PanoRadar marks a breakthrough in the ever-advancing world of robotics, addressing the challenge of providing effective perception systems for robots that can function in severe weather and unfavorable conditions. 



Unlike traditional sensors, PanoRadar uses radio waves to penetrate smoke, fog, and even certain materials, offering a robust alternative to light-based systems. 



This innovative approach paves the way for more resilient robotic applications, from autonomous vehicles to rescue missions in hazardous environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limitations-of-traditional-sensors">Limitations of traditional sensors</h2>



Current sensor systems, such as cameras or LiDAR, rely on light, which limits their effectiveness in conditions like heavy smoke or fog. Alternatively, they may rely on traditional radar which can 'see' through walls and other obstacles, but which produce images lacking in detail.



Nature, however, shows us that perception need not rely solely on light. Bats use <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soundwaves-can-be-used-to-move-objects/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sound wave</a> echoes for navigation, while sharks detect electrical fields from their prey's movements. 



These examples highlight alternative perception methods that can inform technological innovations, like radio wave-based sensing.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-radio-waves-disrupt-the-magnetic-compass-of-migratory-birds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Radio waves</a>, with their longer wavelengths, can penetrate challenging conditions and even certain materials, surpassing the limitations of human vision and conventional sensors. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-panoradar-a-new-era-of-robot-vision">PanoRadar: A new era of robot vision</h2>



Enter researchers from the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Pennsylvania</a> School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering). They have initiated a new era in robot vision with their creation, the PanoRadar.



This novel invention enables robots to perceive their surroundings in three dimensions with incredible detail, by transforming simple radio waves into detailed, 3-D images of the environment.



"Our initial question was whether we could combine the best of both sensing modalities - the robustness of radio signals, which is resilient to fog and other challenging conditions, and the high resolution of visual sensors," explained Mingmin Zhao, assistant professor of computer and information science.



The birth of PanoRadar is the novel answer to this complex challenge. It has opened new possibilities for robotic perception in environments where traditional systems fail.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-does-panoradar-work">How does PanoRadar work?</h2>



Think about how a lighthouse works. It sweeps its beam in a circle, scanning the entire horizon, revealing the presence of ships and coastal features. That's how the PanoRadar operates. 



It consists of a rotating vertical array of antennae that scan the surroundings. These antennae send out radio waves and listen for their reflections from the environment.



But PanoRadar is not just a simple scanner. It intelligently combines measurements from all rotation angles, enhancing its imaging resolution. 



"The key innovation is in how we process these radio wave measurements. Our signal processing and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/machine-learning-reveals-how-to-prevent-covid-19-from-ever-returning/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">machine learning</a> algorithms are able to extract rich 3D information from the environment," explained Zhao.



This novel approach allows PanoRadar to achieve imaging resolution comparable to that of LiDAR, but at a fraction of the cost.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-comprehending-and-interpreting-complex-data">Comprehending and interpreting complex data</h2>



Implementing high-resolution imaging while the robot is moving presented a significant challenge. The team needed to combine measurements from various positions with sub-millimeter accuracy.



"Even small motion errors can significantly impact the imaging quality," said Haowen Lai, lead author of the paper.



In addition, they had to train their system rigorously to comprehend and interpret the complex data it receives, to ensure that it could accurately identify and understand various objects and environmental features in real time.



"Indoor environments have consistent patterns and geometries. We leveraged these patterns to help our AI system interpret the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/radar-imaging-will-help-protect-polar-bears-from-human-disturbances/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">radar</a> signals, similar to how humans learn to make sense of what they see," explained Gaoxiang Luo.



Thanks to machine learning algorithms, the model was able to improve its understanding against reality using LiDAR data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-radio-waves-and-robot-vision">Radio waves and robot vision</h2>



PanoRadar’s capabilities extend beyond what traditional sensors can perceive.



"Our field tests across different buildings showed how radio sensing can excel where traditional sensors struggle," said Liu. "The system maintains precise tracking through smoke and can even map spaces with glass walls."



This advantage comes from the ability of radio waves to pass through airborne particles with ease, allowing the system to detect elements that LiDAR often misses, such as glass surfaces. 



Additionally, PanoRadar's high resolution enables it to identify people accurately, an essential capability for applications like autonomous vehicles and rescue operations in challenging environments.



These attributes make PanoRadar a game-changer for robots operating in difficult conditions, where reliability and precision are paramount.



The research will be presented at the 2024 International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking (<a href="https://search.app?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sigmobile.org%2Fmobicom%2F2024%2F&amp;utm_campaign=aga&amp;utm_source=agsadl2%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MobiCom</a>).



