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...

According to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Pakistan is currently facing a “monsoon on steroids,” which caused severe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/financial-toll-caused-by-flooding-will-soar-by-mid-century/">flooding</a> in roughly one third of the country, leading to over 1,100 deaths since June, as roads, homes, bridges, and crops have been washed away across the country. Blaming “the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding,” Mr. Guterres urged the world to come to Pakistan’s aid, as he launched a $160m appeal to help provide 5.2 million people with food, water, sanitation, emergency education, and health support.



While the monsoon season has usually been welcomed by Pakistan citizens for providing much-needed rain for their crops, the massive rainfalls this year have led to a humanitarian catastrophe, comparable to the devastating floods from 2010 – the deadliest in the country’s history – which killed over 2,000 people.&nbsp;



Although Pakistan produces less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it consistently ranks in the top ten countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Rising temperatures caused by global warming are the main factors that make extreme precipitation contributing to flooding more likely. As Pakistan’s climate change minister Sherry Rehman put it, the current situation in the country is a “climate-induced humanitarian disaster of epic proportions.”



Vast areas of rich agricultural land have been devastated during this year’s floods, damaging food supplies and sending prices soaring in a nation already suffering from a deep economic crisis. According to Pakistan’s planning minister Ahsan Iqbal, floods have caused at least $10bn of damage, pushing a large number of people on the brink of starvation.



Moreover, thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate towns and villages where roads and bridges have been swept away, but even with the help of helicopters, authorities are still desperately struggling to reach many of those who are still trapped. “Village after village has been wiped out. Millions of houses have been destroyed,” said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.



Besides UN’s funding, aid has started to arrive from other countries and organizations too. The United Arab Emirates and Turkey have delivered tents and medicines, the International Monetary Fund has approved a $1.2bn loan for the country, and the US and Britain have also pledged their support.



According to Mr. Guterres, South Asia is a “climate crisis hotspot” where people are 15 times more likely to die from climate impacts than in other regions of the world. “Let’s stop sleepwalking towards the destruction of our planet by climate change,” he urged. “Today, it’s Pakistan. Tomorrow, it could be your country.”



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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;

Climate crisis leaves one-third of Pakistan underwater

According to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Pakistan is...

In many cases, return to office after lifting-off pandemic-related restrictions has disrupted the newly established close relationship between owners and their pets that emerged during lockdowns. Many people use pet cameras to find out what their furry friends have been doing in the house during office hours. However, such cameras are needed in every room and the footage needs to be reviewed afterwards. Now, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.gatech.edu/">Georgia Institute of Technology</a> has created a new device called PetTrack which, through a combination of sensors, can provide accurate, real-time indoor locations of the pets.



This revolutionary tracking device uses ultra-wideband (UWB) radio wireless sensors to locate the pet, and accelerometers to determine if it is sitting or moving, regardless of walls, furniture, or other objects that may be in the way. All of this is located on a small sensor which can be attached on a collar and can be viewed through a compatible smartphone application.



“PetTrack comprises two things: one is knowing the pet’s indoor location and second is trying to understand their activity,” said&nbsp;study senior author Ashutosh Dhekne, an assistant professor of Computer Science at Georgia Tech. “Together, combining where the pet is and what the orientation of the pet is, we can create a summary map of where the pet has been during the day and what activity the pet was doing.”



While this device is currently designed just to monitor an animal’s location and position, it could have many possible future applications. For instance, pet daycares could use it to enable owners to see how their pet is faring away from home. In addition, this technology could become a training tool where a buzzer could sound if a pet is in an area in which they are not supposed to be.



“We could use our existing setup to also track when pets make accidents in the house during potty training,” explained study lead author Neeraj Alavala, a Masters student at Georgia Tech. “We already have the technology to track when and where these accidents happen and can ensure that those areas get cleaned up. As an extension, we can also give the pet feedback like a buzzer to train the pet to not go in the house.”&nbsp;



“Overall, the idea is to connect better with your pet, using PetTrack. You could detect changing pet behaviors and interact with the pet using location-aware robotic toys,” Professor Dekhne concluded.



The study is published in the proceedings of the 2022 Workshop on Body-centric Computing Systems in Portland, Oregon and can be accessed <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3539489.3539587">here</a>.



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

New device tracks location and activity of pets

In many cases, return to office after lifting-off pandemic-related restrictions...

