Octopuses have long fascinated scientists with their intelligence, camouflage abilities, and unique biology. 



These remarkable creatures continue to surprise researchers, revealing new secrets about their evolutionary past. One of the most intriguing mysteries has been the question of how octopuses determine their sex.



Scientists at the University of Oregon recently identified a sex chromosome in the California two-spot octopus. This discovery confirms that cephalopods, a group that includes squid and nautiluses, rely on chromosomes for sex determination. 



The research also suggests that this chromosome has existed for at least 480 million years, making it one of the oldest known sex chromosomes in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/turquets-octopus-dna-tells-scientists-that-west-antarctic-ice-sheet-collapse-is-close/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animal kingdom</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sex-chromosome-in-octopuses">Sex chromosome in octopuses</h2>



“Cephalopods are already such interesting creatures, and there are so many things we’re still learning about them, especially in neuroscience,” said Gabby Coffing, a doctoral student at the <a href="https://www.uoregon.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oregon</a>. 



“This is just showing one more interesting thing about them: They have really ancient sex chromosomes.”



The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, provide new insights into the genetic history of octopuses and their relatives. Understanding this ancient sex determination system could help scientists uncover more about how these intelligent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-octopus-day-the-intelligent-creatures-of-the-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creatures</a> evolved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sex-determination-varies-across-species">Sex determination varies across species</h2>



Sex determination is not the same for all animals. While humans and most mammals rely on the X/Y chromosome system, other species follow different methods. 



In turtles, sex depends on the temperature at which the eggs incubate. Some fish determine sex using a single gene rather than a whole chromosome. 



Even in humans, sex chromosomes are not always straightforward. Gene mutations or extra sex chromosomes can lead to biological variations that do not fit into a simple male or female category.



Cephalopods have long posed a challenge for genetic research. They are not standard laboratory animals like mice or fruit flies, making it difficult for scientists to study their genetics in depth. 



Although researchers have sequenced the genomes of some octopus <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopus-suckers-the-future-of-underwater-adhesives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a>, they still struggle to link specific genes to particular traits. The discovery of an octopus sex chromosome marks a major breakthrough in understanding how these animals develop and reproduce.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unique-sex-chromosome-in-female-octopuses">Unique sex chromosome in female octopuses</h2>



The research team at the University of Oregon made an unexpected discovery when sequencing the DNA of a female California two-spot octopus. 



Among its 30 chromosomes, one stood out because it contained only half the usual amount of genetic material. This anomaly had not appeared in previous studies of male octopus DNA.



“This particular chromosome had half the amount of sequencing data, which indicated there was only one copy,” Coffing explained. “Then as we explored that more, we reached the conclusion that we must have stumbled upon a sex chromosome.”



This finding suggested that female octopuses carry a unique chromosome that males do not. The scientists needed to confirm their discovery by comparing it with data from other cephalopods. 



If this chromosome appeared in multiple species, it would indicate an ancient and consistent pattern of sex determination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sex-chromosome-exists-in-other-cephalopods">Sex chromosome exists in other cephalopods</h2>



The team analyzed genomic data from other octopus species and found similar evidence of this unique chromosome. 



The experts also detected the sex chromosome in squid, a species that diverged from octopuses between 248 and 455 million years ago. More surprisingly, they identified traces of it in the nautilus, a mollusk that split from the octopus lineage approximately 480 million years ago.



“This indicates that their common ancestor had this similar sex determination system,” Coffing said.



Most sex chromosomes change rapidly over time because they play a crucial role in reproduction. However, this cephalopod sex chromosome appears to have remained stable for hundreds of millions of years. 



This suggests that octopuses and their relatives have relied on this system without significant evolutionary changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-comparing-ancient-sex-chromosomes">Comparing ancient sex chromosomes</h2>



While the octopus sex chromosome is one of the oldest known, other ancient sex chromosomes exist in nature. 



