In our efforts to sustain the planet, one vital aspect that we have often failed to consider is the role of tree crops. 



Did you know that tree crops cover an astounding 183 million hectares worldwide? Yet, they remain largely overlooked in agricultural policies. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-potential-of-tree-crops">The potential of tree crops </h2>



Whether it's apples, cherries, olives, nuts, coffee, or cacao, tree crops offer much more than just a tasty snack or your morning caffeine boost.



A recently published study has highlighted their immense potential not only by feeding us globally but by safeguarding biodiversity, tackling climate change, and improving millions of lives worldwide. 



The international team of authors shared their findings in a Perspectives article published in the journal Nature Sustainability.



"In this Perspective, we highlight the potential of properly managed and incentivized perennial woody crops to support holistic sustainable development and urge scientists and policymakers to develop an effective agenda to better harness their benefits," wrote the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-overlooked-role-of-tree-crops">Overlooked role of tree crops</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-salt-lake-agriculture-is-draining-a-natural-wonder/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agricultural</a> policies have traditionally focused on annual crops like wheat, rice, and sunflowers. These crops have a much shorter life cycle, typically completing germination to harvest in a year. 



While promoting sustainable practices for these crops is essential, their ecological benefits are limited. Their simpler vegetation and short harvest cycles don't offer the same long-term ecological benefits.



Tree crops, in contrast, are far more complex. They consist of multiple layers of vegetation, such as herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees, creating stable ecosystems that support biodiversity when managed sustainably. 



"We’re missing an opportunity to leverage tree crops to address some of the biggest environmental and social challenges of our time," said Dr. Carlos Martínez-Núñez, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.ebd.csic.es/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Doñana Biological Station</a>.



These systems not only provide habitats for various species but also contribute significantly to environmental protection.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-benefits-beyond-food-production">Benefits beyond food production</h2>



Tree crops offer a range of environmental benefits. Their permanent root systems help prevent soil erosion and improve <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-soil-day-2024-protecting-our-planets-lifeline/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">soil fertility</a>. The extensive leaf litter from these crops enriches the soil, making it more productive over time. 



Additionally, tree crops act as natural carbon sinks, sequestering greenhouse gases and aiding in climate change mitigation.



These crops also enhance habitat connectivity, allowing fragmented ecosystems to thrive and providing a buffer against the impacts of intensive agriculture. By improving ecosystem services and offering stable, year-round habitats, tree crops play an essential role in global biodiversity conservation.



Moreover, tree crops are less mechanized and demand more manual labor than other forms of agriculture. This makes them vital sources of employment in low- and middle-income countries, where they are widespread. 



"When managed properly, these agricultural systems can be a powerful tool for biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and rural poverty alleviation," noted Dr. Martínez-Núñez.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-call-for-action">A call for action</h2>



The study highlights the need for tailored policies and research to ensure <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/we-are-in-a-race-against-time-to-save-our-food-supply-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sustainable management</a> of tree crops.



Dr. Elena Velado-Alonso, co-author of the study and researcher at Göttingen University’s <a href="https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/596513.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Functional Agrobiodiversity and Agroecology Group</a>, emphasized the importance of context-specific measures.



"Tree cropping areas overlap with most of the world’s biodiversity-rich areas, making them key to conservation," said Dr. Velado-Alonso. "However, local practices and landscape-scale measures adapted to different contexts are needed."



To maximize the contribution of tree crops to global sustainability, the research team calls for implementing regulations, financial incentives, and policies that support improved agricultural practices. 



These steps could harness tree crops' full potential in addressing key environmental and social challenges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-agriculture-with-tree-crops">Rethinking agriculture with tree crops</h2>



This call to action marks a crucial step in rethinking agriculture's role in creating a more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-and-agriculture-are-locked-in-a-destructive-feedback-loop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sustainable and equitable world</a>. 



By embracing the benefits of tree crops and promoting sustainable practices, we can take significant strides toward achieving the United Nations' <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. These crops are not just a source of food and income - they are a powerful tool for environmental protection and social progress.



With more attention, research, and support, tree crops could become the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture, helping to address the climate crisis, conserve biodiversity, and uplift communities worldwide.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-024-01483-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Sustainability</a>.



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Tree crops: A path to feeding the world and saving the planet

In our efforts to sustain the planet, one vital aspect that we have often failed to consider is the role of tree crops. Did you know that tree crops cover an astounding 183 million hectares worldwide? Yet, they remain largely overlooked in agricultural policies. The potential of tree crops Whether it's apples, cherries, olives, nuts, coffee, or cacao, tree crops offer much more than just a tasty snack or your morning caffeine boost. A recently published study has highlighted their immense potential not only by feeding us...

High heat coupled with low water conditions caused by global warming can weaken the resistance of pine trees to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warming-water-is-driving-eelgrass-wasting-disease/">disease</a>. A new study from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> is the first to analyze host and pathogen genes in climate change conditions



The study was focused on Austrian pine trees, which are native to southern Europe, and can also be found in Canada and the United States. The researchers examined the effects of climate change by testing the trees after they were infected by two fungi that kill the pines over time.



“We decided to study the effects of the combined stresses of higher temperatures and lower water availability because that’s what trees will experience in the future,” said senior author Professor Enrico Bonello.



