The clever coyotes of San Francisco are proving just how adaptable they can be to urban life. 



These native predators, who returned to the city in the early 2000s after a century-long absence, aren't just surviving in the concrete jungle - they're thriving. The coyotes have learned to switch up their menu based on what each neighborhood has to offer.



Scientists from the University of California, Davis, recently conducted a study to better understand how these animals are adapting to urban life. 



The findings reveal how restaurant density, pavement levels, and other urban features influence what coyotes eat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urban-coyotes-diets-are-changing">Urban coyotes’ diets are changing</h2>



Urban environments present new challenges and opportunities for wildlife. As green spaces shrink, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hunting-coyotes-actually-boosts-their-numbers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coyotes</a> in San Francisco are forced to modify their food sources. 



The researchers found that these adaptable predators consume a significant amount of human-provided food. “Chicken is a really big diet item; we found it in 72% of the scat samples analyzed in the study,” noted lead author Tali Caspi, a Ph.D. candidate at <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC Davis</a>.



Despite their reliance on human food, coyotes still hunt natural prey when available. Pocket gophers, a common rodent in the area, were the second most frequent food source, found in 57% of scat samples. 



Other notable items in their diet included pig (human-sourced) and raccoon (natural prey). 



While concerns about coyotes hunting domestic cats exist, the study showed that feline remains appeared in only 4.5% of analyzed samples. This suggests that predation on pet cats is not a significant part of their diet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-investigating-urban-coyote-diets">Investigating urban coyote diets</h2>



To uncover these dietary patterns, the researchers collected more than 700 coyote scat samples from different parts of San Francisco between September 2019 and April 2022.



The team analyzed the samples at UC Davis’ <a href="https://vgl.ucdavis.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Veterinary Genetics Laboratory</a>, using genotyping to match scat to individual coyotes and DNA metabarcoding to determine what they had eaten.



One key finding was that urban coyotes living in areas with high restaurant density, such as downtown and other heavily paved neighborhoods, consumed more human food. 



In contrast, those living in greener areas, such as the Presidio or Golden Gate Park, relied more on natural prey. This variation highlights how coyotes adapt their foraging behavior based on their surroundings.



The study also revealed that while individual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coyotes-can-make-puppy-dog-eyes-too/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coyotes</a> within the same family had similar diets, the diets of different family groups varied significantly. 



“This study highlights the huge range of dietary and habitat affinities of coyotes as a species. That is a trait for which they are already well-known, but the study also joins a growing body of evidence pointing to relatively narrow proclivities of coyotes as individuals. They tend to stick with what they know,” noted senior author Ben Sacks, director of the <a href="https://mecu.ucdavis.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit</a> at UC Davis.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-return-of-coyotes-to-san-francisco">Return of coyotes to San Francisco</h2>



Coyotes are native to San Francisco, but they were eradicated from the city in the early 1900s. For nearly a century, they were absent from the urban landscape. 



However, in the early 2000s, coyotes made a comeback and have since established a stable population in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coyotes-live-longer-in-densely-populated-human-areas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">urban areas</a>. 



Today, they share space with more than 870,000 people in a city that spans just 47 square miles, making San Francisco the second-most densely populated major city in the United States.



Despite their return, many people remain unaware of how to coexist with these animals. Coyotes are opportunistic feeders, meaning they take advantage of whatever food is easiest to access. 



While they can hunt naturally, human-provided food - whether intentionally given or found in trash - has become a major part of their diet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coexisting-with-urban-coyotes">Coexisting with urban coyotes</h2>



As coyotes continue to thrive in San Francisco, it is important for residents to take steps to reduce conflicts. 



Many conflicts arise when people inadvertently provide food, either by leaving pet food outside, improperly disposing of trash, or feeding them directly. This can make coyotes more comfortable around humans, increasing the chances of unwanted encounters.



“There’s a misconception that coyotes are starving and need our help finding food in San Francisco, and clearly they don’t,” noted Caspi.



In reality, coyotes are highly adaptable and capable of surviving without human intervention.



Another way to minimize conflicts is by keeping domestic pets safe. Coyotes may not actively hunt cats, but they are opportunistic predators. Keeping cats indoors and ensuring that small pets are supervised can help reduce negative interactions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urban-wildlife-and-adaptation">Urban wildlife and adaptation</h2>



San Francisco’s urban <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/city-life-has-a-huge-impact-on-coyote-evolution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coyotes</a> are part of a larger trend of wildlife adapting to city life. Around the world, animals are learning new ways to survive in urban environments. 



Song sparrows in Portland, Oregon, adjust their song frequencies to be heard over city noise, while cockatoos in Australia have figured out how to open trash cans for food. These behaviors demonstrate how different species develop unique survival strategies when faced with human-made landscapes.



“There are a lot of different ways to survive city life as an animal,” Caspi said. “It speaks to the plasticity and resilience of these species to see all of these different strategies for coping with urban life.”



Coyotes, known for their intelligence and adaptability, are no exception. They have successfully integrated into one of the country’s most densely populated cities, using their keen instincts to navigate an environment vastly different from their historical range.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-coyotes-in-san-francisco">Future of coyotes in San Francisco</h2>



The study’s findings provide valuable insights into urban wildlife management. By understanding what coyotes eat and how they adapt to their environment, city officials and conservationists can implement better strategies to reduce conflicts while protecting both wildlife and human residents.



The research was funded by a Christine Stevens Wildlife Award from the Animal Welfare Institute, along with support from UC Davis, <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC Berkeley</a>, and the UC Davis <a href="https://education.ucdavis.edu/center-community-and-citizen-science" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Center for Community and Citizen Science</a>. 



Contributions from community scientists via iNaturalist also played a crucial role in the study, helping researchers locate fresh scat samples and even leading to a rare discovery of fin whale DNA in a coyote’s diet. This was traced back to a beached whale recorded on the app.



As San Francisco continues to evolve, so will its urban coyotes. They have proven their ability to adapt, and their presence in the city is likely to remain a fixture of the urban ecosystem. Learning to coexist with them will be essential in maintaining a balance between wildlife conservation and city life.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.70152" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecosphere</a>.



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Urban coyotes have developed a taste for human food

The clever coyotes of San Francisco are proving just how adaptable they can be to urban life. These native predators, who returned to the city in the early 2000s after a century-long absence, aren't just surviving in the concrete jungle - they're thriving. The coyotes have learned to switch up their menu based on what each neighborhood has to offer. Scientists from the University of California, Davis, recently conducted a study to better understand how these animals are adapting to urban life. The findings reveal how restaurant...

Handsome,Man,Smoking,Blunt,With,Medical,Cannabis,In,Apartment.heavy,Smoker

Recreational drugs have been used for thousands of years. Despite the taboo, many argue that substances like cannabis are safe because they are natural. But recent research adds a new twist to the tale. 



According to a French study, people using recreational drugs (such as cannabis and MDMA) face a much higher risk of suffering heart attacks or strokes. That's a pretty cold splash of water on the "natural and safe" argument.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recreational-drugs-and-heart-health">Recreational drugs and heart health</h2>



Researchers meticulously tracked over 1,300 intensive-care patients. The analysis showed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-and-hallucinogen-use-are-at-historically-high-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">those who consumed cannabis</a> alone had almost twice the risk of cardiovascular incidents such as heart attack or stroke.



In this research, everything boils down to THC - the active ingredient in cannabis. THC triggers our body's fight-or-flight response. This also raises our heart rate and blood pressure.&nbsp;



Over time, this constant state of red alert can damage the heart and increase the risk of life-threatening problems. This study was led by Dr. Raphael Mirailles, a doctor from <a href="https://hopital-lariboisiere.aphp.fr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hospital Lariboisiere</a> in Paris.&nbsp;



"Recreational drug use was associated with a tripling of the risk of a repeat serious cardiovascular event within one-year. There is an increasing amount of data regarding worst prognosis associated with recreational drug use, not only in cardiac intensive care units but also in conventional intensive care units," said Dr. Mirailles.