Some plants, like mosses and liverworts, evolved their sex chromosomes early in Earth’s history. Insects also have sex chromosomes that date back about 450 million years, though these have changed considerably over time.



The discovery in octopuses challenges the idea that sex chromosomes always evolve quickly. It suggests that some systems remain stable if they continue to work effectively over long periods. Cephalopods seem to have found a genetic formula for sex determination that has stood the test of time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mystery-of-the-missing-w-chromosome">Mystery of the missing W chromosome</h2>



One question remains unanswered: how exactly does the sex determination system work in octopuses? Scientists initially suspected that octopuses might have a system similar to birds and butterflies, where males have two identical chromosomes (ZZ) and females have one of each (ZW).



Kern and his team searched for a W chromosome in female octopuses but didn't find one. This leaves open the possibility that octopuses follow a different system in which males have two copies of a single chromosome (ZZ), while females have only one (Z).



Researchers still need more evidence to confirm how octopus sex chromosomes function. While this study has solved one piece of the puzzle, many questions remain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-secrets-of-the-octopus">Secrets of the octopus </h2>



Octopuses continue to be one of the most enigmatic creatures in the ocean. Their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-octopus-has-mastered-the-art-of-multispecies-hunting/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">intelligence</a>, problem-solving skills, and unique genetics set them apart from most other animals. 



The discovery of an ancient sex chromosome adds another layer to their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-animal-will-replace-humans-as-earths-dominant-species-this-scientist-has-an-idea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evolutionary story</a>. For now, researchers know that this octopus sex chromosome has been around for nearly half a billion years. However, the exact mechanics of how it works remain uncertain.



As scientists continue to explore cephalopod genetics, they will uncover more about how these fascinating animals developed their extraordinary traits.



The octopus has revealed one of its secrets, but it still holds on to many more.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00005-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



-----



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Sex chromosome discovered in octopuses is 480 million years old

Octopuses have long fascinated scientists with their intelligence, camouflage abilities, and unique biology. These remarkable creatures continue to surprise researchers, revealing new secrets about their evolutionary past. One of the most intriguing mysteries has been the question of how octopuses determine their sex. Scientists at the University of Oregon recently identified a sex chromosome in the California two-spot octopus. This discovery confirms that cephalopods, a group that includes squid and nautiluses, rely on chromosomes for sex determination. The research also suggests that this chromosome has existed for...

The Hermit Thrush songbird produces different sounds based on geography, with differences that can be traced back to the bird’s evolutionary past, a new study found.

The sounds vary across the large portion of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/horned-dinosaurs-eastern-north-america/">North America</a> where it spends the summer, according to the study by researchers from Nova Scotia's <a href="https://www.dal.ca/">Dalhousie University</a>. The team studied 100 recordings captured between 1951 and 2015.

"Though Hermit Thrushes have a beautiful, well-known song, relatively little is known about their singing behavior," says one the authors, Sean Roach.

The analysis revealed significant differences in song structure across the three major populations--Northern, Western Mountain, and Western Lowland--as well as within them. 

The introductory notes that preface the bird’s songs showed the most striking differences. The Western Lowland Thrush produces higher, more variable introductory notes than their relatives elsewhere, the study said.

Some of the variation likely dates back to isolation of different Hermit Thrushes populations by ice sheets during the Pleistocene era. Differences between the two western groups may relate to body size, with larger birds producing lower-frequency songs.

One group of birds in the Canadian Rockies sang songs that stood out from other members of their subspecies, which Roach and coauthor Leslie Phillmore believe is an adaptation to how sound carries in their open, shrubby habitat.

"The whistle note's relative consistency across large geographical distances may be due to its role in long-distance communication of species or subspecies identity, while the remainder of the song could be under fewer constraints and its variability may carry more information about individual singers," said Heather Williams of <a href="https://www.williams.edu/">Williams College</a>, an expert on song diversity who was not involved in the study.

The research was published in the journal <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/auk-ornithological-advances">The Auk: Ornithological Advances</a>

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/">American Ornithological Society</a>

The Hermit Thrush songbird’s tune varies with geography

The Hermit Thrush songbird produces different sounds based on geography,...

