You've undoubtedly noticed that the Moon has two distinct sides, right? The near side that we see from Earth and the far side that remains a mystery because it is never turned towards us.



This unusual lunar characteristic -- a global dichotomy -- is what a team of scientists led by Professor XU Yigang from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (<a href="http://english.gig.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GIGCAS</a>) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been investigating.



They have been studying lunar soil samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far side of the Moon, and returned to Earth by China's <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=CHANG-E-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chang’e-6 mission</a>.



These invaluable samples have allowed them to investigate the Moon's peculiar dichotomy and the results have shed light on some of its secrets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-chang-e-6">What is Chang’e-6?</h2>



The Chinese space program launched Chang'e 6, their latest Moon mission, on May 3, 2024. The spacecraft blasted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 5 rocket at 9:27 UT (that's 5:27 PM Beijing time). 



Their goal? To grab about four pounds (2 kg) of Moon rocks from the far side - something no one had done before.



The lander touched down in a huge crater called the South Pole Aitken Basin. The team used both a scoop and a drill to dig up surface samples and even went 2 meters deep into the lunar soil. 



They also sent out a small rover that cruised around taking snapshots of the lander doing its work.



Once they collected the samples, the crew packed them into an ascent vehicle sitting on top of the lander. 



On June 3 at 11:38 PM UT (7:38 AM Beijing time the next day), this vehicle shot up from the Moon's surface and met up with the orbiter waiting above. They made the handoff on June 6, 2024.



After ditching the ascent vehicle (which crashed back into the Moon), the return vehicle hung around in orbit for a couple weeks before heading home. 



It pulled off a tricky skip-entry through Earth's atmosphere and landed in Inner Mongolia's Siziwang Banner region on June 25 at 6:07 UT (2:07 PM Beijing time). 



The final haul? Roughly 4.2 pounds (1.9 kg) of Moon rocks and soil from the far side -- marking another big win for China's space program.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-far-side-vs-visible-side-of-the-moon">Far side vs. visible side of the Moon</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/its-official-earth-now-has-two-moons-captured-asteroid-2024-pt5/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moon's</a> dichotomy is visible in its topography, chemical composition, crustal thickness, evidence of volcanism and, most noticeably, in the difference in geomorphology between its near and far sides.



The near side of the Moon is home to the familiar "man in the moon" maria - the dark "seas" that are the result of ancient volcanic activity. 



These areas were flooded with molten lava that created rocks known as mare basalts.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_diagram_credit-YANG-Muhan_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_diagram_credit-YANG-Muhan_1s.webp" alt="Distribution of distinct volcanic episodes on the Moon’s farside. The remote sensing image highlights the Chang’e-6 landing site along with nearby mare and cryptomare basaltic units. Credit: Image by YANG Muhan" class="wp-image-1950782"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Distribution of distinct volcanic episodes on the Moon’s farside. The remote sensing image highlights the Chang’e-6 landing site along with nearby mare and cryptomare basaltic units. Credit: Image by YANG Muhan</figcaption></figure>



How about the far side? Well, here's where it gets intriguing. Only about 2% of this hidden part of the Moon is covered in the basalts, compared to around 30% on the near side.



This inexplicable difference is a vital part of the lunar global dichotomy that the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program aims to unravel.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-secrets-of-the-moon-s-far-side">Secrets of the Moon's far side</h2>



Thanks to the Chang’e-6 lunar soil samples, Professor XU's team discovered the existence of two different types of mare basalts, low-Ti, and very low-Ti (VLT). 



“The samples returned by Chang’e-6 provide a best opportunity to investigate the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2024-pt5-mini-moon-say-goodbye-to-earths-second-moon-we-barely-got-to-know-you/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar</a> global dichotomy,” said Professor XU.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-eruptions_basalt-types_credit-GIGCAS_1s.webp" alt="The two types of basalts in Chang’e-6 soils and isochrons of the Chang’e-6 low-Ti basalt. Credit: GIGCAS" class="wp-image-1950784"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The two types of basalts in Chang’e-6 soils and isochrons of the Chang’e-6 low-Ti basalt. Credit: GIGCAS</figcaption></figure>



Let's not dismiss the aspect of dating these samples either. With high-precision Pb-Pb dating techniques, the team determined that the low-Ti basalt dates back to around 2.83 billion years ago.



