Some of the most dramatic climate events in history are the Snowball Earth episodes, which occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. Nearly the entire planet was covered in ice up to a kilometer (0.6 miles) thick during these periods.&nbsp;



The rare Snowball Earth events did not follow regular cycles but lasted for millions to tens of millions of years before being followed by intense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-global-warming-event-sheds-light-on-earths-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warming</a>. Despite their significance, the details surrounding how these frozen periods ended are still not fully understood.



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Washington</a> (UW) offers a more complete picture of how the last Snowball Earth episode ended and sheds light on why it was followed by a major expansion of life, including the emergence of Earth's first animals.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changes-in-key-earth-properties">Changes in key Earth properties</h2>



The research, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51412-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>, focuses on ancient rocks known as “cap carbonates,” which are believed to have formed as the planet’s ice sheets thawed.&nbsp;



These rocks provide clues about the state of Earth's atmosphere and oceans roughly 640 million years ago - long before ice cores or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-largest-ever-solar-storm-discovered-through-tree-rings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tree rings</a> could record such history.



Study lead author Trent Thomas is a doctoral student in earth and space sciences at UW.



“Cap carbonates contain information about key properties of Earth's atmosphere and ocean, such as changing levels of carbon dioxide in the air or the acidity of the ocean,” said Thomas. "Our theory now shows how these properties changed during and after Snowball Earth.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-formation-of-cap-carbonates-nbsp">Formation of cap carbonates&nbsp;</h2>



Cap carbonates are layered limestone or dolomite rocks with distinct chemical properties. Today, they can be found in more than 50 locations worldwide, including places like Death Valley, Namibia, Siberia, Ireland, and Australia.&nbsp;



These formations are believed to have resulted from the melting of the ice sheets that once covered Earth, triggering significant shifts in atmospheric and oceanic chemistry. The unique sediments were then deposited on the ocean floor.



The rocks are called “caps” because they lie atop the glacial deposits left behind after the Snowball Earth <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-complete-record-of-snowball-earth-found-in-rock-formation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">events</a>, and they’re classified as “carbonates” because they consist of carbon-containing limestone or dolomite.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animals-appeared-after-the-last-snowball-earth-nbsp">Animals appeared after the last Snowball Earth&nbsp;</h2>



Understanding how these rocks formed helps clarify the carbon cycle during periods of dramatic climate shifts. 



This latest study, which models these environmental changes, also provides clues about the evolution of life on Earth and explains why more complex life-forms emerged following the last Snowball Earth.



“Life on Earth was simple - in the form of microbes, algae, or other tiny aquatic organisms - for over two billion years leading up to Snowball Earth,” said senior author David Catling, a professor of earth and space sciences at UW.&nbsp;



“In fact, the billion years leading up to Snowball Earth are called the ‘boring billion’ because so little happened. Then two Snowball Earth events occurred, and soon after, animals appear in the fossil record.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chemistry-of-a-snow-covered-earth-nbsp">Chemistry of a snow-covered Earth&nbsp;</h2>



The new research offers a framework to explain how these two events may be connected. The study models the chemistry and geology during three distinct phases of Snowball Earth.&nbsp;



During the peak of the icy period, the thick ice sheets covering the planet reflected sunlight, though some open water allowed limited exchange between the ocean and atmosphere. Meanwhile, the cold seawater continued reacting with the ocean floor.



Over time, carbon dioxide built up in the atmosphere until it trapped enough heat to warm the planet and melt the ice.&nbsp;



Once this occurred, rainfall began again, and freshwater from glacial melt poured into the oceans, creating a layer of meltwater that floated on top of the denser, salty ocean water.&nbsp;



This layering slowed down ocean circulation. Eventually, ocean mixing resumed, allowing the upper ocean, deep ocean, and atmosphere to interact again.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-recovery-from-the-snowball-period-nbsp">Earth's recovery from the Snowball period&nbsp;</h2>



“We predict important changes in the environment as Earth recovered from the Snowball period, some of which affected the temperature, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/preparing-for-ocean-acidification-a-silent-killer-of-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acidity</a>, and circulation of the ocean. Now that we know these changes, we can more confidently figure out how they affected Earth’s life,” noted Thomas.



The research team plans to continue exploring how pockets of life that may have survived during Snowball Earth’s tumultuous aftermath could have evolved into the more complex <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-life-and-environment-co-evolved-over-500-million-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">life</a> forms that appeared shortly after.



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‘Snowball Earth’ event set the stage for complex life

Some of the most dramatic climate events in history are the Snowball Earth episodes, which occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. Nearly the entire planet was covered in ice up to a kilometer (0.6 miles) thick during these periods.&nbsp; The rare Snowball Earth events did not follow regular cycles but lasted for millions to tens of millions of years before being followed by intense warming. Despite their significance, the details surrounding how these frozen periods ended are still not fully understood. A new study led by...

