Our gut is a bustling metropolis of microbes, a complex ecosystem that plays a pivotal role in our overall health. Recent research from King's College London has thrown a fascinating light on two key residents of this microbial city.



Persistent colonizing species (PCS), the good guys, help maintain a healthy gut. But there's another type, transient colonizing species (TCS), which aren't as benign. 



They can throw a spanner in the works, destabilizing the gut and potentially leading to diseases such as type-2 diabetes and colon cancer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-types-of-gut-microbes">Two types of gut microbes</h2>



The constant tug-of-war between PCS and TCS is crucial. Their numbers keep each other in check, maintaining a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-tool-detects-changes-in-gut-health-to-help-prevent-disease/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">healthy gut environment</a>. 



However, outside factors like diet and lifestyle can upset this delicate balance. TCS, though typically low in number, can rapidly multiply under certain conditions, outmuscling our beneficial PCS.



The troublemakers, TCS, thrive on sugar and xenobiotics - substances foreign to living systems like pesticides and food additives. In contrast, the good PCS grow stronger with a diet high in protein and fiber.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-power-of-personalized-diets">Power of personalized diets</h2>



This breakthrough discovery suggests a roadmap to maintaining gut health: personalized <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-bacteria-influence-our-social-behavior-and-sense-of-fairness/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diet plans</a> that cater to PCS and stifle the growth of TCS. 



By feeding the beneficial PCS and suppressing the detrimental TCS, we could potentially prevent diseases and boost gut health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gut-microbes-and-disease-prevention">Gut microbes and disease prevention </h2>



"The power of the gut microbiome and the dynamic pace of it in health and disease is well known. Our study shows that while the balance of these microbes can change over time, we can predict how these changes happen," said Dr. Saeed Shoaie, group leader in Systems Biology at <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">King's College London</a>.



"Even bacteria that are usually found in low numbers can suddenly increase, while the beneficial ones might decrease. Although these shifts in the gut don't always cause immediate symptoms, even a short period of imbalance can leave a lasting impact."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disruption-in-the-gut-microbe-balance">Disruption in the gut microbe balance</h2>



According to Dr. Shoaie, a disruption in the balance of gut microbes can lead to harmful changes in the gut environment that may persist, potentially contributing to the development of various diseases over time. 



"Moreover, we showed that transient bugs can rapidly grow under specific conditions and produce toxins," said Dr. Shoaie.



"This finding suggests that understanding the proportion of these two types of species categories can help for a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-bacteria-linked-to-younger-colon-cancer-patients/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">personalized diet plan</a>. These two categories of microbes can act as potential markers to check the success of the dietary plan, which could be important for patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-understanding-of-disease">A new understanding of disease</h2>



Dr. Sunjae Lee, the first author of the paper, noted that the new categorizations of gut microbes will change the way researchers understand disease and think of new ways to build effective treatments.



"By including these labels in a freely available Gut Microbiome Atlas that identifies gut bacteria appearing in individuals with 23 separate diseases across 19 countries, we can share this work with the world," said Dr. Lee.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-personalized-nutrition-for-gut-microbes">Personalized nutrition for gut microbes</h2>



With the insight provided by this study, personalized nutrition emerges as a promising frontier in health science. By tailoring dietary recommendations based on the unique composition of an individual's gut microbiome, there is potential to optimize health outcomes. 



This approach requires detailed profiling of one's gut microbial landscape to identify dietary components that could foster beneficial PCS while inhibiting the proliferation of TCS. 



Such precision in dietary interventions could not only enhance general well-being but also serve as a preventative strategy against chronic diseases. 



The idea is to move beyond one-size-fits-all dietary guidelines to a more customized regimen that capitalizes on the dynamic interplay of microbes in the gut.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-gut-microbiome-research">Future of gut microbiome research</h2>



The burgeoning field of gut microbiome research holds vast potential for future discoveries that could revolutionize how we approach health and disease. 



The research led by Dr. Shoaie and Dr. Lee paves the way for more intricate studies that examine the genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influencing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-microbiome-trillions-of-bacteria-unique-like-your-fingerprint/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microbial dynamics</a>. 



Future research endeavors might explore how modern stressors, from processed foods to increased antibiotic usage, impact gut health.



Additionally, further studies into the gut-brain axis could yield innovative treatments for mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. 



