Narcan, the nasal spray form of the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone, is now available over the counter in the United States. However, many people still don’t realize they can get it without a prescription. 



This simple spray, capable of restoring normal breathing in a matter of minutes, has become an essential tool in the fight against a rising tide of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-discovery-offers-hope-for-tackling-opioid-addiction/">opioid</a> overdoses. 



Yet, even with new efforts to boost awareness, polls indicate that a large portion of Americans remain uninformed about the updated, easier availability of naxolone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-source-of-real-world-guidance">A source of real-world guidance </h2>



TikTok’s rapid rise as a place to find health information has shifted how younger audiences learn about critical topics, including substance use and harm reduction.&nbsp;



A recent <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/17/more-americans-regularly-get-news-on-tiktok-especially-young-adults/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> found that roughly one in five adults in the United States now turns to TikTok for news and information on a variety of issues. This number has more than quadrupled in the last four years. 



As a result, the platform has transformed into more than a casual entertainment hub. It’s also a key source of real-world guidance that can influence behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiktok-and-opioid-overdose-prevention">TikTok and opioid overdose prevention</h2>



Led by Dr. Kelli Boling, assistant professor of advertising at the <a href="https://www.unl.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Nebraska–Lincoln</a>, a team of researchers analyzed hundreds of TikTok posts to see how people talk about naloxone and its brand name Narcan online. 



The study was focused on videos featuring popular hashtags linked to opioid safety messages. The researchers narrowed their search to a time when opioid fatalities were climbing, and more people were scrolling through social media. 



The findings highlight TikTok’s potential for quick, high-impact communication about overdose prevention, addiction support, and news on treatment options.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiktok-videos-on-narcan-access">TikTok videos on Narcan access</h2>



The researchers found that the most consistent topic across the videos was education about opioid risks, Narcan access, and the reality of recovery. 



In each video, creators used text, audio, and captions to clarify how to use naloxone and where to find it. The team also noticed a supportive group dynamic. 



“There was a strong ‘collective voice’ among the harm reduction creators that is ‘de-stigmatizing opioid harm reduction and sharing resources and information helpful to others,’” noted the researchers.



Similar trends emerged in a separate scholarly investigation that focused on the top opioid-related content under the #opioids hashtag, demonstrating that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/growing-up-in-a-digital-world-tiktok-makes-teenagers-happy/">TikTok</a> discussions often revolve around safe medication practices, overdose risks, and pain management.&nbsp;



Across these studies, the short-video format proved to be an unexpected stage for candid personal stories and urgent calls to action.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-of-the-tiktok-ban">Implications of the TikTok ban </h2>



Despite TikTok’s growing impact on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/longer-lifespan-strongly-linked-to-higher-education/">health education</a>, the Supreme Court recently upheld a federal law that effectively bans new downloads of the app unless it is sold by its current parent company. The court cited national security concerns as the main reason for its decision.&nbsp;



No matter where one stands on the ruling, the ban threatens to interrupt the steady flow of harm reduction content that is reaching individuals who might otherwise not seek out such information.



Existing users may still access TikTok, but fresh downloads and updates for new users will be blocked. This limit on functionality could reduce the platform’s reach and eventually affect creators who regularly upload videos about opioid safety.&nbsp;



For individuals in rural or underserved communities, losing easy access to these short but informative clips could make a real difference in whether they learn about new ways to manage opioid-related emergencies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiktok-and-opioid-safety-messages">TikTok and opioid safety messages</h2>



Educators and content creators on TikTok have long embraced the app’s simplicity. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scrolling-online-videos-is-not-a-good-cure-for-boredom/">Videos</a> showing how to administer Narcan, how to watch for overdose warnings, or where to find naloxone kits can be filmed in a matter of minutes.&nbsp;



This approach keeps instructions clear and relatable. Their style relies less on complicated jargon and more on straightforward guidance, which encourages viewers to ask questions and share personal experiences.



