A recent study by Princeton neuroscientists introduces a novel mathematical model that sheds light on how the brain integrates sensory cues - such as sights and sounds - when making decisions.&nbsp;



The findings, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41593-025-01869-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Neuroscience</a>, could deepen our understanding of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and may also help improve artificial intelligence systems, such as digital assistants and self-driving cars.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conflicting-sensory-information">Conflicting sensory information</h2>



Everyday decisions require the brain to juggle multiple sensory inputs. A commuter walking to work, for instance, might see a glowing crosswalk signal indicating it is safe to cross.&nbsp;



At the same time, they may hear the blaring siren of an ambulance approaching the intersection, forcing them to reassess their decision.



While scientists have long studied how the brain processes such competing signals, the precise mechanisms remain unclear.



One crucial region for decision-making is the prefrontal cortex, located just behind the eyes. This area is often regarded as the center of higher cognition. Previous studies have shown that neurons in the prefrontal cortex respond in complex ways during decision-making. 



For example, some <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-cells-communicate-to-support-decision-making/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neurons</a> may fire only when a green traffic light appears and a car is blocking the crosswalk. However, a comprehensive model explaining how these neurons collectively process sensory information to generate behavioral decisions has remained elusive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-model-to-explain-brain-circuitry">A new model to explain brain circuitry</h2>



Various mathematical models have been developed to explain how neural circuits link <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emotions-sensory-perception-brain-fascinating-interplay/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sensory information</a> to behavior, each with its limitations.&nbsp;



One commonly used approach involves recurrent neural networks - models with interconnected units designed to simulate decision-making. However, these models are often difficult to interpret due to the complexity of their connections.



In their latest study, postdoctoral researcher Christopher Langdon and assistant professor of neuroscience Tatiana Engel - both from <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Princeton University</a> - propose a new framework called the latent circuit model.



Instead of analyzing the entire brain network in overwhelming detail, Langdon and Engel suggest focusing on a few key neurons that act as “ringleaders” in decision-making, influencing the behavior of the entire network.&nbsp;



This approach, known as a low-dimensional mechanism, seeks to identify a small number of core processes that drive neural decision-making.



“The goal of the research was to understand if low-dimensional mechanisms were operating inside large recurrent neural networks,” Langdon said.



To test their hypothesis, the researchers applied the latent circuit model to a context-dependent decision-making task performed by humans, monkeys, and computer models.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-the-decision-making-model-nbsp">Testing the decision-making model&nbsp;</h2>



In the experiment, participants were first shown a context cue - either a square or a triangle. Next, they saw a moving grid, which acted as the sensory cue.&nbsp;



Depending on the shape they were initially shown, participants had to focus on either the color (red vs. green) or the motion (left vs. right) of the grid to make their decision.



Using the latent circuit model, Langdon and Engel found that when motion was the relevant cue, neurons processing shape information suppressed those that processed color. The opposite occurred when color was the critical cue.



“It was very exciting to find an interpretable, concrete mechanism hiding inside a big network,” Langdon said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-decision-making-in-the-brain">Mapping decision-making in the brain</h2>



The latent circuit model allows researchers to predict how decision-making changes when specific neural connections are strengthened or removed. By testing these predictions, scientists can verify whether the underlying connectivity is truly necessary for the task.



Indeed, the study confirmed that task performance deteriorated in predictable ways when certain neural connections were disrupted.



“The cool thing about our new work is that we showed how you can translate all those things that you can do with a circuit onto a big network,” Langdon said.&nbsp;



“When you build a small neural circuit by hand, there’s lots of things you can do to convince yourself you understand it. You can play with connections and perturb nodes, and have some idea what should happen to behavior when you play with the circuit in this way.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-neuroscience-and-ai">Implications for neuroscience and AI</h2>



With the human brain containing more neurons than there are stars in the Milky Way, understanding its complexity is a daunting challenge.&nbsp;



However, the latent circuit model opens new possibilities for studying how groups of interconnected neurons give rise to decision-making processes.



Disruptions in decision-making are a hallmark of numerous neurological and mental health disorders, including <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-fruit-can-protect-you-from-late-life-depression/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">depression</a>, schizophrenia, and ADHD. By revealing the mathematical computations that drive decision-making, this model may help researchers understand these conditions more effectively.



Beyond neuroscience, these insights could also enhance <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lawless-superintelligence-zero-evidence-ai-control-possible/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">artificial intelligence</a>. AI-driven systems, from digital assistants like Alexa to self-driving cars, rely on decision-making algorithms. Understanding how the human brain efficiently processes information could lead to more adaptable and intelligent AI systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions-nbsp">Future research directions&nbsp;</h2>



The next phase of research will involve applying the latent circuit model to other commonly studied decision-making tasks.



“A lot of the tightly controlled decision-making tasks that experimentalists study, I believe that they likely have relatively simple latent mechanisms,” Langdon said. “My hope is that we can start looking for these mechanisms now in those datasets.”



By refining this approach, neuroscientists aim to unlock more secrets of how the brain translates complex sensory inputs into clear, decisive actions.



