Pregnancy is a crucial period that shapes a baby’s future health. While much attention is given to physical well-being, new research highlights the impact of maternal stress on fetal development. 



A study published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology suggests that stress during pregnancy may leave epigenetic imprints on placental genes linked to cortisol regulation.



Cortisol plays a key role in fetal growth and stress response, and disruptions in its regulation could have lasting effects on a child’s development.



This discovery emphasizes the importance of maternal mental health. A mother’s emotional state during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cbd-use-during-pregnancy-has-unexpected-consequences/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pregnancy</a> does not only affect her but could influence her baby’s well-being from the earliest stages. 



As science uncovers new connections between stress and fetal development, it becomes increasingly clear that prenatal care must include psychological support alongside physical health monitoring.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pregnancy-stress-and-the-placenta">Pregnancy stress and the placenta</h2>



The study was led by Lourdes Fañanás, a professor at the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine (<a href="https://www.ub.edu/ibub/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IBUB</a>) at the University of Barcelona. The research was co-led by Elisabeth Binder from the <a href="https://www.psych.mpg.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry</a>.



The investigation was focused on how maternal stress can leave biological marks on the placenta. 



The placenta is a vital organ during pregnancy, supplying oxygen and nutrients to the fetus. It also responds to external factors, including maternal stress, to help the fetus adapt to its environment.



However, the exact ways in which the placenta adjusts to stressors and influences <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pregnancy-may-speed-up-aging-in-women/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fetal development</a> are still not fully understood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-placenta-and-stress-regulation">Placenta and stress regulation </h2>



Epigenetics refers to modifications that affect gene function without changing the DNA sequence. The study found that maternal stress can cause epigenetic changes in placental genes. These changes particularly affect genes involved in cortisol regulation, such as HSD11B2, NR3C1, and FKBP5.



Cortisol is an essential hormone that helps the body respond to stress. In pregnancy, it plays a critical role in fetal development by influencing growth, metabolism, and brain function.



When stress disrupts the proper regulation of cortisol, it could impact the baby’s ability to handle stress after birth. The placenta usually acts as a barrier, controlling how much maternal cortisol reaches the fetus. 



However, if stress alters the placenta’s function through epigenetic changes, it may affect fetal exposure to cortisol and have long-term consequences for the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-pregnancy-changes-the-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">child’s health</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changes-in-stress-related-genes">Changes in stress-related genes</h2>



This pilot study, funded by a CIBERSAM Intramural project, involved 45 first-time pregnant women who were considered healthy. 



Researchers measured their cortisol levels and depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy. After delivery, they collected and analyzed placental samples to examine potential epigenetic changes.



Seven weeks after birth, the babies underwent neuro-developmental assessments using Brazelton’s Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (<a href="https://www.childrenshospital.org/research/centers/brazelton-institute-research/nbas" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBAS</a>). This test evaluates reflexes, motor abilities, and social responses, providing insights into early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/calcium-zinc-are-keys-to-healthier-pregnancy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">developmental outcomes</a>. 



The team used advanced sequencing technology to study epigenetic changes in large sections of DNA, offering a detailed look at how the placenta responds to maternal stress.



The findings indicate that stress during early pregnancy may have the strongest effect on these epigenetic changes. The altered genes linked to cortisol regulation suggest that maternal stress may influence fetal development in ways that extend beyond pregnancy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-need-for-early-maternal-support">Need for early maternal support</h2>



Águeda Castro, first author of the study and a CIBERSAM researcher at the University of Barcelona, highlighted the importance of supporting maternal mental health from the start of pregnancy.



“This study reinforces the importance of taking care of the mental health of mothers from the beginning of pregnancy, since stress could leave a biological imprint on the baby’s development through epigenetic mechanisms that we are just beginning to understand,” said Castro.



This research adds to growing evidence that maternal stress is not just a temporary concern but one that could shape a child’s future health. 



Mental health care should be an integral part of prenatal care, ensuring that pregnant women receive emotional support alongside physical health monitoring. Addressing stress early on may help prevent long-term developmental challenges in children.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-the-research">Significance of the research</h2>



The Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona selected this study as the best scientific publication of November 2024. Its recognition highlights the study’s innovative approach to understanding prenatal health and epigenetics. 



While the research offers important insights, the sample size remains small. More extensive studies are needed to confirm these findings and explore potential interventions.



Future research could focus on identifying risk factors that make some mothers more susceptible to stress-related epigenetic changes. Understanding these risks may help develop targeted interventions to support expectant mothers, particularly those in vulnerable situations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-approach-to-prenatal-care">New approach to prenatal care</h2>



Pregnancy care has traditionally focused on nutrition, physical health, and fetal monitoring. However, this study suggests that mental health deserves equal attention. 



Stress management techniques, psychological support, and early interventions could improve maternal well-being and contribute to healthier pregnancies.



By prioritizing emotional health during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-in-the-placenta-linked-to-preterm-births/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pregnancy</a>, healthcare providers can help ensure better outcomes for both mothers and their babies. 



As research continues to uncover the biological links between stress and fetal development, integrating mental health care into routine prenatal visits may become an essential part of maternal care.



While more research is needed, this study emphasizes the deep connection between a mother’s mental state and her baby’s development. Taking care of expectant mothers’ emotional well-being is not just beneficial for them - it may shape the long-term health of the next generation.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X24007375?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Neuropsychopharmacology</a>.



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Pregnancy stress may have lasting effects on fetal development

Pregnancy is a crucial period that shapes a baby’s future health. While much attention is given to physical well-being, new research highlights the impact of maternal stress on fetal development. A study published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology suggests that stress during pregnancy may leave epigenetic imprints on placental genes linked to cortisol regulation. Cortisol plays a key role in fetal growth and stress response, and disruptions in its regulation could have lasting effects on a child’s development. This discovery emphasizes the importance of maternal mental health....

Children infected with the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-is-much-more-deadly-than-the-seasonal-flu/">Omicron</a> variant of COVID-19 remain infectious for an average of three days after testing positive, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.usc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USC</a> and Stanford University.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-school-policies">School policies</h2>



The research suggests that the prevalent school policy mandating a five-day isolation period for infected children is more than sufficient, and should be reevaluated.



