Galaxies come in many shapes and sizes, from massive spiral galaxies like the Milky Way to tiny, faint dwarf galaxies. While larger galaxies often steal the spotlight, small galaxies can also provide crucial insights into the history of the universe.



Researchers led by Kristen McQuinn of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) have used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to investigate Leo P, an isolated dwarf galaxy located 5.3 million light-years from Earth.



Their study has revealed surprising patterns in star formation that could reshape our understanding of how galaxies evolve over cosmic time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-leo-p-a-galactic-time-capsule">Leo P: A galactic time capsule</h2>



Leo P is unique among dwarf <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spiral-galaxy-with-quasar-jet-surprises-astronomers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a>. Unlike many of its counterparts, it sits relatively isolated, away from the gravitational influence of larger galaxies like the Milky Way and Andromeda. This makes it a pristine laboratory for studying galaxy evolution without the complications of external interference.



The “P” in Leo P stands for “pristine,” a reference to its low metal content. In astronomy, "metals" refer to elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, which are produced by stars over time.



Leo P contains just&nbsp;3% of the Sun’s heavy elements, making it&nbsp;one of the most metal-poor galaxies known. This means Leo P resembles&nbsp;some of the earliest galaxies that formed in the universe, offering a rare glimpse into what galaxies looked like billions of years ago.



“Leo P provides a unique laboratory to explore the early evolution of a low-mass galaxy in detail,” said McQuinn, who also leads the <a href="https://www.stsci.edu/roman" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope</a>’s Science Operations Center.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-start-stop-history-of-star-formation">A start-stop history of star formation</h2>



Astronomers have long studied&nbsp;how and when small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/galaxies-are-much-bigger-than-we-originally-believed-gas-clouds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> form stars. 



In most cases, dwarf galaxies begin forming stars early in their history. However, many of them stop producing stars after a few billion years - often permanently. The new observations of Leo P challenge that assumption.



Using&nbsp;JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/nircam/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NIRCam</a>), McQuinn’s team measured the&nbsp;brightness and colors of thousands of individual stars in Leo P. This data allowed them to reconstruct the&nbsp;star formation history&nbsp;of the galaxy in great detail.



They discovered that Leo P formed stars early in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-is-expanding-faster-than-science-can-explain-hubble-tension-physics-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmic history</a> but then&nbsp;abruptly stopped forming new stars shortly after a period known as the Epoch of Reionization. 



This was a key phase in the early universe when radiation from the first galaxies ionized the remaining neutral hydrogen gas, ending the universe’s “dark ages.” Many small galaxies&nbsp;lost their ability to form stars during this period and never recovered.



But Leo P was different. After a long dormancy, the galaxy reignited its star formation billions of years later - something rarely seen in other dwarf galaxies.



“We have a measurement like this for only three other galaxies that are all isolated from the Milky Way, and they all show a similar pattern,”&nbsp;McQuinn explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-leo-p-different">What makes Leo P different? </h2>



This discovery challenges long-held assumptions about why some <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/andromeda-galaxy-the-violent-history-of-our-closest-cosmic-neighbor/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> stop forming stars while others continue. 



For years, astronomers believed that a galaxy’s&nbsp;mass&nbsp;played the biggest role in whether it could sustain star formation.&nbsp;Smaller galaxies were thought to be more vulnerable to cosmic events like reionization, which stripped them of their gas and halted star formation.



However, Leo P tells a different story. The team compared its history with that of dwarf galaxies within the Local Group, the collection of galaxies that includes the Milky Way. Many of these galaxies ceased forming stars after the Epoch of Reionization - and never started again.



The difference?&nbsp;Leo P and the three other galaxies that restarted star formation are isolated, while the ones that remained dormant are&nbsp;satellite galaxies orbiting larger galaxies like the Milky Way.



This suggests that a galaxy’s environment, rather than just its mass, plays a crucial role in its ability to form stars over time.&nbsp;Galaxies that remain isolated may have a better chance of recovering and forming stars again, while those near large galaxies may lose their gas permanently.



“If the trend holds, it provides insights about the growth of low-mass structures that are not only a fundamental constraint for structure formation but a benchmark for cosmological simulations,” noted McQuinn.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-window-into-the-early-universe">A window into the early universe</h2>



Another key finding from the study is that&nbsp;Leo P’s extremely low metal content makes it one of the closest analogs to the earliest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-galaxy-shows-us-what-the-early-milky-way-looked-like/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> in the universe. The first galaxies to form after the Big Bang were extremely metal-poor, composed mainly of&nbsp;hydrogen and helium. 



Studying galaxies like Leo P helps astronomers understand&nbsp;how those first galaxies evolved and produced the heavy elements that make up stars, planets, and even life itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-expanding-the-study">What’s next? Expanding the study</h2>



Leo P is just one piece of a much larger cosmic puzzle. To confirm whether its unusual star formation history is part of a broader pattern, McQuinn’s team plans to&nbsp;study four more isolated, star-forming dwarf galaxies&nbsp;using JWST. 



