Who invented the wheel? This question has been a topic of debate for centuries. But because it predates recorded history, the exact inventor of the wheel has remained unknown.



Despite the wheel's undeniable importance in human history, its origins have been shrouded in mystery and speculation. What we do know is that the wheel likely evolved over time from simpler tools.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-redefining-the-origins-of-the-wheel">Redefining the origins of the wheel</h2>



A new study on the evolution of the wheel has pushed the clock back by 6,000 years, offering new and compelling insights into this fascinating puzzle.



This discovery represents an exciting development that shatters the conventional timeline, moving it far beyond the previously accepted era of 4000 BC in ancient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mesopotamian-bricks-reveal-anomaly-in-earths-magnetic-field-3000-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mesopotamia</a>.



It was during that period when the wheel was first recognized as an essential tool, initially used in pottery-making and preceding the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bronze-age-teeth-discovery-highlight-the-evolution-of-the-human-diet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bronze Age</a> innovation of wheeled vehicles by centuries.



This newfound understanding prompts a reevaluation of how early humans harnessed rotational technology and its transformative impact on the trajectory of human civilization.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-development-of-rotational-tools">Development of rotational tools</h2>



The spotlight is now shining on an archaeological discovery in Israel that has potentially rewritten this humble invention’s history and shifted our understanding of early human ingenuity.



Over a hundred perforated pebbles - primarily composed of limestone and bearing a circular shape with a central hole - were unearthed at the Nahal-Ein Gev II site, a location that has already provided valuable insights into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prehistoric-women-were-not-just-gatherers-they-were-hunters-too/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prehistoric</a> life.



This extraordinary find represents a key milestone in the development of rotational tools, including our beloved wheel, and emphasizes the sophisticated craftsmanship and resourcefulness of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-in-hunter-gatherer-stone-age-societies-had-better-parenting-than-modern-children/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">early societies</a>.



It reveals not only the ingenuity behind these tools but also hints at the broader implications for the evolution of technology and innovation in human history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-invention-of-a-wheel-shaped-tool">Invention of a wheel-shaped tool</h2>



What's astonishing is that these ancient stones date back to approximately 12,000 years, far surpassing any previously known examples. 



Scholars from the <a href="https://en.huji.ac.il/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a> suggest that these stones served as spindle whorls - round weighted objects attached to a spindle stick.



This tool was instrumental in gathering fibers such as wool and spinning them into yarn, demonstrating the human use of rotation with a wheel-shaped tool.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-first-wheels-in-form-and-function">The first wheels in form and function </h2>



Professor Leore Grosman emphasized the importance of these artifacts, describing them as early examples of wheel-shaped tools connected to a rotating axle.



"These perforated stones are actually the first wheels in form and function - a round object with a hole in the center connected to a rotating axle, used long before the appearance of the wheel for transportation purposes," said Professor Grosman.



This early use eventually paved the way for more advanced wheel-based rotational inventions, including the renowned potter's wheel and, later, the significantly useful cart wheel.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fingerprints-of-prehistoric-innovation">Fingerprints of prehistoric innovation</h2>



"The most important aspect of the study is how modern technology allows us to delve deep into touching the fingerprints of the prehistoric craftsman, then learn something new about them and their innovativeness, and at the same time, about our modern technology and how we're linked," noted the researchers.



Their study embodies the "wheel and axle" concept, a revolutionary mechanism that triggered technology's transformation from linear to rotary motion.



The paper concludes that the ancient origins tied to the carts' prominence during the Bronze Age now focus on a much-earlier wheel-shaped tool.



So, the next time you marvel at the complexity of modern machinery, remember its connection to these humble stones from 12,000 years ago, and appreciate the role of human innovation throughout the ages.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-ingenuity-and-innovation">Human ingenuity and innovation</h2>



This discovery not only enriches our understanding of early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/400000-year-old-stone-tools-show-technological-adaptations-of-prehistoric-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">technological advancements</a> but also illustrates the seamless progression from simple tools to complex mechanisms.



The spindle whorls unearthed at Nahal-Ein Gev II showcase the fundamental principles of rotational technology, a concept that would eventually lead to the wheel's application in pottery, transportation, and machinery.



By examining these early developments, researchers draw parallels between ancient creativity and modern technology, highlighting the continuous thread of human ingenuity through the ages.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://search.app?link=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.plos.org%2Fplosone%2Farticle%3Fid%3D10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0312007&amp;utm_campaign=aga&amp;utm_source=agsadl2%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plos One</a>.



