Amber, the fossilized "blood" of ancient coniferous trees, holds the key to an extraordinary chapter of Earth's history.



Imagine stepping into a time machine capable of transporting you back to the era of the dinosaurs. 



Suddenly, you're immersed in a dense, swampy forest, surrounded by buzzing insects, blooming flowers, ferns, and conifers. Strikingly, this lush habitat is where snowy West Antarctica currently stands.



Recently, scientists from top universities in Germany and the UK have unearthed amber in this desolate landscape for the first time. 



These discoveries reveal that between 83 and 92 million years ago, coniferous trees once thrived on what is now the planet's southernmost continent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-amber-discovery-in-antarctica">Amber discovery in Antarctica </h2>



Coupled with the discovery of roots, pollen, and spore fossils, the unearthed amber supports the evidence indicating the existence of a swampy rainforest in the region of the South Pole during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-discovery-reveals-ancient-alaska-warm-lush-landscape/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mid-Cretaceous</a> period.



This prehistoric environment was "dominated by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/conifer-communication-is-altered-by-air-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conifers</a>," not unlike the present-day forests in New Zealand and Patagonia.



This Antarctic amber discovery peels back the icy layer shrouding the continent's history, and reveals an ancient habitat that was warm and moist enough to host coniferous trees capable of producing resin.



During the mid-Cretaceous, these resilient trees were able to endure total darkness during the long winter months.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-resin-producing-trees-on-all-continents">Resin-producing trees on all continents</h2>



Previously, Cretaceous amber deposits had only been found as far south as Australia's Otway Basin and New Zealand's Tupuangi Formation. 



"It was very exciting to realize that, at some point in their history, all seven continents had climatic conditions allowing resin-producing trees to survive," said marine geologist Johann Klages from the <a href="https://www.awi.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alfred Wegener Institute</a> in Germany.



The goal now is to explore deeper into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/large-herbivore-extinctions-drastically-affect-forest-ecosystems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forest's ecosystem</a> - to uncover whether the forest experienced extensive fires and if traces of life can be found encapsulated within the amber.



Renowned scientists have been unearthing fossilized wood and leaves in Antarctica since the early 19th century. However, most of these discoveries date back hundreds of millions of years. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evidence-of-antarctica-s-past">Evidence of Antarctica's past</h2>



The fate of Antarctica's lush forests, as the land mass separated from Australia and South America and spiraled towards the South Pole, is currently unknown. 



In 2017, researchers unearthed well-preserved evidence of these once-thriving habitats by drilling into the seafloor near West Antarctica. 



After years of analysis, Klages and his team of researchers published a 2020 research paper documenting a 3-meter-long network of fossilized roots that dates back to the mid-Cretaceous.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-amber-revelation-in-antarctica">The amber revelation in Antarctica </h2>



Drill expeditions have provided compelling evidence that ancient forests once thrived in Antarctica.



Present in the layer of mudstone where the fossilized roots were found were also tiny slices of translucent amber, each a different hue of yellow to orange.



This amber serves as evidence of resin flow, a natural process where sap leaks out of a tree to seal its bark against potential harm from fires or insect pests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-was-the-amber-preserved">How was the amber preserved?</h2>



The Cretaceous, one of the warmest periods in Earth's history, was prone to frequent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-were-common-in-ancient-antarctica/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forest fires</a>, evident from the volcanic deposits found on Antarctica and adjacent islands.



The preservation and fossilization of the amber can be attributed to high water levels promptly enveloping the tree resin. This quick coverage shielded the resin from harmful ultraviolet radiation and oxidation. 



Excitingly, it appears that the amber encompasses tiny bits of tree bark, though further analysis is required for confirmation.



Slowly but surely, researchers are piecing together details of what Antarctica's prehistoric forests once looked like and how they functioned 90 million years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-amber-in-paleoclimate-studies">Significance of amber in paleoclimate studies</h2>



Amber&nbsp;is&nbsp;much&nbsp;more&nbsp;than&nbsp;the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/team-finds-mangrove-forest-that-was-lost-for-22-million-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fossilized</a> remnant&nbsp;of ancient trees.&nbsp;It&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;kind of&nbsp;time capsule that&nbsp;informs&nbsp;us about&nbsp;conditions on the Earth&nbsp;millions of years ago&nbsp;and allows further insight into its climate.&nbsp;



This discovery of amber&nbsp;in&nbsp;Antarctica is&nbsp;very&nbsp;significant&nbsp;as&nbsp;it indicates that the region once&nbsp;must&nbsp;have had&nbsp;a warm and humid climate&nbsp;suitable&nbsp;for&nbsp;dense&nbsp;forests of trees that could produce&nbsp;resin.



