This week, the October sky is treating us to a brilliant display that you won't want to miss -- the Hunter's supermoon, a rare comet, and the Orionids meteor shower. 



Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a rare comet making its journey past Earth, offering a unique opportunity to witness its tail of icy particles glistening against the dark canvas of space.



In addition, this week features the biggest supermoon of the year, Hunter's supermoon, which will illuminate the night with a breathtaking orangish glow.



Since Tuesday, the moon has looked larger than usual, and it’ll keep that appearance through Friday. By Thursday morning, as people head out for their morning commute. Depending on the weather in your area, Thursday night being the best time to see the full Hunter's supermoon..



And let's not forget the dazzling Orionids meteor shower, where you can catch glimpses of shooting stars streaking across the sky, resulting from debris left by Halley's Comet.



There's truly something for everyone in this celestial display. So, grab a warm jacket, perhaps a pair of binoculars for a closer look.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-80-000-year-old-time-traveler">80,000-year-old time traveler</h2>



Meet <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-anticipated-comet-of-2024-returns-this-weekend-after-80000-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS</a>, a celestial wanderer that's been on an 80,000-year long odyssey. 



From the outermost regions of our solar system, this comet embarks on an interminable journey around the sun. The last time it paid us a visit, our ancestors were just crafting civilizations.



Although its closest Earth pass was on October 12, it remains visible for the remainder of the month. 



So, how do you spot it? An hour into the sunset, turn your sight to where the sun has sunk and voila. The elusive comet, while difficult to sight with the naked eye, could be seen with a pair of binoculars. 



Don't miss this rare chance to witness a phenomenon that won't return for another 80,000 years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hunter-s-supermoon">Hunter's Supermoon</h2>



Next up...mark your calendars for October 17, 2024. The night sky is all set to parade the Hunter's Moon, but this year it's not just a full moon -- <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hunters-supermoon-prepares-to-illuminate-the-october-skies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">it's a supermoon</a>! 



This phenomenon occurs when the moon is at its closest to Earth during its full phase, making it larger and brighter.



The Hunter’s Moon got its name from the historical practice of hunters utilizing the bright moonlight to track game and gather food in preparation for winter. This full moon rises soon after sunset, extending the period of illumination more than usual.



As it ascends, the Hunter’s Moon appears particularly large and orange, a visual effect produced by its lower position on the horizon and the scattering of light in the atmosphere.



This lunar phase holds cultural significance across various traditions, representing a time for preparation and gathering, underscoring the importance of readiness for the impending colder months.



The Hunter’s Moon is generally in October -- although once every four years it makes an appearance in November.



While contemporary life may not depend on this extra light to hunt or complete outdoor tasks, the Hunter’s Moon remains a fascinating reminder of nature’s rhythms and the cyclical changes of the seasons.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-puts-the-super-in-the-supermoon">What puts the 'super' in the supermoon?</h3>



So, you might ask, "What's so super about the supermoon?" As Anna Gammon-Ross, a seasoned astronomer from the <a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Museums Greenwich</a> explains, a supermoon occurs when a full moon is nearest to Earth in its orbit. 



This cosmic alignment results in a moon that's roughly 14% larger and 30% brighter than usual. On seeing the radiant orb hanging low in the sky, you'd agree that the supermoon does indeed earn its name.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shooting-stars-orionids-meteor-shower">Shooting stars: Orionids meteor shower</h2>



The Orionids meteor shower is one of the highlights of the October night sky. These meteors are actually tiny bits of dust left behind by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orionids-meteor-shower-peaks-this-weekend-heres-what-to-expect/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Halley's Comet</a> as it travels through the solar system. 



When Earth passes through this trail of debris, the particles slam into our atmosphere at incredible speeds -- up to 148,000 miles per hour! As they burn up, they create those bright streaks of light we love to watch.



What's cool about the Orionids is that they're known for their fast and bright meteors, often leaving glowing trails that last for a few seconds. 



The best time to catch them is in the early morning hours before dawn, when the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/betelgeuse-one-of-our-brightest-stars-will-vanish-from-sight-next-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">constellation Orion</a> (which gives the meteor shower its name) is high in the sky. 



Just find a comfy spot away from city lights, let your eyes adjust to the darkness, and enjoy the show -- no special equipment needed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-skywatching-101">Skywatching 101</h2>



All set to behold these cosmic spectacles? Here are some tips to enhance your experience:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Search for a location far from city lights to escape light pollution. </li>



<li>Always check the weather. Clear skies are your best pals for skywatching. </li>



<li>Bring your binoculars. For the supermoon, they are optional, but they'll help with the comet and make meteor watching more fun. </li>



<li>Comfort is key. Dress warmly and consider bringing a blanket or a chair. </li>



<li>Patience is a virtue. Allow around 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.</li>
</ul>



These celestial showstoppers make for some spectacular photography opportunities. 



