The Arctic, long considered a remote and icy wilderness, is becoming&nbsp;warmer&nbsp;and undergoing dramatic changes. Once a symbol of resilience against the forces of nature, it now stands as one of the most vulnerable regions on Earth. 



The rising global temperatures are not only reshaping its physical landscape but also threatening the delicate ecosystems and communities that depend on it. The future of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/permafrost-is-no-longer-permanent-arctic-communities-in-danger/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arctic</a> is not a distant concern - it is unfolding now, and the consequences will be felt worldwide.



In 2024, the world crossed a sobering threshold. For the first time, global air temperatures averaged more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.



This milestone set off a chain reaction of extreme weather events, including unprecedented rainfall and flooding in the Sahara Desert and brutal heat waves across multiple continents. Despite years of warnings from scientists, the reality of climate change is becoming impossible to ignore.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-a-warming-planet">Future of a warming planet</h2>



Surpassing 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) was never meant to be a stopping point. Scientists have long cautioned that without aggressive action, temperatures would continue to rise.



Based on the current commitments made by governments to limit greenhouse gas emissions, the planet is projected to warm by 2.7 degrees Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century.



This level of warming would have devastating consequences, with no place on Earth experiencing them as profoundly as the Arctic.



The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on the planet. Ice that has existed for thousands of years is vanishing. Permafrost, which has locked away vast amounts of carbon, is beginning to thaw. The effects of these changes will not remain confined to the polar regions. 



The impacts will ripple outward, influencing global weather patterns, sea levels, and ecosystems in ways that are still being fully understood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-arctic-s-fate-in-a-warming-world">The Arctic’s fate in a warming world</h2>



In a review paper published in the journal Science, researchers examined the rapid changes taking place in the Arctic.



The study was led by Julienne Stroeve, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and professor at the Centre for Earth Observation Science at the <a href="https://umanitoba.ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Manitoba</a>.



The research provides a comprehensive look at how continued warming will reshape the Arctic landscape and what that means for the planet as a whole.



“The Arctic is warming at four times the rate of the rest of the planet,” said Stroeve. 



“At 2.7 degrees Celsius of global warming, we will see more extreme and cascading impacts in this region than elsewhere, including sea-ice-free Arctic summers, accelerated melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, widespread permafrost loss, and more extreme air temperatures."



"These changes will devastate infrastructure, ecosystems, vulnerable communities, and wildlife.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-alarming-arctic-transformations">Alarming Arctic transformations</h2>



The findings of the review paper build on the work of the United Nations <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>’s Sixth Assessment Report. 



The study updates previous knowledge by focusing on three critical areas of Arctic transformation: sea ice, the Greenland Ice Sheet, and permafrost. By analyzing existing research, the study presents a clearer picture of how the Arctic will respond to continued warming.



If global temperatures rise to 2.7 degrees Celsius, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-arctic-may-be-ice-free-sooner-than-we-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arctic</a> air temperatures will consistently surpass historical extremes. Ice that once covered the Arctic Ocean year-round will disappear for several months each summer. 



The Greenland Ice Sheet, which holds enough ice to raise global sea levels significantly, will see an alarming expansion of areas where surface temperatures remain above freezing for extended periods. 



At the same time, surface permafrost will decline to half of its pre-industrial levels, releasing more carbon into the atmosphere and exacerbating global warming.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-impact-of-arctic-warming">Global impact of Arctic warming </h2>



The loss of Arctic ice is not just a regional issue. It is a critical factor in regulating the planet’s climate. The Arctic acts as Earth’s refrigerator, reflecting sunlight and helping to cool the atmosphere. 



As ice disappears, the darker ocean absorbs more heat, accelerating the warming process in a cycle that scientists call Arctic amplification.



This shift will have severe consequences beyond the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-warming-permafrost-melt-devastating-role-accelerating-global-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arctic</a>. The melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet will contribute to rising sea levels, threatening coastal cities and small island nations. 



Changes in Arctic weather patterns will disrupt global climate systems, leading to more frequent and intense storms, droughts, and extreme temperatures in regions far from the poles. 



The thawing of permafrost will release trapped greenhouse gases, further accelerating global warming and creating additional challenges for efforts to slow climate change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-activity-and-arctic-warming">Human activity and Arctic warming</h2>



The study serves as a stark reminder that human activity is the driving force behind these changes. The choices made today will determine the future of the Arctic and the planet as a whole. 



Scientists hope that by presenting a clear picture of what lies ahead, decision-makers will take meaningful action to reduce emissions and slow the pace of warming.



Study co-author Dirk Notz is a professor for polar research at the University of Hamburg.



