Earth's climate is changing fast, and scientists are racing to understand how plants will respond. As temperatures rise and carbon dioxide levels increase, plants face new challenges and opportunities.



Some may grow larger, while others might struggle to maintain their natural processes. Understanding these shifts is essential for predicting future agricultural yields and ecosystem stability.



Researchers at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (<a href="https://prl.natsci.msu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PRL</a>) Sharkey lab are studying how plant metabolism reacts to high light and high CO2 (HLHC) conditions.



The findings reveal that plants photosynthesize more in these conditions, which can result in larger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-may-stop-absorbing-carbon-if-temperatures-continue-to-rise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plants</a> and higher crop yields. However, this process comes with a cost - plants also lose carbon, a key component for making food.



These results, published in Scientific Reports, highlight the complexity of plant responses to environmental changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-plant-metabolism">The future of plant metabolism </h2>



Scientists predict two major environmental shifts will affect plant metabolism. First, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will continue rising. 



Second, global brightening will alter light conditions, as more solar radiation reaches the Earth's surface than in previous decades.



These <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/natures-climate-solutions-mixed-forests-store-more-carbon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shifts</a> will impact how plants grow and process carbon. Understanding these effects is crucial for future agricultural and ecological planning.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-increasing-photosynthesis-rates">Increasing photosynthesis rates</h2>



“Our work demonstrates that it’s very important to study photosynthesis and the carbon metabolism in plants,” said Yuan Xu, postdoctoral researcher in the <a href="https://bmb.natsci.msu.edu/labs/sharkey-lab/sharkey-lab.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sharkey lab</a> and first author of the study. 



“Especially when we think about conditions for the future based on predictions. If you want to do bioengineering in the future, to make a plant that can better adapt to these future conditions, you need to focus on these areas.”



The experts found that in future conditions, photosynthesis rates increase, but light respiration rates remain unchanged. This means plants can produce more sucrose and starch, which are vital for their survival and growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-plants-store-carbon">How plants store carbon</h2>



“Most carbon fixed in photosynthesis becomes either starch [to use later] – like putting money in your bank account – or sucrose (table sugar) to use now – like buying an ice cream cone,” said Thomas D. Sharkey, University Distinguished Professor in the PRL. 



“The most surprising observation was that extra carbon at high light and high carbon dioxide went much more to starch (76% increase) rather than sucrose (41% increase). This may help plants become more resilient because they will have extra carbon for growth or defense.”



Larger plants and increased crop yields could result from this higher rate of photosynthesis. However, a challenge remains: plants also lose carbon during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-absorb-31-more-co2-than-previously-estimated/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">process</a>, reducing the total available food.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-resilience-of-future-plants">Resilience of future plants</h2>



During photosynthesis, plants release CO2 through a process called respiration in light (RL). 



The researchers found that RL remains constant under both current and future conditions. Despite increased photosynthesis, the rate at which plants release CO2 through RL does not change.



This suggests that while plants may grow larger, they still lose a steady amount of carbon. Understanding this balance is essential for improving plant resilience in changing environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-plant-carbon-loss">Measuring plant carbon loss</h2>



To analyze RL under HLHC conditions, researchers used a unique approach. Traditional methods like the Laisk or Kok techniques only work in low light <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-carbon-sinks-are-being-pushed-to-their-limits/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conditions</a>.



“That’s why this study is unique,” Xu explained. “We used a new approach to measure the RL in the high light condition that cannot be measured using the old method.”



Xu applied a technique known as isotopically nonstationary metabolic flux analysis (INST-MFA). This method, commonly used in bacteria and fungi studies, has rarely been applied to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planting-diverse-crops-traps-carbon-and-boosts-soil-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plant research</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions</h2>



The Sharkey lab plans to continue exploring respiration in light using advanced research techniques. Their goal is to deepen the understanding of how plants take in and release carbon dioxide.



“We know from this study that many things are changed [under future conditions] including photosynthesis, photorespiration and respiration in the light,” Xu said. “This gave a hint for future work.”



The research was funded by the Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences at the U.S. Department of Energy. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-88574-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>.



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How future climate conditions will transform plant growth

Earth's climate is changing fast, and scientists are racing to understand how plants will respond. As temperatures rise and carbon dioxide levels increase, plants face new challenges and opportunities. Some may grow larger, while others might struggle to maintain their natural processes. Understanding these shifts is essential for predicting future agricultural yields and ecosystem stability. Researchers at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) Sharkey lab are studying how plant metabolism reacts to high light and high CO2 (HLHC) conditions. The findings reveal that plants photosynthesize more in...

