For decades, tool use was seen as the hallmark of human evolution. Later, researchers began to notice this skill in chimpanzees, crows, and even sea otters. But one group remained conspicuously absent from this conversation - fish.



They were thought to be too simple, too instinct-driven, and too limited in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-select-the-best-materials-for-termite-fishing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cognitive ability</a>. That belief no longer holds.



A new study has revealed something remarkable: several wrasse species have been observed using hard surfaces to break open prey. 



These behaviors don’t just challenge assumptions - they expand the very definition of what it means to be intelligent.



Dr. Juliette Tariel-Adam, the study’s lead author from Macquarie University, has spent years watching these small but clever reef fish. Her team tracked and recorded behaviors that were previously dismissed or unnoticed.



"Tool use is typically associated with humans, but this behavior is proof that fish are far cleverer than they get credit for," said Dr. Tariel-Adam.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-use-tools-to-smash-prey">Fish use tools to smash prey</h2>



Wrasses are colorful reef fish found in warm oceans across the world. In this study, several <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-evolve-rapidly-by-switching-between-simple-and-complex-teeth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> were observed picking up crabs, mollusks, and brittle stars in their mouths and striking them against rocks or coral heads. 



This behavior is known as “anvil use,” a form of tool use that allows the fish to access prey they otherwise couldn’t consume.



The wrasses showed clear intentionality. They didn’t just drop their prey. They positioned it, swung their bodies with force, and adjusted their angles between strikes. They seemed to know what they were doing. This wasn’t random behavior - it was targeted, practiced, and often successful.



The study documented 16 new observations across five species within the New World Halichoeres group. Three of those species had never been seen using tools before. Two others were suspected to use tools, but now video evidence confirms this.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tool-use-across-oceans">Tool use across oceans</h2>



These discoveries were made possible by a community <a href="https://fishtooluse.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">science initiative</a> called Fish Tool Use. 



Through social media outreach, emails, and public engagement, the research team gathered videos and reports from divers and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-fish-coelacanth-presumed-extinct-for-60-million-years-before-rediscovery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine</a> enthusiasts. 



The observations came from Brazil, Colombia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and beyond.



All five species observed belong to a closely related group in the Labridae family, the second most species-rich group of marine fish. 



The team believes this behavior may have evolved in a common ancestor and persisted across related species.



Alternatively, anvil use may have emerged multiple times independently - a question that future research may help to answer.



"With these newly discovered tool-using species, it becomes clear that many species of wrasses use tools that we previously didn't know about," said Dr. Tariel-Adam.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flexibility-of-fish-tool-use">Flexibility of fish tool use</h2>



One surprise in the study was the absence of laterality. In primates and crows, tool use often involves a dominant hand or claw. 



Wrasses, however, appeared to use both sides of their bodies equally. In video analyses, they struck with either side depending on their position in the water.



This flexibility might offer an advantage. While lateralized tool use can be efficient, it also limits an animal’s options when environment or position changes. 



Wrasses, on the other hand, can exploit anvils in any orientation, giving them a broader range of usable surfaces.



In addition, wrasses used many different types of anvils. Rocks, coral heads, rubble, even a live conch shell - all served the same purpose. They did not show strict preferences. They adapted to what was around them.



This suggests not only cognitive flexibility but a level of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-deep-sea-fish-survive-the-crushing-depths-of-the-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental awareness</a> as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-food-and-competition-on-the-reef">Food and competition on the reef</h2>



Using tools to break open hard prey is not without its costs. The action requires energy, especially when it involves several powerful strikes. 



Videos show the fish sometimes lose their grip or need to readjust by spitting out and re-securing their prey. Despite this, the behavior is consistently successful.



Sometimes, other fish circle the scene. In 12 of 19 observations, nearby fish either attempted to steal food or got chased away. In one case, a juvenile wrasse stole a brittle star from an adult just after it had broken off a piece. Tool use brings not only food, but attention - and not always the good kind.



Still, the benefits seem to outweigh the risks. Access to shelled prey means more food options and better nutrition. 



For smaller wrasses, who might not have the jaw strength to crack shells without help, this strategy opens a new dietary path. It allows them to eat prey that would otherwise be unavailable to them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-puzzle-of-tool-use">Evolutionary puzzle of tool use</h2>



The study’s results open a new chapter in animal cognition. Fish now join a growing list of tool-using animals that includes primates, parrots, octopuses, wasps, and crabs. But why have only some species developed this behavior?



