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The expansion rate of the Universe has befuddled and concerned researchers for decades. Recent measurements have only added to the mystery and heightened the alarm within the scientific community, hinting that the current theoretical framework might be missing something important.



Observations suggest that galaxies are moving apart at a higher rate than scientists have long expected. Many now wonder if the standard model of cosmology can fully explain what’s going on.



Dan Scolnic is an associate professor of physics at <a href="https://www.duke.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Duke University</a>. He and his team led a new study, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, that strengthens the case for a mismatch between data and predictions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-century-of-tracking-universe-expansion">Century of tracking Universe expansion</h2>



Edwin Hubble first identified the Universe’s expansion in 1929. Since then, the rate of expansion - called the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-telescope-confirms-hubble-constant-our-understanding-of-universe-expansion-very-wrong/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble constant</a> - has been the focus of countless measurements. 



Each generation of scientists tries to pin down its exact value, aiming to understand how quickly cosmic structures spread out across space. 



Some researchers rely on data from nearby galaxies, and others look back to the early Universe. Over time, these two groups of measurements have revealed a conflict known as the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unknown-factors-are-accelerating-the-expansion-of-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble tension</a>.



“The tension now turns into a crisis,” said Scolnic, who led the research team.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-exactly-is-the-conflict">What exactly is the conflict?</h2>



When researchers compare how the Universe looks at great distances with how it appears in our own cosmic neighborhood, something doesn’t add up. 



Standard theories predict a slower rate of expansion than what local measurements show. Scolnic points to the difference between early snapshots of the Universe and its present form. 



He describes it as building a growth chart: there’s a baby picture from the Big Bang and a current picture of our galactic surroundings, yet the curve connecting these two images doesn’t match predictions.



“This is saying, to some respect, that our model of cosmology might be broken,” said Scolnic.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bridging-gaps-in-the-cosmic-ladder">Bridging gaps in the "cosmic ladder"</h2>



Scientists have used a “<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/image-detail/hubble-distance-ladder-stsci-01evsw8v60tdzv2m2v1m1j8as8/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmic ladder</a>” to measure distances to celestial objects for many years. Each rung of the ladder calibrates the next, creating a chain of reliable measurements. 



In recent work, a project called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (<a href="https://www.desi.lbl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DESI</a>) provided an extensive set of distances to galaxies, adding more precision to the process.



“The DESI collaboration did the really hard part, their ladder was missing the first rung,” said Scolnic. “I knew how to get it, and I knew that that would give us one of the most precise measurements of the Hubble constant we could get, so when their paper came out, I dropped absolutely everything and worked on this non-stop.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-universe-expansion-and-the-coma-cluster">Universe expansion and the Coma Cluster</h2>



One of the ways to secure that first rung is to look at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coma_Cluster" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coma Cluster</a>. Researchers have debated its true distance for about 40 years. 



To accurately measure how far away the Coma cluster is, Scolnic and his team, supported by the <a href="https://www.templeton.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Templeton Foundation</a>, looked at the light patterns from 12 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-travels-back-in-time-to-better-understand-supernovae-science/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Type Ia supernovae</a> within the cluster. 



Think of Type Ia supernovae as dependable flashlights in the darkness because their brightness is consistent and directly related to their distance. This makes them excellent tools for figuring out how far away things are in space.



The researchers determined that the Coma cluster is about 320 million light-years away. This measurement sits right in the middle of the distances other scientists have found over the past 40 years, which is a good sign that their calculation is accurate.



“This measurement isn’t influenced by our theories about how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-matter-does-not-exist-universe-27-billion-years-old-study/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble tension</a> will be resolved,” Scolnic explained. “This cluster is pretty close to us, and we've been measuring it long before we knew how important it would become.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-we-need-a-new-hubble-constant">Do we need a new Hubble constant?</h2>



With a solid anchor point in place, the team used the rest of the cosmic ladder to calculate a fresh value for the Hubble constant: 76.5 kilometers per second per megaparsec. 



That number describes how fast galaxies recede from each other per 3.26 million light-years of separation. 



It lines up closely with other local measurements, confirming that the nearby Universe seems to expand more quickly than the standard model would anticipate.



“Over the last decade or so, there's been a lot of re-analysis from the community to see if my team’s original results were correct,” said Scolnic, whose research has consistently challenged the Hubble constant predicted using the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/is-there-a-fifth-force-of-nature-asteroids-provide-new-clues/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">standard model</a> of physics. 



“Ultimately, even though we're swapping out so many of the pieces, we all still get a very similar number. So, for me, this is as good of a confirmation as it's ever gotten.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-the-expansion-of-the-universe-matter">Why does the expansion of the Universe matter?</h2>



Scientists now want to know whether the problem lies with the models or the measurements. Some feel the data is solid, leaving open the possibility that the underlying theory may need an adjustment. 