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Who invented the wheel? It all started with stones

Who invented the wheel? This question has been a topic of debate for centuries. But because it predates recorded history, the exact inventor of the wheel has remained unknown. Despite the wheel's undeniable importance in human history, its origins have been shrouded in mystery and speculation. What we do know is that the wheel likely evolved over time from simpler tools. Redefining the origins of the wheel A new study on the evolution of the wheel has pushed the clock back by 6,000 years, offering new and...

By investigating a cache of fossils containing the brain and nervous system of a 500-million-year-old <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-marine-predator-could-float-motionless-in-the-water/">marine predator</a> from the Burgess Shale (a fossil deposit in the Canadian Rocky Mountains) called Stanleycaris, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.rom.on.ca/en">Royal Ontario Museum</a> (ROM) has managed to shed more light on the evolution of the arthropod brain, vision, and head structure.



Stanleycaris belongs to an ancient, extinct offshoot of the arthropod evolutionary tree called Radiodonta, which was distantly related to modern insects and spiders. With large compound eyes, a fierce circular mouth lined with teeth, frontal claws with an impressive array of spines, and a flexible, segmented body with several swimming flaps along its sides, Stanleycaris was most likely a feared marine predator that fed upon a large variety of sea-bottom dwellers.



The fossils discovered in the Burgess Shale contained extremely well-preserved remains of this prehistoric animal’s brain and nervous system. “While fossilized brains from the Cambrian Period aren’t new, this discovery stands out for the astonishing quality of preservation and the large number of specimens,” said study lead author Joseph Moysiuk, a doctoral student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a>. “We can even make out fine details such as visual processing centers serving the large eyes and traces of nerves entering the appendages. The details are so clear it’s as if we were looking at an animal that died yesterday.”



The fossils revealed that the brain of Stanleycaris consisted of two segments, the protocerebrum and the deutocerebrum, which were connected with the eyes and frontal claws, respectively. “We conclude that a two-segmented head and brain has deep roots in the arthropod lineage and that its evolution likely preceded the three-segmented brain that characterizes all living members of this diverse animal phylum,”&nbsp;Moysiuk explained.



In modern arthropods such as insects, the brain consists of three segments - the protocerebrum, the deutocerebrum, and the tritocerebrum. While the absence of one of these segments in Stanleycaris may not seem a fundamental game-changer, this discovery has in fact radical scientific implications. Since repeated copies of many arthropod organs can be found in their segmented bodies, clarifying how segments line up among different species is fundamental to understanding how these structures diversified during evolution. “These fossils are like a Rosetta Stone, helping to link traits in radiodonts and other early fossil arthropods with their counterparts in surviving groups,” said Moysiuk.



Moreover, the fact that this animal possessed a huge third eye&nbsp;at the front of its head shows that the earliest arthropods had already evolved a variety of complex visual systems like many of their modern counterparts, according to study senior author Jean-Bernard Caron, a curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at ROM. “Since most radiodonts are only known from scattered bits and pieces, this discovery is a crucial jump forward in understanding what they looked like and how they lived,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.027">Current Biology</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;

Marine fossil sheds light on arthropod evolution

By investigating a cache of fossils containing the brain and...

Pocket gophers are a species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-small-mammals-in-the-uk-tested-plastic-positive/">mammals</a> known to live solitary, underground lives, feeding on roots in North and Central American grasslands. A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> has found that these animals keep up with their energy demands by “farming” roots that grow into their tunnels, which supply 20 to 60 percent of the gophers’ daily calories.



“Southeastern pocket gophers are the first non-human mammalian farmers,” said study senior author Francis Putz, a professor of Biology at the University of Florida. “Farming is known among species of ants, beetles, and termites, but not other mammals.”



The scientists discovered that gophers don’t just eat roots that happen to grow in the paths of new tunnels that they excavate. Instead, by spreading their own waste products as fertilizers, they provide conditions favoring root growth and then harvest or crop those roots. Although whether such activities qualify as farming is still a matter of debate, Professor Putz argues that they should be considered similar to behaviors seen in humans.



“It really depends on how ‘farming’ is defined,” he explained. “If farming requires that crops be planted, then gophers don’t qualify. But this seems like a far too narrow definition for anyone with a more horticultural perspective in which crops are carefully managed - such as fruit trees in forests - but not necessarily planted. With this perspective, the origins of agriculture included Mesopotamian annual cereal and pulse crop cultivation as well as maize cultivation in the Americas, but many cultures around the world developed agriculture based on perennial crops, many of which they didn’t plant but did tend.”



According to the scientists, root cropping may explain why gophers build and maintain such extensive tunnel systems, which are comparable to rows of crops. “Pocket gophers are great examples of ecosystem engineers that turn over soil thereby aerating it and bringing nutrients back to the surface,” said Professor Putz. “They eat only roots, some of which they grow themselves, and seldom interfere with human activities.”