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Giving robots 'superhuman' vision through radio waves

PanoRadar marks a breakthrough in the ever-advancing world of robotics, addressing the challenge of providing effective perception systems for robots that can function in severe weather and unfavorable conditions. Unlike traditional sensors, PanoRadar uses radio waves to penetrate smoke, fog, and even certain materials, offering a robust alternative to light-based systems. This innovative approach paves the way for more resilient robotic applications, from autonomous vehicles to rescue missions in hazardous environments. Limitations of traditional sensors Current sensor systems, such as cameras or LiDAR, rely on light, which...

By investigating the differences between climate models, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a> and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has found that Arctic sea ice and wildfires may be more interconnected than previously thought. 



According to the experts, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exploring-the-climate-warming-effects-of-wildfire-soot/">soot</a> and other burned biomass from wildfires in the Northern Hemisphere can eventually reach the Arctic, where they affect how much – or how little – sea ice persists at any given time. This can cause ripple effects on climatic patterns all over the globe, reinforcing a previously unobserved feedback loop between these two systems.



“This research found that particles emitted from wildfires where people live can really impact what happens in the Arctic thousands of miles away,” said study lead author Patricia DeRepentigny, a postdoctoral fellow in Climate and Global Dynamics at NCAR. 



“Sometimes the Arctic can be seen as this region that we shouldn’t care about because it’s so far away from where we live … but the fact that there’s this back-and-forth of what happens here with the wildfires can affect the sea ice, and a diminishing sea ice can then lead to more wildfires here, connects us with the Arctic a little bit more.”



Governments and other organizations have often used <a href="https://www.climate.gov/maps-data/climate-data-primer/predicting-climate/climate-models">climate models</a> that simulate how different parts of the climate interact to help guide future climate change policies. By examining one of these models – the NCAR-based Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2) – Dr. DeRepentigny and her colleagues found that the model identified a drastic acceleration of Arctic sea ice loss towards the end of the 20th century that was not seen in other models. Further investigations revealed that, by contrast to previous models, this one took into account biomass burning emissions.



When aerosols released by wildfires interact with Arctic clouds non-linear effects can emerge. For instance, during heavy fire years, when many aerosols are released, clouds in the Arctic get thicker, whereas in lighter fire years, those clouds are thinner and allow for more solar radiation to get through and melt more ice. Thus, surprisingly, smoke from wildfires could actually help protecting Arctic ice.



“When we think about climate, everything’s really interconnected, and this is really a great example of that,” said study co-author Alexandra Jahn, an associate professor of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences at CU Boulder. “When we’re thinking about climate processes, it’s really a global problem, and we can’t study it in any isolated fashion. We really always have to look at the global picture to understand all these different interactions.”



Further research is needed to pinpoint the effects of specific wildfires and to fine-tune the existing climate models. “The goal that we’re trying to achieve here is to have these climate simulations be more reliable and give us projections that can then inform policy makers and societal choices,” Dr. DeRepentigny concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo2405">Science Advances</a>.&nbsp;



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

Wildfire smoke impacts Arctic ice thousands of miles away

By investigating the differences between climate models, a team of...

According to a recent study published in the <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2022/07/06/JNEUROSCI.2355-21.2022">Journal of Neuroscience</a>, powerful nerve connections link dogs’ noses to a wide variety of brain regions, including the occipital lobe, a part of the brain responsible for vision. This is the first time such as connection between smell and vision has been discovered in any animal species.&nbsp;



Dogs are known to have an amazing sense of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-viruses-make-people-smell-more-enticing-to-mosquitos/">smell</a>. Their olfactory bulbs can be up to 30 times larger than those of humans, and their noses hold between 200 million and one billion odor molecule sensors, compared with the meagre five million receptors estimated to dwell in human noses. In order to investigate how olfactory information is transmitted to a variety of brain regions, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> performed MRI scans on 20 mixed-breed dogs and three beagles.&nbsp;



By using a method called “diffusion tensor imaging,” which relies on the movement of water molecules along tissue, the scientists identified tracts of white matter fibers carrying signals between different brain areas. After smells enter the nose, they first reach the olfactory bulb, a brain structure located behind the dogs’ eyes. However, the signals then travel to a wide range of other brain areas, including those associated with emotions and memories. What was most surprising though was that olfactory information also reached the occipital lobe, which is responsible for handling vision.



“There have been lots of people who theorized that this connection existed, based on the behavior of trained dogs and detection dogs,” said Eileen Jenkins, a retired army veterinarian who was not involved in the study. “But nobody has been able to prove it. This is fabulous.”



