Each year, painted lady butterflies embark on one of the most remarkable migrations in the animal kingdom, traveling up to 10,000 km between Africa and Europe in search of optimal breeding conditions.&nbsp;



But what determines how far an individual butterfly will travel? Is migration encoded in their DNA, or is it shaped by external factors?



A recent study, led by scientists at the <a href="https://ist.ac.at/en/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Institute of Science and Technology Austria</a> (ISTA) in collaboration with international research teams, reveals that environmental conditions - not genetics - dictate whether a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-incredible-transatlantic-journey-of-the-painted-lady/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">painted lady</a> will travel long or short distances. 



The findings challenge previous assumptions about butterfly migration and highlight the role of phenotypic plasticity - the ability of organisms to alter their behavior in response to their surroundings.



Study co-author Daria Shipilina is an evolutionary biologist and postdoctoral researcher at ISTA. 



“The painted lady is a strikingly beautiful and colorful butterfly species,” said Shipilina. "Watching them form large aggregations is a true spectacle. But what makes them particularly special is their incredible long-distance migrations.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-of-nature-s-most-impressive-migrations">One of nature’s most impressive migrations</h2>



Painted ladies begin their journey in Northwest Africa in the spring. They fly across the Mediterranean into Europe, where subsequent generations continue northward, reaching as far as Sweden and the Arctic tundra. 



For a long time, scientists believed that once these butterflies arrived in northern Europe, they perished in the colder months.&nbsp;



However, recent studies confirmed that painted ladies complete a circular <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-butterfly-migration-sparked-by-a-surge-in-vegetation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">migration</a>, returning south in autumn - some staying in the Mediterranean region while others venture all the way back to Africa, even crossing the Sahara.



This discovery raised a crucial question: why do some painted ladies migrate farther than others? Do they have an internal navigation system that dictates their path?



To investigate, Shipilina and her team collected painted lady butterflies from various locations, including Benin, Senegal, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, and Malta, and employed advanced isotope geolocation techniques to track their movements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-the-butterflies-origins-and-destinations">Tracing the butterflies' origins and destinations</h2>



By analyzing the stable isotopes in butterfly wings, the researchers could determine where each butterfly originated as a caterpillar.



“The key principle of this method is that the isotopic makeup - or the stable isotopes - of the adult butterfly’s wings mirrors the isotopic signature of the plants they ate as a caterpillar,” Shipilina explained.



Co-first authors Megan Reich and Clément Bataille from the <a href="https://www.uottawa.ca/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Ottawa</a> spent several years refining this geolocation technique, integrating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-machine-learning-can-help-us-protect-chimpanzees/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">machine-learning</a> algorithms to improve accuracy.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed two distinct migration patterns: while some butterflies took a long trip south, migrating from Scandinavia across the Sahara, others traveled shorter distances, staying in the Mediterranean region.



This raised another question - was this difference encoded in the butterflies’ genes?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-basis-of-butterfly-migration-nbsp">Genetic basis of butterfly migration&nbsp;</h2>



To investigate the genetic basis of migration, the scientists conducted whole <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/butterfly-genome-has-barely-changed-after-250-million-years-of-evolution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genome</a> sequencing on the butterflies. Surprisingly, their analysis showed no significant genetic differences between those that migrated long distances and those that stayed closer to Europe.



“This finding fundamentally differs from what is observed in some birds, another well-studied migratory group,” Shipilina noted. “For example, in willow warblers, a large chromosomal region has been associated with variable migratory direction, illustrating how different phenotypes arise from distinct genomic compositions.”



Additionally, factors like sex, wing size, and wing shape had no clear influence on migration distances, further ruling out genetic or physiological predisposition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-cues-and-butterfly-migration">Environmental cues and butterfly migration</h2>



If genes don’t dictate migration behavior, then what does? According to the study, environmental conditions play the dominant role.&nbsp;



The scientists propose that phenotypic plasticity - the ability of an organism to adapt its behavior based on external cues - explains why some butterflies migrate farther than others.