This attests to the presence of "young" magmatism or volcanic activities on the far side of the Moon. But of course, young is a relative term when we talk about 2.83 billion years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-the-history-of-volcanoes">Mapping the history of volcanoes</h2>



With such valuable information now in our hands, we can clearly chart the volcanic timeline on the far side of the Moon. 



Led by Professor LI Qiuli, the team conducted radioisotope dating on 108 basalt fragments, with 107 of them revealing a consistent formation age of 2807 million years ago.



But there's more. One fragment, a high-aluminum basalt, was dated to a monumental 4203 million years ago, making it the oldest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/harvest-moon-2024-will-feature-a-partial-lunar-eclipse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar</a> basalt for which age has been precisely determined.



This implies elevated levels of volcanic activity on the far side of the Moon for at least 1.4 billion years - between 4.2 billion and 2.8 billion years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



These findings, available for everyone to dissect, can help recalibrate the existing lunar crater chronology models. 



Christopher Hamilton, an independent planetary volcano expert, emphasized the importance of obtaining samples from this previously unchartered lunar territory.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_Change-6-mission_landing_credit-CLEP_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_Change-6-mission_landing_credit-CLEP_1s.webp" alt="China's Chang’e-6 mission spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. Credit: CLAP" class="wp-image-1950787"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">China's Chang’e-6 mission spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. Credit: CLAP </figcaption></figure>



More than just understanding the Moon, these lunar soil samples also have implications for some broad astronomical theories.



The new data indicates a constant impact flux after 2.83 billion years, which can offer new insights into planet migration in the early Solar System. 



So, by looking at the Moon, we are indirectly learning about our own cosmic neighborhood as well!



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next?</h2>



With more missions like the Chang'e-6, the future will undoubtedly bring many enlightening discoveries about our constant celestial companion.



In the end, we see that the Moon, despite its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-may-have-captured-the-moon-from-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">familiar appearance</a>, still hides untold secrets waiting to be discovered. 



These lunar missions represent a new age of lunar and planetary exploration that pushes the boundaries of our understanding.



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The researchers from the <a href="https://english.cas.cn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> express their gratitude for the support received from various institutes such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. These institutions' enduring support enables such important lunar explorations.



The study is published in the journals <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08382-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> and <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt1093" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Far side of the Moon had volcanic eruptions for over one billion years

You've undoubtedly noticed that the Moon has two distinct sides, right? The near side that we see from Earth and the far side that remains a mystery because it is never turned towards us. This unusual lunar characteristic -- a global dichotomy -- is what a team of scientists led by Professor XU Yigang from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (GIGCAS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been investigating. They have been studying lunar soil samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far...

A new study using locusts could help provide insight into sensory experiences and how the brain processes smells and recognizes them later on. 

Tackling sensory experience with science is not new, but previous studies do not account for the variability that we experience in our everyday lives.

For example, we know what a rose <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-that-people-can-be-blind-to-smells-when-distracted/">smells like</a> in a rose garden, on its own, in a flower shop and on a busy street. Simply studying a person’s neural activity while smelling a single rose doesn’t explain how we can recognize the scent of a rose amidst other sensory distractions. 

To better understand this, researchers from the <a href="https://engineering.wustl.edu/">School of Engineering &amp; Applied Science and Washington University</a> in St. Louis conducted a study that examined how locusts responded to sensory input in a dynamic environment with other scents. 

The results were published in the journal Nature Communications. 

First, the researchers had to condition locusts to respond to a certain scent and they did this using the popular Pavlov's dog model. The locusts were exposed to a puff of hexanol followed by grass to eat. 

Eventually, the locusts learned to associate the scent with eating. When they smelled hexanol the locusts would open up their palps, organs outside of their mouths that functions like lips because they knew that they would soon get to eat grass. 

After the locusts were trained, the researchers performed a series of tests where the locusts were exposed to the hexanol either on its own or after a “distractor” scent. 

When the locusts were exposed to the hexanol on its own, the researchers saw no change in the locusts’ neural activity. However, when the locusts smelled a distractor smell first, different combinations of neurons fired off after smelling the hexanol. 

