Black holes lie at the heart of an extraordinary cosmic event that is currently unfolding. With the help of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, scientists have detected a peculiar phenomenon involving a pair of what they refer to as "monster" black holes.



"It’s a very weird event, called AT 2021hdr, that keeps recurring every few months," explained Lorena Hernández-García, an astrophysicist at the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, the Millennium Nucleus on Transversal Research and Technology to Explore Supermassive Black Holes, and the University of Valparaíso in Chile.



This cosmic spectacle is believed to involve the two monstrous black holes engulfing an unsuspecting gas cloud. As these massive bodies orbit each other, their gravitational forces interact with the cloud, stirring and consuming its gas.



This process creates an oscillating pattern of light emissions that scientists have been observing for months during the dramatic and recurring cosmic performances.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-dance-of-the-monster-black-holes">The dance of the monster black holes</h2>



The monster black holes reside deep within a galaxy known as 2MASX J21240027+3409114. This celestial neighborhood is nestled about 1 billion light-years away in the northern constellation Cygnus.



Trapped in their eternal celestial dance, the black holes are separated by around 16 billion miles, a distance close enough for light to travel between them within a day. 



These <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/monster-black-hole-is-spinning-in-the-nearby-galaxy-m87-study-confurms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmic giants</a> together have a mass 40 million times that of our own sun. The researchers have determined that these black holes complete a single orbit every 130 days.



Looking into the far future, by about 70,000 years to be precise, the scientists predict a grand finale when these twin behemoths finally collide and merge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mysterious-recurring-outbursts">Mysterious recurring outbursts</h2>



The journey to uncovering AT 2021hdr began in March 2021, when the Caltech-led ZTF (Zwicky Transient Facility) at the Palomar Observatory in California identified it as an unusual source. 



The event was quickly flagged by ALeRCE (Automatic Learning for the Rapid Classification of Events), a collaborative team that integrates artificial intelligence with human analysis to sift through extensive survey data and highlight significant night sky phenomena for the astronomical community.



With initial ideas attributing the flare to a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supernova-explosions-could-damage-distant-planets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">supernova</a>, the recurring nature of the outbursts prompted a shift in hypotheses. Since the first flare, the event has consistently produced outbursts, roughly every 60 to 90 days.



Study co-author Alejandra Muñoz-Arancibia is an ALeRCE team member and astrophysicist at the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics and the Center for Mathematical Modeling at the <a href="https://uchile.cl/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Chile</a>.



“Although this flare was originally thought to be a supernova, outbursts in 2022 made us think of other explanations,” said Muñoz-Arancibia. “Each subsequent event has helped us refine our model of what’s going on in the system.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monster-black-holes-devour-a-gas-cloud">Monster black holes devour a gas cloud</h2>



The researchers left no stone unturned in their quest to unravel this cosmic mystery. Their efforts rewarded them with a revelation: the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supermassive-binary-black-holes-secrets-revealed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">binary system</a> produces oscillations in ultraviolet and X-ray light on the same time scales as ZTF observes in the visible range.



Through a process of elimination, the experts first dismissed the possibility of regular activity in the galactic center being the cause. Next, they eliminated the chance of a star wandering too close to the black holes and being ripped apart. 



Eventually, the scientists settled on the theory of a gas cloud, much larger than the binary itself, meeting its fate at the hands of the twin black holes. As the cloud approached the black holes, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/theory-gravity-exists-without-mass-so-dark-matter-does-not-exist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gravity</a> tore it apart, forming filaments around the pair, and the ensuing friction started to heat it.



As the gas cloud got denser and hotter near the black holes, the complex interplay of forces spewed out some of the gas with each rotation - causing the fluctuations in light that Swift and ZTF have been observing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unveiling-the-grandeur-of-the-universe">Unveiling the grandeur of the universe </h2>



Looking ahead, the scientists plan to continue their observations of AT 2021hdr. They anticipate further insights into the system and aim to hone their models. 



In particular, the scientists are interested in studying the host galaxy of AT 2021hdr, which is currently merging with another nearby galaxy – a phenomenon that they were the first to report.



Reflecting on the mission, S. Bradley Cenko, Swift’s principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, expresses his pride and awe at the discoveries that Swift continues to enable as it approaches its 20th anniversary. 



"There’s still so much it has left to teach us about our ever-changing cosmos," said Cenko.



Through this venture, NASA continues its commitment to unveiling the grandeur of our universe and deciphering its many mysteries. 



