There is a fruit called the 'squirting cucumber' that fires its seeds like mini ballistic missiles. But how does it do this? Researchers seem to have solved this mystery -- a question that has baffled scientists for hundreds of years.



The results of a recent study, based on a myriad of experiments, high-speed videography, image scrutiny, and advanced mathematical modeling, are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-the-squirting-cucumber">Understanding the squirting cucumber</h2>



The squirting cucumber, or Ecballium elaterium, derives its name from its unique method of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-seeds-go-dormant-to-avoid-harsh-conditions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seed</a> dispersal.



As the fruit ripens, it transitions into a seed-launching machine, that can shoot out seeds enveloped in a jet of mucus-like fluid.



In a minuscule span of just 30 milliseconds, the seeds are propelled at speeds of around 20 meters per second or 44 miles per hour, enabling them to land a considerable distance away (approximately 10 meters or 33 feet). 



This is equal to around 250 times the length of the fruit itself .



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-decoding-seed-dispersal">Decoding seed dispersal</h2>



Despite the fruit's intriguing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-increase-forest-recovery-by-dispersing-seeds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seed dispersal</a> method, the mechanism behind it -- as well as its impact on the plant's reproduction -- remained elusive until recently.



Scientists from the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oxford</a> and the <a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Manchester</a> ran a battery of tests on Ecballium specimens grown at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden.



These experiments included capturing the seed dispersal in motion using a high-speed camera, conducting indentation tests, measuring the volume of the fruit and stem before and after dispersal, and observing the fruit's changes through time-lapse photography. 



Armed with this data, the team devised mathematical models to describe and understand the internal and external mechanics at play.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fluid-distribution-in-squirting-cucumber">Fluid distribution in squirting cucumber</h2>



The team's rigorous approach resulted in the identification of key features of the plant's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-play-a-much-bigger-role-in-seed-dispersal-than-we-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seed dispersal strategy</a>. 



These involve a highly pressurized system, fluid redistribution, rapid recoil, and variable launch - that together form a sophisticated launch system.



The fluid redistribution from the fruit back into the stem, a feature thought to be unique to the squirting cucumber, was among the most significant findings.



<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="4NlCX5nNI6-4062310-12187" type="single"]</div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fine-tuning-for-successful-seed-dispersal">Fine-tuning for successful seed dispersal</h2>



The team's mathematical model helped them explore the effects of altering different parameters, and revealed that the squirting cucumber's seed projection method has been naturally fine-tuned for optimal dispersal and propagation.



For instance, making the stem thicker and stiffer led to a narrower <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/woodlice-prove-crucial-players-plant-seed-dispersal/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dispersal area</a> and, therefore, a lower survival rate.



On the other hand, reducing the fluid transferred from the fruit to the stem caused the seeds to be ejected at accelerated speeds but with a nearly vertical launch angle, again resulting in reduced dispersal and survival rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mechanisms-of-a-unique-plant">Mechanisms of a unique plant</h2>



"For centuries people have asked how and why this extraordinary plant sends its seeds into the world in such a violent way," said Dr. Chris Thorogood, Deputy Director and Head of Science at the <a href="https://obga.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oxford Botanic Garden</a>.



"Now, as a team of biologists and mathematicians, we’ve finally begun to unravel this great botanical enigma." 



Dr. Derek Moulton, professor of Applied Mathematics at the Oxford <a href="https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mathematical Institute</a>, also participated in the research.



"The first time we inspected this plant in the Botanic Garden, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-third-of-europes-plants-at-risk-due-to-decline-in-seed-dispersers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seed</a> launch was so fast that we weren’t sure that it had actually happened. It was very exciting to dig in and uncover the mechanism of this unique plant," Dr. Moulton explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beyond-seed-dispersal">Beyond seed dispersal</h2>



