You've undoubtedly noticed that the Moon has two distinct sides, right? The near side that we see from Earth and the far side that remains a mystery because it is never turned towards us.



This unusual lunar characteristic -- a global dichotomy -- is what a team of scientists led by Professor XU Yigang from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (<a href="http://english.gig.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GIGCAS</a>) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been investigating.



They have been studying lunar soil samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far side of the Moon, and returned to Earth by China's <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=CHANG-E-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chang’e-6 mission</a>.



These invaluable samples have allowed them to investigate the Moon's peculiar dichotomy and the results have shed light on some of its secrets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-chang-e-6">What is Chang’e-6?</h2>



The Chinese space program launched Chang'e 6, their latest Moon mission, on May 3, 2024. The spacecraft blasted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 5 rocket at 9:27 UT (that's 5:27 PM Beijing time). 



Their goal? To grab about four pounds (2 kg) of Moon rocks from the far side - something no one had done before.



The lander touched down in a huge crater called the South Pole Aitken Basin. The team used both a scoop and a drill to dig up surface samples and even went 2 meters deep into the lunar soil. 



They also sent out a small rover that cruised around taking snapshots of the lander doing its work.



Once they collected the samples, the crew packed them into an ascent vehicle sitting on top of the lander. 



On June 3 at 11:38 PM UT (7:38 AM Beijing time the next day), this vehicle shot up from the Moon's surface and met up with the orbiter waiting above. They made the handoff on June 6, 2024.



After ditching the ascent vehicle (which crashed back into the Moon), the return vehicle hung around in orbit for a couple weeks before heading home. 



It pulled off a tricky skip-entry through Earth's atmosphere and landed in Inner Mongolia's Siziwang Banner region on June 25 at 6:07 UT (2:07 PM Beijing time). 



The final haul? Roughly 4.2 pounds (1.9 kg) of Moon rocks and soil from the far side -- marking another big win for China's space program.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-far-side-vs-visible-side-of-the-moon">Far side vs. visible side of the Moon</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/its-official-earth-now-has-two-moons-captured-asteroid-2024-pt5/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moon's</a> dichotomy is visible in its topography, chemical composition, crustal thickness, evidence of volcanism and, most noticeably, in the difference in geomorphology between its near and far sides.



The near side of the Moon is home to the familiar "man in the moon" maria - the dark "seas" that are the result of ancient volcanic activity. 



These areas were flooded with molten lava that created rocks known as mare basalts.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_diagram_credit-YANG-Muhan_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_diagram_credit-YANG-Muhan_1s.webp" alt="Distribution of distinct volcanic episodes on the Moon’s farside. The remote sensing image highlights the Chang’e-6 landing site along with nearby mare and cryptomare basaltic units. Credit: Image by YANG Muhan" class="wp-image-1950782"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Distribution of distinct volcanic episodes on the Moon’s farside. The remote sensing image highlights the Chang’e-6 landing site along with nearby mare and cryptomare basaltic units. Credit: Image by YANG Muhan</figcaption></figure>



How about the far side? Well, here's where it gets intriguing. Only about 2% of this hidden part of the Moon is covered in the basalts, compared to around 30% on the near side.



This inexplicable difference is a vital part of the lunar global dichotomy that the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program aims to unravel.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-secrets-of-the-moon-s-far-side">Secrets of the Moon's far side</h2>



Thanks to the Chang’e-6 lunar soil samples, Professor XU's team discovered the existence of two different types of mare basalts, low-Ti, and very low-Ti (VLT). 



“The samples returned by Chang’e-6 provide a best opportunity to investigate the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2024-pt5-mini-moon-say-goodbye-to-earths-second-moon-we-barely-got-to-know-you/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar</a> global dichotomy,” said Professor XU.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-eruptions_basalt-types_credit-GIGCAS_1s.webp" alt="The two types of basalts in Chang’e-6 soils and isochrons of the Chang’e-6 low-Ti basalt. Credit: GIGCAS" class="wp-image-1950784"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The two types of basalts in Chang’e-6 soils and isochrons of the Chang’e-6 low-Ti basalt. Credit: GIGCAS</figcaption></figure>



Let's not dismiss the aspect of dating these samples either. With high-precision Pb-Pb dating techniques, the team determined that the low-Ti basalt dates back to around 2.83 billion years ago.



This attests to the presence of "young" magmatism or volcanic activities on the far side of the Moon. But of course, young is a relative term when we talk about 2.83 billion years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-the-history-of-volcanoes">Mapping the history of volcanoes</h2>



With such valuable information now in our hands, we can clearly chart the volcanic timeline on the far side of the Moon. 



Led by Professor LI Qiuli, the team conducted radioisotope dating on 108 basalt fragments, with 107 of them revealing a consistent formation age of 2807 million years ago.



But there's more. One fragment, a high-aluminum basalt, was dated to a monumental 4203 million years ago, making it the oldest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/harvest-moon-2024-will-feature-a-partial-lunar-eclipse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar</a> basalt for which age has been precisely determined.