According to a new study from the <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>, the distribution of fungi associated with various forest trees has shifted over the past three decades in North America. This shift has been largely due to the impact of human activities including fire suppression, increased nitrogen deposition, and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-forests-fire/">climate change</a>. 

The research team, which was led by Insu Jo from the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University, has determined that the changes in tree-fungi pairing have the potential to accelerate nutrient cycling and affect carbon storage across North American forests. 

The cycling of nutrients such as nitrogen through forest soils and the diversity of plant life are significantly influenced by the symbiotic relationship between trees and fungi, which means that alterations can impact the health of the entire forest ecosystem. In North American temperate forests, the two main types of tree-fungi groups are arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EM) trees. 

The current study was focused on over three million trees in the United States. The team found that the abundance of AM and EM trees is primarily driven by climate differences. 

The researchers concluded that an increase in temperatures and decrease in precipitation, combined with fire suppression and nitrogen deposition from sources such as chemical fertilizers, has increased the abundance of AM trees and made them more dominant in the eastern part of the country. 

According to the study authors, the widespread shift in the distribution of tree-fungi pairing has the potential to increase nutrient cycling, which could have significant consequences for how carbon and nitrogen are stored and released by North American forests.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

The composition of North American forests have been altered

According to a new study from the American Association for...

A growing number of women are using <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/medical-marijuana-treats-chronic-disease/">marijuana</a> as a treatment for morning sickness during pregnancy, and a team of researchers at <a href="http://www.auburn.edu/">Auburn University</a> set out to investigate the potential impacts. The experts found that marijuana alters complex connections between nerves in the hippocampus, which is the brain's center for learning and memory.

While previous studies have already tied marijuana use during pregnancy to children born with learning and memory impairments, the current study is providing brand new insight into how cannabis exposure affects the brain of a developing fetus. 

“The findings from this study will serve as an excellent premise for future interventions to restore memory in children exposed to cannabis during pregnancy, and for the first time, identify a specific mechanism by which learning and memory impairment occurs and how this impairment can be ameliorated,” said study co-author and graduate student Priyanka Das Pinky.

A separate study recently found that marijuana use during pregnancy increased by 62 percent between 2002 and 2014. 


“Based on our research and the previous existing findings in the field, it can be said that using marijuana during pregnancy would not be a wise choice,” said Pinky. “However, it is also notable that the observed effect in the offspring can vary according to their age and according to the trimester during which they were exposed to the drug as well as dose and route of administration of the drug.”

The research team exposed pregnant female rats to a synthetic compound equivalent to a dose of moderate-to-heavy marijuana use in humans. Among the resulting offspring, they found that connections between the nerves in the hippocampus were reduced compared to baby rats who were not exposed to the synthetic cannabis.


Further analysis revealed that the root of the problem was a reduction in neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAM), which are critical for maintaining the strength of neural connections.

“It is still very early to come up with a conclusion about the possible safe use of marijuana during pregnancy,” said Pinky. “More research is needed to evaluate the exact mechanism by which NCAM and/or its active form is modulating cellular effects while focusing on target specific drug development for amelioration of the observed cognitive deficits.”

The research will be presented at the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics annual meeting during <a href="https://experimentalbiology.org/2019/home.aspx">Experimental Biology 2019</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Marijuana is not a safe treatment for pregnancy morning sickness

A growing number of women are using marijuana as a...

<h2>How does photosynthesis work?</h2>
Plants and bacteria convert sunlight into sugar through the magic of photosynthesis. The evolution of this process enabled life to be what it is today. All life feeds on the sun, either directly or indirectly.

This essential process is made up of a series of complicated chemical reactions. Plants have tiny factories that control each step of this reaction. This process is complex, but the simple version is that proteins move electrons to charge machinery that produces sugar. 

In the end, plants combine CO2 and water, producing sugar and oxygen.
<h2>What makes photosynthesis slow?</h2>
One of the proteins involved in photosynthesis is tasked with the essential job of grabbing CO2. This enzyme is called RuBisCO, and it is the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9905/#1659">most common protein on Earth</a>. Part of the reason for this is that it’s not very good at its job.

It turns out that <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/scientists-fix-photosynthetic-inefficiency-boost-crop-yields-40-percent">RuBisCO accidentally grabs oxygen</a> instead of carbon dioxide about one-fifth of the time. When this happens, toxins are created rather than food. In order to decrease the harm, the plant spends energy recycling and removing these toxins. This can result in a 20-50% loss of efficiency. 

This protein is so ancient and essential to life that it seems there isn’t much room for evolution to play around. RuBisCO is estimated to have originated between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/photosynthesis-plants-started/">720 million and 1.2 billion years ago</a>. Because it is so essential, any decrease in the function will quickly be selected against. However, sometimes things need to get worse before they get better. 
<h2>Building a better plant</h2>
We have known for a long time that the efficiency of plants could be improved. Modifying something so essential is not easy. The Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project aims to do just this.

