It's known as the "boring billion," a murky period in Earth's history between 1.8 billion and 800 million years ago, when life's complexity didn't extend much beyond single-celled organisms.



Apart from the occasional multicellular life form, most of the living species during that time period were simple, unicellular organisms that had minimal requirements for life. 



But don't mistake "boring" for insignificant. This epoch of evolution laid the foundation for the drama of complex multicellularity that would eventually lead to us.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-energy-fuel-for-evolution">Energy: Fuel for evolution</h2>



The boring billion period appears to mark a time when the evolution of complex life was delayed and conditions were so stable as to border on stagnant. 



Scientists state that oxygen levels at this time were drastically decreased and conditions were fairly harsh for most forms of life.



A new study by Michael Lynch of <a href="https://www.asu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arizona State University</a> has revealed that the transition from unicellular to multicellular life forms would have come at a cost.



Using the water flea, Daphnia, as a <a href="https://phys.org/tags/model+organism/">model organism</a>, the study shows that multicellular organisms require more than a tenfold increase in energy compared with the simpler, unicellular organisms characteristic of the boring billion period. 



"No one doubts that multicellularity can bring substantial advantages to the table, but the privilege of attaining such benefits comes at a steep investment cost," said Lynch, who directs the <a href="https://search.app?link=https%3A%2F%2Fbiodesign.asu.edu%2Fmechanisms-of-evolution%2F&amp;utm_campaign=aga&amp;utm_source=agsadl2%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution</a> at ASU.



The study emphasizes the importance of respiration and other metabolic processes in navigating the transition to more complex life forms. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cost-of-complexity">Cost of complexity </h2>



Every organism, from the smallest bacterium to a human, is driven by energy. Having an entire body made of only one cell reduces the need for energy and nutrients to grow and reproduce. 



But multicellular organisms, like plants, animals, and fungi, have to maintain a multitude of cells in complex tissues, organs and structures. And this places a far higher energy demand on the organism.



As the cell count increases in a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-life-and-environment-co-evolved-over-500-million-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multicellular organism</a>, so does the demand on ATP synthase, the molecular machinery in cells that manufactures ATP, the universal energy currency. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/multicelled-organisms_metazoan-daphnia_credit-Marek-Mis_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/multicelled-organisms_metazoan-daphnia_credit-Marek-Mis_1s.webp" alt="A new study shows that multicelled organisms like the metazoan daphnia (pictured) require a tenfold increase in energy compared with protists for their growth, maintenance and survival. The high cost of multicellular existence is offset by the many evolutionary advantages afforded to advanced organisms, from simpler forms like daphnia all the way up to vertebrate species, including humans. Credit: Marek Miś" class="wp-image-1950209"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A new study shows that multicelled organisms like the metazoan daphnia (pictured) require a tenfold increase in energy compared with protists for their growth, maintenance and survival. The high cost of multicellular existence is offset by the many evolutionary advantages afforded to advanced organisms, from simpler forms like daphnia all the way up to vertebrate species, including humans. Credit: Marek Miś</figcaption></figure>



Each new cell in a multicellular body is another mouth to feed in terms of energy, and the cost increases with the number of cells.



The findings of the Daphnia study show that metazoans - the group that includes multicellular creatures - need a lot more ATP synthase complexes in each cell than their simpler, unicellular counterparts.



In fact, for every increment in body mass, these organisms require 30 to 50 times more oxygen than simpler, unicellular creatures. This additional oxygen supports the complex needs for metabolism, cellular communication, and tissue maintenance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-size-comes-at-a-price">Size comes at a price</h2>



Growth isn't cheap, particularly for multicellular organisms. 



While larger, unicellular organisms, like some amoebas, become more efficient as they grow, multicellular organisms face unique challenges that require extra energy to sustain their larger sizes and more complex structures.



Given this steep energy price, why did multicellularity evolve at all? 



The answer seems to be that multicellular life offers evolutionary advantages, such as being able to consume unicellular organisms en masse, evade predators, and live in various environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-overcoming-energy-barriers">Overcoming energy barriers</h2>



To surmount the energetic challenges presented by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/past-snowball-earth-conditions-drove-evolution-complex-multicellular-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multicellularity</a>, organisms have developed remarkable adaptations to utilize their resources efficiently. 



One key adaptation is the division of labor between specialized cells, tissues, and organs; this specialization allows for optimized energy usage where cells perform distinct functions more efficiently than they would if they had to carry out all the different life activities.



For example, mitochondria within eukaryotic cells have evolved highly efficient pathways to generate ATP, thus maximizing the energy harvested from different substrates.



Furthermore, the development of vascular systems in plants and circulatory systems in animals allows for the effective distribution of energy resources, and ensures that all cells have access to the oxygen and nutrients necessary to produce energy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-of-the-boring-billion">Implications of the "boring billion"</h2>



Understanding the evolutionary narrative of the "boring billion" holds powerful implications for modern scientific research. 



This era not only reflects the energy-centric challenges of the past but also informs the fields of synthetic biology, evolutionary biology, and bioengineering.



By studying the metabolic pathways and energy efficiencies developed during this period, researchers can potentially design bio-inspired systems and organisms with enhanced functionalities and sustainability.



Furthermore, insights gained from this epoch's evolutionary innovations could pioneer future advancements in medical therapies, agriculture, and ecosystem management. 