Tool use is likely influenced by ecological pressures - scarce food, competition, or environmental structure. In the case of wrasses, their diverse habitats, sharp learning skills, and wide range of prey may all play a role. Yet, the exact reasons remain unclear.



Professor Culum Brown, senior author of the study and head of Macquarie University’s Fish Lab, believes this behavior sheds light on the broader story of intelligence in the animal world. 



"They demonstrate flexible and dexterous tool use, expanding our understanding of tool use evolution in the animal kingdom," noted Professor Brown.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next</h2>



The researchers want to see more. Most documented tool use events are still opportunistic. Controlled studies - where prey is offered in experimental settings - could bring new insights.



The team hopes to receive more submissions from the public, helping them fill the gaps in geography and species data.



Those interested can contribute through Fish Tool Use, where divers and marine observers are encouraged to share footage or descriptions of wrasse behavior. With more data, scientists can explore whether anvil use is common across the family or limited to just a few clever species.



For now, wrasses have made one thing clear: we’ve underestimated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-vessels-most-industrial-fishing-activity-is-not-publicly-tracked/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fish</a>. Not only are they smart, but they’re capable of innovation, planning, and creative problem-solving. 



Tool use may no longer be the preserve of a few gifted animals. It may be far more widespread - if we only care to look.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-025-02633-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coral Reefs</a>.



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Some clever fish use tools to crack open prey

For decades, tool use was seen as the hallmark of human evolution. Later, researchers began to notice this skill in chimpanzees, crows, and even sea otters. But one group remained conspicuously absent from this conversation - fish. They were thought to be too simple, too instinct-driven, and too limited in cognitive ability. That belief no longer holds. A new study has revealed something remarkable: several wrasse species have been observed using hard surfaces to break open prey. These behaviors don’t just challenge assumptions - they expand the...

Chimpanzees appear to recognize rear ends with as much ease as faces, according to <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0165357">a new study</a> on face processing among the primates.

Face processing is a brain shortcut that allows humans to recognize and process faces more quickly than other objects – as long as they are upright. 

This varies from other objects, which humans recognize in about the same amount of time regardless of their orientation.

Chimps also place some importance on faces, but scientists were aware that buttocks also played a role in how they recognize each other, as well as attraction between males and females. 

So Dr. Mariska Kent of <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en">Leiden University</a> set out to see if chimpanzees have the same processing “shortcut” for butts that humans do for faces. 

They conducted a series of matching tests with both humans and chimpanzees. In the experiments, humans and chimps were asked to match faces, buttocks and feet (as a control) of both species. Some of the images were in colors, and some were in grayscale. Several of the images were inverted, or upside down, to test whether recognition was more efficient right side up.

The study found that humans recognize and are able to match upright faces faster than other body parts, both with and without color.

Chimps showed some interesting results, however. In color, they were able to process upright images of chimpanzee buttocks faster than faces or feet. However, when the color was removed, their facial processing skills improved. 

According to Kret, this indicates that buttocks play a large role in chimpanzee socialization, but especially in sexual attraction. When female chimps are in the fertile part of their menstrual cycle, areas of their buttocks turn dark pink, which may explain why, in color images, chimps are better at recognizing individual pairs of buttocks.

This could be why chimpanzees evolved to have bare behinds, with little hair growing on them, as well as why primate eyes in general are good at spotting the color red, Kret said. 

The study was published in the November 30 issue of the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chimpanzees help us get to the bottom of face processing

Chimpanzees appear to recognize rear ends with as much ease...

A new species of tundra beetle has been found in Antarctica – but it’s been dead for millions of years.

The fossilized forewings of two different beetles were found on Beardmore Glacier, a 124-mile-long feature near the Transantarctic Mountains. They belonged to a beetle species that liked between 14 and 20 million years ago, when the southernmost continent was a lot warmer, according to Dr. Allan Ashworth of <a href="https://www.ndsu.edu/">North Dakota State University</a> and Dr. Terry Erwin of the <a href="https://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian Institution</a>.

They named the species Ball’s Antarctic tundra beetle after ground beetle expert Dr. George E. Ball, with the scientific name <a href="http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=10535">Antarctotrechus balli</a>. They don’t yet know whether the wings were functional or if the species could fly, but it’s leaving a footprint on study of the frozen continent either way.