If they find similar trends, it could mean that&nbsp;many more galaxies in the early universe experienced multiple bursts of star formation instead of a single continuous phase.



These findings also have implications for&nbsp;cosmological simulations, which attempt to model how galaxies form and evolve over billions of years. If small galaxies like Leo P can reignite their star formation after long dormancies, then existing models may need to be revised to reflect this possibility.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-galaxies-with-big-secrets">Small galaxies with big secrets</h2>



The&nbsp;<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/?exclude_child_pages=false&amp;order=DESC&amp;orderby=date&amp;layout=list&amp;number_of_items=4&amp;requesting_id=48174&amp;science_only=false&amp;show_content_type_tags=yes&amp;show_excerpts=yes&amp;show_pagination=true&amp;show_readtime=no&amp;show_thumbnails=yes&amp;response_format=html&amp;listing_page=no&amp;listing_page_category_id=2881&amp;post_types=post%2Cpress-release&amp;categories=2881" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">James Webb Space Telescope</a>&nbsp;continues to revolutionize astronomy. Its ability to peer into the past with&nbsp;unprecedented clarity&nbsp;allows astronomers to answer some of the biggest questions about&nbsp;galaxy formation and evolution.



The study of Leo P is just one example of how Webb is uncovering hidden details about the universe, helping scientists piece together the story of how galaxies - and ultimately, life itself - came to be.



Leo P’s&nbsp;unexpectedly complex history&nbsp;serves as a reminder that even the&nbsp;smallest galaxies can hold the biggest secrets.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Kristen McQuinn (STScI)



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Star formation 'reignited' in the galaxy Leo P after billions of years

Galaxies come in many shapes and sizes, from massive spiral galaxies like the Milky Way to tiny, faint dwarf galaxies. While larger galaxies often steal the spotlight, small galaxies can also provide crucial insights into the history of the universe. Researchers led by Kristen McQuinn of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) have used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to investigate Leo P, an isolated dwarf galaxy located 5.3 million light-years from Earth. Their study has revealed surprising patterns in star formation that could reshape our understanding of how galaxies evolve over cosmic time. Leo...

According to a new study led by the <a href="https://uci.edu/">University of California, Irvine</a> (UCI), carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires – which have been gradually increasing since the beginning of the 21st century – spiked dramatically to a record high in 2021. The experts report that nearly 1.76 billion tons of CO2 were released from burning boreal forests in North America and Eurasia – 150 percent higher than the annual average emissions between 2000 and 2020.



“According to our measurements, boreal fires in 2021 shattered previous records,” said study senior co-author Steven Davis, a professor of Earth System Science at UCI. “These fires are two decades of rapid warming and extreme drought in Northern Canada and Siberia coming to roost, and unfortunately even this new record may not stand for long.”



Reliably measuring the amount of CO2 released by wildfires is difficult because massive amounts of smoke often hinder satellite observations, and space-based measurements are not at a sufficiently high resolution to capture details of CO2 emissions. Moreover, since that our planet’s atmosphere already contains large amounts of CO2 from fossil fuel burning, this gas is difficult to distinguish from that released by wildfires. 



To overcome these hurdles, the experts combined measurements of carbon monoxide – which provides clear evidence of fires, since it has a shorter lifespan in the atmosphere than CO2 – with existing fire emissions and wind speed datasets.



“The inversion approach employed in this study is a complementary method to the conventional bottom-up approach, which is based on estimating the burned area, fuel load, and combustion completeness,” explained co-author Yang Chen, a researcher in Earth System Science at UCI. “Combining these approaches can result in a more comprehensive understanding of wildfire patterns and their impacts.”



The analyses revealed clear associations between extensive boreal wildfires and climate drivers, such as higher annual mean temperatures and intense heatwaves. Moreover, higher northern latitudes and areas with larger tree cover fractions were found to be particularly vulnerable.



“Wildfire carbon emissions globally were relatively stable at about two gigatons per year for the first two decades of the 21st century, but 2021 was the year when emissions really took off,” Davis said. “About 80 percent of these CO2 emissions will be recovered through vegetation regrowth, but 20 percent are lost to the atmosphere in an almost irreversible way, so humans are going to have to find some way to remove that carbon from the air or substantially cut our own production of atmospheric carbon dioxide.”



Finally, the scientists identified a climate-wildfire feedback process, in which CO2 emissions warm the planet, creating conditions that lead to more fires and thus more emissions. “The escalation of wildfires in the boreal region is anticipated to accelerate the release of the large carbon storage in the permafrost soil layer, as well as contribute to the northward expansion of shrubs. These factors could potentially lead to further warming and create a more favorable climate for the occurrence of wildfires,” Chen concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Record-breaking amount of CO2 released by wildfires in 2021

According to a new study led by the University of...

Regular, uninterrupted sleep can help people achieve their exercise and diet goals while trying to lose weight. These are the findings from new research presented at the American Heart Association’s <a href="https://professional.heart.org/en/meetings/epi-lifestyle">Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle &amp; Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2023</a>.