Female vampire bats forge relationships outside their nuclear families as safety nets in case family members are lost, a new study says.

Female bats are very close to their mothers and daughters, grooming each other and sharing regurgitated meals of blood, according to the study by the <a href="http://www.stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a>.

But the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-boars-vampire-bats-rabies-oh/">bats</a> also engage in "social bet hedging” by forming friendships with less closely related bats in case they lose a family member, said Gerry Carter, post-doctoral fellow at institute.

Females who have expanded their social network outside the immediate family are better able to survive the loss of a relative than bats who only invest in close kin, the study said.

“We discovered that on the rare occasion that they lose a major food donor, they do much better,” Carter said. “Their social network of food donors is wider and more robust." 

For the research, Carter's team monitored social interactions in a captive colony of about 30 common vampire bats. The researchers worked out how the bats were related based on their genes. Carter then removed individual females from the group for a 24-hour fasting period. Just before returning them to the group, he removed one of the bat's key food donors, usually its mother or daughter. Then he examined how each bat coped with this change to its social network.

Common vampire bats are native to the American tropics and subtropics, where they often feed on the blood of cattle, especially where forests have been replaced by pasture.

"It's not uncommon that a bat goes out to forage and fails to get food, and it's not uncommon that her closest relative will have switched to a different roost that night," Carter said. "We're recreating a situation that vampire bats might face fairly often."

Other species, such as baboons, might also use social bet hedging, the study said.

There is also evidence that humans are happier with “quality over quantity” in their relationships, yet those living in unpredictable social environments tend to value more friendships over a few stronger ones. 

"It would be particularly interesting to test the extent to which human collaborative or friendship networks are shaped by decisions to invest in relationship quantity or quality," the authors added.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:  <a href="http://www.stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a>

Image Credit: Uwe Schmidt

Vampire bats make friends to cope with loss of family

Female vampire bats forge relationships outside their nuclear families as...

Whales have existed for 30 million years, but they evolved relatively recently into the giants we recognize today, a new study said.

It was two to three million years ago when ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere altered the way the whale’s food supply was distributed in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oceans-million-years-recover/">oceans</a> that they became so enormous, according the the study by the Smithsonian's <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/">National Museum of Natural History</a>. 

Before ice sheets began to cover the Northern Hemisphere, food resources would have been fairly evenly distributed throughout the oceans, said Nicholas Pyenson, the museum's curator of fossil marine mammals.

When glaciation began, runoff from the new ice caps would have washed nutrients into coastal waters at certain times of the year, seasonally boosting food supplies, Pyenson said.

Baleen whales, which filter small prey like krill out of seawater, were well equipped to take advantage of these dense patches of food, he said.

Filter-feeding is particularly efficient when whales have access to very dense aggregations of prey and the foraging strategy becomes even more efficient as body size increases, the study said. 

Large whales can migrate thousands of miles to take advantage of seasonally abundant food supplies. The baleen whales' filter-feeding systems, which evolved about 30 million years ago, appear to have set the stage for major size increases once rich sources of prey became concentrated in particular locations and times of year, the study said.

The researchers studied the Smithsonian’s skull collections for both living and extinct baleen whales, which provided the raw data needed to examine the evolutionary relationships between whales of different sizes.  

Their data clearly showed that the large whales that exist today were not present for most of whales' history. 

"We live in a time of giants," said one of the researchers, Jeremy Goldbogen at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a>. "Baleen whales have never been this big, ever."

The findings could help scientists better understand how whales survive in today’s oceans, Pyenson said.

“Today's oceans and climate are changing at geological scales in the course of human lifetimes.” he said. “With these rapid changes, does the ocean have the capacity to sustain several billion people and the world's largest whales? The clues to answer this question lie in our ability to learn from Earth's deep past -- the crucible of our present world -- embedded in the fossil record."