“Our paper shows that, already today, mankind has the power to wipe out entire landscapes from the surface of our planet,” said Notz. 



“It’d be amazing if we could become more aware of this power and the responsibility that goes with it, as the future of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-industrialization-how-will-it-impact-delicate-ecosystems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arctic</a> truly lies in our hands.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-time-to-act-is-now">The time to act is now</h2>



The study relied on data from NSIDC’s <a href="https://nsidc.org/sea-ice-today" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sea Ice Today</a> and <a href="https://nsidc.org/ice-sheets-today" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ice Sheets Today</a> projects to analyze changes in Arctic ice conditions. The findings add to the growing body of evidence showing that climate change is not a distant threat. It is happening now, and its effects are accelerating.



While the Arctic may seem far removed from the daily lives of many people, the changes occurring there will have far-reaching consequences for the entire planet.



The fate of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-ice-free-day-in-the-arctic-may-arrive-in-2027/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arctic</a> is not yet sealed. There is still time to prevent the worst outcomes, but it will require a global effort. Governments must commit to stronger emissions reductions, businesses must invest in sustainable practices, and individuals must push for change.



The Arctic has long been a symbol of endurance in the face of harsh conditions. Whether it remains that way will depend on the actions taken today. The findings of this study serve as both a warning and a call to action. 



The choices made in the coming years will determine whether the Arctic continues to exist as we know it or becomes an irreversible casualty of a warming world.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads1549" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Drastic warming will transform the Arctic 'beyond recognition'

The Arctic, long considered a remote and icy wilderness, is becoming&nbsp;warmer&nbsp;and undergoing dramatic changes. Once a symbol of resilience against the forces of nature, it now stands as one of the most vulnerable regions on Earth. The rising global temperatures are not only reshaping its physical landscape but also threatening the delicate ecosystems and communities that depend on it. The future of the Arctic is not a distant concern - it is unfolding now, and the consequences will be felt worldwide. In 2024, the world crossed a...

When <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exposure-to-green-space-reduces-oxidative-stress-in-children/">children</a> learn to read they have to work out the connections between the sounds they hear in words and the letters they read. Known as letter-sound mapping, this skill ultimately helps young people to build word recognition and decoding skills that improve fluency in both reading and writing.&nbsp;Previous research has shown that proficiency in letter-sound mapping in young children is strongly associated with later reading success, but there is little research about the relationship between sleep, memory development, and literacy skills.



It is common practice to allow preschool children to nap during the daytime, and researchers from Macquarie University in Australia, the University of Oxford, the University of York and the University of Sheffield wondered what impact these short periods of sleep would have on the acquisition of letter-sound skills. They monitored the learning progress of thirty-two three-to-five-year-old children from two daycare centers in Sydney, Australia, who napped regularly.&nbsp;



Each child participated in seven sessions, over two to four weeks, which included the following:



<ul><li>a pre-test that was used to establish baseline levels of letter-sound knowledge;</li><li>letter-sound mapping training – this was held a week apart under both “nap” and “no-nap” conditions;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>post-tests that were used to assess learning, once after a nap and once after a period of wakefulness.&nbsp;</li></ul>



The knowledge gained during training was also reassessed one day later, to determine whether any effect of napping on learning was retained. Each session assessed&nbsp;letter-sound mappings and using explicit learning (e.g., “Which sound does the letter C make?”) and knowledge generalization tasks (e.g., “Here’s Tav and Cav, which one is /kav/?”).



The results of the study, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html">Child Development</a>, find that a daytime nap improves a child’s ability to learn letter sounds and to transfer this newly learned knowledge to the recognition of printed letters in a word; this implies that naps could be beneficial for preschool children’s learning of letter-sound mappings.



“Having a nap after learning might facilitate the capacity to utilize newly learned information in a new task,” said Hua-Chen Wang, Lecturer in the School of Education at Macquarie University. “We found a positive nap effect on children’s learning of letter-sound mappings, and in particular, on using that knowledge to read unfamiliar words.”



The researchers hypothesized that, if a nap benefits a child’s letter-sound skills, then children who napped would perform better on both the explicit learning tasks (when children were asked to produce or recognize the letter sounds they learned earlier) and knowledge transfer tasks (when children were asked to identify unfamiliar words containing the letter sounds they learned earlier). The findings showed that napping did positively affect performance on the knowledge transfer test.&nbsp;Furthermore, this nap benefit was maintained the following day.&nbsp;



It is true that the research was not carried out in a laboratory and that this prevented the measurement of physiological features of sleep, such as the amount of time spent in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and whether this was related to improved learning. This would perhaps be an appropriate direction for future research. The authors also note that, since the nap effect was only found in generalizing letter-sound knowledge to recognizing printed words, but not on the explicit learning measures, future research on this topic with a larger sample size is recommended.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The research provides initial evidence that naps facilitate the acquisition and application of letter-sound mappings, abilities that are crucial to early reading development,” said Anne Castles, Professor of Psychological Studies at Macquarie University.&nbsp;&nbsp;“These findings may have implications for creating the optimal conditions for the acquisition of this fundamental literacy skill in preschool children.”