Sleep health can improve cardiovascular health and is a key component of the <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/lifes-essential-8">American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8</a>, alongside eating healthy and not smoking. According to the 2023 Statistical Update from the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease claims more lives each year in the U.S. than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined.



“Focusing on obtaining good sleep - seven to nine hours at night with a regular wake time along with waking refreshed and being alert throughout the day - may be an important behavior that helps people stick with their physical activity and dietary modification goals,” said Dr. Christopher E. Kline.



The researchers examined whether good sleep health was related to maintaining lifestyle modifications prescribed in a 12-month weight loss program. The study included 125 adults (average age of 50 years) who were overweight or obese.



At the beginning of the program, sleep habits were measured through questionnaires, sleep diaries, and 7-day readings from wrist-worn activity trackers.&nbsp;



The participants were scored as “good” or “poor” on six measures of sleep: regularity; satisfaction; alertness; timing; efficiency (the percentage of time spent in bed when actually asleep); and duration. A sleep health score of 0-6 was calculated for each participant, with one point for each “good” measure, and higher scores indicating better levels of sleep health.



At the beginning of the study, participants had an average sleep health score of 4.5 out of 6. Caloric intake was self-reported through a phone app and physical activity was measured with an accelerometer worn at the waist.



The experts found that better sleep health was associated with higher rates of attendance at group interval sessions, adherence to caloric intake goals, and improvement in time spent performing moderate physical activity.&nbsp;



“We had hypothesized that sleep would be associated with lifestyle modification; however, we didn’t expect to see an association between sleep health and all three of our measures of lifestyle modification,” said Dr. Kline. “Although we did not intervene on sleep health in this study, these results suggest that optimizing sleep may lead to better lifestyle modification adherence. ”



The study authors noted limitations, such as not intervening to improve participants' sleep, and that the overall sample population had relatively good sleep health at baseline. The participants were also predominantly white and female, so it is unclear whether these results would apply to more diverse populations. Despite the limitations, this study confirms that sleep is tied to how we manage weight.&nbsp;



“This could be because sleep impacts the things that drive hunger and cravings, your metabolism and your ability to regulate metabolism and the ability to make healthy choices in general,” said study co-author Dr. Michael A. Grandner.



“Studies like this really go to show that all of these things are connected, and sometimes sleep is the thing that we can start taking control over that can help open doors to other avenues of health.”



---



By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</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.

Quality sleep makes it easier to achieve weight loss goals

Regular, uninterrupted sleep can help people achieve their exercise and...

A team of researchers from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> (OSU) has recently analyzed bird diversity in the United States by taking into account both functional and species diversity patterns. The investigation revealed a surprising aspect that the scientists do not clearly understand yet: functional diversity patterns in the West, where species and functional richness are both highest during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-additives-reduce-breeding-success-of-corals/">breeding</a> season, are the polar opposite of what occurs in the East, where functional diversity is lowest when species richness is high.&nbsp;



The pattern discovered in the East is particularly puzzling since it implies that the overall diversity of birds’ ecosystem contributions is highest in periods when a large number of migratory species are gone.



“This tells us that, probably, migratory birds in the East versus the West have very different functional contributions to assemblages,” said lead author&nbsp;Marta Jarzyna, an assistant professor of&nbsp;Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology&nbsp;at OSU. “It suggests that resident birds in the East have a wider array of functional characteristics than migratory birds, and in the West, it’s the opposite: migratory birds contribute more to functional richness than resident birds.”



Besides quantifying species richness, the experts also incorporated four characteristics to help them estimate functional diversity: the birds’ body mass, diet, foraging niche, and activity time. “Different species obviously have different characteristics and different traits, and contribute in different ways to the community composition and ecosystem functioning,” Jarzyna explained.



“You can have 10 species in a community that just eat seeds, or 10 species in a community, five of which eat seeds and five of which eat insects. The community with more diverse attributes will have more functional diversity, even though in terms of species richness they might be exactly the same.”



While previous efforts to describe bird functional diversity have focused only on one breeding season – a summer in the Northern Hemisphere – this study is the first to investigate diversity as the abundance of birds changes across the country over an entire year. Better understanding how functional diversity among birds changes over space and time is highly important for informing forecasting, conservation, and management of biodiversity.



However, further research is needed to understand the causes of the puzzling differences observed between the eastern and western U.S. “Why is it in the East that in the winter, when we are seeing so many species leaving those regions, we see an increase in functional richness? It didn’t make a lot of sense that you would gain this other dimension of diversity while losing something else,” Jarzyna said. “It’s not the case in the West, where we are seeing both the highest species richness and highest functional richness in the summer.”



“We still don’t even know about individual species’ contributions to functional diversity and whether there is, indeed, a difference between migratory and resident birds.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.066">Current Biology</a>.&nbsp;



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

U.S. bird diversity: puzzling geographical differences identified

A team of researchers from Ohio State University (OSU) has...

Close,Up,Of,Multiethnic,Young,People,Gather,In,Pizzeria,Together

Feelings of loneliness have dramatically increased among college students in the last decade, according to the National College Health Assessment. In addition, a recent survey revealed that 44 percent of U.S. college students reported <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cut-your-gym-time-in-half-by-lowering-weights/">weight</a> gain that placed them in a category of being overweight or obese.