Caribou (known as reindeer in Europe) are large, herbivorous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-mammals-are-vanishing-in-the-uk/">mammals</a> that are famous for making extensive migrations in order to avoid severe weather and gain access to forage. They make the longest seasonal migrations of any mammal, moving up to 2,500 miles each year. But not all caribous have the same propensity to migrate.



A recent study, led by Maria Cavedon from the University of Calgary, investigated the genes that influence migratory behavior in caribou and found that an individual’s genetic background is what makes it more or less likely to undertake extreme migrations.&nbsp;



The researchers followed 139 caribou (Rangifer tarandus) females using GPS tracking. Some of the animals lived in tundra habitats, while others inhabited woodlands distributed across western North America.&nbsp;



In addition, DNA sequencing of the caribou was carried out to investigate the genetic factors that influence migratory behavior.&nbsp;Over 50 genetic mutations associated with migratory behavior were identified. The experts noted that 27 of these mutations were located on genes involved in brain activity, fat and energy metabolism, body development, or hormone production.&nbsp;



Furthermore,&nbsp;the researchers found that the genetic sequences clustered into two distinct geographical groups – one northerly and the other southerly. These genetic subpopulations are descended from ancestral caribou that were separated from one another during the last ice age.&nbsp;



Having evolved in Beringia more than two million years ago, caribou became adapted to living in the cold conditions of north eastern Russia and Alaska. But around 300,000 years ago, during a relatively warm interglacial period, caribou populations spread throughout the northern half of North America.



However, when conditions began to cool again at the start of the last ice age, glaciers formed across Canada and the caribou range was cut in two. Those to the north of the continental ice sheets, in Beringia, continued to live in cold conditions while those trapped south of the glaciers became adapted to living in woodland habitats and warmer conditions.&nbsp;



These two groups of caribou remained isolated from each other, on opposite sides of the Rocky Mountains, throughout the duration of the ice age, which ended around 11,700 years ago.



The genetic and GPS analyses of the 139 caribou in the current study showed that individuals with a greater proportion of genes from northern ancestors were more likely to migrate longer distances. During the research, the more migratory individuals travelled nearly 250 kilometers on average, which was ten times further than the sedentary caribou.&nbsp;



These findings, published today in the open-access journal&nbsp;<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/">PLOS Genetics</a>, indicate an evolutionary legacy from the last glaciation, when northerly caribou populations continued to migrate in order to survive in harsh tundra environments, while southerly populations living in forests were more sedentary. The study is the first to investigate the genes influencing migration in an endangered terrestrial mammal.&nbsp;



Seasonal migrations enable animals to follow vital food resources that change from summer to winter. But they also make these animals particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation. Conserving key habitats along their seasonal migration routes could help to preserve the genes underpinning the world’s longest terrestrial migration, the authors say.



“Wide-ranging animals, including migratory species, are significantly threatened by the effects of habitat fragmentation and habitat loss,” said Cavedon. “We examined migratory behavior of GPS-collared endangered caribou in western North America and carried out genomic scans for the same individuals. We detected genes associated with migratory behavior, and we determined that propensity to migrate depended upon the evolutionary history of caribou."&nbsp;



"If, as we report, migratory behavior is influenced by genes, caribou could be further impacted by the loss of the migratory trait in some isolated populations already at low numbers.”



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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

Caribou migratory behavior is reflected in their genes

Caribou (known as reindeer in Europe) are large, herbivorous mammals...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.bmj.com/">The BMJ</a> has found that older adults commonly develop a new medical condition after recovering from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicrons-sister-has-arrived-and-covid-may-be-here-to-stay/">COVID-19</a> infection. The experts report that 32 out of 100 older adults who were infected with COVID-19 in 2020 developed at least one condition requiring medical care shortly after infection.



The conditions varied across major organ systems, ranging from the heart and kidneys to lungs and liver. Mental health complications also developed. Few studies have investigated the risk of new medical conditions emerging in older adults after COVID infection.&nbsp;



To address this gap in data, scientists used health insurance records to find 133,366 adults 65 and older who were diagnosed with COVID-19 before April 1, 2020. These patients were then compared to three groups that had not been infected with COVID, including one group which suffered from lower respiratory tract illness.&nbsp;



The researchers recorded any new or persistent conditions occurring 21 days after a COVID-19 diagnosis. The scientists calculated the excess risk of conditions triggered by COVID-19, over a period of months based on age, sex, race and whether patients were admitted to the hospital for COVID.&nbsp;



The study showed that 32 percent of those diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020 sought medical care after COVID-19 infection for one or more new conditions. This was 11 percent higher than the comparison group. Those who were infected with COVID-19 were more likely to develop several conditions including: respiratory failure, dementia and fatigue.&nbsp;



Individuals who had the greatest risk of developing a new medical condition were African Americans, men, patients who had been admitted to a hospital, and people over 75 years of age.&nbsp;



The scientists acknowledge that this is an observational study, and it cannot establish a cause. However, the researchers have issued the following warning:



“The number of survivors with sequelae after the acute infection will continue to grow. These findings further highlight the wide range of important sequelae after acute infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus."&nbsp;



“Understanding the magnitude of risk for the most important clinical sequelae might enhance their diagnosis and the management of individuals with sequelae after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.”