“We're basically saying five days is more than sufficient; public-health and education leaders may consider shorter durations,” said co-author Neeraj Sood, Director of the COVID-19 Initiative and a senior fellow at the USC Schaeffer Center.



The analysis showed that by day five, 18.4 percent of the infected children remained contagious. By day ten, this number dropped significantly to 3.9 percent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vaccination-status-nbsp">Vaccination status&nbsp;</h2>



In a noteworthy observation, the researchers found no significant link between the duration of infectivity and vaccination status. This indicates that school re-entry guidelines may not need to distinguish between vaccinated and non-vaccinated students.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-children-s-isolation-nbsp">Children's isolation&nbsp;</h2>



The topic of children's isolation, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been a matter of significant concern for parents, educators, health professionals, and policymakers.



Isolation is crucial to prevent the spread of the virus. By ensuring that children who have contracted the virus stay away from others during their infectious period, it reduces the risk of community transmission.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-educational-impact-nbsp">Educational impact&nbsp;</h2>



Extended periods of isolation can disrupt children's education. Especially given the educational interruptions children have already faced during the pandemic, it's essential to find a balance between health safety and educational continuity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-well-being-nbsp">Mental well-being&nbsp;</h2>



Apart from the educational impact, prolonged isolation can also affect children's mental and emotional well-being. It can lead to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression.&nbsp;



Thus, it's crucial to ensure that kids have the necessary support during these times, whether it's through virtual interactions, engaging activities, or counseling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-self-isolation-protocols-nbsp">Self-isolation protocols&nbsp;</h2>



The findings of the USC study may ultimately lead to a more informed approach to self-isolation protocols for children.



These protocols – which have been implemented in school districts from New York City to Los Angeles – have been guided by little data so far, said the researchers.



“We want to protect the other children in the school who could potentially get infected, but at the same time, we don't want to disrupt education for the child who is infected, given the amount of disruption that's already happened,” said Sood. “The duration of infectivity is an important parameter into figuring out what the optimal duration of self-isolation should be.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-of-the-study">Focus of the study</h2>



For the study, the researchers partnered with a virus testing enterprise, examining nasal swabs from 76 children aged 7-18 from Los Angeles County who tested positive for the Omicron variant.&nbsp;



Nikhilesh Kumar, lead author and a Medicine student at the USC Keck School of Medicine, emphasized the goal was to "capture how infectivity changed over the 10-day window."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-implications-nbsp">Study implications&nbsp;</h2>



The results are in line with prior research on Omicron-infected adults, which found no correlation between vaccination and infectivity duration. However, adults exhibited slightly prolonged infection durations, with a median of five days.



But as Sood noted, with the virus’s propensity to mutate, ongoing research will be necessary. “We need to continue doing studies like this because the next variant may have a longer or shorter duration of infectivity.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.4511" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JAMA Pediatrics</a>.



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Children may be isolating too long for COVID-19 infection

Children infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 remain infectious...

A recent study challenges the belief that men were the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-alaskan-hunters-advanced/">hunters</a> and women the gatherers in prehistoric times. Research led by Sarah Lacy, an anthropology professor at the <a href="https://www.udel.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Delaware</a>, suggests that women were not only physically capable of hunting but likely participated in it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-of-the-study-nbsp">Focus of the study&nbsp;</h2>



The study was focused on the Paleolithic era, which spans from approximately 2.5 million to 12,000 years ago. The researchers found little evidence to suggest that roles were rigidly defined by gender.



Professor Lacy, who specializes in the health of early humans, collaborated with Cara Ocobock from the University of Notre Dame, who bridges modern-day physiology with the fossil record.



The researchers were inspired to challenge the long-held belief about gendered division of labor. They questioned why the "cavemen hunt, women gather" theory was so widely accepted. "We have so much evidence that that's not the case,” said Lacy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gender-equality-nbsp">Gender equality&nbsp;</h2>



A review of ancient tools, diets, art, burials, and anatomy revealed a striking picture of gender equality.&nbsp;



“People found things in the past and they just automatically gendered them male and didn't acknowledge the fact that everyone we found in the past has these markers, whether in their bones or in stone tools that are being placed in their burials," said Professor Lacy.



"We can't really tell who made what, right? We can't say, ‘Oh, only males flintknap,’ because there's no signature left on the stone tool that tells us who made it."



Lacy noted that, from what evidence we do have, there appears to be almost no sex differences in roles.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-physiological-capabilities-nbsp">Physiological capabilities&nbsp;</h2>



One of the biggest questions addressed was whether there were physiological barriers preventing women from hunting.&nbsp;



While men may have advantages in speed and power tasks like sprinting and throwing, women excel in endurance activities such as long-distance running. Both sets of skills were crucial for hunting.&nbsp;



Estrogen, predominantly found in women, plays a significant role in enhancing fat metabolism, regulating muscle breakdown, and providing a longer-lasting energy source. The fact that estrogen receptors can be traced back 600 million years further validates its pivotal role.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shared-roles">Shared roles</h2>



“When we take a deeper look at the anatomy and the modern physiology and then actually look at the skeletal remains of ancient people, there's no difference in trauma patterns between males and females, because they're doing the same activities,” Lacy said.



During the Paleolithic era, most people lived in small groups. To Lacy, it didn't make sense that only part of the group would hunt.



“You live in such a small society. You have to be really, really flexible. Everyone has to be able to pick up any role at any time. It just seems like the obvious thing, but people weren't taking it that way.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-outdated-theory">Outdated theory</h2>



Lacy points to the 1968 publication "Man the Hunter" by anthropologists Richard B. Lee and Irven DeVore. By emphasizing hunting's role in human evolution and presuming all hunters were male, they inadvertently set a gender-biased narrative.&nbsp;



While this outdated "man the hunter" theory seems to have persisted for decades, Professor Lacy hopes this new research will highlight that both sexes have always been contributors to their communities.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-egalitarian-species">Egalitarian species</h2>



“There were women who were publishing about this in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, but their work kept getting relegated to, ‘Oh, that's a feminist critique or a feminist approach,’” Lacy said.&nbsp;



“This was before any of the work on genetics and a lot of the work on physiology and the role of estrogen had come out. We wanted to both lift back up the arguments that they had already made and add to it all the new stuff.”&nbsp;



For three million years, males and females both participated in subsistence gathering for their communities, and dependence on meat and hunting was driven by both sexes, Lacy said.



