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From the tiniest fluctuations after the Big Bang, gravity has orchestrated the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets, creating the vast cosmic web we see today.



Gravity isn't just what keeps us grounded -- it's been shaping the universe since its earliest days. Recent studies have provided the most precise tests of gravity on the grandest scales imaginable. 



By examining how cosmic structures have grown over the past 11 billion years, scientists have confirmed that gravity behaves just as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cosmic-glitch-in-gravity-expands-the-theory-of-general-relativity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Einstein's theory</a> of general relativity predicts, even across billions of light-years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-desi-tracks-gravity-over-11-billion-years">DESI tracks gravity over 11 billion years</h2>



Pauline Zarrouk, a cosmologist at the French National Center for Scientific Research (<a href="https://www.cnrs.fr/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNRS</a>) working at the Laboratory of Nuclear and High-Energy Physics (LPNHE), has been exploring this cosmic evolution.



In collaboration with the international team behind the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (<a href="https://www.desi.lbl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DESI</a>), Zarrouk and her colleagues have traced how cosmic structures grew over the past 11 billion years.



Using data from DESI, the researchers provided the most precise test to date of gravity on the largest scales. 



"General relativity has been very well tested at the scale of solar systems, but we also needed to test that our assumption works at much larger scales," Zarrouk explained. 



"Studying the rate at which galaxies formed lets us directly test our theories and, so far, we're lining up with what <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/radical-new-theory-finally-unites-gravity-spacetime-and-the-quantum-realm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">general relativity</a> predicts at cosmological scales."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-einstein-is-smiling-from-the-grave">Einstein is smiling from the grave</h2>



Their findings confirm that gravity behaves as Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts, even across the immense distances of the universe. 



This validation supports our leading model of the cosmos and narrows down alternative theories of gravity that have been proposed to explain puzzling observations, like the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-expansion-rate-dark-energy-measured-11-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accelerating expansion</a> of the universe often attributed to dark energy.



The study also sheds light on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-gravity-search-south-pole-neutrinos-experiment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neutrinos</a> -- the elusive particles that zip through space almost undetected. 



Previous experiments determined that the combined mass of the three types of neutrinos should be at least 0.059 electron volts (eV/c²). For perspective, an electron has a mass of about 511,000 eV/c². 



DESI's results suggest that the total mass of neutrinos should be less than 0.071 eV/c², tightening the constraints on these mysterious particles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-desi-gravity-and-cosmic-structure">DESI, gravity, and cosmic structure</h2>



"Both our BAO results and the full-shape analysis are spectacular," said Dragan Huterer, a professor at the <a href="https://umich.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Michigan</a> and co-lead of DESI's group interpreting the cosmological data. 



"This is the first time that DESI has looked at the growth of cosmic structure. We're showing a tremendous new ability to probe modified gravity and improve constraints on models of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-is-ripping-the-universe-apart-but-we-arent-sure-how/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark energy</a>. And it's only the tip of the iceberg."



DESI is no ordinary telescope. Mounted on the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at <a href="https://kpno.noirlab.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kitt Peak National Observatory</a>, it's capable of capturing light from 5,000 galaxies at once. 



Funded by the DOE Office of Science, the project is now in its fourth year of surveying the sky and aims to collect data from roughly 40 million galaxies and quasars by the time it's done.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/theory-gravity-exists-without-mass-so-dark-matter-does-not-exist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testing gravity</a> at cosmic scales is crucial. While Einstein's theory has passed every test within our solar system, there's always the possibility that it might behave differently across the vastness of space. 



By confirming that gravity acts as expected over billions of light-years, scientists can be more confident in their models of how the universe has evolved. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-interpreting-the-desi-data">Interpreting the DESI data</h2>



<a href="https://profiles.utdallas.edu/mishak">Dr. Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki</a>, a professor of physics in the <a href="https://nsm.utdallas.edu/">School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics</a> at UT Dallas, co-led the DESI working group that interpreted the cosmological data.



“For this round of DESI results, I focused my efforts at UT Dallas on conducting a large part of the analysis on gravity, which puts constraints on how matter in the universe moves and how large-scale structures, such as clusters of galaxies, evolve,” explained Ishak-Boushaki. 



“The results from DESI, combined with datasets from other experiments, are consistent with general relativity theory operating at cosmic scales, although they do not completely exclude other theories of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/central-theory-of-quantum-gravity-is-modeled-in-the-laboratory/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modified gravity</a>.”



