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...

Kelp forms vast seaweed forests along temperate coastlines, sequestering large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. However, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.uwa.edu.au/">University of Western Australia</a>, warming oceans will likely reduce <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/kelp-forest/">kelp forests</a>’ capacity to trap atmospheric carbon for extended periods of time in deep ocean stores, thus exacerbating the effects of climate change.



Carbon sequestered by kelp forests can feed other organisms during decomposition, or it can remain trapped in the deep ocean for hundreds or even thousands of years. To better understand how the capacity of kelp forests to build long-term carbon stores will change as oceans warm, the scientists examined kelp decomposition rates at 35 different locations across the Northern Hemisphere.&nbsp;



By collecting fragments of fresh kelp and placing them inside a mesh bag within a plastic cage tethered to the sea floor for four to 18 weeks, they found that sea temperature has a strong influence on the rate of decomposition, with kelp fragments in cooler waters degrading more slowly.&nbsp;



On the other hand, sea temperature rises caused by climate change could accelerate decomposition, reducing the amount of stored carbon. The researchers estimate that projected increases in sea temperature of 0.4 degrees Celsius by 2050 could reduce the carbon sequestration potential of decomposing kelp by nine percent.



Fortunately, kelp forests are predicted to expand in higher latitudes as the climate warms. There, slower decompositions rates will likely make these new forests major contributors to long-term ocean carbon sequestration.&nbsp;



“Our experiment measured kelp carbon turnover across twelve regions throughout the northern hemisphere and found that carbon breakdown was strongly linked to ocean temperature. This suggests that kelp carbon storage could be reduced as the ocean warms and that kelp forests in cool polar environments have potential to be important blue carbon ecosystems,” concluded study lead author Karen Filbee-Dexter, a marine ecologist at the University of Western Australia.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001702">PLoS Biology</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;

Kelp forests are losing their capacity to trap carbon

Kelp forms vast seaweed forests along temperate coastlines, sequestering large...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-horses-have-higher-stress-levels-than-domestic-ones/">Horses</a> have been living together with human for thousands of years – a long co-evolution that helped them develop impressive social skills: they seem to be highly receptive to human emotions and are proficient at understanding human demands. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.utu.fi/en">University in Turku</a> in Finland has found that horses are often more reluctant in new situations if they have multiple riders, have had several owners, or have been with the current owner for just a brief period of time.&nbsp;



“Domestic horses may spend several hours daily in close contact with humans, which can affect horse welfare, physiology, and behavior. Therefore, it is important to understand which factors can influence the horses’ emotions during interactions with humans and what shapes their relationship - particularly in novel situations that can be very stressful to the animals,” said study lead author Océane Liehrmann, a doctoral student in Biology at the University of Turku.



The researchers recruited 76 privately owned horses from the Turku area and analyzed their reactions to novel objects. In a first experiment, the horses were led to walk on two surfaces which were new to them – a white tarp and a fluffy blanket – while in a second test, they were presented with a fluffy stuffed toy. In both cases, the horses had to interact either with their owner or a stranger.



“Interestingly, horses with an exclusive relationship with their owner were the calmest when approaching the novel surfaces and easily agreed to be touched with the toy. Horses that are regularly ridden or trained by different persons showed more stress behaviors in the test situations,” Liehrmann explained.



Moreover, the experiments revealed that horses with shorter relationships with their owners were more reluctant in new situations and seemed more stressed when asked to interact with unfamiliar objects or surfaces. By contrast, those that had at least six to eight years of relationship with their owner were usually very calm in novel situations. Horses older than 17 refused more often to step on the unfamiliar surfaces when led by a stranger, while they easily agreed to when led by their owners.



“Our findings suggest that a positive horse-human relationship may take time to develop as it is shaped by multiple factors, such as the horse’s previous interactions with humans. Overall, the results show that animals’ relationships with their human caretakers should be better considered in animal welfare and its research,” Liehrmann concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105709">Applied Animal Behavior Science</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;

Horses with a trusted owner remain calm in new situations

Horses have been living together with human for thousands of...

According to a new book called Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity, rising <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-economic-inequality/">inequality</a> in the next 50 years may lead to increasingly dysfunctional societies, making the cooperation needed to deal with threats such as climate change much more difficult. However, the experts identify five “extraordinary turnarounds” needed to end global poverty and maintain temperatures below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and argue that following these guidelines, humanity has a chance to survive the climatic and economic catastrophes it is currently facing.