This implies elevated levels of volcanic activity on the far side of the Moon for at least 1.4 billion years - between 4.2 billion and 2.8 billion years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



These findings, available for everyone to dissect, can help recalibrate the existing lunar crater chronology models. 



Christopher Hamilton, an independent planetary volcano expert, emphasized the importance of obtaining samples from this previously unchartered lunar territory.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_Change-6-mission_landing_credit-CLEP_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_Change-6-mission_landing_credit-CLEP_1s.webp" alt="China's Chang’e-6 mission spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. Credit: CLAP" class="wp-image-1950787"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">China's Chang’e-6 mission spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. Credit: CLAP </figcaption></figure>



More than just understanding the Moon, these lunar soil samples also have implications for some broad astronomical theories.



The new data indicates a constant impact flux after 2.83 billion years, which can offer new insights into planet migration in the early Solar System. 



So, by looking at the Moon, we are indirectly learning about our own cosmic neighborhood as well!



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next?</h2>



With more missions like the Chang'e-6, the future will undoubtedly bring many enlightening discoveries about our constant celestial companion.



In the end, we see that the Moon, despite its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-may-have-captured-the-moon-from-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">familiar appearance</a>, still hides untold secrets waiting to be discovered. 



These lunar missions represent a new age of lunar and planetary exploration that pushes the boundaries of our understanding.



-----



The researchers from the <a href="https://english.cas.cn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> express their gratitude for the support received from various institutes such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. These institutions' enduring support enables such important lunar explorations.



The study is published in the journals <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08382-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> and <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt1093" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Far side of the Moon had volcanic eruptions for over one billion years

You've undoubtedly noticed that the Moon has two distinct sides, right? The near side that we see from Earth and the far side that remains a mystery because it is never turned towards us. This unusual lunar characteristic -- a global dichotomy -- is what a team of scientists led by Professor XU Yigang from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (GIGCAS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been investigating. They have been studying lunar soil samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far...

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are iconic Arctic marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-fight-over-scarce-resources-in-brutal-environments/">mammals</a> that show seasonal migrations in response to the presence of ice. They spend their summers in ice-free coastal waters around Arctic Greenland, Canada and Russia, and move to deeper waters that are 95 percent covered in ice for the winter. They need to time their fall migration to coincide with the formation of ice floes so that they do not become stuck in the fast ice. As the climate has changed, ice has formed later each year and melted earlier in the spring, and researchers have wondered what impacts these environmental changes are having on narwhal seasonal movements.&nbsp;



The small whales, also known as ‘unicorns of the sea,’ are creatures of habit, following relatively inflexible migratory paths and patterns each year. And, since they are long-lived – most survive until they are at least 50, and some until they are 100 – it has always been thought that they would be more susceptible to the impacts of climate change. Animal species with long lifespans produce offspring relatively slowly and take longer to manifest genetic change or evolution than animals with shorter lifespans.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In a new study, published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121092119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, researchers from universities in Canada and Denmark have used satellite telemetry to track the seasonal movements of 40 narwhals between 1997 and 2018. They have focused particularly on the timing of the animals’ movements and compared them with data on local and regional changes in temperature and ice formation.&nbsp;



The results of the long-term study show that, over the 21 years, narwhals have delayed the timing of their fall departure by around 10 days per decade. They leave their summer grounds later and later each year, and also take an average of about four days extra in the earliest phase of their transit. Currently, the pod of narwhals leaves its summer grounds 17 days later than it did in 1997.



“We looked at satellite tracking data spanning 21 years from the Canadian Arctic, and found significant delays in the timing of narwhal autumn migrations, where narwhals were remaining longer in their summer areas at a rate of 10 days per decade,” said Dr. Courtney Shuert, lead author and post-doctoral fellow in the Statistical Ecology Research Group in the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). “There were also sex-specific differences in departures, with the male narwhals starting the migration out of the summering areas, while females, potentially with dependent young, departed later by almost a week.”



Narwhals have a preference for cold water, and their space use is largely tempered by ice cover and the availability of open water regions. As a result, they may be residing in coastal waters within the larger summering areas, until ice formation in the autumn, and an increasing risk of entrapment, forces them to move off to deeper waters in the wintering areas in central Baffin Bay.&nbsp;Other research has shown that ocean freeze-over in this area is shifting to occur, on average, around five days later per decade, thus matching the pattern of narwhal movement changes.



“There’s this general trend [towards delaying migration], but there’s also a lot of inter-annual flexibility, which highlights that they’re having this strategic approach to when they’re leaving and they’re tracking these broad-scale climate trends,” Shuert said.