Ultimately, understanding the multifaceted interactions within the gut microbiome will not only enhance disease prevention but could lead to new therapeutic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breast-milk-lowers-asthma-risk-in-babies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">strategies</a> that harness these microorganisms for healing.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-024-00561-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">npj Biofilms and Microbiomes</a>.



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Balancing gut microbes could protect us from disease

Our gut is a bustling metropolis of microbes, a complex ecosystem that plays a pivotal role in our overall health. Recent research from King's College London has thrown a fascinating light on two key residents of this microbial city. Persistent colonizing species (PCS), the good guys, help maintain a healthy gut. But there's another type, transient colonizing species (TCS), which aren't as benign. They can throw a spanner in the works, destabilizing the gut and potentially leading to diseases such as type-2 diabetes and colon cancer. Two...

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Damage to the Great Barrier Reef has been assessed after the worst coral bleaching event ever recorded.

Scientists are surveying the continued aftermath of the extreme underwater heatwave of 2015/2016 on the Great Barrier Reef. Six months on, many of the bleached corals has now died in the northern third of the Reef. 

Scientists today released unique footage which shows the extent of the bleaching in March and April. The damage was most severe in the northern 700 km section of the Great Barrier Reef. 

The large-scale devastation has been compounded by disease which has infected the damaged corals, and by coral predators.

Reefs in the southern half of the reef were only lightly bleached and remain in good condition.

"Millions of corals in the north of the Great Barrier Reef died quickly from heat stress in March and since then, many more have died slowly," says Dr. Greg Torda. "Six months after the peak bleaching, the corals now have either regained their algal symbionts and survived, or they have slowly starved to death without the nutrition the algae provide to them. On the reefs we surveyed close to Lizard Island, the amount of live coral covering the reef has fallen from around 40% in March, to under 5% now.”

—

Source: <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies</a>

Great Barrier Reef damage assessed after catastrophic heatwave

Damage to the Great Barrier Reef has been assessed after...

waste plastic bottles and other types of plastic waste at the Thilafushi waste disposal site.

Burning trash piles is very bad for your health, new research conducted in India reports.

Trash piles’ chemical composition and toxicity are very dangerous for human and animal health. However the variation between sites does offer insight about how we can mitigate the risk from this common practice.

Michael Bergin, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University, commented, "From our tests, we found that somebody standing near one of these fires is getting a dose of toxins 1000 times greater than they would from the ambient air . . . . A person would only need to breathe these particles for a minute to get an entire day's worth of hazardous particulate matter."

There are nearly 2 billion tons of garbage produced worldwide yearly, and almost half is burned as means of disposal. Although in some areas trash is burned in collection and disposal sites away from heavily populated places, many cities and towns do not have the infrastructure to collect waste – especially in India.

"As you walk down the street in India, there are just piles of trash growing larger and larger until somebody decides to take a match to it," added Heidi Vreeland, a doctoral student in Bergin's laboratory and lead author on the study. "Even in large cities such as Bangalore, and even in the more affluent neighborhoods, this is just the norm."

The researchers took samples of emissions coming from 24 roadside garbage fires in urban Bangalore. They tested the collected particles for toxicity through both a chemical analysis and by applying them to cultured cells. As well as showing the high levels of toxicity humans could be breathing in nearby, they also learned that each trash site hosted a “rainbow” of toxins. These played host to a wide variety of toxins and were created as the trash piles contained all manner of organic and inorganic materials. Toxicity research of the air in both India and the USA generally shows up as grey.

The researchers suggest that by creating a hot fire and avoiding smouldering, the toxic emissions will dramatically reduce. The team is now working on suggestions for how to reduce harmful emissions from waste burning sites and produce sustainable energy from this waste. They hope that by calling attention to the toxicity of these fires it will reduce the number of households who burn their trash regularly.

—

This article was first published in Atmospheric Environment. You can read the full report <a href="http://home.iitk.ac.in/~snt/pdf/Vreeland_AE_2016.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Burning trash piles is very bad for your health

Burning trash piles is very bad for your health, new...