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Key neurons act as 'ringleaders' to guide decision-making

A recent study by Princeton neuroscientists introduces a novel mathematical model that sheds light on how the brain integrates sensory cues - such as sights and sounds - when making decisions.&nbsp; The findings, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, could deepen our understanding of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and may also help improve artificial intelligence systems, such as digital assistants and self-driving cars. Conflicting sensory information Everyday decisions require the brain to juggle multiple sensory inputs. A commuter walking to work, for instance, might see a glowing...

Bladderworts are carnivorous plants that are found in freshwater lakes and marshes, and in waterlogged soil on all continents except <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-groundwater-system-discovered-beneath-antarctica/">Antarctica</a>. Their sophisticated “bladders” are highly adapted to suck in any prey that swim past and disturb the trigger “hairs” connected to the trapdoor that opens into the bladder. Species with larger bladders can feed on aquatic prey such as water fleas, nematodes, mosquitolarvae and even fish fry and young tadpoles. 



In a study led by researchers at <a href="http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/en">Ruhr-Universität Bochum</a> (RUB), water fleas were kept in the laboratory in the presence of aquatic Utricularia&nbsp;plants (bladderworts) to investigate whether they have any defenses against this carnivorous plant.&nbsp;



The team, headed by Dr. Sebastian Kruppert, Dr. Martin Horstmann and Professor Ralph Tollrian from RUB, in collaboration with Professor Thomas Speck from the Freiburg Botanical Garden and Simon Poppinga from the Technical University of Darmstadt, describe their findings in the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms">International Journal of Molecular Sciences</a>.



The researchers began by collecting water fleas, a type of small crustacean, from a site where they naturally occurred alongside bladderwort (Utricularia x neglecta) plants. The water fleas were kept in the laboratory, where they reproduced by parthenogenesis, forming offspring that were all genetically identical. Some of the water fleas were then placed in conditions with no Utricularia present, while others were cultured alongside the carnivorous plants, but separated by a fine mesh so that they would not be eaten.



Although the water fleas did not come into contact with the plants, they could detect the presence of the plants by virtue of chemical signals in the water. Under these conditions, water fleas were found to grow longer lateral spines on their carapace, an adaptation that may have made them more likely to get stuck in the entrance of a bladder rather than being sucked inside it and digested.



In addition, the researchers found that water fleas living in the presence of the plants swam along more slowly than those that grew up without the plant. Since the trigger hairs are set off by the movement of water currents produced by passing prey, swimming more slowly would be less likely to trigger the trapdoor and the suction action of the bladder.&nbsp;



Since the water fleas were all genetically identical, these changes in morphology and behavior were induced by the presence of the plants, and not by genetic differences. “This shows that the otherwise genetically identical animals only activate defenses when they need them because they grow up side by side with the plants,” said Dr. Kruppert.&nbsp;



The effectiveness of these changes was tested by the researchers, who counted how often water fleas were sucked into bladders when the two species were kept together in the laboratory. They found that animals that had grown up without the plant were captured more frequently than those that had been previously exposed to the plant and had developed defenses. The adaptations therefore increase the survival rate of water fleas raised in the presence of the plant.&nbsp;



“This indicates that the activatable adaptations are actually defenses against the plant,” said Dr. Kruppert.



“We assume that the appendages let the water fleas grow wider than the diameter of the suction trap entrances,” explained Dr. Horstmann. “The traps are different sizes, but the smaller traps at least can no longer ingest the animals.” Since the water fleas with defenses are also slimmer, the water current can probably flow past them more easily. Moreover, the slower swimming movements probably trigger the traps less often.



"We hadn’t been aware of any other case where animals can defend themselves against attacks from plants. The fact that various defenses such as behavioral adaptations and changes in body structure can simultaneously be observed shows how adaptable and fascinating these tiny animals are," said Tollrian.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Water fleas adapt to life with deadly carnivorous plants

Bladderworts are carnivorous plants that are found in freshwater lakes...

The forces endured by a woodpecker’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/habitat-shifts-change-the-brain-structure-of-butterflies/">brain</a> as it hammers away at a dead tree branch must be considerable, or so we always thought. Conventional wisdom has it that the woodpecker’s skull must act as some sort of shock-absorbing helmet and cushion the blows. When a brain experiences sudden deceleration it undergoes compression at the impact site and expansion at the opposite side, both of which can damage neurons and result in injury. And, since woodpeckers don’t seem to suffer brain injuries, the logical inference is that some dissipation of the impact force must occur between the beak and the brain.&nbsp;



New research published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a> refutes this long-held notion and finds instead that woodpeckers’ heads act more like stiff hammers than protective helmets. The authors state that hypotheses on shock absorption by the woodpecker’s cranial musculoskeletal system remain untested in natural situations, and would, in fact, run counter to natural selection pressures to increase pecking performance.&nbsp;



The researchers used high-speed video footage of six woodpecker individuals from three species to test whether the deceleration of the brain is significantly reduced compared with the deceleration of the beak upon impact. They analyzed 109 videos of the birds as they hammered into wood, tracking the positions of various markers on the skulls and beaks. The experts found no significant difference between the deceleration of the beak and that of the skull on impact.



