The development of a big brain in humans and its connection to social bonding has been a hot topic of debate, and secrets found in fossil teeth may hold the answers.



Researchers have been studying the fossilized teeth of an early Homo from Georgia, dating back approximately 1.77 million years. The research was made possible by the European Synchrotron in Grenoble, France.



The findings suggest that despite having a small brain and reaching adulthood at a similar pace to great apes, these early humans had a prolonged childhood. 



This could mean that the large brain of modern humans resulted from an extended childhood along with cultural transmission across generations instead of vice versa.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-childhood-big-brains">Long childhood, big brains</h2>



A team of researchers - including specialists from Switzerland's <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Zurich</a>, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and Georgia's National Museum - have challenged the theory that modern humans' extended childhood is directly linked to their large brains.



The team analyzed dental development in an early Homo that was almost an adult. The results suggest that though these early humans reached adulthood at a similar age as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/buronius-manfredschmidi-tiny-great-ape-species-lived-11-million-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">great apes</a>, their tooth development followed a longer timeline similar to modern humans.



This proposes the distinct possibility of a longer dependency on adults and an elongated childhood for these early humans.



Remarkably, the brain size of these early Homo specimens was only marginally larger than that of a chimpanzee. This made the researchers question the link between the prolonged development and cultural transmission across generations.



An extended childhood within a three-generation context might have allowed the immature members of the group to effectively assimilate growing amounts of knowledge. 



Eventually, this led to the development of larger brains and longer life spans, traits characteristic of modern humans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dental-development-in-early-homo">Dental development in early Homo</h2>



An enduring assumption has been that humans' extended growth period is a consequence of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-sizes-are-growing-possibly-lowering-dementia-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">increased brain volume</a> since a larger organ requires more energy resources to grow. But analysis of the fossil's dental growth has caused researchers to question this hypothesis.



The research team used synchrotron imaging to study the dental development of a near-adult fossil of early Homo from the Dmanisi site in Georgia, dated to around 1.77 million years ago. 



<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="CWxiqQg039-4024544-12187" type="single"]</div>



“Childhood and cognition do not fossilize, so we have to rely on indirect information. Teeth are ideal because they fossilize well and produce daily rings, in the same way that trees produce annual rings, which record their development,” noted study first author Christoph Zollikofer from the University of Zurich.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unexpected-findings-and-a-new-perspective">Unexpected findings and a new perspective</h2>



“Dental development is strongly correlated with the development of the rest of the body, including brain development," explained study co-author Paul Tafforeau, scientist at the ESRF.



"Access to the details of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/search-results/?search=fossil%20hominid&amp;start=0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fossil</a> hominid's dental growth therefore provides a great deal of information about its general growth."



After almost two decades of research beginning in 2005, the initial results startled researchers. 



“We expected to find either dental development typical of early hominids, close to that of the great apes, or dental development close to that of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthal-genes-still-influence-modern-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modern humans</a>," said Tafforeau.



"When we obtained the first results, we couldn’t believe what we saw, because it was something different that implied faster molar crown growth than in any other fossil hominin or living great ape."



In the following years, the team conducted five series of experiments and completed four full analyses, employing various methods as dental synchrotron imaging technology advanced.



As the consistent results suggested significant implications for the "big brain - long childhood" hypothesis, the scientists needed to think creatively to interpret this fossil's findings.



“It's been a slow maturation, both technically and intellectually, to finally arrive at the hypothesis we are publishing today,” said Tafforeau.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-longer-childhood-evolution-s-early-experiment">Longer childhood: Evolution's early experiment?</h2>



The dental development of the studied fossil suggested that milk teeth were used longer than in great apes, implying that early Homo children were dependent on adult care for a longer duration.



This could be the first experiment evolution took towards a prolonged childhood. Despite having brains only slightly larger than australopithecines or great apes, early Homo are believed to have lived longer.



The survival of a very old individual with no teeth for several years indicates that the group sufficiently cared for him. This alludes to a three-generation structure, a key aspect of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-started-cumulative-culture-around-600000-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cultural transmission in humans</a>.



The new hypothesis begins with children's growth slowing down as cultural transmission increased. 



The accumulation of information from older to younger individuals had an advantageous effect on resource utilization and the development of complex behaviors, thus favoring a longer childhood. 



