An asteroid impact on Mars 11 million years ago sent fragments of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these pieces eventually crashed into Earth, making its way to Purdue University and becoming known as the Lafayette Meteorite.&nbsp;



This rare find has been instrumental in unlocking secrets of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/manganese-discovery-ancient-mars-earth-like-water-lake-habitable/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars</a>’ watery past, with new research recently published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.7185/geochemlet.2443" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geochemical Perspective Letters</a> that provides insight into the timing and nature of Mars’ ancient water activity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-mars-watery-past">Tracing Mars’ watery past</h2>



Scientists have long known that the Lafayette Meteorite interacted with liquid water on Mars, but the exact timing of this event was uncertain.&nbsp;



Dr. Marissa Tremblay, an assistant professor at Purdue University’s <a href="https://www.eaps.purdue.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences</a> (EAPS), led an international research team to determine the age of the water-altered minerals in the meteorite, pinpointing it to 742 million years ago.



“Dating these minerals can therefore tell us when there was liquid water at or near the surface of Mars in the planet's geologic past,” Tremblay explained.&nbsp;



The findings suggest that while liquid water wasn’t abundant on the surface at this time, it likely came from melting subsurface ice, or permafrost, caused by intermittent volcanic activity - a phenomenon still observed on Mars today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preserving-a-moment-in-mars-geological-timeline">Preserving a moment in Mars’ geological timeline</h2>



The study not only identified when water interacted with the meteorite but also established that the dating was unaffected by events after the meteorite left Mars.&nbsp;



“The age could have been affected by the impact that ejected the Lafayette Meteorite from Mars, the heating it experienced during the 11 million years it was floating in space, or the heating when it fell to Earth,” Tremblay said.&nbsp;



However, the team confirmed that none of these factors altered the age, validating the timeline of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-lost-most-of-its-water-but-where-did-it-go/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">water</a> interaction.



Study co-author and Purdue EAPS researcher Ryan Ickert applied heavy isotope analysis to further verify that previous data on the meteorite’s water-rock interaction had likely been skewed by other geological processes.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This meteorite uniquely has evidence that it has reacted with water. The exact date of this was controversial, and our publication dates when water was present,” said Ickert.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mysterious-journey-of-the-meteorite">Mysterious journey of the meteorite </h2>



The Lafayette Meteorite’s journey to Purdue is something of a mystery. It was found in a university drawer in 1931, though how it got there remains unknown.&nbsp;



In previous research, Tremblay and her team used crop disease markers from organic contaminants found on the meteorite to narrow down when it might have fallen to Earth.



Once the meteorite was ejected from Mars, it endured constant cosmic ray bombardment in space, which produced certain isotopes, offering clues to its time of impact on Earth.&nbsp;



“Many meteoroids are produced by impacts on Mars and other planetary bodies, but only a handful will eventually fall to Earth,” Tremblay said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planetary-time-capsules">Planetary time capsules</h2>



Meteorites like Lafayette serve as planetary time capsules, offering invaluable data on the geological and environmental history of their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-meteorites-can-be-traced-to-three-asteroid-families/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">home worlds</a>. With their dense structure, metallic content, and magnetic properties, meteorites are often distinguishable from Earth rocks.&nbsp;



“We can identify meteorites by studying what minerals are present in them, their mineral relationships, and by checking for a fusion crust formed during entry into Earth’s atmosphere,” Tremblay explained.&nbsp;



By analyzing these traits and their chemical signatures, scientists can often determine a meteorite’s planetary origin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-complex-history-of-meteorites">Complex history of meteorites</h2>



This research marks a significant milestone for the team, which included scientists from institutions across the globe, such as the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center (SUERC), the University of St. Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Bristol, and London’s <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum</a>.&nbsp;



“Before moving to Purdue, Ryan and I were both based at SUERC, where the argon-argon isotopic analyses of the alteration minerals in Lafayette took place,” Tremblay said.&nbsp;



Their partners at SUERC and the Natural History Museum have long contributed to studying Lafayette’s complex history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dating-minerals-in-meteorites">Dating minerals in meteorites</h2>



Dating the water-altered minerals in Lafayette, and others in its class of Martian meteorites called nakhlites, has been a central focus in planetary science, as they uniquely capture moments when liquid water was present on Mars.&nbsp;



Due to complex alterations over time, previous attempts to date these minerals were plagued with uncertainties.&nbsp;



However, the team has now developed a robust dating method that could be applied to other meteorites, enhancing our understanding of when water might have been present on Mars and other planetary bodies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-planetary-science">The future of planetary science</h2>



Thanks to the Stahura Undergraduate Meteorite Fund, Tremblay and Ickert’s research on the Lafayette Meteorite will continue, with the involvement of undergraduate students in Purdue EAPS.&nbsp;



This opportunity allows students to engage in real-world planetary science, helping to reveal the intricate histories of meteoritic samples.



