Glp-1,Receptor,,Inactivated,And,Surrounded,By,An,Agonist,(semaglutide,,Red)

Sugar holds a strong place in many people’s diets, especially when stress runs high or snacks are within easy reach. While sugar’s appeal may feel irresistible, excessive consumption can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. 



Scientists may have discovered a natural way to regulate blood sugar and curb cravings, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weight-loss-drugs-could-save-an-enormous-number-of-lives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">akin to drugs like Ozempic</a>. They've been investigating the relationship between sugar intake, gut signals, and hormones that help control appetite.



Reducing sugar intake can be challenging, but experts emphasize that managing blood sugar lowers the risk of diabetes complications. 



Health guidelines suggest limiting added sugars to 9 teaspoons per day for men and 6 teaspoons per day for women. 



Though this might seem difficult, research points to gut microbes as a potential secret weapon against persistent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americas-tide-of-obesity-is-rising-with-75-already-impacted/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cravings and obesity</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-glp-1-the-basics">Understanding GLP-1 - the basics</h2>



GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, is a hormone your body naturally produces in the gut. It plays a big role in managing blood sugar and appetite. 



After you eat, your intestines release GLP-1, which signals your pancreas to pump out insulin. At the same time, it tells your liver to slow down glucose production, keeping blood sugar levels steady. 



But GLP-1 doesn’t stop there - it also slows digestion and sends signals to your brain that make you feel full, which helps prevent overeating.



Drugs like <a href="https://www.ozempic.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ozempic</a>, <a href="https://www.wegovy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wegovy</a>, and <a href="https://www.victoza.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Victoza</a> mimic GLP-1’s natural actions, helping control blood sugar and curb cravings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gut-signals-and-sugary-foods">Gut signals and sugary foods</h2>



Dr. Li from <a href="https://english.jiangnan.edu.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jiangnan University</a> in China has been examining how gut signals might shape a person’s preference for sugary foods. 



In a recent publication, the authors state, “A growing body of research has revealed that our cravings for dietary components originate from signals sent from the gut, a key organ in transmitting dietary preferences.” 



This highlights the dynamic interaction between diet and gut microbes.



They also note, “However, which genes, gut flora, and metabolites in the gut microenvironment are involved in the regulation of sugar preference is currently unclear.” 



To understand this better, some studies have explored the role of hormones in sugar cravings, especially in individuals with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/type-2-diabetes-heightens-alzheimers-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">type 2 diabetes</a>. 



There is also evidence suggesting that those with certain genetic variations tied to FGF21 are about 20% more likely to consume high amounts of sweet foods.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-glp-1-and-gut-microbiota">GLP-1 and gut microbiota</h2>



One surprising discovery involves Ffar4, a receptor that influences gut microbiota composition. When Ffar4 levels decrease, the abundance of a gut microbe, Bacteroides vulgatus, may shift. 



Researchers at Jiangnan University have found that increasing this microbe in diabetic mice can “orchestrate the secretion of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weight-loss-drugs-could-save-an-enormous-number-of-lives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glucagon-like peptide-1</a> (GLP-1).” 



This microbe produces metabolic compounds that send signals linked to sugar cravings and energy balance.



Bacteroides vulgatus is known to produce pantothenate, a form of vitamin B5. Scientists report that pantothenate helps release GLP-1, a hormone tied to satiety and blood sugar regulation. 



GLP-1, in turn, triggers the release of another hormone, FGF21. When these signals function properly, the body manages sugar more effectively, ultimately reducing the urge for sweet foods.



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



People with type 2 diabetes often have impaired GLP-1 function, prompting researchers to explore ways to improve or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/olives-may-be-a-powerful-weapon-in-the-fight-against-obesity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mimic its activity</a>. 



GLP-1 agonist drugs, such as semaglutide, have proven effective in lowering blood sugar and controlling appetite. 



While these medications work, some scientists are investigating whether natural methods can stimulate the same hormonal pathways. The authors suggest their study “provides a strategy for diabetes prevention.”



This approach brings the gut microbiome into focus, as small changes in microbial makeup might have broader implications. 



If further research confirms similar outcomes in humans, it could influence how doctors approach <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neurons-discovered-that-tell-us-when-to-stop-eating/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sugar cravings</a> and early diabetes management. 



Emerging studies indicate potential benefits in boosting beneficial gut microbes, but it remains unclear how soon this concept will translate into practical medical solutions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-glp-1-microbiomes-and-the-future">GLP-1, microbiomes, and the future</h2>



Many questions remain about how gut microbes shape individual dietary choices. Researchers continue exploring whether manipulating these microbes could regulate sugar intake without drastic measures. 



Adjustments in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-microbiome-trillions-of-bacteria-unique-like-your-fingerprint/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gut microbe populations</a> might not only help balance blood sugar but also support overall health.



Evidence linking intestinal bacteria to hunger-regulating hormones is growing, raising hopes that these discoveries may curb sugar cravings before diabetes develops. 



Some might compare this to a helpful chain reaction: the gut microbe produces specific compounds, those compounds activate the body’s natural signals, and the result is steadier blood sugar control. 