“By analyzing high-speed videos of three species of woodpeckers, we found that woodpeckers do not absorb the shock of the impact with the tree,” said Sam Van Wassenbergh&nbsp;of Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium.



The researchers then used the data collected to model the functional implications of varying the degree of cranial shock. Their biokinetic models included springs between the beak and the brain that could absorb varying amounts of shock and measure the implications of this for hammering performance.&nbsp;



Their simulations confirmed that absorbing part of the kinetic energy of the head into a compressing electric structure during impact significantly reduced the penetration of the beak into the tree. This means that, if a woodpecker’s beak absorbed any of the impact from its pecking action, the bird would actually have to peck harder in order to perform successful pecks. In fact, model birds with cranial shock absorbers would have to expend more energy to peck to a certain depth than those without cranial shock absorbers.



But if their skulls don’t act as shock absorbers, does the furious pecking put their brains at risk? It turns out that it doesn’t. While the deceleration shock that causes concussion in monkeys and humans is around 103 kPa at the site of impact, hammering woodpeckers experience only between 40 and 60 percent of this pressure, depending on species. This means these species would need to hit their selected spot twice as fast as observed or strike at its top speed on wood that is four times as stiff to suffer a concussion, state the authors.



“The absence of shock absorption does not mean their brains are in danger during the seemingly violent impacts,” said Van Wassenbergh. “Even the strongest shocks from the over 100 pecks that were analyzed should still be safe for the woodpeckers’ brains as our calculations showed brain loadings that are lower than that of humans suffering a concussion.”



Van Wassenbergh says that woodpeckers could make a mistake, for instance if they were to peck on metal at full power. But their usual pecking on tree trunks is generally well below the threshold that causes a concussion, even without their skulls acting as protective helmets. They are known to have smaller brains and less cerebrospinal fluid around the brain, which are factors that could also protect their brains during impacts.



The findings refute the long-held theory of shock absorption, which has been popularized in the media, books, zoos, and more, noted Van Wassenbergh. “While filming the woodpeckers in zoos, I have witnessed parents explaining to their kids that woodpeckers don’t get headaches because they have shock absorber built into their head. This myth of shock absorption in woodpeckers is now busted by our findings.”



Van Wassenbergh and colleagues conclude that the heads of woodpeckers function as stiff hammers during pecking, and that this ensures maximum penetration of the wood at each peck. They emphasize that, from an evolutionary point of view, there may well be limits to the head size, maximal strike speed and hardness of trees selected by woodpeckers.



The findings also have some practical implications, adds Van Wassenbergh, given that engineers have previously used the anatomy of the woodpecker’s cranial skeleton as a source of inspiration for the development of shock-absorbing materials and helmets. The new findings show that’s not such a good idea, given that woodpecker anatomy actually negates shock absorption.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Woodpecker skulls do not absorb the shock of hammering

The forces endured by a woodpecker’s brain as it hammers...

With the worldwide increase in levels of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/obesity-is-the-epidemic-crisis-of-our-time/">obesity</a> since the 1960s, studies have often focused on people who have a higher energy intake than their total <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biden-moves-to-phase-out-energy-inefficient-light-bulbs/">energy</a> expenditure. Such people are characterized by having a high body mass index (BMI), calculated by dividing mass (in kg) by height squared (in m).&nbsp;



Body mass index is a useful indicator of those who are overweight (BMI of 25.0–29.9) or obese (BMI &gt; 30), in comparison with those who have a normal weight for their height (BMI 18.5–24.9). However, there is a population of healthy underweight people who feature at the very low end of the BMI curve and they have seldom been studied.



Little is known about the lifestyles, physiology, metabolic rates or genetics of people who have very low BMI values. It is sometimes said of them that they can “eat what they like” without gaining weight, and this is explained potentially by their high levels of physical activity or food-associated thermogenesis.&nbsp;



A new study by scientists from academic institutions in China and Scotland has tested the hypothesis that the leanness of healthy underweight people is due to their higher levels of physical activity, higher resting energy expenditure and higher total energy expenditure. The researchers recruited 173 people in the normal BMI range and 150 healthy underweight people with BMI values of less than 18.5, in order to compare their lifestyles, physiology and genetics.&nbsp;



The experts used established questionnaires to screen out people with eating disorders as well as those who said they intentionally restricted their diets and those who were infected with HIV. They also excluded individuals who had lost weight in the past six months potentially related to illness, or were on any kind of medication. They did not rule out those who said they “exercised in a driven way,” but only 4 of the 150 said that they did.&nbsp;



The participants’ food intake was monitored for two weeks and their total energy expenditure was calculated using an isotope-based technique called the doubly-labeled water method. This technique assesses energy expenditure based on the difference between the turnover rates of hydrogen and oxygen in body water as a function of carbon dioxide production. Their physical activity was measured using an accelerometry-based motion detector. Other physiological variables, such as cholesterol levels and levels of thyroid hormones were also measured from the participants’ blood.