These findings raise hope that narwhals in particular, and long-lived species in general, may be able to survive global warming despite their slower genetic evolution. Changing behavior patterns may be one of the only adaptive strategies available for species that exhibit high site fidelity and strong ties with migration routes, and that are faced with climate change.&nbsp;



Prior research has shown that many&nbsp;<a href="https://phys.org/tags/land+animals/">land animals</a>&nbsp;and birds have been able to alter their migration patterns as the planet has grown warmer. But, as the researchers involved in the current study note, little research has been done to find out if marine species are doing the same. “The rate of change that we’re seeing now in the Arctic is a huge concern for a lot of animals because it could exceed how quickly the animals can adapt through evolution,” said Shuert. “But [these findings] really show this idea of behavioral flexibility and how important it can be to bolster these populations against change.”



Does this change in behavior mean that narwhals will be able to adapt to climate change successfully? “Unfortunately, departing later is not necessarily good news for the narwhal,” said Dr. Marie Auger-Méthé, senior author and an associate professor in the IOF. “Because staying in the summering grounds could result in further exposure to shipping traffic associated with the new iron mine, it may not be beneficial to the narwhals in the long term. We know they are sensitive to shipping disturbance, and that their stress levels have been rising over the past 20 years.”



“In addition, staying in their summering grounds longer could increase the chance of narwhals being caught in quickly freezing ice. Such ice entrapments can kill hundreds of narwhals.” The narwhals may also increase their exposure to predators, such as Orcas, by staying back in summering grounds or leaving the wintering grounds too early.



Climate change and loss of sea ice is creating stressors for these animals, and they are adapting to a new life in the Arctic. “Natural resource exploitation, ice breaking, and tourism are also impacting narwhal migratory patterns, “Auger-Méthé said. “Climate change and increased human exposure are creating additional stress for these whales, and with it, comes consequences for human activity as well.”



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Narwhals are modifying their behavior due to climate change

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are iconic Arctic marine mammals that show...

The cognitive and memory decline observed in <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/alzheimers-risk-elevated-by-exposure-to-ddt/">Alzheimer’s</a> disease (AD) is caused by the accumulation of β-amyloid protein (Aβ), which leads to neural impairment. Previous studies have shown that oxytocin – a peptide hormone responsible for parturition, bonding, and lactation – could also regulate cognitive performance and behavior in the central nervous system of rodents. 



However, while research suggests that oxytocin could play an important role in reversing memory loss caused by cognitive disorders such as AD, until recently this hormone could only be efficiently delivered to the brain through intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration – an invasive technique that is impractical to implement clinically. 



Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/">Tokyo University of Science</a> has explored the possibility of delivering oxytocin to the central nervous system via intranasal (IN) administration, a considerably less invasive method. The experts devised a technique to increase the efficiency of peptide delivery to the brain by introducing cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) and a penetration accelerating sequence (PAS) through structural modifications, and leveraged this approach to prepare an oxytocin derivative, PAS-CPPs-oxytocin.



“We have previously shown that oxytocin reverses amyloid&nbsp;𝛽&nbsp;peptide (25-35) (A𝛽25-35)-induced impairment of synaptic plasticity in rodents. We wanted to see if&nbsp;PAS-CPPs-oxytocin&nbsp;could be delivered more efficiently to the mouse brain for clinical application, and if it improved cognitive functional behavior in mice,”&nbsp;reported study senior author Jun-ichiro Oka, an expert in Neuropharmacology at Tokyo University.



After developing an A𝛽25-35 peptide-induced amnesia model by supplying A𝛽25-35 to the mouse brain via ICV delivery, the scientists assessed the spatial working and spatial reference memories of mice by using the Y-maze and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. After confirming that memory was affected in A𝛽25-35-impaired mice, the researchers administered PAS-CPPs-oxytocin and native oxytocin via an IN and an ICV route, respectively, in order to clarify whether learning and memory improved in the treated mice. Finally, they profiled the distribution of the IN-administered derivative in brain tissues by imaging of a fluorescent-tagged oxytocin derivative.



The tagged PAS-CPPs-oxytocin showed efficient distribution throughout the brain after its IN administration, and, while the ICV administration of native oxytocin improved test outcomes in both the Y-maze and MWM tests, the IN administration of PAS-CPPs-oxytocin led to better outcomes in the Y-maze test.&nbsp;



“My team is the first to show that the oxytocin derivative can improve the A𝛽25-35-induced memory impairment in mice. This suggests that oxytocin may help reduce the cognitive decline we see in Alzheimer's disease. The oxytocin derivative enters the brain more efficiently. Furthermore, since IN delivery is a non-invasive procedure, this modified version of the hormone could potentially be a clinically viable treatment for Alzheimer's disease,” Professor Oka concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/npr2.12292">Neuropsychopharmacology Reports</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The love hormone oxytocin may improve cognitive decline

The cognitive and memory decline observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)...

