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 href="https://www.earth.com/news/digging-sea-otters-promote-eelgrass-genetic-diversity/">Eelgrass</a> is a coastal species of seagrass that is vital as a habitat for a diversity of fish and other aquatic creatures. Moreover, it provides shoreline protection and carbon sequestration. By combining ecological field methods and cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), a research team from <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> has detected eelgrass wasting disease – caused by a pathogen called Labyrinthula zosterae – at nearly three dozen sites along a 1,700-mile area of the West Coast, from San Diego to southern Alaska. According to the experts, eelgrass wasting is linked to warmer-than-normal water temperatures, especially in early summer.



The researchers developed an AI system called Eelgrass Lesion Image Segmentation Application (EeLISA) which, when properly trained, can quickly analyze thousands of pictures of eelgrass leaves and reliably distinguish between diseased and healthy tissue. This computer program works 5,000 times faster than human experts, with comparable accuracy. As the application is fed more data, it gets increasingly “smarter” and can produce more consistent results.



“That’s really a key component,” said study co-lead author Brendan Rappazzo, a doctoral student in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence at Cornell. “If you give the same eelgrass scan to four different people to label, they’ll all give variable measurements of disease. You have all this variation, but with EeLISA, it’s not only faster but it’s consistently labeled.”



“In traditional machine learning, you need large amounts of labeled data up front,” added study co-senior author Carla Gomes, a professor of Computing and Information Science at the same university. “But with EeLISA, we’re getting feedback from the scientists providing the images, and the system improves very rapidly. So, in the end, it doesn’t require that many labeled examples.”



The study involved a network of 32 sites along the Pacific coast, allowing scientists to investigate eelgrass wasting disease in different climates and environments. The findings suggest that warm-water anomalies were the key drivers of the disease, regardless of what normal temperatures were for each particular location. This proves that studying the complex connection between disease and climate change is necessary for all conditions, instead of only for eelgrass meadows located in warm regions.



“We have invested a decade developing the disease recognition tools to monitor these outbreaks at a large spatial scale because our early studies suggested eelgrass could be sensitive to warming-induced outbreaks,” said study co-senior author Drew Harvell, a professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. “Eelgrass is an essential marine habitat, and a critical link in the chain of survival for fishes such as salmon and herring.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lno.12152">Limnology and Oceanography</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

Warming water is driving eelgrass wasting disease

Eelgrass is a coastal species of seagrass that is vital...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-meadows-remove-plastic-debris-from-the-ocean/">Seagrass meadows</a> are often used as a fishing habitat across the Indo-Pacific region, sustaining millions of households. A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096456912200223X?via%3Dihub#!">Ocean &amp; Coastal Management</a> has found that seagrass fisheries provide a reliable safety-net for the poor since they are characterized by a high abundance of fish and other animals and provide large catches for fishermen.&nbsp;



The scientists conducted interviews with people relying on fishing from 147 villages across Cambodia, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, and were surprised to find that the majority of the persons they spoke to preferred seagrass meadows as fishing habitats.&nbsp;



“Seagrass was the most common habitat used for fishing. Nearly half of all households we talked to preferred fishing in seagrass over other habitats such as coral, mangroves, open ocean, mud and rock for example,” said study lead author Benjamin Jones, a doctoral student at the <a href="https://www.su.se/cmlink/stockholm-university">University of Stockholm</a> and director of <a href="http://www.projectseagrass.org/">Project Seagrass</a>, a nonprofit organization focused on the conservation of seagrass ecosystems.&nbsp;



“This was surprising because most people think of reef fisheries as the key tropical small-scale fishery, but we show that its actually engagement in seagrass fisheries that are much more characteristic of households.”



When asked why they preferred seagrass, most fishermen expressed a general feeling of reliability: due to the major ecological role seagrass meadows play by providing valuable nursery habitats with many places for fish to hide and grow, there is always an abundance of fish present there. However, reliance on seagrass appeared to be also influenced by household income.