“We are standing on a cliff edge,”&nbsp;said&nbsp;book co-author Jørgen Randers, a professor emeritus of Climate Strategy at the <a href="https://www.bi.edu/">BI Norwegian Business School</a>.&nbsp;“In the next 50 years, the current economic system will drive up social tensions and drive down well-being. We can already see how inequality is destabilizing people and the planet.”



“Unless there is truly extraordinary action to redistribute wealth, things will get significantly worse.&nbsp;We are already sowing the seeds for regional collapse. Societies are creating vicious cycles where rising social tensions that are exacerbated by climate breakdown will continue to lead to a decline in trust. This risks an explosive combination of extreme political destabilization and economic stagnation at a time when we must do everything we can to avoid climate catastrophes.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The book explores two possible scenarios beginning in the 1980s and ending at the end of the 21st century. In the first one – entitled “Too Little, Too Late” – humanity will continue with the same economic policies from the last four decades. Such a pathway will likely create extreme inequalities, increase social tensions within and between countries, exacerbate political division and lack of trust, and push global temperatures above the 2.5°C threshold.



“In this scenario, the model indicates that regional societal collapse, driven by rising social tensions, food insecurity, and environmental degradation, is more likely than today. Regional and global crises are often not caused by a single event like one crop failure, but cascading failures made worse by climate change, chronically dysfunctional governments, and system failures,” explained co-author Espen Stokes, the director of the <a href="https://www.bi.edu/research/centres-groups-and-other-initiatives/centre-for-sustainability-and-energy/">Center for Sustainability and Energy</a> at the BI Norwegian Business School.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, in a second scenario - called “the Giant Leap” – the scientists argue that it is in fact possible to stabilize global temperatures below the 2°C threshold and the world population below nine billion, as well as to end extreme global poverty by 2050, thus relaxing social tensions and increasing well-being. To achieve this, societies would need to urgently act across five interconnected turnarounds:



<ol><li>Ending global poverty&nbsp;through reforms of the international financial system</li><li>Addressing inequality&nbsp;by ensuring that the wealthiest 10 percent take less than 40 percent of national incomes</li><li>Achieving full gender equity by 2050 through continuous empowerment of women</li><li>Transforming the food system&nbsp;to provide healthy diets&nbsp;</li><li>Transitioning to clean energy&nbsp;in order to reach net zero emissions by mid-century</li></ol>



“Citizens across the globe recognize we need a new paradigm. And we estimate the investment needed for this shift is small, just two-four percent of GDP annually. That’s less than our current annual subsidies to fossil fuel industries.&nbsp;This is easily affordable, and it will create millions of jobs. What is missing is coalitions of politicians willing to make it happen,” concluded co-author Sandrine Dixson-Declève, an expert in Climate Science at the <a href="https://www.clubofrome.org/">Club of Rome</a>.&nbsp;



More details about these initiatives can be found on <a href="https://www.earth4all.life/">Earth4All</a>, a website launched as a companion to the book. In addition, the book’s 15 policy recommendations with the greatest potential to accelerate the five turnarounds can be found&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BIMP6iUt7h_l8ob17997CvcuCsxnI2rRk56ArWOmhhg/edit?usp=sharing">here</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;&nbsp;

Survival pathways in the face of climate catastrophe

According to a new book called Earth for All: A...

Not all microbes bring disease and discomfort for animals; in fact, many are very useful, or even essential for survival. Beetles of the genus Lagria are dependent on their symbiotic bacterial bodyguards for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reproductive-capacity-decreases-with-depth/">reproductive</a> success, and therefore have to keep them close. This is not a simple matter as the beetles metamorphose completely during their life cycle, meaning that their tissues get reorganized, new organs develop and their exoskeletons get shed. All of this makes it difficult for the useful microbes to tag along to beetle adulthood.