While the future direction of this research is uncertain, ongoing discoveries about microbes and hormones provide valuable insights into maintaining health - and possibly preserving a sweet tooth in moderation.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01902-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Microbiology</a>.



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Natural Ozempic alternative may soon be available for humans

Sugar holds a strong place in many people’s diets, especially when stress runs high or snacks are within easy reach. While sugar’s appeal may feel irresistible, excessive consumption can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Scientists may have discovered a natural way to regulate blood sugar and curb cravings, akin to drugs like Ozempic. They've been investigating the relationship between sugar intake, gut signals, and hormones that help control appetite. Reducing sugar intake can be challenging, but experts emphasize that managing blood sugar lowers the risk...

Hedgehog,,(scientific,Name:,Erinaceus,Europaeus),Wild,,Native,,European,Hedgehog,With

For the first time, a highly transmissible strain of the antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA, which is currently plaguing hospitals in Northern Europe, has been isolated from hedgehogs in Helsinki.&nbsp;



Superbugs such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are antibiotic-resistant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-force-the-plants-they-infect-to-feed-them/">bacteria</a> for which there are little or no available treatments.&nbsp;



Recently, European hedgehogs, a common wild species living in urban areas, were found to be natural carriers of MRSA.&nbsp;Surveys in Denmark and Sweden suggest that up to 60 percent of hedgehogs carry a type of MRSA called mecC-MRSA, which causes 1 in 200 of all MRSA infections in humans.



The findings suggest a spillover of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria and genes to urban wildlife. This trend should be monitored to limit the emergence of antimicrobial resistance traits in the future. Worldwide spread of these antibiotic-resistant genes is a growing concern because they often target “last resort” classes of antibiotics.



Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria are common in the intestines of healthy people and animals. Highly resistant strains with extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) can cause urinary tract infections in people. ESBL-E are common in wild European hedgehogs, but little is known about Finnish hedgehogs specifically.&nbsp;



To find out, the researchers tested samples from 115 dead hedgehogs in Finland between 2020 and 2021. Swabs and samples were obtained from each hedgehog to be tested for ESBL-E. Whole genome sequencing was used to examine the genomic features of the bacteria including resistant genes.



The research team found that 10 percent of hedgehogs had at least one MRSA-producing bacterial strain and at least one ESBL-producing strain.



Only three hedgehogs carried the type of MRSA called mecC-MRSA, commonly found in Sweden and Denmark, and has emerged in human patients in Northern Europe over the last few years. This suggests there is genetic diversity between MRSA strains over hedgehog populations and countries.



Furthermore, two E. coli strains identified in hedgehogs were human-associated types, suggesting that they could have transferred from humans to hedgehogs.



Venla Johansson from the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a>, who noted that it’s not just hedgehogs that carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria.&nbsp;



“All wildlife and livestock carry many different types of bacteria, so there are many candidates for its dispersal in urban environments including humans themselves," explained Johansson.



"Moreover, anthropogenic sources, such as waste, agriculture runoff and domestic wastewater have been linked to antimicrobial resistance transmission to wild animals.”



This observational study only sampled hedgehogs from one city in Finland, which means that the findings might not be representative of the whole country.



“In the future, the carriage of MRSA should be monitored from hedgehogs in different environments and in wider geographical context to determine whether hedgehogs could act as an AMR sentinel revealing AMR levels in the environment," said Johansson.



The researchers of a previous <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04265-w">study</a> published in Nature emphasize that the findings are not a reason to fear hedgehogs, as humans rarely get infections with mecC-MRSA, even though it has been present in hedgehogs for more than 200 years.



The study was presented at this year’s <a href="https://www.eccmid.org/">European Congress of Clinical Microbiology &amp; Infectious Diseases</a> (ECCMID) in Lisbon, Portugal.



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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

Humans spread antimicrobial resistant bacteria to urban wildlife

For the first time, a highly transmissible strain of the...

On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, the US <a href="https://www.energy.gov/">Department of Energy</a> finalized a new efficiency rule aiming to phase out older, high-energy incandescent light bulbs. According to this rule, light bulbs must emit a minimum of 45 lumens per watt. Older light bulbs which don’t meet these standards will need to be phased out of production within 75 days, while full enforcement of the rule will go into effect in July 2023 – the same date when retailers must stop selling older-type bulbs.&nbsp;



This move is a culmination of a decades-long effort to phase out inefficient light bulbs. While <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/swings-in-wind-and-solar-power-may-cause-energy-droughts/">energy</a> efficiency standards were included in a bill passed under the George W. Bush administration and implemented during Barack Obama’s presidency, the Trump administration rolled the regulations back in 2019.



The Department of Energy estimates that implementing this new rule could save US consumers almost $3 billion and cut carbon emissions by 222 million metric tons over the next 30 years. Moreover, while traditional, incandescent light bulbs last only about 1,000 hours, energy efficient LED bulbs typically last 30,000 to 50,000 hours or even longer.



“By raising energy efficiency standards for light bulbs, we're putting $3 billion back in the pockets of American consumers every year and substantially reducing domestic carbon emissions,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “The lighting industry is already embracing more energy efficient products, and this measure will accelerate progress to deliver the best products to American consumers and build a better and brighter future.”



