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...

The social cost of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-sequestration-method-co2-rock/">carbon</a> is a crucial metric for climate policy analysis measuring the economic damages that result from the emission of one additional ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. After years of robust modeling and analysis, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.rff.org/">Resources for the Future</a> (RFF) institute and the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> (UC Berkeley) has found that each additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere costs society $185 dollars – far higher than the current federal estimate of $51 per ton.



“Our estimate, which draws on recent advances in the scientific and economic literature, shows that we are vastly underestimating the harm of each additional ton of carbon dioxide that we release into the atmosphere,” said study co-author Richard G. Newell, the RFF President and CEO. “The implication is that the benefits of government policies and other actions that reduce global warming pollution are greater than has been assumed.”



To more accurately measure the social cost of carbon, the scientists took into consideration the probability of different socioeconomic and emissions trajectories far into the future, and incorporated a modern representation of the climate system, together with state-of-the-art scientific methodologies for assessing the effects of climate change on agriculture, temperature-related deaths, energy expenditures, and sea-level rises.&nbsp;



“We hope that our research helps inform the anticipated updated social cost of carbon from the government’s interagency working group,” said study co-author Brian C. Prest, the director of RFF’s Social Cost of Carbon Initiative. “Decisions are only as strong as the science behind them. And our study finds that carbon dioxide emissions are more costly to society than many people likely realize.”



A major output of the study is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rff.org/topics/data-and-decision-tools/rff-berkeley-greenhouse-gas-impact-value-estimator-give-model/">Greenhouse Gas Impact Value Estimator (GIVE) model</a>, an open-source software platform allowing users to replicate the researchers’ methodology to compute their own social cost of carbon estimates, as well as a new data tool - the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rff.org/publications/data-tools/">Social Cost of Carbon Explorer</a> – that shows the working mechanics of the GIVE model and offers users the opportunity to explore the data in detail.



“Our hope is that the freely available, open-source GIVE model we’re introducing today forms the foundation for continuous improvement of the estimates by an expanded community of scientists worldwide,” said study lead author and RFF fellow Kevin Rennert. “A completely transparent methodology has been a guiding principle for our work, which is also directly relevant to other greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxides.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05224-9">Nature</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;

Social costs of carbon are much higher than expected

The social cost of carbon is a crucial metric for...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uniovi.es/en">University of Oviedo</a> in Spain has unlocked the genetic code of the “immortal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jellyfish-eyes-catch-a-glimpse-of-evolutionary-history/">jellyfish</a>,” an animal capable of repeatedly reverting into a juvenile state after sexual reproduction. The experts hope that better understanding the factors leading to this creature’s unique longevity could offer new perspectives on human aging.&nbsp;



Although many species of jellyfish have some capacity to reverse aging and revert to a larval state, most of them lose this ability once they reach sexual maturity. However, Turritopsis dohrnii appears to be the only known species able to repeatedly revert back into a larval stage even after sexual reproduction. According to the experts, the immortal jellyfish uses this “superpower” to avoid predators, allowing it to revert to a cyst which turns into a polyp attached to the seafloor when threaten by other animals. Once the threat is gone, the creature starts to mature once again.



To better understand what makes T. dohrnii special, the scientists sequenced its genome and compared it to that of Turritopsis rubra, a close genetic relative which lacks the capacity to rejuvenate after reaching sexual maturity. The analysis revealed that T. dohrnii had twice as many copies of the genes associated with DNA repair and protection, which helps producing greater amounts of protective and repairing proteins. Moreover, this jellyfish also had unique mutations which stunted cell division and prevented telomeres (chromosomes’ protective “caps”) from deteriorating.



“Our results suggest that gene amplification and point variants unique of&nbsp;T. dohrnii&nbsp;could affect its replicative efficiency, as well as DNA repair and telomere maintenance activity, which may be pivotal processes for cell rejuvenation and proliferation,” the study authors explained.&nbsp;



“In addition, expansions and sequence variations of genes associated with DNA repair, mitochondrial dysfunction and intercellular communication could increase its capacity to maintain redox environment and reduce cellular damage during stress events.”



These findings could inspire developments in regenerative medicine and provide insights into age-related diseases such as cancer or neurodegeneration. However, as Monty Graham, a jellyfish expert and director of the <a href="https://www.fio.usf.edu/">Florida Institute of Oceanography</a> put it, “we can’t look at it as, hey, we are going to harvest these jellyfish and turn them into a skin cream.” Instead, exploring such gene variants in T. dhornii and other animals - including humans – could shed more light on the nature of aging, and help scientists slowly build an arsenal to combat its most unwanted effects.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118763119">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;

Can the immortal jellyfish teach us how to reverse aging?

