The influence of synthetic plastic on our planet is concerning, to say the least. It's everywhere - from the depths of our oceans to the food we eat, even finding its way into our bodies. But, Avinash Manjula-Basavanna, a seasoned research scientist at Northeastern University, sees "MECHS" as a solution. 



"The kind of impact that human-made materials are making on the living world is resulting in&nbsp;climate change, pollution and more," he says. 



"One of the ways that we are able to address this is to make materials sustainable and also make materials which are smart or intelligent."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-birth-of-a-new-bioplastic">Birth of a new bioplastic</h2>



Joining forces with Neel S. Joshi, an associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern, Manjula-Basavanna gave birth to a new bioplastic named MECHS.



It stands for Mechanical Engineered Living Materials with Compostability, Healability, and Scalability.



The team recently showcased their discovery in the journal Nature Communications. Here, they articulated their unique work with engineered living materials, living cells that produce functional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-changing-the-entire-earth-system/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">materials</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wonders-of-bioplastic">Wonders of bioplastic</h2>



What makes MECHS stand out? Manjula-Basavanna and Joshi gave us two major reasons.



Firstly, MECHS exhibits the beauty of nature-inspired solutions, with the ability to regenerate, regulate themselves, and respond to external stimuli such as light. 



The second reason is even more significant in today's context. Unlike the harmful plastics choking our planet and bodies, MECHS is biodegradable in water and even in a compost bin. 



"Right now we use a lot of conventional nonbiodegradable plastics for applications they don't need to be used in at all," Joshi says. "If we replace that with our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/major-plastic-pollution-lurks-beneath-the-surface-of-rivers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plastic</a>, you could just flush it down the toilet and it would biodegrade."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-engineered-living-materials">Engineered living materials</h2>



Until now, such engineered living materials haven't been scalable for broad production. Enter MECHS.



Essentially, it's comprised of engineered E. coli bacteria intertwined with a fiber matrix, crafted into a paper- or film-like material. 



The fibrous structure gives MECHS some desirable properties. For instance, the bioplastic can stretch like plastic wrap and be genetically engineered for variable stiffness. And, quite fascinatingly, it has self-healing capabilities.



But the real cherry on top? MECHS is fully dissolvable, be it in large amounts of water or a compost bin. It dissolves rapidly, much faster than other existing biodegradable plastics. Plus, it can be mass-produced similarly to paper.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-potential-applications">Potential applications</h2>



The scientific marvels envision MECHS as the solution to "primary packaging." This includes the plastic cover protecting your new iPhone or the detergent pods for your appliances. Imagine MECHS wrapped around a pot plant, slowly breaking down and releasing proteins to fertilize the plant!



Addressing the global problem of plastic pollution, Manjula-Basavanna sees a strong potential for MECHS in plastic packaging, which covers almost one-third of the plastic market. 



He observes that such packaging’s lifespan could last a few days to two years, but the petrochemical plastics used can take hundreds of years to biodegrade.



"For such a short lifespan of packaging, the petrochemical plastics that can take hundreds of years to biodegrade are unnecessary in many cases and thus a sustainable alternative like MECHS due to its biodegradability, flushability, and mechanical tunability could be a game changer," says Manjula-Basavanna.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-in-adopting-mechs">Challenges in adopting MECHS</h2>



While MECHS presents a revolutionary solution to the global plastic crisis, adopting this technology on a large scale is not devoid of challenges. One primary concern lies in the genomic stability of the engineered E. coli bacteria used in MECHS. 



Scientists must ensure that the bacteria remain safe and stable under various environmental conditions to avoid unintended consequences. Additionally, transitioning industries reliant on traditional plastics to MECHS involves overcoming significant economic and logistical barriers. 



Production facilities worldwide may need to adopt new techniques and infrastructure to accommodate this novel material, potentially incurring considerable costs in the short term. 



Furthermore, public perception and regulatory hurdles need to be navigated to gain trust and approval for its widespread use.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-sustainable-materials">Future of sustainable materials</h2>



Looking to the future, the innovations around MECHS signal a burgeoning era of sustainable and adaptable materials capable of transforming industries. 