Previous research has linked loneliness with unhealthy weight and a lack of physical activity. However, few studies have examined the role of dietary patterns which may contribute to both weight gain and loneliness.



A team of researchers at <a href="https://www.gmu.edu/">George Mason University</a> set out to investigate dietary and physical activity behavior in relation to loneliness among college students. The experts analyzed data from the Health Starts Here study, which was focused on first-year students at a large college in the United States.



The analysis revealed that college students who reported a higher level of loneliness also reported a higher level of sedentary behavior and low physical activity. Furthermore, individuals who expressed more loneliness had diets that were higher in fat than students who felt low levels of loneliness.



“Our study supports a potential need for further research in understanding unhealthful dietary behavior and physical activity which may be related to loneliness, an emotion that impacts many college students,” said lead author Li Jiang.



“Interventions to reduce loneliness may have a positive effect on health promotion in this population. This data go along with other initial findings from the Health Starts Here study that college students are not meeting healthy dietary guidelines or getting enough physical activity,” said study co-author Dr. Lawrence J. Cheskin.



The findings add to a growing collection of evidence that high-fat diets have an impact that reaches beyond physical health risks. Many studies have confirmed that an unhealthy diet can take a toll on mental health and well-being. In particular, experts have established that a high-fat diet increases the likelihood of developing depression.&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2141060">Journal of American College Health</a>.



---



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.

Loneliness among college students linked to unhealthy diets

Feelings of loneliness have dramatically increased among college students in...

Bald eagles almost went extinct in the 1960s, but these resilient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seabirds-have-different-strategies-to-survive-storms/">birds</a> have been steadily recovering. Now, they face a new threat: a subtype of avian influenza known as H5N1. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> say that this highly pathogenic version of avian flu has killed several pairs of eagles in Georgia.



“Even just one year of losses of productivity like we’ve documented regionally is very concerning and could have effects for decades to come if representative of broader regions,” said study lead author Nicole Nemeth. "We have already lost unprecedented numbers of wild birds due to this virus in the U.S. and it appears here to stay.”



With the virus killing many adult eagles, the eaglets have little chance of survival. The 2022 nest success rate in Georgia was 30 percent lower than average. The number was more depressing in Florida, where nest success rates had declined by 45 percent.



“We had reports from people who faithfully monitor eagle nests year after year with these heartbreaking stories of an adult eagle found dead below their nest. Within a few days, often its mate and the chicks were also found dead below the nest. It is clear the virus is causing nest failures,” said Nemeth, who works for the UGA-based Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study.



Moreover, H5N1 infects other types of raptors, waterfowl, aquatic birds, and songbirds. “I think the number of wild bird cases is drastically underreported,” said Nemeth. “People will submit one snow goose, for example, and it will test positive for the virus. And then they’ll tell you, ‘Well, there are thousands of geese dying at the same site.’ But it only goes down as one infected bird.”



“Worst case scenario, we get into a scary place with some of these bird species. We could see a lot more decline in the numbers of eagles, raptors, waterfowl and other birds than what we’ve already seen. It could be devastating.”



Although the virus seems to be here to stay and will likely spread, conservationists are not giving up.



“A virus that can spread and be maintained as this virus can, it’s everywhere now,” said Nemeth. “We can’t contain the virus, and we can’t vaccinate wild birds. But we can document the losses and try to help conserve affected species and populations the best we can.”



The study can be found in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27446-1">Scientific Reports</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody</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.

Avian flu threatens bald eagle recovery

Bald eagles almost went extinct in the 1960s, but these...

A survey by the <a href="https://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/index.html">Universitat Oberta de Catalunya</a> (UOC) has revealed that the majority of people believe that edible insects could become a sustainable source of food in the future. The survey was conducted as part of a larger study by Marta Ros, a student of the UOC doctoral program in the Information and Knowledge Society.&nbsp;



"In recent years in Western Europe, studies on entomophagy have drawn the attention of many researchers interested in identifying parameters that could improve the acceptability of insect consumption in order to introduce insects as a sustainable source of protein into the future diet," wrote the researchers. "Analyzing the factors involved in consumer acceptability in the Mediterranean area could help to improve their future acceptance."



Among more than a thousand survey respondents, 58 percent agreed that insect consumption could become a reliable source of protein.



The results also showed that only 13 percent of the survey participants had ever eaten insects. Some of the reasons given for not eating insects were disgust (38%), lack of custom (15%), doubts around food safety (9%), and cultural reasons (6%).



In addition, 82 percent of respondents said that they were not prepared to include insects in their normal diet, and 71 percent said they would not cook insects at home. Furthermore, 81 percent said the public would not be receptive to dishes containing insects at a restaurant.



