The Universe contains many types of massive formations that shape our understanding of how stars and galaxies group together. Astronomers have long studied these sprawling patterns, which give valuable clues about where matter gathers and where it remains thinly spread. 



These features define how cosmic evolution unfolds and guide current theories of how the universe expands.



Recently, a team of experts announced a giant find. This collection of galaxy clusters surpasses previous giants by orders of magnitude.



This study adds fresh insights by demonstrating that our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/interstellar-tunnel-found-that-connects-our-solar-system-to-other-stars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmic neighborhood</a> can still surprise us with unexpected details about how matter arranges itself across unimaginable distances.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-galaxy-clusters-distribution">Galaxy clusters distribution</h2>



Hans Böhringer from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (<a href="https://www.mpe.mpg.de/main" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MPE</a>) coordinated the effort in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Physics (<a href="https://www.mpp.mpg.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MPP</a>) and teams in Spain and South Africa. 



Their work relied on the ROSAT X-ray satellite’s survey, which singled out clusters of galaxies by detecting the energetic radiation these huge clusters emit. 



These data allowed the researchers to build a three-dimensional map of our cosmic vicinity.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/quipo_superstructure_3D-model_credit-MPE_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/quipo_superstructure_3D-model_credit-MPE_1s.webp" alt="Three-dimensional representation of the Quipu superstructure. Credit: MPE" class="wp-image-1960534"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Three-dimensional representation of the Quipu superstructure. Credit: MPE</figcaption></figure>



“If you look at the distribution of the galaxy clusters in the sky in a spherical shell with a distance of 416 to 826 million light-years, you immediately notice a huge structure that stretches from high northern latitudes to almost the southern end of the sky,” explains Böhringer.



By tracing each cluster’s position in space, his team pinpointed how matter spreads out in swirling patterns of galaxies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-quipu-superstructure">The Quipu superstructure</h2>



The researchers named this discovery “Quipu,” taking inspiration from the knotted string recording system once used by the Incas. 



Observed as a long strand with smaller threads branching off, the Quipu superstructure contains 68 galaxy clusters with a combined mass of about 2.4 × 10^17 solar masses. 



Its size of roughly 1.4 billion light-years makes Quipu the largest superstructure ever accurately measured, surpassing the Sloan Great Wall’s 1.1 billion light-years.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/quipo_superstructure_illustration_credit-MPE_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/quipo_superstructure_illustration_credit-MPE_1s.webp" alt="Distribution of galaxies (color coding) and galaxy clusters (black dots) in a spherical shell with a distance of 416 to 826 million light years surrounding us. The five superstructures are marked: 1 Quipu, 2 Shapley, 3 Serpens-Corona Borealis and Hercules (overlapping in the sky), 4 Sculptor-Pegasus. The area enclosed by white lines is shadowed by the disk of the Milky Way. Credit: MPE" class="wp-image-1960536"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Distribution of galaxies (color coding) and galaxy clusters (black dots) in a spherical shell with a distance of 416 to 826 million light years surrounding us. The five superstructures are marked: 1 Quipu, 2 Shapley, 3 Serpens-Corona Borealis and Hercules (overlapping in the sky), 4 Sculptor-Pegasus. The area enclosed by white lines is shadowed by the disk of the Milky Way. Credit: MPE</figcaption></figure>



“This breaks the size record of all reliably measured cosmic structures,” note the researchers who compared the finding with other known formations. 



“The Quipu superstructure, end to end, is slightly longer than the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/SDSS-3D-Universe-Map-Credit-Sloan-Digital-Sky-Survey-Team-NASA-NSF-DOE_fig2_357328983" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sloan Great Wall</a>,” says J. Richard Gott III at Princeton University, who helped discover the Sloan Great Wall. “Congratulations to them for finding it.” 



The name also reflects a connection to Chile, where many distance measurements took place, and where ancient quipus are showcased in Santiago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quipu-and-cosmological-principle">Quipu and cosmological principle</h2>



Across extremely large distances, matter is believed to spread out nearly evenly. At smaller scales of about a billion light-years, it collects in superclusters and leaves behind voids. 



This balance underpins the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cosmic-order-or-chaos-universe-expansion-may-follow-a-hidden-pattern/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmological principle</a>, which suggests that if we look far enough, the universe should appear uniform in every direction. 



Some experts argue these huge arrangements question that principle’s validity, with past findings triggering debates. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/great-sloan-wall_superstructure_SDSS_credit-MIT_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/great-sloan-wall_superstructure_SDSS_credit-MIT_1s.webp" alt="Sloan Great Wall of galaxies. SDSS 3D Universe Map Credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey Team, NASA, NSF, DOE." class="wp-image-1960531"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sloan Great Wall of galaxies is 1.1 billion light years long. SDSS 3D Universe Map Credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey Team, NASA, NSF, DOE.</figcaption></figure>



“Making observations in too small a part of the universe, which has been done earlier on, can be misleading,” says Böhringer. 