Environmental groups have also applauded the implementation of this new rule. “We are long overdue to phase out inefficient old-fashioned light bulbs as this progress was illegally delayed by the Trump administration for more than two years,” said Joe Vukovich, an energy efficiency advocate for the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>. “LED bulbs, which will replace the old incandescents, use one-sixth the amount of energy to deliver the same amount of light and last at least 10 times longer.”



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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

Biden moves to phase out energy inefficient light bulbs

On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, the US Department of Energy...

Homo floresiansis was a diminutive early human standing only three feet and six inches tall that lived on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/excess-sugar-is-toxic-to-rock-iguanas-on-remote-islands/">island</a> of Flores in Indonesia between 700,000 and 60,000 years ago. Due to its stature and physical resemblance to the creatures described by famous writer J.R.R. Tolkien in his novels, it was nicknamed “the Hobbit.”&nbsp;



The discovery of this early hominid’s fossils in 2003 in the Liang Bua cave in Flores has shattered long-held beliefs that the Neanderthals were our nearest ancestors. “I would have been less surprised if someone had uncovered an alien,” said paleoanthropologist Peter Brown, a professor at the <a href="https://www.une.edu.au/">University of New England</a>, Australia.



Although scientists concluded that this species went extinct 12,000 years ago, Gregory Forth, an anthropologist retired from the <a href="https://www.ualberta.ca/index.html">University of Alberta</a> in Canada has recently argued that no one really knows if this fascinating hominid actually went extinct or is in fact still roaming today’s Indonesia.



In his new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Between-Ape-Human-Anthropologist-Hominoid/dp/163936143X">Between Ape and Human: An Anthropologist on the Trail of a Hidden Hominid</a>, Professor Forth claims that over 30 eye-witness reports of an “ape-man” on the island of Flores may be sightings of this ancient ancestor, somehow still surviving in the modern world. “I conclude that the best way to explain what they told me is that a non-sapiens hominid has survived on Flores to the present or very recent times.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The last recorded sighting dates from 2017, when a 40-year-old woman on Flores claimed that she saw an “ape-man” crossing a field. Although the creature stopped and looked at her, it didn’t seem threatening. “The woman had a daughter, around seven or eight years old,” said Professor Forth. “The daughter spotted this strange creature sitting just beyond the garden by a pile of rocks. She was screaming, and a dog was barking at it. The man got there first, and the mother and girl were crying. All three of them saw it. But they didn't stick around, they ran all the way home.”



Since the separate accounts “all agreed on the particulars” and all the witnesses appeared extremely frightened when recounting the story, Professor Forth considers them as reliable sources. Previous accounts of such sightings also seem to confirm the existence of such strange creatures roaming Flores.



However, other scientists remain skeptical that another species of “Homo” still exists today. “The habitat is right, the eyewitness evidence is good, and there are known candidates from the fossil record that sound pretty similar to the creatures sometimes being described,” said Dr. Darren Naish, a paleozoologist and former lecturer at the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/">University of Southampton</a>. “But we still require solid biological samples to demonstrate the reality of this animal.”



Other experts are even more critical of Professor Forth’s account. “Realistically, the idea that there's a large primate that is unobserved on this island and surviving in a population that can sustain itself is pretty close to zero,” said John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a>.



Further field trips and investigations are needed in order to assess Professor Forth’s claims and solve this mystery. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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

A hobbit-like human ancestor may still be roaming in Indonesia

Homo floresiansis was a diminutive early human standing only three...

According to a new study, if <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-setting-the-stage-for-new-pandemics/">climate</a> change continues to accelerate, it could lead to a loss in biodiversity that would rival history’s biggest mass extinction events.



The Earth’s climate is impacted by anthropogenic greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere, increasing the risk of extinction among many species. Climate change impacts on biodiversity are difficult to observe, especially in the world’s vast oceans.&nbsp;



Marine species face many direct impacts from human activity, including habitat destruction, overfishing and pollution. These impacts are further exacerbated by ocean warming and oxygen depletion caused by climate change.&nbsp;



The future of life in the ocean is unclear. To better understand the future of our oceans, the researchers used ecophysiological modeling to evaluate a species’ physiological limits under projected marine temperature and oxygen conditions. This allowed study authors Justin Penn and Curtis Deutsch to evaluate the extinction risk for marine species across climate warming scenarios.&nbsp;



This approach found that under “business as usual” projections, global temperature increases, and marine ecosystems across the world are likely to experience mass extinctions. The size and severity of such a mass extinction could rival that of the end-Permian extinction 250 million years ago&nbsp; – the “Great Dying” – which led to the demise of more than two-thirds of marine animals.



Penn and Deutsch’s modeling revealed patterns in future extinction risk. For example, while tropical oceans are expected to lose the most species under climate change, many species will likely migrate to higher latitudes, seeking more favorable conditions to survive.&nbsp;



Sadly, migrating isn't an option for the world's polar species. The study projects that polar species are very likely to go extinct as their habitats will disappear from the planet entirely.&nbsp;



“Climate change is, in effect, walking species off the ends of the Earth,” wrote Malin Pinsky and Alexa Fredston in Related Perspective.&nbsp;



On the other hand, the study also suggests that reducing or reversing greenhouse gas emissions could reduce extinction risks by as much as 70 percent.&nbsp;



“With a coordinated approach that tackles multiple threats, ocean life as we know it has the best chance of surviving this century and beyond,” said Pinsky and Fredston.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</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 oceans are on track for a catastrophic extinction event

According to a new study, if climate change continues to...