Despite these protests, respondents were far more optimistic about insect consumption when asked if it may become a common practice in the future. Nearly 60 percent agreed, seeing the potential for insects to become a sustainable food source and help support a booming global population.&nbsp;



"The substantial improvements in people’s health status, hygiene conditions and life expectancy, in the majority of countries over the past 50 years, means that the world population is predicted to increase considerably by 2050," wrote the study authors.



"The rising cost of animal protein production and the increasing environmental pressure on agriculture and livestock farming necessitate the search for productive alternatives and innovative techniques for food production which take into account the nutritional, environmental and sociocultural dimensions of food sustainability."



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315756">International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health</a>.



---



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.

Most people think insects will become a sustainable food source

A survey by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has...

Cowboy,Riding,Horse,In,The,Forest.

People of the Yamnayan culture originated around the fourth millennium BCE in the area from the northern shores of the Black Sea to the northern area around the Caspian Sea, a region known as the Pontic-Caspian steppes. At some point they migrated westward from there to find greener pastures in what are today´s countries of Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia. They were nomadic pastoralists and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/geckos-are-skilled-hunters-even-after-they-lose-their-tails/">hunters</a> who buried their dead in pits covered by large mounds known as kurgans.&nbsp;



Typical pit-graves attributed to the Yamnaya and dated at 4500-5000 years old are not uncommon on the Eastern European steppes and excavation of these sites has provided skeletal evidence, as well as grave goods, hinting at the physical and cultural nature of these people. They used wagons, both two- and four-wheeled, for transport, and in some instances these wagons have been unearthed in the burial pits alongside the skeletal remains of the likely owners.&nbsp;



Scientists from the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a> have recently undertaken an analysis of the skeletons of more than 150 presumed Yamnayan people in Eastern Europe, with the specific aim of determining whether perhaps these nomadic herders were also horseback riders. Horses had been domesticated on the western Eurasian steppes during the fourth millennium BCE, and the pit-graves often contained statues or skeletal remains of horses alongside the deceased Yamnayan, possibly indicating a close relationship between man and horse. However, no evidence existed that proved the Yamnayans ever rode horses.



Since horseback riding is possible without any specialized equipment that would have survived in archaeological deposits, it is not easy to determine if, or exactly when, people began to ride these animals. Current research has focused largely on the horses – their origins, genetic relationships and when they were first domesticated. However, human remains are available in larger numbers and in more complete condition than early horse remains, and the researchers hypothesized it would be possible to determine from the Yamnayan skeletons whether they were indeed riding horses.&nbsp;



“We studied over 217 skeletons from 39 sites of which about 150 found in the burial mounds belong to the Yamnayans. Diagnosing activity patterns in human skeletons is not unambiguous. There are no singular traits that indicate a certain occupation or behavior. Only in their combination, as a syndrome, symptoms provide reliable insights to understand habitual activities of the past,” explains study lead author&nbsp;Martin Trautmann.



The international team decided to use a set of six diagnostic criteria established as physical indicators of riding activity (the so-called “horsemanship syndrome”):



1. Muscle attachment sites on pelvis and thigh bone (femur).



2. Changes in the normally round shape of the hip sockets.



3. Imprint marks caused by pressure of the acetabular rim on the neck of the femur.



4. The diameter and form of the femur shaft.



5. Vertebral degeneration caused by repeated vertical impact.



6. Traumata that typically can be caused by falls, kicks or bites from horses.



In addition, the researchers also used a strict filtering method to increase the diagnostic reliability of the results. They developed a scoring system that took into account the diagnostic value, distinctiveness and reliability of each symptom.&nbsp;



The findings, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade2451">Science Advances</a>, show that out of the 156 adult individuals, at least 24 (15.4 percent) can be classified as "possible riders," while five Yamnaya and two later, as well as two possibly earlier, individuals qualify as "highly probable riders."



“The rather high prevalence of these traits in the skeleton record, especially with respect to the overall limited completeness, shows that these people were horse riding regularly,” Trautmann states.



“Horseback-riding seems to have evolved not long after the presumed domestication of horses in the western Eurasian steppes during the fourth millennium BCE. It was already rather common in members of the Yamnaya culture between 3000 and 2500 BCE,” says&nbsp;study co-author Professor Volker Heyd, a member of the international team that made the discovery.



The use of animals for transport, in particular the horse, marked a turning point in human history. The considerable gain in mobility and distance had profound effects on land use, trade, and warfare. In fact, the Yamayans spread very rapidly from their area of origin, both to the west and east. In the west they encountered the long-established farmer communities of Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic traditions. For decades, this meeting was considered to have been violent in nature, but research on ancient DNA has now painted a more complex picture of admixture.



“Our research is now beginning to provide a more nuanced picture of their interactions. For example, findings of physical violence as were expected are practically non-existent in the skeletal record so far. We also start understanding the complex exchange processes in material culture and burial customs between newcomers and locals in the 200 years after their first contact,” explains study co-author Bianca Preda-Bălănică.



