The existence of water on Mars has long been a subject of curiosity and debate. A recently published study presents compelling evidence of ancient "wave ripples" in rocks that were shaped by Martian water and winds billions of years ago.



These ripples, imprinted on the Martian surface, speak to a time when shallow bodies of water were open to the Martian air.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mysterious-ripples-on-mars">Mysterious ripples on Mars</h2>



The importance of these ripples cannot be overemphasized as they provide clear evidence of the existence of a standing body of water on Mars approximately 3.7 billion years ago.



This profound discovery paints a picture of a time when the Martian climate was seemingly warm enough to support liquid bodies water, not just frozen ice fields, that were open to the air.



"The shape of the ripples could only have been formed under water that was open to the atmosphere and acted upon by wind," observed Claire Mondro, a postdoctoral scholar from The California Institute of Technology (<a href="https://www.caltech.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CalTech</a>) and the study's first author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-mars-ripples-tell-us">What the Mars ripples tell us</h2>



Dr. Michael Lamb, a geology professor at Caltech, painstakingly created computer models based on these ripples to estimate the size of the ancient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/perseverance-rover-samples-bunsen-peak-rock-jezero-crater-martian-lake/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Martian lake</a>.



Lamb’s extensive experience in studying sediment, water, and atmosphere interactions on Earth lent credibility to this model. 



The ripples, a mere 6 millimeters high and spaced 4 to 5 centimeters apart suggest the existence of a shallow lake, no deeper than about 2 meters (6.5 feet).



Mondro’s observations lend further weight to these inferences. “Extending the length of time that liquid water was present extends the possibilities for microbial habitability later into Mars's history,” she pointed out.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-finding-liquid-water-on-mars-matters">Why finding liquid water on Mars matters</h2>



Discovering that Mars once had liquid water is a game-changer for our understanding of the planet and the broader possibilities of life beyond Earth. 



Water is a fundamental ingredient for life as we know it, so finding evidence of past liquid water raises exciting questions about whether Mars could have supported microbial life.



Beyond the search for life, knowing that Mars had liquid water has practical implications for future human missions. Water is a crucial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-radiation-levels-are-measured-for-the-first-time-and-will-help-astronauts-prepare/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resource for astronauts</a>, not only for drinking but also for producing oxygen and even rocket fuel. 



If remnants of ancient water sources or ice deposits exist on Mars, they could be tapped into to support long-term human habitation and exploration.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-the-martian-surface">Exploring the Martian surface</h2>



These marvelous ripples went unnoticed until NASA's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/curiosity-mars-rover-finds-more-compelling-evidence-for-life-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Curiosity rover</a> documented them in 2022 during its expedition across the Gale Crater region of Mars, a region that was once home to wind-blown dunes.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/mars_lakes_ponds_ice-free_ripples_rock-formation_credit-Science-Advances_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/mars_lakes_ponds_ice-free_ripples_rock-formation_credit-Science-Advances_1s.webp" alt="Symmetric ripple marks in the AMB outcrop. Credit: Science Advances (2025)." class="wp-image-1957535"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Symmetric ripple marks in the AMB outcrop. Credit: Science Advances (2025).</figcaption></figure>



A nearby band of rock, the Amapari Marker Band, hinted at the existence of another lake, approximately 6.5 feet (2 meters) deep, that formed slightly later in Mars's history than the previous one.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-do-mars-ripples-matter">Why do Mars ripples matter?</h2>



“The discovery of wave ripples is an important advance for Mars paleoclimate science," noted John Grotzinger, the Harold Brown Professor of Geology at Caltech.



"The Curiosity rover discovered evidence for long-lived ancient lakes in 2014, and now, 10 years later, Curiosity has discovered ancient lakes that were free of ice, offering an important insight into the planet's early climate,” added Grotzinger, a former project scientist for Curiosity's Mars Science Laboratory (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MSL</a>) mission.



It seems we are just scratching the surface of understanding the red planet’s past, and with each discovery, we inch closer to unraveling the mysteries of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alien-life-may-be-lurking-deep-underground-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars and its potential for supporting life</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-to-mars-climate-evolution">Clues to Mars' climate evolution</h2>



The discovery of these ancient ripples offers a crucial glimpse into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/was-mars-past-climate-supportive-of-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars's climate history</a>, providing scientists with valuable data to reconstruct the environmental conditions that existed billions of years ago.



The presence of liquid water suggests that Mars once had a significantly thicker atmosphere that was capable of sustaining warmer temperatures.



Over time, the planet's climate underwent drastic changes, leading to the loss of surface water and the thinning of its atmosphere. 



Understanding these transitions is key to determining how long Mars could have supported habitable conditions and whether it might have once harbored microbial life. 



Scientists believe that further exploration of ripple formations could shed light on the duration and stability of these ancient lakes, helping to piece together the timeline of Mars' environmental shifts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-future-mars-missions">Implications for future Mars missions</h2>



The findings from Curiosity's observations could play a pivotal role in shaping the objectives of upcoming Mars missions. 



Future rovers and landers, equipped with more advanced instruments, may focus on analyzing ripple formations in greater detail, searching for chemical signatures that indicate past life-supporting conditions. 



The Perseverance rover, currently exploring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lake-sediments-found-in-jezero-crater-hint-at-past-life-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jezero Crater</a>, has already been tasked with collecting samples that might contain traces of ancient microbial activity.



These efforts align with NASA's long-term goal of bringing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-seeks-a-faster-way-to-bring-mars-samples-to-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Martian samples</a> back to Earth for comprehensive laboratory analysis.



The ripple evidence on Mars is also encouraging for future crewed missions, as understanding past water sources could help identify potential locations for human exploration and resource utilization.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr0010" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Clear evidence of liquid water, not just frozen ice, discovered on Mars

The existence of water on Mars has long been a subject of curiosity and debate. A recently published study presents compelling evidence of ancient "wave ripples" in rocks that were shaped by Martian water and winds billions of years ago. These ripples, imprinted on the Martian surface, speak to a time when shallow bodies of water were open to the Martian air. Mysterious ripples on Mars The importance of these ripples cannot be overemphasized as they provide clear evidence of the existence of a standing body of...

Imagine this: with just a focus on 0.7% of the world's land, we could safeguard a third of the world's endangered tetrapod species. How? The answers lie in a recent study from Imperial College London, On the Edge, and ZSL.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-era-of-conservation-efforts">New era of conservation efforts</h2>



We live in a world teeming with biodiversity, where 0.7% of our planet's land can house a stunning one third of threatened tetrapod species. 



The team at <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Imperial College London</a>, backed by supporting organizations, On the Edge and ZSL, have adopted a new perspective for conservation. 



Focused on regions boasting wondrous biodiversity and species with unique evolutionary traits and global endangerment, they're setting the stage for a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/are-we-failing-the-worlds-most-threatened-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new era of conservation efforts</a>.



The list of endangered species in their radar ranges from a very unique lemur in Madagascar, called the aye-aye, and a bird that seems like it’s put on high heels and a cape, the secretary bird. 



There’s also a frog that looks like it’s preparing for a masquerade ball with a pig nose, known as the purple frog, and let's not forget the gharial, an endangered crocodile species from India with a nose so long it would give Pinocchio a run for his money.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-proactive-protection-or-persistent-pressure">Proactive protection or persistent pressure?</h2>



Despite these identifiable hotspots of biodiversity, the unfortunate truth is that only 20% of these areas are under any form of protection. Human activities continue to exert growing pressures on these regions, almost like tightening a noose around our own natural wealth.



Sebastian Pipins, a PhD candidate at the Grantham Institute, Imperial College London, and the lead author of this study, provides his insights. He emphasizes the immediate concern these regions pose due to their exceptional biodiversity richness. 



