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...

The ability to “read” the minds of others in social interactions – as the vast majority of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-should-keep-a-safe-distance-while-helping-endangered-primates/">humans</a> do every day – is a staple of social and general intelligence. Specifically, understanding when someone else has a “false belief,” or knowing that they’re factually incorrect about something, is a sign of advanced social cognition in people. Researchers have always believed that great apes lack this ability… until now.

In a study by lead author David Buttelmann of the <a href="http://www.eva.mpg.de/index.html">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> in Germany, some great apes may be able to comprehend false beliefs and apply this knowledge to help others.

In order to evaluate understanding of others’ beliefs in three species of great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans), Buttelmann and his team used a test that was originally developed for 1.5-year-old infants.

At Leipzig Zoo in Germany, the researchers tested 34 individual great apes. The test involved a person putting an object in one of two boxes in clear sight of the ape test subject. A second person then took this object out of the box, placed it into another box, and locked both boxes. They used this format to test two conditions:

True Belief Condition: the first person stayed in the room while the switch was made, so that first person clearly knew where the object was and thus had a true belief.

False Belief Condition: the first person left the room before the switch was made, so while he thought he knew where the object was, he was actually mistaken and thus had a false belief.

In both conditions, the first person would try to open the box where he had originally placed the object. The apes knew how to unlock boxes, and could make the decision which box to open for the first person during the test.

Surprisingly, the great apes tended to be more likely to help find the object when the person had a false belief about which box the object was in. This result suggests that the great apes used their understanding of the person’s beliefs about reality in order to decide how to help him.

Buttelmann believes this study is groundbreaking, saying that it “shows for the first time that great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans) can use an understanding of false beliefs to help others appropriately.” If this is true, we might have just uncovered another layer to the intelligence of our closest relatives.

More information can be found on this study in the open-access journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

--

By Connor Ertz, Earth.com Staff Writer,

Source: <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS</a>

Great apes can tell the difference between true and false

The ability to “read” the minds of others in social...

It is possible you may have noticed recent “clickbait” or “life-hack” headlines that suggest using common artificial sweeteners as insecticides to keep away houseflies. It’s also possible you may have tried this out or have boxes of Splenda being shipped to you right now. But scientists have come out with new research that could have your rushing to the computer to cancel that order.

A new study done by a team of researchers at <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu">North Carolina State University</a> suggests that these insects aren’t poisoned by artificial sweeteners – rather, they simply end up dying of malnutrition. 

The researchers tested the survival rate of houseflies (Musca domestica) on the main ingredient in Truvia – known as erythritol – compared to natural sugar, agar, and water alone. They discovered that the flies had a strong preference for the natural sugar over the erythritol when given the choice. When fed only erythritol, they had a similar mortality rate to flies fed only water or agar.

Michael Fisher, the lead author on the study and a doctoral candidate at <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu">NC State,</a> elaborates: “Based on our results, erythritol does not appear to have insecticidal properties on house flies in the traditional sense, and would not be a candidate for adult control.”

The research team also tested mannitol, xylitol, and sorbitol on flies, ultimately finding that only sorbitol had any nutritive value for the insects. They believe there are a multitude of reasons for why <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossilized-damselflies-mating-rituals/">flies</a> cannot survive on artificial sweeteners, including problems with digestion and a negative effect on the flies’ gut microbes.

Scientists also believe that real-world applications of a sweetener insecticide would face practical challenges, the most significant of which would likely be the presence of competing food sources. It appears even flies can understand that these sweeteners hold no nutritional value for them, and they would realistically avoid contributing to their own demise.

--

By Connor Ertz, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.entsoc.org/">Entomological Society of America</a>

Can artificial sweeteners be an effective fly insecticide?

It is possible you may have noticed recent “clickbait” or...

Scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of snail that is brightly colored, lives on shipwrecks, filter-feeds like a whale, and even shoots webs – kind of like Spiderman but a lot less cinematic. According to its discoverer, this snail shows “amazing adaptations” and could play an important role in coral reef restoration work.

Most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-acidification-sea-snails/">snails</a> have coiled shells and are slow movers – but this isn’t like most snails. Instead, adult worm-snails have irregularly-shaped tubular shells that they cement onto a hard surface, meaning that they don’t move at all. Worm-snails will stick to one spot for the rest of their life, which makes them ideally suited for the hard surfaces of reefs and shipwrecks.

