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...

If humanity ever decides it is time to move to another <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-has-warmed-four-times-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-planet/">planet</a>, people will need to construct infrastructure there, in the form of buildings, housing, and rocket landing pads. This represents a considerable engineering challenge as current construction materials on Earth, such as cement, are far too heavy to include in the payload of a space rocket. And we don’t even know whether they would work under the temperature and pressure conditions experienced extraterrestrially. Future residents on other planets will most likely have to use locally available materials with which to build their infrastructure.&nbsp;



This has led researchers to explore ways of using clay-like topsoils from the moon and Mars as the basis for space cement. There is lots of soil available on these bodies, but this will have to be bound together to form concrete by using a binder that works under extraterrestrial conditions. One requirement for such an out-of-this-world construction material is that it must be durable enough for the vertical launch pads needed to protect man-made rockets from swirling rocks, dust and other debris during liftoff or landing. Most conventional construction materials, such as ordinary cement, are not suitable under space conditions.



“If we’re going to live and work on another planet like Mars or the Moon, we need to make concrete. But we can’t take bags of concrete with us – we need to use local resources,” said Norman Wagner of the <a href="https://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware</a>.



The researchers are exploring ways to use clay-like topsoil materials from the moon or Mars as the basis for extraterrestrial cement that can be used as a binder to form concrete for building purposes. Maria Katzarova, a former associate scientist and member of Wagner’s lab at UD, wondered whether it would be possible to activate simulated moon and Martian soils to become concrete-like building materials using geopolymer chemistry.&nbsp;



Geopolymers are inorganic polymers formed from aluminosilicate minerals found in common clays everywhere on Earth, as well as in extraterrestrial soils such as those found on the moon and Mars. When mixed with a solvent that has a high pH, such as sodium silicate, the clay dissolves out, freeing the aluminum and silicon inside to react with other materials and act as a binding agent, in the same way that cement does on Earth.



Katzarova proposed the idea to NASA and obtained funding via the Delaware Space Grant Consortium to test out this idea, with the help and expertise of then-UD doctoral student Jennifer Mills, who studied terrestrial geopolymers for her doctoral dissertation. The researchers systematically prepared geopolymer binders from a variety of simulated lunar and Martian soils and then compared the materials’ characteristics and performance, which hadn’t been done before. Their findings were reported in the journal Advances in Space Research, earlier this year, and have also been highlighted recently in the journal <a href="https://advanceseng.com/">Advances in Engineering</a>.



“This is not a trivial thing. You can’t just say give me any old clay, and I’ll make it work. There are metrics to it, chemistry that you have to worry about,” Wagner said.



The researchers mixed various simulated soils with sodium silicate then cast the geopolymer mixture into ice-cube-like molds and waited for the reaction to occur. They found that three simulated lunar soil samples and one Martian soil sample were successfully converted to geopolymer binders using this method. After seven days, they measured each cube’s size and weight, then crushed it to understand how the material behaves under load. Specifically, they wanted to know if slight differences in chemistry between simulated soils affected the material’s strength.&nbsp;



“When a rocket takes off there's a lot of weight pushing down on the landing pad and the concrete needs to hold, so the material’s compressive strength becomes an important metric,” said Wagner. “At least on Earth, we were able to make materials in little cubes that had the compressive strength necessary to do the job.”



The research team also subjected the samples to environmental conditions that are commonly present in space, including vacuum and low and high temperatures. They found that, in a vacuum, some of the material samples did form cement, while others were only partially successful. Overall, the geopolymer cement’s compressive strength decreased when it was formed under vacuum conditions, in comparison with the geopolymer cubes cured at room temperature and pressure.&nbsp;



“There's going to be a tradeoff between whether we need to cast these materials in a pressurized environment to ensure the reaction forms the strongest material or whether we can get away with forming them under vacuum, the normal environment on the moon or Mars, and achieve something that's good enough,” said Mills, who earned her doctoral degree in chemical engineering at UD in May 2022 and now works at Dow Chemical Company.&nbsp;



Temperature also played a significant role in determining the characteristics of the geopolymer cement. At low temperatures of about -80oC, the geopolymer materials didn’t react at all, and did not set.&nbsp;



“This tells us that we might need to use some sort of accelerant to achieve the strength we see at room temperature,” Mills said. “Maybe the geopolymer needs to be heated, or maybe we need to add something else to the mix to kickstart the reaction for certain applications or environments.”