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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

Daytime napping may boost literacy skills in preschoolers

When children learn to read they have to work out...

Researchers from <a href="https://www.monash.edu/">Monash University</a> are one step closer to saving the critically endangered helmeted honeyeater, an iconic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-birds-do-not-carry-antibiotic-resistant-salmonella/">bird</a> that serves as the emblem of the Australian state of Victoria.&nbsp;



The scientists sequenced the honeyeater’s chromosomes, which is a more detailed approach than a simple genetic sequencing. A high density genetic map was created, detailing over 50,000 marker positions.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The results of the genetic analysis will allow researchers to examine the impact of breeding helmeted honeyeaters with another subspecies, and will also help experts monitor their overall health.&nbsp;



Helmeted honeyeaters are beautiful yellow and black birds native to Australia. Unfortunately, honeyeater populations have declined dramatically since the arrival of white colonists in Australia.&nbsp;



By the 1980s, approximately 50 individuals survived the decimation. All of the birds were found in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve, due to habitat restoration and captive breeding, their population has grown to 250 birds.&nbsp;



It’s not all a conservation story for the helmeted honeyeaters. Because the bird’s population dropped so low, most of the remaining birds are close relatives and inbreeding and reproductive problems are common.&nbsp;



To combat the inbreeding, conservationists have been breeding the birds with closely related subspecies to improve genetic diversity.&nbsp;



“Because the helmeted honeyeater is the last of its kind, genetic augmentation must come from a different subspecies. However, this kind of genetic mixing is not common: conservation managers generally avoid crossing subspecies for fear of losing local adaptation and distinctiveness," explained Dr. Alexandra Pavlova.



Now, with the high quality genetic material available, conservationists can look at the consequences of each captive breeding operation. This information can be used as a guide for the conservation efforts and hopefully successfully restore the population.&nbsp;



“The genome sequence and the genetic map will be used to get the right balance between rescuing the helmeted honeyeater from extinction through inbreeding, while retaining unique features that make it a helmeted honeyeater," said study lead author Diana Robledo-Ruiz.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gigascience">GigaScience</a>.



Image Credit: Nick Bradsworth



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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

Genetic study could help save helmeted honeyeaters

Researchers from Monash University are one step closer to saving...

As we learn to live with the Covid-19 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alpaca-nanobodies-can-neutralize-coronavirus-variants/">virus</a>, researchers are working to better understand its impacts. A new study has revealed that adults sick with both Covid-19 and the flu simultaneously are at a much greater risk of severe disease or even death compared to patients infected with Covid alone.&nbsp;



A research team from the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a>, University of Liverpool, Leiden University and Imperial College London, studied more than 305,000 hospitalized patients with Covid-19. It is the largest ever study of people with Covid-19 and other endemic respiratory viruses.



“Understanding the consequences of double infections of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses is crucial as they have implications for patients, hospitals and ICU capacity during seasons that SARS-CoV-2 and influenza circulate together," said Dr. Geert Groeneveld of Leiden University Medical Center.



For the investigation, test results for respiratory viral co-infections were recorded for 6,965 Covid-19 patients. Of these, 227 also had the flu and were experiencing more significant symptoms.&nbsp;



Patients with co-infection of Covid-19 and flu viruses were over four times more likely to require ventilation support and 2.4 times more likely to die than if they only had Covid-19.



The study demonstrates a greater need for flu testing of hospitalized Covid-19. It also demonstrates the importance of staying diligent with flu shots and full vaccination against Covid-19.



A representative from each research team shared their observations on the threat of co-infection.&nbsp;



“In the last two years we have frequently witnessed patients with Covid-19 become severely ill, at times leading to an ICU admission and the employment of an artificial ventilator to help with breathing. That an influenza infection could give rise to a similar situation was already known, but less was understood about the outcomes of a double infection of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses," said Dr. Maaike Swets, PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.



“We found that the combination of Covid-19 and flu viruses is particularly dangerous. This will be important as many countries decrease the use of social distancing and containment measures," said Kenneth Baillie, professor of Experimental Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. "We expect that Covid-19 will circulate with flu, increasing the chance of co-infections. That is why we should change our testing strategy for Covid-19 patients in hospital and test for flu much more widely.”



