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...

Is there a more idyllic vacation for two than your own island hideaway? Just you and your beloved and nature. Well, and millions of rats. 

Global stowaways 

Rats have the troubling ability to sneak onto shipping vessels and get off at planned destinations. Or to survive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shipwrecks-in-us-waters-pose-environmental-threats-3/">shipwrecks</a> and end up on the first patch of land they can swim onto. And those patches are just about everywhere. 

Their talents for stowing away are so legendary that the black rat is also known as the ship rat. They’ve hidden in freight or supply crates or traipsed across rope lines to get into vessels for centuries. They came to Hawaii and New Zealand aboard Polynesian canoes. (We too wondered how large those canoes would have to be for rats to go unnoticed.) It’s said that three rat species from Europe and Asia have become established in 90 percent of the world’s islands and island chains. 

For instance, millions of the nasty rodents on South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic descended from the ships of Captain James Cooke, who came ashore in 1775, and the late eighteenth-century whaling and sealing vessels that followed. A four-year period of rat eradication began in 2011. 

You might not have wanted to put South Georgia Island on your trip itinerary even if it wasn’t for the wildlife. There’s permanent ice and snow at the higher regions and it’s pretty cold year-round throughout. Still, there’s a tourism industry here, with cruise ships and sailing yacht travelers stopping by, apparently, just to say they did.

You think it’s only the old wooden ships of yesteryear freighting the problem? Think again. Tourists have complained about cruise ship infestations, and headlines such as “Ghost ship carrying cannibal rats could be headed to Britain” filled the media a couple years back. It seems that a Soviet-era cruise ship used for the entertainment of Communist uppity-ups (we’re all equal, but some are more equal than others) ended up abandoned for debts owed. Eventually, the Canadian government let it drift…with a cargo full of hungry, and ultimately, cannibalistic rats. 

While you’ll probably stay out of volcanic or Antarctic rocks, the Galapagos Islands off of Ecuador is a chain you might very well want to visit. It offers more of a white sand, blue sea, traditional island adventure. Find yourself a hammock, but please stay away from the chain’s Pinzon Island. Its 180 million rats – pegged at about 10 per square yard – feasted on the island’s bird and tortoise shells until eradication efforts began in 2012.

Much farther north, there’s an entire chain of islands named for their invasive population. The Rat Islands in southwest Alaska are believed to be rat-free since 2009, but that threat has been replaced by volcanic activity and earthquakes. A major quake in 1965 measured 8.7 on the Richter scale.

Beyond the ick factor

The threat goes well beyond the ‘ick’ factor. In addition to causing salmonella, rat-bite fever, rabies and bubonic plague, among other diseases, the rodents eagerly destroy native species. 

“Invasive rats are likely the single largest threat to seabirds,” said Bernie Tershy, co-author of a 2008 study of global seabird populations, as reported by the National Geographic Society. 

It’s because of this that rat eradication efforts (called “raticides,” naturally) have been undergone all over the world over the last decade or so. New Zealand, for instance, has destroyed the invasive rat populations in more than 100 islands.

Regardless of climate or food sources, rats can live just about anywhere. But don’t let that stop you from your idyllic tropical island vacation. But we advise staying away from Pinzon Island – even if it only contains 180 million brittle rodent skeletons by now.

--

By David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rats have infested the world’s islands

Is there a more idyllic vacation for two than your...

The most famous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharks-hear-preys-heartbeat-important/">shark</a> film of all time, Jaws, was primarily filmed in the waters of Martha’s Vineyard, just off the coast off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Still, the memorable shark flick did little to stop locals from enjoying a dip in Cape’s sandy beaches. While there hasn’t been a human death from a shark attack in Massachusetts since 1936, there is new cause for concern. New data shows that great white sharks are swimming toward Cape Cod in rising numbers for the second straight year. 

According to a new study performed by a team of scientists at the <a href="http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/">Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries</a>, the number of sharks in the waters off Cape Cod continues to grow. Greg Skomal, senior scientist at the organization, emphasizes that while the sharks are chasing seals, not humans, it is still a very important trend to monitor. 

“How long does it stay and where does it go are the questions we’re trying to answer,” said Skomal. “But for the towns, it’s a public safety issue.”