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/">National Museum of Natural History</a>

Image Credit: Copyright Silverback Films/BBC

Whales only recently became so large in size

Whales have existed for 30 million years, but they evolved...

<a href="https://www.tufts.edu/">Tufts University</a> researchers have tapped into a “hidden code” that allowed them to alter the way worms regenerate after an injury.

The team was able to cause flatworms to regenerate with two heads instead of one by overriding the default body shape called for by a genome.

Flatworms that are known for their regenerative capacity. When cut into pieces, each fragment of flatworm regenerates what it is missing to complete its anatomy. Normally, regeneration produces an exact copy of the original worm.

But the Tufts researchers altered the bioelectric circuits of the worms by using octanol to temporarily interrupt electrical synapses that enable cells to communicate with each other. 

A fourth of the amputated trunk fragments regenerated into two-headed flatworms, while 72 percent regenerated into normal-appearing, one-headed worms, and 3 percent of the fragments did not develop properly.

When the flatworms with normal body shape were amputated repeatedly over several months in normal spring water, they produced the same ratio of two-headed worms to one-headed worms.

The pattern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-slow-memory-loss/">memory</a> of the flatworms had been altered, although this only became apparent when the worms regenerated. The research illustrated that the shape to which the worms regenerate is encoded in a bioelectric pattern that instructs one of two possible outcomes after damage.

"With this work, we now know that bioelectric properties can permanently override the default body shape called for by a genome, that regenerative target morphology can be edited to diverge from the current anatomy, and that bioelectric networks can be a control point for investigating cryptic, previously-unobservable phenotypes," said the paper's corresponding author, Dr. Michael Levin, a Tufts biology professor.

The research is significant because advances in regenerative medicine require an understanding of the mechanisms by which some organisms repair damage to their bodies, said Levin.

 "Bioelectricity has a powerful instructive role as a mediator in the reprogramming of anatomical structure, with many implications for understanding the evolution of form and the path to regenerative therapies," Levin added.

[caption id="attachment_450759" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/141023.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-450759" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/141023-300x90.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="90" /></a> Image Credit: Fallon Durant, Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University[/caption]

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By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.tufts.edu/">Tufts University</a>

Researchers discover hidden code behind how worms regenerate

Tufts University researchers have tapped into a “hidden code” that...

A tooth fossil discovered in Mississippi has provided the first evidence that horned dinosaurs lived in eastern North America. 

The tooth belonged to a relative of the Triceratops and was found in rocks that are between 66 and 68 million years old. 

Evidence of horned dinosaurs, also known as ceratopsids, had previously only been found in western North America and Asia. During the Cretaceous Period, 95 to 66 million years ago, a body of water divided eastern and western North America that stretched from the Arctic to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-challenges-gulf-mexico/">Gulf of Mexico</a>. As a result, animals that evolved on one side of the split were prevented from crossing to the other. 

But the tooth fossil find shows that the body of water that split North America in half must have disappeared by the end of the Age of Dinosaurs.

"The fossil is small, only the size of a quarter, but it packs a ton of information," said Andrew Farke, paleontologist at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at <a href="https://www.webb.org/">The Webb Schools</a>. "The shape of this tooth, with its distinctive split root, is absolutely unique among dinosaurs," Farke continued. "We only have the one fossil, but it's more than enough to show that an animal very similar to Triceratops-perhaps even Triceratops itself-made it into eastern North America."

The discovery was made by George Phillips, paleontology curator at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks’ Museum of Natural Science, in the Owl Creek Formation in northern Mississippi. It was announced in the journal <a href="http://peerj.com">PeerJ</a>.

 "I was excited because I knew it was a dinosaur tooth, and dinosaur fossils are rare discoveries east of the Mississippi River,” said Phillips. “I called my volunteer, Michael Estes, over to share in the discovery, and he was beside me in seconds. I knew it wasn't a duck-billed dinosaur, and within 30 minutes of having found it, I posted on Facebook that I'd collected some rare plant-eating dinosaur tooth. It was none other than my colleague Lynn Harrell who made the suggestion, within minutes of my post, that it looked like a ceratopsian tooth."