Further research is needed to investigate how seasonal variation in the energetic contributions of roots growing into tunnels relate to gophers’ activity cycles, and how their underground activities affect vegetation at the surface.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.003">Current Biology</a>.



---



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

Pocket gophers are underground farmers

Pocket gophers are a species of mammals known to live...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.pitt.edu/">University of Pittsburgh</a> has found that people consistently underestimate how much others in their social circles might appreciate an unexpected phone call, email, or text message just to say hello or check up on them. Moreover, the experts discovered that the more surprising the attempt of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/music-influences-social-connections/">social connection</a>, the greater it will be appreciated.



“People are fundamentally social beings and enjoy connecting with others,” said study lead author Peggy Liu, an associate professor of Marketing and Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh. “There is much research showing that maintaining social connections is good for our mental and physical health. However, despite the importance and enjoyment of social connection, our research suggests that people significantly underestimate how much others will appreciate being reached out to.”&nbsp;



To explore how accurate people are at estimating how much others might appreciate an attempt to connect, Professor Liu and her colleagues conducted a series of experiments involving 5,900 participants.&nbsp;



In one experiment, half of the people were asked to recall the last time they reached out to someone “just to catch up” after a prolonged period of not interacting with them, while the rest were asked to recall a similar situation when someone reached out to them. Then the participants had to indicate on a seven-point scale how much either they or the person they reached out to appreciated the gesture and felt grateful or pleased.&nbsp;



The experimenters were surprised to find that people who recalled reaching out thought their gesture was significantly less appreciated than those who recalled receiving a communication.



“We found that people receiving the communication placed greater focus than those initiating the communication on the surprise element, and this heightened focus on surprise was associated with higher appreciation,” said Professor Liu. “We also found that people underestimated others’ appreciation to a greater extent when the communication was more surprising, as opposed to part of a regular communication pattern, or the social ties between the two participants were weak.”



Many people have lost touch with others in their lives, particularly in the context of the Covid pandemic. These findings suggest that hesitations to reconnect may be unnecessary since others are likely to appreciate being reached out to more than people may think.&nbsp;



“I sometimes pause before reaching out to people from my pre-pandemic social circle for a variety of reasons. When that happens, I think about these research findings and remind myself that other people may also want to reach out to me and hesitate for the same reasons. I then tell myself that I would appreciate it so much if they reached out to me and that there is no reason to think they would not similarly appreciate my reaching out to them,” Professor Liu concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-pspi0000402.pdf">Journal of Personality and Social Psychology</a>.&nbsp;



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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

Reaching out to your friends means more than you think

A new study led by the University of Pittsburgh has...

Juicy,Home,Made,Burger,Served,With,Crispy,Fries.

Being overweight is known to increase the risk of many&nbsp;serious health conditions, including strokes, cancer, diabetes and hypertension. In addition, there is a less well known link between being overweight or obese, and developing brain diseases, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blueberries-may-protect-our-brains-against-dementia/">dementia</a>. Obesity puts severe strain on the cardiovascular system and can damage blood vessels, including those that supply the brain cells.



New research, led by neuroscientists from the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a>, has established a clear link between mice fed a high-fat diet over 30 weeks, resulting in diabetes, and a subsequent deterioration in their cognitive abilities. UniSA neuroscientist and biochemist&nbsp;<a href="https://people.unisa.edu.au/Larisa.Bobrovskaya">Associate Professor Larisa Bobrovskaya</a>&nbsp;says the research adds to the growing body of evidence linking chronic obesity and diabetes with Alzheimer’s disease, which is predicted to reach 100 million cases by 2050.



“Obesity and diabetes impair the central nervous system, exacerbating psychiatric disorders and cognitive decline. We demonstrated this in our study with mice,” explained Professor Bobrovskaya.



In the study, scientists from Australia and China used genetically modified mice that expressed a mutated form of tau protein in their brains. Tau proteins are essential in the normal functioning of the brain, but the accumulation of abnormal tau in the brain cells is associated with cognitive decline and diseases such as Alzheimer’s.&nbsp;



The researchers randomly assigned these mice to a standard diet or a high-fat diet for a period of 30 weeks. They began on the diet at the age of eight weeks and were monitored for various physiological, metabolic and behavioral attributes. Their food intake was measured weekly, body weight and fasting glucose levels were measured fortnightly, and a comprehensive behavioral test battery was performed to assess anxiety, depression and cognitive dysfunction.&nbsp;



Glucose and insulin tolerance tests were performed on the mice after 30 weeks and, at the conclusion of the dietary experiment, the researchers also investigated the differences in tau proteins in the brains of the mice.&nbsp;



The findings, published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/11011">Metabolic Brain Disease</a>, showed that the genetically modified Alzheimer’s mice on the high-fat diet gained a lot of weight, developed insulin resistance and exhibited abnormal behavior, such anxiety and depression. They also showed significant deterioration in their cognitive abilities. Mice with impaired cognitive function were also more likely to gain excessive weight due to poor metabolism caused by brain changes.



