Every living organism relies on a genetic blueprint encoded in its DNA, yet the amount of DNA - or genome size - varies dramatically across the tree of life.&nbsp;



In animals alone, genome sizes range from the minuscule genome of Intoshia variabili, a marine parasite - which is about 200 times smaller than the human genome - to the massive genome of the marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) - which is over 40 times larger than ours.&nbsp;



Plants exhibit a similar range, with the fork fern (Tmesipteris oblanceolata) setting the record with a genome size over 50 times larger than that of humans.



This diversity in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genome-mapping-completed-for-dozens-of-common-animals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genome</a> size reveals the vast variety of life forms on Earth, but it also raises a fascinating question: If smaller genomes lead to faster, more efficient growth, why do some species have larger genomes?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-advantages-of-smaller-genome-sizes">Advantages of smaller genome sizes</h2>



The replication of DNA is essential for cell production and growth, making smaller genomes more efficient as they require fewer resources and time to replicate.&nbsp;



Smaller genomes demand fewer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/excess-nutrients-are-creating-ocean-dead-zones/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nutrients</a>, especially the DNA-building elements nitrogen and phosphorus, making them ideal for rapid growth and reproduction.



Because of these advantages, it’s not surprising that most species have evolved with relatively small genomes.&nbsp;



However, large genomes persist in some organisms, suggesting that these genomes may confer certain benefits in specific environments, where the costs of carrying extra DNA are outweighed by unique growth advantages.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-large-genome-benefits-in-grasses">Exploring large genome benefits in grasses</h2>



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sheffield</a> has recently studied the potential benefits of large genomes in grass species. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fairy-circles-kill-all-newly-planted-grasses-deepening-their-mystery/">Grasses</a>, a vast plant family found worldwide from arctic tundras to tropical savannas, vary in genome size, making them an ideal group to examine how genome size affects growth in different conditions.



The study, published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20150" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Phytologist</a>, examined the growth of various grass species under conditions mimicking their natural environments - high temperatures, low nutrients, and drought. 



The scientists compared growth rates to each species’ genome size and observed that while grasses with smaller genomes generally grew better across most conditions, larger genomes provided advantages in two specific scenarios.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-large-genomes-thrive-in-nutrient-rich-environments">Large genomes thrive in nutrient-rich environments</h2>



The first scenario where larger genomes proved beneficial was in nutrient-rich soils. While low nutrient levels slowed down large-genome grasses, those with large genomes thrived in high-nutrient environments.&nbsp;



Here, the extra DNA content meant larger cells that produced more biomass, such as leaves, which allowed these plants to outgrow and overshadow neighbors with smaller genomes.&nbsp;



In nutrient-poor areas, however, the demands of replicating additional DNA outweighed these benefits, making smaller genomes more favorable.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growing-seasons-and-genome-sizes">Growing seasons and genome sizes</h2>



The second advantage for large-genome grasses occurred in cooler environments, such as temperate regions with lower growing season temperatures.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-plants-grow-more-branches-and-become-bushy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plant growth</a> typically has two stages: cell division, where new cells are generated, and cell expansion, where cells swell with water to help the plant grow taller or spread. 



Cool temperatures significantly slow down cell division, but they have less impact on cell expansion.&nbsp;



Consequently, grasses with larger cells, which accompany large genomes, can expand more rapidly by cell enlargement even in cooler weather, outpacing smaller-genome plants that rely on faster cell division in warmer temperatures.



This cell expansion process explains the early spring growth of plants like daffodils and bluebells, which also have large genomes.&nbsp;



These plants perform much of their cell division in warmer months, allowing them to use cell expansion to grow quickly in early spring, well before smaller-genome plants begin to compete for light and nutrients.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genome-size-diversity">Genome size diversity</h2>



The diversity in genome sizes among grasses may be one reason for their global success, as it allows them to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions.&nbsp;



While smaller genomes typically support efficient growth, larger genomes offer unique advantages in specific environments, enabling certain species to thrive where others cannot.&nbsp;



This genetic diversity in grasses underscores the importance of variation in supporting species’ survival and adaptability across ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genome-size-and-evolutionary-success">Genome size and evolutionary success</h2>



The relationship between genome size and survival is not limited to plants. Our own medium-sized genome has supported humanity’s adaptability, though we don’t face the same nutrient limitations as stationary plants.&nbsp;



Unlike grasses, humans can move to seek out food and resources, which may allow us to bear the metabolic costs associated with our DNA without significant limitation.&nbsp;



This mobility highlights how different species leverage their genetic make-up in conjunction with unique behaviors and environmental interactions to thrive across diverse habitats.