Scruffy yards are usually frowned upon and, especially in fall, people go to great trouble to collect up leaves and ‘tidy’ their gardens. Queues of trailers packed with garden waste are a familiar sight at recycling centers, as home owners work to keep control of their green space. But what if we saw garden waste differently – what if it had value left right there, in our back yards. According to Professor Per Gundersen of the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>, we would be making a useful contribution to both the climate and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vanilla-cultivation-can-boost-biodiversity-in-madagascar/">biodiversity</a> crisis if we simply left our garden waste where it falls.&nbsp;



Each year, Danes shuttle nearly a million tons of waste from their gardens to recycling depots, calculates Gundersen, who is a professor of forest ecology at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management. This consists mostly of leaves, twigs and branches, and it is all sorted and processed by municipal waste management systems. The largest branches and trunks are burned for bioenergy, while small branches, leaves and grass clippings are composted.&nbsp;



According to a simple modelling exercise carried out by Gundersen, leaving this waste to decompose in our gardens represents an opportunity to store large quantities of carbon, rather than delivering it back into the atmosphere as CO2 when the waste is burned.&nbsp;



“When garden waste is burned or composted by municipal waste schemes, CO2 is returned to the atmosphere very quickly. By keeping waste in the garden, the decomposition process is significantly slower, sometimes taking several years. In practice, this means that one builds up a larger and larger storage of CO2 in the garden in the form of twigs, dead branches and leaves that are left to decompose,” says Gundersen. “If everyone went all-in and learned how to manage their garden’s branches and twigs, for example, my calculations suggest that we could store about 600,000 tons of CO2 annually.”&nbsp;



In fact, when Gundersen deducts the utility that branches and trunks used for bioenergy in the current system provide, the CO2 storage potential of garden waste could meet about half of one percent of Denmark’s 70 percent reduction target for 2030. Additionally, leaves and twigs are a boon for backyard biodiversity as they provide a food source and diverse microhabitats for animals to inhabit.&nbsp;



“Leaves help nourish the garden as they feed an entire ecosystem of decomposers. From fungi, bacteria and tiny, invisible soil creatures to earthworms and roly-poly bugs, which help break down and metabolize organic material so that nutrients are released into the soil. These decomposers then act as important food for larger animals, like hedgehogs and birds,” explains Gundersen.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



As microorganisms, worms and other decomposers use the leaves for food, they will convert the biomass into energy and release CO2 slowly as a consequence of respiration. It will take several years for the CO2 to be released into the atmosphere, in contrast to the rapid release due to burning. A portion of the gnawed leaves will also become soil humus, a common name for the organic material that enriches soil and is important for plant health.&nbsp;



“A high humus content in topsoil makes for a dark soil that has a good structure and retains water and nutrients well, which is important if you want garden plants to thrive,” explains Gundersen.



He suggests raking the fallen leaves into planting beds where vegetables are grown, or over to areas where you want to prevent the establishment of weeds. They can also be gathered in a part of the garden that you are willing to keep wild and allow to manage itself. By spring, a large portion of the leaves will have already disintegrated and returned into the invisible garden cycle. Leaves from linden and ash trees disappear quickly from gardens, while oak and fruit tree leaves are slower to break down, making them ideal for soil insulation around bulbous plants or vegetables, for example.



“Our gardens can contribute to both the climate and biodiversity crisis by harnessing more garden waste. I also think that it will lead to a little less gardening in the long run. And then it’s more fun, because there will be a greater abundance of life around the garden. We just need to dare to let go of control and make more room for nature by allowing for twigs and a few dead branches, for example,” concludes Gundersen.



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Garden waste could store 600,000 tons of CO2  annually

Scruffy yards are usually frowned upon and, especially in fall,...

Over the past two centuries, human activities have led to global warming, a massive carbon imbalance, and biodiversity loss. However, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/">University of Sheffield</a>, there are certain cases where human stewardship appears to help remediate these damages. By examining tropical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diverse-forests-are-more-resilient-and-productive/">forests</a> from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, the experts found that those located on protected Indigenous lands were the healthiest, highest functioning, most ecologically resilient, and most diverse.&nbsp;



“I’m looking at Indigenous lands to see how conservation outcomes on these lands are, instead of only focusing on protected areas, which are often state run, so that conservation policies might be designed to be more effective and equitable,” said study lead author Jocelyne Sze, an ecologist at the University of Sheffield.



To evaluate forest health, the scientists examined four types of lands: non-protected lands, Indigenous lands, protected areas that overlap Indigenous lands, and protected forests outside of Indigenous lands.



“We used a metric called forest integrity to measure the quality of the forest pertaining to its structure, its composition, and its function—it refers to how resilient and healthy a forest is. Our previous research found that across the tropics, deforestation and degradation rates were lower in Indigenous lands compared to non-protected areas, but deforestation and degradation rates are quite simple measures, so we wanted to look at forest integrity,” Sze explained.



The analysis revealed that forests in areas where protected and Indigenous lands overlapped had the highest integrity, with the Americas having the most land falling into this category, and Africa the least.&nbsp;



However, some of the findings surprised the scientists. “It was actually really interesting that it wasn’t all positive. We found that, in Asia and the Americas, within spaces that are only Indigenous lands - so outside of protected areas - the effect on integrity was actually worse than non-protected areas,” Sze reported.



