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...

On Thursday, August 25, 2022, by using NASA’s groundbreaking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-will-completely-change-how-we-view-the-universe/">James Webb Space Telescope</a>, a team of astrophysicists reported that they have detected <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trees-carbon-dioxide/">carbon dioxide</a> for the first time in the atmosphere of a planet located outside our solar system. The exoplanet, called WASP-39b, is a hot gas giant with a mass similar to Saturn’s, orbiting a Sun-like star 700 light-years away.&nbsp;



Besides providing important insights into this planet’s composition and formation, the discovery of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere also offers hope that the Webb telescope may be able to detect and measure carbon dioxide in the thinner atmosphere of smaller rocky planets.&nbsp;



WASP-39b was first discovered in 2011 by an international consortium called <a href="https://wasp-planets.net/">Wide Angle Search for Planets</a>, with the help of a network of robotic telescopes. Unlike the cooler, more compact gas giants from our solar system, this planet orbits very close to its star, completing one circuit in a just over four Earth-days.&nbsp;



While scientists have already detected the presence of water vapor, sodium, and potassium in its atmosphere, Webb telescope’s unmatched infrared sensitivity has now also confirmed the presence of carbon dioxide, providing the first clear, detailed evidence for carbon dioxide ever detected on an exoplanet.



“As soon as the data appeared on my screen, the whopping carbon dioxide feature grabbed me,” said Zafar Rustamkulov, a graduate student at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> and member of the <a href="https://ers-transit.github.io/">James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science</a> team, which conducted this investigation. “It was a special moment, crossing an important threshold in exoplanet sciences.”



“Detecting such a clear signal of carbon dioxide on WASP-39b bodes well for the detection of atmospheres on smaller, terrestrial-size planets,” added team leader Natalie Batalha, a professor of Astrophysics at the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>.



Understanding the composition of a planet’s atmosphere is crucial for clarifying the planet’s origins and evolution. “Carbon dioxide molecules are sensitive tracers of the story of planet formation,” explained team member Mike Line, an associate professor of Planetary Science at the <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a>.&nbsp;



“By measuring this carbon dioxide feature, we can determine how much solid versus how much gaseous material was used to form this gas giant planet. In the coming decade, JWST will make this measurement for a variety of planets, providing insight into the details of how planets form and the uniqueness of our own solar system.”



A detailed description of the composition of WASP-39b’s atmosphere and of what can be inferred about this planet’s formation and evolution will be published soon in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</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;

Carbon dioxide detected for the first time on an exoplanet

On Thursday, August 25, 2022, by using NASA’s groundbreaking James...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211912422000359?via%3Dihub">Global Food Security</a> has found that agricultural diversity can be an important driver of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-food-security/">food security</a>, although the magnitude of its contribution depends on the broader biophysical and socio-economical features of the local farming system. The researchers conducted an extensive literature review of the relationship between agricultural diversity and food security in low- and middle-income countries. They discovered that, in almost two-thirds of all cases, agricultural diversity had a positive effect on food security, while in one third of the cases there was no correlation, or the results were mixed.



According to experts, food security exists when all people, at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food supplies which meet their dietary needs and help them live a healthy and active life. Agricultural diversity includes the variety of crops, livestock breeds, fish species, and wildlife resources, as well as how they are processed and consumed. In the current study, the researchers took into account 40 indices measuring the relationships between the two.



“We looked at all the combinations you could think of and how to quantitatively measure between the food security and diversity indicators,” said study lead author Katharina Waha, a senior research scientist at the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/">Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization </a>&nbsp;(CSIRO) in Australia. “In terms of negative health outcomes for individuals, all the literature on nutritional and health outcomes would say that not having that diversity or quality is the final outcome.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, the analysis revealed that, although agricultural diversity can be highly beneficial for food security, it is not the only available strategy to increase the latter. Nonetheless, when diversification is also the cheapest strategy in terms of monetary and labor costs, it can be a highly effective option for improving agricultural practices and profits. According to the researchers, one way to conserve on-farm diversity is through daily use.&nbsp;



“If you have a diverse system, you can deal with biotic and abiotic stresses, for example, like the impacts of climate change,” added study co-author Elisabetta Gotor, an agricultural economist at the <a href="https://alliancebioversityciat.org/">Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT</a>.