"Despite high rate of underreporting of recreational drug use, systematic screening is not recommended by the current guidelines. It might improve risk stratification of patients and personalized care to favor drug withdrawal. Therefore, systemic screening should be considered in intensive care."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recreational-drugs-and-heart-damage">Recreational drugs and heart damage</h2>



Among the different recreational drugs tested, MDMA topped the list with a cardiovascular event risk 4.1 times higher than that of non-drug users. Heroin wasn't far behind at 3.6 times, followed by cannabis close on its heels at 1.8 times the risk.



The study pulled in data from 39 different intensive care units across France, tracking 1,392 patients over a two-week period in April 2021. Of these, 11% tested positive for recreational drug use. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-popularity-of-cannabis-use">Popularity of cannabis use</h2>



To enhance this discussion, here’s a noteworthy statistic: Cannabis is the leading <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smoking-cannabis-significantly-increases-the-risk-of-heart-attack/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recreational drug choice</a> for individuals aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales. This trend is particularly concerning among younger adults, as nearly one in six people aged 20 to 24 reported using cannabis last year. 



The widespread use highlights the need for continued dialogue about substance use and its implications on health and society. 



Understanding these patterns can help inform policy decisions and educational initiatives aimed at addressing drug use and promoting healthier choices among young people in these regions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-implications">Social implications</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americas-cannabis-capitals-people-these-us-cities-consume-most-marijuana/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conversation</a> surrounding recreational drug use extends far beyond heart health risks. Societally, it poses significant challenges, particularly regarding healthcare resources and law enforcement. 



As more individuals partake in these substances, especially among younger populations, the strain on emergency services and healthcare systems increases. 



Consequently, this prompts a broader dialogue about regulation, education, and prevention strategies that could mitigate these impacts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-path-forward">A path forward</h2>



Addressing the intricacies of recreational drug use requires a multifaceted approach. Public health campaigns prioritizing education about the risks associated with drugs like cannabis, MDMA, and heroin could prove invaluable.



Strategies involving community engagement and harm reduction initiatives, such as providing access to medical professionals for users, might empower individuals to make more informed decisions about their substance use. 



Ultimately, a cultural shift towards open dialogue and responsible consumption may help balance the allure of recreational drugs with their inherent risks, safeguarding both individual health and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-legalization-does-not-increase-youth-substance-abuse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">community well-being</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reducing-recreational-drug-use">Reducing recreational drug use</h2>



As we strive to educate communities and implement effective public health policies, creating an environment that prioritizes informed decision-making is essential.



By promoting open dialogue, comprehensive education, and a commitment to harm reduction, we can better navigate the challenges posed by recreational drugs while ensuring the health and safety of individuals and society as a whole. 



The conversation must continue, addressing not only the health implications but also the broader social contexts in which these substances are used.



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Recreational drug use triples the risk of having a heart attack

Recreational drugs have been used for thousands of years. Despite...

Once upon a time, a destructive “tag-team” of natural forces triggered catastrophic mass marine extinctions that reshaped the course of evolution on Earth, paving the way for new forms of life.



This powerful duo wasn't made up of marauding warriors or mythical monsters but rather the elemental forces of nature we still encounter today: land and sea.



Acting in deadly harmony, these powerful elements transformed marine life, disrupted entire ecosystems, and altered the planet's history forever.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mass-extinction-events-of-marine-species">Mass extinction events of marine species</h2>



In a recent study, researchers led by the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a> present startling new explanations for these drastic events.



The scientists have shed new light on an age-old enigma: the sequence of traumatic environmental crises known as oceanic anoxic events that occurred between 185 and 85 million years ago.



During these events, the oceans were dangerously low on dissolved oxygen, throwing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-and-habitat-degradation-have-devastated-marine-ecosystems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine ecosystems</a> into turmoil and leading to mass extinctions of marine species.



"Oceanic anoxic events (OAEs) are transient perturbations to the global carbon cycle, during which large regions of the oceans are depleted in dissolved oxygen," noted the researchers.



"The resulting euxinic (anoxic and sulfidic) waters are highly toxic, leading to biological turnover events and, in extreme cases, mass extinctions of marine biota."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-triggers-for-the-extinction-events">Triggers for the extinction events</h2>



"Oceanic anoxic events were like hitting the reset button on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ecosystems-classified-for-the-first-time-across-the-entire-planet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planet’s ecosystems</a>. The challenge was understanding which geological forces hit the button," said study lead author Professor Tom Gernon.



The study was an international effort, bringing together minds from universities in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United States.



The researchers set out to investigate how ocean chemistry was altered by the impact of tectonic shifts during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-were-not-the-only-animals-that-grew-fast-during-the-mesozoic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mesozoic era</a>, often known as the age of the dinosaurs.



The Mesozoic era marked the disintegration of Gondwana, a once vast landmass that dinosaurs claimed as their dominion.



"The Mesozoic era witnessed the breakup of this landmass, in turn bringing intense volcanic activity worldwide. As tectonic plates shifted and new seafloors formed, large amounts of phosphorus, a nutrient essential for life, were released from weathering volcanic rocks into the oceans," explained Professor Gernon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-land-sea-and-mass-marine-extinctions">Land, sea, and mass marine extinctions</h2>



According to Professor Gernon, the team found evidence of multiple pulses of chemical weathering on both the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-seafloor-nutrients-support-the-entire-food-chain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seafloor</a> and continents, which alternately disrupted the oceans. "It’s like a geological tag-team," he added.



The timing of these weathering pulses eerily lined up with most oceanic anoxic events.



The researchers propose that the weathering-triggered influx of phosphorus to the ocean acted like a natural fertilizer, boosting the growth of marine organisms. But this seemingly beneficial fertilization had a disastrous flip side.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-widespread-oxygen-depletion">Widespread oxygen depletion </h2>



The surge in biological activity resulted in large amounts of organic matter sinking to the ocean floor, consuming significant quantities of oxygen in their wake. 



This led to vast regions of the oceans becoming oxygen-depleted or anoxic, effectively becoming "dead zones" where most marine life could not survive.



“The anoxic events typically lasted around one to two million years and had profound impacts on marine ecosystems, the legacy of which even felt today," said study co-author Professor Benjamin Mills.



These events also led to the accumulation of organic matter-rich rocks, which today form the largest source of commercial oil and gas reserves globally.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-echoes-in-today-s-oceans">Echoes in today's oceans</h2>



This mass extinction study not only offers answers to historical biological upheaval but also shines a spotlight on the dire effects of nutrient overloading in contemporary marine environments.



There is a haunting parallel with human activities today that have reduced oceanic oxygen levels by about two percent, causing a significant expansion in anoxic water masses.



“Studying geological events offers valuable insights that can help us grasp how the Earth may respond to future climatic and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-plants-thrive-under-environmental-stress/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental stresses</a>," said Professor Gernon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-deadly-symbiosis">A deadly symbiosis</h2>



Ultimately, the research illuminates a potent connection between Earth’s solid interior and its surface environment and biosphere, especially during periods of tectonic and climatic upheaval.



“It’s remarkable how a chain of events within the Earth can impact the surface, often with devastating effects," noted the researchers. "Tearing continents apart can have profound repercussions for the course of evolution."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01496-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Geoscience</a>.



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What caused marine mass extinctions millions of years ago?

Once upon a time, a destructive “tag-team” of natural forces...

A sense of mystery has always been attached to black holes and the x-ray radiation that they produce.



Formed when a large star collapses into such a dense concentration of mass that its gravity prevents even light from escaping its sphere of influence, black holes have long held the fascination of scientists across the globe.



Their indirect effects on the environment, however, offer tantalizing clues to their workings, inviting relentless inquiry. 