Researchers have analyzed the longevity of 18 breeds of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shelter-dogs-have-high-levels-of-stress/">dogs</a> in the UK, along with a selection of cross-breeds, using the VetCompass database. Their findings show that Jack Russell and Yorkshire terriers have the highest life expectancies of the UK breeds considered, while flat-faced breeds such as French bulldogs and pugs have some of the lowest.



The VetCompass database contains clinical records collected from veterinary practices and referral centers in the UK, and is used by scientists and veterinarians seeking evidence of how to improve the health and welfare of animals.&nbsp;



Kendy Tzu-yun Teng, Dan O’Neill and colleagues analyzed 30,563 records of dog deaths submitted by veterinary practices across the UK between 2016 and 2020. They categorized the dogs into 18 breeds, recognized by the Kennel Club, and also considered data from a group of cross-bred dogs. Using this information, the researchers created life tables which calculate life expectancy throughout the life cycle of dogs from each breed.&nbsp;



The results of the analysis, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, show that Jack Russell terriers had the highest life expectancy (12.72 years), followed by Yorkshire terriers (12.54 years), border collies (12.10 years), and springer spaniels (11.92 years).&nbsp;



By contrast, the short-snouted breeds had the lowest life expectancies, with French bulldogs expected to live an average of only 4.53 years. This is approximately three years less than other flat-faced breeds such as English bulldogs (7.39 years) and pugs (7.65 years). The study authors noted that the many health issues known to affect these breeds could be implicated in their short life expectancies.&nbsp;



Additional analyses showed that, across all dog breeds, female dogs had a higher life expectancy (11.4 years) than males (11.1 years). Dogs that had been neutered also had a higher life expectancy (11.98 years for females and 11.49 years for males) than those that were not neutered (10.50 years for females and 10.58 years for males). The researchers point out that these results may reflect the potential benefits of neutering or could possibly indicate that the owners of neutered dogs are also more responsible individuals who give better care to their pets.&nbsp;



The experts conclude that the life tables they have developed as a result of their research now enable dog life expectancies to be tracked at different ages, as is possible for humans. This will improve longevity predictions for different breeds in the UK and could also have other practical benefits, such as helping dog shelters to provide accurate estimates of a dog’s remaining life expectancy during rehoming.



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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

Jack Russell terriers live the longest lives of UK dogs

Researchers have analyzed the longevity of 18 breeds of dogs...

Sleep plays a fundamental role in enabling cognitive functioning and maintaining good mental health. Moreover, it helps keep the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-has-an-alert-system-to-shut-down-unwanted-memories/">brain</a> healthy by removing toxins. As we age, we often see alterations in our sleep patterns, such as increased difficulty of falling and staying asleep, together with decreased quantity and quality. Such disturbances often contribute to cognitive decline and psychiatric disorders in the elderly.



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> in the UK and <a href="https://www.fudan.edu.cn/en/">Fudan University</a> in China has found that seven hours is an ideal amount of sleep for people in their middle age or older, with too little or too much sleep associated with poorer cognitive performance and mental health.



The researchers analyzed data from almost 500,000 adults aged 38-73 from the <a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/">UK Biobank</a>, who were asked questions about their sleeping patterns and mental health and wellbeing, and also took part in a series of cognitive tests. In addition, brain imaging and genetic data were available for nearly 40,000 of the participants.



The data analysis reveled that both insufficient and excessive sleep were associated with impaired cognitive functioning, including poorer visual attention, processing speed, and memory and problem-solving skills. Seven hours of sleep per night appeared to be an optimal amount for smooth cognitive performance and good mental health. People who reported sleeping for shorter or longer durations experienced more symptoms of depression and anxiety and worse overall wellbeing.



“While we can’t say conclusively that too little or too much sleep causes cognitive problems, our analysis looking at individuals over a longer period of time appears to support this idea,” said study co-author Jianfeng Feng, an expert in Computational Biology and Data Science at Fudan University. “But the reasons why older people have poorer sleep appear to be complex, influenced by a combination of our genetic makeup and the structure of our brains.”



According to Dr. Feng and his colleagues, one possible reason for the association between insufficient sleep and cognitive decline may be due to the disruption of slow-wave, or “deep” sleep, which is known to lead to deficiencies in memory consolidation and the build-up of amyloid, an important protein which protects against dementia. Moreover, sleep disturbances are associated with increased inflammation and can hamper the brain’s ability to get rid of toxins.



“Getting a good night’s sleep is important at all stages of life, but particularly as we age. Finding ways to improve sleep for older people could be crucial to helping them maintain good mental health and wellbeing and avoiding cognitive decline, particularly for patients with psychiatric disorders and dementia,” concluded study co-author Barbara Sahakian, a psychiatrist at Cambridge.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43587-022-00210-2">Nature Aging</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;

Seven hours is the ideal amount of sleep from middle age on

Sleep plays a fundamental role in enabling cognitive functioning and...