For instance, a butterfly in Sweden might receive strong environmental cues to migrate long distances, such as shortening day length and temperature drops, prompting it to cross the Sahara.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, a butterfly in Southern France, where seasonal changes are less extreme, may not experience the same triggers, leading it to migrate only as far as the Mediterranean region.



“Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to adjust their migratory behavior without changing their genetic makeup,” Shipilina said. “This flexibility could be key to how painted ladies adapt to different climatic conditions.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-complexities-of-butterfly-migration-nbsp">Complexities of butterfly migration&nbsp;</h2>



Compared to species like monarch butterflies, painted lady migration remains relatively understudied.&nbsp;



This latest research raises new questions: Does this migration pattern apply to painted ladies worldwide? Are other butterfly species also influenced by environmental cues rather than genetics? How will climate change impact the migration patterns of painted ladies in the future?



The researchers aim to build on these findings to further unravel the complexities of butterfly migration.



“There is still so much to learn about the migration of painted ladies,” Shipilina said. “We are determined to close this knowledge gap - one paper at a time.”



By demonstrating that migration strategies are shaped by the environment rather than hardwired in DNA, this study provides a new perspective on how insects navigate the world.&nbsp;



As climate patterns shift, understanding these flexible behaviors may be critical for predicting and protecting the future of migratory butterflies.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae586" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PNAS Nexus</a>.



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Butterfly migration habits are not determined by their DNA

Each year, painted lady butterflies embark on one of the most remarkable migrations in the animal kingdom, traveling up to 10,000 km between Africa and Europe in search of optimal breeding conditions.&nbsp; But what determines how far an individual butterfly will travel? Is migration encoded in their DNA, or is it shaped by external factors? A recent study, led by scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in collaboration with international research teams, reveals that environmental conditions - not genetics - dictate whether a...

Chickadees are active, social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amazonian-birds-are-changing-shape-in-response-to-global-warming/">birds</a> that live in flocks and inhabit deciduous and mixed forests, open woods and parks. They feed on insects and seeds but prefer to cache their food away and eat it later, rather than consume it on the spot. In fact, chickadees hide thousands of food items every fall and rely on these hidden stores to get through the harsh winter times in the mountains of the western U.S. 



For a chickadee, a highly developed spatial memory is clearly essential for survival. This fact led researchers to wonder whether spatial memory has a genetic basis in chickadees. If so, the ability to memorize the location of cached food would be under the influence of natural selection. The genetic basis for spatial memory has been demonstrated for humans and other mammals, but has not been identified in birds.



In a new study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>, researchers investigated the genetic basis of individual variation in spatial cognition used by chickadees to recover food stores.&nbsp;The research involved a collaboration between scientists from the <a href="https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/">Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a>, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Oklahoma.



"We all use spatial memory to navigate our environment,"&nbsp;said study lead author Carrie Branch. "Without memory there’s no learning and an organism would have to start from scratch for every task. So, it really is life and death for these birds to be able to remember where they stashed their food. We've been able to show that natural selection is shaping their ability to remember locations."



In order to quantify spatial memory ability in a population of wild Mountain Chickadees in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, senior author Vladimir Pravosudov and his team at the University of Nevada, Reno, designed clusters of "smart"&nbsp;feeders that the birds could visit. Each feeder was equipped with a radio frequency identification sensor, and each of the 42 birds in the study was fitted with a leg tag, the size of a grain of rice, that gave off a unique identifying signal.



Birds were assigned to different feeders in the clusters. When a bird visited a feeder, the feedes sensor read the bird's ID tag and, if it matched the feeder for that individual, a mechanism would open the door, and the bird could access a seed. The scientists recorded the number of attempts each bird made before it consistently went to the correct feeder.&nbsp;



"This is an effective system to test spatial learning and memory in hundreds of wild chickadees in their natural environment,"&nbsp;said Pravosudov. "We have previously shown that even very small variations in performance are associated with differences in survival."