According to Dr. Finn Box, a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, this study has implications beyond botany.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/squirting-cucumber_Ecballium-elaterium_squirting-seeds_UOxford_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/squirting-cucumber_Ecballium-elaterium_squirting-seeds_UOxford_1s.webp" alt="A still showing the jet ejected from a squirting cucumber, which carries its seeds distances of up to 10m away from the mother plant. Credit: Dominic Vella" class="wp-image-1951606"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A still showing the jet ejected from a squirting cucumber, which carries its seeds distances of up to 10m away from the mother plant. Credit: Dominic Vella</figcaption></figure>



"This research offers potential applications in bio-inspired engineering and material science, particularly on-demand drug delivery systems, for instance microcapsules that eject nanoparticles where precise control of rapid, directional release is crucial," said Dr. Box.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-squirting-cucumber-a-part-of-history">The squirting cucumber: A part of history</h2>



Ecballium elaterium, a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, which also includes melon, pumpkin, squash, and courgette, is native to the Mediterranean region where it is commonly regarded as a weed due to its effective seed-dispersal strategy.



This plant caught the attention of ancient Greeks and Romans alike, with naturalist Pliny the Elder describing its powerful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-reveals-how-plants-use-winged-seeds-to-expand-their-habitats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seed launch</a> centuries ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conservation-and-future-research">Conservation and future research</h2>



Given the squirting cucumber's extensive use as a model for understanding complex biological phenomena, conserving its natural habitats becomes imperative. This plant holds significant scientific and ecological value.



Future research could investigate the genetic underpinnings of its unique <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-play-a-much-bigger-role-in-seed-dispersal-than-we-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dispersal system</a>, linking it to other species within the Cucurbitaceae family to unravel shared evolutionary traits.



Additionally, exploring the potential for cross-disciplinary applications, from environmental management to biomimicry in engineering, could broaden our perspective on how such ecological marvels can benefit human society while preserving biodiversity.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2410420121" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



Video Credit: Dominic Vella



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How the 'squirting cucumber' squirts and the trigger that makes it happen

There is a fruit called the 'squirting cucumber' that fires its seeds like mini ballistic missiles. But how does it do this? Researchers seem to have solved this mystery -- a question that has baffled scientists for hundreds of years. The results of a recent study, based on a myriad of experiments, high-speed videography, image scrutiny, and advanced mathematical modeling, are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Understanding the squirting cucumber The squirting cucumber, or Ecballium elaterium, derives its name from...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> reveals how aspen forests maintain the diversity they need to adapt to fluctuating environmental conditions. The experts found that aspen trees change their genetic structure over time as they balance the need to compete for sunlight and defend themselves from pests.&nbsp;



Since Aspen is the most broadly distributed tree species in North America, it serves as a "bellwether species," or a good indicator of how forests will adapt to anthropogenic climate change and other environmental challenges.



Trees are often faced with competition from other trees for sunlight, and they respond by making growth a priority. But with all of that energy committed to height growth, the trees become more vulnerable to pests.



The new research, which is funded by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> (NSF), demonstrates that evolutionary forces can quickly shape entire forests. The study also shows that exposure to a range of environmental changes promotes the diversity that trees need to overcome various stressors.&nbsp;



"This long-term project provides new insights into the role of forest structure on genetic diversity in aspen groves, and how that affects leaf traits that influence the abundance and distribution of herbivores," said Colin Orians, a program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology. &nbsp;



According to a report from NSF, the findings are valuable for conservation biologists who want to protect diverse forest ecosystems from the threats of global warming, invasive species, and other environmental changes.



"What this work has done is show how key traits - like growth and defense - can be coupled together and how genetic diversity will allow populations to adapt to new stresses," said Rick Lindroth, an ecologist at University of Wisconsin–Madison.



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



---



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

Aspen trees change their genetic structure to adapt

A new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison reveals how...

Scientists from the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a> (UCR) are currently studying whether they can turn edible plants such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/romaine-lettuce-not-safe/">lettuce</a> or spinach into mRNA vaccine factories. 



One of the challenges of the available mRNA vaccines is that they need to be constantly kept at very low temperatures and are thus difficult to store and transport. A $500,000 grant from the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> aims to overcome these challenges by creating edible plant-based mRNA vaccines that can be stored at room temperature.