For the supermoon, a camera with manual settings, plus a tripod for steadiness, can help capture stunning shots. 



For the meteors, a wide-angle lens with a long exposure setting can help you nab a shooting star.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-wonders-to-watch">More wonders to watch</h2>



October's skywatching doesn't end with the comet, supermoon, and meteor shower. 



Throughout the month, Venus brightly greets morning risers, while Saturn and Jupiter are earlier night visitors. 



Mars is a bit elusive but worth seeking out. Several constellations, such as Cassiopeia and Perseus, also adorn the night sky. 



If you're a novice stargazer, a smartphone app can help you navigate the starry expanse.



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Hunter's supermoon, a comet, and Orionids meteors are sharing the sky tonight

This week, the October sky is treating us to a brilliant display that you won't want to miss -- the Hunter's supermoon, a rare comet, and the Orionids meteor shower. Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a rare comet making its journey past Earth, offering a unique opportunity to witness its tail of icy particles glistening against the dark canvas of space. In addition, this week features the biggest supermoon of the year, Hunter's supermoon, which will illuminate the night with a breathtaking orangish glow. Since Tuesday, the...

Plants let their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invisible-colors-in-sunflowers-dont-only-attract-bees/">flowers</a> fade quickly for protection from detrimental microbes, according to a study led by experts at <a href="https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en">Kyoto University</a>. Using field experiments and plant microbiome analyses, the researchers discovered that microbes growing on flowers can have a negative impact on fruit yields. As a defense mechanism, plants are quick to shed their flowers before the microbes increase in abundance.



"The results suggest that old flowers harbor microbial communities different from those at anthesis, and that the microbes abundant on old flowers negatively affect plant reproduction," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"Although it has received little attention, antagonistic microbes that rapidly proliferate on the flowers may have affected the evolution of various flower characteristics such as flower volatiles and life span."



Previously, researchers have investigated the tradeoff between energy that plants spend on producing and maintaining their flowers. Since flowers serve as a reproductive structure, it seems that plants would benefit from keeping them longer.&nbsp;



In an earlier study, the Kyoto team had looked at the mystery of why plants invest their energy to produce fragile flowers that wither quickly, rather than investing a bit more energy to produce flowers that are more durable.



“Interestingly, flower lifespan is negatively correlated with temperature; the hotter the environment where they bloom, the shorter the period a plant retains them. The phenomenon has been known for a long time,” said study co-author Shoko Sakai.



“Then, at some point, I came up with the hypothesis that antagonistic microbes, such as bacteria and fungi growing on flowers after the flower bud opens, must be the driver that shortens the lifespan of a flower. I doubted that it was a coincidence that microbes grow faster in higher temperatures.”



The team conducted field experiments to determine what microbial communities appear on flowers that live longer. The experts transferred microbes from old flowers of wild ginger to other wild ginger plants with new flowers that had just opened.



The experimental plants ultimately produced fewer fruits, despite the fact that there were no visible signs of infection or disease. When the researchers analyzed the microbiomes of the plants, they found several groups of bacteria that were increasing with time.&nbsp;



“So far, flower characteristics have mostly been studied in the context of their interactions with pollinators," said Sakai. "Recent studies have raised the question whether we have overlooked the roles of microbes in the studies of floral characteristics. For example, flower volatiles - which are often regarded as a primary pollinator attractant - can also function to suppress antagonistic microbes."



"The impacts of microbes on plant reproductive ecology may be more deeply embedded in the evolution of angiosperms than we have considered."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://mbmg.pensoft.net/">Metabarcoding and Metagenomics</a>.



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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

Plants shed their flowers quickly for protection

Plants let their flowers fade quickly for protection from detrimental...

Each year, the United States spends almost a trillion dollars attempting to combat metallic corrosion, an electrochemical reaction which occurs when metals oxidize and begin to rust. Now, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> (OSU) has estimated how much corrosion is gradually worsening global carbon <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-roots-will-increase-arctic-co2-emissions-by-40-billion-tons/">emissions</a>.&nbsp;



Although previous research has already estimated the economic cost of corrosion to be about three to four percent of United States’ gross domestic product, this is the first study to quantify the environmental impact associated with steel corrosion.



Global steel production has increased steadily for decades and, since steel has poor resistance to corrosion, part of that demand is to replace steel from construction materials that have become corroded over time. According to the experts, reducing the amount of steel which needs to be replaced due to corrosion could have significant effects on the amount of greenhouse gases produced to make steel.