The results, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/home">Cell Metabolism</a>, show that healthy underweight people are not more physically active than people with a normal BMI. In fact, the underweight people were 23 percent less active than the participants with normal range BMIs. Despite the fact that their energy expenditure due to physical activity was lower than expected, their overall total energy expenditure was higher than expected. This was due to the fact that underweight individuals had fast metabolic rates while they rested, and this used up more energy than expected.&nbsp;



“We expected to find that these people are really active and to have high activity metabolic rates matched by high food intakes,” said study co-author John Speakman, a professor at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology in China and the University of Aberdeen in the UK. “It turns out that something rather different is going on. They had lower food intakes and lower activity, as well as surprisingly higher-than-expected resting metabolic rates, linked to elevated levels of their thyroid hormones.”



The underweight participants ate 12 percent less food than the normal weight group, although this was not less than they would be expected to consume based on their low body weights.&nbsp; They also had significantly lower levels of free triglycerides and low-density (bad) lipoprotein cholesterol, while the levels of high-density (good) lipoprotein cholesterol and thyroid hormones were significantly higher. The authors state that the underweight individuals were metabolically healthier than the normal individuals, based on the levels of these substances.&nbsp;



“Although these very lean people had low levels of activity, their markers of heart health, including cholesterol and blood pressure, were very good,” said study first author Sumei Hu. “This suggests that low body fat may trump physical activity when it comes to downstream consequences.”



The researchers acknowledge some limitations to this research, including the fact that although they measured food intake, they didn’t measure what the participants were actually eating or their feelings of satiation or satiety.



The team is now expanding its research to include studies of these measures. They also plan to look at genetic differences between normal weight and healthy underweight individuals. Preliminary analysis suggests single nucleotide polymorphisms in certain genes that might play a role. When these genetic changes were replicated in mice, the animals had some aspects of the phenotype that was observed in human subjects.



“The next stage is to understand more about the phenotype itself and understand the mechanisms that generate it more clearly,” said Speakman.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Healthy underweight people are actually less active

With the worldwide increase in levels of obesity since the...

Kingdom,Of,Tonga,Viewed,From,Above

Every minute is crucial for warning people caught in the path of tsunamis (gigantic ocean waves caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-glaciers-are-fueling-earthquakes-in-alaska/">earthquakes</a>, volcanic eruptions, underwater landslides, or asteroids). For instance, after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, a tsunami that emerged in Indonesia reached Sri Lanka in less than two hours, and eight hours later, it arrived on the coastline of Kenya. If there had been a reliable way of predicting this tsunami and notifying people in advance, over 230,000 lives may have been saved.&nbsp;



Now, by using data from the eruption of the underwater volcano near Tonga in 2022, a team of researchers from <a href="https://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/">Nagoya University</a> in Japan developed a method of predicting tsunamis faster by tracking the atmospheric disturbances caused by the airwaves they create.



When a tsunami occurs, it deforms the lower part of the atmosphere and generates oscillations of sound and gravity waves that cause disturbances in the upper atmosphere (also known as the ionosphere). Since radio waves - such as those used in GPS and satellite communication and broadcasting - also pass through this part of the atmosphere, the disturbances caused by a tsunami usually produce errors in the positional information supplied by the GPS satellites.&nbsp;



By analyzing such errors following the 2022 Tonga underwater volcanic eruption, the scientists discovered that this natural event caused air pressure waves that spread as far as Australia and Japan. These waves oscillated in the lower part of the ionosphere, generating an electric field that was subsequently transmitted at high speed to the upper ionosphere. The researchers were surprised to detect this electric field much earlier than the air pressure waves that gave rise to the tsunami: while the air pressure wave traveled at the speed of sound (315 meters per second), the electromagnetic disturbances moved much faster, at about 1,000 kilometers per second.



“We captured the signal of the ionospheric disturbance caused by the air pressure wave about three hours before the pressure wave originating from the volcanic eruption believed to have triggered the tsunami in Japan,” explained study lead author Atsuki Shinbori, a geophysicist at Nagoya University. “In short, the significance of these results can be divided into two aspects: the scientific aspect of a coupled system, and the disaster prevention aspect of preparedness for severe events such as tsunamis.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Statistical analysis of ionospheric disturbances during volcanic eruptions and seismic events may make it possible to estimate tsunami wave heights and sizes from ionospheric disturbance signals in the future. Ionospheric disturbances may be a new step forward in tsunami alerts,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://earth-planets-space.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40623-022-01665-8">Earth, Planets, and Space</a>.&nbsp;



---



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;

Shockwave from Tonga eruption may help predict tsunamis

Every minute is crucial for warning people caught in the...

An underwater photographer has recently captured footage of the world’s fastest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharks-important-deserve-protections/">shark</a> swimming in the waters close to Barcelona’s coastline. This is the first time in over ten years that the shortfin mako shark – an endangered species that can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour – was spotted in the Mediterranean.&nbsp;



This recent sighting was reported off the Garraf coast close to Barcelona by an expedition team. Underwater photographer David Jara, who captured the images, said that the shark was swimming “calmly” in the open waters and measured about eight feet in length. “We saw a large black shadow in motion,” he recounted. “We were a bit confused. But suddenly we saw something protruding from the sea. At first we thought it was a sunfish, but soon we noticed a dorsal fin. Then we approached, stopped at a safe distance, and he also approached the boat. It was impressive.”