Researchers at the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a> have had exciting breakthroughs in this area. They have re-engineered how plants remove the toxins produced by RuBisCO and their results are quite impressive.

The researchers edited the genes of 1700 plants to test this process. Top performers were <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/article/scientists-engineer-shortcut-photosynthetic-glitch-boost-crop-growth-40">as much as 40% larger</a>.

RuBisCO performs worse at higher temperatures. With the climate change on the rise, this could be a real problem and researchers hope to improve food security globally. The RIPE program is committed to providing these innovations to farmers royalty-free. 

Researchers in China and San Francisco have had success with similar work. They used a bioengineering approach called GOC to improve photosynthesis and photorespiration and were able to increase <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bioengineering-improve-rice-crop-yields/">rice yields by 27 percent</a>.

Modifying photosynthesis has also allowed researchers to save water. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/altering-photosynthesis-crops-less-water/">Editing the pores of plant leaves</a> (stomata) allowed plants to grow more efficiently.

Controlling photosynthesis has exciting implications and improving technology may allow us to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-cells-photosynthesis/">design our own photosynthetic organisms</a>.

Other researchers have discovered that <a href="https://www.futurity.org/photosynthesis-efficiency-1812892/">under the right circumstances</a> RuBisCO may be substantially more efficient.
<h2>Are we able to do better?</h2>
Humans have created their own version of photosynthesis. Solar panels (or photovoltaic cells) achieve the same goal as photosynthesis by turning sunlight into energy.

Comparing the two processes is complicated. Photosynthesis produces sugar, which can be stored for a long time. Solar panels produce electricity, but storing this electricity is a major problem. 

Batteries are inefficient and dangerous. Photosynthesis clearly has us beat when it comes to providing steady energy. Research into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/battery-solar-energy-cheaper/">better battery technology</a> is essential for all renewable energy sources.

In terms of pure energy output, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/plants-versus-photovoltaics-at-capturing-sunlight/">photosynthesis doesn’t fare so well</a>. About 3% of the available sunlight is stored. Solar panels, on the other hand, can convert up to 10% of available light. This discrepancy points to the inefficiencies that do exist in photosynthesis.

Advanced technologies have even been able to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/superefficient-cost-effec/">achieve efficiencies of up to 40%</a>. These are not practical yet but show that there is a lot of room to improve.

Plants also provide other advantages. While producing energy, they also consume CO2, helping mitigate climate change. When the CO2 is used up, they create oxygen. This process creates breathable air, which we can all agree is pretty important.

Though photosynthesis has room to improve, we still have much to learn from plants. The diversity of plants may still reveal important secrets about collecting and storing energy, as new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-type-photosynthesis-infrared-light/">forms of photosynthesis are still being discovered</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:casey.hofford@gmail.com">Casey Hofford</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Is photosynthesis efficient enough?

How does photosynthesis work? Plants and bacteria convert sunlight into...

On the Hawaiian island of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/endangered-birds-found-oahu/">Oahu</a>, native birds have nearly been replaced by invasive bird species. A new study has revealed that local plants now depend almost entirely on invasive birds to disperse their seeds.

The findings suggest that ecological communities dominated by non-native species can be as dynamic and stable as native communities, and that invasive species are taking on important roles in these complex ecosystems. 

Previous studies have shown that interactions between plants and animals are extremely sensitive to invasive species or extinctions. Many of these networks, however, have only been investigated in native-dominated communities where invasive species are not present. The studies may have also failed to account for the coevolved interactions between plants and animals that have formed over long time spans.

[caption id="attachment_1870783" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Native-plants-on-Oahu-depend-on-non-native-birds-for-survival-.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870783" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Native-plants-on-Oahu-depend-on-non-native-birds-for-survival-.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="434" /></a> Oahu[/caption]

As human activities drive more and more species invasions and extinctions worldwide, the new ecological communities that are emerging are not well understood. Scientists do not know how these modified ecosystems compare to native communities.

To investigate, a research team led by Jefferson Vizentin-Bugoni analyzed the bird-based seed dispersal networks on Oahu Hawaii, where invasive bird species are now dominant. The scientists identified over 100,000 seeds collected from bird feces across Oahu and found that native plants are almost entirely dependent on invasive birds for seed dispersal. 

Furthermore, the researchers discovered that the newly developed networks on Oahu strongly resemble the stable structure of networks that are still dominated by native species across the globe. According to the experts, this indicates that ecological communities can arise over a short period of time, and can do so independently of the species involved. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Jeferson Vizentin-Bugoni

Native plants on Oahu depend on non-native birds for survival

On the Hawaiian island of Oahu, native birds have nearly...