As research into living materials progresses, new possibilities emerge, such as enabling the development of dynamic, adaptable materials for technologies yet to be imagined. 



Building on their success with MECHS, Manjula-Basavanna and Joshi envision an expanding palette of biodegradable materials, each tailored for specific applications ranging from environmental conservation to health care. 



Their work emphasizes collaboration across disciplines - bridging biology, chemistry, and engineering - to advance sustainable solutions.



Ultimately, MECHS is a testament to how embracing nature-inspired innovation can lead to breakthroughs with the power to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-on-beaches-is-now-visible-from-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reshape our relationship with the materials</a> we use and the environment we inhabit.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53052-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Nature-inspired solutions: New bioplastic dissolves rapidly in water

The influence of synthetic plastic on our planet is concerning, to say the least. It's everywhere - from the depths of our oceans to the food we eat, even finding its way into our bodies. But, Avinash Manjula-Basavanna, a seasoned research scientist at Northeastern University, sees "MECHS" as a solution. "The kind of impact that human-made materials are making on the living world is resulting in&nbsp;climate change, pollution and more," he says. "One of the ways that we are able to address this is to make materials...

Since the 1990s, we've seen an increase in early onset cancer, defined as cancer diagnosed before the age of 50. This phenomenon has been noticed worldwide.



<a href="https://www.brighamandwomens.org/">Brigham and Women's Hospital</a> researchers wanted to understand why so many adults are diagnosed with cancers, including colon, esophagus, kidney, and breast cancers, at such an early age. The results are alarming.



The team analyzed global data on 14 types of cancer that had increased in adults under 50 from 2000 to 2012. They combed through studies that looked at possible risk factors and reviewed literature that described the clinical and physical aspects of early-onset <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunlight-helps-green-sea-turtles-with-tumors-recover/">tumors</a>.&nbsp;



The experts determined that early life exposure to unhealthy lifestyle habits has increased throughout the decades. For example, children get less sleep than they did in previous decades.



"From our data, we observed something called the birth cohort effect. This effect shows that each successive group of people born at a later time (e.g., decade-later) have a higher risk of developing cancer later in life, likely due to risk factors they were exposed to at a young age," noted study co-author Dr. Shuji Ogino.&nbsp;



"We found that this risk is increasing with each generation. For instance, people born in 1960 experienced higher cancer risk before they turn 50 than people born in 1950 and we predict that this risk level will continue to climb in successive generations."



Moreover, the researchers believe our gut microbiome is negatively affected by processed food, sugar, and alcohol consumption.&nbsp;



"Among the 14 cancer types on the rise that we studied, eight were related to the digestive system. The food we eat feeds the microorganisms in our gut," said study lead author Dr. Tomotaka Ugai. "Diet directly affects microbiome composition and eventually these changes can influence disease risk and outcomes."



The experts plan to expand their research with a longitudinal cohort study that includes low- and middle-income nations, which they believe is the best way to achieve accurate results that can better inform future healthcare.&nbsp;



The paper is published in &nbsp;<a href="https://rdcu.be/cU24w">Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology.</a>



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why are more adults under 50 diagnosed with cancer?

Since the 1990s, we've seen an increase in early onset...

Although they are a rather recent human invention, microplastics have managed to make their way to almost every <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biodiversity-loss-weakens-ecosystem-functioning/">ecosystem</a> on Earth. Scientists have discovered them in soils, rivers, food and bottled water, and even in the human body. Now, a team of researchers from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unipo.sk/en/">University of Prešov</a> in Slovakia has found, for the first time, microplastics in plant leaf axils.



The researchers set out to Eastern Slovakia to study the microorganisms that live in the small water puddles formed in teasel leaf axils. Teasels of the genus&nbsp;Dipsacus have opposite leaves growing on their stems in several levels, forming cup-like structures - known as telmata – that collect water. To their amazement, the scientists discovered differently colored fragments and fibers in the telmata that they later on identified as microplastics.



“Teasel phytotelmata are a relatively common but overlooked aquatic microcosm with a very short-term occurrence of only three to four months,” the authors wrote. “These phytotelmata are very small and have a short lifespan. The question is, therefore, how were they polluted with microplastics?”



