The development of a big brain in humans and its connection to social bonding has been a hot topic of debate, and secrets found in fossil teeth may hold the answers.



Researchers have been studying the fossilized teeth of an early Homo from Georgia, dating back approximately 1.77 million years. The research was made possible by the European Synchrotron in Grenoble, France.



The findings suggest that despite having a small brain and reaching adulthood at a similar pace to great apes, these early humans had a prolonged childhood. 



This could mean that the large brain of modern humans resulted from an extended childhood along with cultural transmission across generations instead of vice versa.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-childhood-big-brains">Long childhood, big brains</h2>



A team of researchers - including specialists from Switzerland's <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Zurich</a>, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and Georgia's National Museum - have challenged the theory that modern humans' extended childhood is directly linked to their large brains.



The team analyzed dental development in an early Homo that was almost an adult. The results suggest that though these early humans reached adulthood at a similar age as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/buronius-manfredschmidi-tiny-great-ape-species-lived-11-million-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">great apes</a>, their tooth development followed a longer timeline similar to modern humans.



This proposes the distinct possibility of a longer dependency on adults and an elongated childhood for these early humans.



Remarkably, the brain size of these early Homo specimens was only marginally larger than that of a chimpanzee. This made the researchers question the link between the prolonged development and cultural transmission across generations.



An extended childhood within a three-generation context might have allowed the immature members of the group to effectively assimilate growing amounts of knowledge. 



Eventually, this led to the development of larger brains and longer life spans, traits characteristic of modern humans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dental-development-in-early-homo">Dental development in early Homo</h2>



An enduring assumption has been that humans' extended growth period is a consequence of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-sizes-are-growing-possibly-lowering-dementia-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">increased brain volume</a> since a larger organ requires more energy resources to grow. But analysis of the fossil's dental growth has caused researchers to question this hypothesis.



The research team used synchrotron imaging to study the dental development of a near-adult fossil of early Homo from the Dmanisi site in Georgia, dated to around 1.77 million years ago. 



<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="CWxiqQg039-4024544-12187" type="single"]</div>



“Childhood and cognition do not fossilize, so we have to rely on indirect information. Teeth are ideal because they fossilize well and produce daily rings, in the same way that trees produce annual rings, which record their development,” noted study first author Christoph Zollikofer from the University of Zurich.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unexpected-findings-and-a-new-perspective">Unexpected findings and a new perspective</h2>



“Dental development is strongly correlated with the development of the rest of the body, including brain development," explained study co-author Paul Tafforeau, scientist at the ESRF.



"Access to the details of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/search-results/?search=fossil%20hominid&amp;start=0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fossil</a> hominid's dental growth therefore provides a great deal of information about its general growth."



After almost two decades of research beginning in 2005, the initial results startled researchers. 



“We expected to find either dental development typical of early hominids, close to that of the great apes, or dental development close to that of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthal-genes-still-influence-modern-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modern humans</a>," said Tafforeau.



"When we obtained the first results, we couldn’t believe what we saw, because it was something different that implied faster molar crown growth than in any other fossil hominin or living great ape."



In the following years, the team conducted five series of experiments and completed four full analyses, employing various methods as dental synchrotron imaging technology advanced.



As the consistent results suggested significant implications for the "big brain - long childhood" hypothesis, the scientists needed to think creatively to interpret this fossil's findings.



“It's been a slow maturation, both technically and intellectually, to finally arrive at the hypothesis we are publishing today,” said Tafforeau.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-longer-childhood-evolution-s-early-experiment">Longer childhood: Evolution's early experiment?</h2>



The dental development of the studied fossil suggested that milk teeth were used longer than in great apes, implying that early Homo children were dependent on adult care for a longer duration.



This could be the first experiment evolution took towards a prolonged childhood. Despite having brains only slightly larger than australopithecines or great apes, early Homo are believed to have lived longer.



The survival of a very old individual with no teeth for several years indicates that the group sufficiently cared for him. This alludes to a three-generation structure, a key aspect of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-started-cumulative-culture-around-600000-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cultural transmission in humans</a>.



The new hypothesis begins with children's growth slowing down as cultural transmission increased. 



The accumulation of information from older to younger individuals had an advantageous effect on resource utilization and the development of complex behaviors, thus favoring a longer childhood. 



Once this mechanism was established, natural selection acted on cultural transmission, not just biological traits. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-brains-and-delayed-adulthood">Big brains and delayed adulthood</h2>



As the volume of transferrable information grew, evolution supported a larger brain and delayed adulthood, enabling a longer learning period in childhood and time to grow a bigger brain despite limited food resources.