"Our research highlights the regions of the world that are of immediate concern. Furthermore, it shows that in protecting just a fraction of the Earth’s land surface, huge gains can be made for the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-is-tracking-endangered-animal-habitats-from-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preservation</a> of nature," said Pipins.



"Given the global importance of the biodiversity found within these regions, high-income countries must mobilize funding to facilitate sustainable development that can benefit both humans and nature."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-on-the-edge-of-extinction">On the edge of extinction</h2>



This project isn’t about conservation alone. It's also about preserving the evolutionary narrative of our world, written over millennia. 



EDGE is short for Evolutionarily Distinct (ED) and Globally Endangered (GE) species. These are creatures that have few or no close relatives today, carrying unique evolutionary stories on the brink of being silenced forever.



With nearly 3,000 EDGE species mapped out, the team identifies 25 "EDGE Zones" for impactful conservation efforts. 



These areas are biodiversity-rich hotspots, such as large portions of Southeast Asia and the Indo-Gangetic plain, the Amazon basin, the Atlantic Forest, Hispaniola, Cameroon's highlands, and the Eastern Arc mountains of East Africa.



Interestingly, the greatest concentration of EDGE species was found in less than 100 square kilometers in Madagascar. Along with Mexico and Indonesia, it hosts the highest number of EDGE species. It's almost like they're the VIP lounges for the world's most <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/the-12-endangered-birds-most-at-risk-of-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unique creatures</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-unique-endangered-species">Saving unique, endangered species</h2>



Dr. Rikki Gumbs, a co-author of the study from the ZSL’s EDGE of Existence program, drops a stark reality check on us: Three-fourths of the world's most unique animals are confined to a single country.



Most EDGE Zones, especially in Southeast Asia, face an impending biodiversity disaster due to human disturbances. 



It's not just about protecting our unique creatures; we're also dealing with a scenario where humans residing in these EDGE Zones face deprivation in health, education, and living standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-priceless-biodiversity-of-endangered-species">Priceless biodiversity of endangered species</h2>



Governments often struggle to strike a balance between addressing human needs and preserving biodiversity. The researchers emphasize that high-income countries must step up to the plate, mobilizing funding for sustainable development benefiting both humans and nature.



The team's ambitious global goal? Get more EDGE Zones under protected status, with the current figure standing at a dismal 20 percent. As the planet gears up for COP16 Biodiversity Conference, it's time to push for increased commitments and resources to preserve and restore our shared natural world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bigger-picture-for-biodiversity">Bigger picture for biodiversity</h2>



This study isn't about conservation of endangered species alone. It's about preserving the library of life on Earth, where every creature holds a unique tale of evolution. Our researchers strongly believe that the EDGE Zone approach can be extended to other important groups of wildlife, including plants and fish.



The charitable organization On the Edge and the ZSL's EDGE of Existence program are already using the research findings to guide their activities. Here's hoping that these campaigns and regional efforts, combined with storytelling and increased funding, will turn the tide for the unique species of the world.



In the end, we're talking about securing 0.7% of our planet's land to protect a third of our threatened tetrapods. It's a small shift in perspective, but it carries a massive potential for positive change. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51992-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Protecting just 0.7% of land can save many unique species

Imagine this: with just a focus on 0.7% of the...

Dinosaur fossils have revealed an astonishing discovery - collagen, the protein found in bones, skin, muscles, and ligaments, has been detected in specimens as old as 195 million years. This far exceeds the expected half-life of peptide bonds, which usually break down within 500 years.



Such a remarkable finding challenges long-held assumptions about how biological materials degrade over time.



Typically, proteins are some of the first components to disappear from fossils, leaving behind only hard minerals like bone. 



Yet, in the case of these ancient dinosaurs, collagen has somehow persisted, offering scientists a unique opportunity to explore molecular preservation in an entirely new way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-collagen-defies-time">Dinosaur collagen defies time</h2>



A recent study from the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) explains how collagen can survive far beyond its expected lifespan. 



The researchers uncovered a special atomic-level interaction that defends collagen from water molecule attacks, forming a barricade that prevents peptide bonds from being broken through hydrolysis.



Study senior author Ron Raines, the Firmenich Professor of Chemistry at MIT, collaborated with lead author and postdoc Jinyi Yang, postdoc Volga Kojasoy, and graduate student Gerard Porter.



"We provide evidence that that interaction prevents water from attacking the peptide bonds and cleaving them. That just flies in the face of what happens with a normal peptide bond, which has a half-life of only 500 years," explained Professor Raines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-flexibility-of-dinosaur-collagen">The flexibility of dinosaur collagen</h2>



Collagen is essential to biological structures, particularly due to its tough, fibrous composition. Made of long, intertwined protein strands forming a triple helix, collagen is remarkably stable.



"Collagen is the scaffold that holds us together," said Professor Raines. "What makes the collagen protein so stable, and such a good choice for this scaffold, is that unlike most proteins, it’s fibrous."



Evidence of collagen has even been found in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extraordinary-dinosaur-fossils-discovered-from-the-end-of-cretaceous-era/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dinosaur fossils</a>, including an 80-million-year-old <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/t-rex-was-about-70-percent-bigger-than-we-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tyrannosaurus rex</a> fossil and a nearly 200-million-year-old sauropodomorph fossil.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-secrets-behind-collagen-s-longevity">Secrets behind collagen's longevity</h2>



Collagen's peptide bonds, formed between carbon and nitrogen atoms, are resistant to hydrolysis because of their structure. These bonds also include a double bond with oxygen, creating a molecular structure known as a carbonyl group.



The carbonyl oxygen can share its unbonded electrons with the neighboring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/did-the-building-blocks-of-life-form-inside-of-water-droplets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">peptide bond</a>, preventing water from disrupting the structure.



To test this, the team created two collagen mimics. One mimic formed the triple helix (trans), while the other had rotated peptide bonds (cis). The researchers found that water could infiltrate and disrupt the cis form, while the trans form resisted water damage.



"A peptide bond is either cis or trans, and we can change the cis to trans ratio. By doing that, we can mimic the natural state of collagen or create an unprotected peptide bond. And we saw that when it was unprotected, it was not long for the world," noted Professor Raines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-immortal-protein">The immortal protein</h2>



Unlike other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-dinosaur-protein/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proteins</a>, collagen is composed entirely of triple helices, with no weak links. "Collagen is all triple helices, from one end to the other. There’s no weak link, and that’s why I think it has survived," said Professor Raines.



While other hypotheses suggest dehydration or other factors may contribute to collagen’s longevity, the MIT research points to the unique molecular protection as a key factor. 



"I can’t discount the contributions from other factors, but 200 million years is a long time, and I think you need something at the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discrimination-speeds-up-aging-molecular-level/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">molecular level</a>, at the atomic level in order to explain it," noted Raines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-collagen-and-protein-preservation">Dinosaur collagen and protein preservation</h2>



The discovery of dinosaur collagen and its ability to survive for hundreds of millions of years opens new doors in the study of protein preservation and fossilization. 



These findings could revolutionize how scientists approach the study of ancient life, enabling more accurate reconstructions of prehistoric biology. 



Furthermore, in fields such as paleobiology and biotechnology, understanding how proteins withstand degradation over time can inspire new technologies and applications.



As researchers continue to explore the intricacies of collagen, the mysteries of how ancient proteins defy time could lead to broader scientific breakthroughs that span multiple disciplines, from archaeology to bioengineering.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.4c00971" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Central Science</a>.



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How dinosaur collagen survived the test of time

Dinosaur fossils have revealed an astonishing discovery - collagen, the...

Honesty is usually considered the best policy, but there are moments when telling the truth isn’t always the right choice. Social norms help humans decide when to be truthful and when to bend the truth to spare someone’s feelings or avoid harm. But how do these norms translate to robots, which are becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives? 