Tremblay and her team’s work on the Lafayette Meteorite highlights its scientific significance, revealing a complex history that ties it to Mars’ geological past.&nbsp;



Their findings not only deepen our understanding of Mars but also set a precedent for future studies that might unveil even more about the red planet’s climate history, water activity, and potential for supporting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-mars-rocks-contain-signs-of-life-scientists-call-to-bring-them-back-to-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">life</a>.



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Meteorite that struck Mars reveals when the planet had liquid water

An asteroid impact on Mars 11 million years ago sent fragments of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these pieces eventually crashed into Earth, making its way to Purdue University and becoming known as the Lafayette Meteorite.&nbsp; This rare find has been instrumental in unlocking secrets of Mars’ watery past, with new research recently published in the journal Geochemical Perspective Letters that provides insight into the timing and nature of Mars’ ancient water activity. Tracing Mars’ watery past Scientists have long known that the Lafayette...

Although oxygen is essential for a variety of biochemical reactions that keep us alive, its oxidation process generates harmful reactive substances that our bodies cannot always neutralize quickly, often causing irreparable damage, such as that caused by oxidative stress - a phenomenon leading to premature <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-physical-activity-protects-the-brain-from-aging/">aging</a> or illness.



Many studies have argued that having green spaces in the vicinity of one’s home has a positive effect on health, since greenness improves mental health and encourages physical exercise. However, less attention has been paid to the direct effects of vegetation on biological processes such as oxidative stress and inflammation.&nbsp;



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">Barcelona Institute for Global Health</a> (ISGlobal) has found that greater exposure to vegetation is associated with lower levels of oxidative stress in children, regardless of the children’s physical activities.



The scientists analyzed a cohort of 323 healthy children aged 8-11 from five primary schools in Asti, a small city in north-western Italy. Parents completed a questionnaire regarding how often their children engaged in physical activity, while oxidative stress was quantified by measuring the concentration of the compound isoprostane in children’s urine. Exposure to residential and school greenness was defined and calculated by using the <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/MeasuringVegetation/measuring_vegetation_2.php">Normalized Difference Vegetation Index</a> (NDVI).



The researchers found that children with higher exposure to vegetation had significantly lower levels of oxidative stress, regardless of how much (or little) physical activity they were usually engaged in.&nbsp;



Several factors could explain this direct link between green space exposure and oxidative stress. According to study senior author Judith Garcia-Aymerich, the head of the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en/-/enfermedades-respiratorias">Non-Communicable Diseases and Environment Program</a> at ISGlobal, “increased exposure to these areas may contribute to children’s&nbsp;immune development&nbsp;by bringing them into&nbsp;contact with organisms&nbsp;that tend to colonize natural environments.” Moreover, contact with green spaces can increase exposure to Vitamin D, which is a powerful antioxidant that helps preventing the negative effects of oxidative stress and inflammation. Finally, vegetation improves air quality in urban areas, reducing thus the oxidative stress caused by pollution.



&nbsp;“The short- and long-term health effects of excess oxidative stress are unknown, so we need to&nbsp;conduct further research&nbsp;and&nbsp;support city and public-health strategies&nbsp;that favor greenness,” concluded Dr. Garcia-Aymerich.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935122001840?via%3Dihub">Environmental Research</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

Exposure to green space reduces oxidative stress in children

Although oxygen is essential for a variety of biochemical reactions...

A research team led by the <a href="https://www.kaust.edu.sa/">King Abdullah University of Science and Technology</a> (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia has recently created a solar-driven system that could successfully grow spinach by using water drawn from the air while producing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/electricity-may-be-the-cheapest-energy-source-by-2050/">electricity</a>. This proof-of-concept design offers a sustainable, low-cost strategy to improve food and water security for people living in regions with dry, hot climates.



“A fraction of the world’s population still doesn’t have access to clean water or green power, and many of them live in rural areas with arid or semi-arid climate,” said study senior author Peng Wang, a professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at KAUST. “Our design makes water out of air using clean energy that would’ve been wasted and is suitable for decentralized, small-scale farms in remote places like deserts and oceanic islands.”



The system constructed by Professor Wang and his team - called WEC2P – is composed of a solar photovoltaic panel placed over a layer of hydrogel, which is mounted on top of a large metal box used to condense and collect water. The hydrogel can effectively absorb water vapors from the air and release the water content when heated.



The scientists conducted a plant-growing test by using this solar-powered system in Saudi Arabia for two weeks in June, when the weather was extremely hot. They managed to use the water solely collected from air to irrigate 60 water spinach seeds planted in a plastic box. The results were impressive: 57 out of 60 seeds sprouted and grew normally up to 18 centimeters.



“Our goal is to create an integrated system of clean energy, water, and food production, especially the water-creation part in our design, which sets us apart from current agrophotovoltaics,” said Dr. Wang. In order to do this, he plans to design a better hydrogel that could absorb more water from the air.