At a time when stigma still clings to discussions of addiction, these snippets of community-led education are often a lifeline. Many participants share struggles with pain or recovery, offering mutual support in the comments.&nbsp;



Such interactions highlight a practical form of outreach that appeals to younger audiences. That sense of openness can break down shame, encouraging people to seek professional help or pick up a naloxone kit at a local pharmacy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-saving-opioid-information-on-tiktok">Life-saving opioid information on TikTok </h2>



The recent legal development creates uncertainty. Some worry about a drop in new creators who tackle opioid safety messages. Others point out that alternative platforms exist, though none match TikTok’s unique way of combining brief, entertaining videos with a vast user base.&nbsp;



Conversations about harm reduction may end up scattered across multiple sites, making it harder for people to find consistent, trustworthy guidance.



Still, the drive to curb opioid overdoses carries on. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/living-alone-in-america-an-escalating-public-health-crisis/">Public health</a> groups and grassroots advocates continue to emphasize naloxone training in schools, libraries, and community centers.&nbsp;



Experts at academic institutions are studying how best to deliver clear, effective instructions that cut through noise and misconceptions. 



The top priority is reversing rising overdose figures, and many believe that social media (no matter which platform ends up in the spotlight) will remain an essential tool for sharing life-saving information.



The study is published in the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39727094/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs</a>.



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TikTok videos provide a lifeline to prevent opioid overdoses

Narcan, the nasal spray form of the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone, is now available over the counter in the United States. However, many people still don’t realize they can get it without a prescription.  This simple spray, capable of restoring normal breathing in a matter of minutes, has become an essential tool in the fight against a rising tide of opioid overdoses. Yet, even with new efforts to boost awareness, polls indicate that a large portion of Americans remain uninformed about the updated, easier availability of naxolone....

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



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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.”



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



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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;



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Seabirds have different strategies to survive storms

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

Today’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/children-connect-with-the-environment-through-story-writing/">children</a> spend more and more time playing video games as part of their leisure time. Parents are often concerned that this form of entertainment will be harmful to their children, and they seek clarity from scientists and psychologists. Much research has been done on the links between playing video games and various aspects of children’s emotional, social and cognitive development, but the results have sometimes been conflicting.&nbsp;



What is known is that playing certain types of video games, known as action games, leads to positive changes in cognition in adults. Aspects such as attention and memory, as well as visual perception, show improvements in adults who play these specific games. Children have not been studied as often as adults, and the effects of gaming on their developing brains are not known. Despite this, parents are often encouraged to limit the time their children spend gaming each day.



A new, exploratory study has investigated whether the nature and extent of video gaming by pre-teenage children has any effects on cognitive ability. Their findings, published in the&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000364">Journal of Media Psychology</a>, challenge the warnings that parents have been issued for years that children who spend hour after hour playing video games, or choose games of certain genres, will manifest unhealthy results in their cognitive development.



“Our studies turned up no such links, regardless of how long the children played and what types of games they chose,” said Jie Zhang, associate professor of curriculum and instruction at the <a href="https://www.uh.edu/">University of Houston</a> College of Education, and a member of the research team.



The researchers assessed the gaming habits of 160 urban public-school preteen students (70 percent from lower income households), which represents an age group less studied in previous research. Participating students reported the time spent playing video games each day, and also took a standardized Cognitive Ability Test 7, also known as CogAT. This test evaluates verbal, quantitative and nonverbal/spatial skills, and is a well-recognized test of cognitive ability that is more objective than using teachers’ grades or self-reported learning assessments, as have been used in previous research.&nbsp;



The participants reported playing video games for an average of 2.5 hours daily, with the group’s heaviest gamers putting in as much as 4.5 hours each day. However, the researchers found no links between the time spent gaming and the child’s cognitive development. Furthermore, the content of the video games also did not correlate with differences in cognitive ability.



“Overall, neither duration of&nbsp;play&nbsp;nor&nbsp;choice of video game&nbsp;genres had significant correlations with the CogAT measures. That result shows no direct linkage between video game playing and cognitive performance, despite what had been assumed,” said May Jadalla, professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University and the study’s principal investigator.



But the study revealed another side of the issue, too. Children who played the types of games described as helping to build healthy cognitive skills did not achieve better results on the cognitive tests. Playing these games had no measurable effects on cognition, despite the games’ marketing messages.



“The current study found results that are consistent with previous research showing that types of gameplay that seem to augment cognitive functions in young adults don’t have the same impact in much younger children,” said C. Shawn Green, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.