This&nbsp;discovery&nbsp;has&nbsp;sparked a challenge to&nbsp;current perceptions of Antarctica's past and contributed&nbsp;to the growing body of evidence for a once green, thriving landscape on the continent. Information&nbsp;on&nbsp;the amber's chemical composition and inclusions will give scientists clues about what life&nbsp;must&nbsp;have been like in that&nbsp;ancient environment:&nbsp;its temperatures, humidity levels,&nbsp;diversity of flora and fauna,&nbsp;and&nbsp;indeed&nbsp;everything&nbsp;thriving&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;time.



Such analysis&nbsp;can&nbsp;be&nbsp;pieced together&nbsp;to&nbsp;form&nbsp;a more complete picture of global climate patterns during the mid-Cretaceous period - the warmest&nbsp;era&nbsp;in Earth's&nbsp;existence.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/first-discovery-of-antarctic-amber/700244C13B3972F0048EAC029E34263E" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Antarctic Research</a>.



Image Credit: Alfred-Wegener-Institut / V. Schumacher



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90-million-year-old amber reveals Antarctica's secret past

Amber, the fossilized "blood" of ancient coniferous trees, holds the key to an extraordinary chapter of Earth's history. Imagine stepping into a time machine capable of transporting you back to the era of the dinosaurs. Suddenly, you're immersed in a dense, swampy forest, surrounded by buzzing insects, blooming flowers, ferns, and conifers. Strikingly, this lush habitat is where snowy West Antarctica currently stands. Recently, scientists from top universities in Germany and the UK have unearthed amber in this desolate landscape for the first time. These discoveries reveal...

How can reefs avoid coral bleaching as ocean temperatures rise? Practice, practice, practice, one new study suggests.

Coral reefs that weather frequent temperature changes can better withstand the conditions that cause bleaching, the international team of scientists discovered. 

The researchers looked at 118 reefs around the world. Noting that some of the reefs showed only patchy bleaching, the team set out to see how sections that resisted coral bleaching differed from areas that could not. 

They found that the areas that experienced frequent temperature changes were better able to survive warming events. Those that experienced more stable temperatures were more likely to fall to bleaching.

"Importantly, our results show that the resistance of corals to bleaching in areas of high-frequency temperature variability occurs in reef regions throughout the world,” co-author Dr. Gareth Williams of <a href="https://www.bangor.ac.uk/">Bangor University</a> said in a press release. 

In some cases, the researchers found, reefs just a few hundred meters apart – or even just a few dozen – had different temperature conditions and different responses to warming events.

The study offers some hope for coral reefs, many of which have been damaged by bursts of warm water temperatures in recent years. It could also help scientists better understand how and why coral bleaching happens.

But that doesn’t mean people should let their guards down, the research team warned. Warming events that damage coral reefs have become more frequent, they said. This is an issue of global concern, they said, because reefs are so vital to shoreline protection, fisheries and other important parts of the ocean ecosystem.

“This positive news should not distract from the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect coral reefs globally, but instead help guide strategic management actions in the inevitable interim,” Williams said.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04074-2">Nature Communications</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey,<a href="http://www.earth.com"> Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Paul Marshall

Coral bleaching less likely in reefs used to temperature changes

How can reefs avoid coral bleaching as ocean temperatures rise?...

When someone recycles a plastic water bottle, they probably don’t realize that it can never be recycled into another bottle again.

Plastics that are recycled, like water bottles, become so degraded during the recycling process that they must be ground up and turned into plastic fibers or some other form of lower quality plastic. 

Clothes, carpets, and other materials made from degraded and recycled plastic eventually end up in landfills, unable to be recycled and unable to biodegrade properly.