“Making sure everyone on Earth has access to clean water and affordable clean energy is part of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. I hope our design can be a decentralized power and water system to light homes and water crops,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(22)00048-0">Cell Reports Physical Science</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Solar panels used to grow plants in the desert

A research team led by the King Abdullah University of...

The La Brea Tar Pits are located in urban Los Angeles, at a site where natural asphalt has seeped up from the ground for tens of thousands of years. In the past, animals became trapped in the tar and died, their bones being fossilized over time. Today, the site is famous for its deposits of Ice Age animals, particularly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-mammoths-survived-longer-than-initially-thought/">mammoths</a> and mastodons, which are excavated in real time by paleontologists.



The bones of long-lost animals from the tar pits are impressive and fascinating, and are on display in the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a> of Los Angeles County; but the animals themselves remain dead and extinct. In an attempt to bring some of these creatures “back to life” for visitors to the museum, scientists and designers have got together to produce lifelike, 3D animations of the long-lost species through augmented reality (AR). Dr. Matt Davis and colleagues at the Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits collaborated with researchers and designers at the University of Southern California (USC) to create more than a dozen new, scientifically accurate&nbsp;<a href="https://skfb.ly/osowz">virtual models of the Ice Age animals</a> that used to roam the area up to 38,000 years ago.&nbsp;



The team had originally set out to research how AR impacts learning in museums in general, but soon realized that there weren’t any accurate Ice Age animals in the metaverse yet. They decided to use the latest paleontological research, along with the newest design technologies, to make their own. In addition, they chose to publish all the research and detail that goes into reconstructing extinct species in the virtual world, so that others can appreciate and perhaps add to the paleoart animals in the metaverse. Their research is published today in the journal <a href="https://palaeo-electronica.org/">Palaeontologia Electronica</a>.



According to study co-author Dr. William Swartout, Chief Technology Officer at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies: “The innovation of this approach is that it allows us to create scientifically accurate artwork for the metaverse without overcommitting to details where we still lack good fossil evidence.”



In some instances, when the skin and fur of an animal has been preserved, a great deal of detail is known about its appearance. For example, virtual Shasta ground sloths from La Brea can be depicted with long, shaggy fur because specimens with their skin and fur have been excavated. However, many fossils do not show this extent of detail and paleoartists have to make their own decisions about how the animals might have looked while they were alive. The researchers hope their article will bring more understanding about the processes involved in creating lifelike representations of extinct animals.&nbsp;



“Paleoart can be very influential in how the public, and even scientists, understand fossil life,” said Dr. Emily Lindsey, Assistant Curator at La Brea Tar Pits and senior author of the study. Although paleoart has an important role in improving people’s understanding of prehistoric animals, a lot of paleoart is treated as an afterthought, and is not subjected to the same rigorous scrutiny as other scientific research. This can lead to particularly bad reconstructions and misrepresentations of extinct animals being propagated for generations in both popular media and academic publications.



“We think paleoart is a crucial part of paleontological research,” said Dr. Davis, the study’s lead author. “That’s why we decided to publish all the scientific research and artistic decisions that went into creating these models. This will make it easier for other scientists and paleoartists to critique and build off our team’s work.”



Visitors to the La Brea Tar Pits and Natural History Museum can now view scientifically based 3D AR animations of different animals on their cell phones. These include the giant sloth, saber-toothed cat, dire wolf, Shasta ground sloth, Harlan’s ground sloth, American lion, Columbian mammoth, American mastodon, Western camel, ancient bison, dwarf pronghorn, Western horse, teratorn bird, and short-faced bear.&nbsp;



Dr. Davis and colleagues hope that other paleoartists and scientists will follow their example by publishing all the research that goes into their reconstructions of extinct species as this will lead to better and more accurate paleoart for everyone.



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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&nbsp;

Extinct Ice Age animals join the metaverse

The La Brea Tar Pits are located in urban Los...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a> reveals why exercise becomes harder when you don't do it very often. The experts have linked low levels of physical activity to the deactivation of a vital protein in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/watermelon-may-provide-health-benefits-to-the-entire-body/">body</a>.&nbsp;



The research shows that a lack of exercise deactivates the Piezo1 protein, a blood flow sensor, which then reduces the density of capillaries carrying blood to the muscles. When this occurs, blood flow is restricted and physical activity becomes more difficult. According to the study authors, this phenomenon can lead to a reduction in how much exercise is even possible.



"Physical fitness is important for survival," wrote the study authors. "Lack of physical activity results in detraining, lower performance, and ultimately, incapacity. At least 2,500 years ago it was first documented that exercise is good for health."



"Since the first epidemiological studies, research has continued to bestow on us a wealth of evidence that exercise protects against a host of ailments and life-threatening conditions that affect large numbers of people in 21st-century societies through heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, depression, dementia, cancer, osteoporosis, chronic kidney disease, and sexual dysfunction. Exercise is commonly encouraged, even prescribed, as therapy."