At high temperatures of around 600oC, all the samples using moon soils were stronger than at room temperature. This was not surprising, Mills said, given that the reactions were so sluggish at low temperatures. The research team also saw changes in the physical nature of the geopolymer cement under conditions of increased temperature.



“The geopolymer bricks became much more brittle when we heated them up, shattering as opposed to becoming compressed or breaking in two,” said Mills. “That could be important if the material is going to be subjected to any type of external pressure.”



Based on their results, the researchers said that chemical composition and particle size of the soils may play an important role in the strength of these materials. For example, smaller particles increase the available surface area for chemical reactions, making the soils easier to react and potentially leading to greater overall material strength.&nbsp;



Two of Wagner’s current graduate students are also exploring ways to use geopolymer cements to 3D-print houses and to activate geopolymer materials using microwave technology. The work is a collaborative project, funded by the National Science Foundation, with researchers at Northeastern and Georgetown Universities. Similar to the microwaves you use to reheat your morning coffee, microwave heating can accelerate geopolymer curing and may one day provide a way for terrestrial builders – or astronauts – to cure geopolymer concrete in a targeted way.



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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

Can soil from the moon be used to construct buildings?

If humanity ever decides it is time to move to...

Southern,Right,Whale,With,Gull

Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) are native to oceans in the southern hemisphere and a breeding population exists around Aotearoa New Zealand and its sub-Antarctic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-types-of-islands-attract-migratory-birds/">islands</a>. The whales, known locally as tohorā, used to be more common in the region, and are known to have come inshore in the past to use sheltered harbors for calving and mating. The large numbers that were present in earlier times were dramatically reduced by whaling activity and by the time the killing of this species was banned in 1937, southern right whales were almost extinct, globally.&nbsp;



As a result of the hunting, there was no sighting of a southern right whale for 35 years in the waters around mainland Aotearoa New Zealand, with the remnant population persisting only around the remote sub-Antarctic islands. However, by 2009 there were an estimated 2,200 of these whales in the region, indicating a slow but steady recovery in the population. Individuals move between mainland Aotearoa New Zealand, including Stewart Island (Rakiura), and the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands (Maungahuka) and Campbell Island (Motu Ihupuku). Sightings are still very rare and may number no more than one or two in total, in some years.&nbsp;



A new study, led by Annabelle Cranswick of the <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.html">University of Auckland</a>, has made use of posts on Facebook and nature-watching network iNaturalist to bolster the data on whale sightings and help monitor the population of southern right whales in Aotearoa New Zealand waters.&nbsp;



By using sightings data from 2011 to 2021 recorded in the New Zealand Department of Conservation's <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/marine-mammal">Marine Mammal</a>&nbsp;Database, and supplementing these with crowd-sourced sightings reported on Facebook and iNaturalist, the researchers were able to increase the spatiotemporal extent of sampling for this rare and whale species.



“Photos supplied on social media and by citizen scientists are proving so important for us to monitor populations of these recovering whales,” said Cranswick. “We can assess that yes, this is a southern right whale, and discover how long a whale stayed in a particular area. “Even a distant photo, showing just part of a whale, can be helpful,” says Cranswick. “We can pick a southern right from just the white patches called callosities on the head, their flat back which lacks a dorsal fin, or even their large paddle-shaped pectoral fins.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



In total, there were only 116 sightings of southern right whales in New Zealand waters from both the Department of Conservation and the social network sources, reported over the 11-year research period (2011–2021). Since all the social media sightings were accompanied by photos that enabled species identification, these posts increased the overall number and quality of sightings and provided new information on the fine-scale movement and residency times of the whales.&nbsp;



“We went through ten years of social media data to extract these sighting reports,” said Hannah Hendriks, a marine biologist with the Department of Conservation. “There are very few whale researchers and rangers scattered across the country, so we rely on the public to be our eyes and ears.”



Bobby Phuong, a mailman in Christchurch who’s an enthusiastic amateur wildlife photographer, shot one of the images to feature in the study. He drove for nearly an hour to see a whale and calf at Sumner in August last year, sharing his photos via Facebook. “They were remarkable to witness and I’m glad my photos have helped in some way,” he says. In Gisborne, Wainui Beach resident Ian Ruru captured images of a southern right whale frolicking in the waves, meters away from surfers, in September 2018. “She sat directly in front of our home for eight hours that day … I guess she wanted her story to be told ... Paikea we called her,” said Ruru.