Another point comes from an ambiguous definition of the principle. “There is not yet one definition of the cosmological principle that every cosmologist agrees on,” says Alexia Lopez at the <a href="https://www.uclan.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Central Lancashire</a> in the UK. 



Meanwhile, Seshadri Nadathur at the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Portsmouth</a> notes that “some of those galaxies may drift apart from each other instead of collapsing in on themselves, in which case, according to some interpretations, it’s not really a bound structure.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cosmic-measurements-and-consequences">Cosmic measurements and consequences</h2>



Quipu’s existence highlights how vast formations can shape calculations of cosmic expansion rates and the properties of primordial radiation left over from the early universe. 



Astronomers pay close attention to features like superclusters because they alter light paths and influence how we determine important parameters such as the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unknown-factors-are-accelerating-the-expansion-of-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble constant</a>. 



Small discrepancies can add up when researchers aim for precise numbers in modern cosmological studies.



“Even if these are only corrections of a few percent, they become increasingly important as the accuracy of cosmological observations increases,” emphasizes Gayoung Chon from the Max Planck Institute for Physics. 



This structure offers a reminder that the cosmos presents patterns on many scales. Those patterns appear to affect how we interpret data on the universe’s origin and shape the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-galactic-explosion-provides-clues-about-galaxy-evolution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evolution of galaxies</a> in our vicinity and beyond.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quipu-and-the-incas">Quipu and the Incas</h2>



The Incas once managed vast territories using quipus, a system of knotted strings that helped track resources and information. 



Each knot arrangement acted like a code, revealing essential data in a form that required no written script.



Quipu’s naming borrowed that image of intertwined threads. 



Researchers see it as a nod to humanity’s long history of gathering knowledge, whether through knotted strings or advanced telescopes that trace the distribution of galaxies across cosmic depths.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next?</h2>



The discovery underscores how ongoing surveys might uncover more structures. 



Scientists are keen to see if similar patterns exist in parts of the sky that remain less charted, which could either confirm current theories or reveal new gaps in our understanding.



Future maps will rely on technology to gather clearer data from remote regions. 



These efforts reflect a human wish to capture our place in the universe, searching for the patterns that connect everything from particles to vast congregations of galaxies.



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Featured image: The open cluster Westerlund 1 is located roughly 12,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Ara (the Altar) where it resides behind a huge interstellar cloud of gas and dust. Credit: <a href="https://www.esa.int" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.19236" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Astronomy and Astrophysics</a>.



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Largest structure ever found in the universe is 1.4 billion light years long

The Universe contains many types of massive formations that shape our understanding of how stars and galaxies group together. Astronomers have long studied these sprawling patterns, which give valuable clues about where matter gathers and where it remains thinly spread. These features define how cosmic evolution unfolds and guide current theories of how the universe expands. Recently, a team of experts announced a giant find. This collection of galaxy clusters surpasses previous giants by orders of magnitude. This study adds fresh insights by demonstrating that our cosmic...

Researchers from the <a href="https://icahn.mssm.edu/">Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai</a> have discovered that consistently losing 90 minutes of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lack-of-sleep-makes-people-more-selfish-and-less-generous/">sleep</a> can alter the structure of immune stem cell DNA in humans, leading to inflammation and disease. Study lead author Dr. Filip Swirski is the director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at Icahn Mount Sinai.



"This study begins to identify the biological mechanisms that link sleep and immunological health over the long-term," explained Dr. Swirski. "It shows that in humans and mice, disrupted sleep has a profound influence on the programming of immune cells and rate of their production, causing them to lose their protective effects and actually make infections worse - and these changes are long-lasting. This is important because it is yet another key observation that sleep reduces inflammation and, conversely, that sleep interruption increases inflammation."&nbsp;



"This work emphasizes the importance of adults consistently sleeping seven to eight hours a day to help prevent inflammation and disease, especially for those with underlying medical conditions."



The study had a human and mouse element. For each species, the researchers took blood samples and analyzed the DNA of white blood cells before and during sleep restriction.&nbsp;



The experts found that when mice and humans were subjected to restricted sleep, they produced more immune cells, and the DNA of those cells was altered. However, in mice, researchers also noticed that even once they were permitted to return to their unrestricted sleep schedule, their immune stem cells continued to express an altered structure, and they were likely to exhibit inflammation and disease.



"Our findings suggest that sleep recovery is not able to fully reverse the effects of poor-quality sleep. We can detect a molecular imprint of insufficient sleep in immune stem cells, even after weeks of recovery sleep. This molecular imprint can cause the cells to respond in inappropriate ways leading to inflammation and disease," said Dr. Cameron McAlpine, the study’s co-lead investigator.



"It was surprising to find that not all clusters of stem cells responded to insufficient sleep in the same way. There were some stem cell clusters that proliferated and grew in number, while other clusters became smaller. This reduction in overall diversity and aging of the immune stem cell population is an important contributor to inflammatory diseases and cardiovascular disease."