Once this mechanism was established, natural selection acted on cultural transmission, not just biological traits. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-brains-and-delayed-adulthood">Big brains and delayed adulthood</h2>



As the volume of transferrable information grew, evolution supported a larger brain and delayed adulthood, enabling a longer learning period in childhood and time to grow a bigger brain despite limited food resources.



The large brain of modern humans could be attributed to an extended childhood and a three-generation structure encouraging bio-cultural evolution. These mechanisms may have led to increased brain size, delayed adulthood, and longer lifespan. 



The study of this exceptional fossil could motivate researchers to rethink the evolutionary mechanisms that led to Homo sapiens.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08205-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



Image &amp; Video Credit: ESRF/Paul Tafforeau, Vincent Beyrand



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How did humans get big brains? Fossil teeth reveal new clues

The development of a big brain in humans and its connection to social bonding has been a hot topic of debate, and secrets found in fossil teeth may hold the answers. Researchers have been studying the fossilized teeth of an early Homo from Georgia, dating back approximately 1.77 million years. The research was made possible by the European Synchrotron in Grenoble, France. The findings suggest that despite having a small brain and reaching adulthood at a similar pace to great apes, these early humans had a prolonged...

In a recent study from <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a> researchers investigated whether black-eyed peas had lost any of their ability to attract Bradyrhizobium (nitrogen-fixing bacteria from the soil) and establish them inside nodules in the roots. As black-eyed peas are an important crop in many parts of the world, this ability may have been lost during domestication or selective breeding over centuries.&nbsp;



All plants need nitrogen in order to form the proteins needed for growth. If there is not enough nitrogen present, plants will not grow successfully. Although the atmosphere contains around 80 percent nitrogen gas (N2), plants cannot use it in this form. Instead, it has to be “fixed” into the form of ammonia (NH3), nitrate (NO3-) or nitrite (NO2-). It is most often bacteria in the soil that fix nitrogen into these forms, thereby making essential nutrients available for absorption by plant roots.



Legumes, including crop plants such as peas, beans and lucerne, go a step further than this. They attract nitrogen-fixing bacteria by secreting enticing chemicals through their roots. Once bacteria have attached to the root hairs, the plant secretes different substances that the bacteria to enter root hair cells and travel into the main root. Once inside the root, the bacteria cause root cells to divide and form a tumor-like nodule which is where nitrogen-fixing activity can take place. &nbsp;



In the symbiotic relationship that ensues, the legume plants receive a useful, fixed form of nitrogen to use for growth, and the plants provide a supply of carbohydrates to the bacteria, along with a safe place to live.



“The ability of legumes to do this caused them immense success as the third biggest plant family on the planet,” said Joel Sachs, UCR professor of evolution and ecology.&nbsp;



Unfortunately, plant breeders often select intensely for above-ground characteristics of crop plants, such as their yield, disease resistance and protein content, when trying to improve the quality of the plants. They do not focus on the important ability of roots to attract bacteria and enter into a symbiotic relationship with them – something that is essential for the supply of nitrogen to the growing plants.



Study lead author Gabriel Ortiz wanted to find to find out whether modern farming practices had resulted in a loss of symbiotic ability in black-eyed pea plants. In many cases, plants heavily impacted by humans do not benefit as much from relationships with bacteria as their wild relatives do.&nbsp;



The researchers used genome-wide analyses, along with a greenhouse inoculation study, to investigate genomic diversity, heritability, and symbiosis trait variation among 20 different varieties of wild and early-domesticated black-eyed peas.&nbsp;



They found that, although there was evidence that the peas experienced modest decreases in genome diversity during early domestication, they had kept their natural ability to form beneficial symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The experiments even showed that domesticated populations made more root nodules than wild varieties of black-eyed peas.&nbsp;



“In fact, some of the strains in the experiment appear to have gained more benefit from bacteria than their wild ancestors,” Sachs said.



The authors attribute this unexpected result to the fact that black-eyed pea landraces were developed in Africa where the low nutrient conditions would have favored plant genotypes that use symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in an efficient manner. This implies that early breeders inadvertently selected for plants with excellent ability to attract and protect these symbiotic bacteria.&nbsp;



Modern breeders have largely neglected symbiosis traits when selectively breeding black-eyed peas, but future artificial selection for improved plant responses to nitrogen-fixing bacteria could increase plant performance and sustainability.