The beetle is one of only a few insects ever found on Antarctica. Fossil impressions of wings and bodies have been found dating to the late Paleozoic and middle Mesozoic ages, and a handful of more recent insect fossils have been discovered. Ashworth and Erwin have discovered a cyclorraphan fly and listroderine weevil on Beardmore Glacier.  

Today, three species of flightless midges are the only insect life on Antarctica. The icy southern continent has very little vegetation and is very cold, making it inhospitable to bugs.

But the beetle find and the pair’s 2003 discoveries of the weevil and fly chill the notion that Antarctica has always been frozen.

When the beetle was alive, Erwin and Ashworth believe it lived along the banks of a meltwater stream, which likely had some sparse vegetation. Plant fossils associated with the beetle point to a tundra ecosystem. That tundra biome may also have provided habitat for Ashworth and Erwin’s earlier weevil and fly finds.

Though Ball’s Antarctic tundra beetle is now extinct, it seems to have some living relatives: the species Trechisibus, which live in South America, on South Georgia, a sub-Antarctic island, and on the Falkland Islands; and Tasmanorites, which live on Tasmania, an island off the south coast of Australia. 

Ashworth and Erwin described their find in the journal <a href="http://zookeys.pensoft.net/">Zookeys</a>.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tundra beetle adds to evidence Antarctica wasn't always frozen

A new species of tundra beetle has been found in...

Counting ferrets sounds like the kind of job an animal lover would dream up, but it’s vital to seeing how endangered black-footed ferrets are settling in at their new homes.

The rare weasel-like animals, once thought to be extinct, are doing well at the Denver wildlife refuge where they were released last year – and their numbers are growing.

The <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> conducted the count of the ferocious, furry creatures at the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/rocky_mountain_arsenal/">Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge</a> in October. They found 47 of the critters – 20 of the original 28 that were bred in captivity and released in the refuge in 2015, and nearly two dozen born at the refuge. 

Only five of the 15 ferrets released in this year’s batch were spotted during the count. Fish and Wildlife personnel weren’t too worried, however. They didn’t realize how many of the 2015 batch had survived when releasing this year’s ferrets; some of the breeding adults may have been crowded out and left to form dens in another area of the refuge, the researchers said. 

The researchers found more survivors than they expected. 

For the count, teams spent 10 nights scouting the refuge for the nocturnal ferrets, using lights to locate their reflective eyes, and by extension their dens. They then lined openings to the dens with burlap sacks, using those to catch the curious critters.

The captive-born ferrets have ID chips, making it easier to tell them apart from the ferrets born in the refuge. They were vaccinated for diseases like plague and rabies before their releases in 2015 and earlier this year.

The fresh ferrets were vaccinated and implanted with chips of their own, and then all of the ferrets were released back to their dens. 

Fish and Wildlife plans to release another batch of 20 captive-born ferrets at the refuge next year, but hasn’t yet set a date.

Overall, about 300 of the ferrets live in the wild at 28 sites throughout the western United States, as well as in Saskatchewan, Canada and Chihuahua, Mexico – all parts of the black-footed ferrets’ native range.

Another 300 captive-born ferrets are being prepared for release this year.

The black-footed ferrets, which prey on prairie dogs, began dying off when the pests were exterminated, and plague lowered their numbers as well. They were believed to be extinct until a surviving colony was discovered in Wyoming in 1981. 

Prairie dogs are also being reintroduced in some areas where they were eradicated, after researchers discovered that prairie dog towns provide vital habitat for more than 130 other species, and prairie dogs themselves are important prey for the ferrets and other animals. 

Fish and Wildlife hopes to keep a stable number of about 3,000 adult black-footed ferrets in at least 30 sites across nine states. 

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Black-footed ferrets make themselves at home in Colorado

Counting ferrets sounds like the kind of job an animal...

Alaska has a new mystery that has some scientists stumped: disappearing caribou.

A massive herd of caribou that roams the Arctic region in the state has dwindled, with its population declining by more than half in just six years.

In 2010, the herd hit a peak population of about 70,000 caribou. By 2013, numbers had dwindled to about 50,000, and this year, <a href="http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/">Alaska Department of Fish and Game</a> surveys suggest the herd’s size has dropped to around 22,000.

Researchers can’t settle on a reason. They’ve ruled out hunting by wolves and bears as a factor, and while pregnancy levels are down among female caribou, it’s not enough to account for the population bleed.