The large brain of modern humans could be attributed to an extended childhood and a three-generation structure encouraging bio-cultural evolution. These mechanisms may have led to increased brain size, delayed adulthood, and longer lifespan. 



The study of this exceptional fossil could motivate researchers to rethink the evolutionary mechanisms that led to Homo sapiens.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08205-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



Image &amp; Video Credit: ESRF/Paul Tafforeau, Vincent Beyrand



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How did humans get big brains? Fossil teeth reveal new clues

The development of a big brain in humans and its connection to social bonding has been a hot topic of debate, and secrets found in fossil teeth may hold the answers. Researchers have been studying the fossilized teeth of an early Homo from Georgia, dating back approximately 1.77 million years. The research was made possible by the European Synchrotron in Grenoble, France. The findings suggest that despite having a small brain and reaching adulthood at a similar pace to great apes, these early humans had a prolonged...

Tropical Cyclone Kyant, formally known as 3B, continued to move in a westerly direction across the Bay of Bengal, Northern Indian Ocean when NASA's Terra satellite captured a clear image of the storm.

This image revealed a rounded area of clouds with a fragmented band of thunderstorms wrapping into the low-level center from the northwest of the center.

By 11 a.m. EDT, Tropical Cyclone Kyant had maximum sustained winds near 45 knots / 83.3 kph. It was centered near 15.8 degrees north latitude and 85.8 degrees east longitude, about 419 nautical miles south-southwest of Calcutta, India. Kyant was moving west-southwestward at 13.8 mph.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said the cyclone is being steered southwestward along the southern edge of a subtropical, elongated area of high pressure. The forecast track takes Kyant just north of Chennai, India on Oct. 28.

Because Kyant is expected to run into adverse conditions over the next day or two, the JTWC expects the system to weaken and dissipate by October 29.

—

Source: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a>

Tropical cyclone Kyant captured by NASA

Tropical Cyclone Kyant, formally known as 3B, continued to move...

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First look at damage caused by central Italy earthquake. Central Italy earthquake created chaos yesterday. 
Two powerful earthquakes have caused further damage to central Italian towns in Macerata. Thankfully there are few reports of serious injuries, the death toll for the August quakes in the same region reached 300.Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and several islands surrounding it. Italy is located in Southern Europe, and is also considered part of Western Europe. A unitary parliamentary <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/the-republic-of-maldives-in-the-indian-ocean/">republic</a> with Rome as its capital, the country covers a total area of 301,340 km² and shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. Italy has a territorial enclave in Switzerland and a maritime exclave in Tunisian waters. With around 60 million inhabitants, Italy is the third-most populous member state of the European Union.
Due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Italy has historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures. In addition to the various ancient peoples dispersed throughout what is now modern-day Italy, the most predominant being the Indo-European <a title="Italic peoples" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_peoples">Italic peoples</a> who gave the peninsula its name, beginning from the <a title="Classical antiquity" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquity">classical</a> era, <a title="Phoenicia" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenicia">Phoenicians</a> and Carthaginians founded colonies mostly in <a title="Insular Italy" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_Italy">insular Italy</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy#cite_note-WaldmanMason2006-21">[21]</a> <a title="Ancient Greece" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece">Greeks</a> established settlements in the so-called Magna Grae<a title="Magna Graecia" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Graecia">cia</a> of <a title="Southern Italy" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Italy">Southern Italy</a>, while <a title="Etruscan civilization" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_civilization">Etruscans</a> and <a title="Celts" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts">Celts</a> inhabited <a title="Central Italy" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Italy">central</a> and <a title="Northern Italy" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Italy">northern</a> Italy respectively. An Italic tribe known as the <a title="Latins (Italic tribe)" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latins_(Italic_tribe)">Latins</a> formed the <a title="Roman Kingdom" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Kingdom">Roman Kingdom</a> in the 8th century BC, which eventually became a <a title="Roman Republic" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic">republic</a> with a government of the Senate and the People. The <a title="Roman Republic" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic">Roman Republic</a> initially conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the Italian peninsula, eventually expanding and conquering parts
Image Credit: Tiziana Fabi, <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/">Getty Images</a>
See the full photo report <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/search/events/678709773?sort=best&amp;excludenudity=true&amp;phrase=&amp;family=editorial#license">here </a>

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First look at damage caused by central Italy earthquake

&nbsp; First look at damage caused by central Italy earthquake....