"The discovery is shocking because fossils of ceratopsid horned dinosaurs had never been discovered previously from eastern North America. It's certainly the most unique and important vertebrate fossil discovery I've ever made," Phillips added.

[caption id="attachment_450745" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/141152.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-450745" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/141152-300x281.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="281" /></a> Image Credit: George Phillips, MDWFP Museum of Natural Science[/caption]

--

By <a href="mailto:rarnold@earth.com">Rory Arnold</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://peerj.com">PeerJ</a>

Image Credit: George Phillips, MDWFP Museum of Natural Science

Fossil proves horned dinosaurs lived in eastern North America

A tooth fossil discovered in Mississippi has provided the first...

Habitat fragmentation occurs as a result of natural causes such as fire and climate change, and also due to human activity such as agriculture and rural development. This separation of territories reduces biodiversity and disrupts ecosystems. A new study reveals that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-wolves-hunting-bison/">wolves</a> and other top predators are at a major disadvantage due to habitat fragmentation, and are losing control of smaller predators.

The study, appearing today in Nature Communications, evaluated the top predators on three different continents. The research team analyzed the relationships of these predators and the smaller predators they compete with for resources. The results showed the top predators on all of the continents began losing control over the smaller predators as their ranges were fragmented. 

Aaron Wirsing is an associate professor at the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a>'s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and co-author of the study.

"Our paper suggests it will require managing for top predator persistence across large landscapes, rather than just in protected areas, in order to restore natural predator-predator interactions," said Wirsing.

Gray wolves historically lived in sprawling, continuous habitats of North America, particularly in western regions of the United States and Canada. Coyotes were scarce in these areas which were dominated by wolves. Over time, rural development divided the wolf populations and their control over coyotes was compromised. The numbers of coyotes in these areas has increased significantly.

The research team also analyzed the relationship between gray wolves and golden jackals in Europe, as well as the connection between dingoes and red foxes in Australia. The results here were the same as in America. As the ranges of the top predators were divided into smaller, more isolated territories, the numbers of the smaller predators surged.

"This research shows that apex predators like dingoes and wolves need large, continuous territories in order to effectively control the balance of their ecosystems," said lead author Thomas Newsome of Deakin University and the University of Sydney in Australia. "Humans need a greater tolerance of apex predators if we want to enjoy the environmental benefits they can provide."

The only areas in North America where wolves still have territories large enough to thrive are in northern Canada and some parts of Alaska. As a result of successful conservation efforts, wolf populations are on the rise in areas such as Yellowstone National Park and the northern Rockies. However, their presence is too isolated in these regions to regain control of coyotes and smaller predators.

The authors of the study suggest conservation efforts should be approached in a more effective manner. They believe that connecting landscapes and blending populations together is the best way to allow top predators “to play their historical roles.”

The researchers mapped the historical ranges of the top predators and small predators to see where they overlapped. They confirmed that the top predators such as wolves and dingoes were only able to control their smaller counterparts when they existed in large numbers on vast territories.

The disruption of wolves’ habitats is not the only reason coyotes are appearing all over North America. Coyotes can live anywhere, and have even been spotted in cities such as Chicago.

"Coyotes have essentially hitched a ride with people," Wirsing said. "Not only do we subsidize coyotes, but we also helped them by wiping out their predators."

The researchers plan to expand upon this study by evaluating the other species of animals that are in direct competition with each other. 

"It will be interesting to see the influence of large predators on smaller predators in other parts of the world, especially the role of the big cats such as jaguars, leopards, lions and tigers," said co-author William Ripple of Oregon State University.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a>

Habitat fragmentation disrupting the dominance of top predators

Habitat fragmentation occurs as a result of natural causes such...

Portions of the human spine structure that enable efficient walking motions were established millions of years earlier than previously thought, according to a new study of a 3.3 million year-old fossil skeleton.