This newly discovered connection between smell and sight suggests that, in dogs, the two senses are intricately linked. According to study senior author Phillipa Johnson – an expert in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging at Cornell – this anatomical link could explain why smell can often compensate when dogs lose their sight. “Blind dogs can still play fetch,” she said.



Further research is needed to investigate the structure and functions of these olfactory tracts in different dog breeds, such as scent hounds that are trained for hunting, fishing, finding disaster survivors, or identifying diseases such as cancer or Covid-19.&nbsp;



Moreover, exploring the olfactory tracts of other animals could lead to unexpected surprises too.&nbsp;“I have actually had a play with some cat data,” Johnson confessed. “Cats have the most amazing olfactory system too, and probably more connections than the dog that I can see.”&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;

Dogs can “see” with their noses

According to a recent study published in the Journal of...

Most species of bats are nocturnal hunters and use high-frequency sounds to locate their prey in the darkness. Many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hawk-moths-in-the-bahamas-are-the-smallest-ever-found/">moths</a> are also nocturnal foragers and are favorite food items for hungry bats. However, recent research shows that moths are far from defenseless targets of successful bat echolocation. Some emit their own ultrasonic signals that may startle a bat into giving up the chase, convince the bat that the moth is toxic, or may even surround the moth in a shroud of sonar-jamming static.



Until now, anti-bat ultrasound production has been considered fairly rare in moths. It was recorded in tiger moths, hawk moths and a single species of geometrid moth. However, the results of a decade-long moth survey that involved collecting and studying thousands of moths in Ecuador, French Guiana, Mozambique and Malaysian Borneo have now revealed that such auditory defense mechanisms are far more common than previously thought. In fact, the night can be filled with so much bat chat and moth back-chat, that it would be quite overwhelming if we could hear any of it.&nbsp;



“It's not just tiger moths and hawk moths that are doing this. There are tons of moths that create ultrasonic sounds, and we hardly know anything about them,” said study senior author Akito Kawahara, a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History's McGuire Center for Lepidoptera &amp; Biodiversity.



The findings of the study, published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, identified no less than three new types of sound-producing organs in moths, and added eight new subfamilies and potentially thousands of species to the list of moths that use ultrasonic signals. The authors estimate that around 20 percent of moth species use ultrasonic signals to defend themselves against becoming bat fodder.



The ultrasonic emissions are so successful at thwarting bat attacks that they have evolved independently in moths many times over. In each instance, moths have modified a different part of the body to become a finely tuned ultrasonic instrument.



“Tiger moths have structures called tymbals, which buckle inward and outward,” Kawahara said. “Some of them [the moth species] use structures on their wings, some use their abdomens, while others use modified genitals!”



The authors describe several of the newly identified clickers and scrapers that moths use to produce bat-repellant ultrasounds. This includes a species of calpine moth that rubs together overlapping abdominal scales, similar to the way crickets make their characteristic chirping sounds. Another species, in a group called the snout moths, makes noise by using a structure resembling a guitar pick between its wings, which is strummed against when the moth is in flight.



The researchers undertook a final two-week project in Ecuador, where they recorded the alarm calls of every moth they could catch. Afterwards, they analyzed these recordings with the help of a theoretical physicist and a machine learning algorithm that scrutinized each note, looking for similarities.



The results showed that moth species don’t all make up their own ultrasonic melodies; instead, they tend to copy the calls of other species, especially those that are toxic or bad-tasting to bats. Some moths are not good to eat and they warn bats not to waste their time, by making ultrasonic calls when they detect a bat. Bats soon associate these warning calls with noxious-tasting moths and do not bother to catch them. The researchers propose that a surprising number of non-toxic moth species have developed acoustic mimicry and protect themselves by calling just like the toxic species do.&nbsp;



Study lead author Jesse Barber is a biology professor at Boise State University. He said that more work is needed to uncover the exact nature of these sounds, but he suspects the trailblazing moths at the center of these acoustic mimicry rings are likely noxious, while the copycats at the fringes are merely false advertisers.



“Moths and butterflies are collectively one of the most diverse groups on the planet, containing one of every 10 named animals. If these results pan out, it will likely be the largest set of mimicry complexes on Earth,” noted Professor Barber.



Anti-bat signaling isn't just restricted to moths. Some tiger beetles can also create defensive clicks at bats by beating their wings against their protective casings. Other insect groups, such as katydids, crickets and mantids can hear incoming bats, and Barber notes the possibility that some may have the yet-unknown ability to communicate with their pursuers. But with roughly 40 percent of insect species currently at risk of extinction, at a rate that eclipses the ability to researchers to discover and name them, he warns of the very real possibility that this ultrasonic symphony may fall silent before we’ve had a chance to hear it or learn what it means.