Dr. Rüduger Bieler, Curator of Invertebrates at <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Chicago’s Field Museum</a> and the lead author of the paper, describes these new spiderman snails as “particularly weird animals,” that “could have a substantial impact on coral reef restoration efforts.”

Bieler was first intrigued by the snail’s giant slime glands, saying “Normally, snails produce a trail of slime so that they can glide on it in order to move. But worm-snails are stationary--what did they need slime glands for?”

It turns out that these slime glands are used to hunt rather than move. Using an extra pair of tentacles on their body, the snails shoot out a mucous web, “just like Spiderman – although in slow motion,” explains Bieler. Microorganisms get stuck in the web, which the snail then pulls back in to eat.

The new species, Thylacodes vandyensis, is named after “Vandy,” which is the nickname divers have given to the sunken naval vessel on which the worm-snails were first found. In fact, the USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenburg is the only location where this species is known to exist.

Intentional shipwrecks such as the USNS Vandenburg make up numerous artificial reef systems in the Florida Keys. According to Bieler, “…the deliberately scuttled shipwrecks are empty, brand-new real estate. There [are] fewer organisms to compete with for space on the artificial reef, and fewer resident predators.”

Although this new species is of great interest, their presence in these artificial reefs is not necessarily without consequence. Worm-snails could potentially harm corals and other reef organisms, possibly through reducing coral growth. They also are known to be hosts for certain blood flukes, which are parasites of loggerhead turtles.

Bieler believes it is imperative the researchers keep monitoring this new species, as “non-native and potentially invasive species like Thylacodes vandyensis might eventually make its way from the artificial reef to the natural reef and cause trouble for the animals living there.” The study’s author says that the artificial reefs may end up serving as “the canary in the coal mine,” indicating problems with invasive species before they can spread to the living reefs.

More information on this discovery can be found in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/">PeerJ</a>.

--

By Connor Ertz, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>

Image Credit: © Rüdiger Bieler, The Field Museum

Spiderman worm-snails discovered on shipwreck in the Florida Keys

Scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of...

In a new study from <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/auk-ornithological-advances">The Auk: Ornithological Advances</a>, researchers reveal that older, more experienced Golden Eagles will actually migrate in poorer weather conditions than their younger counterparts. While it may seem like these savvy veterans of the migration game should know better, there’s actually a good reason behind this.

Adrian Rus of <a href="https://www.boisestate.edu/">Boise State University</a> (now at Australia’s <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a>) and Todd Katzner of the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">USGS</a> along with their colleagues studied GPS telemetry tracks to evaluate the migratory performance of almost 90 Golden Eagles in eastern North America. They used this data to determine how individual eagle migratory performance related to season, age, and weather.

The data revealed obvious connections – such as increased speed and distance when an eagle encountered strong tailwinds or helpful thermals. However, it also showed that older eagles were unable to cover as much ground as younger eagles, despite their better experience. What they found was that older eagles tended to migrate in poorer weather and travel more slowly.

Although this may seem rather odd, the researchers believe they do this because these older birds are facing different pressures than the younger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-dehydration-climate-change/">birds</a>. They begin heading north earlier than the younger birds that aren’t breeding – most likely so they can get back to their breeding grounds in time to reclaim their territory and begin nesting.

Katzner explains this thinking, saying, “Younger eagles just need to survive the summer, so they can be choosy about when they travel north and only migrate when conditions are really ideal for fast soaring flight.”

According to Jeff Kelly, an expert on avian migration at <a href="https://www.ou.edu/">Oklahoma University</a>, this study is “an unusual demonstration of the interaction between migration experience and seasonal environments.” He believes that “It is likely that the migration experience that older birds have enables them to extend their summer season through early spring and late autumn migration despite declining atmospheric conditions.”

Scientists agree that this research helps to expand understanding of life history trade offs, especially relating to the annual cycle of migrant species.

--

By Connor Ertz, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/">American Ornithological Society</a>

Golden Eagles migrate through stormy weather to hold their turf

In a new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances, researchers...

The annual migration cycle of bird species that breed in the Arctic and winter in South America can be notoriously difficult to study. However, scientists have made a concerted effort to take on this challenge, as they’ve seen a mysterious population decline occurring with the Semipalmated Sandpiper.

A new study published in <a href="http://www.americanornithologypubs.org/loi/cond?code=coop-site">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a> takes a closer look at the annual migration cycle of one of the most widespread and numerous shore bird species in the Western Hemisphere.

A group of 18 partner organizations helped to deploy 250 light-sensitive geolocators attached to individual birds. These tiny devices use light levels to determine a bird’s location, which provided important data on the migration patterns of this sandpiper.