“Given society’s reliance on coal fuel, iron and steel production is one of the largest greenhouse gases emitters of any industry. But most of the costs associated with the industry actually stem from the energy that goes into creating steel, and that energy is lost as the steel reverts to rust, which is similar to its original form of iron ore,” explained study senior author Gerald Frankel, a professor of Materials Science and Engineering at OSU.&nbsp;&nbsp;



By using historical carbon dioxide intensity data in order to estimate CO2 levels per year starting from 1960, the scientists found that, in 2021, steel production accounted for 27 percent of the carbon emissions of the global manufacturing sector, and approximately 10.5 percent of the total carbon emissions worldwide, while corroded steel emissions accounted for about 1.6 to 3.4 percent of emissions.



Fortunately, due to regulations placed on the steel industry, technological advancements in the steel industry have resulted in a 61 percent reduction in energy consumption over the past half a century. Nonetheless, policy makers and industry officials should still act urgently to amend and coordinate international policy concerning steel production and corrosion management.



“Coordinated international strategies, as well as decreasing global steel demand, by using best practices for corrosion mitigation, could better improve global corrosion management strategies and drastically reduce the rise in greenhouse gas emissions we’re seeing due to repeatedly replacing corroded steel,” Frankel said.



If such actions are not undertaken soon, greenhouse emissions caused by the steel industry could spike to 27.5 percent of the global carbon emissions by as early as 2030, with corroded steel representing four to nine percent of that number. This could have dire impacts on the Earth’s climate.



“Global warming is a societal challenge that takes coordination of a lot of multidisciplinary approaches. Our work is bringing to light an issue that seems to have gone under the radar in terms of the importance of adding to the problem,” Frankel concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41529-022-00318-1">npj Materials Degradation</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Steel corrosion is a major contributor to climate change

Each year, the United States spends almost a trillion dollars...

According to a new study led by an international team of scientists, China is currently a nighttime “hotspot” for the production of nitrate radicals (PNO3) that may have a significant impact on health-threatening levels of ozone and fine particulates (PM2.5) in the atmosphere. 



While the United States and Europe experienced a decline in nocturnal production of NO3, China has recently experienced a rapid increase in these pollutants. The experts believe that this may have serious implications not only for China, but also for other developing countries such as India.



“Nitrogen oxides derived from combustion and natural sources are reactive gases that regulate the formation of key air pollutants including both ozone (O3) and PM2.5. Nocturnal oxidation driven by nitrate radicals is an important, but poorly understood, process in atmospheric chemistry – we must understand this better, if we are to formulate effective global pollution mitigation strategies and understand the influence of nitrogen oxides on air quality and climate,” said study co-author Zongbo Shi, an expert in Aerosol Chemistry and Physics at the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a>.



The analysis revealed that the current production of NO3&nbsp;radicals increased significantly in three megacity clusters (the North China Plain, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta), while in eight major Chinese cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an, Jinan, Zhengzhou and Shijiazhuang – it is currently comparable to that in Los Angeles in the 1990s, and keeps increasing. Moreover, if ozone <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-linked-to-a-higher-risk-of-stroke/">pollution</a> keeps rising, nighttime oxidation in China will most likely increase further, even if NO3&nbsp;emissions are curbed.



Considering the fact that much lower levels of NO3&nbsp;radicals in both U.S. and Europe have been shown to exert significant impacts on particulate nitrate and organic aerosol formation in those regions, the scientists believe that NO3&nbsp;radical chemistry may play a more critical role in atmospheric oxidation and thus aggravate both O3&nbsp;and PM2.5&nbsp;pollution in China very soon, posing public health problems in this country, as well as abroad.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-01122-x">Nature Geoscience</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Nocturnal pollution is a rising public health threat in China

According to a new study led by an international team...

Sometimes the common names for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grazing-animals-play-a-key-role-in-stabilizing-soil-carbon/">animals</a> can end up being rather confusing. For example, guinea pigs are not related to pigs and neither are they native to Guinea. In the case of American black bears, not all of them are black. In fact, they come in a range of colors, including brown (also known as cinnamon), blond, or bluish-grey, and some even have coats with mixed colors.&nbsp;



Scientists have wondered why there is this diversity in coat color among black bears. Some have hypothesized that the cinnamon coat is a way of mimicking the generally larger grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), which is brown (but can also be black!) This may provide some form of camouflage or defense for the American black bears.&nbsp;



In new research from scientists at <a href="https://www.hudsonalpha.org/">HudsonAlpha</a>, the University of Memphis, and the University of Pennsylvania, the answer to this question has been discovered in the genomes of the black bears, and it involves a mutation in a pigment gene that happened a very long time ago. The research paper is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.