The study appears in the <a href="https://rupress.org/jem">Journal of Experimental Medicine</a>.



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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

Lack of sleep causes structural changes in immune stem cells

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai...

Infant and maternal mortality rates in the United States are some of the highest among wealthy countries, with large racial and ethnic disparities. In order to develop a unifying plan for proper policies, and systems to improve the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-have-nutritional-wisdom-we-eat-what-our-body-needs/">nutritional</a> security and well-being of vulnerable families, the <a href="https://www.fhi360.org/partner-us/fhi360-family">FHI Solutions</a> – a nonprofit organization aiming to improve nutritional outcomes on a global scale – has created the “<a href="https://thousanddays.org/">1,000 Days</a>” Initiative.



The new initiative is based on the assumption that the 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday are crucial and set the foundations for the rest of an individual’s life, and aims to provide support for improving maternal health and optimal growth and development for children.



In a special series of scientific articles which will be published in the <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/">American Journal of Public Health</a> (AJPH) on October 26, 2022, an international team of experts will present the state of science, research needs, and a policy agenda for optimal maternal and child nutrition in the U.S.&nbsp;



For instance, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307028">study</a> authored by Heather Hamner, a health scientist at the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC), reveals the multiple gaps between the dietary intake of pregnant women, infants, and toddlers and the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services’&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf">Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025</a>. According to Dr. Hamner, the average consumption of saturated fats, sugars, and sodium are higher than recommended, 75 percent of infants are not exclusively fed human milk in the first six months of their lives, and most children aged 12-23 months do not eat the recommended amounts of vegetables, fruits, and dairy.



“Advancing efforts related to research and surveillance, programs and communication, and dissemination could help positively, and equitably, influence the health and well-being of mothers and children,” Dr. Hamner wrote.&nbsp;



Another <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307063">study</a>, authored by Blythe Thomas, the director of the 1,000 Days Initiative, sets out a plan unifying maternal and early childhood nutrition policy and systems, by emphasizing four sectors where immediate action should be taken – early child development, health care, philanthropy, and U.S. government relations.&nbsp;



“Achieving nutrition security during the first 1,000 days will ultimately require multisector collaboration, advocacy, and action to fully support families where they live, learn, work, play, and gather,” Thomas explained.



In a third <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306999">paper</a>, Dr. Kofi Essel, a community pediatrician at the <a href="https://childrensnational.org/">Children’s National Hospital</a>, argues that a paradigm shift on the importance of nutrition and nutrition guidance is crucial for enhancing clinical care.&nbsp;



“This shift requires a collective effort that activates pediatricians to work in cross-sector collaboratives to influence change alongside industry, researchers, and even early childhood educators. It requires pediatricians to use their voices to support local policy that shifts the food landscape, supports national policy that enhances nutrition security for our families, and transforms medical education for current and future providers,” Dr. Essel advised.



More information about this forthcoming special series can be found <a href="https://thousanddays.org/updates/ajph-series/">here</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;

Proper nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life is crucial

Infant and maternal mortality rates in the United States are...

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.hku.hk/">University of Hong Kong</a> (HKU) has recently provided an estimate of how many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ants-show-signs-of-cognitive-sophistication/">ants</a> currently live on our planet. 



The result is staggering: 20 quadrillion – or 20,000,000,000,000,000 – ants roam the Earth, meaning that for each human being, there are about 2.5 million ants. 



According to the experts, if all the ants were plucked from the ground and weighted, they would outweigh all the mammals and wild birds put together.



“I was amazed that the ants’ biomass was higher than that of wild mammals and birds combined, and that it reaches 20 percent of the human biomass. That gives you an understanding of the scale of their impact,” said study co-lead author Sabine Nooten, an insect ecologist at HKU.



“It’s unimaginable,” added study lead author Patrick Schultheiss, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/home/">University of Würzburg</a> in Germany. “We simply cannot imagine 20 quadrillion ants in one pile, for example. It just doesn’t work.”



Like humans, ants have spread almost all over the Earth. Although they are most abundant in tropical and subtropical regions, they can be found nearly everywhere besides the coldest parts of our planet. These insects play important roles in the proper functioning of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fungus-farming-ants-work-hard-to-maintain-healthy-gardens/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">variety of ecosystems</a>. 



For instance, they aerate the soil and drag seeds underground to sprout, they serve as food for a variety of birds, mammals, and arthropods, and they help decomposing dead wood and other types of matter.



“Some ants can certainly be very annoying, but that’s a very human-centered perspective,” Schultheiss explained. 



“Most ants are actually highly beneficial, even to us humans. Think about the amount of organic matter that 20 quadrillion ants transport, remove, recycle, and eat. In fact, ants are so essential for the smooth working of biological processes that they can be seen as ecosystem engineers. The late ant scientist E.O. Wilson once called them ’the little things that run the world.’”