The researchers plan to deliver DNA containing mRNA vaccines into plant cells where they will replicate and produce enough mRNA to replace a traditional shot. “Ideally, a single plant would produce enough mRNA to vaccinate a single person,” explained Juan Pablo Giraldo, an associate professor in the <a href="https://plantbiology.ucr.edu/">Department of Botany and Plant Sciences</a> at UCR. 



“We are testing this approach with&nbsp;spinach and lettuce&nbsp;and have long-term goals of people growing it in their own garden. Farmers could also eventually grow entire fields of it.”



Key to develop such vaccines are chloroplasts, which are small organs from plant cells that play a fundamental role in converting sunlight into energy the plants can use. 



“They’re tiny, solar-powered factories that produce sugar and other molecules which allow the plant to grow,” explained Professor Giraldo. “They’re also an untapped source for making desirable molecules.”



In previous studies, by delivering foreign genetic material into plant cells, Professor Giraldo and colleagues have found that chloroplasts can be used to express genes that are not natural parts of the plants. This discovery is crucial for the new research on plant-based mRNA vaccines.&nbsp;



“Our idea is to repurpose naturally occurring nanoparticles, namely plant viruses, for gene&nbsp;delivery to plants,” said Nicole Steinmetz, a professor of Nanoengineering at the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California, San Diego</a> who will collaborate with Professor Giraldo in this new project. 



“Some engineering goes into this to make the nanoparticles go to the chloroplasts and also to render them non-infectious toward the plants.”



If this project succeeds, the future of vaccination may look more like eating a side-dish rather than getting a shot in the arm. “I’m very excited about all of this research,” Giraldo said. “I think it could have a huge impact on peoples’ lives.”



---



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

Edible plants could replace shots as vaccines

Scientists from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) are currently...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> has found that nearly 85 percent of 5,500 coastal areas all over the world leach sediment to coral reefs. This phenomenon is currently the second largest threat to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-help-corals-survive-when-they-get-into-hot-water/">coral reefs</a> after climate change. Scientists claim that increasing reforestation efforts in these regions could significantly reduce sediment run-off and protect reefs.



Excess sediment run-off along coastal areas is generally caused by land clearing and agrochemical pollution. The sediment causes a massive reduction in light levels, which are crucial for coral growth and reproduction.



“Increased sedimentation can cause aquatic ecosystems to be more sensitive to heat stress, which decreases the resilience of corals to pressures caused by climate change,” explained lead author Dr. Andrés Suárez-Castro&nbsp;from University of Queensland’s&nbsp;<a href="https://cbcs.centre.uq.edu.au/">Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science</a>.&nbsp;



“If the link between the land and sea is not recognized and managed separately, any future efforts to conserve marine habitats and species are likely to be ineffective.”



According to Dr.&nbsp;Suárez-Castro&nbsp;and his research team, a key solution to reduce the amount of sediment run-off would be for countries to commit to land and forest restoration along coastal regions. They estimate that if an average of 1,000 hectares per coastal basin was restored, sediments reaching coral reefs could be reduced by 8.5 percent for 63,000 square kilometers of reefs.



“Reforestation is hugely important as it maintains the stability of soils that are vital in limiting erosion risk – it also helps to trap more sediments and prevent them from reaching aquatic systems,” Dr.&nbsp;Suárez-Castro&nbsp;said.



Even though global initiatives such as the Paris Climate Agreement are stressing the importance of forest restoration, it will be a great challenge to get countries and local governments to commit to reforestation activities, said the study authors.



“It’s encouraging to see many countries with high coral diversity committing large areas to land restoration, however the cost of reforestation, as well as political and social barriers may make it difficult to achieve these ambitious goals,” explained Dr. Suárez-Castro.&nbsp;



Further research is urgently needed to facilitate more informed and educated conversations around the importance of an integrated land-sea approach for protecting our planet.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15811">Global Change Biology</a>.