Although, at first, Jara and his colleague Carlos Molina wanted to dive into the water in order to get close up footage of this amazing shark, they quickly realized it may not be very safe, and decided to remain in their boat. Later analyses of the footage revealed that the creature was indeed an endangered shortfin mako shark – a slick, spindle-shaped shark with a long conical snout and a mouth full of long, slender teeth that preys on fishes such as herring, mackerel, swordfish, and small cetaceans. Adults – known for their fighting qualities and ability to repeatedly leap out of the water - can measure up to 14.8 feet in length and weigh over 1,000 pounds.



The <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN) has listed this shark species as endangered since 2019. The demand for shark fin soup, particularly in Asian countries, has significantly depleted their populations, with scientists estimating that approximately 100 million sharks are killed each year in commercial fisheries. Moreover, their slow growth, late maturity, and lengthy gestation has put them at risk of overfishing, leading to a 99.9 percent reduction in their global population since the 19th century.



According to Claudio Barria, a marine biologist at the <a href="http://www.icm.csic.es/en">Institute of Marine Sciences</a> in Barcelona, this recent sighting is a good sign for the Mediterranean ecosystem, offering new hopes that perhaps the rampant destruction these sharks have faced over the past century is about to stop, and their population could once more increase.



---



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;

World’s fastest shark spotted near Barcelona

An underwater photographer has recently captured footage of the world’s...

Pollution,From,An,Industry,Chimney,Blowing,A,Large,White,And

A new study led by <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a> has assessed the economic impacts that individual countries have caused to other countries through their cumulative national-level contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and the subsequent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/limiting-global-warming-could-reduce-human-risk-by-85/">global warming</a>. These findings provide an essential basis for nations to make legal claims for economic losses caused by emissions. 



“Greenhouse gases emitted in one country cause warming in another, and that warming can depress economic growth,” explained study senior author Justin Mankin, an assistant professor of Geography at Dartmouth. “This research provides legally valuable estimates of the financial damages individual nations have suffered due to other countries’ climate-changing activities.”



Professor Mankin and his team found that a small group of the world’s leading national greenhouse gas emitters have caused $6 trillion in global economic losses from 1990 to 2014. While emissions from the United States and China – the world’s leading emitters – are responsible for global income losses of over $1.8 trillion each, economic losses caused by Russia, India, and Brazil exceed $500 billion each.



“This research provides an answer to the question of whether there is a scientific basis for climate liability claims - the answer is yes,” said study lead author Christopher Callahan, a doctoral candidate in Climate Science at Dartmouth. “We have quantified each nation’s culpability for historical temperature-driven income changes in every other country.”



The analysis revealed that the distribution of warming impacts from individual emitters is highly unequal, with the ten leading global emitters causing over two-thirds of losses worldwide. Countries that experience economic losses - due to lower agricultural yields or industrial outputs, and reduced labor productivity caused by climate change – are warmer and poorer than the global average, and are generally located in the global South and the tropics.



“Irrespective of the accounting, warm counties have warmed and lost income because of it, while colder countries have warmed but enjoyed economic gains,” said professor Mankin. “The responsibility for the warming rests primarily with a handful of major emitters, and this warming has resulted in the enrichment of a few wealthy countries at the expense of the poorest people in the world.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



While scientists have previously argued that climate mitigation is a simple “collective action problem,” where no single country acting alone can have an impact of curbing global warming, this study is a first step towards discrediting this idea. “Until now, the complexity of the carbon cycle, natural variations in climate, and uncertainties in models have provided emitters with plausible deniability for individual damage claims. That veil of deniability has now been lifted,” Professor Mankin explained.



“Nations need to work together to stop warming, but that doesn’t mean that individual countries can’t take actions that drive change,” added Callahan. “This research upends the notion that the causes and impacts of warming only occur at the global level.”



Thus, identifying national culpability proves that individual countries can have large, attributable impacts from warming due to their emissions, and that the actions of individual countries do matter. In conclusion, country-level mitigation strategies are worthwhile to pursue and could significantly limit measurable harm to other countries.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-022-03387-y">Climatic Change</a>.



---



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;

Emissions cause major economic losses in other countries

A new study led by Dartmouth College has assessed the...

An,Abstract,Background,Of,Seawater,Flow,Under,Light,Exposure

Throughout the end of the century, microscopic <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/phytoplankton-are-less-productive-in-the-gulf-of-maine/">plankton</a> will be able to store an increasing amount of carbon. This will be achieved by a process called the "biological pump" in which microscopic plants take up carbon. When the plants die, they sink into the deep ocean- where the absorbed carbon is stored for hundreds of years.&nbsp;



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) expect this process to account for 5 to 17 percent of the total increase in carbon uptake by the oceans by 2100.&nbsp;



“The biological pump stores roughly double the amount of carbon dioxide that is currently in our atmosphere in the deep ocean. Because plankton are sensitive to climate change, this carbon pool is likely to change in size so we set out to understand how this would change in the future in response to climate change by looking at the latest future projections by IPCC models," explained study lead author Dr. Jamie Wilson.