Professor Calum Semple of the University of Liverpool, noted that there has been a rise in the usual seasonal respiratory viruses as people return to normal mixing. "So, we can expect flu to be circulating alongside Covid-19 this winter. We were surprised that the risk of death more than doubled when people were infected by both flu and Covid-19 viruses. It is now very important that people get fully vaccinated and boosted against both viruses, and not leave it until it is too late.”



“Being infected with more than one virus is not very common but it’s important to be aware that co-infections do happen," said Professor Peter Openshaw of Imperial College London. "The vaccines that protect against Covid-19 and flu are different, and people need both. The way that these two infections are treated is also different so it’s important to test for other viruses even when you have a diagnosis in someone who is hospitalised with a respiratory infection. This latest discovery by the ISARIC consortium again adds significantly to improving the way we manage patients.”



The research was funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and by the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) as part of the UK Government’s Covid-19 rapid research response. It is published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/">The Lancet</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

COVID-19 and the flu can increase severe risks, including death

As we learn to live with the Covid-19 virus, researchers...

Hands,Holding,Smartphone

Boys and girls begin experiencing some of the negative impacts of social media use at different <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-can-reverse-the-aging-process-in-middle-aged-mice/">ages</a>, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>, University of Oxford, and the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour looked at 84,000 people between 10 and 80 years old. Specifically, they followed 17,400 people between 10 and 21 years old.&nbsp;



"Technological innovations have shaped the ways in which we connect with each other. Yet the recent adoption of social media has fundamentally transformed how humans spend their time, portray themselves and communicate," wrote the study authors.



"The repercussions of such changes have induced widespread concern. Yet there is still considerable uncertainty about how social media use relates to well-being."



The experts found that for girls between the ages of 11 and 13, and boys between the ages of 14 and 15, the more social media consumed - the more likely a young person was to have a lower life satisfaction rating 12 months later.&nbsp;



Lower social media use was associated with higher life satisfaction. More disturbing is that a decrease in life satisfaction in both sexes and across all ages studied leads to more social media use.&nbsp;



It is indeed a vicious circle, and the why is very complicated, explained Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Cambridge.



"It's not possible to pinpoint the precise processes that underlie this vulnerability. Adolescence is a time of cognitive, biological and social change, all of which are intertwined, making it difficult to disentangle one factor from another," said Blakemore.



"For example, it is not yet clear what might be due to developmental changes in hormones or the brain and what might be down to how an individual interacts with their peers."



The paper does not answer all the questions surrounding social media and its effect on young people. Still, it clarifies that social media is damaging to many of our children and teenagers.&nbsp;



The researchers hope that this study will garner enough attention from social media companies and the government to ensure that independent research is carried out so that we can further understand and mitigate the harm created by this ubiquitous form of media.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Social media impacts boys and girls at different ages

Boys and girls begin experiencing some of the negative impacts...

Distant,Planet,System,In,Space,3d,Rendering,Elements,Of,This

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a> has assessed the planetary context in which the detection of methane in an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-confirms-the-discovery-of-over-5000-planets/">exoplanet</a>’s atmosphere could be considered a compelling “biosignature,” or sign of life. According to the scientists, the presence of methane is one of the few potential signs of biological activity that could readily be detected by the newly developed <a href="https://jwst.nasa.gov/">James Webb Space Telescope</a> (JWST), which will begin astronomical observations this year.



“Oxygen is often talked about as one of the best biosignatures, but it’s probably going to be hard to detect with JWST,” explained study lead author Maggie Thompson, a doctoral student in Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz.



Together with her colleagues, Thompson has constructed an in-depth assessment of the planetary conditions needed for methane to be considered a reliable biosignature. “We wanted to provide a framework for interpreting observations, so if we see a rocky planet with methane, we know what other observations are needed for it to be a persuasive biosignature,”&nbsp;she said.



Non-biological sources of methane include volcanoes, comet or asteroid impacts, and reactions in mid-ocean ridges, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sea-vents-are-favorable-to-the-formation-of-life/">hydrothermal vents</a>, or tectonic subduction zones. However, fluctuations in the concentrations of methane could point towards a biological source that would steadily replenish this gas in order to maintain high atmospheric levels.



“If you detect a lot of methane on a rocky planet, you typically need a massive source to explain that,” said study co-author Joshua Krissansen-Totton, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Santa Cruz. “We know biological activity creates large amounts of methane on Earth, and probably did on the early Earth as well because making methane is a fairly easy thing to do metabolically.”