In summary, the role of genome size in evolutionary success is nuanced and complex.&nbsp;



From the efficient replication of small genomes to the adaptability enabled by larger ones, genome size continues to shape the ecological <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asian-forests-proving-resilient-both-climate-change-human-actions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resilience</a> and global distribution of life on Earth.



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How does genome size impact evolutionary success?

Every living organism relies on a genetic blueprint encoded in its DNA, yet the amount of DNA - or genome size - varies dramatically across the tree of life.&nbsp; In animals alone, genome sizes range from the minuscule genome of Intoshia variabili, a marine parasite - which is about 200 times smaller than the human genome - to the massive genome of the marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) - which is over 40 times larger than ours.&nbsp; Plants exhibit a similar range, with the fork fern (Tmesipteris oblanceolata)...

New research shows that microplastics can be found in human placentas and in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sugars-in-breast-milk-help-prevent-infections-in-newborns/">newborns</a>. This is especially important as plastics may have serious health consequences for people at any age.&nbsp;



“It’s quite possible that children are more exposed to microplastics than adults, similar to children’s greater exposure to many other environmental toxic chemicals,” explained Kam Sripada, a neuroscientist from the <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/">Norwegian University of Science and Technology</a> (NTNU).



Rather than degrading and decomposing, plastics just break down into smaller and smaller microplastics, which break down into even tinier nanoplastics. Plastic is ubiquitous in our world, from things we use daily to things quickly dominating our landfills, clogging our rivers and creating islands in our oceans.&nbsp;



Sripada is first author on a review paper in <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/">Environmental Health and Perspectives</a> that summarizes what is known about micro and nano plastics and their connection to pregnancy and child health.&nbsp;



“No one knows exactly how much microplastic a child ingests. But several studies now suggest that today's children absorb microplastics in their bodies as early as at foetal age. This is concerning,” said Sripada.



Research is especially lacking on children’s exposure and health problems caused by micro- and nanoplastics.&nbsp;



“Although a lot of research is being done on microplastics, studies on the health effects of these plastic particles are limited. This applies especially to the effects on children,” said Martin Wagner, an associate professor of biology at NTNU.



What is now understood is that, even before birth, children are exposed to these plastics throughout childhood and into adulthood. This is also true of toxic chemicals.



“Children do not have a fully developed immune system and are in a very important phase of their brain development. This makes them particularly vulnerable,” said Sripada.&nbsp;



While the researchers noted that it is almost impossible to prevent children from ingesting plastic, there are ways that parents can reduce the amount of plastic that their children are exposed to.&nbsp;



For example, parents should make sure that their child's food comes into as little contact with plastic as possible. The experts also advise to clean the house properly and regularly with soap and water because dust may contain microplastics.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Babies are exposed to microplastics before they're even born

New research shows that microplastics can be found in human...

The extraordinary <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/background-gardens-increase-regional-bird-diversity/">diversity</a> of flowers has always been a mystery to scientists. A research team led by the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/">University of Massachusetts Amherst</a> has recently had a breakthrough while investigating the genetic linkages governing the formation of flowers. 



According to the researchers, a process called “programmed cell death” – a genetic mechanism eliminating some cells on purpose that is at work in the carpels of flowers, or the seed-bearing structures located at the heart of flowers – is partly responsible for flowers’ morphological diversity.



“Flowers are amazing. They’re all built of the same component parts, and yet we have such incredible diversity, from corn tassels to orchids. We want to know how the same few parts wind up creating such wildly different forms,” said study senior author Madelaine Bartlett, a professor of Biology at UMass Amherst.