Stephen Brown, the Vice President of Shorebird Conservation for <a href="https://www.manomet.org/">Manomet</a>, headed this effort to get a closer look at Semipalmated Sandpiper migration patterns, and possibly figure out why their population is in decline. Brown explains, "This study was a response to the discovery of a large decline in the population of Semipalmated Sandpipers in the core of their wintering area in South America, and the need to determine which birds were involved. We didn't know if the decline affected the entire population or just part of it.”

After one year of data gathering, 59 birds were recaptured and the data from their geolocators was downloaded.

Researchers found that eastern and western breeding populations actually use separate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insect-migration-animal-movement/">migration</a> routes and wintering areas. More importantly, the data showed that birds that breed specifically in the eastern Arctic tend to migrate to areas in South America where these large population declines have been observed.

The researchers believe that the sandpiper’s population decline is related to hunting on the wintering grounds and habitat alteration at migration stopover sites. However, the impact of these variables is not yet known.

Ryan Norris, an expert on migration tracking at the <a href="http://www.uoguelph.ca/">University of Guelph</a>, believes this study was imperative to furthering our knowledge of these birds and our changing environment: "Multi-site, range-wide studies on connectivity, such as this, are critical if we are to understand the population consequences of environmental change in migratory birds."

--

By Connor Ertz, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/american-ornithological-society">American Ornithological Society</a>

Photo Credit: B. Winn

New study investigates mysterious bird population declines

The annual migration cycle of bird species that breed in...

Climate scientists and environmentalists have long studied and relayed the many evils of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lake-predict-climate-change/">climate change</a>. But here’s a story about one way in which the changing climate is actually enhancing one part of the environment.

Scientists from the <a href="http://www.sdu.dk/en/">University of Southern Denmark</a> have found that the melt-off of Arctic snow and ice has formed melt ponds that serve as birthplaces for new and valuable organisms.

“The melt ponds can form their own little ecosystem,” said study lead author Heidi Louise Sorensen.

The organisms under study are algae and bacteria that have evolved in the ponds to form a valuable food source to krill and copepods. Those animals in turn feed whales, fish and seals.

Previous studies have shown the capability of these simple life forms to evolve in melt ponds, but it’s never been clearly understood why this effect sometimes takes place and at other times doesn’t. The Danish researchers found answers attributable to climate change in a number of ways.

For instance, nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen spur the development of these simple organisms. They’re driven to the water by such events as dust storms, sea waves, rainfall and the presence of migratory birds, all of which are triggered by climate change.

“Climate change is accompanied by more storms and more precipitation, and we must expect that more nutrients will be released from the surroundings into the melt ponds,” said study participant Ronnie Guld. “These conditions, plus the fact that the distribution of areas of melt ponds is increasing, can contribute to increased productivity in plant and animal life in the Arctic seas.”

In addition, the melting ice allows more nutrients to flow and more sunlight to penetrate deeper into the waters, further spurring algae and bacterial growth.

The study was published in Polar Biology.

--

Written by <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-017-2082-7"> Polar Biology</a>,<a href="http://www.sdu.dk/en/om_sdu/fakulteterne/naturvidenskab/aktuelt/2017_03_23_meltponds"> University of Southern Denmark</a>

Could a rich Arctic food supply be a climate change silver lining?

Climate scientists and environmentalists have long studied and relayed the...

The Paisley Five Mile Point Caves in southern Oregon are where some of the most ancient preserved evidence of human activity in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/north-american-ice-sheet/">North America</a> can be found. But guess what else was just found there? The remains of a not-so-distance cousin of the common bed bug.

In a study published in the Entomological Society of America’s<a href="http://www.bioone.org/loi/ment"> Journal of Medical Entomology</a>, archaeologists reveal their discovery of the oldest specimens of insects from the genus Cimex ever found. These specimens range between 5,100 and 11,000 years old – and yes, luckily they were dead.

The researchers, Martin Adams of <a href="https://www.paleoinsect.com/services">Paleoinsect Research</a> and Dennis Jenkins of the <a href="https://uoregon.edu/">University of Oregon</a>, identified these remains as relatives of the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). However, Adams clarifies that this is “not the bed bug we all know and love from hotel rooms.” Rather, the species found in these caves were all parasites of bats.

Only two bed bug species actually parasitize humans – Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus. It is believed that they adapted to human hosts thousands of years ago when we shared caves with bats in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Adams says it is unclear why the species found in Oregon never transitioned to parasitizing humans (lucky for our friends in the past).