“Household income had two different effects. On one hand, poorer households were less likely to own&nbsp;motorboats. These were reliant on seagrass as they were unable to fish elsewhere, seagrass is close to shore and easy to access without a motor. On the other hand, wealthier households were more likely to own certain types of fishing gear that incentivized them to use seagrass due to high rewards and low effort requirements. These were static fishing fences that don’t require a fisherman to be present,” explained Jones.



“Our results highlight the need for empirical household scale data for management of seagrass meadows,” added study senior author Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, the Director of Research and Resources at Project Seagrass. “People use and value seagrass for many different reasons so safeguarding seagrass is vital to ensure that all people, all of the time, have equitable and equal access to the resources seagrass provides,” she concluded.



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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

Seagrass meadows are very reliable fishing grounds

Seagrass meadows are often used as a fishing habitat across...

According to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.18262">New Phytologist</a>, Lantana strigocamara&nbsp;– a highly invasive horticultural herb or shrub native to Central and South America - is the second-ever documented case of a plant creating blue-colored fruits with layered fat molecules, using a trick of light called “structural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/true-color-ancient-insects/">color</a>.”



Structural color is very common among animals. It is what gives many butterflies their bright blue coloring, or the peacock’s otherwise brown feathers their brilliant greens. This optical illusion of sorts is produced by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with light, and is very rare in the plant world. Until now, only six species of plants have been found to produce their fruits’ hues using structural color.



What makes L. strigocamara special is that it creates this structural color in the skin of its berries by using layers of lipid molecules, or fats – a phenomenon previously documented in only one other plant species, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/science/blue-fruits-viburnum.html">Viburnum tinus</a>. To create their unique colors, L. strigocamara’s blue fruits use microscopic structures in their skin to manipulate light and reflect the wavelengths human eyes perceive as blue, giving them a distinctive metallic finish.&nbsp;



Thus, structurally-colored berries have no color within themselves: when they are peeled and held up to the light, for instance, they look completely translucent. However, when placed against a dark background, they look blue again, due to nanostructures on their surface that are responsible for reflecting the color.



The scientists argue that, in evolutionary terms, structural coloring may help with seed dispersal, which could explain the fact that the handful of plants known to use this strategy are highly invasive and spread all over the world. By providing a strong contrast with the surrounding foliage, the mechanic, shiny nature of their fruit perhaps attracts animals to eat them and spread their seeds. Moreover, this theory could also fit with the fact that humans are highly interested in using these plants in horticulture.&nbsp;



“The fact that they made their way into horticulture suggests that we are susceptible to the same things are that other animals find attractive about them,” explained study co-author Stacey Smith, a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado, Boulder</a>. “We're like, oh, look at that sparkly, cute thing. I should put that in my garden.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, another evolutionary explanation could be that the thick, fatty layer that creates the color is a protective mechanism for the plant, providing defenses against pathogens or improving the structural integrity of the fruit.



Scientists hope that, as more structurally colored fruits are discovered, they will manage to learn more about the evolutionary prompts for this fascinating mechanism. According to study lead author Miranda Sinnott-Armstrong, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Boulder, so few of such plants have been found until now simply because people were not actively looking for them. “They're out there. We just haven’t seen them all yet,” she concluded.



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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

Blue berries found to manipulate light using structural color

According to a new study published in the journal New...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> has found that the common Zophobas morio&nbsp;“superworm” is able to eat through polystyrene – a versatile, solid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-a-planetary-emergency/">plastic</a> used to make a large variety of consumer products - due to a bacterial enzyme in their gut. This discovery could help scientists engineer enzymes to degrade plastic waste in recycling plants through mechanical shredding followed by enzymatic biodegradation.&nbsp;



The researchers fed superworms different diets over a period of three weeks, with some of them given polystyrene foam, some bran, and others forced to fast.&nbsp;



“We found the superworms fed a diet of just polystyrene not only survived, but even had marginal weight gains,” said study senior author Christian Rinke, an expert in the genomics, ecology, and phylogeny of uncultured microbes. “This suggests the worms can derive energy from the polystyrene, most likely with the help of their gut microbes.”