Holistic study designs taking into account the natural, social, and economic aspects of agricultural and food systems are necessary to clarify the complex interactions between the two, and better understand the effects of diversification.



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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;

Agricultural diversity has a positive impact on food security

A new study published in the journal Global Food Security...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/">Liverpool John Moores University</a> has found that our sense of how quickly or slowly time is passing is partly structured by changes in our bodies. More specifically, the experts have shown that greater activity of the parasympathetic nervous system (SNS), characterized by increased <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-weather-heightens-risk-of-death-from-heart-disease/">heart</a> rate and electricity conductance, had a “small, but significant” effect on the feeling of time passing faster.



The scientists asked 67 participants to complete a normal day’s activities while wearing sensors measuring how their SNS was behaving, including a heart rate monitor and a skin sensor tracking electricity conductance caused by the activity of the sweat glands. The participants had to provide an hourly report regarding how fast or slow they felt time had passed.



“The results show, for the first time that increases in SNS activity can significantly speed up our subjective experience of time - being aroused really does make time pass more quickly,” explained study lead author Ruth Ogden, an experimental psychologist at Liverpool John Moores. “When an individual experiences a significant increase in heart rate or skin conductance this can make time seem like it is passing up to ten per cent faster.”



According to the scientists, this relatively small effect may be due to the participants experiencing quite “normal” days. If they had been experiencing a more chaotic fluctuation of events, the effect would have likely been greater. “The work I have done in the lab using electric shocks and other aversive stimuli has shown much larger effects of SNS activity on time experience,” Dr. Ogden said.&nbsp;



In her view, such changes in time experience could have evolutionary benefits. “When we think about why humans would experience distortions to time, one idea is that there is some sort of evolutionary benefit to having a flexible timing system - think back to being a cave man, having “extra time” may have provided some survival advantage.”



“Assuming this evolutionary survival account is correct then it wouldn’t make sense to have a timing system that waxed and waned with every small change in arousal. Instead it would need to be a system which reacted to large changes - fight or flight. In our study, participants were mainly students going about their normal daily lives - there really weren’t that many life or death situations and maybe this limited the role of arousal in time experience.”



In future research, the scientists aim to test this hypothesis by using a virtual reality environment in which participants are exposed to a variety of virtual threats.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-16198-z">Nature Scientific Reports</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;

Increased heart rate makes us feel time passing faster

A new study led by the Liverpool John Moores University...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a> (NYU) has found that two doses of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/psilocybin-can-safely-treat-mental-health-disorders/">psilocybin</a> – the main psychoactive compound from hallucinogenic mushrooms – reduces heavy drinking by 83 percent on average (when combined with psychotherapy) among people suffering from alcoholism. This is the first controlled trial exploring psilocybin as a treatment for excessive alcohol consumption.&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention</a> (CDC), excessive alcohol use kills nearly 95,000 Americans each year, frequently due to binge drinking or liver disease. Alcohol abuse has also been linked to enormous economic and workplace losses, injuries, and impaired learning, memory, and mental health. Current methods to treat alcohol dependency include psychotherapy, supervised detoxification programs, and drug regimens that reduce alcohol craving.&nbsp;



To test the effect of psychedelic treatment on alcoholism, the researchers enrolled 93 participants of both genders, and randomly assigned them to receive either two doses of psilocybin or an antihistamine placebo. Within an eight-month period from the start of the treatment, those given psilocybin reduced heavy drinking by 83 percent, while those in the placebo group only by 51 percent. Moreover, 48 percent of those who received psilocybin stopped drinking altogether, compared with 24 percent of the control group.