“Within three days of infection under climate-change conditions, the tree was pulled in two different directions: It was deprived of carbon by both reduced photosynthesis and enhanced acquisition of the carbon by the fungi. When we’re talking about carbon, we’re talking about sugars, food and reserves for all other metabolic processes in the trees, including growth and defense.”



The world’s forests provide carbon sequestration, a major mitigator of climate change. Experts say this natural service could be enhanced by ensuring the protection, management and restoration of forests.&nbsp;



In a 2021 <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2021.716582/full">study</a> of U.S. forest plots, scientists estimated recent disease and insect disturbances lowered carbon sequestration rates by 28 percent and 69 percent, compared to undisturbed forests.



“This is another reason to combat global warming induced by human activities – another piece of evidence that what we are doing to the planet has so many implications,” said Professor Bonello.



The researchers exposed Austrian pines to two sets of conditions. First, they used a control setting, where daily temperatures ranged from 59 to 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit. To mimic climate change, the trees were exposed to daily temperatures of 68 to 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The hotter conditions reduced the amount of water in the atmosphere.&nbsp;



Once the trees had adjusted to these conditions, they were inoculated with one of two strains of the pathogenic fungus. The fungi are largely dormant, waiting for the best opportunity to kill host cells and feed on the dead plant material when their host is weakened. The fungi have also begun damaging Scots pines in Scandinavia.



“The hypothesis is that the warming and lower water availability in those areas is making trees more susceptible to a pathogen that would normally sit in the background,” explained Professor Bonello.



Three days after infection, the team collected plant and pathogen tissue that was used for an RNA sequencing analysis to identify gene activation in the trees and both strains of the fungi.



A fundamental change was found in the pine trees exposed to climate-change conditions. Their capacity to carry out photosynthesis decreased, leaving fewer resources to invest in their own food supply, growth and defense against disease.



At the same time, both strains of the fungus ramped up their carbon utilization machinery, and they became significantly more pathogenic.



“Essentially, climate change conditions led the host to starvation, which is compounded by the fact that the fungi became more aggressive, grew faster and killed more host tissue faster,” Bonello said. “These were early responses, but it gives us an idea of what’s happening in the system.”



The research offers insights into how much damage global warming may do to one of the planet’s main carbon sinks.



“Pathogen and pest invasions are already having an effect on carbon sequestration,” said Professor Bonello. “If you make it even worse with climate change, carbon sequestration will be affected negatively because trees will die in ever larger numbers. Trees that might otherwise survive adverse environmental conditions for a while, and recover if conditions become better or intermittent, may be killed by pathogens in the meantime.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.872584/full">Frontiers in Forests and Global Change</a>.&nbsp;



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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

Heat makes pine trees more susceptible to disease

High heat coupled with low water conditions caused by global...

Bladderworts are carnivorous plants that are found in freshwater lakes and marshes, and in waterlogged soil on all continents except <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-groundwater-system-discovered-beneath-antarctica/">Antarctica</a>. Their sophisticated “bladders” are highly adapted to suck in any prey that swim past and disturb the trigger “hairs” connected to the trapdoor that opens into the bladder. Species with larger bladders can feed on aquatic prey such as water fleas, nematodes, mosquitolarvae and even fish fry and young tadpoles. 



In a study led by researchers at <a href="http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/en">Ruhr-Universität Bochum</a> (RUB), water fleas were kept in the laboratory in the presence of aquatic Utricularia&nbsp;plants (bladderworts) to investigate whether they have any defenses against this carnivorous plant.&nbsp;



The team, headed by Dr. Sebastian Kruppert, Dr. Martin Horstmann and Professor Ralph Tollrian from RUB, in collaboration with Professor Thomas Speck from the Freiburg Botanical Garden and Simon Poppinga from the Technical University of Darmstadt, describe their findings in the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms">International Journal of Molecular Sciences</a>.



The researchers began by collecting water fleas, a type of small crustacean, from a site where they naturally occurred alongside bladderwort (Utricularia x neglecta) plants. The water fleas were kept in the laboratory, where they reproduced by parthenogenesis, forming offspring that were all genetically identical. Some of the water fleas were then placed in conditions with no Utricularia present, while others were cultured alongside the carnivorous plants, but separated by a fine mesh so that they would not be eaten.



Although the water fleas did not come into contact with the plants, they could detect the presence of the plants by virtue of chemical signals in the water. Under these conditions, water fleas were found to grow longer lateral spines on their carapace, an adaptation that may have made them more likely to get stuck in the entrance of a bladder rather than being sucked inside it and digested.



In addition, the researchers found that water fleas living in the presence of the plants swam along more slowly than those that grew up without the plant. Since the trigger hairs are set off by the movement of water currents produced by passing prey, swimming more slowly would be less likely to trigger the trapdoor and the suction action of the bladder.&nbsp;



Since the water fleas were all genetically identical, these changes in morphology and behavior were induced by the presence of the plants, and not by genetic differences. “This shows that the otherwise genetically identical animals only activate defenses when they need them because they grow up side by side with the plants,” said Dr. Kruppert.&nbsp;



The effectiveness of these changes was tested by the researchers, who counted how often water fleas were sucked into bladders when the two species were kept together in the laboratory. They found that animals that had grown up without the plant were captured more frequently than those that had been previously exposed to the plant and had developed defenses. The adaptations therefore increase the survival rate of water fleas raised in the presence of the plant.&nbsp;



“This indicates that the activatable adaptations are actually defenses against the plant,” said Dr. Kruppert.