As the Arctic warms nearly four times faster than the rest of the world, glaciers collapse, habitats continue to vanish at a record rate, and a wide range of ecosystems are endangered. Now, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> has identified another major threat: over the past two decades, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-lakes-global-carbon-levels/">Arctic lakes</a> have shrunk or dried completely across the pan-Arctic – a region including the northern parts of Canada, Russia, Alaska, Greenland, and Scandinavia. The experts set out to find the causes of this mass drying, together with possible solutions to slow this process.



The Arctic lakes are a critical cornerstone of the Arctic ecosystems, providing important sources of water for local Indigenous communities and industries. Moreover, many threatened animal species, including migratory birds and aquatic creatures, also rely on the habitats these lakes offer.



Since scientists had initially predicted that climate change would expand lakes across the tundra due to land surface changes caused by melting ground ice, the discovery that the lakes are in fact declining came as a surprise. Apparently, the thawing of the permafrost – the frozen soil blanketing the Arctic – has a crucial role in draining the lakes, by creating drainage channels and increasing soil erosion into the lakes.



“Our findings suggest that permafrost thaw is occurring even faster than we as a community had anticipated,” said study lead author Elizabeth Webb, a postdoctoral fellow in Biology at the University of Florida. “It also indicates that the region is likely on a trajectory toward more landscape-scale drainage in the future.”



Besides rising temperatures, increases in autumn rainfall also causes permafrost degradation and lake drainage. “It might seem counterintuitive that increasing rainfall reduces surface water,” said&nbsp;study senior author Jeremy Lichstein, an associate professor of Ecology at the same university. “But it turns out the physical explanation was already in the scientific literature: rainwater carries heat into the soil and accelerates permafrost thaw, which can open up underground channels that drain the surface.”



Since the permafrost is currently storing nearly two times as much carbon as the atmosphere, its thawing may release massive amounts of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, further exacerbating climate change. However, the drainage of Arctic lakes may have a silver lining: the permafrost near these lakes is not thawing so fast. “It’s not immediately clear exactly what the trade-offs are, but we do know that lake expansion causes carbon losses orders of magnitude higher than occurs in surrounding regions,” Dr. Webb explained.



Nevertheless, lake drainage remains a hazard for a vast number of ecosystems. According to the scientists, curbing greenhouse gas emissions could help curtail these lakes’ demise and thus protect wildlife and Indigenous communities. “The snowball is already rolling. It’s not going to work to keep on doing what we’re doing,” Dr. Webb concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01455-w">Nature Climate Change.</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;

Arctic lakes are vanishing due to permafrost thaw

As the Arctic warms nearly four times faster than the...

A new study from <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">Kings College London</a> confirms that spending time by rivers and canals can enhance your sense of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nurturing-benefits-of-nature-are-crucial-for-human-well-being/">well-being</a>. The experts have found that the combination of blue space and green space is more effective in making people feel happy and healthy than green space alone.&nbsp;



In partnership with the Canal &amp; River Trust, the researchers used data from a smartphone-based app called Urban Mind. The team analyzed thousands of entries about the participants’ location and mental well-being.



The results showed that visits to canals and rivers boosted mental well-being and feelings of safety and social inclusion.



According to Professor Andrea Mechelli, canals and rivers contain not only water but also an abundance of trees and plants, which means their capacity to improve mental well-being is likely to be due to the multiple benefits associated with both green and blue spaces.&nbsp;



"Canals and rivers also provide homes to a range of wildlife, and we know from other research that there is a positive association between encountering wildlife and mental well-being," said Professor Mechelli.



"Taken collectively, these findings provide an evidence base for what we thought about water and well-being and support the proposal that visits to canals and rivers could become part of social prescribing schemes, playing a role in supporting mental health.”



The participants reported that they experienced improvements in their mental well-being for up to 24 hours after their visits.&nbsp;



“Once the arteries of the Industrial Revolution, canals are today playing an equally important role in society as green corridors that bring nature into cities, improving community wellbeing and tackling health inequalities, as well as supporting jobs and local economies," said Richard Parry, chief executive of the Canal &amp; River Trust.



“The powerful mix of blue, green and wildlife-rich space shows that although built for industry, repurposed canals are actually amongst our most important places of health and wellbeing in our towns and cities."



“With the 250-year-old canal network vulnerable to climate change, keeping them safe and attractive places requires significant ongoing expenditure and – to retain these benefits – it is vital that the necessary funding to maintain their condition is secured.”