Dr. Rinke and his team used a technique called metagenomics to identify several encoded enzymes that were able to degrade plastics such as polystyrene and styrene.&nbsp;



“Superworms are like mini recycling plants, shredding the polystyrene with their mouths and then feeding it to the bacteria in their gut. The breakdown products from this reaction can then be used by other microbes to create high-value compounds such as bioplastics,” Dr. Rinke explained.



In future research, the scientists aim to grow these gut bacteria in the laboratory and further test their ability to degrade various types of plastic waste.&nbsp;



“We can then look into how we can upscale this process to a level required for an entire recycling plant,” said study co-author Jiarun Sun, a doctoral student at the University of Queensland. If these initiatives turn out to be successful, plastic recycling on a mass scale could finally be a viable option for reducing plastic pollution.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.000842">Microbiology Society</a>.&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

Superworms capable of eating through plastic waste

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

Certain species become emblems for nature organizations and conservation projects because they attract the attention of people and help them connect to the natural world. Charismatic species, such as plants with beautiful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invisible-colors-in-sunflowers-dont-only-attract-bees/">flowers</a> or large, impressive mammals are often used to capture the imagination of the public and raise funds for protecting endangered species and threatened ecosystems.&nbsp;



Wild cherry trees and their iconic blossoms have featured in the culture of Japanese people since ancient times. They are represented in ancient writings, plays, arts and festivals, and therefore have a unique significance in connecting people in Japan to the world of nature. For this reason, the Sakuragawa city government chose wild cherries as a symbol for the promotion of local development. The city has long been renowned for the beautiful scenery of its wild cherry species,&nbsp;Cerasus jamasakura and&nbsp;Cerasus leveilleana, so it was logical to choose this symbol to support the city’s projects in Satoyama forest management and environmental education.&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, wild cherries symbolize different things to different people and so it was important to understand the diverse value perceptions of wild cherries and the ecosystem services they provide. In a new study by researchers from the University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, the perceptions of three social groups towards wild cherry trees and their value were investigated. The survey focused particularly on people’s understanding of Satoyama ecosystems, which is where forests (that include wild cherry trees) are managed for the use of people and nature in harmony. Satoyama forests are common around Sakuragawa city and they are the focus of the city’s forest management projects.&nbsp;



“Understanding how people perceive the value of symbolic species’ ecosystem services is crucial because these perceptions often affect how land is managed,” said study co-author Professor Ikuyo Saeki. “These perspectives are also key to sustaining links between people and nature, and must be examined if we are to successfully transition to more sustainable societies.”



The researchers used questionnaires to survey 321 participants who were in three categories – adult residents, visiting tourists and high school pupils. Apart from answering questions about themselves and their understanding of Satoyama forests, the participants were asked which of the following eight values of ecosystem services provided by wild cherries they perceive to be important: history, recreation, economy, aesthetic in spring, aesthetic in fall, biodiversity, education, and culture. Their knowledge of the differences between wild cherries and common cultivars was also assessed.&nbsp;



The results, published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26395916.2022.2065359">Ecosystems and People</a>, revealed interesting differences between the groups. First, local residents and tourists favored wild cherries more than they did the common cultivar, and the majority of them had basic knowledge of wild cherries and Satoyama. In contrast, many of the high school students did not seem to recognize the difference between wild cherries and the cultivar, and could not describe the characteristics of Satoyama. These results indicate that high school students have limited knowledge of and experience with wild cherries.&nbsp;



In addition, the residents and tourists placed most value on the ecosystem service termed ‘aesthetic in spring’, when evaluating the role of wild cherry trees, although they also highlighted the historical value of these trees. The high school students, in contrast, ranked multiple values equally, such that no one ecosystem value stood out as more important than the others. The sites renowned for their wild cherry scenery were highly valued by local residents and tourists, but not by students, who placed more value on urbanized areas.



According to the study authors, the results suggest most of the students were not able to discriminate among the values due to limited knowledge of wild cherries. "A majority of students commuted from outside of the city and expressed little interest in outdoor recreation. Thus, they likely had fewer opportunities to learn about and visit wild cherry sites in Sakuragawa city compared to residents and tourists.”