Adams mulls over the reasons why this may have been the case, wondering “Were the cimicid populations too small to establish themselves outside the caves, or were the host populations too small?... did the humans move around too much, or were the bugs not able to withstand the environment outside the caves for very long? Or, were there other constraints involved?”

Some of the oldest remains of this species studied by Adams and Jenkins predate the original oldest “cimicid” remains by about 7,500 years. For the researchers, this raises some interesting questions about how cimicids may have interacted – if they did at all – with humans in the past.

These findings may also give some insight into climatic trends during the eras they were prevalent. One of the three species they found, Cimex antennatus, tends to favor the warmer climates of California and Nevada. Adams explains, “The presence of warm-tolerant cimicids in the caves… may suggest that climatic conditions at Paisley Caves 5,100 years ago were similar to what Cimex antennatus enjoys today in its current range.”

Although the presence of bed bugs in our lives generally offers nothing but discomfort and disgust, these specimens found in Oregon may help provide a look into our past that can inform archaeologists and researchers everywhere.

--

By Connor Ertz, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.entsoc.org/">Entomological Society of America</a>

Ancient remains of a close cousin of the bed bug found in Oregon

The Paisley Five Mile Point Caves in southern Oregon are...

A hobby cave diver may have discovered the very first European cave fish, researchers report in <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>. 

The diver first spotted the fish –a loach in the genus Barbatula – in an underwater cave system in South Germany. Jasminca Behrmann-Godel of Germany’s <a href="https://www.uni-konstanz.de/en/">University of Kostanz</a> notes, “The cave fish was found surprisingly far in the north in Southern Germany. This is spectacular as it was believed before that the Pleistocene glaciations had prevented fish from colonizing subterranean habitats so far north.”

Even more surprising, researchers believe that this cave loach species came to be very recently – within the last 20,000 years. They determined this through genetic studies of the fish paired with knowledge of the geological history of the region in which it was discovered. Arne Nolte from the <a href="https://www.uni-oldenburg.de/en/">University of Oldenburg</a> explains, “It was only when the glaciers retreated that [this area] first became a suitable habitat for fish.”

Although this species has had very little time to adapt to cave life, scientists have found that it is already exhibiting adaptions characteristic of cave fish. This includes much smaller eyes, loss of color, larger nostrils, and elongated whisker-like barbels on their heads.

The cave diver – Joachim Kreiselmaier – first observed the loaches in August of 2015 while he was exploring the deepest parts of the Danube-Aach cave system. He took some photos and showed them to hobby geologist and co-author Roland Berka, who contacted Behrmann-Godel.

Berhmann-Godel realized their good fortune, saying, “It took someone with the ‘right eye’ to realize that this might be something special and I believe that, on top of the right conditions and the difficult trip, this discovery depended on an exceptional diver like Joachim to realize in the first place that the fish might be special.”

It took a special diver to even reach the place where Kreiselmaier first saw these fish, as he estimates that “no more than 30 divers have ever reached the place where the fish have been found.” 

Cave diving is notoriously dangerous – as are most activities when you combine complete darkness with high pressure, low visibility, and a finite supply of oxygen. This particular cave system was even more treacherous, as it is known for its strong current and bad visibility.

However, Kreiselmaier was determined to help the research effort. In November of 2015, he completed another dive of the same cave system. During this dive, he succeeded in catching a live specimen, allowing the researchers to study its features up close. The next year, Kreiselmaier caught four more fish. This allowed the scientists to study the loach’s form and genetics even further.

With the ability to compare these cave fish to surface fish caught near the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cavefish-human-sleep-disorders/">cave</a>, the researchers report that the cave loaches are indeed an isolated population, and thus the first known European cave fish.

These findings also show that adaptation to subterranean habitats can occur much quicker than previously thought. The researchers will continue to study these cave loaches in more detail and would ultimately like to use these findings to explore the first steps toward life in caves.

--

By Connor Ertz, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.cell.com/">Cell Press</a>

Image: Jasminca Behrmann-Godel

The first European cave fish has been discovered

A hobby cave diver may have discovered the very first...

A frightful lizard doesn’t sound like much of a pet, so it’s good to know that this long piece of menace from the Tyrannosaurus family – the Daspletosaurus horneri – last slithered through present-day Montana some 74 million years ago. Daspletosaurus horneri is Latin for a critter more colorfully known as “Horner’s Frightful Lizard,” and it was the last of the big reptiles in the American West. (We’re not making this stuff up.)