Meet Erythrodiplax ana the Brazilian Dragonfly, whose unique traits set her apart from other species.

Researchers have found a new species of dragonfly in Brazil named Erythrodiplax ana. 

The researchers compared the blue dragonfly's morphology from 2011 to 2014 along with 57 other species in the same genus to confirm it was indeed a new species.

"The discovery is important . . . because of . . . where the species was found," said Dr. Rhainer Guillermo Ferreira, the first author of the article and assistant professor at the Federal University of São Carlos's Center for Biological &amp; Health Sciences (CCBS-UFSCar). "The nature reserve contains a vereda, a palm swamp wetland . . . . The discovery of a new species in an urban area, with a habitat linked to a spring used to draw off water shows how little we know of Brazil's biodiversity," he reported.

Two traits set E. ana. apart from other species in the genus:
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">The male's body is covered with bluish wax.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Both males &amp; females have a rare brown spot on each wingtip.</li>
</ul>
The team is investigating the significance of the wax further, hypothesizing that it serves as a kind of sunscreen. Previous studies evaluating the properties of wax found in other species concluded that the blue coloring serves to reflect the sun's ultraviolet rays, Dr. Ferreira noted.

--

Credit: <a href="http://www2.ufscar.br/english/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal University of São Carlos</a>

Meet Erythrodiplax ana, a new species of Brazilian Dragonfly

Meet Erythrodiplax ana the Brazilian Dragonfly, whose unique traits set...

Albatross research suggests conservation methods after studying juvenile birds for 14 years.

In order to help conserve long-lived species, we need to collect data to understand their lifestyles. However, tracking down young albatrosses has in the past proven difficult. Today, a new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications worked with these "prebreeders" to report estimates of the population size and survival rates of young birds.

Husband-and-wife team Eric VanderWerf and Lindsay Young of Pacific Rim Conservation spent 14 years banding 477 Oahu albatrosses as chicks and monitoring their lives. Their research has disproven long-held notions about the Albatross’ habits.

The research reported that
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the prevailing belief that young albatrosses remain at sea until they are ready to breed, 2% of birds return as one-year olds, 7% as two-year olds and 17% as three-year olds.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Prebreeders make up almost half of the Oahu population.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">After fledging, the annual survival was very high – estimated at about 97%.</li>
</ul>
A common threat to the albatross populations is the mosquito-borne disease known as avian pox virus. Even though the birds have a strong immunity to the virus, this can affect their survival and chances of finding a mate. The scientists conclude that we need to understand the disease better in order to protect future generations of albatrosses.

Oregon State University's Dr. Robert Suryan, a seabird ecologist, said, "These results are highly relevant to the study, conservation, and management of long-lived species."

—

Read the full study: <a href="http://americanornithologypubs.org/doi/full/10.1650/CONDOR-16-49.1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a>

Albatross research suggests conservation methods

Albatross research suggests conservation methods after studying juvenile birds for...

Carbon dioxide blamed for ice age: new research suggests the gas is why our planet experiences ice ages every 100,000 years.

Dubbed the “100,000 year problem,” an explanation of it is offered by scientists from Cardiff University in a new report.

The chilly phenomenon occurring for the past million years leads to giant ice sheets covering North America, Europe and Asia. Until now, the cycle has baffled scientists.

These ice ages used to occur at intervals of every 40,000 years, following the Earth's seasonal variation in a predictable way, with colder summers occurring at these intervals.

Around a million years ago came the “Mid-Pleistocene Transition,” and the intervals increased to every 100,000 years.

The research published in the journal Geology suggests that oceans may be responsible for the change, specifically how they suck carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere.

By studying tiny ocean-floor fossils, the team discovered more CO2 stored in the deep ocean during the ice age periods at regular intervals of 100,000 years, suggesting extra carbon dioxide was being absorbed by the oceans. This lowered the Earth’s temperature, enabling ice sheets to engulf the Northern Hemisphere.

Professor Carrie Lear, lead author from the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, said: "If we think of the oceans inhaling and exhaling carbon dioxide, the presence of vast amounts of ice is like a giant gobstopper. It's like a lid on the surface of the ocean," 

Marine algae plays a large role in photosynthesis by removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

The last ice age occurred around 11,000 years ago, so thankfully our climate is in a warm spell; however, if this research is to be believed then “winter is coming”!