Since no other sources of contaminants were found in the surrounding environment, the microplastics most likely came from the polluted atmosphere, although the researchers argue that a different explanation could be that snails might have transported them from the soil or other plants, in or on their bodies.



“The first finding of microplastics in small short-term water reservoirs created by plants is further evidence that contamination of this kind spreads through various pathways and probably no environment on Earth is safe, which of course makes our discovery quite disheartening,”&nbsp;the scientists explained.



“On the other hand, the results of our research of teasel phytotelmata, as a very unusual and highly specific natural environment, offer many possibilities for use in researching the spatio-temporal characteristics of the spread of microplastic pollution and its potential impact on the plants themselves, as well as organisms bound to them by ecological relations.”



Thus, due to their abundance and ability to capture microplastics from the environment, teasel phytotelmata may be used by scientists as reliable bioindicators of the presence of microplastics, which would help identify possible sources and pathways of these pollutants’ spread throughout nature.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.18.87433">BioRisk</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Microplastics found in water trapped on plant leaves

Although they are a rather recent human invention, microplastics have...

A team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.crick.ac.uk/">Francis Crick Institute</a> and the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> has recently identified a mechanism through which very small pollutant particles in the air may trigger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/red-wine-lung-cancer-prevention/">lung cancer</a> in people who have never smoked. Such particles – typically found in vehicle exhaust and smoke from burning fossil fuels – appear to be associated with the risk of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), accounting for over 250,000 deaths globally each year.&nbsp;



“The same particles in the air that derive from the combustion of fossil fuels, exacerbating climate change, are directly impacting human health via an important and previously overlooked cancer-causing mechanism in lung cells,” said study lead author Charles Swanton, the Francis Crick Institute and Cancer Research UK Chief Clinician.&nbsp;



“The risk of lung cancer from air pollution is lower than from smoking, but we have no control over what we all breathe. Globally, more people are exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution than to toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke, and these new data link the importance of addressing climate health to improving human health.”



The scientists studied mutations in a gene called EGFR, which are found in approximately half of people with lung cancer who are non-smokers. In a study of over half a million participants from the UK, South Korea, and Taiwan, researchers found that exposure to increasing concentrations of airborne particulate matter (PM2.5) was associated to an increased risk of NSCLC with EGFR mutations.&nbsp;



Moreover, laboratory studies indicated that these pollutants also cause mutations in another gene linked to lung cancer called KRAS, and drive the influx of macrophages that release the inflammatory mediator interleukin-1β, which causes the expansion of cells with the EGFR mutations in response to exposure to PM2.5.



“We found that driver mutations in EGFR and KRAS genes, commonly found in lung cancers, are actually present in normal lung tissue and are a likely consequence of ageing. In our research, these mutations alone only weakly potentiated cancer in laboratory models,” Dr. Swanton explained.&nbsp;



“However, when lung cells with these mutations were exposed to air pollutants, we saw more cancers and these occurred more quickly than when lung cells with these mutations were not exposed to pollutants, suggesting that air pollution promotes the initiation of lung cancer in cells harboring driver gene mutations. The next step is to discover why some lung cells with mutations become cancerous when exposed to pollutants while others don’t,” he concluded.



These findings – to be published in the journal <a href="https://www.annalsofoncology.org/">Annals of Oncology</a> – will be presented at the <a href="https://www.esmo.org/meetings/esmo-congress-2022">ESMO Congress 2022</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Air pollution may trigger lung cancer in non-smokers

A team of scientists led by the Francis Crick Institute...

According to a new study led by <a href="https://www.dal.ca/">Dalhousie University</a> in Canada, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-seafood-has-one-sixth-the-carbon-footprint-of-red-meat/">seafood</a> can provide better nutrition to people at a lower rate of greenhouse gas emissions than beef, pork, or chicken. These findings suggest that policies aiming to promote seafood diets as a substitute for other animal products could significantly improve food security, while also playing a key role in mitigating climate change.