The results of the analysis, published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/ocean-and-coastal-management">Ocean &amp; Coastal Management</a>, indicate that, although numbers of whales have increased slowly in the region during the study period, the numbers around mainland New Zealand have not grown in the past decade. The authors hypothesize that this may due to the loss of so many female whales during the time of whaling, that the collective memory about making use of the mainland waters has been lost.&nbsp;



This study highlights the way in which social media may be put to good use to supplement knowledge and data gaps in traditional ecological monitoring programs. Whales are charismatic megafauna that often appear on social network posts and are ideal for public outreach sightings data.&nbsp;



“Social media provided detailed information from areas with lots of people and lots of cameras,” said study co-author Dr. Emma Carroll. “Where there are fewer people, like the west coast of Te Waipounamu (the South Island), information from the public and Department of Conservation rangers recorded in the national database was more important,” she explained.



The researchers stress that, although photographs and sightings of inshore whales are invaluable sources of important data, would-be citizen-scientists are reminded that photographers must stay 50m from adult whales and 200m from whales with calves, so as not to disturb them.&nbsp;



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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

Social media posts help monitor rarely sighted whales

Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) are native to oceans in...

Leisure activities could help lower the risk of dementia, according to a new meta-analysis published in the online issue of <a href="http://www.neurology.org/">Neurology</a>, the medical journal of the <a href="https://www.aan.com/">American Academy of Neurology</a>. These activities include reading a book, doing yoga and spending time with family and friends.



For the investigation, the experts reviewed available studies on the effects of cognitive, physical, and social activities and the risk of dementia.



“Previous studies have shown that leisure activities were associated with various health benefits, such as a lower cancer risk, a reduction of atrial fibrillation, and a person’s perception of their own well-being,” said study co-author Lin Lu of Peking University Sixth Hospital in Beijing, China.&nbsp;



“However, there is conflicting evidence of the role of leisure activities in the prevention of dementia. Our research found that leisure activities like making crafts, playing sports or volunteering were linked to a reduced risk of dementia.”



The meta-analysis involved a review of 38 international studies involving more than 2 million people. The participants were followed for at least three years.



The individuals provided information on their leisure activities - those in which people engaged for enjoyment or well-being and were divided into mental, physical and social activities. During the study period, 74,700 people developed dementia.



The researchers found that, overall,&nbsp; leisure activities were linked to a reduced risk of dementia. Those who engaged in leisure activities had a 17 percent lower risk of developing dementia.



Mental activity included reading or writing for pleasure, watching television, listening to the radio, playing games or musical instruments, using a computer,&nbsp; and making crafts. The researchers found that people who participated in these activities had a lower risk of dementia by 23 percent.



Physical activities included walking, running, swimming, bicycling, playing sports, yoga, and dancing. Those who participated in these activities had a 17 percent lower risk of dementia.



Social activities referred to activities that involved communication with others and included attending a class, joining a social club, volunteering, visiting with relatives or friends, or attending religious activities. The experts found that people who participated in these activities had a seven percent lower risk of dementia.



There are plenty of activities that are easy to incorporate into our daily lives that have many benefits for the brain.&nbsp;



The study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China, China Association for Science and Technology and PKU-Baidu Fund.



Learn more about dementia at <a href="http://www.brainandlife.org/">BrainandLife.org</a>, home of the American Academy of Neurology’s free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health.&nbsp;



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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

Leisure activities greatly lower the risk of dementia

Leisure activities could help lower the risk of dementia, according...

Plastic waste is a perennial problem that technology continues to try and overcome. A possible solution that is being explored is the use of enzymes that can break down plastics. Enzymes could potentially be used to break down specific plastic components and could possibly be more cost and energy efficient than other ways of breaking down or recycling plastics.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Unfortunately, using enzymes comes with a host of problems, as they are often not stable or very effective under conditions that would make them useful at an industrial scale.



In an effort to overcome these challenges and design an enzyme useful for recycling plastics at an industrial level, scientists with the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) have developed a new engineering platform. The platform can assess the ability to break down plastics of about 1,000 enzymes a day. The process uses directed evolution, where mutations are introduced and selected for, to create useful enzymes.&nbsp;



To demonstrate the ability of this platform, scientists have used it to create an enzyme that degrades poly(ethylene) terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic used to make bottles.&nbsp;



“The accumulation of plastic in the environment is a major global challenge. For this reason, we were keen to use our enzyme evolution capabilities to enhance the properties of plastic degrading enzymes to help alleviate some of these problems," explained Dr. Elizabeth Bell, who led the experimental work at the MIB.