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



This study primarily focuses on aerobic, animal-like organisms. But there's a vast and varied spectrum of life out there, including plants and fungi, and the researchers plan to extend their investigations to these life forms. 



Future insights could shed light on why <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biggest-known-space-cloud-of-life-building-complex-chemicals-discovered/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multicellular life forms</a> took a considerable time to appear and diversify on our planet.



Multicellular life has high energy demands and this study suggests that the constraints of bioenergy could be a universal phenomenon that is applicable to any carbon-based, oxygen-breathing life, no matter where it exists in the universe.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2414742121" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



-----



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'Boring billion' wasn’t a dull period, it fueled a shift to complex life

It's known as the "boring billion," a murky period in Earth's history between 1.8 billion and 800 million years ago, when life's complexity didn't extend much beyond single-celled organisms. Apart from the occasional multicellular life form, most of the living species during that time period were simple, unicellular organisms that had minimal requirements for life. But don't mistake "boring" for insignificant. This epoch of evolution laid the foundation for the drama of complex multicellularity that would eventually lead to us. Energy: Fuel for evolution The boring billion...

Study: Global Pledges To Cut Carbon Emissions Will Actually Help. A climate research group says carbon emissions cuts pledged by governments could rein in global warming by up to 1 degree C (1.8 degrees F) by 2100.
On Thursday - the deadline for submitting pledges for a U.N. climate pact - the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-favors-some-arctic-insects-over-others/">Climate</a> Action Tracker group said if fully implemented, the emissions targets would result in 2.7 C (4.9 F) of warming compared to pre-industrial times. Without those cuts, the group calculated that there would be an additional 0.5-1.1 C (0.9-2.0 F) of warming. A greenhouse gas (sometimes abbreviated GHG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ozone (O₃). Without greenhouse gases, the average temperature of Earth's surface would be about −18 °C (0 °F), rather than the present average of 15 °C (59 °F). The atmospheres of Venus, Mars and Titan also contain greenhouse gases.
Currently, temperatures are about 1.8 C (3.2 F) warmer than in pre-industrial times.
A separate analysis this week by the U.S.-based Climate Interactive group projected 3.5 C (6.3 F) of warming based on the current pledges. Study: <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Global&amp;cvid=d628c981480a4a5b9ca02261042068fc&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Global</a> Pledges To Cut Carbon Emissions Will Actually Help
All major carbon polluters except India submitted targets by Thursday.
© 2015 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.

Study: Global Pledges To Cut Carbon Emissions Will Actually Help

Study: Global Pledges To Cut Carbon Emissions Will Actually Help....

Study: Global Pledges To Cut Carbon Emissions Will Actually Help. A climate research group says carbon emissions cuts pledged by governments could rein in global warming by up to 1 degree C (1.8 degrees F) by 2100.
On Thursday - the deadline for submitting pledges for a U.N. climate pact - the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-favors-some-arctic-insects-over-others/">Climate</a> Action Tracker group said if fully implemented, the emissions targets would result in 2.7 C (4.9 F) of warming compared to pre-industrial times. Without those cuts, the group calculated that there would be an additional 0.5-1.1 C (0.9-2.0 F) of warming. Study: Global Pledges To Cut Carbon Emissions Will Actually Help
Currently, temperatures are about 1.8 C (3.2 F) warmer than in pre-industrial times. Carbon is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes up only about 0.025 percent of Earth's crust. Three isotopes occur naturally, ¹²C and ¹³C being stable, while ¹⁴C is a radionuclide, decaying with a half-life of about 5,730 years. Carbon is one of the few elements known since antiquity.
A separate <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=analysis&amp;cvid=8d5dc52903644121a0e668592c1df73a&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">analysis</a> this week by the U.S.-based Climate Interactive group projected 3.5 C (6.3 F) of warming based on the current pledges.
All major carbon polluters except India submitted targets by Thursday.
© 2015 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.