Experiments on humans have long demonstrated that minimizing energy expenditure is an important objective while <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brisk-walking-could-reduce-biological-aging-by-more-than-a-decade/">walking</a> along and that people adjust aspects of their walking style constantly to keep energy costs at a minimum. When it comes to running, however, this relationship has not been tested. In the laboratory, human runners have been shown to choose preferred running speeds that correspond to a minimization of energy expenditure, but it is not known whether runners in natural settings do the same.&nbsp;



The proliferation of digital movement tracking devices has given researchers an opportunity to find out whether runners have preferred speeds in free free-living environments or whether they vary their speed depending on the distances they run, as hypothesized previously. By combining data from runners monitored in a lab with data from over 37,000 runs recorded on wearable fitness trackers, scientists have now been able to answer this question.



The research group, made up of scientists from Queens University in Ontario and Stanford University in California, has been studying the mechanics of running in labs for 15 years but had not investigated running “in the wild” before now.&nbsp;



“We were able to fuse the two datasets to gain new insights and combine the more messy wearable data with the gold standard lab experiments to learn about how people run, out in the world,” said study co-author Jennifer Hicks, deputy director of Stanford’s Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance.



The free-living data collected by wearable digital devices included recordings of distance and elevation, derived from GPS data at 3-s intervals. A total of 4,645 runners self-reported details of their sex, age, height, and weight, and their running data were recorded over a 14-month period between August 2016 and October 2017. This added up to a total of 37,201 runs, or more than 28,022 hours (3.20 years) worth of running data.&nbsp;&nbsp;



To find out whether runners in a free-living environment choose different speeds for different distance tasks, the researchers selected runners in the database who ran at least one run at each of three distances: 3.22, 6.44, and 9.66 ± 0.80 km (2, 4, and 6 ± 0.5 mi). They tested for differences in each runner’s average speed over these three distances and found there were no significant differences. This indicated that runners choose a preferred running speed and stick to it, irrespective of the distance they plan to cover.



The scientists then compared these preferred running speeds to experimentally determined speeds that are optimal in terms of minimizing the energy cost. The results of the analysis showed a remarkable consistency across the combined datasets – one derived from laboratory experiments and the other derived from runners with wearable tracking devices.&nbsp;



“We intuitively assume that people run faster for shorter distances and then would slow their pace for longer distances,” said study first author Jessica Selinger. “But this wasn’t the case. Most of the runners analyzed stuck with the same speed, whether they were going for a short run or a long haul over ten kilometers.”



Intuitively, one might assume that people run faster over shorter distances and slow their pace for longer distances. This is what is found in competitive races where minimizing time is the explicit goal. But the current study shows that the average person out for some running exercise has a preferred speed that is largely independent of running distance and is also consistent with the objective of minimizing energy expenditure.&nbsp;



The irony of these findings, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>, is that while we may be motivated to go for a run in order to burn up calories, it seems we are choosing a running speed that actually minimizes the calories we use. This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, and is consistent with the locomotion preferences recorded for other, nonhuman animals living in natural environments. If we wish to increase the calories we use up while running, we will need to increase our speed by using strategies, such as running with faster companions or listening to music with a fast beat as our feet pound the sidewalks.



Selinger and Hicks hope that having large pools of fitness data from wearable movement tracking devices will help researchers to gain insights about populations.&nbsp;



“You can look at connections with the built environment and access to recreation resources and start to layer all of that data to really understand how to improve physical activity and health more broadly,” said Hicks.



---



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

Human running speed is optimized for efficient energy use

Experiments on humans have long demonstrated that minimizing energy expenditure...

Belugas are massive and charismatic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modem-ocean-is-a-tough-place-for-whales-to-survive/">whales</a> that reach about 15 feet in length and can weigh as much as 3,500 pounds. Belugas were also a target for whaling, a legacy that they are still living down.&nbsp;



Cook Inlet belugas have dwindled since the 1990s to the point that there are only 300 individuals remaining. These few whales are tracked through challenging environmental conditions in the subarctic. Photos from both boats and overhead drones can be used to identify individual whales.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Now, <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska">NOAA Fisheries</a> and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (<a href="https://www.boem.gov/">BOEM</a>) are announcing a partnership with DrivenData, HeroX, Wild Me and NASA. Together, the collaboration is creating a competition to help NOAA fisheries managers identify individual beluga whales from photos. The <a href="https://belugas.drivendata.org/">Where’s Whale-do?</a> competition is offering a $35,000 prize to the winner.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Our goal is to be able to analyze our overhead photographs of Cook Inlet beluga whales quickly and accurately to produce annual estimates of abundance and calf production in a timely manner,” said Paul Wade, a beluga whale researcher at NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “This will allow us to monitor the population and try to understand what may be hindering the recovery of this endangered whale population."