The researchers conducted their study using a mouse model, but the Piezo1 protein is also found in humans, which suggests that the outcome of low physical activity is the same.&nbsp;



"Unfortunately, many people fail to exercise enough, for reasons such as injury and computer usage. This puts people at more risk of disease. The less people exercise, the less fit they become, often leading to a downward spiral," said study lead author Fiona Bartoli.



“Although many responses to exercise are known, how the benefits of exercise are initially triggered at a molecular level is mysterious. Our study highlights the crucial link between physical activity and physical performance made at this level by Piezo1. Keeping our Piezo1s active by exercising may be crucial in our physical performance and health.”&nbsp;



Professor David Beech said that the research sheds new light on how Piezo1’s role in blood vessels is connected to physical activity. "A lot was already known about its role in blood vessel development, but far less was known about its contribution to vessel maintenance in adults."&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Our discovery also provides an opportunity to think about how loss of muscle function could be treated in new ways: if we activate Piezo1, it might help to maintain exercise capability.”&nbsp;



The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation and is published in the <a href="https://www.jci.org/">Journal of Clinical Investigation</a>.



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

Exercise literally becomes harder when you don't do it

A new study from the University of Leeds reveals why...

The Cauca River rises in the Andes, in western Colombia, and flows northwards for 1,500 km before entering the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-future-of-caribbean-hurricanes-depends-on-the-extent-of-global-warming/">Caribbean</a> Sea. Its journey from headwaters to sea takes it between the western and central cordilleras, where it flows through a spectacular canyon carved out of the rock between the parallel mountain ranges. Although there are several different explanations for how great canyons form, the story behind the Cauca River Canyon has not been investigated before.



In recent years, however, experts in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences&nbsp;(EES) at <a href="https://www.syracuse.edu/">Syracuse University</a> have undertaken research on the massive Cauca River Canyon in the tropical Andes of Colombia. The team’s objective was to decipher the timing of incision of the 2.5-km-deep canyon using the cooling history of rocks from the canyon walls and a regional analysis of channel steepness in rivers. They then planned to compare their findings with known tectonic and climatic processes that took place in the region during the past 10 million years to figure out what caused the canyon’s incision.&nbsp;



The researchers used a combination of techniques to work out how the river canyon had formed. They analyzed the landscape using data from satellite imagery; collected bedrock samples on the eastern side of the canyon between 300 and 2300 m of elevation; and analyzed the rock samples using thermochronology. This is a technique that allows the researchers to deduce when and how fast a canyon is carved into a mountain by tracking when the rocks cooled to surface temperatures. Certain minerals, in this case apatite, become radioactive clocks as the rocks cool.



During the course of their analysis, they came across an unexpected feature of the landscape – a massive plateau raised about 2.5 km (8,200 ft) above sea level and surrounded by hundreds of waterfalls and very steep rivers that drained the edges of the plateau.



“Finding such a flat landform at high elevations in a tropical climate is unexpected and suggested that the topography could not be very old,” said study lead author Nicolás Pérez-Consuegra, a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. “If the topography had been old, the rivers would have probably already eroded the plateau.”



The researchers were perplexed by what processes could have caused the elevated plateau to arise. The team believes that, between the period of 50 to 10 million years ago, erosion smoothed the landscape to low, rolling hills but that, around 10 million years ago, tectonic forces began lifting that smoothed landscape, creating a plateau that is perched at its current elevation today. This was likely caused by a change in the angle of the oceanic plate that subducts beneath northern South America, through a process called slab flattening.



Their rock dating analysis led them to identify that a single incision event occurred in the late Miocene (ca. 7−6 Ma) and that this is what formed the Cauda River Canyon. It was carved as a response to rock uplift, due to tectonic movements, in the northern Central Cordillera.&nbsp;



Their results were presented in two papers that appeared in&nbsp;the journals <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921818121002265?via%3Dihub">Global and Planetary Change</a>,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the Bulletin of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1130/B36047.1">Geological Society of America</a> respectively.&nbsp;



These findings provide a plausible link between tectonic processes, rooted deep in the Earth, and erosion in the form of canyons being carved by rivers. Pérez-Consuegra says the team is now trying to determine catchment-scale erosion rates in the Central Cordillera of Colombia to discover how fast the rivers are incising and eroding into the plateau. They have collected sand from more than 20 rivers to calculate erosion rates through a technique which uses cosmogenic nuclides to estimate the length of time rock takes to traverse the upper 1.2 m (4 ft) of the Earth’s surface as it is converted to sediment.



The study expands the understanding of erosion hotspots in tropical landscapes and why they occur in certain areas. They will be able to pinpoint areas where erosion is most active, and where human populations will be most vulnerable as a consequence of this. Their findings will help inform decision makers who must take erosion and landslides into consideration when planning the development of infrastructure.&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

River canyon shows that tropical locations can be erosion hotspots

The Cauca River rises in the Andes, in western Colombia,...