“These mimicry complexes are likely not just limited to moths," said Professor Barber. “The whole tapestry of nocturnal insect life is probably involved, but the chance to understand the natural world is going away. So many lineages are going extinct that we're likely in the last golden age of biology. We can still understand how life unfolded, if we do it now.”



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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

Moths use ultrasonic back-chat to fend off bat attacks

Most species of bats are nocturnal hunters and use high-frequency...

Most feline species display solitary and territorial behaviors. However, domestic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-can-learn-the-names-of-their-companions/">cats</a> often live together with several other conspecifics, raising the question of which strategies they use to establish cohabitating groups. A research team led by the <a href="https://www.azabu-u.ac.jp/english/">Azabu University</a> in Japan has now explored the relationships between domestic cats’ social behaviors, hormone levels, and gut microbiomes, shedding more light on how these solitary animals can frequently live in high densities.



The scientists conducted a two-week-long study of three different groups of five cats living together in an animal shelter. They used video cameras to observe and record the cats’ behaviors, measured hormone levels in their urine, and evaluated the mix of microbial species in their gut microbiomes from fecal samples.



The results revealed that cats with high levels of the hormones cortisol and testosterone had less contact with their conspecifics, and those with high testosterone levels were more likely to try to escape from the shelter. By contrast, cats with low levels of testosterone and cortisol were more tolerant towards other cats. In addition, the researchers found greater similarity of gut microbiomes between cats who had more frequent contact with each other.



Surprisingly, contrary to the scientists’ expectations from previous research on animals that live in groups, cats with higher levels of the hormone oxytocin were not more social and willing to bond with others. This finding suggests that oxytocin might have different functions for typically solitary animals living in groups than for animals that typically live in groups.



“Low testosterone and cortisol concentrations in cats enabled them to share the space and live together, but the higher the oxytocin, the less affiliative behavior with others and the lonelier they are. The function of oxytocin was different from that of affinity for a group-mate. Cats may not consider other individuals living in the same space as tight relationship group-mates,” explained the study authors.



Further research is needed to better understand the dynamics of cohabitating cats, such as a longer follow-up study to observe cats for several months, rather than only two weeks, in order to properly clarify the causal relationships between hormones, microbiota, and social behaviors.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0269589">PLoS ONE</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;

How do solitary animals like cats live in groups?

Most feline species display solitary and territorial behaviors. However, domestic...

Many war veterans and returning military personnel experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after witnessing traumatic and horrifying events. Although this mental condition can be treated with psychotherapy and medications, the symptoms may persist for years. A growing number of sufferers also incorporate complementary interventions to try and alleviate the debilitating symptoms. One such intervention has involved the use of service dogs specially trained to perform tasks to help mitigate specific <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/women-with-ptsd-and-depression-are-four-times-more-likely-to-die-prematurely/">PTSD</a> symptoms.



Previous qualitative and quantitative research has indeed shown that military veterans with service dogs experience less severe PTSD symptoms and a better quality of life than those who do not have service dogs. However, the mechanisms by which the dogs bring about these changes has not been investigated and is currently not understood. A new observational study led by Clare Jensen of Purdue University has sought to understand what it is about the service dogs, or the bond between dogs and handlers, that brings about the reduction in symptom severity.



Jensen and colleagues studied 82 military members or veterans and their service dogs, which had all been trained to alleviate PTSD symptoms. Some of the tasks that trained PTSD dogs carry out involve applying pressure to the handler during bouts of anxiety, nudging to disrupt flashbacks and waking the handler from nightmares. Dogs are also trained to warn the handler when a person approaches from behind, and handlers may command the dog to initiate a social contact (“make a friend”) with another person, thereby making social interactions easier to initiate.&nbsp;



The 82 veterans and their 82 dogs were selected by K9s for Warriors, a non-profit organization that provides trained PTSD service dogs to post-9/11 military members and veterans across the US at no cost. In the month before meeting with their new dogs, the people completed surveys about their demographics, personalities and mental health issues. The temperament of each dog was also recorded in detail. After pairing the military members and the dogs, a three-week training took place in which handlers were taught how to work with their dogs.&nbsp;



A subsequent survey was completed at the home of each handler, three months after the initial pairing. In addition to answering survey questions, the handlers were also assessed using observations of their interactions with their dogs. The data collected was used to evaluate the dog characteristics that best predicted positive mental health outcomes, to assess dog and human characteristics that best predicted a close handler-dog bond, and to explore potential mechanisms whereby mental health improvements occur.