Professor Bartlett and her team focused on maize flowers and used a technique known as “forward genetics” to identify which genes are responsible for suppressing carpel growth in maize. While scientists have already known that the gene GRASSY TILLERS1&nbsp;(GT1) plays a fundamental role in suppressing carpel growth in this plant, they have not be able to identify other genes working in tandem with GT1 to facilitate this process.&nbsp;



By using “forward genetics” – a way of looking backwards from a known flower formation, or phenotype (in this case, a mutated maize flower caused by a genetic alteration in the cell death process) to the specific mutation causing such formation – the researchers discovered that another gene, RAMOSA3&nbsp;(RA3), also plays a fundamental role in maize carpel programmed cell death.&nbsp;This gene was previously thought to structure only the way that plants branch, but it appears to be pleiotropic, meaning that it can influence several different traits.



“Our results highlight the power of forward genetics to reveal unpredictable genetic interactions and hidden pleiotropy of developmental genes. More broadly, our findings illustrate how ancient gene functions are recruited to new developmental contexts in the evolution of plant form,” explained the study authors.



Clarifying the role that genetics play in structuring the wild diversity of plants is another step forward in better understanding the evolution of life on Earth. Moreover, it could also have fundamental implications for the applied science of plant breeding.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/119/2/e2115871119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

New secrets of flower diversity revealed

The extraordinary diversity of flowers has always been a mystery...

Climate change is progressing rapidly, leaving traces all over the planet. The impact of global warming is particularly dramatic in the Arctic: during the past decades, the sea-ice has declined massively in the face of rising temperatures. According to the latest simulations, by 2050 the Arctic could be consistently ice-free during summers.



Surprisingly though, on the other side of the planet, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-antarctic-sea-ice-has-fluctuated-over-the-past-century/">Antarctic sea-ice</a> seems to have evaded the global warming trend, and has remained largely unchanged since 1979. However, contrary to actual observations, existing climate model-based simulations indicate significant sea-ice loss in the Antarctic too. 



According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.awi.de/en/">Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research</a> (AWI), this Antarctic “sea-ice paradox” could be explained by the fact that current simulations fail to take into account the role of ocean eddies in delaying Antarctic sea-ice decline.



“This so-called Antarctic sea-ice paradox has preoccupied the scientific community for some time now,” said study first author Thomas Rackow, a senior scientist at AWI. “The current models cannot yet correctly describe the behavior of the Antarctic sea-ice; some key element seems to be missing.”&nbsp;



By employing the <a href="https://fesom.de/models/awi-cm/">AWI Climate Model</a> (AWI-CM), a high-resolution computer simulation used to model changes in climate, Dr. Rackow and his colleagues managed to map processes from the Southern Ocean in much more detail than previous researchers.



“We used a broad range of configurations for our simulations. In the process, it became clear that only those simulations with a high-resolution description of the Southern Ocean encircling the Antarctic produced delayed sea-ice loss similar to what we are seeing in reality,” explained Dr. Rackow. “When we then extended the model into the future, even under a highly unfavorable greenhouse-gas scenario the Antarctic sea-ice cover remains largely stable until mid-century. After that point the sea-ice retreats rather rapidly, just as the Arctic sea-ice has been doing for decades.”



According to the scientists, the delay in Antarctic sea-ice decline could be explained by the activity of ocean eddies – currents with diameters of 10 to 20 km - which allow the ocean to transport additional heat taken up from the atmosphere north, towards the Equator. This northward heat transport is closely linked to the underlying overturning circulation in the upper kilometer of the ocean, which in the Southern Ocean is influenced both by wind and these eddies. As a result, the ocean surrounding the Antarctic warms slower, and the sea ice remains stable for longer.



“Our study supports the hypothesis that climate models and projections of the Antarctic sea-ice will be far more reliable as soon as they are capable of realistically simulating a high-resolution ocean, complete with eddies. Thanks to the ever-increasing performance of parallel supercomputers and new, more efficient models, next-generation climate models should make this a routine task,” concluded Dr. Rackow.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28259-y">Nature Communications</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

Antarctic sea-ice decline is delayed by ocean eddies

Climate change is progressing rapidly, leaving traces all over the...