“We can use this information in the future to design better performing plants,” said Ortiz. He and his team focused on black-eyed peas because they are also drought tolerant, another important trait for Southern California growers.&nbsp;



Furthermore, farmers can use black-eyed pea crops to enrich their soil with nitrogen, rather than having to add inorganic fertilizer. When nitrogen fertilizer is applied it can end up being carried away with rain water and polluting rivers, lakes and oceans, or it can enter the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas.



“When the plant senses it is going to die, it releases the bacteria into the soil, replenishing it,” Ortiz explained. “Growers could alternate seasons of legumes with other crops, leaving the soil full of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that reduce the need for fertilizer.”



“To make agriculture more sustainable, one of the things we need to do is focus on the plant’s ability to get services from microbes already in the soil, rather than trying to get those services by dumping chemicals,” Sachs said.&nbsp;



The study is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/evo.14424">published</a> in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15585646">Evolution</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

Black-eyed peas could reduce the need for fertilizer

In a recent study from UC Riverside researchers investigated whether...

Since rapid eye movement (REM) <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sleep-improves-memory-formation-and-recall/">sleep</a> brings about brief, period awakenings, scientists such as Dr. Frederick Snyder in the 1960s have assumed that this type of sleep could have a “sentinel” function, helping animals prepare a fight or flight response at the approach of predators. Until recently though, there has been no experimental evidence for this hypothesis. A new study led by the <a href="http://english.siat.cas.cn/">Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology</a> (SIAT) in China could be the first to offer such empirical proof.



By exposing sleeping mice to a trimethylthiazoline (TMT) odor, a stimulus indicating the presence of a predator, the researchers discovered a common brain circuit regulating both REM sleep and innate fear mechanisms.&nbsp;



"TMT triggered rapid arousal from REM sleep but not from non-rapid-eye-movement sleep. This suggests that REM sleep has specific properties that allow rapid arousal in response to predatory stimuli," said study lead author Dr. Liping Wang, a neuroscientist at SIAT.



Dr. Wang and his colleagues discovered that the brain circuits activated during REM sleep consist of the medial subthalamic nucleus (mSTN), a region that contains a high density of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons, which have a crucial role in initiating and structuring stress responses.&nbsp;



By combining in vivo neural activity recording and cell-type specific manipulations, the scientists found that the mSTN-CRH neurons were responsible for a lowered arousal threshold during REM sleep, and increased defensive responses after awakening. Moreover, repeated exposures to predator cues induced an increase in total REM sleep time, but shorter duration of REM sleep episodes and a higher fragmentation of sleep architecture.



These findings show how evolutionary processes can lead to two distinct but related functions for the same group of neurons. "We may hypothesize that natural selection favors optimizing existing neural circuitry for efficiency in signal transduction and energy usage over metabolically more expensive solutions,"&nbsp;explained Dr. Wang.



Since the co-occurrence of increased REM sleep and stress-related mood disorders has already been observed in clinical studies, this new study could be a step forward in designing novel therapeutic frameworks.&nbsp;



“Our study raises the question of whether it is possible to treat mood disorders by targeting the common regulatory circuit of sleep and fear. We will continue working on this question,"&nbsp;concluded Dr. Wang.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.12.033">Neuron</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

REM sleep may help protect against predator attacks

Since rapid eye movement (REM) sleep brings about brief, period...

Walking seems to be one of the most natural of movements. Yet, neuroscientists have struggled for decades to understand how our nervous system coordinates the complex interplay of nerves and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cigarette-smoke-damages-muscles/">muscles</a> that structures locomotion.&nbsp;



Until recently, researchers assumed that a large diversity of neuronal circuits in the brain are responsible for handling this process. However, a new study led by <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a> has found that a single type of neurons – the ventral spinocerebellar tract neurons - are completely responsible for keeping our legs in lockstep.



“As one might expect, it’s the brain that initiates locomotion. But it doesn’t coordinate it,” said study senior author George Mentis, a neuroscientist at Columbia University who investigates the neural circuits controlling walking in order to find new treatments for patients with health conditions such as spinal cord injuries, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or spinal muscular atrophy.