The researchers draw two important conclusions from their findings. For successful conservation of Satoyama forests in future, it will be important to share the diverse values, which are appreciated by local residents and knowledgeable visitors, with younger generations. This could be done through education and taking high school pupils on outings to the forests, instead of focusing on places of historical and cultural significance in the urban environment.&nbsp;



In addition, the wild cherry and its blossoms could be a successful symbol of local conservation projects as this tree is highly visible in the Satoyama forests and is a key species in the ecosystem. The maintenance of Satoyama landscapes is challenging because it requires a large labor force and cooperation from land owners and local communities, and the use of wild cherries as a symbol would serve to attract people’s attention and encourage their consistent support of conservation work.&nbsp;



“While symbolic species enhance the way people value nature, filling gaps in knowledge and ensuring that a variety of values are shared within local communities is key to the promotion of community-based management of wild cherry landscapes,” said Professor Saeki.



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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

Cherry blossom emblems could unite people to save forests

Certain species become emblems for nature organizations and conservation projects...

A research team led by the <a href="https://ki.se/">Karolinska Institute</a> in Sweden has developed a tiny sensor which can detect <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/experts-develop-new-tool-to-design-safer-pesticides/">pesticides</a> on fruits very quickly, in just a few minutes. This innovative technique uses flame-sprayed nanoparticles made from silver to increase the signals from chemicals. Although these nano-sensors are still at a relatively early stage of development, the scientists hope that they could be soon used by consumers worldwide to quickly detect food pesticides.&nbsp;



“Reports show that up to half of all fruits sold in the EU contain pesticide residues that in larger quantities have been linked to human health problems,” said study senior author Georgios Sotiriou, an expert in Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at the Karolinska Institute.&nbsp;



“However, current techniques for detecting pesticides on single products before consumption are restricted in practice by the high cost and cumbersome manufacturing of its sensors. To overcome this, we developed inexpensive and reproducible nano-sensors that could be used to monitor traces of fruit pesticides at, for example, the store.”



In designing these sensors, Professor Sotiriou and his team employed a 1970s discovery known as surface-enhancing Ramon scattering (SERS) – a powerful sensing technique which can increase the diagnostic signals of biomolecules on metal surfaces by over one million times – and used flame spray to deliver small droplets of silver nanoparticles onto a glass surface.&nbsp;



“The flame spray can be used to quickly produce uniform SERS films across large areas, removing one of the key barriers to scalability,” explained study lead author Haipeng Li, a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Sotiriou’s lab. The scientists then fine-tuned the distance between the individual silver nanoparticles to enhance their sensitivity. Repeated tests showed that the sensors reliably and uniformly detected molecular signals for at least 2.5 months, a feature underscoring their shelf life potential and feasibility for large-scale production.



To test whether the sensors can reliably detect pesticides, the researchers placed low concentrations of parathion-ethyl (a toxic agricultural insecticide banned in many countries) on part of an apple.&nbsp;



“Our sensors can detect pesticide residues on apple surfaces in a short time of five minutes without destroying the fruit,” Dr. Li reported. “While they need to be validated in larger studies, we offer a proof-of-concept practical application for food safety testing at scale before consumption.”&nbsp;



In future research, the scientists aim to explore whether these nano-sensors can be applied to other areas, such as discovering biomarkers for specific diseases in resource-limited settings.



The sensors are described as a proof-of-concept in an article published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202201133">Advanced Science</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

Nano-sensors can quickly detect pesticides on fruits

A research team led by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden...

As an attempt to mitigate anthropogenic climate change, planted forests have become a widespread <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/intense-nature-restoration-needed-to-address-the-climate-crisis/">restoration</a> strategy across the globe. However, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> in the UK and the <a href="http://www.ufopa.edu.br/ufopa/">Federal University of Western Pará</a> in Brazil has found that restoration initiatives using non-native tree species can have a significant impact on tropical insects in neighboring forests, disrupting their distribution and behavior. Thus, while well-intended, exotic tree plantations can have wider, unforeseen influences on the native biodiversity of hyper-diverse tropical forests.