Others remain cautious, preferring to test every step of the measurement process to rule out errors. As more powerful telescopes and innovative techniques come online, each fresh data set feeds the debate.



“We’re at a point where we’re pressing really hard against the models we’ve been using for two and a half decades, and we’re seeing that things aren’t matching up,” said Scolnic. 



“This may be reshaping how we think about the Universe, and it’s exciting! There are still surprises left in cosmology, and who knows what discoveries will come next?”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-questions-and-lingering-mysteries">Big questions and lingering mysteries</h2>



Questions about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/timescape-dark-energy-doesnt-exist-causing-lumpy-universe-expansion-cmbr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark energy</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-are-now-searching-for-dark-matter-inside-old-earth-rocks-minerals-crystals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark matter</a>, and other unknowns linger in the background. Many wonder if there is a missing ingredient that might explain the higher-than-expected rate of expansion. 



Some look to potential new physics, while others keep refining measurement techniques for better precision. 



Researchers continue to watch the numbers roll in from observatories worldwide, gathering more evidence to understand how the expansion rate behaves over time. 



Whether it’s slight tweaks to established models or an altogether new approach, the cosmic story remains a work in progress, guided by measurements that keep surpassing expectations.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ada0bd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Astrophysical Journal Letters</a>.



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The Universe is expanding faster than science can explain, as new data sends physics into 'crisis' mode

The expansion rate of the Universe has befuddled and concerned researchers for decades. Recent measurements have only added to the mystery and heightened the alarm within the scientific community, hinting that the current theoretical framework might be missing something important. Observations suggest that galaxies are moving apart at a higher rate than scientists have long expected. Many now wonder if the standard model of cosmology can fully explain what’s going on. Dan Scolnic is an associate professor of physics at Duke University. He and his team led...

In 2016, the <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a> (WHO) estimated that over 4.2 million people die prematurely each year from long-term exposure to fine particulate outdoor <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-linked-to-a-higher-risk-of-stroke/">air pollution</a> (known in the scientific community as PM2.5). However, a new study led by <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a> in Canada suggests that the yearly global death toll from air pollution may be significantly higher than previously thought, and that mortality risk was increased even at very low levels of PM2.5 - which can lead to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as some types of cancers.



“We found that outdoor PM2.5 may be responsible for as many as 1.5 million additional deaths around the globe each year because of effects at very-low concentrations that were not previously appreciated,” said study lead author Scott Weichenthal, an associate professor of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health at McGill.



The scientists arrived at this conclusion by combining health and mortality data for a cohort of seven million Canadians gathered over a period of 25 years with information about the levels of pollution across the country. Since Canada is a country with low levels of outdoor PM2.5, it is the perfect place to study health impacts at low concentrations.



While the WHO recently set out ambitious new guidelines for annual average air pollution, reducing by half its earlier recommendations – from concentrations of 10 to concentrations of five micrograms per cubic meter – the current standards of the U.S. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> are 12 micrograms.



“One take away is that the global health benefits of meeting the new WHO guideline are likely much larger than previously assumed,” Weichenthal explained. “The next steps are to stop focusing only on particle mass and start looking more closely at particle composition because some particles are likely more harmful than others. If we can gain a better understanding of this, it may allow us to be much more efficient in designing regulatory interventions to improve population health.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo3381">Science Advances</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

Even low levels of air pollution can be deadly

In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that over...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www2.uottawa.ca/en">University of Ottawa</a> in Canada has found that climate change could bring viruses in the Arctic into contact with novel environments and hosts, thus increasing the risk of viral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/another-monkey-virus-could-spill-over-to-humans/">spillover</a>. According to the experts, the chances of such events increase dramatically with the melting of glaciers, as the meltwater can transport a variety of pathogens to new hosts.&nbsp;



The scientists focused on Lake Hazen, the largest lake located north of the Arctic Circle. They collected samples from the soil that becomes a riverbed for melted glacier water in the summer, as well as from the lakebed itself, and conducted genetic analyses to look for traces of viral DNA and RNA. “This enabled us to know what viruses are in a given environment, and what potential hosts are also present,” said study senior author Stephane Aris-Brosou, an associate professor of Biology at the University of Ottawa.



In order to find out how likely the viruses they found were to spill over into new hosts, the scientists examined the equivalent of each virus’s and host’s family tree. “Basically what we tried to do is measure how similar these trees are,” explained study lead author Audree Lemieux, a research assistant at the same university. While similar genealogies suggest that a virus has evolved along with a specific host, differences suggest the possibility of spillover.