“Our findings strongly suggest that psilocybin therapy is a promising means of treating alcohol use disorder, a complex disease that has proven notoriously difficult to manage,” said study senior author Michael Bogenschutz, the director of the <a href="https://med.nyu.edu/departments-institutes/psychiatry/research/center-psychedelic-medicine">NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine.</a>&nbsp;



“As research into psychedelic treatment grows, we find more possible applications for mental health conditions. Beyond alcohol use disorder, this approach may prove useful in treating other addictions such as cigarette smoking and abuse of cocaine and opioids.”&nbsp;



More research is needed to document psilocybin’s effects and find the appropriate dosages before the treatment will be ready for widespread clinical use. Moreover, since this drug raises blood pressure and heart rate and can cause overwhelming and sometimes debilitating psychological and emotional effects, it should only be used in clinical settings in conjunction with psychological evaluation and preparation.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.2096">JAMA Psychiatry</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;

Psychedelic drug therapy could help treat alcoholism

A new study led by the New York University (NYU)...

As global temperatures have risen, so has the prevalence of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-worldwide-are-shockingly-vulnerable-to-climate-change/">fish</a> mass die-offs, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.uark.edu/">University of Arkansas</a>. Such catastrophic events can have severe impacts on the function of a variety of ecosystems, endangering fish populations and reducing the global food supply. The experts argue that the frequency of these events is steadily increasing, with potentially dire consequences for the whole world if greenhouse emissions are left unchecked.&nbsp;



The scientists compiled 526 documented cases of fish die-offs which occurred across the Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes between 2003 and 2013, and discovered that the main causes of these events were infectious diseases, summerkills, and winterkills. By narrowing their focus to summerkills – fish mass mortality linked to rising temperatures – they found a strong correlation between local air and water temperatures and the occurrence of such events. Their models that used either air or water temperature led to similar results – an important aspect, since air temperature data is more widely available globally than water temperature data.



After establishing a historical baseline, the researchers used air and water temperature-based models to estimate the frequencies of future summerkills. Local water temperature projection models estimated an approximate six-fold increase in the frequency of fish die-offs by 2100, while local air temperature projections predicted a staggering 34-fold increase.



“If there are eight summerkills per year now, the models suggest we could have about 41 per year based on water temperature estimates or about 182 per year based on air temperature estimates,” explained study lead author Simon Tye, a doctoral student in Evolutionary Ecology at the University of Arkansas.



“We think predictions from the water temperature model are more realistic, whereas predictions from the air temperature model indicate&nbsp;we need to better understand how and why regional air and water temperature estimates differ over time to predict how many mortality events may occur.”



Overall, the analysis revealed a strong correlation between rising temperatures and the frequency of ecological disasters. While the study only used data related to temperate northern lakes, the results could also apply to lakes in Arkansas. “One of the findings of the paper is that similar deviations in temperature affect all types of fish, such that a regional heatwave could lead to mortalities of both cold- and warm-water fish,” Tye said.



“Specifically, climate change is more than gradually increasing temperatures because it also increases temperature variation, such as we experienced much of this summer. In turn, our findings suggest these rapid changes in temperature affect a wide range of fish regardless of their thermal tolerance,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10274">Limnology and Oceanography Letters</a>.&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;

Fish die-offs are intensifying with climate change

As global temperatures have risen, so has the prevalence of...

As city populations grow, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/benefits-urban-agriculture/">urban agriculture</a> is increasingly considered to be an important local food source and a way to fight inequitable food access. However, little is known about how productive urban agriculture is compared to conventional food farming. According to a new study led by <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a>, urban gardeners and hydroponics can meet and sometimes even exceed the crop yields of rural farms.



The scientists compiled studies on urban agriculture from 53 countries to clarify which crops grow well in cities, what growing methods are more effective, and what type of urban spaces can be used for growing. The analysis revealed that urban yields for some crops - such as cucumbers, lettuce, or tubers – are two to four times higher then in the case of conventional farming.



While most studies on urban agriculture have focused on green spaces, such as private and community gardens, parks, or field growing operations, this study also took into consideration the so-called “gray” spaces - including rooftops or building facades - while examining a variety of crops grown in soils versus hydroponics, horizontal versus vertical farming, and natural versus controlled conditions.