"We are hopeful that in the future our scalable platform will allow us to quickly develop new and specific enzymes are suitable for use in large-scale plastic recycling processes.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The new enzyme - called HotPETase - was developed by direct evolution starting with IsPETase, which is naturally created by the bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis to degrade PET. Unfortunately, the enzyme is unstable at hotter temperatures required for industrial recycling, so the researchers developed HotPETase, which works at 70°C (~158°F), making it more optimal.&nbsp;



This engineering feat is a promising step forward. However, to continue the process, much collaborative and interdisciplinary work will be needed.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The research was published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41929-022-00821-3">Nature Catalysis</a>.&nbsp;



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

New enzyme developed to recycle plastic

Plastic waste is a perennial problem that technology continues to...

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/">Finnish Meteorological Institute</a> in Helsinki has recently confirmed that, over the past four decades, the Arctic has been <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-arctic-is-warming-four-times-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-planet/">warming</a> four times faster than the rest of the world, with some areas – such as the Barents Sea north of Russia and Norway – warming up to seven times faster. This rapid heating is largely caused by a feedback loop in which warming melts the sea ice, exposing more of the Arctic Ocean to sunlight and leading to more warming, which in turn leads to even more melting and warming, resulting in a phenomenon called Arctic amplification.



An immediate effect of rapid Arctic warming is the faster melting of the Greenland ice sheet, which contributes to sea-level rise. However, the impacts of this phenomenon extend well beyond the Arctic regions, giving rise to extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, massive rainfall, and storms in North America and other parts of the globe. For instance, recent events such as the deadly heatwaves clamping down Europe, the heavy rainfall that flooded Seoul, or the McKinney wildfire that continues to rage in Northern California are at least partly correlated to the rapid heating of the Arctic.



According to the scientists, warming has caused the Arctic’s fundamental climate to change to one characterized more by liquid water than ice, which has a profound effect on plants, animals, and human living there. The loss of sea ice is endangering polar bear populations, which affects the well-being of local communities who have hunted them for centuries, while sailing routes that were perpetually filled with ice are now opening up, increasing the environmental risks of ocean shipping to once pristine waters. Moreover, shorelines are eroding more quickly, and permafrost is thawing at unprecedented rates, leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions and damaging Arctic infrastructure.



These phenomena are still largely underrepresented by existing climate models and previous research. “Numerous studies report that the Arctic is warming either twice, more than twice, or even three times as fast as the globe on average.&nbsp;Here we show, by using several observational datasets which cover the Arctic region, that during the last 43 years, the Arctic has been warming nearly four times faster than the globe, which is a higher ratio than generally reported in literature,” the authors wrote. “Our results call for more detailed investigation of mechanisms behind Arctic amplification and their representation in climate models,” they concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-022-00498-3">Communications Earth &amp; Environment</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

The Arctic has warmed four times faster than the rest of the planet

A team of researchers from the Finnish Meteorological Institute in...

A new study led by the <a href="https://pitiesalpetriere.aphp.fr/">Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital</a> in Paris, France has investigated why intense and prolonged cognitive work makes us feel worn out. The experts found that, when intense thinking is prolonged for several hours, it causes potentially toxic byproducts to build up in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prefrontal-cortex-treating-alcoholism/">prefrontal cortex</a>, which then alter our control over decisions and makes us shift towards low-cost actions that require no effort or waiting as cognitive fatigues sets in.



“Influential&nbsp;theories suggested that fatigue is a sort of illusion cooked up by the&nbsp;brain to make us stop whatever we are doing and turn to a more gratifying activity,” said study senior author Mathias Pessiglione, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital. “But our findings show that cognitive work results in a true functional alteration - accumulation of noxious substances - so fatigue would indeed be a signal that makes us stop working but for a different purpose: to preserve the integrity of brain functioning.”