“As a GP and nature lover, it’s great to see that scientific studies have confirmed what many of us intuitively knew already: that spending time by water, and canals in particular, is good for your well-being," said Dr. Amir Khan, Canal &amp; River Trust Ambassador.



“An astonishing nine million people live within 1km of a canal and whether you’re looking for a free alternative to the gym, a car-free commute to work or the shops, or perhaps just somewhere to hang out with family or friends, I really do urge everyone to find their #HappyPlaceByWater this summer.”



The study was partially funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.



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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

Visits to canals make people feel healthy and happy

A new study from Kings College London confirms that spending...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.usf.edu/">University of South Florida</a> illustrates how climate-driven changes can have a cascading effect across ecosystems. The experts have discovered that as Florida’s climate becomes more tropical, oyster reefs are steadily being replaced by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/floridas-mangroves-rising-sea-level/">mangrove</a> islands.



Study lead author Stephen Hesterberg was conducting fieldwork in Tampa Bay when he noticed that mangroves were overtaking most oyster reefs. This widespread transition poses a major threat to species which are dependent on oyster reef habitats, such as the American oystercatcher.



In collaboration with doctoral student Kendal Jackson and Professor Susan Bell, Hesterberg set out to investigate the extent and the cause of this habitat conversion. The researchers determined that warmer temperatures and fewer winter freezes had allowed mangrove islands to start taking over as the dominant salt marsh vegetation.&nbsp;



“Rapid global change is now a constant, but the extent to which ecosystems will change and what exactly the future will look like in a warmer world is still unclear,” said Hesterberg. “Our research gives a glimpse of what our subtropical estuaries might look like as they become increasingly 'tropical' with climate change.”



The analysis of aerial images - captured from 1938 to 2020 - revealed that 83 percent of the monitored oyster reefs in Tampa Bay had fully converted to mangrove islands. The experts also found that the rate of conversion accelerated throughout the 20th century.&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to Professor Bell, this study provides a unique opportunity to examine changes in adjacent coastal ecosystems and generate predictions of future oyster reef conversions. “As we change our climate, we see evidence of tropicalization – areas that once had temperate types of organisms and environments are becoming more tropical in nature."



While the transition to mangrove islands is already well-advanced in the Tampa Bay estuary and further south, Professor Bell said Florida ecosystem managers in northern coastal settings will face tropicalization within decades.



“The outcome from this study poses an interesting predicament for coastal managers, as both oyster reefs and mangrove habitats are considered important foundation species in estuaries,” said Professor Bell.



Oyster reefs provide coastal protection from flooding, improve water quality, and reduce shoreline erosion. As reefs transition to mangroves, these ecosystem services will be greatly limited or lost altogether.&nbsp;



It will become increasingly difficult to maintain oyster reefs in Florida's shifting climate, but human intervention could make it possible. In his new role as executive director of the nonprofit Gulf Shellfish Institute, Hesterberg will continue to investigate ways to restore oyster reefs to potentially avoid mangrove conversion.



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



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

Tropical climate is wiping out oyster reefs in Florida

A new study from the University of South Florida illustrates...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dementia-will-affect-most-dogs-if-they-live-long-enough/">Dementia</a> is a devastating disease that robs individuals of their connections with others. Researchers at <a href="https://www.nm.org/">Northwestern Medicine</a> wanted to explore a unique way that music could help alleviate the isolation that comes with the disease.&nbsp;



The study, recently published in <a href="https://journals.lww.com/alzheimerjournal/Fulltext/9900/Musical_Bridges_to_Memory__A_Pilot_Dyadic_Music.25.aspx">Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders</a>, looked specifically at how music could help bridge communication between patients and their caregivers. The research is unique because previous studies were focused solely on the patient, but the current study also considered the caregiver.&nbsp;



The experts wanted to determine whether playing music from the patients' youth while interacting (singing, dancing, and playing instruments) with their caregivers could illicit an emotional connection. Music is an ideal medium because the parts of the brain responsible for musical memory are some of the last affected by Alzheimer's or dementia.&nbsp;



Study lead author <a href="https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=25516">Dr. Borna Bonakdarpour</a> explains the results: "Patients were able to connect with partners through music, a connection that was not available to them verbally. The family and friends of people with dementia also are affected by it. It's painful for them when they can't connect with a loved one. When language is no longer possible, music gives them a bridge to each other."