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Many older adults develop medical conditions after COVID-19

A new study published in the journal The BMJ has...

African cultural and natural heritage sites in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/less-than-16-percent-of-the-worlds-coastal-regions-remain-intact/">coastal regions</a> are at risk of being damaged or destroyed as sea levels rise. At least 20 percent of the sites that are home to Heritage of Outstanding and Universal Value along the African coast are already at risk from a one-in-100-year extreme sea level event. These include the iconic ruins of Tipasa in Algeria, and the North Sinai archaeological Sites Zone in Egypt.&nbsp;



In a study, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>, a global team of climate risk and heritage experts identified and mapped out the physical boundaries of 284 African coastal heritage sites. They then modeled the exposure of each site under different future global warming scenarios. Dr. Nicholas Simpson from the <a href="https://www.uct.ac.za/">University of Cape Town</a>’s (UCT) African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) was one of the leading contributors to this, the first comprehensive assessment of the risks posed by rising sea levels to these heritage sites.&nbsp;



The researchers found that 56 sites (20 percent) are already at risk from a one-in-100-year extreme sea level event but that, "by 2050, the number of exposed sites is projected to more than triple, reaching almost 200 for high emissions.”



From 2050, at least 151 natural and 40 cultural sites will be exposed to the potential damages of a 100-year extreme sea level event. The model even predicts that, by the end of the 21st century, the coastal heritage sites in some African countries will all be exposed to damage from such extreme sea level events, regardless of the level of greenhouse gas emissions.



“There are several countries which are projected to have all their coastal heritage sites exposed to the 100-year coastal extreme event by the end of the century, regardless of the scenario: Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Western Sahara, Libya, Mozambique, Mauritania, and Namibia," wrote the study authors.



And, in the case of the most extreme level of harmful emissions, the model identifies that all coastal heritage sites will also be exposed in Côte d'Ivoire, Cabo Verde, Sudan and Tanzania.



Small island heritage sites are also at high risk of being exposed to the hazards of sea level rise. For example, Aldabra Atoll, the world's second-largest coral atoll, and Kunta Kinteh Island (The Gambia) could both be exposed to extreme sea level events by 2100 that threaten their very existence.&nbsp;



“This is very concerning because none of these countries currently demonstrate adequate management or adaptive capacity to anticipate or establish heritage protections commensurate with the severity of these hazards," said the researchers.



The results highlight the importance of climate change adaptation and mitigation responses to protect and reduce the exposure of these iconic heritage sites.&nbsp;



“If climate change mitigation successfully reduces greenhouse gas emissions from a high-emissions pathway to a moderate emissions pathway, by 2050 the number of highly exposed sites can be reduced by 25%. This would be a significant saving in terms of loss and damage from climate change,” wrote the study authors.



“These findings help with prioritizing sites at risk and highlight the need for immediate protective action for African Heritage Sites; the design of which requires in-depth local-scale assessments of vulnerability and adaptation options. Urgent climate change adaptation for heritage sites in Africa includes improving governance and management approaches; site-specific vulnerability assessments; exposure monitoring; and protection strategies including ecosystem-based adaptation.”



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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

Rising sea levels threaten coastal African Heritage Sites

African cultural and natural heritage sites in coastal regions are...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-and-extreme-heat-waves-increase-air-pollution/">Wildfires</a> can be highly destructive events which burn through various ecosystems, threaten people and infrastructure, and release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a>, many wildfires are part of a natural regime of disturbance and post-fire recovery with a neutral impact on carbon storage over long timescales. The findings suggest that, in the long term, more carbon could end up being stored rather than released in savannahs and grasslands, which are the areas most affected by wildfires.



The researchers aimed to construct the most complete budget to date of the impact of wildfires on the carbon cycle, accounting for both short-term and long-term effects of wildfires on land carbon storage. By using a land surface model, they assessed the global impact of fires on the amount of carbon stored in soils and vegetation between 1901 and 2010.



“This study is about improving how we understand the process of fire on a range of timescales,” said study co-author Dr. Matthew Jones, an expert in the relationship between climate and wildfires at the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a>. “In essence, fires are unquestionably a source of carbon in the short-term, but these short-term effects&nbsp;could&nbsp;be counteracted by sinks of carbon in the long-term.”