"We are pleased to support this important research,” said Dr. Christina Bonsell, an ecologist in BOEM's Alaska Regional Office. “BOEM's Environmental Studies Program looks for innovative solutions to resource management challenges. Leveraging crowdsourcing can help ensure effective management and protection of this critically endangered marine mammal population."&nbsp;



Traditionally, matching photos of whales looking for dorsal ridge patterns, colors, unique scars and other features is time consuming and sometimes challenging for monitors. It’s hoped that the contest winner will find an elegant solution utilizing AI technology to automate and speed up the process.&nbsp;



“These kinds of open AI challenges channel the efforts of skilled experts and enhance the tools available to our nation's public agencies,” said Greg Lipstein, Principal at DrivenData. “This solution will have the immediate potential to be used for whale image matching, a critical step in the effective and timely conservation of these endangered belugas.”



The challenge is open to anyone working individually or as a team over 18 years of age. The person or people can also come from any country that is not under sanction by the US government.&nbsp;



The goals of the project are lofty and besides the prize money offer a chance for a talented person or team to make a real difference in conservation and perhaps create new tools to be used again in other conservation projects.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Keeping endangered animals safe is top-of-mind for me, and I am excited to have the talented community of HeroX solvers engaged in this important challenge,” said Kal K. Sahota, CEO, HeroX.&nbsp;



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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

Competition to track belugas may ultimately help save them

Belugas are massive and charismatic whales that reach about 15...

According to the first comprehensive analysis of over 10,000 animal species, conducted by the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN) between 2014 and 2019, about 20 percent of reptile species are currently threatened with extinction. This dire situation is mainly caused by habitat loss due to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agriculture-could-play-a-key-role-in-limiting-global-warming/">agriculture</a>, urban development, and logging. The reptiles were found to be at higher risk than birds (of which 13 percent are threatened), and less than mammals (25 percent) and amphibians (40 percent).&nbsp;



Among the endangered reptile species, the hardest hit are crocodiles (50 percent) and turtles (60 percent), which are also threatened by hunting and fishing activities, in addition to habitat loss. The assessment of the dangers facing reptiles took 15 years to complete due to the fact that not much funding was assigned for this task.&nbsp;



“Reptiles, to many people, are not charismatic,” said study co-lead author Dr. Bruce Young, a senior scientist at <a href="https://www.natureserve.org/">NatureServe</a>, a nonprofit conservation research group. “There’s just been a lot more focus on some of the more furry or feathery species.”



According to Dr. Young and his colleagues, climate change played a role in the threat faced by 10 percent of the species, suggesting that it is not yet a major factor in reptile loss. However, this effect may be underrepresented, since not much is yet known about a large number of reptile species in order to determine how global warming threatens them in the short term. What is clear is that, in the following years and decades, the victims of climate change – reptilian and otherwise – will increase dramatically if greenhouse gas emissions are not urgently curbed.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



If reptiles were to disappear, they would take with them 15.6 billion years of evolutionary history. “Now we know the threats facing each reptile species, the global community can take the next step by joining conservation plans with a global policy agreement, investing in turning around the often too underappreciated and severe biodiversity crisis,” said study co-lead author Neil Cox, the manager of the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/regions/washington-dc-office/our-work/biodiversity-assessment-unit">Biodiversity Assessment Unit</a>.&nbsp;



“There’s no rocket science in protecting reptiles, we have all the tools we need,” added Dr. Young. “Reduce tropical deforestation, control illegal trade, improve productivity in agriculture so we don’t have to expand our agricultural areas. All that stuff will help reptiles, just as it will help many, many, many other species.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04664-7">Nature</a>.



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

One in five reptiles is currently at risk of extinction

According to the first comprehensive analysis of over 10,000 animal...

A new study led by scientists at <a href="https://www.georgetown.edu/">Georgetown University</a> suggests that climate change will lead to the emergence of new viral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/avocados-substantially-reduce-the-risk-of-heart-disease/">diseases</a> that threaten animals and humans alike. The experts predict that as global temperatures rise, animals will move in search of more suitable environments in which to live. This will bring them into contact with other species, and with humans, increasing the chances of viral transmission.&nbsp;



The study, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, represents the first comprehensive assessment of how climate change will restructure the global mammalian virome. As species shift their geographic ranges, predict the authors, they will embark on journeys that bring them into contact with other mammalian species for the very first time. In this way, thousands of viruses will be shared and different mammalian species may act as stepping stones for diseases to enter human populations.



Additionally, it is likely that many species will find new suitable habitats in the same places as human settlements, increasing the risk that viruses will spill over into human hosts. According to the authors, this process may already be underway in today’s world that is 1.2 degrees warmer, on average.&nbsp;



One primary concern is that animal habitats will move disproportionately into the same places as human settlements, creating new hotspots of spillover risk. These range shifts will bring greater opportunities for viruses like Ebola and coronaviruses to emerge in new areas. This will make them more difficult to track and will increase the ease with which they can “jump” into new hosts, such as humans.



“The closest analogy is actually the risks we see in the wildlife trade,” said study lead author Dr. Colin Carlson. “We worry about markets because bringing unhealthy animals together in unnatural combinations creates opportunities for this stepwise process of emergence - like how SARS jumped from bats to civets, then civets to people. But markets aren’t special anymore; in a changing climate, that kind of process will be the reality in nature just about everywhere.”