The researchers found that some chickadees took fewer attempts than others to learn the location of the feeder that delivered food to them. In other words, there was natural variation in the spatial memories of the birds. If natural selection is shaping chickadee memory, then one would expect to find variation in the trait: some chickadees are certainly better than others at remembering where their food is.&nbsp;



Furthermore, if there is a genetic basis to spatial memory then birds that perform the task better would have a survival advantage and would be more likely to produce offspring. This certainly appeared to be the case, with very small variations in performance being associated with differences in survival.



"Environment does still matter a lot in terms of shaping behavior, but our work here suggests that genes may create the brain structures, and then experience and learning can build on top of that,"&nbsp;explained Branch.



The study confirms that spatial memory in chickadees has a genetic basis and is selected for during the process of natural selection.



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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

Chickadees are genetically inclined to have a remarkable memory

Chickadees are active, social birds that live in flocks and...

Sea urchins look like spikey outgrowths of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/large-whales-make-a-major-contribution-to-ocean-health/">ocean</a> floor, but they are in fact living organisms, part of a group of animals called echinoderms (the same family that sea stars and sand dollars belong to). While to a casual observer they may seem sedentary, movement is an important part of this animal’s ecology, and thus an important part of nearshore ecosystems.&nbsp;



A new study from the <a href="https://www.ub.edu/web/portal/en/">University of Barcelona</a> quantifies just how important the predator-prey relationships of these spiny sea-creatures are.&nbsp;



Study lead author Dr. Jordi Pagès and colleagues subjected captive sea urchins to the smell of one of their chief predators, the sea snail Hexaplex trunculus, and then observed their reactions for up to several hours.&nbsp;



When they caught the scent of danger, the sea urchins took off at a speed of 15 centimeters per minute (nearly twice their typical leisurely pace of 8 centimeters a minute). Rather than meandering and wandering, the sea urchins also moved in a straight line.



“In short, sea urchins can perceive the chemistry of their predators and react instantly by changing their movement patterns. That is, they fear the predators and react accordingly. This response, coherent and consistent in all individuals, has an adaptive sense," explained Dr. Pagès.



"This makes us think that, just like there are optimal movement patterns for finding food, there are optimized movements for escaping the predators.” This isn’t a new phenomenon, Dr. Pagès notes, as “there are fossil traces of echinoids in marine sediments that suggest that these urchins’ complex movements took place more than 50 million years ago.”&nbsp;



Even in the slow lane, the complex dance of predator and prey is important to understand for ecologists as they attempt to gain a better understanding of how ocean ecosystems function.&nbsp;



“Our study shows that if such a simple species like the sea urchin is able to react in such a clear way in front of a predator, it is worth to add this complexity to the predator-prey models," concluded Dr. Pagès.



"Only by doing so will we be able to predict the coexistence capacity of predator and prey populations and understand the populational dynamics in nature.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://movementecologyjournal.biomedcentral.com/">Movement Ecology</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sluggish sea urchins double their pace when they smell danger

Sea urchins look like spikey outgrowths of the ocean floor,...

New research led by <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a> in collaboration with the <a href="https://www.unc.edu/">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</a> (UNC) has found a cross-reacting antibody that significantly limits the severity of infection from various coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-1 and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-and-cats-test-positive-for-alpha-variant-of-sars-cov-2/">SARS-CoV-2</a>.



“This antibody has the potential to be a therapeutic for the current epidemic,” said study co-author&nbsp;Barton Haynes, director of <a href="https://dhvi.duke.edu/">Duke Human Vaccine Institute</a>. “It could also be available for future outbreaks, if or when other coronaviruses jump from their natural animal hosts to humans.”&nbsp;



Haynes and his colleague identified and isolated the antibody by analyzing blood samples from a patient infected with SARS-CoV-1, the virus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2003, and from a current COVID-19 patient.



From the total of 1,700 identified antibodies, the researchers found 50 antibodies that could bind to both SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-Cov-2. Further investigations discovered that one of these antibodies was especially potent, being able to bind to a large variety of animal coronaviruses in addition to those affecting humans.