The researchers acknowledge that further studies are needed to determine whether horses were being ridden to make herding of livestock more convenient, to allow swift and far-ranging raids to be conducted, or as a symbol of status. And one additional finding opens the door to even more exciting speculation …



“We have one intriguing burial in the series,” remarks study senior author Professor David Anthony. “A [very early] grave dated about 4300 BCE at Csongrad-Kettöshalom in Hungary, long suspected from its pose and artefacts to have been an immigrant from the steppes, surprisingly showed four of the six riding pathologies, possibly indicating riding a millennium earlier than the Yamnaya.”



“An isolated case cannot support a firm conclusion, but in Neolithic cemeteries of this era in the steppes, horse remains were occasionally placed in human graves with those of cattle and sheep, and stone maces were carved into the shape of horse heads. Clearly, we need to apply this method [of analysis] to even older collections.”



—



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</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.

Scientists may have identified the world’s first horse riders

People of the Yamnayan culture originated around the fourth millennium...

Many previous studies have found that regular physical activity and exercise promote mental health and are good for a person’s wellbeing. But not many of these have focused on the relationship between activity and mental health in children or adolescents.&nbsp;



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a> has investigated the benefits of regular <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-may-improve-mental-health-more-than-medication/">exercise</a> using data from the Children of the 90s study (also known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, ALSPAC). They specifically examined the associations between objectively-measured physical activity, depressive-symptoms, and emotional and behavioral difficulties in young adolescents.



The physical activity of 4,755 11-year-olds was recorded using accelerometry devices that measure human movement. The devices recorded levels of moderate physical activity – typically defined as brisk walking or cycling – as well as vigorous activity which boosts heart rate and breathing, such as aerobic dancing, jogging or swimming.&nbsp;



In addition, the young participants and their parents reported on the levels of depressive symptoms experienced at the ages of 11 and 13 years. Participants’ parents and teachers also completed questionnaires about any behavioral or emotional difficulties experienced by the young people.&nbsp;



The results, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2022.100497">Mental Health and Physical Activity</a>, reveal that the 11-year-old boys averaged only 29 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. Girls achieved even less. The results for the 11-year-old girls showed they averaged 18 minutes MVPA per day. This is less than the minimum of 60 minutes recommended by the World Health Organization.&nbsp;



Despite this, the researchers found that higher levels of moderate and vigorous physical activity had a small but detectable association with decreases in depressive symptoms and emotional difficulties. In addition, those who were involved in more physical activity showed a small but detectable reduction in behavioral problems, even after controlling for other possible influences. Overall, these results suggest that regular MVPA may have a small protective influence on mental health in early adolescence.



“This study adds to the increasing evidence base about how important physical activity is for all aspects of young people’s development – it can help them feel better, and do better at school. Supporting young people to lead healthy active lives should be prioritized," said Dr. Josie Booth of the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education and Sport.



“While it might seem obvious that physical activity improves mental health the evidence for such a benefit in children and young people has been scarce, so the study findings are important," said Professor John Reilly from the University of Strathclyde. "The findings are also important because levels of moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity are so low in pre-teens, globally – less than a third achieve the 60 minutes per day recommended by the WHO and UK Health Departments.”



The researchers say the study is the first to offer such a comprehensive approach to examining mental health and exercise in young people, and the results suggest every effort should be made to encourage people in this age group to take part in regular physical activities.



—



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff WriterCheck us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Physical activity can protect mental health in pre-teen years

Many previous studies have found that regular physical activity and...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-oceans-absorb-much-more-carbon-than-previously-thought/">oceans</a> play a fundamental role in limiting global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere. However, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a>, intense warming in the future will likely lessen this crucial ability, leading to even more severe climate change.



By using a climate simulation configured to a worst-case emissions scenario, the experts found that the oceans’ ability to soak up CO2 would peak by the end of the century, becoming only half as efficient at absorbing this hazardous gas by 2300.&nbsp;



This phenomenon will be caused by the emergence of a low-alkalinity water that will hinder the capacity of the oceans to absorb CO2. Although the emissions scenario employed in this study is unlikely due to current efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions, these findings reveal a previously unknown tipping point which, if activated, will irreversibly exacerbate global warming.



“We need to think about these worst-case scenarios to understand how our CO2 emissions might affect the oceans not just this century, but next century and the following century,” said lead author Megumi Chikamoto, a geophysicist at the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> who conducted this study during a fellowship at UT Texas.



Currently, the world’s oceans soak up nearly a third of human-generated CO2 emissions. However, when exposed to extreme climate change that supercharges rainfall and slows ocean currents, the surface of the oceans becomes covered in a warm layer of fresh water which cannot mix easily with the cooler, more alkaline waters below it. As this surface layer becomes increasingly saturated with CO2, its alkalinity declines, along with its ability to absorb more CO2, eventually turning it into a barrier for CO2 absorption, and thus leaving more of the gas in the atmosphere, and consequently accelerating warming.



This finding is a powerful reminder that the world needs to take urgent action to reduce emissions in order to avoid crossing this and other tipping points.&nbsp;



“This paper demonstrates that the climate change problem may be exacerbated by things that are as yet unknown. But the ocean climate feedback mechanism this particular study revealed will open up new avenues of research that will help us better understand the carbon cycle, past climate change, and perhaps come up with solutions for future problems,” concluded senior author Nicole Lovenduski, an oceanographer at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101954">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.&nbsp;



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Global warming may be accelerated by an ocean tipping point

The oceans play a fundamental role in limiting global warming...