While scientists are already seeing troubling declines in insect populations all over the world – caused by habitat destruction, climate change, and increased use of pesticides – they are not yet sure whether ants’ numbers are falling down too. 



“We did not yet attempt to show this temporal shift in ant abundance. That would be something that would come next,” Nooten concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2201550119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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

There are 2.5 million ants for each human on Earth

A team of researchers from the University of Hong Kong...

Well-known for their eight arms, octopuses leverage all of these appendages to move through the water and capture <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-can-pythons-eat-prey-as-large-as-a-deer/">prey</a>. Although their movements can look awkward and seemingly unplanned most of the times, a new study led by the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a> (UMN) has found that octopuses preferred certain arms over others when hunting, rather than using all arms equally, depending on the type of prey they aimed to capture.



“Normally when you look at an octopus for a short while, nothing is repeatable. They squirm around… and just look weird in their exploratory movements,” said study senior author Trevor Wardill, an assistant professor of Biology at UMN.&nbsp;



Together with his team, Wardill studied the behavior of the California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides), which lives about two years and grows to the size of tennis balls. By dropping different types of prey – including crabs and shrimp – into the tanks where the octopuses where kept, the scientists discovered that each type of prey required different hunting techniques.&nbsp;



Although no matter what type of prey came by, octopuses started their attack by using the second arm from the middle, when hunting crabs they pounced on the prey with a cat-like movement, while, when hunting the much faster shrimps, they were more careful to avoid spooking their prey, and used neighboring arms two and three to secure it.



The researchers were amazed to see how exceedingly repeatable the hunting behavior of octopuses was, and how predictably they began prey capture with the second arm. Better understanding how these creatures operate their tentacles could provide inspiration to engineers aiming to design bio-inspired robots.



“Octopuses are extremely strong. For them, to grasp and open a door is trivial, given their dexterity. If we can learn from octopuses, then we can apply that to making an underwater vehicle or soft robot application,” Professor Wardill concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.080">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;

Octopuses adjust their hunting strategy according to prey

Well-known for their eight arms, octopuses leverage all of these...

The dinosaur <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greater-temperature-changes-linked-to-worse-extinction-events/">extinction</a> 66 million years ago was likely caused by a large asteroid that hit the Earth, leaving birds as the only living descendants. During the Cretaceous period, dinosaurs lived all over the world. However, scientists have debated whether dinosaurs were already in a state of decline before their extinction. 



Did dinosaurs go out with a bang or a whimper? Researchers at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have an answer -&nbsp; dinosaurs were not diverse before extinction and were already in decline during the end of the Cretaceous period.



Most of the data from this period comes from North America, suggesting that dinosaurs in this area were thriving. However, other research suggests that dinosaurs were dwindling, which set the stage for their mass extinction. For the current study, the IVPP team examined the dinosaur record in China to determine if the declining trend extended to Asia.



The research was focused on over 1,000 fossilized dinosaur eggs and egg shells from the Shanyang Basin. Computer modeling was applied to 5,500 geographic samples to determine age estimates of the rock layers. This created a timeline of nearly two million years representing the period right before extinction, allowing direct comparisons with data from around the world.



Based on this data, a decline in dinosaur diversity was found. The dinosaur egg fossils represented only three different species: Macroolithus yaotunensis, Elongatoolithus elongatus, and Stromatoolithus pinglingensis. Two of the three dinosaur eggs species are from a group of toothless dinosaurs known as oviraptors, while the other is from the plant-eating hadrosaurid group (also known as duck-billed dinosaurs).



Additional bones showed that tyrannosaurs and sauropods also lived in the area between about 66.4 and 68.2 million years ago. This low diversity in central China occurred during the last two million years before the mass extinction, far from the world depicted in Jurassic Park.



The results suggest that dinosaurs were likely in a global decline before their extinction. This decline may have been caused by global climate fluctuations and volcanic eruptions leading to ecosystem instability, which would have left dinosaurs vulnerable to mass extinction.



The findings were published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2211234119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Dinosaurs were in a state of decline before their extinction

The dinosaur extinction 66 million years ago was likely caused...

Studies of singing in birds have revealed that some birds are capable of vocal learning. This means they modify their own vocalizations in response to hearing the songs of other birds. Until recently, vocal learning had only been identified in three out of more than 40 orders of birds: the songbirds, parrots and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-hummingbirds-mimic-males-to-avoid-violence/">hummingbirds</a>. In each of these groups, the ability to update and modify song is supported by the existence of particular regions in the brain, each one with gene expression specializations.&nbsp;



Birds that are incapable of vocal learning have thus far been found to lack these specialized brain regions, or to have rudimentary regions without the necessary expression of the relevant genes. This means that their vocalizations are innate and do not get modified by the bird’s experiences of the songs or sounds around it.