By calculating the nutritional density and climate impacts of different sources of fish, the scientists found that half of the seafood species they studied have a higher nutrient density and contributed to fewer greenhouse emissions than beef, pork, or chicken. Of the most common species of fish consumed in the United Kingdom, the species with the lowest climate impact relative to their nutrition values were wild-caught salmon, herring, and mackerel, followed closely by anchovies, farmed mussels, and farmed oysters.



&nbsp;“This work makes clear that many of us can effect real climate impact reductions through the choices that we make in what animal-derived foods we include in our diet,” said study co-author Peter Tyedmens, an expert in Ecological Economics at Dalhousie University.&nbsp;



“Shifting from beef, pork and often even chicken to seafood options will almost always result in lower production-related emissions that are ultimately going to be necessary if we are to meaningfully address the climate crisis.”



These findings confirm previous hypotheses that seafood is highly nutritious – containing a variety of proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals - and its production results in relatively low impacts on the climate, especially when compared to the impacts of more widely consumed animal products, such as beef, pork, or even chicken. Thus, policies to promote seafood in diets as a substitute for other animal protein could improve future food security while also mitigating global warming.



“Based on the patterns found in nutritional attributes and climate impact, we recommend refocusing and tailoring production and consumption patterns towards species and production methods with improved nutrition and climate performance, taking into account specific nutritional needs and emission reduction goals,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-022-00516-4">Communications Earth &amp; Environment</a>.



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

Replace meat with seafood for a healthier planet

According to a new study led by Dalhousie University in...

According to <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-temperature-august-2022">new data</a> released by the <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/">Copernicus Climate Change Services</a> on Thursday, September 7, 2022, this summer was Europe’s hottest in recorded history. Blistering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-activities-are-fueling-more-extreme-heatwaves/">heatwaves</a>, prolonged droughts, and massive wildfires all contributed to this unprecedented event, with the combination of high temperatures and extremely dry conditions fueled by climate change wreaking havoc across the continent.



This was the second time in a row that Europe broke such records, with average temperatures 0.4 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record set in 2021. August was particularly scorching, surpassing the 2018 record by a staggering 0.8 degrees Celsius. These extreme climatic conditions led to thousands of deaths, myriad of withered crops, vast forests turning brown and barren, and wildfires raging from the Caucasus Mountains to the Atlantic coastline and consuming about 50 percent more land than the previous record from 2017.



According to scientists, these problems were exacerbated by anthropogenic global warming. For instance, a recent <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/without-human-caused-climate-change-temperatures-of-40c-in-the-uk-would-have-been-extremely-unlikely/">study</a> has shown that greenhouse gas emissions made a July heat wave in the United Kingdom ten times more likely. Moreover, the climate-driven cycles of hot weather and droughts led to the formation of “heat domes” which deflected rain and forced Europe to bake under almost unbearable sunshine and heat.



“We expect these kinds of hot extremes to become more frequent and severe because of climate change,” said Carlo Buontempo, the director of the Copernicus service. “Trends in this direction are clearly visible in the observational records.”



Globally, this summer was the third hottest on record, with massive heat waves scorching vast areas in China, and prolonged droughts plaguing the western United States and Canada. The South Pole was unusually warm too, with the extent of sea ice around Antarctica hitting a record low for July.



These heatwaves were often followed in many parts of the world by massive rainfall, such as those in Pakistan, which caused over 1,300 deaths and covered about one third of country in water, or the historic precipitations from the Death Valley that swept away hikers and destroyed roads.



“Whiplash events have always happened, but now we’re seeing the flips from one weather regime to another become more violent and disruptive,” said Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at <a href="https://www.woodwellclimate.org/">Woodwell Climate Research Center</a>. This is “yet another clear signal that the climate crisis is with us now.”



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

Europe experienced its hottest summer on record in 2022

According to new data released by the Copernicus Climate Change...