The results of the study, published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLoS ONE</a>, complement the growing evidence that partnership with a PTSD service dog can be effective for reducing symptoms and improving mental health among veterans with PTSD. Although most of the dog characteristics analyzed were not associated with better or worse veteran mental health outcomes, there was one exception. Dogs with lower levels of excitability were linked to both a decrease in severity of PTSD symptoms in handlers, and a closer partnership between handler and dog. Handlers attributed many of their mental health improvements to the calming effect of their dog.



The factors associated with better mental health outcomes included a close veteran-dog partnership (which was linked to lower dog excitability) and the perception by the handler that the dog’s care was easy. The researchers also found a link between worse depression and handlers that more frequently asked service dogs to initiate a social greeting. In addition, veterans who frequently asked their dogs to alert them to a human approaching from behind were more likely to have greater anxiety but less severe PTSD symptoms.



Further research will be needed to expand on these findings and potentially identify how the most suitable pairings between veterans and dogs can be achieved in future, such that the veterans benefit most from their relationships with their service dogs. In addition, the results may help determine how best to select and train future service dogs, for example by favoring calm individuals and training to reduce excitability.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This study provides new information about how and why service dogs may improve mental health for some veterans with PTSD," said Jensen. "We are especially grateful to the military veterans who made this possible by sharing their time and experiences with us.”



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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

Service dogs reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress

Many war veterans and returning military personnel experience posttraumatic stress...

Two studies published in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abp8337?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D85670475348227709511999842200155442388%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1658884408">Science</a> offer a more complete look at the origins of Covid-19. An international team of researchers has determined that at least two coronavirus variants were transmitted from live animals to humans at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China.



Dr. Joel O. Wertheim is an associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">UC San Diego</a> School of Medicine, and a co-author on both papers.



“It’s vital that we know as much about the origin of Covid-19 as possible because only by understanding how pandemics get started can we hope to prevent them in the future,” said Dr. Wertheim.



“I think there’s been consensus that this virus did in fact come from the Huanan Market, but a strong case for multiple introductions hasn’t been made by anyone else yet."



Based on genetic research, the researchers determined that there were two animal-to-human jumps with two different virus strains. The first jump occurred in late November 2019, while the second lineage jumped within weeks of the first. This means that multiple zoonotic transmission events likely led to the COVID-19 pandemic.



This research is consistent with another recently published study conducted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.



“We felt validated, but what we felt more was immense pressure because they beat our preprint to the punch by about 12 hours, and we could only discuss their findings in light of ours,” said Dr. Wertheim.



The researchers are cautiously confident about their conclusions. “While I’m hesitant to call it proof, what we presented is the most comprehensive explanation for the SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity at the outset of the pandemic,” said Dr. Wertheim. “There are really no other good explanations for both of these strains being at the market except for multiple jumps into humans.”



Study lead author Jonathan E. Pekar said that the evolution and spread of the virus were inevitable, considering the circumstances.



“Everything complicated happened before that introduction,” explained Pekar. “The last step is just extended contact and transmission from hosts to humans. At that point, it would actually be unusual to only have one introduction. We’ve seen this before with MERS-CoV (a similar zoonotic virus). We’ve seen it with humans giving SARS-CoV-2 to minks on farms and then minks giving it back to humans.”



“This has happened before, and it’s going to keep happening. Nature is a better lab than humans will ever be.”&nbsp;



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

Multiple Covid strains jumped to humans at Wuhan market

Two studies published in Science offer a more complete look...

A new study led by <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a> has found that women, older gardeners, and those who live near gardens often grow rare plants, which attract rare animal species. Observations of nearly 18 community gardens in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties in California revealed that more than 50% of urban gardens contain rare plants. 



Along with plants, the researchers sampled bees and birds in the area. Using this data, they devised a model that showed a correlation between gardener demographics, the rare plants grown by the gardeners, and the rarity of bird and bee species.



"There appears to be a cascading effect of people planting uncommon species on the accumulation of other uncommon bee and bird species," said study lead author <a href="https://envs.dartmouth.edu/people/theresa-ong">Theresa Ong</a>, an assistant professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth.



"Taro (Colocasia esculenta), was one of the rare plants found in the urban gardens but is not of conservation concern, primarily, because it's cultivated. It's a traditional crop planted in Hawaii and by a lot of Asian cultures. It requires a lot of space to grow and is cooked for its underground corm, much like the tuber of a sweet potato but it's not a common food grown in California."&nbsp;



Professor Ong believes that Taro is important for rare species because it requires creating a wetter habitat, attracting species to an area they wouldn't usually visit.