One such mystery, the X-ray radiation from black holes that's been pursued for answers since the 1970s, has finally been decoded.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pursuit-of-black-holes-x-ray-secrets">Pursuit of black holes' x-ray secrets</h2>



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Helsinki</a> have succeeded in something that has been pursued since the 1970s: explaining the X-ray radiation from black hole surroundings. 



Through detailed supercomputer simulations, they modeled the interactions between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breakthrough-surges-of-cosmic-radiation-from-space-directly-linked-to-earthquakes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">radiation</a>, plasma, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/powerful-magnetic-fields-may-be-key-features-of-black-holes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">magnetic fields</a> around black holes. 



It was found that the chaotic movements, or turbulence, caused by the magnetic fields heat the local plasma and make it radiate. 



"The flares in the accretion disks of black holes are like extreme versions of solar flares," highlighting the intense nature of these phenomena," explained Associate Professor Joonas Nättilä, who heads the Computational Plasma Astrophysics research group at the University of Helsinki.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-black-holes-accretion-disks-and-x-rays">Black holes, accretion disks and x-rays</h2>



Black holes often come with a companion star, forming a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exoplanet-found-in-the-habitable-zone-of-a-binary-star-system/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">binary star system</a>. 



In such an arrangement, the immense gravitational pull of the black hole affects its companion, causing both objects to orbit each other. 



Over time, the black hole's gravity exerts a powerful influence, pulling matter away from the companion star. 



This captured material slowly spirals inward, forming an accretion disk around the black hole.



The accretion disk, a bright and observable source of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/x-ray-single-atom-captured-by-scientists-for-first-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">X-rays</a>, is generated as the gas flows into the black hole. 



Since the 1970s, scientists have hypothesized that these X-rays are produced through the interaction of the local gas and magnetic fields, much like how the sun's magnetic activity leads to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/secondary-peak-extreme-geomagnetic-solar-storm-expected-today/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">solar flares</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quantum-effects-in-radiation-plasma-interaction">Quantum effects in radiation-plasma interaction</h2>



The study revealed that the turbulence around black holes is so intense that quantum effects become significant for the plasma dynamics. 



The modeled interactions showed that local X-ray radiation can transform into electrons and positrons, which can annihilate back into radiation when they come into contact. 



Nättilä explained, "In everyday life, such quantum phenomena where matter suddenly appears in place of extremely bright light are, of course, not seen, but near black holes, they become crucial." 



He added, "It took us years to investigate and add to the simulations all quantum phenomena occurring in nature, but ultimately, it was worth it."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-towards-a-clearer-understanding-of-radiation-origins">Towards a clearer understanding of radiation origins</h2>



The study marked a major step forward in identifying the source of X-ray radiation observed from accretion disks. 



It unveiled that the plasma around black holes can exist in two distinct equilibrium states, depending on the external radiation field, which can be opaque and hot or transparent and cold. 



"The X-ray observations of black hole accretion disks show exactly the same kind of variation between the so-called soft and hard states," Nättilä pointed out. 



These findings align with existing X-ray observations, offering a clearer understanding of how black holes impact their surroundings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-future-research-and-technology">Implications for future research and technology</h2>



The insights gained from this study not only advance our understanding of black hole behavior but also open new avenues for future research and technological innovation. 



The detailed modeling of radiation-plasma interactions and quantum effects provides a foundation for developing more accurate observational tools and techniques in astrophysics.



These advancements could lead to better detection and analysis of X-ray emissions from other cosmic phenomena beyond black holes, potentially enhancing our ability to map and explore the universe. 



Understanding the extreme conditions near black holes could also inspire technological breakthroughs in fields like energy production and quantum computing, where similar high-energy interactions are explored.



The continued exploration of these cosmic giants promises to yield invaluable knowledge and technological advancements, further expanding our grasp of the universe.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51257-1">Nature Communications</a>.



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X-ray radiation from black holes explained after 50-year struggle

A sense of mystery has always been attached to black...

Antibiotics, the silent superheroes of modern medicine, save lives during surgeries and shield us from fatal infections. However, more bacteria are developing resistance. That's why scientists are exploring new sources, like the Arctic, for fresh antibiotic candidates.



Our regular soil might just be the knight in shining armor, waiting to rescue us. Soil is the birthplace of about 70% of all currently licensed antibiotics, specifically a group of organisms known as actinobacteria. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-habitats-for-actinobacteria">New habitats for actinobacteria</h2>



Our Earth, the charming little blue-green planet we call home, has yet to reveal all her secrets. Many of her nooks and crannies are still unexplored, including a plethora of untapped habitats for actinobacteria. 



And who knows, these little microbes could hold the key to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antimicrobial-resistance-projected-to-kill-10-million-people-each-year/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">next generation of antibiotics</a>.



Here's the best part: these fresh antibiotics might not annihilate bacteria, but they could reduce their 'virulence' or disease-causing capability. 



That’s like turning a fearsome dragon into a harmless lizard. With such antivirulence compounds, it's harder for bacteria to fight back. Plus, these promise fewer nasty side effects.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antibiotic-compound-from-arctic">Antibiotic compound from Arctic</h2>



Now, let's meet the brain behind this revolutionary idea. Dr Päivi Tammela of the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Helsinki</a>, Finland, and her team have developed advanced screening assays to spot these antivirulence and antibacterial metabolites in actinobacteria extracts.



They discovered a compound from the Arctic Ocean that can inhibit the virulence of E. coli without affecting its growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-antibiotic-potential-from-arctic">Testing antibiotic potential from Arctic</h2>



The team targeted a strain of E. coli that wreaks havoc on children under five, causing severe diarrhea. This nasty bacterium sticks to cells in the gut and injects destructive 'virulence factors' into the host cell.



The team then sailed off to the Arctic Sea, to an island called 'Svalbard,' aboard the Norwegian research vessel ‘Kronprins Haakon.’ 



They collected invertebrates, isolated actinobacteria from them, and extracted and separated their cells into fractions, testing each one against the menacing E. coli.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-antibiotic-from-arctic-waters">New antibiotic from Arctic waters</h2>



Researchers found two unknown compounds from the strains Rhodococcus and Kocuria which showed strong antivirulence or antibacterial activity.



“Here we show how advanced screening assays can identify antivirulence and antibacterial metabolites from actinobacteria extracts,” said Dr Tammela.



“We discovered a compound that inhibits enteropathogenic&nbsp;E. coli&nbsp;(EPEC) virulence without affecting its growth, and a growth-inhibiting compound, both in actinobacteria from the Arctic Ocean.”



That makes it a promising candidate since E. coli is less likely to evolve <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-increases-threat-antimicrobial-resistance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resistance</a> against this strain. Dr. Tammela and her team found that the active compound was most likely a phospholipid, a fatty molecule crucial for cell metabolism.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-arctic-and-future-antibiotic-development">Arctic and future antibiotic development</h2>



The discovery of these novel compounds presents a paradigm shift in the pursuit of new antibiotics. By focusing on antivirulence strategies rather than outright bacterial elimination, researchers can potentially reduce the evolutionary pressure that drives <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotic-resistance-increasing-enterococci-looming-global-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">antibiotic resistance</a>. 



This means that we might not only preserve existing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-create-viruses-to-combat-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">antibiotics</a> for longer but also ensure that treatments can evolve alongside ever-adapting bacteria. 



As the tide of resistance continues to rise, such innovative approaches could safeguard our arsenal of medications, granting us additional time to explore further solutions for the looming antibiotic crisis.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-call-to-action-for-research">Call to action for research</h2>



As we stand on the brink of this exciting new frontier, the journey ahead demands collaboration across various scientific disciplines. 



Chemists, biologists, and clinicians must join forces to rigorously test and refine these promising compounds.



Additionally, funding institutions and policy-makers should prioritize research initiatives that explore microbial biodiversity and its potential applications. 



By promoting an environment of interdisciplinary research and innovation, we can encourage the discovery of even more exciting treatments that could stem the tide of bacterial resistance, keeping our communities safe and healthy for generations to come.