According to Dr. Jones and his colleagues, these wildfire-related <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-sinks-are-a-powerful-weapon-against-climate-change/">carbon sinks</a> account to approximately 90 million tons of carbon dioxide being sequestered by soils and vegetation annually. However, the scientists could not yet reliably model the rate at which carbon is released back to the atmosphere as charcoal breaks down in soils.



“The missing piece in the puzzle is a conclusive understanding of how quickly charcoal breaks down in soils. We couldn’t model the timescale of this process due the poor availability of measurements, and hence the process is not included in our latest budget,” said Dr. Jones.



Regardless of this shortcoming, the findings strongly suggest that wildfires have a milder impact on the climate as previously estimated. “What is clear is that fires are very likely to be close to neutral, meaning that the average lifespan of charcoal in soils is around 5,000 years – well over a hundred times that of your average soil carbon,” explained study lead author Dr. Simon Bowring, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich.



“We urgently need increased efforts towards understanding the mechanisms underlying its movement to the atmosphere. As important, and independent of the previous consideration, the positioning of wild grasslands in the climate perspective likely requires substantial reassessment,” he concluded.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00892-0">Nature Geoscience</a>.



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

What are the carbon costs of wildfires?

Wildfires can be highly destructive events which burn through various...

Plants are subject to many attacks and injuries, from rabbits or caterpillars munching on their leaves to fungi or grubs attacking their roots. While <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-molecule-makes-animals-switch-from-eating-to-mating/">animals</a> can employ “fight or flight” responses when attacked, plants cannot run. Instead, according to a new study led by New York University’s <a href="https://as.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/as/departments/biology/research/gsb/cgsb.html">Center for Genomics and System Biology</a>, injury triggers a “fight or fix” response in plants, prompting them to either regenerate their damaged or missing parts, or to defend themselves by rapidly producing chemicals designed to stop animals or pathogens from further attacks.&nbsp;



Better understanding how plants regulate the trade-off between repairing damaged tissue and ramping up their defenses enabled scientists to nudge wounded plants towards repair rather than defense, a strategy which can be useful in improving crop regeneration.



In order to investigate how plants regulate these responses, the researchers cut off parts of several specimens of Arabidopsis, a small plant widely used as a model organism in Plant Biology, and corn, America’s largest crop and a very important source of nutrition for both people and animals. They found that, after an injury, plants produced some regeneration and some defense response, but did not ramp up both to maximum capacity. In fact, lowering one response appeared to increase the other.



“The ‘fight or fix’ responses seem to be connected, like a seesaw or scales - if one goes up, the other goes down. Plants are essentially hedging their bets after an attack,” said study lead author Marcela Hernández Coronado, an expert in Plant Molecular Biology at the <a href="https://www.cinvestav.mx/">Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute</a> in Mexico.



The scientists discovered that the balance in regeneration and defense responses was regulated by plant glutamate receptor-like (GLRs) proteins, which are distant relatives to glutamate receptors found in animal and human brains. Understanding the essential role these proteins play in the plants’ responses to injury presents a unique opportunity to improve plant growth, especially in cereal crops such as corn, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetics-and-the-environment-interact-in-plant-development/">sorghum</a>, or wheat, which are particularly resistant to regeneration.



“These glutamate receptors provide a ‘druggable target’ that we can use to enhance plant regeneration and propagation,” explained study senior author Kenneth Birnbaum, a professor of Biology at NYU.



By using both genetic interventions and three types of neuronal antagonist drugs to inhibit GLR activity, Professor Birnbaum and his team managed to alter the plants’ decision-making process in favor of regeneration.&nbsp;



“Retuning the balance between plant defense and regeneration could be used to improve regeneration for biotechnology, conservation, and propagation of staple food crops. Breeding crops that more readily regenerate and can adapt to new environments is critical in the face of climate change and food insecurity,” Professor Birnbaum concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2022.01.013">Developmental Cell</a>.



---



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

Plants have a “fight or fix” response to injury

Plants are subject to many attacks and injuries, from rabbits...

Archerfish live in streams, rivers and estuaries where they inhabit mostly the surface shallows. They are renowned for their ability to "shoot down" <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-tend-to-each-others-wounds/">insect</a> prey by spitting beads of water out of the mouth with incredible accuracy. In this way, they target insects sitting on vegetation on the bank, as well as airborne insects that fly overhead.