“This antibody binds to the coronavirus at a location that is conserved across numerous mutations and variations. As a result, it can neutralize a wide range of coronaviruses,” Haynes explained.



After they identified and isolated this antibody, Haynes and his colleagues from UNC tested it in mice in order to find out whether it could block infections or minimize them once they occurred. As expected, the antibody protected mice from getting infected if given before they were exposed to coronaviruses, and reduced the severity of symptoms when given after infections. Its range of protection extended to current SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the highly infectious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/delta-variants-could-further-prolong-the-covid-pandemic/">Delta</a>.



“The findings provide a template for the rational design of universal vaccine strategies that are variant-proof and provide broad protection from known and emerging coronaviruses,” said study co-author Ralph Baric, a professor of epidemiology at UNC.



“The therapeutic activity even after mice were infected suggests that this could be a treatment deployed in the current pandemic, but also stockpiled to prevent the spread of a future outbreak or epidemic with a SARS-related virus,” added study co-lead author David Martinez, a postdoctoral fellow at UNC.



“This antibody could be harnessed to prevent maybe SARS-CoV-3 or SARS-CoV-4,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abj7125">Science Translational Medicine</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

Newly discovered antibody may prevent future coronavirus pandemic

New research led by Duke University in collaboration with the...

New research led by a team of astronomers from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> has found that the near-Earth asteroid named Kamo’oalewa, a quasi-satellite that orbits the Sun but remains relatively close to Earth, could be a fragment of our moon.



With a diameter between 150 and 190 feet, this asteroid is roughly the side of a Ferris wheel and gets as close as about nine million miles from Earth. It has been discovered by the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii in 2016 and got its name from a Hawaiian creation chant, alluding to a child travelling on its own.&nbsp;



Due to its orbit, Kamo’oalewa can only be seen from Earth for a few weeks each April. Moreover, since it is about four million times fainter than the faintest star the human eye can see in a dark sky, this asteroid can only be observed with the help of very powerful telescopes.



By using the Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham in southern Arizona, researchers found that the asteroid’s spectrum or pattern of reflected light matched lunar rocks from NASA’s Apollo space missions. If this is the case, Kamo’oalewa would be the first known asteroid with lunar origins.



"I looked through every near-Earth asteroid spectrum we had access to, and nothing matched," said study lead author Benjamin Sharkey, an astronomer from the University of Arizon. “This spring, we got much needed follow-up observations and went, 'Wow it is real.' It's easier to explain with the moon than other ideas.”



Another clue that the asteroid might be a part of the moon is its peculiar orbit, which is not typical of near-Earth asteroids and is more similar to the Earth’s orbit.&nbsp;



"It is very unlikely that a garden-variety near-Earth asteroid would spontaneously move into a quasi-satellite orbit like&nbsp;Kamo`oalewa's," said study co-author Renu Malhotra, a professor of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona. "It will not remain in this particular orbit for very long, only about 300 years in the future, and we estimate that it arrived in this orbit about 500 years ago."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00303-7">Nature Communications: Earth &amp; Environment</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

Near-Earth asteroid may actually be a miniature moon

New research led by a team of astronomers from the...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.760845/full">Frontiers in Veterinary Science</a> has found that even common household <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/traffic-noises-robins/">noises</a> can trigger intense feelings of anxiety in dogs. Particularly higher frequency intermittent sounds, such as the battery warning on a smoke detector, can cause the most anxiety in canines.



While previous research focused almost exclusively on dramatic infrequent sounds including thunderstorms or fireworks, a research team led by <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a> (UC Davis) explored how the most common and frequent household noises can also trigger strong feelings of anxiety in canine companions.&nbsp;



By examining video recordings of 62 dogs and the reactions of their owners, the scientists found numerous signs of fear and anxiety among canines, and often miscomprehension combined with amusement in the case of the human owners.



“There is a mismatch between owners' perceptions of the fearfulness and the amount of fearful behavior actually present – some react with amusement rather than concern,” said study lead author Emma Grigg, a researcher in the <a href="https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine</a>.