Beyond improving the patients' social engagement, the study revealed that participants and caregivers were less agitated and reported less anxiety and depression when connecting through music.



To carry out the study, the researchers observed two groups of individuals over three months. One group participated in interactive music therapy, and the other did not. Group discussions were held after each therapy session, and the researchers noticed that members of the group who participated in the music therapy made more eye contact and were less distracted than the control group.&nbsp;



In fact, some therapy patients were barely verbal before the intervention and became conversational during the course of therapy. The researchers noted that the control group did not display the same changes. The positive effects were observed outside of therapy and with family members as well.



"As the program progressed, caregivers invited multiple family members," said study co-author Jeffrey Wolfe. "It became a normalizing experience for the whole family. All could relate to their loved one despite their degree of dementia."&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to the experts, their next step is to repeat the study with a larger sample size. The research is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.lww.com/alzheimerjournal/pages/default.aspx">Alzheimer Disease &amp; Associated Disorders</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

Music helps dementia patients connect with caregivers

Dementia is a devastating disease that robs individuals of their...

Conventional dishwashers often do not eliminate all the harmful microorganisms left on plates, bowls, or cutlery. Moreover, they require long cycles which use a lot of electricity, while the soap that is pumped in and out is released into water sources, leading to environmental <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-from-everyday-products-is-deadlier-than-previously-realized/">pollution</a>. 



According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.tu-dortmund.de/en/">Technical University of Dortmund</a> and the <a href="https://www.tum.de/en/">Technical University of Munich</a> (TUM), superheated steam dishwashers - which kill 99 percent of bacteria on dishes in just about 25 seconds - could be a more effective and environmentally-friendly solution.&nbsp;



The scientists created a simulation of an idealized dishwasher, resembling a box with solid side walls, a top opening, and a nozzle at the bottom. Plates covered with heat-resistant strains of bacteria should be placed directly above the nozzle. Once a certain threshold temperature is reached in the simulation, the microorganisms are deemed inactivated.



“Steam comes out of the nozzle at a very high velocity. We can see shocks, and the turbulent flow that is created has eddies and vortices,” said study co-author Natalie Germann, a professor of Fluid Mechanics at TU Dortmund. “We also include heat transfer, which shows how the heat changes in the simulation box and the condensation on the solid surfaces.”



According to the researchers, besides killing bacteria, the shock waves created by the high velocity of the steam and reflected at surfaces in the dishwasher could also be used to effectively remove food debris.&nbsp;



“Our study helps determine the strength of the shocks, the position of the shocks, and the vortices that are created inside the dishwasher,” explained study co- author Laila Abu-Farah, a postdoctoral fellow at TMU. “These things are very important for arranging the items or objects inside the dishwasher and the placement and orientation of the nozzles.”



Although superheated dishwashers would cost more than the traditional ones, their price would pay off in the long run due to savings on water, electricity, and detergent. Such dishwashers would be ideal for use in hospitals, restaurants, or hotels, which must meet higher standards of hygiene.



“We confirmed that the dishwasher application using superheated steam is promising. This is the first work combining fluid dynamics and heat transfer with phase change and bacterial inactivation. It thus lays the foundation for future computational research and further technical work,” Professor Germann concluded.



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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;

Steam dishwashers could reduce water and energy use

Conventional dishwashers often do not eliminate all the harmful microorganisms...

Human forearms are made out of two bones - the ulna and the radius. These bones are separated in humans, giving us a range of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predicting-the-movement-of-sea-lions-can-help-protect-them/">movement</a> that's lacking in many other creatures.&nbsp;



Goats, horses, and bats have semi-fused ulnae and radii, probably for running and flying, respectively. In frogs, these two forearm bones are completely fused, which is thought to be an adaptation for jumping. However, this explanation fails to consider the fullness of frog biodiversity.&nbsp;



“Many people think frogs jump, and a lot of them do. But there are also frogs that live their entire lives underground; there are frogs that glide; there are arboreal frogs that mostly climb like monkeys; there are frogs who primarily live underwater; and then there are frogs that just mostly walk. Frogs have evolved to move in so many ways, but the radius and ulna bones are always fused together,” explained Dr. Rachel Keeffe with the <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/">Florida Museum of Natural History</a>.