EPA Sets New Ozone Pollution Standard. The Obama administration on Thursday established stricter limits on the smog-causing pollution linked to asthma and respiratory illness, drawing swift condemnation from business leaders and Republicans who warned of damage to the economy.
The Environmental Protection Agency said the new standard of 70 parts per billion will reduce exposure to dangerous ozone pollution and prevent thousands of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fine-particle-pollution-may-cause-children-to-develop-asthma/">asthma</a> attacks and emergency room visits and hundreds of premature deaths each year.
Environmental and health groups argued that the rules fall short. The new standard is below the current standard of 75 parts per billion but at the high end of a range announced by the EPA last fall.
The move fulfills a long-delayed campaign promise by President Barack Obama as he works to cement a legacy on climate change and other environmental policies before leaving office in January 2017. After pledging during his first presidential campaign to tighten ozone limits, Obama backtracked in 2011 by yanking the EPA's proposed ozone limits amid intense pressure from industry and the GOP.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday the new ozone rule fits into Obama's strategy to cut pollution while promoting economic growth.
Still, the EPA's long-awaited action set up a fresh confrontation with Republicans already angry about the administration's plans to curb carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants and regulate small streams and wetlands.
Business groups said a new ozone standard is unnecessary and could jeopardize jobs. Environmental and public health groups said the new standard was a step in the right direction but did not go far enough.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy acknowledged the intense criticism from all sides, but said her job was to set science-backed standards that protect the health of the American people, not take actions "based on popularity."
In a lengthy statement to reporters, McCarthy said the best available clinical data show that 72 parts per billion "is the lowest ozone exposure that causes adverse health effects in healthy, exercising adults."
From there, she decided to add in a "margin of safety" to protect vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly and those suffering from heart and lung ailments. Setting the level at 70 parts per billion "will essentially eliminate exposures to the levels that clinical studies clearly show are harmful," McCarthy said.
McCarthy said the final judgment was hers, and she aimed to set a standard that was "not too high and not too low. It's very challenging. There's no bright line."
Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, said the new standard "simply does not reflect what the science shows is necessary to truly protect public health."
The lung association and other groups have pushed for an ozone limit of 60 parts per billion, saying it would have given Americans much greater health protections. The stricter standard would prevent thousands of premature deaths and nearly 2 million asthma attacks per year, the lung association said.
Business groups also reacted harshly. The National Association of Manufacturers and other groups had lobbied the White House in recent months and spent millions on a TV ad campaign decrying the pending ozone rule as an overreach and a job killer.
"We know that this regulation could have been worse, but it still feels like a punch in the gut," said Tom Riordan, president and CEO of the Wisconsin-based Neenah Enterprises Inc. and task force leader for the manufacturers group.
Riordan said the EPA rule put "politics above job creation" and said manufacturers across the country, especially smaller ones, "will be forced to choose between navigating this rule and hiring new workers, between complying with Washington's mandates and giving raises to their employees."
The rule issued Thursday meets a court-ordered deadline set after public health groups sued in the wake of the administration's 2011 withdrawal of ozone rules.
At least one environmental group vowed to challenge the new standard in court, and business groups said they also were considering a legal challenge.
Cutting ozone emissions to 70 parts per billion would cost industry about $1.4 billion in 2025, the EPA said, far below benefits estimated at $2.9 billion to $5.9 billion annually.
Aiming to smooth the transition, the EPA plans to give states that have the most ozone up to 2037 to come into compliance. But McCarthy said most of the U.S. won't have to take any action, thanks to existing pollution programs and previous EPA limits on pollutants such as mercury and carbon dioxide that have the side benefit of reducing ozone.
The EPA said only 14 U.S. counties would likely fail to meet a standard of 70 parts per billion in 2025, a figure challenged by business groups and Republicans.
The new rules could affect job growth in nearly one-third of the nation's 3,000 counties, said Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's top lobbying group. That's up from 217 counties affected at the current ozone standard, he said.
---
Follow Matthew Daly: <a href="http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC</a>
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EPA Sets New Ozone Pollution Standard

EPA Sets New Ozone Pollution Standard. The Obama administration on...

EPA Sets New Ozone Pollution Standard. The Obama administration on Thursday established stricter limits on the smog-causing pollution linked to asthma and respiratory illness, drawing swift condemnation from business leaders and Republicans who warned of damage to the economy.
The Environmental Protection Agency said the new standard of 70 parts per billion will reduce exposure to dangerous ozone pollution and prevent thousands of asthma attacks and emergency room visits and hundreds of premature deaths each year.
Environmental and health groups argued that the rules fall short. The new standard is below the current standard of 75 parts per billion but at the high end of a range announced by the EPA last fall.
The move fulfills a long-delayed campaign promise by President Barack Obama as he works to cement a legacy on climate change and other environmental policies before leaving office in January 2017. After pledging during his first presidential campaign to tighten ozone limits, Obama backtracked in 2011 by yanking the EPA's proposed ozone limits amid intense pressure from industry and the GOP.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday the new ozone rule fits into Obama's strategy to cut pollution while promoting economic growth.
Still, the EPA's long-awaited action set up a fresh confrontation with Republicans already angry about the administration's plans to curb carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants and regulate small streams and wetlands.
Business groups said a new ozone standard is unnecessary and could jeopardize jobs. Environmental and public health groups said the new standard was a step in the right direction but did not go far enough.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy acknowledged the intense criticism from all sides, but said her job was to set science-backed standards that protect the health of the American people, not take actions "based on popularity."
In a lengthy statement to reporters, McCarthy said the best available clinical data show that 72 parts per billion "is the lowest ozone exposure that causes adverse health effects in healthy, exercising adults."
From there, she decided to add in a "margin of safety" to protect vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly and those suffering from heart and lung ailments. Setting the level at 70 parts per billion "will essentially eliminate exposures to the levels that clinical studies clearly show are harmful," McCarthy said.
McCarthy said the final judgment was hers, and she aimed to set a standard that was "not too high and not too low. It's very challenging. There's no bright line."
Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, said the new standard "simply does not reflect what the science shows is necessary to truly protect public health."
The lung association and other groups have pushed for an ozone limit of 60 parts per billion, saying it would have given Americans much greater health protections. The stricter standard would prevent thousands of premature deaths and nearly 2 million asthma attacks per year, the lung association said.
Business groups also reacted harshly. The National Association of Manufacturers and other groups had lobbied the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/white-house-panel-climate-change/">White House i</a>n recent months and spent millions on a TV ad campaign decrying the pending ozone rule as an overreach and a job killer.
"We know that this regulation could have been worse, but it still feels like a punch in the gut," said Tom Riordan, president and CEO of the Wisconsin-based Neenah Enterprises Inc. and task force leader for the manufacturers group.
Riordan said the EPA rule put "politics above job creation" and said manufacturers across the country, especially smaller ones, "will be forced to choose between navigating this rule and hiring new workers, between complying with Washington's mandates and giving raises to their employees."
The rule issued Thursday meets a court-ordered deadline set after public health groups sued in the wake of the administration's 2011 withdrawal of ozone rules.
At least one environmental group vowed to challenge the new standard in court, and business groups said they also were considering a legal challenge.
Cutting ozone emissions to 70 parts per billion would cost industry about $1.4 billion in 2025, the EPA said, far below benefits estimated at $2.9 billion to $5.9 billion annually.
Aiming to smooth the transition, the EPA plans to give states that have the most ozone up to 2037 to come into compliance. But McCarthy said most of the U.S. won't have to take any action, thanks to existing pollution programs and previous EPA limits on pollutants such as mercury and carbon dioxide that have the side benefit of reducing ozone.
The EPA said only 14 U.S. counties would likely fail to meet a standard of 70 parts per billion in 2025, a figure challenged by business groups and Republicans.
The new rules could affect job growth in nearly one-third of the nation's 3,000 counties, said Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's top lobbying group. That's up from 217 counties affected at the current ozone standard, he said.
---
Follow Matthew Daly: <a href="http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC</a>
© 2015 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.