Researchers led by the biology department at <a href="https://www.carthage.edu/">Carthage College</a> in Wisconsin studied fossils of the beast before naming it. They found that it had evolved through anagenesis, an unusual and rather uncommon evolutionary track. Anagenesis involves the morphing of one species into another over evolutionary time. This is in contrast to cladogenesis, the more common form of species evolutionary development. Through cladogenesis, a species undergoes evolutionary divergence, in which it splits into two or more descendants over a period of perhaps millions of years.

Although the fossils studied by the research team had already been found and preserved, Daspletosaurus had previously been seen as just a transitional phase of development between Daspletosaurus torosus and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-species-similarities-humans/">Tyrannosaurus rex</a>, and hadn’t even been named in its own right.

Now for the good stuff: this beast of a Tyro lizard measured nearly 30 feet in length, it had tiny horns and a sensitive snout that looked like that of a crocodile. By sensitive, what’s meant is that the critter had a sensitive nerve in the nose that it used for interacting with its environment and for, um, dating purposes.

As the researchers wrote, “In courtship, tyrannosaurids might have rubbed their sensitive faces together as a vital part of pre-copulatory play.”

Which is something you might not want to spend a lot of time thinking about.

The paper was published in Scientific Reports.

-- 

Written by David Searls, Earth.com staff writer

Image Credit: Dino Pulerà

Source:<a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep44942"> Scientific Reports</a>

Frightful lizard of 74 million years ago was great in bed

A frightful lizard doesn’t sound like much of a pet,...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reef-fishs-venom-painkilling/">Fish</a> need friends too, you know. Or it’s at least true that zebrafish seek the support of their shoal – or community of zebrafish – in times of stress. That’s the conclusion reached by researchers at ISPA – the <a href="http://www.cies.org/institution/ipsa-university-institute-psychology-social-and-life-sciences-portugal-lisbon">University Institute of Psychological, Social and Life Sciences </a>in Portugal – in studying the importance of the animals’ social supports when responding to adversity.

Researchers have known for some time that mammals seek and find emotional support among their kind. In humans, social buffering helps overcome depression and other emotional and physical illnesses. Since the response in zebrafish occurs in similar brain regions as our own, the team’s findings might be used to help us better understand social support systems as a tool for overcoming emotional adversity.

The zebrafish were tested through olfactory and visual cues. For the olfactory cues, lone zebrafish were placed in water used by its shoal, so it had a familiar odor. For visual cues, the fish was always in visual contact with the rest of the shoal. Then the fish were exposed to alarms, and their response was measured through freezing activity that occurs when stressed.

The researchers found there to be less apparent fear when in shoal water, but the most calming response came when the zebrafish kept its shoal in sight. The results were regardless of the size of the shoal “and coincided with a distinct pattern of co-activation of brain regions known to be involved in mammalian social buffering,” wrote first study author Ana Faustino. “Thus, this study suggests a shared evolutionary origin for social buffering in vertebrates, bringing new evidence on the behavioural, sensory and neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.”

The researchers concluded, in part, “Although zebrafish´s social support does not have the complexity of the social support verified in humans, research in zebrafish will allow us to explore in depth the neural mechanisms involved in this social behavior, which is paramount to the well-being and mental health of the human species, particularly due to its relevance to certain psychological diseases such as depression.”

The study was published in Scientific Reports.

--

Written by David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep44329"> Scientific Reports</a>

Zebrafish seek social support when stressed, study shows

Fish need friends too, you know. Or it’s at least...

Glassfrog <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/female-lamprey-fish-mate/">eggs</a> are almost always laid on the tops of leaves overhanging streams – leaving them in peril of being an easy snack for snakes, insects, and other predators, until they hatch and fall into a stream to develop as tadpoles.

It was believed that in just a few species, the fathers would care for the developing embryos during this stage. But biologists thought that most glassfrog species left their eggs alone as they developed.

That was until Jesse Delia, a PhD student in Karen Warkentin’s lab at <a href="http://www.bu.edu/">Boston University</a>, was walking by a stream in Panama very late one night. Along the stream, Delia noticed something unique: a glassfrog mother sitting on her clutch of eggs.

Delia teamed up with research partner Laura Bravo Valencia, a graduate student at <a href="https://www.uniandes.edu.co/">Universidad de los Andes</a> in Bogotá, Colombia. They would both go on to observe the parental behavior of more than 40 species of glassfrogs over an 18-month period.