So far, 2019 has been a good year for an abundance of wildflowers.  So-called 'super blooms' have been reported in the hostile climates of <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160302-death-valley-super-bloom-wildflowers-weather/">Death Valley</a>, <a href="https://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/az.html">Phoenix</a>, and elsewhere.  According to the <a href="https://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/az.html">Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum</a>, there are some critical factors involved in how many wildflowers will bloom in any given spring.  

Desert wildflowers germinate in the fall.  A rain during the germination period is important for wildflowers in the spring.  This initial trigger rain is followed by an unusually wet winter season for a ‘super bloom’ to occur.  Spectacular blooms occur in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts about once every 10 years. Of course, perennial desert plants often flower with less rain the pickier perennials dependent on rain for germination.  Southern California has been the heart of this particular super bloom, much of the landscape being covered in a veritable sea of golden poppies.

Lake Elsinore, a Southern California town located on the shores of a lake by the same name, has been a popular destination for visitors.  Lake Elsinore is in an area long inhabited by Native Americans and until recently been a small town, now grown to a population of over <a href="https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml?src=bkmk">60,000</a>.  News and social media have made this part of California especially popular.  Not only super blooms of wild flowers but also large numbers of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/orange-butterflies-southern-california/">painted lady butterflies</a> (Vanessa cardui) are being attracted by the flowers.  The butterfly migrates from Mexico into California in one generation and further north in the next, the generation after starting a southern migration.  In 2005, during a year of exceptionally good blooms, it was estimated that there were billions of butterflies flying over Southern California, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/southern-california-skies-fill-butterflies-thanks-painted-lady-migration-n982551">NBC News</a>.  Now, the city of Lake Elsinore is being crowded even more by people.  

[caption id="attachment_1870745" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Lake-Elsinore-California-USA.-March-21-2019.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870745" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Lake-Elsinore-California-USA.-March-21-2019.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="351" /></a> Super bloom in Lake Elsinore, California on March 21, 2019[/caption]

According to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/california-superbloom-poppies-2632104685.html">Ecowatch</a>, as many as 50,000 tourists visited Lake Elsinore to see the fields of poppies, nearly doubling the population.  Traffic leading to the best places to view the super blooms has been congested and slow. People trampled the flowers to get the best selfies in the fields of blooms.  Quickly, elation over natural beauty turned to discomfort caused by the massive influx of tourists. Photos captioned #superbloom by tourists were quickly followed by photos tagged #poppynightmare on social media.  The city of Lake Elsinore itself has taken to bemoaning the influx of visitors on its FaceBook page.

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/18/super-bloom-lake-elsinore-poppies-flowers">The Guardian</a> reports that the situation got so bad that Walker Canyon, one of the more popular places to visit the poppy super bloom, was closed temporarily.  In the midst of the swarms of people, not only is the city becoming crowded and the roadways congested, the poppies themselves are being loved to death.  In the frenzy to see and photograph the super bloom, people are actually trampling the flowers under foot. The problem is spread across Southern California, not just Lake Elsinore.

<a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627">Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve</a>, a California State natural reserve, is another popular place to view the super bloom.  The official website encourages visitors to come and enjoy the fields blanketed in flowers but advises those that do to stay on official trails, not bring dogs and to not pick the flowers.  Commercial or student film and photography also requires a permit. What the rules don’t explicitly say is to not land a helicopter in a poppy field.

[caption id="attachment_1870746" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/super-bloom-in-death-valley.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870746" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/super-bloom-in-death-valley.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="373" /></a> Super bloom in Death Valley[/caption]

Recently, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/27/helicopter-lands-super-bloom-california">The Guardian</a> reports, a couple did just that.  A helicopter landed in an open field of poppies and a man and woman got out and started walking around, crushing even more of the flowers than their helicopter did.  As law enforcement officials approached, the two jumped into the helicopter and quickly flew away. This act, although not described in the rules on the official reserve website, is illegal and is now being investigated.  Officials are also on the lookout for people entering the reserve illegally by ducking through barbed wire fences. With the number of visitors now, it’s easy to worry about the poppies being trampled. All this havoc is despite early preparations in California.  

At Lake Elsinore, officials knew of the possibility of crowding and damage from tourists.  In 2017, tourists arrived in large groups to view that years stunning super bloom. Observing the weather over the winter, city officials tried to prepare, reports <a href="https://www.pe.com/2019/03/01/two-years-after-stunning-wildflower-superbloom-stopped-traffic-lake-elsinore-takes-precautions/">The Press-Enterprise</a>. More law enforcement officers were made to be present and more signs were put up to warn people off the poppy fields, yet the mess seemed almost unavoidable given the power of social media.  Walker Canyon is managed for wildlife and native plants, with a few trails, so the focus isn’t on tourism or recreation but conservation, which makes managing the huge number of visitors a challenge.  