Microscopic organisms called plankton, live in the sun-lit surface of the ocean and use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. When these plankton die, their remains rapidly sink down through the "Twilight Zone" of the ocean (200 - 1000m). The carbon from their bodies is then stored away from the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years.&nbsp;



However, warming of the oceans slows down the circulation, increasing the time that carbon is stored in the deep ocean. This has led the research team to find a consistent increase in the carbon stored in the ocean by the biological carbon pump over the 21st century.&nbsp;



The research team relied on the latest IPCC models (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) to conduct the analysis. These models however do not have a consistent representation of the environmental and ecological processes in the Twilight Zone, creating uncertainty in how much carbon the biological pump will store.&nbsp;



In theory, after 2100 carbon storage by the biological pump may start acting as a source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, which could exacerbate climate change further.



“This research demonstrates the crucial importance of the Twilight Zone region of the ocean for biologically-driven carbon storage in the ocean," said Dr. Wilson. "This part of the ocean is still poorly understood because it is so hard to observe but it is also just now starting to come under pressures of environmental change, fishing and deep-sea mining.”&nbsp;



By understanding how the Twilight Zone controls carbon storage, researchers could begin to figure out how to best avoid human impacts on the ocean. To achieve this, the research team will study processes in the Twilight Zone to understand those that are most important for biologically-driven carbon storage and updating ocean models so they can reliably predict future changes.



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

Earth's biological pump may ultimately turn into a source of carbon

Throughout the end of the century, microscopic plankton will be...

Silhouette,Deer,On,The,Background,Of,Red,Moon

On Wednesday, July 13, 2022, the first <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/longest-full-moon-of-the-year-will-peak-saturday/">full moon</a> of the astronomical summer and the second supermoon of the year – after the “Strawberry Moon” from June - will start illuminating the night sky all over the world, offering a spectacular sight. The so-called “Buck Moon” will shine brightly between the constellations of Sagittarius and Capricornus, and reach its full phase at 14:38 EDT (18:38 GMT). Although it will not be visible at that time due to daylight neither in the United States nor in Europe, stargazers can fully enjoy it during the night as well.



According to the <a href="https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-july">Old Farmer’s Almanac</a>, this full moon was given its name by the Algonquin tribe because the antlers of male deer (also called bucks) are at full growth at this time of the year. Other names for this moon also reference animals, such as the Salmon Moon, a Tlingit term indicating that salmon populations are returning from their migrations and are ready to be harvested, or the Feather Moulting Moon, a name given by the Cree tribe to celebrate the time of the year when fledglings shed their baby feathers to make room for those that will give them the opportunity to fly.



Plants are also featured prominently in some of this moon’s tribal names, such as the Berry Moon (Anishinaabe tribe), the Moon when the Chokecherries are Ripe (Dakota), the Ripe Corn Moon (Cherokee), and the Raspberry Moon (Algonquin). Moreover, alternative names referring to July’s often stormy weather and, more generally, to the summer season include the Thunder Moon (Western Abenaki) and the Halfway Summer Moon (Anishinaabe).



The Buck Moon will appear to be the largest and brightest full moon of the year, since it will be closest to the Earth in its orbit, reaching a point called “the perigee,” thus offering a spectacular view. According to Tania de Sales Marques, a planetarium astronomer at the <a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory">Royal Observatory Greenwich</a>, this moon will look about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a full moon at apogee (when it is farthest away from the Earth).



People all over the world have enjoyed this spectacular moon for immemorial times, as shown by poems such as that written by James M. Matthews (1852-1910):



“A moon-flooded prairie; a straying&nbsp; Of leal-hearted lovers; a baying&nbsp; Of far away watching dogs; a dreaming&nbsp; Of brown-fisted farmers; a gleaming&nbsp; Of fireflies eddying nigh, — And that is&nbsp;July!”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Tonight's Buck Moon will be the largest supermoon of 2022

On Wednesday, July 13, 2022, the first full moon of...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> (UBC) has found that the re-entry of abandoned stages of rockets left in orbit from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-tourism-may-damage-the-climate/">space</a> launches have a six to ten percent chance of severely injuring or even killing a human being over the next decade. According to the experts, governments need to take collective action and mandate that rocket stages are guided back to Earth safely after their use. While this would increase the costs of launches, it could potentially save lives.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Is it permissible to regard the loss of human life as just a cost of doing business, or is it something that we should seek to protect when we can? And that’s the crucial point here: we can protect against this risk,” said study lead author Michael Byers, an expert in Political Science at UBC.



When objects such as satellites are launched into space, they use rockets, parts of which are of frequently left unattended in orbit. If these leftovers have a low enough orbit, they can re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere in an uncontrolled way, with potentially lethal pieces hurtling toward the ground.



By using over 30 years of data from a public satellite catalogue, the scientists calculated the potential risk to human life over the next decade of uncontrolled rocket body re-entries, and found that current practices have a six to ten percent chance of one or more casualties, if each re-entry spreads, on average, dangerous debris over a ten meters squared area. 



Although major space-faring nations are located in the north, this risk will be borne disproportionately by the global south, with rocket bodies being about three times more likely to land in Jakarta, Lagos, or Dhaka than New York, Moscow, or Beijing, due to the distribution of orbits used when launching satellites.