3d,Rendering,Of,A,View,Of,The,Planet,Earth,From

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-surface-temps-heat-emits/">Earth’s surface</a> has been sculpted over vast periods of time by climate, tectonics, and the flow of myriad rivers that transported tons of sediments into the oceans. This highly dynamic, constantly changing process is still far from being perfectly understood. However, a team of geoscientists led by the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> in Australia has now designed a detailed and dynamic model of our planet’s surface over the past 100 million years, providing a high-resolution view of how today’s geophysical landscapes were created.



“To predict the future, we must understand the past. But our geological models have only provided a fragmented understanding of how our planet’s recent physical features formed,” said study lead author Tristan Salles, a geoscientist at Sydney.



“If you look for a continuous model of the interplay between river basins, global-scale erosion and sediment deposition at high resolution for the past 100 million years, it just doesn’t exist. So, this is a big advance. It’s not only a tool to help us investigate the past but will help scientists understand and predict the future as well.”



By using a framework incorporating geodynamics, tectonic, and climate forces with surface processes, the experts created a new dynamic model of the past 100 million years at high resolution – down to 10 kilometers – split into frames of a million years each.&nbsp;



“This unprecedented high-resolution model of Earth’s recent past will equip geoscientists with a more complete and dynamic understanding of the Earth’s surface. Critically, it captures the dynamics of sediment transfer from the land to oceans in a way we have not previously been able to,” explained study co-author Laurent Husson, a geologist and geophysicist at the <a href="https://www.isterre.fr/">Institute of Earth Sciences</a> in Grenoble, France.



According to the researchers, better understanding the flow of terrestrial sediment to marine environments is crucial to comprehend current ocean chemistry, which is now changing rapidly due to anthropogenic global warming.



This new model will allow scientists to test different hypotheses about how the Earth’s surface will respond to changing climate and tectonic factors, while clarifying how the transportation of Earth sediment regulates our planet’s carbon cycle over millions of years.



“Our findings will provide a dynamic and detailed background for scientists in other fields to prepare and test hypotheses, such as in biochemical cycles or in biological evolution,” Salles concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.add2541">Science</a>. Animated models of landscape dynamics and photos can be downloaded <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/pv430s8wjok5ljw3gazrt/h?dl=0&amp;rlkey=kiy8q72glsv5fh3l5ip16u2sk">here</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

New model reveals the evolution of the Earth’s surface

The Earth’s surface has been sculpted over vast periods of...

Honey bees are crucial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gardeners-can-make-small-changes-to-benefit-pollinators/">pollinators</a> of flowers, enabling the plants to form seeds and fruit, and reproduce successfully. In addition, around one-third of food eaten in by Americans comes from crop plants that are pollinated by honey bees. The collapse of bee colonies thus poses a threat to food security and is a phenomenon that concerns beekeepers across the U.S. and worldwide.



The sudden disappearance of all the worker bees from a colony, leaving a queen, a few nurse bees and the immature brood, is what characterizes colony collapse. The colony cannot survive without the worker bees, and so it will die off in time. There is currently no all-embracing explanation for why this occurs to certain bee hives and the research that has been conducted usually focuses on the effects of one stressor, such as parasites, or on a combination of stressors in one isolated region or geographical area.&nbsp;



A new study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-28374-w">Scientific Reports</a>, has taken the analysis of variables, recognized as potential contributors to colony collapse, to a higher level. The researchers conducted a large-scale, multi-variable analysis using publicly accessible datasets from across the contiguous U.S. In particular, they used weather data for the years 2015–2021, and combined open data on honey bee colony status and stressors, weather data, and land use, in order to understand the relationships between the disappearance of bee colonies and the various stressors.



“Honey bees are vital pollinators for more than 100 species of crops in the United States, and the widespread loss of honey bee colonies is increasingly concerning,” said Luca Insolia, first author of the study, a visiting graduate student in the Department of Statistics at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a> at the time of the research, and currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.&nbsp;



“Some previous studies have explored several potential stressors related to colony loss in a detailed way but are limited to narrow, regional areas. The one study that we know of at the national level in the United States explored only a single potential stressor. For this study, we integrated many large datasets at different spatial and temporal resolutions and used new, sophisticated statistical methods to assess several potential stressors associated with colony collapse across the U.S.”



One of the main reasons for the lack of previous analyses at the national level is the absence of same-source or same-resolution databases. For example, weather data may be available on a daily scale, but information on colony disappearances may only be collected by apiculture groups on a quarterly basis. Because these data differ in spatio-temporal resolution, the researchers used a method of data up-scaling, rather than averaging the information to the lowest resolution available, which would mean a loss of detail.