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

Scientists and European research institutions are calling for better protections for juvenile emperor penguins. This comes as the U.S. considers listing them under the Endangered Species Act and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) considers expanding Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean.&nbsp;



Juvenile emperor penguins are more vulnerable than adults as they have not fully developed foraging and predator avoidance skills. As <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-climate-is-wiping-out-oyster-reefs-in-florida/">climate change</a> reduces sea-ice habitat, greatly expanded MPAs are crucial to protect this<a href="https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/emperor-penguins-increasingly-under-siege-by-climate-change/"> </a>threatened penguin species at every life stage.



The study tracked eight penguins with satellite tags over a year. Results showed that the young birds spend about 90 percent of their time outside of current and proposed MPAs. They were also found to travel over 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) beyond the species range.&nbsp;



“While everyone is looking at the adult population, the juvenile population – which leaves the relative safety of its parents at about five months - is neither monitored nor protected,” said Dan Zitterbart, an associate scientist at the <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a>.&nbsp;



“The current and proposed MPAs in the Southern Ocean only include the range of adult emperor penguins, which do not travel as far as juveniles. From a conservation perspective, it’s important to know where these juveniles go. It’s one more piece of the puzzle to protect their marine habitat.”



Protection of juveniles is critical as emperor penguins have low fertility rates. Without protecting juveniles, the population of breeding adults would be threatened.&nbsp;



The researchers are now conducting a long-term monitoring study of the Atka Bay emperor penguin colony on the Weddell Sea. The Weddell Sea is home to one-third of established emperor penguin colonies. Colonies in this region are less vulnerable to climate-induced melting than other areas of the Antarctic.



“Some of the Weddell Sea colonies are expected to still be present 50 to 100 years from now,” said study lead author Aymeric Houstin. “It’s important to preserve colonies that will be able to endure climate change, as they could become a refuge for the entire population of emperor penguins.”



The establishment of three new MPAs has been considered in the Weddell Sea. While this would preserve one of the most pristine ecosystems in the world and a critical zone for global ocean circulation, the authors say that the boundaries are inadequate to protect juvenile emperor penguins.



“The Weddell Sea MPA design, as the other MPAs around Antarctica, should include the distribution at sea of all age-classes of the emperor penguin population - not only the adults from a few study colonies,” said Céline Le Bohec, of CNRS/Université de Strasbourg France and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco. “Juveniles are currently clearly lacking protection and their presence in the Northern waters needs to be considered in the future, especially regarding the development of fisheries in those regions.”



The researchers plan to continue tagging both adult and juvenile penguins from the Atka Bay colony to track their movements and behavior as the environment changes. Long term data could help develop a “dynamic MPA” with shifting boundaries based on the predicted movement of penguins.&nbsp;



A dynamic network of MPAs could be essential, as is maintaining dialogue with the fishing industry to ensure sustainable resource management to preserve these unique and sensitive polar regions.&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

Young emperor penguins need better protection

Scientists and European research institutions are calling for better protections...

The natural world is full of complex phenomena that are not easily understood at first glance. Over the centuries, naturalists have proposed numerous biological “rules” or “laws” to explain apparent patterns that are observed in nature, and then researchers have collected data that either supports or disproves the generalizability of these rules. Scientists studying a species of small mouse from the Andes Mountains in Patagonia think they may have come up with a new biological rule that explains the variation in size within populations of these mice.&nbsp;



Ecologists are familiar with Gause’s law, for example, which states that two species competing for the same resource cannot coexist successfully together – one species will lose the competition.&nbsp; And biologists who study patterns in animal morphology will be familiar with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen%27s_rule">Allen's rule</a>&nbsp;stating that the body shapes and proportions of endotherms will be different in warm and cold climates in order to maximize or minimize heat loss respectively. There are numerous such biological rules, all of them helping biologists to identify and understand patterns that they observe in nature.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-the-genetic-diversity-of-the-wild-house-mouse/">mouse</a> that features in the current research is the shaggy soft-haired mouse,&nbsp;Abrothrix hirta. Biologist Pablo Teta of the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” in Buenos Aires, Argentina, began studying the mice as part of his doctoral thesis. He noticed that the mice varied considerably in terms of body size, with some being much bigger than others. He was initially convinced that he was looking at two different species, but analysis of the mouse DNA confirmed that these all belonged to the same species. So began a quest to understand the cause of this variation in mouse body size.&nbsp;



In their publication in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652699">Journal of Biogeography</a>, Teta and his colleagues propose that the mice on the western slopes of the Andes are bigger because that side of the mountain range gets more rain, which means there’s more plentiful food for the mice to eat. This represents a potentially brand new rule that may explain variations in animal sizes on different faces of the same mountain.&nbsp;



“There are a bunch of ecogeographic rules that scientists use to explain trends that we see again and again in nature,” said Noé de la Sancha, a research associate at Chicago’s <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>, an assistant professor of Environmental Science and Studies at DePaul University, and the paper’s corresponding author. “With this paper, I think we might have found a new one: the rain shadow effect can cause changes of size and shape in mammals.”