“It's not something that only men did and that therefore male behavior drove evolution. What we take as de facto gender roles today are not inherent, do not characterize our ancestors. We were a very egalitarian species for millions of years in many ways.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aman.13914" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Anthropologist</a>.&nbsp;



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Prehistoric women were not just gatherers, they were also hunters

A recent study challenges the belief that men were the...

Over four billion years ago, during the early days of our Solar System, a catastrophic collision occurred between Earth and an object the size of Mars, leading to the formation of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/days-are-getting-longer-as-the-moon-drifts-away-from-earth/">moon</a>. The exact timing of this momentous event has long eluded scientists.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moon-crystals">Moon crystals</h2>



In a recent publication in <a href="https://www.geochemicalperspectivesletters.org/">Geochemical Perspectives Letters</a>, researchers have shed light on this mystery, utilizing crystals from the moon, brought back by Apollo astronauts in 1972. Their findings suggest that the moon is at least 4.46 billion years old, pushing back previous estimates by 40 million years.



“These crystals are the oldest known solids that formed after the giant impact. And because we know how old these crystals are, they serve as an anchor for the lunar chronology,” said senior author Philipp Heck, a professor of Astronomy at the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/en">University of Chicago</a> and curator for Meteoritics and Polar Studies at the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lunar-dust-samples-nbsp">Lunar dust samples&nbsp;</h2>



“We were approached by our coauthors, Bidong Zhang and Audrey Bouvier, who needed a nanoscale look at these samples in order to understand them fully,” added lead author Jennika Greer, a former doctoral candidate at the Field Museum and the University of Chicago, who is now a research associate at the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1CJIkN4KDPuC6XaAC8snzQi1QVKxha4_Z7NKMoIRWu-c/edit">University of Glasgow</a>.&nbsp;



The lunar dust samples used in the study were collected by astronauts during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. These samples contain tiny crystals that formed billions of years ago, providing insights into the moon’s formation.&nbsp;



“When the surface was molten like that, zircon crystals couldn’t form and survive. So any crystals on the moon’s surface must have formed after this lunar magma ocean cooled. Otherwise, they would have been melted and their chemical signatures would be erased,” Heck explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-minimum-age-for-the-moon-nbsp">Minimum age for the moon&nbsp;</h2>



Determining the age of the zircon crystals has allowed scientists to establish a minimum age for the moon. A previous study by co-author Bidong Zhang had suggested this age, but the current study employs atom probe tomography to conclusively determine the age of the oldest known lunar crystal.&nbsp;



“In atom probe tomography, we start by sharpening a piece of the lunar sample into a very sharp tip, using a focused ion beam microscope, almost like a very fancy pencil sharpener. Then, we use UV lasers to evaporate atoms from the surface of that tip. The atoms travel through a mass spectrometer, and how fast they move tells us how heavy they are, which in turn tells us what they’re made of,” Greer said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-radioactive-decay-nbsp">Radioactive decay&nbsp;</h2>



This detailed analysis revealed the extent of radioactive decay within the zircon crystals, allowing the researchers to determine their age.&nbsp;



Heck has likened radiometric dating to an hourglass: “In an hourglass, sand flows from one glass bulb to another, with the passage of time indicated by the accumulation of sand in the lower bulb. Radiometric dating works similarly by counting the number of parent atoms and the number of daughter atoms they have transformed to. The passage of time can then be calculated because the transformation rate is known.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-results">Study results</h2>



The results indicated that the sample was approximately 4.46 billion years old, establishing a minimum age for the moon.&nbsp;



“It’s amazing being able to have proof that the rock you’re holding is the oldest bit of the moon we’ve found so far. It’s an anchor point for so many questions about the Earth. When you know how old something is, you can better understand what has happened to it in its history,” Greer explained.



Heck has highlighted the importance of understanding the moon’s age. “It’s a part of our natural system that we want to better understand, and our study provides a tiny puzzle piece in that whole picture.”&nbsp;



He concluded by emphasizing the moon’s crucial role in stabilizing Earth’s rotational axis, defining the length of our days, and influencing tidal patterns, thus ultimately shaping life on our planet.



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The moon is 40 million years older than previously thought

Over four billion years ago, during the early days of...

Is the love of dogs universal, surpassing that for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-can-learn-the-names-of-their-companions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cats</a>? A scientific investigation spanning three nations has recently revealed that while pet owners might favor <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-live-longer-and-happier-lives-when-they-get-to-socialize-often/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dogs</a> over cats, the extent of this preference can drastically differ based on the cultural context.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-of-the-study">Focus of the study</h2>



A group of researchers led by Dr. Peter Sandøe from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Copenhagen</a> has embarked on a journey to delve deeper into this topic. “We and others have found that people are willing to spend much less on their cats than on their dogs,” Sandøe said. “We wanted to find out whether cats could eventually end up having the same high status as dogs do today.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-research-was-conducted-nbsp">How the research was conducted&nbsp;</h2>



In their pursuit of answers, the team collaborated with a survey company, which helped them gather a representative sample of adult pet owners from Denmark, Austria, and the United Kingdom. Each of these countries has experienced urbanization at different historical points, potentially influencing current attitudes towards pets.



The research sample comprised 2,117 individuals, with a breakdown of 844 dog owners, 872 cat owners, and 401 who had both cats and dogs. The participants were asked to respond to a series of questions, evaluating various aspects of pet care, including their emotional connection to their pets and their financial commitment to their pets’ health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-researchers-learned-nbsp">What the researchers learned&nbsp;</h2>



Across all three nations, the study found a consistent trend: dogs were the favored pets. Owners displayed a stronger emotional bond with their dogs, were more likely to insure them, had higher expectations of medical treatments available for them, and were willing to invest more in their healthcare.