The fossil is known as "Selam," and is a nearly complete skeleton of a 2½ year-old child discovered in Dikika, Ethiopia in 2000 by Zeresenay (Zeray) Alemseged, Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the <a href="http://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a> and senior author of the new study.

Analysis revealed the most complete spinal column of any early human relative, including vertebrae, neck and rib cage, the university said.

"Continued and painstaking research on Selam shows that the general structure of the human spinal column emerged over 3.3 million years ago, shedding light on one of the hallmarks of human evolution," Alemseged said. "This type of preservation is unprecedented, particularly in a young individual whose vertebrae are not yet fully fused."

Primates share many features of the human spinal column and rib cage, but the human spine also reflects our distinctive mode of walking upright on two feet. Humans have fewer bones of the back than those of our closest primate relatives, and more vertebrae in the lower back, which allows us to walk effectively. When and how this pattern evolved has been unknown until now as complete sets of <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/prostate-stones-found-skeleton/">vertebrae</a> are rarely preserved.

"Selam has provided us the first glimpse into how our early ancestors' spines were organized," said Carol Ward, Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences at the <a href="https://medicine.missouri.edu/">University of Missouri School of Medicine</a>, and lead author of the study.

The fossil was taken to the European <a href="http://www.esrf.eu/">Synchrotron Radiation Facility</a> in Grenoble, France, where Alemseged and the research team used high-resolution imaging technology to visualize the bones.

"This technology provides the opportunity to virtually examine aspects of the vertebrae otherwise unattainable from the original specimen," added Fred Spoor, a Professor of Evolutionary Anatomy in the Department of Biosciences at the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> and a coauthor of the study.

The scans indicated that Selam had the distinctive thoracic-to-lumbar joint transition found in other fossils of human relatives, but the specimen is the first to show that, like modern humans, human’s earliest ancestors had only 12e thoracic vertebrae and twelve pairs of ribs. That is fewer than in most apes.

"This unusual early human configuration may be a key in developing more accurate scenarios concerning the evolution of bipedality and modern human body shape," said Thierra Nalley, an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at <a href="https://www.westernu.edu/">Western University of Health Sciences</a> in Pomona, California, who is also an author on the paper.

The configuration found in Selam marks a transition toward the type of spinal column that allows humans to be efficient, athletic walkers and runners, the university said.

"We are documenting for the first time in the fossil record the emergence of the number of the vertebrae in our history, when the transition happened from the rib-bearing vertebrae to lower back vertebrae, and when we started to extend the waist," Alemseged said. "This structure and its modification through time is one of the key events in the history of human evolution."

The study is published in the<a href="http://www.pnas.org/"> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:.<a href="http://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a>

Fossil reveals how the human spine originated

Portions of the human spine structure that enable efficient walking...

Great apes and humans split several hundred thousand years earlier than previously believed, and it happened in Europe not Africa, two new studies say.

Until now, researchers assumed ape and human lineages diverged five to seven million years ago and that the first pre-humans developed in <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/dusty-winds-western-africa/">Africa</a>.

Research by Madelaine Böhme of the <a href="https://www.uni-tuebingen.de/en/university.html">University of Tübingen </a>in Germany and Nikolai Spassov of the <a href="http://bas.bg/bulgarian-academy-of-science">Bulgarian Academy of Sciences</a> outline a new scenario for the beginning of human history.

The researchers analyzed the two known specimens of the fossil hominid Graecopithecus freybergi: a lower jaw from Greece and an upper premolar from Bulgaria. Using computer tomography, they visualized the internal structures of the fossils and demonstrated that the roots of premolars are widely fused.

"While great apes typically have two or three separate and diverging roots, the roots of Graecopithecus converge and are partially fused - a feature that is characteristic of modern humans, early humans and several pre-humans including Ardipithecus and Australopithecus,” said Böhme.

The lower jaw has additional dental root features, suggesting that the species Graecopithecus freybergi might belong to the pre-human lineage.