---



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

Reforestation needed to save coral reefs from sediment run-off

A new study led by University of Queensland has found...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> has found that rather than evolving gradually, land plants evolved in two dramatic bursts which occurred over 250 million years apart. The first burst occurred early in plant evolution (420 million to 360 million years ago), giving rise to the development of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wine-grape-variety-traced/">seeds</a>. The second burst was characterized by the emergence of flowers, and started only about 100 million years ago.



“The most surprising thing is this kind of stasis, this plateau in complexity after the initial evolution of seeds and then the total change that happened when flowering plants started diversifying,” explained lead study author&nbsp;Andrew Leslie, an assistant professor of Geological Sciences in the <a href="https://earth.stanford.edu/">School of Earth, Energy &amp; Environmental Sciences</a> at Stanford. “The reproductive structures look different in all these plants, but they all have about the same number of parts during that stasis.”



Based solely on observation, Professor Leslie and his co-authors designed a system which classifies the number of different kinds of parts in plants’ reproductive structures. They scored each species according to how many types of parts it had and the degree to which they exhibited clustering of those parts. With this method, they managed to categorize about 1,300 land plant species from 420 million years ago until the present.



“This tells a pretty simple story about plant reproductive evolution in terms of form and function: The more functions the plants have and the more specific they are, the more parts they have,”&nbsp;said Professor Leslie. “It's a useful way of thinking about broad-scale changes encompassing the whole of plant history.”



Through this method, the team discovered an initial burst in complexity, with the evolution of seeds in the early Devonian period, when the Earth was warmer and devoid of trees and terrestrial vertebrate animals. Afterwards, although massive changes occurred in the animal kingdom with the emergence and diversification of land animals, plants did not see any major evolutionary burst until the development of flowers in the late Cretaceous period.



“Insect pollination and animal seed dispersal may have appeared as early as 300 million years ago, but it's not until the last 100 million years that these really intricate interactions with pollinators are driving this super high complexity in flowering plants. There was such a long period of time where plants could have interacted with insects in the way that flowering plants do now, but they didn't to the same degree of intricacy,” concluded Professor Leslie.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abi6984">Science</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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

Plants evolved in two dramatic bursts 250 million years apart

A new study led by Stanford University has found that...

In a new report from <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/">Cardiff University</a>, experts say that changing diets to tackle <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-people-are-increasingly-anxious-over-climate-change/">climate</a> change is unattainable for minority groups. The researchers found that a significant number of individuals in the lowest income and education groups cannot afford a healthier diet.



The experts say that making food more affordable for ethnic minority groups is crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the food industry.



The new research, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natfood/">Nature Food</a>, shows that a healthy, more environmentally friendly diet is achievable for a large portion of the population. On the other hand, this type of diet is unaffordable for up to 38 percent of Black and Hispanic individuals in the lowest income and education groups, according to the study.&nbsp;



The researchers emphasize that a diet including more whole grains, dairy, fruit and vegetables, seafood, and plant protein, combined with lower levels of added sugars, refined grains, saturated fats and sodium, could be achieved within current food budgets for 95 percent of the US population.



Widespread adoption of the optimized diet could decrease food-related greenhouse gas emissions by two percent, land use by 24 percent, and energy consumption by four percent. At the same time, however, water consumption would increase by 28 percent.



The study authors are calling on policy makers to improve urban planning and infrastructure to lessen the time and monetary burden associated with accessing healthy food choices.



The experts are also calling for educational programs in schools to promote healthy eating. Land use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with U.S. diets are nearly double the world average.&nbsp;



The Cardiff study has revealed that on average, a individual's daily diet generates 3.4 kg of carbon dioxide emissions, 15.6 m2 of land use, 972 liters of blue water. At the national level, this is the equivalent of 385 megatons of carbon dioxide emissions, 1.77 million km2 of land, and 110 billion m3 of water.



“Our study shows that those who are well-paid and/or well educated are more likely to adopt healthier diets but are also responsible for larger environmental impacts in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, blue water footprint, land occupation, as well as energy consumption,” said study co-author Dr. Pan He.



“While shifting to a healthy diet can reduce the environmental impacts and is affordable for most people, this would be unattainable for disadvantaged groups who may still be stuck on the way of change."