This explains the variability of sensory experience based on what’s happening in the current environment, but this also doesn’t realistically mirror how we experience smells on a day to day basis. 

The researchers compared variability to smelling a chocolate chip cookie at a coffee shop and a tea shop.

If we were to process sensory input based on context alone, then the coffee shop cookie and tea shop cookie would have two very different smells, even though they are the same food with the same ingredients. 

The locusts were able to recognize the hexanol in a range of settings which suggests that there is more than variability and context to sensory experience. 

The researchers discovered through further analysis that the locusts used something called the “An OR-of-ANDs” logical operation to recognize the hexanol.  

The “An OR-of-ANDs” logical operation explains how we can generalize and classify things based on certain traits and features.

There were some similarities in the locusts’ brain activity when smelling the hexanol on its own and when presented with a distractor scent first which shows that there are certain fixed patterns in regards to different sensory input even amongst other distractions.

The researchers next hope to test their findings with locusts and sensory experience on fruit flies to see if brain activity across the different insect species is the same. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Locusts help reveal how the brain processes different smells

A new study using locusts could help provide insight into...

It’s common knowledge that darker colors attract more sunlight. It’s why athletes wear eye black under their eyes and why purchasing a car with dark leather seats in Arizona is always a bad idea. So it’s clear that we humans are aware of this connection, but a new study published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a> has found that microorganisms may be as well. 

A study from scientists at <a href="https://www.jhsph.edu/">Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health</a> has found that microorganisms in colder climates darken themselves to capture more heat from the sun and enhance their ability to survive. 

Researchers examined yeasts collected from different latitudes, and discovered that dark-pigmented ones were frequently found away from the tropics. They determined that dark-pigmented microbes also maintained higher temperatures under a given amount of light, and had a significant growth advantage in cold conditions when compared to unpigmented microbes.

Because many pigmented fungi, bacteria, and other microbes exist at cold latitudes, it’s possible that this passive solar heating ability they’ve developed has an impact on climate. In some polar regions, microbes noticeably darken the terrain. Furthermore, there is evidence that colonies of microorganisms bloom in the meltwater of melting glaciers. 

“Our results suggest that pigmentation is an ancient adaptation mechanism for obtaining heat from solar radiation and could be an important variable in modeling climate change," says senior author Dr. Arturo Casadevall, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Through studying 20 differently pigmented variants of the yeasts Candida and Cryptococcus neoformans, Casadevall and his team found that darker variants heated up faster and reached higher temperatures under ordinary sunlight, as well as infrared and ultraviolet radiation. Additional experiments showed that this heat-capture strategy might provide an advantage in polar climates, enhancing a microbe’s chance of survival. 

The research team’s findings contribute helpful information in the study of microbial ecology, especially related to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-fungal-diseases/">climate change</a>. Their results could potentially help scientists predict the survivability of microorganisms at certain latitudes as the climate warms. 

“As these dark microbes grow, they may set up a positive reinforcing loop in which the area where they grow becomes warmer, speeding the glacial melt so that more dark microbes grow, and they warm things up further, and so on.” Knowing this, scientists will likely keep a close eye on microorganism growth – particularly in the polar regions.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Microbes adapt to cooler climate by darkening their pigmentation

It’s common knowledge that darker colors attract more sunlight. It’s...

The question of whether or not we are alone in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-possible-other-universes/">universe</a> has been the subject of much quandary and debate ever since we first discovered we were a part of a universe outside our own life-giving rock. 

With an estimated 700 million trillion terrestrial planets in the observable universe, it’s hard to imagine that there isn’t at least something out there that resembles life on Earth. This notion is being constantly supported by the discovery of new “habitable” planets, with similar characteristics to our own. Most recently, scientists have identified a group of planets outside our solar system with chemical conditions similar to those that may have led to life on Earth.

In a study published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>, researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> and the <a href="https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/">Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology</a> (MRC LMB) propose that stars which give off enough ultraviolet (UV) light may be able to help life begin on their own orbiting planets in a similar fashion to how it developed on Earth. This is because light is the catalyst to a series of chemical reactions that produce the building blocks of life.