Dr. Emily Puckett is an assistant professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Memphis. She has devoted her career to learning more about the evolution and genetics of bears. With help from partners in state, provincial, and federal wildlife agencies, she collected hundreds of DNA and hair samples from North American bears. Dr. Puckett teamed up with Dr. Greg Barsh, an animal pigmentation expert at HudsonAlpha, to figure out why black bears aren’t always black.



Melanin is the pigment that gives mammals their coat colors. It is produced in the skin by cells known as melanocytes. There are two types of melanin: eumelanin is black or brown, and pheomelanin is red or yellow. It is widely accepted that genetic variation in melanin biosynthesis is what gives rise to differences in hair, eye, and skin color.&nbsp;



The researchers studied photos of bears and analyzed their hair samples. They found that the cinnamon-colored black bears produce reduced amounts of eumelanin, just like grizzly bears. They then sequenced the genomes of nearly 200 bears and identified several different missense mutations in the gene&nbsp;called TYRP1&nbsp;that codes for making the enzyme tyrosinase-related protein 1.&nbsp;



Cinnamon-colored black bears have a mutation called&nbsp;TYRP1R153C,&nbsp;while most (but not all) grizzly bears have a mutation called&nbsp;TYRP1R114C. The&nbsp;TYRP1&nbsp;gene produces the enzyme within the melanocytes, and this enzyme helps produce eumelanin, which explains why the cinnamon and grizzly bears have less of this specific pigment.&nbsp;



In addition, studies carried out in the lab of Dr. Mickey Marks at the University of Pennsylvania determined that the TYRP1R153C and TYRP1R114C&nbsp;mutations interfere with melanin synthesis and distribution.



“When we looked at other species, we were surprised to find the&nbsp;TYRP1R153C&nbsp;variant responsible for cinnamon&nbsp;U. americanus&nbsp;is identical to one previously described as a cause of oculocutaneous albinism (OCA3) in humans,” says Dr. Barsh. OCA3 is characterized by reddish skin and hair and frequent visual abnormalities and is most common in people of African or Puerto Rican ancestry. But according to Puckett, bears with&nbsp;TYRP1&nbsp;mutations have normal skin and can see just fine.



The&nbsp;TYRP1R153C&nbsp;variant was primarily found in bears from the southwest United States, and at lower frequencies moving northward to Southeast Alaska and the Yukon Territory.&nbsp;The TYRP1R153C&nbsp;mutation was associated with the cinnamon color in black bears, as well as with the chocolate and light brown colors, meaning it accounts for almost all of the color diversity among&nbsp;U. americanus.



The researchers used their data to learn more about the&nbsp;TYRP1R153C&nbsp;mutation. One hypothesis is that it may first have occurred in grizzly bears and then been&nbsp; transferred to black bears, but demographic analysis indicated that this was not what happened. Instead, the&nbsp;TYRP1R153C&nbsp;mutation arose spontaneously about 9,360 years ago in black bears living in the western United States, then spread as the bears moved and became distributed across their current geographic range.



“Based on its wide range today, the&nbsp;TYRP1R153C&nbsp;mutation that arose in black bears over 9,000 years ago probably gave an advantage to the cinnamon-colored bears,” says Dr. Puckett. “We used genetic modeling and simulations to predict the selective forces acting on the cinnamon morph. But our predictions ruled out the grizzly mimicry hypothesis as well as another hypothesis having to do with thermoregulation.”



The research team proposed a new explanation for the persistence of the coat color variant: crypsis. This refers to the ability of an animal to conceal itself by blending into the surrounding environment, usually by having similar coloration or patterning as the background. The researchers suggest that this is not only important for prey species or ambush predators, but also for large-bodied species that need to blend into their habitat.&nbsp;



“These results illustrate how genetic variation in melanin biosynthesis can underlie iconic phenotypes and inform our understanding of color variation and recent evolution in large carnivores,” says Dr. Barsh.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Why are some black bears actually brown?

Sometimes the common names for animals can end up being...

For decades, immunobiologists have pondered what are the long-term effects of infections on people’s immune systems. For instance, after the organism fights off a pathogen, does the immune system return to a previous baseline, or could a single infection change it in ways that alter how it will respond not only to an already familiar virus or bacteria but also to a new pathogenic threat?



Now, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> and the <a href="https://www.niaid.nih.gov/">National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases</a> (NIAID) has systematically analyzed immune responses of healthy people who had received the flu vaccine, and compared the responses between those who had never been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and those who experienced mild cases but recovered.



The analysis revealed that the immune systems of men previously infected with the new coronavirus responded more robustly to flu vaccines than previously-infected women or people who had never been infected with SARS-CoV-2. These findings suggest that the immune statuses of men previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 was altered in ways that changed their response to a different type of future exposure.