“Obese individuals have about a 55 percent increased risk of developing depression, and diabetes will double that risk,” said Professor Bobrovskaya.



More than 50 million people are thought to be living with Alzheimer’s disease but, despite decades of ground breaking studies and a huge global research effort, there is still no cure for this debilitating disease. What is clear is that being overweight or obese may place an additional burden on brain health and may well exacerbate the disease.&nbsp;



“Our findings underline the importance of addressing the global obesity epidemic. A combination of obesity, age and diabetes is very likely to lead to a decline in cognitive abilities, Alzheimer’s disease and other mental health disorders,” said Professor Bobrovskaya.



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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

High-fat diet linked to weight gain and cognitive decline

Being overweight is known to increase the risk of many&nbsp;serious...

Scientists have long pondered how the 16 billion neurons of the human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prefrontal-cortex-treating-alcoholism/">cortex</a> integrate or bind the many different types of information they encode into a single coherent experience or memory. A main hypothesis is that such binding involves high-frequency oscillations or “ripples” which promote neural interactions, in a similar way that rhythm operates in music or dance. Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California, San Diego</a> has provided the first empirical evidence that such ripples actually occur.&nbsp;



“Think about the experience of petting your cat: its form, location, surroundings, color, feel, movement and sound, plus your own responding emotions and actions. They are all bound together in a coherent whole,” said study senior author Eric Halgren, a professor of Radiology at UC San Diego.



“These different aspects of the experience are encoded in locations distributed across the cortical surface of the brain, and the experience is sub-served by their spatiotemporal firing pattern. The mystery has been how activities in those different locations get connected.”



Previous studies – focused mainly on rodents – have found that ripples in the hippocampus organize the replay of these spatiotemporal patterns during sleep, which is essential for making memories permanent. Now, by analyzing week-long recordings of the brain activity of 18 patients monitored to locate the origin of their epileptic seizures, Professor Hagan and his colleagues discovered that ripples also occur in all areas of the human cortex, both during sleep and wakefulness. The ripples were brief – about one-tenth of a second – and had a consistent narrow frequency close to 90 cycles per second. A typical such ripple event may involve up to 5,000 small modules that are distributed across the cortical surface, and are activated simultaneously.



“Remarkably, the ripples co-occurred and synchronized across all lobes and between both hemispheres, even at long distances,” said study lead author Charles Dickey, a doctoral student in Neurophysiology at UC San Diego. “Cortical neurons increased firing during ripples, at the ripple rhythm, potentially supporting interaction between distant locations.”



“There were more co-occurrences preceding successful memory recall. All of which suggests that distributed, cortical co-ripples promote the integration of different elements that may comprise a particular experiential memory.”



The scientists observed that cortical ripples were often coupled with hippocampal ripples and embedded in slower oscillations (one to 12 cycles per second). These slower ripples are controlled by the thalamus, a central structure that modulate neuronal firing and is crucial for memory consolidation.&nbsp;



“As our experience is organized hierarchically in time, so too are the rhythms that organize our cortical activities that create that experience,” Professor Halgren explained.



These findings could have major implications in better understanding psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, which is characterized by a high degree of mental fragmentation.&nbsp;



“Our findings and those of others indicate that a particular type of inhibitory interneuron is crucial for the generation of ripples, and these cells are known to be selectively affected by schizophrenia, as are high frequency oscillations. Perhaps we are a little closer to finding a mechanism for one aspect of this tragic disease,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2107797119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



---



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

Brain ripples help us fully recall an experience

Scientists have long pondered how the 16 billion neurons of...

Carnivorous plants have evolved in many different taxa of plants, and in locations all around the world. They use a range of modifications to entrap <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-key-genes-that-drive-insect-migration/">insect</a> prey and then digest them, absorbing the nutrients from the insect bodies to supplement the minerals normally available in the soil. Although carnivorous plants have fascinated people for hundreds of years, the evolution of their ability to catch and digest live prey has remained obscure.



In new research, scientists from the <a href="https://www.salk.edu/">Salk Institute</a>, along with collaborators from Washington University in St. Louis, have investigated the molecular basis of plant carnivory to establish how carnivorous plants developed prey-capture-associated behaviors, such as leaf movements and digestive enzyme secretion. &nbsp;



Previous research has indicated that many proteins involved in the digestion of live prey by carnivorous plants are related to those used by other flowering plants to defend themselves against pathogens and pests. In the current study, the experts investigated whether perhaps carnivorous sundew plants evolved the ability to capture and consume prey by repurposing molecular mechanisms used originally for similar defense purposes.&nbsp;



“If we can learn more about how plants such as these and others have adapted to respond to their unique environments, then perhaps we can alter these molecular pathways in the future, to develop plants that can survive in harsher conditions,” said study co-author Professor&nbsp;<a href="http://www.salk.edu/scientist/joanne-chory">Joanne Chory</a>.