“In order to analyze the data all together, we had to come up with a technique to match the resolution of the various data sources,” said Martina Calovi, corresponding author of the study, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Penn State at the time of the research, and currently an associate professor of geography at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.&nbsp;



“We could have just taken an average of all the weather measurements we had within a state, but that boils all the information we have into one number and loses a lot of information, especially about any extreme values. In addition to averaging weather data, we used an ‘upscaling’ technique to summarize the data in several different ways, which allowed us to retain more information, including about the frequency of extreme temperature and precipitation events.”



The researchers used the resulting integrated resolution-matched dataset – which they have made available for use by other researchers – alongside sophisticated statistical modeling techniques that they developed to assess the large number of potential stressors at the same time.



The research team found that several stressors impacted honey bee colony loss at the national level, including the use of pesticides nearby, frequent extreme weather events, and weather instability. Colony loss was also related to the presence of parasitic mites, Varroa destructor, which reproduce in honey bee colonies, weaken the bees, and potentially expose them to viruses. The researchers also found that losses typically occurred between January and March, probably reflecting the harsher conditions endured by bees while overwintering.&nbsp;



“Our results largely reinforce what regional studies have observed and confirm that regional patterns around these stressors are actually more widespread,” said Insolia, a beekeeper himself. “These results also inform actions that beekeepers could take to help circumvent these stressors and protect their colonies, including treatments for the Varroa mites‚ especially in areas of weather instability. Beekeepers could also consider strategies to move their colonies to areas with high food availability or away from nearby pesticides or to provide supplementary food during certain seasons or months with frequent extreme weather events.”



The researchers suggest that having data about beekeeping practices, such as treating colonies for Varroa mites and recording colony losses, at a finer resolution would allow validation of their results as well as a more detailed understanding of factors that act as stressors for honey bees.&nbsp;



“It would be incredibly beneficial to explore beekeeping practices at a finer scale than the state level,” said Calovi. “In many cases, beekeeping associations and other organizations collect this data, but it is not made available to researchers. We hope our study will help motivate more detailed data collection as well as efforts to share that data – including from smaller organizations such as regional beekeeper associations.”



The research team also found a strong relationship between colony loss and a broad category of beekeeping practices noted on a USDA survey as "other," which contained everything from hives being destroyed, to food scarcity for bees, to queen failure. They noted that collecting this data in more detail and breaking up this catch-all type variable into smaller categories would improve their ability to identify links between particular stressors and colony collapses.



“A changing climate and high-profile extreme weather events like Hurricane Ian – which threatened about 15 percent of the nation’s bees that were in its path as well as their food sources – are important reminders that we urgently need to better understand the stressors that are driving honey bee colony collapse and to develop strategies to mitigate them,” said Francesca Chiaromonte, professor of statistics and the holder of the Lloyd and Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair in Statistics for the Life Sciences at Penn State and a senior member of the research team.&nbsp;



“Our results highlight the role of parasitic mites, pesticide exposure, extreme weather events, and overwintering in bee colony collapse,” she concluded. “We hope that they will help inform improved beekeeping practices and direct future data collection efforts that allow us to understand the problem at finer and finer resolutions.”



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</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.

What is causing honey bee colony collapse in the U.S.?

Honey bees are crucial pollinators of flowers, enabling the plants...

After analyzing over 300,000 hours of flight data from 18 different species, researchers have learned more about how seabird species cope with powerful winds.



The study revealed that birds like the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/albatrosses-put-their-partners-needs-before-their-own/">albatross</a>, who live in windier conditions on the Southern Ocean, fly faster than tropical birds, such as the red-tailed tropicbird. This finding was not surprising, since flying faster than the wind is essential for navigation.



However, the question remains about how both birds navigate intense tropical storms. Dr. Emily Shepard of <a href="https://www.swansea.ac.uk/">Swansea University</a> explains:



“The situation becomes more complicated when we start to consider what happens in storms because the strongest wind speeds occur over the tropics, not the Southern Ocean. So, while albatrosses can fly in almost all conditions they experience, tropical species must have strategies to cope with cyclones, when winds may be twice what they are able to fly in. This adds to other evidence that tropical seabirds are likely to show long-range avoidance of extreme events.”



Surprisingly, the researchers found that some albatrosses avoided tropical storm winds, even though they flew in similar wind speeds in other scenarios.&nbsp;



For example, there was the case of an Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross who encountered a storm and avoided the 68 km/h wind speeds by flying in the eye of the storm, where wind speeds were 30 km/h for 12 hours.



"We know that wind-adapted birds like albatrosses fly in very strong winds. What surprised me the most was that even these species avoid strong winds from time to time, and that they can do so by flying into the eye of the storm," said study first author Elham Nourani of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.



“As a result of the climate crisis, storms will become more frequent and stronger. So, the question is how seabirds will be impacted by this. Understanding the wind speeds that different species can operate in is a key part of this. What seems like an extreme wind to a tropical species is what an albatross encounters on a near-daily basis, so our definition of extremes needs to vary depending on the species we are talking about.”



This study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.068">Current Biology</a>.&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody</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.

Seabirds have different strategies to survive storms

After analyzing over 300,000 hours of flight data from 18...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...