The researchers determined a range of planets that are within the habitable range that liquid water is able to remain on the planet’s surface, and that the UV light from the host star is sufficient to allow the necessary chemical reactions to take place. “This work allows us to narrow down the best places to search for life,” says Dr. Paul Rimmer, a postdoctoral researcher with a joint affiliation at Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory and the MRC LMB, and the paper’s first author. “It brings us just a little bit closer to addressing the question of whether we are alone in the universe.”

By performing a series of chemical experiments in dark versus light conditions, the researchers were able to determine that stars around the same temperature as our sun gave off enough UV light for the chemical elements of life to form on the planets’ surfaces.

The known exoplanets that exist in the habitable area – what researchers have called the abiogenesis zone – are multiple planets detected by the Kepler telescope, including Kepler 452b, a planet that was nicknamed Earth’s “cousin.” The hope is that the next generation of telescopes will be able to identify and even characterize many more planets that are within the abiogenesis zone.

There is also the possibility that life on other planets could develop in a completely different way than it did on Earth. 

“I’m not sure how contingent life is, but given that we only have one example so far, it makes sense to look for places that are most like us,” says Rimmer. “There’s an important distinction between what is necessary and what is sufficient. The building blocks are necessary, but they may not be sufficient: it’s possible you could mix them for billions of years and nothing happens. But you want to at least look at the places where the necessary things exist.”

Of the 700 million trillion terrestrial planets – which at this point is likely a conservative estimate as we expand our knowledge of the universe – there are still many left to explore. 

“Getting some idea of what fraction have been, or might be, primed for life fascinates me,” says John Sutherland a professor at the University of Cambridge and co-author on the paper. “Of course, being primed for life is not everything and we still don’t know how likely the origin of life is, even given favorable circumstances – if it’s really unlikely then we might be alone, but if not, we may have company.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New exoplanets show potential for life

The question of whether or not we are alone in...

Depression screenings typically involve a lengthy conversation with a doctor or health professional and usually include some sort of physical exam and questionnaire about mood, thoughts, feelings, and behavior. 

Doctors will then cross-reference symptoms and behavior with the criteria listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to better understand the severity and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/risk-factors-anxiety-inherited/">type of depression</a>, as the condition can take many forms including seasonal affective disorder and postpartum depression. 

But now, depression may soon be diagnosed with a simple blood test, as a new study published in the journal PNAS found potential biomarkers that could indicate depression in the brain. 

A collaboration of U.S researchers from several universities examined the link between depression and low levels of the molecule acetyl-L-carnitine (LAC) in the blood. 

The researchers had previously discovered through past trials with mice that low levels of LAC are associated with mood disorders. 

According to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/">Newsweek</a> which reported on the findings, LAC has many important functions in the brain and helps with regulating metabolism and driving gene expression. 

To see if there was any link between LAC levels and depression in people, the researchers collected blood samples from 116 participants, 71 of whom had depression. 

LAC levels were much lower in the participants with depression and what's more, the lower levels were more prominent amongst those patients with a history of treatment-resistant depression and those who had suffered trauma during their childhood. 

The research suggests that someday LAC levels in a blood test may serve as a biomarker for diagnosing depression and aid in physicians working to treat their patients. 

“It is likely that other biomarkers will be needed to further identify, or narrow down, to create a more specific depression subtype,” Bruce McEwen, an author of the study, told Newsweek. “That is, a combination of biomarkers may be needed rather than one alone. Hopefully, within the next year or two there will be additional information that may lead to a test.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Depression could soon be diagnosed with a blood test

Depression screenings typically involve a lengthy conversation with a doctor...

Mars will look 3 times larger in the sky tonight. If you look up at the sky tonight, you may notice that Mars appears much bigger and brighter than usual. 

According to a report from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a>, Mars will look 3 times larger as the planet’s orbit brings it closer to Earth than it’s been in 17 years. 

The agency added that the red plant won’t be this close to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-temperature-has-been-steadily-rising-since-the-1850s/">Earth</a> again until September 2035. The best view of Mars will be visible from the Southern Hemisphere as it sits at a relatively short distance of 35.8 million miles away. Mars will look 3 times larger in the sky tonight

The record for the closest Mars ever got to Earth was set in 2003, when the red planet was only 34.6 million miles away.

This past month has featured a astrological occurrence known as “perihelic opposition,” where Mars, Earth, and the sun all align. According to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a>, this alignment happens every two years or so.