“We assume that the appendages let the water fleas grow wider than the diameter of the suction trap entrances,” explained Dr. Horstmann. “The traps are different sizes, but the smaller traps at least can no longer ingest the animals.” Since the water fleas with defenses are also slimmer, the water current can probably flow past them more easily. Moreover, the slower swimming movements probably trigger the traps less often.



"We hadn’t been aware of any other case where animals can defend themselves against attacks from plants. The fact that various defenses such as behavioral adaptations and changes in body structure can simultaneously be observed shows how adaptable and fascinating these tiny animals are," said Tollrian.



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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

Water fleas adapt to life with deadly carnivorous plants

Bladderworts are carnivorous plants that are found in freshwater lakes...

In a new study published in the journal<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.847892/full?&amp;utm_source=Email_to_authors_&amp;utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&amp;utm_campaign=Email_publication&amp;field=&amp;journalName=Frontiers_in_Sustainable_Food_Systems&amp;id=847892"> Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems</a>, researchers have determined that in the face of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unchecked-emissions-could-double-heat-related-child-mortality/">heat</a> stress due to climate change, soil quality - specifically its ability to hold water - will be a crucial factor in determining corn, soybean, cotton, and wheat success.&nbsp;



According to researchers, we are amid a food crisis. Climate change was responsible for the undernourishment of 750 million people in 2019. Moreover, they expect crop production to decrease by 25 percent within the next 25 years due to rising temperatures, and all while experts predict we need to double the current rate of food production by 2050 to feed a booming global population.



“At the same time that farmers are facing more extreme weather events caused by climate change they are dealing with the growing problem of soil degradation," said study first author Professor Debjani Sihi of <a href="https://www.emory.edu/home/index.html">Emory University</a>.



Moreover, we should consider that poor soil quality leads to the release of more carbon. “Keeping soil healthy is a key component needed to adapt to the climate crisis," said Sihi.



In the mainland United States, the researchers aimed to assess how climate and soil properties affect corn, soybean, cotton, and wheat yields over time. They gathered 34 years of data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and evaluated the impact of crop yields on several climate and soil variables.



The results of the study suggest that the most important climatic factor affecting crop production is rising temperatures, while water holding capacity was the most crucial soil property.



Furthermore, the authors found that reduced soil moisture doesn’t just affect short-term crop production. but also encourages further decline in crop production via degradation. 



“The take-home message is that farmers in regions facing added heat stress for their crops may want to proactively focus on the water-holding capacity of their soil," said Professor Sihi.&nbsp;



So how does this apply to the real world? Professor Sihi explains that clay soils and soil containing rich organic material hold water better than sandy soil. Therefore, farmers who have sand plots should consider modifications that improve water-holding capacity. For example, the use of mulch can reduce evaporation.&nbsp;



The researchers believe their findings will encourage decision-makers to adapt long-term sustainable crop management practices.&nbsp;



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

Soil quality can help crops survive rising temperatures

In a new study published in the journal Frontiers in...

According to a new report by the <a href="http://www.ipbes.net/">Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services&nbsp;</a>(IPBES), billions of people globally – most of them living in developing countries - depend on over 50,000 wild species for food, materials, medicine, energy, and many other vital contributions to human well-being that these animals, plants, fungi, and algae provide. However, the accelerating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-biodiversity-crisis-will-take-millions-of-years-to-recover-from/">biodiversity crisis&nbsp;</a>could soon push many of these species toward extinction, thus threatening the people who rely on them too. In order to avoid this situation, a large international team of experts has offered insights and tools for establishing more sustainable use of wild species around the world.



“With about 50,000 wild species used through different practices, including more than 10,000&nbsp;wild species harvested directly for human food, rural people in developing countries are most at risk from unsustainable use, with lack of complementary alternatives often forcing them to further exploit wild species already at risk,” said Dr. Jean-Marc Fromentin, a researcher at IPBES who co-chaired the Assessment Report.&nbsp;



“70 precent of the world’s poor are directly dependent on wild species,” added Dr. Marla Emery, another co-chair of the report and research geographer at the <a href="https://www.nina.no/english/home">Norwegian Institute for Nature Research</a>. “One in five people rely on wild plants, algae and fungi for their food and income; 2.4 billion rely on fuel wood for cooking; and about 90 percent of the 120 million people working in capture fisheries are supported by small-scale fishing. But the regular use of wild species is extremely important not only in the Global South. From the fish that we eat, to medicines, cosmetics, decoration and recreation, wild species’ use is much more prevalent than most people realize.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to the scientists, drivers of biodiversity loss include land- and seascape changes, pollution, invasive species, climate change, and increases in illegal use and trade. In order to protect these vital species, the experts propose a variety of actions for the five categories of “practices” in the use of wild species that they identified (fishing, logging, gathering, terrestrial animal harvesting, and non-extractive practices).&nbsp;



In the case of fishing, for example, such actions would include reducing illegal and unregulated fishing, supporting small-scale fisheries, adapting to changes in oceanic productivity due to climate change, proactively creating transboundary institutions, suppressing harmful financial subsidies, and fixing current inefficiencies. In logging practices, sustainable actions such as the management and certification of forests for multiple uses, technological innovations to reduce waste in manufacturing wood products, and political initiatives to recognize the rights of local communities are all essential for safeguarding the world’s forests.