“Surprisingly, there were few differences between overall yields in indoor spaces and outdoor green spaces, but there were clear differences in the suitability of crop types to different gray spaces,” reported study lead author Florian Payen, an environmental scientist at Lancaster.&nbsp;



While crops such as lettuce, broccoli, or kale are more naturally suited to be grown vertically in indoor spaces, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; other crops, like watery vegetables and leafy greens performed best in hydroponic environments. Since crops grown in fully controlled environments allow harvests to happen more times per year than those grown outside, such methods can lead to higher annual yields.



Current estimates suggest that between five and ten percent of legumes, vegetables, and tubers are grown in urban settings, and between 15 and 20 percent of global food is produced in cities. Once more data is collected, in-depth studies estimating cities’ potential to meet future food demands will be possible.



“As we engaged and talked with different stakeholders, such as government agencies and local councils, we realized that the absence of robust, comprehensive data on urban agricultural yields was preventing them from going ahead and supporting the development and implementation of urban food growing,” Payen explained. “We need to understand realistically how much this form of growing could contribute to food security to help make the business case for it.”&nbsp;



Further research is also needed to assess how food grown in cities might be impacted by pollution and to better understand whether growing food in cities has a smaller or larger carbon footprint than conventional agriculture.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2022EF002748">Earth’s Future</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;

Some crops have higher yields in an urban environment

As city populations grow, urban agriculture is increasingly considered to...

An international team of paleontologists led by the <a href="https://www.ulisboa.pt/">University of Lisbon</a> is currently investigating the remains of what could be the largest dinosaur found in Europe. The fossils were discovered in 2017 by the owner of a property in Pombal, Portugal, who spotted several fragments of fossilized bones in his yard while carrying out construction work. The remains are now thought to belong to a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sauropod-dinosaurs-lived-only-in-earths-warmer-regions/">sauropod</a> - a group of herbivorous, quadrupedal dinosaurs, with long neck and tails - measuring approximately 12 meters in height and 25 meters in length.



“It is not usual to find all the ribs of an animal like this, let alone in this position, maintaining their original anatomical position. This mode of preservation is relatively uncommon in the fossil record of dinosaurs, in particular sauropods, from the Portuguese Upper Jurassic,” said Elisabete Malafaia, a postdoctoral researcher in Geology at the University of Portugal.



Until now, an important set of elements of the axial skeleton has been unearthed at the site, including several vertebrae and ribs. The scientists believe that this remains belonged to a massive brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur which lived during the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous (approximately 160 to 100 million years ago), and was characterized by markedly developed forelimbs. Some of the most emblematic dinosaur species that belong to this group of sauropods include Brachiosaurus altithorax&nbsp;and&nbsp;Giraffatitan brancai, as well as Lusotitan atalaiensis, a Late Jurassic species found in Portugal’s West region.



The preservation characteristics and disposition of the fossils indicate the possible presence of other parts of the skeleton, a hypothesis the researchers aim to test during future excavation campaigns at the site.



“The research in the Monte Agudo paleontological locality confirms that the region of Pombal has an important fossil record of Late Jurassic vertebrates, which in the last decades has provided the discovery of abundant materials very significant for the knowledge of the continental faunas that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula at about 145 million years ago,” Dr. Malafaia concluded.&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;

Largest dinosaur skeleton in Europe discovered in Portugal

An international team of paleontologists led by the University of...

A new study has identified connections between cold <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-climate-change-affect-extreme-weather-events/">weather</a> and deaths from heart disease, particularly in poor neighborhoods. Hot weather was also linked with excess deaths from heart disease and stroke in patients with heart conditions.



“Climate change is leading to a rise in the average global temperature but also extreme cold in some regions. More than 70,000 excess deaths occurred across Europe during the summer of 2003 due to intense heatwaves," said Professor Stefan Agewall of the University of Oslo, Norway.



"Cold weather also accounts for excess deaths and hospital admissions. Previously studies on the cardiovascular effects of heat and cold mainly used aggregated data, such as daily deaths in a city. The EXHAUSTION project used individual data, enabling us to identify vulnerable subgroups for protective interventions, thereby increasing resilience for future weather events.”