The experts discovered a special relationship between Bachelor's buttons and leafcutting bees, whose female bees cut the plants' leaves to make nests for their larva. The researchers also observed other notable species, including American kestrels.&nbsp;



"It's a small and very cute falcon that is actually the most common and widespread falcon in the continent. Recently its populations have declined, which has been a cause of concern," said Professor Ong.



"It's an important predator of garden pests like mice and voles, so it's a good sign when it is found in some urban gardens, as it signals that gardens can be managed in a way that provides habitat for a species that is rare in cities."



The researchers want the public to know that some of the rare plants discovered in the gardens were weeds. Therefore, we shouldn't be so quick to destroy all weeds since they may support diversity.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eap.2708">Ecological Applications</a>.



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

Rare birds and bees flock to gardens with rare plants

A new study led by Dartmouth College has found that...

Mammals and birds are endotherms – that is, organisms capable of self-regulating their body temperature. Reptiles, on the other hand, are ectotherms since they do not have this ability of self-regulating their temperature metabolically and must rely more heavily on environmental factors to survive.&nbsp;



For many years, scientists believed that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-of-the-dinosaurs-were-warm-blooded/">dinosaurs</a> were ectotherm too – a feature which was often used to explain their extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period, as they would not have had the capacity to regulate their body temperature to combat the temperature fluctuations of their environment. However, a new study led by <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> has found that dinosaurs and pterosaurs had high metabolic rates, suggesting that they were in fact endothermic.



“This study demonstrates that dinosaurs were real endotherms, and refutes previous ideas that they had an intermediate condition (mesothermia) between ectotherms and endotherms, or that they could maintain their bodily temperature constant thanks to their large bodies, given that there are small dinosaurs with high metabolic rates,” said study lead author Jasmina Wiemann, a molecular paleobiologist at Yale.



Dr. Wiemann and her colleagues used metabolic markers found in fossils to assess the metabolic capacities of dinosaurs. The analysis revealed that these creatures had high metabolic rates, which helped them regulate their body temperature in order to adapt to environmental fluctuations. These findings refute the hypothesis that dinosaurs’ extinction was caused by their incapacity to do this.



“According to the results of this research, being an endotherm is not an advantage in the case of mass extinctions, and we will have to look for causes other than the metabolism they had, which was similar to that of mammals and birds which did survive,” said study co-author Iris Menéndez, a paleontologist at the <a href="https://www.ucm.es/english">Complutense University of Madrid</a>.



“This study provides us with knowledge about extinct species. Sometimes we have the idea that there are not many discoveries still to be made, but the reality is that many studies in recent decades are continuing to change the ideas we had about what some species were like, and help us understand life in the past better,” she concluded. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04770-6">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;

Dinosaurs self-regulated their body temperature

Mammals and birds are endotherms – that is, organisms capable...

Several studies have found that cocoa flavanols are as efficient in lowering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/high-blood-pressure-doubles-risk-of-severe-covid/">blood pressure</a> and arterial stiffness as many blood pressure medication. However, since these studies have been performed in tightly controlled experimental settings, how effective flavanols are in everyday life has remained unknown. Moreover, some scientists voiced concerns that using cocoa as a treatment for high blood pressure could pose health risks by decreasing the pressure when it is not raised.&nbsp;



Now, for the first time, a research team from the <a href="https://www.surrey.ac.uk/">University of Surrey</a> has set out to investigate the effects of cocoa flavanols on lowering blood pressure and arterial stiffness in individuals outside clinical settings. The analysis revealed that cocoa only reduces blood pressure and arterial stiffness when elevated, thus paving the way for it to be safely used in clinical practice.



“High blood pressure and arterial stiffness increases a person’s risk of heart disease and strokes, so it is crucial that we investigate innovative ways to treat such conditions,” said study senior author Christian Heiss, a professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Surrey. “Before we even consider introducing cocoa into clinical practices, we need to test if the results previously reported in laboratory settings safely translate into real-world settings, with people going about their everyday lives.”



Professor Heiss and his team enrolled 11 healthy participants and asked them to consume, on alternating days, either six cocoa flavanol capsules or six placebo ones containing only brown sugar. The participants were provided with an upper arm blood pressure monitor and finger clip measuring pulse wave velocity (PWV), which shows the levels of arterial stiffness. These measurements were taken before the consumption of the capsules, every 30 minutes after ingestion in the first three hours, and hourly for the remaining nine hours.