The fight-or-flight response is evolution’s way of preparing organisms to defend themselves or flee in front of threats from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predators-help-prevent-biodiversity-loss/">predators</a>, and is structured by basic emotions such as rage or fear. According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/">California Institute of Technology</a> (Caltech), fear is a highly contagious emotion, being strongly influenced by the social contexts in which it emerges.



The scientists used a haunted-house experience to assess 156 participants’ physiological and subjective experiences and responses to perceived threats in a safe but immersive environment. During the 30-minute visit, participants had to wear physiological-monitoring waistbands while encountering various situations mimicking threats of suffocation, oncoming speeding cars, or exposure to shots from firing squads either alone, or together with other participants.



The researchers found that participants were more scared and had heightened physical responses when the group they belonged to while visiting the haunted house was larger. On average, the more friends the participants had with them while facing the haunted house’s threats, the higher their physical responses.



“There are a lot of factors that influence how human bodies respond to threat,” said study lead author Dr. Sarah Tashjian, a postdoctoral fellow in Affective Neuroscience at Caltech. “We found that friend-related&nbsp;emotional contagion, threat predictability, and subjective&nbsp;feelings of fear&nbsp;were all relevant for the body mounting a response.”&nbsp;



“We interpreted this to reflect fear contagion - if your friends are around, your body picks up on their signals and has a higher level of arousal even in the absence of specific scares or startles. In the lab, it is difficult to study the effects of groups on physiology.”



Dr. Tashjian and her colleagues have also discovered that participants with an initially strong response to the first room of the haunted house that they visited showed heightened responses when visiting the next rooms too. Moreover, the unpredictability of exposure to perceived threats seemed to be a major factor in increasing fear levels.



“We show that&nbsp;friends increase overall arousal, that unexpected scares produce more responses and higher levels of responses in the body than predictable scares, and that more frequent responses from the body manifest as feeling more afraid. And we show all of this using an intensive, immersive, live-action threat environment,” Dr. Tashjian concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09567976211032231">Psychological Science</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

Fear is a contagious emotion that is amplified in a group

The fight-or-flight response is evolution’s way of preparing organisms to...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.univie.ac.at/en/">University of Vienna</a> has found that, as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/revolutionary-treatment-approved-for-cat-arthritis/">cats</a> became domesticated over the past 10,000 years, their brains have shrunk significantly in size. According to the scientists, the discovery adds further evidence to what is known as “the domestication syndrome” hypothesis. 



This theory argues that natural selection for tameness in domestication leads to the production of fewer neural crest cells in the animals’ brains. Neural crest cells are linked to fear and excitability and their reduction likely contributes to changes in brain size, stress responses, and overall body morphology.



The scientists compared the cranium sizes of domestic cats (Felis catus) and several species of wild cats from Africa and Europe that are genetically related to the ancestral species that domestic cats have been evolving from over the past millennia. They found that domestic cats, as well as hybrids of wild and domestic cats, have smaller craniums (and thus brains) than their wild counterparts.



"Our data indicates that domestic cats indeed, have smaller cranial volumes (implying smaller brains) relative to both European wildcats (Felis silvestris) and the wild ancestors of domestic cats, the African wildcats (Felis lybica), verifying older results. We further found that hybrids of domestic cats and European wildcats have cranial volumes that cluster between those of the two parent species,” reported the study authors.



According to the researchers, the main reason behind the reduction in brain size is the fact that domestic cats lead an easier life, in more comfortable surroundings, while facing significantly less threats and risks from predators.



Earlier studies have also shown similar reduction in brain size in other domesticated mammals, such as dogs or rabbits, compared to their wild ancestors.&nbsp;



Even human brains appear to have shrunk over the past 28,000 years, being currently five percent smaller than those of Neanderthals. Experts suggest that the gradual change from hunter gatherers, who needed to face a wide range of threats during their peregrinations, to sedentary farmers leading more peaceful lives may have contributed to this reduction in brain size.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.210477#d1e1620">Royal Society Open Science</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

Cat brains shrank in size as a result of domestication

A new study led by the University of Vienna has...