The team is now focused on optimizing culture conditions for antibiotic compound production, isolating enough of each compound for further study, and understanding their respective bioactivities, especially those from Arctic sources. 



That's the great thing about science! There’s always another mystery to solve.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1432475/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Microbiology</a>.



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Arctic Sea microbes show promise as new antibiotic drugs

Antibiotics, the silent superheroes of modern medicine, save lives during...

We're all familiar with cardiovascular disease (CVD), the notorious fiend that continues to claim millions of lives worldwide every year, defying most heart disease tests, and usually creeping up on us over time, making it tough to catch until it's too late.



This group of disorders, including coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and strokes, affects individuals of every race, color, and creed. Early detection methods can feel elusive, slipping through the fingers of both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-century-of-progress-in-the-fight-against-cardiovascular-disease/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">individuals and healthcare systems</a>.



That is, until now. Hope sparks anew with the recent revelations from a study led by Dr. Paul M. Ridker, director of the <a href="https://www.brighamandwomens.org/heart-and-vascular-center/programs/pollin-womens-heart-center/heart-disease-prevention-research" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention</a> at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.



“We can’t treat what we don’t measure, and we hope these findings move the field closer to identifying even earlier ways to detect and prevent heart disease,” Dr. Ridker noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inside-the-shadows-of-our-hearts">Inside the shadows of our hearts</h2>



Under the scanner were blood samples and medical histories from 27,939 women, part of the <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00000479" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Women’s Health Study</a>.



Tracked over 30 years, 3,662 of these women (originally in their mid-50s) endured significant cardiovascular events like heart attacks, strokes, and related surgeries or deaths.



Three biochemical superheroes -- high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) -- were the focus of the study.



The goal? To ascertain how each of these markers (alone or collectively) could foresee future <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crucial-discoveries-will-improve-cardiovascular-disease-treatment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cardiovascular events</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heart-disease-test-detects-triple-whammy">Heart disease test detects 'triple whammy'</h2>



The results were eye-opening. Women with the highest LDL levels had a 36% <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-fuels-cardiovascular-deaths-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">higher risk</a> of heart diseases compared to those with the lowest.



Elevated Lp(a) levels led to a 33% increased risk, and those with the highest CRP levels faced a shocking 70% increased risk.



But the real kicker came when we looked at all three markers together. Women with the highest levels of LDL, Lp(a), and CRP were more than 1.5 times more likely to have a stroke and over 3 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease compared to those with the lowest levels.



It really seems like the saying, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," rings true here!



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



Integrating CRP with cholesterol levels unravels a more detailed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/depression-and-cardiovascular-diseases-are-genetically-linked/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cardiovascular risk profile</a>, accounting for the intertwined effects of inflammation and lipid levels on heart health.



The researchers note that while only women were assessed in this study, they would expect to find similar results in men.



“In recent years, we’ve learned more about how increased levels of inflammation can interact with lipids to compound cardiovascular disease risks,” said Ahmed A.K. Hasan, M.D., Ph.D., a medical officer and program director at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (<a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NHLBI</a>). “This helps explain why lower levels are often better.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inflammation-and-lipids">Inflammation and lipids</h2>



Grasping how inflammation <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-sweetener-erythritol-sugar-substitute-linked-to-blood-clots-heart-disease/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plays into heart disease</a> is really important. Immune cells, which usually help heal wounds or fight infections, can also respond to too much cholesterol and plaque buildup.



This inflammatory reaction can create a hyperinflammatory environment, making it easier for plaques to grow and possibly rupture, which can <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-worsens-cardiovascular-health-risks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lead to heart problems</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-life-changes-from-heart-disease-test">Early life changes from heart disease test</h2>



To effectively tackle cardiovascular disease, catching it early and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-diet-may-save-your-life-six-key-foods-lower-the-risk-of-heart-disease/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">taking preventive steps is key</a>. This study highlights the importance of primary prevention strategies like staying active, eating a heart-healthy diet, managing stress, and quitting smoking.



For those at higher risk, extra measures such as cholesterol-lowering meds and anti-inflammatory treatments might be needed.



We already have well-established treatments for high LDL cholesterol, with statins being a go-to option. However, guidelines for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-conditions-linked-hidden-brain-changes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">screening and treatment</a> related to Lp(a) and CRP can differ.



Some countries recommend regular Lp(a) screening, especially since high levels can run in families. In the U.S., screening is typically done for people with a history of heart disease or a family background of it.



When it comes to CRP testing, it really depends on personal risk factors and what the doctor thinks is best. In 2023, the FDA gave the green light to colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug, to help <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleeping-more-on-weekends-can-reduce-heart-disease-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reduce cardiovascular risk</a> for those with atherosclerosis.



Plus, researchers are looking into new anti-inflammatory therapies and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-significantly-lowers-heart-disease-risk-by-reducing-stress/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">personalized treatment options</a> to boost outcomes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heart-healthy-future-ahead">Heart-healthy future ahead</h2>



Summing it all up, the new insights from this study bring exciting advancements in predicting and preventing cardiovascular risk.



By combining fat and inflammation measurements, healthcare providers can better spot individuals at risk and take timely action.



As research progresses, the goal is to make cardiovascular disease prevention more precise and effective, ultimately boosting heart health for everyone.



Understanding these findings and weaving them into our daily health routines can lead to significant improvements in long-term cardiovascular outcomes.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2405182" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New England Journal of Medicine</a>.



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New blood test accurately predicts heart disease risk 30 years into the future

We're all familiar with cardiovascular disease (CVD), the notorious fiend...

When we think of climate change, we often focus on loftier issues – melting ice caps, rising sea levels, more frequent and intense storms. However, the effects of climate change aren't simply grand-scale phenomena; they seep into our everyday world, altering delicate balances that sustain life as we know it. 



In a recent study, researchers from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (<a href="https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JMU</a>) investigated the impacts of global warming on the humble lives of bumblebees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-battle-of-the-bumblebee">Battle of the bumblebee</h2>



Bumblebees - beloved for their fuzzy bodies and industrious nature - are vital cogs in natural and agricultural processes. 



If you relish every bite of your apple, cherish the beauty of blooming flowers, or value the vast spectrum of biodiversity, you have the hardworking bumblebee to thank. But did you know these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bumblebees-showcase-smart-logical-reasoning-abilities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">buzzing pollinators</a> are living on borrowed time? 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-impact-on-bumblebees">Climate change impact on bumblebees</h2>



The JMU team found that, despite their robust appearance, bumblebees are delicate creatures that are especially susceptible to changes in temperature.



Thanks to their natural predisposition towards cooler habitats, these tiny pollinators are increasingly feeling the heat, quite literally.



"Bumblebees are important pollinators in natural and agricultural systems. They therefore have a high economic and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bees-spread-viruses-to-bumblebees-in-the-spring/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity value</a>," noted Dr. Sabine Nooten, head of the study. Yet, rising temperatures could spell doom for these intricate creatures.



In a series of experiments, bumblebees found themselves navigating an artificial heatwave, akin to the rising global temperatures we see today. The results? Well, let’s just say it left these buzzing beauties in a bit of a hot mess.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-staggering-consequences">Staggering consequences</h2>



Retaining the ability to detect floral scents is paramount for bumblebees. The fragrances emitted by flowers serve as chemical signposts, detailing their location and the state of the flowers.



The 40-degree Celsius temperature trial, however, disabled this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-bumblebees-navigate-better-than-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">essential sensory capacity</a> in bumblebees.



"We found that the heat significantly impaired the bumblebees' ability to detect floral scents," said Sabine Nooten. 



A staggering 80% decrease in scent detection ability was noted among female worker bees. The male bees fared marginally better, losing half of their olfactory abilities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bumblebee-recovery-from-climate-change">Bumblebee recovery from climate change</h2>



Hoping for a recovery post heat-wave exposure? The experiments painted a grim picture. Even a subsequent cool-down period did not restore the bumblebees' olfactory capabilities immediately. A whole day later, most affected specimens still struggled with the loss of smell.