The analyses revealed pronounced differences between viruses and hosts in the lakebed, a feature directly correlated with the risk of spillover. The difference was less stark in the samples collected from the riverbeds, most likely due to the fact that water erodes the topsoil, removing organisms and thus limiting the interactions between viruses and potential new hosts. However, as increased water from melting glaciers deposits more sediment, viruses and hosts that would not normally encounter each other may be brought together.&nbsp;



Although the likelihood of dramatic spillover events remains relatively low, further research is needed to clarify how large the differences between viruses and hosts needs to be in order to give rise to massive spillovers, and to clarify how a warming climate could increase risks further, as new potential hosts move into previously inhospitable regions.



“It could be anything from ticks to mosquitoes to certain animals, to bacteria and viruses themselves. It’s really unpredictable... and the effect of spillover itself is very unpredictable, it can range from benign to an actual pandemic,” Lemieux concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1073">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

Melting glaciers could unleash dangerous viruses

A new study led by the University of Ottawa in...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supergene-transformed-the-social-hierarchy-of-fire-ants/">Fire ants</a> are an invasive species in the southeastern United States which are currently expanding their range due to climate change. When they sting, they inject significant amounts of venom that triggers immune responses in various animal species, ranging from lizards and livestock to humans.&nbsp;



In eastern fence lizards – a species occurring throughout the same region – repeated stinging by fire ants can lead to paralysis and even death. However, these lizards frequently eat fire ants. Now, a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> has found that eating fire ants may prepare a lizard’s immune system to be stung by the ants, thus increasing their resilience to these pests.



“We know that lizards from areas with fire ants have different immune profiles than lizards in areas without them,” said study senior author Tracy Langkilde, a professor of Biology at Penn State.&nbsp;“Because the immune system is so critical for survival, we wanted to determine if these differences in immune profiles can be directly attributed to lizards frequently being stung by fire ants, eating fire ants, or something else.”



The scientists examined six immune measures in response to three weeks of lizards either being fed dead fire ants or being stung by them three times per week. The analysis revealed that, when lizards were fed fire ants, three immune measures were enhanced in comparison with lizards being repeatedly stung: an elevation in the levels of a type of white blood cells called basophils; an increase in complement activity that helps antibodies and other parts of the immune system function properly; and a rise in a type of immunoglobulin antibody (IgM) known to be reactive to fire ant venom.



“All three of these immune aspects are expected to help lizards survive a fire ant attack,” said study lead author Catherine Tylan, a graduate student at Penn State. “For example, the fire ant-specific antibodies and complement could help bind up venom so it can no longer negatively impact the body. It’s possible that exposure to fire ant venom from the consumed fire ants stimulates an increased immune response, acting somewhat like a vaccine. So, eating fire ants may incidentally help lizards prepare for future venom exposure from stings.”



These findings could help explain the immune patterns observed in lizards in the fields. “Lizards caught from areas with fire ants have higher anti-fire ant antibodies and basophils than lizards from areas without fire ants,” Tylan reported. “This study showed these same immune responses when lizards were fed fire ants, suggesting that the difference in these two immune measures in the field may be a result of lizards eating fire ants.”



“Together, these results help us understand the potential health-relevant consequences of exposure to invasive species. Interestingly, our results suggest that native animals may be able to offset immune consequences of venom exposure by consuming these same species,” Professor Langkilde concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02939-8">Biological Invasions</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

Lizards that eat fire ants develop greater immunity

Fire ants are an invasive species in the southeastern United...

Marijuana is the most widely smoked substance in the world, second only to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tobacco-and-zinnia-can-thrive-in-polluted-land/">tobacco</a>. And its use is on the increase since it has become legalized for recreational purposes in some of the U.S. states, as well as in Canada (in 2018). However, not very much is known about the effects that marijuana has on the lungs, and images of lung condition in long-term marijuana users are not readily available. 



A recent study, comparing the chest CT images from 56 marijuana smokers with those of 57 non-smoking controls and 33 individuals who smoked only tobacco, has now been published in <a href="https://pubs.rsna.org/journal/radiology">Radiology</a>, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America. The CT images were taken between 2005 and 2020, and show that those who smoke marijuana are more likely to suffer from emphysema, a lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe in enough oxygen.&nbsp;



Dr. Giselle Revah, a cardiothoracic radiologist and assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, in Ottawa, Canada, was first author on the study. She was searching for information on the effect of marijuana on the lungs, and its health implications.&nbsp;



“I can tell if someone is a heavy or a long-time cigarette smoker when I look at a CT scan. With marijuana being the second most inhaled substance after tobacco, I started wondering: What does marijuana inhalation look like on a CT scan? Would I be able to tell if someone was a marijuana smoker; is it different from cigarette smoke?” says Dr. Revah.