A new study suggests that losing sleep to keep up with the demands of the day is not unique to humans. An international team of scientists has examined sleep behavior among baboons at the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya. The research is the first of its kind to investigate the sleeping habits of a group of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/if-primates-go-extinct-so-will-their-parasites/">primates</a> in the wild. 



Study senior author Meg Crofoot is the director of the Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies at the <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior</a>. She was the first to apply GPS tracking and accelerometry technology to study social behavior in primate societies.



The study revealed that even when the baboons were sleep deprived, they still dedicated time and energy to other priorities - such as socializing or watching out for predators - rather than catching up on lost sleep.&nbsp;



“We discovered that sleep is a collective behavior in baboon groups. Group-mates were highly coordinated in their patterns of awakening during the night, which in turn led to shorter and more fragmented sleep," said Crofoot. "Our results show that these highly gregarious animals are balancing their physiological need for sleep with the social pressures of group living.”



Previous studies on animal sleep behavior, which were based on animals in a laboratory setting, revealed patterns of sleep homeostasis. This is a balance in which animals who are sleep deprived will sleep longer or more deeply than usual to compensate for the sleep debt.



The results of the baboon study, however, reveal that animals in the wild face a number of demands that disrupt sleep homeostasis. The baboons were found to sacrifice sleep to stay awake in new environments and to remain close to their group-mates. Regardless of how much they had slept the previous night, or how much energy they had burned up the previous day, the baboons stayed awake and vigilant.&nbsp;



"The competing priorities that lead humans to accumulate sleep debt might seem unique to a modern, industrialized society like ours. But our findings demonstrate that non-human primates also sacrifice sleep, even when it might be unhealthy to do so, to partake in other activities," said study lead author Carter Loftus from UC Davis.



"The tradeoff between sleep and other pressing demands on our time is, therefore, one that we have likely been navigating throughout our evolution.”



“Baboons are highly vulnerable to night-time predation and their fitness depends on maintaining strong social bonds. Trading off sleep to maintain alertness in novel, risky environments and to remain close to group-mates during the night may therefore represent an essential adaptation.”



According to Crofoot, the study opens an exciting new frontier of scientific inquiry into the dynamics of sleep.



“The accelerometry-based method can be easily and cheaply integrated into studies tracking animals in their natural habitats, allowing us to massively expand what we know about sleep across a range of species," explained Crofoot. "In the same way, the technique can be applied to many individuals at the same time, paving the way for understanding how sleeping in groups shapes the structures of animal societies.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/">eLife</a>.



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

Primates sacrifice sleep to meet life's daily demands

A new study suggests that losing sleep to keep up...

According to a new national mental health survey led by the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> (UBC) in partnership with the <a href="https://cmha.ca/">Canadian Mental Health Association</a> (CMHA), 57 percent of respondents worried that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/canadas-plant-based-vaccine-is-finally-approved/">COVID-19</a> will continue to circulate among the population for years to come, with new variants emerging regularly. These fears that the pandemic end is nowhere in sight are also compounded by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-people-are-increasingly-anxious-over-climate-change/">climate change anxiety</a>, with 48 percent of the respondents expressing worries about how the climate crisis may exacerbate the negative impact of the pandemic.&nbsp;



This is the fourth round of the&nbsp;<a href="https://covid19.research.ubc.ca/research/assessing-mental-health-impacts-covid-19-national-survey-study">Assessing the Impacts of COVID-19 on Mental Health&nbsp;</a>survey led by Dr. Emily Jenkins, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at UBC, and Dr. Anne Gadermann, an assistant professor in UBC’s School of Population and Public Health. It was conducted in December 2021 (almost a year after the third survey) and comprised the answers of a nationally representative sample of 3,030 Canadian adult residents.



As in the previous rounds, this survey highlighted ingrained inequalities in how different social groups were affected by the pandemic. While 37 percent of the participants claimed that the pandemic had a negative impact on their mental health, these numbers were increasingly higher in vulnerable social groups such as those who were unemployed due to the pandemic (57 percent), had pre-existing mental health issues (54 percent), identified as LGBTQ2+ (49 percent), were students (47 percent), or had disabilities (44 percent).&nbsp;



“The pandemic has made it impossible to ignore the longstanding service gaps and systemic barriers in our systems,” said Dr. Jenkins. “We need to ensure equitable access to treatment and services, take action on the social and structural issues that cause these inequities, and sustain investment in these efforts beyond the conclusion of the pandemic. It’s time to put in the work to address the longstanding barriers to good mental health in our society.”



The fact that the pandemic emerged at the same time that the negative effects of climate change are starting to be clearly visible globally is significantly compounding the mental health issues Canadian citizens are struggling with. “With the heat domes and atmospheric rivers British Columbia experienced in 2021, there was more awareness of climate crisis effects compounding mental health struggles alongside the pandemic. All these different issues were colliding and we wanted to account for that,” said Jenkins.