In ecology, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/edge-effects">edge effect</a> research focuses on how biological populations change at the boundary of two or more different habitats. In order to investigate the edge effects of newly planted Eucalyptus trees on native ecosystems in the Amazonian rainforest, the scientists collected over 3,700 dung beetles from 49 species.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Our findings for dung beetles offer new insights into the importance of considering how proximity to exotic tree plantations can affect tropical forest biodiversity,” said Filipe França, a lecturer in Biology at the University of Bristol. “Importantly, edge effects varied across dung beetle responses and were species-specific. For example, we found more dung beetle species far away from Eucalyptus plantations, but some species also thrived and had higher abundances closer to plantation edges.”



These findings suggest that some dung beetles may be more sensitive to the introduction of new plant species close to their territories, while other, edge-affiliate and more generalist species, are able to thrive in novel environments.



“Understanding multi-species responses to anthropogenic disturbances is crucial to tackle the current biodiversity crisis and our findings are vital for forest managers and conservation planners aiming to maintain forest-specialist biodiversity in native ecosystems across the tropics,” concluded study senior author Rodrigo Ferreira Fadini, an expert in biodiversity at the Federal University of Western Pará.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/forest-ecology-and-management">Forest Ecology and Management</a>.&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

Exotic tree plantations often disturb local wildlife

As an attempt to mitigate anthropogenic climate change, planted forests...

In recent decades, giant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-ocean-temperatures-lower-giant-kelps-nutritional-value/">kelp</a> forests have struggled to stay healthy, while some have vanished altogether. This however is not the case in Patagonia, where giant kelp are thriving along the southwestern coast, and have been for almost 200 years.&nbsp;



<a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JC017801">New research</a> published by the American Geophysical Union suggests that frequent marine cold spells in the Patagonian region could be keeping kelp happy.



Giant kelp forests are critical species within their ecosystems, and are among the world’s <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69238-x">most productive</a> and biodiverse. Some impacts facing these species include unregulated harvesting, and heat wave induced changes in other species' diets, such as urchin, who are left to feed on kelp when other sources of food disappear. These threats have led to losses of two percent of kelp forests each year.&nbsp;



Despite these impacts, Patagonia’s giant kelp forests look the same as they did in the early twentieth century. “It’s a very persistent ecosystem, so the question was, ‘Why has this particular kelp forest survived so long?’” said study lead author and marine geographer Alejandra Mora-Soto.



To answer this question, the research team analyzed sea surface temperatures from the southernmost 800 miles of South America’s coastlines from 1981 to 2020. They were looking for marine heat waves and cold spells.&nbsp;



“Glacial melting means more cold water entering the ocean environment. This can create very short peaks in cool temperatures, from a few days to two to three weeks,” said Mora-Soto.&nbsp;



Along the coast of Patagonia, the climate is not warming as rapidly as in other regions. Cool waters, like air conditioning, regulate the kelp’s environment and keep the temperature at levels that kelp can tolerate.&nbsp;



In the immediate future, the outlook of kelp forests is a positive one. Current climate and ocean models predict the Southern Ocean, where thriving kelp forests live, will avoid warming dramatically. But as glacial melt increases, freshwater can bring sunlight-blocking sediment, different nutrients, and cold temperatures.



“If there’s ice in the system, that could be very stressful for kelp,” said Mora-Soto. Scientists don’t yet know how long kelp species can tolerate extremely cold water. This emphasizes the need to protect these resilient and unique forests.&nbsp;



“In Southern Patagonia, most of the lands surrounding the kelp forests are protected, but not necessarily the waters,” explained Mora-Soto. "And in the northern regions of Chile, kelp forests are harvested for the alginate industry, creating underwater deserts in environmentally favorable conditions. I hope environmentalists, NGOs, local communities and the current government can help make the protection of kelp something real.”



A growing collection of research demonstrates the value of kelp forests in reducing the effects of climate change, which means that they are worthy of protection.&nbsp;



The research was published in the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21699291">Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Giant kelp are struggling, but not in Patagonia

In recent decades, giant kelp forests have struggled to stay...