All of Earth’s wetlands, including lakes rivers, swamps, marshes, estuaries, deltas, mangroves and other coastal areas, are critically important biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks. Furthermore, wetlands provide a buffer against the impacts of floods, droughts, and hurricanes, and support the livelihoods of millions of people. 



Despite this, wetlands are the most threatened ecosystems in the world.&nbsp;They are disappearing at an alarming rate - three times faster than forests - as a direct result of human activities and climate change.



Last year, the UN General Assembly proclaimed today (February 2nd) as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldwetlandsday.org/">World Wetlands Day</a> to call attention to the desperate need for wetland conservation and restoration.&nbsp;



On this day in 1971, the "Convention on Wetlands of International Importance" was held in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the Caspian Sea. The convention, which was adopted by 172 countries, empowers nations to take measures to protect their wetlands and out them to good use.



Coastal wetlands absorb and store carbon up to 55 times faster than tropical rainforests. Even though they cover only a small portion (6 percent) of Earth’s land surface, these marine and freshwater habitats support 40 percent of all plant and animal species.&nbsp;



According to the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a>, more than a billion people across the world depend on wetlands for their livelihoods, which is about one in eight people on Earth. Over the last 50 years, 35 percent of the world’s wetlands have been lost. Human activities that are driving these losses include farming and agriculture; construction; pollution; overfishing and overexploitation of resources; invasive species; and climate change.



Ironically, wetlands offer a natural solution to the global threat of climate change. The UN notes that peatlands alone store twice as much carbon as all the world's forests combined. When these ecosystems are destroyed, however, they emit vast amounts of carbon.&nbsp;



There is an urgent need to raise national and global awareness about wetlands in order to reverse their rapid loss, says the UN, and today is the ideal time to increase people’s understanding of these critically important ecosystems.



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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

World Wetlands Day: an urgent call for awareness

All of Earth’s wetlands, including lakes rivers, swamps, marshes, estuaries,...

One of the negative consequences of globalization is the inadvertent spread of invasive plants and <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/our-warming-climate-is-changing-how-animals-hibernate/">animals</a>, far from their point of origin. Some of the most disruptive invasive animals are land flatworms, which spread all over the globe mainly through plant trade. Until now, researchers have identified over ten widespread species, including Obama nungara&nbsp;(originally from Argentina),&nbsp;Platydemus manokwari&nbsp;(from New Guinea), and&nbsp;Bipalium kewense&nbsp;(from Southeast Asia).



Land flatworms are predators of soil animals, such as slugs, snails, or earthworms, and represent a significant threat to soil biodiversity and ecology when they are introduced into a new environment. Hammerhead flatworms are a sub-species of land flatworms characterized by their broadened heads. Some of them can reach impressive dimensions of up to one meter in length.&nbsp;



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.mnhn.fr/en">National Museum of Natural History</a> in France has recently identified and described two new species of potentially invasive hammerhead flatworms, Humbertium covidum (discovered in two gardens in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France and Veneto, Italy), and Diversibipalium mayottensis (discovered in Mayotte, a French island in the Mozambique Channel from the Indian Ocean).&nbsp;



Humbertium covidum is a small (30 mm) flatworm, originating most probably in Asia. Unlike most other flatworm species, it has a uniformly metallic black color. Diversibipalium mayottensis has similar dimensions, but it exhibits a spectacular green-blue iridescence over its brown ground color. According to the scientists, its origin could be Madagascar. Both species appear to prey upon small snails, thus potentially placing local snail populations at risk in their current environment.&nbsp;



“Due to the pandemic, during the lockdowns most of us were home, with our laboratory closed. No field expeditions were possible. I convinced my colleagues to gather all the information we had about these flatworms, do the computer analyses, and finally write this very long paper. We decided to name one of the species “covidum,”paying homage to the victims of the pandemic,” said study lead author Jean-Lou Justine, a professor of Zoology and Parasitology at the National Museum of Natural History.



Besides providing classical anatomical and morphological descriptions, Professor Justine and his colleagues have also described in great detail these flatworms’ mitochondrial genomes, allowing them to provide a comprehensive molecular study of the relationships between sub-species of the hammerhead flatworms.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12725">PeerJ</a>. 