Dr. Keeffe wondered if there was a better explanation for the forelimbs of frogs. For instance, during mating, male frogs clasp females with their forelimbs and also fight other males for access to females. These activities could explain the beefier forelimbs.&nbsp;&nbsp;



To test this idea, Dr. Keeffee used museum specimens to create forelimb models. She modeled the leg of a bullfrog, a frog known for its jumping prowess. Next, she developed other models with varying degrees of fusion between the ulnae and radii, including one model where the bones were separate, another where they were partially fused, and a third where there was a single bone.&nbsp;



Dr. Keeffee ran software simulations on these different models to mimic the stress of jumping. Other simulations were used to mimic the stress of mating on a forelimb.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Surprisingly, in both jumping and mating scenarios, less stress was put on the semi-fused model than on the fully fused forelimbs frogs possess.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Rather than disproving her hypothesis, Dr. Keeffee interprets her results as a sort of evolutionary compromise. Although the bones have more stress when they’re fused, these bones are thicker and lighter, possibly for better jumping.&nbsp;



As for mating, the stress is also more on the fused bones; however, with two unfused bones, the single tendon could be attached to only the ulna or radius, not both, making a weaker forearm than the fused bone. Dr. Keefe hopes to explore this idea with further model research.&nbsp;



This study was published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joa.13737">Journal of Anatomy</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

Why do frogs have fused forearms?

Human forearms are made out of two bones - the...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-horses-have-higher-stress-levels-than-domestic-ones/">Horses</a> have been living together with human for thousands of years – a long co-evolution that helped them develop impressive social skills: they seem to be highly receptive to human emotions and are proficient at understanding human demands. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.utu.fi/en">University in Turku</a> in Finland has found that horses are often more reluctant in new situations if they have multiple riders, have had several owners, or have been with the current owner for just a brief period of time.&nbsp;



“Domestic horses may spend several hours daily in close contact with humans, which can affect horse welfare, physiology, and behavior. Therefore, it is important to understand which factors can influence the horses’ emotions during interactions with humans and what shapes their relationship - particularly in novel situations that can be very stressful to the animals,” said study lead author Océane Liehrmann, a doctoral student in Biology at the University of Turku.



The researchers recruited 76 privately owned horses from the Turku area and analyzed their reactions to novel objects. In a first experiment, the horses were led to walk on two surfaces which were new to them – a white tarp and a fluffy blanket – while in a second test, they were presented with a fluffy stuffed toy. In both cases, the horses had to interact either with their owner or a stranger.



“Interestingly, horses with an exclusive relationship with their owner were the calmest when approaching the novel surfaces and easily agreed to be touched with the toy. Horses that are regularly ridden or trained by different persons showed more stress behaviors in the test situations,” Liehrmann explained.



Moreover, the experiments revealed that horses with shorter relationships with their owners were more reluctant in new situations and seemed more stressed when asked to interact with unfamiliar objects or surfaces. By contrast, those that had at least six to eight years of relationship with their owner were usually very calm in novel situations. Horses older than 17 refused more often to step on the unfamiliar surfaces when led by a stranger, while they easily agreed to when led by their owners.



“Our findings suggest that a positive horse-human relationship may take time to develop as it is shaped by multiple factors, such as the horse’s previous interactions with humans. Overall, the results show that animals’ relationships with their human caretakers should be better considered in animal welfare and its research,” Liehrmann concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105709">Applied Animal Behavior Science</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Horses with a trusted owner remain calm in new situations

Horses have been living together with human for thousands of...

According to a new book called Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity, rising <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-economic-inequality/">inequality</a> in the next 50 years may lead to increasingly dysfunctional societies, making the cooperation needed to deal with threats such as climate change much more difficult. However, the experts identify five “extraordinary turnarounds” needed to end global poverty and maintain temperatures below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and argue that following these guidelines, humanity has a chance to survive the climatic and economic catastrophes it is currently facing.



“We are standing on a cliff edge,”&nbsp;said&nbsp;book co-author Jørgen Randers, a professor emeritus of Climate Strategy at the <a href="https://www.bi.edu/">BI Norwegian Business School</a>.&nbsp;“In the next 50 years, the current economic system will drive up social tensions and drive down well-being. We can already see how inequality is destabilizing people and the planet.”