Its missions are an integral part of an expanding, global network that observes the sky unceasingly to unravel <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-dark-matter-does-not-exist-and-the-universe-is-27-billion-years-old/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">how the universe works</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202451305">Astronomy and Astrophysics.</a>



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Monster black holes are trapped in an eternal dance

Black holes lie at the heart of an extraordinary cosmic event that is currently unfolding. With the help of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, scientists have detected a peculiar phenomenon involving a pair of what they refer to as "monster" black holes. "It’s a very weird event, called AT 2021hdr, that keeps recurring every few months," explained Lorena Hernández-García, an astrophysicist at the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, the Millennium Nucleus on Transversal Research and Technology to Explore Supermassive Black Holes, and the University of Valparaíso in Chile....

A compound used in electronics known as vanadium dioxide (VO2) has a memory like the human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-thermometer-explains-why-heat-makes-us-feel-sleepy/">brain</a>, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.epfl.ch/">Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne</a>. The experts discovered that VO2 is capable of “remembering” the entire history of previous external stimuli. This is the only material that is known to possess this property. 



Mohammad Samizadeh Nikoo is a PhD student at EPFL’s Power and Wide-band-gap Electronics Research Laboratory (POWERlab). He stumbled upon the fascinating capability of VO2 while observing phase transitions of the inorganic compound.



When relaxed at room temperature, vanadium dioxide experiences an insulating phase. At 68 °C, the compound undergoes a complete structural change during an insulator-to-metal transition.&nbsp;



Furthermore, according to Nikoo, VO2 exhibits a volatile memory. "The material reverts back to the insulating state right after removing the excitation."



Nikoo set out to discover how long it takes for VO2 to transition from one state to another. After taking hundreds of measurements, he recognized a memory effect in the material’s structure. Nikoo then applied an electric current to a sample of VO2



“The current moved across the material, following a path until it exited on the other side." As the current heated up the material, it caused the VO2 to change state.&nbsp; Once the current had passed, the material returned to its initial state.&nbsp;



Next, when Nikoo applied a second current pulse to the material, he found that the time it took to transition was directly linked to the history of the material.&nbsp;



“The VO2 seemed to ‘remember’ the first phase transition and anticipate the next,” explained Professor Elison Matioli, who heads the POWERlab. “We didn’t expect to see this kind of memory effect, and it has nothing to do with electronic states but rather with the physical structure of the material. It’s a novel discovery: no other material behaves in this way.”



Ultimately, the experts determined that VO2 is capable of remembering its most recent external stimulus for up to three hours. “The memory effect could in fact persist for several days, but we don’t currently have the instruments needed to measure that,” said Professor Matioli.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natelectron/">Nature Electronics</a>.



Image Credit: POWERlab / 2022 EPFL



---



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

Material identified that can learn like the human brain

A compound used in electronics known as vanadium dioxide (VO2)...

The meat of wild game <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-fog-affects-a-wide-range-of-animals/">animals</a> is commonly eaten in many households across the EU and UK. In these two regions alone, about five million people eat at least one meal of game meat per week. Figures from the UK show that people consume around 11,000 tons of meat derived from wild-shot game birds alone each year.&nbsp;



Most of these animals are shot using lead ammunition. It has always been assumed that the lead is easy to locate and remove from the muscle tissue before consumption. A new study by UK scientists has found that this is not the case - certainly not for wild-shot pheasants that are destined to be food for humans. Instead, their research reveals that pheasants killed with lead shot contain many tiny fragments of the metal that are embedded deep within the tissues and are unlikely to be detected by means of sight or touch. These shards of lead have been shown to come from the ammunition that fractures upon entering the target animal.



The researchers examined the carcasses of eight free-ranging common pheasants that were killed on farmlands using lead shotgun ammunition and were on sale in a UK butcher’s shop. They used a high-resolution computerized tomography (CT) X-ray scanner to obtain 3D images of the carcasses and found that, while only seven of them contained obvious shotgun pellets, all eight contained multiple tiny lead fragments in their flesh.&nbsp;



The mean number of shotgun pellets identified per pheasant carcass was 3.5 (n=7), while the mean number of smaller (&lt;2 mm diameter) metal fragments per carcass was 39.0 (n=8). Of the 340 embedded metal objects that were identified on the images, 92 percent had a diameter of less than 1mm. The researchers found up to 10mg of tiny lead shards per pheasant, all of which were much too small to be detected by eye or by touch.&nbsp;



Lead is toxic to humans when absorbed by the body and there is no known safe level of exposure. Lead accumulates in the body over time and can cause long-term harm, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease and kidney damage in adults. It is known to lower IQ in young children, and affect the neurological development of unborn babies. In previous studies using rats it has been found that absorption of lead into the blood stream is enhanced when the lead is in the form of very small particles.