By using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), the scientists monitored brain chemistry over the course of a workday in two groups of people: those who had relatively simple cognitive tasks to accomplish, and those who needed to think hard. The latter exhibited signs of fatigue and tended to shift towards options that offered them rewards quickly and with little effort. Importantly, they also had higher levels of glutamate in synapses from the prefrontal cortex.&nbsp;



This discovery suggests that glutamate accumulation makes further activation of the prefrontal cortex more costly, leading to difficulties in maintaining cognitive control after a mentally tough workday. When asked whether there are some ways around this limitation of our brain’s cognitive functioning, Dr. Pessiglione replied: “Not really, I’m afraid. I would employ good old recipes: rest and sleep! There is good evidence that glutamate is eliminated from synapses during sleep.”



These findings suggest that monitoring of prefrontal metabolites could be useful in detecting severe mental fatigue and help people adjust their work agendas to avoid burnout. Future research is needed to clarify why the prefrontal cortex seems particularly susceptible to glutamate accumulation and the resulting fatigue, and whether the same markers of fatigue in the brain could predict recovery from health conditions such as depression or even cancer.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01111-3#%20">Current Biology</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Why does thinking hard make us tired?

A new study led by the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital in...

On the eve of <a href="https://worldelephantday.org/">World Elephant Day</a> (August 12), an analysis of social media posts led by <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/">Griffith University</a> in Australia has highlighted how the type of attention <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-have-personality-traits-that-help-them-solve-problems/">elephants</a> receive on Twitter does not align with the most pressing threats to wild elephants. This phenomenon may have negative consequences for elephant conservation and lead to resentment from the local communities that live with elephants.&nbsp;



According to the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN), the most pressing threats elephants currently face are habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, and poaching, with the magnitude of each threat varying between the three species of elephants (the African Forest Elephant, the African Savanna Elephant, and the Asian Elephant).&nbsp;



“The key highlights were that of the three main threats to wild elephants – being poached, habitat loss, and human-elephant conflict – there was a lack of attention on Twitter specifically around habitat loss and human-elephant conflict,” said study lead author Niall Hammond, a doctoral student in Wildlife Conservation at the Griffith University.&nbsp;“Our Twitter analysis revealed these major threats were infrequently discussed, with habitat loss being the most infrequently discussed (less than one percent of all tweets).”



The analysis showed that the most frequently discussed aspects were elephant welfare issues, such as tourist elephant rides (23 percent). Users from non-elephant range regions were the dominant voice on Twitter (72 percent), with posts largely focusing on elephant welfare concerns and trophy hunting (which, in fact, is not a threat to elephant conservation). By contrast, users from African Elephant range countries (14 percent) were more likely to discuss human-elephant conflict and poaching, as well as to promote elephant tourism, while those from Asian Elephant range countries (13 percent) posted more about human-elephant conflict and elephant tourism, but were less likely to tweet about poaching.



“Human-elephant conflict is a major issue. Our study found that the lack of acknowledgement of the impact of human-elephant conflict on local people often leads to resentment from people within elephant range countries, where peoples’ safety and livelihoods are often at risk due to elephants. For example, in India it is estimated that 100 people are killed by elephants each year and 40-50 elephants are killed during crop raiding,” Hammond explained.



Thus, the location of the tweets’ origins highlighted a divide in the understanding and lived experience of those living in countries with elephants and those without. “When we watch nature documentaries, elephants are often portrayed as living in areas where there are no people, but that is not the reality.”



“The reality is that in many areas, elephants and people live in shared spaces, where there are no fences to separate people and wildlife. It is important to acknowledge the sacrifices these communities make on a daily basis in co-existing with elephants and advocate for greater rights for communities to manage their wildlife sustainably because without their continued support the conservation of elephants would not be possible,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12785">Conservation Science and Practice</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Elephant tweets often misrepresent conservation issues

On the eve of World Elephant Day (August 12), an...

In many animals – and most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-dinosaurs-died-in-the-springtime/">dinosaurs</a> – the eye sockets are circular holes in the skull housing the eyeballs. However, according to a new study led by Dr. Stephan Lautenschlager, a senior lecturer in Paleobiology at the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a>, large dinosaur predators, such as Tyrannosaurus Rex, evolved different, elliptical or oval shapes of eye sockets in order to better deal with forceful bites.



Dr. Lautenschlager analyzed the shape of the eye sockets of over 500 different dinosaurs and related species. “The results show that only some dinosaurs had eye sockets that were elliptical or keyhole-shaped,” he said. “However, all of those were large, carnivorous dinosaurs with skull lengths of one meter or more.”