To explore whether humans are comfortable with robots lying, researchers asked nearly 500 participants to evaluate and justify different types of robot <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-happens-when-robots-lie/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deception</a>.



“I wanted to explore an understudied facet of robot ethics, to contribute to our understanding of mistrust towards emerging technologies and their developers,” explained lead author Andres Rosero, a PhD candidate at <a href="https://www.gmu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">George Mason University</a>. 



“With the advent of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/could-generative-ai-go-mad-and-wreck-internet-data/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">generative AI</a>, I felt it was important to begin examining possible cases in which anthropomorphic design and behavior sets could be utilized to manipulate users.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-distinct-types-of-deceptive-robot-behavior-nbsp">Distinct types of deceptive robot behavior&nbsp;</h2>



The researchers selected three common work scenarios involving robots - medical, cleaning, and retail - and tested three distinct types of deceptive behavior.&nbsp;



These behaviors were categorized as external state deceptions (lying about the outside world), hidden state deceptions (concealing the robot’s capabilities), and superficial state deceptions (exaggerating the robot’s abilities).



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-external-state-deception-nbsp">External state deception&nbsp;</h3>



In the external state deception scenario, a robot acting as a caretaker for a woman with Alzheimer’s lies, telling her that her late husband will be home soon.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-state-deception-nbsp">Hidden state deception&nbsp;</h3>



The hidden state <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-deception-is-a-growing-issue-that-we-cannot-control/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deception</a> scenario involves a woman visiting a house where a robot is cleaning, unaware that the robot is secretly filming her. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-superficial-state-deception-nbsp">Superficial state deception&nbsp;</h3>



In the superficial state deception scenario, a robot in a store complains about feeling pain while helping move furniture, prompting a human to ask someone else to take over for the robot.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-people-view-robot-deception-nbsp">How people view robot deception&nbsp;</h2>



The team recruited 498 participants, asking each to read one of the scenarios and respond to a questionnaire.&nbsp;



The participants were asked whether they approved of the robot’s actions, how deceptive they considered the behavior, whether the deception was justifiable, and who, if anyone, they believed was responsible for the lie. The researchers then analyzed the responses to identify patterns in how people viewed each type of deception.



Of the three scenarios, participants were most disapproving of the hidden state deception involving the house cleaning robot that was secretly filming. They rated it as the most deceptive and found it largely unjustifiable.&nbsp;



In contrast, while the external and superficial state deceptions were also seen as deceptive, the superficial deception - where the robot pretended to feel pain - was viewed more negatively, likely because it seemed manipulative.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-lies-are-justified">Some lies are justified</h2>



Interestingly, participants were most supportive of the external state deception, where the robot lied to the Alzheimer’s patient. Many justified the lie by saying it protected the patient from emotional pain, prioritizing compassion over truthfulness.



While participants could offer justifications for all three forms of deception - some suggested that the hidden state deception might have been for security reasons - most were firmly against the idea of robots lying about their capabilities without disclosure.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-robots-that-manipulate-users-nbsp">Robots that manipulate users&nbsp;</h2>



More than half the participants who encountered the superficial state deception, where the robot faked pain, also found it unacceptable. When it came to these unacceptable deceptions, participants often pointed the blame at the robot’s developers or owners rather than the robot itself.



“I think we should be concerned about any technology that is capable of withholding the true nature of its capabilities, because it could lead to users being manipulated by that technology in ways the user (and perhaps the developer) never intended,” Rosero said.&nbsp;



“We’ve already seen examples of companies using web design principles and artificial intelligence chatbots in ways that are designed to manipulate users towards a certain action. We need regulation to protect ourselves from these harmful deceptions.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gauging-human-reactions-to-robots">Gauging human reactions to robots</h2>



However, the researchers acknowledged that this study represents just a first step in understanding human responses to robot deception. They noted that future experiments should use real-life scenarios - such as videos or roleplay simulations - to better gauge human reactions.



“The benefit of using a cross-sectional study with vignettes is that we can obtain a large number of participant attitudes and perceptions in a cost-controlled manner,” Rosero explained.&nbsp;



“Vignette studies provide baseline findings that can be corroborated or disputed through further experimentation. Experiments with in-person or simulated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-humans-react-to-coexisting-with-robots/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human-robot interactions</a> are likely to provide greater insight into how humans actually perceive these robot deception behaviors.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emerging-technologies-and-ethical-decisions">Emerging technologies and ethical decisions</h2>



The research opens the door to understanding how we navigate the ethics of deception when it comes to emerging technologies like robots and AI.&nbsp;



As robots increasingly interact with humans in caregiving, service, and other industries, it's crucial to explore how comfortable we are with their behaviors, particularly when they involve deception.



With this study, the researchers have started a conversation about the ethical complexities of robot deception, pushing us to consider not just what robots can do, but what they should do. And as AI and robotic technologies continue to evolve, the need for clear regulations to protect users from potential manipulation becomes ever more pressing.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2024.1409712" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Robotics and AI</a>.



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Digital deception: How do humans respond to lying robots?

Honesty is usually considered the best policy, but there are...

A new study sheds light on how the brain initiates spontaneous actions without any external triggers. 



The research not only explains how these actions emerge but also offers insight into the mysterious ramping of neural activity before movement - a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists for years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-origins-of-spontaneous-action-nbsp">Origins of spontaneous action&nbsp;</h2>



The study was led by Jake Gavenas during his time as a PhD student at the Brain Institute at <a href="https://www.chapman.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chapman University</a>. He collaborated with two faculty members, Uri Maoz and Aaron Schurger, to explore the origins of spontaneous action. 



Together, the researchers simulated activity in neural networks and compared the results to real human intracortical recordings during spontaneous movement.&nbsp;



The findings offer a fascinating explanation for how the brain's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neurons-can-predict-human-speech-before-we-say-a-word/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neurons</a> work together to trigger movement without any clear external signal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-signals-and-conscious-actions">Brain signals and conscious actions</h2>



One of the study's key discoveries is that rapid fluctuations in the activity of individual neurons can combine within a network, resulting in much slower fluctuations when viewed at the population level.&nbsp;



This helps explain a phenomenon that many people have experienced but never fully understood - such as when you're standing on a diving platform, contemplating a jump. Nothing outside of you is telling you to jump, but at some point, you make the decision internally, and then you move.&nbsp;



The brain, specifically the motor cortex, is coordinating muscle contractions to make this happen, but the question is: where do the initial signals to jump come from, and how do they relate to your conscious decision to act?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spontaneous-voluntary-actions">Spontaneous voluntary actions</h2>



Since the 1960s, neuroscientists have observed that electrical activity in the brain begins to increase one to two seconds before a spontaneous voluntary action. 



Many researchers believed this slow ramping up of activity represented the brain preparing to move, following a preconscious decision. But what remained unclear was how this ramping process starts, as it seemed to emerge from nowhere.



This slow-ramping brain activity has sparked years of debate among neuroscientists and philosophers about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-do-not-have-free-will-stanford-scientist-robert-sapolsky/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">free will</a> and conscious control. 



The big question has been whether this ramping signals that the brain is preparing to move even before we consciously decide to act, raising concerns that our actions might be predetermined at an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-behavior-is-influenced-by-the-unconscious-mind/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unconscious</a> level. Understanding where this ramping activity comes from has been a central problem in neuroscience.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-neural-activity-before-spontaneous-actions-nbsp">Neural activity before spontaneous actions&nbsp;</h2>



Researchers like Maoz and Schurger have challenged the view that the brain makes a preconscious decision to move.&nbsp;



In 2012, Schurger proposed an alternative explanation, suggesting that the slow ramping in neural activity is part of a broader process. In this process, slow background fluctuations in the motor cortex accumulate until they hit a certain threshold, triggering movement.