The findings of this study, published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0268089">PLoS ONE</a>, indicate that wild-shot pheasant meat is likely to have high levels of lead contamination, even if the obvious large pellets are removed during careful preparation or chewing.&nbsp;



“While lead gunshot continues to be used for hunting, people who eat pheasants and other similar gamebirds are very likely to be also consuming a lot of tiny lead fragments,” said study first author Rhys Green, a professor in the Department of Zoology at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>.



“It seems to have been widely assumed in the past that a lead shot embedded in a pheasant carcass remained intact, and could be removed cleanly before the pheasant was eaten – removing any health risk. Our study has shown the extent to which this is really not the case,” said Professor Green. “By eating pheasant, people are also unwittingly eating lead, which is toxic.”&nbsp;



“One pheasant is a reasonable meal for two or three people. Consuming this much lead occasionally wouldn’t be a great cause for concern – but we know that there are thousands of people in the UK who eat game meat, often pheasant, every week."



There are no UK or EU regulations about the maximum allowable levels of lead in human food from wild-shot game animals. This is in contrast with strict maximum levels for lead in many other foods including meat from cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry, and shellfish harvested from the wild.



Observational studies of humans have found a positive correlation between the concentration of lead in blood plasma and the frequency of consumption of the meat of wild animals killed using lead ammunition. This suggests that some lead derived from ammunition is both ingested and absorbed by human consumers. Since it is impossible to locate and remove all the very tiny shards of lead embedded in the flesh of the animal, it is likely that dietary exposure to ammunition-derived lead and its absorption and significance for public health may be greater than was previously thought.&nbsp;



Steel shotgun pellets are a practical alternative to lead, and their use in place of lead for hunting is recommended by UK shooting organizations. But there is very little evidence of a voluntary switch away from lead being made by hunters. The UK Health &amp; Safety Executive is currently preparing a case for banning the use of lead ammunition for hunting in the UK, and the European Chemicals Agency is doing the same for Europe.



Other game, including partridge, grouse and rabbit, is also mainly shot using lead shotgun pellets, and wild deer are shot using lead bullets. Hunters often remove the guts of deer carcasses to make them lighter to carry, and the discarded guts – which often contain many bullet fragments – are eaten by wildlife, which then also suffer the harmful effects of lead toxicity.



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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

Toxic lead shards in wild pheasants pose a human health risk

The meat of wild game animals is commonly eaten in...

Plastic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/noise-pollution-is-impacting-life-on-the-seafloor/">pollution</a> is one of the main hazards our planet is currently facing, endangering a variety of ecosystems and contributing to climate change. Despite increased efforts, very little plastic is currently recycled, due to a range of economic and practical reasons. However, petroleum-based plastic waste presents an untapped source of carbon-based chemicals which could serve as the building blocks for useful durable materials and fuels.&nbsp;



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.pnnl.gov/">Pacific Northwest National Laboratory</a> (PNNL) has now discovered an innovative method to convert plastics more efficiently to valuable chemicals, through a process called “upcycling.” This technique is cheaper than previous ones and produces less methane.



“The key discovery we report is the very low metal load,” said study senior author Janos Szanyi, a chemist at PNNL. “This makes the catalyst much cheaper.” “It was very interesting to us that there had been nothing previously published showing this result,” added first author Linxiao Chen, a postdoctoral fellow at the same laboratory. “This research shows the opportunity to develop effective, selective, and versatile catalysts for plastic upcycling.”



Scientists have already known that adding hydrogen to difficult-to-recycle plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene presents a promising strategy to convert plastic waste into value-added small hydrocarbons, through a process called hydrogenolysis. Now, the PNNL scientists discovered that reducing the amount of the precious metal ruthenium could improve the polymer upcycling efficiency and selectivity, by causing the structure to shift from an orderly array of particles to disordered rafts of atoms. Moreover, they showed that single atoms – or very small clusters of atoms - are more effective catalysts during this process.