By using computer simulations and stress analysis, Dr. Lautenschlager investigated what purpose such unusual eye socket shapes could have, and discovered that a skull with circular eye sockets was more prone to high stresses during biting. However, if these were replaced with elliptical or oval eye sockets, the stress during biting was considerably reduced, allowing major predators to evolve high bite sources that would not compromise their skull stability.



While most herbivorous dinosaur species and juvenile individuals retained circular eye socket shapes, large carnivores such as T. Rex adopted different morphologies, including elliptical, keyhole-shaped, of figure-of-eight-shaped sockets. “In these species, just the upper part of the eye socket was actually occupied by the eyeball. This also led to a relative reduction of eye size compared with skull size,” explained Dr. Lautenschlager.



“These morphologies are beneficial in mitigating and dissipating feeding-induced stresses and require only little investment in reinforcing the bony structure of the skull. Conversely, the development and maintenance of large circular orbits and corresponding eyes would be physiologically costly and likely outweigh potential benefits for visual acuity,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03706-0#Sec6">Nature Communications Biology</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Dinosaurs evolved different eye sockets for stronger bites

In many animals – and most dinosaurs – the eye...

Charles Darwin found remarkable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-expanded-into-quieter-cities-during-covid-lockdowns/">birds</a> on the Galápagos Islands when he visited on the HMS Beagle in 1835. They became known as “Darwin’s finches,” even though they were not finches at all. The remarkable thing about them, however, was that the 18 species all seemed to inhabit different islands in the archipelago. Over time they had developed different lifestyles, fed on different foods and had beaks that varied in form and function, despite the fact that they all arose from a single ancestral species.&nbsp;



The finches illustrate that populations may become adapted to environmental conditions found on specific islands and that, over time, the adaptations may make then so different that they can be considered separate species. They also support the island syndrome hypothesis that predicts the repeated and pronounced changes that some species undergo after colonizing islands. 



Animal species that become isolated on islands often show changes in body size (may become dwarfs or giants), locomotion (may become flightless), coloration and behavior. But what is the genetic basis for these changes, and does island syndrome apply to plants as well? 



A team of 30 scientists from four different continents has now tackled these questions using plants from the genus Scalesia. Known as giant daisies, they are found on the Galápagos Islands and were also encountered there by Darwin during his visit. There are 15 different species and, as you might guess, the remarkable thing about them was that, according to Darwin, “not one of these species grows on any two islands” – each species had adapted to the conditions on its own island. Scalesia is in the same family as daisies and sunflowers but the plants grow to the size of trees on the Galápagos Islands.



All 15 species evolved from a single species that, at some point in the distant past, arrived on the archipelago. The original species spread to neighboring islands and became adapted to the specific environmental conditions there. The descendants developed different characteristics and gradually turned into more specialized species, just like the finches. In fact, the giant daisies are commonly referred to as “Darwin’s finches of the plant world”. Today the different species are adapted to life in the dry lowlands, humid highlands and dry volcanic summits of Galápagos Islands.



The researchers chose to carry out DNA analysis of a single species of giant daisy, Scalesia atractyloides, in order to investigate the genetic basis of the plant’s adaptability. This species is a critically endangered dwarf tree found only on the island of Santiago in the Galápagos. Santiago is one of the four islands that Darwin visited during his trip to the archipelago.



“We sequenced and described the genome of the plant,” said José Cerca, a researcher in NTNU’s (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology) Department of Natural History at the NTNU University Museum. Cerca worked with Michael D. Martin, a professor and genetic expert in the Department of Natural History.



The results of the analysis, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>, show many genetic variants in the plant’s genome that could have explained the original species’ ability to adapt and spread into distinct niches on the different islands.



“These variations are associated with vascular development, growth, adaptation to salinity and flowering time,” said Cerca. In other words, they reflect adaptability when faced with new environmental conditions on the islands.



In total, the researchers identified 920 genes in the genome that are under positive selection, meaning that they confer some form of advantage on the plant. These include genes that regulate leaf morphology, lead to rapid plant growth, promote tolerance of arid conditions and cause the closure of stomata.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In addition, the methods used by the researchers enabled them to infer what the genome of the original colonizing plant might have looked like. “We found that the common ancestor of all the species in the&nbsp;Scalesia&nbsp;genus was an allotetraploid,” says Cerca. An allotetraploid is a variant that has twice as many chromosomes in its cells, and therefore also genes, as a normal plant. This came about because two different plants had crossbred sometime in the history of the species, and had created a hybrid.