Image Credit: Pierre Gros



---



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

Two new species of invasive flatworms discovered

One of the negative consequences of globalization is the inadvertent...

Like all the other vaccines, the revolutionary mRNA <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-booster-shots-are-highly-effective-against-hospitalization/">vaccines</a> need to be injected. This can be a hurdle for many people who fear needles. A research team led by the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) has recently developed a way of delivering RNA in a capsule that can be easily swallowed, hoping that this new technology could make more people receptive to vaccination. 



Moreover, in addition to making vaccines easier to tolerate, this approach could also be employed to deliver other types of therapeutic RNA or DNA directly into the digestive tract and treat a variety of gastrointestinal diseases such as ulcers.



“Nucleic acids, in particular RNA, can be extremely sensitive to degradation particularly in the digestive tract. Overcoming this challenge opens up multiple approaches to therapy, including potential vaccination through the oral route,” said study senior author Giovanni Traverso, an expert in Biomedical Engineering at MIT and a gastroenterologist at <a href="https://www.brighamandwomens.org/">Brigham and Women’s Hospital</a> in Boston.



In their new experimental study, Professor Traverso and his colleagues managed to develop a capsule that could deliver up to 150 micrograms of RNA (which is more than the amount used in COVID-19 vaccines) in the stomach of pigs. This research is built upon previous <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2019/pill-deliver-insulin-orally-0207">studies</a> in which they developed new ways to deliver solid drugs, such as insulin, into the lining of the stomach.



Since nucleic acids are susceptible to degradation when entering the body, they need to be carried by protective particles. The scientists developed a new type of polymer called poly(beta-amino esters), which seemed to be much more effective than linear polymers at protecting nucleic acids and delivering them into cells. They also discovered that using two of these polymers together was more effective than using only one.&nbsp;



“We made a library of branched, hybrid poly(beta-amino esters), and we found that the lead polymers within them would do better than the lead polymers within the linear library,” explained study co-author Ameya Kirtane, a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. “What that allows us to do now is to reduce the total amount of nanoparticles that we are administering.”



Although the reporter proteins showing that cells have been successful in absorbing RNA have been detected in pigs’ stomachs after the delivery of the capsules, they have not been found elsewhere in their organisms. Further experimental research is needed to manage to increase RNA uptake in other organs, by changing the composition of the nanoparticles or providing larger doses.&nbsp;



However, scientists believe that it may also be possible to generate strong immune responses with delivery only to the stomach. “There are many immune cells in the gastrointestinal tract, and stimulating the immune system of the gastrointestinal tract is a known way of creating an immune response,” said study lead author Alex Abramson, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2021.12.022">Matter</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

Scientists are making vaccines easier to swallow

Like all the other vaccines, the revolutionary mRNA vaccines need...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mercury-levels-in-bluefin-tuna-reveal-patterns-of-ocean-pollution/">Mercury</a> is a dangerous neurotoxin which can negatively impact brain development in fetuses and children. The U.S. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (E.P.A.) has attempted to limit mercury emissions from coal plants since 2012. During the Trump administration, however, the EPA determined that the industry costs of these rules outweighed their benefits. As a result, the agency stopped enforcing restrictions on mercury emissions.&nbsp;



On Monday, January 31, 2022, the Biden administration said that it will resume enforcement of the 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for regulating mercury emissions. The action is part of a of Biden-era plan to reduce water and air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childrens-public-health-strategies-must-focus-on-pollution/">pollution</a>.



“Sound science makes it clear that we need to limit mercury and toxins in the air to protect children and vulnerable communities from dangerous pollution,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “E.P.A. is committed to aggressively reducing pollution from the power sector so that all people, regardless of zip code or amount of money in their pocket, can breathe clean air and live healthy and productive lives.”