In order to make the method practical to use with mixed plastic recycling streams, the researchers are now exploring how the presence of chlorine affects the efficiency of the chemical conversion.&nbsp;



“We are looking into more demanding extraction conditions,” said study co-author&nbsp;Oliver Y. Gutiérrez, an expert in industrial applications for catalysis at PNNL. “When you don’t have a clean plastic source, in an industrial upcycling process, you have chlorine from polyvinylchloride and other sources. Chlorine can contaminate the plastic upcycling reaction. We want to understand what effect chlorine has on our system.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.2c00684">ACS Catalysis</a> and was presented at the American Chemical Society <a href="https://acs.digitellinc.com/acs/live/28/page/905/">fall meeting</a> in Chicago.



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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;

Converting plastic waste into valuable chemicals

Plastic pollution is one of the main hazards our planet...

We are all familiar with the human response to a crying baby. Those tears generate in us an immediate desire to comfort and console, to give appropriate care. But what if our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/playfulness-is-a-key-personality-trait-of-gifted-dogs/">dogs</a> cried in response to emotional stimuli as well? Would that elicit a human caregiving response? No research had been done on tear production in dogs, or any other animal, apparently, until Takefumi Kikusui noticed a subtle change in his standard poodle after she had puppies. Each time she nursed them her face changed – there were tears in her eyes.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Kikusui wondered whether this emotional response was perhaps linked to the levels of oxytocin in his dog. This hormone, he explained, is known as the maternal or “love hormone,” and is important in bond formation between mother and offspring, as well as within other relationships.&nbsp;



Previous research has shown that the gaze of a dog stimulates the secretion of oxytocin in its owner, and also that concentrations of this hormone increase in dogs when they are reunited with their owners. Kikusui wondered whether oxytocin was mediating the teary-eyed response in his own dog as she nursed her puppies. “That gave me the idea that oxytocin might increase tears,” said Kikusui, who is from the Azabu University in Japan.



First, the researchers decided to test whether dogs responded to the emotional event of being reunited with their owner by producing more tears. They used a standard Schirmer Tear Test (STT) and measured tear volume in dogs while they were at home with their owner, and then again within five minutes of being reunited with the owner after a separation of between five and seven hours.&nbsp;



The experts found that the 18 dogs in the study produced more tear fluid while being reunited with their owner than they did while simply relaxing at home. In addition, a greater volume of tear fluid was produced while were being reunited with an owner, but not while greeting a familiar non-owner. While dogs do not cry spouts of tears like a distressed human baby, their eyes do become wetter as the volume of tear fluid increases.



Kikusui said that the findings came as a surprise. “We had never heard of the discovery that animals shed tears in joyful situations, such as reuniting with their owners, and we were all excited that this would be a world first!”



To assess the role of oxytocin in tear production in dogs, the researchers applied solutions of oxytocin to the eyes of some of the dogs while others received a control peptide comprising the same amino acids but rearranged into a different form. When tear volume was measured, the results showed that there was significantly increased tear production after oxytocin administration, but not after the dogs received the control peptide solution.&nbsp;



“We found that dogs shed tears associated with positive emotions,” said Kikusui. “We also made the discovery of oxytocin as a possible mechanism underlying it.”



In the final part of their experimental study, the researchers tested whether humans are more likely to want to care for dogs with teary eyes than for dogs with normal, tearless eyes. Human participants were given photographs of dogs, some with artificially teary eyes and some without, and asked to rate how likely they would be (the humans) to want to care for each dog.&nbsp;



The results, published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01132-0?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982222011320%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">Current Biology</a>, show that people were significantly more likely to want to care for dogs with tears in their eyes than for normal, tearless dogs. These findings suggest that dogs’ tear production helps to forge stronger connections between people and their dogs.



The authors state that dogs seem to produce tears in situations that humans would consider “happy.” They haven’t yet tested whether dogs also respond to negative emotions in this way. In addition, they don’t know yet if dogs make tears when they get reunite with other dogs. They hope to learn if this response also has a social function in the dog world. But, for now, they say it seems to have clear implications for the dog-human bond.



“Dogs have become a partner of humans, and we can form bonds,” said Kikusui. “In this process, it is possible that the dogs that show teary eyes during interaction with the owner would be cared for by the owner more.”



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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

Dogs cry tears of joy when reunited with their owners

We are all familiar with the human response to a...