Carbon Dioxide

India Pledges To Slash Carbon Emissions By 35 Percent. As the last major economy to submit a target for a global climate pact, India is pledging to reduce the intensity of its carbon emissions and boost the share of electricity produced from sources other than fossil fuels to 40 percent by 2030.
The world's third-largest carbon polluter filed its climate action plan to the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=germany&amp;cvid=59ffa7f4d12f4d5e852c6e0459c40a0a&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Germany</a>-based U.N. climate secretariat late Thursday, the deadline for pledges before a December conference in Paris, where governments are supposed to adopt a landmark deal to fight climate change.
In a 38-page submission citing Mahatma Gandhi, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/indian-ocean-tsunami-reshaped-the-coast-of-sumatra/">Indian</a> government said it would slash the rate of emissions relative to gross domestic product by 33-35 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels.
It said India has already reduced its carbon intensity by 12 percent since 2005.
The carbon intensity goal will allow India's emissions to grow as its economy expands, but at a lower rate than now.
"It is estimated that more than half of India of 2030 is yet to be built," the government said.
Environmental groups following the U.N. climate talks welcomed India's pledge.
"India now has positioned itself as a global leader in clean energy, and is poised to play an active and influential role in the international climate negotiations this December," said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental think tank based in New York.
India plans a fivefold boost in renewable energy capacity in the next five years to 175 gigawatts, including solar power, wind, biomass and small hydropower dams.
Even with a major boost of renewable energy, India is also planning to expand coal power - the biggest source of emissions - to satisfy its energy needs. Coal-fired power plants account for about 60 percent of India's installed power capacity.
By 2030, the government said its installed capacity from "non-fossil fuel based energy resources" would grow to 40 percent. It wasn't immediately clear whether that would also include nuclear power.
India said boosting its renewables to that level would require help with transfer of clean technology and financing - two of the crunch issues before the Paris deal, which is supposed to apply to all countries but also include provisions for rich countries to help poor countries fight climate change and adapt to its consequences.
Scientists say the heat-trapping carbon emissions released by the burning of fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - are a key driver of rising temperatures that could lead to potentially catastrophic impacts, including flooding of island nations and intensifying droughts.
China and the U.S. are the only countries with higher emissions than India. As a bloc, the 28-nation European Union's emissions are also higher.
Like other developed countries, the U.S. and the EU committed to absolute reduction targets, while China pledged that its emissions would stop growing by 2030. India, with more than 300 million people living in poverty, wasn't expected to offer a peak year because its emissions are projected to increase for decades as energy demand rises along with economic growth.
Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar last week told The Associated Press that developed countries should "vacate the carbon space" to allow India's emissions to increase. "That carbon space demand is climate justice," he said.
Two climate research groups this week said that the pledges put forth before the Paris conference would slow down global warming but projected that temperatures would still rise by 2.7 and 3.5 degrees C (4.9 and 6.3 degrees F), respectively.
© 2015 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.

India Pledges To Slash Carbon Emissions By 35 Percent

India Pledges To Slash Carbon Emissions By 35 Percent. As...

Corals Also Need A Balanced Diet. Researchers examine nutrient enrichment and bleaching resilience in Red Sea corals

A new study found that a nutrient-rich, balanced diet is beneficial to corals during stressful thermal events. The research led by scientists at the University of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=flordia&amp;cvid=d9cf3f84713b48dfa49f365baf7e6659&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Miami</a> (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco concluded that the particular nutrient balance in seawater is what matters most.Corals Also Need A Balanced Diet

To test which nutrients were more beneficial to corals during elevated temperature conditions, the scientists fed them two types - inorganic nutrients of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/scientists-identify-molecular-link-between-nitrogen-and-plant-growth/">nitrogen</a> and phosphorus commonly found in the ocean as a result of fertilizers and sewage runoff, and organic nutrients of zooplankton, tiny animals in the ocean that coral are known to feed on.

