Invasive species pose a significant challenge to ecosystems and agriculture, often spreading unnoticed until they have caused considerable damage. Conservationists and growers now have an unusual new ally in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly - trained dogs.



A recent study published in the journal Ecosphere highlights how these detection dogs outperform humans in identifying lanternfly egg masses in challenging environments, offering a novel strategy to curb the pest’s spread.



"Preventing the introduction of invasive species is championed as the most cost-effective and efficient strategy for avoiding negative impacts on systems," noted the researchers.



"However, once a species has been introduced, the next best option is to detect the population and eliminate it before it becomes established and spreads more widely across the landscape."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spotted-lanternfly-infestations">Spotted lanternfly infestations </h2>



First detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, the spotted lanternfly has now infested 19 states, including New York. This invasive insect feeds on woody plants like grapes, apples, hops, and various trees, causing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/growing-threat-of-invasive-species-requires-immediate-action/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">widespread destruction</a>.



“A spotted lanternfly infestation in a vineyard can cause 80% to 100% mortality of the vines in one growing season,” said study co-author Angela Fuller, a professor in Cornell’s Department of <a href="https://cals.cornell.edu/natural-resources-environment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural Resources and the Environment</a>.



Fuller also noted the financial burden of infestations. “Infestations also increase the amount of insecticide that growers need to use, which can increase costs by up to 170% in a growing season.” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-training-dogs-for-invasive-species-detection">Training dogs for invasive species detection</h2>



In collaboration with the <a href="https://www.nynjtc.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York-New Jersey Trail Conference</a> and <a href="https://wd4c.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Working Dogs for Conservation</a>, researchers trained a Labrador retriever and a Belgian malinois to sniff out the lanternfly’s egg masses.



These organizations have previously trained dogs to detect invasive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-have-become-one-of-the-worlds-most-invasive-predators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> and pathogens, making them well-equipped for this task.



The study compared the efficiency of human and canine detection in 20 vineyards across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 



The researchers mapped transects in vineyard rows and adjacent forests, where egg masses are likely to overwinter. Humans and dogs surveyed the areas on separate days to prevent cross-contamination of scents.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-outperform-humans-in-forests">Dogs outperform humans in forests</h2>



While humans excelled in detecting invasive egg masses in vineyards, dogs proved superior in forested areas. In vineyards, humans detected 1.8 times more egg masses than dogs, finding 31 egg masses per hour compared to the dogs’ 24. 



Fuller attributed this to humans’ ability to systematically search vines and poles, whereas dogs relied on scent and conducted more random searches. In forests, however, dogs excelled, finding 3.4 times more egg masses than humans. 



“The dogs find egg masses by smell,” Fuller explained. “In a very <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unseen-crisis-37000-alien-species-have-been-introduced-by-human-activities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">complex environment</a>, it’s easier for a dog to smell something than it is for a human to see something that is small and cryptic.” 



Dogs located 7.6 egg masses per hour in forests compared to humans’ 6.7 per hour.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-importance-of-invasive-species-detection">Importance of invasive species detection</h2>



The study emphasizes the importance of early detection in managing the lanternfly’s spread. Dogs performed exceptionally well in areas with low egg mass densities, making them invaluable for rapid response efforts. 



Fuller noted that while dogs take more time to search than humans, the added time is worth it. 



“The extra time that dogs take to find them is not as important as it is to find them in the first place, because you need to detect the egg masses in order to eradicate them,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insights-into-lanternfly-behavior">Insights into lanternfly behavior</h2>



Using computer modeling, the researchers identified patterns in lanternfly egg mass distribution. They found higher occupancy rates in vineyards than forests, particularly on metal poles. 



Vineyards near forests had higher lanternfly populations, likely because the insects don’t disperse far and often migrate from nearby trees.



“If you’re searching in a vineyard close to the forest, that’s more likely where they’re going to be,” Fuller said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-combating-invasive-species-with-dogs">Combating invasive species with dogs </h2>



This innovative approach offers hope for combating invasive species like the spotted lanternfly. 



By combining human surveys with trained detection dogs, growers and conservationists can strengthen their defense against this destructive pest.



The integration of canine detection into pest management strategies represents a significant step forward in protecting vital ecosystems and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/non-native-species-are-spreading-at-an-exponential-rate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agricultural resources</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.70113" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecosphere</a>.



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Trained dogs can sniff out invasive pests in forests

Invasive species pose a significant challenge to ecosystems and agriculture, often spreading unnoticed until they have caused considerable damage. Conservationists and growers now have an unusual new ally in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly - trained dogs. A recent study published in the journal Ecosphere highlights how these detection dogs outperform humans in identifying lanternfly egg masses in challenging environments, offering a novel strategy to curb the pest’s spread. "Preventing the introduction of invasive species is championed as the most cost-effective and efficient strategy for avoiding...