 "We were surprised by our results, as pre-humans were previously known only from sub-Saharan Africa," said Jochen Fuss, a Tübingen PhD student who conducted this part of the study.

Graecopithecus is several hundred thousand years older than the oldest potential pre-human from Africa, the six-to-seven million year old Sahelanthropus from Chad.

The researchers dated the Graecopithecus fossil sites in Greece and Bulgaria with physical methods and got a similar age for both fossils - 7.24 and 7.175 million years.


"This dating allows us to move the human-chimpanzee split into the Mediterranean area," said David Begun, a <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a> paleoanthropologist and co-author of the study. 

At about the same time that the Sahara desert formed in North Africa, a savannah biomed formed in Europe, the research found.

"The incipient formation of a desert in North Africa more than seven million years ago and the spread of savannas in Southern Europe may have played a central role in the splitting of the human and chimpanzee lineages," said Böhme.

The findings are described in two studies published in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

[caption id="attachment_450700" align="aligncenter" width="225"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/140912.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-450700" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/140912-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a> Photo: Wolfgang Gerber, University of Tübingen[/caption]

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By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a>

Photo: Wolfgang Gerber, University of Tübingen

Human-ape split occurred in Europe, not Africa

Great apes and humans split several hundred thousand years earlier...

Geese populations around the world are booming thanks to feeding forays onto farmland. But China's wild geese prefer to stay in their wetlands, and that could be causing their numbers to decline, scientists said.

Unlike most other goose populations, the wild geese who winter in China’s Yangtze River wetlands don’t travel to nearby agricultural lands to graze. 

“Whilst this saves them energy and the risk of death from the hunters and poachers they encounter on dry land, it does constrain them to the wetlands and the quality of the food that they can find there,” said Dr. Lei Cao of the <a href="http://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>.

The geese that winter in China travel from Russia and Mongolia. They can’t stay there during the harsh winters, but there are not enough extensive wetlands south of the Yangtze to help support their population.

Cao and her fellow researchers began to worry about China's wild geese when surveys taken during the 2000s showed their numbers were in decline. 

They attached GPS trackers to 67 geese from five different species that winter in the Yangtze wetlands. About 50 of the geese never left wetlands areas. The remainder – all from species that are not declining as rapidly – occasionally left the wetlands but still stayed close to home.

"This is a vital piece of evidence to support our hypothesis that, because Chinese geese are clearly 'prisoners' of their wetland habitats, their recent declines relate to reductions in the quality and extent of these wintering habitats upon which they rely," Cao said.

As China’s wetlands shrink, so does the geese population. But why would China's wild geese avoid neighboring farms while other geese around the world do not?

Cao and her colleagues suspect it’s because China’s rice paddies have more human activity, and because farmers in China often raise domestic ducks and geese that clear mown fields of food their wild cousins could scavenge.

Wintering geese are also popular game for hunters, the researchers said.

Their study will appear in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.037">Current Biology</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

China's wild geese are homebodies, and it could be hurting their numbers

Geese populations around the world are booming thanks to feeding...

Fruit fly brains are tiny, but that doesn’t mean that they’re simple. In fact, the navigational center of a fruit fly’s brain is actually very sophisticated, according to a new study by scientists at the <a href="https://www.janelia.org/">Janelia Research Campus</a>.

Deep within each fruit fly’s brain is a doughnut-shaped structure where neurons and special nerve cells form a delicate compass. Part of the structure, a group of nerve cells called the ellipsoid body, form the needle. 

As a fruit fly travels, even delicate shifts in direction cause activity in the ellipsoid body that allow the fly to know exactly where it is at all times.

"It's a window into something that borders on cognition,” group leader <a href="https://www.janelia.org/lab/jayaraman-lab">Dr. Vivek Jayaraman</a> said in a press release.

The research team had determined this much as early as 2015, but continued their research into the structure of fruit fly brains. Now, they may have determined exactly how this miniscule compass actually works.