In a new study published in the open access journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001751">PLoS Biology</a>, scientists from the U.S. and Denmark analyzed the brains of seven species of birds representing lineages that are assumed to be incapable of vocal learning – these comprised a hawk, turaco, flamingo, penguin, emu, duck and woodpecker. Apart from looking for the specialized brain regions typical of vocal learners’ brains, the scientists also looked for the gene parvalbumin (PV), which codes for a small, stable protein and which shows up-regulation (increased activity) in the forebrain song regions of all avian vocal learners identified to date.



Scientists study songbirds because human language and birdsong have many similarities. Both are learned when young, require complex muscle coordination, and are controlled by specialized regions of the brain. Both humans and songbirds express the marker gene PV&nbsp;in these regions while it has never been found in the forebrains of their closest non-learning vocal relatives.&nbsp;



The researchers, led by Matthew Fuxjager at Brown University and Eric Schuppe at Wake Forest University, did not expect to find any evidence of specialized brain regions for vocal learning in the seven selected species in this study. Although the sample size was only one individual for each of the species, the results showed no forebrain regions with elevated levels of PV expression – except for the woodpecker, that is.



In response to this unexpected finding, the researchers extended their sample to include several more species of woodpeckers and found they all had specialized regions of the brain that make the protein parvalbumin. In addition, these areas were similar in number and location to several of the forebrain nuclei that control song learning and production in songbirds. But when they followed this up with field tests on woodpeckers, the researchers found that activity in these brain areas was not stimulated by vocalization behavior but by the characteristic, rapid drumming of the woodpecker’s beak on a tree trunk.



Woodpeckers use drumming as a form of communication, just as songbirds use song. Drumming is performed to generate specific patterns of sounds that can indicate territorial claims and it is different from the use of the beak for feeding or excavating a nest hole. Drum patterns encode information about species identity, and even about the individual making the sounds. Woodpeckers can apparently recognize the drumming of a neighbor as compared to that of a newcomer in the area.&nbsp;



Just like birdsong, drumming is a form of acoustic communication. It requires rapid and complex motor movements, and must be adaptable when birds compete with each other. The findings of this study indicate that the specialized brain areas usually associated with vocal learning in some avian groups are used in woodpeckers to produce and control their elaborate drumming behavior.&nbsp;



One of the implications of this finding is that woodpeckers might actually acquire components of their drumming repertoire through learning. Although scientists have not yet established that drumming is a learned behavior, this new evidence from the brain predicts that it is. Finding this system for non-vocal communication that is both neurologically and functionally similar to the song system can help us understand how existing brain systems evolve and become co-opted for new, but similar functions.



“Woodpeckers have a set of specialized brain areas that control their ability to drum, or rapidly hammer their bill on trees (and gutters!), during fights with other birds," said Fuxjager. "Furthermore, these brain areas look remarkably similar to the parts of the brain in songbirds that help these animals learn to sing.”



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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

Woodpeckers learn to drum just as songbirds learn to sing

Studies of singing in birds have revealed that some birds...

As a result of a budget crisis in 2014, the city of Flint in Michigan, U.S., switched its water supply from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the Flint River. The new supply of water was not treated properly and consequently nearly all 100,000 residents of the city were exposed to drinking water with unsafe levels of bacteria, disinfection byproducts, and lead, which is neurotoxic. The residents soon began to experience health issues and testing revealed up to seven times the acceptable level of lead in the water supply of homes.



The source of the contamination was found to be aging lead pipes in the water supply line. Usually, water is treated with substances to minimize leaching of lead from supply pipes, but in the case of the Flint water crisis, this treatment was not carried out. Of particular concern was the fact that between 6,000 and 12,000 children were exposed to drinking water with high levels of lead during the year in which water was derived from the Flint River. Children are particularly at risk from the long-term effects of lead poisoning, which can include a reduction in intellectual functioning and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ">IQ</a>, and an increased chance of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease">Alzheimer's disease</a> later in life.



Although Michigan Governor&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Snyder">Rick Snyder</a>&nbsp;declared a state of emergency in the county, and President&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama">Barack Obama</a>&nbsp;declared a federal state of emergency and funding to assist affected residents, a new study indicates that the people of Flint are still suffering the consequences of this environmental disaster. Despite financial reparations to victims, 15 indictments of people potentially responsible, several resignations, firings and suspensions, the consequences of this traumatic time persist.&nbsp;



The study, which involved the largest mental health survey of the Flint community, questioned 1,970 adults from different households in Flint between August 13, 2019, and April 10, 2020. Surveys were conducted online and via mail by a national survey research firm. The results, published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.32556">Journal of the American Medical Association</a> (Network Open), indicate that&nbsp; one in five adults, or roughly 13,600 people, are estimated to have clinical depression, and one in four, or 15,000 people, are estimated to have PTSD, more than five years after the drinking water of Flint was declared lead-free in January 24, 2017.



“The mental health burden of America’s largest public-works environmental disaster clearly continues for many adults in Flint,” said Aaron Reuben, a postdoctoral scholar at <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a> and leader of the research study.