According to the scientists, for a rocky planet orbiting a sun-like star, atmospheric methane is likely to be considered a sign of life if the atmosphere also contains carbon dioxide, methane is more abundant than carbon monoxide, and the planet is not covered by massive amounts of water.



“One molecule is not going to give you the answer - you have to take into account the planet’s full context. Methane is one piece of the puzzle, but to determine if there is life on a planet you have to consider its geochemistry, how it’s interacting with its star, and the many processes that can affect a planet’s atmosphere on geologic timescales,” concluded Thompson.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117933119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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

Methane in a planet’s atmosphere could be a sign of life

A new study led by the University of California, Santa...

According to a recent study led by the <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> (OSU), at least hundreds of so-far unidentified mammal species are hiding in plain sight around the world. Most of them are probably small bodied creatures - such as bats, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/voles-cut-grass-to-reduce-their-predation-risk/">rodents</a>, shrews, or moles - closely resembling known species.



“Small, subtle differences in appearance are harder to notice when you’re looking at a tiny animal that weighs 10 grams than when you’re looking at something that is human-sized,” said study co-author Bryan Carstens, a professor of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at OSU. “You can’t tell they are different species unless you do a genetic analysis.”



Professor Carstens and his team used a supercomputer and machine-learning techniques to analyze millions of publicly available gene sequences from 4,310 mammal species, together with a vast amount of data on where the animals live, their life histories, and other relevant information. This method allowed them to build a predictive model that could reliably identify the taxa of mammals that are likely to contain hidden species.



Based on this analysis, a conservative estimate would be that there are hundreds of species of mammals worldwide that have not yet been identified, most likely in the families of small-bodied animals, such as bats and rodents. The model also predicted these hidden species to have a wide geographic range with high variability in temperature and precipitation.



While many of them are most likely to occur in tropical rain forests (where most mammal species live), scientists have argued that some as yet unidentified mammals could live in the United States too. In a previous <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/67/5/756/4866059?login=false">study</a>, for instance, Professor Carstens and his colleagues have shown that the little brown bat, found in much of North America, is in fact five different species.



According to the researchers, discovering new species is crucial for conservation efforts. “That knowledge is important to people who are doing conservation work. We can’t protect a species if we don’t know that it exists.&nbsp;As soon as we name something as a species, that matters in a lot of legal and other ways,” Professor Carstens explained.



Based on the results of the study, the researchers estimate that about 80 percent of the world’s mammal species have already been identified. “The shocking thing is that mammals are very well described compared to beetles or ants or other types of animals. We know a lot more about mammals than many other animals because they tend to be larger and are more closely related to humans, which makes them more interesting to us,” Professor Carstens concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2103400119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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

Hundreds of new mammal species may be hidden in plain sight

According to a recent study led by the Ohio State...

Tawny crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva) are native to South America but have become an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-species-can-hitchhike-on-ocean-plastic/">invasive pest</a> in the US. The first record of tawny crazy ants in this country was from Brownsville, Texas, in 1938, and since then the species has spread to all states on the Gulf Coast of the US. This invader occurs in colonies that stretch to enormous numbers of individuals and it causes destruction to local insect communities and dismay to residents in urban areas where it has become established.&nbsp;



Called “crazy” because of its rapid and unpredictable movements, this species of ant nests in almost any hole, nook or cranny it can find. In urban areas, tawny crazy ants often nest in electrical equipment, such as pump units, electrical distribution boxes or fuse breaker boxes. This can cause short circuits and the failure of the electrical equipment. The ants displace local ants and other insect species, and are not easily treated with pesticides. Each colony has multiple queens so it is almost impossible to eradicate an entire colony.&nbsp;



Scientists at the University of Texas, Austin, have been studying tawny crazy ants over the past few years and have made an encouraging discovery. They have found that a naturally occurring fungus parasitizes these ants and can lead to the decrease or total demise of ant populations. The findings of their study are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.



“I think it has a lot of potential for the protection of sensitive habitats with endangered species or areas of high conservation value,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://cns.utexas.edu/component/cobalt/item/7-integrative-biology/1592-lebrun-ed?Itemid=349">Edward LeBrun</a>, a research scientist with the Texas Invasive Species Research Program at&nbsp;<a href="https://bfl.utexas.edu/">Brackenridge Field Laboratory</a>&nbsp;and lead author of the study.



The ants have raised alarm across the southeastern US in the past 20 years, as they have spread from state to state. They are carried inadvertently by animals, vehicles and humans – for example in trash and on plants that are translocated from one site to another. They totally overwhelm local insect species and have also been known to seek moisture in the eyes of mammals and birds.