In this framework, the key moment isn't when the slow ramping begins, but rather when the fluctuations cross a threshold to initiate action. This would explain why scientists see ramping activity before movement - because, looking back from the point of action, slow fluctuations would have been leading up to the threshold crossing all along.&nbsp;



This explanation, while compelling, left one crucial question unanswered: where do these slow background fluctuations in neural activity, often called 1/f noise, come from, considering that individual neurons fluctuate quite rapidly?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-slow-ramping-signals-nbsp">Slow-ramping signals&nbsp;</h2>



The study is the first to provide an explanation for how slow background fluctuations arise from networks of neurons, none of which, individually, operate on such slow timescales.&nbsp;



The research shows that when neurons interact in a network, their fast, individual fluctuations can combine into slower, population-level fluctuations. These slow fluctuations can then lead to a threshold-crossing event, triggering movement and giving rise to the ramping activity that appears before spontaneous actions.



“We see similar slow-ramping signals before other kinds of spontaneous behaviors, like coming up with creative ideas or freely remembering things that have happened to you. A similar process might therefore underlie those phenomena, but only time and further research will tell,” Gavanas said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-brain-triggers-movement">How the brain triggers movement</h2>



In short, this study provides a possible explanation for the slow, spontaneous fluctuations in neural activity, which are widespread in neural systems and critical to understanding how the brain triggers movement without external cues.



Moreover, the study highlights an important point about how researchers interpret their findings. According to Maoz, it reveals the bias we have as researchers to think that our results uncover a causal mechanism, when it may really be just a correlation.



This observation reminds us that in neuroscience, understanding the difference between correlation and causation is crucial for making sense of how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-does-creativity-start-in-the-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brain</a> functions.



The research is published published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51401-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>. 



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What causes the brain to initiate spontaneous actions?

A new study sheds light on how the brain initiates...

Starchy foods have played a pivotal role in human evolution, influencing not only our diets but also our genetic makeup. 



A recent study has revealed that the rise of agriculture - around 12,000 years ago - and the subsequent increase in starchy staples like wheat and grains, significantly impacted the human genome.



Researchers from the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom found that our ability to digest carbohydrates has significantly evolved over time. This is closely linked to the rise of agriculture and the increase of starchy foods in our diets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-evolutionary-power-of-starchy-foods">The evolutionary power of starchy foods</h2>



The ability to extract energy from starchy foods has increased remarkably during this period, as shown by an expansion in the number of genes encoding enzymes that break down starch - jumping from an average of eight to over 11.



"The copy number of amylase genes had increased in Europeans since the dawn of agriculture, but we had never been able to sequence this locus fully before. It is extremely repetitive and complex," said Peter Sudmant, assistant professor of integrative biology at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Berkeley</a>, and one of the lead authors of the study. 



This increase in amylase genes closely matched the rise and spread of agriculture across Europe from the Middle East, aligning with changes in dietary patterns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-decoding-the-amylase-locus">Decoding the amylase locus</h2>



The researchers meticulously examined the genome's amylase locus, where the salivary amylase gene (AMY1) and two pancreatic amylase genes (AMY2A and AMY2B) reside. 



"If you take a piece of dry pasta and put it in your mouth, eventually it'll get a little bit sweet. That's your salivary amylase <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/enzyme-produced-during-exercise-protects-against-aging/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enzyme</a> breaking the starches down into sugars," explained Sudmant.



While this happens in all humans and other primates, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/complete-sequencing-of-the-human-genome-reveals-new-findings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human genome</a> contains a significantly higher number of amylase gene copies compared to our primate relatives, such as chimpanzees and Neanderthals, who possess only a single copy of AMY1.



UC Berkeley postdoctoral fellow Runyang Nicolas Lou, one of the study's co-authors, elaborated: "Our study found that each copy of the human genome harbors one to 11 copies of AMY1, zero to three copies of AMY2A, and one to four copies of AMY2B. Copy number is correlated with gene expression and protein level and thus the ability to digest starch."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-survival-advantage-and-global-adaptation">Survival advantage and global adaptation</h2>



The presence of multiple amylase genes provided a survival advantage, with the incidence of chromosomes carrying multiple copies increasing sevenfold over the last 12,000 years. 



This evolution was not confined to Europe. The researchers found evidence of similar patterns in other agricultural populations globally, regardless of which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-of-the-future-breadfruit-is-resistant-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">starchy plant</a> was domesticated.



Erik Garrison, a co-lead author from the <a href="https://www.uthsc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Tennessee Health Science Center</a>, highlighted the broader implications of the findings: "One of the exciting things we were able to do here is probe both modern and ancient genomes to dissect the history of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/feeding-habits-shaped-the-skulls-of-humans-and-dinosaurs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">structural evolution</a> at this locus."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-dawn-of-a-new-method">The dawn of a new method</h2>



Another breakthrough in the study was the development of a new method for identifying diseases involving genes with multiple copies, like amylase. 



This method also opens doors to exploring rapidly duplicating genes related to the immune system, skin pigmentation, and mucus production. 



The research hints at a potential link between higher AMY1 copies and increased tooth decay, though further investigation is needed.



Joana Rocha, a co-author from UC Berkeley, compared the genomic structure of the amylase locus to “sculptures made of different Lego bricks." 



Long-read sequencing techniques allowed the team to reconstruct these complex genetic structures with unprecedented accuracy, shedding light on human evolutionary history and its genetic diversity.



This research, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is part of an expanding effort to better understand how genetic adaptations have shaped human health and disease through our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bronze-age-teeth-discovery-highlight-the-evolution-of-the-human-diet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">changing diets</a> over millennia.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-starchy-foods-and-human-health">Starchy foods and human health</h2>



The evolutionary relationship between starchy foods and human genetics continues to shape modern health. 



As our ancestors adapted to carbohydrate-rich diets, today's populations still show varying abilities to digest starch, potentially influencing susceptibility to conditions such as obesity and diabetes. 



Understanding this genetic adaptation to starchy foods not only offers insights into our past but also provides valuable information for addressing contemporary health challenges linked to diet and metabolism.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07911-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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How starchy foods shaped human genomes

Starchy foods have played a pivotal role in human evolution,...

Once draped with seas and swathed in rivers, Mars was hardly the barren wasteland that it is today. But just as water can evaporate from your glass on a hot day, it seems Mars' liquid assets went poof sometime over the last 3 billion years. 



Where did the water go? We know that a portion of it went deep underground, seeping into the Martian crust. But the rest of it? Well, that's the focus of a recent study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-escape-of-mars-water">Escape of Mars' water</h2>



Scientists have identified two possible exits for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insights-alien-life-mars-water-sulfur-discovered-gained-studying-extreme-life-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Martian water</a>. One, it could have filtered into the ground and become frozen in time. Two, it could have broken down into atoms and bounced into the great beyond - space. As interesting as the first scenario sounds, let's focus on the latter one.



John Clarke and his team in the <a href="https://www.bu.edu/csp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Center for Space Physics</a> at Boston University explain that understanding water's fate on Mars necessitates tracking the escapee atoms.



By measuring the current escape rate and number of hydrogen atoms fleeing into space, they can trace the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planets-are-hiding-much-more-water-than-we-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">history of water on the planet</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hydrogen-in-the-martian-atmosphere">Hydrogen in the Martian atmosphere</h2>



The water molecules in Mars' atmosphere are essentially dismantled by sunlight into two types of atoms: hydrogen and deuterium, or "heavy hydrogen."



Deuterium is a hydrogen atom with an added neutron, which gives it twice the mass and drags it down, making it slower to escape into space.



Over time, as more basic hydrogen escaped and deuterium lagged, the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in the Martian atmosphere grew. And this growing ratio is a treasure map for scientists, leading them back to the period when Mars was bustling with water.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-meets-maven">Hubble meets MAVEN</h2>



As instrumental as the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/maven/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MAVEN</a> (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft's data was to this study, it had its limitations. It seems even space telescopes have blind spots. 