The study was funded by the <a href="http://www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/">Atlantic White Shark Conservancy</a> and identified at least 147 white sharks in the summer of 2016. While this was only slightly more than the number found in 2015, it is almost double the number spotted in 2014. Additionally, more than 50% of the sharks found in 2016 were not present in 2015.

There also appear to be an increasing number of young sharks, which suggests that the overall great white shark population is also on the rise.

“Last summer, we saw greater numbers of smaller sharks, including juveniles, and that tells us that the population is rebuilding,” said Skomal.

While researchers continue to monitor the shifts in shark populations, Cape Cod locals remain grateful. 

“The fact that they have an eye on the situation from the air is crucial,” said Nathan Sears, Natural Resources Manager for the town of Orleans, Massachusetts. “And if they spot a shark in the swimming area, we’ll close the beach.”

--

By Rory Arnold, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/12/great-white-sharks-cape-cod-massachusetts">The Guardian</a>

Sharks swimming toward Cape Cod in rising numbers

The most famous shark film of all time, Jaws, was...

Antibiotics kill bacteria. We’ve known that since the 1920s. But we’re also learning more about how the overuse of antibiotics can cause more harm than good. That lesson was reinforced through experiments conducted on honeybees by researchers at the <a href="http://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a>, led by professor Nancy Moran and postdoctoral researcher Kasie Raymann.

The team found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bumblebees-smarter-thought/">bees</a> that were fed tetracycline, a common antibiotic, in a sweet syrup were twice as likely to end up dead in one week as a control group of the colony given the sweet syrup without antibiotics. The working theory is that the antibiotics cleared out the bees’ gut bacteria, a “good” protective bacteria, which then allowed a pathogen to wreak havoc on the bees’ systems.

This experiment was conducted for two reasons. Bees’ gut bacteria are very much like our own, and commercial beekeepers use antibiotics to protect their hives from bacterial infection.

That’s understandable. Bacterial infection is among the leading suspected causes of “colony collapse,” the sudden and still mysterious deaths of entire colonies of honeybees.

“Our study suggests that perturbing the gut microbiome of honeybees is a factor, perhaps one of many, that could make them more susceptible to declining and to the colony collapsing,” said Moran. “Antibiotics may have been an underappreciated factor in colony collapse.”

In addition to being a warning to beekeepers, the results have human ramifications as well. In addition to having gut bacteria much like the bees, humans are similarly vulnerable to the same pathogens that ravaged the bees when the antibiotics destroyed the good bacteria and left them defenseless.   

“We aren't suggesting people stop using antibiotics,” Moran said. “Antibiotics save lives. We definitely need them. We just need to be careful how we use them.”

The study was published today in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a>.

-- 

By David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/"> PLOS Biology</a>

Overuse of antibiotics may cause death for bees

Antibiotics kill bacteria. We’ve known that since the 1920s. But...

Ignore the punny title if you can. Cowspiracy, now streaming on Netflix, offers a powerful and provocative indictment of animal agriculture as the number one global cause of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. The film’s producer/director team of Kip Andersen (who’s also the documentary’s narrator) and Keegan Kuhn states that 51 percent of carbon emissions can be blamed on livestock, particularly cattle. That’s more than the CO2 emissions of oil and gas.

That figure has been challenged, however, by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The organization said that it came from a 2009 Worldwatch Institute report that was never peer-reviewed by the scientific community. The actual figure is 15 percent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wind-farms-emissions-great-britain/">carbon emission</a> contribution by livestock, a still-significant number, but far below the contribution of fossil fuels. The scientist group also said that Cowspiracy overstated the methane produced by cows. <a href="http://blog.ucsusa.org/doug-boucher/cowspiracy-movie-review">Here’s the scientists' argument</a>.

At any rate, Andersen and Kuhn make strong (and, presumably unchallenged) cases for other environmental damage caused by livestock production. For instance, they say that while the shale oil production method known as fracking uses 100 billion gallons of water, livestock consume 34 trillion gallons annually, from hydration to water usage in the production of grains to feed them.

Putting this in another light, Cowspiracy reports on how environmental agencies encourage individuals to take shorter showers to conserve water. But one hamburger consumes 660 gallons of water, the equivalent, says Andersen, to his showering over a two-month period. While domestic water use is five percent of total U.S. consumption, animal agriculture uses 55 percent, the filmmakers say.