As the water crisis unfolded over a period of several years, residents manifested symptoms of anxiety over the potential physical and mental health impacts of lead poisoning in themselves and their children. They experienced anger at political leaders and felt guilty about giving their children contaminated water. Despite the fact that numerous prominent figures have been indicted for crimes relating to the water crisis, only one has yet been convicted.



“We know that large-scale natural or human-caused disasters can trigger or exacerbate depression and PTSD,” said study senior author Dr. Dean Kilpatrick, a professor at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Dr. Kilpatrick noted that there was clear evidence of high rates of mental health problems in the Flint community during the first years of the crisis. “What we did not know until now was the extent to which Flint residents continued to have mental health problems at the clinical diagnosis level, five years after the crisis began.”



During the study, Flint residents answered survey questions pertaining to their perceived exposure to contaminated water, their past year prevalence of depression and PTSD (using DSM-5 diagnostic criteria), and their potential risk factors for depression and PTSD, including prior exposure to potentially traumatic events, prior physical or sexual assault, and low social support. Adults were also asked whether they were ever offered or received mental health services.



According to Dr. Kilpatrick, past year rates of depression and PTSD identified in Flint today are three to five times higher than national estimates among US adults overall, and likely result from a combination of higher base rates of mental health problems in Flint before the crisis as well as a significant exacerbation of problems resulting from the crisis.&nbsp;



Dr. Kilpatrick said residents of Flint, a predominantly low-income, Black community, faced many challenges, before the water crisis, that can negatively impact mental health, including socioeconomic disadvantage, racism, and high exposure to potentially traumatic events, including prior physical or sexual assault.



Particularly striking was the finding that those with prior physical or sexual assault were more than three times more likely to have depression and more than six times more likely to have PTSD than those without this history. “This highlights the importance of considering the cumulative effects of prior exposure to traumatic events when evaluating the effects of environmental disasters on mental health,” Kilpatrick said.



It is clear from the study’s results that more should be done to provide mental health treatment for the residents of Flint. “We study these problems after disasters because they are&nbsp;common outcomes and because they are significantly impairing to individuals and communities. But we also study these problems because we have good treatments that are effective for most people," said study co-author Dr. Sandro Galea of the Boston University School of Public Health.



“There is a clear unmet need,” said Reuben. “Nearly 100 percent of surveyed Flint residents reported that they changed their behavior to avoid consuming contaminated water during the crisis, and the vast majority still worry that the exposures they had may cause future health problems for themselves or their family members.”



According to Reuben, uncertainties about exposures and future harms meaningfully contribute to psychological distress after environmental disasters, and the study found that adults who thought exposure to contaminated water had harmed their or a family member’s health were significantly more likely to have past year depression and PTSD.&nbsp;



“The vast majority of our respondents were never offered mental health services,” said Reuben, “despite clear indication that the crisis was psychologically traumatic.” Most Flint residents who were offered mental health services went on to use and benefit from them. “Now that pipes are being replaced, the time is right to begin a second phase of recovery from the water crisis – one that focuses on providing additional resources to heal psychological wounds."



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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

Flint’s water crisis continues to impact mental health of residents

As a result of a budget crisis in 2014, the...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> has found that our activity patterns and sleep cycles could significantly influence our risk of developing health conditions such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-plenty-of-tea-reduces-the-risk-of-type-2-diabetes/">type 2 diabetes</a> or heart disease. According to the experts, wake/sleep cycles cause metabolic differences and alter our body’s preference for energy sources.&nbsp;



Thus, “night owls” (people who stay up late in the evening) have a reduced capacity to use fat for energy, meaning that fats can build-up in their bodies and increase the risk for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. By contrast, “early birds” (people who prefer to be active in the morning), rely more on fat as an energy source and are more active during the day, with higher levels of aerobic fitness than the “night owls.” These metabolic differences seem to relate to how well each group can use insulin to promote glucose uptake by the cells for storage and energy use.



“The differences in fat metabolism between ‘early birds’ and ‘night owls’ shows that our body’s circadian rhythm (wake/sleep cycle) could affect how our bodies use insulin. A sensitive or impaired ability to respond to the insulin hormone has major implications for our health,” said study senior author Steven Mallin, an expert in Metabolism and Endocrinology at Rutgers.&nbsp;



“This observation advances our understanding of how our body’s circadian rhythms impact our health. Because chronotype appears to impact our metabolism and hormone action, we suggest that chronotype could be used as a factor to predict an individual’s disease risk.”



The researchers enrolled 51 participants classified into two groups based on their chronotype (night owls versus early birds), and monitored them for a week to assess their activity patterns during the day. Moreover, they used advanced imaging techniques to assess their body mass and composition, insulin sensitivity, and fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Finally, the scientists tested participants’ fuel preference and aerobic fitness by engaging them in exercise sessions on a treadmill.&nbsp;



The analyses revealed that early birds are more insulin sensitive and use more fat for energy both while at rest and during exercise. On the other hand, night owls were insulin resistant, and their bodies preferred carbohydrates as an energy source rather than fats. Their impaired ability to respond to insulin to promote fuel use could have a negative impact on their health, indicating a higher risk of developing diabetes or heart disease.