The experts argued that, in most future scenarios that enable the sustainable use of wild species, transformative changes share several characteristics, such as the integration of plural value systems, changes in social values and cultural norms, equitable distribution of costs and benefits, and effective institutions and systems of governance.



“The sustainable use of wild species is vital for all people, in all communities – and this Report will help decision-makers around the world choose policies and actions that better support people and nature,” concluded Dr. Anne Lariguaderie, the Executive Secretary of IPBES.



A detailed summary for policymakers of the Assessment Report can be found <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/6810036#.YsxIqb1BzIU">here</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Billions of people depend on wild plant and animal species

According to a new report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform...

Carnivorous plants have evolved in many different taxa of plants, and in locations all around the world. They use a range of modifications to entrap <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-key-genes-that-drive-insect-migration/">insect</a> prey and then digest them, absorbing the nutrients from the insect bodies to supplement the minerals normally available in the soil. Although carnivorous plants have fascinated people for hundreds of years, the evolution of their ability to catch and digest live prey has remained obscure.



In new research, scientists from the <a href="https://www.salk.edu/">Salk Institute</a>, along with collaborators from Washington University in St. Louis, have investigated the molecular basis of plant carnivory to establish how carnivorous plants developed prey-capture-associated behaviors, such as leaf movements and digestive enzyme secretion. &nbsp;



Previous research has indicated that many proteins involved in the digestion of live prey by carnivorous plants are related to those used by other flowering plants to defend themselves against pathogens and pests. In the current study, the experts investigated whether perhaps carnivorous sundew plants evolved the ability to capture and consume prey by repurposing molecular mechanisms used originally for similar defense purposes.&nbsp;



“If we can learn more about how plants such as these and others have adapted to respond to their unique environments, then perhaps we can alter these molecular pathways in the future, to develop plants that can survive in harsher conditions,” said study co-author Professor&nbsp;<a href="http://www.salk.edu/scientist/joanne-chory">Joanne Chory</a>.



Biologists believe that plants such as the spoon-leaved sundew (Drosera spatulata) likely adopted carnivory to survive in nutrient-poor conditions. However, sundews are difficult to cultivate and their DNA wasn’t sequenced until recently, so scientists could not examine how carnivory works in these plants at a cellular level.&nbsp;



“Carnivorous sundew plants are not model organisms,” said study co-author Carl Procko. “Less than a handful of labs in the world have previously been able to genetically modify them, so we’ve had to learn new techniques to closely examine them.”



In Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula), the closure response of the leaves has been related to the movement of calcium ions from sensory hairs into the leaf blade, in response to mechanical stimulation of the hair. For the current study, the researchers investigated how calcium molecules move dynamically within cells in the leaves of carnivorous sundew plants, in response to touch from live prey. They applied genetic tools to image the dynamic changes of calcium molecules in the leaves as insect prey landed on sundew leaves and were captured there by sticky secretions.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In non-carnivorous plants, calcium signaling plays many important roles, such as triggering the jasmonic acid defense pathway to repel unwanted insect pests. Jasmonic acid also responds to electrical activity, which is a critical element of prey capture in some carnivorous plants, including sundews.&nbsp;



The scientists wanted to know if this same defense pathway in non-carnivorous plants might also be required for the sundew’s carnivorous behavior. They found that changes in calcium levels within plant cells did lead to leaf movements that enabled the capture of prey. Fluctuations in calcium within the plant cell resulted in the activation of genes typically targeted by jasmonic acid, as the leaf bent inwards and trapped the insect in sticky digestive secretions.&nbsp;



The researchers further observed that sundew leaves bent less when they were given non-living prey and when their calcium channels were blocked. These findings demonstrate that calcium aids in insect prey-capture responses in sundews and, together with the work of others, supports the idea that jasmonic acid is involved in insect digestion.



“It was fascinating to see how these plants respond to prey-associated mechanical stimulation, like touch,” said study co-author Ivan Radin. “The ability to sense and respond to mechanical forces is something most people don’t associate with plants, especially on this rapid timescale. Our work provides a beautiful visual of this fact.”



“The findings show that calcium is also involved and likely ramps up jasmonic acid responses, similar to how non-carnivorous plants respond defensively to mechanical stimulation from pests,” said Chory. “This provides further credence to the notion that carnivory in sundews may be an evolved defense pathway.”



In future, the researchers wish to apply similar genetic techniques to study other carnivorous plants that have been too difficult to examine until now. They hope to investigate the molecular basis of prey-capture mechanisms to understand better how carnivory evolved in distantly related species and to see if crops could benefit from adapting their existing environmental and insect response pathways to survive in challenging environments. &nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Carnivorous plants turned defense into highly successful offense

Carnivorous plants have evolved in many different taxa of plants,...

Relax,Ferns,Leaves,Green,Foliage,Natural,Floral,Fern,Background,In

Seven new fern species from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-amazon-rainforest-is-on-the-brink-of-collapse/">rainforests</a> of tropical America have been described by researchers at the <a href="https://www.utu.fi/en">University of Turku</a>. The species - six of the genus Danaea and one of the genus Dennstaedtia - were uncovered during ecological research. 



“The described species are no tiny or unnoticeable creatures. They range from 20cm to 2m tall, and some of them are very common locally,” explained study lead author Janina Keskiniva.