This surprising feature may be explained by the fact that, in many parts of Asia, for instance, Indigenous lands and Indigenous rights were not recognized. Thus, although an area may be characterized as traditionally Indigenous, Indigenous people may actually have little control over their lands. Moreover, since many minerals, oil, and gas deposits are often found within Indigenous lands, these lands are often highly exploited.



In future studies, the researchers hope to clarify how Indigenous land rights and management fit into current conservation policies. “My research is very much inspired by what decolonial climate movements are trying to achieve, in trying to have Indigenous communities and local communities have more autonomy over these spaces,” Sze concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.040">Current Biology</a>.



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Forests in protected Indigenous lands are healthy and resilient

Over the past two centuries, human activities have led to...

On Tuesday, October 26, 2022, the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> listed Antarctica’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emperor-penguins-may-not-survive-climate-change/">emperor penguin</a> (Aptenodytes forsteri) as an endangered species. Although this species is highly resilient and can endure strong winds and freezing temperature in order to breed and protect their eggs and offspring, melting sea ice is currently upending the habitat they need to breed, feed, and protect themselves from predators, possibly bringing them on the brink of extinction by the end of the century.



“This listing reflects the growing extinction crisis,” said Martha Williams, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Climate change is having a profound impact on species around the world.”



Although the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/">Center for Biological Diversity</a> already petitioned Fish and Wildlife to add the emperor penguin on their Endangered Species Act in 2011, no actions have been undertaken for more than a decade, thus further increasing the risks this species is exposed to. As previous <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15806">studies</a> have argued, while sea ice around Antarctica has proven more durable than that at the North Pole, almost all emperor penguin colonies in the southern continent could be pushed to extinction by the end of 21st century, unless urgent actions to dramatically decrease global greenhouse gas emissions are taken.&nbsp;



“That body of science really helped to make this decision really clear,” said Shaye Wolf, the Center for Biological Diversity’s climate science director. “That the penguin is endangered by climate change and needs all the protection it can get.”&nbsp;



Although the emperor penguin populations appear to be stable at the moment – with 625,000 to 650,000 birds shuffling around Antarctica – there are already ominous signs of what the future may hold for this iconic bird. For instance, in recent years, the breaking of sea ice before the chicks were ready to swim at Cape Crozier or Halley Bay led to breeding failures.



Scientists and conservationists hope that the listing of this species as endangered will lead to stricter limits on fishing for krill – the penguin’s main food source - around Antarctica, as well as compel United States officials to consider the climate implications of various federal projects before approving them.



“If we manage to take action, and especially action now, we can still avoid the extinction,” concluded Stephanie Jenouvrier, a scientist at the <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> who studied the current situation of Antarctica’s emperor penguins.



The official document listing the penguins as endangered can be accessed <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-23164.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp;



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antarctica’s emperor penguin officially listed as endangered

On Tuesday, October 26, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife...

According to a new report from the <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en">World Meteorological Association</a> (WMO), atmospheric levels of the three main greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) all reached new record highs in 2021, with the largest year-to-year rise of methane concentrations since systematic measurements began four decades ago. While the causes of this staggering rise in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-emissions-are-higher-than-previously-estimated/">methane emissions</a> is not yet clear, the scientists believe that a combination of biological and human-induced processes could have led to this worrisome situation.



“WMO’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin has underlined, once again, the enormous challenge – and the vital necessity – of urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent global temperatures rising even further in the future,” said Petteri Taalas, WMO’s Secretary-General. “The continuing rise in concentrations of the main heat-trapping gases, including the record acceleration in methane levels, shows that we are heading in the wrong direction.”



Since 2007, atmospheric methane concentrations have been increasing at an unprecedented rate. While scientists argue that the largest contribution to these increases comes from biogenic sources, such as wetlands or rice paddies, anthropogenic climate change could also play a critical role in the rise of methane emissions, due to the fact that, in a warming climate, organic materials decompose faster, and, if this process happens in water – without oxygen – more methane will be released in the atmosphere. Thus, if tropical wetlands become wetter and warmer due to human-induced climate change, they will emit more methane.&nbsp;



“There are cost-effective strategies available to tackle methane emissions, especially from the fossil fuel sector, and we should implement these without delay,” said Professor Taalas. “However, methane has a relatively short lifetime of less than ten years and so its impact on climate is reversible. As the top and most urgent priority, we have to slash carbon dioxide emissions which are the main driver of climate change and associated extreme weather, and which will affect climate for thousands of years through polar ice loss, ocean warming, and sea level rise.”



“We need to transform our industrial, energy and transport systems and whole way of life.&nbsp;The needed changes are economically affordable and technically possible. Time is running out,”&nbsp;he concluded.



The 2021 Greenhouse Gas Bulletin can be found <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/greenhouse-gas-bulletin">here</a>. &nbsp;



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Methane emissions are rising faster than ever

According to a new report from the World Meteorological Association...