This major problem with recycling plastic today is called the “end-of-use-issue,” but a new <a href="https://www.colostate.edu/">Colorado State University</a> may have finally found a solution. 

It’s estimated that there will be 500 million metric tons of plastic produced by 2050, and so the researchers set to work on creating a truly recyclable plastic to reduce the amount of plastic waste. 

The study was published in the journal Science, and the results show that it’s possible to break down the new plastic into its chemical building blocks so it can be reused again as fresh plastic.

The researchers, led by Colorado State chemistry professor Eugene Chen, created a new polymer that can be broken down to its starting monomers with a chemical recycling method. 

The monomers can then be purified and reused, keeping degraded plastics out of the equation. The polymerization process is environmentally friendly, solvent free, and only takes a few minutes of reaction time according to the researchers. 

“The polymers can be chemically recycled and reused, in principle, infinitely,” Chen said in a <a href="https://natsci.source.colostate.edu/infinitely-recyclable-polymer-shows-practical-properties-of-plastics/">Colorado State press release</a>. 

Chen worked with research scientist Jian-Bo Zhu and two graduate students for the study.  

With the amount of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/major-companies-plastic-pollution/">plastic pollution</a> growing, finding effective ways to combat the end-of-use-issue is critical. 

As the researchers work to perfect their new polymer, it could revitalize plastics recycling and create truly reusable plastic that can be broken down again and again. 

---

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New type of plastic can be recycled an infinite number of times

When someone recycles a plastic water bottle, they probably don’t...

A newly developed, eel-like soft robot presents a major step in underwater exploration. For scientists looking to study fish and ocean ecosystems, underwater remotely operated vehicles are typically the most popular option. 

However, these have noisy motors that can scare away fish and hamper with nearby habitats due to their hard rigid outer structures. 

A team of marine biologists and engineers have created a completely silent, motorless robot that won’t harm or startle fish. 

The foot-long robot can swim in salt water thanks to its artificial, water-filled muscles and uses electrical charges to propel itself forward. 

“Instead of propellers, our robot uses soft artificial muscles to move like an eel underwater without making any sound,” said Caleb Christianson, a member of the team who created the soft robot. 

The robot is also transparent, which is also useful for future underwater research as the device can use “passive camouflage” and blend into its surroundings without having to be painted or modeled to look a certain way. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California San Diego</a> and <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a> collaborated on the project and discussed their new design in the journal Science Robotics. 

One of the most exciting innovations of the robot is that it uses salt water as part of its design. Cables attached to the robot apply electrical charges to the water around the eel and to the muscle pouches within it. 

The electrical charges cause the muscles to bend and propel the robot forward with a wave-like motion. 

“Our biggest breakthrough was the idea of using the environment as part of our design,” said Michael T. Tolley, a corresponding author of the study. “There will be more steps to creating an efficient, practical, untethered eel robot, but at this point, we have proven that it is possible.”

The robot’s soft skin is another innovation as other similar designs use hard frames to power them, but now this study shows that eel can swim without the use of frames. 

Even though the device emits an electrical charge to the water around it, it is completely harmless to any wildlife that might swim nearby, and the researchers tested the eel in a tank with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jellyfish-chips-crunchy-snack/">jellyfish</a>, coral, and other fish at the <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a>. 

There’s more work that needs to be done on the robot but the design is a major advancement in soft robotic technology and could help observe and monitor underwater ecosystems without interfering. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: University of California San Diego

New eel-like robot moves silently and blends into environment

A newly developed, eel-like soft robot presents a major step...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/plants/calonema-echidnachila/">DNA</a> is typically thought of as having the familiar double-helix shape, and almost all living shapes on Earth have DNA in their cells.

But in an exciting new discovery, researchers have identified an elusive new structure of DNA called the “i-motif” for the first time in living cells.

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.garvan.org.au/">Garvan Institute of Medical Research</a> and published in the journal Nature Chemistry.

The double-helix chemical structure of DNA was first discovered in 1953 by scientists James Watson and Francis Crick.

Now, the double helix is not the only form of DNA as the i-motif has more of a twisted knot shape. The knot shape has been observed in other studies, but never before in living cells.