Dandelions flower in the early spring and provide a welcome source of nectar and pollen to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/multiple-habitats-must-be-protected-to-save-bumblebees/">bees</a>, butterflies, birds and other pollinators. As the season progresses, they develop a "fluffy" head of seeds that will be dispersed by wind currents and may help the young-at-heart to tell the time.&nbsp;



Each seed head has a flat platform (or floral podium) on which are situated many small seeds. Each seed is joined by a narrow tube to around 100 bristles or "hairs," which form the parachute-like structure. This skirt of fine hairs catches the wind and enables the seed to fly off to a new destination. Dandelion seeds are some of the best flyers in nature, often spreading as far as 100 kilometers away from the parent plant.&nbsp;



However, the success of seed dispersal depends on the weather. The all-important fluffy skirt closes when the air is humid (and wind is less likely), and opens wide when the air is dry. In the drier, windier conditions, the many small ‘hairs’ spread apart, enabling each parachute to catch the air currents more successfully and fly the seeds away. But until now, nobody knew how these plants sense and respond to the moisture levels in their environments.



In a study of the microscopic structure of dandelion parachutes, a team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a> has worked out the potential mechanism whereby each seed’s parachute responds to the presence of water vapor in the air. They have also created a model to simulate the fine structure of each parachute and to predict how the relevant components work together to enable the parachute to close in humid conditions and open when it is dry.&nbsp;



The researchers identified a structure at the center of each seed-carrying parachute that acts like an actuator – a device that converts signals into movement – without using any energy.&nbsp;The structure is composed of different types of plant tissues, some of which have cells that absorb water from the atmosphere and swell, while others are composed of cells that resist water absorption. The experts hypothesized that parachute opening and closure arises from the differential water absorption or swelling properties of these different tissue regions.



The actuator has a unique radial, tube-like design to which the parachute hairs are attached. As the actuator changes shape due to absorption or evaporation of water from the tissues, the angles of the hairs change and they all move simultaneously. The actuator expands in humid conditions, pushing the parachute hairs toward one another, and the parachute closes. In dry conditions, the actuator contracts and the hairs spread out like the spokes of an umbrella, opening the parachute.&nbsp;



In fact, most cells of the actuator appear collapsed and are closely packed together in dry conditions. But when water is added the actuator cells show substantial increases in area and circularity as they absorb the water and change shape. This causes radial expansion within two minutes, which pushes the parachute hairs close together and closes the parachute.&nbsp;



“Our findings reveal how the dandelion ensures the survival of its species by making perhaps the most important decision in a plant’s life – to stay or go seek a better habitat," said Dr. Naomi Nakayama, who led the research.



Researchers at Imperial, the Universities of Edinburgh, Oxford, Lyon and Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, investigated this biomechanical phenomenon using their combination of expertise in plant biology and mechanical engineering.&nbsp;To understand the microscopic changes in the shapes of the cells in humid and dry conditions, they placed dandelions into a humidity-controlled chamber and then measured the changes in the actuator tissues using multiple imaging techniques, including an environmental scanning electron microscope.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Once the experts understood that the floral podium was made of two layers, a top one that did not expand much in the presence of water and an underneath one that absorbed water and expanded easily, they built a structural computer model of the actuator accounting for these differences and for forces associated with changes in hydration level. Their model agreed quantitatively with most of their observations, which indicated that differences in the capacity to absorb water are key to actuation and therefore to parachute opening and closing.&nbsp;



The researchers found that parachute opening is modulated by the level of humidity in the atmosphere: higher humidity triggered swelling in the actuator and mechanical movement of hairs upwards, which closed the parachutes. Some regions of the actuator swelled noticeably, whereas others, such as the vasculature, barely changed. They observed that the actuator shape change was caused by uptake and release of water droplets, creating a crease in the area the parachute hairs are attached.&nbsp;



Plant structures can serve as important inspiration for soft robotics as, like plants, these robots don’t use joints or rigid parts to move appendages. Finding out how dandelion parachutes respond to their environment by moving many appendages simultaneously could help engineers create robots that move multiple fingers and arms with very simple yet functional designs. The way the dandelion actuator changes shape in some tissue regions but not others can also teach us about mechanisms of shaping and movement in soft robots and biological tissues.&nbsp;



“Our work is a great example of what the natural world can teach us about interacting with our environments," said Dr. Nakayama. "It’s also a fantastic piece of multidisciplinary collaboration: bringing varying disciplines together to spark new ways of investigating biological and engineering problems.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-30245-3#Abs1">Nature Communications</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

What dandelions are "thinking" - the secret to their success

Dandelions flower in the early spring and provide a welcome...