There is no parental care in archerfish and so the juveniles have to learn how to aim and shoot their jet-propelled water bullets without adult guidance. They also have to learn to distinguish between what is a potentially juicy insect meal from a worthless piece of vegetation.&nbsp;



“Object recognition is critical for animal survival," said Ronen Segev from <a href="https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/pages/default.aspx">Ben-Gurion University of the Negev</a>, referring to the skill that these fish exhibit in respect of distinguishing dinner. But exactly how do these remarkable fish differentiate a tasty treat from an unpalatable plant? “It’s a complex task,” said Segev, who recently published a research paper on this topic. He and his colleagues were interested in establishing which visual features archerfish depend on when identifying an insect for dinner.&nbsp;



Initially, the researchers wished to find out whether archerfish could recognize individual objects. Fortunately, the fish can be trained to squirt their water jets at images on a computer screen, in return for a food pellet. Segev and Svetlana Volotsky first trained the sniper fish to aim at images of one specific spider while at the same time trying to distract them with an image of a piece of vegetation.&nbsp;



Volotsky then presented the fish with images of the same spider, but taken from unfamiliar angles. If the fish had really learned to recognize the spider, they should be able to identify it from a completely new and unexpected view, even when presented simultaneously with an image of a different spider or a piece of vegetation. Indeed, the fish selected the initial spider for a target, irrespective of the novel view they were presented with. They could clearly recognize individual objects. But would they recognize that an insect they had never before set eyes on was also a potential prey item?&nbsp;



In the next set of experiments, Volotsky trained the fish to spit at images of a variety of insects, ranging from ants and beetles to flies and spiders, while still trying to distract them with images of plants. Once the fish had learned to aim their water jets at the insects, she tried presenting them with images of unfamiliar insects, to see whether the fish could recognize that any old insect is an animal, and not a plant. Astoundingly, the fish still targeted the insect images, even though they had never seen those creatures before.&nbsp;



“Archerfish can generalize from examples to make object recognition of natural object classes,” explained Segev.



The researchers, along with colleagues Ohad Ben-Shahar and Opher Donchin, then tested what visual cues the fish were actually using to enable them to distinguish plants from animals. They broke down images of insects, flowers and leaves into 18 different component features and built a computer program (known as a support-vector machine), that can learn to classify different types of information. Using this program, they mimicked the decision-making process of the fish to find out which features are necessary for archerfish to distinguish between animals and plants.&nbsp;



Amazingly, the fish only needed six essential features to distinguish animals from plants. These included the loose perimeter encircling the object, how jagged or smooth the shape was, and the texture of its surface. The first two factors were the most important in identifying the object correctly as an animal.&nbsp;



These findings, published today in the <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb">Journal of Experimental Biology</a>, are even more remarkable because humans use a similar, although more elaborate, strategy to recognize each other’s faces.&nbsp;



The research team hopes to apply the lessons they have learned from archerfish to understanding visual recognition in other animals and to design man-made object recognition systems.



---



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

Archerfish can recognize unfamiliar insects that are potential prey

Archerfish live in streams, rivers and estuaries where they inhabit...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04408-7">Nature</a> is the first to identify a direct physiological link connecting food consumption and mating behavior in the animal kingdom. A research team led by the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California San Diego</a> has found that protein-rich food triggers the release of diuretic hormone 31, or “Dh31” - a signaling molecule produced in fruit <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flies-respond-to-danger-like-humans/">flies</a>’ gastrointestinal tracts which makes them switch from a feeding-focused behavior to a mating behavior.&nbsp;



“We found the transition from feeding to mating and were very surprised that&nbsp;a single molecule&nbsp;would have such a profound influence on behavior decisions,” said study senior author Jing Wang, a professor of Neurobiology at the UC San Diego. “Our study provides a mechanistic explanation of how the Dh31 neuropeptide acts on the brain to change the motivational drive of two evolutionarily critical behaviors.”



Professor Wang and his colleagues discovered this amazing molecule by using genomic analyses, three-photon microscopy, and&nbsp;fluorescence imaging. To confirm their findings, the scientists performed a series of genetic experiments. In a first type of experiment, Dh31 was knocked out of fruit flies. When this happened, the flies kept feeding and held off any type of mating behavior. In a different kind of experiment, when this molecule was activated by the researchers, the flies rapidly flipped to courtship.



“These results indicate that Dh31 is a signaling molecule that reorders the priority of these two contending behaviors: feeding over courtship in the absence of Dh31 and courtship over feeding when Dh31 is released from the gut,” explained Professor Wang.



This study offers new insights into decision-making processes in cases when animals switch from a behavior promoting survival, such as feeding, to a fundamentally different behavior such as mating. Further research is needed to clarify how gut hormones function beyond feeding, and how they factor into gut-to-brain communication.



“This work embodies a multidisciplinary approach to understand behavioral prioritization at multiple levels, from molecules to neurons and circuit function. This line of work provides us with an empirical paradigm to study the hierarchical organization of different need-based behaviors, a framework established by Abraham Maslow 80 years ago to explain the orderly transition of human behaviors,” concluded Professor Wang.



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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

Gut molecule makes animals switch from eating to mating

A new study published in the journal Nature is the...