“When most of us think of DNA, we think of the double helix,” Daniel Christ, a leader of the research said in a statement. “This new research reminds us that totally different DNA structures exist – and could well be important for our cells.”

While the researchers are still not sure what the i-motif’s purpose is, the finding may help with interpreting DNA sequences. 

To confirm the presence of i-motifs in living cells, the researchers created tiny probes made of antibodies that were engineered to bind to the knotted shapes.  The researchers dyed the probes with a fluorescent color in order to locate the antibodies within the cell. 

I-motifs were found in every type of human cell the researchers used in the study. 

The researchers also noticed that the green spots, the i-motifs, disappeared and reappeared in the cells. 

“We think the coming and going of the i-motifs is a clue to what they do,” said Mahdi Zeraati, the lead author of the study. “It seems likely that they are there to help switch genes on or off, and to affect whether a gene is actively read or not.”

The research opens new doors to future studies on i-motifs that will hopefully reveal more about the structure and its purpose. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists discover new form of DNA in human cells

DNA is typically thought of as having the familiar double-helix...

What will <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americans-waste-pound-food/">food</a> of the future look and taste like as agriculture and food distributors work to keep up with the projected increases in population and demand? 

The answer to some of these questions may lie in 3-D printing, a quickly developing new technology that takes raw materials and layers them to create three-dimensional objects. 

3-D printing has been used to make everything from car parts to gadgets and toys, and even artificial organs. But now, a new study has found promising applications in creating customizable food with 3-D printing. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.ewha.ac.kr/mbs/ewhaen/">Ewha Womans University in South Korea</a> and will be presented at the <a href="http://www.asbmb.org/">American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology</a> annual meeting in San Diego this month. 

“We built a platform that uses 3-D printing to create food microstructures that allow food texture and body absorption to be customized on a personal level,” said Jin-Kyu Rhee. “We think that one day, people could have cartridges that contain powdered versions of various ingredients that would be put together using 3-D printing and cooked according to the user's needs or preferences."

The researchers created a prototype 3-D printer that made food with similar properties at the nanoscale of actual food samples. 

The prototype was also able to turn carbohydrate and protein powders into food with microstructures and the researchers say this allows for people to control texture and food absorption.

Being able to customize food specifically catered to an individual's personal nutritional needs could help prevent allergic reactions due to dietary restrictions and ensure that the optimal amount of nutrients were consumed with each meal. 

The researchers also note that whether available as a home appliance or used at the industrial level, 3-D printed food could reduce food waste, packaging, and costs of storage and transportation. 

It would also help meet the rising food demands as the world’s population increases in the coming years. 

The study is exciting and adds to the growing body of research around the many possible applications of 3-D printing. 

“We are only in early stages, but we believe our research will move 3-D food printing to the next level,” said Rhee. “We are continuing to optimize our 3-D print technology to create customized food materials and products that exhibit longer storage times and enhanced functionality in terms of body absorption.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

3-D printing may soon revolutionize the food industry

What will food of the future look and taste like...

If global temperatures continue to rise, Europe could soon see larger drought regions, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.ufz.de/">Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Studies</a>.

The team of scientists from Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the United States used a modeling program to explore what effects climate change might have on Europe if global temperatures rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. That limit is the goal of the landmark Paris Agreement, but scientists are studying what might happen if the agreement fails in its goals.

Using modeling software, the team of researchers looked at how an average global temperature rise of 3 degrees Celsius would affect drought conditions in Europe.

"In the event of a three-degree warming [in Southern Europe], we assume there will be 5.6 drought months per year; up to now, the number has been 2.1 months. For some parts of the Iberian Peninsula, we project that the drought could even last more than seven months," Dr. Luis Samaniego, one of the study’s two lead authors, said in a press release. 

Such a rise in temperatures would expand European drought regions from 13 percent to 20 percent of the continent’s total area, compared to drought activity from 1971 to 2000, the researchers said. More than 400 million people could be affected, they said.

Some regions will be affected more than others, the model showed. The Mediterranean could see drought regions expand from 28 to 49 percent, the scientists said. The loss of water content in the soil could be similar to the 2003 heat wave that ravaged France and central Europe.

But other regions won’t have it as bad. 

