This,Is,A,3d,Illustration,Of,Cosmic,Microwave,Background,,Electromagnetic

Dark energy has long been seen as the invisible force behind our Universe’s accelerating expansion. This mysterious component was thought to make up nearly 70 percent of the cosmic energy budget. A new study, however, raises a different idea: maybe the Universe is expanding in a “lumpy” manner, which means dark energy might not be needed to explain those puzzling measurements of distant supernovae.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dark-energy-and-expansion">Dark energy and expansion</h2>



For almost a century, scientists have assumed that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-evidence-suggests-that-dark-energy-comes-from-black-holes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmos</a> spreads out uniformly in every direction, with dark energy speeding up that expansion. The notion was adopted after researchers saw exploding stars, known as supernovae, appearing farther away than expected. 



When calculations showed that galaxies seemed to be drifting apart too quickly, dark energy became an easy placeholder for the unknown physics.



Professor <a href="https://profiles.canterbury.ac.nz/David-Wiltshire" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Wiltshire</a> from the <a href="https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Canterbury</a> in Christchurch, New Zealand has been examining this challenge in more detail. 



His research team’s <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/537/1/L55/7926647" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> of supernova light curves suggests the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mapping-the-universe-may-reveal-secrets-of-dark-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Universe</a> may be more uneven than we assumed.



Their approach leads to a fresh explanation for the changes in light we see, one that focuses on how time passes differently in various gravitational conditions rather than appealing to an unseen substance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-many-have-relied-on-dark-energy">Why many have relied on dark energy</h2>



Dark energy has been tied to the so-called Lambda Cold Dark Matter model, or <a href="https://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/education/graphic_history/univ_evol.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ΛCDM model</a>. 



This model has served as the bedrock of modern cosmology for decades. Scientists had no direct means to detect or measure dark energy, so they relied on the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">apparent acceleration</a> seen in distant supernovae. They also looked to patterns in the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Cosmic_Microwave_Background_CMB_radiation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cosmic Microwave Background</a>, which is often described as the faint afterglow of the Big Bang. 



Over the years, more data have hinted that there could be tension between early and recent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-could-explain-the-rapid-expansion-of-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expansion</a> rates, sparking serious questions about whether we are missing some major puzzle piece.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-enter-the-timescape-model">Enter the timescape model</h2>



The new work supports something called the timescape model, which does not need dark energy to explain cosmic acceleration. Instead, it notes that local physics can vary depending on how mass is distributed. One clock drifting through a sparse region of the cosmos might tick faster than the same clock inside a galaxy packed with more gravitational pull. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dark-energy_doesnt-exist_history-of-universe-graphic_credit-NASA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dark-energy_doesnt-exist_history-of-universe-graphic_credit-NASA_1s.webp" alt="This graphic offers a glimpse of the history of the universe, as we currently understand it. The cosmos began expanding with the Big Bang but then around 10 billion years later it strangely began to accelerate thanks to a theoretical phenomenon termed dark energy. Credit: NASA" class="wp-image-1954661"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This graphic offers a glimpse of the history of the universe, as we currently understand it. The cosmos began expanding with the Big Bang but then around 10 billion years later it strangely began to accelerate thanks to a theoretical phenomenon termed dark energy. Credit: NASA</figcaption></figure>



The team’s findings were featured in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters.



“Our findings show that we do not need dark energy to explain why the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-dark-matter-does-not-exist-and-the-universe-is-27-billion-years-old/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Universe</a> appears to expand at an accelerating rate,” noted Professor David Wiltshire, who led the study. 



He sees this approach as an opportunity to rethink the way we average cosmic expansion. “The Universe’s biggest mystery could be settled by the end of the decade,” Professor Wiltshire claimed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-tension-and-the-lumpy-universe">Hubble tension and the lumpy Universe</h2>



Part of the growing dispute involves something called the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unknown-factors-are-accelerating-the-expansion-of-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble tension</a>.