“Policies that make nutritious food more affordable are needed to promote better nutrition and improved environmental outcomes simultaneously, particularly for more vulnerable socio-economic groups.”



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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

Healthier diets are not attainable for everyone

In a new report from Cardiff University, experts say that...

Despite a growing demand for coconuts worldwide, the trees grow slowly and are challenging to clone. Coconut trees are also facing many different threats, including climate change, disease, and rising sea levels.



In a new study led by <a href="https://www.kuleuven.be/english/">KU Leuven</a>, researchers have developed a method to multiply coconut trees faster and store them more efficiently in gene banks.



The research was inspired by another fruit - the banana. Based on previous work with banana plants, study co-author Bart Panis predicted that a certain plant hormone could also be successful in coconut trees.&nbsp;



"Coconut plants do not form side shoots. They put all their energy into one shoot that has to grow as fast and as tall as possible. This makes it very difficult to clone and store the plants," said Panis.



First, the scientists extracted the coconut tree embryo from the coconut. Next, they applied the plant hormone to the meristem contained in the embryo. This caused the embryo to form not only one shoot, but several side shoots.&nbsp;



"Nobody thought we could do it. But we persevered with determination," said Panis. "There are other methods of vegetatively propagating coconut trees but we are confident that this is the first method that is also time- and cost-efficient."&nbsp;



The team's top priority is to safeguard the coconut tree's genetic diversity as efficiently as possible. The researchers explained that it is very crucial to preserve as many varieties of the coconut plant because each variety has specific characteristics - some are resistant to a particular disease, while others are more resistant to heat or drought.



"Currently, the coconut tree is kept as a tree in field collections. But some of these collections are threatened by Lethal Yellowing Disease," said study lead author Hannes Wilms.



"Our technique now also allows the shoots of the coconut plant to be preserved for eternity by cryopreservation, in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196°C."



"This is important for the future: if a new disease was to affect coconut production, there may be a variety in the gene bank that is resistant to this disease and can be planted out in the affected areas,” said Panis.



"There's a huge demand for coconut. The existing plantations are old and need to be replanted in the short term. So our technique meets the great demand for healthy plant material."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.



---



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

Scientists have had a breakthrough in cloning coconut trees

Despite a growing demand for coconuts worldwide, the trees grow...

Researchers have struggled for decades to understand whether cocoa, an ancient fermented product that the Aztecs made from the beans of cacao trees, is beneficial for health. Cocoa is known to contain a large concentration of flavanols, which have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that protect our cells from damage. As a result, cocoa consumption could potentially help us age better and reduce the risk for developing cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other illnesses.



The&nbsp;<a href="https://cosmostrial.org/">COSMOS</a>&nbsp;Trial (COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study), led by experts at <a href="https://www.brighamandwomens.org/">Brigham and Women’s Hospital</a> and the <a href="https://fredhutch.org/">Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center</a>, gathered data from 21,444 men and women in order to investigate the health impacts of a daily supplement of cocoa flavanols and a multivitamin supplement.&nbsp;



In the context of this large project, Dr. Yanbin Dong - a geneticist and cardiologist at the <a href="https://www.augusta.edu/mcg/medicine/gpi/">Georgia Prevention Institute</a> from the Medical College of Georgia - was recently awarded a $3 million grant from the <a href="https://www.nih.gov/">National Institutes of Health</a> to perform a detailed analysis of the effect of cocoa consumption on inflammatory factors and genetic changes associated with aging.&nbsp;



Dr. Dong is expected to conduct sophisticated genetic analyses looking for the impact of cocoa on age-related genetic changes by using “epigenetic clocks,” which are biochemical tests that measure biological age based on the amount of DNA-methylation.



Preliminary results of the COSMOS Trial show that cocoa flavanols have potential benefits on platelet activation, LDL oxidation, lipid profiles, endothelium-dependent vasodilation, blood pressure, inflammation, and insulin resistance, which are all crucial for cardiovascular health.