“This was a total surprise,” said study senior author John Tsang, an immunobiologist at Yale. “Women usually mount a stronger overall immune response to pathogens and vaccines, but are also more likely to suffer from autoimmune diseases.”&nbsp;



According to the scientists, this discovery could also be linked to an intriguing aspect noticed already early in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-origins-of-covid-19-will-most-likely-remain-a-mystery/">Covid-19</a> pandemic: men appeared much more likely to die from a runaway immune response than women after contracting Covid. The new study shows that even mild cases of Covid-19 may trigger stronger inflammatory responses in males than females, resulting in stronger functional changes to the male immune system, even a long time after recovery.



When analyzing the participants’ response to flu vaccinations, the experts found that males previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 produced more antibodies to influenza and increased levels of interferons (proteins produced by cells in response to infections or vaccines). This was surprising since, in general, healthy females have stronger interferon responses than males.



Since hundreds of millions – if not, according to some estimates, several billions – of people worldwide have been infected with the new coronavirus so far, and the emergence of long-Covid symptoms in some people is currently a major health concern, understanding the lingering effects of Covid on the immune system is crucial.&nbsp;



“Our findings point to the possibility that any infection or immune challenge may change the immune status to establish new set points. The immune status of an individual is likely shaped by a multitude of prior exposures and perturbations,” Sparks concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05670-5">Nature</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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What are the lingering immune system effects of Covid?

For decades, immunobiologists have pondered what are the long-term effects...

Mountains host about half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, and action is urgently needed to protect these ecosystems. According to Professor Robert Marchant at the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a>, these critically important <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-turtle-recovery-greatly-depends-on-foraging-habitats/">habitats</a> should be prioritized in biodiversity policies.



Professor Marchant is calling on national governments to focus on mountain ecosystems while addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. He says that national policy simply isn’t keeping pace with land use change, development, population growth and the impacts of climate change on global mountain systems.



“Government environmental and business policies are rarely joined up and we are seeing continued widespread land degradation in mountain habitats. This includes uncontrolled grazing, deforestation, or overdevelopment - and much of it is resulting from weak policies and changing tenure laws," explained Professor Marchant.



Even though mountain ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to climate change and human development, they do not receive the necessary attention and investment from their governments.&nbsp;



In Kenya, for example, the area around Mount Kilimanjaro has endured a major increase in population density and agriculture over the last two decades. Companies have bought land to drill boreholes and extract water from the mountain’s aquifer.



“Once you’ve paid for that borehole, that water is a free resource to you. But these services are provided by nature – and no one is presently paying for either the water resources or for stewardship of that land. Asking companies to pay for this kind of service, by issuing controllable permits for example,&nbsp; would be a step towards treating our mountain resources with more respect.”



Professor Marchant is calling on countries to invest more in mountain ecosystem restoration activities, and to develop effective climate change policies. His policy brief will be presented later this month at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada.



"We are hoping for some progress at COP15, but what is really needed is an international treaty or code of practice that accepts the value of our mountain ecosystems, and I suspect that is some way off.”



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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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Mountain ecosystems are in urgent need of protection

Mountains host about half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, and...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oxytocin-promotes-cooperation-among-humans/">Oxytocin</a> – the so-called “love hormone” – has been considered for decades to be essential for the development of social attachments in a variety of animal species. However, according to a new genetic study led by the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California, San Francisco</a> (UCSF) and <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a>, prairie voles can still form enduring attachments with their mates and provide parental care even without oxytocin receptor signaling.&nbsp;



Prairie voles are one of the few monogamous mammalian species, forming life-long partnerships called “pair-bonds.” Pair-bonded voles share parental responsibilities, and prefer the company of their partners over other members of the opposite sex, actively rejecting potential new partners. Previous research which used drugs to block oxytocin from binding to its receptor found that voles lacking oxytocin binding were unable to pair-bond.



However, by using a groundbreaking genetic manipulation technique called CRISPR to generate prairie voles lacking oxytocin receptor signaling, the researchers found that these genetically-altered voles could still form pair-bonds just as easily as normal voles.



“We were all shocked that no matter how many different ways we tried to test this, the voles demonstrated a very robust social attachment with their sexual partner, as strong as their normal counterparts,” said study lead author Devanand Manoli, a neuroscientist at UCSF.



Following this surprising discovery, the experts investigated whether oxytocin receptor signaling is similarly dispensable for other functions, such as parturition, parenting, and milk release during lactation. “We found that mutant voles are not only able to give birth, but actually nurse,” reported co-author Nirao Shah, a neuroscientist at Stanford. In fact, both male and female mutants engaged in usual parental behavior, such as huddling, licking, or grooming, and were capable of rearing their offspring to weaning age.