“What’s unique about this study, is that there hasn’t been anything comparing the imaging findings in tobacco smokers to marijuana smokers before. In fact, there is a lack of imaging research in marijuana, probably because it’s still illegal in many parts of the world, and in many U.S. states, which is why I think we were the first to do a project like this.”



The comparison showed that 75 percent of the marijuana smokers had emphysema, compared with 67 percent of those who smoked tobacco only. To put this in perspective, only 5 percent of the non-smokers had emphysema. Paraseptal emphysema, which damages the tiny ducts that connect to the air sacs in the lungs, was the predominant type of emphysema seen in marijuana smokers compared to the tobacco-only group.



In addition, the researchers found evidence suggesting that marijuana smokers suffered other health effects on their lungs, including more instances of large and small airway diseases. Airway inflammation was more common in marijuana smokers than non-smokers and tobacco-only smokers, as was gynecomastia, the condition of enlarged male breast tissue due to hormone imbalance. Gynecomastia was found in 38 percent of the marijuana smokers, 11 percent of the tobacco-only smokers and 16 percent of non-smoking controls.&nbsp;



Dr. Revah said the overall results were surprising, especially considering that the patients in the tobacco-only group had extensive histories of smoking.



“The fact that our marijuana smokers – some of whom also smoked tobacco – had additional findings of airway inflammation/chronic bronchitis suggests that marijuana has additional synergistic effects on the lungs above tobacco,” she said. “In addition, our results were still significant when we compared the non-age-matched groups, including younger patients who smoked marijuana and who presumably had less lifetime exposure to cigarette smoke.”&nbsp;



The differences between the effects of marijuana and tobacco smoke may be due to the specific ways in which the substances are smoked. Marijuana is smoked unfiltered; and this results in more particulates reaching the airways. In addition, marijuana is inhaled with a longer breath hold and puff volume than tobacco smoke.



“It has been suggested that smoking a marijuana joint deposits four times more particulates in the lung than an average tobacco cigarette,” Dr. Revah said. “These particulates are likely airway irritants.”



While smoking marijuana, a full inhalation with a sustained Valsalva maneuver, an attempt at exhalation against a closed airway, may also lead to trauma and peripheral airspace changes.&nbsp;Dr. Revah recognizes that more data is needed, particularly involving how much and for how long marijuana has been used. She also states it would be interesting to find out if the technique of smoking, such as through a bong, a joint or a pipe, has an influence on the damage caused.



“We’ve identified an association between marijuana smoking and damage to both the small and the large airways,” she said. “We still need more research before we can effect policy change. We need larger, more robust prospective studies with more patients to confirm it.”



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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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Marijuana smokers may have more lung damage

Marijuana is the most widely smoked substance in the world,...

According to a recent study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.021">Current Biology</a>, elementary school children can learn new information or skills more quickly than adults. The experts found that the reason for this increased capacity for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forgetting-may-actually-be-a-form-of-learning/">learning</a> is that children and adults exhibit differences in a brain messenger called GABA, which has a fundamental role in stabilizing newly learned material.



“Our results show that children of elementary school age can learn more items within a given period of time than adults, making learning more efficient in children,” said study senior author Takeo Watanabe, a professor of Psychology at <a href="https://www.brown.edu/">Brown University</a>.



By using behavioral and state-of-the-art neuroimaging methods to examine visual learning in elementary school children and adults, the scientists discovered that, while children have a rapid boost of GABA during visual training that lasts several minutes after the training ends, the concentrations of GABA in adults remain constant. These findings suggest that children’s brains respond to training in a way which allows them to more quickly and efficiently stabilize new learning.



“In subsequent behavioral experiments, we found that children indeed stabilized new learning much more rapidly than adults, which agrees with the common belief that children outperform adults in their learning abilities,” reported study lead author Sebastian M. Frank, an expert in learning, development, plasticity, and attention at the <a href="https://www.uni-regensburg.de/en">University of Regensburg</a> in Germany. “Our results therefore point to GABA as a key player in making learning efficient in children.”



These findings may also change neuroscientists’ understanding and conceptualization of brain maturity in children. “Our results imply that children exhibit highly efficient inhibitory, GABAergic processing in spite of inhibitory failures that have been observed in other domains such as cognitive control or attention,” Frank explained. “This implies that GABAergic processing involved in different aspects of cognitive function might mature at different speeds.”



“Although children’s brains are not yet fully matured and many of their behavioral and cognitive functions are not as efficient as in adults, children are not, in general, outperformed in their abilities by adults,” Professor Watanabe added. “On the contrary, children are, at least in some domains such as visual learning, superior in their abilities to adults.”



Further research is needed to examine in more detail such difference in maturation rates between brain regions and functions, and to explore the role of GABA responses in other types of learning, such as reading or writing.