“Risks have been evaluated on a per-launch basis so far, giving people the sense that the risk is so small that it can safely be ignored,” said study co-author Aaron Boley, an associate professor of Physics and Astronomy at UBC. “But the cumulative risk is not that small. There have been no reported casualties yet, and no mass casualty event, but do we wait for that moment and then react, particularly when it involves human life, or do we try and get in front of it?”



While technology and mission designs which can largely remove these risks already exist – such as having engines that reignite, as well as extra fuel to guide the rocket parts safely to remote ocean areas - they are quite expensive. Currently, there are no multilateral agreements mandating companies to make such changes.



“Those national governments whose populations are being put at risk should demand that major spacefaring states act, together, to mandate controlled rocket re-entries, create meaningful consequences for non-compliance, and thus eliminate the risks for everyone,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-022-01718-8">Nature Astronomy</a>.



---



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;

Space rocket debris could soon turn deadly

A new study led by the University of British Columbia...

The rise in anti-science attitudes has been amplified by modern day <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americans-stressed-out-politics/">politics</a>, a potent force in the growing rejection of science. Three researchers who study attitudes and persuasion explain the rise in anti-science beliefs today and what can be done about it.



“The classic work on persuasion still applies to what we’re seeing today as many people reject the science of vaccines, climate change and other subjects,” said study lead author Aviva Philipp-Muller. “But there are evidence-based strategies that can work for increasing public acceptance of science.”



Anti-science beliefs are built on four foundations: the idea that scientific sources lack credibility; identifying with groups that have anti-science attitudes; a scientific message that contradicts a person’s current beliefs; and a mismatch between how a message is presented and a person’s style of thinking.



“What all four of these bases have in common is they reveal what happens when scientific information conflicts with what people already think or their style of thought,” said study co-author Richard Petty, professor of Psychology at <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">The Ohio State University</a>.



The researchers note that there has been a significant increase in anti-science attitudes in the past decades. Most recently, the sudden growth of anti-vaccination groups in the United States and other countries.&nbsp;



The rise of social media and a greater variety of news sources are some of the biggest influencing factors on anti-science beliefs. The experts also point to the growing importance of political ideology in the modern world.



“Politics were always around, and people had political views, but politics didn’t permeate everything. Science and scientific beliefs were separate from politics at one time, but not anymore,” said Professor Petty.



Today, politics is at the core of an individual's identity, and ideology affects how someone responds to scientific evidence that has been politicized, such as climate change. It can be easier for some to reject science rather than overturn their political beliefs. As a result, politics can trigger or amplify basic mental processes across all four bases of anti-science attitudes, Philipp-Muller said.



For example, take source credibility. Research shows that people see others with similar political views as more expert and knowledgeable. Because liberals and conservatives find different news sources credible, they expose themselves to different sources of scientific information – and misinformation.



“Social media platforms like Facebook provide customized news feeds that means conservatives and liberals can get highly varied information,” said Philipp-Muller.



To address key principles driving anti-science beliefs, research on persuasion and attitudes can help. Converting messages that understand opposing viewpoints should be considered. For example, messages on preventing the spread of COVID-19 can acknowledge that wearing masks can be uncomfortable, but this is a small discomfort that goes a long way to prevent the spread of disease.



Another key is to find common ground with people who reject science – even if what you have in common has nothing to do with science.



“People get their defenses up if they think they are being attacked or that you’re so different from them that you can’t be credible,” said Professor Petty.



The experts hope more scientists learn about the psychology of how to communicate about their work to different audiences, including those who might be skeptical.



“There’s an opportunity to counteract the anti-science attitudes and sentiment that is out there," said Philipp-Muller. "We have to use evidence-based strategies to increase public acceptance of science.”



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



---



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

What is causing a rise in anti-science beliefs?

The rise in anti-science attitudes has been amplified by modern...

A new study published in the journal <a href="about:blank">Nature</a> has found that modern ocean <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emerging-issues-that-may-impact-marine-biodiversity-are-poorly-understood/">biodiversity</a> - which is currently at its highest level ever – was achieved through long-term stability of “biodiversity hotspots,” or regions where an exceptionally high number of different species co-exist.&nbsp;



The experts reached this conclusion by employing a pioneering computational model which reconstructs the diversity of marine animals from their origin about 550 million years ago to the present, based on plate tectonics and environmental factors, such as ocean temperatures and food supply. Since the history of diversity in the model is numerically simulated rather than reconstructed from fossil data, this method is free from the gaps and sampling biases characterizing the fossil record.



“The question is how did we get to where we are,” said study lead author Pedro Cermeño, a postdoctoral fellow in Marine Biology at the <a href="http://www.icm.csic.es/en">Institute of Marine Sciences</a> in Barcelona, Spain. “Gaps in the fossil record require the use of a new computational approach to reconstruct the history of life. Our model is able to recreate the geographic distribution of modern ocean diversity, especially the hotspots, and reveals the mechanisms that have created them.”



This new model can also shed more light on one of the most controversial questions in Evolutionary Ecology: whether or not there is a limit to the biodiversity that our planet can support. While some scientists argue that as diversity increases and biological competition intensifies, the process of diversification slows down to a halt, so that the emergence of new species depends upon the extinction of older ones, others claim that the Earth’s ecosystems are so heterogeneous that there will always be room for more species. 