According to the EPA, the mercury rules first implemented during the Obama administration sharply reduced mercury emissions while they were in place. Compared to 2010 levels, mercury emissions from power plants were 86 percent lower by 2017, before the rules were deemed to be neither appropriate nor necessary in May of 2020.&nbsp;



The reinforcement of mercury restrictions is part of a broader series of environmental regulations planned or already taken by the Biden administration in order to reduce pollution. These measures include placing limits on tailpipe emissions, converting the American automobile industry from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles, restricting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-methane-is-the-fastest-way-to-slow-global-warming/">methane</a> emissions, and limiting the spillover of pollutants in wetlands and waterways.



Limiting mercury emissions will also have important co-benefits, such as reducing other dangerous pollutants like sulfur dioxide and fine particulate soot, which are linked to increased risks of brain, heart, lung and respiratory diseases. Over five years, the benefits of curbing these emissions will likely save $80 billion and prevent 130,000 asthma attacks, 4,700 heart attacks, and 11,000 premature deaths annually.



The EPA will allow public comments on the mercury reduction proposal over the next 60 days and will hold a virtual public hearing to debate the new regulations.



---



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

Mercury pollution rules reinstated under President Biden

Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin which can negatively impact brain...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.035703">Physical Review Letters</a> has investigated the origins of water on Earth. According to a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.skoltech.ru/en/">Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology</a> (Skoltech) and <a href="https://en.nankai.edu.cn/">Nankai University</a>, a chemical compound that is now extinct could have helped preserve water deep underground in the era when massive asteroid collisions must have evaporated all the Earth’s surface water.



Surface <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mega-iceberg-released-152-billion-tons-of-fresh-water/">water</a> has an important role in stabilizing a planet’s climate over long periods of time, allowing life to emerge. Moreover, even small amounts of water under a planet’s surface dramatically increase rock plasticity, which is essential for plate tectonics - a process fundamentally shaping the planet’s continents and oceans, and driving earthquakes and volcanism.



While some scientists believe that water on Earth was seeded by comets, others argue that water originated deep within our planet’s mantle or even core. By using the crystal structure prediction method <a href="https://uspex-team.org/en">USPEX</a>, the researchers discovered a stable compound that could lock up hydrogen and oxygen atoms within the Earth’s interior long enough, and then release them as water: magnesium hydrosilicate (Mg2SiO5H2), which consists of over 11 percent water and is stable at extremely high temperatures and pressures of more than two million atmospheres.



According to the scientists, for over 30 million years, while the Earth was frequently bombarded by asteroids, part of the Earth’s water was safely stored away in the form of hydrosilicates at the depths of what only later on became the planet’s iron core. By the time the core formed, the hydrosilicates had been pushed into low pressure areas, where they became unstable and decomposed, producing the magnesium oxide and silicate that now form the mantle.



This theory is “a story about how a material that existed for a brief moment on the planetary timescale had a&nbsp;massive impact on the Earth’s evolution,” said study co-author Artem Oganov, a material scientist at Skoltech. “This runs counter to the usual geological mindset, but come to&nbsp;think of it, an evolutionary biologist, for whom much of what we see today has evolved out of&nbsp;now-extinct species, would hardly be surprised, would they?”



These findings have important implications for understanding other celestial bodies too. &nbsp;“Mars, for example, is&nbsp;too small to produce pressures necessary to stabilize magnesium hydrosilicate,” said Professor Oganov. “This explains why it is so dry and means that whatever water exists on Mars, it likely came from comets.”



In the case of very large planets from outside our solar system that can perhaps contain water and thus support life (the hypothetical “super-Earths”), pressures stabilizing the magnesium hydrosilicate can exist even outside the core, locking large amounts of water indefinitely. “As a result, super-Earths can have a&nbsp;much greater water content and still support the existence of exposed continents,” concluded study co-author Xiao Dong, a physicism at Nankai University.



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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;

How did early Earth hold onto its oceans?

A new study published in the journal Physical Review Letters...

By deploying advanced computer modeling techniques, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> has found that the financial toll of flooding caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/temperate-rainforests-can-help-fight-climate-change/">climate change</a> will rise by more than a quarter (from $32 billion currently to $40.6 billion) in the United States by 2050. According to the scientists, disadvantaged communities will be the most affected by these extreme events.