However, the mutant voles had limited milk release compared to the normal ones, which caused fewer of their pups to survive to weaning age. In addition, the pups that managed to survive were smaller compared those of normal voles. The fact that voles could nurse at all is highly different from what has been observed in studies involving oxytocin-deficient mice. According to the researchers, this could be due to the inbred nature of lab mice strains in contrast to the genetically heterogenous voles.&nbsp;



“It could be that inbreeding in mice has selected for a large dependence on oxytocin signaling, or this may represent a species-specific role of oxytocin receptor signaling,”&nbsp;Shah explained.



“For at least the last ten years people have been hoping for the possibility of oxytocin as a powerful therapeutic for helping people with social cognitive impairments due to conditions ranging from autism to schizophrenia. This research shows that there likely isn’t a magic bullet for something as complex and nuanced as social behavior,” Manoli concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2022.12.011">Neuron</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Prairie voles can form close bonds without oxytocin

Oxytocin – the so-called “love hormone” – has been considered...

The Late <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/permian-mass-extinction/">Permian Mass Extinction</a> (LPME) was the largest such in event in the Earth’s history, decimating between 80 and 90 percent of life on our planet. However, the causes of this devastating event and the ways in which it unfolded are not yet fully understood. By analyzing mercury from Siberian volcanoes that ended up in sediments in Australia and South Africa, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://uconn.edu/">University of Connecticut</a> (UConn) has managed to shed more light on this mass extinction’s causes and timeline.&nbsp;



Although scientists have long argued that the rapid warming associated to this event was linked to massive volcanism occurring at a large deposit of lava called the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province (STLIP), clear evidence for this was still lacking. While volcanoes leave helpful clues in the geological record – such as traces of carbon dioxide and methane launched into the atmosphere and deposited around the globe – it is hard to directly link something like that to the extinction event. 



“As geologists, we’re looking for a signature of some kind - a smoking gun - so that we can absolutely point to the cause,” said study co-author Tracy Frank, an expert in Earth Sciences at UConn.



However, the researchers believe that they finally might have found such a “smoking gun” – mercury, one of the heavy metals associated with volcanic eruptions, analyzed from sediments from the Sydney Basin in Eastern Australia and the Karoo Basin in South Africa.&nbsp;



“It turns out that volcanic emissions of mercury have a very specific isotopic composition of the mercury that accumulated at the extinction horizon. Knowing the age of these deposits, we can more definitively tie the timing of the extinction to this massive eruption in Siberia. What is different about this paper is we looked not only at mercury, but the isotopic composition of the mercury from samples in the high southern latitudes, both for the first time,” explained study lead author Jun Shen, an expert in volcanism at the <a href="https://en.cug.edu.cn/">China University of Geosciences</a> in Wuhan.



“As a starting point, geologists have pinpointed the timing of the major extinction event at 251.9 million years with a high degree of precision from radiogenic isotope dating methods. Researchers know that is when the major extinction event happened in the marine environment and it was just assumed that the terrestrial extinction event happened at the same time,” added co-author Christopher Fielding, a professor of Earth Sciences at UConn.



According to Fielding’s previous research though, the extinction event on land happened about 200,000 to 600,000 years earlier. “That suggests that the event itself wasn’t just one big whammy that happened instantaneously. It wasn’t just one very bad day on Earth, so to speak, it took some time to build and this feeds in well into the new results because it suggests the volcanism was the root cause,” he explained. “That’s just the first impact of the biotic crisis that happened on land, and it happened early. It took time to be transmitted into the oceans. The event 251.9 million years ago was the major tipping point in environmental conditions in the ocean that had deteriorated over some time.”&nbsp;



“The main point is that we now have a chemical signature in the form of mercury isotope signatures, that definitively ties the extinction horizon in these terrestrial sections that provide a record of what was happening on land due to Siberian Traps volcanism.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35272-8">Nature Communications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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New clues about Earth's largest mass extinction event

The Late Permian Mass Extinction (LPME) was the largest such...

Plants in the mint family are rich in chemical molecules that give distinctive scents and flavors to their leaves. The mint family (Lamiaceae) is the sixth largest family of flowering plants and includes many familiar species, apart from mint itself, such as basil, rosemary, peppermint, lavender, sage and coleus. The aromatic and flavorful compounds produced by these plants function to attract <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gardeners-can-make-small-changes-to-benefit-pollinators/">pollinators</a> and to deter herbivores, and they have been essential in driving the diversification of this large group of plants.