Biologists believe that plants such as the spoon-leaved sundew (Drosera spatulata) likely adopted carnivory to survive in nutrient-poor conditions. However, sundews are difficult to cultivate and their DNA wasn’t sequenced until recently, so scientists could not examine how carnivory works in these plants at a cellular level.&nbsp;



“Carnivorous sundew plants are not model organisms,” said study co-author Carl Procko. “Less than a handful of labs in the world have previously been able to genetically modify them, so we’ve had to learn new techniques to closely examine them.”



In Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula), the closure response of the leaves has been related to the movement of calcium ions from sensory hairs into the leaf blade, in response to mechanical stimulation of the hair. For the current study, the researchers investigated how calcium molecules move dynamically within cells in the leaves of carnivorous sundew plants, in response to touch from live prey. They applied genetic tools to image the dynamic changes of calcium molecules in the leaves as insect prey landed on sundew leaves and were captured there by sticky secretions.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In non-carnivorous plants, calcium signaling plays many important roles, such as triggering the jasmonic acid defense pathway to repel unwanted insect pests. Jasmonic acid also responds to electrical activity, which is a critical element of prey capture in some carnivorous plants, including sundews.&nbsp;



The scientists wanted to know if this same defense pathway in non-carnivorous plants might also be required for the sundew’s carnivorous behavior. They found that changes in calcium levels within plant cells did lead to leaf movements that enabled the capture of prey. Fluctuations in calcium within the plant cell resulted in the activation of genes typically targeted by jasmonic acid, as the leaf bent inwards and trapped the insect in sticky digestive secretions.&nbsp;



The researchers further observed that sundew leaves bent less when they were given non-living prey and when their calcium channels were blocked. These findings demonstrate that calcium aids in insect prey-capture responses in sundews and, together with the work of others, supports the idea that jasmonic acid is involved in insect digestion.



“It was fascinating to see how these plants respond to prey-associated mechanical stimulation, like touch,” said study co-author Ivan Radin. “The ability to sense and respond to mechanical forces is something most people don’t associate with plants, especially on this rapid timescale. Our work provides a beautiful visual of this fact.”



“The findings show that calcium is also involved and likely ramps up jasmonic acid responses, similar to how non-carnivorous plants respond defensively to mechanical stimulation from pests,” said Chory. “This provides further credence to the notion that carnivory in sundews may be an evolved defense pathway.”



In future, the researchers wish to apply similar genetic techniques to study other carnivorous plants that have been too difficult to examine until now. They hope to investigate the molecular basis of prey-capture mechanisms to understand better how carnivory evolved in distantly related species and to see if crops could benefit from adapting their existing environmental and insect response pathways to survive in challenging environments. &nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published today in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



---



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

Carnivorous plants turned defense into highly successful offense

Carnivorous plants have evolved in many different taxa of plants,...

Some of the key building blocks of life - known as nitriles - have been detected at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. They were spotted in a molecular cloud of gas and dust by a team of international researchers in Spain.



Nitriles are important building blocks for RNA, which is a DNA-like nucleic acid present in all living cells. The discovery suggests that nitriles are among the most abundant chemical families in the universe.&nbsp;



This supports the 'RNA World' theory of the origin of life, which suggests that nitriles and other building blocks for life could have originated in space and hitchhiked to Earth inside meteorites and comets during the Late Heavy Bombardment period, between 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago.



These building blocks could have come from molecular clouds. For example, the molecular cloud G+0.693-0.027 could evolve to become a stellar nursery in the future. The team of experts detected a range of nitriles which had never before been found in the cloud.



"Here we show that the chemistry that takes place in the interstellar medium is able to efficiently form multiple nitriles, which are key molecular precursors of the 'RNA World' scenario," said study lead author Dr. Víctor M. Rivilla.



"The chemical content of G+0.693-0.027 is similar to those of other star-forming regions in our galaxy, and also to that of solar system objects like comets."&nbsp;



'This means that its study can give us important insights about the chemical ingredients that were available in the nebula that give rise to our planetary system.'



"Thanks to our observations over the past few years, including the present results, we now know that nitriles are among the most abundant chemical families in the universe," said study co-author Dr. Miguel A Requena-Torres.



"We have found them in molecular clouds in the centre of our galaxy, protostars of different masses, meteorites and comets, and also in the atmosphere of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn."