Initially, the researchers used statistical analyses to compare the measurements of 450 A. hirta skulls from museum collections, in order to identify a pattern in body size. They then tried to explain the variations using different biological rules. Bergmann’s rule, which states that larger individuals are found in colder environments, didn’t fit the data; there wasn’t a strong correlation between mouse size and how far north or south the specimen lived. Other rules that emphasize the importance of temperature, precipitation or latitude didn’t help explain the variation in the data either.&nbsp;



The team applied 19 other, different biological rules that emphasize the roles of different bioclimatic factors, but none of them explained the observed data pattern. Until the researchers considered the effect of longitude, that is. It appeared that the variation in body size fitted an east-west pattern, with mice on the western slopes of the Andes being significantly bigger than those inhabiting the eastern slopes.&nbsp;



De la Sancha and his colleagues realized this might be related to what biologists call the resource rule. “This rule suggests that where there are more resources, individuals from the same species tend to be larger than where there are fewer resources. For instance, some deer mice that are found in deserts and other habitats tend to be smaller in drier portions of their habitats. Another hypothesis suggests that some animals tend to be smaller in mountains versus adjacent plains in North America. Our study found a mixed result of these rules.”



The sizes of mice seemed to be following the resource rule, but the question still remained: why were there more resources on the western slopes of the southern Andes than on the eastern slopes? De la Sancha had a “Eureka!” moment while teaching a class of undergraduates at Chicago State University.



“Believe it or not, when I was teaching ecology, one of the things that I was teaching about was the rain shadow effect,” said de la Sancha. In the middle of his lecture, de la Sancha realized that the rain shadow could explain why there was more food on the western side of the Andes, and thus, why the mice there were bigger. “That same day, I went home and wrote to Pablo. I was like, ‘Dude, we need to talk about the rain shadow.’”



A rain shadow is an area of significantly drier land on the side of a mountain range that faces away from the prevailing wind. In the case of the Andes, air over the ocean gathers water vapor that rises and is carried onshore by the prevailing westerly wind. As the altitude increases, the air becomes colder and the water vapor condenses and forms rain. Rain therefore precipitates readily on the west-facing slopes of the mountains. However, the wind that continues to travel inland over the high peaks and onto the east-facing slopes will have lost all its moisture by the time it gets over the mountains. As a consequence, the eastern slopes fall within a rain shadow area and will be significantly drier.&nbsp;



“Essentially, one side of the mountain will be humid and rainy, and the other will have cold, dry air. On some mountains, the difference is extreme. One face can be a tropical rainforest, and the other side will be almost desert-like,” said de la Sancha. “There is a rain shadow effect in most mountains on the planet, we see this phenomenon all over the world.”



The rain shadow indeed neatly matched up with the rodents’ body sizes – the first time, to de la Sancha’s knowledge, that anyone has demonstrated the effects of the rain shadow on mammal size. And while so far it’s only been shown for one species of mouse, de la Sancha suspects that he and his colleagues have hit on a larger truth which may perhaps even form the basis of a new biological rule.&nbsp;



“It’s exciting, because it could potentially be something that's more universal. We think it may be more of a rule than an anomaly,” said de la Sancha. “It’d be worthwhile to test it on lots of different taxa.”



The shaggy soft-haired mice may have guided the researchers to propose their new hypothesis, but they and many of their fellow mammals, may be in for a rough time ahead. “The scary part is that we show that, at least to some extent,&nbsp;climate patterns are important to determine the mice’s morphology – their shape and size – either directly or indirectly through the resources they can find,” said de la Sancha.&nbsp;



“With climate change, we know we’re going to see dramatic changes in temperature throughout the year, and changes in precipitation. While they might not be the most important variables affecting the mice’s well-being, they are important in determining available food sources."&nbsp;



If the weather patterns change and affect the plants that grow in the region, the mice might no longer be able to thrive as they once did. Plus, de la Sancha notes, animals are already moving up mountains to escape the effects of climate change. “At a certain point, you run out of mountain. There’s nowhere else to go. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but it doesn’t seem good.”