Shore,Breaking,Wave

In January 2022, a massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/catastrophic-volcanic-eruption-is-more-likely-than-we-think/">eruption</a> of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano, followed by a tsunami, killed five people and led to large scale destruction in the Tongan archipelago. An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.bath.ac.uk/">University of Bath</a> has now found that the initial tsunami wave created by the eruption reached 90 meters in height - around nine times taller than that from the highly destructive 2011 tsunami that struck Japan.&nbsp;



According to the experts, these findings should act as a wake-up call for international organizations aiming to protect people from similar events in the future, since detection and monitoring systems for volcano-based tsunamis are three decades behind comparable tools used to detect earthquake-based events.



“The Tongan tsunami tragically killed five people and caused large scale destruction, but its effects could have been even greater had the volcano been located closer to human communities. The volcano is located approximately 70 km from the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa – this distance significantly minimized its destructive power,” explained study lead author Mohammad Heidarzadeh, the Secretary-General of the International Tsunami Commission and a senior lecturer of Civil Engineering at the University of Bath.



“This was a gigantic, unique event and one that highlights that internationally we must invest in improving systems to detect volcanic tsunamis as these are currently around 30 years behind the systems we used to monitor for earthquakes. We are under-prepared for volcanic tsunamis.”



By analyzing ocean observation data recordings of atmospheric pressure changes and sea level oscillations, in combination with computer simulations validated by real-world data, Dr. Heidarzadeh and his colleagues discovered that the Tonga tsunami was highly peculiar, with its waves being created not only by the water displaced by the volcanic eruption, but also by enormous atmospheric pressure waves that circled the globe multiple times. Since tsunami warning centers are programmed to detect such events based solely on water displacements, they failed to detect the initial waves created by the atmospheric pressure.



“What is important is to have efficient warning systems, which include both real-time warnings and education on what to do in a case of a tsunami or warning - such systems save lives. In addition, at volcanic areas, monitoring of volcanic activity should be organized, and more high-quality research into volcanic eruptions and areas at hazard is always a good idea,” concluded senior author Jadranka Šepić from the <a href="https://www.unist.hr/en/">University of Split</a> in Croatia.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.112165">Ocean Engineering</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;

Tsunami wave from Tonga eruption was 90 meters tall

In January 2022, a massive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga...

Marijuana,Researcher,,Female,Scientist,In,A,Hemp,Field,Checking,Plants

A new study presented at the <a href="https://2022annual.com/esc/">European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2022</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-use-may-cause-dangerous-drug-interactions/">cannabis</a> prescribed for chronic pain in Denmark between 2018 and 2021 was associated with a higher risk of heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias).



&nbsp;“Chronic pain is a rising problem. According to Danish health authorities, 29 precent of Danish adults over 16 years of age reported chronic pain in 2017, up from 19 percent in 2000,” said study lead author Nina Nouhravesh, a cardiologist at the <a href="https://www.gentoftehospital.dk/">Gentofte University Hospital</a>.&nbsp;



“Medical cannabis was approved in January 2018 on a trial basis in Denmark, meaning that physicians can prescribe it for chronic pain if all other measures, including opioids, have proven insufficient. Safety data are sparse, hence this study investigated the cardiovascular side effects of medical cannabis, and arrhythmias in particular, since heart rhythm disorders have previously been found in users of recreational cannabis.”



In Denmark, medical cannabis comes in various formulations depending on its tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) levels: dronabinol (high THC), cannabinoid (more THC than CBD), and cannabidiol (high CBD) can all be prescribed to treat various conditions, including chronic pain.



The scientists identified a total of 1.6 million patients diagnosed with chronic pain between 2018 and 2021, with 4,931 of them using medical cannabis to address these problems (dronabinol 29 percent, cannabinoids 46 percent, and cannabidiol 25 percent). By following the participants for 180 days and comparing their risk of new cardiovascular conditions with individuals from a control group, the researchers found that the absolute risk of new-onset arrhythmia was 0.86 percent in medical cannabis users compared with 0.49 percent in non-users, for a relative risk of 1.74.



&nbsp;“Our study found that medical cannabis users had a 74 percent higher risk of heart rhythm disorders compared with non-users; however, the absolute risk difference was modest. It should be noted that a higher proportion of those in the cannabis group were taking other pain medications, namely non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids and anti-epileptics, and we cannot rule out that this might explain the greater likelihood of arrhythmias,” Dr. Nouhravesh explained.&nbsp;



“Since medical cannabis is a relatively new drug for a large market of patients with chronic pain, it is important to investigate and report serious side effects. This study indicates that there may be a previously unreported risk of arrhythmias following medical cannabis use. Even though the absolute risk difference is small, both patients and physicians should have as much information as possible when weighing up the pros and cons of any treatment,” she concluded.&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;

Medical cannabis increases risk of heart arrhythmia

A new study presented at the European Society of Cardiology...