Alpine,Forest,On,A,Mountain,Slope.,Beautiful,Mountain,Forest,In

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.unil.ch/central/en/home.html">University of Lausanne</a> and the <a href="https://www.unibas.ch/en.html">University of Basel</a> has found that global warming has a significant impact on the Alpine region. Just like the Arctic, this European mountain range is becoming greener, with satellite data showing evidence that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/changes-in-vegetation-are-a-key-driver-of-global-temperatures/">vegetation</a> above the tree line has increased in nearly 80 percent of the Alps. Moreover, the experts have also detected decreases in snow cover in 10 percent of the area.



By using high-resolution satellite data from 1984 to 2021, the scientists discovered that, over this period, the plant biomass above the tree line increased in more than 77 percent of the observed regions – a phenomenon of “greening” caused by climate change that is already well documented in the Arctic.



“The scale of the change has turned out to be absolutely massive in the Alps,” said study lead author Sabine Rumpf, an assistant professor of Ecology at the University of Basel. 



According to Professor Rumpf and her colleagues, the Alps are becoming greener because an increasing number of plants are colonizing new areas, and the vegetation is becoming denser and taller due to changes in precipitation and rising temperatures. Yet, although Alpine plants are well-adapted to harsh conditions, they are not very competitive, and may soon lose their evolutionary advantage. “The unique biodiversity of the Alps is therefore under considerable pressure,” Professor Rumpf warned.



In contrast to such massive changes in vegetation, the extent of snow cover above the tree line has not changed so radically since 1984. Although significant decreases in snow cover have only been found in about 10 percent of the Alps, the researchers consider it a worrying trend.



“Previous analyses of satellite data hadn’t identified any such trend,” explained study senior author Antoine Guisan, an ecologist at the University of Lausanne. “This may be because the resolution of the satellite images was insufficient or because the periods considered were too short.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;



“For years, local ground-based measurements have shown a decrease in snow depth at low elevations,” added study co-author Grégoire Mariéthoz, an expert in Earth Surface Dynamics at the same university. “This decrease has already caused some areas to become largely snow-free.”



According to the scientists, as global warming continues, the Alps will turn increasingly greener, creating a vicious circle. &nbsp;



“Greener mountains reflect less sunlight and therefore lead to further warming – and, in turn, to further shrinkage of reflective snow cover,” explained Professor Rumpf. In addition, rising temperatures will cause further melting of glaciers and thawing of permafrost, which can lead to landslides, mudflows, and rockfalls. Finally, snow melting will have a significant impact on drinking water supplies, as well as on tourism and recreation activities.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abn6697">Science</a>.



---



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

Greening in the Alps is visible from space

A new study led by the University of Lausanne and...

Neptune,Seagrass,Posidonia,Oceanica,Underwater,With,Natural,Sunlight,In,Mediterranean

A research team led by the <a href="https://www.uwa.edu.au/">University of Western Australia</a> has recently identified the world’s largest living plant in the shallow waters off the coast of Western Australia. Posidonia Australis is a sprawling seagrass that stretches for over 112 miles/180 kilometers (the equivalent of the distance between San Diego and Los Angeles) in Shark Bay, a wilderness area declared by UNESCO a <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/">World Heritage Site</a>.&nbsp;



The scientists have long believed this to be a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-amounts-of-sugar-found-under-seagrass-meadows/">seagrass meadow</a> - a collection of genetically related yet different individual plants. “We often get asked how many different plants are growing in a seagrass meadow. Here we used genetic tools to answer it,” said study senior author Elizabeth Sinclair, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Western Australia.