“We know that there are a lot of dogs that have noise sensitivities, but we underestimate their fearfulness to noise we consider normal because many dog owners can't read body language.&nbsp;We hope this study gets people to think about the sources of sound that might be causing their dog stress, so they can take steps to minimize their dog's exposure to it.”



According to Grigg and her colleagues, dogs’ responses were stronger to higher frequency, intermittent, and unpredictable sounds such as fire alarms than to low frequency continuous sounds like the drone of a vacuum cleaner. Dogs exposed to such sounds often started panting, pacing nervously, drooling, barking, or even howling.&nbsp;



Since the dogs have a wider range of hearing than humans, some noises could be potentially painful for them, causing high levels of distress. Instead of acting with amusement, owners should empathize with the dogs’ plight and make sure their pets are less frequently exposed to such sounds.



“Dogs use body language much more than vocalizing and we need to be aware of that,” Griggs said.&nbsp;“We feed them, house them, love them and we have a caretaker obligation to respond better to their anxiety.”



“Better education is required for dog owners to accurately interpret canine body language, to both safeguard dogs' welfare and minimize development of anxiety-related behavior problems,” the study authors concluded.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Common household sounds trigger anxiety in dogs

A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary...

A new longitudinal study led by <a href="https://www.dukehealth.org/">Duke Health</a> has found that adults who struggled with picky eating habits during their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childhood-exposure-to-air-pollution-linked-to-high-blood-pressure/">childhood</a> benefitted much more from positive and encouraging strategies that their parents used to convince them to eat than from coercive or forceful approaches.



The study was launched over a decade ago and included 19,200 participants (89 percent white, 75 percent female, 25 percent male), who were asked to describe the food presentation strategies their parents or caregivers used, and to explain whether they found them helpful or not.&nbsp;



Some of the respondents whose picky eating habits were more severe, leading to weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, or interference with work or social relationships, were classified as suffering from Avoiding/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), which emerged as a psychiatric category in 2013.



By using sophisticated artificial intelligence tools, the scientists interpreted the participants’ narratives and found that 39 percent of the themes regarding helpful strategies mentioned positive emotional contexts, such as using food to teach nutritional or cultural lessons, presenting foods from different categories, helping with food preparation, and being flexible about the approach to food.&nbsp;



Forty percent of the participants who regarded their parents’ or caregivers’ strategies as helpful noted the importance of structure around eating, with clearly defined expectations helping them distinguish between being forced and being asked to do something.



“To our knowledge, there is no published research that identifies effective feeding strategies for those with ARFID,” said study co-senior author Nancy Zucker, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a>. “Figuring out the best way to feed a child with severe food avoidance can be exhausting and stressful for parents, so providing guidance is essential to improve the social and emotional eating environment for their children and reduce the distress that both parents and children have at mealtimes.”



“It’s not surprising that positive approaches were favored, but it is surprising how overwhelming that position was among this group of adults. It is robust confirmation for what had been out there in the literature and reinforces the concept that children feeling forced or pressured to eat is not helpful,” she concluded.



The study was published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1098108x">International Journal of Eating Disorders</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

Picky eaters respond very well to support

A new longitudinal study led by Duke Health has found...

According to recent climate models estimates, the frequency of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiger-sharks-can-take-a-direct-hit-from-a-major-hurricane/">hurricanes</a> in the Gulf Coast will significantly increase by the end of the century. States such as Louisiana and Florida will be twice as likely to experience two consecutive tropical storms, with less than ten days between them.



By examining hurricane seasons from 1979 to 2020 and pairing them with climate models, a research team led by <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> provided an estimate on how the number of back-to-back or sequential hurricanes will increase over time.&nbsp;



The scientists found that although states such as Louisiana or Florida will be the most likely places for multiple storms to strike, the whole Gulf Coast will be increasingly more exposed to extreme weather events.