Domestic donkeys (Equus asinus) have been highly important to humans for millennia, providing a reliable source of animal labor and long-distance transport in many cultures. However, regardless of the key role they played in ancient pastoral societies across Africa, Europe, and Asia, as well as the functions they still serve in low- and middle-income communities (especially in semi-arid and upland environments), relatively little is known about their origin, domestication timeline, and the impact of human management on their genomes.&nbsp;



Now, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.univ-tlse3.fr/">University Paul Sabatier</a> in Toulouse, France, has performed a comprehensive genetic analysis of both modern and ancient donkeys, revealing their origins, expansion, and management practices. By evaluating 238 modern and ancient donkey genomes - 207 modern donkeys, 31 ancient donkeys, as well as 15 wild equids - the scientists found strong phylogeographic evidence supporting a single domestication event in eastern Africa over 7,000 years ago.&nbsp;



This event was followed by a series of expansions throughout Africa and into Eurasia, where several sub-populations ultimately became isolated and differentiated, most probably due to the aridification of Sahara. Eventually though, genetic variants from Europe and the Near East found their way back into western African donkey populations.&nbsp;



“We found a strong phylogeographic structure in modern donkeys that supports a single domestication in Africa ~5000 BCE, followed by further expansions in this continent and Eurasia and ultimately returning to Africa,” the study authors reported.



In addition, the analyses revealed a previously unknown genetic lineage in the Levant approximately 2,200 years ago that likely contributed to increased genetic flow toward Asian donkey populations. Finally, throughout history, donkey management involved the interbreeding and the production of large-sized bloodlines, particularly during a period when these creatures were essential to the Roman economy and military activities.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo3503">Science</a>.



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

Donkeys were domesticated over 7,000 years ago in Africa

Domestic donkeys (Equus asinus) have been highly important to humans...

According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC), over 20 percent of Americans who were infected with the coronavirus developed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-long-covid-cases-started-out-as-mild-infections/">long Covid</a>, defined as experiencing Covid-related symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, or respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, or digestive symptoms for more than a month after the initial infection. Although severe acute infections increase the risk of developing long Covid, many people with milder Covid-19 cases are now struggling with this often debilitating – and little understood – condition.



Now, a new study led by <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a> has found that psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, stress, worry, and loneliness, before the initial Covid-19 infection is associated with an increased risk for long Covid.



“We were surprised by how strongly psychological distress before a Covid-19 infection was associated with an increased risk of long Covid,” said study lead author Siwen Wang, a research fellow in Nutrition at the Harvard Chan School. “Distress was more strongly associated with developing long COVID than physical health risk factors such as&nbsp;obesity, asthma, and&nbsp;hypertension.”&nbsp;



Scientists have long known that mental health influences the severity and outcomes of a variety of diseases, including respiratory ones, such as influenza or common cold. To clarify the effects of psychological distress before Covid infections on developing long Covid, the scientists enrolled a cohort of 54,000 participants in April 2020 and assessed their mental health. During the following year, 3,000 of the participants were infected with Sars-Cov-2, and the researchers followed them up to investigate their Covid symptoms and symptom duration.



They discovered that psychological distress before Covid-19 was associated with a 32 to 46 increased risk of long Covid, and a 15 to 51 percent greater risk of struggling with daily life impairments due to this condition.



“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first prospective study to show that a wide range of social and psychological factors are risk factors for long Covid and daily life impairment due to long Covid,”&nbsp;said study senior author Andrea Roberts, an expert in Environmental Health at Harvard.



“We need to consider psychological health in addition to physical health as risk factors of long Covid-19. These results also reinforce the need to increase public awareness of the importance of mental health and to get mental health care for people who need it, including increasing the supply of mental health clinicians and improving access to care,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2796097">JAMA Psychiatry</a>.&nbsp;



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

Psychological distress increases the risk of long Covid

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),...

Tetrapods are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-half-of-the-worlds-vertebrates-reside-in-the-tropics/">vertebrates</a> (backboned animals) that have four limbs or leg-like structures. They include all amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals and are thought to have evolved from lobe-finned fish way back in the Devonian Period, some 400 million years ago. The earliest tetrapods were aquatic and adapted to life in the water, but over time new species evolved that became more terrestrial and less dependent on watery environments for feeding, breeding and surviving.