A recent study led by a team of scientists from the <a href="https://www.jcu.edu.au/">James Cook University</a> in Queensland, Australia, has found that over 63,000 people died from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/snakebites-hidden-health-crisis/">snakebites</a> in 2019, largely due to lack of proper antidotes in rural areas. The vast majority of these deaths was in India (51,000), with only two deaths being recorded in Australia. These findings suggest that <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a>’s target to halve snakebite deaths by 2030 will most likely not be met.



“Interventions to ensure faster antivenom delivery must be combined with preventive strategies such as increased education and strengthening of the rural health system,” said study lead author Richard Franklin, a professor of Public Health at James Cook University.



“Ensuring timely antivenom access across rural areas of the world would save thousands of lives, and greater investment in devising and scaling up these interventions should be prioritized to meet WHO targets for snakebite envenoming and neglected tropical diseases.”&nbsp;



By collecting autopsy and vital record data from the <a href="https://www.healthdata.org/gbd/2019">Global Burden of Disease</a> datasets, the scientists modeled the proportion of deaths caused by snakes by location, age, sex, and year. The analysis revealed that the majority of deaths from snakebites occurred in South Asia, particularly in countries such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In India, the deathrate caused by snakes was estimated to be a staggering four per 100,000 people – significantly higher than the global average of 0.8. The sub-Saharan Africa region came second, with Nigeria having the largest number of deaths (1,460).



According to Professor Franklin, the likelihood of death from a venomous snake bite increases substantially if antivenom medicine is not administered within six hours after the bite. “However, in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, many seek traditional healers or attend clinics with inadequate training on how to treat snakebites, or lack antivenom to administer life-saving treatment,” he explained. “People who reach hospital often have inadequate access to dialysis, ventilators, and blood transfusions, which are essential to manage the complications of poisoning.”



Unfortunately, the researchers predict that the number of snakebite deaths is expected to rise to over 68,000 by 2050, mostly due to population increases. “We predict that mortality will continue to decline, but not sufficiently to meet WHO targets. Improved data collection should be prioritized to help target interventions, improve burden estimation and monitor progress,” the scientists concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33627-9">Nature Communications</a>.



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Snakebites caused over 63,000 deaths in 2019

A recent study led by a team of scientists from...

While the journeys of night-migrating birds are already fraught with dangers – such as increased risk of collisions with buildings or communication towers – a research team from <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> has identified yet another hazard these birds currently face. According to the experts, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/migratory-birds-can-change-their-restless-ways/">migratory birds</a> attracted by the glow of artificial lights at night are drawn into regions in which they are also exposed to higher concentrations of airborne toxic chemicals.&nbsp;



“We examined the correlation between the concentration of airborne toxic chemicals, artificial light at night, and the weekly abundance of 165 nocturnally migrating songbird species,” said study lead author Frank La Sorte, an expert in Ornithology at Cornell. “What we found is that light pollution does indeed increase exposure to toxic chemicals when birds stop to rest during spring and fall migration. Surprisingly, we also found that exposure to toxic chemicals is high during the non-breeding season, a time when birds typically avoid light pollution.”



In a first step of the study, the scientists compared levels of artificial light at night with the presence of 479 toxic chemicals from 15,743 releasing facilities across continental U.S., and found that higher light pollution did correlate with higher levels of airborne toxic chemicals. Then, they cross-referenced these data with the weekly abundance of 165 night-migrating songbirds throughout their annual life cycles.



The analysis revealed that the only instance without increased exposure to toxic chemicals was during these birds’ breeding season, when they usually nest in habitats far away from areas with intense human activity.&nbsp;



“One region of special concern is along the Gulf of Mexico, especially in Texas and Louisiana,” La Sorte reported. “Migratory birds that spend the winter in this region are being exposed to higher concentrations of airborne toxic chemicals for a longer period - the non-breeding season makes up the largest portion of these species’ annual life cycles.”



According to La Sorte, efforts to reduce light pollution during the spring and autumn could reduce the chances of toxic chemical contamination during migration stopovers, thus improving the birds’ survival and reproductive success. “However, this would have no effect on the long-term exposure occurring along the U.S. Gulf Coast, a region that could be a significant source of toxic chemical contamination for North American birds,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16443">Global Change Biology</a>.



Image Credit: Craig Kerns, Cornell Lab of Ornithology



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Light pollution exposes migrating birds to toxic chemicals

While the journeys of night-migrating birds are already fraught with...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> and the <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/">Carnegie Mellon University</a> has found that sharing real-time air quality readings in developing countries could help reduce air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-link-between-air-pollution-and-obesity/">pollution</a> and lead to lower mortality rates.



This research was prompted by live air quality updates being posted on Twitter by US diplomatic sites around the world. “In 2008, the US Embassy in Beijing began tweeting hourly air quality information from a new pollution monitor, which dramatically increased attention to air pollution in China,” said study co-author Andrea La Nauze, an environmental economist at the University of Queensland.