The research team placed specimens of the yellow scroll coral, Turbinaria reniformis, collected from the Red Sea in separate seawater tanks with varying temperature and nutrients. The corals were subjected to two different inorganic nutrient enrichment scenarios - increased nitrogen only or increased nitrogen and phosphorus at varying temperatures - 25 degrees Celsius to represent normal temperature conditions and 30 degrees Celsius to represent thermal stress conditions. Some of the corals also received organic nutrient enrichment of tiny ocean animals called zooplankton during the laboratory experiment. All of the corals were then returned to normal temperature conditions to examine their recovery.

"We found that the coral's resilience to thermal stress totally depends on the kind of inorganic enrichment - if it's 'balanced' or not," said Erica Towle, an alumna of the UM Rosenstiel School.

The researchers found that excess nitrogen alone and zooplankton made high-temperature bleaching events worse. While excess nitrogen in combination with extra phosphorus and zooplankton afford the coral resilience to bleaching. This study is one of the first to assess the three-way interaction between the two types of nutrient enrichment and thermal stress on coral health.

The UM Rosenstiel School research team published a previous study in 2015 that showed the critically endangered Staghorn coral may benefit from supplemental nutrition to mitigate the adverse impacts of global climate change. The results revealed that temperature, CO2 and feeding each had significant effects on the coral's growth rate. That study was the first to document that an endangered coral species, which was once found widely throughout South Florida and the Caribbean, can buffer the effects of increased CO2 in the ocean by increasing feeding rates.

"Excess nutrients from land sources and thermal stress will likely occur in concert in the future so it's important to assess them together," said Towle. "Incorporating nutrient levels in thermal bleaching models will likely be very important for coral reef managers in the future as ocean waters warm."

---

<a href="http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Miami</a>

Corals Also Need A Balanced Diet

Corals Also Need A Balanced Diet. Researchers examine nutrient enrichment...

Corals Also Need A Balanced Diet. Researchers examine nutrient enrichment and bleaching resilience in Red Sea corals

A new study found that a nutrient-rich, balanced diet is beneficial to corals during stressful thermal events. The research led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco concluded that the particular nutrient balance in seawater is what matters most.

To test which nutrients were more beneficial to corals during elevated temperature conditions, the scientists fed them two types - inorganic nutrients of nitrogen and phosphorus commonly found in the ocean as a result of fertilizers and sewage runoff, and organic nutrients of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=zooplankton&amp;cvid=65250a6dd69a492ca3d80808a94a39cf&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">zooplankton</a>, tiny animals in the ocean that coral are known to feed on.

The research team placed specimens of the yellow scroll coral, Turbinaria reniformis, collected from the Red Sea in separate seawater tanks with varying temperature and nutrients. The corals were subjected to two different inorganic nutrient enrichment scenarios - increased nitrogen only or increased nitrogen and phosphorus at varying temperatures - 25 degrees Celsius to represent normal temperature conditions and 30 degrees Celsius to represent thermal stress conditions. Some of the corals also received organic nutrient enrichment of tiny ocean animals called zooplankton during the laboratory experiment. All of the corals were then returned to normal temperature conditions to examine their recovery.

"We found that the coral's resilience to thermal stress totally depends on the kind of inorganic enrichment - if it's 'balanced' or not," said Erica Towle, an alumna of the UM Rosenstiel School.

The researchers found that excess nitrogen alone and zooplankton made high-temperature bleaching events worse. While excess nitrogen in combination with extra phosphorus and zooplankton afford the coral resilience to bleaching. This study is one of the first to assess the three-way interaction between the two types of nutrient enrichment and thermal stress on coral health.

The UM Rosenstiel School research team published a previous study in 2015 that showed the critically endangered Staghorn coral may benefit from supplemental nutrition to mitigate the adverse impacts of global climate change. The results revealed that temperature, CO2 and feeding each had significant effects on the coral's growth rate. That study was the first to document that an endangered coral species, which was once found widely throughout South Florida and the Caribbean, can buffer the effects of increased CO2 in the ocean by increasing feeding rates.

"Excess nutrients from land sources and thermal stress will likely occur in concert in the future so it's important to assess them together," said Towle. "Incorporating nutrient levels in thermal bleaching models will likely be very important for coral reef managers in the future as ocean waters warm."