The unclear future of these mice in the face of climate change, according to de la Sancha, is a good reason to study animals like mice that often go unnoticed. “It’s important to understand how little we know about most small mammals. They can be good indicators of long-term changes in our environment. We need to study them more. Our findings also show why museum collections are so important. This study was based on museum collections from Argentina, Chile, and the US; it’s an amalgamation of years and years of collecting and big data sets.”



“This paper would not have been possible without museum collections and highlights the importance of museum- and collection-based research and its support worldwide,” said Teta. “This type of research helps us better understand the big-picture; universal rules of how life on Earth works.”



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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

Are animals bigger on the rainy side of the mountain?

The natural world is full of complex phenomena that are...

Rising demands for renewable energy and electric vehicles are currently sparking a high demand for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-we-recover-energy-from-discarded-batteries/">batteries</a> which store generated energy and power engines. However, until now, the batteries behind these sustainable solutions are not sustainable themselves. To solve this problem, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a> has created a zinc battery with a biodegradable electrolyte from a surprising source: crab shells.



“Vast quantities of batteries are being produced and consumed, raising the possibility of environmental problems,” said study lead author Liangbing Hu, an expert in Materials Innovation at the University of Maryland. “For example, polypropylene and polycarbonate separators, which are widely used in Lithium-ion batteries, take hundreds or thousands of years to degrade and add to environmental burden.”



Batteries use electrolytes to shuttle ions back and forth between electrically charged terminals. These electrolytes can be liquids, pastes, or gels, and many current batteries use highly flammable or corrosive substances for this function. However, the new battery – which can store power from large-scale solar and wind sources – uses a gel electrolyte made from a biodegradable material called chitosan.



“Chitosan is a derivative product of chitin. Chitin has a lot of sources, including the cell walls of fungi, the exoskeletons of crustaceans, and squid pens,” Dr. Hu explained. “The most abundant source of chitosan is the exoskeletons of crustaceans, including crabs, shrimps, and lobsters, which can be easily obtained from seafood waste. You can find it on your table.”&nbsp;



Since it contains biodegradable electrolytes, two thirds of this battery could be broken down by microbes. Under the action of these microorganisms, the chitosan electrolyte itself can vanish completely in about five months, leaving behind the metal component – zinc, rather than lead or lithium, as in the case of older batteries – which could then be recycled. “Zinc is more abundant in Earth’s crust than lithium. Generally speaking, well-developed zinc batteries are cheaper and safer,” said Dr. Hu.



Next, the scientists aim to make even more environmentally-friendly batteries. “In the future, I hope all components in batteries are biodegradable. Not only the material itself but also the fabrication process of biomaterials,” Dr. Hu concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2022.07.015">Matter</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;

Scientists create sustainable batteries from crab shells

Rising demands for renewable energy and electric vehicles are currently...

Much of the world’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unchecked-emissions-could-kill-90-percent-of-marine-species/">emissions</a> rely on the critical success of the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">2015 Paris Agreement</a>. A new study is the first to assess how effective governments will be at implementing their commitments.



The findings reveal that countries with the boldest pledges are also the most likely to achieve their goals. For example, Europe has both the strongest commitments that are also the most credible. While findings suggest the U.S., with a less ambitious commitment, is not expected to meet its goal.



The study from the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">UC San Diego</a> School of Global Policy and Strategy surveyed registrants of the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process/bodies/supreme-bodies/conference-of-the-parties-cop">Conference of Parties (COP)</a>, consisting of more than 800 diplomatic and scientific experts who have participated in climate policy debates. This expert group includes those who are “in the room” when key policy decisions are made and can evaluate what will likely be achieved.&nbsp;



The participants rated member nation's "ambition" -&nbsp; how much each country has pledged to do in comparison to what they possibly could do to avert a climate crisis. The experts were also asked to evaluate which nations have pledges that are credible.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The pledges outlined in the accords are legally non-binding, thus the success of the agreement centers around confidence in the system that when governments make promises, they are going to live up those promises,” said study lead author David Victor, professor of industrial innovation at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy.



“Our results indicate that the framework of the agreement is working pretty well. The Paris Agreement is getting countries to make ambitious pledges; last year nearly all countries updated those pledges and made them even more ambitious. What’s needed next is better systems for checking to see whether countries are actually delivering what they promise.”



Overall, Europe’s goals were rated as the most ambitious and credible, followed by China, Australia, South Africa and India. The U.S. and Brazil come in last place in the credibility category and second to last, after Saudi Arabia, in terms of ambition.



Experts from North American countries were the most pessimistic about their pledges - both in their drive and ability to achieve climate goals in the agreement.