The study highlights the importance of understanding the intricate relationship between plants and insects in the context of climate change. The adverse effects of heatwaves, it seems, extend far beyond human discomfort.



Following these revelations, a new project has been approved. "Now that we have found out that heat waves impair the physiological processes of bumblebees to detect flower scents, our focus is now on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bumblebees-show-surprising-adept-teamwork-skills/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">behavioral side</a>," said Nooten. "We will test how the foraging behavior of bumblebees is affected by experimental heatwaves."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-role-of-habitat-preservation">Role of habitat preservation</h2>



As we explore the effects of climate change on bumblebee populations, it’s clear that protecting their habitats is vital for their survival. Keeping a variety of native flowers around is essential for these important pollinators, especially as temperatures rise. 



Unfortunately, urban areas filled with monocultures and pesticides can make life even tougher for bumblebees. By focusing on planting native wildflowers and restoring natural habitats, we can not only help bumblebees thrive but also improve the overall health of our ecosystems. 



Getting communities involved in these efforts builds a sense of responsibility and boosts biodiversity, paving the way for a more sustainable future together.



As we inch forward into an uncertain environmental future, it's crucial to understand and mitigate the diverse impacts of climate change. The plight of the bumblebees is but one chapter in a rapidly evolving story. 



Through awareness, action and (quite literally) a cooler head, perhaps we can ensure these buzzing pollinators continue their vital work for generations to come. After all, every flower has its bee, and every bee, its flower.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.0352" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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How climate change is buzzing off bumblebee senses

When we think of climate change, we often focus on...

Earth's climate is intricately connected to the movement of ocean currents, which act as the planet's natural thermostat by regulating temperatures and redistributing heat. 



Recent scientific findings reveal the significant and often underestimated role of the interplay between Atlantic and Arctic waters in maintaining long-term climate stability through the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). 



This crucial oceanic system functions like a massive conveyor belt, redistributing warm water from the tropics to the northern latitudes and returning cold water south, effectively balancing global temperatures. As a result, regions like Northern Europe, including the UK, enjoy milder climates compared to other locations at similar latitudes.



By examining extensive ocean data spanning from 1979 to 2021, scientists have gained crucial insights into how these waters mix, interact, and drive one of Earth's most vital climate-regulating mechanisms. 



The findings hold significant implications for our understanding of global warming and future climate predictions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-making-waves-in-ocean-research">Making waves in ocean research</h2>



In an international collaboration, researchers from the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a>, the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, the National Oceanography Centre, and <a href="https://www.su.se/cmlink/stockholm-university" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stockholm University</a> analyzed ocean data from 1979 to 2021.



The goal was to comprehend how the intermixing of Atlantic and Arctic waters supports the AMOC.



Regulating our planet's temperature, the AMOC is akin to a colossal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-deja-vu-oceans-may-slow-down-again/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ocean conveyor belt</a>. It shuttles warm water from the tropics to the north and ferries cold water south, evenly distributing heat globally. 



This mechanism ensures Northern Europe, the UK included, enjoys milder climates than other locations at the same latitude.



"The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays a key role in the global climate. The near-surface branch of the AMOC (upper limb) transports heat and salt northwards from the Equator, which helps to offset the atmospheric cooling at mid-latitudes (particularly central Europe, Scandinavia), moderating regional climate," noted the study authors. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-atlantic-arctic-water-mixing-and-climate">Atlantic-Arctic water mixing and climate</h2>



The researchers established that the lower limb of the AMOC is composed of 72% Atlantic waters and 28% Arctic waters. These waters reside in the deep, cold, dense part of this "conveyor belt," flowing southward in the Atlantic Ocean.



“As warm water reaches the cooler regions of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-warming-triggers-rising-north-atlantic-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North Atlantic</a>, it loses heat to the atmosphere, becomes denser, and sinks to great depths," explained study lead author Dr. Dipanjan Dey.



"While some of this dense water immediately returns south, much of it travels northward, where it mixes with colder, fresher Arctic waters in regions like the Denmark Strait. This mixing process makes the water even denser before flowing southward, contributing to the AMOC's strength.”



The experts estimated that the mixing of Atlantic and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ocean-warming-four-times-faster-than-global-average/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arctic waters</a> is responsible for 33% of the transformation of warm, salty water into colder, fresher, and denser water, while 67% is attributed to interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-circulation-and-climate">Ocean circulation and climate</h2>



The breakthrough study significantly challenges previous assumptions that mainly focused on heat loss in specific areas, overlooking the critical role of Atlantic-Arctic water mixing.



The findings allow us to better understand the complex relationship between climate, ocean circulation, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/limiting-global-warming-to-1-5-degrees-celsius-would-save-billions-of-lives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">global warming</a>.



Study co-author Professor Robert Marsh noted that the increased stratification of water due to ocean surface warming reduces the crucial mixing between Atlantic and Arctic waters. This weakening can lead to an overall slowdown of the circulation, resulting in climatic ramifications globally.



The repercussions of a weaker, shallower AMOC would be profound. The ripple effects would lead to colder temperatures in Northern Europe, more rapid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-rise-will-cost-coastal-cities-over-1-trillion-in-damages/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sea level rise</a> along the eastern coast of the United States, and accelerated climate change due to a shortened carbon dioxide retention time in the ocean.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predicting-future-climate-scenarios">Predicting future climate scenarios</h2>



Dr. Dey emphasized the importance of accurately representing these water mixing processes in climate models for better prediction of future climate scenarios.



He further noted the urgency of addressing global warming to avoid potential tipping points, where the circulation could significantly slow down, or even collapse.



The research offers us a fresh perspective - underlining the complex interplay between our climate and global ocean circulation processes, and the vital need to mitigate global warming.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51777-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Atlantic and Arctic mixing is crucial for Earth's climate stability

Earth's climate is intricately connected to the movement of ocean...

Using observations from a NASA suborbital rocket, an international team of scientists has, for the first time, successfully measured a planet-wide electric field that is as fundamental to Earth as gravity and magnetic fields.&nbsp;



This electric field, known as the ambipolar electric field, was first hypothesized over 60 years ago as a driving force behind the way our planet’s atmosphere escapes above the North and South Poles.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-confirmation-of-the-electric-field">Confirmation of the electric field</h2>



The measurements from the rocket, part of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>’s Endurance mission, have now confirmed the existence of the ambipolar field, quantified its strength, and revealed its role in driving atmospheric escape and shaping the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/u-s-rocket-launch-ripped-a-hole-in-earths-ionosphere/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ionosphere</a> -- a crucial layer of the upper atmosphere.



<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="W8NcQRnTr5-3823433-12187" type="single"]</div>



Understanding the intricate movements and evolution of Earth’s atmosphere not only sheds light on our planet’s history but also provides valuable insights into the characteristics of other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-planet-discovered-with-an-ocean-not-far-from-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planets</a>, helping to determine which might be capable of supporting life.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-the-ionosphere">Understanding the ionosphere</h2>



The ionosphere is a layer in Earth's upper atmosphere, sitting about 30 miles (48 kilometers) to 600 miles (965 kilometers) above the surface. It's filled with a bunch of ionized particles, mainly electrons and ions, created when ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the Sun zaps atmospheric gases.



This ionization forms charged layers that are super important for reflecting and transmitting radio waves, which we rely on for long-distance radio communication and navigation systems.



Instead of being a uniform layer, the ionosphere is a dynamic and complex structure, with varying levels of ionization that shift with solar activity and the time of day.



During the day, solar radiation ramps up ionization, creating stronger and more reflective layers, while at night, with less solar activity, it becomes less ionized and weaker.



These changes can affect the quality and range of radio signals, impacting everything from satellite communications to GPS systems.