Do these findings suggest that children can play on, unhindered? Perhaps, from the perspective of cognitive development. However, experts caution that gaming can have more serious consequences in other avenues of life. For example, gaming takes children away from their other, more productive activities, such as doing homework, playing sport or spending social time with friends and family. Excessive gaming can lead to social isolation and poor performance at school, even if it does not affect a child’s innate cognitive abilities.



“The study results show parents probably don’t have to worry so much about cognitive setbacks among video game-loving children, up to fifth grade. Reasonable amounts of video gaming should be OK, which will be delightful news for the kids. Just keep an eye out for obsessive behavior,” said Zhang. “When it comes to video games, finding common ground between parents and young kids is tricky enough. At least now we understand that finding balance in childhood development is the key, and there’s no need for us to over-worry about video gaming.”



---



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



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Video games do not harm children’s cognitive abilities

Today’s children spend more and more time playing video games...

A team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/">Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization</a> (CSIRO) in Australia has discovered that sheep who undergo shared stressful events tend to huddle together afterwards, resembling the ways in which humans tend to bond after sharing traumatic events. These findings shed new light on how animals deal with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-gives-animals-a-survival-advantage-but-only-to-a-point/">stress</a> and open pathways for improving their well-being.



The experts gathered 70 adult female sheep which did not know one another and divided them into seven subgroups of ten ewes each. While some of these groups were exposed to various types of stressful events - such as being herded by a dog, being collared and held by a human, being transported in a trailer, or being subjected to crutching (the process of removing wool from their legs and tail with electric clippers) - others were not.



Afterwards, all the sheep were fitted with GPS devices to track their movements and were herded into a shared pasture. While at the beginning, the sheep who became acquainted prior to their division into subgroups herded together, shortly after they began to leave the newly formed groups and gather together with the sheep with which they partnered during the stressful events. By contrast, the sheep that were not exposed to stressful events remained in their original groups.



“We found they did start to spend time with those sheep they had shared the stress with compared to other sheep they didn’t know and didn’t have any kind of shared experience with,” said study senior author Dana Campbell, an expert in Animal Behavior at CSIRO. “We’re not sure of the communication mode, but yes, there seems to be something. It really points to how clever they are.”



These findings suggest that people should not underestimate the complexity, capability, and social intelligence of sheep. Moreover, the results could help farmers better understand how animals develop relationships and thus improve their well-being by allowing them to bond.



“Social bonding following a shared stressful experience aligns with human social relationships and increases our understanding of how animals perceive their conspecifics in relation to stressful environmental change,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0396">Current Biology</a>.



—-



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



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Sheep bond after sharing stressful experiences

A team of scientists led by the Commonwealth Scientific and...

Water <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-will-increase-dramatically-in-a-hotter-climate/">pollution</a> is released into the atmosphere through aerosol droplets from sea spray, according to a new study led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">UC San Diego</a>. The experts report that these airborne pollutants can potentially reach people on land, hundreds of kilometers from the beach.&nbsp;



"Coastal water pollution (CWP) is an ever-growing global environmental problem and public health threat," wrote the study authors. "Over one hundred thousand cases of illness and tens of thousands of deaths occur annually worldwide due to people entering contaminated waters or eating tainted seafood."



The researchers noted that coastal water pollution at the Mexico-US border between Tijuana and Imperial Beach has persisted for decades and has been officially declared a state of emergency. Rainfall in this region causes untreated sewage to spill over into the Tijuana River, where it flows into the ocean in south Imperial Beach.



The study reveals that the sewage pollution is transferred into the atmosphere in sea spray aerosol that is formed by breaking waves and bursting bubbles. The experts found that the sea spray aerosol contains bacteria, viruses, and chemical compounds.



Lead researcher Professor Kim Prather said the study appears in the midst of a winter in which an estimated 13 billion gallons of sewage-polluted waters have entered the ocean via the Tijuana River.



“We’ve shown that up to three-quarters of the bacteria that you breathe in at Imperial Beach are coming from aerosolization of raw sewage in the surf zone,” said Professor Prather.&nbsp;



“Coastal water pollution has been traditionally considered just a waterborne problem. People worry about swimming and surfing in it but not about breathing it in, even though the aerosols can travel long distances and expose many more people than those just at the beach or in the water.”