According to a new study commissioned by the bank <a href="https://www.natwest.com/">NatWest</a> and conducted by <a href="https://onepoll.com/">OnePoll</a>, the average adult spends more than ten years of their lives on “autopilot,” following the same <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daydreaming-brain-routine-tasks/">routines</a> every day. One fourth of the 2,000 British adults surveyed claimed that they often drift through as much as five or even more hours per day without thinking much about what they are doing, which equates to 1,396 hours each year or 27 hours a week doing the same thing.



The study revealed that, for 64 percent of adults, their daily routines - including repetitive behaviors such as getting dressed or showering at the same time of the day, or eating the same breakfast - hardly ever change. However, 79 percent of those who consider that they are “stuck in a rut” of repetitive, boring routines feel that this is holding them back from achieving their goals. The most common things the respondents said they would like to do to improve their daily lives include learning a new skill or craft, travelling the world, or starting a new career.&nbsp;



In addition, 51 percent of adults admitted that they procrastinate rather than act on tasks that need to be done, such as managing their finances, organizing meetings with friends, or shopping for food – an aspect which led six in 10 of them to buy self-help books (which half of them never finished reading though).



Following these findings, NatWest launched a series of videos with entrepreneur Stephen Bartlett to help people take action to improve their lives, with episodes focused on how to set goals, start a business, or managing personal finances.&nbsp;



“We all have goals and ambitions – whether that is buying a pair of trainers, saving for a big event, or even starting your own business. But we also know how hard it can be to take that first step to make those things happen [since] everyone experiences different challenges and obstacles in life,” said Alison Rose, the CEO of NatWest.&nbsp;



“But we hope that Stephen’s inspiring story and motivational personality can help people to set and strive for their own goals – whatever they may be.”&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

Adults spend a decade of their lives on “autopilot”

According to a new study commissioned by the bank NatWest...

Young,Lady,Running,On,A,Rural,Road,During,Sunset

It has long been established that men outpace women in mid- and long-distance running. However, speed over shorter distances is determined by the magnitude of force <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-increases-heart-inflammation-risk-in-young-athletes/">athletes</a> can apply in relation to body mass. Muscular force to body mass ratio is greater in smaller individuals, and women tend to be smaller than men.&nbsp;



The understanding of sex performance differences for short sprint events has received little attention. The understanding of comparative strength, speed and endurance capabilities of male and female athletes has been a challenging issue for modern sport.&nbsp;



In a new study, PhD candidate Emily McClelland and Peter Weyand, director of the <a href="https://www.smu.edu/">Southern Methodist University</a> Locomotor Performance Lab set out to investigate. The team used data from international competitions such as the Olympics and World Championships, between 2003 and 2018. McClelland hypothesized that sex differences in sprint running performance might be relatively small and increase with distance.



The data revealed that the difference between male and female performance time increased with event distance from 8.6 to 11 percent from shortest to longest sprint events (60 to 400<s> </s>meters). The analysis of each 10-meter segment of the 100-meter event revealed a pattern across distance - sex differences increased from a low of 5.6 percent for the first segment to a high of 14.2 percent in the last segment.



This would suggest that women are at an advantage for shorter sprint distances compared to men. In contrast to other running species like horses and dogs, there is significant variation in size between human males and females. Body size differences result in muscular force to body mass ratios that are greater in smaller individuals.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Since sprinting velocities are dependent on the mass-specific forces runners can apply, greater force/mass ratios of smaller individuals provide a theoretical advantage. During the acceleration phase of a race, the shorter legs of a female lead to more steps and pushing cycles per unit time. These factors offset the advantages of males (longer legs and greater muscularity) that become more influential over longer distances.



Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce is a Jamaican track and field star who is 5’0” tall, 115 pounds, and holds two Olympic and five World Championship gold medals in the 100-meter event. Her time at the 40-yard mark of a 100-meter race has been estimated to be as fast as 4.51 seconds. This was faster than half of all the wide receivers and running backs that tested in the National Football League’s Scouting Combine in 2022. Most of these aspiring NFL football players are over 6’ tall and 200 pounds.



The research is <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/japplphysiol.00359.2022">published</a> in the Journal of Applied Physiology.



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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

Women have an advantage when running short distances

It has long been established that men outpace women in...