Species diversity in tropical rainforests is still relatively unknown. Every field trip to a new area can lead to the discovery of unknown species. Understanding how to identify these different species is key for ecological research.&nbsp;



“Information is also needed for setting conservation priorities, the survival of species depends on the conservation of their natural habitats. To prevent biodiversity loss, it is important to protect areas that have special habitats and unique species," said study co-author Hanna Tuomisto.



During field research, plant specimens are collected and stored for study. Researchers often assume that the specimens belong to an already known species. A thorough assessment of collected specimens allows researchers to identify new species hiding in plain sight.



“Most of the specimens we used to describe the new Danaea species were collected decades ago, some already in the 1800's. For all these years, the specimens have been curated in different herbaria. Now we could combine all that accumulated information from the herbaria with fresh insights from field studies made by us and our colleagues,” said Keskiniva.



In fact, the fern specimen that triggered describing the new Dennstaedtia species was collected 15 years ago by Gabriela Zuquim, a researcher at the University of Turku.&nbsp;



“The place where I collected this species has very different soils than most central Amazonian forests, so I am sure many more discoveries can be made there,” noted Zuquim.&nbsp;



"Our long-term goal has been to understand more about the biodiversity of Amazonian rainforests. We are especially interested in what factors determine which species grow where and why, and what are the drivers behind the evolution of new species. In the beginning, I was not interested in describing new species, but I soon realised that it is impossible to communicate about ecology and evolution if the species we are studying have no names," said Tuomisto.



Different soil conditions have a big impact on how species establish and evolve. The area in which the Dennstaedtia species was found is full of largely intact forests with very few people in the area. As a result, this particular species is doing well. However, not all of the newly described species are as lucky. One is already threatened by extinction due to deforestation.



Amazonia is the world’s largest tropical forest area, containing unique biodiversity. It also stores enormous amounts of carbon and regulates both rainfall patterns and global temperature. Conserving Amazonian biodiversity is critically important for the well-being of our planet.



The official scientific descriptions of the Danaea species have been published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/12225">Kew Bulletin</a>. The official scientific description of the Dennstaedtia species has been published in the journal <a href="https://acta.inpa.gov.br/">Acta Amazonica</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

Seven new tropical forest ferns found hiding in plain sight

Seven new fern species from the rainforests of tropical America...

Over the last two decades, climate change has contributed to a significant growth in the UK vineyard area – with more than 800 vineyards at the moment - and award-winning <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/future-of-spanish-wine-is-threatened-by-climate-change/">wine</a> production. Drawing on the latest climate projections, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> (UEA) and <a href="https://www.vinescapes.com/">Vinescapes Ltd</a> has now charted the potential for the wine industry over the next 20 years, and found that climate change is likely to further increase the quantity and quality of wine production, with conditions projected to resemble those in some of the world’s most famous growing regions in France and Germany.



“We’ve seen viticulture in the UK expand nearly 400 percent from 761 to 3,800 hectares between 2004 and 2021,” said study co-author Stephen Dorling, a professor of Meteorology at UEA. “Over that period the warming climate has supported much more reliable yield and quality of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties – these varieties are blended in the production of champagne-style sparkling wine.”



“Warm, dry UK growing seasons like 2018, with lower than average disease problems in the vines, led to production of a record-breaking 15.6 million bottles and these growing conditions have already become and are projected to become more common.”



Professor Dorling and his colleagues used <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/collaboration/ukcp">UK Climate Projections</a> scenarios to assess future variety and wine style suitability in the UK over the next two decades, together with the potential for viticulture investments, sector adaptation, and resilience. They found that regions in East Anglia, Lincolnshire, south-central England, northeast Wales, and coastal areas in southern Wales and southwest England will most likely have similar conditions to those in 2018 in 60 to 75 percent of the following 20 years, while large areas in southeastern and eastern England are projected to be suitable for still red Pinot Noir production.



“We have shown that in some areas of the UK the bumper vintage of 2018 will become the norm, and that Champagne region grape growing temperatures from 1999-2018 are projected to occur across an expanding area of England during 2021–2040,” said study lead author Alistair Nesbitt, a viticulture climatologist at Vinescapes Ltd. “In certain years, a few areas of the UK may see growing season climates similar to those that contributed to the very best recent vintages of Champagne, as well as support increased potential for Burgundy and Baden-style still red wines.”



However, the scientists warn that the rapidly changing UK climate requires the wine industry to remain agile and not get stuck to production that cannot adapt to the constantly changing growing conditions. Moreover, the unpredictability of the British weather – which led to massive losses for the wine industry in 2012, for instance - should also be taken into account when deciding what grape varieties to grow and in which regions.



“There are exciting times ahead for the UK wine sector, but our results have emphasized the challenge of establishing wine identities and brands, in particular those tightly associated with varieties and wine styles, in a rapidly changing climate,” concluded Professor Dorling.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://oeno-one.eu/article/view/5398">OENO One</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Climate change may boost wine production in the UK

Over the last two decades, climate change has contributed to...

According to new data published by Brazil’s <a href="https://www.gov.br/inpe/pt-br">National Institute for Space Research</a> (INPE), 1,539 square miles – five times the size of New York City - were deforested in the Amazon rainforest from January to June 2022. This is the highest rate of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-in-the-amazon-hits-new-record-high/">deforestation</a> ever recorded for this six-month period, and could push the Amazon on the brink of collapse, according to experts from <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/">Greenpeace</a>.