However, the magnitude of this preference varied significantly across countries. “While people care more about their dogs than their cats in all countries, the degree of difference varied dramatically between countries,” Sandøe observed. In the UK, the preference for dogs was subtle, but in Austria, it was more pronounced, and in Denmark, the disparity was even more substantial.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cultural-factors-nbsp">Cultural factors&nbsp;</h2>



This pattern of preference was evident in other aspects of pet care as well. For instance, Danish pet owners demonstrated a significantly lower likelihood of insuring their cats compared to their dogs, and they were also less willing to spend on medical treatments for their cats.



“There seems to be no natural limit to how much people will end up caring about their cats compared to their dogs,” Sandøe said, highlighting that cultural factors, such as the history of human-animal interactions and the role of pets in households, play a crucial role in shaping these attitudes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-implications">Study implications </h2>



“Our study only looks at three countries located in central and western Europe,” cautioned co-author Clare Palmer, a professor of Philosophy at <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Texas A&amp;M University</a>. “It raises intriguing questions regarding what comparative studies of other countries might find. Perhaps there are countries where the level of care for and attachment to cats is, in fact, higher than dogs?”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1237547" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Veterinary Science</a>.



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Do pet owners care more for their dogs than they care for their cats?

Is the love of dogs universal, surpassing that for cats?...

A recent study from <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USC Dornsife</a> has revealed some unexpected details about the effects of global warming on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-are-some-corals-more-resilient-to-climate-change-than-others/">corals</a>. According to the research, the adaptations of a common Caribbean coral could have significant implications for our approach to conserving these vital marine ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mountainous-star-coral">Mountainous star coral</h2>



The study was focused on the mountainous star coral, Orbicella faveolata, a species frequent in Caribbean waters. The goal was to determine whether coral populations that had endured increased temperatures could pass this heat resilience to their progeny.&nbsp;



"Orbicella faveolata, commonly known as the mountainous star coral, is a dominant reef-building species in the Caribbean, but populations have suffered sharp declines since the 1980s due to repeated bleaching and disease-driven mortality," wrote the researchers.



"Prior research has shown that inshore adult O. faveolata populations in the Florida Keys are able to maintain high coral cover and recover from bleaching faster than their offshore counterparts. However, whether this origin-specific variation in thermal resistance is heritable remains unclear."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heat-tolerant-corals-nbsp">Heat-tolerant corals&nbsp;</h2>



The popular assumption among scientists has been that heat-tolerant coral parents would produce offspring with similar adaptations for heat resistance.



However, Professor Carly Kenkel and her team discovered a contradiction. They found that the offspring of a population less acclimated to heat showed better resilience when subjected to higher temperatures compared to those from a heat-tolerant lineage.



“The study findings have significant implications for how we think about saving coral reefs," said Professor Kenkel. "It’s not as simple as just breeding more heat-tolerant corals.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-research-was-conducted-nbsp">How the research was conducted&nbsp;</h2>



For the investigation, the scientists collected gametes (reproductive cells) from coral reefs in two distinct sites in the Florida Keys. They then crossbred the corals in controlled conditions, and exposed the larvae to elevated temperatures.



The team also examined the genes of these corals to detect signs of stress under heightened temperature conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-limitations">Study limitations</h2>



The results of the study suggest that the ability of coral offspring to withstand heat may be determined by a range of factors. This includes the frequency with which their parent corals may have bleached or faced other environmental challenges.



However, it is important to note that this research was focused on a single coral species. Other coral species might respond differently, and the study's controlled lab setting does not capture the myriad factors that impact coral reefs in natural habitats.



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



The scientists plan to delve deeper into coral adaptation mechanisms, factoring in their historical experiences and interactions with other organisms, as well as the overall health of the reef system.



Professor Kenkel noted that coral rescue may require a more comprehensive approach. “Instead of focusing solely on breeding more heat-tolerant corals, we might need to consider other factors affecting coral survival and more diverse interventions.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-implications-nbsp">Study implications&nbsp;</h2>



"The documented resilience of adult corals to recurrent heat stress and bleaching in environments with high and variable temperatures may come with highly consequential trade-offs," wrote the researchers.



"In this study, we show that larvae from a site that routinely experiences and recovers from heat-induced bleaching significantly underperformed relative to larvae from a cooler, less variable reef site."&nbsp;



"The unexpected outcome that more thermally tolerant O. faveolata produced poorer quality offspring challenges the prevailing paradigm that breeding vulnerable populations with thermally tolerant individuals can contribute to genetic rescue."



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16977" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Change Biology</a>.



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Unexpected coral adaptations challenge conservation plans

A recent study from USC Dornsife has revealed some unexpected...

An international team of scientists has detected what is now considered the most distant cosmic radio burst known to humanity, breaking previous records and stunning the scientific community. This discovery not only helps in understanding the mysterious phenomena known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), but also opens a path to probing the unseen matter in the universe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cosmic-mystery-frb-20220610a">Cosmic mystery: FRB 20220610A</h2>



Fast radio bursts are extraordinarily powerful flares of energy in the cosmos, and their fleeting nature makes them particularly challenging to observe. The newly discovered burst, designated FRB 20220610A, holds the record for the most distant FRB detected. Its signal took a staggering eight billion years to reach Earth. 



This event was identified by the ASKAP radio telescope in Australia and later studied using the European Southern Observatory’s (<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESO</a>) Very Large Telescope (<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VLT</a>) in Chile.



The astounding energy released by FRB 20220610A is incomparable. In a fraction of a second, it emitted energy equivalent to what our Sun produces over three decades. 



"We utilized ASKAP's cutting-edge technology to pinpoint the burst's origin, leading us to its source galaxy, which is significantly older and more remote than any other FRB source discovered so far," explained Stuart Ryder, an astronomer at <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Macquarie University</a> in Australia and co-lead author of the research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frbs-as-cosmic-yardsticks">FRBs as cosmic yardsticks</h2>



One of the most perplexing conundrums in modern cosmology is the discrepancy in measurements of the universe's mass. Traditional techniques have struggled to account for all the normal matter (baryonic matter) that theoretical predictions insist should exist. 