Researchers from <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a> have been studying the great variety of metabolites found in mint plants for many years, and have recently focused on a group of molecules called terpenoids. These compounds are essential in protecting the plants from predators and pathogens, and are also common ingredients in green and sustainable agrochemicals, antioxidants, cosmetics and fragrances.&nbsp;



“People easily recognize members of the mint family for their specialized metabolites,” said Dr. James K. Billman, Jr. and Professor&nbsp;<a href="https://biomolecular.natsci.msu.edu/faculty/alphabetical-directory/bjoern-hamberger/">Björn Hamberger</a>. “Metabolites are an efficient way for plants to defend themselves because they can’t run away.”



Professor Hamberger worked previously with Robin Buell, a former MSU genomics researcher, who sequenced the genomes from several different species in the mint family. This collaboration with Buell’s team led graduate students Abigail Bryson and Emily Lanier to discover how several genomes of the mint family have evolved over the past 60 million to 70 million years and how their chemistries have emerged.&nbsp;



“Over millions of years, plants have adapted and evolved for their particular niches where they thrive, and that means that these chemistries are diverse and have clearly adjusted to their environment,” said Professor Hamberger. “So, we try to identify and discover pathways to these specialized metabolites that plants make.”



According to the researchers, this family of plants have diversified the natural characteristics of their metabolites throughout their evolution, leading to the great variety of different chemical compounds found in today’s members of the group. In order to understand the mechanisms by which such diversity has evolved, the researchers took an interdisciplinary approach and analyzed the genetic and chemical pathways involved in terpenoid biosynthesis in different species in the mint family.



Bryson identified the genomic framework of terpenoid biosynthesis, and Lanier analyzed the chemical pathways. Together, Lanier and Bryson discovered something highly unusual in the beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) genome from the mint family. It has a large biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC), which is a group of genes, located close together in the genome, that are involved in the same metabolic pathways. Additionally, Bryson and Lanier found variants of this BGC in six other species in the mint family.



“We are learning that the physical location of genes within the genome is important,” Bryson said. “It can drive evolution of specialized metabolic pathways in the plant, leading to a vast diversity of interesting natural plant compounds.”&nbsp;



The BGC cluster of the beautyberry plant contains genes that encode two distinct terpenoid pathways. The team found these terpenoids accumulate in various parts of the plant, such as the leaves and roots, and may play distinct roles in helping the plant to adapt to its environment.&nbsp;



“It’s the same base molecule, but each species is making its own version and modifying it in different ways to fit their survival needs,” Lanier said.&nbsp;



Professor Hamberger describes it like a recipe that everyone has a copy of and changes to suit their requirements and preferences.&nbsp;



The researchers hope that a better understanding of the ways in which these compounds have been modified by different plant species will lead to potential future applications that could include new medicines and pesticides. We already use some of the compounds as flavor additives, fragrances, and anti-herbivory agents.



Previous research has led to unique medical uses for mint plants. For example, Indian Coleus can be used as a natural treatment for glaucoma and Texas sage is a natural antimicrobial that is effective against tuberculosis. The new molecular adaptations that have been found in the current study open the door for future applications of natural plant products from the mint family.



“Our team has been excited about the opportunities within the mint family,” said Professor Hamberger. “Those mint enzymes, as in the American beautyberry plant, give us the ability to make plant-natural products in the lab, including – hopefully in the future – natural good-smelling mosquito repellants.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Plants in the mint family may help produce new medicines

Plants in the mint family are rich in chemical molecules...

Scientists have long argued that self-awareness is a rare phenomenon in the animal kingdom, with only a few mammals, some birds, and some fish appearing to have it. However, according to a new study published on the <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.11.04.515260v1.full">bioRxiv</a> preprint server, some species of wild penguins, such as the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/adelie-penguins-antarctica/">Adélie penguins</a> from Antarctica, may also have a certain degree of self-awareness.



While in humans, self-awareness is an easy thing to test, in animals it is much more complicated to reliably assess this capacity. Most studies aiming to test the presence of self-awareness in animals have used the so-called “mirror test,” in which animals are allowed to see themselves in a mirror while scientists observe their reactions. For instance, if animals touch a red mark on their own face that they can only see in the mirror, experts usually assume they have a degree of self-awareness.



In the new study, the researchers traveled to Svenner Island in eastern Antarctica to observe the behavior of Adélie penguins, and conducted four experiments. In the first one, they placed several mirrors on the ground nearby the penguins and observed the animals’ behaviors while looking down at the mirrors. The second experiment involved constructing a cardboard corral around some of the penguins which directed them toward mirrors at the ends of an enclosure, while the third involved placing small stickers on the mirrors that, when viewed, appeared as if they were on the penguins looking at them. In a final experiment, they placed a bib on random penguins in front of a mirror and observed their reactions.