Millions of migratory birds collide with buildings in the city of Chicago each migration season. They are affected by the bright lights and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-extreme-weather-impact-marine-ecosystems/">weather</a>, and inadvertently crash into the buildings in the dark and fall to the ground. The corpses of birds killed in this way were collected between 1978 and 2016, and this dataset has been used in a new study and has revealed some interesting trends.&nbsp;



Many species of migratory birds have shrunk in size as the temperatures have increased during the past 40 years. The sizes of sparrows, songbirds and thrushes from the Chicago dataset have decreased significantly in that time, even though the absolute changes have been small. And the reduction in body size is so pervasive a phenomenon that scientists have suggested it may be a universal response to warming conditions.



However, the new research study, published today in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14610248">Ecology Letters</a>, indicates that not all birds are equally affected when it comes to reductions in body size. Birds with bigger brains relative to body size have not shrunk as much as their lesser brained counterparts.



Study lead author&nbsp;<a href="https://biology.wustl.edu/people/justin-baldwin">Justin Baldwin</a> is a PhD candidate in the lab of&nbsp;<a href="https://biology.wustl.edu/people/carlos-botero">Carlos Botero</a>, assistant professor of Biology at <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington University in St. Louis</a>. “As temperatures warm, body sizes are decreasing,” said Baldwin. “But larger-brained species are declining less strongly than small-brained species.”



The researchers analyzed information on some 70,000 birds that died when they collided with buildings in Chicago between 1978 and 2016. They also supplemented this vast dataset with brain volume measurements and lifespan data that they collected for 49 of the 52 species.&nbsp;



They found that birds with very big brains relative to body size have shown only about one-third of the decrease in body size that other bird species have undergone in that time period. In birds, relative brain size is often considered an indicator of behavioral flexibility, and having a larger relative brain capacity has advantages for birds.



“Relative brain size correlates with increased learning ability, increased memory, longer lifespans and more stable population dynamics,” said Baldwin. “In this case, a bigger-brained species of bird might be able to reduce its exposure to warming temperatures by seeking out microhabitats with cooler temperatures, for example."



This is the first time that scientists have been able to show a direct link between cognition and phenotypic responses to climate change.



“One of the first things that jumps out to me from these findings is that we can already see that climate change is having a disproportionate effect on species that have less capacity to deal with environmental change through their behavior,” said Professor Botero.&nbsp;



“This doesn’t mean that climate change is not affecting brainy birds, or that brainy birds are going to do just fine. What our findings suggest is that climate change can have a much stronger effect on the less-brainy birds.”



North America has lost nearly one-third of its birdlife in the last half-century, with migratory species experiencing particularly acute declines. The findings of this recent study, therefore, have important practical implications for management and conservation strategies.&nbsp;



“Rapid changes in the environment often produce a few winners and a whole lot of losers, which is really unfortunate,” said Professor Botero. “Many wildlife populations have moved toward colder places as the planet has warmed. Selection forces those that don’t move to adapt, for example, by changing their body size.”



Baldwin’s analysis reveals that smaller-brained species might be experiencing particularly strong natural selection pressure currently, a fact that planners may need to take into account for conservation management.



“When it comes to climate change mitigation and planning, a major goal is to maintain population-level connectivity,” said Baldwin. “We want to allow species to move toward the poles or upslope in elevation, to keep up with warming climates. Our findings suggest that this type of intervention could be especially important for smaller-brained species.”



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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

Big brains may help birds cope with climate change

Millions of migratory birds collide with buildings in the city...

Coastal regions are relied upon by millions of people for ecosystem services such as food and storm protection. They contain some of the most unique and biodiverse ecosystems such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-wetlands-are-a-powerful-weapon-against-flooding/">wetlands</a>, coral reefs and mangroves. Coastal areas also provide carbon sequestration and support climate change mitigation.&nbsp;



New research led by the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> shows that only 15 percent of the world’s coastal areas remain intact, exposing the need for rehabilitation and conservation on a global scale.&nbsp;



The study assessed anthropogenic pressures affecting coastal regions at a global scale and found that only 15.5 percent of coastal regions have "low human pressure." Canada’s coastal regions were identified as the most intact at 53 percent, largely due to effective governance. 



Overall, nearly 48 percent of coastal regions are heavily affected by human impacts. In most countries, more than 50 percent of coastal regions were found to be degraded.



Furthermore, 26 nations were recognized as being highly exposed to human impact, or under "extreme human pressure." The coastlines of these countries are considered to be zero percent intact, and many of them are island nations such as Aruba and Singapore.&nbsp;



Around the world, there is no coastal region free from human influence. This is largely due to the fact that 74 percent of the global population lives within 50 kilometers of the coast.&nbsp;



“Our results show that we need to act quickly and decisively if we hope to conserve those coastal regions that remain intact, and restore those that are heavily degraded, especially if we’re going to mitigate the effects of climate change," said Brooke Williams, from UQ’s <a href="https://sees.uq.edu.au/">School of Earth and Environmental Sciences</a>.