Forests are vital in the fight against climate change, constantly capturing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide. Deforestation is a major environmental issue, causing the massive destruction of these crucial carbon sinks and the loss of local biodiversity. By cutting down or burning vegetation in the Amazon rainforest – the largest in the world - to make way for planting crops and cattle grazing, individuals and companies are significantly endangering what came to be known as “the lungs of the planet.”



“Destroying the Amazon as the climate crisis rages is like taking a hammer to the air-con in a room that’s already getting hotter,” commented&nbsp;Louisa Casson, Greenpeace UK’s Head of Forests. “With every hectare of forest that gets chopped down, we’re pushing this climate-critical ecosystem closer to the brink of collapse while also threatening the rights of Indigenous Peoples.”



On average, the last three years under President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2021) witnessed a 52.9 percent increase in Amazon deforestation compared to the previous three years. According to Greenpeace, Bolsonaro has advanced “radical legislative proposals” which reward land grabbing, end environmental licensing requirements, and undermine Indigenous territories, while encouraging massive deforestation. “Governments and corporations need to stop fueling the fire and pile pressure onto Bolsonaro's government to make it stop,” said&nbsp;Casson.&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, Brazil is not the only culprit driving deforestation in the Amazon. Various countries, including the UK, rely upon Brazilian agriculture – which is made possible by deforestation - to supply products such as cocoa, beef, coffee, maize, soy, or palm oil. Although the UK government announced in December 2021 that they will limit the agricultural products coming from Brazil, these measures will not end the UK’s “complicity in forest destruction that Bolsonaro deems legal,” as Greenpeace put it.



“The deforestation law proposed by the UK government would barely make a dent on this issue. We need a zero-tolerance approach to Amazon destruction, or we’ll all pay the price,” Casson concluded.



More data regarding Amazon deforestation can be found on INPE’s <a href="http://www.inpe.br/amazonia1/en/amazonia.php">website</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Amazon rainforest is on the brink of collapse

According to new data published by Brazil’s National Institute for...

Researchers from <a href="https://mortonarb.org/">The Morton Arboretum</a> and United States Botanic Garden (USBG) have located a lone Chisos Mountain oak,&nbsp;Quercus tardifolia, within the Big Bend National Park in Texas, U.S.A. The rare species has only ever been recorded in the Chisos Mountains in Texas, and in the nearby Sierra del Carmen in northern Coahuila, Mexico. It was first described in the 1930s and the last living specimen was believed to have perished in 2011.



Botanical researchers from 10 different institutions collaborated in the search for a living specimen of the oak tree in its native Chisos Mountains. Their find, although exciting, is also rather disheartening because the 30-foot tree is in very poor condition. Its trunk has been burned in places, and it shows signs of severe fungal infection. It is clearly clinging to life at this stage; a single bush fire or season of drought could mean the end of it.



“This work is crucial to preserve the biodiversity that Earth is so quickly losing,” said Dr. Murphy Westwood. “If we ignore the decline of&nbsp;Q. tardifolia&nbsp;and other rare, endangered trees, we could see countless domino effects with the loss of other living entities in the ecosystems supported by those trees,” she said. According to Westwood,&nbsp;Q. tardifolia&nbsp;is considered one of the rarest, if not the rarest oak in the world.



Scientists are interested in understanding why this species of tree is on the verge of extinction because this knowledge may help to manage other endangered species such that they don’t face the same fate. The group of researchers that discovered the living specimen on May 25, 2022, is now working with the National Park Service to protect the tree from the threat of fires, which have become more prevalent due to climate change. In addition, conservationists will search for acorns from the parent plant and attempt to germinate them, thus propagating new specimens.&nbsp;



“This is important collaborative research necessary for the conservation of&nbsp;Q. tardifolia,” said Carolyn Whiting, a botanist at Big Bend National Park. “The Chisos Mountains support a high diversity of oak species, partly because of the wide range of habitats available in this ‘sky island.’ There is still much to learn about the oaks in the Chisos.”



“The United States Botanic Garden is thrilled about the success of this partnership and collecting trip that rediscovered such a rare oak,” said Susan Pell, Ph.D., acting executive director at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usbg.gov/">United States Botanic Garden</a>, which is funding and collaborating on the project. “This discovery is just the beginning of the conservation work we are doing in partnership with The Morton Arboretum to better understand and conserve threatened trees.”



Scientists in the collaborative plan to undertake genetic analysis of the newly-discovered lone tree in order to establish whether its DNA matches that of other specimens collected previously. Oaks tend to hybridize easily, which may allow them to adapt more quickly to changing climate conditions such as extreme heat and new diseases. However, frequent hybridization can blur the genetic lines between oak species in a given ecosystem like Big Bend.&nbsp;



“This is an interesting problem. We’re looking into whether this tree is genetically similar to other trees that have been previously collected as&nbsp;Q. tardifolia. That should tell us whether this collection is the same as what Cornelius H. Muller named&nbsp;Q. tardifolia.&nbsp;It should also tell us whether this collection of specimens is genetically distinct enough from other, closely related oaks in the area to warrant recognition as a species," said Dr. Andrew Hipp.