MAVEN struggles to detect deuterium emissions during the lengthy Martian winter, when Mars swings away from the sun. 



So, the <a href="https://hubblesite.org/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble Space Telescope</a> swooped in to fill in the gaps, completing the picture of a three-Martian-year cycle (687 Earth days for a single Martian year). With additional data dating back to 1991, Hubble contributed vastly to this study long before MAVEN arrived at Mars in 2014.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-turbulent-atmosphere">A turbulent atmosphere </h2>



In our fast-paced world, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-water-found-on-mars-would-cover-the-planet-over-one-mile-deep/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars</a> is also experiencing its share of change. The Martian atmosphere is not the static entity scientists once thought it to be. It's not just a slow, relaxed diffusion of atoms upwards until they reach an escape altitude - it's a far more high-octane process. 



Mars' closeness to the sun causes water molecules to speed through the atmosphere, discharging atoms at higher altitudes.



Scientists have found this transformation is so swift that it even needs added energy to explain the changes. This paints a far more dynamic picture of Mars' atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-role-of-solar-wind-in-mars-water-loss">Role of solar wind in Mars' water loss</h2>



One cannot discuss the loss of water from Mars without considering the impact of solar wind. This constant stream of charged particles emitted by the sun plays a significant role in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-frost-detected-on-mars-enormous-volcanoes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Martian atmosphere's evolution</a>. 



Unlike Earth, which is protected by its magnetic field, Mars lacks a global magnetic shield, allowing solar wind to directly interact with its atmosphere. These interactions can strip away light gases, including hydrogen, from the atmosphere. 



Recent studies have indicated that solar wind has been a persistent thief, exacerbating the loss of water molecules over eons by providing the energy needed to liberate lighter atoms from their atmospheric bonds, further diminishing the planet's once-thriving liquid reservoirs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insights-from-isotope-analysis">Insights from isotope analysis</h2>



As scientists delve deeper into the puzzle of Mars' water loss, isotope analysis emerges as a powerful tool in their arsenal. 



By examining the ratios of hydrogen isotopes - regular hydrogen versus deuterium -researchers can gain insights into the history and volume of liquid water that once circulated on the planet. Isotopic signatures serve as valuable markers, providing clues to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-vanishing-water-mystery-new-insights-curiosity-rover/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental conditions</a> when the water was abundant.



This analytical approach not only helps paint a more detailed picture of Mars' hydrological history but also opens avenues for comparison with Earth, allowing scientists to enhance their understanding of the planetary processes that govern water retention and loss. 



As we continue to explore these methodologies, we inch closer to unraveling the mysteries of our enigmatic neighbor.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-piecing-together-an-intergalactic-puzzle">Piecing together an intergalactic puzzle</h2>



Unraveling the historical mystery of water on Mars extends beyond our solar system. It presents invaluable information for understanding the evolution of Earth-sized planets elsewhere in the cosmos.



With astronomers identifying more of these distant planets, Mars, Venus, and Earth serve as models to understand their conditions.



The research appears in the recent edition of <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adm7499" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.



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Mars lost most of its water, but where did it go?

Once draped with seas and swathed in rivers, Mars was...

Bad teen behavior usually happens away from adult supervision, which means it's easy for parents to blame others for their child's delinquent behavior.



When parents believe that other teens are a bad influence, they may feel tempted to limit these friendships. However, a recent study suggests that this overbearing approach could be counterproductive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-prohibiting-friendships-can-backfire">Prohibiting friendships can backfire</h2>



A new study cautions parents - especially meddling moms - against prohibiting friendships, as such actions might worsen the very behavior they aim to correct.



The study was co-authored by Brett Laursen, a professor of psychology at <a href="https://www.fau.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida Atlantic University</a>, and Goda Kaniušonytė from <a href="https://www.mruni.eu/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mykolas Romeris University</a>.



The researchers followed a diverse group of students, consisting of 292 boys and 270 girls aged 9 to 14, over the course of a school year.



The students completed surveys at regular intervals to measure their conduct, perceived maternal disapproval of friends, peer status, and classroom disruptiveness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-maternal-disapproval-impacts-teen-behavior">Maternal disapproval impacts teen behavior</h2>



The findings reveal that maternal disapproval of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strong-teen-friendships-build-lasting-resilience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">friendships</a> in response to behavior issues can damage a child's peer status, exacerbating the behavioral problems that mothers intend to address.



 "Maternal friend disapproval has counterproductive consequences for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kindergarten-conduct-childhood-behavioral-problems-will-cost-society-later/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">behavior problems</a> because of the deleterious impact it has on peer status," explained Laursen. 



The children, alienated from their peers, faced increased classroom disruptions and adjustment difficulties.



Results from the study indicate that when mothers intervened to restrict friendships, they inadvertently worsened their child’s relationships with peers, causing further issues in behavior. 



The researchers found that classmates responded to maternal interference with increased disliking of the child, not just a reduction in popularity. 



As a result, children who were subject to friend prohibitions often found themselves ostracized, with classmates distancing themselves to avoid ridicule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-domino-effect-of-prohibited-friendships">The domino effect of prohibited friendships</h2>



The study also explored the potential for parents to unintentionally succeed in disrupting friendships. 



"Imagine this scenario," said Laursen. "A friendship ends because a mother prohibits it. Now the child needs a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reconnecting-with-old-friends-is-as-scary-as-making-new-ones/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new friend</a>. Who wants to be friends with someone who has an unpleasant, interfering mother?" 



"Chances are good that friend options are now quite limited, and the child is forced to consider someone who also is rejected by peers; someone who has a hard time making friends."



In many cases, the limited social options available to children after such interventions meant they were more likely to befriend classmates who exhibit the same behavior problems.



The pressure to conform to disruptive behaviors was heightened, compounding the very issues that the mothers had hoped to resolve. 



Moreover, the loss of peer status led to increased distress, making it more difficult for children to develop healthy coping mechanisms. 



Exclusion from social interactions with typically developing peers deprived them of the chance to learn and practice age-appropriate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-who-are-active-on-social-media-are-just-as-active-offline/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social skills</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parental-support-improves-teen-behavior">Parental support improves teen behavior</h2>



“Mothers may think they are protecting their children, but in reality, their actions often push them further into undesirable situations,” Laursen noted. 



This unintended consequence highlights the risks of direct interference in children’s friendships, especially when it involves cutting off ties with peers.



The study authors suggest that instead of prohibiting friendships, parents should focus on creating positive, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supportive-adults-help-protect-children-from-mental-health-issues/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">supportive relationships</a> with their children. This, they argue, may help buffer against the negative influence of troublesome peers.



"Parents should consider positive alternatives to friend prohibition," said Laursen. "Focus on maintaining positive relationships with children, because warmth and support can be effective buffers against troublesome peer pressure, potentially disrupting the downward spiral of peer problems and adjustment difficulties."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-encouraging-constructive-peer-engagement">Encouraging constructive peer engagement</h2>



The researchers further advise that parents should encourage their children to engage in constructive peer activities within supervised settings. 



Participation in clubs and other adult-sponsored activities could offer opportunities for positive peer interaction while minimizing deviant behavior. 



According to Laursen, creating these positive environments for friendship can help children build healthier social connections without the need for restrictive parental interference.



Study co-author Goda Kaniušonytė added that parents’ well-meaning interventions often stem from concerns about their child’s behavior, but these efforts can have the opposite effect. 



By limiting social opportunities, children may fall into a cycle of rejection and behavioral issues, making it harder for them to adjust in the long term.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.14043" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</a>.



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When moms meddle: Friend disapproval worsens teen behavior

Bad teen behavior usually happens away from adult supervision, which...