A “handlebar” of neurons sit above the ellipsoid body, and the two structures send signals back and forth. Because of its location and the delicate connection, the handlebar neurons can “steer” the ellipsoid body.

"Essentially you have a set of puppet strings by which you can pull the activity one way or another," Jayaraman said.

By genetically engineering the flies so that their neurons glowed when active and then watching them through a specialized microscope, the scientists were able to watch this interplay at work.

While the scientists are still not quite sure how the entire process works, they’ve gained a key to understanding the navigational center of fruit fly brains.

Understanding how navigation works in fruit fly brains could offer some insight into how humans are able to navigate their world so effectively, the scientists said.

The Janelia Research Campus is part of the <a href="http://www.hhmi.org/">Howard Hughes Medical Institute</a>, a philanthropic group that works to advance biomedical research and science education.

The group’s most recent research will be published today in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.23496">eLife</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fruit fly brains are complex navigational tools

Fruit fly brains are tiny, but that doesn’t mean that...

Researchers have identified areas of the primate brain dedicated exclusively to analyzing social interactions.

The findings could help explain the origins of “theory of mind,” the human ability to understand what other people are thinking, <a href="https://www.rockefeller.edu/">Rockefeller University</a> said.

The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify those parts of macaque monkeys' brains that become active when the animals watched different kinds of videos.

The team expected that areas containing specialized brain cells called mirror neurons, which fire when an animal performs an action such as grasping a stick or hitting a ball, or sees another animal performing the same action, would light up when the macaques watched other macaques playing with toys.

But the macaques' mirror neuron regions also showed activity when the animals watched their fellow monkeys interacting socially, and even when they watched objects colliding with other objects.

The findings suggest that the motor neuron system, which also exists in the human brain, could be more involved than previously thought in understanding a variety of both social and non-social interactions.

Those areas of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/facial-recognition-technology/">monkey’s</a> brain that respond selectively to specific visual shapes- faces, bodies, or objects got an extra boost when the animals watched videos of monkeys interacting with objects. It perked up even more in response to videos of monkey-on-monkey social interactions. 

This suggests that the same parts of the brain that are responsible for analyzing visual shapes might also be partly responsible for analyzing both physical and social interactions, the authors said.

The team also discovered that additional areas of the brain, far removed from those face- and body-selective areas, also lit up in response to social interactions. The researchers even identified a portion of the network that responded exclusively to social interactions, remaining nearly silent in their absence.

“That was both unexpected and mind-boggling," says researcher Winrich Freiwald, who added that no other study has shown evidence of a network in the brain going dark when denied its preferred input.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.rockefeller.edu/">Rockefeller University</a>

Monkey brain study may explain human thinking

Researchers have identified areas of the primate brain dedicated exclusively...

Small parrots called parrotlets use a technique called “wing-assisted hopping” to conserve energy when hopping from branch to branch, according to a new <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> study.

The birds, who live from <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/scorpion-reef-gulf-mexico/">Mexico</a> to South America, use their wings as a booster engine during long hops from to branch to branch while foraging, the study found.

It requires less energy than simply flying, and is a strategy that could have been used by dinosaurs before they developed full flight, the authors said. 

Parrotlets can jump up to 20 cm without using their wings, but can reach up to 75 cm with a little wing help, lead author Diana D. Chin told the website <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us">Motherboard</a>.  

There were four parrots in the study and the force they used to lift off was measured using sensors in the branches.

The study, published in <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/5/e1603041">Scientific Advances</a> can lead to spinoff research on the evolution of foraging dinosaurs, Chin said.

"We modelled what would happen if a theropod combined a long jump with a partial wingbeat," she said. "Early dinos could have gotten more bang for their buck by adding that a partial wing beat." 

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/5/e1603041">Scientific Advances</a>, <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us">Motherboard</a>

Small parrots could explain how dinosaurs learned to fly

Small parrots called parrotlets use a technique called “wing-assisted hopping”...

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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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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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...