The pair further blames livestock for deforestation, the overhunting of predators and cattle waste runoff into rivers and oceans. (Livestock produce 130 times more waste than humans, the film claims.)

The “conspiracy” in Cowspiracy has to do with silence. Federal and state agencies and environmental groups including Greenpeace, Sierra Club and many others say little about animal agriculture as a planetary villain or refuse to be interviewed at all.

One anti-animal ag activist said that the groups don’t want to lose their funding. This question of funding, from the animal agriculture industry to environmental groups, specifically Greenpeace, was put to one beef industry spokesperson who’d been otherwise cooperative. She twice responded that she’d prefer not to answer that question.

(In fairness, the groups’ lack of emphasis on animal ag as an environmental hazard could also be connected to the challenges put forth by the Union of Concerned Scientists.)

An Amazon Watch spokesperson discussed the very real threat of being killed for outspokenness as another reason activists might be silent. It was stated that over the last 20 years, more than 1,100 rainforest defenders have been killed in Brazil, presumable by cattle ranching interests. One of those was Sister Dorothy Stang, an American assassinated for speaking out against the industry.

In America, the threat is lawsuits. A former cattleman interviewed on the documentary was sued by the cattle industry under federal food disparagement laws for claims he made on Oprah.

The film’s producers took one odd side trip that seemed a better fit for another documentary in discussing fishing methods that are depopulating the oceans.

They also make clear that, after detailing the unsustainability practices associated with meat, fish and dairy, that their suggested solution is a plant-based diet. That point is made in horrific detail when we see tightly caged cows and chickens, and when an adorable little girl cuddles a couple free-ranging pigs at her folks’ pastoral organic farm and states in a matter-of-fact way that she shouldn’t get close to them. They’re going to be killed soon, her mother pleasantly explains. And finally, there was the scene of a pair of ducks graphically being butchered by a backyard farmer – a scene I had to fast-forward through.

How can such a film influence viewers? I had lunch at a natural food market after watching Cowspiracy. Almost everything on the menu contained chicken, bacon or cheese. I passed up the carrot hot dog and settled on the veggie melt. It was delicious, though not as filling or affordable as a Big Mac.

--

By David Searls, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.cowspiracy.com">Cowspiracy Official Website</a>

Film Review, Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

Ignore the punny title if you can. Cowspiracy, now streaming...

Last week, a white rhinoceros named Vince was killed by poachers at a wildlife park near Paris. The assailants broke in overnight and shot Vince three times in the head and then removed his eight-inch horn using a chainsaw. 

Demand for the rhinoceros horn has recently skyrocketed in Asia and Africa, currently valued at nearly triple the price of gold. The horn is made of keratin and is ground down into a powder and used for medicinal purposes. Urban myths say it can cure anything from cancer to a hangover.

According <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/10/high-price-of-rhino-horn-leaves-bloody-trail-across-the-globe">The Guardian</a>, more than three rhinos are killed every day in southern Africa. While rhinoceros horn trade is illegal, continued poaching has put the species at risk of extinction.

According to Dan Ashe, President and Chief Executive of the <a href="https://www.aza.org/">Association of Zoos and Aquariums</a>, over 90 zoos in the United States follow strict security requirements for the housing of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-rhinos-nearing-extinction/">rhinos</a>. But he admitted that the danger of poaching still poses a strong threat to the well being of every rhinoceros.

"Nobody is insulated from this potential; we have made sure our members are aware of what occurred in Paris and they are quite vigilant,” said Ashe. “Everybody is sobered.”

Ashe says that the rhino horns can be sold on the black market for as much as $500,000 to $1 million. 

"Imagine an animal running around with a big gold horn,” he said, “The value is extraordinary, and unfortunately there are criminals out there that will take a risk."

Others have argued for an increase in security protocols as a result of the attack and strong demand for the rhinoceros horn.

"If there is a change of criminal strategy and a swing from robbery in museums to crude crime of animals, it will also imply a change of means of protection for the zoos and African reserves which are in Europe," said Jacques-Olivier Barthes, spokesman for the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a> in France.

--

By Rory Arnold, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_RHINOCEROS_ATTACK_ZOOS?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2017-03-11-06-45-24">AP</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/10/high-price-of-rhino-horn-leaves-bloody-trail-across-the-globe">The Guardian </a>

Rhinoceros poaching in Paris puts zoos worldwide on high alert

Last week, a white rhinoceros named Vince was killed by...