The experts used DNA sequencing and mass spectrometry to analyze bacteria and chemical compounds found in coastal aerosol samples from Imperial Beach. They confirmed that these aerosol samples contained bacteria and compounds that originated in the Tijuana River.



The researchers emphasize that people are not necessarily getting sick from sewage pollution in sea spray aerosol. They noted that most bacteria are harmless, and that further investigation is needed to determine exposure levels and infection risks.&nbsp;



“This research demonstrates that coastal communities are exposed to coastal water pollution even without entering polluted waters,” said study lead author Matthew Pendergraft. “More research is necessary to determine the level of risk posed to the public by aerosolized coastal water pollution. These findings provide further justification for prioritizing cleaning up coastal waters.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c02312">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a>.



---



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



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Sea spray releases water pollution into the air

Water pollution is released into the atmosphere through aerosol droplets...

Macro,Closeup,Of,Sarracenia,Flowers,Colorful,Leaves,,Carnivorous,Trumpet,Pitcher

Gall wasps are small insects that lay eggs on plants and, when the larvae hatch out, they secrete chemicals that induce the plant to form galls. These are atypical, tumor-like growths of tissue that bulge out from a leaf, stem or root, depending on where the adult laid her eggs. The galls grow to envelope the larvae which derive shelter, protection and nourishment from living inside the lump of tissue.&nbsp;



There are more than a thousand species of gall wasps, each one specializing on one particular species of host <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-harness-plant-energy-to-improve-solar-panels/">plant</a>. Although scientists have long known about gall-inducing insects and their life cycles, the mechanism by which the larvae actually induce a host plant to develop galls is not yet understood. In fact, the induction of plant galls is considered the most complex association between insects and plants in the natural world.



Galls are mostly dully colored and match the tissues of the plants on which they form. But the galls that are induced by one species of cynipid wasp (Amphibolips nubilipennis) on the leaves of red oak trees look like tiny, juicy fruits. Wondering what would protect these structures from being eaten by other herbivores, scientists from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> investigated the chemical composition of these fruit-like galls.&nbsp;



In previous research, galls have been found to have an accumulation of tannins on their surface, which protects them against being eaten. After all, the tiny larva that manipulates the plant to produce the gall in which it hides, does not wish to be consumed. Tannins seem to deter some insects from eating galls by decreasing the efficiency of protein digestion in their guts. The researchers used high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to analyze the chemicals found in translucent oak galls (TOGs).&nbsp;



Their results, published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0513">Biology Letters</a>, were quite surprising. The tiny wasp larvae induce the plant host to produce acids that have a pH of between 2 and 3, making them as acidic as lemon juice. Any herbivore that attempted to eat one of these translucent galls would be in for rather a sour shock. In fact, the interior of the gall is just as acidic as the fluid produced by pitcher plants to dissolve their insect prey.&nbsp;



“This is exciting because it represents a novel defense system, one we haven’t seen before,” said Antoine Guiguet, an entomologist at Penn State and lead author on a paper about the new discovery.



“It’s so fascinating because this is an animal using chemistry to force a plant to do its bidding,” said John Tooker, professor of entomology at Penn State and co-author on the study. “It's really a parasitic manipulation. The insect gets the plant to make the exact food it needs, which explains the nutritional hypothesis for why galls evolved, but undoubtedly, it has to be combined with a defense aspect, because if you have a good food source, other things are going to want to eat it.”&nbsp;



“We know that pH this low is rare in plants generally,” said Tooker. “And the pH that we measured was close to the acidic nature of what’s inside a pitcher plant, which is about the same as a lemon. We are hypothesizing that the role of this is defense. Anything that wants to bore in there would be deterred by that acidic environment.”



The researchers investigated the organic acids present in the oak gall tissue in more depth and compared them with acids found in other galls and in certain fruits. They found that malic acid, a common acid in apples, represents 66 percent of the organic acid detected in the oak galls. The concentration of malic acid was twice as high as in other galls – and twice as high as in apples.&nbsp;



“Malic acid is a fundamental component of the metabolism of cells, so it’s there within the oak, within all plant and animal cells, just at a low concentration,” said Guiguet. “What’s amazing is that this wasp is capable of inducing its accumulation in the storage compartment in plant cells, called a vacuole.”