Oaks are unusual among tree species because their acorns cannot survive the usual treatment given to seeds that are stored in seed banks. Acorns do not tolerate being dried and frozen for long periods of time.&nbsp; Because of this, they must be preserved in the wild or in living collections, which is why the involvement of botanical gardens is critical. The researchers who found the&nbsp;Q. tardifolia&nbsp;tree are concerned that it may not be producing acorns due to its dire condition. If this is the case, then other methods of propagation, including grafting, will be used to preserve the oak’s future.



“Across the planet, oaks serve as an ecological anchor cleaning air, filtering water, sequestering carbon dioxide and supporting countless fungi, insects, birds and mammals,” explained Westwood. “When one is lost, we don’t know what else we might permanently lose in its wake."



However, Westwood, Pell and others warn that conservation efforts such as this require collaborative initiatives, such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.globalconservationconsortia.org/gcc/oak/">Global Conservation Consortium for Oak</a>, the involvement of botanical gardens and a variety of scientific experts to secure a future for endangered trees.



“In many ways, this tree is an ancient relic. Due to the changing climate, the world is completely different now than when it evolved,” said Wesley Knapp, chief botanist at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.natureserve.org/">NatureServe</a>, who participated in the expedition. “It is incumbent upon us to learn from it and protect it while we still can in order to inform future conservation efforts,” he said. “Nature rarely hands us a second chance, and I doubt we’ll get a third. We won’t waste it.”&nbsp;



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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

Researchers find "extinct" oak tree hiding in plain sight

Researchers from The Morton Arboretum and United States Botanic Garden...

Plants are essential for human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/screen-time-little-impact-wellbeing/">well-being</a>. Plants feed us, supply us with shelter, and in many cases, keep us warm and provide light. It should be no surprise that humans are inherently drawn to these essential beings. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> set out to delve deeper into this relationship by looking at the potential benefits of gardening.



"Past studies have shown that gardening can help improve the mental health of people who have existing medical conditions or challenges," said Professor Charles Guy, the primary investigator for the research. "Our study shows that healthy people can also experience a boost in mental well-being through gardening.”&nbsp;



The study participants were 32 physically and mentally healthy women between 26 and 49 years of age. Half the women gardened twice a week, while the other half participated in art-making sessions twice a week.&nbsp;



Professor Guy explained this approach: "Both gardening and art activities involve learning, planning, creativity and physical movement, and they are both used therapeutically in medical settings. This makes them more comparable, scientifically speaking, than, for example, gardening and bowling or gardening and reading."



To access mental health, the women were asked to complete surveys that measured anxiety, depression, stress, and mood. As time passed, those who gardened had slightly less anxiety than those who made art.



The sample size is notably small, but the researchers hope the findings will inspire further studies with more participants.&nbsp;



“Larger-scale studies may reveal more about how gardening is correlated with changes in mental health," said Guy. "We believe this research shows promise for mental wellbeing, plants in healthcare and in public health. It would be great to see other researchers use our work as a basis for those kinds of studies.”



Ultimately, it seems that gardening is one way to improve mental health. The researchers said that whatever the deeper reasons might be, many of the study participants left the experiment with a newly discovered passion.



“At the end of the experiment, many of the participants were saying not just how much they enjoyed the sessions but also how they planned to keep gardening,’” said Professor Guy.



This study is published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0269248">PLoS ONE</a>.



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

Gardening can improve your mental health

Plants are essential for human well-being. Plants feed us, supply...

As the world races to slow the pace of climate change, it is clear that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-trees-are-crucial-in-stabilizing-climate-new-model-predicts/">trees</a> will play a pivotal role. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every day, and store it in their leaves, branches and trunks. They also release oxygen, contribute to the water cycle through transpiration, attract animals, prevent soil erosion and provide cooling shade. In the Amazon, the world’s most biodiverse tropical rainforest, trees have been under threat for decades, as human activities change the forest landscapes.&nbsp;



In a major new study conducted by researchers from Brazil and the U.K., the ecological impacts of different types of land use in the Amazon have been investigated in two regions of the Brazilian State of Pará – Santarém and Paragominas.&nbsp; In addition, the rate of transformation between these different forms of land use has been quantified, in order to identify the most serious environmental threats to the forest ecosystems, as the Amazon moves closer to a ‘tipping point’ from which it is potentially unable to recover.



“While the focus to date has been on deforestation, we know tropical forest landscapes are being altered by a much broader range of human activities,” said lead researcher Dr Cássio Alencar Nunes from Universidade Federal de Lavras in Brazil and <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> in the United Kingdom.



“These modifications include deforestation and degradation of primary forest, for example through selective logging and fires, but even deforested landscapes are changing as agricultural abandonment leads to secondary forest regrowth. As a result, many tropical landscapes are now a mosaic of non-forest land uses, regenerating secondary forests, and degraded primary forests."



The researchers collected data from 310 plots that were in primary forest, degraded primary forest, secondary forest, pasture land or lands on which mechanized farming of crops currently occurs. They assessed the biodiversity in these plots, recording more than 2,000 species of trees, lianas, birds and insects in total. The experts also measured soil carbon, along with analyzing other soil properties at each of the plots. Data on the rate of change of land-use practices in the region came from published information for the years between 2006 and 2019.