A new vaccine could protect chimpanzees and gorillas from the deadly Ebola virus – if it’s ever approved for use in the wild.

Like humans, gorillas and chimps can catch the virus, and outbreaks can wipe out large numbers of the primates. 

Now, scientists are hoping that a vaccine developed in response to a major human outbreak more than three years ago has led to a similar inoculation for the apes.

“In 2014 the world was gripped by fears of an Ebola virus (EBOV) pandemic. Few people realized that Ebola had already inflicted pandemic scale mortality on our closest relatives, killing about one third of the world’s gorillas and countless chimpanzees,” the researchers wrote in a new study, published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep43339">Scientific Reports</a>.

In late 2013, an epidemic of the Ebola virus took hold in West Africa. By the time it was brought under control a year ago, more than 11,000 people had died around the world. The virus spread to several countries in West Africa along with the United States, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy.

The epidemic – the largest ever outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, which causes pain, fever, chills, sweating, hemorrhaging and other symptoms – spurred efforts to create a vaccine.

At least one vaccine has been created for humans, and is undergoing successful trials in West Africa. 

But it raised the question, what about a vaccine for gorillas and chimps? The Ebola virus often ravages their populations, too. For them, it’s much more deadly; during an Ebola outbreak among primates, the death toll is often more than 90 percent of those infected, scientists said.

The study, led by Dr. Peter Walsh of the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>, developed an oral vaccine using an oral rabies vaccine already in use. 

The researchers tested the oral vaccine on captive chimpanzees at the <a href="http://nirc.louisiana.edu/">New Iberia Research Center</a> in Louisiana. Testing lasted 28 days, at which point new Endangered Species Act regulations took effect banning invasive testing on chimpanzees. 

While testing the effects of the vaccine on the chimps as well as its effectiveness, researchers also studied the psychological effects the testing had on their subjects. 

"We sought both to objectively quantify the level of stress experienced by study chimpanzees and to differentiate between chronic stress induced by social isolation or confinement in small experimental cages and acute stress induced by the vaccine or experimental procedures," they wrote.

According to the scientists, the oral vaccine was hugely effective. Testing showed a strong immune response against the Ebola virus in the chimps, they said. 

“The psychological pathologies (e.g. repetitive behavior, severe lethargy, self-harm) often seen in victims of severe trauma, chronic psychological stress or extreme social isolation were entirely absent in study chimpanzee,” the researchers added.

Testing showed few physiological responses to stress, and those chimps that did exhibit stress were already showing signs of it before the study, the scientists said.

The research team is now looking at how the vaccine could be distributed to wild chimpanzee populations, including through heat-stabilized bait. 

However, the ethical hurdles of testing on chimps may put up a roadblock to the vaccine being used in wild populations. Aside from pushback against recombinant vaccines, there is now a shortage of test populations, the scientists said.

“It seems likely that further safety and immunogenicity trials on captive chimpanzees will not be part of the development program,” the team wrote. “In principle, research that benefits wild chimpanzee conservation is exempt under the new ESA regulations banning medical research on chimpanzees. In practice, all of the biomedical facilities that held chimpanzees have or are in the process of “retiring” their populations to sanctuaries.”

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Vaccine could protect chimps from Ebola virus

A new vaccine could protect chimpanzees and gorillas from the...

One of the most serious repercussions of climate change is of course the dramatic rise in temperature worldwide. But now, findings from a recent study show that song birds – especially the smallest of them – are vulnerable to lethal dehydration when heat robs them of water resources.

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.unr.edu/">University of Nevada, Reno</a>, the <a href="https://www.unm.edu/">University of New Mexico</a>, the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/">University of Massachusetts Amherst</a>, the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">US Department of Agriculture </a>and the <a href="http://www.up.ac.za/">University of Pretoria in South Africa</a> studied the effects of escalating heat on five small songbirds in the southeast United States. They found that the greatest damage came to the smallest of the birds.

“Using measured rates of evaporative water loss, hourly gridded weather data, a 4 °C (104 degrees F) warming scenario, and physiological models, we show that songbirds in the deserts of the southwestern United States are increasingly susceptible to death from dehydration on hot days”, the researchers wrote.