"In the Atlantic, Continental and Alpine regions, the drought areas will enlarge by less than 10 percent of the total area," said mathematician Dr. Stephan Thober, the study’s other lead author.

In Scandinavia and the Baltic States, drought regions could even shrink by as much as 3 percent.

If the Paris Agreement countries reach their goal of a global temperature rise of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, the potential for drought would still go up from the present day, but the risk would be much lower, the researchers said.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0138-5">Nature Climate Change</a>. Funding was provided by the <a href="https://www.bmbf.de/en/index.html">German Ministry for Education and Research</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey,<a href="http://www.earth.com"> Earth.com</a> staff writer

European drought regions would grow under climate change

If global temperatures continue to rise, Europe could soon see...

Every year, a conference is held with over 14,000 multidisciplinary scientists sharing the newest concepts and research findings relevant to clinical advances. This year's meeting, <a href="http://experimentalbiology.org/2018/Home.aspx">Experimental Biology 2018</a> (EB 2018) will include four innovative studies focused on understanding contamination and improving the environment.

Stephanie Chaousis from <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/">Griffith University</a> in Australia will be introducing a technique that may lead to the discovery of biomarkers for detecting contamination exposure in wildlife without the need for invasive sampling.

The new method, which uses cultured cells from animals, was demonstrated in an experiment with green sea turtles. The researchers cultured skin cells and exposed them to two contaminants that commonly accumulate in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-turtles-flippers-hands/">sea turtles</a>. Using mass spectrometry, the experts identified many proteins that changed expression levels after exposure.

Héctor Rivera from the <a href="http://www.upr.edu/">University of Puerto Rico</a> will be reporting on more sustainable ways to produce biofuel from cooking oil and grease waste. While the enzyme lipase has been found to speed up the conversion process, the enzyme's activity levels are not high enough for industrial-scale biodiesel production.

Three new nanoparticle formulas, which were developed by the researchers using lipase from the fungus Candida rugosa, were all shown to facilitate faster biodiesel production compared to traditional lipase formulations. 

Experts from <a href="https://www.nu.edu/">National University</a> and the <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institute of Oceanography</a> in California set out to identify the harmful bacteria found on ocean plastic. The team submerged three common types of plastics in waters off the coast of Southern California and sequenced the microbial DNA at four intervals throughout the study. 

The researchers found that more than 40 percent of the DNA sequences belonged to unknown organisms. Furthermore, all of the plastic materials contained different types of bacteria which were also different from those found in the surrounding seawater. Early testing on the plastics revealed bacteria that can cause disease in humans. The research will be presented at the meeting by Ana Maria Barral.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> have been investigating the prenatal effects of marine toxin exposure. Domoic acid is a naturally occurring toxin produced by marine algae that can cause fatal central nervous system toxicity in people who consume highly-contaminated shellfish. The effects of long-term exposure to low levels of domoic acid, however, are not known.

The researchers focused a study on 20 pregnant monkeys. After the pregnant females were administered low doses of the neurotoxin over the course of at least two months, the experts found that the fetuses experienced nearly the same domoic acid exposure as the mothers.

Some of the exposed monkeys showed subtle signs of neurological effects, such as tremors. The study authors believe that the government should lower the tolerable daily intake levels of domoic acid until more is known about the human health risks associated with long-term, low-level exposure. The research will be presented by Sara Shum at EB 2018.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Four big breakthroughs presented to improve the environment

Every year, a conference is held with over 14,000 multidisciplinary...

An investigation by researchers at the <a href="http://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> is providing new insight into the evolutionary history of upright walking. The analysis of 3.6 million-year-old footprints uncovered in Tanzania suggests that hominins were walking with extended legs much earlier than what was previously realized.

“Fossil footprints are truly the only direct evidence of walking in the past,” said David Raichlen, PhD, associate professor at the. 

“By 3.6 million years ago, our data suggest that if you can account for differences in size, hominins were walking in a way that is very similar to living humans. While there may have been some nuanced differences, in general, these hominins probably looked like us when they walked.”

The term hominin refers to human relatives that lived before the genus Homo, which were ancestral humans that emerged around 2.5 million years ago.

Hominins started walking on two legs approximately seven million years ago, but scientists have mainly theorized that the extinct humans walked with a crouch and bent legs like other primates of that time.