Flea toads, despite being just seven millimeters in length, are among the smallest vertebrates on the planet. Regardless of their tiny size, their organs and bodily functions are almost identical to those of animals that are hundreds or even thousands of times larger.&nbsp;



While extreme miniaturization is a phenomenon seen in nature, the exact mechanisms behind how animals become so small have long remained a mystery. 



Now, thanks to a grant of around $1.7 million from the <a href="https://erc.europa.eu/homepage" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Research Council</a> (ERC), a <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Copenhagen</a> researcher is setting out to solve this puzzle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-miniature-animals-with-optimal-function-nbsp">Miniature animals with optimal function&nbsp;</h2>



What do flea toads and smartphones have in common? Both have undergone extreme miniaturization while still maintaining all their essential components. 



In the tech world, we’ve grown accustomed to devices becoming smaller while retaining or even increasing functionality. 



Similarly, in nature, creatures like flea toads, dwarf pygmy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discovered-three-new-species-of-freshwater-goby-fish/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">goby fish</a>, and bumblebee bats have evolved to shrink while keeping their vital organs and functions intact, much like their larger relatives.&nbsp;



But what exactly happens within these creatures, especially at the genetic level, when they undergo such evolutionary changes to reduce in size? And are there any biological limits to how small these animals can get?



These are some of the questions Mark D. Scherz, a researcher at the <a href="https://snm.dk/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum of Denmark</a>, will explore over the next five years. His research will focus on uncovering the genetic processes that govern miniaturization in vertebrates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-how-animals-become-miniature-nbsp">Understanding how animals become miniature&nbsp;</h2>



“<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/large-animals-vulnerable-human-expansion/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Large animals</a> are often the ones to grab our attention. But I think it to be just as fascinating how nature has managed to miniaturize the exact same vital organs and cram them into a less than one-centimeter-long frog. Today, we know surprisingly little about how it all happens, and I want to change that,” Scherz explained.



Much like the tech industry has continually reduced the size of transistors to make devices smaller and more efficient, nature has found ways to make animals miniature over millions of years. 



Scientists believe that extreme miniaturization is linked to evolutionary innovation, although the exact mechanisms remain poorly understood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-changes-during-miniaturization-nbsp">Genetic changes during miniaturization&nbsp;</h2>



Scherz’s research project, GEMINI (Genomics of Miniaturisation in Vertebrates), aims to uncover the specific genetic changes that occur as animals become smaller. 



The goal is to create a sort of genetic “template” that will reveal what happens in the DNA of vertebrates when they <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brazilian-flea-toad-worlds-smallest-vertebrate-discovered/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shrink in size</a>.



“In several independent studies that looked at the genomes of miniaturized animals, a kind of clean-up and innovation takes place, where the genome becomes smaller. A lot of this happens in repetitive bits of the genome that we used to call <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/junk-dna-may-set-humans-apart-from-chimpanzees/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘junk’ DNA</a>. But some of it happens in other genes as well, which is what we need to learn more about,” Scherz said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-size-big-innovations-nbsp">Small size, big innovations&nbsp;</h2>



In the past, scientists believed that animals generally evolved to become larger over time, a concept known as “Cope’s rule.” However, it is now clear that this isn’t always the case - and for a good reason.



“Animals can't just keep growing bigger and bigger. At some point, their physiology reaches a limit, and so does gravity. That’s why there are phases where body size reduces, allowing for a trend toward increased size later on,” Scherz said.&nbsp;



“We also think that small size might be where the really big innovations happen, which we then see expanded when the descendants get bigger again. That makes these miniaturized animals particularly exciting to study when we’re trying to figure out how innovations evolve in nature.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-overlooked-phenomenon-nbsp">An overlooked phenomenon&nbsp;</h2>



For decades, miniature animals have been somewhat overlooked in favor of studying large species like blue whales and elephants. 



Some of the biggest discoveries in the field of miniaturization date back to the 1990s, with fewer recent advancements.



“Everyone’s attention is on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blue-whales-continue-their-battle-for-survival/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blue whales</a> and elephants. Any child you ask can tell you about the largest land mammal and the largest marine mammal and the largest dinosaur that has ever lived,” said Scherz.



“But scaling up and getting bigger is not a big problem. It is a far more impressive feat to have (practically) everything in a twenty-three-ton blue whale compressed into a seven-millimeter package.”



However, interest in miniaturization is experiencing a resurgence, partly due to exciting new discoveries. 



Earlier this year, researchers in Brazil found the world’s smallest vertebrate, the flea frog, measuring just seven millimeters in length. This discovery has reignited curiosity about the biological processes behind miniaturization.



“We live at a time when probably the smallest vertebrates ever are around us, but they are too easy to overlook, so we just forget about them. This project will allow us to gain a genetic understanding of what controls this 'miniaturization process' and investigate whether there is something that keeps animals from becoming even smaller,” Scherz concluded.



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Why do some animals evolve to become miniature?

Flea toads, despite being just seven millimeters in length, are...

Neighbors can often be annoying, intruding on our personal space or being too loud. But is it worthwhile to fight them? Parrotfish, for instance, choose not to battle it out with their neighbors. 



In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Colorado Boulder</a>, researchers revealed that the stoplight parrotfish - a brightly colored species living in the shallow waters off Florida and in the Caribbean Sea - tends to behave more tolerantly toward neighboring parrotfish, but rather aggressively toward strangers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ecological-role-of-parrotfish-nbsp">Ecological role of parrotfish&nbsp;</h2>



The experts spent days underwater observing parrotfish, to gather new insights into a species which plays a major role in maintaining healthy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reefs-could-vanish-if-temperatures-continue-to-rise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coral reefs</a>, while also contributing to the white sand beaches of the Caribbean.



“Parrotfish are an important part of the coral reef ecosystem and the ecological functions it provides,” said lead author Joshua Manning, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU Boulder. “Understanding their behavior will help us evaluate whether and how they can buffer the effects of climate change on coral reefs.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parrotfish-with-beak-like-teeth-nbsp">Parrotfish with beak-like teeth&nbsp;</h2>



Stoplight parrotfish are some of the largest parrotfish species in the Caribbean reefs, measuring up to 1.5 feet long. They sport strong, beak-like teeth which allow them to spend nearly 90% of the day eating microscopic organisms that grow on and within the calcium carbonate structures produced by corals.&nbsp;



As the parrotfish remove coral skeletons, they make space for new corals to grow and produce white sand as their digestive waste.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-claiming-their-territory-nbsp">Claiming their territory&nbsp;</h2>



Since they are highly territorial animals, male stoplight parrotfish defend territories as large as two tennis courts, where they spend their time foraging and mating with a small group of female followers.&nbsp;



However, not every parrotfish has a specific territory. Some of them are “floaters,” as Manning calls them, constantly scouting the reefs and claiming space that becomes available.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parrotfish-respect-their-neighbors">Parrotfish respect their neighbors</h2>



As an experienced diver, Manning spent over 400 hours underwater during his doctoral studies trying to understand how the stoplight parrotfish behave and interact with one another. His observations revealed that the fish might be smarter than previously thought.&nbsp;



By following ten spotlight parrotfish off the coast of Bonaire, a Caribbean island, he discovered that each time a floater swam by an occupied territory, the territory holders would puff up, displaying their fins and aggressively chasing the floater away.&nbsp;



Surprisingly though, when parrotfish from neighboring territories approached the boundary lines, territory holders appeared to be much less aggressive.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-dear-enemy-effect">The “dear enemy” effect</h2>



When parrotfish did behave aggressively toward their neighbors, it was most frequently because they had strayed too far into other parrotfish’s territory while chasing another parrotfish.