“The benefit of this data set is that diplomatic and scientific experts have the best working knowledge about political and administrative realities of their home country,” Victor said. “It is difficult to get empirical information on national laws and regulations and climate change policy in particular is highly complex. To truly gauge the success of the Paris Agreement, you need to incorporate the judgement, intuition and expertise from those with real-world experience negotiating these policies.”



"From all the responses, it’s clear the U.S. is clearly in trouble - even with the recent Inflation Reduction Act being signed into law, which happened after our study ended. While the legislation is a big step in the right direction, it doesn’t deliver the same investment many other counties have already committed. I think the major questions our study raises are ‘how does the U.S. boost its credibility’ and ‘why is credibility a problem.’”



The researchers also found that nations with stable governments are more likely to have bold pledges that are highly credible.&nbsp;&nbsp;



China and other non-democracies are expected to comply with their pledges because they have administrative and political systems that make it easier to implement complex national policies to align with international commitments. China is also on track to achieve its goals due to the country’s economic downturn.



The rationale behind why countries have honored their pledges varies. Wealthy countries are driven to address climate change, while developing countries that are most vulnerable are driven by the immediate need to address pollution and grow their economies through climate action.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01454-x">Nature Climate Change</a>.



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

Paris Agreement: which countries are honoring their pledges?

Much of the world’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...

An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> has recently named eight new species of day gecko in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vanilla-cultivation-can-boost-biodiversity-in-madagascar/">Madagascar</a>. According to the study authors, all of the geckos are less than three inches in length - no longer than a pointer finger.&nbsp;



Over the last several decades, the researchers had studied the small geckos from the subgenus Domerguella and thought five separate species existed. However, DNA analysis has revealed there might be as many as 17 new species.&nbsp;



Madagascar is well known for its species diversity and endemism; over 150 new reptile species have been described in the last 30 years. Nevertheless, the researchers were surprised at the number of different species they had been studying without realizing it.&nbsp;



"These results highlight how important it is that we continue to collect samples across Madagascar, even of species we think we understand. There is still very much more to discover," said Dr. Frank Glaw, Curator of Herpetology at the Zoologische Staatssammlung München in Munich, Germany.



Many of the recently described species in Madagascar have been small. Dr. Mark D. Scherz, the last author of the study, explained that smaller animals have more restricted movement.&nbsp;



"Domerguella are tiny, at just five to seven centimetres (or roughly two inches) from the nose to the tip of the tail. We think that their small size may play a role in the way they speciate. Because small animals are generally less able to move from one area to another, and are more likely to get isolated by barriers like rivers cropping up between populations. This could explain why we have seen these kinds of patterns in the tiny frogs, chameleons, and now also geckos that we have been studying in Madagascar," said Dr. Scherz.



Unfortunately, like many species found in Madagascar, these tiny lizards are threatened with extinction. Dr. Fanomezana Ratsoavina, manager of the Unit for Zoology and Animal Biodiversity at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar, elaborated on the status of the newly discovered geckos.&nbsp;



"The five species we knew before were mostly thought to be unthreatened, but the eight new species are all either probably endangered or critically endangered. This shows how important it is to continue to work to discover, describe, and assess the conservation status of the wildlife of Madagascar."



The paper is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/">Zootaxa</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

Eight new species of gecko discovered in Madagascar

An international team of researchers led by the University of...

A team of researchers from <a href="https://www.gwu.edu/">George Washington University</a> (GW) has recently investigated how the human brain processes objects in its visual system, and found that object <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bats-have-superior-acoustic-perception-but-still-fly-into-walls/">perception</a> strongly depends on people’s prior knowledge and experience of the specific objects. These findings could have important implications in a variety of applied settings, including medical displays, cognitive assistants, and product and environmental design.



“Since the way we perceive objects determines how we interact with them, it is important to visually process them quickly and with high detail,” explained study senior author&nbsp;Sarah Shomstein, a professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at GW. “However, the way our eyes perceive and process an object can be different depending on what we know about this object. Our study shows, for the first time, that if we recognize an object as a tool, we perceive it faster but with less detail. If we recognize an object as a non-tool, we perceive it slower but with higher detail.”



The scientists showed participants images of objects which can be easily manipulated by hand, such as coffee mugs, screwdrivers, or snow shovels, as well as of objects that are rarely manipulated by hand, like a potted plant, a fire hydrant, or a picture frame. For half of the experiment a small gap could be cut out at the bottom of each object, while for the other half, the object would flicker on the computer screen. The participants were asked to report the presence of the gap or flicker, in order for the researchers to assess the speed and detail of object processing, and to identify the brain regions responsible for object perception.



The results revealed that objects usually manipulated by hand are perceived faster than non-manipulable objects, making it easier for participants to notice the flicker, while objects that are usually not manipulated by hand are perceived with greater detail, making it easier to spot the small gaps in them.