Further research is needed to clarify the cause for this shift in metabolic preference between early birds and night owls and to better understand the relation between chronotype, exercise, and metabolic adaptation.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1113/EP090613">Experimental Physiology</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;

"Night owls" may have greater risk of heart disease

A new study led by Rutgers University has found that...

Dogs’ ability to show affection towards humans is well-known. Some scientists argue that such a capacity to form strong attachments with humans arose in dogs only after their domestication 15,000 years ago. However, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.su.se/cmlink/stockholm-university">Stockholm University</a> in Sweden has now found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wolves-improve-the-genetic-fitness-of-moose-populations/">wolves</a> are also capable of exhibiting attachment behaviors towards human caregivers – a surprising discovery that could help contradict the domestication hypothesis.



After raising wolf and dog puppies from the age of ten days to 23 weeks, the scientists performed a series of behavioral tests designed to quantify attachment behaviors in canids. The tests revealed that both species were able to spontaneously discriminate between a familiar person and a stranger and displayed more proximity seeking and affiliative behaviors towards the familiar person. Moreover, the presence of the familiar person acted as a social stress buffer for the wolves, helping them calm down during stressful situations.



“It was very clear that the wolves, as the dogs, preferred the familiar person over the stranger. But what was perhaps even more interesting was that while the dogs were not particularly affected by the test situation, the wolves were,” said study lead author Christina Hansen Wheat, a behavioral ecologist at Stockholm University.



“They were pacing the test room. However, the remarkable thing was that when the familiar person, a hand-raiser that had been with the wolves all their lives, re-entered the test room, the pacing behavior stopped, indicating that the familiar person acted as a social stress buffer for the wolves. I do not believe that this has ever been shown to be the case for wolves before and this also complements the existence of a strong bond between the animals and the familiar person.”



According to Dr. Hansen Wheat, these similarities between wolves and dogs can shed more light on where the behaviors we now see in dogs originated. “Together with earlier studies making important contributions to this question, I think it is now appropriate to entertain the idea that if variation in human-directed attachment behavior exists in wolves, this behavior could have been a potential target for early selective pressures exerted during dog domestication. Wolves showing human-directed attachment could have had a selective advantage in early stages of dog domestication,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9299">Ecology and Evolution</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;

Wolves can show attachment toward humans

Dogs’ ability to show affection towards humans is well-known. Some...

Due to a variety of factors, including habitat loss and the use of pesticides, many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/save-native-bees/">bees</a> are currently endangered, together with the plants that depend on them for pollination. Now, a research team led by <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> has found that simply saving a greater number of bees may not be enough to solve these problems. According to the experts, the biodiversity of bee populations is most critical to maintaining the ecosystem function of crop pollination.&nbsp;



“We found that biodiversity plays a key role in the stability of ecosystems over time,” said study lead author Natalie Lemanski, a postdoctoral fellow in Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Rutgers. “You do actually need more bee species in order to get stable pollination services over a growing season and over years.”



By studying various bee populations at dozens of farms in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and California, the researchers discovered that different bee species pollinated the same types of plants at different times of the year, and that different bee species were the dominant pollinators on the same kind of plants in different years. Thus, due to natural fluctuations in bee populations, all these bee species were necessary to maintain a minimum threshold of pollination, particularly during lean years.



“This research shows that abundance [of a species] matters, but bee diversity matters even more,” said Michelle Elekonich, the deputy division director of the National Science Foundation’s <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=BIO">Directorate for Biological Sciences</a>, which funded this research. “It’s not the same bees that are abundant at a given point in time, and variety is necessary to provide balance during a growing season – and from year to year.”&nbsp;



These findings offer evidence for what ecologists refer to as the “insurance hypothesis,” which argues that ecosystems benefit the most when nature “diversifies the portfolio,” supporting multiple animal or plant species rather than relying on one dominant species.&nbsp;



“We found that two to three times as many bee species were needed to meet a target level of crop pollination over the course of a growing season compared to a single date,” Dr. Lemanski reported. “Similarly, twice as many species were needed to provide pollination over the course of six years compared to a single year.”



“The magnitude of increase in species needed over multiple years was remarkably consistent among crop systems when considered over the same interval of time. In addition, the fact that the relationship between timescale and the number of species needed did not level off suggests that even longer time series, spanning multiple seasons, may further bolster the need for biodiversity to ensure reliable ecosystem service,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01847-3">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</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;

Bee diversity is critical to ecosystems

Due to a variety of factors, including habitat loss and...

A study from the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/">University of Massachusetts Amherst</a> has revealed that non-biting flies are underestimated in their ability to transmit diseases to humans. Biting flies are known to spread <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-heightens-risk-of-most-infectious-diseases/">diseases</a> by transferring infected blood from host to host. The new research suggests that the vomit of non-biting flies poses an even greater risk to human health.