In a study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, Barcelona’s Universitat Pompeu Fabra and University College London investigated the skulls of over 100 living and fossil tetrapods to understand how skull bone arrangements had changed during the evolution of this important group. The scientists found that the skulls of tetrapods had far fewer bones than are found in the skulls of fish, both extinct and living, but that these bones had more complex connections between them than are found in fish skulls.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Tetrapod skulls generally have fewer skull bones than their fish ancestors, but simply counting the number of bones misses some important data," said study lead author James Rawson. "We used a technique called network analysis, where the arrangement of skull bones – which bones connect to which – is recorded in addition to bone number.”



“Traditionally, anatomy research has been mostly descriptive or qualitative. Network analysis provides a sound mathematical framework to quantify anatomical relations among bones: a kind of data often overlooked in most studies on morphological evolution," explained study co-author Dr. Borja Esteve-Altava.&nbsp;



One might expect that having fewer bones would make skull organization simpler, but this is not what the researchers found. They concluded that, for tetrapods, having fewer skull bones actually made the organization of their skulls more complex.



“It might seem strange, but having fewer bones means each of those bones must connect with more of its neighbors, resulting in a more complex arrangement," said Rawson. "Modern frogs and salamanders had the most complex skulls of all the animals we studied.” The skulls of the earliest tetrapods also became more consolidated into a single unit, whereas their fish ancestors had skulls made of several distinct sections.



By looking at the variety of skull bone arrangements over time, the authors also discovered that the origin of tetrapods coincided with a decrease in this variety. “We were surprised to find these changes to the skull seemed to limit tetrapod evolution, rather than promoting radiation to new habitats on land," said study senior author Professor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Emily-Rayfield-940480df-c468-4e85-b0ba-1473e6b9f540/">Emily Rayfield</a>. "We think that the evolution of a neck, extinction events or a bottleneck in skull development may be responsible.”&nbsp;



“We also see a similar drop in structural variability for the limb bones in early tetrapods, but the drop in the limbs happens 10 million years earlier," said Rawson. "It seems that different factors were affecting skull and limb evolution in early tetrapods, and we have so much more to learn about this crucial time in our own evolutionary history.”



The authors of the study conclude that the cranial evolution of tetrapods is characterized by increasing complexity in terms of bone arrangements but decreasing variety. They say that, rather than promoting the diversification of life on land, these changes in skull anatomy actually limited the evolution of tetrapods for millions of years.&nbsp;



Image Credit: Science Photo Library / Alamy Stock Photo image ID (2G70HK2) Original artist: Mark Garlick



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

Earliest land animals had fewer skull bones than fish

Tetrapods are vertebrates (backboned animals) that have four limbs or...

In the past history of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-production-affects-earths-natural-processes/">Earth</a> there have been times when magma from the molten mantle has flowed out into, or over, the solid crust of the planet. In the cases where these major volcanic events have led to excessive accumulations of lava, the resulting formations have been termed Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs). Some LIPs have an aerial extent of a few million km2 and involve volumes of igneous rock totaling up to a million km3. Such phenomena clearly had major impacts on the geology, structure and natural environments where they occurred.&nbsp;



In addition, the formation of LIPs can be associated with significant increases in atmospheric carbon or sulfate gas emissions, which may cause either global warming or the formation of sulfuric acid and subsequent global cooling. It is no surprise then that the formation of some of the LIPs in the past 500 million years coincides in time with&nbsp;periods of rapid climatic change and with various <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_extinction">mass extinctions</a> of fauna and flora on land and in the oceans.



A new scientific study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo0866">Science Advances</a>, has now shed light on a possible cause of these major volcanic events that occurred millions of years ago. In the past, the formation of LIPs has been attributed to plumes of magma that have risen, under the influence of convection currents, through the Earth’s mantle. They have also been associated with the movements of Earth’s tectonic plates but, although there are numerous hypotheses about LIP formation, the exact causes have not yet been identified.&nbsp;



In the new study, led by scientists in the School of Natural Sciences at <a href="https://www.tcd.ie/">Trinity College Dublin</a>, chemical data was obtained from ancient mudstone deposits in Wales by drilling a borehole down to a depth of 1.5 km. Analysis of the chemical markers enabled the researchers to link two key events that occurred around 183 million years ago, during the Toarcian stage at the end of the Early Jurassic Period.&nbsp;



The team discovered that this time period coincides directly with the occurrence of the major volcanic activity that gave rise to the Karoo and Ferrar LIP’s which covered parts of what are today southern Africa and Antarctica with lava. This time was also characterized by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, by some of the most severe climatic and environmental changes ever, and by the Pliensbachian–Toarcian extinction event that affected the world’s fauna and flora.