Fortunately, many of the respondents living in British Columbia (76 percent) reported that they were coping very or fairly well with the stress caused by the pandemic, with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/physical-exercise-reduces-chronic-anxiety-better-than-drugs/">exercising</a> or going for walks as some of the key coping mechanisms.



A complete summary of the findings can be found <a href="https://cmha.ca/brochure/summary-of-key-findings-ubc-4/">here</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

Pandemic stress is compounded by climate anxiety

According to a new national mental health survey led by...

The San Andreas Fault is an 800-mile-long sliding tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. It cleaves California from north to south, as the two tectonic plates slowly grind against each other, threatening to give rise to massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-warming-linked-to-earthquakes-more-than-1200-miles-away/">earthquakes</a>.&nbsp;



San Andreas comprises three major sections which can move independently. In the southern and the northern sections, the plates are locked most of the time, causing stresses to build over years, decades, or even centuries, and occasionally leading to large earthquakes, such as the catastrophic one from San Francisco in 1906 that had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed over 3,000 people.&nbsp;



In the central section though, which separates the other two, the plates slip past each other slowly, at a steady 26 millimeters rate each year. Until recently, scientists thought that this so-called “<a href="http://funnel.sfsu.edu/creep/WhatsCreepPage.html">aseismic creep</a>” prevents stresses from building and does not lead to large earthquakes.



However, a new study published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/doi/10.1130/G49451.1/612167/History-of-earthquakes-along-the-creeping-section">Geology</a> suggests that this central creeping section of the San Andreas Fault has in fact hosted many major earthquakes throughout history, some of them possibly happening fairly recently. By using novel chemical-analysis methods to calculate the degrees of heating that the sedimentary rocks withstood in the distant past - a sign that earthquakes took place there - the researchers argue that the creep may have witnessed over 100 earthquakes during its history. Some of these quakes may have been even larger than the disastrous 1906 San Francisco one.



“The creeping section is a difficult place to do Paleoseismology, because evidence for earthquakes can be easily erased by the creep,” said Morgan Page, a seismologist at the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Survey</a>. “If this holds up, this is the first evidence of a big seismic rupture in this part of the fault.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Ultimately, our work points to the potential for higher magnitude earthquakes in central California and highlights the importance of including the central (San Andreas Fault) and other creeping faults in seismic hazard analysis,” the study authors added.



However, according to the researchers, although massive earthquakes did occur along the creep and thus they could happen again, since tectonic strain is not currently accumulating at significant rates in the area, no such disastrous events are foreseen in the near future.



“People should not be alarmed,” concluded study co-author Stephen Cox, a geologist at <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>.&nbsp; “Building codes in California are now quite good. Seismic events are inevitable. Work like this helps us figure out what is the biggest possible event, and helps everyone prepare.”



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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

Slow-moving section of the San Andreas Fault could produce major activity

The San Andreas Fault is an 800-mile-long sliding tectonic boundary...

The neem tree is a plant with impressive antimicrobial properties. The bark <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/could-a-botanical-extract-extend-the-lifespan-of-humans/">extract</a> been used to treat malaria, internal ulcers, skin and other diseases. Now, a collaborative team of researchers has demonstrated that neem tree bark could possibly be used to treat and reduce the spread of COVID-19.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Study co-author Dr. Maria Nagel is a research professor in the Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.



“The goal of this research is to develop a Neem-based medication that can reduce the risk of serious illness when someone is infected with coronaviruses,” said Dr. Nagel.



“We hope that scientists won’t have to continuously develop new therapies every time a new SARS-CoV-2 variant emerges. Just like how we take penicillin for strep throat, we envision taking the Neem-based drug for COVID, allowing us to resume our normal lives without fear of hospitalization and death.”



Neem tree bark extract was tested on animal models in laboratories in India, where it seemed to be effective against COVID. Computer modeling suggests that the neem extract binds to COVID, making it unable to enter into human or animal cells.&nbsp;



In the lab at CU, neem bark extract was tested on human lungs as a preventative measure against COVID. The extract not only protected against the virus, but also&nbsp; prevented the virus from reproducing and spreading.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The next step in our research is to identify the specific components in neem bark extract that are antiviral. Because these components bind to various regions of SARS-CoV-2, we believe that it will be effective on emerging variants with spike mutations,” said Dr. Nagel. “We will then determine the formulation of dosage for an antiviral drug to treat coronavirus infections.”



The researchers hope that this is the first step toward developing important antivirals in the fight against coronavirus.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Neem tree bark has the potential to treat coronaviruses

The neem tree is a plant with impressive antimicrobial properties....