According to Professor Mentis and his colleagues, the coordination of our numerous walking muscles is handled by neurons in the spinal cord. If&nbsp;these ventral spinocerebellar tract neurons were silenced in freely moving adult mice, the animals could not move properly.&nbsp;



Furthermore, if the neurons were activated by light or drugs, they could reliably induce locomotor behavior in juvenile mice. “In other words, these neurons are both necessary and sufficient for locomotor behavior,”&nbsp;said Mentis.



The researchers also discovered that these neurons are highly interconnected, a feature which likely contributes to their capacity to generate the complex rhythmic patterns sustaining locomotion.



These findings could have important applications in medicine, by helping develop novel treatments for patients with motor disorders or spinal cord injuries.



“For example, it may not be enough to reconnect the brain and the spinal cord in people with severed spinal cords,” explained Mentis. 



“Our findings suggest that you would also have to restore proper activity in the ventral spinocerebellar tract neurons to ensure that the central pattern generator is working properly. Everything has to be tightly balanced between exciting certain neurons and inhibiting others. If this balance is compromised, you won’t have coordinated movement.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.014">Cell</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

Neurons in the spinal cord coordinate walking

Walking seems to be one of the most natural of...

While many animal species, including minks, dogs, cats, hamsters, or lions, can become ill when exposed to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cambodian-bats-have-coronaviruses-related-to-sars-cov-2/">SARS-CoV-2</a>, pigs seem to be quasi-immune. Even if they can be infected by the virus when exposed to high doses, the infection is most of the times self-limited and they neither show any clinical symptoms, nor transmit the virus to other animals or to humans. A research team led by <a href="https://www.iastate.edu/">Iowa State University</a> set out to find why are pigs so resistant to infection with the new coronavirus.



By introducing the virus to cultured porcine and human respiratory epithelial cells, the researchers found that pig cells underwent “apoptosis” (or controlled cell death) in response to infection at a much higher rate than human respiratory cells.&nbsp;



“When we looked under the microscope there was an interesting phenomenon going on inside the cells,” said study lead author Rahul Nelli, a research assistant professor of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine at Iowa State University. “The nuclei of the infected pig cells were starting to shred into fragments, but not those of the uninfected pig cells.”



According to the scientists, this shredding of the nucleus of infected cells (a telltale sign of apoptosis) soon after the coronavirus entered the cells causes minimal tissue damage and confines viral replication, thus significantly limiting severe illness.&nbsp;



While human cells can also undergo apoptosis in response to coronavirus infection, they are roughly 100 times less likely to do this than porcine cells. Instead, human cells more often go through necrosis, another form of cell death that is less controlled than apoptosis and can trigger dangerous hyperimmune reactions.



“We don’t want to over-conclude, but apoptosis is probably something intrinsic to the pig immune system that is innate and not acquired,” explained study co-author Luis Giménez-Lirola, an associate professor of Veterinary Diagnostic at Iowa State University. “The idea is to kill the virus subtly but fast enough so there’s not an excessive immune response triggered.”



Further research could lead to therapies designed to trigger apoptosis in human cells, and thus help patients avoid severe illness. A first step in this direction would be to identify all the genes activated during the infection process and compare them to those of animal species that appear to be more resistant to COVID-19.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41420-021-00781-w">Cell Death Discovery</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

Pigs are highly resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection

While many animal species, including minks, dogs, cats, hamsters, or...

Understanding and navigating social relationships are essential skills for surviving in human societies. From a very young age, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-children-appreciate-humor-in-the-same-brain-region-as-adults/">children</a> need to learn which people they can most count on from the ones surrounding them. According to new research led by the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT), children are able to determine whether people have a strong relationship and a mutual obligation to help each other if they share food, kisses, or other activities which involve sharing saliva.



In human societies, people distinguish between “thin” and “thick” relationships. The latter, usually occurring among family members, are characterized by strong levels of attachment, obligation, and responsiveness. According to anthropologists, people involved in thick relationships are more open to share bodily fluids such as saliva.



“That inspired both the question of whether infants distinguish between those types of relationships, and whether saliva sharing might be a really good cue they could use to recognize them,”&nbsp;said study lead author Ashley Thomas, a postdoctoral fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience at MIT.