Contrary to what one might expect, melting polar ice that introduces fresh water into the sea will not lead to sea-level rises of equal magnitude throughout the world’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/even-the-most-remote-oceans-are-polluted-with-microplastics/">oceans</a>. Instead, as an ice sheet melts, it leaves a unique pattern of meltwater distribution behind, known as a sea-level fingerprint. Although the concept of sea-level fingerprints has already been factored into&nbsp;current <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/huge-arctic-report-ups-estimates-of-sea-level-rise-1.21911">models used to predict future changes in sea level, </a>actual observational measurements of the accuracy of these predictions have been difficult to make.&nbsp;



A new study, led by researchers from <a href="https://www.lanl.gov/">Los Alamos National Laboratory</a>, has now used high-resolution satellite observations of the Earth’s high latitude areas to test model predictions and assess the risks of sea-level rise to coastal communities. The research takes a major step forward in predicting probable consequences of rising ocean levels by confirming the theoretical predictions and computational models that are used to forecast sea-level changes as the climate warms.&nbsp;



“Using&nbsp;sea-surface-height observations from satellites in the way&nbsp;we have done independently verifies observations of Arctic and Greenland ice-mass loss and allows us to tease apart contributions to global&nbsp;sea-level rise from individual ice sheets and glacier systems,” said Sophie Coulson, a postdoctoral researcher in fluid dynamics and geophysics at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and lead author on the paper.&nbsp;



“Accurately predicting regional patterns of sea-level change is absolutely central to understanding the impacts of future climate change and forecasting hazards,” she emphasized.&nbsp;



The theoretical models predict that sea level will actually fall in the immediate vicinity around a melting ice sheet. This is because ice sheets and glaciers have a small gravitational pull on the water that surrounds them and the strength of this force is related to the mass of the ice. As an ice sheet or glacier melts, it loses mass and therefore the gravitational pull it exerts on the nearby ocean water becomes weaker. This causes the sea level to fall.&nbsp;



In addition, as ice sheets melt, complex geological processes cause the surrounding seawater that is no longer attracted so strongly to the diminishing ice mass to move away towards oceans in the middle and low latitudes of the world. This means that sea levels are likely to rise faster in the tropical and subtropical regions, far away from the actual location of the ice sheet or glacier. For example, sea-level rise in California and Florida, generated by the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet, is predicted to be as much as 52 percent greater than average sea-level rise across the rest of the world.



“As this melting continues, and the water is redistributed around the global oceans, sea level does not rise uniformly," explained Coulson. "And since every glacier and ice sheet has a unique pattern of sea-level change, these patterns have come to be known as sea-level fingerprints. But despite over half a century of research, these fingerprints have never been unambiguously detected.”



In the current study, Coulson’s search focused on satellite observations of sea-surface height in the oceans surrounding the Greenland ice sheet over the last three decades. The research team expected to see a lowering of sea level in waters around the ice sheet as it is melting and losing mass. Their models also predicted that progressively higher levels of sea rise would be recorded in oceans further away from Greenland, as the ocean water is freed from gravitational attraction to the ice sheet and heads out into the open ocean.&nbsp;



“We predicted what the pattern of sea-level change would be around Greenland using new estimates of ice melting in the area,” Coulson said. “When we then compared this pattern to satellite observations of sea-level change the fit was remarkable. It was an incredible eureka moment for us when the team saw it – ‘there it is, the sea-level fingerprint!’”



In the past it was not possible to detect sea-level fingerprints in the Arctic and Antarctic regions because the sea-surface-heights were not measured around polar ice sheets at these high latitudes. The research team on the&nbsp;Science&nbsp;paper took advantage of processed satellite observations that extend to much higher latitudes than previously possible, where the fingerprint signal is the largest. The team processed this satellite data using a powerful new technique to remove the variability due to ocean dynamics.



The new study confirms the accuracy of the geophysical predictions of sea-level change and adds confidence to projections of sea-level rise across the next decades and century. As Coulson says, “It’s a powerful and sensitive approach to monitoring ice sheets and glaciers in our warming world.”



The results of the analysis are published in the journal Science.&nbsp;



Image Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Laurence C. Smith of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.



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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

Elusive sea-level “fingerprint” detected around Greenland ice sheet

Contrary to what one might expect, melting polar ice that...

The environmental costs of the digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin are shockingly high and are only getting worse, according to a study from the <a href="https://www.unm.edu/">University of New Mexico</a>. The experts report that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/generation-z-doesnt-recognize-the-climate-impact-of-meat-consumption/">climate</a> impacts from mining Bitcoin are comparable to that of natural gas or beef production.



“We find no evidence that Bitcoin mining is becoming more sustainable over time,” said Professor Benjamin A. Jones. “Rather, our results suggest the opposite: Bitcoin mining is becoming dirtier and more damaging to the climate over time. In short, Bitcoin’s environmental footprint is moving in the wrong direction.”