Ryan Shannon, from Swinburne University of Technology, highlights the crux of the problem. He said, “Over half of the normal matter that should exist in the universe is currently undetectable. We suspect it’s adrift in the vast spaces between galaxies, potentially in a hot, diffuse state that evades our conventional observation methods.”



However, with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-alien-radio-signals-may-be-caused-by-starquakes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FRBs</a> like the recently observed FRB 20220610A, researchers have a unique new tool. These cosmic phenomena interact with the ionized material in space, offering an innovative way to detect the elusive particles residing in the vast cosmic voids. 



“FRBs have the incredible ability to sense this ocean of electrons, even in the most vacant stretches of space. This quality allows us to quantify the amount of matter present in the intergalactic mediums,” Shannon adds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-validating-the-macquart-relation">Validating the Macquart relation</h2>



The importance of understanding FRBs was emphasized by the late Australian astronomer Jean-Pierre Macquart. In 2020, he proposed what is now known as the Macquart relation, suggesting that the more distant an FRB, the more it reveals about the diffuse gas interspersed between galaxies. 



“Some recent FRBs seemed to contradict this principle. However, our findings with FRB 20220610A confirm that the Macquart relation remains consistent across more than half the observable universe,” states Ryder, underscoring the principle's continued relevance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-study-of-fast-radio-bursts">Future study of fast radio bursts</h2>



While the cause of FRBs remains an enigma, the discovery confirms their ubiquity in the universe and their potential as tools for cosmic exploration. Current telescopes have reached their operational limits in this quest, but a new generation of observatories promises to transcend these boundaries.



The international <a href="https://www.skao.int/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Square Kilometre Array Observatory</a> is spearheading this new era, constructing radio telescopes in South Africa and Australia designed to discover thousands of FRBs, even those lurking further than FRB 20220610A. 



Concurrently, ESO’s <a href="https://elt.eso.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Extremely Large Telescope</a>, now rising from the Chilean Atacama Desert, is set to join the few elite observatories capable of investigating these source galaxies.



With these advancements on the horizon, the quest to understand the universe's hidden mass and the enigmatic nature of FRBs takes an exciting turn. As we brace for the revelations these futuristic telescopes will uncover, the cosmic odyssey to decipher the universe's deepest secrets continues unabated.



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Unknown radio burst traveled through space for 8 billion years to reach Earth

An international team of scientists has detected what is now...

Invasive species are often brought into new regions unintentionally through human activities, posing a threat to native wildlife. If they become established, invasive species can outcompete, prey on, or bring diseases to native species, which might lead to their decline or even extinction. This disrupts the balance of the ecosystem.



The cost of controlling invasive species, and the economic losses they create, can be immense. Some invasive species carry diseases that affect human health.&nbsp;



It is important to understand how these species are introduced, and why they establish in new places, in order to help prevent their destructive impacts. However, there remains a lack of research in this domain, and many questions remain.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biological-hazards-nbsp">Biological hazards&nbsp;</h2>



In a collaboration between <a href="https://www.agresearch.co.nz/">AgResearch</a> and Better Border Biosecurity (B3), researchers set out to investigate the biological hazards presented by soil found on the external surfaces of sea freight. These included shipping containers and machinery at New Zealand's sea ports.



The goal was not only to understand this potential biosecurity threat but also to fine-tune measures to prevent the entry and spread of invasive organisms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-researchers-learned-nbsp">What the researchers learned&nbsp;</h2>



The study revealed that soil was present on almost all sea freight, regardless of its origin. This is troubling because soil is a potential carrier of harmful microbes including plant pathogens.



The average amount of soil detected on a single sea container was 5.3 kg, whereas the overall mean weight was 417g. Surprisingly, the majority of this soil was located on the underside of the sea freight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-invasive-organisms-nbsp">Invasive organisms&nbsp;</h2>



Mark McNeill of AgResearch, who led the study, noted that while the presence of soil is perhaps not surprising, the presence of live bacteria, fungi, worms, seeds and insects associated with the soil was of greater concern.&nbsp;



"Various regulated biosecurity organisms were recovered from the samples, including plant-parasitic worms, seeds, insects and spiders that were not recorded as being present in New Zealand."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-implications-nbsp">Study implications&nbsp;</h2>



“Not only does the spread of exotic species through these networks represent significant environmental, economic and social costs to natural and agricultural environments if invasive alien species were to establish, a loss of biodiversity is also an expected consequence of invasive alien species establishment," wrote the researchers.



"For islands, the implications can be significant, as they have high levels of endemism and invasive alien species establishment can lead to extinction of species as well as biodiversity declines."



An interesting comparison was made to a prior study examining soil contamination on footwear carried by international airline passengers. The comparison revealed that soil on sea freight, although less diverse, still presents a tangible biosecurity threat.



The study highlights the importance of sea freight as a notable entry route for invasive species. Preventative measures, such as pre-departure container cleaning and thorough border inspections are recommended to curb the potential spread of these harmful organisms.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.88.98440">NeoBiota</a>.



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Biological hazard: Soil on sea freight loaded with invasive species

Invasive species are often brought into new regions unintentionally through...

The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) has recently highlighted an alarming development. A tropical disease called leishmaniasis, once associated with Americans returning from overseas trips, now has a unique strain in the United States.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-distinct-genetic-fingerprint-nbsp">Distinct genetic fingerprint&nbsp;</h2>



“There have been previous indications of local transmission based on a small number of case reports, but now, for the first time, we have a distinct genetic fingerprint from a relatively large cluster, providing further evidence that leishmaniasis may be well-established in some parts of the United States,” said Dr. Mary Kamb, an expert in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria at CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infections.&nbsp;



“While most of these infections were in people living in Texas, sand flies that can transmit leishmaniasis are found in many parts of the country and especially in the southern United States.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sand-flies-and-leishmaniasis">Sand flies and leishmaniasis</h2>



While <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parasites-make-dogs-smell-enticing-to-infectious-sand-flies/">sand flies</a> are largely confined to tropical regions, they are expanding their range as temperatures rise. Climate change is predicted to expand the habitats of sand flies further north and increase the reach of leishmaniasis, which affects humans as well as other mammals like woodrats.