—

Source: <a href="http://www.cardiff.ac.uk">Cardiff University</a>

Carbon dioxide blamed for ice ages

Carbon dioxide blamed for ice age: new research suggests the...

Smokestacks

Dutch inventors propose giant vacuum cleaner in fight against pollution.

The giant smog-sucking system claims to be able to suck air from a 984-foot radius and filter 100% of fine and 95% of ultra-fine particles.

According to to the World Health Organization, over 90% of our planet's population is breathing “bad air.” Emissions from burning fuels, transport systems, combustion and other pollution are having an adverse affect on the health of all living creatures and thought to cause dramatic climate change.

Inventors are developing solutions for these problems. The latest is a giant vacuum cleaner from investors the Envinity Group. The vast air-purifying system works to filter out toxic particles from the atmosphere near the machine. It has a large industrial filter made of steel around eight yards long. According to tests conducted by the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) it can treat 800,000 cubic metres of air per hour.

“A large column of air will pass through the filter and come out clear,” Henk Boersen, a representative from ECN, told AFP at a major two-day offshore energy conference in Amsterdam. Mr. Boersen also stated that governments, businesses and airports had already expressed interest in the product. 

Pollution is said to kill more than six million people worldwide every year. The WHO released an <a href="http://maps.who.int/airpollution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interactive map</a> showing our exposure to known pollutants. While developing countries do have much dirtier air, air pollution affects us all.

An air-purifying system, the “Smog Free Tower,” was installed in Beijing, China, which suffers some of the highest pollution levels in the world. This machine is said to clean up to 1,059,440 cubic feet (30,000 cubic metres), cleaning more than 75% of harmful particles.

—

You can learn more about the product from the <a href="https://envinitygroup.com/particles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enfinity Group</a> website. Photo credit Envinity Group.

Giant vacuum cleaner eats pollution

Dutch inventors propose giant vacuum cleaner in fight against pollution....

A 16-million-year-old parrot fossil was found in Siberia.
A recent archaeological discovery suggests that parrots once may have lived in Siberia. The presence of the parrot bone fragments suggests that tropical birds were at one time widespread in Eurasia.
Discovered by researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, this fossil once belonged to a bird who lived over 16 million years ago. Today it’s more common to find parrots in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions.
Dr. Nikita Zelenev, who released his findings in Biology Letters, states: “The presence of parrots as far north as Siberia supports their broad geographical distribution in Asia . . . and may have implications for the historical biogeography of Psittacoidea.”
—
Read the full article <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/10/20160717">here</a>.

16-million-year-old parrot fossil found in Siberia

A 16-million-year-old parrot fossil was found in Siberia. A recent...

NASA and Stony Brook University track penguin populations in Antarctica to understand the regional environmental changes. They are encouraging citizen scientists to get involved by using a new, interactive, and user-friendly website which tracks Antarctic penguin populations and provides information to scientists.
Known as the Mapping Application for Penguin Populations and Projected Dynamics (MAPPPD), the site is the first of its kind to give citizen scientists a view into the world of working scientists.
“The launch of this website has the potential to greatly improve management and collaboration around the Antarctic,” said Heather Lynch, Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University,
Lynch, along with Mathew Schwaller of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, teamed up with Washington, DC-based NGO Oceanites, Inc., to develop the new website, which will allow scientists and policy makers to understand conservation decisions regarding the Antarctic environment.
Antarctica has always posed a challenge for researchers, as they have struggled to track penguin populations breeding in the most remote areas. Developments in NASA satellite imagery has paved the way for a more complete understanding of where penguins breed and how their populations may be changing.
The satellite imagery detects the large guano stains which penguins produce while incubating their nests. By using the imagery, Lynch and her team have located new, undiscovered colonies of penguins, some of which are among the largest in the world.
The team encourages any tourists to contribute data to MAPPPD through bird checklists or photographs. As MAPPPD grows, scientists will be able to make predictions from the past data trends and create future forecasts.
The website also contains fact sheets on the four penguin species, available count data, links to relevant publications, and information about how users can contribute their own data.
—
Source: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-collaboration-allows-citizen-scientists-to-lend-a-hand-in-penguin-conservation" target="_blank">NASA</a>. Visit <a href="http://www.penguinmap.com/" target="_blank">Penguin Map</a> now.

Citizen scientists help NASA conserve penguins

NASA and Stony Brook University track penguin populations in Antarctica...

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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...

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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



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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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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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

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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



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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



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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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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

[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

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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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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...