This rise in hurricane frequency will have a strong negative impact on the possibility of communities and infrastructure to recover between storms. With longer storm seasons and shorter breaks between disasters, the stresses on infrastructure, ecosystems, and people will clearly intensify.



“In previous research, people have mostly focused on the resilience of infrastructure, [rather than] the time to restore it after a storm,” said study lead author Dazhi Xi, a climate scientist at Princeton University.&nbsp;



“If you need 15 days to restore infrastructure - for example, a power system - after a storm hits, and the second storm makes landfall before the system can recover, residents will face dangerous conditions.”



If power, transportation, and communications are disrupted, health risks surrounding rescue and clean-up operations will increase and cause more damage to communities that are already under intensive stress. Most likely, a large number of people will be more frequently forced to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-will-force-millions-to-migrate/">relocate</a>.



“Even the best-case scenario of this worst-case scenario still spells devastation for the coast,” said Jill Trepanier, a climate scientist and geographer at <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a>. “That's why climate refugees exist. They’re people who are displaced because they can no longer live in an area due to changing climate conditions."



"If we're unable to put power grid structures back in place, adequately house people, or provide water and other resources, we can't have people living there.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL094826">Geophysical Research Letters</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

Hurricanes will increase in frequency on the Gulf Coast

According to recent climate models estimates, the frequency of hurricanes...

Exercise, both moderate and strenuous, is known to help alleviate the symptoms of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-triggers-changes-in-the-brain-that-reduce-depression/">depression</a>. Now, scientists from the <a href="https://www.gu.se/en">University of Gothenburg</a> have also demonstrated the beneficial effects of exercise on anxiety.



For the investigation, 286 patients with anxiety syndrome took part in various exercise programs. The patients, recruited from primary care services in Gothenburg and the northern part of Halland County, were randomly assigned to exercise groups where different intensities of exercise were required.&nbsp;



Patients took part in hour-long sessions of either moderate or strenuous exercise, three times a week. In addition, a control group of patients attended hour-long counseling sessions where they received advice on physical activity according to public health recommendations.



The results indicate that symptoms of anxiety were significantly reduced by partaking in exercise, even when the anxiety was a chronic condition. Most individuals in the treatment groups dropped from a baseline level of moderate or high anxiety to a low anxiety level by the end of the 12-week program.&nbsp;



For those who exercised at a relatively low intensity, the chance of improvement in anxiety symptoms rose by a factor of 3.62. The corresponding factor for those who engaged in high intensity exercise was 4.88.&nbsp;



“There was a significant intensity trend for improvement – that is, the more intensely they exercised, the more their anxiety symptoms improved,” explained study first author Malin Henriksson.



Both cardio (aerobic) and strength training were given during the 60-minute exercise sessions. A warmup was followed by circuit training that included 12 stations and lasted around 45 minutes. The sessions ended with a cooldown and stretching.&nbsp; Patients who exercised at a moderate level aimed to reach about 60 percent of their maximum heart rate, while patients in the strenuous training session aimed to attain 75 percent of their maximum heart rate.&nbsp;



In the past, anxiety disorder has been routinely treated using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychotropic drugs. However, these drugs commonly have side effects, and patients with anxiety disorders frequently do not respond to this medical treatment. This study provides an alternative method of alleviating symptoms of anxiety, even in patients who have suffered from anxiety for more than ten years.



The present study was led by Maria Åberg, associate professor at the University of Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Academy, specialist in general medicine in Region Västra Götaland’s primary healthcare organization.



“Doctors in primary care need treatments that are individualized, have few side effects, and are easy to prescribe. The model involving 12 weeks of physical training, regardless of intensity, represents an effective treatment that should be made available in primary health care more often for people with anxiety issues,” said Professor Åberg.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-affective-disorders">Journal of Affective Disorders</a>.



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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

Exercise alleviates the symptoms of anxiety

Exercise, both moderate and strenuous, is known to help alleviate...