The analysis included 2.28 million adults from five cohort studies conducted in Italy, Germany, the UK, Norway, and Sweden between 1994 and 2010. Participants with and without cardiovascular disease were included.&nbsp;



The relationships between temperature and cardiovascular conditions and death were analyzed for all participants.&nbsp;



The researchers compared the temperature on the day of the week an adverse event occurred (e.g. Monday) with the temperature on the same day without an adverse event (e.g. all remaining Mondays) within the same month.



In particular, the experts found increased risks of death from cardiovascular disease and heart disease associated with cold weather.&nbsp;



With a temperature drop of 10°C, from 5°C to -5°C, there was a 19 percent greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 22 percent elevated likelihood of death from heart disease.&nbsp;



The relationship between cold temperature and death was pronounced in men and people living in poor neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the relationship between cold and new-onset heart disease was stronger among women and those older than 65.



Interestingly, heat was not related to detrimental effects in the overall study population. However, temperature rises from 15°C to 24°C were associated with 25 to 30 percent elevated risks of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke in people with heart disease.



“Clinicians can use this information to provide tailored advice to those most at risk of adverse health outcomes during hot and cold days," said Professor Agewall.



"Patients with heart conditions should stay hydrated in hot weather and adhere to advice from their cardiologist on medication use. We can all check the news for extreme heat and cold alerts and follow safety tips from local authorities.”



The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.escardio.org/">European Society of Cardiology</a>, ESC Congress 2022.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Extreme weather heightens risk of death from heart disease

A new study has identified connections between cold weather and...

Planting vegetation between roads and playgrounds can reduce the air pollution that reaches school <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breakfast-lowers-the-risk-of-behavioral-problems-in-children/">children</a>. Roadside vegetation can be designed and maintained to achieve rapid, significant and cost-effective improvement of air quality.



Exposure to traffic-related air pollution has been linked to health risks including cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological health. These risks are likely to be exacerbated in young children attending primary schools next to busy roads.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Exposure to fine particulate matter in air pollution is reportedly the largest environmental risk factor contributing to cardiovascular deaths and disease globally, and is linked to six to nine million premature deaths each year.



A team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> installed "tredges" (trees managed as a head-high hedge) at three Manchester primary schools during the summer school holidays of 2019.



One school had an ivy screen installed, another had western red cedar and the third school had a mixture of western red cedar, Swedish birch and an inner juniper hedge. A fourth school, with no planting, was used as a control.



The school with the ivy screen saw a reduction in playground particulate matter concentrations, but an increase in black carbon.&nbsp;



The school with western red cedar saw the biggest overall reductions. Almost half (49%) of black carbon and around 46% and 26% of the fine particulates emitted by passing traffic were captured by the western red cedar tredges.



The tredges also significantly reduced the magnitude and frequency of acute ‘spikes’ in air pollution reaching the playgrounds.



“Our findings show that we can protect school playgrounds, with carefully chosen and managed tredges, which capture air pollution particulates on their leaves. This helps to prevent at least some of the health hazards imposed on young children at schools next to busy roads where the localised air quality is damagingly poor, and it can be done quickly and cost-effectively,” said study co-author Professor Barbara Maher.



The western red cedar performed best because its leaves act as a filter, capturing particulate pollution. “This takes them out of the local atmosphere and therefore reduces the exposure to these traffic-sourced air pollution particulates of the children and staff in the playground.” said Professor Maher.



The researchers believe ivy was not as effective because of the smooth, waxy surface of its leaves, making it less effective at capturing and removing pollution from the air.&nbsp;



These benefits are not just limited to schools, carefully selected and managed tredges could be used in urban areas to reduce the damaging health impacts of exposure to traffic pollution.&nbsp;



The study was supported with funding from Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester, and Groundwork Greater Manchester which installed the tredges and ran ‘citizen science’ workshops.&nbsp;



"We were keen to be part of this study as Manchester seeks to embrace innovation in our efforts to become a greener city with cleaner air and tackle climate change," said Councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Environment for Manchester City Council.