Death actually comes in two forms for the birds: heatstroke and dehydration

“Most animals can only tolerate water losses that result in 15 or 20 percent loss of body mass before they die,” said Dr. Alexander Gerson, a professor of biology at the UMAmherst and a co-author of the study. “So an animal experiencing peak temperatures during a hot summer day, with no access to water, isn’t going to make it more than a few hours.”

The smaller birds lose a higher percentage of their body weight in water loss, faster. The researchers concluded that, if temperature patterns continue as expected, by the end of the century these smaller birds will experience up to 25 days of lethal dehydration per year, rather than the current number of seven days, which is still too high.

--

By David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://m.pnas.org/"> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>

Birds are victims of lethal dehydration from climate change

One of the most serious repercussions of climate change is...

To scientists, poop can be an exciting discovery. At least, it’s pretty interesting if it’s 180 million-year-old dinosaur poop fossils from a newly discovered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-evolved-running/">dinosaur</a> species and it contains the creature’s undigested final meal.

The skeletal remains of the Early Jurassic Period herbivore, now known as Isaberrysaura mollensis, was discovered in Argentina and written up in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

What was most intriguing about the meal discovery was that the dinosaur’s diet consisted of gulped – not chewed – seeds that were intact in the fossilized excrement, though permineralized. This means that they’d been turned to minerals over time.

The findings added volumes to what we know about dinosaur diets.

“As in modern ecosystems, there were complex ecological relations between plants and plant-eating organisms,” the authors wrote. “However, there is little evidence of the type and the parts of plants on which different phytophagous dinosaurs fed.”

The fossilized food remains were found in the skeleton’s “ghost gut” and came from cycad seed plants and other seed species. The term ghost gut implies that the stomach was no longer around, but the seeds were found where it would be.

The lack of chewing, or mastication, isn’t rare among certain animals even today. Elephants, for instance, eat the same types of seeds in the same hurried manner.

The findings also had interesting ramifications on earth’s ecosystem in pre-human times. The loaded excrement of the non-chewing herbivores might have played an unwitting but important role in the planting of the era’s fruit trees.

--

By Earth.com Staff Writer David Searls

Source:<a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/"> Scientific Reports</a>

Fossilized poop discovery provides important clues to dino diet

To scientists, poop can be an exciting discovery. At least,...

Black swan events is the lyrical name given to describe what’s more graphically known as “sudden die-offs” in the animal kingdom. One example that made fairly recent headlines was the mass death of some 200,000 saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan in 2015 – representing one-third of the world population of the species.

Scientists from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> and <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/">Simon Fraser University</a> in Canada studied data on 600 animal populations and have identified ways of detecting these events. They also earmarked four major causes: parasites, severe winters, predators – and climate change.

In fact, the researchers are predicting that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/calculating-cost-climate-change/">climate change</a> will cause these events to be make headlines more often in the near future. Think of how the Ice Age wiped out entire species.

“We expect an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme climate, and it’s quite possible we will see black swan events become more common in animal populations,” said the study’s lead author, Sean Anderson, a UW postdoctoral research in aquatic and fishery sciences.

The research team’s findings were published in the March 7 edition of <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

They also emphasized that groups studying species extinction models should also take these die-offs into their calculations and better manage animal populations so as to avoid species loss when these events do occur.

“Everyone just assumes an animal population has an equal chance of going up or down, but we’ve found that isn’t true,” said study co-author Trevor Branch, a UW associate professor of aquatic and fishery sciences. “My hope is that when people are trying to assess extinction risk, they will use different models that project into the future in a more accurate way.”

As for the species involved in the die-offs, the researchers studied mammals, birds, fish and insects and found that birds were most commonly involved and fish rarely experienced the event.

In the case of the saiga antelopes, a bacterial infection that’s common to the species but turned hemorrhagic was the culprit that raced through herds.

--

By Earth.com Staff Writer David Searls

Source:<a href="http://www.pnas.org/"> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>

Will climate change make black swan events more common?

Black swan events is the lyrical name given to describe...

Superbees may only sound like a good idea if it’s the title of a drive-in horror film, but there’s actually some logic to the concept. The idea is that DNA sequencing could enable honey <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bumblebees-smarter-thought/">bees</a> to be bred to withstand the effects of the parasites and pathogens that are decimating their populations across the globe.

A large study of 28 researchers across eight nations took the first critical step in that direction by identifying relevant genes.