LeBrun and colleague Lawrence Gilbert, also from Brackenridge Field Laboratory, collected some tawny crazy ants from Florida, about eight years ago, and they noticed that some of them had abdomens swollen with fat. When they looked inside the ants, they found spores from a microsporidian fungal pathogen, and identified a species of this type of parasite that was new to science. Microsporidian pathogens commonly hijack an insect’s fat cells and turn them into spore factories for their own benefit.&nbsp;



Although the researchers did not know where the pathogen had come from, or whether it was perhaps indigenous in the ants’ home range in South America, they began to notice that ants infected with the fungus occurred at sites across Texas. Observing 15 local populations for eight years, the team found that every population that harbored the pathogen declined – and 62 percent of these populations disappeared entirely.



This meant that the researchers had inadvertently uncovered a natural control method for keeping populations of tawny crazy ants in check. They wondered whether they could use the pathogen to induce population decrease in areas where the ants were a pest or were destroying sensitive habitats.&nbsp;



“This doesn’t mean crazy ants will disappear,” LeBrun said. “It’s impossible to predict how long it will take for the lightning bolt to strike and the pathogen to infect any one crazy ant population. But it’s a big relief because it means these populations appear to have a lifespan.”



“You don’t expect a pathogen to lead to the extinction of a population. An infected population normally goes through boom-and-bust cycles as the frequency of infection waxes and wanes.”



The researchers got a chance to test out the use of the fungal pathogen when LeBrun got a call from Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Texas, in 2016. The park had an infestation of tawny crazy ants and was losing its insects, scorpions, snakes, lizards and birds to the invader species. Even baby rabbits were being blinded in their nests by swarms of acid-spewing ants seeking the moisture in their eyes.



“They had a crazy ant infestation, and it was apocalyptic, rivers of ants going up and down every tree,” said LeBrun. “I wasn’t really ready to start this as an experimental process, but it’s like, OK, let’s just give it a go.”



The team used crazy ants that they had collected from other sites and that were already infected with the microsporidian pathogen. They introduced nest boxes of infected ants near to nesting sites of ants resident in the state park, hoping that the two populations would mix and the infected ants would carry the pathogen into the nests of the resident ants. The researchers placed hot dogs around the exit chambers to attract the local ants and merge the two populations.&nbsp;



The experiment worked spectacularly. In the first year, the disease spread to the entire crazy ant population in Estero. And within two years, crazy ant numbers crashed. Now, they are nonexistent and native species are returning to the area. The researchers have since eradicated a second crazy ant population in this way at another site in the area of Convict Hill in Austin.



The researchers do not know exactly why the ant colonies collapse and theorize that the pathogen may shorten the lifespan of worker ants, meaning that the colony struggles to collect enough food to survive through winter. Whatever the reason, the fungus seems to infect only the crazy ants, leaving other, native species of ants and other insects unharmed.



The team plans to test their new biocontrol approach this spring in other sensitive Texas habitats that are infested with crazy ants.



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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

Crazy ants carry the key to their own population control

Tawny crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva) are native to South America...

In Antarctica, the ice cover gradually expands from March to October each year, increasing six-fold. Afterwards, the ice retreats at a very fast pace, most dramatically in December, when there is constant daylight. Although this pattern has puzzled scientists for years, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> (UW) has found that, unlike other aspects of its behavior, in this case <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-antarctic-sea-ice-has-fluctuated-over-the-past-century/">Antarctic sea ice</a> is just following basic rules of physics. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“In spite of the puzzling longer-term trends and the large year-to-year variations in Antarctic sea ice, the seasonal cycle is really consistent, always showing this fast retreat relative to slow growth,” said study lead author Lettie Roach, a former postdoctoral fellow at UW and currently a polar climate scientist at <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>. “Given how complex our climate system is, I was surprised that the rapid seasonal retreat of Antarctic sea ice could be explained with such a simple mechanism.”



Previous studies have argued that wind patterns and warm ocean waters may be responsible for the asymmetry in Antarctica’s seasonal sea ice cycle. However, Dr. Roach and her colleagues have shown that, similarly to a hot summer day that reaches its maximum temperatures in late afternoon, an Antarctic summer hits peak melting power in midsummer, greatly accelerating ice loss, while exhibiting less changes in temperature and ice levels when solar input is low during the rest of the year.



“I think because we usually expect Antarctic sea ice to be puzzling, previous studies assumed that the rapid seasonal retreat of Antarctic sea ice was also unexpected - in contrast to the Arctic, where the seasons of ice advance and retreat are more similar,” explained Roach.&nbsp;



“Our results show that the seasonal cycle in Antarctic sea ice can be explained using very simple physics. In terms of the seasonal cycle, Antarctic sea ice is behaving as we should expect, and it is the Arctic seasonal cycle that is more mysterious.” According to Dr. Roach, since Antarctica’s geography is simple, with a polar continent surrounded by ocean, this aspect of its sea ice is more straightforward.