"We note these positive findings with interest and will consider how we can use the lessons from this project to make further targeted use of green infrastructure in the city."



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18509-w">Scientific Reports</a>



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Plants on playgrounds help protect children from air pollution

Planting vegetation between roads and playgrounds can reduce the air...

Each year on August 26, <a href="https://www.nationaldogday.com/">National Dog Day</a> (NDD) is recognized worldwide as a time to raise awareness about adopting dogs who are currently in shelters.&nbsp;



The holiday was first established in 2004 by pet advocate Colleen Paige. August 26th is a significant date - when Colleen's family adopted her first dog "Sheltie" from the local animal shelter.



A recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-09140-w">study</a> from <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en">Utrecht University</a> revealed that shelter dogs have elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol.&nbsp;



"Dogs can suffer from chronic stress in environments that are sub-optimal to their needs, such as in many kennel environments," wrote the study authors. "Chronic stress may exceed the animals’ adaptive capacity and thus, threaten its welfare state."



"Chronic stress may even elicit medical and behavioral problems in the long term. Therefore, to improve canine welfare, reliable and feasible non-invasive indicators of long-term stress levels need to be evaluated."



According to lead researcher Janneke Van der Laan, even if a shelter is organized in the best possible way, there are still stress factors, such as crowds of other dogs and not being able to go outside as often as usual.



Fortunately, the researchers found that when dogs were adopted into new homes, their cortisol and stress levels rapidly returned to normal.&nbsp;



"National Dog Day celebrates all dogs, mixed breed and pure. Our mission is to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year and acknowledges family dogs and dogs that work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort," says NDD.



"Dogs put their lives on the line every day - for personal protection, for law enforcement, for the disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and pulling victims of tragedy from wreckage, now they're detecting cancer and seizures - things even humans cannot do."



National Dog Day is against laws that either regulate or ban certain dog breeds. "Dogs should not have to lose their lives because of the atrocities they have been forced to endure at the hands of man", says Colleen Paige.



If you would like to join the National Dog Day family and become a rescue partner, you can find more information <a href="https://www.nationaldogday.com/rescuemembership">here</a>.



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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

National Dog Day: All dogs should live a safe, happy life

Each year on August 26, National Dog Day (NDD) is...

New Zealand’s Māui dolphin is the world’s most endangered marine dolphin. New research shows that the species changed its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-can-adjust-to-new-diets-very-quickly/">diet</a> during the past 30 years.&nbsp;



For the study, scientists checked tiny skin samples collected between 1993 and 2020 to analyze microchemical markers that are associated with diet.



The results showed the dolphins’ meals became less diverse from 2008. During this time, a marine sanctuary restricted fishing in their habitat, which stretches along 40 kilometres of Tamaki Makaurau’s west coast.



The Marine Mammal Sanctuary was established on the west coast of the North Island in 2008, and expanded in 2020.



“We think that the sanctuary increased the amount of food available to the dolphins,” said study lead author Courtney Ogilvy, a PhD student at Waipapa Taumata Rau, <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.html">University of Auckland</a>. “That meant they were able to get more of their preferred prey, and not work so hard to get many different types of food.”



Māui dolphins typically eat fish smaller than 10 centimetres in length, dining on species such as ahuru, red cod and sprats. A temporary change in diet also occurred during the El Niño weather event in 2015 and 2016.



“Dramatic climate events like El Niño can change water temperatures and currents, meaning that fish from different regions can move into the dolphins’ habitat,” explained study co-author Professor Rochelle Constantine. “As you really are what you eat, this change is reflected in the microchemical markers in the dolphin’s skin.”



The researchers consider these findings good news for the Māui dolphin as they adapt to changing conditions and are able to find preferred prey. In the future, the researchers plan to investigate how climate change will alter the dolphins’ habitat.