Female beetles lay their eggs in humid soil, under leaf litter, where the eggs would certainly be colonized by fungi that are present among the decomposing leaves. This would lead to the decay and death of the eggs. Instead, a female carries several species of symbiotic bacteria in glands near the oviduct and, when she lays the eggs, bacteria get squeezed out and coat the surface of the eggs. These bacteria produce several types of antibiotic substances that protect the eggs, and then the larvae and pupae, from fungal colonization.&nbsp;



Until now, however, it has not been understood how the symbiotic bacteria remain with a beetle offspring as it changes through the egg, larva and pupa stages, such that the bacteria are present in the adult female’s reproductive organs when it is time for her to lay her own eggs. A new study by researchers from Germany and Denmark has now identified three unique storage pockets that are present, like backpacks, on the dorsal surface of each larva and that ensure the essential bacteria are carried along during the life cycle.&nbsp;



“Here we show how an insect can maintain beneficial microbial partners despite the drastic rearrangements of body structures that occur during metamorphosis,” said corresponding author Dr. Laura V. Flórez, a researcher at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences of the University of Copenhagen. “By modifying unique ‘pockets’ on their backs,&nbsp;Lagria&nbsp;beetles manage to keep their protective symbionts and facilitate their relocation, during pupation, to newly developed adult organs.”



Females of many&nbsp;Lagria&nbsp;species carry a mix of beneficial bacteria in their paired glands next to the oviduct. Antibiotics produced by the bacteria protect, the eggs, larvae, and pupae of the beetles against fungi. In one of the species studied here,&nbsp;L. villosa, the largest component of the symbiotic mix is a strain of Burkholderia bacteria called Lv-StB, which has lost the genes and cellular structures for motility, and probably can't survive for long outside the beetles.



Flórez and colleagues show, in their publication in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2022.979200/full">Frontiers in Physiology</a>, that&nbsp;L. villosa&nbsp;and&nbsp;L. hirta&nbsp;female pupae house their symbionts mostly inside the three two-lobed pockets on the back of the thorax, where they may be nourished by the beetles. Such ‘back pockets’ in larvae and pupae aren't known in any other insect. In female pupae, symbionts also congregate in a fourth spot, between bristles at the back of the head. The pockets are only vestigial in male pupae, and contain few or no symbionts. Clearly, the males have no role in laying eggs and therefore do not need to store useful bacteria for this purpose.&nbsp;



“The symbionts go from the highly exposed egg surface to colonize the pockets on the back of the larvae and pupae. Finally, they end up in specialized glands associated with the reproductive system of adult females,” summarized first author Rebekka S. Janke, a doctoral student at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.



But how, exactly, do the microbes get from the storage pockets on the pupa’s back, down to the genital organs at the tip of the abdomen of an adult female?&nbsp;



To answer this question, the experts scattered miniscule fluorescent beads, each only 1.0 μm wide, across the surface of early pupae. They found that, after the pupa had emerged, the majority of these beads ended up on the tip of the abdomen. The researchers conclude that the beads, like presumably the symbionts, are shuffled towards the genitals by friction during the emergence process. The mechanism by which the symbionts then colonize the accessory glands of females is not yet known.



“In the adult stage, the main purpose of the symbiotic organs seems to be to enable successful transmission onto the egg stage and to the next generation. Since only females lay eggs, male adults do not need to carry these potentially costly symbionts and are a dead-end for the bacteria,” explained Flórez.



“To better understand how beneficial symbionts are transmitted and maintained within and across generations, we'll need to identify which host and symbiont factors regulate symbiont establishment," said study co-author Dr. Martin Kaltenpoth. "For example, does the host select for specific symbionts? And through which mechanisms can immotile symbionts colonize the symbiotic organs?”



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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

Beetles have "backpacks" to protect their eggs

Not all microbes bring disease and discomfort for animals; in...

Boreal forests in the far north make up the largest forested region in the world. These <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-can-earths-ecosystems-adapt-to-climate-change/">ecosystems</a> are extremely important for capturing carbon. Unfortunately, research shows that climate change is already impacting northern forests in both positive and negative ways.&nbsp;



Boreal forests are composed mainly of conifer species such as spruce, fir, and pine. There are also a few much less common broadleaf hardwood trees such as oak and maple. Experts have determined that global warming is likely causing a decrease in growth in the conifers, along with an increase in growth in the hardwoods.&nbsp;



These observational studies were recently confirmed and enhanced by a rare experimental study on the impact of climate change on northern forests.