Dr. Dong’s hypothesis is that flavanol consumption can also reduce epigenetic aging and “inflammaging” (a chronic, low-grade type of inflammation that increases with aging) and, thus, that cocoa consumption can help people live longer, healthier lives.&nbsp;



The researchers emphasized that flavanols are often destroyed in normal cocoa and chocolate processing, making these unreliable sources of flavanol compounds. According to Dr. Dong, a better source of cocoa flavanols is dark chocolate, which also contains iron, copper and other healthy ingredients that help boost immunity and lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and general cognitive decline.&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

Cocoa can help people live longer, healthier lives

Researchers have struggled for decades to understand whether cocoa, an...

A recent study published in the journal <a href="https://d.docs.live.net/59aea50aab103926/Documents/nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00358-x">Nature Food</a> found that global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are double the amount of emissions associated with plant-based foods. Taking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-majority-of-global-farmland-is-at-risk-of-pesticide-pollution/">farmland</a>, livestock, and land use changes into consideration, global food production is responsible for 17,318 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually - accounting for 35 percent of all human-caused greenhouse emissions.&nbsp;



A computer modeling study led by Professor Atul K. Jain at the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne</a> is the first to analyze carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions from all sub-sectors related to food production and consumption. These sub-sectors include land use changes, farmland management activities, raising livestock, and all of the operations that take place after the food leaves the farm.&nbsp;



“Although CO2 is the most important and most frequently discussed GHG (greenhouse gas), methane generated by rice cultivation and animals, and nitrous oxide from fertilizers are 34 and 298 times more powerful than CO2, respectively, when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere," explained study lead author Xiaoming Xu.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The researchers discovered that animal-based food emissions contributed 57 percent of food-based emissions, while plant-based emissions amounted to only 29 percent. Out of all meat and dairy products, beef was by far responsible for the most emissions (four billion metric tons), followed by cow milk, pork, and chicken meat. Among vegetables, rice production appeared to be the most damaging, contributing two billion metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions.&nbsp;



In terms of location, the scientists found that South and Southeast Asia, as well as South America are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases related to food production and consumption, with China leading both animal- and plant-based emissions.



According to Professor Jain, developing climate mitigation strategies must rely on accurate estimates of GHG emissions from all sources, including those from the production and consumption of total and individual plant- and animal-based foods.



This comprehensive study is an important step forward towards encouraging policymakers to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions before climate change will become irreversible.



---



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

Animal products linked to double the emissions of plant-based foods

A recent study published in the journal Nature Food found...

A recent study from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> found that flowers are employing “mechanical buckling,” a term that signifies the deformation of a structural component under load. The flowers are using this strategy to produce three-dimensional, iridescent patterns that can lure <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-spaces-provide-a-refuge-for-urban-pollinators/">pollinators</a>. 



Although in civil engineering buckling is typically associated with mechanical failure and is something that engineers try to avoid at all costs, for flowers, this phenomenon is surprisingly employed to their advantage.&nbsp;



Flowers use a variety of strategies to attract pollinators, including not only the well-known employment of chemical color from pigments, but also the less-known phenomenon of iridescence – the optical effect produced by an intricate pattern of microscopic ridges on the surface of petals that diffract light. The scientists discovered that hibiscus flowers employ buckling to alter the deformations of the surface of petals in order to produce iridescence.&nbsp;



“The petal striations on hibiscus flowers develop during petal growth, and&nbsp;Professor Beverley Glover’s team, who were the first to discover the iridescence properties in flowers, suspected that they may be caused by mechanical properties as the petals expanded," explained study lead author&nbsp;Dr. Sarah Robinson&nbsp;from the University of Cambridge’s <a href="https://www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/">Sainsbury Laboratory</a>.



By using a robotic system developed to measure mechanical properties in plants, Dr. Robinson and her colleagues applied a certain force to stretch immature hibiscus petals which have not yet developed striations to check whether it was possible to mechanically induce the patterns.