“One reason why this distinction between thick and thin might be important for infants in particular, especially human infants, who depend on adults for longer than many other species, is that it might be a good way to figure out who else can provide the support that they depend on to survive.”



Dr. Thomas and her colleagues observed toddlers and babies as they watched interactions between human actors and puppets. In the first set of experiments, an actor shared an orange with a puppet, while another one tossed a ball to the puppet. After the children watched the interactions, the scientists observed their reaction when the puppet showed distress while standing between the two actors. They discovered that the children tended to look first at the actor with whom the puppet shared the orange. According to previous studies on nonhuman primates, this meant that children were expecting help from that person.



In a second set of experiments, focused more specifically on saliva sharing, the actor either placed her finger in her mouth and then in the puppet’s mouth, or placed her finger on her forehead and then on the puppet’s forehead. When the actor showed distress, children expected the puppet with which she shared saliva to be the one to help, as in the previous case.



These findings suggest that saliva sharing is a crucial clue that helps infants learn about social relationships. Since the first set of the experiments was performed before the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-is-starting-to-peak-in-the-united-states/">Covid-19 pandemic</a>, and the second one more recently, pandemic-related hygiene concerns did not seem to affect the outcome. Further research is needed though to understand the impact of such concerns on how current and future generations of infants navigate their social spheres.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abh1054">Science</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

Children use saliva sharing to infer close relationships

Understanding and navigating social relationships are essential skills for surviving...

Anthropogenic climate change has caused major disturbances to marine ecosystems worldwide. Marine heatwaves have been particularly damaging, leading to mass mortalities of organisms and other deleterious effects. Prolonged rises in ocean temperature (for a few days or weeks) have devastating effects on habitat-forming species, including reef-building corals, sponges, gorgonians, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/" data-type="news" data-id="1899672">seagrasses</a> and kelps. These organisms are major contributors to ecosystem structure and functioning, mostly through the provision of habitat, food, and shelter for other, associated reef species.&nbsp;



In the summer of 2003, a severe marine heatwave (MHW) impacted the NW Mediterranean Sea with temperatures up to 3°C above the average. During this event, several populations of&nbsp;red gorgonian&nbsp;(Paramuricea clavate)&nbsp;and the red coral&nbsp;(Corallium rubrum)&nbsp;suffered mass mortality. Scientists in the region initiated research to monitor the recovery of five impacted populations of these coral reef species from Scandola marine protected area in Corsica, France.&nbsp;



The 15-year study, led by researchers from the University of Barcelona, has revealed that populations of P. clavata and C. rubrum - species that are essential for creating complex habitats on coral reefs - have failed to recover after successive marine heatwaves. The biomass of these species declined by between 80 and 90 percent during the study period.&nbsp;



This is the first study to assess the long-term recovery capacity of populations of these two important species of Mediterranean coral. Initially, the research focused on changes in density, biomass and size structure of these species in the highly protected Scandola marine reserve, as the scientists aimed to provide insights into the recovery capacity of these important reef species.&nbsp;



These are long-lived species that can survive for more than a hundred years in some cases. Their population dynamics are characterized by slow growth and recruitment rates, and individuals take a long time (sometimes up to 10 years) to reach sexual maturity. These statistics indicate that populations of the species may take a long time to recover from ecological disturbances, especially when mortality of adult reproductive colonies across populations is high.



Far from recording recovery, the researchers monitoring populations of P. clavata and C. rubrum witnessed the slow collapse of these species. Fifteen years after the 2003 MHW event, these populations are considered to be practically extinct from a functional perspective.



“We observed an average biomass loss regarding the initial biomass of 80% in populations of red gorgonian, and up to a 93% regarding the studied population of red coral,”&nbsp;noted Daniel Gómez, researcher at ICM-CSIC.



“These data are worrying for the conservation of these emblematic species, and it indicates that the effects of the climate crisis are speeding up, with obvious consequences for the submarine landscapes, where the loss of coral equals the loss of trees in forests,”&nbsp;said Joaquim Garrabou, also member of ICM-CSIC.