Red,Heart,In,Child,And,Female,Hands,Over,Wooden,Background,

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> and the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a> has found that acts of kindness can have a stronger impact on their recipients than expected. Although givers often tend to focus on the object they are providing or the action they are performing, receivers actually concentrate on the feelings of warmth the act of kindness has conjured up. These findings suggest that givers’ “miscalibrated expectations” can sometimes function as a barrier to performing prosocial actions such as helping, sharing, or donating.



To quantify these attitudes and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/testosterone-can-promote-prosocial-behaviors/">behaviors</a>, scientists performed a series of experiments. For instance, they recruited 84 participants in the Maggie Daley Park in Chicago who had to choose whether to give a stranger away a cup of hot chocolate or keep it for themselves. Recipients had to report their moods, while givers were asked how they thought recipients felt after getting the gift. Many givers underestimated the effects of their act. While they expected recipients’ mood at an average of 2.7 on a scale from -5 (significantly more negative than normal) to 5 (much more positive than normal), recipients reported an average of 3.5.



“People aren’t way off base. They get that being kind to people makes them feel good. What we don’t get is how good it really makes others feel,” explained study lead author Amit Kumar, an assistant professor of Marketing at UT Austin. “Performers are not fully taking into account that their warm acts provide value from the act itself. The fact that you’re being nice to others adds a lot of value beyond whatever the thing is.”



In a laboratory setting, the researchers added another component to assess the consequences of kindness. After participants either received a gift from the lab store or from another participant, they played a game in which they were asked to divide $100 between themselves and an unknown study recipient.&nbsp;The recipients who received their initial gift through another participant’s random act of kindness instead of from the lab store were more generous to strangers during the game, dividing the money almost equally.&nbsp;



“It turns out generosity can actually be contagious. Receivers of a prosocial act can pay it forward. Kindness can actually spread,” Professor Kumar concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0001271">Journal of Experimental Psychology: General</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;

Random acts of kindness are highly appreciated

A new study led by the University of Texas at...

Many marine organisms use a variety of sounds for echolocation, navigation, or communication, creating rich soundscapes in the world’s oceans. Recently though, increasingly more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reef-health-can-be-measured-through-sound/">sounds</a> from human activities are permeating the waters. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.awi.de/">Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research</a> (AWI) has found that such sounds affect some invertebrates that live on the seafloor in such a way that the important functions they provide for their ecosystems may be impacted.



Marine invertebrates such as mussels, crustaceans, or worms are major ecosystem engineers, continually changing the sediment they live in by burrowing, feeding, aerating, and fertilizing it. Such activities contribute to nutrient cycling in the ocean and allow for more carbon from dead organic matter to be stored in the seafloor.



Besides pollution, ocean warming, and acidification, noises caused by human activities are also placing marine organisms under increased stress recently. Experts from AWI have now shown that such noises – coming from resource extraction operations, cargo ships, or recreational boats – stress not only marine mammals, but also invertebrates.&nbsp;



“We investigated how crustaceans, mussels, and worms on the seafloor respond to low-frequency noise and how frequently and intensively they are able to transform and break down sediment during noise exposure,” said study lead author Sheng Wang, a biologist at AWI.&nbsp;



The researchers studied in the laboratory how sound waves with frequencies between 100 and 200 hertz are affecting a variety of amphipods, lugworms, and Baltic clams.&nbsp;



“After six days, we could clearly see that all three species responded to the noise even though they belong to very different groups of animals that lack actual organs for hearing,” reported study senior author Jan Beermann, an AWI ecologist.



While the amphipods burrowed less and not as deep in the sediment following exposure to such sounds, no clear response was observed in the case of lugworms, although they seemed to behave more inconsistently. Potential stress responses in need of investigation have also been noticed for the Baltic clams. According to the scientists, more field studies should be conducted, since experimental setups under laboratory conditions may fail to capture the full complexity of natural settings.



The experts concluded that human-made noises could inhibit seafloor invertebrates from cultivating and restructuring sediments, thus impacting important functions of marine ecosystems, such as nutrient supply and food availability for organisms higher up on the trophic chain, such as fish.&nbsp;



“Things could get even ‘noisier’ on the seafloor due to human activities. We are just beginning to understand how exactly noise processes work here. Understanding this, however, is crucial for the sustainable use of our oceans,” Professor Beermann concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119899">Environmental Pollution</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;

Noise pollution is impacting life on the seafloor

Many marine organisms use a variety of sounds for echolocation,...