<a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2020/09/aa33910-18/aa33910-18.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Measurements</a> of the early cosmos from the Cosmic Microwave Background suggest a certain rate of expansion, while observations of supernovae in the present day reveal a faster pace. This inconsistency has triggered re-examinations of old assumptions. Adding to that, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DESI</a>) has discovered that the standard ΛCDM model may not line up perfectly with some of its new high-precision data. Researchers are looking into models where dark energy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-is-ripping-the-universe-apart-but-we-arent-sure-how/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">might change over time</a>, but the timescape idea takes a different path: it challenges the uniformity assumption at its core.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-dark-energy">Rethinking dark energy </h2>



If the Universe is lumpy, with matter clumping in some regions and emptier voids in others, then local gravitational effects might skew the calculations that gave dark energy its place in cosmic theory. <a href="https://www.astro.uvic.ca/~jwillis/teaching/astr405/astr405_lecture6.pdf?utm_blank" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Traditional equations</a> used to describe expansion were first introduced almost a hundred years ago, so some researchers argue that the Universe’s complex structures were overlooked. This new study insists that a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-expansion-rate-dark-energy-measured-11-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">uniform expansion</a> might not be the full story. When you allow for different gravitational influences, dark energy becomes optional.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-ahead-to-fresh-data">Looking ahead to fresh data</h2>



Several upcoming projects are on the horizon. 



The European Space Agency’s <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Euclid</a> satellite launched in July 2023, and future missions like the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope</a> promise more comprehensive observations of supernovae. The timescape team believes that at least 1,000 high-quality supernova measurements could be enough to show if their approach really works. 



If timescape ideas pass these tests, the so-called “biggest mystery” might get resolved sooner than people think.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-all-of-this-mean">What does all of this mean?</h2>



To sum it all up, the Universe is more intricate than any simple map might reveal. If the <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011MNRAS.413..367S/abstract" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">timescape model</a> holds up under further scrutiny, there could be wide-ranging effects on cosmic models, especially those that rely on dark energy as a key ingredient. Astronomers, physicists, and cosmologists will be watching closely as more data come in from cutting-edge surveys and instruments. 



These results might bring clarity to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-could-explain-the-rapid-expansion-of-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble tension</a> or uncover new clues about the structure and history of everything around us.



Dark energy has been the leading explanation for cosmic acceleration for decades. Yet, if local gravitational differences and variable clock speeds can account for what we see, the door may be open to a more nuanced story of cosmic growth. There is no shortage of skepticism within the scientific community, but unexpected solutions to old puzzles are often how we expand our understanding of the Universe. 



If the timescape approach stands the test of fresh observations, future textbooks might look a little different.



The full study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/537/1/L55/7926647" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters</a>.



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Timescape: Dark energy doesn't exist, resulting in 'lumpy' universe expansion

Dark energy has long been seen as the invisible force behind our Universe’s accelerating expansion. This mysterious component was thought to make up nearly 70 percent of the cosmic energy budget.A new study, however, raises a different idea: maybe the Universe is expanding in a “lumpy” manner, which means dark energy might not be needed to explain those puzzling measurements of distant supernovae. Dark energy and expansion For almost a century, scientists have assumed that the cosmos spreads out uniformly in every direction, with dark energy speeding...

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...

Oil,Painting,On,Canvas,,Street,View,Of,Paris.,Artwork.,Eiffel

Scientists have long argued that viewing art while visiting museums and galleries can have a strong impact on people’s mood, stress levels, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/helping-others-improves-health-and-well-being/">well-being</a>. But does the same phenomenon happen when viewing art in digital spaces? A new study led by the <a href="https://www.univie.ac.at/en/">University of Vienna</a> has found that engaging with art online has indeed similar positive effects. According to the experts, a short three-minute visit to an online art or cultural exhibition can have highly positive effects on subjective well-being.



When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020 and lockdowns were imposed all over the world, arts and cultural institutions shifted from their physical venues to the internet. For the first time in history, digital art galleries and online museums became widespread and the focus of public attention. “Virtual tours emerged, encouraging people to “visit the museum from their couches” and, for the first time, engaging with art and culture online was on the minds of a broad audience,” explained the study authors.