“We know the Southern Ocean plays an important role in Earth’s climate. Being able to explain this key feature of Antarctic sea ice that standard textbooks have had wrong, and showing that the models are reproducing it correctly, is a step toward understanding this system and predicting future changes,” concluded study co-author&nbsp;Cecilia Bitz, a professor of Atmospheric Sciences at UW.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00913-6">Nature Geoscience</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

Rapid sea ice retreat can be explained with simple physics

In Antarctica, the ice cover gradually expands from March to...

The olive oil industry generates approximately 30 million cubic meters of mill waste each season. The most solid part of this waste is pomace, which is a major source of concern due to its capacity to pollute and affect soil balance. Although the pomace’s richness in organic compounds is what makes it a pollutant in the first place, these bioactive compounds are mainly phenols and triterpenes, which have a high <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-support-antioxidant-processes/">antioxidant</a> potential and thus significant health benefits.



A research team from the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814622000681?via%3Dihub">University of Córdoba</a> has recently evaluated the phenols and other bioactive compounds from the extraction of olive oil pomace in 43 olive varieties for three consecutive seasons. This is the first study to evaluate the role played by olive variety in the phenolic profile of the pomace, taking into account a large variety of cultivars and a time span greater than a single season.



The scientists discovered that olive variety is the main factor determining what types of antioxidants their pomace contains, and classified the cultivars into three different groups based on these concentrations: one containing higher concentrations of oleuropein and ligustroside; one with higher concentrations of oleacein and oleocanthal; and finally, a group that had minor compounds, such as certain flavonoids and triterpenic acids.



Clarifying the bioactive composition of various olive varieties marks a decisive step forward from considering the pomace a waste product to its employment as a by-product from which to extract phenols that can be used in the pharmaceutical or cosmetical industries, as well as in food enrichments or animal feed, due to their significant health benefits. Moreover, extracting these compounds from the pomace makes it less pollutant for the environment.



“From the point of view of the recovery of these pomaces, the industry may know that if an area tends to be used for the picual variety, for example, the pomace generated will contain certain phenols, so one knows which phenols can be extracted from it,” explained study co-senior author Feliciano Priego a professor of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Córdoba.



“The high number of varieties analyzed, and having continued the study over three seasons, renders this work highly valuable,” added another senior author, Concepción Muñoz, a professor from the same department. “Thanks to Córdoba's World Bank of Olive Germplasm, we can have varieties cultivated under the same agronomic and climatic conditions, thus allowing it possible to compare them.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814622000681?via%3Dihub">Food Chemistry</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

Olive varieties contain different levels of antioxidants

The olive oil industry generates approximately 30 million cubic meters...

For long-term missions to Mars, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/special-lettuce-could-protect-astronauts-from-bone-loss/">astronauts</a> will need to find ways to produce vital supplies such as oxygen, water, and fuel on site, since it would be far too expensive to bring them from Earth. A research team from the Spanish technological center <a href="https://www.tekniker.es/en/">Tekniker</a> is currently working in collaboration with the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> (ESA) on an innovative project that attempts to use sunlight to produce fuel from astronauts’ wastewater.



“We aim to make the first reactor to produce space propellant on Mars using the planet’s air, which is 95 percent carbon dioxide. The reactor will be powered by sunlight, and astronauts’ greywater will be used to help in the production of the propellant,” explained Borja Pozo Larrocha, a Telecommunication engineer at Tekniker.



By relying on high-efficiency catalytic materials, this photoelectrochemical (PEC) system will aim to produce hydrocarbons such as methane, as well as carbon monoxide or alcohols, from an innovative combination of atmospheric carbon dioxide and wastewater. According to the scientists, this process will also serve as a recycling method, by detoxifying the wastewater through the oxidation of its organic content.



“Bringing all these concepts and technologies together to create an efficient and operational system is a challenge, but thanks to this project Europe will have a unique system to provide other space agencies and companies, as well as reduce its dependence on technology from other space agencies,”&nbsp;said Dr. Pozo Larrocha.



“The outcome of this activity could provide ESA with valuable input on the production of propellant on Mars or to power remote sites like ground stations on Earth. It could also potentially provide input on how to decarbonize our own atmosphere,” added Jean-Christophe Berton, the ESA technical officer for the project.



For instance, this technology could also be applied in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in a variety of land-based industries and sectors, thus potentially contributing to climate change mitigation. In addition, it could be employed to develop similar new products which reuse wastewater produced by companies or personal means of transportation such as motorhomes or boats.



