from earth to be considered a viable threat, the researchers said.  The probability of a massive star exploding close enough to Earth to kill all forms of life on it, within the Sun's lifetime, is negligible, according to the researchers.

“Tardigrades are as close to indestructible as it gets on Earth, but it is possible that there are other resilient species examples elsewhere in the universe,” said Rafael Alves Batista of Oxford, co-author of the study. The findings bolster the importance of exploring Mars and other areas of the solar system, he added.

“If Tardigrades are earth's most resilient species, who knows what else is out there?” he said.

The study is published in <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a>

The world’s most indestructible species will outlast humans

The Tardigrade, an eight-legged micro-animal, may be the world’s most...

Being able to plan ahead for certain anticipated events is a skill that has only been seen in humans and great apes… until now. Research Can Kabadayi and his team studied the behavior of ravens when they are given the opportunity to plan ahead for a greater reward versus an immediate, lesser reward. 

This type of complex, cognitive behavior had never before been observed in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-nesting-birds-face-extinction/">birds</a>. Some corvids – a family of birds that includes ravens – have shown the ability to plan beyond the immediate present, but these behaviors have been mainly based around catching food.

In the first set of experiments, ravens were trained to use a tool in order to open a puzzle box that contained a reward. The ravens were then given the box, but no tool. The box was then removed and an hour later the ravens were given the original opening tool along with several “distractors.”

The researchers observed that almost every raven studied was able to chose the correct box-opening tool, exhibiting a success rate of 86%. A similarly high success rate of 78% was found when ravens were given the opportunity to use  a token to later barter for a reward.

Not only did the ravens show similar planning behavior to great apes, they actually planned for bartering more effectively than apes. For the tool-using experiments, the ravens were very similar to apes in their success rate as well, despite not having opposable thumbs.

In the last set of experiments, the ravens were given the box-opening tool along with distractor tools and an immediate reward, but they were only allowed to take one item. The immediate reward was less appealing than the reward in the box, and the ravens ended up exhibiting a level of self-control similar to what has been observed in apes.

Ravens have been studied rather extensively in the past, given their relative advanced intelligence compared to almost all other bird species. This study further enhances our understanding of their cognitive abilities, and brings us closer to understanding how these animals thrive in the wild.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Ravens may be even more intelligent than previously thought

Being able to plan ahead for certain anticipated events is...

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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

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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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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[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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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...