“We saw striations appear almost instantaneously when a mechanical stress was applied. This told us that it was buckling that was causing a wrinkling of the petal surface and not a slower biological process," explained Dr. Robinson. "We were able to measure the striations and show that they had the same properties as they do when they develop naturally.&nbsp;



"One of the big surprises was that we could also induce striations at 90 degrees to the striations that naturally occur, which indicates that the orientation of the striations is not pre-patterned. However, we could not induce striations in other parts of the petals, suggesting that the ability to form striations is under genetic control."



Considering that more than 35 percent of the world’s crop harvests rely on animal pollinators, it is of crucial importance to gain a better understanding of how the relationship between plants and pollinators functions. This study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)01164-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2211124721011645%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">Cell Reports</a>, is a major step forward in elucidating this mysterious connection. 



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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

Flowers use mechanical buckling to lure pollinators

A recent study from the University of Cambridge found that...

Climate change presents some detrimental obstacles to fragile coral reefs such as heat-related <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/corals-put-up-a-colorful-shield-after-bleaching/">bleaching</a>, but new research shows that some coral communities are evolving to become more heat tolerant as ocean temperatures rise.&nbsp;



A new study investigated the impact of heat stress on the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), and discovered that despite 75 percent of the coral reef being damaged by a heatwave in 2003, a later heatwave in 2010 was far less damaging.&nbsp;



A 2015-2016 heatwave that was twice as strong as the 2003 example was almost half as damaging, with just 40 percent of coral cover loss.&nbsp;



“We’re seeing areas that were devoid of corals after 2002-2003 that are now flourishing with most of the original species,” said study lead author Michael Fox, a coral reef ecologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).



“It’s easy to lose faith in coral reefs. But in PIPA, which is protected from local stressors, and where reefs have enough time to recover between heatwaves, the coral populations are doing better than expected.”



The researchers believe that this is the result of heat-tolerant offspring from surviving corals that are repopulating the reefs. By studying the surviving corals, the researchers hope that they can improve coral reef conservation efforts.



The investigation took place across four islands within PIPA, using satellite data and temperature loggers to study coral communities across 400,000 square kilometers.&nbsp;



“The protected area gives us a rare opportunity to study pristine and isolated coral reef ecosystems, a privilege for which we thank the people of Kiribati,” explained study co-author Anne Cohen.&nbsp;



Dr. Lizzie Mcleod, who was not involved in the study, leads global reef work at the Nature Conservancy. She said the findings are important for giving us hope for the future of coral reefs, and also for helping to maintain support for protecting reefs, including efforts to reduce local threats like pollution that undermine the reefs’ ability to adapt.



Dr. Mcleod recommends that conservationists prioritize saving these heat-tolerant reefs, as they could help repopulate other sites damaged by future heatwaves. However, the study authors are being careful to not being too optimistic, explaining that even these evolving corals have their limits.&nbsp;



“We’re in a race against time, so anything that increases the chances that corals are going to make it is really good news,” said marine biologist Nancy Knowlton of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. “The corals are doing their part. We have to do ours.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19448007">Geophysical Research Letters</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

Some coral communities are doing better than expected

Climate change presents some detrimental obstacles to fragile coral reefs...

Soil has traditionally been seen as the source of water and dissolved nutrients for plants. In a recent study, however, researchers at the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> have questioned this assumption. They propose that the layer of weathered bedrock that lies under the soil is more important in terms of supplying water to the roots of trees in forests.&nbsp;



Weathered bedrock is in the process of breaking down and becoming soil, and has many cracks and pores where water can accumulate. Plant roots often grow through the soil and penetrate deep into the zone of weathered bedrock, which is known to store water for longer than the soil does. This means that water contained in bedrock may be an important reservoir for forest trees, potentially shifting the way that scientists understand forest ecosystem functioning and the threats of global climate change.



“With droughts intensifying, bedrock could be as key to understanding our forests as soils,” said study co-author Daniella Rempe, an assistant professor at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences.