Unfortunately, the initial heatwave in 2003 was followed by subsequent warm water events in at least four of the years in the study period: 2009, 2016, 2017 and 2018. These marine heatwaves are clearly becoming more frequent and this is not helping the recovery of the long-lived reef species under investigation.



“We believe one of the main reasons why we observed these collapse trajectories is the potential recurrent exposure to heatwaves, incompatible with the slow populational dynamics of these species," said Cristina Linares, a professor at the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences.



“During these heatwaves, the temperature conditions in the studied area reached extreme levels which are incompatible with the life of these corals, which probably caused new mortality events to the decimated populations and made the recovery impossible.”



As the effects of climate change intensify, the frequency and strength of marine heatwaves is set to increase, which could spell disaster for may coral populations, both in the Mediterranean and on reefs worldwide.&nbsp;



“However, there will probably be some areas in the Mediterranean in which, due to several factors, the recurrence of such climate impacts may be lower. This makes it especially relevant to keep – regarding other potential impacts – these climate refuges where the trajectories of coral populations could be more positive than those observed in this study,”&nbsp;noted the study authors.



“Nevertheless, there is an urgent need for stronger measures to be implemented against the climate crisis before the loss of biodiversity becomes irreplaceable."



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.&nbsp;



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

Mediterranean coral populations collapse after repeated heatwaves

Anthropogenic climate change has caused major disturbances to marine ecosystems...

Thecodontosaurus was one of the first <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jaws-of-predatory-dinosaurs-grew-stronger-as-they-evolved/">dinosaurs</a> to evolve (around 205 million years ago) and one of the first to be discovered and formally described by scientists. Despite this long history, the small, bipedal dinosaur is still subject to exciting new research.&nbsp;



Part of the mystery of Thecodontosaurus is that this diminutive, bipedal dinosaur is the ancestor of the massive, quadrupedal sauropods. In a new paper published in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos">Royal Society Open Science</a>, researchers reconstructed Thecodontosaurus’ limb muscles. In reconstructing the muscle structure, the scientists were able to unlock the mystery of how small dinosaurs evolved into massive behemoths.&nbsp;



"The <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> houses a huge collection of beautifully preserved Thecodontosaurus fossils that were discovered around Bristol," said study lead author Antonio Ballell, a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences. "The amazing thing about these fossilized bones is that many preserve the scars and rugosities that the limb musculature left on them with its attachment."



Not only is especially good fossil preservation needed for musculature reconstruction, a close study on the muscle structure of living relatives is needed as well.&nbsp;



"In the case of dinosaurs, we have to look at modern crocodilians and birds, that form a group that we call archosaurs, meaning 'ruling reptiles,' said Ballell. "Dinosaurs are extinct members of this lineage, and due to evolutionary resemblance, we can compare the muscle anatomy in crocodiles and birds and study the scars that they leave on bones to identify and reconstruct the position of those muscles in dinosaurs."



"These kinds of muscular reconstructions are fundamental to understand functional aspects of the life of extinct organisms," said study co-author Professor Emily Rayfield. "We can use this information to simulate how these animals walked and ran with computational tools."



The reconstruction of Thecodontosaurus paints the image of an agile dinosaur that used its forelimbs for grasping rather than walking. There are also hints of the musculature necessary for the massive sauropods that evolved later, even in this early dinosaur.&nbsp;



"From an evolutionary perspective, our study adds more pieces to the puzzle of how the locomotion and posture changed during the evolution of dinosaurs and in the line to the giant sauropods," said study co-author Professor Mike Benton.



"How were limb muscles modified in the evolution of multi-ton quadrupeds from tiny bipeds? Reconstructing the limb muscles of Thecodontosaurus gives us new information of the early stages of that important evolutionary transition."



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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

Muscular reconstruction shows how dinosaurs moved

Thecodontosaurus was one of the first dinosaurs to evolve (around...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.awi.de/en/">Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research</a> has found that increases or decreases in the volume of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) significantly lag climate changes. These findings suggest that our current <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-rainfrog-named-after-climate-activist-greta-thunberg/">climate</a> could still influence the size of the ice sheet thousands of years later.



Scientists all over the world fear that one of the effects of global warming will be the melting of the GrIS, a phenomenon expected to lead to dangerous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-levels-are-rising-at-an-alarming-rate/">sea level rises</a>, which may negatively impact a large number of ecosystems. However, since observational studies of the status of GrIS span only a few decades, there are still great uncertainties regarding the speed and amount of its future disintegration.