Idea ,light bulb

Water splitting techniques have been improved by scientists.
A new discovery about extracting hydrogen from water holds a key towards renewable energy viability.
The researchers, led by Washington State University, have developed a catalyst from low-cost materials which perform as well as, or better than, precious metal catalysts when used for the same process.
Energy conversion is the key to the clean energy economy. Because solar and wind sources produce power only intermittently, there is a critical need for ways to store and thereby save the electricity they create.
One of the most promising ideas for storing renewable energy is to use the excess electricity generated from renewables to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The resultant hydrogen can then be fed into fuel-cell vehicles.
"Hydrogen production by electrolysis of water is the greenest way to convert electricity to chemical fuel," said Junhua Song, a WSU Ph.D. student who synthesized the catalyst and performed most of the experimental work.
Industries have not widely adopted this water splitting process because of the prohibitive cost of precious metal catalysts.
Other methods also require too much energy, or the required materials break down too quickly. The industry standard method involves using fossil-fuel processes to produce hydrogen for fuel cells, releasing the byproduct of harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
The WSU research team added nanoparticles of  inexpensive copper to a cobalt-based framework. The new catalyst conducted electricity better than the precious metal catalysts. It produced oxygen more effectively than existing commercial catalysts and produced hydrogen at a comparable rate.
"The research team has provided a new perspective in designing and improving non-precious-metal-based catalysts for hydrogen production," said professor Yuehe Lin. "This catalyst will pave the way for the development of high-performance, electrolysis-based hydrogen production applications."
—
Published in the <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__onlinelibrary.wiley.com_doi_10.1002_aenm.201601555_full&amp;d=DQIFAw&amp;c=C3yme8gMkxg_ihJNXS06ZyWk4EJm8LdrrvxQb-Je7sw&amp;r=kRgD584W7A0ztFhXy1FNNQ&amp;m=9EtpIOhZhhZfTvgEiZM9WK9BRrkW6hGKgahfwntI16A&amp;s=dfeKAr77IxgxP8wuFzlD1Wm2e_SXUfu7TsUF_GuinGs&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advanced Energy Materials</a> journal

Water splitting research advances renewable energy conversion

Water splitting techniques have been improved by scientists. A new...

defence of great wall, ants stories

Ant DNA research suggests that the Americas may have been connected millions of years earlier than previously thought.

In a new study published in the Molecular Ecology journal, Field Museum of Natural History scientists explored questions using novel genomic methods on army ants.

Scientists believed that the Isthmus of Panama emerged from the ocean three million years ago, triggering a massive interchange of species between the Americas in its wake. 

However, recent geological and biological evidence suggests that this simple story is incorrect.

"Recent advances in technology now allow us to apply genomic methods across the tree of life, rapidly increasing the pace of scientific discovery," said Max Winston, Ph.D. candidate at The Field Museum and University of Chicago. ". . . our work implies that early land connections were used to colonize Central America, but it also highlights the large role of the Isthmus in generating biodiversity."

Why were army ants selected for this study? Apparently their biology makes them ideal to answer questions about land dispersal. For example, despite being present throughout the tropics, they are absent from the Caribbean islands. This is due to their wingless queens, which restrict them to colonizing new territory exclusively by land. In layman's terms, because these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fungus-farming-ants-work-hard-to-maintain-healthy-gardens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ants</a> colonized the Americas millions of years ago, it suggests that, at the time of their colonization, the Americas were joined.

Field Museum curator Dr. Corrie Moreau added, "Not only does this research inform us about army ant evolution, it is also a significant step forward in helping biologists understand how geological events shaped the biodiversity we see today."

Published in the <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__onlinelibrary.wiley.com_doi_10.1002_aenm.201601555_full&amp;d=DQIFAw&amp;c=C3yme8gMkxg_ihJNXS06ZyWk4EJm8LdrrvxQb-Je7sw&amp;r=kRgD584W7A0ztFhXy1FNNQ&amp;m=9EtpIOhZhhZfTvgEiZM9WK9BRrkW6hGKgahfwntI16A&amp;s=dfeKAr77IxgxP8wuFzlD1Wm2e_SXUfu7TsUF_GuinGs&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advanced Energy Materials</a> journal

Ant DNA helps reshape the history of the Americas

Ant DNA research suggests that the Americas may have been...