Not only the plants and wildlife suffer, but the tourists endangered themselves and others as well.  People were pulling onto the shoulder of roads to illegally take selfies. Rattlesnakes come out of hibernation around this time and at least one super bloom visitor was bitten by a snake, another was injured scrambling over rocks to flee a snake.  Unfortunately, beautiful places often suffer from people ‘loving them to death’. 

California is a huge tourist destination and many popular hiking and camping destinations there and across the west are increasingly crowded, sometimes with people unaware of proper outdoor etiquette.  Huge numbers of visitors combine with other challenges to conservation, such as climate change which may be affecting iconic plants in places such as Joshua Tree National Park and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm">Saguaro National Park</a>.  The poppies and other flowering plants part of the super bloom may be affected as well.  It may seem to some like this recent super bloom repudiates the idea of a trend towards hotter drier weather, as but <a href="https://www.desertsun.com/story/desert-magazine/2017/05/05/dont-let-super-bloom-fool-you-climate-shifts-changing-local-landscape/310810001/">Desert Sun</a> reports, it’s just an anomaly.

Fewer young Joshua Trees are growing in <a href="https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm">Joshua Tree National Park</a>, one of the places to see the spectacular super bloom, despite this year’s especially wet conditions.  Annual flowers are one thing; quickly growing plants depending on only one season of good moisture to thrive – for a year.  Joshua Trees and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/decline-saguaro/">cacti</a> are another thing – slow growing plants that can establish themselves in dry hot conditions but may have a hard time when young as the climate becomes increasingly hotter.  Fewer super blooms seem likely in the future as well, despite this one and the tourists will make it harder for the flowers to continue to bloom even in the rare conditions when they can in such numbers.   

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

As stunning super blooms spring up, tourists often get carried away

So far, 2019 has been a good year for an...

Dating tree rings, also known as dendrochronology, has helped researchers understand past climates, precipitation, and other environmental factors that have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-tropical-belt-shifting/">impacted tree growth</a> through the years.

But now in a new study, researchers from the <a href="https://www.shh.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History</a> have used tree ring data to study early human activity and forest management practices in pre-colonial Brazil 400 years ago. 

It’s long been thought that forests in the Amazon Basin were “pristine” and that humans only sparsely inhabited the area until Europeans arrived in the 16th century. 

But archeological evidence provides proof to the contrary showing that before the arrival of Europeans, pre-Columbian societies were involved in widespread plant domestication, forest management, and landscape alteration. 

Today, the Amazon is home to many key tree species, but these forests are threatened due to climate change and human activities.

By studying these early instances of forest management, we have a better chance of preserving and managing our forests in the future considering the drastic changes that the world’s forests have undergone with the rise of industrialization. 

For the study, published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0214128">PLOS ONE</a>, the researchers focused on a neotropical tree species, the Brazil nut tree, to show how human activities 400 years ago influenced tree growth and forest biodiversity. 

“The results of this study demonstrate that Brazil nut tree growth reflects human occupation intensity and management,” said Victor Caetano Andrade, the lead author of the study. “This is one more step to understanding the crucial interactions that led the Amazon forest to be the dynamic, humanized landscape it is today.” 

The team collected tree samples using a non-destructive method of removing small samples starting from the bark to the center of the tree in Central Amazonia near Manaus. 

The area surveyed has a rich density of Brazil nut trees, and the researchers analyzed tree ring data from the cores of 67 trees in total. 

After collecting the tree rings, the researchers compared the core data to historical data on human activity in the area dating back 400 years ago. 

What the tree ring data showed was that there was a distinct change in the forest region between pre- and post-colonization. After the Portuguese colonized the area, populations of the Mura indigenous people who had practiced forest management declined. 

This decline resulted in no new trees being planted in the area, and the researchers say this indicates a disruption in forest management.

[caption id="attachment_1870741" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brazil-nut-fruit-and-tree-in-the-background.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870741" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brazil-nut-fruit-and-tree-in-the-background.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="823" /></a> Brazil nut fruit and tree in the background. Image Credit: Victor L. Caetano Andrade[/caption]

The tree ring data shows a later period of renewed tree growth and the establishment of new trees after this pause which matches modern forest management practices in the 19th and 20th century. 

Not only does the study show that pre-colonial indigenous populations domesticated Brazil nut trees and managed forests and agricultural, but also that tree rings are like time capsules that can help researchers create clear pictures of past climates, weather extremes, and human activities. 