With a pH level of between 2 and 3, the translucent oak gall is among the most acidic plant tissues measured to date. Until this discovery, only citrus fruit tissues were known to be capable of this extreme acidity, he explained. The researchers hypothesize the wasp could have developed acidic galls as an alternative strategy to the tannin accumulation observed in most other oak galls.&nbsp;



But unlike tannins, acidic environments could also prove an efficient deterrent of parasitoid wasps, which are the main enemies of cynipid wasps. The parasitoid wasps use a long, needle-like ovipositor to bore through a gall and lay an egg on the unsuspecting resident larva. When the parasitoid wasp egg hatches, it proceeds to eat the resident larva, all the while living protected inside the gall that the victim induced. The researchers hypothesize that the acidic environment inside the oak gall may damage the ovipositor and deter parasitoid wasps from laying their eggs there.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The molecular mechanism by which cynipid wasps induce galls remains a mystery,” said Guiguet. “Now we have added to this mystery by showing they have evolved with capability of altering pH.”



The authors conclude that the “accumulation of organic acid in gall tissues is convergent with fruit morphology and may constitute a new defensive strategy against predators and parasitoids.”



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



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Wasps create an acidic environment to deter predators

Gall wasps are small insects that lay eggs on plants...

In a recently published book -&nbsp;<a href="http://dennismeredith.com/the-climate-pandemic_514.html">The Climate Pandemic: How Climate Disruption Threatens Human Survival</a> - science writer Dennis Meredith has painted a highly pessimistic picture of our contemporary <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-has-pushed-earth-to-code-red/">climate</a> crisis, arguing that humans may not be able to survive the increasingly negative impacts of climate disruption.



“As horrific as the Covid-19 pandemic has been, its effects pale in comparison to the coming catastrophe from climate disruption,” Meredith wrote. “In fact, the climate pandemic will steadily worsen, even bringing our species to extinction, unless we launch a global revolution to abandon our carbon-dependent energy system.”



Relying upon over 1,700 peer-reviewed scientific articles, books, and reports from governmental and international agencies and scientific organizations, Meredith has explored the science, technology, politics, economy, and psychology of climate disruption. In his view, most of the current climate-rescue policies are vague and naïve, and many plans to limit global warning are not scientifically grounded.



“The benchmark temperatures used in climate policymaking […] are political numbers not scientific numbers,” he explained. “Their scientific provenance is highly dubious. The conveniently round numbers might even be considered scientifically dishonest because scientists don’t really know the consequences of each increase. But for political expediency, they pretend that they do.”



Moreover, although many scientists and policymakers are arguing that decarbonizing the global energy system by increasing renewable energy or capturing CO2 from power plants will reduce or even eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, Meredith is highly pessimistic that this is possible, given the past and current efforts to reach these goals. For him, the Paris Agreement, renewable energy, carbon capture, geoengineering, or nuclear power are nothing more than “unrealistic panaceas” people use to cover the grim realities behind our predicament.



Nevertheless, he still believes that individuals and organizations should work together in trying to mitigate as much as possible the most devastating effects of climate change.&nbsp;



“Some might see the dark future of climate disruption as an excuse to indulge in our most selfish, destructive impulses - continuing to plunder the Earth for our own benefit. However, one hopes that our better angels would prevail; that in the twilight of our species we would instead seek solace in environmental good works - in essence, palliating our planet. As we cycle among the stages of grief, we could give our lives meaning by offering our time, money, and effort to the organizations and causes that work toward mitigating climate disruption,” he concluded.



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



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Climate disruption threatens humanity’s survival

In a recently published book -&nbsp;The Climate Pandemic: How Climate...

A team of researchers from <a href="https://carleton.ca/">Carleton University</a> and the <a href="https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/">Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a> has found that social birds tend to be less dominant and competitive than solitary birds. The researchers used a large citizen science dataset of interactions among <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-flocks-social-relationships/">birds</a> foraging at backyard feeders in order to examine the relationship between sociality and dominance.



“We found that species’ sociality was inversely related to dominance,” explained study lead author Ilias Berberi, a PhD student in Biology at Carleton. “Using data collected from thousands of bird-watching volunteers, we measured the sociality of different species based on their typical group size when seen at bird feeders. Though some species are often found in groups, others tend to be loners. When we examined their dominance interactions, we found that more social species are weaker competitors. Overall, the more social bird species are less likely to evict competing species from the feeders.”