In collaboration with Professor Robert Berrens and Andrew Goodkind, Professor Jones estimated the climate damages associated with Bitcoin mining between January 2016 and December 2021. The experts found that in 2020 alone, Bitcoin mining used 75.4 terawatt hours of electricity (TWh). This is higher than the electricity used by Austria or Portugal during the same year.&nbsp;



“Globally, the mining, or production, of Bitcoin is using tremendous amounts of electricity, mostly from fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas. This is causing huge amounts of air pollution and carbon emissions, which is negatively impacting our global climate and our health,” said Professor Jones.&nbsp;



“We find several instances between 2016-2021 where Bitcoin is more damaging to the climate than a single Bitcoin is actually worth. Put differently, Bitcoin mining, in some instances, creates climate damages in excess of a coin’s value. This is extremely troubling from a sustainability perspective.”



The study also revealed that the CO2 equivalent emissions from electricity generation for Bitcoin mining increased 126-fold from 2016 to 2021. 



The estimates indicate that each Bitcoin mined in 2021 generated $11,314 in climate damages, with total global damages exceeding 12 billion dollars between 2016 and 2021. The calculations also suggest that in May 2020, each dollar of Bitcoin generated was associated with $1.56 in global climate damages.



“Across the class of digitally scarce goods, our focus is on those cryptocurrencies that rely on proof-of-work (POW) production techniques, which can be highly energy intensive,” said Professor Berrens. “Within broader efforts to mitigate climate change, the policy challenge is creating governance mechanisms for an emergent, decentralized industry, which includes energy-intensive POW cryptocurrencies. We believe that such efforts would be aided by measurable, empirical signals concerning potentially unsustainable climate damages, in monetary terms.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.



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

Environmental costs of Bitcoin are getting worse over time

The environmental costs of the digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin are shockingly...

Since urban <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eastern-coyotes-wolves/">coyote</a> research began in the 1980s and 1990s, there has been a sustained interest in the scientific community in what type of foods coyotes living in urban areas are eating, specifically whether they are relying on human foods for sustenance. Now, by analyzing the DNA of urban coyotes living in New York, a team of experts discovered that they eat a variety of native prey species and only supplement this diet with human-sourced food items.



“Urban areas have lots of people and thus greater availability of anthropogenic foods,” said study lead author Carol Henger, a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a>. “Knowing what the coyotes are eating can help inform management practices by city officials.”



Coyotes are opportunistic omnivores, usually taking advantage of whatever food is available. Although previous research conducted in cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago have found that coyotes eat mainly “natural” foods such as rabbits or rodents, city coyotes still tend to consume more human-sourced food items than their countryside counterparts.



To find out what New York coyotes are eating, the researchers analyzed DNA from coyote fecal samples collected in parks and other green spaces between 2010 and 2017. The analyses revealed that urban coyotes consumed a wide variety of mammalian prey, including racoons, rabbits, deer, and voles. However, they also ate birds, insects, plants, as well as human-sourced foods like beef, pork, or chicken.



“What’s unique about our study is that by sequencing the DNA of coyote scat we were able to detect diet items that might not be detected through a visual analysis of the scat samples, such as specific human food items. There are no wild cows, chickens, or banana trees in NYC parks so if we got a DNA hit on something like that, we knew that the coyote had eaten from an anthropogenic source,” Dr. Henger explained.



The scientists also compared the diet of NYC coyotes to that of coyotes living in non-urban areas from the New York state, and found that raccoons and deer made up a larger proportion of the diet of non-urban coyotes compared to that of their urban relatives. Although both groups of coyotes ate similar proportions of human food (about 60 percent of the fecal samples contained traces of at least one human food item), the urban coyotes ate a wider variety of such products, including rice, goat meat, guineafowl, or bananas.



“Raccoons were the most prevalent mammal detected in the New York City coyote diet,” Dr. Henger reported. “With no other natural predators to limit their populations, coyotes provide an important ecological service. Raccoons can carry diseases such as rabies and canine distemper that can be transmitted to humans and pets. By predating on raccoons, coyotes are helping to provide healthy ecosystems.”&nbsp;



“Our results show that coyotes are not reliant on human food to survive in New York City. Instead, coyotes are eating natural food items that are available in the city parks. This study highlights the importance of creating and maintaining green spaces where wildlife can thrive,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13788">PeerJ</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

Urban coyotes do not rely on human food

Since urban coyote research began in the 1980s and 1990s,...

Around the world, more than five billion species of hoofed animals – known as “ungulates” and including species such as giraffes, horses, pigs, alpacas, or yaks – are kept as livestock or in zoos and safari parks. A new study led by <a href="https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/">Aberystwyth University</a> and the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a> has investigated which of these species are better suited to captive environments and which display significant levels of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-may-sometimes-protect-our-bodies/">stress</a> and require better husbandry if kept in captivity.&nbsp;



By examining the behavior of over 15,000 individual animals across 38 ungulate species, the experts found that the type of food species eaten and their mating strategies were associated to the risk of stress symptoms. Species most at risk of experiencing stress in captivity were those that eat high-growing woody vegetation (browsers), such as camels, okapis, and rhinoceros, or are sexually promiscuous, like buffalos, yaks, pigs, or sheep.