Biologists can find so sign of diseases among the herd. They have seen a higher than normal death rate among the female caribou fitted with radio tracking collars, but no sign of what is causing those deaths, they said.

One change that may have played a role in 2013 was a later than normal spring. That seems to have led to poor nutrition among the caribou that year, scientists said. Researchers plan to study satellite and weather tracking data to see if other unusual weather patterns might have affected the mushrooms, lichen, sedges, and other plants the caribou eat, leading to malnutrition. 

Some of the herd may have split off to join other groups of caribou, but the scientists aren’t sure of the potential extent, or whether it would have caused such a sharp drop in numbers. Because not many of the adult caribou are fitted with the tracking collars, it’s difficult to account for all of the herd’s movements, they said.

The scientists declined to blame climate change for the herd’s population decline until they had studied more data. 

However, environmental groups believe that Alaskan polar bears have been affected by global warming in recent years. 

The advocacy group <a href="http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/">Polar Bears International</a> notes that loss of polar bear habitat due to sea ice melt has been linked to reduced size and weight among the bears, as well as a lower survival rate among cubs. 

The <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Survey</a> is also working to determine what might be affecting the caribou. If summers have gotten warmer in the areas where they typically feed, booming insect populations could be driving them away, the agency’s wildlife biologists speculate.

However, studies comparing the caribous’ range to the 1970s have so far found no significant changes. 

Alaska residents have also questioned whether lax hunting rules for out-of-state visitors have played a role. The state fish and game department plans to reduce the number of caribou that can be killed from the herd this hunting season.

Two other north Alaskan caribou herds have seen declining numbers in recent years, although one seems to have stabilized, the department said.

Alaska biologists investigate mystery of disappearing caribou

Alaska has a new mystery that has some scientists stumped:...

For decades, fishing boats have used technology to track schools of fish, leading to overfishing of species that are in high demand in the food industry. Now, groups hoping to fight overfishing are turning the tables with new tech of their own.

Illegal fishing foes are creating apps, monitoring systems and other tech tools to catch fishing boats that are hauling up illegal catches. The new technology focuses on busting businesses that bring in undersized fish, exceed their quotas, or enter protected waters to cast their nets.

Illegal fishing – aside from depleting fish populations and catching young fish before they have the chance to reproduce – can cost up to $23 billion a year, according to the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a>. 

Unsurprisingly, business owners willing to blatantly break fishing regulations flout other laws too, the <a href="http://www.state.gov/">U.S. State Department</a> claims. The fishing industries in more than 50 countries have had problems with boat captains using slave labor to man their fishing vessels, the state department said. 

The new monitoring systems and apps could also help break up those abuses, experts said.

Some of the new technology designed to fight overfishing include:
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">A smartphone app created by <a href="http://www.projectissara.org/">Project Issara</a> allows Cambodian and Burmese workers to report on working conditions. This can allow various nonprofit, government and private anti-trafficking agencies to monitor businesses with abusive labor practices. Project Issara has also launched a 24-hour multilingual hotline.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">A barcode gadget would record exactly where and when each fish was caught. Industry-wide adoption could pressure boats to remain in legal waters.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Eyes on the Seas, built by <a href="http://www.pewtrusts.org/en">The Pew Charitable Trusts</a>, uses drones, satellite imaging, radar, radio signals, GPS and more to create a map of the world’s oceans. The project can track boats and identify those that stray into illegal waters or regularly pull close to other boats – as many illegal fishing networks transfer catches between vessels to muddy where they came from. <a href="http://globalfishingwatch.org/">Global Fishing Watch</a> has similar goals, but relies on fishing boats’ cooperation. </li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://www.nature.org/">The Nature Conservancy</a>’s Tech for Tuna projects works with fishing boats around the world to develop technology that can spot shark finning, turtle catching and hauls of undersized tuna. </li>
</ul>
Still, it’s not enough just to track the boats, said Phil Robertson of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/">Human Rights Watch</a>. Countries must use the data the new tech collects to take action. 

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tech solutions emerge to fight overfishing, labor abuse at sea

For decades, fishing boats have used technology to track schools...

It has been 85 years since the last time a bird species has gone extinct in the United States. But according to the <a href="http://www.ctaudubon.org/">Connecticut Audubon Society</a>, the saltmarsh sparrow could be next, and may even become completely extinct within the next 50 years. The organization is urging the state to act quickly to protect the at-risk sparrows.