The new results provide an extended analysis of <a href="https://news.utdallas.edu/science-technology/desi-findings-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DESI’s first year of data</a>, which in April contributed to the largest 3D map of the universe to date and revealed hints that <a href="https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2024/04/04/desi-first-results-make-most-precise-measurement-of-expanding-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark energy might be evolving</a> over time.



“The latest analysis is also consistent with our previous findings that give preference to the theory that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-could-explain-the-rapid-expansion-of-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark energy</a> is not constant, but dynamic, which is a very important result for cosmic acceleration,” Ishak-Boushaki said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-this-happen">How did this happen?</h2>



The collaboration is currently analyzing data from the first three years and expects to present updated measurements of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-evidence-suggests-that-dark-energy-comes-from-black-holes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark energy</a> and the universe's expansion history by spring 2025. 



The recent results align with earlier hints that dark energy might be evolving over time, adding to the excitement for what's to come.



"Dark matter makes up about a quarter of the universe, and dark energy makes up another 70 percent, and we don't really know what either one is," said Mark Maus, a PhD student at <a href="https://www.lbl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berkeley Lab</a> and UC Berkeley who worked on theory and validation modeling pipelines for the new analysis. 



"The idea that we can take pictures of the universe and tackle these big, fundamental questions is mind-blowing."



The study utilized nearly 6 million <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lonely-quasars-in-the-early-universe-cannot-be-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies and quasars</a>, allowing researchers to peer up to 11 billion years into the past. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-for-desi-and-gravity">What's next for DESI and gravity?</h2>



To sum it all up, with just one year of data, DESI has made the most precise overall measurement of the growth of cosmic structures, surpassing previous efforts that took decades.



The DESI project is remarkable not just for its technological capabilities but also for its collaborative spirit. 



With over 900 researchers from more than 70 institutions worldwide, it's a testament to what can be achieved when the global scientific community comes together.



As we await the next round of results, one can't help but wonder: What other secrets of the universe are waiting to be uncovered? 



The quest to understand gravity, dark matter, and dark energy continues, and each new discovery brings us a little closer to unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos.



The full study was published in <a href="https://data.desi.lbl.gov/doc/papers/">several scientific journals</a>.



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New 'mind-blowing' gravity discovery proves Einstein right again

From the tiniest fluctuations after the Big Bang, gravity has orchestrated the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets, creating the vast cosmic web we see today. Gravity isn't just what keeps us grounded -- it's been shaping the universe since its earliest days. Recent studies have provided the most precise tests of gravity on the grandest scales imaginable. By examining how cosmic structures have grown over the past 11 billion years, scientists have confirmed that gravity behaves just as Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts, even across...

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://medschool.ucsd.edu/Pages/default.aspx">University of California San Diego School of Medicine</a> have taken a different approach to treating and preventing the parasitic disease malaria. Rather than waiting for the parasite to replicate within a victim’s blood, the team attempted to target the parasite when it initially infects a person’s liver. This new method of treatment could potentially unlock the key for preventing <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dogs-diagnose-malaria/">malaria</a> infection altogether.

Researchers extracted malaria parasites from over one million mosquitos and tested over 500,000 chemical compounds that had the potential to shut down the parasite within a person’s liver. The team was able to narrow down their list to just 631 compounds that hold promise for the development of a malaria prevention drug.

The team’s findings, published December 7th in <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>, have already been made available within the scientific community.

“It's our hope that, since we're not patenting these compounds, many other researchers around the world will take this information and use it in their own labs and countries to drive antimalarial drug development forward," said Elizabeth Winzeler, PhD, professor of pharmacology and drug discovery at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Current malaria drugs only treat the symptoms after a person has become infected with the parasite. These drugs simply block the replication process within in the blood, however, they do not prevent infection nor the transmission of malaria parasites — Plasmodium falciparum or Plasmodium vivax — via mosquito bite.

After finding these 631 promising compounds by way of engineering malaria sporozoites to produce the luciferase enzyme, and then applying certain compounds to see which ones turn the luciferase enzyme off, therefore killing the sporozoite, Winzeler’s team now hopes to figure out how these compounds work to move forward in the drug production. Her team will work alongside members of the <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Health/Malaria">Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Malaria Drug Accelerator (MalDA)</a>, an international consortium focused on speeding up drug development.