puppy and kittens sleeping together

New research explains dog dreams.
All pet owners believe they have a special relationship with their animals. We love to watch our dogs running, moving and barking in their sleep. While we may think they are chasing cats or rabbits in their dreams, new research suggests they could be dreaming of you.
Dogs form incredibly tight bonds with their humans, and since their dreams are related to their daily experience, their dreams may contain adoring images of your face or your smell.
That doesn’t mean your dog isn’t dreaming about running. If you see your dog’s legs moving during sleep, it’s most likely your dog is chasing prey or playing a fun game.
Dr. Deirdre Barrett, clinical and evolutionary psychologist at Harvard Medical School, told <a href="http://people.com/pets/what-is-your-cat-or-dog-dreaming-about-a-harvard-expert-has-some-answers/">People</a> magazine, “Since dogs are generally extremely attached to their human owners, it’s likely your dog is dreaming of your face, your smell and of pleasing or annoying you.” Dr. Barrett supported years of hearsay by going on to state that “cats are more likely to dream of catching mice.”
Researchers have confirmed that animals also go into a Rapid Eye Movement during sleep, similar to humans. “Cats lay quietly through the other stages of sleep, and when REM began, they leapt up, stalked, pounced, arched their backs and hissed,” she said.
“They looked like they were hunting mice in their dreams.”
She went on to state that when a dog moves its legs in a dream state, it’s most likely to be chasing after something.
Animal brains have a weaker mechanism for preventing movement during sleep than humans. Sometimes this tool may be weak or broken in humans, which can trigger REM sleep disorder, causing humans to act out their dreams while still asleep. This was the basis for the 2012 true-life comedy film <a href="http://watch.sleepwalkmovie.com/">Sleepwalk with Me</a>.
Dr. Barrett also concluded that unhappy dogs may have bad dreams. She suggested that by hosting “happy” daytime activities for your dog, you can protect the whole family from potentially threatening unconscious behaviours.
The amount of dreams a dog enjoys are dictated by its size. Small dogs dream more frequently and have shorter dreams, while larger dogs dream for longer and have longer dreams. Puppies spend a larger proportion of their time sleeping in the REM phase. A typical adult dog will spend around 12-14% of their sleeping time dreaming.
As humans, it’s easy to be envious of a dog's sleep cycle – they sleep for around 50% of their average day.
—
Read the full Q&amp;A with Dr. Deirdre Barrett over at <a href="http://people.com/pets/what-is-your-cat-or-dog-dreaming-about-a-harvard-expert-has-some-answers/">People Magazine</a>.

The truth about dog dreams

New research explains dog dreams. All pet owners believe they...

A new publication reveals the gregarious and social side of some dinosaur breeds. A report out yesterday centered on the bird-esque creature Avimimus, from the late Cretaceous period, quashes long-held wisdom that dinosaurs were solitary creatures.

"The common mythology of dinosaurs depicts solitary, vicious monsters running around eating everything," explains Gregory Funston, Ph.D. student and Vanier scholar at the University of Alberta. "Our discovery demonstrates that dinosaurs are more similar to modern animals than people appreciate. Although the players are different, this evidence shows that dinosaurs were social beings with gregarious behaviour who lived and died together in groups." 

The discovery comes from a site in Mongolia, first encountered by paleontologists a decade ago. They found thousands of shards of destroyed bone, indicating fossil poachers had arrived before them. However, scientists then discovered a bonebed of extremely rare Avimimus dinosaurs.

The bonebeds provide ample evidence these animals lived together in herds. Though rare in the Jurassic and Triassic, they dominated the Cretaceous period. However, this is the first discovery of a bonebed of bird-like dinosaurs.

Funston says that stopping the increasing incidences of fossil poaching is perhaps even more important than the scientific findings. His team wishes to highlight the negative effect these poachers have on scientific research.

—

You can enjoy the full article <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep35782." target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a>

New research shows dinosaurs flocked together

A new publication reveals the gregarious and social side of...

Heat-trapping gases in the Earth's atmosphere are growing faster than before, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Reports indicate that they are surging permanently past a worrying marker.

The United Nations agency disclosed that global carbon dioxide levels, which first reached 400 parts per million last year, are looking like they will stay at that milestone all year, and show no signs of decreasing in future generations.

These rises are caused by the burning of fossil fuels and were boosted by the El Niño weather phenomenon, seeing seasonal fluctuations peaking in May and dipping in September. Last month’s average in Hawaii was 401 parts per million, up from 313 in 1958. Methane and other heat-trapping gases are also spiking. The <a href="http://worldweather.wmo.int/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WMO</a> will be releasing its annual greenhouse gas bulletin using public data before international climate talks.