For decades, scientists from around the world have documented the fact that tree roots penetrate below the layer of surface soil and into fissures in the underlying bedrock, but these accounts have tended to remain anecdotal. The extent of this phenomenon, and its relevance in the water cycle within ecosystems were not known. However, the importance of this overlooked layer between the soil and the groundwater may now become a prime focus for researchers as forests are exposed to the effects of global warming and climate change.&nbsp;



“It’s taken 100 years to come from this anecdotal evidence - oh wow, tree roots can actually go that deep - to understanding that this is probably, in many places, an important part of defining ecosystem dynamics,” said Susan Schwinning, a professor at Texas State University who was not directly involved with the research. She added that the study provides a huge leap in knowledge because it proves that what was once considered atypical behavior is actually essential.



The study made use of publicly available data, including rates of precipitation and evaporation in forests between 2003 and 2017. The researchers used these data to calculate a conservative estimate of the contribution of bedrock water to tree transpiration across the USA. Their results indicated that woody plants in many different biomes and climates routinely access bedrock moisture. In fact, the volume of bedrock water transpired by woody plants in California alone is equal to the capacity of all the water reservoirs in that state.&nbsp;



In addition, field studies from sites in California and Texas reveal that plants use more water from bedrock than they do from the soil. At six sites in California and two in central Texas, more than 50 percent of water transpired by trees came from the layer of weathered bedrock. &nbsp;At some of these sites the rocks held as much as 10 times more water than the soil did.&nbsp;



The researchers found that trees commonly tap bedrock to access the stored water. They detected this behavior in about 24 percent of forests and shrublands, which represents a total area that exceeds the size of Texas.&nbsp;



It is clear that water stored in rock under the soil is critical to the survival of trees and that this reservoir should not be ignored when analysing the water available to trees during both mild and drought conditions. However, according to study leader Erica McCormick, more research needs to be done in order to find out exactly how and when trees access this water in the bedrock.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We have much left to explore,” she said. “We have tools for investigating and describing soil processes, but we need data and experiments to tell us how to treat bedrock.”



The results of this study were published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</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

Bedrock may be secretly supplying trees with water

Soil has traditionally been seen as the source of water...

Scientists have found that people whose diets are based on healthy vegetarian <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-sugar-in-packaged-foods-can-prevent-disease-in-millions/">foods</a> have a reduced risk of COVID-19 and a lower probability of experiencing serious symptoms. The study, which was conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), investigated the correlation between diet and the risk and severity of COVID-19 infection.



Although metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and obesity have already been linked to an increased risk of Sars-Cov-2 infection as well as probability to develop life-threatening symptoms, the relation between such risks and nutrition has not been previously explored.



“Previous reports suggest that poor nutrition is a common feature among groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic, but data on the association between diet and COVID-19 risk and severity are lacking,” said study lead author Jordi Merino, a research associate at the Center for Genomic Medicine at MGH.&nbsp;



In order to clarify these issues, Merino and his colleagues examined data on 592,571 US and UK participants of the smartphone-based <a href="https://covid.joinzoe.com/">COVID-19 Symptom Study</a>. At the start of the study, in March 2020, participants were asked to fill a questionnaire about their dietary habits.&nbsp;



By the end of the year, 31,831 of participants developed COVID-19. The researchers found that participants whose diets were healthier, consisting of large quantities of fruits and vegetables, had a nine percent lower risk of developing the disease and a 41 percent lower risk of experiencing severe symptoms. 



“Although we cannot emphasize enough the importance of getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in crowded indoor settings, our study suggests that individuals can also potentially reduce their risk of getting COVID-19 or having poor outcomes by paying attention to their diet,” explained co-author Andrew Chan, a gastroenterologist and chief of the <a href="https://www.massgeneral.org/mongan-institute/centers/cteu/default">Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit</a> at MGH.



The findings show that public health strategies which improve access to healthy foods can significantly help reduce the burden of the pandemic.&nbsp;



“Our findings are a call to governments and stakeholders to prioritize healthy diets and wellbeing with impactful policies, otherwise we risk losing decades of economic progress and a substantial increase in health disparities,” concluded Merino.



The research was published in the journal <a href="https://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2021/09/06/gutjnl-2021-325353">Gut</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

Vegetarian diet lowers the risk and severity of COVID-19

Scientists have found that people whose diets are based on...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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