“Unless there is truly extraordinary action to redistribute wealth, things will get significantly worse.&nbsp;We are already sowing the seeds for regional collapse. Societies are creating vicious cycles where rising social tensions that are exacerbated by climate breakdown will continue to lead to a decline in trust. This risks an explosive combination of extreme political destabilization and economic stagnation at a time when we must do everything we can to avoid climate catastrophes.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The book explores two possible scenarios beginning in the 1980s and ending at the end of the 21st century. In the first one – entitled “Too Little, Too Late” – humanity will continue with the same economic policies from the last four decades. Such a pathway will likely create extreme inequalities, increase social tensions within and between countries, exacerbate political division and lack of trust, and push global temperatures above the 2.5°C threshold.



“In this scenario, the model indicates that regional societal collapse, driven by rising social tensions, food insecurity, and environmental degradation, is more likely than today. Regional and global crises are often not caused by a single event like one crop failure, but cascading failures made worse by climate change, chronically dysfunctional governments, and system failures,” explained co-author Espen Stokes, the director of the <a href="https://www.bi.edu/research/centres-groups-and-other-initiatives/centre-for-sustainability-and-energy/">Center for Sustainability and Energy</a> at the BI Norwegian Business School.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, in a second scenario - called “the Giant Leap” – the scientists argue that it is in fact possible to stabilize global temperatures below the 2°C threshold and the world population below nine billion, as well as to end extreme global poverty by 2050, thus relaxing social tensions and increasing well-being. To achieve this, societies would need to urgently act across five interconnected turnarounds:



<ol><li>Ending global poverty&nbsp;through reforms of the international financial system</li><li>Addressing inequality&nbsp;by ensuring that the wealthiest 10 percent take less than 40 percent of national incomes</li><li>Achieving full gender equity by 2050 through continuous empowerment of women</li><li>Transforming the food system&nbsp;to provide healthy diets&nbsp;</li><li>Transitioning to clean energy&nbsp;in order to reach net zero emissions by mid-century</li></ol>



“Citizens across the globe recognize we need a new paradigm. And we estimate the investment needed for this shift is small, just two-four percent of GDP annually. That’s less than our current annual subsidies to fossil fuel industries.&nbsp;This is easily affordable, and it will create millions of jobs. What is missing is coalitions of politicians willing to make it happen,” concluded co-author Sandrine Dixson-Declève, an expert in Climate Science at the <a href="https://www.clubofrome.org/">Club of Rome</a>.&nbsp;



More details about these initiatives can be found on <a href="https://www.earth4all.life/">Earth4All</a>, a website launched as a companion to the book. In addition, the book’s 15 policy recommendations with the greatest potential to accelerate the five turnarounds can be found&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BIMP6iUt7h_l8ob17997CvcuCsxnI2rRk56ArWOmhhg/edit?usp=sharing">here</a>.



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

Survival pathways in the face of climate catastrophe

According to a new book called Earth for All: A...

Not all microbes bring disease and discomfort for animals; in fact, many are very useful, or even essential for survival. Beetles of the genus Lagria are dependent on their symbiotic bacterial bodyguards for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reproductive-capacity-decreases-with-depth/">reproductive</a> success, and therefore have to keep them close. This is not a simple matter as the beetles metamorphose completely during their life cycle, meaning that their tissues get reorganized, new organs develop and their exoskeletons get shed. All of this makes it difficult for the useful microbes to tag along to beetle adulthood.



Female beetles lay their eggs in humid soil, under leaf litter, where the eggs would certainly be colonized by fungi that are present among the decomposing leaves. This would lead to the decay and death of the eggs. Instead, a female carries several species of symbiotic bacteria in glands near the oviduct and, when she lays the eggs, bacteria get squeezed out and coat the surface of the eggs. These bacteria produce several types of antibiotic substances that protect the eggs, and then the larvae and pupae, from fungal colonization.&nbsp;



Until now, however, it has not been understood how the symbiotic bacteria remain with a beetle offspring as it changes through the egg, larva and pupa stages, such that the bacteria are present in the adult female’s reproductive organs when it is time for her to lay her own eggs. A new study by researchers from Germany and Denmark has now identified three unique storage pockets that are present, like backpacks, on the dorsal surface of each larva and that ensure the essential bacteria are carried along during the life cycle.&nbsp;



“Here we show how an insect can maintain beneficial microbial partners despite the drastic rearrangements of body structures that occur during metamorphosis,” said corresponding author Dr. Laura V. Flórez, a researcher at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences of the University of Copenhagen. “By modifying unique ‘pockets’ on their backs,&nbsp;Lagria&nbsp;beetles manage to keep their protective symbionts and facilitate their relocation, during pupation, to newly developed adult organs.”