This “dear enemy” effect, as scientists call it - when territory holders show less <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/do-animals-have-mirror-neurons-that-spark-aggression/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aggression</a> toward neighbors than strangers - has also been observed in frogs, squirrels, sparrows, and several other animal species. However, this was the first time this phenomenon was discovered in parrotfish. 



According to Manning, parrotfish might be more aggressive toward floaters because they are more likely to try to take over their territories.&nbsp;



Moreover, since territory-holding males have better mating opportunities, their continuous patrolling and defense efforts take a toll on their physical condition and, as a consequence, they have to focus their energy on fighting off the most critical threats.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-capacity-to-learn-and-use-information-nbsp">The capacity to learn and use information&nbsp;</h2>



To the scientists’ surprise, floaters appeared to recognize territorial boundaries. For instance, floaters often swam across the reefs using the buffer zones between established territories in order to avoid aggression.



“These fish may be smarter than what we give them credit for. They seem to recognize neighbors, find the boundaries of territories, and have the capacity to learn and use information,” Manning said.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parrotfish-accelerate-reef-recovery-nbsp">Parrotfish accelerate reef recovery&nbsp;</h2>



Due to global warming, coral reefs worldwide are declining rapidly. Between 2023 and mid-May 2024, experts have found mass <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-worlds-largest-coral-bleaching-event-is-now-underway/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coral bleaching</a> - which happens when corals expel the algae living in their tissues due to stress caused by high ocean temperatures and other climatic factors - in 62 countries and territories worldwide. 



Since parrotfish depend on coral reefs for shelter and food, coral loss due to ocean acidification and warming can have major impacts on their habitat and populations. Yet, parrotfish are able to accelerate reef recovery from bleaching events by creating space for coral larvae to settle and grow.



“Reefs are a vital source of food for us and support immense biodiversity, including species with significant medical potential,” said Manning.&nbsp;



“By studying how parrotfishes use space and how their grazing influences coral recruitment patterns, we can better understand how reefs can recover from disturbances and adapt to climate change.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4407" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecology</a>.



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Parrotfish are more aggressive with strangers than neighbors

Neighbors can often be annoying, intruding on our personal space...

Have you ever considered the impact of simply observing how others deal with challenging situations? It's a lot more profound than you might think. This act of empathy can help us develop a layer of emotional armor, helping us with resilience and shielding us from the mental health ravages of trauma, such as depression.



The researchers at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) have been delving into this, studying how this "emotional contagion" works in mice – and they've cracked the code.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-resilience-anyway">What's resilience, anyway?</h2>



When life throws us tough situations, we humans have a knack for getting through it, picking up and pressing on. This is what we call resilience. 



That said, not everyone finds it so easy to bounce back from traumatic events. Some folks may feel stuck in a rut, losing their motivation and drive, the telltale signs of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childhood-maltreatment-fuels-mental-health-crisis-in-australia/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">depression</a>. 



If we could <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-with-high-resilience-live-up-to-ten-years-longer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">boost resilience</a> in these vulnerable individuals, we could fortify them against the onset of debilitating mental health conditions. However, we're not quite there yet. 



"There is a lack of clinical tools or underlying mechanisms to promote this type of conditioning capable of fostering a resilient reaction as in healthy people," says Manuel Mameli, Associate Professor at the Department of Fundamental Neurosciences at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, <a href="https://www.unil.ch/central/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNIL</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-peek-learn-endure-for-emotional-resilience">Peek, learn, endure for emotional resilience</h2>



How did the UNIL neuroscientists crack this nut? 



They created an experimental model to promote resilience and then measure its effects on the development of pathological traits following trauma. The process was quite ingenious.



"We started from the recognized fact that simply observing the emotional experiences of others helps us to learn from them. It's a phenomenon known as emotional contagion, and it engages resilience", explains Manuel Mameli.



They used an "observer" mouse, who got to watch another mouse experiencing mild electric shocks. This observation served as a protective shield for the observer mice -- when they later experienced the shocks themselves, they largely avoided falling into depression-like states.



On the other hand, the mice that didn't get a chance to observe the shocks, they weren't so lucky.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-serotonin-our-resilience-maestro">Meet serotonin, our resilience maestro</h2>



Stumbling upon the behavioral principle was a big win. But the UNIL scientists didn't stop there. They dived deeper, identifying the brain mechanism mediating this learning process. 



They focused on an itsy-bitsy brain structure called the habenula, known for its involvement in our emotional and sensory processing, and regulation of neurotransmitters linked with depression, notably serotonin. They developed imaging tools to track this elusive molecule in mice. 



"It's very difficult to measure the variation of serotonin in the brain. Thanks to a biosensor developed by Yulong Li of <a href="https://english.pku.edu.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Peking University</a>, co-author of the study, we were able to identify the key mechanism," says Manuel Mameli.



The team found that this emotional contagion coincided with a change in neuron function in the habenula, along with a surge in serotonin release in this region. 



"It's the dynamics of serotonin that change during this task, and this is the key finding of our study," reveals Sarah Mondoloni, a postdoctoral fellow in Manuel Mameli's lab at UNIL.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emotional-resilience-and-mental-health">Emotional resilience and mental health</h2>



The revolutionary findings at the UNIL offer promising implications for mental health treatment and therapy. 



If emotional contagion can bolster resilience, then therapeutic models that incorporate observational learning may be beneficial for those struggling with mental health issues.



Such approaches could potentially enable individuals to develop coping mechanisms by learning from those who have navigated similar challenges successfully. 



This could be particularly impactful for vulnerable populations, offering a pathway towards improved mental <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/resilience-is-surprisingly-linked-to-gut-and-brain-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">health resilience</a> in a more holistic and supportive environment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-directions-in-research">Future directions in research</h2>



Building upon the exciting discoveries related to serotonin in the habenula, future research must continue to explore the neurobiological pathways involved in emotional contagion and resilience. 



Investigating how these processes can be harnessed not only in animal models but in human populations is crucial. 



Additionally, researchers might look into related neurotransmitters and their roles in bolstering or limiting resilience, thereby broadening our understanding of the intricate interplay between social learning and emotional health. 



Such inquiries may pave the way for novel interventions that tap into our inherent capacity for resilience through shared human experiences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-understanding-of-depression">New understanding of depression</h2>



Depression has long been linked to serotonin. Many antidepressants target serotonin, aiming to boost its concentration in the brain. 



This study introduces a novel angle, indicating that a localized surge of serotonin in the habenula could fend off depressive symptoms following a traumatic experience. 



"Our discovery could pave the way for new therapeutic applications relevant to depression, for example by testing existing pharmacological serotonin activators. Their use could be refined to achieve better therapeutic approaches," Mameli aptly concludes.



So next time you watch someone dealing with a tough situation, know that you're not just a passive observer. You're building mental resilience, potentially protecting your mental well-being. 



And, who knows, this new understanding of serotonin could eventually lead to better therapeutic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-with-a-history-of-depression-tend-to-process-more-negative-information/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">approaches to fight depression</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adp3897" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Seeing others' struggles can strengthen our emotional resilience

Have you ever considered the impact of simply observing how...

Ever looked up at the night sky and pondered the mysteries the Moon holds? Scientists have been doing just that for decades, and the latest discoveries about the Moon's volcanoes are nothing short of fascinating.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-peek-into-the-moon-s-volcanoes">Peek into the Moon's volcanoes</h2>



The Moon has experienced extensive volcanic activity in its past, evidence of which can be traced geologically. But the timeline of these volcanic episodes remained in the realm of the unknown until recently. 



Now, a team of dedicated researchers led by Prof. LI Qiuli at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (<a href="http://english.igg.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IGGCAS</a>) has brought forth an interesting revelation.



By examining <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-moon-is-drifting-away-and-earth-will-never-be-the-same-without-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar</a> soil samples collected by the Chang’e-5 mission, Prof. LI Qiuli’s Lab identified three volcanic glass beads. 