The results, published today in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, show that where primary or secondary forests are converted to pasture or mechanized agriculture, the biodiversity decreases by between 18 and 100 percent. Transitions from forest to mechanized crop farming did the most severe ecological damage, but were not very frequent. However, changes from primary and secondary forests to pasture, through the process of deforestation, were much more common, and accounted for a forest loss of around 24,000 km² a year.&nbsp;



“Deforestation of primary forests to create pasture is the most damaging land-use change in the Brazilian Amazon,” said Dr. Nunes. “Our results show that transitions from primary forests to pasture were always classed as ‘high impact, high rate’ for biodiversity, carbon storage and soil properties. This underlines the critical and urgent importance of combating deforestation, which has been increasing in the past few years.”



Apart from identifying the severe ecological impacts from human activities that are affecting Amazonian forests, the researchers also identified some opportunities for positive action. They found that protecting secondary forests and allowing them to mature improved biodiversity and increased the carbon storage capacity of the vegetation. In particular, they found that the diversity of large trees doubled and small tree diversity increased by 55 percent when young secondary forests became older than 20 years.



Other results revealed less obvious forms of degradation that are affecting the Amazon’s ecology. The researchers found that changing between types of farming, from cattle pasture to more intensive mechanized agriculture, also diminishes biodiversity, with the diversity of ants and birds decreasing by 30 percent and 59 percent respectively. The effects of deforestation are devastating, but the use of mechanized farming practices clearly also has catastrophic effects on the ecology of the Amazonian forests.



“These are important findings as they show that there are a multitude of actions that can be taken to protect and improve the ecology of the Amazon," said Dr. Nunes. "When farmers switch land from pasture to growing crops using mechanized agricultural methods, that is also impacting on biodiversity, but it is a process that is largely hidden when compared to deforestation.”



“By reducing the amount of land that is converted to mechanical farming, and by allowing secondary forests to regrow, we can deliver significant ecological restoration gains in the Amazon,” he added.



The researchers feel that the study’s findings have allowed a richer understanding of how human activities impact the Amazon and its ecosystems. They also provide a critical base of evidence that can be used to inform urgently needed conservation and regeneration strategies. In addition, the analysis has identified some encouraging opportunities to foster ecologically sustainable practices in the Amazon in the future.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Study co-author Jos Barlow, a professor of Conservation Science at the Lancaster Environment Centre, highlighted noted that the research has further implications for conservation and policy.



“Our results emphasize yet again the importance of tackling deforestation, as well as the additional benefits of avoiding degradation and enhancing the permanence of secondary forests. However, achieving this will require transforming the way the Amazon is currently being managed, including a much better integration of science, policy and local practices," said Professor Barlow.



“We also highlight the need to focus on biodiversity as well as carbon in tropical forests – of the three ecosystem components that we analyzed, biodiversity was the most affected by all the land-use changes. We hope that biodiversity can be included in climate change mitigation actions, and that this will be emphasized in the upcoming COP15 on Biodiversity."



Image Credit: Erika Berenguer



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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

Land-use changes expose the Amazon to environmental threats

As the world races to slow the pace of climate...

Niger is one of the driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa, being plagued by frequent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/europe-will-face-more-frequent-and-extreme-droughts/">droughts</a> that are considerably hindering its farming business, leading to dying crops and widespread famine. In an attempt to find cheap and sustainable solutions for reviving this country’s agriculture, a team of researchers from Niger, the United Kingdom, and Germany has assessed the benefits of using a mineral-rich, low-cost, and easily accessible fertilizer: sanitized human urine, which they renamed “Oga” (meaning “the boss” in the Igbo language) in order to avoid the negative connotations of the term “urine.”



For thousands of years, humans have known that urine is an excellent fertilizer for crops, since it contains many of the ingredients found in commercial fertilizers, such as phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium. However, due to the squeamishness associated with utilizing urine to grow crops, its use has always been limited.&nbsp;



To test its effectiveness on large-scale farming, the researchers conducted a total of 159, 288, and 234 on-farm trials between 2014 and 2016. The farmers were divided into two groups - the first continued to use their traditional farming methods to grow their pearl millet grains (a common type of crops in the region), while the second group applied Oga (with or without animal manure) to their experimental plots, after being trained on how to safely use it. The results revealed that, over a period of three years, those who used Oga experienced an average 30 percent increase in their crop yields.&nbsp;



“Oga is a low risk, low financial input fertilizer option ready for dissemination on sandy Sahelian sites with low pearl millet yield level,” the study author wrote. Two years after these experiments, the scientists found that this method has significantly increased in popularity, with over one thousand farmers regularly using it to fertilize their crops.&nbsp;



Further research is needed to assess the benefits of using urine as a fertilizer in industrialized countries too. According to several scientists, switching from commercial fertilizers to urine could not only increase crop yields and reduce fossil fuel intensive resources needed to grow them, but also make our sanitation systems more sustainable.



“Millions and millions of dollars a year are spent trying to treat our waste before it goes into receiving waters for acceptable nitrogen and phosphorus criteria,” said Cara Beal, a researcher in Environmental Health at <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/">Griffith University</a> in Australia. “But if we can close that nutrient loop it’d be very sensible in terms of sustainability, the circular economy, and looking after our planet a little bit better,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-021-00675-2#Abs1">Agronomy for Sustainable Development</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Human urine can effectively fertilize crops

Niger is one of the driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa,...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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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