“US embassies now tweet live air quality readings in 38 non-OECD countries worldwide. We looked at 36&nbsp;of those countries and found the sharing of real-time data increased local public interest in air quality and led to reduced air pollution levels.”



The scientists used air pollution measurements taken from satellite data in order to evaluate pollution levels both before and after the US embassy in a city started posting on Twitter air quality readings, and compared them with measurements from non-OECD cities without such live monitoring. The analysis revealed that sharing real-time air quality information led to an average reduction in fine particulate matter concentration levels of two to four micrograms per cubic meter each year.&nbsp;



“Poor air quality is a leading cause of premature death worldwide, responsible for one out of every nine deaths,” said study lead author Akshaya Jha, an assistant professor of Economics and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon. “Sharing credible air quality information can highlight this issue and have huge health and economic benefits that far outweigh the costs of the monitoring technology.”



Unfortunately, according to the researchers, the state of air quality monitoring is currently “inadequate” in many less developed countries. “Around 30 per cent of countries had at least some form of monitoring by 2018, but that includes monitoring that is intermittent, only covers a small part of the country or isn’t available publicly,” Dr. La Nauze explained.



“Even Australia – where state governments monitor air quality and provide access to real-time data – could benefit substantially from a denser monitoring network. Policymakers, diplomats and community organizations worldwide should push for the rapid deployment of credible, real-time air quality monitoring and reporting,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201092119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Real-time air quality monitoring can save lives

A new study led by the University of Queensland and...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.parisnanterre.fr/">Paris Nanterre University</a> has found that cats may change their behavior when they hear their owner’s voice talking in a tone directed to them, but not when hearing the voice of stranger addressing them, or the voice of their owner directed at another person. These findings suggest that cats may form strong affective bonds to their owners.



Scientists have long known that human tone varies depending on who the speech is directed to, such as when talking to infants or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-know-how-to-use-catnip-as-a-potent-insect-repellent/">pets</a> versus when talking with other adults. While previous studies have shown that the tone of human speech changes when directed to cats, little has been known about how cats react to this.



Now, the researchers investigated how 16 cats reacted to pre-recorded voices from both their owners and strangers when saying phrases in cat-directed and human adult-directed tones. The scientists examined three conditions: in the first, the voice of the speaker changed from a stranger’s voice to the cat’s owner, while in the second and third, the tone of the cat’s owner and a stranger’s, respectively, changed from cat-directed to adult-directed.



In the first condition, ten out of 16 cats exhibited a decrease in behavior intensity while they heard three audio recordings of a stranger’s voice calling them by their names. When hearing their owner’s voice though, their behavior intensity significantly increased again, and the cats started displaying behaviors such as turning their ears to the speakers, moving across the room, and showing pupil dilation. According to the experts, this shift in behavior shows that cats can discriminate their owner’s voice from that of a stranger’s.



In the second experimental condition, ten cats decreased their behavior intensity when hearing audio recordings of their owner in an adult-directed tone, but significantly increased it when hearing their owner speak in a cat-directed tone. Such a change in behavior intensity was not identified in the third condition, when a stranger was speaking in either adult-directed or cat-directed tones. Thus, the cats appeared to be able to distinguish when their owner was talking in a cat-directed tone compared to an adult-directed one, but did not react differently when a stranger’s voice shifted its tone.



However, further research is needed to investigate if these findings could be replicated in the case of more socialized cats that are used to interact with strangers.



“These findings bring a new dimension to the consideration of human–cat relationship, as they imply the development of a particular communication into human–cat dyads, that relies upon experience. Our results highlight the importance of one-to-one relationships for cats, reinforcing recent literature regarding the ability for cats and humans to form strong bonds,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10071-022-01674-w">Animal Cognition</a>.&nbsp;



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cats can tell when speech is directed at them

A new study led by the Paris Nanterre University has...

As people live for longer, the prevalence of dementia increases. This trend is apparent in all countries in the world where medical and health interventions are able to extend <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-expectancy-continues-to-decline-due-to-covid/">lifespan</a>. Currently, around 55 million people suffer from dementia and there are some 10 million new cases diagnosed each year. This number is expected to rise to 78 million sufferers in 2030 and more than 100 million by 2050.&nbsp;



Dementia is the seventh leading cause of death among all diseases and one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide. It is characterized by cognitive difficulties that begin in adulthood and affect a person’s ability to function independently and perform everyday activities.&nbsp;Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), on the other hand, is thought to indicate a transitioning phase between normal aging and dementia, although not everyone who has MCI will go on to develop dementia.