Understanding how the ionosphere behaves is key to improving communication technologies and predicting space weather events that can mess with electronic systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mysterious-polar-wind">Mysterious polar wind</h2>



Since the late 1960s, spacecraft flying over Earth’s poles have detected streams of particles flowing from our atmosphere into space, a phenomenon known as “polar wind.” This outflow had been predicted by theorists, prompting further research to understand its underlying causes.



Some atmospheric outflow was expected; intense, unfiltered sunlight can cause particles in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-atmosphere-is-expanding-due-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">atmosphere</a> to escape into space, much like steam rising from boiling water.&nbsp;



However, the observed polar wind was puzzling because many of the particles within it were cold and showed no signs of heating - yet they were traveling at supersonic speeds.



“Something had to be drawing these particles out of the atmosphere,” explained Glyn Collinson, principal investigator of the Endurance mission at NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goddard Space Flight Center</a> in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of the paper. Scientists suspected that an undiscovered electric field might be responsible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-endurance-mission-nbsp-nbsp">The Endurance mission&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



This hypothetical electric field, generated at the subatomic scale, was believed to be incredibly weak, with effects that could only be detected over vast distances. 



For decades, detecting it was beyond the capabilities of existing technology. In 2016, Collinson and his team began developing a new instrument designed to measure Earth’s ambipolar field.



The team determined that their instruments and experimental design were best suited for a suborbital rocket flight launched from the Arctic. 



In homage to the ship that carried Ernest Shackleton on his famous 1914 Antarctic expedition, the team named their mission Endurance. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flying-through-the-polar-wind">Flying through the polar wind</h2>



The rocket headed to Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago just a few hundred miles from the North Pole, which houses the world’s northernmost rocket range.



“Svalbard is the only rocket range in the world where you can fly through the polar wind and make the measurements we needed,” said Suzie Imber, a space physicist at the <a href="https://le.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Leicester</a>, UK, and co-author of the paper.



On May 11, 2022, the Endurance mission launched, reaching an altitude of 477.23 miles (768.03 kilometers) before splashing down 19 minutes later in the Greenland Sea.



Throughout its 322-mile altitude range, Endurance measured a change in electric potential of just 0.55 volts.



“A half a volt is almost nothing -- it’s only about as strong as a watch battery,” Collinson said. “But that’s just the right amount to explain the polar wind.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-outward-force-of-the-electric-field-nbsp">Outward force of the electric field&nbsp;</h2>



The most abundant particles in the polar wind, hydrogen ions, experience an outward force from this electric field that is 10.6 times stronger than gravity.&nbsp;



“That’s more than enough to counter gravity - in fact, it’s enough to launch them upwards into space at supersonic speeds,” added Alex Glocer, Endurance project scientist at NASA Goddard and co-author of the paper.



Heavier particles also receive a boost. For instance, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-ancient-breath-study-links-atmospheric-oxygen-and-mantle-chemistry/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oxygen</a> ions at that altitude, when exposed to this half-a-volt field, effectively weigh half as much.&nbsp;



Overall, the team found that the ambipolar field increases the “scale height” of the ionosphere by 271%, meaning the ionosphere remains denser at greater heights than it would without the field. “It’s like this conveyor belt, lifting the atmosphere up into space,” Collinson explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-the-study-nbsp">Broader implications of the study&nbsp;</h2>



The discovery by the Endurance mission has opened numerous new avenues for research. As a fundamental energy field of our planet, alongside <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unraveling-gravity-quantum-nature-entanglement-mechanics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gravity</a> and magnetism, the ambipolar field may have continuously influenced the evolution of our atmosphere in ways that can now be explored.&nbsp;



Because this field is generated by the internal dynamics of an atmosphere, similar electric fields are likely to exist on other planets, such as Venus and Mars.



“Any planet with an atmosphere should have an ambipolar field. Now that we’ve finally measured it, we can begin learning how it’s shaped our planet as well as others over time,” Collinson concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07480-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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NASA discovers planet-wide field that is "as important as gravity"

Using observations from a NASA suborbital rocket, an international team...

Have you ever wondered if animals call each other by names? In human society, names play a vital role in social interaction. Going beyond humans, there are only a few species known to demonstrate this advanced cognitive ability. One of them are Marmoset Monkeys, whose communication skills will surprise you.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-identifying-names-a-human-trait-or-is-it">Identifying names: A human trait, or is it?</h2>



For the longest time, the ability to use vocal labels or "names" for others was seen as a unique characteristic of humans and a select few species, namely dolphins and elephants. 



Isn't it intriguing how such an ability was thought to be absent, even among our closest evolutionary relatives, the primates?



Our understanding, however, was set to be turned on its head by an astonishing study from the <a href="https://en.huji.ac.il" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hebrew University</a>. 



Led by Dr. David Omer from the Safra Center for Brain Sciences (<a href="https://elsc.huji.ac.il/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ELSC</a>), a team of researchers uncovered something truly remarkable. 



Lo and behold, the Marmoset Monkeys had been keeping a secret from us; their use of specific vocal calls, termed as "phee-calls", to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/visually-striking-primate-features-ease-tension-and-reduce-conflict/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">identify each other</a>.



They found out this incredible fact when graduate student Guy Oren recorded natural conversations between pairs of marmosets and interactions between monkeys and a computer system. 



Evidently, these monkeys address each other using their phee-calls, similar to how we might call our friends. What's amazing is that the marmosets can determine if a call is meant for them, responding more accurately when addressed directly.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-communication-patterns-and-monkeys">Communication patterns and monkeys</h2>



According to Dr. Omer, these findings indicate a complex social communication system among marmoset monkeys. It turns out these calls serve more than just for self-localization; marmosets use them for pinpointing specific individuals.



What's more, these vocal labels also seem to have a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-monkeys-are-much-smarter-than-we-thought-they-were/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social learning component</a>. Even adult marmosets not related by blood tend to mimic vocal labels and dialect from their group members. 



This resemblance to human language and dialects raises fascinating questions about the evolution of social communication.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monkey-communication-and-human-language">Monkey communication and human language</h2>



These findings about marmoset monkeys bring a fresh perspective to the study of human language evolution. 



The complex brain mechanisms allowing marmosets to label others could be similar to the ones that led to language in humans.



Moreover, the researchers suggest that this evolved vocal labelling ability might have helped marmosets keep their social bonds intact in dense rainforest habitats, where visibility can often be an issue.



This groundbreaking study paves the way for future exciting exploration into the origins of our own communication abilities. We have the marmosets to thank for that.



“Marmosets live in small monogamous family groups and take care of their young together, much like humans do,” says Omer. 



“These similarities suggest that they faced comparable evolutionary social challenges to our early pre-linguistic ancestors, which might have led them to develop similar communicating methods.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monkey-names-animal-cognition-research">Monkey names animal cognition research</h2>



The discovery of marmosets' ability to use phee-calls as vocal labels opens up new avenues for research in animal cognition. 



Traditionally, studies on communication have focused primarily on humans and a select few species known for their linguistic-like abilities.



However, this revelation encourages the scientific community to reevaluate the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-use-rapid-gestures-in-conversations-like-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cognitive capabilities of other animal species</a>, particularly primates. 



The marmoset monkeys’ sophisticated communication system exemplifies the need for a broader understanding of social interactions in the animal kingdom and challenges the notion that complex communication is limited to highly intelligent creatures.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-marmoset-habitats">Protecting marmoset habitats</h2>



As we become increasingly aware of the cognitive complexities within animal species, it is crucial to address the conservation of their environments. 



Marmosets inhabit the dense, biodiverse rainforests of South America, which are under constant threat from deforestation and habitat destruction. 



Preserving these habitats is not just a matter of ecological balance -- it safeguards the intricate social structures and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/male-proboscis-monkeys-use-big-noses-attract-mates-nasalis-larvatus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">communication methods</a> of these fascinating creatures.