Based on the fossilized footprints and skeletons of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/early-humans-relations-ghost-species/">early humans</a>, the researchers used various techniques to reconstruct walking mechanics. The study revealed that the footprints discovered in Tanzania are consistent with the fully upright, bipedal gait of modern humans.


The researchers explained that walking upright with the legs fully extended uses less energy than bipedal walking in a crouched, ape-like fashion. Hominins likely adopted a more upright style of walking to preserve their energy for long foraging journeys.

“The data suggest that by this time in our evolutionary history, selection for reduced energy expenditures during walking was strong,” said Raichlen. 

“This work suggests that, by 3.6 million years ago, climate and habitat changes likely led to the need for ancestral hominins to walk longer distances during their daily foraging bouts. Selection may have acted at this time to improve energy economy during locomotion, generating the human-like mechanics we employ today.”

The research was presented at the <a href="http://experimentalbiology.org/2018/Home.aspx">Experimental Biology 2018</a> meeting in San Diego.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ancient humans began walking upright sooner than was thought

An investigation by researchers at the University of Arizona is...

An international team of researchers has discovered that diamonds can actually be flexible in some forms. The experts found that tiny diamond needles can bend and stretch, and then return to their original state.

The scientists used a chemical vapor deposition process to create <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diamonds-reveal-secrets/">diamond</a> needles measuring just a few micrometers tall. To investigate how much strain the structures could undergo without breaking, they examined the needles under a scanning electron microscope while applying pressure with a nanoindenter diamond tip.

A computer model developed by the team revealed that the maximum strain that could be endured by the nano samples was 9 percent. After being stretched to their limit, the diamond needles were able to transform back to their original shape.

“It was very surprising to see the amount of elastic deformation the nanoscale diamond could sustain,” said study co-author Daniel Bernoulli of the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a>.

According to Bernoulli, the stretch limit of a diamond falls way below one percent in its natural state. While diamonds are known for their strength, it is this quality that also causes them to be brittle. 

Study senior co-author Yang Lu is an associate professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at the

“We developed a unique nanomechanical approach to precisely control and quantify the ultralarge elastic strain distributed in the nanodiamond samples,” said Dr Yang Lu of the <a href="http://www.cityu.edu.hk">City University of Hong Kong</a>, senior co-author of the study.

The researchers explained that when this type of strain is placed on crystalline materials such as diamonds, it can significantly change their properties. 

According to the study authors, this process of “elastic strain engineering” could lead to the development of strong diamond-based materials to be used in a variety of applications such as sensing and data storage devices.

The study is published in the in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists can now bend and stretch diamonds

An international team of researchers has discovered that diamonds can...

Business is booming for companies that make artificial sweeteners. As more people turn away from sugar for health reasons, sugarless candy, diet sodas and other foods using the sugar replacements have grown in popularity.

But a new study found that replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners may not actually prevent diabetes – or shrink the waistline.

"Despite the addition of these non-caloric artificial sweeteners to our everyday diets, there has still been a drastic rise in obesity and diabetes," said Dr. Brian Hoffmann of the <a href="https://www.mcw.edu/MCW">Medical College of Wisconsin</a> and <a href="http://marquette.edu/">Marquette University</a>, who led the research. "In our studies, both sugar and artificial sweeteners seem to exhibit negative effects linked to obesity and diabetes, albeit through very different mechanisms from each other."

Hoffman’s study uses a method dubbed “unbiased high-throughput metabolomics” to look at biochemical changes the human body experiences after eating sugar or artificial sweeteners. 

Using rats and cell cultures, the researchers examined how their metabolic profiles were altered by each type of sweetener. They also looked at how sugar and artificial sweeteners affected the lining of blood vessels. 

Regardless of the type of sweetener the researchers fed the rats, they saw significant changes in the levels of biochemicals, amino acids and fats in the rats’ blood samples. In addition, one artificial sweetener, acesulfame potassium, appeared to remain concentrated in the rats’ blood, causing damage to the cells that lined their blood vessels. 

"We observed that in moderation, your body has the machinery to handle sugar; it is when the system is overloaded over a long period of time that this machinery breaks down," Hoffmann said in a press release. "We also observed that replacing these sugars with non-caloric artificial sweeteners leads to negative changes in fat and energy metabolism."