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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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Children can learn faster than adults

According to a recent study published in the journal Current...

We are all familiar with the joy derived from sharing something noteworthy with a friend or family member. Even young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-are-the-causes-of-sedentary-behavior-in-children/">children</a> develop gestures, such as pointing or holding out a hand, to direct a parent’s attention to something interesting. This behavior of "sharing for the sake of sharing" has always been seen as pretty much unique to humans, and not part of the common behavioral repertoire of other primates.



However, scientists have now documented the first instance of a wild chimpanzee appearing to show an object to another individual, apparently simply for the sake of sharing the experience. The report, published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">PNAS</a>, contains video footage of Fiona, an adult chimpanzee from the Ngogo chimpanzee community in Kibale National Park, Uganda, showing her mother a leaf during a grooming session.



“People love sharing experiences with each other – social media capitalizes on this trait, and even in our first year of life we start to show others interesting things we’ve found," said study lead author Dr. Claudia Wilke from the Department of Psychology at the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a>&nbsp;



“It has been suggested that ‘sharing for sharing’s sake’ is a uniquely human trait, but our observation of these wild chimpanzees challenges this,” she explained. “We observed an adult chimpanzee showing her mother a leaf she had been grooming, not because she wanted her to do anything with the leaf, but most likely because she simply wanted her to also look at the leaf.”



“Our observations suggest that, in specific social circumstances, chimps may show each other objects of interest, to share attention about them, and that this behavior may not be unique to humans," said study co-author Simon Townsend.&nbsp;



While conducting behavioral research on the Ngogo chimpanzees between 2013 and 2020, the scientists recorded many instances of "leaf-grooming." This occurs during bouts of social or self-grooming, when a groomer plucks a nearby leaf, strokes it and manipulates it with the fingers or mouth as if grooming it, and stares closely at it. The function of this behavior has not yet been explained, although it is hypothesized to be a way of inspecting ecto-parasites, such as lice or ticks, that have been placed on the leaves.&nbsp;



In one instance, however, the video footage records Fiona holding a leaf and stretching out her arm towards her mother as though seeking her mother’s attention. Initially, the mother lowers her eyes to look at the leaf, but Fiona then thrusts the leaf even further towards her mother’s face, requiring the mother to adjust her head to pay full attention to the object. After obtaining the desired attention, Fiona stops gesturing to her mother, withdraws the leaf and continues to groom it.



The researchers examined video footage of more than 80 similar leaf-grooming events in order to rule out other explanations for the behavior. They could not find any evidence that leaf-grooming is related to eating (mostly the leaves are not eaten), or to initiating play behavior or grooming. In more than three quarters of the recorded clips of leaf grooming, chimps sitting next to each other do both pay attention to the leaves being used, but Fiona is the only chimp found to have gestured in order to encourage her mother to take a look.&nbsp;



“She’s not offering it for food. She doesn’t want her mum to do anything. She just wants them to look at it together, and be like ‘Oh, cool, nice!’” said study co-author Professor Katie Slocombe.



It is recognized that chimps use gestures to communicate with others, but this is usually to illicit a specific functional response. “Sometimes when they’re grooming in this community of chimpanzees, they’ll scratch a particular location on their body … and that indicates ‘I want you to groom me here,’” said Slocombe. “If they have their hands out towards something, it means ‘give me that.’”&nbsp;



The researchers say their results are consistent with the argument that Fiona gestured declaratively to show her mother the leaf, and that her gesture led to simultaneous attention to the leaf. This suggests that, in highly specific social conditions, wild chimpanzees, like humans, may be motivated to communicate cooperatively and share interest and attention simply for the sake of sharing.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Professor Frans de Waal, a primatologist at Emory University who was not involved in the work, described the observation as remarkable. “It signifies that chimpanzees, and perhaps also other apes, grasp that other individuals gather information the way they do themselves, and are willing to share information with others without any prompting or rewards or self-serving purposes,” he said.



Slocombe added: “While there is a need to identify further examples of this behavior in chimpanzees, our observations indicate that sharing attention for sharing’s sake is not unique to humans. It has been argued that our ability to share experiences helped us to evolve the cognitive abilities that set us apart from other species, such as our capacity for joint action, cooperation and language.”&nbsp;



“Our observations raise new questions about why humans share experiences more often than our closest living relatives and whether engaging in this behavior at a higher frequency than other species can still explain the evolution of cognitive functions underpinning human social behavior,” she concluded.



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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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Wild chimpanzees like to share cool things with others

We are all familiar with the joy derived from sharing...