If a species’ behavioral needs – which they perform to survive and reproduce in the wild – are restricted by captivity, the animals often experience poor welfare and engage in repetitive, unusual behaviors – known as “stereotypical behaviors.” In this study, the scientists aimed to identify which specific behavioral needs should be prioritized to avoid stress and stereotypical behaviors and provide better welfare for the ungulates.



“Our data suggest that features of both a species’ wild behavioral biology and captive husbandry are predictive of these stereotypic behaviours in ungulates,” said study senior author Sebastian McBride, an expert in Animal Cognition at Aberystwyth.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This research has very important implications for how these large, hoofed animals are kept in captivity – we now have a better understanding of which species are most susceptible to stress in captivity and how we can tackle this problem to improve the welfare of those animals.”



“We found that for ungulates, having the right food and social organization is crucial for their welfare. Whereas for carnivores, having enough space in captivity seems to be key. This shows the importance of understanding the specific needs of different groups of species,” added study co-author Leanne Proops, a researcher in Animal Behavior and Welfare at Portsmouth.



“As a society, we need to continue to question and examine the environmental factors that are important to animals if we are to maximize their welfare. There are lessons here for both farmers and zoos about how best to raise and treat livestock,” concluded lead author Kate Lewis, a doctoral student in Equine Behavior at Portsmouth.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1311">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</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

Proper food and company reduce stress in captive animals

Around the world, more than five billion species of hoofed...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humanity-should-brace-for-catastrophic-climate-change/">Climate change</a> and related extreme weather events such as heatwaves or droughts are putting livestock at risk, causing huge economic losses for the production chain. To solve this problem, a research team led by the <a href="https://piacenza.unicatt.it/">Catholic University of the Sacred Heart</a> in Piacenza, Italy, are searching for genes to make cattle and sheep breeds more resistant to climate change.



“Production loss due to heat depends on environmental conditions, as assessed by the temperature/humidity index (THI),” explained study senior author Professor Paolo Ajmone-Marsan, a professor of Animal Breeding at the Catholic University. “Several studies revealed worrying estimates of the order of millions of euros in direct costs (loss of production) and indirect costs (cost of veterinary interventions, fodder, etc.).”



Recent research estimates that the loss of global production from heat stress could reach $40 billion a year by the end of the century, equivalent to ten percent of the 2005 value of meat and milk. “Heat stress is deleterious to all animal species, particularly for ruminants and high-producing dairy cattle, as well as our breeds,” said study co-author Riccardo Negrini, an expert in Animal Science at the same university. “Unfortunately, climate projections indicate that summer weather in our country will be increasingly dry and hot. That will increase stress in animals, despite shading, ventilation, sprinkling of water, and possible conditioning.”



However, according to Professor Ajmone-Marsan, genomics can now be efficiently employed to save livestock from the harmful effects of climate change. For instance, national breeding programs have changed the selection goals of livestock species, favoring animals which are more robust and resilient to environmental factors, and not just highly productive (as previous breeding efforts did).&nbsp;



Through genomics, several genetic variants which help animals to better adapt to hostile climates have already been identified. For example, in some local Caribbean cattle breeds, such as Senepol, Limoneiro, and Carora, a “slick” mutation that results in hair shortening and other physiological changes that make the animals highly resistant to heat stress has recently been discovered. This mutation has been introduced into the Friesian cattle breed in Florida, making them more resilient to climate change.



“Many ongoing research projects are looking for other favorable genetic variants associated with adaptation to the environment in other breeds and other species. We are actively involved in some of these projects,” said study co-author Licia Colli, a researcher in Zootechnics at the Catholic University. “Understanding the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of climate adaptation is important for planning genetic and genomic improvement programs that increase the production efficiency of local breeds without compromising their adaptive traits.”



“Genomics is a powerful tool and it will facilitate the selection of animals more resilient to climate change, but it is only one of the factors that can ensure animal welfare in extreme climates; it’s crucial also to control farm structures, breeding management, and precision feeding. The good news is that animals in production are increasingly closely monitored by cameras, sensors, and intelligent data analysis systems, that alert farmers as soon as animals show the first signs of stress, allowing immediate implementation of mitigation measures,” concluded Emilio Trevisi, a professor of Animal Sciences, Food, and Nutrition at the same university.&nbsp;



The study – which comprehensively reviews several of current genomic projects aiming to increase farm animals’ resilience to climate change – was published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2833">MDPI Animals</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Genomics can help farm animals adapt to climate change

Climate change and related extreme weather events such as heatwaves...