Since these conditions have significant physical, psychological, social and economic impacts, not only for sufferers themselves, but also for their carers, families and society at large, it is critical that authorities have an up-to-date understanding of their prevalence in populations, in order to formulate appropriate support policies.&nbsp;



In the first nationally representative study of cognitive impairment prevalence in more than 20 years, <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a> researchers, along with colleagues from several other U.S. universities, have analyzed data from individuals enrolled in the&nbsp;nationally representative Health and Retirement Study.&nbsp;This is an ongoing study that started in 1992 and the current researchers randomly selected a subsample of 3,500 participants who were 65 years or older in 2016.&nbsp;



Known as the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP), the current study was developed to update national estimates of the prevalence of MCI and dementia in the U.S. and to examine differences by age, race, ethnicity, and gender. Participants completed a comprehensive set of neuropsychological tests and in-depth interviews, and dementia and MCI were classified using an algorithm based on standard diagnostic criteria and comparing test performance to a robust normative sample.



“Such data are critical for understanding the causes, costs, and consequences of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the United States, and for informing policies aimed at reducing their impact on patients, families, and public programs,” says&nbsp;<a href="https://www.neurology.columbia.edu/profile/jennifer-j-manly-phd">Jennifer J. Manly, PhD</a>,&nbsp;the study’s lead author and professor of neuropsychology in neurology at the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University.



Although dementia and MCI are known to be common in the U.S., accurate, up-to-date measures of their national prevalence have been infrequent. In addition, previous estimates of dementia and MCI have tended to focus on populations that are college-educated and White, and have not been nationally representative. Participants in the new study are representative of older adults and this allows researchers to examine differences in the national prevalence of dementia and MCI by age, race and ethnicity, gender, and education level.&nbsp;



The results of the analysis, published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.3543">JAMA Neurology</a>, show that the incidence of dementia and MCI rises sharply with age: 3 percent of people between 65 and 69 had dementia, while the prevalence was 35 percent among people who were aged 90 and over.&nbsp;&nbsp;Overall, the study found that almost 10 percent of U.S. adults aged 65 and older have dementia, while another 22 percent have mild cognitive impairment.&nbsp;



In addition to the association with age, the data show a disproportionate burden of dementia among older adults who self-identified as Black or African American, of mild cognitive impairment among older adults who identify as Hispanic, and of both categories of cognitive impairment among people who had fewer opportunities to obtain higher education.



The economic impact of dementia, including unpaid family caregiving, is estimated to be $257 billion per year in the United States and $800 billion worldwide. And this is set to increase in future as populations age and people experience greater longevity.



“With increasing longevity and the aging of the Baby Boom generation, cognitive impairment is projected to increase significantly over the next few decades, affecting individuals, families, and programs that provide care and services for people with dementia,” Manly says.



“Dementia research in general has largely focused on college-educated people who are racialized as white,” she explains. “This study is representative of the population of older adults and includes groups that have been historically excluded from dementia research but are at higher risk of developing cognitive impairment because of structural racism and income inequality. If we’re interested in increasing brain health equity in later life, we need to know where we stand now and where to direct our resources.”



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

One-third of older Americans have dementia

As people live for longer, the prevalence of dementia increases....

A team of neuroscientists from <a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University</a> and clinicians from the <a href="https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/landing-pages/epilepsy">University of Chicago Epilepsy Center</a> has recently explored the role of sleep in consolidating memories. By recording electrophysiological responses to a series of sounds connected to daytime learning activities that were repeatedly presented to five participants during sleep, the experts found that the participants significantly improved their performance in a recall test the next morning, suggesting that sleep plays a crucial role in consolidating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/having-a-sense-of-purpose-improves-memory/">memory</a> processing and storage.



The scientists enrolled a group of five epilepsy patients who had electrode probes implanted into the brain for the purpose of investigating potential treatments to their seizure disorders. During sleep, the participants were repeatedly exposed to 10-20 sounds, half of which were associated with objects and their precise spatial locations that patients learned before sleep.



The analysis revealed systematic improvements in spatial recall, with the object sounds presented during sleep eliciting increased oscillatory activity, including rises in theta, sigma, and gamma EEG bands, as well as significant activity in the hippocampus – a part of the brain that helps structuring and consolidating spatial and temporal patterns – and the adjacent temporal area of the cerebral cortex, reflecting the reactivation and strengthening of corresponding spatial memories.



“We are investigating how people manage to remember the things they’ve learned, rather than forgetting them,” said&nbsp;study senior author Ken Paller, the director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Program at Northwestern. “Our view is that sleep contributes to that ability.”



“The orthodox assumption used to be that such sounds would be blocked out when people are sleeping. Instead, these sounds allowed us to demonstrate that brain structures such as the hippocampus are responsive when memories are reactivated, helping us to retain the knowledge we gain when we’re awake.”



“At times, remembering and forgetting seems random. We can remember irrelevant details while forgetting what we most want to remember. The new answer to this long-standing mystery, highlighted by this research,&nbsp;is that memories are revisited when we sleep, even though we wake up not knowing it happened,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2123430119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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.



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sleep helps the brain consolidate memories

A team of neuroscientists from Northwestern University and clinicians from...

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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?

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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 rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



---



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...