"It's difficult for many people to consistently sleep under mosquito nets or take a daily pill," Winzeler concluded. "We've developed many other options for things like birth control. Why not malaria? The malaria research community has always been particularly collaborative and willing to share data and resources, and that makes me optimistic that we'll soon get there too."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A new breakthrough malaria prevention drug is just around the corner

A team of researchers from the University of California San...

A research team is arguing that Alzheimer's is not just one disease, but can actually be divided into six subgroups. The team suggests that this new approach could pave the way for more effective and personalized treatments. 

Currently, there is no cure for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/children-increase-alzheimers-risk/">Alzheimer's</a>, a debilitating disease that affects memory and causes cognitive decline. 

In the United States, 5.7 million people currently live with the disease, and the <a href="https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures">Alzheimer's Association</a> projects that by 2050, 14 million people will have it. 

Nineteen researchers across multiple institutions including the <a href="http://www.uwmedicine.org/education">University of Washington School of Medicine</a> found that Alzheimer's was not one disease but could be classified into different groups. The researchers published their findings in a new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. 

“Alzheimer’s, like breast cancer, is not one disease,” said Shubhabrata Mukherjee, the lead author. “I think a good drug might fail in a clinical trial because not all the subjects have the same kind of Alzheimer’s.”

For the two-year study, the researchers took 4,500 participants across five different studies diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s and placed them into groups based on cognitive functioning. 

The average age of the participants was 80, and the researchers reviewed neuropsychological test scores and genetic data to identify biological differences across the groups. Participants were scored on memory, executive functioning, language, and visuospatial functioning. 

Executive functioning describes skills like time management and focusing on a task, and visuospatial functioning refers to how people see and interpret the space around them. 

The researchers then created six different subgroups based on the scores. Each of the groups included participants who had scored lower on one or more categories compared to the others. 

39 percent of the participants belonged to a group where the scores were close together across all four categories. 

The next group was the second largest, and the members of this group had lower memory scores compared to the other categories. 

The researchers also used genome-wide genetic data to find any similarities in gene variants between the groups.

Being able to classify Alzheimer's could create personalized treatments that target specific issues and the research helps explain why treatments and cures for Alzheimer's have thus far been ineffective. 

“The implications are exciting,” said Paul Crane, a corresponding author. “We have found substantial biological differences among cognitively defined subgroups of Alzheimer’s patients.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Researchers argue that Alzheimer’s is not just one disease

A research team is arguing that Alzheimer's is not just...

In a new study, researchers were able to predict the movements of rodents based on neuron activity in the hippocampus of the brain. 

The hippocampus, located in the brain’s medial temporal lobe, plays an important role in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/memories-experiences-organized-brain/">long-term memory and spatial memory</a>, or how people can remember specific locations within their environment. 

Without the hippocampus, you would have a very hard time navigating around familiar streets, knowing where your house is, or remembering how to get to work. 

In 2014, the <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2014/press-release/">Nobel Prize </a>was awarded to John O’Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser for their discovery of the brain’s inner positioning system in the hippocampus that makes spatial memory possible. 

Now, expanding on this previous work, researchers from the <a href="https://ist.ac.at/">Institute of Science and Technology Austria</a> conducted a study using rodents to see if it was possible to predict future movements based on how the neurons in the hippocampus responded to the brain’s positioning system. 

The researchers were able to create a “brain map,” which visually showed the decisions being made, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html">Daily Mail</a>.

“This gives us an insight into what the animal is thinking about space,” Jozsef Csicsvari, the co-author of the study, told the Daily Mail. “We used this concept to understand how rats think during tasks that test their spatial memory.” 

The study was published in the journal Neuron.

The researchers set up an experiment with a maze that had eight arms attached to it, and three of the arms had a reward at the end. As the rats kept going through the maze and picking different arms to go down, memories of which arms had rewards were formed. 

The researchers were able to distinguish two types of spatial memory using this lab set up, reference and working memory. 

In the rats, reference memory recorded which arms had rewards, and working memory kept track of the arms that the rats chose. By working together, reference and working memory helped the rat avoid repeat trips to dead ends without rewards. 

When the rat was placed at the center of the maze, the researchers monitored and recorded the patterns of neuron firing in the inner positioning system cells in the hippocampus, called place cells. The place cell pattern was associated with a route already taken by the rat or an arm of the maze the rat planned to try next. 

When they isolated working memory from reference memory, the researchers were able to link the pattern to the arm the rat would choose next and predict the rat’s movements. 