Through an in-depth analysis of nation-wide property asset data combined with detailed flood projections, an international team of researchers has developed for the first time a comprehensive, high-resolution assessment of flood risk in the United States, and estimated an increase of 26.4 percent over the next three decades in the financial toll caused by flooding. Since these estimates of financial loss (including damage to houses and businesses) were based on 2021 dollar values, the actual numbers may turn out to be higher due to inflation.



“Climate change combined with shifting populations present a double whammy of flood risk danger and the financial implications are staggering,” said study lead author Dr. Oliver Wing, a research fellow at the University of Bristol.



“Typical risk models rely on historical data which doesn’t capture projected climate change or offer sufficient detail. Our sophisticated techniques using state-of-the-science flood models give a much more accurate picture of future flooding and how populations will be affected.”



According to Dr. Wing and his colleagues, disadvantaged communities such as Black or poorer White communities living on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts will be disproportionately affected by flooding events. These findings are a call to action for stepping up adaptation and mitigation strategies aiming to reduce the devastating financial impact caused by flooding.



“Current flood risk in western society is already unacceptably high, yet climate and population change threaten to inflate these losses significantly,” said study co-author Paul Bates, a professor of Hydrology at the University of Bristol.



“The relatively short timescales over which this increase will take place mean we cannot rely on decarbonisation to reduce the risk, so we have to adapt better, both to the situation now and for the future,” he warned.



The study is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.&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

Financial toll caused by flooding will soar by mid-century

By deploying advanced computer modeling techniques, a new study led...

Icebergs,Floating,In,The,Labrador,Sea,,Nuuk,Fjord,,Sermersooq,,Greenland

The Labrador Sea, located in the North Atlantic Ocean between Greenland and Canada, is one of the few regions on our planet where <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warm-climates-linked-to-low-oxygen-dead-zones-in-the-north-pacific/">oxygen</a> from the atmosphere can reach the deep ocean directly, through “wintertime deep convection." This is a process that homogenizes the water column to a depth of up to two kilometers and brings deep water undersaturated in oxygen in direct contact with the atmosphere.&nbsp;



A new study <a href="https://www.dal.ca/">Dalhousie University</a>&nbsp;in Halifax, Canada and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.geomar.de/en/">GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel</a>&nbsp;in Germany&nbsp;has measured the flow of oxygen into the ocean interior that is carried by deep currents in the Labrador Sea, and analyzed how this intense oxygen uptake affects the properties of the outflowing deep western boundary current, which distributes oxygen to the rest of the Atlantic Ocean and beyond.&nbsp;



According to the scientists, oxygen that is “inhaled” in the Labrador Sea can support deep ocean life in Antarctica and even as far as the Pacific or Indian oceans.



By using dissolved oxygen sensors mounted for two years on anchored cables that reached from near the surface to the seafloor, the researchers investigated the connection between oxygen uptake from the atmosphere and its onward transport into the interior of the oceans.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that nearly half of the oxygen taken up from the atmosphere in the central Labrador Sea in winter was injected into the deep boundary current during the following five months, and distributed at vast distances.



“We wanted to know how much of the oxygen that is breathed in each winter actually makes it into the deep, fast-flowing currents that transport it across the globe,” said study lead author Jannes Koelling, an oceanographer at Dalhousie University.&nbsp;



“The circulation of the Labrador Sea is complex, and we’ve only focused, so far, on the most direct export route. Some oxygen-rich water may be transported eastwards, instead of to the southwest, and it may enter the boundary current off Greenland before returning southwards, over a longer time-period.”



Better understanding the pathways through which oxygen flows from the “lung of the deep ocean,” as the Labrador Sea is known, to other seas and oceans is of utmost importance in our climate change era.&nbsp;



Since climate model projections suggest that an increased supply of freshwater from melting glaciers and other climate-related changes in the Arctic could reduce the depth of wintertime mixing in the Labrador Sea in the next decades, and thus affect the life-supporting supply of oxygen to the deep sea, close monitoring of these changes is essential in order to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic global warming on a variety of ecosystems.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/19/437/2022/">Biogeosciences</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

Oxygen flow from the Labrador Sea sustains life globally

The Labrador Sea, located in the North Atlantic Ocean between...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

[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

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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