The scientists examined over 55,000 competitive interactions among 68 common bird species at backyard feeders, collected through <a href="https://feederwatch.org/">Project FeederWatch</a>, a Cornell Lab initiative which uses data collected by volunteers to monitor feeder birds from November to April every year.&nbsp;



Although the investigation revealed a lower level of competitiveness in the case of social species such as the House Finch, the American Goldfinch, or the Pine Siskin, the experts found that such birds often gain the upper hand when members of their own species are with them, managing to successfully displace less social birds like the Northern Mockingbird or the Red-bellied Woodpecker.



“Being a social species certainly has its advantages,” said study co-author Eliot Miller, a postdoctoral researcher in Ornithology at the Cornell Lab. “Social species appear better defended against predators, and also may benefit from increased foraging efficiency.”



In addition, the researchers observed that, although social species have fewer competitive interactions with other species, they tended to compete more among themselves.&nbsp;



“Overall, these results demonstrate that sociality can influence competition in ecological networks. More social species have decreased competitive ability as individuals, but they may gain competitive ability in groups,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1894">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.



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



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Social bird species are less competitive

A team of researchers from Carleton University and the Cornell...

A new study led by thy <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has revealed that flamingos prefer to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-birds-and-bees-flock-to-gardens-with-rare-plants/">flock</a> with individuals they are compatible with. The research suggests that flamingo societies are more complex than what was previously realized.&nbsp;



In a collaboration with experts at the Wildfowl &amp; Wetlands Trust (WWT), the team analyzed the personalities and social behavior of Caribbean and Chilean flamingos.&nbsp;



"This research aimed to document how personality traits (aggressive, exploratory, submissive) influence the social network structure of highly social animals in a captive environment," wrote the study authors.



"Data were collected from separate flocks of captive Caribbean (Phoenicopterus ruber) and Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) to identify relationships between birds and examine opportunities for social support."



The researchers found that birds of both species were more likely to spend time with flamingos that shared similar personalities.



“Our previous research has shown that individual flamingos have particular ‘friends’ within the flock,” said Dr. Paul Rose. “In this study, we wanted to find out whether individual character traits explain why these friendships form. The answer is yes - birds of a feather flock together."



“For example, bolder birds had stronger, more consistent ties with other bold birds, while submissive birds tended to spend their time with fellow submissive flamingos.”



Study co-author Fionnuala McCully said that, like humans, flamingos appear to carve out different roles in society based on their personality.&nbsp;



“For example, we observed groups of aggressive birds which attempt to dominate rivals and tend to get in more fights."



“Meanwhile, the role of submissive birds may be more complex than simply being lower down the pecking order – they may be using a different approach to get what they need."



“The various different personality groups provide social help to their members, for example by supporting each other in the many squabbles that take place in flamingo flocks," said McCully.



Among the Caribbean flamingos, personality types were associated with certain social roles within a group. This was not the case, however, among the Chilean birds. Further research is needed to understand these behavior patterns.



“Our findings need further investigation, both to help us understand the evolution of social behaviour and to improve the welfare of zoo animals," said Dr. Rose. “But it is clear from this research that a flamingo's social life is much more complicated than we first realised.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-29315-3">Scientific Reports</a>.



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



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Flamingos of a feather flock together

A new study led by thy University of Exeter has...

New research conducted by the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-in-the-amazon-hits-new-record-high/">deforestation</a> leads to reduced rainfall across large areas of the tropics. Although people inhabiting these regions have often complained that the climate gets hotter and drier once trees from these areas are cleared, this is the first study to identify a clear link between the loss of tree cover and significant declines in rainfall.



The experts examined the impact of forest loss on rainfall patterns in three areas of the tropics – the Amazon, Congo, and Southeast Asia – that have recently experienced rapid land-use changes. By using satellite observations from 2003 to 2017, they identified the areas where forests have been cleared, and compared rainfall data from these regions to data from nearby locations where forests have not been lost.