The Covid-19 pandemic significantly changed the lifestyles of people – particularly children. As lockdowns were issued all over the world, children engaged in more sedentary behaviors, defined as any waking behavior in a sitting or reclining position where less than 1.5 metabolic equivalents of energy are expended. Since such behaviors are major risk factors for the development of conditions such as cardiovascular disease or high cholesterol levels, there is an urgent need to design strategies to address them.



According to a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.waseda.jp/top/en">Waseda University</a> in Japan, it is necessary to understand the underlying factors which correlate with sedentary behavior among children. To shed more light on this problem, the experts investigated the socio-cultural, geographical, and indoor/outdoor environmental contexts that contribute to such behavior.



“Sedentary behavior, such as television viewing or excessive computer use, is harmful for children’s health and well-being. Nevertheless, this is a very common behavior in the younger generations, especially with new technologies,” said study lead author Mohammad Javad Koohsari, an associate professor of Urban Design and Health at the <a href="http://www.jaist.ac.jp/english/">Japan Advanced Institute of Science &amp; Technology</a>, who conducted this study during his graduate degree at Waseda.&nbsp;



“Hence, reducing such inactivity in children is the need of the hour. Understanding the correlates across different domains of sedentary behavior among children can help develop effective interventions to reduce sitting time in this vulnerable population.”



The researchers surveyed 343 children from Japan with a median age of 8.8 years, and identified 22 potential correlates with sedentary behavior across five categories: parental characteristics, household environment, residential neighborhood, school environment, and school neighborhood. Among these, the age of the parents, the mother’s educational level, the presence of screen-based devices at home - and, most importantly, in the child’s bedroom - non-educational computer use at home, and traffic safety in the neighborhoods were the children lived were found to strongly correlate with sedentary behavior.



According to the scientists, parental characteristics played a major role at home. For instance, the mother’s age and lower educational background was correlated with less time spent by children on homework and recreational activities. However, parental support and shared activities helped decreased children’s sedentary behavior.



Other factors correlated with increased sedentarism included the presence of screen-based devices at home, the lack of traffic safety in the neighborhood, and the prolonged sitting periods at school. The researchers advise parents to remove personal TVs from their children’s bedrooms, city officials to make neighborhoods safer with improved traffic norms, and schools to reduce extended sitting in classrooms.



“Sedentary behavior is an emerging risk factor for children’s cardiometabolic health.&nbsp;The correlates of sedentary behavior in children identified by our study were highly subjective and different across domains. Therefore, future studies and efforts for developing strategies to reduce this behavior must look into the different domains and contexts that contribute to it,”&nbsp;Dr. Koohsari concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-23410-7">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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



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What are the causes of sedentary behavior in children?

The Covid-19 pandemic significantly changed the lifestyles of people –...

Even before the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-deaths-linked-to-unhealthy-lifestyles/">Covid-19</a> pandemic, many world leaders started sounding the alarm on the increase in loneliness among all age categories as a major public health issue. In 2018, Britain was the first country to name a “<a href="https://time.com/5248016/tracey-crouch-uk-loneliness-minister/">loneliness minister</a>,” followed by Japan in 2021. 



Previous research has shown that loneliness is much more than a feeling – it can actually have significant health impacts, and is associated with higher risks of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, or stroke, with some scientists claiming that its effects are comparable to those of smoking or obesity.&nbsp;



Now, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">King’s College London</a> (KCL) has shed new light on why people feel lonely, particularly in older life, and what we can do about it. “Loneliness results from a discrepancy between expected and actual social relationships,” said study lead author Samia Akhter-Khan, a graduate student in Health Service and Population Research at KCL.



“The problem that we identified in current research was that we haven’t really thought about: What do people expect from their relationships? We work with this definition of expectations, but we don’t really identify what those expectations are and how they change across cultures or over the lifespan.”



According to Akhter-Khan and her colleagues, older people may have certain relationship expectations that have gone largely overlooked. For instance, they want to be respected, and expect people to listen to them, take an interest in their experiences, learn from their mistakes, and appreciate what they have been through and the many obstacles they needed to overcome. 



Moreover, they also want to contribute by giving back to others and their communities and passing along traditions or skills through teaching and mentoring, caregiving, volunteering, or other meaningful activities.



Thus, finding ways of fulfilling these expectations can go a long way towards combating loneliness in later life. Unfortunately, regular scales for measuring loneliness have largely left them out, mostly because the labor and contributions of older people are unaccounted for in typical economic indices.&nbsp;



Further research is needed to clarify why people feel lonely at different times in their lives, in order to address the current loneliness pandemic humanity faces.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17456916221127218">Perspectives on Psychological Science</a>.



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



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What triggers loneliness in old age?

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, many world leaders started sounding...