An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> has used 3D modeling to reconstruct an individual megalodon discovered in the 1860s. The fossilized remains were well preserved, and dated back to 18 million years ago.&nbsp;



The reconstructed megalodon was 16 meters long and weighed over 61 tons. It could swim an estimated 1.4 meters per second, requiring over 98,000 kilocalories a day with a stomach volume of 10,000 liters.&nbsp;



The results suggest that the megalodon could travel long distances and was capable of eating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/aquatic-blue-crabs-ambush-their-prey-on-land/">prey</a> of up to eight meters long. This is the size of a killer whale - today’s top ocean predator. The ability to eat large apex predators places megalodon at a higher trophic level than the largest modern predators.



“Shark teeth are common fossils because of their hard composition which allows them to remain well preserved,” said study first author Jack Cooper. “However, their skeletons are made of cartilage, so they rarely fossilize. The megalodon vertebral column from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences is therefore a one-of-a-kind fossil.”



The research team, which includes researchers from Switzerland, UK, USA, Australia and South Africa, measured and scanned every vertebra before reconstructing the entire column. The experts attached the column to a 3D scan of a megalodon’s dentition from the United States. The model was completed by adding “flesh” around the skeleton using a 3D-scan of the body of a great white shark.



“Weight is one of the most important traits of any animal. For extinct animals we can estimate the body mass with modern 3D digital modelling methods and then establish the relationship between mass and other biological properties such as speed and energy usage,” said study co-author John Hutchinson.



The high energetic demand would have been met by feeding on calorie-rich blubber of whales, in which megalodon bite marks have been found in the fossil record. An optimal foraging model found that eating a single 8-meter-long whale may have allowed the shark to swim thousands of miles across oceans without eating again for two months.&nbsp;



“These results suggest that this giant shark was a trans-oceanic super-apex predator,” said study senior author Professor Catalina Pimiento. “The extinction of this iconic giant shark likely impacted global nutrient transport and released large cetaceans from a strong predatory pressure.”



The complete model can now be used for future reconstructions and further research. This study represents a leap in knowledge of the super predator and the ecological function that megafaunal species play in marine ecosystems - as well as the consequences of their extinction.



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

Megalodon devoured huge prey up to eight meters long

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

The transport sector currently accounts for over a quarter of all fuel-related greenhouse gas emissions, which negatively impact our climate. Half of these emissions are caused by passenger cars, and worldwide transport demand is expected to triple by 2050. In their efforts to decarbonize transport, governments and industries have recently turned towards electric vehicles. 



However, as a research team from the <a href="https://www.sdu.dk/en">University of Southern Denmark</a> argues, a much older, low-carbon technology might help us reduce emissions and mitigate climate change: the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bike-work-day/">bicycle</a>. According to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-022-00497-4">Communications Earth &amp; Environment</a>, cycling more could be a highly effective solution for reducing emissions, as well as promoting better health.



The researchers compiled the first global dataset of bicycle ownership and use by country, dating back to the early 1960s, and used statistical modeling to fill in any information gaps. Data analysis revealed that, between 1962 and 2015, global production of bikes was higher than that of cars, with China accounting for almost two-thirds of the more than 123 million bikes manufactured in 2015.&nbsp;



While bicycle ownership was higher in upper- and upper-middle-income countries, so was the percentage of motor vehicle use, suggesting that bicycle ownership does not necessarily lead to high bicycle use. Among the 60 countries analyzed, the share of bicycle use for journeys was only five percent.



According to the scientists, if people emulated the Danish or Dutch bicycle use patterns – with the Danes cycling an average of 1.6 kilometers per day and the Dutch 2.6 – the world could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 686 million metric tons per year.&nbsp;



“A worldwide pro-bicycle policy and infrastructure development enabled modal shift like the Netherlands and Denmark can lead to significant untapped climate and&nbsp;health benefits,” the authors wrote. “In the end, 0.34 and 0.62 million deaths could be prevented if the Danish and Dutch cycling patterns were followed globally.”



Thus, countries should promote sustainable bicycle use via supporting policy, planning, and infrastructure development in order to lower global transport’s carbon footprint and improve public health.