A description of the project can be found <a href="https://ideas.esa.int/servlet/hype/IMT?userAction=Browse&amp;templateName=&amp;documentId=cafe54f03c3a929f70ee2976c821a4ea">here</a>.



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

Study aims to produce fuel from astronauts’ wastewater

For long-term missions to Mars, astronauts will need to find...

Bird migration has long fascinated scientists, who continue to question how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-laying-their-eggs-earlier-to-adapt-to-climate-change/">birds</a> learn to find their way to distant locations. While it has been well established that birds migrate in groups, there is limited information on how individuals that migrate together interact. To investigate, a team of researchers from Finland, Sweden and the UK tracked bird families with GPS devices.



“We wanted to get a better idea of how the migratory skills of birds are passed from one generation to another in a species where individuals normally migrate together,” said study lead author Patrik Byholm of the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a>.



Caspian terns were selected for the study. They are a fish eating waterbird that normally migrates in small groups. GPS tracking of the birds showed that the male parents are responsible for leading their young during their first migration from the Baltic Sea to Africa.



This is known as "guiding behavior'' which the study identified as the responsibility of the biological father, and in one case a foster father took on this role. The researchers were unable to determine why males, instead of females, were leading their young.



“This is very fascinating behavior, which we really did not expect to find when setting up our study,” said Byholm.



The experts also found that during migration, young individuals kept close to an adult bird. In cases where young birds lost contact with their parent, they did not survive. Staying close to an experienced adult is critical for young birds to survive their first migration.&nbsp;



The study revealed that during the first solo return trip, the young terns used the same migratory route their father guided them on. 



“This indicates that in Caspian terns, migration knowledge is inherited through culture from one generation to another. This has consequences on the decisions individuals make years after they first migrated with their father,” said study co-author Susanne Åkesson from Lund University. Learning the right migratory routes is critical to survival.&nbsp;



Understanding how Capsian terns and other birds learn how to migrate is important to predicting how these birds will fare in a changing climate. This study highlights how the future survival of Caspian terns relies on passing migration knowledge down from one generation to the next.&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</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

Dads lead young birds on their first migration

Bird migration has long fascinated scientists, who continue to question...

While previous observational research has suggested that light <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-amounts-of-alcohol-have-big-impacts-on-brain-health/">alcohol</a> consumption may provide heart-related benefits, a large study led by the <a href="https://www.massgeneral.org/">Massachusetts General Hospital</a> (MGH) has found that alcohol intake at all levels is in fact linked to cardiovascular disease. According to the researchers, any benefits that were observed before most likely resulted from other lifestyle factors common among light to moderate drinkers.



The study included 371,463 adults from the<a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/"> UK Biobank</a>, a large biomedical database containing in-depth genetic and health information about a vast number of UK residents. The participants had an average age of 57 and an average alcohol consumption of 9.2 drinks per week. Consistent with earlier studies, light to moderate drinkers appeared to have the lowest risk of heart disease, followed by people who abstained from drinking completely. As expected, participants who drank heavily had the higher risk of developing cardiovascular issues.



However, the researchers found that light to moderate drinkers often tended to have healthier lifestyles than abstainers, such as more physical activity and vegetable intake, and less smoking. Taking these lifestyle factors into account significantly lowered any supposed benefit associated with light alcohol consumption.&nbsp;



By conducting advanced genetical analyses of samples taken from the participants, the scientists discovered that individuals with genetic variants that predicted higher alcohol consumption were indeed more likely to consume larger amounts of alcohol and to have hypertension and coronary artery disease.&nbsp;



The investigations also revealed that there are substantial differences in heart disease risk across the spectrum of alcohol consumption for both genders, with minimal increases in risk when consuming between zero and seven drinks per week, much higher risks when progressing from seven to 14 drinks, and particularly high when consuming over 21 drinks per week.



These findings suggest that the relationship between alcohol intake and cardiovascular risk is an exponential rather than linear one. Thus, while cutting back on alcohol consumption could benefit even people who have just one drink per day, the health gains of reducing alcohol intake are more substantial and clinically meaningful for people who drank more.



“The findings affirm that alcohol intake should not be recommended to improve cardiovascular health; rather, that reducing alcohol intake will likely reduce cardiovascular risk in all individuals, albeit to different extents based on one’s current level of consumption,” concluded senior author Krishna G. Aragam, a cardiologist at MGH.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2790520">JAMA Network Open</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

Even light alcohol intake can damage the heart

While previous observational research has suggested that light alcohol consumption...

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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

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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 



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> 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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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