The study showed that both sugar and artificial sweeteners can be harmful to the body, but more research is needed, the researchers said.

Hoffman will present the research at <a href="http://experimentalbiology.org/2018/Home.aspx">Experimental Biology 2018</a> in San Diego today. The conference brings together more than 14,000 researchers in a number of clinical fields.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Artificial sweeteners, like sugar, can lead to obesity and diabetes

Business is booming for companies that make artificial sweeteners. As...

Drinking water during exercise is a no brainer, right? Actually, it could have plenty of benefits for the brain and cognition, according to a new study of active older adults.

A team of New England-based researchers set out to explore the connection between good hydration and exercise-boosted cognition in seniors.  

"Middle-age and older adults often display a blunted thirst perception, which places them at risk for dehydration and subsequently may reduce the cognitive health-related benefits of exercise," the researchers wrote.

To conduct their study, the scientists recruited recreational cyclists with an average age of 55. By testing the participants’ urine, they placed them into two teams. One team showed signs of dehydration, while the other tested normal.

The teams each completed a “trail-making” activity before and after going for a ride on a warm day. The test involved quickly and accurately linking numbered dots.

Both groups completed the activity more quickly and accurately after exercising on the bike ride. However, the dehydrated group showed much less improvement than the properly hydrated group.

"This suggests that older adults should adopt adequate drinking behaviors to reduce cognitive fatigue and potentially enhance the cognitive benefits of regular exercise participation," the researchers wrote.

Previous studies have found links between dehydration and impaired exercise function and cognition, but those studies have focused on younger adults, not seniors. However, this adds to a collection of studies that link exercise to better brain power – and that show the importance of drinking water before, during and after exercise.

A poster explaining the study will be presented today at the <a href="http://experimentalbiology.org/2018/Home.aspx">Experimental Biology 2018</a> conference in San Diego, during the annual meeting of the <a href="http://www.the-aps.org/">American Physiological Society</a>. 

Experimental Biology is an annual meeting of more than 14,000 scientists and exhibitors. They meet each year to share new advances in clinical research.

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By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Seniors: drinking water during exercise boosts your brain

Drinking water during exercise is a no brainer, right? Actually,...

Chimpanzees are the only primates known to frequently engage in warfare – other than humans, of course. Knowing this connection of inter-species aggression that humans and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-learn-tools/">chimpanzees</a> share, researchers postulated that the fight-or-flight response probably played a significant role in helping us primates adapt to the threat of warfare during our evolution.

In a recent study published in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/">PLOS Genetics</a>, researchers looked for changes in the regulation of the ADRA2C gene, which affects the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn regulates the fight-or-flight response. Jung Kyoon Choi of <a href="http://www.kaist.edu/html/en/index.html">KAIST</a> in Korea and Soojin Yi of <a href="http://www.gatech.edu/">Georgia Tech</a> analyzed genomes, transcriptomes, and epigenomes from multiple humans, chimpanzees, and other primates. Transcriptomes are the entire set of genes expressed in a cell, while epigenomes are made up of a variety of compounds that can bind to DNA and affect gene expression. 

Their results showed that humans and chimpanzees acquired genetic and epigenetic changes that reduce ADRA2C expression, which results in increased signaling for the fight-or-flight response. However, these changes are not present in macaques and are not consistently found in bonobos. This suggests that the genetic variations recently spread in the population may have occurred in response to threats of war, as these variations are only universal in humans and chimpanzees.

The researchers also used the genome-editing technique known as CRISPR/Cas9 in order to show that reverting to the genetic states of macaques and bonobos can restore ADRA2C expression. Knocking out expression of this gene in mice has a significant effect on fight-or-flight, and changes in the gene that happened over time during chicken domestication likely resulted in less aggressive chickens.

So what do these findings mean? The authors believe that the signatures of adaptations linked to reduced ADRA2C expression in both chimps and humans may have significantly influenced their evolution, and may even have played a major role in the roots of human warfare. 

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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

Humans (and chimps) are genetically inclined to turn to war

Chimpanzees are the only primates known to frequently engage in...

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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

[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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[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...