Nine species of native boreal trees were planted and grown under different conditions. Some of the trees were left alone as controls. Others were grown with temperatures raised by two hypothetical amounts: 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.9 degrees Fahrenheit) and 3.1 C (5.6 F) above natural temperatures. Some of the trees were covered by tarps prior to storms to mimic a reduction in rainfall.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The results of the analysis showed that even a moderate change in climate is likely to have negative impacts on boreal forest composition.&nbsp;



Study lead author Paul Reich is the director of the Institute for Global Change Biology at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability and a forest ecologist at the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a>.



"Our results spell problems for the health and diversity of future regional forests," said Reich. "Present-day southern boreal forest may reach a tipping point with even modest climate warming, resulting in a major compositional shift with potential adverse impacts on the health and diversity of regional forests."



"Those impacts could reduce the capacity of our forests to produce timber, to host other plant, microbial and animal diversity, to dampen flooding, and - perhaps most important of all - to scrub carbon out of the air and hold it in wood and soil."&nbsp;



The researchers found that elevated temperatures increased the death rate of all nine of the tree species and the growth rate of seven of the trees. This suggests that there will be a shift in boreal forests in the future and the potential incursion of invasive species already in temperate forests.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05076-3">Nature</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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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

Northern forests are being transformed by global warming

Boreal forests in the far north make up the largest...

The Greenland ice sheet is set to lose more than three percent of its mass, which will cause nearly a foot of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rural-areas-of-the-us-will-be-hardest-hit-by-sea-level-rise/">sea-level</a> rise, according to a study published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>.&nbsp;The experts report that 3.3 percent of the ice sheet - the equivalent 110 trillion tons of ice - is now doomed.&nbsp;



Study co-author William Colgan is a glaciologist at the <a href="https://eng.geus.dk/">Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland</a>. He explained that the culprit is "zombie ice," which is no longer being fed by larger glaciers.



"It's dead ice. It's just going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet," Colgan said in an interview. "This ice has been consigned to the ocean, regardless of what climate (emissions) scenario we take now."



For the investigation, study lead author Professor Jason Box collaborated with scientists in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States. The experts set out to predict the minimum volume of ice that will be lost from the Greenland ice sheet as human-driven climate change continues.



The team estimated an inevitable loss of ten inches, or 27 centimeters, from zombie ice alone. This is more than double the amount of sea level rise that has been previously predicted from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.&nbsp;Furthermore, Professor Box emphasized that the latest estimate is actually quite conservative.&nbsp;



"It is a very conservative rock-bottom minimum. Realistically, we will see this figure more than double within this century," said Professor Box. “In the foreseeable scenario that global warming will only continue, the contribution of the Greenland Ice Sheet to sea level rise will only continue increasing.&nbsp;



"When we take the extreme melt year 2012 and take it as a hypothetical average constant climate later this century, the committed mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet more than doubles to 78 cm.”



The research is unique in that it has produced a minimum figure for Greenland ice loss based on two decades worth of actual measurements, rather than depending on highly uncertain computer models.



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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

Greenland will contribute almost a foot to sea level rise

The Greenland ice sheet is set to lose more than...

Social interactions between animals of the same species are often characterized by cooperation within groups and conflict or competition between groups. However, in certain circumstances, cooperation can arise between different social groups, such as is commonly apparent between groups of humans. Cooperation between groups is sometimes driven by the need for protection against common threats, such as predators, competitors or environmental hardships, but it can also be beneficial in securing access to scarce resources, such as females.&nbsp;



For a long time it was thought that intergroup cooperation was a behavior unique to humans as it has not been recorded among other social animals. However, a new study on male bottlenose <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dolphins-have-accents-that-vary-by-region/">dolphins</a> in Australia has shown that they too benefit from maintaining multiple-level alliance networks between groups of associated individuals.&nbsp;



The research team, led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, analyzed association and consortship data to model the structure of alliances between 121 adult male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Shark Bay in Western Australia. The findings have been published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).



“Cooperation between allies is widespread in human societies and one of the hallmarks of our success. Our capacity to build strategic, cooperative relationships at multiple social levels, such as trade or military alliances both nationally and internationally, was once thought unique to our species," explained study co-lead author <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/stephanie-l-king">Dr. Stephanie King</a>, an associate professor in Bristol’s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/biology/">School of Biological&nbsp;Sciences</a>.