Intriguingly, these beads were formed 123±15 million years ago, making them the most recent specimens of lunar volcanism confirmed by radioisotope dating. This find was spotlighted in a recent publication in Science.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-echoes-of-the-moon-s-volcanoes">Echoes of the Moon's volcanoes</h2>



The dating of lunar volcanic basalt samples fetched by the Apollo and Luna missions, or that have arrived on Earth via lunar meteorites, suggested that lunar basaltic volcanism endures until approximately 2.9–2.8 billion years ago. 



However, a more recent analysis of lunar samples from the <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2020-087A" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chang’e-5 mission</a> implies that basaltic volcanism lingered on until at least 2.0 billion years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-remote-observations">Remote observations </h2>



Remote sensing observations hint at the possibility of even younger volcanism during the late Copernican era (less than 0.8 billion years ago) on the Moon. But without precise dating, these suspicion-filled observations remain just that. 



An additional challenge arises from the fact that the proposed late-Copernican mare basalt extrusions are distributed over limited areas, and no samples have been obtained from these regions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deciphering-the-clues">Deciphering the clues</h2>



Eruptions of gas-enriched magma can create magma fountains, dropping submillimeter glass bead deposits over broad regions. 



Over time, these beads can be further relocated across the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/turning-moon-soil-lunar-regolith-space-debris-into-building-materials/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar surface</a> due to impact. These tiny volcanic glasses could remain undetected in existing samples.



WANG Biwen, a graduate student under the guidance of Profs. LI Qiuli and HE Yuyang, along with postdoctoral researcher ZHANG Qian, scrutinized approximately 3000 glass beads in lunar soil samples. 



They identified three volcanic glass beads based on their textures, primary and trace-element compositions, and in-situ sulfur isotope analyses.



Interestingly, the δ34S values of the three volcanic glass beads do not conform to impact glass beads' values. 



This divergence gives researchers a selection criterion for distinguishing volcanic glasses from impact glasses. Using uranium-lead dating, the team concluded that these volcanic glass beads were formed 123±15 million years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-of-discovering-younger-volcanism">Implications of discovering younger volcanism</h2>



The discovery of younger volcanic material on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-aims-to-build-a-train-on-the-moon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moon</a> changes how we think about its geological history. 



We used to believe the Moon had cooled down and was mostly inactive, but finding recent volcanic glass beads shows that volcanic activity might have continued longer than we thought. 



This new insight opens up exciting questions about the Moon's heat and volcanic history and what it could mean for future eruptions.



Understanding these processes not only helps us learn more about the Moon but also gives us clues about other planets and how they formed over time in our solar system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-profound-implications-for-lunar-history">Profound implications for lunar history</h2>



The radioisotope dating of these three Chang’e-5 volcanic glass beads sheds light on 120-million-year-old volcanoes on the Moon. 



This suggests that small celestial bodies, such as the Moon, may retain sufficient heat to foster internal vitality until quite far in their life span. 



These findings offer new constraints for geophysical models on the Moon’s deep interior's thermal history.



This awe-inspiring study was a joint venture with <a href="https://www.nju.edu.cn/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nanjing University</a> and the State University of New York (<a href="https://www.suny.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SUNY</a>) at Albany. 



So, the next time you gaze at the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-new-quasi-moon-will-stick-around-for-hundreds-of-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">moonlit sky</a>, remember, there's more than what meets the eye. Every celestial body out there has a gripping tale to tell, and there's no end to the mysteries we can unravel when science leads the way.



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It was supported by several esteemed organizations, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the China National Postdoctoral Foundation. The China National Space Administration provided the samples used in this study.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk6635" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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The Moon had active volcanoes just 120 million years ago

Ever looked up at the night sky and pondered the...

Have you ever wondered how long can your dogs remember the names of their favorite toys? Do they have a lasting memory or is it just temporary? 



Well, a trio of ethologists in Hungary have some insightful answers for us. They have peeled back the curtain of canine brains, revealing some intriguing answers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-and-toy-names">Dogs and toy names</h2>



Most dog owners know that dogs can associate human words with toys. Call out "Squeaker," and Fido will bypass all other toys, laser-focused on finding that one.



However, what remained a mystery was the longevity of this association. Could <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-learn-better-with-praise-and-petting/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dogs</a> retain these associations for long? Or is it more of a fleeting "here and gone" experience?



The research was led by Shany Dror, Ádám Miklósi, and Claudia Fugazza from <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eötvös Loránd University</a>. Their study reveals that some dogs can remember toy names for at least two years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-experiment-that-fetches-results">Experiment that fetches results</h2>



The experiment involved five dogs, all of whom had previous training to associate human words with toys. 



These dogs, known as "<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gifted-dogs-can-learn-the-names-of-up-to-100-toys/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gifted</a> word learners," are better at making these associations, with some breeds and individuals within those breeds emerging as star performers.



Giving a new spin to the existing training, the squad taught the dogs to associate names with twelve new toys. 



The researchers made sure the dogs thoroughly learned these names before storing away all the toys for two years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-and-toy-names-0">Dogs and toy names</h2>



Imagine the excitement when, after two years, the dogs were reintroduced to these toys. They were then put to the ultimate test. 



The researchers mixed these test toys with others familiar to the dogs, then asked the dogs to fetch the test toys by their associated name.



The results? The dogs fetched the correct toy 44% of the time on average, with some even reaching the impressive 60% accuracy mark. 



These results far exceed chance, proving that the dogs remembered the names -- a clear testament to their long-term memory.



The findings offer some serious food for thought. Do we often underestimate our pets' cognitive abilities? Perhaps.



What the research implies is remarkable. Dogs, or at least some of them, have a memory retention ability that runs deep. They can store associations in their long-term memory, much like we humans do.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-underestimated-intelligence-of-dogs">Underestimated intelligence of dogs</h2>



Understanding how dogs remember toys intrigues owners and sheds light on broader animal cognition.



Comparative studies have shown that while dogs process information differently than humans, their ability to learn and retain information is remarkably sophisticated. 



Dogs exhibit features of both associative and episodic memory, enabling them to recall specific experiences and the context in which they occurred. 



Such capabilities suggest that dogs, with their unique interaction with humans, might even share some cognitive traits with our species, challenging the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/go-fetch-some-cats-love-fetching-as-much-as-dogs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">long-held perception</a> of dog intelligence as merely instinctual. 



By exploring these parallels, we highlight the profound bond between humans and their canine companions, rooted in shared understanding and communication.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-dog-training">Implications for dog training</h2>



The insights from this research possess vital implications for dog training and enrichment activities. Recognizing that dogs can retain information over extended periods emphasizes the importance of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-can-learn-to-speak-by-pressing-buttons-on-a-soundboard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consistent and meaningful training sessions</a>. 



Engaging dogs in exercises that reinforce name associations with toys not only aids in developing their cognitive skills but also enriches their playtime, making it more stimulating. 



This understanding encourages dog owners and trainers to incorporate varied vocabulary and concepts into daily interactions, ultimately enhancing the dog's learning experience.



By equipping dogs with the tools to remember their belongings, we empower them to engage in more enriched and fulfilling lives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unleashing-the-true-potential-of-dogs">Unleashing the true potential of dogs </h2>



So, dog-lovers, maybe it's time we challenge our fur-babies a little more. Their cognitive abilities are impressive, and they continue to surprise us with their capabilities. 



Further research is needed to understand the full scope of canine memory.



Perhaps, the next time you play fetch, try attaching a name to that new toy. Who knows, even after many dog years, they just might surprise you and retrieve the right one.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0208" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biology Letters</a>.



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Some dogs can remember their toy names for years

Have you ever wondered how long can your dogs remember...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" 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 Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[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



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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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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



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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



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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



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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...