&nbsp;

Heat-trapping gases are growing faster than before

Heat-trapping gases in the Earth's atmosphere are growing faster than...

Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) in a zoo

With Halloween just around the corner, we could have been fooled that this story was the beginning of a spooky joke. Today a plastic surgeon, a bat expert and a paleobiologist have released their findings, which could hold crucial clues as to why cleft palates occur in humans.

A Dublin plastic surgeon, Dr. David Orr from Trinity College and St James's Hospital, took leave to study evolutionary biology. While attending a lecture on the evolution of bats by Professor Emma Teeling of University College Dublin, Dr. Orr began a conversation with the professor and Dr. John Finarelli, also of UCD. They soon realized that some bats had a condition similar to cleft palate which was seen as a normal part of their anatomy. Research revealed this link had not been previously made, so the group teamed up to investigate this phenomenon in detail, examining skull images of nearly 300 bat species.

Cleft palettes are normally viewed as an abnormality – this is the first time anything similar has been described as normal in another animal. Their findings, published in the 

Journal of Anatomy, have opened up a new exploration route which may eventually explain what genetic changes create clefting in human children.

Dr. Orr explains, "Because some species of bats have clefts and some don't, by comparing their genomes we may be able to pinpoint what regions of the DNA are responsible for producing clefts. This might then give us a place to look for a similar phenomenon in humans."

—

You can read the full journal <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12510/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a>

Bats may hold clues to why humans form cleft palettes

With Halloween just around the corner, we could have been...

A microbial world of epic diversity has been revealed after scientists undertook one of the most comprehensive studies on underground life to date. 

The subterranean world holds up to one-fifth of our living organisms, but we know very little about it.

Scientists took samples from sediment and groundwater and reconstructed the genomes of more than 2,500 microbes in sediment from an aquifer in Colorado. Their findings have added dozens of branches to the tree of life. DNA sequencing was performed at the Joint Genome Institute, a U.S. Dept. of Energy Office of Science User Facility.

The scientists reported:
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Findings of genomes from 80 percent of all known bacterial phyla</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Discoveries of 47 new phylum-level bacterial groups</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Learnings about how microbial communities work together on processes that help our climate</li>
</ul>
The research was conducted by Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley. 

—

Read more:  

<a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13219" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nature Communications</a>

&nbsp;

The tree of life just grew by dozens of branches

A microbial world of epic diversity has been revealed after...

A tiny parasite had been discovered on the Solomon Islands which live within the mantle of bivalves – organisms which are contained within a shell – and filter food from their hosts.

This crab’s appearance gives the illusion of having two faces and thus has been named Janus after the Roman two-faced god.

—

Read more over at <a href="http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=10272" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZooKeys</a> where the journal was first published by authors Dr. Peter Ng &amp; Dr. Christopher Meyer.

Janus: New tiny parasite discovered

A tiny parasite had been discovered on the Solomon Islands which...

The South African schoolgirl Kiara Nirghin, who won a $50,000 (£38,000) scholarship, has been named in the Time Magazine’s Most Influential Teen list.

Ms. Nirghin’s award-winning research questioned how to keep crops alive in a drought. She looked at existing superabsorbent polymers which help dirt retain moisture and found them to be expensive and not eco-friendly. By looking at natural substitutes, she discovered that peels of avocados and oranges could become superabsorbent polymers when treated with UV light and heat.

Kiara hopes to become a scientist, and this new honor will certainly help her cement her position as a great young mind to be watched.

—

Read the full article here: <a href="http://time.com/4532104/most-influential-teens-2016/?xid=newsletter-brief" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Time Magazine, “The 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016”</a>

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Young researcher makes Time Magazine's "Most Influential Teens" list

The South African schoolgirl Kiara Nirghin, who won a $50,000 (£38,000)...