As <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blood-moon-eclipse-friday/">we reported last week</a>, the moon turned a blood red color during the longest lunar eclipse of the century.Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury. In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the "Red Planet". The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars's surface

--

By <a href="mailto:rarnold@earth.com">Rory Arnold</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mars will look 3 times larger in the sky tonight

Mars will look 3 times larger in the sky tonight....

The pyramids of Egypt continue to capture the world’s attention as archaeologists and researchers work to unravel their many mysteries. 

Researchers from <a href="http://en.ifmo.ru/">ITMO University</a> in Saint Petersburg recently discovered that the Great Pyramid of Giza can channel electromagnetic energy and funnel it down to its internal chambers. 

The pyramid is designed in such a way that energy is pulled through the structure and accumulates high pockets of energy below the base of the pyramid. 

According to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6008131/Great-Pyramid-Giza-focus-electromagnetic-energy-hidden-chambers.html">Daily Mail</a>, the study has implications for nanoparticle design and could be used to create highly efficient sensors and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-solar-panels-appealing/">solar cells.</a>

The results of the study were published in the Journal of Applied Physics.  

“Egyptian pyramids have always attracted great attention,” Andrey Evlyukhin, the coordinator of the research, said in a statement. “We as scientists were interested in them as well, so we decided to look at the Great Pyramid as a particle dissipating radio waves resonantly.”

The researchers created a model of the Great Pyramid of Giza to see how electromagnetic radiation such as gamma rays, visible light, and ultraviolet light reacted to the pyramid and if the energy waves were absorbed by the structure. 

There were limitations in creating the model because the researchers had to make assumptions for the some of the unknown variables in the pyramid’s design and build. 

The model was then exposed to wave energy lengths of 656 to 1,968 feet because the team’s calculations showed that these wavelengths would resonate within the pyramid. 

Multipole analysis was used to show how the Great Pyramid of Giza channeled the electromagnetic energy. 

The results showed that in the case of the Great Pyramid, if a structure sits atop a substrate that allows for energy to move through it, the pyramid can focus energy through those empty spaces which create high pockets of energy below its base. 

If the researchers could replicate this on a nanoscale, it would have immense applications for creating solar cells. 

“Choosing a material with suitable electromagnetic properties, we can obtain pyramidal nanoparticles with a promise for practical application in nanosensors and effective solar cells,” Polina Kapitainova, an author of the study, said in a <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-egypt-incredible-electromagnetic-discovery-great-pyramid-gizas-hidden-1049578">statement</a>. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Great Pyramid of Giza can focus electromagnetic energy

The pyramids of Egypt continue to capture the world’s attention...

Personality is all in the eyes – at least, if you’re an artificial intelligence programmed to study humans’ eye movements for clues to their character.

A team of scientists from the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Informatics</a>, <a href="https://www.uni-stuttgart.de/en/">University of Stuttgart</a> and <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a> have teamed up to create a set of machine-learning algorithms that allow artificial intelligence to determine people’s personality traits. In the process, they’ve also shown that those traits are linked to eye movement.

"People are always looking for improved, personalised services. However, today's robots and computers are not socially aware, so they cannot adapt to non-verbal cues,” Dr. Tobias Loetscher of the University of South Australia said in a press release.  "This research provides opportunities to develop robots and computers so that they can become more natural, and better at interpreting human social signals."

The study worked with 42 participants who allowed their eye movements to be tracked as they went around their day-to-day tasks on the universities’ campuses. 

At the end of the study, they filled out long-tested psychological questionnaires that assessed their personality traits. This allowed the researchers to compare their actual personality traits with the estimates made by the computer.

They found that the software was reliably accurate on predicting four major traits: neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness and extroversion. It also picked up on traits like curiosity and sociability based on eye movements.

"This research has tracked and measured the visual behaviour of people going about their everyday tasks, providing more natural responses than if they were in a lab,” Loetscher said. "And thanks to our machine-learning approach, we not only validate the role of personality in explaining eye movement in everyday life, but also reveal new eye movement characteristics as predictors of personality traits."

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00105/full">Frontiers in Human Neuroscience</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

AI uses eye movements to detect personality traits

Personality is all in the eyes – at least, if...