“It would be the first avian extinction in the continental U.S. since the Heath Hen in 1931,” said Milan Bull, senior director of science and conservation at the Connecticut Audubon Society. “There’s no way to characterize that as anything but a disaster.”

Rising sea levels have significantly reduced the amount of beaches, wetlands, shrubby areas, and large grasslands that saltmarsh sparrows typically use as nesting areas. As a result, many different bird species have seen gradual but continuous declines in population. Saltmarsh sparrows, weighing only half an ounce, are especially at risk. 

According to <a href="https://umaine.edu/">University of Maine</a> professor Brian Olsen, the saltmarsh sparrow population has dropped about 9% every year since 1998. In addition to rising sea levels, roads and railways have blocked sea tide waterflow into marshes, further limiting nesting areas.

In the annual <a href="http://www.ctaudubon.org/state-of-the-birds/">Connecticut State of Birds Report</a>, the Audubon Society asked the <a href="http://www.ct.gov/dep/">Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection</a> to allocate funds to allow for tidal marshes to be relocated inland as sea levels continue to rise. In addition, they recommend that conservation groups, land-use officials, and private landowners to create or expand existing shrub-scrub habitats to allow for sufficient nesting space.

Saltmarsh sparrow may be extinct within 50 years

It has been 85 years since the last time a...

Long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, amphibians may have been rulers of the planet – or at least, that’s what paleontologists concluded after new research into fossilized footprints.

The fossilized footprints – on about 20 red sandstone slabs – were found in a Birmingham, England museum, where they had been stored and forgotten for decades. But researchers got a surprise when the footprints were found: they were more than 300 million years old, too old to belong to dinosaurs.

A research team led by Dr. Richard Butler of the <a href="http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/">University of Birmingham</a> and doctoral student Andrew Jones enthusiastically studied the unique fossils. 

The footprints were formed back when the hard sandstone was mud, and ancient creatures walked through it. The footprints dried, then were preserved under layers of sand and plant material. 

At that time, much of England was a lush rainforest that made an excellent habitat for amphibians, which needs ponds and other bodies of water to raise their young, and the insects they preyed on. 

About 290 million years ago, however, the climate started drying up, Butler said. The rainforests collapsed without enough water, and the animals that relied on them – including the giant amphibians – began to disappear, replaced by enormous reptiles that didn’t need such water habitats.

Using high-resolution imaging, Butler and Jones created 3-D models of the footprints, then compared them to other fossils found around the world. They found that some of the footprints were from large amphibians, while others were from reptiles called pelycosaurs, which would after millions of years diversify into dinosaurs and mammal-like reptiles. 

Because both types of footprints were present in the fossils, the researchers believe the slabs of sandstone may give a unique peek into the end of the age of amphibians and the beginning of the rise of reptiles. They hope to find more Birmingham fossils that will offer insights into what life was like 300 million years ago.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fossilized footprints help tell story of rise of reptiles

Long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, amphibians may have been...

In Scotland, a mysterious illness has led to a depressing sight along the coast: scores of dead or dying seals.

The country’s harbor seals have been dying in droves, with some areas losing up to 90 percent of the marine mammals since 2000. Harbor seal populations in northern Scotland and Orkney have dropped by at least 7,000 in just ten years. In a bid to find out the cause of these deaths, marine biologists fitted the animals with their smartphones – well, tags using smartphone technology. The tags allowed the biologists to follow different groups seals through their daily lives, in hopes of finding the deadly common denominator among them. 

Though the seals can’t call in any dangers they face, the biologists can track the water they’re spending time in to see if they’re running with any harmful elements.

The good news? While there’s still a lot of data to examine, the biologists have a prime suspect already: red algae blooms. 

The scientists used the GPS data collected by the seals’ tags to map their favorite feeding sites. Water samples taken at the sites show traces of the domoic acid left behind by red algae.

The bad news? Domoic acid is a dangerous neurotoxin. It accumulates in fish that live in areas with red algae blooms and the “red tides” they produce, and when the seals eat the fish, they’re slowly poisoned. 

Red tides off of the California coast have led to domoic acid toxicity in sea lions, and scientists there believe that the neurotoxin may be causing memory loss. 

However, knowing a potential cause behind the harbor seals’ dwindling numbers can help biologists create new solutions for the problem. For example, scientists are testing treatments for sea lions affected by domoic acid toxicity at the <a href="http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/about-us/News-Room/2015-news-archives/toxic-algal-bloom.html">Marine Mammal Center</a> in Sausalito, California. 