According to Dr. Izaskun Jiménez-Serra, a researcher at the Center for Astrobiology of the Spanish National Research Council, the team has so far detected several simple precursors of ribonucleotides, the building blocks of RNA. However, there are still missing molecules that are hard to detect.&nbsp;



"For example, we know that the origin of life on Earth probably also required other molecules such as lipids, responsible for the formation of the first cells," said Dr. Jiménez-Serra. "Therefore we should also focus on understanding how lipids could be formed from simpler precursors available in the interstellar medium."



The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2022.876870/full">Frontiers</a>.&nbsp;



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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

Building blocks of life found at the heart of the Milky Way

Some of the key building blocks of life - known...

The term “fake news” has made its way into mainstream vocabulary. Though misinformation has always existed, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/goldilocks-amount-of-social-media-time-may-protect-teens/">social media</a> has played a major role in how information can be communicated and manipulated.&nbsp;The ways in which we respond is determined by our brains.&nbsp;



Dr. Andrea Grignolio from National Research Council (CNR, Italy), Dr. Ciara Greene from University College Dublin, and Dr. Maria Antonietta De Luca from the University of Cagliari will discuss the role that neuroscience can play in helping us better understand fake news on July 11, 2022 at the <a href="https://www.fens.org/">Federation of European Neuroscience Societies</a> (FENS) 2022 Forum.



The event aims to support further understanding of fake news development. The forum will also explore the behaviors associated with fake news and the brain areas and neurotransmitters associated with those behaviors.



Studies have shown that unexpected information may be processed differently than information that we have already become familiar with. Fake news often involves attention-grabbing or shocking propositions that make it appealing and help it to spread quickly.&nbsp;



When we encounter novelty, a link is made to motivation since dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with anticipation and reward, increases.&nbsp;



The panel of experts at the event will consider recently published papers and peer review work to unpack the creation and spread of fake news. The following polarized events will be considered:



<ul><li>Ireland’s abortion referendum</li><li>Brexit</li><li>The Covid-19 pandemic</li></ul>



By looking at these divisive political issues, researchers were able to identify some interesting insights:



<ul><li>People are most susceptible to forming false memories for fake news that aligns with their beliefs, particularly if they have low cognitive ability</li><li>Individuals with better knowledge about a given subject matter showed better discrimination between true and false stories</li><li>Warnings about possible misinformation did not have any significant effect</li></ul>



While fake news can be focused on political topics, it is also used to manipulate subjects such as vaccines, GMOs, climate change, renewable energies and so-called alternative therapies for severe health issues. It is critical to understand this phenomenon and the detrimental effects that fake news can have on our individual beliefs, attitudes as well as societies at large.



The FENS Forum features a scientific programme covering all aspects of neuroscience, from basic to translational research. Over the course of five days, attendees will have unprecedented access to a range of symposia, technical workshops, plenary and special lectures like these as well as poster sessions and more.



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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

Why are some people fascinated by fake news?

The term “fake news” has made its way into mainstream...

Relax,Ferns,Leaves,Green,Foliage,Natural,Floral,Fern,Background,In

Seven new fern species from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-amazon-rainforest-is-on-the-brink-of-collapse/">rainforests</a> of tropical America have been described by researchers at the <a href="https://www.utu.fi/en">University of Turku</a>. The species - six of the genus Danaea and one of the genus Dennstaedtia - were uncovered during ecological research. 



“The described species are no tiny or unnoticeable creatures. They range from 20cm to 2m tall, and some of them are very common locally,” explained study lead author Janina Keskiniva.



Species diversity in tropical rainforests is still relatively unknown. Every field trip to a new area can lead to the discovery of unknown species. Understanding how to identify these different species is key for ecological research.&nbsp;



“Information is also needed for setting conservation priorities, the survival of species depends on the conservation of their natural habitats. To prevent biodiversity loss, it is important to protect areas that have special habitats and unique species," said study co-author Hanna Tuomisto.



During field research, plant specimens are collected and stored for study. Researchers often assume that the specimens belong to an already known species. A thorough assessment of collected specimens allows researchers to identify new species hiding in plain sight.



“Most of the specimens we used to describe the new Danaea species were collected decades ago, some already in the 1800's. For all these years, the specimens have been curated in different herbaria. Now we could combine all that accumulated information from the herbaria with fresh insights from field studies made by us and our colleagues,” said Keskiniva.