While over the past decade, researchers have conducted a variety of studies demonstrating that art has a positive impact on health and well-being, it was unclear whether these effects can also emerge from engaging with online art. In this new study, scientists asked a group of participants to visit several art exhibitions via smartphones, tablets, and computers, and measured their psychological states and well-being in order to determine to what extent viewing art on the internet might be beneficial.



The results suggest that even very brief viewings of online art can have significant effects, improving participants’ moods and subjective well-being, and reducing feelings of anxiety and loneliness. The more meaningful or beautiful people found the art to be, the more positive feelings they had while viewing it. These effects are comparable to other interventions, including nature experiences or visits to physical art galleries.&nbsp;



These findings highlight the importance of art on health and well-being and opens directions for future research and applications in spaces such as hospitals, waiting rooms, or rural areas where access to art is limited. “Online cultural engagement, including but not limited to fine art, does seem to be a viable tool to support individuals’ mood, anxiety, loneliness, and well-being, especially when such content is beautiful, meaningful, and inspires positive cognitive-emotional states in the viewer,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.782033">Frontiers in Psychology</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;

Art boosts well-being, even when it's viewed online

Scientists have long argued that viewing art while visiting museums...

The "waggle dance" is performed by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vegetation-helps-wild-honeybees-survive-the-winter/">honeybees</a> to alert one another to the location of nectar-rich flowers. Inspired by this technique, a study published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a> has devised a way for robots to communicate. The new technique could be most valuable when robots are needed yet network communications are unreliable, such as in a disaster zone or in space.



Honeybees excel at nonverbal communication by wiggling their backside while parading through the hive letting other honeybees know about the location of food. The direction of this "waggle dance" lets other bees know the direction of the food with respect to the hive and the sun. The duration of the dance lets the bees know how far away it is - a simple method to communicate geographical coordinates.



Typically, robots communicate using digital networks, but these can become unreliable during an emergency or in remote locations, making it difficult for human communication as well.&nbsp;



To address this, the researchers designed a visual communication system for robots with cameras using algorithms that allow the robots to interpret what they see. The system allows a human to communicate with a “messenger robot," which supervises and instructs a handling robot that performs the task.



The human can communicate with the messenger robot using gestures, such as a raised hand with a closed fist. This is recognized by the robot's camera and skeletal tracking algorithms. Once the human has shown the messenger robot where the package is, it conveys this information to the handling robot.



The messenger robot must position itself in front of the handling robot and trace a specific shape on the ground. The orientation of the shape indicates the direction of travel, while the length of time it takes to trace it indicates the distance. The researchers put this to a test, where robots interpreted the gestures correctly 90 and 93.3 percent of the time.&nbsp;



“This technique could be useful in places where communication network coverage is insufficient and intermittent, such as robot search-and-rescue operations in disaster zones or in robots that undertake space walks,” said study senior author Professor Abhra Roy Chowdhury.



“This method depends on robot vision through a simple camera, and therefore it is compatible with robots of various sizes and configurations and is scalable,” added study first author Kaustubh Joshi.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2022.915884/full">Frontiers in Robotics and AI</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

Bee waggle dance inspires new method of robot communication

The "waggle dance" is performed by honeybees to alert one...

As the bodyguards of the coast, barrier islands offer protection from storms and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-makes-some-plants-resistant-to-flooding/">flooding</a>, and if you have beachfront property, they protect your home. However, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-00980-9">a paper published in Nature Geoscience</a> predicts that barrier islands will begin disappearing 50 percent faster than they have in the past.



"These findings can be applied all over the world, but they may be particularly significant in the U.S., where houses are being built extremely close to the beach," said study lead author Professor Giulio Mariotti of <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a>.



Still, the barrier island situation is not so simple. Mariotti explained that there have been gaps in our understanding. "It is well known that barrier islands retreat as sea level rises, but it has not been clear how."