A decade ago, environmentalists and the federal government agreed to revive a 150-mile stretch of California's second-longest river, an ambitious effort aimed at allowing salmon again to swim up to the Sierra Nevada foothills to spawn.
A major milestone is expected by the end of the month, when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says the stretch of the San Joaquin River will be flowing year-round for the first time in more than 60 years.
But the goal of restoring native salmon remains far out of reach.
The original plan was to complete the task in 2012. Now, federal officials expect it will occur in 2022. And the government's original estimate of $800 million has ballooned to about $1.7 billion.
"I think we all had hoped we'd be further along," said Doug Obegi, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which led the lawsuit that produced the deal with the government to bring back salmon. "Restoring the state's second-largest river was never to be a cakewalk."
James Nickel is among the farmers in the fertile San Joaquin Valley region around Fresno questioning whether the project should go forward.
California is enduring a fifth year of drought, and many farmers have experienced sharp curtailments in water allotments from the government, leaving some fields fallow.
Nickel, a fifth-generation farmer to work land along the river, doubts the wisdom of spending money on an intricate system of passages to get salmon around the river's many dams and siphoning off more water from agriculture.
"Most practical folks would look at it and say, 'Impossible,'" Nickel said. "It seemed like a waste."
Scientists say salmon are a keystone species for the region. For thousands of years, salmon spawned and died, their decomposing bodies feeding nutrients into the valley soil, helping make it one of the nation's most prosperous farming regions.
The San Joaquin River spans 366 miles and is among the state's most dammed rivers. It starts as snowmelt high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, cascades down through granite canyons and fills a reservoir at Friant Dam east of Fresno.
A few miles below Friant, the river has been running dry for much of the year. At Mendota, a community about 40 miles west of Fresno, the river resumes flowing with the help of various tributaries and eventually feeds into San Francisco Bay.
Before the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation opened Friant Dam in 1949, the river teemed with up to a half-million salmon a year and was deep enough that paddleboats transporting cargo could navigate far into to the San Joaquin Valley.
The dam gave farmers irrigation water that dramatically expanded agriculture but ended the salmon migration.
The Natural Resources Defense Council in 1988 set out to revive the river, filing a lawsuit that claimed the government's dam and irrigation channels favored commerce at the native salmon's expense.
The battle ended in a 2006 settlement that requires farmers to give up roughly 18 percent of the water captured behind Friant Dam. It also set an aggressive schedule to bring back natural salmon runs by 2012.
"It was a longshot, to say the least, that everything would be executed on that timeline," said Jason Phillips, who led early efforts by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to restore the river.
Today, he's CEO of the Friant Water Authority, which provides water primarily from the dam to growers irrigating 1 million acres of farmland. He calls it an "open question" whether the San Joaquin can be revived as envisioned under the settlement.
He said water for farms has become even scarcer since the settlement was reached with tightening regulations. And forecasts of climate change's impact on California's water supply weren't calculated into the deal, he said.
Adding complexity, officials say, in a 2012 attempt to flow the river, water seeped onto a farmer's field, destroying his tomato crop, a broad issue that has plagued the project.
Construction has not yet begun on passages for migrating salmon to swim around two dams on a lower stretch of the river that distribute water to farmers. Design for one abruptly halted in 2013, when engineers found the ground was sinking at an alarming pace - the result of farmers pumping groundwater to irrigate.
Meantime, state wildlife officials are raising salmon in tanks on the riverbank in small numbers and trucking them past obstacles to spawn. Plans call for reviving a migration of roughly 40,000 a year once the obstacles are cleared, allowing salmon to swim on their own from the Pacific up to the base of Friant Dam.
Money is another question. The project is to be paid for through state and federal sources. Much of the federal funding, however, needs Congress' approval each year, creating a degree of uncertainty, said Alicia Forsythe, current manager of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program for the Bureau of Reclamation.
Forsythe defended the project's slow pace, saying officials have spent time collaborating with farmers along the river rather than simply forcing the project on them.
Rene Henery, California science director for Trout Unlimited, a party to the lawsuit, said the state lost sight of the river's essential role in its rush to develop a vast system of dams, reservoirs and canals that spawned a thriving farm economy.
He noted other large government projects - bridges, airports and mass transit systems - often run over budget and past deadlines, but the benefits outweigh the costs in this restoration project.
The San Joaquin will help recharge the valley's depleted groundwater supplies that have caused the land to sink and will open recreation opportunities, spurring their own economic vitality, he said.
Most importantly, he said, salmon will again migrate from the Pacific hundreds of miles inland forming a critical link between the land and sea.
"Water is the most important element for life on this planet," Henery said. "Our rivers, they're the vascular system of our landscape and of our societies."
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Salmon will soon swim up the San Joaquin River again to spawn

A decade ago, environmentalists and the federal government agreed to...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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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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Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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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



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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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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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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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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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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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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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...