In fact, the fern specimen that triggered describing the new Dennstaedtia species was collected 15 years ago by Gabriela Zuquim, a researcher at the University of Turku.&nbsp;



“The place where I collected this species has very different soils than most central Amazonian forests, so I am sure many more discoveries can be made there,” noted Zuquim.&nbsp;



"Our long-term goal has been to understand more about the biodiversity of Amazonian rainforests. We are especially interested in what factors determine which species grow where and why, and what are the drivers behind the evolution of new species. In the beginning, I was not interested in describing new species, but I soon realised that it is impossible to communicate about ecology and evolution if the species we are studying have no names," said Tuomisto.



Different soil conditions have a big impact on how species establish and evolve. The area in which the Dennstaedtia species was found is full of largely intact forests with very few people in the area. As a result, this particular species is doing well. However, not all of the newly described species are as lucky. One is already threatened by extinction due to deforestation.



Amazonia is the world’s largest tropical forest area, containing unique biodiversity. It also stores enormous amounts of carbon and regulates both rainfall patterns and global temperature. Conserving Amazonian biodiversity is critically important for the well-being of our planet.



The official scientific descriptions of the Danaea species have been published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/12225">Kew Bulletin</a>. The official scientific description of the Dennstaedtia species has been published in the journal <a href="https://acta.inpa.gov.br/">Acta Amazonica</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

Seven new tropical forest ferns found hiding in plain sight

Seven new fern species from the rainforests of tropical America...

Wastewater sequencing can provide dramatic new insights into levels and variants of SARS-CoV-2 in various communities, which can help scientist detect in advance Covid-19 surges, as well as the emergence of new coronavirus <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-variants-may-emerge-from-immunocompromised-patients/">variants</a>. This is the conclusion of a new study led by the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California, San Diego</a> and <a href="https://www.scripps.edu/">Scripps Research</a>.



According to the experts, this method is a scalable, cheaper, and faster way for communities and regions to detect the coronavirus and take appropriate actions to curb its transmission.



“The coronavirus will continue to spread and evolve, which makes it imperative for public health that we detect new variants early enough to mitigate consequences,”&nbsp;said study co-senior author Rob Knight, a professor of Pediatrics, Bioengineering, and Computer Science at UC San Diego.



“Before wastewater sequencing, the only way to do this was through clinical testing, which is not feasible at large scale, especially in areas with limited resources, public participation, or the capacity to do sufficient testing and sequencing. We’ve shown that wastewater sequencing can successfully track regional infection dynamics with fewer limitations and biases than clinical testing to the benefit of almost any community.”&nbsp;



In the summer of 2020, Professor Knight and his colleagues began robotic sampling of wastewater on the UC San Diego campus, as part of the <a href="https://returntolearn.ucsd.edu/">Return to Learn</a>&nbsp;effort&nbsp;– an initiative aiming to bring student safely back on campus. This program has been a success, and managed to keep levels of coronavirus transmission on campus lower than in the surrounding communities.&nbsp;



In March 2021, wastewater surveillance went regional, with several samples collected each week from San Diego county’s main wastewater treatment plant at Point Loma. Later that year, working with county, state, and federal public health agencies, the scientists started to issue warnings when viral loads in regional wastewater exceeded certain levels, which usually signaled a corresponding spike in Covid-19 cases one or two weeks later.



“The idea is to put everybody on alert that a surge is coming, and act accordingly: Get vaccinated if you’re not vaccinated. Get boosted. Wear a mask. Think twice about attending large indoor gatherings,” said Professor Knight. “It’s a chance to avoid a surge that translates into more patients in hospitals and morgues.”



Moreover, study co-lead author Joshua Levy, a postdoctoral fellow at Scripps Research, developed a new library of “barcodes” to identify coronavirus variants based on short snippets of viral RNA that are unique to each variant, and created a new computational tool that could sift through the genetic information in wastewater to find these barcodes.



These methods turned out to be extremely useful for detecting new Covid-19 spikes in advance and clarifying which variants are the most dominant in specific regions. In the future, they could be employed to help public health authorities cope with a range of different pathogens, and better respond to possible outbreaks.



“We know that other pathogens, ranging from influenza to monkeypox, can be detected in wastewater. Working with county, state and national public health organizations to expand this system beyond SARS-CoV-2 will revolutionize our ability to respond not just to this pandemic, but to future ones,” Professor Knight concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05049-6">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;

Wastewater provides early detection of Covid-19 surges

Wastewater sequencing can provide dramatic new insights into levels and...

For centuries, people have been using mindfulness <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daily-meditation-works-wonders/">meditation</a> to help them relieve pain. However, only recently did neuroscientists manage to test if and how this works. By measuring the effects of meditation on brain activity and pain perception, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California, San Diego</a> has found that meditation interrupts the communication between brain areas mediating the sensation of pain and those that produce a sense of self.&nbsp;



Thus, while pain signals still move from the body to the brain during meditation, individuals feel less ownership over these pain sensations, so their pain and suffering are significantly reduced.