The findings of the study are particularly pertinent to bats, which are often vectors in viral disease sharing. Bats are able to travel long distances and they carry many different viruses, meaning that they will be mammals of concern as global warming forces them to seek out new habitats in future. Because Southeast Asia is a global hotspot of bat diversity, the authors feel this may be a center of viral emergence in future. “At every step,” said Carlson, “our simulations have taken us by surprise. We’ve spent years double-checking those results, with different data and different assumptions, but the models always lead us to these conclusions. It’s a really stunning example of just how well we can, actually, predict the future if we try.”



“This mechanism adds yet another layer to how climate change will threaten human and animal health,” said study co-lead author Dr. Gregory Albery. “It’s unclear exactly how these new viruses might affect the species involved, but it’s likely that many of them will translate to new conservation risks and fuel the emergence of novel outbreaks in humans.”



The researchers suggest that climate change will become the biggest risk factor in disease emergence in future, exceeding other risk factors such as the trade in wildlife and the large-scale, intensive production of crops and animals. They say the solution is to focus on wildlife disease surveillance along with real-time studies of environmental change.



“When a Brazilian free-tailed bat makes it all the way to Appalachia, we should be invested in knowing what viruses are tagging along,” said Dr. Carlson. “Trying to spot these host jumps in real-time is the only way we’ll be able to prevent this process from leading to more spillovers and more pandemics.”



“We’re closer to predicting and preventing the next pandemic than ever. This is a big step towards prediction – now we have to start working on the harder half of the problem.”



“The COVID-19 pandemic, and the previous spread of SARS, Ebola, and Zika, show how a virus jumping from animals to humans can have massive effects. To predict their jump to humans, we need to know about their spread among other animals,” said Sam Scheiner, a program director with the US National Science Foundation, which funded the research. “This research shows how animal movements and interactions due to a warming climate might increase the number of viruses jumping between species.”



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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

Climate change is setting the stage for new pandemics

A new study led by scientists at Georgetown University suggests...

There was a time when the rocks high up in the Alps of Switzerland actually formed part of the bed of a shallow sea or lagoon far below. During that time, some 200 million years ago, animals that swam in the shallow, coastal seas, died and sank to the bottom, becoming fossilized as the sediments turned to rock. When the African and European tectonic plates collided, however, these sediments were pushed upwards and today form part of the Alps, almost 3,000 meters above Earth’s surface.&nbsp;



During the geological mapping of these rocks, which are known today as the Kössen Formation, scientists unearthed some remarkable fossils high up in the Swiss Alps. These include the remains of three new ichthyosaurs that are thought to be among the largest animals ever to have lived. Details of these findings, excavated by paleontologists between 1976 and 1990, are published today in a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2021.2046017?scroll=top&amp;needAccess=true">paper</a> in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 



Ichthyosaurs are ancient, marine-dwelling reptiles that first appeared in the fossil record around 250&nbsp;million years ago. They evolved from a group of land reptiles that returned to the sea, and gradually came to resemble modern dolphins and whales as they adapted to the marine environment. Their fossils have been found in many locations around the world and represent the remains of thousands of different individuals.



The recently published findings from the Alps include details of the largest ichthyosaur tooth ever found. The width of the tooth at its root is twice the size of the tooth from a 15-meter-long ichthyosaur that previously held this record. Among the find is also the largest trunk vertebra ever found in Europe, which indicates another ichthyosaur individual that was probably at least the size of the largest marine reptile fossil known today, the 21-meter long&nbsp;Shastasaurus sikkanniensis&nbsp;from British Columbia in Canada.&nbsp;



Dr. Heinz Furrer, retired curator at the University of Zurich’s Paleontological Institute and Museum and co-author of the study said he was delighted to have uncovered “the world's longest ichthyosaur; with the thickest tooth found to date and the largest trunk vertebra in Europe!”&nbsp;



Study lead author P. Martin Sander of the University of Bonn hopes that maybe there are more remains of the giant sea creatures hidden beneath the glaciers.



“Bigger is always better,” said Sander. “There are distinct selective advantages to large body size. Life will go there if it can. There were only three animal groups that had masses greater than 10–20 metric tons: long-necked dinosaurs (sauropods); whales; and the giant ichthyosaurs of the Triassic.”



Ichthyosaurs have anatomical features that resemble those of fish, reptiles and marine mammals, and their fossils have been variously identified during the past two centuries as belonging to crocodiles, humans, giant amphibious lizards and fish. Most of them were nowhere as large as the latest specimens unearthed in the Alps, but all were thought to be marine predators that prowled the world’s oceans in search of prey.&nbsp;



Ichthyosaurs first emerged after the Permian extinction some 250 million years ago, when about 95 percent of marine species died out. The group reached its greatest diversity in the mid-Triassic and a few species persisted into the Cretaceous Period. Their fossils have been found mostly in North America and Europe, but also in South America, Asia, and Australia. Giant species have mostly been located in North America, so the discovery of the new oversized individuals in Switzerland represents an expansion of their known range.