"The rate at which these regions are degrading poses massive threats to not only coastal species and habitats, but also to the health, safety and economic security of countless people who live or rely on coastal regions around the world.”



Human impacts on coastal regions involve complex socio-demographic factors and land-based activities like agriculture and wastewater management. These activities lead to nutrient runoff and chemical pollution, which can lead to hypoxia or even dead zones.&nbsp;



“While we already knew how important it is to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services in these coastal regions, being able to clearly see how rapidly and how far this degradation has spread, is truly eye-opening,” said Dr. Amelia Wenger.



“Understanding why coastal ecosystems are under pressure can help us design and implement more targeted management strategies, and hopefully slow this degradation down and even turn it around."



To meet global sustainability objectives, countries must take more aggressive action to preserve coastal areas. Researchers are urging decision makers to conserve the valuable remaining intact coastal regions, while restoring those that are degraded.



“We think our dataset will be a vital tool in achieving that ambition, which is why we’re making it publicly available and free to use," said Dr. Wenger.



The findings of the assessment have been compiled into a free and usable dataset that can be accessed <a href="https://doi.org/10.48610/fd85061">online</a>. The study is published in the journal <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15231739">Conservation Biology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Less than 16 percent of the world’s coastal regions remain intact

Coastal regions are relied upon by millions of people for...

In the past, heart attacks and brain decline have been addressed as two separate medical issues. More recently, however, scientists have begun to understand that there is a close relationship between the two organs, and a recent research study even links the occurrence of a heart attack with more rapid subsequent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/colorful-foods-can-prevent-cognitive-decline/">cognitive decline</a> in survivors.&nbsp;



“For too long, we have thought about and addressed heart disease and brain disease as two separate conditions,” explained Dr. Michelle Johansen from the <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> School of Medicine. “Based on our study's findings and other research, I don't think we're going to be able to keep doing that as we learn more,” she said.



The research, conducted in conjunction with the American Heart Association, analyzes data from six long-term studies on cardiovascular health that were carried out between 1971 and 2017. These previously published investigations involved a total of 31,377 people, with a median age of 60, who had no evidence of heart disease or dementia when the research studies commenced. The participants were monitored for between five and 20 years (median of 6 years), and during this time 1,047 of them suffered a heart attack.



The researchers explain that, in order to use the published data to track what happens to cognitive function in the years following a heart attack, they first had to “harmonize” the data. Because the studies had tested participants at different time intervals and using different tests of cognitive function, a team of neuroscientists and statisticians had to work out ways of ensuring the data collected in all the studies were comparable.&nbsp;



For the pooled data, cognitive performance was assessed in three ways – in terms of memory, executive functioning and global cognition. Executive function refers to a person’s ability to pay attention, plan, organize, and make complex decisions, while global cognition was assessed using tests of memory and executive function combined. The researchers were interested in whether any of these measures of cognitive performance declined immediately after, or in the years following the occurrence of a heart attack.



The results of the analysis showed that, while cognitive function did not change significantly immediately after a heart attack, it did in subsequent years. Heart attack survivors suffered a more rapid decline in memory skills, executive function and global cognition than people who had not had a heart attack. The most significant differences were found several years after the heart attack had taken place.&nbsp;



“We have shown that having a heart attack can be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.studyfinds.org/dementia-family-risk-genetics-healthy-heart/">detrimental to your brain health</a>&nbsp;over time,” said Dr. Johansen. “Dementia is a slow, step-wise process. One doesn’t wake up out of the blue with dementia.”



The reasons that dementia is accelerated in heart attack survivors are not yet clear. Both organs are metabolically active and rely on a steady supply of oxygen to the tissues. It is possible that shared risk factors, such as poor diet, smoking and high blood pressure, are present for both conditions and would therefore have impacts on the functioning of both organs. Alternatively, the researchers suggest that ongoing damage to the brain from silent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medicinenet.com/stroke_symptoms_and_treatment/article.htm">strokes</a>, which are not large enough to cause noticeable symptoms but still reduce the supply of blood to the brain, could accelerate mental decline.



The findings, which will be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference, (Feb 8–11, 2022), have important implications for the way in which physicians manage heart attack survivors. They also indicate that lifestyle choices that support good heart health will be just as important when it comes to limiting mental decline.



“It's important to know that cognitive decline is a possibility after a heart attack, so physicians are both managing patients’ heart disease and looking for signs of dementia following a heart attack,” said Dr. Johansen. “It can even be a great conversation starter about why it's important for patients to follow medical advice to prevent a heart attack.”