---

<a href="http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Miami</a>

Alaska Seeks Federal Funds To Relocate Newtok Village. One of Alaska's most eroded coastal Native villages is being eyed as a possible national model for relocating whole communities whose futures are threatened by natural disasters escalated by climate change.
The state is hoping to kick-start a mass exodus from the tiny Newtok village through a national competition for states and local governments vying for a slice of nearly $1 billion in grants to be awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD's National Disaster Resilience Competition is billed as an effort addressing <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=climate+change&amp;cvid=983b530af01d4e5e9dd2ad04ec4c0ef9&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">climate change</a> and extreme weather. Alaska Seeks Federal Funds To Relocate Newtok Village
If successful, Alaska officials are proposing that $62.6 million of the funds be used for relocation costs, including money for infrastructure and money to allow 62 families from Newtok to establish new homes at the chosen relocation site on higher ground 9 miles away. In the draft proposal publicly released Friday, state officials also are seeking a total of $162.4 million for three other vulnerable villages - Emmonak, Galena and Teller - with extensive storm damage in recent years.
But officials acknowledge that competing for the funding unused by Hurricane Sandy victims won't be easy. <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/alaskas-barry-glacier-could-trigger-a-catastrophic-tsunami/">Alaska</a> is among 40 finalists for the funds, including Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. Still, Alaska officials are hoping their proposal catches the eye of federal officials.
"We think we have a very compelling story to tell," said Sally Russell Cox, a state planner who worked on the competition entry.
The release of Alaska's proposal opens a 15-day public comment period before the final contest submission is due to HUD Oct. 27. Alaska Seeks Federal Funds To Relocate Newtok Village
President Barack Obama, in his recent three-day visit to the state, focused almost entirely on climate change and how temperatures are rising faster in Alaska than anywhere else, already threatening entire communities.
Newtok is the only one of Alaska's multiple imperiled communities that has begun a physical move. The Yup'ik Eskimo community of about 380 shepherded various multiagency projects including construction of several homes and the beginning of an evacuation community center, which would be completed with nearly $5.5 million sought through the HUD competition. A tribal power dispute, however, stalled relocation efforts for about two years until a federal appeals panel sided with the new village leaders last month.
Oblivious to village politics, the raging Ninglick River is steadily inching toward homes, gobbling up as much as 75 feet of riverbank a year. Melting permafrost is sinking and knocking homes and village boardwalks out of alignment. Officials estimate Newtok, nearly 500 miles west of Anchorage, has until 2017 until erosion is expected to reach the school.
Villagers believe they're living on borrowed time, and they are actively lobbying for funding wherever they can find it. Village relocation coordinator Romy Cadiente is in Washington, D.C., this week to gather support by meeting with officials, including Alaska's congressional delegation or their representatives. The village is also trying to obtain funding for some homes for the new site through the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, and is working with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks on plans to build a high-efficiency home at the current site as a demonstration model.
"We're trying to really focus on how to get this village out of there," Cadiente said in a phone interview Wednesday. "That shore is not going to grow back."
---
Online:
Alaska's draft proposal:<a href="https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=178489" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=178489</a>
---
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Alaska Seeks Federal Funds To Relocate Newtok Village

Alaska Seeks Federal Funds To Relocate Newtok Village. One of...

Analysis: Volkswagen Pollution Cheating Killed Dozens Each Year. Volkswagen pollution chicanery has not just been victimless tinkering, killing between five and 20 people in the United States annually in recent years, according to an Associated Press statistical and computer analysis.
The software that the company admitted using to get around government emissions limits allowed VWs to spew enough pollution to kill somewhere between 16 and 94 deaths over seven years, with the annual count increasing more recently as more of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-cold-green-detergents/">diesels</a> were on the road. The total cost has been well over $100 million.Analysis: Volkswagen Pollution Cheating Killed Dozens Each Year
That's just in the United States. It's likely far deadlier and costlier in Europe, where more VW diesels were sold, engineers said. Scientists and experts said the death toll in Europe could be as high as hundreds each year, though they caution that it is hard to take American health and air quality computer models and translate them to a more densely populated Europe.
"Statistically, we can't point out who died because of this policy, but some people have died or likely died as a result of this," said Carnegie Mellon environmental engineer professor Peter Adams. He calculates the cost of air pollution with a sophisticated computer model that he and the AP used in its analysis.