The analysis revealed that tropical forest loss led to reductions in rainfall throughout the entire year, including in the dry season, when any further drying severely impacts plant and animal ecosystems. However, the largest decline in precipitation was observed in the wet season, with nearly 0.6 mm a month reduction in rainfall for each percent of forest cover loss.



“Tropical forests play a critical role in the hydrological cycle through helping to maintain local and regional rainfall patterns,” said study lead author Callum Smith, a doctoral student in Environmental Sciences at Leeds.&nbsp;



“The reduction in rainfall caused by tropical deforestation will impact people living nearby through increased water scarcity and depressed crop yields.&nbsp;Tropical forests themselves rely on moisture to survive and remaining areas of forest will be impacted by a drier climate.”&nbsp;



According to the scientists, the loss of tree cover disrupts the process in which moisture from leaves is returned to the atmosphere through a mechanism called evapotranspiration, where it eventually forms rain clouds.&nbsp;



Besides impacting natural ecosystems, reductions in rainfall are also detrimental to agriculture and hydropower plants and are thus likely to affect not only the healthy functioning of forests, but also local communities. In addition, these declines have a negative impact on biodiversity, increase the risks of forest fires, and reduce carbon sequestration.



These problems will likely get worse by the end of the century, with researchers estimating that, if the rate of deforestation in the Congo was to continue as before, rainfall in the region could be reduced by eight to 12 percent, severely affecting both biodiversity and farming, while threatening the viability of the Congo forests, which are among the world’s largest carbon stores.



“The study shows the critical importance of tropical forests in sustaining rainfall. Although there have been efforts to halt deforestation, the loss of forest cover in the tropics has continued. There needs to be renewed efforts to stop forests being lost and to regenerate lost and degraded areas,” concluded senior author Dominick Spracklen, a professor of Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions at Leeds.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05690-1.">Nature</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Deforestation in the tropics linked to reduced rainfall

New research conducted by the University of Leeds has found...

Although it is a widespread belief that humans contribute the most to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-linked-to-a-higher-risk-of-stroke/">air pollution</a>, there are also vast amounts of pollutants emerging from natural sources. According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a> (UCR), if global temperatures rise by four degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, harmful plant emissions and dust will also increase by as much as 14 percent.



“We are not looking at human emissions of air pollution, because we can change what we emit,” said study lead author James Gomez, a doctoral student in Global Climate and Environmental Change at UCR. “We can switch to electric cars. But that may not change air pollution from plants or dust.”



Plants constantly produce and emit chemicals called biogenic volatile compounds (BVOCs), which give rise, for instance, to the smell of a freshly-mowed lawn or the sweetness of ripe strawberries. While on their own, BVOCs are benign, once they react with oxygen, they produce organic aerosols which, when inhaled, can lead to infant mortality and childhood asthma, as well as lung cancer and heart disease in adulthood.



Two factors projected to continue to increase due to climate – atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature - will both boost BVOC production. However, as the scientists stress, growing plants can still help the environment by reducing the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. Moreover, BVOCs from small gardens will not be harmful.



“Your lawn, for example, won’t produce enough BVOCs to make you sick. It’s the large-scale increase in carbon dioxide that contributes to the biosphere increasing BVOCs, and then organic aerosols,” Gomez explained.



The second largest contributor to pollution from natural sources will likely be dust from the Saharan desert which, as the climate warms, will be blown around the globe, leading to hazardous amounts of air pollution in Africa, the eastern U.S., and the Caribbean. Moreover, due to West African monsoons, dust over Northern Africa is likely to further increase.



Since they have a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, both organic aerosols and dust fall into the category of PM2.5 airborne pollutants, which are among the most dangerous pollutants. According to the experts, the increase in naturally sourced PM2.5 pollution is directly proportional with rises in CO2 levels. “The more we increase CO2, the more PM2.5 we see being put into the atmosphere, and the inverse is also true. The more we reduce, the better the air quality gets,” Gomez said. Thus, in order to have a positive effect on future air quality, CO2 emissions will need to decrease sharply.



“The results of this experiment may even be a bit conservative because we did not include climate-dependent changes in wildfire emissions as a factor. In the future, make sure you get an air purifier,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00688-7">Nature Communications Earth &amp; Environment</a>.



—



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



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Air pollution will increase dramatically in a hotter climate

Although it is a widespread belief that humans contribute the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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