“The differences in perception between ‘mugs’ and ‘plants’ in both speed and detail of perception means that these objects are sorted by the visual system for processing in different brain regions,” said study lead author Dick Dubbelde, a recent doctoral graduate at GW. “In other words, your knowledge of the object’s purpose actually determines where in the brain object processing will occur and how well you will perceive it.”



Moreover, if researchers interfered with object recognition by making it harder to realize if the object is manipulable or not – for instance, by turning it upside-down – the differences in the speed and detail of perception vanish.



These findings – published in the journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09567976221097497">Psychological Science</a> - could explain individual differences in object perception, by showing that previous knowledge and experience structures perception.&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;

Past experiences can literally change how we see things

A team of researchers from George Washington University (GW) has...

According to a new study presented at the <a href="https://www.ersnet.org/congress-and-events/congress/">European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress</a> in Barcelona, Spain, the impact of breathing diesel <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/car-exhaust-erectile-dysfunction/">exhaust</a> fumes may be more severe for females than males. By measuring changes in people’s blood caused by exposure to diesel exhaust, the scientists found more modifications of blood components related to inflammation, infection, and cardiovascular diseases in females than in males.



“We already know that there are sex differences in lung diseases such as asthma and respiratory infections,” said study lead author Hemshekhar Mahadevappa, an expert in chronic inflammatory diseases at the <a href="https://umanitoba.ca/">University of Manitoba</a> in Canada. “Our previous research showed that breathing diesel exhaust creates inflammation in the lungs and has an impact on how the body deals with respiratory infections. In this study, we wanted to look for any effects in the blood and how these differ in females and males.”



The researchers enrolled ten healthy, non-smoker participants – five women and five men – and exposed them for four hours to filtered air, and for other four hours to air containing diesel exhaust fumes at different concentrations (20, 50, and 150 micrograms of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) per cubic meter), with a month break in between each exposure.



After each exposure, the participants donated blood samples, which were analyzed through a well-known analysis technology called liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to detect changes in the levels of different proteins from blood plasma following exposure to diesel exhaust.



The analysis revealed levels of 90 proteins which were clearly different between the female and male volunteers following exposure to diesel exhaust. Some of these proteins are known to play a critical role in inflammation, damage repair, blood clotting, cardiovascular disease, and immunity.



“These are preliminary findings, however they show that exposure to diesel exhaust has different effects in female bodies compared to male and that could indicate that air pollution is more dangerous for females than males,” said study senior author Neeloffer Mookherjee, an associate professor of Internal Medicine and Immunology at the University of Manitoba.



“This is important as respiratory diseases such as asthma are known to affect females and males differently, with females more likely to suffer severe asthma that does not respond to treatments. Therefore, we need to know a lot more about how females and males respond to air pollution and what this means for preventing, diagnosing, and treating their respiratory disease.”



Further research is needed to clarify the function of these proteins in order to better understand their role in the differences between male and female bodily responses to air pollution.



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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;

Air pollution is more dangerous to females

According to a new study presented at the European Respiratory...

The evolution of land plants has radically changed the Earth's chemical composition since their development 430 million years ago. This is the conclusion of an international team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/">University of Southampton</a>.



Study lead author Dr. Christopher Spencer explained the effect land plants had on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earthsnap-launches-revolutionary-app-to-identify-plants-and-animals/">Earth</a>:



"Plants caused fundamental changes to river systems, bringing about more meandering rivers and muddy floodplains, as well as thicker soils. This shift was tied to the development of plant rooting systems that helped produce colossal amounts of mud (by breaking down rocks) and stabilised river channels, which locked up this mud for long periods."



The researchers considered the conversion of soil to rock. They explain that mud travels from rivers, to oceans, to the Earth's molten interior and eventually gets melted to become new rock.



"When these rocks crystallize, they trap in vestiges of their past history. So, we hypothesized that the evolution of plants should dramatically slow down the delivery of mud to the oceans, and that this feature should be preserved in the rock record – it's that simple," explained study co-author Dr. Tom Gernon.



To carry out the study, the researchers analyzed thousands of zircon crystals which contained information about the chemical composition of the Earth at the time they were formed.



Through this analysis, the experts determined that rock composition drastically changed at almost the same time as the origin of land plants. At the same time, it seemed as though sediment was being transferred to the ocean at a slower rate than previously observed. Both of these findings support their hypothesis.



"It is amazing to think that the greening of the continents was felt in the deep Earth. Hopefully this previously unrecognized link between the Earth's interior and surface environment stimulates further study," said Dr. Spencer.