“We need to realize that what's going on in the heart and brain are related. Managing risk factors to prevent a heart attack is actually good for your brain as well."



The research will be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2022.



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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

Heart attacks could accelerate onset of dementia

In the past, heart attacks and brain decline have been...

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria – a powerful, category four <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dramatic-changes-may-be-coming-for-pacific-storms/">storm</a> – hit Puerto Rico, killing over 3,000 people in its immediate aftermath, knocking out power to almost all of the island’s 3.4 million inhabitants, and causing more than $100 billion in damages. New research led by <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> suggests that the hurricane’s impact on people’s long-term health may have been more severe and insidious than previously thought.&nbsp;



By studying a population of rhesus macaque monkeys living since 1938 on the isolated Cayo Santiago Island near Puerto Rico – which has also been severely hit by the hurricane - the scientists found that exposure to such intense levels of stress and adversity has accelerated some of the primates’ aging processes, leading to lowered immunity and earlier onset of a variety of health issues. While studies on humans are yet to be performed, these results suggest that extreme events such as natural disasters may also have similar negative, long-term effects on people’s health.



“While everyone ages, we don’t all age at the same rate, and our lived experiences, both negative and positive, can alter this pace of aging. One negative life experience, surviving an extreme event, can lead to chronic inflammation and the early onset of some age-related diseases, like heart disease,” explained corresponding author Noah Snyder-Mackler, an assistant professor of Animal Behavior at Arizona State University’s <a href="https://sols.asu.edu/">School of Life Sciences</a>. “But we still don’t know exactly how these events get embedded in our bodies leading to negative health effects that may not show up until decades after the event itself.”



Although only 2.75 percent of the macaque population died in the immediate aftermath of the storm, and no difference in survival rates was noticed in the first year after the event, the scientists found that monkeys who lived through the hurricane had immune gene expression profiles that had aged two extra years, which is the equivalent of seven to eight years of human lifespan.



“Overall, cell-specific markers of canonical pro-inflammatory immune cells, such as CD14+ monocytes, had higher expression&nbsp;in older individuals and those that experienced the hurricane. Further, expression of helper T-cell genes, an anti-inflammatory cell type, decreased in older animals and those after the hurricane. Together, this possibly implicates more inflammatory activity in animals after storm, similar to what we see in older individuals,” explained Professor Snyder-Mackler.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Interestingly, not all monkeys responded in the same way to the hurricane. For instance, some monkeys’ biological ages increased much more than those of others. Scientists hypothesize that animals which had better support from their peers may have fared better in overcoming the storm’s detrimental effects. Further research is needed to investigate whether this hypothesis holds. Moreover, studies on humans are also necessary to clarify the relation between biological aging, adversity, and social structures in the face of natural disasters.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/119/8/e2121663119">Proceedings of the Natural Academy of 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

Natural disasters may lead to premature aging

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria – a powerful, category four...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.gsu.edu/">Georgia State University</a> has found that, similarly to humans, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/snow-monkeys-go-fishing-to-survive-during-the-winter/">monkeys</a> can become stressed when they need to perform in high-pressure situations. Thus, the phenomenon of “choking under pressure” does not seem to be a consequence of humans’ advanced cognitive skills coupled with societal pressures, as scientists previously thought, but rather a phylogenetically older response shared by other animals.



In order to assess if non-human primates experience such phenomena, the researchers built an experimental protocol involving tufted capuchin monkeys living in groups at Georgia State’s <a href="https://lrc.gsu.edu/">Language Research Center</a>. The monkeys were given a computerized matching task with some trials typical in difficulty and others cued to be harder, and having higher rewards and timeout consequences for wrong answers.



The scientists found that there was significant variation in how individual monkeys responded to the trials when the difference in difficulty was removed, suggesting that, for some monkeys, the pressures related to high stakes significantly impacted performance.



“There are several different explanations for why humans might ‘choke’ or ‘thrive’ under pressure, but all of these explanations have traditionally considered this sensitivity to pressure to be a human-specific trait,” said study lead author Meg Sosnowski, a doctoral student at Georgia State University.



“Our new results provide the first evidence that other species also might be susceptible to this influence of pressure, and that our responses to that pressure are, in part, the result of individual variation in an evolutionarily common stress response.”



The scientists also discovered that levels of cortisol (a naturally occurring biomarker of stress) were strongly related to the monkeys’ performance. Higher levels of cortisol were associated with a lower ability to successfully complete the high-pressure tasks, adding evidence to the hypothesis that an individual’s long-term stress state can impact cognitive performance.



“This opens the door not just to explore how responses to pressure might have impacted the evolution of cognition, but also provides clues pointing us to potential avenues that might mitigate performance deficits, both in humans and in other species,” concluded Sosnowski.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-04986-6">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

Monkeys, like humans, can “choke under pressure”

A new study led by Georgia State University has found...

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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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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