“Our findings shed light on how past histories of human-forest interactions can be revealed by the growth rings of trees in Amazonia,” said Caetano Andrade. “Future interdisciplinary analysis of these trees, including the use of genetics and isotopes, should enable more detailed investigations into how human forest management has changed in this part of the world, through pre-colonial, colonial, and industrial periods of human activity, with potential implications for conservation.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tree rings reveal pre-colonial forest management in the Amazon

Dating tree rings, also known as dendrochronology, has helped researchers...

Researchers working on the <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/open-agriculture-openag/projects/">Open Agriculture Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab</a> have grown basil plants using computer algorithms that determine the perfect growing conditions to maximize the basil’s taste. Called “cyber agriculture,” this method of combining computer technology with botany and chemistry could not only improve crop flavor, but also enhance disease-fighting compounds in herbs and aid growers in adapting their crops to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-hinder-agriculture/">changing climate conditions</a>.

"Our goal is to design open-source technology at the intersection of data acquisition, sensing, and machine learning, and apply it to agricultural research in a way that hasn't been done before," said Caleb Harper, a principal research scientist in MIT's Media Lab and director of the OpenAg group. "We're really interested in building networked tools that can take a plant's experience, its phenotype, the set of stresses it encounters, and its genetics, and digitize that to allow us to understand the plant-environment interaction."

Harper and his colleagues are experimenting with cyber agriculture in climate-controlled shipping containers. They’re not the only ones to be playing around with the idea of cyber agriculture — sometimes called environmental agriculture, vertical farming, or urban farming — however, companies who are partaking in the process rarely share their information and findings. The OpenAg group hopes to knock down this barrier and make information, software, and data pertaining to their cyber agriculture findings widely available for anyone who wishes to access it.

"There is a big problem right now in the agricultural space in terms of lack of publicly available data, lack of standards in data collection, and lack of data sharing," Harper said. "So while machine learning and artificial intelligence and advanced algorithm design have moved so fast, the collection of well-tagged, meaningful agricultural data is way behind. Our tools being open-source, hopefully they will get spread faster and create the ability to do networked science together." They’re starting with publishing their findings April 3rd in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE.</a>

In their study, the team set out to prove the effectiveness of cyber agriculture. In the climate-controlled shipping containers, the team set up hydroponic vessels which they called “food computers.” While growing in these vessels, basil plants were exposed to specific durations of light and ultraviolet light, and once full grown, the plants were evaluated for their taste via gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, chemistry techniques that allowed the researchers to measure the concentration of volatile compounds in the basil plants’ leaves.

The information collected from this experiment was then fed to a machine-learning algorithm program, which generated plans for growing conditions that would maximize flavor, such as a 24-hour daylight exposure plan.

Researchers are now playing with other conditions like humidity, temperature, and colored light, along with adding nutrients or hormones to the growing process. Further, adjusting conditions to enhance compounds within specific plants could be translated into the medical field in the future as well as set up new regimes for crops that are feeling the negative effects of climate change.

"You can see this paper as the opening shot for many different things that can be applied, and it's an exhibition of the power of the tools that we've built so far," said coauthor John de la Parra, the research lead for the OpenAg group. "This was the archetype for what we can now do on a bigger scale."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Melanie Gonick

‘Cyber agriculture’ could produce tastier crops

Researchers working on the Open Agriculture Initiative at the Massachusetts...

One of the biggest concerns that comes with climate change is how the shift in global temperatures will impact the future of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/el-nino-impact-crops/">food security</a>. As many regions worldwide are expected to get drier and hotter, the demand for water will increase.

Already, crop irrigation accounts for nearly 70 percent of all available freshwater use and researchers have been working to find innovative ways to develop plants that can still thrive with less water. 

But now, in a new study published in the journal Science, researchers from the <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/">University of Glasgow</a> have found a way to reduce plant water use and increase plant CO2 intake. 

The key was finding a way to minimize water loss during photosynthesis for the plant, and the researchers did this by focusing on the stomata, which are the pores of the plant. 

Plants lose most of their water through their stomata, and while past experiments have worked to reduce plant water use, these efforts came at the cost of CO2 uptake and the plants were unable to absorb as much CO2 as before. 

Since plants need both water and CO2 to perform photosynthesis efficiently, sacrificing one for the other is less than optimal in a future of uncertain water availability and increased food demand. 

In this recent study, the researchers introduced a synthetic blue light-activated ion channel into the stomata of the mustard plant Arabidopsis. 

The genetic tool was engineered from plant and algal virus proteins, and it worked like a switch, speeding up the responses of the stomata and conserving water loss while still allowing CO2 uptake. 

Not only did the mustard plants with the genetically engineered switch lose less water, but the researchers also found that plant growth was not sacrificed in the process. 

The plants grew better than their non-engineered counterparts under typical field conditions. 