The crossbreeding, along with the extra sets of chromosomes and genes, also provides a large variety of genetic material for different traits that can be present in the offspring. This situation means that offspring have a better chance of being able to adapt to conditions in a new environment. Such crossbreeding is probably more common in plants than believed a few years ago, but for researchers it is still a big deal.



“We’re beginning to understand the genetic basis for how this one original plant species might have evolved into several species,” said Cerca.



The researchers also found that certain genes under selection, such as large body size, supported the island syndrome hypothesis, indicating that it is possible for some species on islands to show different phenotypes from their mainland counterparts.&nbsp;



“We’ve found irrefutable evidence of the island syndrome in the genes of Darwin's giant daisies,” said Cerca.



The group's work provides valuable insights into how species are able to adapt to different environments. This is perhaps especially important at a time when the environment in numerous places on the planet is changing faster than it has for a long time.



Image Credit: Sara Santacruz



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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

Study reveals how Darwin’s giant daisies spread into distinct niches

Charles Darwin found remarkable birds on the Galápagos Islands when...

Early days of the COVID-19 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pandemic-restrictions-had-a-lasting-effect-on-behavior-patterns/">pandemic</a> were a stressful time marked by fear, isolation, and uncertainty. But for birds, the reduction in noise and commotion created a wider range of habitat in cities.



A new study from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> reports that many birds were just as likely to be found in highly developed urban areas as they were in less-developed green spaces during COVID-19 lockdowns in the Pacific Northwest.



“Our findings suggest that some birds may have been able to use more spaces in cities because our human footprint was a little lighter,” said Olivia Sanderfoot, who completed the study as a doctoral researcher and is now a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles.&nbsp;



“For about half of the species we observed, neither land use nor canopy cover had an effect on their site use. That’s very interesting, because we would expect that whether a habitat was mostly covered in concrete or vegetation would tell you something about what birds would be there,” said Sanderfoot.



In the spring of 2020, more than 900 community scientists were recruited to participate in the study. The volunteers chose their own monitoring sites such as backyards and parks, and recorded the birds they observed at least once a week. This allowed researchers to gather data despite the lockdowns and gave many volunteers a welcomed distraction from the stresses of the pandemic.



Among the 35 species that showed the strongest changes in behavior were some of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic, including chickadees, great blue herons, downy woodpeckers and Wilson’s warblers. The researchers focused on 46 bird species overall and completed more than 6,000 individual surveys.



To compare bird observations to human activity, the team used data from Google’s Community Mobility Reports, which track the relative amount that people moved around at various points during the pandemic.



As people returned to public spaces and human activity increased, volunteers recorded an increase in sightings of several bird species in green spaces. While the birds may have been elsewhere during lockdowns enjoying the absence of human disturbance, they returned to green spaces when activity picked up again.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This could tell us how important it is to build green spaces into our cities. That’s the biggest takeaway for me.” said Sanderfoot.



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



Image Credit: Holly Hauser



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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

Birds expanded into quieter cities during Covid lockdowns

Early days of the COVID-19 pandemic were a stressful time...

Every year, trillions of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pitcher-plants-harness-rain-energy-to-capture-insects/">insects</a> in Western Europe undertake seasonal migrations; usually they move southward towards the Mediterranean and North Africa at the end of the northern summer, and return northward during the spring or early summer. The same pathway is followed by many species of moths, butterflies and hoverflies; vast numbers of these insects cross the Alps in order to fly as directly as possible to their overwintering destinations.&nbsp;



Although these enormous migrations are understood on a population level, very little is known about how individual insects manage to navigate their way through the considerable obstacles, or what methods they use to locate their destinations. This gap in understanding is due, mostly, to the challenge of tracking these small animals as they fly, surprisingly rapidly and often at night.&nbsp;



A new study on migrating death’s-head hawkmoths (Acherontia atropos) has now used miniscule tracking devices and a light aircraft to track seven individual moths as they migrated across the Alps at night. The study, published by the <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> (AAAS), reveals that these hawkmoths make use of complex migratory strategies to stay on track.&nbsp;



The death’s-head hawkmoth, known for the sinister skull-shaped marking on its thorax, is the largest lepidopteran in Europe, weighing in at up to 3.5g. It is a long-distance Afro-Palearctic migrant that arrives to breed in Europe, north of the Alps, in spring each year. The subsequent generation returns south the following autumn to winter-breeding regions in the Mediterranean Basin and sub-Saharan Africa, covering a distance of up to 4,000km.&nbsp;