The measurements revealed that blood pressure and arterial stiffness were only lowered in participants if it was high, with no effect occurring when the pressure was already low in the morning. Moreover, significant effects in people with initially high blood pressure were identified also at eight hours after taking the pills, which is probably due to how gut bacteria metabolize cocoa flavanols.



“The positive impact cocoa flavanols have on our cardiovascular system, in particular, blood vessel function and blood pressure, is undeniable. Doctors often fear that some blood pressure tablets can decrease the blood pressure too much on some days,” said Professor Heiss.



“What we have found indicates that cocoa flavanols only decrease blood pressure if it is elevated. Working with participants’ personal health technologies showed us how variable blood pressure and arterial stiffness can be from day to day and shows the role of personal health monitors in developing and implementing effective personalized care,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.886597">Frontiers in Nutrition</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;

Study confirms: cocoa reduces high blood pressure

Several studies have found that cocoa flavanols are as efficient...

Anxiety, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vitamin-b6-can-reduce-anxiety-and-depression/">depression</a>, or cluster headaches can be highly debilitating. Recent studies have argued that psychedelic compounds which stimulate serotonin receptors in the brain could act as treatments for these conditions. While clinical trials have indeed shown promising results, not everyone seems to benefit from these substances. 



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.unc.edu/">University of North Carolina Chapel Hill</a> (UNC) has found that a reason for this could be common genetic variations in one serotonin receptor. The experts discovered that seven variants uniquely and differentially impacted this receptor’s in vitro response to four psychedelic drugs - LSD, psilocin, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), and mescaline.



Serotonin receptors in the brain bind serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) and other similar amine-containing molecules, helping regulate people’s moods, emotions, cognitive processes, and even appetite. One of these receptors (5-HT2A) is responsible for mediating the effects of a variety of psychedelic drugs. However, scientists found that there are several naturally occurring, random genetic variations – known as “single nucleotide polymorphisms” (SNPs) – which can significantly alter the 5-HT2A receptor’s structure and function.



The researchers used a series of assays to investigate the effect that seven different SNPs had on in vitro binding and signaling of the 5-HT2A&nbsp;receptor when in the presence of psilocin, LSD, 5-MeO-DMT, and mescaline. The analysis revealed that some genetic variations – even ones at a significant distance from the binding site – fundamentally alter the ways in which this serotonin receptor interacts with the drugs. For instance, the single nucleotide polymorphism Ala230Th was found to have both increased and reduced responses to the psychedelic substances tested compared to the original version of the gene, while the His452Th mutation exhibited only reduced effects.



These findings suggest that patients with different genetic variations would react differently to psychedelic treatments. Thus, physicians should carefully consider the genetics of a patient’s serotonin receptors in order to reliably identify which psychedelic compound is likely to be the most effective treatment.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00815">ACS Chemical Neuroscience</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;

Genetics influence the brain's response to psychedelics

Anxiety, depression, or cluster headaches can be highly debilitating. Recent...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a>, experts report that exposure to extreme heat can lead to chronic and acute malnutrition among infants and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-spaces-are-beneficial-for-childrens-lung-health/">children</a> in low-income countries. The researchers say that the impacts of heat exposure threaten to reverse decades of progress.&nbsp;



The study was focused on more than 32,000 West African children between the ages of three to 36 months. The researchers found that average heat exposure had increased the prevalence of stunted growth from chronic malnutrition by 12 percent, and of low weight from acute malnutrition by 29 percent.



“We’re talking about children at a very young age that will have changes for the rest of their lives, so this is permanently scarring their potential,” said Professor Ariel Ortiz-Bobea. “What we are doing to reduce global poverty is being eroded by our lack of action on climate.”



If the average global temperature rises by two degrees Celsius – which could occur without significant reductions in carbon emissions – the average effect of heat exposure on stunting would nearly double, erasing gains recorded during the study period (1993 to 2014).



These findings have greatly concerned researchers, as temperatures in West Africa are rising and will continue to for several decades. The effects of acute and chronic malnutrition in early childhood - linked to higher mortality rates and to lower education and incomes in adulthood - are irreversible.



Meanwhile, improved incomes, infrastructure and child care practices during the study period helped reduce stunting across the five West African countries by 5.8 percentage points on average.



“While this progress has been welcomed in West Africa and in other low- and middle-income countries, it’s occurring against the backdrop of rising temperatures and an increased likelihood of extreme weather events,” said Professor John Hoddinott. “Our work suggests these rising temperatures risk wiping out that progress.”