Computer software allowed VW diesel cars to spew between 10 to 40 times more nitrogen oxides (NOx) than allowed by regulation, making this "clearly a concern for air quality and public health," said Janet McCabe, acting air quality chief for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Nitrogen oxides mostly form smog - that murky, dirty air that makes it hard to see and for some people to breathe - but also amplify a deadlier, larger problem: tiny particles of soot. Numerous medical studies show those tiny particles cause about 50,000 deaths a year in the United States, mostly from heart problems.
Nitrogen oxides can travel hundreds of miles, so pollution spewed in Pittsburgh can be felt on the East Coast, Adams said.
Experts calculate how much pollution costs society by looking at the value of lost lives. In this case, Adams and other said the lost lives - valued at $8.6 million apiece - overwhelm other costs such as lost work days or hospital costs. The overall annual cost of the extra pollutants from the VW diesels ranged from $40 million to $170 million, environmental engineering professors calculated.
"Even the small increase in NOx from VW diesel emissions is likely to have worsened pollution along the roadways where they have traveled, and affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people," said Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute in Boston.
"To say millions of people of people are breathing poor air as the result of that is not off the mark," said Greenbaum, who runs the institute that is funded by both the EPA and the auto industry to serve as an independent arbiter of the science.
Representatives of VW did not respond to AP request for comment.
These calculations should be put in context of air that is getting dramatically cleaner in the United States, experts said. Also, the deaths from extra pollution are dwarfed by the 35,000 people in the U.S. a year who die in auto accidents and are closer to the annual U.S. death toll of spider or snake bites.
The AP calculated how much pollution was spewed year by year, starting with that broad 10 times to 40 times emissions level estimate from the EPA, then factoring in mileage and car number totals from EPA, the car company and Kelley Blue Book.
The results show an upper and lower limit of extra nitrogen oxides pollution allowed by VW's subterfuge. The AP took those figures to scientists who previously created a sophisticated computer program that looks at air movement and numerous epidemiological studies on the health effects of pollutants. The result was a rough estimate on deaths and costs to society based on a certain amount of pollution triggering each death.
The EPA has its own open source computer model that calculates death and social costs of emissions, roughly finding it takes nearly 1,300 tons of nitrogen oxides to cause one death. Using that calculation and AP's emission totals, the total death figures over the past seven years range from 12 to 69, slightly lower than the AP calculations.
The AP ran its calculations and results by more than a dozen experts in emissions, risk and public health. They all confirmed the calculations and results seemed right. One scientist had even done a statistical analysis on his own and came independently to the same conclusion. The experts were mostly university professors or from research institutes. They were not environmental advocates or representatives of auto companies.
But engineers caution that these figures come with many caveats and are ballpark estimates. They rely on many assumptions and a range of potential emissions per car. Air pollution impacts on people are usually calculated on a local level because that's where it is felt, and it changes from place to place. But these calculations were broadened to a national level, which adds more uncertainty.
The computer simulation that made the death calculations use conservative medical studies as their baseline. Other epidemiological studies would more than double the deaths and health costs, said Adams and model co-creator Jinhyok Heo of Cornell University.
Chris Frey, an engineering professor at North Carolina State University, has been testing the VW diesels in real world conditions, driving more than 100 miles with monitors in the car tailpipes. He found pollution 10 times higher than the federal standard, and noticed that the worst pollution came as he got on to highways and in stop-and-go traffic. Those less desirable areas are where poorer people live, Adams and Greenbaum said.
Since 2008, VW sold more than 10 million VW diesel cars in Europe, compared with less than half a million in the United States. In Europe, the population is more densely packed in urban areas, making them more vulnerable to added air pollution, several experts said.
"Assuming most of the cars are in Europe, it's pretty simple to estimate that it could go as high as hundreds," said Robert Rohde, a physicist and lead scientist at the Berkeley Earth team that has estimated death tolls of air pollution in the past.
---
Online:
EASIUR computer model that calculates costs of air pollution:<a href="http://barney.ce.cmu.edu/~jinhyok/easiur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://barney.ce.cmu.edu/~jinhyok/easiur/</a>
EPA on Volkswagen emissions dodge: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/1KLXXH1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://1.usa.gov/1KLXXH1</a>
Volkswagen on the emissions dodge: <a href="http://www.vwdieselinfo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.vwdieselinfo.com/</a>
EPA computer model that calculates death and social costs of pollution: <a href="http://www2.epa.gov/benmap" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www2.epa.gov/benmap</a>
--
Seth Borenstein can be followed at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a>
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Analysis: Volkswagen Pollution Cheating Killed Dozens Each Year