The new model helps reconciling the two views, suggesting that while most of the oceans exhibit diversity levels far below their maximum potential, regions hosting biodiversity hotspots may be close to their limit.



Although ocean biodiversity is currently at its highest level, this may not last long, since human interference in the natural functioning of Earth’s systems has prompted what scientists call “the sixth great mass extinction.” According to the United Nations, over the last century as many species have already disappeared as those that would be extinguished in 10,000 years assuming a normal, non-extinction evolutionary scenario.



“Our study emphasizes that, if current trends continue, projected diversity loss can take millions of years to recover, arguably beyond our own existence as a species,” concluded co-author Michael Benton, a paleontologist at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</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;

Environmental stability helped ocean biodiversity flourish

A new study published in the journal Nature has found...

Astronomers from <a href="https://www.mit.edu/">MIT</a> report today that they have discovered a mysterious signal with a pattern akin to a heartbeat, emanating from a far-off galaxy that is billions of light-years from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-likely-contributed-to-earths-largest-mass-extinction/">Earth</a>. Exactly what the source may be of this regular pulse of radio waves remains a mystery, as it is the first time that such a signal has been recorded.&nbsp;



They have identified the signal as a fast radio burst (FRB), which is typically an intensely strong burst of radio waves of unknown astrophysical origin that lasts only a few milliseconds at most. This new signal, labelled FRB 20191221A, is unusual, because it persists for up to three seconds, which is about 1,000 times longer than the average FRB. Within this time, there are shorter bursts of radio waves that repeat every 0.2 seconds in a clear periodic pattern, similar to that of a beating heart.&nbsp;



Since the first FRB was discovered in 2007, hundreds of similar radio flashes have been detected across the universe, most recently by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment, or CHIME, an interferometric radio telescope that is located at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in British Columbia, Canada. CHIME is designed to pick up radio waves emitted by hydrogen in the very earliest stages of the universe, but the telescope is also sensitive to fast radio bursts. Since it began observing the sky in 2018, CHIME has detected hundreds of FRBs emanating from different parts of the sky.



The vast majority of FRBs observed to date are ultrabright bursts of radio waves that last for a few milliseconds only. Recently, however, researchers discovered the&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mit.edu/2020/astronomers-rhythm-radio-waves-0617">first periodic FRB</a>&nbsp;that appeared to emit a regular pattern of radio waves. This signal consisted of a four-day window of random bursts that then repeated every 16 days. This 16-day cycle indicated a periodic pattern of activity, although the signal of the actual radio bursts was random rather than periodic.&nbsp;



On Dec. 21, 2019, CHIME picked up the signal of a potential FRB, which immediately drew the attention of&nbsp;Daniele Michilli, a postdoc in MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, who was scanning the incoming data.



“It was unusual,” he recalls. “Not only was it very long, lasting about three seconds, but there were periodic peaks that were remarkably precise, emitting every fraction of a second – boom, boom, boom – like a heartbeat. This is the first time the signal itself is periodic.”



Exactly what that source might be remains a mystery, though astronomers suspect the signal could emanate from either a radio pulsar or a magnetar, both of which are types of neutron stars – extremely dense, rapidly spinning collapsed cores of giant stars.&nbsp;



“There are not many things in the universe that emit strictly periodic signals,” says Michilli. “Examples that we know of in our own galaxy are radio pulsars and magnetars, which rotate and produce a beamed emission similar to a lighthouse. And we think this new signal could be a magnetar or pulsar on steroids.”



When they analyzed the pattern of FRB 20191221A’s radio bursts, Michilli and his colleagues found similarities with emissions from radio pulsars and magnetars in our own galaxy. The main difference, however, was that FRB 20191221A appears to be more than a million times brighter. Michilli says the luminous flashes may originate from a distant radio pulsar or magnetar that is normally less bright as it rotates and for some unknown reason ejected a train of brilliant bursts, in a rare three-second window that CHIME was luckily positioned to catch.



“CHIME has now detected many FRBs with different properties,” Michilli says. “We’ve seen some that live inside clouds that are very turbulent, while others look like they’re in clean environments. From the properties of this new signal, we can say that around this source, there’s a cloud of plasma that must be extremely turbulent.”



The team hopes to detect more periodic signals from this source, which could then be used as a type of astrophysical clock. For instance, the frequency of the bursts, and how they change as the source moves away from Earth, could be used to measure the rate at which the universe is expanding.



“This detection raises the question of what could cause this extreme signal that we’ve never seen before, and how can we use this signal to study the universe,” Michilli says. “Future telescopes promise to discover thousands of FRBs a month, and at that point we may find many more of these periodic signals.”



The discovery is reported today in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, and is authored by members of the CHIME/FRB Collaboration, including MIT co-authors Calvin Leung, Juan Mena-Parra, Kaitlyn Shin, and Kiyoshi Masui at MIT, along with Michilli, who led the discovery first as a researcher at McGill University, and then as a postdoc at MIT.



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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

Mysterious radio “heartbeat” signal detected from distant galaxy

Astronomers from MIT report today that they have discovered a...

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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

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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

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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