Northern Europe has been in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heatwave that looks to linger for weeks. Sweden is seeing its hottest summer in a century. Scotland recorded its highest temperature ever in Motherwell, and records were shattered in Belfast in Northern Ireland as well.

Now, weather data indicates that climate change may have played a role in creating it.

“The summer of 2018 has been remarkable in northern Europe. A very persistent high-pressure anomaly over Scandinavia caused high temperature anomalies and drought there from May to (at least) July,” researchers from the <a href="http://wwa.climatecentral.org/">World Weather Attribution</a> consortium wrote on their website. “These reached  as far southwest as Ireland. Southern Europe was unusually wet, with damaging thunderstorms in France in the first half of June.”

The team of scientists looked at climate data collected from seven sites in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands. The sites were chosen because they record weather information in real-time, and have digitized records going back several decades.

The researchers then analyzed the current and historic data to look at trends.

“We firstly analyze observed temperatures and estimate how rare the current heatwave is, measured as three-day maximum temperatures, and whether or not there is a trend toward increasing temperature,” they wrote.

They found that man-made climate change has raised the chances of northern Europe seeing a record-breaking heatwave, and this summer’s heat seems to be an example.

“We estimate that the probability to have such a heat or higher is generally more than two times higher today than if human activities had not altered climate,” <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/analyses/attribution-of-the-2018-heat-in-northern-europe/">the researchers wrote</a>.

The team did note that this was only a preliminary study. Additional research to verify their conclusions and more climate modeling would be needed before they can extend their findings to other extreme heat events, such as a record-breaking heatwave in Japan that has killed dozens or record high temperatures in the Arctic.

But the findings do add to a growing body of work suggesting that climate change is real, and that human activity may play a role in it.

“The logic that climate change will do this is inescapable – the world is becoming warmer and so heatwaves like this are becoming more common,” Dr. Friederike Otto of the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a>, a co-author of the study, told the <a href="http://dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>. “What was once regarded as unusually warm weather will become commonplace – in some cases, it already has.”

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Climate change may be behind record-breaking heatwave

Northern Europe has been in the fierce grip of a...

Two Pleistocene nematodes (roundworms) found frozen in the ice recently woke up from an over 30-40,000 year-long nap, thanks to scientists that coaxed the prehistoric worms backed to life. 

The worms were found frozen in Yakutia, the coldest region in Russia according to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5995189/Worms-laid-dormant-42-000-years-sprung-life-Siberian-permafrost-melts.html">Daily Mail</a>, which reported on the remarkable story. 

The results of the roundworm experiment have potential implications for the future of cryonics and astrobiology. Cryonics aims to be able to freeze people for long periods of time keeping their bodies and cognitive faculties intact which could be useful for future space travel. 

We have a long way to go before science makes cryonics a viable reality, and while today you can choose to have your dead body <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/18/the-cryonics-dilemma-will-deep-frozen-bodies-be-fit-for-new-life">cryopreserved</a>, successful reanimation may never be possible. 

This study though does show that multicellular organisms can survive in extreme environments for thousands of years. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.istc.int/en/institute/8700">Institute of Physico-Chemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science</a> in Moscow worked with geoscientists from <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> in New Jersey to analyze 300 frozen worms to see if any could feasibly be brought back to life. 

Only two of the 300 worms examined were chosen for continued experimentations. 

One of the nematodes, dated around 41,700 years old, was found in permafrost near the Alazeya river in Yakutia. 

The worms were discovered near the site of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-ice-age-siberia/">Pleistocene Park</a>, a jurassic park like project meant to guard against climate change.

The second worm was discovered in a prehistoric squirrel burrow in Duvanny Yar outcrop in the lower reaches of the Kolyma River in 2002 and dates back 32,000 years. 

After the two worms were selected for defrosting, the researchers in Moscow reported signs of life including moving and eating, according to the <a href="https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/news/worms-frozen-in-permafrost-for-up-to-42000-years-come-back-to-life/">Siberian Times</a>. 

“It is obvious that this ability suggests that the Pleistocene nematodes have some adaptive mechanisms that may be of scientific and practical importance for the related fields of science, such as cryomedicine, cryobiology, and astrobiology,” the researchers wrote in a report of their research efforts, which was published in journal Doklady Biological Sciences.