By fostering awareness of their plight and supporting conservation efforts, we can ensure that future generations continue to marvel at the unique communicative tapestry woven by marmosets and understand the broader implications for animal cognition.



To sum it all up, the discovery of the marmosets' use of specific calls to name each other opens up a new chapter in understanding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/experts-unlock-the-mysteries-of-orangutan-communication/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animal and human communication</a>. But let's not stop here. Let's take a moment to appreciate the complexity and beauty of nature.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adp3757" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Monkeys use names for each other in their communication systems

Have you ever wondered if animals call each other by...

The boundless expanse of space continues to capture our imagination, but as we venture deeper into the cosmos, we need to understand its impact on our bodies. This is becoming increasingly vital as we prepare for long-duration spaceflight.



One subject that has been recently explored in greater depth is the effects of spaceflight on gut health, and the findings are startling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spaceflight-alters-the-gut">Spaceflight alters the gut</h2>



In a new study, a global consortium led by the <a href="https://www.ucd.ie/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University College Dublin</a> (UCD), and <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">McGill University</a>, Canada, has shed light on how space travel impacts the gut microbiome.



Collaborating with NASA and other international partners, this research has provided the most in-depth profile to-date of the changes that occur in our gut microbes during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-travel-takes-a-greater-toll-on-astronauts-brains-than-previously-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">space travel</a>.



This fascinating study utilized cutting-edge genetic technologies to analyze changes in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mothers-hardships-are-reflected-in-their-childs-gut-microbiome/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gut microbiomes</a>, colons, and livers of mice aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for three months.



The outcomes revealed significant shifts in specific bacteria and related changes in host gene expression related to immune and metabolic dysfunction commonly observed in space. This offers fresh insights into how such changes could affect astronaut physiology during prolonged missions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-astronaut-physiology-and-spaceflight">Astronaut physiology and spaceflight</h2>



"Spaceflight extensively alters astronaut physiology, yet many underlying factors remain a mystery. By integrating new genomic methods, we can simultaneously explore <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-bacteria-may-be-a-secret-weapon-against-stress/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gut bacteria</a> and host genetics in extraordinary detail and are beginning to see patterns that could explain spaceflight pathology," said Dr. Emmanuel Gonzalez.



"It’s clear we’re not just sending humans and animals to space, but entire ecosystems, the understanding of which is crucial to help us develop safeguards for future space exploration."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ireland-s-role-in-space-research">Ireland's role in space research</h2>



This study is a significant part of The Second Space Age: Omics, Platforms and Medicine across Space Orbits - the largest coordinated release of space biology discoveries in history. The research emphasizes Ireland's burgeoning role in microbiome and space life sciences research.



Comprehending biological adaptations to spaceflight can boost aerospace medicine and have major implications for terrestrial health.



"These discoveries highlight the intricate dialogue between specific gut bacteria and their mouse hosts, critically involved in bile acid, cholesterol, and energy metabolism. They shed new light on the importance of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronauts-microbiome-health-is-crucial-to-future-space-exploration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microbiome</a> symbiosis to health and how these Earth-evolved relationships may be vulnerable to the stresses of space," said Professor Nicholas Brereton of UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science.



"We hope this research exemplifies how cooperative Open Science can drive discoveries with clear medical benefits on Earth, while also supporting upcoming Artemis missions, the deployment of the Gateway deep space station, and a crewed mission to Mars."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-safe-and-effective-space-missions">Safe and effective space missions</h2>



This pioneering study is an important piece of the puzzle of understanding how spaceflight impacts astronauts. 



According to Jonathan Galazka at NASA Ames Research Center, these discoveries will aid the design of safe and effective missions to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.



Galazka also pointed out the importance of the collaborative nature of this project as a blueprint for how Open Science can accelerate the pace of discovery.



As we stand on the brink of a new era in space exploration, understanding the effect of spaceflight on gut health, among other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extended-spaceflight-can-affect-the-human-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">physiological changes</a>, is essential.



The insights gained from this study offer new ways of preparing astronauts for the rigors of space travel and ensuring their health and safety during their missions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-countering-the-gut-changes-of-space-travel">Countering the gut changes of space travel </h2>



As we continue to unravel the complexities of how spaceflight alters the human body, diet and nutrition emerge as critical components in maintaining astronaut health. 



Researchers are now turning their attention to how targeted dietary interventions could mitigate the adverse effects on gut health observed during space missions.



Nutritional strategies that support a balanced gut microbiome in space are a promising area of study. By incorporating prebiotics, probiotics, and specific dietary components known to strengthen gut health, scientists aim to develop personalized nutritional plans for astronauts. 



These interventions could help counteract the negative shifts in gut bacteria and associated metabolic dysfunctions revealed in the recent study.



As preparations for longer missions, such as those to Mars, accelerate, the role of nutrition in safeguarding astronaut health becomes even more critical. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-024-00545-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">npj Biofilms and Microbiomes</a>.



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Space travel has unexpected effects on gut health

The boundless expanse of space continues to capture our imagination,...

Scientists from across the globe recently united in southern Chile to discuss the alarming patterns of Antarctica's ice loss during the 11th Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research conference.



The gathering brought together over 1,400 academics, researchers, and scientists from a wide array of fields. The meeting was dominated by a pressing and urgent concern: the rapid transformation of Antarctica’s environment.



The consensus among these experts was clear and unsettling. Antarctica is changing at an unprecedented speed, with potentially catastrophic consequences for global sea levels and climate stability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-observations-from-the-ice">Observations from the ice</h2>



In the past, discussions and presentations on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-climate-change-affect-extreme-weather-events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extreme weather events</a> in Antarctica were mostly hypothetical, often viewed as distant possibilities - but not anymore.



These once-theoretical scenarios are now stark realities, with researchers reporting firsthand experiences of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heavy-rainfall-events-in-the-northeast-are-set-to-increase-by-over-50-percent/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heavy rainfall</a>, intense heatwaves, and sudden Foehn events (strong dry winds) sweeping across the icy continent.



Such drastic and unexpected changes have led to mass melting, glacier break-offs, and weather patterns that have profound impacts on global climate systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-concerns-about-an-unpredictable-future">Concerns about an unpredictable future</h2>



The real worry among scientists is whether these alarming events signal that Antarctica has reached a critical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-ice-sheet-melting-new-tipping-point-discovered/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tipping point</a> - a stage of accelerated and potentially irreversible sea ice loss.



This concern is compounded by the fact that researchers have only 40 years of detailed weather station and satellite data to analyze, making the predictions uncertain and the future even more unpredictable.



Liz Keller, a paleoclimate specialist from the <a href="https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Victoria University of Wellington</a> in New Zealand, emphasized the gravity of the situation.



"There's uncertainty about whether the current observations indicate a temporary dip or a downward plunge (of sea ice)," said Keller.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ice-sheet-loss-in-antarctica">Ice sheet loss in Antarctica </h2>



The stakes couldn't be higher, as NASA's estimates suggest that Antarctica's ice sheet contains enough ice to raise global mean <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-rise-will-cost-coastal-cities-over-1-trillion-in-damages/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sea level</a> by nearly 58 meters. Given that about a third of the global population resides below 100 vertical meters of sea level, the implications are immense.



Mike Weber, a paleooceanographer from Germany's University of Bonn, presented compelling data gathered from sediment records deep beneath the Antarctic ice.



Dating back 21,000 years, these ancient records reveal evidence of similar periods of accelerated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/this-natural-process-is-making-antarcticas-ice-melt-faster/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ice melt</a> in the past. 



Weber emphasized that this pattern of recurring, rapid ice mass loss has been observed at least eight times throughout Earth's history, with each instance triggering a prolonged phase of ice loss lasting several centuries. 



These prolonged episodes of melting have historically resulted in significant and lasting rises in global sea levels, highlighting the potential for a similar impact in the coming decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-critical-need-for-emissions-reductions">Critical need for emissions reductions</h2>



Even with these sobering facts and the growing evidence of accelerated ice loss, scientists maintain that all hope is not lost. There is still a window of opportunity to prevent the worst-case scenarios from becoming reality.