The Scottish scientists aren’t settled on domoic acid yet. It seems the most likely culprit from early data returned by the tags, but the scientists hope to follow the seal populations for a couple of years to get a better idea of what they’re doing.

The smartphone-style tags were designed by the <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/">University of St. Andrews</a>, which partnered with cellphone provider <a href="https://www.vodafone.com/">Vodafone</a> to track the initial 10 seals in the study. The tags transmitted GPS data over Vodafone’s network back to the university’s Sea Mammal Research Unit. 

The research team at the University of St. Andrews provides updates about the Vodafone study and other seal research at their <a href="http://synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk/harbourseals/">Harbour Seal Decline Project</a> blog.

Scientists seek to solve mystery of Scotland's dying seals

In Scotland, a mysterious illness has led to a depressing...

Australasian marsupials survived ancient climate change, but may not survive the next.

As climate change progresses, australasian marsupials face a high risk of extinction. But according to a recent study, they may actually have survived ancient climate change millions of years ago. 

The study, published in <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, was conducted by an international team of researchers led by Dr. Benjamin Kear from the Museum of Evolution at <a href="https://www.uu.se/en/">Uppsala University</a>.  "We used bandicoots as a model to examine the radiation of marsupials relative to climate change through time,” said Dr. Kear. “Bandicoots are the marsupial equivalents of rodents and rabbits that today occupy a spectrum of desert through to rainforest habitats across Australia, New Guinea and surrounding islands. Alarmingly, however, most bandicoot species are under dire threat of extinction from introduced predators, habitat loss, and human hunting,"

The bandicoot fossils indicate that roughly 5-10 million years ago, a climate shift to much drier conditions drove many species into extinction and prompted others to adapt into their modern evolutionary form. Dr. Ken Aplin of the <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/">Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History</a> noted, "The evolution of Australia's mammals has long been linked to aridity. Yet this hypothesis is based upon only a few distinguishing features found in the teeth and skulls of modern species.” 

Modern bandicoots are estimated to have appeared less than 5 million years ago, with their most ancient relative species existing in ancient rainforests up to to 20 million years ago. But Dr. Aplin uncovered fossils from the Aru Islands of Eastern Indonesia that indicate a new fossil bandicoot, Lemdubuoryctes aruensis, included isolated teeth from over 50 million years ago.

But Lemdubuoryctes aruensis did not inhabit rainforests. Instead, they lived in a large savannah plain between New Guinea and Australia during the last glacial maximum. 

According to Professor Michael Westerman from La Trobe University in Australia, "While retreating rainforests and spreading grasslands did provide a backdrop for ecosystem change 5-10 million years ago. The Australian fauna likely adapted via changing its distribution rather than undergoing wholesale extinction and replacement. This agrees with our results from DNA, which indicate that modern desert-living bandicoot groups pre-date the onset of aridity by as much as 40 million years.”

Added Dr. Kear, “"Bandicoots, like other Australasian marsupials, probably occupied a range of different habitats over many millions of years. However, our study has further implications for future conservation. Arid zone bandicoots are amongst the most vulnerable mammals in Australasia today, with multiple species having gone extinct within the last 100 years. By demonstrating their profound evolutionary antiquity we can thus serve to highlight how extremely urgent it is to protect these living fossils as part of Australia's unique biodiversity.”

Australasian marsupials survived ancient climate change

Australasian marsupials survived ancient climate change, but may not survive...

Some innovators are finding animal inspiration – not from nature, but from one of the world’s most popular pets. It turns out that studying cat tongues has offered up an array of ideas that could be useful in robotics, medicine, and the beauty industry.

Researchers based at <a href="http://www.gatech.edu/">Georgia Tech</a> used macro and high-speed videography to record cats as they groomed, then used the imaging to print three-dimensional models at a 400 percent scale. 

The project revealed that the sandpaper-like feel of a cat’s tongue is due to hook-like features that are the shape and sharpness of tiny claws. These little hooks make cat tongues ideal for detangling their fur. The flexibility of the tongue and the spines themselves help with this task.

And that gave the researchers some ideas. The most obvious, of course, is that hairbrushes modeled after cat tongues instead of with stiff, straight bristles might make detangling hair easier – and be easier to clean. 