Upon further investigation - and more importantly - the team’s tectonic plate reconstruction models helped them discover the key fundamental geological process that seemed to dictate the timing and onset of this volcanic event and others of great magnitude.



“Scientists have long thought that the onset of upwelling of molten volcanic rock, or magma, from deep in Earth’s interior, as mantle plumes, was the instigator of such volcanic activity but the new evidence shows that the normal rate of continental plate movement of several centimeters per year effectively prevents magma from penetrating Earth’s continental crust," said Professor Micha Ruhl, who led the research team.



“It seems it is only when the speed of continental plate movement slows down to near zero that magmas from mantle plumes can effectively make their way to the surface, causing major Large Igneous Province volcanic eruptions and their associated climatic perturbations and mass extinctions.”



“Crucially, further assessment shows that a reduction in continental plate movement likely controlled the onset and duration of many of the major volcanic events throughout Earth’s history, making it a fundamental process in controlling the evolution of climate and life at Earth’s surface throughout the history of this planet.”



The scientists hypothesize that a slowing of continental plate movement was the critical event that enabled magma to rise to the Earth’s surface and cause the major volcanic events that have punctuated Earth’s history. This volcanic activity, in turn, is thought to have delivered the devastating climatic and biological upheavals that led to some of the most extreme extinctions of biological life.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study of past global change events, such as in the Toarcian, allows scientists to disentangle the different processes that control the causes and consequences of global carbon cycle changes and constrain fundamental Earth system processes that control tipping points in Earth’s climate system.



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

Major volcanic events linked to the slowing of tectonic plates

In the past history of Earth there have been times...

An,Antarctica,Nature,Scene,,With,A,Group,Of,Five,Adelie

Our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-grew-larger-as-the-oceans-cooled-over-millennia/">oceans</a> have absorbed over 90 percent of carbon monoxide emissions in the last 50 years, and the Southern Ocean has taken on the most of these emissions.&nbsp;



"The Southern Ocean dominates this ocean heat uptake, due in part to the geographic set-up of the region," said study lead author Maurice Huguenin, a PhD candidate at the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">University of New South Wales</a>. "Antarctica, which is surrounded by the Southern Ocean, is also surrounded by strong westerly winds."



"These winds influence how the waters absorb heat, and around Antarctica they can exert this influence while remaining uninterrupted by land masses – this is key to the Southern Ocean being responsible for pretty much all of the net global ocean heat uptake."



Huguenin explained that cold water is drawn to the ocean's surface due to the uninterrupted wind patterns near Antarctica. As water is driven to the north, it absorbs heat from the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the South Ocean won't save us from the effect of climate change and rising sea levels.



"Sea levels are rising because heat causes water to expand and ice to melt. Ecosystems are experiencing unprecedented heat stress, and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events is changing," said study co-author Matthew England. "All future projections, including even the most optimistic scenarios, predict warmer oceans in the future."



"If the Southern Ocean continues to account for the vast majority of heat uptake until 2100, we might see its warmth increase by up to seven times more than what we have already seen up to today."



This increase in warmth would be felt worldwide. It would affect the Southern Ocean's food web, causing ice shelves to melt, and impact ocean currents.



The scientists hope this research encourages ongoing monitoring of the Southern Ocean, including using Argo floats, instruments that can track the ocean's temperature, even at great depths. There is also an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions.



"The less carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere, the less ocean change and sea-level rise we will lock in," said the researchers. "This can help limit the level of adaptation required by the billions of people living near the ocean, by minimising the detrimental impacts of ocean warming on both sea-level and their primary food source."



This research is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32540-5">Nature Communications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The Southern Ocean could become seven times hotter this century

Our oceans have absorbed over 90 percent of carbon monoxide...

Sampling near Penn State’s Fruit Research and Extension Center shows a decline in bee populations. The results of the study, published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9190">Ecology and Evolution</a> are worrying to researchers.