The researchers fitted tiny, very high frequency radio transmitters to the backs of 14 hawkmoths and recorded their precise GPS locations from a light aircraft at regular intervals (every 5 to 15 min, when possible) throughout their migration. They obtained detailed tracks for seven of the moths. The moths all started their migratory flights shortly after sunset, and were followed by the researchers for between 1 and 3.7 hours. During this time, the moths flew a mean distance of 63.7km, with the longest distance being 89.6km. This represents the longest distance over which any insect has been continuously tracked in the field.



A team led by Dr. Myles Menz&nbsp;from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior discovered that the moths did not just fly in a direction with favorable tailwinds, as had been proposed by other scientists in the past. Instead, the moths flew in the most direct straight line to their destination, but were able to correct their specific flight headings constantly, as they came across disruptive winds and specific features of the terrain.&nbsp;



The hawkmoths traveled at a mean ground speed of 33.8km/hour, and they all travelled in straight lines along their entire flight paths, which lasted tens of kilometers. This direct line was maintained, despite the presence of winds of varying strengths and directions throughout their course.&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to the researchers, maintaining a consistently straight flight trajectory and flight speed throughout the night under variable wind conditions strongly suggests that the moths have an internal compass mechanism. This, along with the insect’s exceptional night vision, indicates that the hawkmoths likely use a combination of visual landmarks and Earth’s magnetic field to navigate considerable distances during migration.



Interestingly enough, the moths chose pathways through the mountains that had topographical features (such as high-altitude passes) which allowed them to avoid the very highest altitudes when crossing the Alps. One of these pathways involved using a wide valley running west-southwest that enabled the moths to circumvent the Alps altogether.



The research, published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</a>, sheds new light on the complex and sophisticated behavior of hawkmoths while on seasonal migrations. "To maintain such straight trajectories over long periods of time, as seen here, the moths must regularly update their positions relative to whichever navigational cues they rely on," wrote the study authors. The results show that complex migratory strategies are not the preserve of vertebrates alone, but can be found in these remarkable insects as well.&nbsp;



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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

How death’s-head hawkmoths navigate the Alps at night

Every year, trillions of insects in Western Europe undertake seasonal...

Boreal forests in the far north make up the largest forested region in the world. These ecosystems are extremely important for capturing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amazons-carbon-emissions-jumped-40-percent-since-2019/">carbon</a>. Unfortunately, research shows that climate change is already impacting northern forests in both positive and negative ways.&nbsp;



Boreal forests are composed mainly of conifer species such as spruce, fir, and pine. There are also a few much less common broadleaf hardwood trees such as oak and maple. Experts have determined that global warming is likely causing a decrease in growth in the conifers, along with an increase in growth in the hardwoods.&nbsp;



These observational studies were recently confirmed and enhanced by a rare experimental study on the impact of climate change on northern forests.



Nine species of native boreal trees were planted and grown under different conditions. Some of the trees were left alone as controls. Others were grown with temperatures raised by two hypothetical amounts: 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.9 degrees Fahrenheit) and 3.1 C (5.6 F) above natural temperatures. Some of the trees were covered by tarps prior to storms to mimic a reduction in rainfall.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The results of the analysis showed that even a moderate change in climate is likely to have negative impacts on boreal forest composition.&nbsp;



Study lead author Paul Reich is the director of the Institute for Global Change Biology at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability and a forest ecologist at the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a>.



"Our results spell problems for the health and diversity of future regional forests," said Reich. "Present-day southern boreal forest may reach a tipping point with even modest climate warming, resulting in a major compositional shift with potential adverse impacts on the health and diversity of regional forests."



"Those impacts could reduce the capacity of our forests to produce timber, to host other plant, microbial and animal diversity, to dampen flooding, and - perhaps most important of all - to scrub carbon out of the air and hold it in wood and soil."&nbsp;



The researchers found that elevated temperatures increased the death rate of all nine of the tree species and the growth rate of seven of the trees. This suggests that there will be a shift in boreal forests in the future and the potential incursion of invasive species already in temperate forests.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05076-3">Nature</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Even moderate warming will transform northern forests

Boreal forests in the far north make up the largest...

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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?

[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

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

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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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