“The animal is thinking about a different place than the one it is in. In fact, we can predict which arm the rat will enter next.” Csicsvari told the Daily Mail. “When the rat makes a mistake, it replays a random route. Based on the place cells, we can predict that the rat will make a mistake before it commits it.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists get closer to mind-reading after predicting rat movement

In a new study, researchers were able to predict the...

Experts at the <a href="http://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) have unveiled a houseplant that can actually guide itself to receive <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sunlight-kill-harmful-bacteria/">sunlight</a> whenever necessary. The “cybernetic lifeform,” which is referred to as Elowan, can literally roll itself toward the sunlight.

Sensors in the form of electrodes placed in the plant's stems and also in the ground can be used to monitor the needs of Elowan, and can intensify the natural inclination of the plant to extend its leaves in the direction of the light. Any weak signals transmitted from the electrodes are amplified to send signals to the cyborg, which subsequently moves itself to a more optimal position. 

According to Elowan's creator, Sareen Harpreet, humans robots will not be the only cyborgs of the future. He suggests that “cyborg botany” is potentially more important, as plants could be equipped with technology to help them thrive. 

“As humans, we rely on technological augmentations to tune our fitness to the environment,” Harpreet said on his website. “However, the acceleration of evolution through technology needs to move from a human centric to a holistic nature-centric view.”

The mobile houseplant is likely just the first of many more technologically advanced plants to come. 

“Elowan is an attempt to demonstrate what augmentation of nature could mean,” said Harpreet. “Elowan’s robotic base is a new symbiotic association with a plant. The agency of movement rests with the plant based on its own bio-electrochemical signals, the language interfaced here with the artificial world.”

“These in turn trigger physiological variations such as elongation growth, respiration, and moisture absorption.”

A detailed overview of the project from the MIT media lab can be found <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/elowan-a-plant-robot-hybrid/overview/">here</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: MIT

New houseplant can guide itself toward sunlight when necessary

Experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have unveiled...

An international team of researchers has identified a new strain of the bacteria that causes <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/global-pandemic-kill-900-million/">plague</a> in the DNA of 5,000-year-old human remains. The bacteria, or Yersinia pestis, may have contributed to the rapid decline of Neolithic European settlements at the beginning of the Bronze Age.

Study senior author Simon Rasmussen is a metagenomics researcher at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english">Technical University of Denmark</a> and the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>.

“Plague is maybe one of the deadliest bacteria that has ever existed for humans. And if you think of the word ‘plague,’ it can mean this infection by Y. pestis, but because of the trauma plague has caused in our history, it's also come to refer more generally to any epidemic,” said Rasmussen. “The kind of analyses we do here let us go back through time and look at how this pathogen that's had such a huge effect on us evolved.”


While screening genetic data from ancient humans to investigate the evolutionary history of the plague, the team discovered the new Y. pestis strain in the DNA of a 20-year-old woman who died approximately 5,000 years ago in Sweden. The strain had the same genes that make the pneumonic plague deadly today, and traces of it were found in additional remains from the same grave site.

The new strain of the plague is not only the oldest that has ever been discovered, but is also the closest to the genetic origin of Y. pestis. The strain likely diverged from other strains around 5,700 years ago, which was a time when mega-settlements of 10,000-20,000 inhabitants were becoming common in Europe. This made job specialization, new technology, and trade possible, but these large groups may have also provided a breeding ground for plague. 

“These mega-settlements were the largest settlements in Europe at that time, ten times bigger than anything else. They had people, animals, and stored food close together, and, likely, very poor sanitation. That's the textbook example of what you need to evolve new pathogens,” said Rasmussen.

“We think our data fit. If plague evolved in the mega-settlements, then when people started dying from it, the settlements would have been abandoned and destroyed. This is exactly what was observed in these settlements after 5,500 years ago. Plague would also have started migrating along all the trade routes made possible by wheeled transport, which had rapidly expanded throughout Europe in this period."

The researchers have not yet identified the plague in the genetic materials of the individuals from the mega-settlements where it may have evolved. 

“We haven't really found the smoking gun, but it's partly because we haven't looked yet. And we'd really like to do that, because if we could find plague in those settlements, that would be strong support for this theory,” said Rasmussen.

The research represents an important step toward understanding how plague and other pathogens became deadly. 