The Vredefort <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-impact-crater-dates-back-to-the-end-of-the-dinosaurs/">crater</a> in South Africa – caused by an asteroid impact about two billion years ago – is the largest of its kind on our planet, stretching as far as 300 kilometers from rim to rim. Since the scars left by the asteroid collision have long since been scoured away by the elements, it is not completely clear what was the size of the cosmic object that produced it was. 



However, by using more accurate simulations of the impact event, a team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> has now argued that the asteroid that created the crater was larger than the previous estimates of 15 kilometers in diameter, most likely measuring between 20 and 25 kilometers.



“Understanding the largest impact structure that we have on Earth is critical,” said study lead author Natalie Allen, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins. “Having access to the information provided by a structure like the Vredefort crater is a great opportunity to test our model and our understanding of the geologic evidence so we can better understand impacts on Earth and beyond.”



The scientists used the <a href="https://isale-code.github.io/">Simplified Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian</a> (iSALE) computer simulation model to provide a better estimate of the impact event, and discovered that the asteroid that crashed into the Earth two billion years ago was larger than the Chicxulub asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.



“Unlike the Chicxulub impact, the Vredefort impact did not leave a record of mass extinction or forest fires, given that there were only single-cell lifeforms and no trees existed two billion years ago,” explained study co-author Miki Nakajima, a planetary scientist at the <a href="https://www.rochester.edu/">University of Rochester</a>. “However, the impact would have affected the global climate potentially more extensively than the Chicxulub impact did.”



Dust and aerosols emerging from the impact would have blocked out the Sun and significantly cooled the Earth’s surface for days or even years or decades after the event, possibly leading to a greenhouse effect that raised the temperature of our planet.



These findings lead to a better understanding of how the Earth evolved over billions of years, through massive geological and ecological changes, and in spite of many major asteroid collisions.



“It is incredibly difficult to constrain the location of land masses long ago. The current best simulations have mapped back about a billion years, and uncertainties grow larger the further back you go. Clarifying evidence such as this ejecta layer mapping may allow researchers to test their models and help complete the view into the past,” Allen concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007186">Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets</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

Largest asteroid to strike Earth was up to 15 miles long

The Vredefort crater in South Africa – caused by an...

Since early in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-global-failures-to-control-the-covid-pandemic/">COVID-19</a> pandemic, researchers have been interested in how peoples’ mental health has been affected. Many studies have focused on the incidence of depression and anxiety, and how they may have changed in response to the coronavirus crisis. However, in addition to impacting aspects of mental well-being, the pandemic may have altered the way we think, feel and behave. It may indeed have generated changes in our personalities.&nbsp;



Angelina Sutin of Florida State University College of Medicine and colleagues decided to investigate this using longitudinal assessments of personality from 7,109 people enrolled in the online Understanding America Study. In the past, research studies have generally found no associations between collective stressful events, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, and personality change. In fact, personality has been considered to be rather impervious in the face of environmental stressors during adulthood.&nbsp;



The researchers used the five-factor model of personality that considers psychological function along five broad dimensions: neuroticism (the tendency to experience negative emotions and vulnerability to stress), extraversion (the tendency to be talkative and outgoing), openness (the tendency to be creative and unconventional), agreeableness (the tendency to be trusting and straightforward), and conscientiousness (the tendency to be organized, disciplined and responsible).&nbsp;



There is a long-standing hypothesis that although personal experience of stressful events may lead to personality changes, collective stressful events do not have the same effect. The coronavirus pandemic presented a unique opportunity to assess whether a global stressful event, experienced by the world’s entire population, may have altered the trajectory of personality across the United States, especially in younger adults.



The researchers compared pre-pandemic (May 2014–February 2020) measurements of these personality traits with those in early (March–December 2020) and later (2021–2022) pandemic times. A total of 18,623 assessments, or a mean of 2.62 per participant, were analyzed. Participants were 41.2 percent male and ranged in age from 18 to 109. The results are published in the open-access journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274542">PLOS ONE</a>.



The data showed that, while there were few changes between pre-pandemic and 2020 personality traits, there were noticeable changes in the 2021–2022 measurements. The data showed decreases in extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness, and an increase in neuroticism, when the 2021–2022 data were compared with pre-pandemic data. The changes represented about one-tenth of a standard deviation, which is equivalent to about one decade of normative personality change.&nbsp;



Younger adults showed the most noticeable changes in personality, in particular in terms of increased neuroticism and decreased agreeableness and conscientiousness. The oldest adults, in contrast, showed no statistically significant changes in traits.