"Collectively, our results suggest that the evolution of vascular plants coupled the degree of weathering and timescales of sediment routing to depositional basins where they were subsequently subducted and melted," wrote the researchers. "The late Palaeozoic isotopic shift of zircon indicates that the greening of the continents was recorded in the deep Earth."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-00995-2">Nature Geoscience</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

Plant evolution drastically changed Earth's composition

The evolution of land plants has radically changed the Earth's...

Coral reefs are highly productive ecosystems that have come under threat in recent decades as a consequence of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/past-variability-may-help-forests-cope-with-climate-change/">climate change</a>. This has fueled a surge in research on the basic biology of corals with a view to restoring reefs that have been damaged by ocean heating and acidification. Reef restoration depends on the successful recruitment of juvenile corals and this is difficult to quantify using current 3D modeling techniques because the juveniles are so very small and cryptic.&nbsp;



This problem has led marine biologist Dr. Kate Quigley to develop a new method for monitoring coral size and growth that relies on the use of dental scanning equipment. Digital 3D scanning is commonly used in dentistry and implant manufacturing because measurements need to be accurate right down to the μm scale in order to produce highly accurate molds. Intraoral dental scanners are also safe to use on live tissue, whereas previous 3D modeling methods often involved destroying the corals in order to measure them.&nbsp;



Dr. Quigley, a senior research scientist at the Minderoo Foundation, has published details of the new method in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.13959">Methods in Ecology and Evolution</a>. She was inspired to develop the new scanning method by a visit to her dentist.&nbsp;



During her visit, Dr. Quigley remarked on the similarities between coral and human teeth – both being calcium-based and requiring measuring tools that can withstand wet surfaces. “One day, I was at the dentist, and they rolled out this new scanning machine. I knew immediately that it was something that could apply to scanning very small corals given that corals and teeth actually share many similar properties. The rest is history!”



Although the older technologies involved in 3D modeling of coral reefs have seen substantial improvement and development in the recent past, they are really only applicable to objects in the size range of meters to centimeters. They lack capability in the millimeter and micron (μm) size range, which is what is necessary when measuring the early life stages of corals. Understanding the critical life stage of juvenile coral allows scientists to predict ecosystem changes, the impacts of disturbance and the potential for reefs to recover.



“At the moment, it is difficult to accurately measure very small objects in 3D, especially if you are interested in measuring small live animals, like coral, without hurting them. During my PhD it would take half a day to produce one scan, and I was interested in scanning hundreds of corals at a time," said Dr. Quigley.



To assess the effectiveness of these dental scanners, namely the ITero Element 5D Flex, Dr. Quigley measured juvenile corals from different species and size classes. The corals were originally collected from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and included species with complex branching morphology, as well as those with simple branching and those that have a flatter, encrusting life form. The trial was conducted at the National Sea Simulator at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, where the corals were temporarily removed from their indoor aquarium to have their surface areas and volumes scanned.&nbsp;



On average it took less than three minutes to scan and build a model of each individual coral compared to over four hours with previous methods – a 99 percent decrease in the time required to carry out such measurements. Dr. Quigley recorded equally fast and precise performances when measuring and comparing models of dead skeletons and living coral tissue, thus removing the need to sacrifice live animals in order to take measurements.



“For the first time, this new method will allow scientists to measure thousands of tiny corals fast, accurately and without any negative health impacts on the coral. This has the potential to expand large-scale monitoring of ocean health and for up-scaling coral reef restoration.”



While this is a huge improvement in terms of cutting down the time involved to monitor these small marine animals, the technology can only be used to make measurements out of the water. The scanning instrument is not waterproof and it relies on the use of lasers. In addition, the 3D scans still need to be processed manually, which is a slow process. Dr. Quigley hopes to create an automatic analysis pipeline from scanning to measurement in future, potentially using AI.



“Potentially the scanner could be made completely waterproof. However, it is unclear how well the laser technology would work completely submerged underwater. We have taken this technology on the boat before and brought up wild and laboratory-reared corals for measurement, so we are getting there!”



“The pairing of both rapid data acquisition and processing in this way has the potential to significantly improve our understanding of coral biology for pressing questions around conservation in this important biological system.”



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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

Dental scanning equipment helps monitor young corals

Coral reefs are highly productive ecosystems that have come under...