In the first experiments, the scientists detected no response, which was actually an important finding, since many animals fail such a test, believing that the creatures they are seeing in the mirror are actually conspecifics and respond accordingly. While in the second experiment, the penguins moved in ways that suggested they might be examining themselves, in the third one, they became agitated when looking at mirrors with stickers on them and actively tried to remove the stickers. However, they did not respond at all when seeing themselves wearing a bib. Although the results remain rather ambiguous, the researchers argued that they may suggest the presence of at least some degree of self-awareness in penguins.



“Future studies, integrating the socioecology and cognitive ethology of penguins, may provide insights into whether our experimental paradigms could provide evidence to confirm the presence of self-awareness and even of self-recognition in this species and examine whether the observed social awareness may have evolved due to the social needs of individual penguins to engage in cooperative behavior with conspecific individuals, while maintaining their independent decision-making capacities, throughout their communal lives,” the authors concluded. 



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Penguins may have a degree of self-awareness

Scientists have long argued that self-awareness is a rare phenomenon...

The Eocene Period (cc. 43 to 66 million years ago) was a time of intense global warming, providing an important case study of how ecosystems react to changing climates. By examining fossils from the Ellesmere Island in Canada, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://ku.edu/">University of Kansas</a> has found evidence of a warm, swamp-like environment around 52 million years ago, despite half the year experiencing Arctic harsh winter darkness. Based on fossil fragments of jaws and teeth, the experts identified two new species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/primates-have-greater-diversity-on-indigenous-lands/">primates</a> - Ignacius dawsonae&nbsp;and&nbsp;Ignacius mckennai - that are our first known relatives from this ancient Arctic ecosystem.



Compared to primate species discovered in more southern regions, both of these species were unusually large (a common trait in northern mammals), and exhibited dental features suggesting a diet of hard food items, which was probably an adaptation for consuming tougher foods during long and dark Arctic winters in which softer meals were hard to find.



Although, during the early Eocene, North America’s lower latitudes were home to many other species of primates, only these two species were discovered in the North, adding to previous evidence that the ancient Arctic ecosystem experienced limited biodiversity compared to southern habitats. According to the researchers, while warmer temperatures allowed several organisms to migrate northward, these movements were most likely limited by factors such as the harsh Arctic winters they had to face once they reached those areas.



These findings could help scientists predict how ecosystems might react to contemporary climate change. “Global warming is transforming Arctic ecosystems in ways that are difficult to predict, but ancient episodes of global warming show how future changes in the Arctic might unfold. The first primate-like fossils ever recovered north of Arctic Circle show that these tropically adapted mammals were able to colonize the Arctic during an ancient episode of global warming approximately 52 million years ago by adopting a new diet of nuts and seeds that enabled them to survive six months of winter darkness,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280114">PLoS ONE</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Mysterious primates lived in the Arctic 52 million years ago

The Eocene Period (cc. 43 to 66 million years ago)...

Scientists have long known that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-may-sometimes-protect-our-bodies/">stress</a> can significantly affect humans, impacting their health and well-being by causing high blood pressure and increasing the risk of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular morbidity. Thus, better understanding our reactions toward stress and finding out if there are any factors that can play key stress-buffering roles is crucial for improving cardiovascular health. Now, a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/">Maynooth University</a> and the <a href="https://www.ul.ie/">University of Limerick</a> in Ireland has found that gratitude has a major stress-buffering effect on both reactions to and recovery from acute psychological stress.&nbsp;



Although previous research suggested that gratitude and affect-balance play important stress-buffering roles, the impact of these variables on cardiovascular recovery from acute psychological stress has been less understood. To clarify whether affect balance moderates the relationship between gratitude and cardiovascular reactions to stress, the experts enrolled 68 undergraduate students (24 male and 44 female) aged 18 to 57, and used an experimental design with laboratory tasks in which stress was induced to participants and then cardiovascular reactivity and recovery in response to increased stress levels were measured.



The analyses revealed that experiencing gratitude predicted lower systolic blood pressure responses during the testing period, meaning that feelings of gratitude have unique stress-buffering effects on both reactions to and recovery from acute psychological stress. Moreover, the researchers discovered that affect balance generally amplifies the positive effects of gratitude.



These findings could have major clinical implications by showing that several low-cost gratitude interventions can contribute positively to our health and well-being, and help us smoothly recover from cardiovascular issues acute stress can induce. For instance, as previous research has shown, cardiac patients who make use of gratitude journals have better cardiovascular outcomes than those who do not. Combined with the recent findings, this shows that gratitude may constitute a useful point of intervention for the improvement of our health.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.11.013">International Journal of Psychophysiology</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Feelings of gratitude reduce the negative effects of stress

Scientists have long known that stress can significantly affect humans,...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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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 



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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