As the evidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in American sandfly populations grows, there's heightened concern about a more severe form of this disease surfacing in the country.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-are-the-primary-host">Dogs are the primary host</h2>



The experts report that the Leishmania parasite could go undetected in dogs that are brought into the United States. Currently, the country lacks sufficient screening measures for this parasite.



“Domestic dog imports from abroad, for breeding or via dog rescue organizations, have jumped sharply, to the point that about a million dogs enter the U.S. every year - most without receiving proper screening for infectious diseases,” explained Dr. Christine Petersen, director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa. Petersen.



“Dogs are the primary host for this disease, and there are dogs now regularly coming into the U.S. that have lived in areas where Leishmania parasites circulate in animals and people."



“That’s why we need a better system in the United States for guarding against the risk of introducing Leishmania infantum, one of the world’s deadliest tropical parasites, into U.S. sand fly populations.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-parasitic-strain-of-leishmaniasis">New parasitic strain of leishmaniasis</h2>



The findings from the CDC show that the disease, specifically the milder form known as cutaneous leishmaniasis, has evolved from a slightly different American parasitic strain. The researchers found that this strain differs from the Leishmania mexicana typically found in Mexico and Central America.



The disease manifests as skin ulcers, which may appear weeks or even months after a sandfly bite. These ulcers can leave lasting scars that, in low-income nations, often come with a societal stigma.



Dr. Kamb said that in Texas there is growing awareness of leishmaniasis as a potential diagnosis for skin lesions - in part due to a history of cases in people returning from Mexico, but also due to increasing recognition of the possibility of locally acquired cases.



The World Health Organization has estimated that nearly a million people contract cutaneous leishmaniasis annually, mainly in warmer regions like the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Latin America.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-of-the-study">Focus of the study</h2>



The CDC recently presented its research at the <a href="https://www.astmh.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene</a>’s annual conference in Chicago. The study spanned cases sent to CDC labs for testing between 2005 to 2019. Out of the over 2,000 cases, 86 of the individuals had not traveled overseas before contracting the disease.&nbsp;



Dr. Bridget McIlwee, while training in Texas, encountered a patient with no travel history who had contracted leishmaniasis. In a 2018 study, she discovered that a significant percentage of the cases in Texas over a decade had patients without a history of international travel in the previous 10 years.&nbsp;



However, very few of these diagnosed cases were reported to health officials, emphasizing the need for a national reporting mechanism.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-visceral-leishmaniasis">Visceral leishmaniasis</h2>



A major revelation from the study is the role of dogs in transmitting the disease. Visceral leishmaniasis, a more severe form, can spread within local insect populations from imported dogs.&nbsp;



Also transmitted through sandfly bites, Visceral leishmaniasis is associated with a related parasite (Leishmania infantum). This disease impacts the organs and kills thousands of people each year in regions where the parasite thrives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-implications-nbsp">Study implications&nbsp;</h2>



While there is no human vaccine for leishmaniasis, dog vaccines are accessible in Europe and Brazil. The aim is to strengthen screenings at ports of entry.



Dr. Vitaliano Cama is a senior advisor with CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria who was closely involved with the study.&nbsp;



“A number of factors might be contributing to the increasing number of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases sent to CDC for testing," said Dr. Cama.&nbsp;



"Among these is the speculation that that changes in climate conditions may lead to suitable environments for sand fly survival and reproduction, and that could enable the transmission of leishmaniasis to emerge in new areas."&nbsp;



"There are still a lot of questions about where this disease is going and why.”



The research, led by CDC scientist Marcos de Almeida, is published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.&nbsp;



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Dogs are primary host of flesh-eating parasitic disease called leishmaniasis

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently...

Urbanization has undeniably left a permanent mark on our planet. From sprawling skyscrapers to endless highways, man-made infrastructures have dramatically altered the landscape, imposing selective pressures on the organisms that inhabit these regions.&nbsp;



While many studies have explored how urban heat stress impacts animal evolution, a recent study has investigated its effects on plants, specifically the creeping woodsorrel.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urban-heat-islands">Urban heat islands</h2>



Urban regions are predominantly characterized by heat-retaining surfaces constructed of materials like brick, asphalt, and concrete. These surfaces give rise to what is termed as urban heat islands, regions that experience elevated surface temperatures.&nbsp;



Urban heat islands have a profound impact on the behavior, physiology, and evolutionary trajectories of resident organisms. According to the researchers, it has remained unclear whether (and how) urban plants adapt to such heat stress



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-creeping-woodsorrel">The creeping woodsorrel</h2>



Oxalis corniculata, commonly known as the creeping woodsorrel, serves as a prime example. This cosmopolitan plant boasts a vibrant spectrum of leaf colors, ranging from green to red.&nbsp;



These color variations are not just aesthetic but are believed to be evolutionary adaptations that help the plant cope with environmental stress.&nbsp;



Specifically, the red pigments (anthocyanins) in the leaves play a protective role against heat and light damage by intercepting light and acting as antioxidants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-of-the-study-nbsp">Focus of the study&nbsp;</h2>



Dr. Yuya Fukano and his colleagues from various Japanese institutions set out to investigate the relationship between urban heat islands and the leaf color distribution of the creeping woodsorrel.&nbsp;



"We noticed that the red-leaved variants of the creeping woodsorrel commonly grew near impervious surfaces in urban areas but rarely grew in farmlands or green spaces in and around the city,” said Dr. Fukano. By contrast, the green-leaved variants flourished in rural areas and city green spaces.



This pattern was not restricted to Tokyo. An online database indicated similar distribution patterns worldwide, linking urbanization directly to leaf color variations in this plant species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-red-or-green-which-is-more-adaptive">Red or green: Which is more adaptive?</h2>



Driven by these observations, the team explored the adaptive benefits of the leaf colors. Their findings revealed that red-leaved variants had the upper hand in high-temperature conditions, exhibiting better growth rates and photosynthetic efficiency.&nbsp;



On the other hand, green-leaved variants outperformed the red in cooler conditions, thriving in dense green areas. This could explain their global distribution patterns, with red-leaved wood sorrels dominating urban heat islands and green-leaved variants preferring non-urban green spaces.