Blue light is emitted by computer and laptop screens, by fluorescent lights, flat-screen televisions, cell phones and tablets. It is also a component of natural light that emanates from the Sun, but our exposure to it has increased drastically due to our widespread use of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/digital-devices-can-actually-improve-our-memory-skills/">devices</a> that employ LED technologies. In fact, many humans today are exposed to blue light throughout most of the waking day. Blue light (BL) waves are only marginally less energetic than UV radiation and so it is natural to wonder whether exposure to BL is dangerous for our eyes and our bodies in general.&nbsp;



There is already accumulating evidence that BL exposure causes damage to retinal cells in vitro and in vivo. Previous experiments using live mice and fruit flies have shown that retinal cells are damaged by blue light, and that lifespan is shortened, but the effects of this form of radiation on cells other than those in the retina have not been investigated before. In addition, the cellular mechanisms underlying these effects are currently unknown.&nbsp;&nbsp;



A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fragi.2022.983373/full">Frontiers in Aging</a> reports on the effects of BL exposure in fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, and also investigates whether blue light has a greater impact on individuals as they age. The researchers also conducted analyses of fly brains and respiratory pathways to understand the ways in which flies were affected by exposure to blue light.&nbsp;



“Excessive exposure to blue light from everyday devices, such as TVs, laptops, and phones, may have detrimental effects on a wide range of cells in our body, from skin and fat cells, to sensory neurons,” said Dr. Jadwiga Giebultowicz, a professor at the Department of Integrative Biology at Oregon State University and senior author of this study. “We are the first to show that the levels of specific metabolites – chemicals that are essential for cells to function correctly – are altered in fruit flies exposed to blue light.”



The researchers first measured the survival rate of flies that were raised and kept in constant darkness, and then transferred to constant BL conditions at different ages across the lifespan. The results showed that the older the flies were when exposed to blue light, the lower their survival rate was, when compared with flies of the same age that remained in constant darkness.&nbsp;



Furthermore, when flies were exposed to a temporary (10 day) session of BL at young or middle age, their subsequent survival once returned to constant darkness was significantly reduced and the middle-aged flies were affected more severely than the young flies. This indicates that the phototoxic effects of blue light persist, even after this stressor is removed, and that the severity of the effects depends on the age at which BL exposure occurred.



Throughout the experiments, the researchers used fruit flies that were genetically modified to produce no compound eyes. This enabled them to prove that the effects on fly lifespan were independent of any impacts that the BL may have had on their retinal cells.&nbsp;



In order to understand what was happening to the fruit flies that died prematurely, the researchers investigated the brains and respiratory function of older flies. Their results showed that the brains of flies exposed to BL as older individuals were characterized by many small patches where tissue had died – the control flies kept in darkness did not show anywhere near this extent of neurodegeneration. Furthermore, brain deterioration was worse in flies if they were exposed to BL as older adults than it was if exposure occurred during the young life of a fly. This finding shows that BL is an environmental stressor that impacts organisms more severely with advancing age.



To investigate the causes of age-related light sensitivity, the researchers focused on mitochondrial function. Mitochondria are the tiny structures within cells where oxygen is used to produce energy from substrates such as glucose. They compared oxygen consumption in mitochondria obtained from the cells of young and old flies that were exposed to BL, with oxygen consumption in the mitochondria of control flies that were kept in the dark. The results showed that mitochondrial activity and the production of energy was impaired in flies (both young and old) that were exposed to BL.



The experts also compared the levels of metabolites in the mitochondria of head cells in flies. “To understand why high-energy blue light is responsible for accelerating aging in fruit flies, we compared the levels of metabolites in flies exposed to blue light for two weeks to those kept in complete darkness,” explained Giebultowicz. The researchers found significant differences in the levels of various metabolites; in particular, they found that the levels of succinate were increased, but glutamate levels were lowered.



“Succinate is essential for producing the fuel for the function and growth of each cell. High levels of succinate after exposure to blue light can be compared to gas being in the pump but not getting into the car,” said Giebultowicz. “Another troubling discovery was that molecules responsible for communication between neurons, such as glutamate, are at the lower level after blue light exposure.”



The changes recorded by the researchers suggest that exposure to BL is associated with suboptimal performance of cells and that this may be the cause of cell death and the acceleration of the aging process in flies.&nbsp;



“LEDs have become the main illumination in display screens such as phones, desktops and TVs, as well as ambient lighting, so humans in advanced societies are exposed to blue light through LED lighting during most of their waking hours. The signaling chemicals in the cells of flies and humans are the same, so the there is potential for negative effects of blue light on humans,” explained Giebultowicz.



“We used a fairly strong blue light on the flies – humans are exposed to less intense light, so cellular damage may be less dramatic. The results from this study suggest that future research involving human cells is needed to establish the extent to which human cells may show similar changes in metabolites involved in energy production in response to excessive exposure to blue light."



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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

Blue light exposure may cause premature aging

Blue light is emitted by computer and laptop screens, by...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

[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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