“Plants must optimize the trade-off between photosynthesis and water loss to ensure plant growth and yield,” said Maria Papanatsiou, the lead author of the study. “We used a genetic tool that acts as a switch allowing stomata to better synchronize with light conditions and therefore enhance plant performance under light conditions often met in agricultural settings.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

By altering photosynthesis, important crops can grow with less water

One of the biggest concerns that comes with climate change...

Spring is here and it’s time to get growing in the garden. If you’re looking for some gardening hacks to up your plant game, look no further than social media.
<h3>1. Find fascinating plant tips on Blossom</h3>
The DIY Instagram account recently served up three handy growing tips in a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvW3cZaAwIN/">video</a>. 

First, gardeners looking for biodegradable seed-starters don’t need to head to their nearest nursery. Instead, grab a package of ice cream cones at the grocery store. They’re just the right size for a seed’s first home, and they fall apart around when the new plant is ready to put down roots in a larger space.

Second, save the root ends of those green onions. A clear plastic egg container becomes the perfect planter to regrow your own, and save a few cents when grocery shopping.

Third, don’t throw out those rusty nails. The iron they contain can be mixed with water and become plant food.

Another recent video shows how to make a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOXuvqB_Tf/">self-watering planter</a> out of a glass bottle.
<h3>2. Check out Twitter</h3>
Have an old T-shirt you don’t want? <a href="https://twitter.com/WeirdLifeHacks/status/1094702614426603520">Turn it into a plant hanger</a> in a few easy steps with this video from DIY Hacks.

Other Twitter accounts offer gardening hacks from <a href="https://twitter.com/CupidHacks/status/1111772036194398208">plants that repel mosquitoes</a> to why you should grow <a href="https://twitter.com/NatureHacks/status/1111611512576188417">marigolds alongside your tomatoes</a>. (Hint: It has to do with a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marigolds-common-tomato-pest/">chemical released by marigolds</a> that fends off tomato-munching insects.)
<h3>3. Pop over to Pinterest</h3>
The Mother Lode of helpful gardening tricks is Pinterest. The virtual pinboard is a favorite of DIYers, who link helpful infographics, blog posts and more. Check out The Prairie Home’s <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/ThePrairieHome/gardening-tips/">Gardening Tips</a> board to start with, or just search for “gardening hacks.”
<h3>4. Now on video</h3>
And don’t forget YouTube, where you can find helpful videos such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53lJwr8KaXU">15 Plants You Can Easily Grow in Your Own Kitchen</a>, teaching you how to regrow celery, onions and even pineapples from your grocery store, along with turning old banana peels and eggshells into fertilizer. 

Head over to your favorite social media site and get growing! 

—

By <a href="mailto:kyla.cathey@gmail.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

How to find loads of helpful gardening hacks on social media

Spring is here and it’s time to get growing in...

Researchers have created artificial cells in a lab that create energy the same way plants do: through photosynthesis.

The cells, designed by a team from the <a href="https://www.titech.ac.jp/english/">Tokyo Institute of Technology</a>, use sunlight to create chemical energy. Then, they use the energy to produce their own proteins. 

While scientists have created artificial cells before, this version is the first to successfully reproduce photosynthesis. And that means it’s giving researchers a much greater sense of how plant cells – and by extension, the process of photosynthesis – actually work.

“Attempts to construct an artificial cell have widened our understanding of living organisms,” the researchers wrote in their study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09147-4">Nature Communications</a>.

The scientists did take some key chemicals from real cells, but combined a cell-free protein with purified ATP synthase and bacteriorhodopsin inside a vesicle to give their artificial cells the ability to photosynthesize energy. ATP synthase and bacteriorhodopsin, which comes from ancient microbes, work together to harvest light and convert it into cellular energy.

The artificial cells then produce ATP, which could be consumed as a substrate for messenger RNA, a cousin of DNA. That mRNA served as a sort of blueprint for the artificial cells, allowing them to build their own proteins.

“Our artificial cell system enables the self-constitution of its own parts within a structure of positive feedback loop,” the researchers wrote. 

The artificial cells couldn’t make the full range of proteins that real cells can, the team told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>, but they hope that will come as they continue to work on the project.

“I have been trying for a long time to construct a living artificial cell, especially focusing on membranes,” lead researcher Dr. Yutetsu Kuruma told the Mail. “In this work, our artificial cells were wrapped in lipid membranes, and small membrane structures were encapsulated inside them. In this way, the cell membrane is the most important aspect of forming a cell.”

The study not only advances our understanding of the building blocks of life, but also of photosynthesis. Scientists are already looking the process plants use to produce fuel as a model for a cheap, renewable, clean source of energy for human activity. 