The study also hints that the red-leaf variant evolved multiple times from its green-leaf ancestor, further underlining the adaptability of plants in response to their environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-implications-nbsp">Study implications&nbsp;</h2>



While the creeping woodsorrel's leaf color variations might not transform our world overnight, Dr. Fukano believes that the study offers a glimpse into ongoing evolution in urban settings.&nbsp;



“Although these findings will not change much in the immediate future, this study showcases one of the most popular examples of ongoing evolution that can be observed in urban areas,” said Dr. Fukano.



“Urban heat islands are precursors to global warming. Understanding the rapid adaptive evolution of urban organisms to high temperatures will provide valuable insights on ecosystem dynamics and sustainable crop production.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq3542">Science Advances</a>.



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Creeping woodsorrels changed their color to adapt to urbanization 

Urbanization has undeniably left a permanent mark on our planet....

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/origins-cannabis-tibetan-plateau/">Cannabis</a>, a plant often acclaimed for its potential therapeutic effects, may actually be causing some users to fall ill. A recent study reveals that cannabis use - even for medical purposes - could make some people sick due to harmful fungi that contaminate the plants.



The research was led by Kimberly Gwinn, a professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee <a href="https://utia.tennessee.edu/">Institute of Agriculture</a>.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eye-opening-research">Eye-opening research</h2>



The team examined data, previous studies, and international regulations related to the cannabis and hemp industry in the United States.



Ultimately, the researchers found that the contaminants present in cannabis and hemp flowers could pose significant health risks, especially for those with compromised immune systems.&nbsp;



The experts strongly advocate for a more in-depth investigation and reevaluation of the standards set for the medical use of cannabis.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-research-gaps">Research gaps</h2>



“Hemp and cannabis are new crops, and we are in the early stages of understanding relationships with their pathogens," noted Professor Gwinn.



"Several pathogens produce mycotoxins, compounds that negatively impact human health and are regulated in other crops."



"In this review, we summarize the current literature on mycotoxins in hemp and cannabis products, identify research gaps in potential mycotoxin contamination in hemp and cannabis, and identify potential developments based on research in other crop systems."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-of-the-study">Focus of the study</h2>



For the investigation, Professor Gwinn collaborated with Maxwell Leung and Ariell Stephens from Arizona State University, and Zamir Punja from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.



Cannabis research has mostly focused on the substance and medical uses of the plant, but with the increased legalization of cannabis for various uses, this article addresses the need for more study of potential health risks.



“Although fungi and mycotoxins are common and well-studied contaminants in many agricultural crop species, they have been generally under-studied in cannabis and hemp. This is partly because human health risk assessment methodologies used to regulate food and pharmaceuticals have yet to become standard for the emerging cannabis and hemp industries," wrote the study authors.



"Additionally, the wide range of consumer uses of cannabis and hemp flowers, including for medical use by patients with susceptible conditions, makes it uniquely challenging to assess and manage human health risk of these contaminants."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cannabis-risk-from-harmful-fungi">Cannabis risk from harmful fungi </h2>



The research sheds light on various fungi such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Mucor, among others, that can infect the plants and produce harmful mycotoxins.&nbsp;



The location where these plants are cultivated, whether indoor or outdoor, and the medium in which they grow, whether soil or soilless, play a crucial role in determining the type of contaminants and the associated health risks.



According to the studies examined by the researchers, some fungi can lead to infections in lung and skin tissues, with infections being more common in smoked cannabis than in edibles.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-caution-urged-for-some-groups">Caution urged for some groups</h2>



Certain groups, including cancer patients using cannabis for nausea relief, organ transplant recipients, HIV patients, and those with type 1 diabetes, may be especially vulnerable. The researchers also identified risks for those involved in the harvesting of cannabis.



Given the lack of comprehensive data on the prevalence of these contaminants - along with the varying state-to-state legalization levels and regulations of cannabis products - consumers face some important unknowns.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-of-this-risk-from-cannabis">Implications of this risk from cannabis</h2>



The study identifies challenges in testing for pathogens using methods like culture-based assays, immuno-based technologies, and more advanced techniques.&nbsp;



The experts emphasize the critical need to bridge the gap between production issues and human safety concerns in the cannabis and hemp industries.



“We wrote this article to bring these issues to the attention of the scientific, medical, and regulatory communities," said Professor Gwinn.



"We hope to encourage further research in this area, particularly in the areas of mycotoxins in product. Better data and public access to data will allow us to fully evaluate these risks and subsequently ensure safe products for consumers."



The full study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1278189/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Microbiology</a>.



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Cannabis poses health risks due to harmful fungi that often contaminate the plants

Cannabis, a plant often acclaimed for its potential therapeutic effects,...

Fossils dating back to 170 million years have been identified as belonging to the oldest-known mega-predatory pliosaur from the Age of Dinosaurs.&nbsp;



This discovery not only improves our understanding of these ancient marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-reptile-rhynchosaur-died-off-before-the-dinosaurs-due-to-weak-teeth/">reptiles</a>, but also provides significant insights into the evolution of plesiosaurs.



The remains of this ancient sea monster were originally discovered 40 years ago in northeastern France. Now, these fossils have been meticulously analyzed by an international team of paleontologists.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-pliosaur-genus-nbsp">New pliosaur genus&nbsp;</h2>



The combined efforts have led to the classification of these remains under a new pliosaur genus named Lorrainosaurus.



Pliosaurs, a type of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plesiosaur-fossils-are-the-first-evidence-of-jurassic-vertebrates-in-texas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plesiosaur</a> known for their short necks and massive skulls, have been around for over 200 million years. Yet, they became dominant apex marine predators only after a global decline of other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/liopleurodons-that-once-swam-the-jurassic-seas-were-80-feet-long/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine reptiles</a> over 170 million years ago. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-huge-pliosaurs-nbsp">Huge pliosaurs&nbsp;</h2>



“Lorrainosaurus was one of the first truly huge pliosaurs. It gave rise to a dynasty of marine reptile mega-predators that ruled the oceans for around 80 million years,” explained Sven Sachs, a researcher at the <a href="https://namu-ev.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld</a> who led the study.