“We often think that these superpathogens have always been around, but that's not the case,” explained Rasmussen. “Plague evolved from an organism that was relatively harmless. More recently, the same thing happened with smallpox, malaria, Ebola, and Zika. This process is very dynamic - and it keeps happening. I think it's really interesting to try to understand how we go from something harmless to something extremely virulent.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Karl-Göran Sjögren / University of Gothenburg

Oldest known plague may have caused decline of Neolithic Europeans

An international team of researchers has identified a new strain...

Why is it that certain sounds can send a shiver down your spine and make you suddenly fearful? 

In a new study conducted by researchers from the<a href="https://www.cshl.edu/"> Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory</a> examined brain cells in mice to better understand how sounds gain meaning in the brain and why certain sounds elicit a fearful response. 

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications, and the researchers trained a group of mice to associate reward or punishment with a certain tone. 

The team able to implant a small microscope with a lens into the brain of a mouse which showed how the sounds triggered neuron activity in the amygdala of the brain. 

Within the amygdala, sights, sounds, and other experiences are given either positive or negative associations. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amygdala-experience-fear/">amygdala drives our fear response</a> and how we react to experiences and stimuli. 

After implanting the microscope in the trained mice, The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory researchers were able to track and record neuron activity before and after a mouse heard the different tones. 

The researchers noticed drastic changes in neuron activity in the brain, and after a while, a pattern emerged in correlation with either the punishment or reward tone. 

“If you look at the patterns of brain cell activity in the amygdala, you can know whether the animal is expecting a reward or fearing a punishment,” said Bo Li, a co-author of the study. 

First, the neurons in the amygdala fired off randomly, but after enough repetition, the neurons began to form a pattern in anticipation of either a reward or punishment. In turn, the mice also started to anticipate either punishment or reward upon hearing a tone. 

The researchers found that when the tones switched and the sounds that were accompanied by a reward were suddenly followed by punishment, the brain let go of its established pattern and a new pattern formed. 

The results shed light on activity in the amygdala and could help explain how the brain places meaning onto different sounds. 


In the brain, the amygdala continually goes through a process of learning and unlearning. But in people with anxiety or major depression, this process is hindered, and studies that focus on brain activity in the amygdala could help provide better treatments for certain mental health disorders. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How certain sounds incite fear in the brain

Why is it that certain sounds can send a shiver...

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/young-adult-deaths-opioid-use/">opioid epidemic</a> in the United States shows no signs of slowing, and with about 130 citizens dying from overdoses each day, officials are searching for new ways to track and intervene in drug use in their communities. Testing municipal wastewater may be an effective new way to see if and how treatment programs are working while giving officials real-time data of drug usage within one area. 

Because most drug use data relies on users self reporting, it’s difficult for officials to put forth anti-drug initiatives without knowing their true outreach. However, Aparna Keshaviah, Sc.M., of <a href="https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/">Mathematica Policy Research</a>, believes that municipal wastewater may be the key to tracking opioid usage and intervention initiatives.

"Cities can use wastewater tests to locate "hot spots" of drug use,” Keshaviah, whose study will be presented at the December 5th 2018 <a href="http://www.sra.org/">Society for Risk Analysis (SRA)</a> Annual Meeting, states. “The method can provide an early warning that drugs are entering a community. Repeated testing over time can show shifts in drug use that reveal how well control policies are working."

Her findings promote prediction rather than reaction to changes in drug use, as do the findings of Sheree Pagsuyoin, of the University of Massachusetts. Pagsuyoin’s study, also being presented at the SRA Annual Meeting, similarly examined the application of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to track community drug use within three regions in the United States.

In Pagsuyoin’s study, wastewater samples were analyzed for the presence of MDMA, cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. The wastewater results were then compared to survey-based data to round out the breadth of drug usage in a specific area. Wastewater testing can be applied to many wastewater treatment plants and can help officials on their quest to introduce more effective intervention programs within their community.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Municipal wastewater testing can track opioid usage in real-time

The opioid epidemic in the United States shows no signs...

The vast majority of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/starlight-universe-produced/">universe</a> is made up of dark matter that emits no light or energy, making it impossible to observe and study. Dark energy, or the anti-gravity force that causes the Universe to expand, has also remained a mystery to scientists. 

A groundbreaking new theory from Dr. Jamie Farnes at the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> e-Research Centre proposes that dark matter and dark energy are essentially interchangeable, and that they are both a fluid substance that contains a negative mass. Dr. Farnes has developed a model that demonstrates what dark matter and dark energy may be like physically. 