Females of many&nbsp;Lagria&nbsp;species carry a mix of beneficial bacteria in their paired glands next to the oviduct. Antibiotics produced by the bacteria protect, the eggs, larvae, and pupae of the beetles against fungi. In one of the species studied here,&nbsp;L. villosa, the largest component of the symbiotic mix is a strain of Burkholderia bacteria called Lv-StB, which has lost the genes and cellular structures for motility, and probably can't survive for long outside the beetles.



Flórez and colleagues show, in their publication in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2022.979200/full">Frontiers in Physiology</a>, that&nbsp;L. villosa&nbsp;and&nbsp;L. hirta&nbsp;female pupae house their symbionts mostly inside the three two-lobed pockets on the back of the thorax, where they may be nourished by the beetles. Such ‘back pockets’ in larvae and pupae aren't known in any other insect. In female pupae, symbionts also congregate in a fourth spot, between bristles at the back of the head. The pockets are only vestigial in male pupae, and contain few or no symbionts. Clearly, the males have no role in laying eggs and therefore do not need to store useful bacteria for this purpose.&nbsp;



“The symbionts go from the highly exposed egg surface to colonize the pockets on the back of the larvae and pupae. Finally, they end up in specialized glands associated with the reproductive system of adult females,” summarized first author Rebekka S. Janke, a doctoral student at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.



But how, exactly, do the microbes get from the storage pockets on the pupa’s back, down to the genital organs at the tip of the abdomen of an adult female?&nbsp;



To answer this question, the experts scattered miniscule fluorescent beads, each only 1.0 μm wide, across the surface of early pupae. They found that, after the pupa had emerged, the majority of these beads ended up on the tip of the abdomen. The researchers conclude that the beads, like presumably the symbionts, are shuffled towards the genitals by friction during the emergence process. The mechanism by which the symbionts then colonize the accessory glands of females is not yet known.



“In the adult stage, the main purpose of the symbiotic organs seems to be to enable successful transmission onto the egg stage and to the next generation. Since only females lay eggs, male adults do not need to carry these potentially costly symbionts and are a dead-end for the bacteria,” explained Flórez.



“To better understand how beneficial symbionts are transmitted and maintained within and across generations, we'll need to identify which host and symbiont factors regulate symbiont establishment," said study co-author Dr. Martin Kaltenpoth. "For example, does the host select for specific symbionts? And through which mechanisms can immotile symbionts colonize the symbiotic organs?”



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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

Beetles have "backpacks" to protect their eggs

Not all microbes bring disease and discomfort for animals; in...

The Greenland ice sheet is set to lose more than three percent of its mass, which will cause nearly a foot of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rural-areas-of-the-us-will-be-hardest-hit-by-sea-level-rise/">sea-level</a> rise, according to a study published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>.&nbsp;The experts report that 3.3 percent of the ice sheet - the equivalent 110 trillion tons of ice - is now doomed.&nbsp;



Study co-author William Colgan is a glaciologist at the <a href="https://eng.geus.dk/">Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland</a>. He explained that the culprit is "zombie ice," which is no longer being fed by larger glaciers.



"It's dead ice. It's just going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet," Colgan said in an interview. "This ice has been consigned to the ocean, regardless of what climate (emissions) scenario we take now."



For the investigation, study lead author Professor Jason Box collaborated with scientists in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States. The experts set out to predict the minimum volume of ice that will be lost from the Greenland ice sheet as human-driven climate change continues.



The team estimated an inevitable loss of ten inches, or 27 centimeters, from zombie ice alone. This is more than double the amount of sea level rise that has been previously predicted from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.&nbsp;Furthermore, Professor Box emphasized that the latest estimate is actually quite conservative.&nbsp;



"It is a very conservative rock-bottom minimum. Realistically, we will see this figure more than double within this century," said Professor Box. “In the foreseeable scenario that global warming will only continue, the contribution of the Greenland Ice Sheet to sea level rise will only continue increasing.&nbsp;



"When we take the extreme melt year 2012 and take it as a hypothetical average constant climate later this century, the committed mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet more than doubles to 78 cm.”



The research is unique in that it has produced a minimum figure for Greenland ice loss based on two decades worth of actual measurements, rather than depending on highly uncertain computer models.



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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

Greenland will contribute almost a foot to sea level rise

The Greenland ice sheet is set to lose more than...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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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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