During this time, they noticed that many species of glassfrog mothers brood their eggs the night the eggs are fertilized – which was found to ultimately improve the survival of these eggs. Furthermore, almost a third of glassfrog species’ fathers guard the eggs for much longer periods.

Overall, the researchers found parental care in every glassfrog species they studied. Their findings came after “a tour de force of extreme fieldwork,” according to Warkentin. This “tour de force” involved observation through six rain seasons at 22 sites along streams in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and Peru.

“In Colombia, we would take buses (La Chiva) into the mountains and try to find somebody who would put us up, somewhere close to a forest, a couple hours’ hike into the stream,” explains Delia. But that was just the first leg of their journey, as “streams in the Andes are really steep, with impassable waterfalls every so often, and in many sites they are cascades of freezing cold water.”

Nevertheless, the two scientists braved the conditions and began their study by removing glassfrog mothers immediately after their eggs were fertilized. They then monitored the eggs daily until they hatched – a time period of about 20 days. In the end, it was found that the eggs that received maternal care survived significantly better than those that did not.

They discovered that the key to this difference was that the mother frogs were soaking up water from damp spots on leaves and delivering this water to their eggs. The added water would cause the jelly layer around the eggs to swell up and become about four times thicker. When insect predators would attempt to eat these eggs, they would eventually become frustrated by the amount of gelatinous goo surrounding the embryo, and would often give up.

Delia and Bravo Valencia also tested the amount of disturbance it would take to make a glassfrog mother leave her eggs during the time following fertilization. Warktentin explained, “They would gently poke and pinch and then physically push her off the eggs, and it would take all that to get most moms to leave.” Not only are these mothers present, but they’re determined as well.

Ultimately, the study showed that the maternal care of glassfrog embryos helps them survive. Surprisingly, it also found that fathers would provide the most care, even after the eggs started hatching. This maternal vs. paternal relationship is relatively uncommon in the animal kingdom, and was of great interest to the research team.

Delia elaborates: “…the way we had underestimated the diversity of parental behavior stresses the importance of getting out to the field and watching animals behave.”

More information on this study can be found in the<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1420-9101"> Journal of Evolutionary Biology</a>.

--

By Connor Ertz, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.bu.edu/">Boston University</a>

Glassfrog parental strategies emphasize the value of teamwork

Glassfrog eggs are almost always laid on the tops of...

Pharmaceutical companies are constantly on the lookout for the next big drug, especially in the often lucrative and sometimes unseemly business of painkiller. However, they might soon be turning their attention from the lab bench to the ocean, as the venom of a common <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dead-zones-coral-reefs/">reef</a> fish has been discovered to have pain-killing properties.

Research performed by <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> associate professor Bryan Fry found that a species of coral reef fish disables its opponents and prey with venom similar in mechanism to heroin. He believes that this discovery could lead to the development of new painkillers.

The venomous poison-fang blenny – a name that gets less intimidating as it goes – inhabits the Pacific region, including the Great Barrier Reef. According to Fry, it “injects other fish with opioid peptides that act like heroin or morphine, inhibiting pain rather than causing it.” The venom is chemically unique to this species of fish. 

Fry goes on to compare the effect this venom would have on a human, saying, “to put that into human terms, opioid peptides would be the last thing an elite Olympic swimmer would use as performance-enhancing substance. They would be more likely to drown than win gold.” It’s hard to tell, but this may be a veiled threat to Michael Phelps by a jealous Australian swim supporter hoping Phelps stays retired for the 2020 Olympics. Regardless, it’s impressive that the venom from this little fish can pack such a knockout punch.

Fang blennies are quite popular as ornamental tropical aquarium fish, and according to Fry they “are the most interesting fish I’ve ever studied and have one of the most intriguing venoms of them all.” Given more intensive research, it’s possible that venom from this tiny fish could be the next big drug on the painkiller market.

Besides being a potentially beneficial drug, the discovery of this venom’s properties also supports the need for us to conserve our oceans and reefs, as Fry explains: “This study is an excellent example of why we need to protect nature. If we lose the Great Barrier Reef, we will lose animals like the fang blenny and its unique venom that could be the source of the next blockbuster pain-killing drug.”

You never can tell what you’ll find in a place as vast as the ocean. But if we continue to lose ocean ecosystems to pollution and climate change, we’ll truly never know what might have been discovered.

--

By Connor Ertz, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a>

Reef fish’s heroin-like venom could be the next painkilling drug

Pharmaceutical companies are constantly on the lookout for the next...

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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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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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

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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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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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...