The hooked shape of the spines on cats’ tongues make them “self-cleaning,” with caught fur sliding off easily. A similarly shaped brush could be cleaned by simply sliding a hand from the tip to the end.

However, the research could also offer up improved grips for soft robotics systems, as well as innovations in wound cleaning.

In robotics, engineers have struggled to create soft materials that can grip surfaces. The cat’s soft, flexible tongue could offer a model for a solution. 

The scientists aren’t done studying cats. They’ve examined the tongues of domestic cats, but would like to also study large cats like lions and tigers so they can compare the structures of their tongues. They’re hoping to find out how the spacing of the spines affects resistance. 

The researchers presented their findings at the 69th annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.aps.org/units/dfd/">American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics</a>. They’re planning to create mimic technology based on their findings.

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cat tongues inspire ideas for new innovations

Some innovators are finding animal inspiration – not from nature,...

What happens when movie magic meets modern paleontology? “Jurassic World: The Exhibition,” which opened Friday at the <a href="https://www.fi.edu/">Franklin Institute</a> in Philadelphia.

The touring exhibit is “the closest you will ever come to living dinosaurs,” according to the Institute. 

Instead of the standard dino skeletons, “Jurassic World” used research from working paleontologists to create awe-inspiring, life-sized animatronic dinosaurs. Some top 24 feet tall. 

Visitors to the exhibit travel to the imaginary Isla Nublar, the setting of the movies “Jurassic Park” and “Jurassic World,” where they can meet a Tyrannosaurus rex, a brachiosaurus and a velociraptors face-to-face, along with other dinosaurs. At the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo, visitors can interact with a few more dinos and even “pet” one. 

One unique aspect of the “Jurassic World” exhibit: organizers worked with dinosaur expert Jack Horner, who discovered the first fossilized dinosaur embryos and led research into how different species of dinosaurs may have cared for their young. 

The goal was to make sure the science behind the exhibit was as accurate as possible. The exhibit has several hands-on activities that can teach visitors about how paleontologists study the dinosaurs. There’s also a guide for educators who want to teach their students more about the prehistoric reptiles.

Horner had another connection to the movie-inspired exhibit – he was the inspiration for the character of Alan Grant in “Jurassic Park.” He also served as a technical advisor on all of the movies.

The animatronic dinosaurs were created by The Creature Technology Co., which also worked on the “Walking With the Dinosaurs” arena shows.  

The American exhibit is nearly double the size of the previous version, which appeared in Melbourne, Australia until early October. More interactive and science-based activities were added, as well as a velociraptor training paddock like the one used in the movie “Jurassic World.”

The exhibit will be open in Philadelphia until April 23, 2017.

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

'Jurassic World' comes alive at Philadelphia exhibit

What happens when movie magic meets modern paleontology? “Jurassic World:...

When it comes to choosing who deserves their affections, female monkeys prefer males who fight for the good of the group to those who do nothing, new research has found.

The study found that after battles between vervet gangs over food, the females reward warrior males with grooming and attention, while the do-nothing males were given the cold shoulder. If the deadbeats tried to force females to give them unearned attention, the females would snap at them.

The behavior of the female monkeys had an interesting effect, however. Instead of angering the shunned males, it encouraged them to participate in future battles for the good of the group, the <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/283/1843/20161817">scientists reported in their article</a>.

The research team, from the <a href="http://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> in Switzerland and the Mawana Game Reserve in South Africa, call the behavior “the carrot and the stick.” Female monkeys used both rewards for active males and punishment for passive males to encourage all of the males in a troupe to protect that group.

They came to the conclusion after spending two years observing four different female monkeys groups at the Mawana Game Reserve. 

The monkeys live in mixed gender troupes, and despite the females’ reward and punishment system toward males, both genders participate in intergroup scraps. 

But without the promise of attention from the female monkeys, the males might not bother to fight, the researchers believe. In short, they show off in the hopes of impressing the right girl. And the females know this and shun the deadbeats who don’t pull their weight.

Because the male monkeys are larger in size and have longer teeth, they’re valuable warriors in the battles. The females are most affected by the outcomes of the battles – which decide food sources and territory, both vital to the mothers in the group – so they have incentive to push the more effective male fighters into battle. 

The researchers published their observations on monkey gender roles in the journal <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Holding out for a hero: female monkeys prefer males who take action

When it comes to choosing who deserves their affections, female...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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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

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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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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



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 rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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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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