“We know they are likely to be at their maximum thermal limit, so increasing ocean temperatures may eventually shift the distribution of the dolphins and their preferred prey,” said Professor Constantine.&nbsp;



Located only in Aotearoa, the number of Māui dolphins aged a year or older may be as few as 54, according to the latest estimate.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos">Royal Society Open Science</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Marine sanctuary helps Māui dolphins access food

New Zealand’s Māui dolphin is the world’s most endangered marine...

Tree rings are one of the best natural archives of past growing conditions because trees are sensitive to local climate factors, such as precipitation and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bushfires-linked-to-temperature-spikes-in-the-stratosphere/">temperature</a>. In warm, wet years, tree growth rings are usually wider while they are narrower in cold, dry years. Trees growing in subpolar regions are usually the most sensitive to temperature changes and if a good statistical match exists between recent tree growth and temperature records then the ring widths of ancient trees can be used to estimate past temperatures. 



Scientists from the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Science (RAS), and the <a href="https://urfu.ru/en/">Ural Federal University</a> (UrFU), have been making expeditions to the region of the Yamal Peninsula, north-western Siberia, for the past 40 years, collecting subfossil wood for analysis. Stepan Shiyatov, a pioneer of dendrochronology in Russia, was the first to recognize the value of the ancient trees found in this region, and to begin collecting samples systematically.&nbsp;



Since then, more than two dozen expeditions have been carried out and more than 5,000 samples of ancient tree trunks have been collected by researchers from the RAS. Dendrochronologists from the RAS have measured and analyzed the rings and, with support from colleagues at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, and from the University of Geneva, they have been able to reconstruct and characterize the summer temperatures over the past 7,638 years.&nbsp;



Approximately 2,000 samples of larch and spruce subfossils have also been dated using with the cross-dating method, which has allowed the researchers to assign, with absolute accuracy, the exact year of formation to each annual ring over the last 8,800 years. This exceptional sample of tree rings from the Yamal region, which is archived at the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology at the RAS, is now the longest existing tree-ring chronology of the Polar Regions.



The results of the analysis, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32629-x">Nature Communications</a>, show that northwestern Siberia is currently experiencing its warmest summers in the past 7,000 years. While for several millennia the temperature of the region followed a pattern of general cooling, in the 19th century there was an abrupt change and temperatures began to rise rapidly.&nbsp;



“Due to changes in the Earth's orbit we would have expected a continuous, slow and gradual decrease of incoming summer solar energy, and thus temperature, at the subpolar latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during last 8–9 millennia. However, [as] recorded by the trees growing in Yamal, this cooling trend has been interrupted in the middle of the 19th century, when temperature began to rise very quickly and reached the highest values in recent decades,” says Rashit Hantemirov, leading researcher of the Laboratories of Dendrochronology of the Ural Branch of the RAS and Natural Science Methods in the Humanities of UrFU.



Independently of the period length considered (from 30 to 170 years), the most recent period has been the warmest in the time period covered by the tree ring record. Not only has the temperature reached unprecedented levels of warmth, but also the rate of temperature increase is greater currently than it has been since the middle of the 19th century.



“The exceptionality of the modern warming is corroborated by observations that the last century was characterized by a total lack of cold extremes contrasted by the occurrence of 27 extreme warm years, 19 of which have fallen in the last 40 years,” specifies Hantemirov.



The authors of this research are confident that human activities have not only influenced climate change, but have become its major determinant, at least for north-western Siberia. They plan to continue research on tree-ring based climate reconstruction in this region as the remains of even older trees, perhaps dating back a further 2,000 years, are still present on the Yamal Peninsula. They state that the remains of such trees that lived thousands of years ago, provide an understanding of the past, which is the best foundation to assess the future.



“Thanks to international cooperation it will also be possible to use other tree-ring parameters to further precise the climate reconstructions. With colleagues from Switzerland, we are working on the analysis of the tree rings cellular structures, and together with the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, we intend to perform a climate reconstruction based on the analysis of the oxygen-18 isotope in the annual rings,” adds Hantemirov.



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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

Global warming is the strongest in 7,000 years

Tree rings are one of the best natural archives of...

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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?

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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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...