New research from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> reconstructed the Earth’s climate for the last 24,000 years - since the last ice age. The goal of the research was to look more closely at global warming to see how far “out of bounds” human activity has pushed the climate.&nbsp;



The researchers found that main drivers of climate change are greenhouse gases and the feedback loop of melting ice sheets. They determined that the last 10,000 years has been a warming period for Earth.&nbsp;



Furthermore, the experts report that warming for the last 150 years has been much faster than for the last 24,000 years.&nbsp;



"This reconstruction suggests that current temperatures are unprecedented in 24,000 years, and also suggests that the speed of human-caused global warming is faster than anything we've seen in that same time," said study co-author Professor Jessica Tierney.



Study lead author Matthew Osman, a postdoctoral researcher in Geosciences, created global maps showing the change in climate every 200 years going back to 24,000 years ago.&nbsp;



"The fact that we're today so far out of bounds of what we might consider normal is cause for alarm and should be surprising to everybody," said Osman.



"These maps are really powerful. With them, it's possible for anyone to explore how temperatures have changed across Earth, on a very personal level. For me, being able to visualize the 24,000-year evolution of temperatures at the exact location I'm sitting today, or where I grew up, really helped ingrain a sense of just how severe climate change is today."



To create the maps, the scientists combined two datasets - temperature from marine sediments and computer simulated climate models. The experts used a method called data assimilation. Professor Tierney explained that this method is commonly used in weather forecasting,



"To forecast the weather, meteorologists start with a model that reflects current weather, then add in observations such as temperature, pressure, humidity, wind direction, and so on to create an updated forecast."



The research provides a glimpse into a future with rising greenhouse gases, as well as a window into the past, and will hopefully serve as a useful tool for planning.&nbsp;



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



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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

Global warming over the last 150 years is unprecedented

New research from the University of Arizona reconstructed the Earth’s...

The effect that heat extremities have on humans is well documented, with the vast majority of worldwide regions seeing an increase in the intensity of such weather extremes due to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-may-cause-birds-to-cancel-their-migrations/">global warming</a>. However, the frequency of such events is also increasing, resulting in what is known as compound heat extremes.



Compound heat is when heat extremes occur consecutively over day and night, as opposed to occasionally during day or night. Unfortunately, research in this area is currently lacking, and not much is known about how often this is happening and how it is affecting society. It is a particularly large problem in the eastern regions of China.



A new study from the <a href="http://english.iap.cas.cn/">Institute of Atmospheric Physics</a> (IAP) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has investigated exactly this, revealing just how compound heat extremes affect human health. The researchers also investigated the drivers of compound heat extremes, as well as the future risk they impose on the cities of Eastern China.



The results suggest that compound heat extremes present significantly higher danger than solely day or night heat, particularly within the demographic of females and elderly residents.



Between 1961 and 2014, heat extremes in urban areas have increased in eastern China by 1.76 days per decade. The source of this could clearly be traced to the urbanization of the region in addition to anthropogenic emissions such as aerosols and greenhouse gases.



Urbanization was estimated to contribute to 0.51 days per decade, with greenhouse gases contributing 1.63 and other anthropogenic forcings by -0.54. However, without mitigation efforts toward future emissions and urbanization, these severe events could further increase in frequency by up to five times. This would ultimately lead to urban population exposure growth of between three and six times.



"Our study reveals that the public health risks from anthropogenic increases in compound hot extremes have been increasing and will continue to increase over cities in eastern China," explained study lead author Dr. Jun Wang.



The age-specific vulnerabilities that have been uncovered by the study present further implications of elevated health burdens. This is mainly due to the urban population of eastern Chinese regions increasing in age overall.



The study was supported jointly by the National Key Research and Development Programme of China and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Compound heat extremes are increasing in eastern China

The effect that heat extremities have on humans is well...