“One of the central tenets of mindfulness is the principle that you are not your experiences,” said study senior author Fadel Zeidan, an associate professor of Anesthesiology at UC San Diego. “You train yourself to experience thoughts and sensations without attaching your ego or sense of self to them, and we’re now finally seeing how this plays out in the brain during the experience of acute pain.”



Professor Zeidan and his colleagues enrolled 40 participants who had their brains scanned while painful heat was applied to their legs, and had to rate their average pain levels during the experiment. Afterwards, they were split into two groups: some had to complete four separate 20-minutes mindfulness training sessions, while the rest spent their four sessions listening to an audiobook.&nbsp;



On the final day of the experiment, all participants had their brain activity measured again, but participants in the mindfulness group were instructed to meditate while the painful stimulus was applied to their leg. Participants who actively meditated reported a 32 percent reduction in pain intensity and 33 percent decrease in pain unpleasantness.



“We were really excited to confirm that you don’t have to be an expert meditator to experience these analgesic effects,” said Professor Zeidan. “This is a really important finding for the millions of people looking for a fast-acting and non-pharmacological treatment for pain.”



The brain scans revealed that mindfulness-induced pain relief was associated with reduced association between the thalamus, an area of the brain relaying incoming sensory information to the rest of the brain, and some regions of the default mode network, a collection of brain areas responsible for self-awareness. The more these brain areas were decoupled or deactivated, the less pain the participants reported.



Thus, mindfulness meditation may provide a free and innovative method for pain treatment, and could be fruitfully integrated into standard outpatient procedures.&nbsp;



“We feel like we are on the verge of discovering a novel non-opioid-based pain mechanism in which the default mode network plays a critical role in producing analgesia. We are excited to continue exploring the neurobiology of mindfulness and its clinical potential across various disorders,” Professor Zeidan concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.lww.com/pain/Abstract/9900/Disentangling_self_from_pain__mindfulness.127.aspx">Pain</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;

Mindfulness meditation can reduce pain

For centuries, people have been using mindfulness meditation to help...

Most people all over the world consume too much salt in their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/avocados-improve-diet-quality-and-lower-cholesterol-levels/">diets</a>, leading to high blood pressure and other health problems. If individuals cut back their salt intake to the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) – less than five grams per day – an estimated 2.5 million deaths could be prevented each year.&nbsp;



Now, a research team from <a href="https://www.meiji.ac.jp/cip/english/">Meiji University</a> in Japan and <a href="https://www.kirin.co.jp/">Kirin</a> - a Japanese food and beverage company – has discovered a novel way to enhance the saltiness (and even potentially the savoriness) of low-sodium food, through the electrical stimulation of the tongue with a chopstick-shaped utensil. These findings can lead to healthier ways for people to enjoy the full flavor of salty foods, while still adhering to low-sodium diets.



Previous research has shown that stimulating the tongue with a weak electrical current can affect the charged ions that make up sodium chloride to either inhibit or enhance saltiness. However, the current study is the first to investigate the extent to which people following a low-sodium diet can use electric taste stimulation to cut back on their salt intake.



“Many people consume around twice the salt intake standard recommended by the WHO,” said lead author Yoshinobu Kaji, a Master’s student in the Graduate School of Advanced Mathematical Sciences at Meiji University. “This standard cannot be met with a little effort in salt reduction, and a drastic solution is essential. This study is an important approach because it suggests that a 30 percent reduction in salt can be achieved by electrical stimulation.”



Together with his colleagues, Kaji designed an electrical stimulation waveform with an amplitude and frequency that were optimized to enhance the saltiness of low-sodium foods, and enrolled a group of 31 participants to test it. Each person tasted and rated the saltiness of various saltwater gel samples which had two different levels of sodium. The results suggest that electric stimulation enhanced the saltiness of the low-sodium sample, making it comparable to the control sample, which was about 40 percent saltier. Thus, such electrified utensils could reduce salt intake by 30 percent without sacrificing the experience of saltiness.&nbsp;



Moreover, in a second experiment, the participants had to consume a low-salt miso soup. Many of them found the soup not only saltier but also tastier, suggesting that electric stimulation may also improve umami - an alleged fifth sense described as savoriness in Japanese culture.&nbsp;



Further research is needed to assess this new technology’s possible applications in other fields, such as taste simulation in virtual environments. “In the future, for example, it may be possible to virtually reproduce the taste of food and drink, or to realize taste expressions that are difficult to achieve with conventional eating experiences,” Kaji&nbsp;concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2022.879784">Frontiers in Virtual Reality</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;

Zapping our tongues could help reduce salt intake

Most people all over the world consume too much salt...

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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

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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



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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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