“Bees are one of the most important groups of pollinators, but previous research has found troubling declines among wild bees,” said study lead author Nash Turley, a postdoctoral scholar at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a>. “For example, the range and abundance of some species have shrunk substantially, especially bumble bees in North America and Europe. Tracking changes in bee biodiversity is important for developing pollinator management plans that can help sustain wild plant communities and maximize crop yields.”



The researchers intended for their study to characterize bee community changes from 2014 to 2019 (the period when they sampled bees). Bees were collected continuously from eight sampling spots near four orchards from April to October of each year.&nbsp;



“These orchards are in a landscape that has high diversity and abundance of native plants and pollinators,” said study co-author Professor David Biddinger. “Only about 8% of the landscape is active orchards, and all of them are successfully pollinated only by wild pollinators.”



Overall, 26,700 bees from five families, 30 genera and 144 species were collected, representing 33 percent of the bee species known to live in Pennsylvania. The researchers found that the composition of bees was different in almost every month. Abundance of individuals as well as species of bees increased from April to June, for instance.



These seasonal changes are important, according to study co-author Professor Margarita López-Uribe.



“These groups of bees provide unique ecological functions,” said Professor López-Uribe. “For example, many of the early emerging bee species are of critical importance for early flowering plants such as spring ephemeral wildflowers, and these bee-plant interactions may be particularly sensitive to disruptions from climate change. And many crops, such as apples and blueberries, rely on pollination by early emerging wild bees.”



Unfortunately, the researchers found that some of these bees are in decline. They determined that 26 of the bee species had stable populations over time, while 13 species showed a decline over time. This is about one-third of the species with good data.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Wild bee communities are diverse and dynamic, and little is known about what species or groups have the greatest conservation needs,” said Professor López-Uribe. “Our findings could help to quantify the effects that different aspects of environmental change have on bee communities and to identify species of conservation concern.”



Image Credit: Nash Turley/Penn State



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bee populations in Pennsylvania are on the decline

Sampling near Penn State’s Fruit Research and Extension Center shows...

Microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi play a fundamental role in the health of tropical forest ecosystems, by breaking down dead organic matter and either using the carbon it contains or releasing it into the environment as carbon dioxide. According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a>, global warming will most likely cause a significant decline in the number of species of microbes living in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/billions-of-tons-of-co2-could-be-released-from-tropical-soils/">tropical soils</a> and thus threaten rainforest biodiversity and increase carbon emissions.



Climate models estimate that the tropics could warm by two to five degrees Celsius by the end of the 21st century. In an experiment on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, the researchers warmed five plots in a lowland tropical forest to investigate what would happen if tropical soils were exposed to such levels of predicted warming. After two years, they discovered that the biodiversity of microbes in the heated plots declined significantly.&nbsp;



“This research is prompting us to think differently about the way a warmer climate may affect tropical soils, which support some of the world’s richest biodiversity and are a globally important store of carbon,” said study lead author Andrew Nottingham, a forest ecologist at the University of Leeds.



“If the results that we have seen in just two years are representative of what will occur in global tropical soils, then there will be a major negative impact on the rich ecosystems they support. A major question is whether any of the microbes missing in the warmed plots played a key role in soil functioning, because we know that soil diversity is correlated with soil health. There are further likely implications for plants as tropical rainforests include associations and symbioses between microbes in the soil and the vegetation.”



According to Dr. Nottingham and his colleagues, changes in the population of microbes in warming soils will most likely affect these associations, potentially making a large number of them impossible. Thus, changes in the underground microbe community will prompt major changes in the plant communities above ground.



In addition, the scientists have also found that warming soils will emit more CO2 in the atmosphere, thus further exacerbating climate change. “The implications of these results are alarming – but by demonstrating how sensitive these ecosystems are to a warming climate, the results emphasize the urgency for conserving these biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems and to tightly limit current warming,” Dr. Nottingham concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01200-1">Nature Microbiology</a>.&nbsp;



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

Tropical soils may be deeply changed by global warming

Microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi play a fundamental role...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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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...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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...

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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