“We now think that both dark matter and dark energy can be unified into a fluid which possesses a type of ‘negative gravity,’ repelling all other material around them,” said Dr. Farnes. “Although this matter is peculiar to us, it suggests that our cosmos is symmetrical in both positive and negative qualities.”

The idea of negative matter was previously disregarded because it was believed that this material would become less dense as the Universe expands, which is contrary to the knowledge that the density of dark energy does not thin out over time. 

However, Dr. Farnes has identified conditions that would allow for negative masses to be continuously created. The new model shows that when more and more negative masses are bursting into existence, the negative mass fluid is not diluted as the Universe expands. Instead, it maintains its density, just like dark energy.

“Previous approaches to combining dark energy and dark matter have attempted to modify Einstein's theory of general relativity, which has turned out to be incredibly challenging,” said Dr. Farnes. “This new approach takes two old ideas that are known to be compatible with Einstein's theory - negative masses and matter creation - and combines them together.”

“The outcome seems rather beautiful: dark energy and dark matter can be unified into a single substance, with both effects being simply explainable as positive mass matter surfing on a sea of negative masses.”


The new theory will now be tested with a cutting-edge radio telescope known as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which is the product of an international effort to build the world's largest telescope.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.aanda.org/">Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics</a>.

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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

New theory may solve the mysterious and dark matter and dark energy

The vast majority of the universe is made up of...

Experts at <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> are studying brain measurements to predict where people's eyes will move as they view images of natural settings. According to the researchers, a better understanding of the human visual system will help to advance technology driven by <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/artificial-intelligence-protect-elephants/">artificial intelligence</a>, such as autonomous vehicles.

Study co-author Marvin Chun is the Richard M. Colgate Professor of Psychology. He explained, “We are visual beings and knowing how the brain rapidly computes where to look is fundamentally important.”

Eye movement is a very popular research topic, and experts have previously established which direction a gaze will most likely be focused among different scenes of the natural environment. However, the way that the brain coordinates this ability, which is critical for survival, is not entirely understood. 

In a previous experiment based on “mind reading,” Professor Chun's team managed to reconstruct facial images based on MRI brain imaging data alone. 

For the current study, Professor Chun and lead author Thomas P. O'Connell used the same approach to demonstrate that they could predict where people would direct their attention and gaze while looking at natural scenes. They did this by analyzing the brain data with deep convolutional neural networks, which are models that are widely used in artificial intelligence systems.

“The work represents a perfect marriage of neuroscience and data science,” said Professor Chun. “People can see better than AI systems can. Understanding how the brain performs its complex calculations is an ultimate goal of neuroscience and benefits AI efforts.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Brain imaging traces how humans view natural settings to boost AI

Experts at Yale University are studying brain measurements to predict...

There has been a long, controversial debate about the existence of cardiac stem cells that could repair tissue and muscle damage after a myocardial infarction or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-the-weather-gets-colder-heart-attacks-get-more-lethal/">heart attack</a>.

Both animals and humans have stem cells that help repair tissue damage by rapidly producing lost tissue cells. For decades, researchers have been hunting the elusive cardiac stem cells which, if found, could offer a lifeline for patients that suffer a myocardial infarction. 

Some research groups claimed that they have found cardiac stem cells, but upon further inspection, these claims always proved inconclusive, and the existence of cardiac stem cells has remained heavily debated.

Researchers from several academic institutions across Europe have finally settled the matter once and for all in a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

The researchers looked for cardiac stem cells in mice based on the most fundamental definition of stem cell function, which is a cell that can replace lost or damaged tissue through cell division in the heart. 

A cell-by-cell map of the dividing cardiac cells both before and after a mouse experienced a heart attack was created for the study. While the researchers were able to identify many different dividing cells, none of them built new heart muscle. 

The researchers conclude that cardiac stem cells simply do not exist and any lost heart muscle after a heart attack cannot be replaced.

While the findings are certainly disappointing, the researchers also found that scar tissue produced after a heart attack plays an important role in maintaining the structural integrity of the damaged heart and lost muscle function. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Research concludes that adult heart stem cells do not exist

There has been a long, controversial debate about the existence...

Creating miniature replicas of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earth-supercontinent/">Earth</a> may sound like a futuristic, almost God-like power, but it’s something that scientists around the world attempt to do on a daily basis. These researchers are looking for the primordial ingredients that created the building blocks for life, and their work is about more that just creating worlds.