The Bristol University scientists, along with colleagues from the University of Zurich and University of Massachusetts, found that male dolphins in Shark Bay form first-order alliances of two–three males and that these pairs or trios of unrelated males cooperate to herd individual females. Multiple first-order alliances (numbering 4-14 unrelated males) cooperate in teams to pursue and defend females, representing a second-order of alliances. In addition, multiple teams also work together, forming third-order alliances out of cooperating second-order alliances.&nbsp;



These findings indicate that dolphins make use of a complex, hierarchical social network system with cooperation between non-related individuals. Indeed, the researchers say that these dolphins exhibit the largest known multi-level alliance network of any non-human animal.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Not only have we shown that male bottlenose dolphins form the largest known multi-level alliance network outside humans, but that cooperative relationships between&nbsp;groups, rather than simply alliance size, allows males to spend more time with females, thereby increasing their reproductive success," said Dr. King.



“We show that the duration over which these teams of male dolphins consort females is dependent upon being well-connected with third-order allies, that is, social ties&nbsp;between&nbsp;alliances leads to long-term benefits for these males," said Dr. Simon Allen, senior lecturer at Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences.



Intergroup cooperation in humans was thought to be unique and dependent upon two other features that distinguish humans from our common ancestor with chimpanzees - the evolution of pair bonds and parental care by males. “However, our results show that intergroup alliances can emerge without these features, from a social and mating system that is more chimpanzee-like,” noted Professor Richard Connor of the University of Massachusetts, who co-led the study with Dr. King.



The publication of the importance of intergroup alliances in dolphins in 2022 holds special significance as the team celebrates the 40th&nbsp;anniversary of the start of Shark Bay dolphin research in 1982, and the 30th&nbsp;anniversary of the publication in 1992 of their discovery of two levels of male alliance formation, also published in&nbsp;The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.



“It is rare for non-primate research to be conducted from an anthropology department, but our study shows that important insights about the evolution of characteristics previously thought to be uniquely human can be gained by examining other highly social, large-brained taxa," explained study co-author Dr. Michael Krützen, head of the Anthropology Institute at the University of Zurich.



“Our work highlights that dolphin societies, as well as those of nonhuman primates, are valuable model systems for understanding human social and cognitive evolution," concluded Dr. King.



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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

Male dolphins form alliances to access females

Social interactions between animals of the same species are often...

Health misinformation and disinformation are a major public health concern, with a massive spread of fake health news on social media platforms over the past few years. Such <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-are-some-people-fascinated-by-fake-news/">fake news</a> are often inaccurate and incomplete and can lead to poor health choices, risk-taking behavior, and loss of trust in health authorities. While research on message credibility has focused largely on adults, a new study led by the <a href="https://uniba.sk/en">Comenius University Bratislava</a> has now investigated to what extent teenagers are equipped to tackle the high volume of online fake health news.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that 41 percent of the teenagers were unable to tell the difference between true and fake medical content, and that not even the poor editing of health messages was perceived as a sign of low trustworthiness.&nbsp;



“There has been an explosion of misinformation in the area of health during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said study principal investigator Radomír Masaryk, an expert in Health Psychology at Comenius. “As adolescents are frequent users of the internet, we usually expect that they already know how to approach and appraise online information, but the opposite seems to be true.”



Previous research has found that teenagers look at the structural features of a website, such as language and appearance, to evaluate the information they find. For instance, authoritative organizations, trusted brands, or the use of business-like language tend to be more trusted. By contrast, the presence of editorial elements like superlatives, clickbait, grammar mistakes, authority appeal, and bold typeface, reduced the credibility of the content.



To test these hypotheses, Professor Masaryk and his colleagues presented 300 teenagers with seven short messages about the health effects of various fruits and vegetables. These messages belonged to different categories: fake messages, true neutral messages, and true messages with editorial elements (superlatives, clickbait etc.) The participants were asked to rate the trustworthiness of the messages.



The teenagers seemed to be able to distinguish between overtly fake health messages and health messages either true or slightly charged with editing elements, with 48 percent of the participants trusting the true neutral health messages more than the fake ones. However, a staggering 41 percent of them considered fake and true neutral messages equally trustworthy, while 11 percent considered true neutral messages less trustworthy than the fake ones.