By using computer models to simulate the evolution of the GrIS from the last interglacial period to the end of the 21st century, scientists have found that the gradual cooling of our planet which started after the extremely hot period called the “<a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/global-warming/mid-holocene-warm-period">Holocene Thermal Maximum</a>” (dating 10,000 to 6,000 years ago) has influenced for thousands of years the dimensions and dynamics of the GrIS, and still has a strong impact today.



“Given that Greenland’s climate was getting colder from the Holocene Thermal Maximum to the Pre-Industrial era, our simulation implies that the GrIS experienced a background growth from the mid-Holocene to the industrial era. Due to this background trend, the GrIS still gains mass until the second half of the 20th century, even though anthropogenic warming begins around 1850 AD,” explained the study authors.



“Our results highlight that the present evolution of the GrIS is not only controlled by the current climate change, but also affected by paleoclimate, especially the relatively warm Holocene climate. We propose that the GrIS was not in equilibrium throughout the entire Holocene and that the slow response to Holocene climate needs to be represented in ice sheet simulations in order to predict ice mass loss, and therefore sea level rise, accurately.”



These findings imply that the current climate changes that we experience will have a much longer and less predictable impact on the state of the GrIS. Further research is needed to better understand the long-term impacts of climate, and thus to properly predict future changes in our planet’s geography and ecosystems.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0259816">PLoS One</a>.



---



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

Greenland has a delayed response to climate change

A new study led by the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz...

Mammals have a pharynx, or throat, that starts at the back of the nose and ends below the back of the mouth. Although the pharynx is a single tube, it leads into two separate tubes - the windpipe, through which air reaches the lungs, and the esophagus, through which food reaches the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lizard-preserved-stomach-microraptor/">stomach</a>. The separation of the respiratory and digestive tracts at the base of the pharynx is critical for survival; air must be directed from the pharynx into the lungs, but food must be directed towards the stomach and must not enter the lungs.



This anatomical arrangement presents problems for mammals, who must avoid inhaling their food when they try to swallow it. This is the cause of choking and can be fatal. The situation is even more complicated for baleen whales, which feed while underwater. They open their mouths wide and lunge through a shoal of fish or small invertebrates, taking in numerous small prey items along with thousands of liters of water that must not flow into the windpipe.



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Colombia</a> in Vancouver have recently published a study that shows how baleen whales, also known as rorquals, achieve the separation of respiratory and digestive tracts while their mouths experience these extreme physical forces. They identified an anatomical mechanism that protects the whale’s airway as tons of water gushes into its mouth - they term this bulbous region of the soft palate the “oral plug.”



“We discovered a structure in fin whales, which likely exists in all lunge-feeding whales, or rorquals,” said Kelsey Gil of the UBC Zoology Department. “We’ve termed it the ‘oral plug’ and found that it blocks the channel between mouth and pharynx. It means that when a whale lunges, the entrance to the pharynx and thus the respiratory tract is protected.”



Although the mechanics of lunge feeding by whales was well understood, not much was known about how prey such as krill are manipulated and swallowed after a lunge. In addition, the general anatomy of the larynx was also well known. This is a hollow organ in the upper airway that is also the location of the vocal cords and has been investigated in connection with whale vocalizations. However, not much was known about the structure of the rest of the pharynx, the critical junction between respiratory and digestive tracts.&nbsp;



“It’s impossible to study this in a living whale, so we rely on tissue from deceased whales and use functional morphology to assess the relationship between a structure and its function,” said Gil.&nbsp;



By examining and dissecting adult and fetal fin whales, the researchers found that a musculo-fatty structure, the oral plug, seals the back of the mouth and pharynx when the whales feed. They manipulated the various structures to see how they could move. They also looked at the direction of muscle fibers to understand how they would move when muscles contracted and shortened.



“The oral plug is a part of the soft palate, so simply considering the gross anatomy, there is only one direction it should move,” explained Gil. “When the oral plug moves backward and upward to block the nasal cavities, it means that no other structure can be in that same spot below the nasal cavities. This forced us to then examine the larynx, since that spot is where we would expect to see the larynx during breathing, but it cannot be in that position during swallowing.”