“I’ve been working on synanthropic flies since I was a graduate student in the 1960s,” said John Stoffolano, a professor of entomology at UMass Amherst’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture. “And synanthropic flies have largely been ignored. Blood-feeding flies have taken the limelight, but we should pay attention to the ones that live among us because they get their nutrients from people and animals that shed pathogens in their tears, feces and wounds.”



For example, the common house fly may eat foods such as roadkill, animal dung, or rotting garbage before entering a home. Each time the fly feeds, it fills its crop.



“The crop is like a gas tank, a place to store food before it makes its way into the digestive tract where it will get turned into energy for the fly," explained Stoffolano.



The crop is used for storage - not for digestion.&nbsp; According to the researchers, there are very few digestive enzymes or antimicrobial peptides present to neutralize most pathogens. This means that the crop essentially becomes a place to store disease-producing pathogens.



The experts explained that, as the fly then takes off,&nbsp; it gets rid of excess water in its crop by regurgitating the water. If the fly has landed on a sandwich, it will empty its crop onto the bread.&nbsp;



Stoffolano noted that we still don’t know many of the basics about these flies. “It’s the little things that cause the problems. Our health depends on paying closer attention to these flies that live with us.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects13090776">Insects</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

Non-biting flies pose a bigger threat to public health

A study from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has revealed...

Depression&nbsp;is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States and its prevalence is on the rise. Whereas statistics showed that 6.6 percent of US individuals older than 12 suffered from depression in 2005, this had increased to 7.3 percent by 2015. Now, researchers from <a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.publichealth.columbia.edu%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7Csb2247%40cumc.columbia.edu%7C89c310c90e8d4d48d2da08da95bd7d7c%7Cb0002a9b0017404d97dc3d3bab09be81%7C1%7C0%7C637986938352096526%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=6H8qC6SV%2BFCXEqrjGGFaKfX3Sbtt4%2FCYFCbhSNLOqP4%3D&amp;reserved=0">Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health</a>&nbsp;and City University of New York have updated these statistics using data from the 2015−2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and found a further increase. They report their findings in the <a href="https://www.ajpmonline.org/">American Journal of Preventive Medicine</a>.&nbsp;



“Our study updates the depression prevalence estimates for the U.S. population through the year 2020 and confirms escalating increases in depression from 2015 through 2019, reflecting a public health crisis that was intensifying in the U.S. even before the onset of the pandemic,” said study lead author Dr &nbsp;<a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.publichealth.columbia.edu%2Fpeople%2Four-faculty%2Frdg66&amp;data=05%7C01%7Csb2247%40cumc.columbia.edu%7C89c310c90e8d4d48d2da08da95bd7d7c%7Cb0002a9b0017404d97dc3d3bab09be81%7C1%7C0%7C637986938352096526%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=It4WPnF5qFpphY7XjHnSE2rqN09AKCvhsgTNZktV3Fs%3D&amp;reserved=0">Renee D. Goodwin</a>. “The net effect of these trends suggests an accelerating public health crisis and that parity and public-service announcement efforts have not achieved equity in depression treatment.”



In 2020, nine percent of Americans aged 12 or older had experienced a major depressive episode during the previous year. Depression was more common among young adults aged 18 to 25 years (just more than 17 percent), and adolescents aged 12 to 17 years (16.9 percent). Depression had increased most rapidly among adolescents and young adults and had increased among nearly all gender, racial/ethnic, income, and education groups. However, depression prevalence did not change among adults aged 35 and over.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The prevalence of depression among non-Hispanic white individuals exceeded that of all other race/ethnic groups. Depression was also consistently higher among women than men, and among adults who were not currently or previously married. While there was an increase in depression from 2015 to 2019 among those in each income group, the highest prevalence of depression was evident among those with the lowest household income.&nbsp;



For some individuals, major depression can result in severe impairments to functionality and the ability to carry out everyday life’s activities. In addition, it is the strongest risk factor in suicidal behavior. Despite these potential consequences, the recent study showed that the prevalence of help-seeking remained consistently low.&nbsp;



“Our results showed most adolescents with depression neither told or talked with a healthcare professional about depression symptoms nor received pharmacologic treatment from 2015 through 2020,” noted Goodwin.



“The elevated level and concentration of untreated depression among adolescents and young adults are especially problematic because&nbsp;untreated depression early in life is predictive of an increased risk of subsequent additional mental health problems."



“The short- and long-term consequences of the pandemic on depression are not yet clear, but these estimates are a requisite starting point for quantifying the mental health impact of the pandemic. Expanding evidence-based, community-based, public-facing campaigns that promote help-seeking, early intervention, prevention, and education about depression are urgently needed."



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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

Nearly ten percent in the U.S. report having depression

Depression&nbsp;is one of the most common mental health disorders in...

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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



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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 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 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

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[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

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

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



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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

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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