Analysis: Volkswagen Pollution Cheating Killed Dozens Each Year. Volkswagen pollution...

BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill Settlement Finalized. The Justice Department and five states have finalized a settlement of more than $20 billion arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon gulf oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The deal announced Monday resolves all civil claims against BP and ends five years of legal fighting over the nearly 134 million-gallon spill.
"BP is receiving the punishment it deserves, while also providing critical compensation for the injuries it caused to the environment and the economy of the Gulf region," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a Justice Department news conference. "The steep penalty should inspire BP and its peers to take every measure necessary to ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again."BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/warming-of-2c-would-unleash-230-billions-tons-of-soil-carbon/">Oil</a> Spill Settlement Finalized
The settlement finalizes an agreement first announced in July.
Among other requirements, BP will be forced to pay $5.5 billion in Clean Water Act penalties and nearly $5 billion to five Gulf states: Alabama, <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=flordia&amp;cvid=d9cf3f84713b48dfa49f365baf7e6659&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Florida</a>, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The spill followed the April 2010 explosion on an offshore rig that killed 11 workers. BP earlier settled with people and businesses harmed by the spill, a deal that's so far resulted in $5.84 billion in payouts.
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BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill Settlement Finalized

BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill Settlement Finalized. The Justice...

Alaska Seeks Federal Funds To Relocate Newtok Village. One of Alaska's most eroded coastal Native villages is being eyed as a possible national model for relocating whole communities whose futures are threatened by natural disasters escalated by climate change.
The state is hoping to kick-start a mass exodus from the tiny Newtok village through a national competition for states and local governments vying for a slice of nearly $1 billion in grants to be awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD's National Disaster Resilience Competition is billed as an effort addressing <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=climate+change&amp;cvid=787f9db2007144ac92f45715b3eb427e&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">climate change</a> and extreme weather. Alaska Seeks <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/alaska-federal-public-lands-trump/">Federal</a> Funds To Relocate Newtok Village
If successful, Alaska officials are proposing that $62.6 million of the funds be used for relocation costs, including money for infrastructure and money to allow 62 families from Newtok to establish new homes at the chosen relocation site on higher ground 9 miles away. In the draft proposal publicly released Friday, state officials also are seeking a total of $162.4 million for three other vulnerable villages - Emmonak, Galena and Teller - with extensive storm damage in recent years.
But officials acknowledge that competing for the funding unused by Hurricane Sandy victims won't be easy. Alaska is among 40 finalists for the funds, including Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. Still, Alaska officials are hoping their proposal catches the eye of federal officials.
"We think we have a very compelling story to tell," said Sally Russell Cox, a state planner who worked on the competition entry.
The release of Alaska's proposal opens a 15-day public comment period before the final contest submission is due to HUD Oct. 27.
President Barack Obama, in his recent three-day visit to the state, focused almost entirely on climate change and how temperatures are rising faster in Alaska than anywhere else, already threatening entire communities.
Newtok is the only one of Alaska's multiple imperiled communities that has begun a physical move. The Yup'ik Eskimo community of about 380 shepherded various multiagency projects including construction of several homes and the beginning of an evacuation community center, which would be completed with nearly $5.5 million sought through the HUD competition. A tribal power dispute, however, stalled relocation efforts for about two years until a federal appeals panel sided with the new village leaders last month.
Oblivious to village politics, the raging Ninglick River is steadily inching toward homes, gobbling up as much as 75 feet of riverbank a year. Melting permafrost is sinking and knocking homes and village boardwalks out of alignment. Officials estimate Newtok, nearly 500 miles west of Anchorage, has until 2017 until erosion is expected to reach the school.
Villagers believe they're living on borrowed time, and they are actively lobbying for funding wherever they can find it. Village relocation coordinator Romy Cadiente is in Washington, D.C., this week to gather support by meeting with officials, including Alaska's congressional delegation or their representatives. The village is also trying to obtain funding for some homes for the new site through the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, and is working with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks on plans to build a high-efficiency home at the current site as a demonstration model.
"We're trying to really focus on how to get this village out of there," Cadiente said in a phone interview Wednesday. "That shore is not going to grow back."
---
Online:
Alaska's draft proposal:<a href="https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=178489" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=178489</a>
---
Follow Rachel D'Oro at <a href="https://twitter.com/rdoro" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/rdoro</a>
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Feds: Difficult To Prosecute Companies Over Migratory Bird Deaths. Companies accused of causing migratory bird deaths may be harder to successfully prosecute after a federal appeals court recently ruled that a century-old wildlife protection law only applies if the killing is intentional.
The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals runs contrary to two other federal courts' interpretations of the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act and could save companies that operate wind farms, power transmission lines and other methods of energy production millions in research - at the risk of more bird deaths.
"If you have a dead migratory bird, you have a violation. Doesn't matter how, why or when; that's historically been the government's interpretation," said Barry Hartman of K&amp;L Gates, a Washington law firm that represents Duke Energy Corp. "And what the court is saying is that interpretation doesn't extend to unintentional takes." Feds: Difficult To Prosecute Companies Over Migratory Bird Deaths
The U.S. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=fish&amp;cvid=0ae78e786ab3416dbc210e9377cbe290&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Fish</a> and Wildlife Service has maintained that no intent is required to violate the law, which makes it illegal to "pursue, hunt, take, capture" or "kill" more than 1,000 bird species. But companies have long claimed they should not be held responsible for actions that incidentally cause deaths - up to about a half-million annually by wind turbines alone, the federal agency says.
The nation's appellate courts have starkly different interpretations of the law, resulting in an uneven enforcement across the country, with companies in some <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earth-could-be-powered-entirely-by-renewable-energy/">energy</a>-rich states facing a narrower liability toward migratory birds than operations in other regions.
In the Sept. 4 ruling, the 5th Circuit said a U.S. District Court was wrong to convict and levy a $2 million fine against Citgo Petroleum Corp. for the deaths of at least 35 protected birds that flew into two large, open-top petroleum tanks in 2003 in Corpus Christi. In overturning the lower court's decision, the 5th Circuit agreed with Citgo that the statute was misinterpreted as covering unintentional bird kills.
The ruling agrees with decisions from the 8th and 9th Circuits that hold the law only applies to the intentional killing of birds, but contrasts with two other circuit rulings - one of which upheld misdemeanor convictions of two Kansas oil rig operators after dead birds were found trapped in oil-treatment vessels.
"It was a very easy charge for the government to bring" without having to prove intent, said Benjamin Cowan, a Houston attorney who represents traditional and renewable energy companies. "They won't be able to do that anymore."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has also used the bird act to regulate wind energy, and the Department of Justice are reviewing the 5th Circuit ruling before deciding whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, service spokeswoman Laury Parramore said. She added they may also ask the appeals court to reconsider.
The federal service is considering adding new regulations to mitigate bird deaths from energy production.
Since 2013, the Department of Justice has prosecuted two energy companies whose Wyoming wind turbines killed migratory birds, as well as several oil and gas companies in North Dakota whose wastewater pits became death traps for ducks. In 2014, Duke Energy Corp. was sentenced to $1 million in fines and five years' probation and ordered to develop a mitigation strategy for bird deaths at wind farms.
Environmental groups say the ruling by the 5th Circuit - which covers the energy-producing states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi - weakens the law's intent in some of the country's most crucial bird habitats; Texas leads the nation in wind energy production. The groups also say the ruling threatens the integrity of treaties signed with Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Mexico and Russia.
The first of these, signed by the U.S. and Canada in 1916, was enacted in an era when many bird species were threatened by the commercial trade of birds and feathers and was intended to protect against the "indiscriminate slaughter" of migratory birds.
Eric Glitzenstein, an attorney who represents the American Bird Conservancy, called the ruling "an extraordinarily narrow" interpretation of the statute.
"Ignoring the greatest threats to migratory bird populations from inherently hazardous industrial activities is really a setback to our commitment to migratory birds in a serious and unfortunate way," he said.
© 2015 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.

Feds: Difficult To Prosecute Companies Over Migratory Bird Deaths

Feds: Difficult To Prosecute Companies Over Migratory Bird Deaths. Companies...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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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



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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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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