Lizard,Water,Dragon

New research from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> looks closely at the dangers of rapid evolution. A team of researchers led by Dr. Jorge Hererra-Flores looked at lepidosauria, a group which includes lizards, snakes and their relatives. Modern lepidosaurs contain 10,000 extant species, and recent success among this group is due to quick evolutionary change. Historically though, lepidosaurs have been slow to change.&nbsp;



“Lepidosaurs originated 250 million years ago in the early Mesozoic Era, and they split into two major groups, the squamates on the one hand, leading to modern lizards and snakes, and the rhynchocephalians on the other, represented today by a single species, the tuatara of New Zealand. We expected to find slow evolution in rhynchocephalians, and fast evolution in squamates. But we found the opposite," said Dr. Herrera-Flores.



The research confirms ideas first put forward by paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson in his 1944 book Tempo and Mode in Evolution, where he suggested that fast evolving groups were generally unstable and prone to extinction from quickly changing conditions.&nbsp;



“We looked at the rate of change in body size among these early reptiles," said study co-author Dr. Tom Stubbs. "We found that some groups of squamates evolved fast in the Mesozoic, especially those with specialised lifestyles like the marine mosasaurs. But rhynchocephalians were much more consistently fast-evolving.”



“In fact, their average rates of evolution were significantly faster than those for squamates, about twice the background rate of evolution, and we really did not expect this," noted study co-author Dr. Armin Elsler.



"In the later part of the Mesozoic all the modern groups of lizards and snakes originated and began to diversify, living side-by-side with the dinosaurs, but probably not engaging with them ecologically. These early lizards were feeding on bugs, worms, and plants, but they were mainly quite small.”



Professor Mike Benton emphasized the downside to quick evolution. “In some cases, they can stabilize and survive well, but in many cases the species go extinct as fast as new ones emerge, and they can go extinct, just like the napping hare. On the other hand, Simpson predicted that slowly evolving species might also be slow to go extinct, and could in the end be successful in the longer term, just like the slow-moving but persistent tortoise in the fable.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14754983">Paleontology</a>.



---



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

Quickly evolving species face greater threat of extinction

New research from the University of Bristol looks closely at...

New research led by the <a href="https://www.dpz.eu/en/home.html">German Primate Center</a> (DPZ) has found that Guinea baboons (Papio papio) live in equalitarian groups, with both males and females occasionally acting as leaders and managing to successfully initiate collective actions, such as departures for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/foraging-habits-of-seabirds-altered-by-turbulent-tidal-flows/">foraging</a>.



Guinea baboons are one of the six species of baboons found in Africa. While the chacma, kinda, olive, and yellow baboons form uni-level societies, with groups consisting of several males, females, and youngsters, hamadrya and Guinea baboons form multi-level social organizations, with single males living with several females and their children in what researchers call “clans.”&nbsp;



In the case of hamadrya baboons, male-male and male-female relationships tend to be characterized by competition and subordination, with males always playing the role of group leaders. By contrast, Guinea baboons seemed to form more fluid and equalitarian social organizations.



"We wanted to find out which individuals in Guinea baboons influence collective decisions like group departures," said study co-author William O'Hearn, a doctoral student in Cognitive Ethology at DPZ. "We already know that in chacma, olive and yellow baboons, males and females lead the groups; in hamadryas baboons, it's exclusively males. So it was interesting to ask what the situation is in Guinea baboons."&nbsp;



By observing a group of 131 Guinea baboons in the Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal over a period of two years, the researchers found that both sexes successfully initiated group departures and acted as group leaders. Moreover, during group progressions, bachelor males were predominantly found in the front of the group, while reproductively active males and females were observed with similar frequency across the whole group.



“The results of the study show that although Guinea baboons live in a similar social system as hamadryas baboons, they have a different leadership structure," explained study co-author Julia Fischer, head of the Cognitive Ethology Laboratory at DPZ.&nbsp;



"Social organization alone does not determine who leads the group. More important are the inter-sexual relationships among the animals. In Guinea baboons, females have a high degree of social and physical freedom and are less subordinate to males than in hamadryas baboons. This is reflected in their behavior during collective movement decisions."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01356-6">Nature Scientific Reports</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

Guinea baboons give females more freedom and authority

New research led by the German Primate Center (DPZ) has...

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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 



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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