Strategies to reduce child malnutrition must consider the increased need for programs during periods of prolonged heat exposure.



The researchers acknowledge funding support from the African Development Bank through the <a href="http://barrett.dyson.cornell.edu/staars/index.html">Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces</a> (STAARS) project.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-environmental-economics-and-management">Journal of Environmental Economics and Management</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

Heat exposure is worsening the issue of malnourished children

In a new study from Cornell University, experts report that...

Many previous studies have shown that exposure to vegetated areas and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-spaces-are-a-critical-refuge-for-threatened-species/">green spaces</a> can be beneficial to our physical and mental health. Recent research published by the <a href="https://europeanlung.org/en/">European Lung Foundation</a> has now revealed that children whose proximity to vegetation close to their homes increased in the first ten years of life tended to have better lung health. These findings support the idea that families benefit by moving to greener areas, but also highlight the need to create more green spaces in urban areas.



The study, which was led by Dr. Diogo Queiroz Almeida from the University of Porto, was focused on data from the research project known as Geração 21. This initiative began by recruiting over 8,000 mothers and their newborn infants in public hospitals in the Porto Metropolitan Area in 2005 and 2006.&nbsp;



All of the children were invited to be re-evaluated at the ages of four, seven and ten years. However, since not all of the participants ended up giving complete sets of data, the current study on lung health ultimately included data from 3,278 of the children.



Lung function was gauged at ages four, seven and ten using each child’s forced vital capacity (FVC). This is the maximum amount of air a person can blow out after taking in the deepest possible breath and it is a measure of lung volume and size. FVC can indicate how well the lungs are working and help diagnose lung conditions like asthma.&nbsp;



The team used satellite data and maps to assess the amount of vegetation within 100, 250 and 500m of each child’s residence at the time of his or her birth, as well as at the ages of four, seven and ten. In addition, geographical information systems (technology for comparing the geographical locations of different things) were used to determine the distance between children’s home addresses and their nearest park, public garden or other public green spaces at these same ages.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Analysis of the data showed that children whose home surroundings became greener between the time of their birth and their tenth birthday - due either to moving home or to environmental changes - tended to have better lung function.



“Our research suggests the greener, the better. These improvements are modest at around two percent. However, if we look at the whole population, making our neighborhoods greener could have a considerable impact.” Dr. Almeida explained that factors such as differences in physical activity and levels of air pollution were accounted for, but the link between better lung function and increased exposure to vegetated areas persisted.



“We looked at factors like physical activity and air pollution, but the link between lung function and moving closer to green space remained, even after we took these into account,” said Dr Almeida. “It could also be that getting closer to nature reduces stress, which can improve physical health, or it might have a positive effect on children’s microbiomes – the community of different bacteria that live in our bodies.”



“We found that living in greener neighborhoods as children grow up is more important for their breathing than living in a green area when they were born. This may be because babies spend much less time outdoors than children.”



During this study, the researchers also assessed whether there was a link between children’s lung health and the proximity of their homes to rivers and the sea – so-called ‘blue space’. They made use the Portuguese Water Atlas (from the Portuguese “Atlas da Água”) to assess the distance between each child’s residence and the nearest blue space. The researchers found no link with children’s lung health, although it must be noted that less than one percent of the children in the study lived within 800m of any blue space.&nbsp;



"This research strengthens the evidence supporting the benefits of green spaces on respiratory health. Moving to greener areas may be a possible strategy to improve children’s lung function. However, house prices often dictate where families live, any many cannot afford to live in greener neighborhoods," said Dr. Almeida.



"To reduce health inequalities, we need to make our cities greener, especially in areas where there is little or no green space. In particular, we need to involve children and their carers to make sure our parks and gardens suit their needs.”



The researchers will continue to study the role of green and blue spaces in other areas of children’s health. They are also using focus groups to understand how and why green spaces are used by younger people.



“We know that early childhood is a crucial time for lungs to grow and develop, and that a child’s environment and the air they breathe can have an impact on their lung health for the rest of their life," said Professor Marielle Pijnenburg of the European Respiratory Society, who was not involved in the research.



"This study suggests that making sure our children grow up close to parks, gardens and green spaces could help improve their lung health, although as the authors said the mechanisms for this are unknown and may be complex. This finding contributes to a growing number of studies that show health benefits of making our neighborhoods greener and healthier.”



The research is published in the <a href="https://erj.ersjournals.com/">European Respiratory Journal</a>.



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

Green spaces are beneficial for children’s lung health

Many previous studies have shown that exposure to vegetated areas...

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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

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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

[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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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...