Serosurveillance provides estimates of antibody levels against infectious diseases and is widely used to measure population immunity due to past infection or vaccination. According to a new study led by the World Health Organization’s <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/early-investigations">Unity Studies</a> and <a href="https://serotracker.com/">SeroTracker</a>, global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-origins-of-covid-19-will-most-likely-remain-a-mystery/">Covid-19</a> infection rates are significantly higher than previously reported.



Usually, routine surveillance data underestimates infection rates and cannot reliably infer population immunity due to asymptomatic infections – which, in the case of Covid, are quite high – and uneven access to diagnostics. In order to determine the true rates of infection and indicators of population immunity against SARS-CoV-2 over time, the scientists conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of seroprevalence studies published between January 2020 and May 2022. They analyzed seroprevalence by country and month in order to estimate regional and global seroprevalence over time, as well as seropositivity rates from infection versus infection or vaccination.



The analysis revealed that global seroprevalence has risen from 7.7 percent in June 2020 to 59.2 percent in September 2021, suggesting that nearly two-thirds of the global population had Covid antibodies from either infection or vaccination even before the emergence and spread of the highly contagious Omicron variants.&nbsp;



“This study on global seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies found that while seroprevalence has increased over time, a third of the global population tested negative for antibodies against the virus as of September 2021 estimates. It was also found that compared to seroprevalence estimates, routine testing for Covid-19 has largely underestimated the number of global infections,” the authors explained.



“As we enter the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, implementation of a global system or network for targeted, multi-pathogen, high-quality, and standardized collaborative serosurveillance is a crucial next step to monitor the Covid-19 pandemic and contribute to preparedness for other emerging respiratory pathogens,” they concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004107">PLoS Medicine</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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Covid infection rates are much higher than previously reported

Serosurveillance provides estimates of antibody levels against infectious diseases and...

Since everyone ages at different rates, two 50-year-olds, for instance, despite living the same number of years, may have different <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brisk-walking-could-reduce-biological-aging-by-more-than-a-decade/">biological ages</a>, meaning that a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors have caused them to age at different paces, with different levels of disease and mortality risks. Lifestyle choices, such as diet or smoking, together with illness, contribute to accelerating biological age often well beyond one’s chronological age. Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> has found for the first time that muscle weakness marked by grip strength – a proxy for overall strength capacity – is associated with accelerated biological age.



The scientists modelled the relationship between biological age and grip strength of 1,274 middle-aged and older adults using three “age acceleration clocks” based on DNA methylation, which were originally designed to provide a molecular biomarker and estimator of the pace of aging in various health-related conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or physical disability.



The analysis revealed that both older men and women showed a significant association between lower grip strength and biological age acceleration. “We’ve known that muscular strength is a predictor of longevity, and that weakness is a powerful indicator of disease and mortality, but, for the first time, we have found strong evidence of a biological link between muscle weakness and actual acceleration in biological age,” said&nbsp;study lead author Mark Peterson, an associate professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Michigan.



“This suggests that if you maintain your muscle strength across the lifespan, you may be able to protect against many common age-related diseases. We know that smoking, for example, can be a powerful predictor of disease and mortality, but now we know that muscle weakness could be the&nbsp;new&nbsp;smoking.”



Previous research has shown that low grip strength is an extremely strong predictor of adverse health effects, such as cardiovascular events. This evidence, coupled with the new study’s recent findings, could help clinicians adopt the use of grip strength as a method of screening individuals for future risk of functional decline, chronic disease, and even early mortality.



“Screening for grip strength would allow for the opportunity to design interventions to delay or prevent the onset or progression of these adverse ‘age-related’ health events,” Peterson explained. “We have been pushing for clinicians to start using grip strength in their clinics and only in geriatrics has this sort of been incorporated. However, not many people are using this, even though we’ve seen hundreds of publications showing that grip strength is a really good measure of health.”



Further research is needed to better understand the connection between grip strength and age acceleration, such as how inflammatory conditions contribute to age-related weakness and mortality. Moreover, scientists should also investigate how lifestyle and behavioral factors, such as diet or physical activity, could affect grip strength and thus age acceleration. “Healthy dietary habits are very important, but I think regular exercise is the most critical thing that somebody can do to preserve health across the lifespan,”&nbsp;Peterson concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcsm.13110">Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia, and Muscle</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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Muscle weakness could be the new smoking

Since everyone ages at different rates, two 50-year-olds, for instance,...

A recent study led by the <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a> has shown that the lifespan of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bees-cannot-fly-straight-after-ingesting-pesticides/">honey bees</a> kept in a controlled, laboratory environment is 50 percent shorter than it used to be in the 1970s. When the researchers modeled the effect of current shorter lifespans, the results corresponded to the increased colony loss and reduced honey production rates observed by U.S. beekeepers in recent decades.