—

By <a href="mailto:kyla.cathey@gmail.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Scientists create artificial cells that make their own energy

Researchers have created artificial cells in a lab that create...

A new study funded by the <a href="https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/kld/organisation/Subordinate-agencies/norwegian-environment-agency/id85642/">Norwegian Environment Agency</a> has revealed that the climate in Svalbard is heating up faster than any other region on the planet. Ironically, Svalbard was chosen just over a decade ago as being a stable location for the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-seed-vault/">Global Seed Vault</a>. 

Also known as the “Doomsday Vault,” the site serves as a long-term seed storage facility that was built not only to withstand the test of time, but also to endure catastrophic natural or man-made disasters. The vault, which has a storage capacity of 2.25 billion seeds, is intended to provide survivors of such disasters with a variety of crop seeds.

According to the <a href="https://cms.met.no/site/2/klimaservicesenteret/climate-in-svalbard-2100/_attachment/14442?_ts=168a8d63a73">Climate in Svalbard 2100</a> report, temperatures in this area of the world could rise by 10 degrees Celsius this century. Warming temperatures have already threatened the security of the Doomsday Vault when melting permafrost flooded its entrance in 2017.

But now, the situation has become much more serious, as a dramatic increase in rainfall and temperatures could compromise the frozen ground that holds the vault.

The snow season is predicted to become much shorter across the Svalbard archipelago, while the region is also expected to receive up to 65 percent more precipitation annually. The study authors are warning that these conditions will not only accelerate the rate of thawing permafrost, but could also produce more landslides and avalanches.

“Svalbard and the surrounding ocean are considerably milder, wetter and cloudier than the average for the latitude,” wrote the researchers. “This is mainly caused by atmospheric heat and moisture transport associated with the Icelandic low and the warm West Spitsbergen Current (WSC), which runs along the western coastline of Spitsbergen.”

“The West Spitsbergen Current is particularly important in the shaping of the island’s climatic conditions through its release of heat during wintertime and its influence on the concentration of sea ice.

As a consequence of the strong influence of atmospheric heat transport and the West Spitsbergen Current Spitsbergen, cold season temperature variability is very pronounced at Svalbard.”
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Miksu/Wikicommons

The Doomsday Vault may be sitting on shaky ground

A new study funded by the Norwegian Environment Agency has...

The benefits of urban green spaces go far beyond just helping spruce up a city neighborhood. Research has shown that urban green spaces can help guard against <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-spaces-decline-dementia/#.XJ0g6phKhPY">mental decline</a>, improve <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-spaces-good-health/#.XJ0X75hKhPY">overall health and wellbeing</a>, and help mitigate the impacts of exposure to CO2 emissions. 

Now, a new study has found that tree cover can help combat the “urban heat island” effect where human activities, vast stretches of blacktop and concrete, and an increase in emissions cause cities to be significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Madison</a> conducted an extensive study examining how tree cover impacts city temperatures on a block by black basis. 

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Enough tree cover can reduce daytime summer temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and as summer temperatures are getting more extreme in cities across the world, it will become increasingly important to find sustainable and green solutions to help keep areas cool. 

“We knew that cities are warmer than the surrounding countryside, but we found that temperatures vary just as much within cities. Keeping temperatures more comfortable on hot summer days can make a big difference for those of us who live and work there,” said Monica Turner, the co-author of the study.

Previous studies researching the “urban heat island” effect used satellite measurements of ground surface temperatures, but these measurements are not precise enough to show how temperatures vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and the researchers needed a way to collect temperature data on a much smaller scale. 

The solution to this problem was rather unique. Carly Ziter, the lead author of the study, attached air temperature sensors to a bike and rode all around the city of Madison, Wisconsin in the summer of 2016, capturing air temperature readings every second. Ziter biked across ten different transects of the city. 

The data showed that the “heat island effect” is more like a “heat archipelago” where patches of the city are hotter than others due to lack of shade. 

The researchers analyzed the data and found that tree cover exceeding 40 percent or more was required to reap the maximum cooling benefits. 

Once that 40 percent threshold was crossed, air temperature was significantly cooler compared to other less shady areas. 

Unfortunately, the researchers say that it’s not just enough to go out and plant more trees, but that city planners need to carefully consider which areas will benefit most from more trees and which areas can easily expand to include more tree cover. 

“It's not really enough to just kind of go out and plant trees, we really need to think about how many we're planting and where we're planting them,” said Ziter. “We're not saying planting one tree does nothing, but you're going to have a bigger effect if you plant a tree, and your neighbor plants a tree and their neighbor plants a tree.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: UW-Madison

Tree cover can help cool the urban heat island effect in the summer

The benefits of urban green spaces go far beyond just...

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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

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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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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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