These rather disheartening results highlight an urgent need for better instruction of teenagers to spot editing cues that give away the quality of a piece of information, and an increase in health literacy and media literacy training to help them develop skills such as analytical thinking and scientific reasoning.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.940903">Frontiers in Psychology</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;&nbsp;

Alarming number of teens can't recognize fake health news

Health misinformation and disinformation are a major public health concern,...

Numerous past studies have shown a link between levels of physical activity and the risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/steep-rise-in-cardiovascular-disease-expected-in-the-u-s/">cardiovascular disease</a> (CVD). Despite the fact that mortality from CVD has decreased in recent decades, it remains a leading contributor to the global burden of disease and physical activity is an important, modifiable risk factor that can be implemented in a person’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weight-loss-can-be-achieved-at-any-age-with-simple-lifestyle-changes/">lifestyle</a> without too much difficulty. However, most of the evidence in studies to date has relied on self-reported levels of physical activity, which may be prone to various sources of bias and inaccuracy.



A new study by researchers based at the University of Glasgow is the first to use device-measured levels of physical exercise to investigate the association between activity and risk of heart failure. During the years 2013–2015, participants were randomly invited to take part in the study if they had already given their data to the U.K. Biobank, a large research database in the United Kingdom that enrolled and collected health information on 500,000 adults between 2006 and 2010.&nbsp;



The 94,739 adults that were selected in this way had an average age of 56, were predominantly female (57 percent) and white (97 percent). None of them had been diagnosed with heart failure or had had a heart attack at the time of their enrolment in this study. Each participant wore a wrist accelerometer for seven consecutive days, 24 hours per day, to measure the intensity and duration of physical activity. Subsequent data on incidence of heart attacks in participants was collected through linked hospital and death records.



The results of the analysis showed that, during the follow-up period (median duration of 6.1 years after the physical activity measurement was conducted), adults who had logged 150–300 minutes of moderate physical activity in one week had a 63 percent lower risk of heart failure, compared to participants who engaged in minimal to no physical activity. Adults who had performed 75–150 minutes of vigorous physical activity in one week were estimated to have a 66 percent lower risk of heart failure. These estimated risk reductions are after taking into account factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, education, socioeconomic conditions, smoking, alcohol intake and diet.



Physical activity is such an important aspect of keeping ourselves healthy that the US Department of Health and Human Services issued&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2712935">Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans</a>&nbsp;in 2018. They recommended that adults engage in at least 150–300 min/wk of moderate physical activity or 75–150 min/wk of vigorous physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both intensities. The American Heart Association followed suit, recommending at least 150 min/wk of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or at least 75 min/wk of vigorous aerobic exercise, or a combination of both.



“There are many potential ways that regular physical activity may reduce the risk of developing heart failure,” said Frederick K. Ho, Ph.D., co-lead author of the study and a lecturer in public health at the University of Glasgow. “For example, physical activity helps prevent weight gain and related cardiometabolic conditions, such as high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes, all of which are risk factors for heart failure. Regular physical exercise may also strengthen the heart muscle which, in turn, may prevent heart failure from developing.”



Heart failure&nbsp;is a chronic, progressive condition that develops when the heart is not capable of pumping sufficient blood to keep up with the body’s needs for blood and oxygen, and it can result in fatigue and difficulty breathing. Heart failure affects more than 6 million adults in the United States, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001052">American Heart Association</a>, and more than 86,000 Americans died of heart failure in 2019.&nbsp;



According to Ho, the study results suggest that going above and beyond the current AHA recommendations for moderate activity may provide even greater protection against heart failure. “We found that moderate physical activity has the potential increased cardiovascular risk benefits up until 500 min/wk, as appropriate for each individual,” he said. However, participants who performed more than 150 min/wk of vigorous physical activity showed did not show a further reduction in risk of heart failure.&nbsp;



“These findings indicate that every physical movement counts. A leisurely, 10-minute walk is better than sitting and no physical activity. And, if possible, try to walk a little faster, which increases the intensity and potential benefits of exercise,” Ho said.



People whose risk of heart failure is high, due to their being overweight or obese, having high blood pressure or elevated glucose or cholesterol, may be particularly likely to benefit from increasing their physical activity, according to Ho and colleagues.