The researchers conclude that if these changes are enduring, it suggests that population-wide stressful events can bend the trajectory of personality slightly, especially in younger adults.



“There was limited personality change early in the pandemic but striking changes starting in 2021. Of most note, the personality of young adults changed the most, with marked increases in neuroticism and declines in agreeableness and conscientiousness. That is, younger adults became moodier and more prone to stress, less cooperative and trusting, and less restrained and responsible.”



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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

The pandemic made us more neurotic, less agreeable

Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have been interested...

A researcher from <a href="https://www.istanbul.edu.tr/en/_">Istanbul University</a> has rediscovered in Turkey a “miracle plant” consumed widely by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, and long-thought to have become extinct over 2,000 years ago. According to Professor Mahmut Miski, the feruna drudeana plant that he discovered on Mount Hasan in Turkey may well be the famous ancient silphion. This is a plant with thick branching roots and yellow <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-shed-their-flowers-quickly-for-protection-from-microbes/">flowers</a> attached to a thick stalk which were crushed, roasted, sautéed, and boiled for medicinal purposes, food, and even contraception.



The only images of this ancient plant were found engraved on Ancient Greek coins found in Cyrene. These engravings suggest that the plant was extremely valued – possibly holding the same value as silver, as one of Pliny’s old texts also testifies. 



“The juice of this plant is called ‘laser,’” Pliny wrote, “and it is greatly in vogue for medicinal as well as other purposes, being sold at the same rate as silver. For these many years past, however, it has not been found in Cyrenaica.”



“We find it stated by the most trustworthy among the Greek writers (presumably Theophrastus), that this plant made its appearance near the gardens of the Hesperides and the Greater Syrtis, immediately after the earth had been soaked on a sudden by a shower as black as pitch,” Miski explained. 



“This took place seven years before the foundation of the city of Cyrenae, and in the year of Rome.” Ancient texts also state that this plant was nearly impossible to cultivate, forcing ancient people to harvest it only from its wild habitats, and that it was consumed widely by livestock too.



According to Miski,&nbsp;when rain falls on Mount Hasan in April, ferula dudeana also sprouts from the ground and can grow up to six feet in just a month. Moreover, as he suspected, this plant was difficult to transplant, just like its ancient counterpart (currently, this process is possible, but only by using cold stratification, a complex method of subjecting seeds to both cold and hot conditions). Finally, plant caretakers from Mount Hasan reported to Miski that sheep and goats are particularly fond of the plants’ leaves.



The findings reinforce Miski’s assumption that ferula dudeana is in fact the same plant as the highly-valued ancient silphion. Due to the 30 metabolites Miski identified in the plant’s composition, ferula most likely has anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties, making it an important new discovery for medicine.&nbsp;



The plant’s description and comparison to its ancient counterpart can be found in an article published in the journal <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7825337/">Plants</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

"Miracle plant” thought to be extinct rediscovered in Turkey

A researcher from Istanbul University has rediscovered in Turkey a...

The use of service <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-are-more-aware-of-actions-than-objects/">dogs</a> to support people with psychological conditions such as anxiety, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder is growing in popularity. Such dogs are reported to improve a sufferer’s quality of life and social connections. In addition, they are able to help reduce the number of panic attacks, or the severity of PTSD symptoms, by behaving in a way that ‘calms’ the sufferer, or ‘interrupts’ his or her anxiety. Clearly, the dogs are able to perceive and respond to their owners’ psychological distress, but the mechanisms by which they do this are currently not understood.



A new study by researchers from Queens University, Belfast, and Newcastle University in the U.K. has investigated whether dogs can in fact smell when a person experiences stress. Given the excellent sense of smell that dogs have, and the fact that they have lived in association with humans for thousands of years, the researchers wondered whether dogs are able to perceive the chemical signals associated with stress in their owners.&nbsp;



The experience of stress is the main characteristic of people who suffer from anxiety, panic attacks and PTSD. Stress results in physiological changes in the body, including the release of epinephrine and cortisol hormones into the bloodstream, and increases in heart rate, blood pressure and speed of respiration. The physiological response to psychological stress is rapid, bringing about these changes within a few seconds. The researchers hypothesized that dogs, with their superior sense of smell, may be responding to olfactory cues produced by humans that are in a state of psychological stress.&nbsp;



In order to test this hypothesis, the researchers collected samples of breath and sweat from non-smoking participants who had not recently eaten or drunk anything. Baseline samples were collected first, and then the participants were given a fast-paced arithmetic task that provoked stress, after which their breath and sweat odors were again collected. In addition, participants’ heart rate and blood pressure were recorded, along with their self-reported experience of stress level.&nbsp;