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) undersea <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanoes-stabilize-temperatures-at-earths-surface/">volcano</a>, located close to the Tonga Islands in the Pacific Ocean, erupted violently on January 15, 2022, raising widespread public concern about its effect on global warming. Usually, the sulfur dioxide (SO2) reaching the stratosphere after volcanic eruptions is oxidized and transformed into sulfate aerosols, which linger in the air for one or two years, reducing solar radiation, and contributing to a short period of global cooling.&nbsp;



Unfortunately, a new analysis of the potential cooling effect of the Tonga eruption has concluded that the impact will be much smaller than initially thought, and will not succeed in offsetting the longer-term global warming tendency of our planet.



The largest volcanic eruption of the last 500 years – that of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in April 1815 – caused the so-called “year without summer” in many parts of the world, with a reduction of average surface temperature over the tropics and the northern hemisphere by 0.4 to 0.8°C. However, the Tambora volcano emitted 53 to 58 terrograms (Tg) of SO2. &nbsp;



Compared to this, HTHH’s 0.4 Tg sulfur dioxide emissions will most probably have a significantly smaller impact, regardless of the initial estimate that global surface air temperatures may decrease by 0.03 to 0.1°C over the next one to two years as a result of the Tonga eruption. 



“This reported initial estimate may have overestimated the impact as it did not take into account the location where the eruption occurred, which alters the spatial distribution of stratospheric sulfate aerosols - a variable that can alter results substantially,” explained study co-author Tianjun Zhou of the <a href="http://english.iap.cas.cn/">Institute of Atmospheric Physics</a> at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.



“This is because southern hemisphere volcanic eruption emissions are largely confined to circulating in the same hemisphere and the tropics, with less of an impact on the northern hemisphere. This in turn leads to a weaker global cooling than those of northern hemispheric and tropical volcanoes.”



By comparing the Tonga eruption with several other major historical eruptions, Professor Zhou and his colleagues showed that, in the first year after the HTHH eruption, the global mean surface temperature will decrease by only 0.004°C. The eruption’s cooling effect will be stronger in the southern hemisphere, with a decrease of 0.01°C occurring in parts of Australia and South America.



However, if HTHH will erupt again, the situation may change dramatically. Such an event is quite possible, since this volcano has already erupted many times over the past century. “As a result, we should keep monitoring the activity of HTHH in the coming days, months, and years,” concluded Professor Zhou.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00376-022-2034-1">Advances in Atmospheric Sciences</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

Tonga eruption will not contribute much to global cooling

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) undersea volcano, located close to...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11692-022-09561-5">Evolutionary Biology</a> has argued that the most iconic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-dinosaurs-died-in-the-springtime/">dinosaur</a>, Tyrannosaurus Rex, should actually be split into three different species, with T.rex being joined by Tyrannosaurus imperator (“emperor tyrant lizard”) and Tyrannosaurus regina (“tyrant lizard queen”). This proposal has started a fierce debate in the paleontology community, with many of the world’s leading experts on T.rex being highly skeptical of the study results.



Paleontologists have in fact discussed the notion of multiple Tyrannosaurus species for decades. Due to this predator’s large habitat, extending on the territory of ancient North America from Western Canada to New Mexico, and considering the long period of time (over a million years) that the creature had roamed these regions, there was a significant possibility for Tyrannosaurus populations to drift apart and form multiple species. Moreover, several differences that paleontologists identified in the existent fossils could also be proof that more Tyrannosaurus species may have existed, as the authors of the current study argue.



According to a research team led by independent paleontologist Gregory Paul, the known Tyrannosaurus fossils vary more than the bones of other large predatory dinosaurs, and can be split into three different clusters, based on the stoutness of the skeletons and the presence of certain chisel-like teeth.&nbsp;



By measuring the femurs and lower jaw teeth of 37 Tyrannosaurus skeletons, most of them found within the Hell Creek Formation – a geological formation of Upper Cretaceous rocks in North America – Paul and his colleagues showed that the fossils could be split into three distinct clusters: one found in the oldest rock layers, with robust skeletons and two pairs of chisel-like teeth (T.imperator), and two found in the younger, upper layers. Although each of these younger specimens had only a single pair of chisel-like teeth, one of them had a more robust (T.rex) and the other a spindlier, more gracile skeleton (T.regina).



This proposal was already criticized by several established, world-leading paleontologists. For instance, according to Jingmai O’Connor – an associate curator of fossil reptiles at the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> in Chicago - the femur proportions of all three proposed species overlap rather than showing clear separations, as do the time periods when the dinosaurs were supposed to live. To her, this suggests a continuous spectrum of change, which Paul and his team arbitrarily split into three species.



“The diagnoses provided for each species are incredibly vague, using words like ‘usually’ and ‘generally.’ Even in well-preserved specimens, the authors are unable to refer them to a specific species,” Dr. O’Connor said.&nbsp;



Similar views were expressed by Professor Thomas Carr, a T.rex expert at <a href="https://www.carthage.edu/">Carthage College</a>, or Professor Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“I understand the temptation to divide T.rex into different species, because there is some variation in the fossil bones that we have. But ultimately, to me, this variation is very minor and not indicative of meaningful biological separation of distinct species that can be defined based on clear, explicit, consistent differences,” Professor Brusatte said.