Despite the abundance of ichthyosaur fossils, very little is known about the habits of these giant species. "It amounts to a major embarrassment for paleontology that we know so little about these giant ichthyosaurs despite the extraordinary size of their fossils," said Sander. "We hope to rise to this challenge and find new and better fossils soon.”



These new specimens probably represent the last of the leviathans. “In Nevada, we see the beginnings of true giants, and in the Alps the end,” said Sander, who also co-authored a paper last year about an early giant ichthyosaur from Nevada’s Fossil Hill. “Only the medium-to-large-sized dolphin- and orca-like forms survived into the Jurassic.”



The large fossilized tooth found in the Alps could easily be identified as belonging to an ichthyosaur because of a peculiarity in its dental anatomy. “Ichthyosaurs have a feature in their teeth that is nearly unique among reptiles: the infolding of the dentine in the roots of their teeth,” explained Sander. “The only other group to show this are monitor lizards.”



Smaller ichthyosaurs typically had conical teeth, similar to those of crocodiles, but the larger specimens appear to have been toothless. The large tooth described in the current paper is only the second instance of a giant ichthyosaur with teeth. Sander suggests that these species probably fed on smaller ichthyosaurs and large fish and occupied similar ecological niches to modern sperm whales and killer whales. Indeed, the teeth are curved inwards like those of their mammalian successors, indicating a grasping mode of feeding conducive to capturing prey such as giant squid.



Apart from the fossilized tooth, the two sets of skeletal remains, which consist of vertebrae and rib fragments, have been classified in the family Shastasauridae, which contains the other ichthyosaur giants&nbsp;Shastasaurus,&nbsp;Shonisaurus, and&nbsp;Himalayasaurus. Comparison of the vertebrae from one fossilized skeleton suggests that the animal may have been the same size or slightly smaller than the 21-meter long S. sikkanniensis.&nbsp;



The measurements are, however, probably inaccurate because the fossils have been squashed and deformed by pressure as the tectonic plates collided and the rock in which the fossils were embedded was forced from the former sea or lagoon floor to the top of a mountain.



Most ichthyosaurs are thought to have inhabited the open oceans where their large body size would have been a useful adaptation. The fact that the three individuals in the current study died in shallow coastal or lagoon waters, where their large bodies would have been a disadvantage, adds more understanding of their behaviour. “We think that the big ichthyosaurs followed schools of fish into the lagoon. The fossils may also derive from strays that died there,” suggests Furrer.



The researchers worked under taxing conditions while excavating these new ichthyosaur finds. They had to pick through frozen rocks, high up in the Alps, in order to retrieve the fossilized pieces of the marine giants and bring them down almost to sea level again for scientific processing.&nbsp;



“You have to be kind of a mountain goat to access the relevant beds,” said Sander. “They have the vexing property of not occurring below about 8,000 feet, way above the treeline.”



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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

Massive marine ichthyosaur fossils found high in the Alps

There was a time when the rocks high up in...

A new study from <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> has found that endangered and threatened insects, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/male-spiders-catapult-away-from-sex-partners-to-avoid-being-eaten/">spiders</a>, and common species that provide ecological services can be easily purchased – without oversight – online. For example, a rare and endangered butterfly known as the Luzon peacock swallowtail, illegal to trade, was found available to purchase from Amazon, pinned in a display box for $110.



It was also discovered that species such as live tarantulas, who are not endangered but whose trade is strictly controlled, were available for sale without any oversight or enforcement.



Around the world, insects are in steep decline due to habitat loss, pesticides, invasive species, urbanization, pollution, and climate change. It has been estimated that the Earth is losing about 10 to 20 percent of insect species every decade. Researchers say the survival of insects and spiders are greatly impacted when they are collected and sold.



“We surveyed the web to determine if there were species available for sale that are rare, threatened, or for which commerce is in some way regulated,” said study lead author Professor John Losey.



“As they get rarer and rarer, they become more and more valuable to collectors, and then the amount of collecting and sale, if not done sustainably, has greater impact on those species.”



The most expensive insect the team found for sale was a birdwing butterfly species named Ornithoptera allottei, listed on eBay for $3,850.



Species that provide ecological services, such as ladybugs released for pest control and pollinators, were also found for sale. This is a concern as these insects should only be purchased through regulated sources. If they are released in areas that are unfamiliar, they could impact the larger population and have negative effects on the services they provide.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Hopefully, our findings will lead to better enforcement of the illegal online sale of rare insects and protect those species in the wild,” said study senior author Paul Curtis, extension wildlife specialist in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment.



The study results have been shared with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency which enforces illegal trade of species. Despite existing enforcement, there is a lack of resources to monitor commerce.&nbsp;



The experts hope to contribute to the issue by working with student specialists who monitor the web for illegal sales and report findings.&nbsp;



A long term goal of the research team is to have&nbsp; insects included as livestock so that their unregulated sale could then be monitored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.&nbsp;



To learn more about this research, visit the <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/04/rare-endangered-insects-illegally-sale-online">Cornell Chronicle story</a>.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/global-ecology-and-conservation">Global Ecology and Conservation</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

Endangered insects are easy to purchase illegally online

A new study from Cornell University has found that endangered...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[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 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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