To answer this question, Dr. Sinclair and her team collected samples from 10 locations across the range of this seagrass meadow, and performed a series of genetic tests. “The answer definitely surprised us - just ONE! That’s it, just one plant has expanded over 180 km in Shark Bay, making it the largest known plant on Earth,” Dr. Sinclair reported.



According to the researchers, the plant is so large because it is able to clone itself, creating genetically identical offshoots.&nbsp;This type of reproduction is rare in the animal kingdom and occurs more often among some plants, fungi, and bacteria.



“The plant has been able to continue growing through vegetative growth - extending its rhizomes (rootstalks) outwards - the way a buffalo grass would in your back garden, extending runners outwards. The only difference is that the seagrass rhizomes are under a sandy seafloor so you don’t see them, just the shoots within the water column,” explained Dr. Sinclair. “What was even more interesting was that it has double the number of chromosomes than in other populations we had been studying. It has 40, not the usual 20” - a phenomenon called “polyploidy.”&nbsp;



The scientists argued that polyploidy, combined with reproducing via cloning, helped this seagrass expand over the past 4,500 years and adapt to more extreme environmental conditions than other seagrasses can withstand, including saltier waters, wider temperature fluctuations, and higher levels of light. “It seems to have a way to hunker down and have the genetic toolkit to survive, no matter what conditions have been thrown at it so far,” concluded study co-author Martin Breed, an expert in Ecosystem Health at <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0538">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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

World’s largest plant found in Western Australia

A research team led by the University of Western Australia...

Beta diversity is a measure of site-to-site variation in the composition of species within a certain area. A new study led by <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington University in St. Louis</a> has found that tree beta diversity matters more for ecosystem functioning than other components of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-impacts-biodiversity-in-protected-areas-worldwide/">biodiversity</a> at larger scales, such as local or regional diversity. The experts have also discovered that the relationship between beta diversity and tree biomass strengthens with increasing spatial scale.&nbsp;



“A lot of studies have focused only on small scales when they look at biodiversity and ecosystem functioning,” said lead author Dr. Jacqueline Reu. “Our study is one of the first that looks at multiple different measures of biodiversity, as well as direct and indirect effects of the environment, on ecosystem functioning as you increase scale in a natural system.”



“Our results back the theory that beta diversity, or the variation in species composition across space, is the best biodiversity measure at larger scales,” she explained. “It’s stronger than the other diversity measures that we considered, like local and regional diversity. And its importance increases as you increase spatial scale.”



Dr. Reu and her colleagues studied 14 landscapes of oak-hickory forest in the Ozark region, each of which contained at least three major habitat types common to Ozark forests, including sunnier, drier, and nutrient poor west- or south-facing slopes; shady, nutrient-rich valleys and bottom lands; and east- and north-facing slopes, which are the most productive in terms of tree cover. Each of these landscapes also included an environmental gradient of nutrient and moisture availability, light availability, and a wide range of topographic conditions.



The scientists quantified the direct effects of three diversity components – beta diversity, local diversity, and regional diversity – and calculated the strength of the relationship between each of these components and aboveground tree biomass, a property of forests closely related to ecosystem functioning. Their results revealed that the relationship between beta diversity and tree biomass strengthened with increasing spatial extent, and that ecosystem functioning was highly dependent upon variations in beta diversity.



“It’s not just the gain or the loss and the number of species that matters, it’s also changes in the distribution of these species and where you might find them in an ecosystem,” said study co-author Christopher Catano, a postdoctoral fellow in Ecology at <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a>. “This study and a few others recently have been pretty consistent, in the sense that they’re showing it’s (species) turnover, or variation across space, that seems to be really critical.”



“Beta diversity is driving a variety of different functions, as well as the stability of these functions over time, as you scale up from small, local plot-based ecosystems to large, heterogeneous landscapes,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3774">Ecology</a>.



---



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

Beta diversity contributes to ecosystem stability

Beta diversity is a measure of site-to-site variation in the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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