The careful investigation of a larger number of fossils is needed in order to settle this debate. Unfortunately, as Paul argues, it could take several decades until enough specimens will allow a more scientific, statistical analysis.



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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

Were there three distinct species of Tyrannosaurus Rex?

A new study published in the journal Evolutionary Biology has...

Our “moral compass” is meant to guide us away from bad behavior in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/workplace-exposure-to-pesticides-linked-to-greater-copd-risk/">workplace</a>, and towards good behavior and integrity. However, for some people this system fails. Such individuals engage in counterproductive behavior at work, including fraud, lying, rule-breaking, siphoning off resources, falsely calling in sick and bullying others. They cost organizations huge sums of money each year.



According to a recent study led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> (UEA) in the UK, and the International Telematic University (UNINETTUNO) in Italy, as many as 41 percent of employees have witnessed some form of unethical conduct in their workplace. Although one of the main challenges facing organizations is to prevent bad behavior in the first place, it is even more important to understand how some people are able to sidestep their moral standards and make counterproductive behavior routine and normal. Such people can be at the root of serious and criminal misbehavior perpetrated for years against an organization.



Current psychological theory proposes that wrongdoers become morally disengaged, a process that involves convincing themselves that ethical standards do not apply to them in a particular context. Moral disengagement is a social-cognitive process that enables people to deviate from their moral standards in order to justify, normalize and perpetuate bad behavior. It involves temporarily reframing the misbehavior to make it acceptable and to enable people to engage in the activities without feeling any pangs of conscience or guilt.&nbsp;



The researchers wanted to investigate the extent to which personal moral resources, that they term self-efficacy, may prevent people in the workplace from becoming morally disengaged. Self-efficacy is a set of beliefs which individuals have about their own capabilities to self-reflect and self-regulate moral behavior.&nbsp;Self-reflection involves the person’s ability to rethink past moral failures and work towards improving their behavior in the future. Self-regulation involves the ability of a person to make morally acceptable choices when in situations of temptation or pressure.&nbsp;



Firstly, they designed and tested a psychological test for measuring levels of self-efficacy. They tested this tool with 359 employees in the UK, asking them to respond to questions about how they would behave in different circumstances of moral dilemma and how they would react if they realized they had engaged in some bad behavior. Using this method, the researchers developed a moral self-efficacy scale that was valid for testing this variable.



In the next part of the study, the researchers used their newly-developed scale to test their hypothesis that individuals’ previous engagement in misconduct is not necessarily translated into a long-term moral disengagement or the normalization of bad behavior. They enrolled 1,308 Italian employees in the study; each one completed a survey three times over a three-month period. The employees were asked to rate how often they had engaged in different behaviors, their level of agreement with a set of statements about different moral disengagement mechanisms and their perceived capabilities to master moral challenges and reflect on their own moral failures.&nbsp;



The findings, published recently in the journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/home/gom">Group &amp; Organization Management</a>, show that heightened levels of both categories of self-efficacious behavior (self-reflection and self-regulation) decrease the possibility of misbehavior and wrongdoing becoming routine at work. This indicates that, while all individuals can disengage morally, not everyone subsequently continues down the ‘slippery slope’ to routine and normalized misbehavior. Some individuals are more able to stop, become aware, correct and regain moral control.



“Although self-efficacious individuals are in general more self-regulated and motivated to behave in line with their standards, this does not mean they are morally infallible,” said Dr. Roberta Fida, of UEA’s Norwich Business School.



“However, we show that highly morally efficacious individuals are more likely to ‘bounce back’ after a failure, and learn from their mistakes, rather than routinize misbehavior and repeatedly deviate from their moral compass. Rather, they have the resources to restore their moral compass, to mindfully re-engage morally and are therefore less likely to continue justifying and engaging in wrongdoing.”



“For individuals with low moral self-efficacy, moral disengagement normalizes wrongdoings, so they can be routinely performed with little anguish. They are less aware of the internal and social forces that work in interrelated ways to disengage their moral standards and bypass their moral control system, making it difficult to mitigate or stop the process to prevent the thoughtless routinization of their misconduct.” &nbsp;



“The results of this research broaden our understanding of how to prevent the routinization of wrongdoing at work by helping people develop and strengthen their moral self-efficacy," said Dr. Marinella Paciello.



“Organizations should create opportunities to reflect on the complexities of moral decision making, the mechanisms often at play in the justification of wrongdoing and the capabilities needed to master moral challenges,” she concluded.



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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

Bad behavior at work linked to low levels of self-regulation

Our “moral compass” is meant to guide us away from...

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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

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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



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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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 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

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[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



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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...