Mariotti and co-author Christopher Hein of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science noticed that barrier island retreat hasn't kept pace as sea levels have risen.&nbsp;



To explore this question further, Mariotti developed a computer model. Many scientists thought barrier islands would retreat as fast as sea levels rose. However, Mariotti's model shows a lag between sea-level rise and barrier island retreat.&nbsp;



Mariotti explained why previous researchers got it wrong. "One reason previous models didn't see the lag was because they assumed the geometry of the whole coastal tract – from the lower continental shelf to the upland boundary, including subaerial barriers, inlets and tidal channels ­- was frozen. However, the geometry can change and that's what's enabling this lag effect."



The model makes a worrisome prediction. The model predicts that over the next 100 years, the rate of barrier island retreat will increase by at least 50 percent. The rate could climb further if storm strength and frequency continue to increase or sea levels begin to rise faster. The author also points out that this prediction can vary by region.&nbsp;



Mariotti explained why his model is unique: "One of the most original parts of this model is it can run simulations over thousands of years but can also provide insights into decades, which is more interesting for management. At the same time, I can also run simulations over centuries and millennia, which allows the results to be compared with geologic data."&nbsp;



Although this model does not give us the best news, it provides some of the information we need to manage coastlines and a way to compare current conditions with Earth's geological past.



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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

Barrier islands are set to retreat at an alarming rate

As the bodyguards of the coast, barrier islands offer protection...

Images of swans typically bring up ideas of graceful, refined creatures. And although they possess these attributes, even swans have their rowdy days.&nbsp;



New research conducted by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> and the Wildfowl &amp; Wetlands Trust (WWT) reveals that mute and whooper swans sacrifice resting to aggressively protect <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/taste-cells-may-control-foraging-and-decision-making/">foraging</a> areas.&nbsp;



"These swans use aggression if there's competition over foraging areas. Our findings show this this (sic) requires a trade-off, and that both species reduce resting time to allow for this aggression," said Dr. Paul Rose.



"This was the strongest trade-off we found, but there was also a trade-off for both species between foraging and resting. However, there was no apparent trade-off between some behaviours, such as aggression and foraging, and aggression and maintenance."



The trade-off can harm the swans since, without rest, the swans will burn precious calories and may not be as agile or aware of predators.&nbsp;



Moreover, whooper swans are a migratory species, while mute swans stay in the same area throughout the year. Consequently, whooper swans are less likely than mute swans to change their aggressive behavior since they need to store fat before migrating.



The study, published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLoS ONE</a>, was conducted remotely, using a webcam. Dr. Rose says this data can inform conservation, habitat management, and future research.



"By providing enough foraging spots for the birds, we can reduce the need for aggression around desirable feeding spots, giving them more time to rest. This can help to ensure that migratory species don't 'push out' non-migratory species when they mix in the same wintering locations. Our study also demonstrates how remotely collected data can be used to investigate fundamental questions in behavioural research," explained Dr. Rose.



"At WWT we get lots of questions from our visitors about the aggressiveness of swans," said Dr. Kevin Wood. "This new study helps us to understand how swans' behaviour changes when they engage in their disputes."



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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

Swans sacrifice rest to defend their foraging areas

Images of swans typically bring up ideas of graceful, refined...

Volunteers have made an unexpected discovery of tree climbing by over 50 common toads in nest boxes and tree cavities at least 1.5 meters high. Until now, common toads were thought to be terrestrial.&nbsp;



New research led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> and Froglife, and supported by wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), is the first to study the tree climbing potential of amphibians at a national scale.&nbsp;



The researchers found toads as high as three meters up a tree, and scientists say these toads could be venturing even higher. The surprising discovery was made during a survey for hazel dormice and bats as part of the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme and the Bat Tree Habitat Key project.



“This is a really exciting finding, and significant for our understanding of the ecology and conservation of common toads - one of the most widespread and abundant European amphibians," said study first author Dr. Silviu Petrovan.



“We know common toads favour woodlands as foraging and wintering habitat, but it appears their association with trees is much more complex than we had previously thought.”