“Our team created a new bioinformatics tool that has enabled us to integrate information from 19 different genomic data sets to identify the key genes involved in honey bees’ response to diseases,” said study co-author Professor Christina Grozinger, a professor of entomology at <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a>.

With that information, scientists can not only breed heartier superbees, but can use what they learn about pathogens to control insects pests such as aphids and some moths.

“Honey bees were thought to respond to different disease organisms in entirely different ways, but we have learned that they mostly rely on a core set of genes that they turn on or off in response to any major pathogenic challenge,” said Professor Robert Paxton, a professor of zoology at the <a href="https://www.idiv.de/">German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research</a> and a co-author of the study. 'We can now explore the physiological mechanisms by which pathogens overcome their honey-bee hosts, and how honey bees can fight back against those pathogens.”

The findings of this study can also be used to protect other species, such as bumblebees.

Dr. Vincent Doublet, a researcher at the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> and lead co-author of the study said, “With this analysis, we generated a list of genes that will likely be an important source for future functional studies, for breeding more resilient honeybee stocks and for controlling emerging bee diseases.”

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By David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a>, <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>, <a href="https://www.idiv.de/">German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research</a>

Scientists learn how to breed disease-resistant superbees

Superbees may only sound like a good idea if it’s...

Try not to panic, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/basking-sharks-vacation/">sharks</a> can detect your heartbeat in the water. What’s actually happening is that these sea predators, as well as rays and skates, can respond to the heartbeat of their prey through their super-sensitive electro-sensory organs.  And now we understand how that process works, from genes through response, thanks to research conducted at the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California at San Francisco</a> (UCSF).

The heart of the matter, so to speak, is electro-sensory cells that pick up even faint electrical signals.

The UCSF team examined the ampullary organ of a species of skate known as the little skate and found two ionic currents. The first, a voltage-sensitive calcium current that admits calcium ions into the cell in response to electrical disturbances, and the second, a calcium-sensitive potassium current that alters the normal electrical properties of the cell. These two currents interact to create an oscillating effect that allows the skate to fix on even the tiniest electrical signals, such as from the heartbeat of food sources in the ocean’s sandy bottom.

When the researchers chemically blocked these ion channels, the skates would be unaware of electrical signals in their aquariums that mimicked prey.

One of the reasons this research is important is that the electro-sensory organs of these marine animals are very similar to the human auditory system.

As Dr. Nicholas Bellono, a postdoctoral researcher in UCSF’s Julius lab and co-author of the study puts it, “Versions of the same ion channels with subtly different electrical properties are similarly important in our ears. So understanding exactly how small differences in these channels affect electrical function could be important for better understanding the auditory system.”

It also helps us advance our understanding of electrical receptors in other animals, said another co-author of the study.

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By David Searls, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California at San Francisco</a>

How sharks ‘hear’ their prey’s heartbeat, and why it’s important

Try not to panic, but sharks can detect your heartbeat...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/three-gmo-potato-win-approval/">Spring</a> is the season of new life in the animal kingdom. But now, thanks to recent findings by researchers at the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> and <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/">University of Nottingham</a> in the UK, we have a better understanding of how animal brains can detect seasonal change.

Scientists have long known that the hormone melatonin plays a part in communicating with hormones in the pituitary gland of birds and mammals in a way that triggers such seasonal changes as coat thickness and mating habits. But the mechanics of how all of that works wasn’t known until now. Greater understanding of the topic came about with research findings recently published in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA</a>.

The researchers studied sheep to find that the duration of melatonin secreted during the night from the pineal gland controlled the production of a protein known as vascular endothelial growth factor. VEGF is produced in the pituitary gland. Different forms of the protein trigger different seasonally adaptive changes in animal brains, said the researchers.

They found that this production has two complementary effects, said study co-leader Dr. Domingo Tortonese, a researcher at the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol’s</a> Centre for Comparative and Clinical Anatomy.

“Firstly, it causes remodeling of the blood vessels that connect the brain with the pituitary gland, and secondly, it is used as a messenger signal to act on the cells of the pituitary that produce hormones that control seasonal fertility, which are located in a different part of the gland,” said Tortonese.

This finding could advance research into agriculture and even future advancements in human medicine.

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By David Searls, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://www.pnas.org/"> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA</a>

How animal brains receive seasonal-change signals

Spring is the season of new life in the animal...

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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

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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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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...