Experts agree that significant reductions in fossil fuel emissions can slow down or even halt the rapid changes occurring in Antarctica. 



By taking decisive action to curb greenhouse gases, humanity can still mitigate the devastating effects of climate change and help stabilize the fragile Antarctic environment.



"If we keep emissions low, we can stop this eventually. If we keep them high, we have a runaway situation and we cannot do anything," said Weber.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emissions-and-historical-climate-patterns">Emissions and historical climate patterns</h2>



Mathieu Casado, a paleoclimate and polar meteorologist at France's Climate and Environment Sciences Laboratory, said data from dozens of ice cores has allowed him to reconstruct temperature patterns in Antarctica dating back 800,000 years.



Casado's research showed that the temperature rise of the last 50 years was clearly outside natural variability, highlighting the role of industry in producing carbon emissions that drive climate change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antarctica-s-global-impact">Antarctica's global impact</h2>



In a fitting conclusion, Gino Casassa, a glaciologist and head of Chilean Antarctic Institute, stated: "What happens in Antarctica doesn't stay in Antarctica." His words serve as an important reminder that everything is interconnected in our world.



The implications of this vital research are far-reaching. Antarctica isn't just an icy refrigerator, detached from the rest of the world. It's an integral part of our global atmospheric, ocean, and weather patterns.



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Antarctica's ice loss may have reached an irreversible tipping point

Scientists from across the globe recently united in southern Chile...

In 2023, the use of cannabis and hallucinogens remained at historically high levels among adults aged 19 to 30 and 35 to 50. By contrast, cigarette smoking continued to decline, reaching historically low levels in both age groups, according to results from the Monitoring Future survey. 



The research shows that alcohol use has continued to decrease over the past decade among younger adults between the ages of 19 and 30, with binge drinking hitting record lows. However, for adults aged 35 to 50, binge drinking increased in 2023 compared to five and ten years ago.&nbsp;



The comprehensive survey was conducted by scientists at the <a href="https://isr.umich.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research</a> in Ann Arbor and was funded by the <a href="https://www.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Institutes of Health</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vaping-nicotine-and-cannabis">Vaping nicotine and cannabis</h2>



The report also highlighted a significant rise in nicotine and cannabis vaping among adults aged 19 to 30 over the past five years, with both trends remaining at record highs in 2023.&nbsp;



Among those aged 35 to 50, the prevalence of vaping nicotine and cannabis remained stable compared to the previous year. However, long-term trends in this older age group are still unclear, as questions about vaping were only added to their survey in 2019.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cannabis-use-by-men-and-women">Cannabis use by men and women</h2>



Notably, 2023 marked the first time that female respondents aged 19 to 30 reported higher rates of past-year cannabis use than their male counterparts, reversing a long-standing trend. In contrast, among adults aged 35 to 50, men continued to report higher cannabis use than women, a pattern consistent over the past decade.



“We have seen that people at different stages of adulthood are trending toward use of drugs like cannabis and psychedelics and away from tobacco cigarettes,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, the director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).&nbsp;



“These findings underscore the urgent need for rigorous research on the potential risks and benefits of cannabis and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hallucinogen-use-is-on-the-rise-among-young-adults/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hallucinogens</a> - especially as new products continue to emerge.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-substance-use-behaviors-nbsp">Tracking substance use behaviors&nbsp;</h2>



Since its inception in 1975, the Monitoring the Future study has annually tracked substance use behaviors and attitudes among a nationally representative sample of teens.&nbsp;



The study includes a longitudinal panel component that follows a subset of these participants into adulthood, collecting data every other year from ages 19 to 30 and every five years after age 30.&nbsp;



This approach enables researchers to track substance use trends throughout participants' lives. The 2023 data were collected through online and paper surveys conducted between April and October.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-findings-from-the-2023-survey-nbsp">Key findings from the 2023 survey&nbsp;</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cannabis-use">Cannabis use</h3>



Cannabis use remained at historically high levels in 2023 for both age groups. Among adults aged 19 to 30, 42% reported using cannabis in the past year, 29% in the past month, and 10% reported daily use (defined as 20 or more days in the past month).&nbsp;



For adults aged 35 to 50, 29% reported past-year use, 19% past-month use, and 8% daily use. These figures reflect increases over five and ten years, although they are not significantly different from 2022.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cannabis-vaping">Cannabis vaping</h3>



Vaping cannabis also reached record highs among adults aged 19 to 30, with 22% reporting past-year use and 14% reporting past-month use.&nbsp;



In the 35 to 50 age group, 9% reported past-year cannabis vaping, and 6% reported past-month <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-cannabis-use-disorder-risk-varies-among-young-adults/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">use</a>. The numbers for the younger group represent significant increases from five years ago.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nicotine-vaping-nbsp">Nicotine vaping&nbsp;</h3>



Nicotine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dangers-of-vaping-and-second-hand-vaping-are-greatly-underestimated/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vaping</a> continued at historically high levels among adults aged 19 to 30, with 25% reporting past-year use and 19% past-month use. While these figures represent an increase from five years ago, they remained consistent with 2022 levels. 



For adults aged 35 to 50, nicotine vaping rates remained stable, with 7% reporting past-year use and 5% reporting past-month use.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hallucinogen-use">Hallucinogen use</h3>



The use of hallucinogens, including substances like LSD, mescaline, peyote, psilocybin (shrooms), and PCP, continued its steep five-year rise, reaching 9% among adults aged 19 to 30 and 4% among those aged 35 to 50 in 2023.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-alcohol-use-nbsp">Alcohol use&nbsp;</h3>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alcohol-has-a-hidden-impact-on-heart-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alcohol</a> remains the most commonly used substance among adults in the study. Among adults aged 19 to 30, past-year alcohol use showed a slight increase over the past five years, with 84% reporting use in 2023. 



However, past-month drinking (65%), daily drinking (4%), and binge drinking (27%) all remained at or near record lows, with significant decreases from ten years ago.&nbsp;



Conversely, among adults aged 35 to 50, past-year alcohol use remained stable at 84%, with past-month drinking (69%) and binge drinking (27%) showing slight increases over the past ten years. Daily drinking in this group reached its lowest recorded level at 8% in 2023.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cigarettes-opiods-and-stimulants">Cigarettes, opiods, and stimulants</h3>



Past-month cigarette smoking, past-year nonmedical use of prescription drugs, and past-year use of opioid medications all continued their five- and ten-year declines in both age groups.&nbsp;



Among adults aged 19 to 30, past-year use of stimulants, such as amphetamines, has declined over the past decade. However, among adults aged 35 to 50, stimulant use has modestly increased over the same period.



The survey also gathered data on substance use among college and non-college young adults and various demographic subgroups, including sex, gender, race, and ethnicity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ebb-and-flow-of-substance-use-trends-nbsp">Ebb and flow of substance use trends&nbsp;</h2>



The 2023 survey marks a milestone as it is the first time a cohort from the Monitoring the Future study has reached the age of 65. However, trends for the 55- to 65-year-old age group are not yet available.



“The data from 2023 did not show us many significant changes from the year before, but the power of surveys such as Monitoring the Future is to see the ebb and flow of various substance use trends over the longer term,” said Megan Patrick, a scientist at the University of Michigan and principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future panel study.&nbsp;



“As more and more of our original cohorts – first recruited as teens – now enter later adulthood, we will be able to examine the patterns and effects of drug use throughout the life course. In the coming years, this study will provide crucial data on substance use trends and health consequences among older populations, when people may be entering retirement and other new chapters of their lives,” she concluded.



The full report can be found <a href="https://monitoringthefuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mtfpanel2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.



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Cannabis and hallucinogen use are at historically high levels

In 2023, the use of cannabis and hallucinogens remained at...

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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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" 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> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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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

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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"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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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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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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...