Since bee colonies naturally age and die off, colony turnover is an accepted factor in the beekeeping industry. However, over the past few decades, U.S. beekeepers have reported unusually high loss rates, meaning they had to replace more colonies to keep operations viable.&nbsp;



To understand this phenomenon, scientists investigated environmental stressors, diseases, parasites, pesticide exposure, and nutrition. This new study is one the first to provide evidence of an overall decline in honey bee lifespans potentially independent of environmental factors, suggesting that genetics may be influencing the broader trends observed in the beekeeping industry.



“We’re isolating bees from the colony life just before they emerge as adults, so whatever is reducing their lifespan is happening before that point,” said study lead author Anthony Nearman, a Ph.D. student in Entomology at the University of Maryland. “This introduces the idea of a genetic component. If this hypothesis is right, it also points to a possible solution. If we can isolate some genetic factors, then maybe we can breed for longer-lived honey bees.”



While performing experiments on bees grown in the laboratory to assess the effect of supplementing the caged bees’ sugar water diet with plain water to mimic natural conditions, the researchers noticed that, regardless of diet, the average lifespan of the bees were half that of caged bees in similar experiments in the 1970s.



“When I plotted the lifespans over time, I realized, wow, there’s actually this huge time effect going on. Standardized protocols for rearing honey bees in the lab weren’t really formalized until the 2000s, so you would think that lifespans would be longer or unchanged, because we’re getting better at this, right? Instead, we saw a doubling of mortality rate,” Nearman reported.



Although laboratory environments are different from bee colonies, historical records of caged bees suggest a similar lifespan to colony bees. Moreover, previous research showed that, in the real world, shorter honey bee lifespans corresponded to less foraging time and lower honey production.&nbsp;



Initially, the scientists assumed that the caged bees could be experiencing some type of low-level viral contamination or pesticide exposure during their larval stage. Yet, none of them have shown any symptoms of such exposures, making the researchers think that a genetic component may be the lead cause of this worrisome decline in longevity.



Further research is needed to compare trends in honey bee lifespans across the U.S. and other countries, and to isolate and compare potential contributing factors in declining lifespans, such as genetics, the presence of viruses, or pesticide use in local bee stocks.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-21401-2">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.&nbsp;



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

Honey bee lifespans are mysteriously declining

A recent study led by the University of Maryland has...

Since the beginning of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-reinfection-increases-the-risk-of-fatal-complications/">Covid-19</a> pandemic three years ago, scientists worldwide have struggled to discover this virus’ ancestor in order to clarify the origins of the pandemic. So far, over a dozen viruses related to SARS-CoV-2 have been isolated from bats and pangolins. 



By comparing their entire genomes – which are about 30,000 nucleotides long – the experts found that SARS-CoV-2’s closest relatives are a bat virus discovered in Laos (called BANAL-52), whose genome is 96.8 percent identical to that of SARS-CoV-2, and another virus (RaTG13) found in southern China’s Yunnan province with a 96.1 percent similar genome. The three to four percent difference between their genomes and that of SARS-CoV-2 suggests that there have been about 40 to 70 years of evolution since these viruses shared a common ancestor.



However, according to a new study presented at the <a href="https://worldonehealthcongress2022.miceapps.com/client/sites/view/WOH2022">7th World One Health Congress</a> in Singapore on November 8, comparing whole-genome sequences ignores the role of recombination in virus evolution - a process in which viruses swap chunks of RNA with each other. By comparing 18 bat and pangolin coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 and splicing them into segments with different evolutionary histories, the scientists found that some segments shared a common ancestor with the new coronavirus just a few years ago.



For instance, most of the fragments shared a common ancestor around 2007, but one small chunk – about 250 nucleotides long – could have shared a common ancestor in 2016, and another 550-nucleotide-long one in 2015. Since the youngest fragments were from bats sampled in Yunnan and Laos, southern China and southeast Asia are the most likely hotspots for the ancestors of SARS-CoV-2.



Unfortunately, although these findings significantly narrow the time between the ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 originating in bats and the virus that spilled over in humans and created worldwide havoc since 2019, it is still not clear how this closest ancestor made this jump into such a different species as humans, suggesting that an as yet unidentified intermediary animal host may have been involved.&nbsp;



According to Edward Holmes, a world-famous virologist from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> in Australia, given how often coronaviruses recombine and how much time has already passed since 2016, the chances of finding a direct ancestor “are almost nil. That ship has sailed,” he concluded.



A pre-print version of the study can be found <a href="https://virological.org/t/the-comparative-recency-of-the-proximal-ancestors-of-sars-cov-1-and-sars-cov-2/906#post_1">here</a>.&nbsp;



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

The origins of Covid-19 will most likely remain a mystery

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago,...

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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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[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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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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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