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: The Siberian Times

Worms frozen for thousands of years brought back to life

Two Pleistocene nematodes (roundworms) found frozen in the ice recently...

Epithelial cells are the foundation of tissues which band into three-dimensional shapes during embryonic development, ultimately giving rise to organs such as the outer layer of skin. It has been previously assumed that epithelial cells form into column-like or bottle-like shapes as they pack tightly together to accommodate the transformation of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/embryo-structures-fetal-development/">embryo</a>.

But now, an international research team led by <a href="https://www1.lehigh.edu/">Lehigh University</a> has found that epithelial cells take on a specific geometric shape during tissue bending that was previously unknown. The shape is very efficient, enabling the cells to maximize packing stability while minimizing energy use.

“We have unlocked nature's solution to achieving efficient epithelial bending,” said study lead author Javier Buceta.


The research team first made the discovery while modeling with a tool known as Voronoi diagramming, which is used in a number of fields to understand geometrical organization.

“During the modeling process, the results we saw were weird,” said Buceta. “Our model predicted that as the curvature of the tissue increases, columns and bottle-shapes were not the only shapes that cells may developed. To our surprise the additional shape didn't even have a name in math! One does not normally have the opportunity to name a new shape.”

To confirm this finding, the team analyzed the three-dimensional packing of various tissues found in animals. The data showed that epithelial cells did, in fact, form three-dimensional shapes similar to the ones predicted by the computational model.

The results of this research could help experts understand the three-dimensional organization of epithelial organs and may ultimately lead to advancements in tissue engineering.

“In addition to this fundamental aspect of morphogenesis, the ability to engineer tissues and organs in the future critically relies on the ability to understand, and then control, the 3D organization of cells,” wrote the study authors.

“For example, if you are looking to grow artificial organs, this discovery could help you build a scaffold to encourage this kind of cell packing, accurately mimicking nature's way to efficiently develop tissues,” said Buceta.

The new geometric shape identified in the study has been named “scutoid” because it resembles the posterior part of an insect thorax or midsection known as a scutellum.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms">Nature Communications</a>.

[caption id="attachment_1216865" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/new-shape.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1216865" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/new-shape-300x237.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="237" /></a> a) Scheme representing planar columnar/cubic monolayer epithelia. Cells are simplified as prisms. b) Scheme illustrating a fold in a columnar/cubic monolayer epithelium. Cells adopt the called "bottle 23 shape" that would be simplified as frusta. c) Mathematical model for an epithelial tube. d) Modelling clay figures illustrating two scutoids participating in a transition and two schemes for scutoids solids. Scutoids are characterized by having at least a vertex in a different plane to the two bases and present curved surfaces. e) A dorsal view of a Protaetia speciose beetle of the Cetoniidae family. The white lines highlight the resemblance of its scutum, scutellum and wings with the shape of the scutoids. Illustration from Dr. Nicolas Gompel, with permission. f) Three-dimensional reconstruction of the cells forming a tube. The four-cell motif (green, yellow, blue and red cells) shows an apico-basal cell intercalation. g) Detail of the apico-basal transition, showing how the blue and yellow cells contact in the apical part, but not in the basal part. The figure also shows that scutoids present concave surfaces.[/caption]

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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

Image Credit: Luis M. Escudero (Seville University, Spain), Javier Buceta (Lehigh University, USA), Pedro Gomez-Galvez, Pablo Vicente-Munuera and scientists from Andalucian Center of Developmental Biology, and the Severo Ocha Center of Molecular Biology, among others.

New geometric shape discovered from the way cells pack together

Epithelial cells are the foundation of tissues which band into...

Massive amounts of polyethylene (PE) mulch films are used by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/paying-farmers-conservation-land/">farmers</a> all over the world to combat weeds and to adjust the temperature and moisture of the soil to maximize crop yields. PE, however, is not biodegradable and accumulates in the soil over time, decreasing soil fertility and interfering with water transport.

A new study led by researchers at <a href="https://www.ethz.ch/en.html">ETH Zurich</a> have demonstrated that soil microbes can effectively break down mulch films composed of the alternative polymer poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate), or PBAT. The experts found that soil microorganisms metabolically utilized the carbon in PBAT for energy production and to build up microbial biomass.