Lorrainosaurus, which is the oldest large-bodied pliosaur represented by an associated skeleton, boasted of jaws extending over 1.3 meters with large conical teeth. The creature's body resembled a bulky torpedo propelled by four flipper-like limbs.&nbsp;



It is estimated that this massive reptile spanned over 6 meters from snout to tail and roamed the oceans during the early Middle Jurassic period. Interestingly, this is a period from which very little is known about plesiosaurs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mega-predatory-pliosaurs-nbsp">Mega-predatory pliosaurs&nbsp;</h2>



“Our identification of Lorrainosaurus as one of the earliest mega-predatory pliosaurs demonstrates that these creatures emerged immediately after a landmark restructuring of marine predator ecosystems across the Early-to-Middle Jurassic boundary, some 175 to 171 million years ago," explained Daniel Madzia from the <a href="https://www.paleo.pan.pl/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Institute of Paleobiology</a> of the Polish Academy of Sciences.



"This event profoundly affected many marine reptile groups and brought mega-predatory pliosaurids to dominance over ‘fish-like’ ichthyosaurs, ancient marine crocodile relatives, and other large-bodied predatory plesiosaurs."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-successful-marine-predators-nbsp">Successful marine predators&nbsp;</h2>



Benjamin Kear from The Museum of Evolution at <a href="https://www.uu.se/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Uppsala University</a> provided context on the dominance of pliosaurs, which were some of the most successful marine predators of their time.



“Famous examples, such as Pliosaurus and Kronosaurus – some of the world’s largest pliosaurs – were absolutely enormous with body-lengths exceeding 10 m," said Kear.



"They were ecological equivalents of today’s Killer whales and would have eaten a range of prey including squid-like cephalopods, large fish and other marine reptiles. These have all been found as preserved gut contents."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-implications-nbsp">Study implications&nbsp;</h2>



After their discovery near Metz in Lorraine by paleontology enthusiasts, the fossils examined for the study were donated to the <a href="https://www.mnhn.lu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum in Luxembourg</a>. 



A brief report on Lorrainosaurus was published in 1994. Otherwise, the fossils remained largely unexplored until this study.



According to the researchers, Lorrainosaurus indicates that the reign of gigantic mega-predatory pliosaurs must have commenced earlier than previously thought, and was locally responsive to major ecological changes.



“Lorrainosaurus is thus a critical addition to our knowledge of ancient marine reptiles from a time in the Age of Dinosaurs that has as yet been incompletely understood," said Kear.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-43015-y">Scientific Reports</a>.



Image Credit: Joschua Knüppe



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Massive pliosaur gave rise to a dynasty of mega-predators

Fossils dating back to 170 million years have been identified...

The idea that "a dog is a man’s best friend" takes on a deeper meaning when it comes to Australia's wild dingoes. Historically maligned and feared in Australia, dingoes might have once held a place of reverence, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australian National University</a>.



The research sheds light on a previously understudied aspect of pre-colonial Australian history. It suggests that these wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-use-their-tails-more-for-communication-than-movement/">canines</a> were not just tolerated but perhaps even domesticated by the First Nations people before European settlers arrived on the continent.



The study was based on an in-depth analysis of remains discovered at the Curracurrang archaeological site, situated to the south of Sydney.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-of-the-study">Focus of the study</h2>



"Dingo burial is a tradition that began from the time of, or within about 1,000 years of, the dingo’s arrival in Australia, and appears to have been a widespread cultural practice," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"Both written and Indigenous oral historical records indicate that the practice was widely distributed throughout Australia at the time of European invasion."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dingo-burials">Dingo burials</h2>



Radiocarbon dating techniques applied to the excavated dingo bones indicate that these animals were buried alongside humans nearly 2,000 years ago.



Dr. Loukas Koungoulos, the lead researcher, emphasized the significance of this ritualistic burial.&nbsp;



“Not all camp dingoes were given burial rites, but in all areas in which the burials are recorded, the process and methods of disposal are identical or almost identical to those associated with human rites in the same area,” said Dr. Koungoulos. “This reflects the close bond between people and dingoes and their almost-human status.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-possible-co-burials">Possible co-burials</h2>



"Both male and females, and individuals of all ages are represented in archaeological dingo burials. Dingo burials frequently or even mostly occur in sites where people are also buried," wrote the researchers.



"Spatial arrangements suggest some dingo burials from southeastern Australia could be co-burials with particular individual people, but possible cases remain to be verified with radiocarbon dating."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-critical-evidence-nbsp">Critical evidence&nbsp;</h2>



Intriguingly, burials were not the sole evidence pointing towards the domestication of dingoes. The site also yielded dingo remains with notably worn teeth, suggestive of a diet rich in large bones.&nbsp;



This characteristic wear pattern is likely a result of the animals consuming leftovers from human meals, hinting at a relationship far more intimate than mere coexistence.&nbsp;



Furthermore, the dingo remains range from young pups to those aged six to eight years. According to the researchers, this shows that First Nations people didn’t just care for young dingoes before they returned to the wild, but that they built much more substantial relationships.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-lasting-bonds">Long-lasting bonds</h2>



“These findings mark an important development in our understanding of the relationship between Australia’s First Peoples and dingoes,” said co-author Professor Susan O’Connor.&nbsp;



“By the time Europeans settled in Australia, the bond between dingoes and Indigenous people was entrenched. This is well known by Indigenous people and has been documented by observers."&nbsp;



“Our work shows that they had long-lasting relationships prior to European colonization, not just the transient, temporary associations recorded during the colonial era.”&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal PLOS One.&nbsp;



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Dingoes were once regarded as "almost human" in Australia

The idea that "a dog is a man’s best friend"...

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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

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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



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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



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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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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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

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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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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...