“Health care professionals may suggest more physical activity based on a patient’s current lifestyle and health status,” Ho said. “Generally, moderate physical activity is easier to incorporate into daily routines, and it’s generally safer. Vigorous physical activity is sometimes the most time-efficient and may be more suitable for busy people. However, caution is advised for all when beginning a new physical activity regimen to prevent injuries or acute adverse events (such as a heart attack in a formerly sedentary person initiating a vigorous exercise program).”



Although the results of the study suggest a link between reduced risk of heart failure and boosting the duration, frequency and intensity of exercise, this is an observational study and so it cannot prove a cause-and-effect link. Further experimentation would be required for this. In addition, because participants were overwhelmingly white, further studies would be needed to confirm that these results also apply to people from diverse backgrounds.



“Our findings add to the overwhelming body of other evidence, suggesting that maintaining even a modest amount of regular physical activity can help prevent a range of chronic conditions from developing, including heart failure,” said senior study author Professor Naveed Sattar.



The research is published in Circulation, the flagship journal of the <a href="https://www.heart.org/">American Heart Association</a>



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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

Even modest exercise reduces the risk of heart failure

Numerous past studies have shown a link between levels of...

Beautiful,Green,Forest,Scenery:,The,Sun,And,Green,Branches,Framing

For centuries, scientists have noticed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-find-new-way-to-measure-stress-in-plants/">plants</a> lengthen and bend to secure access to sunlight. However, the precise mechanisms behind this phenomenon are not yet clearly understood.&nbsp;



Now, a research team led by the <a href="http://archive">Salk Institute for Biological Research</a> in San Diego, California has discovered that two plant factors – the protein PIF7 and the growth hormone auxin – are the main triggers which accelerate growth when plants are shaded by canopy and exposed to warm temperatures simultaneously. These findings may help scientists predict how plants will respond to climate change, and possibly increase crop productivity despite the detrimental effects of global warming.



“Right now, we grow crops in certain densities, but our findings indicate that we will need to lower these densities to optimize growth as our climate changes,” said study senior author Joanne Chory, an expert in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Salk Institute. “Understanding the molecular basis of how plants respond to light and temperature will allow us to fine-tune crop density in a specific way that leads to the best yields.”



During sprouting, seedlings quickly elongate their stems to break through the soil and get access to sunlight as soon as possible. While the stem usually slows down its growth after being exposed to sunlight, it can lengthen rapidly again if the plant is competing with surrounding plants for light, or in response to warming temperature in order to increase the distance between the leaves and the hot ground. Although both canopy shade and warm temperatures induce stem growth, they reduce yield.



By using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, tomato plants, and a close relative to tobacco, the researchers investigated the factors leading to plant growth under canopy shade and in warm temperatures – a condition mimicking high crop density during climate change. They found that across all three species, the plants grew taller when trying to avoid the canopy shade created by neighboring plants, while being exposed to high temperatures.



Molecular analyses revealed that the transcription factor PIF7 – a protein playing a fundamental role in activating and deactivating certain genes – was the dominant factor driving the increased growth. Moreover, when crops detected neighboring plants, the growth hormone auxin also increased, fostering rapid growth in response to simultaneous warmer temperatures. Thus, the synergistic PIF7-auxin pathway is what allows plants to respond to environmental stressors and adapt to search for the best growing conditions.



“Global temperatures are increasing, so we need food crops that can thrive in these new conditions.&nbsp;We’ve identified key factors that regulate plant growth during warm temperatures, which will help us to develop better-performing crops to feed future generations,” Professor Chory concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32585-6">Nature Communications</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;&nbsp;

Light and temperature collaborate to boost plant growth

For centuries, scientists have noticed that plants lengthen and bend...

Although leopard seals are some of Antarctica’s apex predators, their solitary habits and lethal reputation, combined with their habitat’s extreme <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-die-offs-are-intensifying-with-climate-change/">climate</a>, make them one of the most difficult top predators to study on Earth. However, a research team led by <a href="https://www.baylor.edu/">Baylor University</a> has now attempted to shed more light on these fascinating creatures’ activities and behavioral patterns by studying 22 leopard seals off the Western Antarctica Peninsula, a region rapidly warming.