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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;

Cycling could dramatically cut carbon emissions

The transport sector currently accounts for over a quarter of...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.aalto.fi/en">Aalto University</a> in Finland has found that food production – already one of the largest stressors on our planet – is made substantially more challenging by the interaction of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-just-experienced-its-shortest-day-on-record/">Earth</a> system processes, defined as the natural activities that keep the planet in a habitable and useful state, such as carbon sequestration in forests or nutrient run off into freshwater systems. According to the scientists, the complex interactions between these processes challenge their boundaries, and affect how well they function.



“Food production is a major cause of environmental stress, impacting on biodiversity loss, the climate, and overexploitation of marine resources,” said study co-author Steven Lade, an expert in Sustainable Development at the<a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/"> Australian National University</a> (ANU). “We need to start producing food in a sustainable way. By assessing the interaction of Earth system processes we can ensure they are considered when designing and implementing food production and agriculture policy.”



By examining and characterizing various Earth system processes, the researchers highlighted how they can be used in order to develop more sustainable food production techniques. The investigation revealed several pivotal interactions which are frequently overlooked, such as the impact of “green water” on food production and biodiversity.



“Green water refers to the water stored in soil that is available for plants to grow. It has a central role to play in interacting with, and regulating all the other processes like land, biodiversity, and water flow,” Dr. Lade explained. “Ensuring we address these various interactions will require action. We need better communication, meaning that authorities responsible for areas like agriculture policy and marine policy need to talk to each other.”



“We need to take a holistic approach when it comes to managing sustainable food production so that it doesn’t strain the boundaries of our natural systems. We need to look beyond just water and land as inputs for food production.”



The scientists argue that most challenges stem from a complex web of interactions between the ocean, freshwater, and land biospheres. Acknowledging these interactions and boundaries is crucial for maintaining stability and resilience in the Earth’s systems. “System interactions make sustainable food production more challenging. However, the interconnected nature means taking positive actions can have extensive flow on effects,” Dr. Lade concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00940-6">Nature Sustainability</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;

Food production affects Earth’s natural processes

A new study led by the Aalto University in Finland...

While many mammals have the ability to detect sugars, most birds are insensitive to them. Recent studies have found evidence that both hummingbirds and songbirds have regained their ability to sense sugars by repurposing their savory receptor to detect carbohydrates in nectar and fruits. How other bird species sense sugars - and the extent to which taste receptor responses track the vast dietary diversity of birds - is still unclear.&nbsp;



Now, an international team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.bi.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence</a> has set out to investigate this question by focusing on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/woodpeckers-recognize-pecking-patterns/">woodpeckers</a>. Their analyses revealed that, although most woodpeckers have also regained sweet taste, wrynecks – specialized ant-eating woodpeckers – selectively reversed this gain through a simple yet unexpected change in their taste receptors.



Using behavioral tests of wild birds, as well as functional analyses of their taste receptors, the scientists discovered that woodpeckers clearly prefer sugars and amino acids over water, and their taste receptors are highly sensitive to sugars. Surprisingly though, wrynecks displayed preference for amino acids but not for sugars.



According to the researchers, the common ancestor of woodpeckers and wrynecks already possessed a modified savory receptor capable of responding to sugars.&nbsp;



“This finding unveiled a third case of independent sugar-sensing evolution via modification of the savory receptor in birds,” said study first author Julia Cramer, a doctoral student in Ecology and Evolution at the Max Planck Institute. “Yet, what was even more exciting was the implication that wrynecks subsequently lost the receptor’s new function.”



By meticulously investigating the differences between wryneck and woodpecker receptors, Cramer and her colleagues showed that changes in a single amino acid in the wryneck receptor selectively turned off sugar-sensing. These findings trace an evolutionary history in which an early gain of sugar sensing in woodpeckers’ ancestors was followed by its reversion when the wryneck receptor was altered.&nbsp;



“We were very surprised to find that this reversion is caused by changes in only one single amino acid, acting as a molecular switch to selectively regulate sugar sensitivity in wrynecks,” Cramer explained. “Unexpectedly, the result of this small change is that wrynecks are now again unable to detect sugar in their food but have retained the receptor’s ability to gather information on specific amino acid content. This makes a lot of sense when most of your diet is made up of ants.”



Further research is needed to clarify how specific changes in taste receptors, as well as in other sensory and physiological systems, are related to the rich dietary diversity observed across bird species.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.059">Current 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;

Woodpeckers and other birds can taste sugar - but how?

While many mammals have the ability to detect sugars, most...

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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

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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

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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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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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

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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...