Common toads are terrestrial amphibians, spending their time on land and in water during breeding. There have only been a handful of documented sightings of common toads in trees in the United Kingdom.



Over 50 common toads were found during surveys of hazel dormouse nest boxes and tree cavities usually used by bats. This suggests that toads spend more time in trees than previously thought.&nbsp;



Given the small sizes of tree cavities, it is unclear how toads are finding them, and how difficult it is for toads to climb particular trees.



“We couldn’t believe what we found. We’re used to discovering woodland birds and other small mammals in nest boxes but we hadn’t considered finding amphibians in them," said Nida Al-Fulaij, Conservation Research Manager at PTES.



The findings highlight the ecological importance of tree cavities and protecting natural woodland habitats and ancient trees for all wildlife. In 2016, common toad populations declined by 68 percent in the last 30 years across the UK.



It is not currently known why toads are climbing trees and using nest boxes. Factors could include searching for food, avoiding predators or evading parasites such as toad fly. Future research will support a better understanding of tree climbing behaviour, and how conservation efforts can best support the species. The study demonstrates how much there is still to learn about species believed to be well known.&nbsp;



Froglife is calling on members of the public to record any sightings they have of amphibians in trees on their <a href="https://www.froglife.org/dragon-finder-app/">Dragon Finder App</a>, or to <a href="https://www.froglife.org/contact-us/">contact them directly</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

Toads in the UK are unexpectedly climbing trees

Volunteers have made an unexpected discovery of tree climbing by...

Many insects undertake seasonal migrations, the most famous of them being the monarch butterflies of southern Canada and the United States. Hoverflies are also migratory, with billions of them moving southwards from northern Europe each year, to spend the winter in warmer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warm-climates-linked-to-low-oxygen-dead-zones-in-the-north-pacific/">climates</a>. However, not all individuals go along for the ride – some stay home and take their chances. This has given scientists an opportunity to study the genetic differences between migratory and non-migratory individuals in an attempt to identify the genetic basis of migratory behavior.&nbsp;



On their autumn journey southwards, the hoverflies cross the Pyrenees Mountains in dense concentrations, making use of narrow mountain passes. A team of researchers at the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> was able to capture samples of these hoverflies as they flew through a pass, and take them back to the laboratory for DNA analysis. The genetic information was then compared with DNA from non-migratory hoverflies.&nbsp;



“It is an amazing spectacle to witness, an endless stream of hundreds of thousands of individuals through a 30-meter pass,” said Dr. Karl Wotton, research fellow in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences.



“We identified 1,543 genes whose activity levels were different in the migrants,” said lead author Toby Doyle, of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/cornwall/research/facilitiesandcentres/cec/">Centre for Ecology and Conservation</a>&nbsp;on Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall. “What really struck us though was the remarkable range of roles these genes play.”



“Migration is energetically very demanding, so finding genes for metabolism was no surprise but we also identified genes with roles in muscle structure and function, hormonal regulation of physiology, immunity, stress resistance, flight and feeding behavior, sensory perception and for increasing longevity."



When the researchers categorized the genes by function, they found that suites of genes were being activated in concert in the migratory hoverflies. These included genes for insulin signaling for longevity, pathways for immunity, and those leading to octopamine production, the insect equivalent of the fight or flight hormone adrenaline, for long-distance flight.



“These pathways have been integrated into migratory hoverflies and modified by evolution to allow for long-distance movement,” Dr. Wotton said.



The work provides a powerful genomic resource and theoretical framework to direct future studies into the evolution of migration in other species.



“Our research has already indicated several genes that have previously been associated with migration in butterflies, suggesting the existence of a shared ‘migratory gene package’ that controls migration across multiple animals,” said Dr. Wotton. “It is an exciting time to be studying the genetics of migration.”



The study is published today in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1365294x">Molecular Ecology</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

Study reveals key genes that drive insect migration

Many insects undertake seasonal migrations, the most famous of them...

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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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[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...