By weighing and measuring each seal and tracking their activities and diving patterns using satellite data and GPS tags, the scientists managed to document the flexible behaviors and traits which may offer leopard seals the necessary resilience to cope to Antarctica’s warming climate and environmental stresses.



“This study greatly increases our understanding of leopard seals’ life history, spatial patterns, and diving behavior,” said study lead author Sarah Kienle, an assistant professor of Biology at Baylor. “We show that these leopard seals have high variability (or, flexibility) in these different traits. Across the animal kingdom, variability is vital for animals adapting and responding to changes in their environment, so we’re excited to see high variability in this Antarctic predator.”



The analyses revealed that adult female leopard seals are 1.5 larger and longer than their male counterparts, an unusual phenomenon among marine mammals. According to the researchers, larger females may be better at defending feeding areas, and stealing prey from smaller seals. Moreover, they consume bigger, energy-rich prey, such as fur seals or penguins, while smaller females and males frequently eat smaller prey, like krill or fish.



Females also spend more time “hauled-out” on ice than males. For instance, two females spent two weeks hauled-out on ice in the middle of the ocean, without getting into the water or eating. The scientists argue that this two-week period is when female seals give birth and nurse their pups. Soon after, they wean their offspring and return to their usual activities.



Another interesting finding is that female and male leopard seals are capable of swimming both short and long distances in coastal, as well as open-ocean habitats. For example, one seal travelled only 46 kilometers from where the research team was located, while another one travelled 1,700 kilometers during the same period.



Finally, leopard seals of both sexes appear to be short, shallow divers, reaching an average of 30 meters deep during three-minute-long dives. However, there are exceptions too, with a male diving to 1,256 meters for 25 minutes.



“It’s interesting to see such variation [in movements and dive behavior] in a relatively small number of animals. To me, this means that leopard seals are highly flexible in their movement patterns, and that’s a really good thing in terms of adapting to changes in your environment,” Professor Kienle said.



In future research, the scientists aim to compare these leopard seals with other population across the Southern Ocean. “I have so many more questions, and I’m excited to continue learning about leopard seals for years to come. There’s so much more to discover about this incredible Antarctic predator,” Kienle concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.976019">Frontiers in Marine Research</a>.



---



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;

Scientists reveal new features of the elusive leopard seal

Although leopard seals are some of Antarctica’s apex predators, their...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en">Leiden University</a> has analyzed recent archaeological excavations from the Middle/Upper Paleolithic in Western Romania at the site of Româneşti, which is one of the most important southeastern European sites associated with the earliest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diverse-climates-homo-sapiens-thrive/">Homo sapiens</a> on this continent. These excavations offer a significant glimpse of how modern humans adapted to their new environment after reaching Europe.



Over the past decades, scientists have discovered many early Homo sapiens fossils in Southeastern Europe, most likely because they first entered the continent through the Balkan Peninsula. However, until recently, very few of such fossils have been associated with cultural remains. The excavations at Româneşti revealed a variety of artifacts which were probably geared towards producing highly standardized chipped stone bladelets that might have been used to straighten wooden shafts, suggesting that this region was a type of projectile workshop.



The presence of thousands of such artifacts, spanning around 300 kilometers around the site, together with evidence for onsite fire use, shows that Româneşti was an important place where the early humans returned frequently. Since microscopic analyses of the artifact surfaces revealed that most of them were not used, the site may have acted as a place for manufacturing tools which were later transported in other areas.



“The use of good-quality local, meso-local, and exotic raw materials at the onset of the Aurignacian [one of the first cultural-technological traditions commonly associated with the expansion of&nbsp;Homo sapiens&nbsp;in Europe] also demonstrates that Româneşti and the other Banat sites were repeatedly returned to from a range of distances up to 300&nbsp;km and were persistent places in the landscape,” the study authors explained.



Although these findings indicate changes in how Homo sapiens subsisted in comparison to the Neanderthals, further research is needed to clarify what the relationship of these early Homo sapiens with the Neanderthals was. While nearby contemporary fossils suggest that the two species of hominids were interbreeding, it is still not yet clear what this means for the ways in which their lifestyles were changing and how the archeological remains reflect this.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15544-5">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



---



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;

New clues about the earliest Europeans found in Romania

A new study led by Leiden University has analyzed recent...

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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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...

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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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