Today, a significant amount of origin-of-life research is focused on one specific building block: RNA. Although some scientists believe life formed from simpler molecules and only later evolved RNA, some search for evidence to either prove or disprove that RNA formed first. 

RNA is a complex molecule that both stores and transmits genetic information and helps synthesize the proteins that make us living beings. In the effort to verify this “RNA World Hypothesis,” researchers are met with two challenges. First, they need to identify which ingredients reacted to create RNA’s four nucleotides – adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil (A, G, C, and U). Second, they must determine how RNA stored and copied genetic information in order to replicate itself.

In this quest, scientists have made major progress finding precursors to C and U – but A and G remain ever elusive. But a recent study published in <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">PNAS</a> by Jack W. Szostak, a professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a>, suggests that RNA could have started with a different set of nucleotide bases. Rather than guanine, RNA may have been built with a surrogate called inosine.

“Our study suggests that the earliest forms of life (with A, U, C, and I) may have arisen from a different set of nucleobases than those found in modern life (A, U, C, and G),” says Seohyun Kim, a graduate student and first author of the paper.

They made this discovery while testing whether 8-oxo-purine RNA – which could be made with materials available on primeval Earth – could replicate efficiently. It turned out that the 8-oxo-purine RNA still performs, but loses the speed and accuracy needed to copy itself. But as the researchers compared it against a control – inosine – they found that inosine enabled RNA to replicate with high speed a little error.

“We propose that inosine could have served as a surrogate for guanosine in the early emergence of life,” the team concludes. This discovery could provide some of the evidence needed to support the RNA world hypothesis. However, scientists could find that early Earth had many paths for the growth of life. Ultimately, it seems that the search for life continues.

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The search for the ingredients of life

Creating miniature replicas of Earth may sound like a futuristic,...

image description

Small, wood-eating crustaceans known as a gribble could help uncover potential solutions for efficient ways to convert wood into <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/scientists-sewage-future-biofuel/">biofuel</a>.

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a> discovered how the gribble’s unique digestive system allows the crustacean to break down the resistant coating that surrounds the sugar polymers of the wood called the lignin. 

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications. 

Gribble play an important role in the marine ecosystem as they eat up pieces of wood that wash into the sea via rivers and streams. 

These crustaceans are like termites of the sea, and they can also do considerable damage to wooden piers and boats, but gribble have a digestive system utterly different from termites. 

“Gribble are the only animal known to have a sterile digestive system,” said Simon McQueen-Mason, the leader of the study. “This makes their method for wood digestion easier to study than that of other wood-consuming creatures such as termites, which rely on thousands of gut microbes to do the digestion for them.”

The researchers set out to understand how a gribble can eat and break down so much wood without the help of an extensive gut biome. 

The team focused on the hind-gut of the gribble and found that hemocyanin proteins help the gribble break down and extract the wood’s sugars.

Hemocyanins are proteins that transport oxygen through the blood of invertebrates, and they’re what give invertebrate blood its blue color. 

Gribbles have evolved in such a way that they can harness the oxygen transporting abilities of hemocyanins to break down the lignin bonds of wood.  

“We have found that Gribble chew wood into very small pieces before using hemocyanins to disrupt the structure of lignin,” said McQueen-Mason. “GH7 enzymes, the same group of enzymes used by fungi to decompose wood, are then able to break through and release sugars.”


The researchers treated wood with hemocyanins to test how well it breaks down the lignin bonds and found that the proteins release the same amount of sugar that energy-consuming treatments release during biofuel conversation processes. 

The results of the study could help pave the way for creating more efficient and cost-effective methods for converting wood to biofuel, which could help reduce carbon emissions and limit future climate change. 

“In the long term this discovery may be useful in reducing the amount of energy required for pre-treating wood to convert it to biofuel,” said Neil Brice, a co-author of the paper. “The cellulase-enhancing effect of the haemocyanin was equivalent to that of thermochemical pre-treatments used in industry to allow biomass hydrolysis, suggesting new options for bio-based fuel and chemicals production.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Claire Steele-King and Katrin Besser, University of York

Small crustaceans may reveal how to make renewable energy from wood

Small, wood-eating crustaceans known as a gribble could help uncover...

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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

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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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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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?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



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.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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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.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&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.

How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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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.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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