Thirty-six of the participants showed increases in blood pressure and heart rate during the test, and also reported increased levels of stress.&nbsp; The samples from these participants were shown to&nbsp;trained&nbsp;dogs within three hours of being collected. Four dogs of different&nbsp;breeds and breed-mixes&nbsp;were trained, using a clicker and kibble rewards, to&nbsp;indicate the stress sample of a participant by adopting an alert posture.&nbsp;



Initially, the dogs had to identify a stress sample when it was randomly presented along with two blanks (samples without sweat or breath). They correctly&nbsp;alerted to&nbsp;the stress sample in 94 percent of the trials, with individual dogs achieving success rates of between 90 and 97 percent.&nbsp;But then the dogs were asked to identify the stress sample when it was presented along with one blank and with the baseline (relaxed) sample from the same participant. The researchers proposed that if the dogs could alert on the stress sample when the same participant’s baseline sample was present, this would imply that the chemical composition of the two human samples is different.



The findings of the study are published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274143">PLoS ONE</a>, and show that the dogs&nbsp;correctly detected and indicated (by alerting) 675 out of 720 stress samples. This equates to a success rate of 93.8 percent, which is far greater than would be expected if the alerting behavior were purely random (p&lt;0.001).&nbsp;



The experts conclude that dogs can detect&nbsp;the odor associated with&nbsp;the change in&nbsp;volatile organic compounds&nbsp;produced by humans in response to stress, a finding that&nbsp;tells us more about the human-dog relationship and&nbsp;could have applications to the training of anxiety and PTSD service dogs that are currently trained to respond predominantly to visual cues.



“This study demonstrates that dogs can discriminate between the breath and sweat taken from humans before and after a stress-inducing task," wrote the researchers.&nbsp; "This finding tells us that an acute, negative, psychological stress response alters the odor profile of our breath/sweat, and that dogs are able to detect this change in odor.”



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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

Stress has an odor, and dogs can smell it on us

The use of service dogs to support people with psychological...

Rising global temperatures are causing droughts that are both more frequent and longer lasting, posing significant risks to people and ecosystems. New research from the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> (UEA) shows that a temperature increase of 1.5°C will lead to dangerous consequences in India, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Brazil and Egypt.&nbsp;



These six countries were selected for the study because of their contrasting sizes and different levels of development. The countries range from tropical to temperate, with forest, grassland and desert habitats.&nbsp;



The paper, led by Dr. Jeff Price, quantified the projected impacts of global warming on the probability and length of severe drought in the six countries.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Current pledges for climate change mitigation, which are projected to still result in global warming levels of 3 °C or more, would impact all the countries in this study," said Dr. Price.



In the 1.5 °C warming scenario, the drought probability is projected to triple in Brazil and China, double in Ethiopia and Ghana, increase slightly in India, and substantially increase in Egypt.&nbsp;



This changes drastically under a 4 °C warming scenario, where the probability of drought projected in Brazil and China is nearly 50 percent, up to 30 percent in Ethiopia and Ghana, nearly 20 percent in India, and 100 percent in Egypt.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The projected increase in drought probability increases alongside rising temperature. However, in Egypt even slight amounts of global warming could lead to large increases in drought probability.&nbsp;



“Not only does the area exposed to drought increase with global warming, but it also increases the length of the droughts," said Professor Rachel Warren. “In Brazil, China, Ethiopia, and Ghana droughts of longer than two years are projected to occur even in a 1.5 °C warming scenario.”&nbsp;



In a 2 °C warming scenario, the length of droughts projected in all countries (except India) will exceed three years. In a 3 °C warming scenario, droughts are projected to approach 4 to 5 years, while a 4 °C warming scenario may produce droughts longer than five years in Brazil and China.



Also, the percentage of land projected to be exposed to a severe drought is expected to increase rapidly by the 1.5 °C warming scenario in Brazil, China and Egypt, and in areas of permanent snow and ice in India.&nbsp;



These regions form the headwaters of river systems, and the water supply for millions of people downstream. Severe drought could lead to declines in water storage, affecting water supply.&nbsp;



Drought can have major impacts on biodiversity, agricultural yields and economies. The amount of adaptation required to cope with increased drought increases rapidly with global warming.&nbsp;



“Meeting the Paris Accords could have major benefits in terms of reducing severe drought risk in these six countries, in all major land cover classes and for large percentages of the population worldwide," said Professor Warren.



“This requires urgent global scale action now to stop deforestation (including in the Amazon) in this decade, and to decarbonize the energy system in this decade, so that we can reach global net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03359-2">Climatic Change</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

Global warming will produce droughts that persist for years

Rising global temperatures are causing droughts that are both more...

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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

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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?

[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



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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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"

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

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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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...