“This research directly demonstrates, for the first time, that soil microorganisms mineralise PBAT films in soils and transfer carbon from the polymer into their biomass," said study co-author Michael Sander.

PBAT is a petroleum-based polymer that can be used as a substitute for PE in producing mulch films. Since PBAT is known to be biodegradable in compost, the researchers set out to determine whether the polymer is also biodegradable in agricultural soils. 

The study revealed that the soil microorganisms released carbon-13 from the polymer as the PBAT degraded. Using isotope-sensitive analytical equipment, the researchers found that the carbon-13 from PBAT was not only converted into carbon dioxide (CO2) as a result of microbial respiration, but was also incorporated into biomass at the surface of the polymer.

“The beauty of our study is that we used stable isotopes to precisely track PBAT-derived carbon along different biodegradation pathways of the polymer in the soil," said study co-author Michael Zumstein.

The study authors emphasized that biodegradable plastics are distinctively different from plastics that just break up into tiny fragments and persist in the environment as microplastics.

“By definition biodegradation demands that microbes metabolically use all carbon in the polymer chains for energy production and biomass formation - as we now demonstrated for PBAT,” explained study co-author Hans-Peter Kohler.

The research team is the first to successfully demonstrate that a plastic material is effectively biodegrade in soils.

“We've developed analysis techniques that open the door for industry to test the environmental impact of their plastic products,” said co-author Kristopher McNeill. “Thanks to our method, they can switch to using biodegradable materials in the production of thin mulch films instead of non-degradable PE.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</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

Image Credit: ETH Zurich / Environmental Chemistry Group

Scientists identify plastic material that is biodegradable in soil

Massive amounts of polyethylene (PE) mulch films are used by...

In something that seems ripped right out of an Isaac Asimov story, androids walking around with all your memories and thoughts could continue your legacy long after your physical body dies someday in the future. 

Famed futurist, Dr. Ian Pearson, an inventor, public speaker and writer recently discussed the potential benefits and dangers of “electronic immortality” on his blog, <a href="https://timeguide.wordpress.com/">The More Accurate Guide to the Future</a>. 

According to Pearson, electronic immortality is on the horizon, but unless we tread carefully into the frontier of digitally uploaded personal memory, our minds may be an asset and something we no longer own or control. 

Electronic immortality describes the hypothetical possibility that one-day humanity will develop technology that allows memories and thoughts to be stored like files on your computer uploaded to the cloud. When your physical body fails and dies, you could opt to put your brain in a new Android and go on with your life. 

“Assuming you saved enough and prepared well, you connect to an android to use as your body from now on, attend your funeral, and then carry on as before, still you, just with a younger, highly upgraded body,” Pearson wrote in his blog. 

This hypothetical could be a reality in the just a few decades according to Pearson. 

Although the idea of living on indefinitely in a high-tech android is a tempting prospect, Pearson warns of grave consequences if humanity doesn’t carefully work out the complex nitty-gritty of the fine print.

There is a good chance that if electronic immortality were to be readily available, a tech conglomerate or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fake-news-social-media/">company would be running most of the show</a>.  

“However, your mind runs on IT, and because of the most likely evolution of the technology and its likely deployment rollout, you probably won’t own that IT; it won’t be your own PC or server, it will probably be part of the cloud, maybe owned by AWS, Google, Facebook, Apple or some future equivalent.” Pearson wrote. 

Essentially, your mind would be property and whatever company owned that property could do whatever it wanted with it. You may even find yourself “enslaved” by a company. 

Already, we have seen major <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/11/facebook-fined-for-data-breaches-in-cambridge-analytica-scandal">breaches of privacy</a> with major companies taking advantage of and selling user information which does not bode well for a future where our entire minds may be up for grabs.  

“Get it right, and you can live in deluxe cyber-heaven, hopping into the real world as much as you like and living in unimaginable bliss online,” wrote Pearson. “Have too many casual taster sessions, use too much fully integrated mind-sharing social media, sign up to employment arrangements or go on corporate jollies without fully studying the small print and you could stay immortal, unable to die, stuck forever as just a corporate asset, a mere slave.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandett@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Futurist says your memories could be sold like Facebook data

In something that seems ripped right out of an Isaac...

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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

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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

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

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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

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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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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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...