During swallowing, the oral plug is lifted and this allows food to pass from the mouth into the pharynx. At the same time, the lifted plug protects the upper airways from food entry. The larynx is positioned at the floor of the pharynx, where laryngeal cartilages close to protect it. A muscular sac attached to the bottom of the larynx is forced upwards into the laryngeal cavity to completely block the lower respiratory tract.



The findings, published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>, also show that the pharynx in fin whales - and likely all rorquals - can only be used by either the respiratory or the digestive tract at any one time. This protects the animals from choking while feeding.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, no structure like the oral plug has been reported in any other animals. “There are very few animals with lungs that feed by engulfing prey and water, so the oral plug is likely a protective structure specific to rorquals that is necessary to enable lunge feeding,” said Gil.



The study authors conclude that these adaptations to facilitate swallowing in lunge-feeding whales were a critical development in the evolution of large body size. The largest animal species ever to have lived is thought to be the blue whale, which feeds in precisely this way.



---



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

"Oral plug" prevents whales from drowning while they eat

Mammals have a pharynx, or throat, that starts at the...

The January 2020 eruption of the Taal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/secrets-of-hot-spot-volcanoes-revealed/" data-type="news" data-id="1895520">volcano</a> in the Philippines became electrified and led to an hours-long thunderstorm, with thousands of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. A new study conducted by the <a href="http://usgs.gov">United States Geological Survey</a>, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Vaisala Inc. highlights how advances in global lightning detection can provide new ways to characterize explosive volcanism.



According to scientists, explosive volcanic eruptions can create lightning that is detected around the world almost instantaneously. Since the radio waves produced by lightning travel at the speed of light, they can be detected extremely fast even from highly remote areas.&nbsp;



“As soon as the volcanic ash plume rose high enough to freeze, its electrical activity lit up our sensors,” said study lead author Alexa Van Eaton, a physical volcanologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. “It’s the perfect storm - explosive eruptions can create lightning that is detected around the world.”



Moreover, since satellite images and hundreds of photos and videos posted on social media were also available, Van Eaton and her colleagues could form a more complex picture of how the eruption developed and caused the massive thunderstorm.



“Much more can be done to characterize an eruption when there are camera perspectives from all angles,” said Van Eaton. &nbsp;“The eruption took place in a major urban area, so people posted pictures of volcanic lightning as it was happening, revealing a highly electrified region at the base of the umbrella cloud. Understanding the evolution of volcanic lightning helps us recognize the early warning signs of ash hazards to aircraft.”



However, the researchers admitted that remote-sensing studies such as this one can only provide “a broad-brush picture of an eruption” and cannot replace the work of local geologists that know the area very well.



Further research is needed to explain in more detail the miniature sparks observed in photos of the ash plume. “We were surprised to find the high-altitude umbrella cloud crawling with these tiny, blue&nbsp;streamers” that are distinct from lightning because they are discharges of cold rather than hot plasma. “It’s still an enigma how these little ribbons of ionized air relate to powerful lightning,” concluded Van Eaton.&nbsp;



The study is published by the <a href="https://www.geosociety.org/">Geological Society of America</a> in the journal Geology.



---



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

Explosive volcanic eruption triggered an hours-long thunderstorm

The January 2020 eruption of the Taal volcano in the...

When a breeder of tarantulas noticed, in 2018, that several of his spiders were becoming sick and dying, he approached parasitologist Adler Dillman from the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a>. The ailing tarantulas were characterized by what appeared to be a white discharge in and around the oral cavity. On closer inspection, however, it became clear that the white mass was a large infestation of nematode <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worms-without-ears-can-hear-through-their-skin/">worms</a> intertwined together inside and around the spider’s mouth.&nbsp;



Dillman and his colleagues examined the worms and, based on a combination of morphological and morphometrical data, and unique DNA sequences, they identified a new species of nematodes. There are more than 25,000 different species of nematode worms and they are among the most abundant animals on Earth. They parasitize a wide range of living organisms, but this is only the second time that a species has been found to infect tarantulas.



The scientists named the new species Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi, after Jeff Daniels, the American actor, musician and producer. They named it in Daniels’ honor because his character in the 1990 film ‘Arachnophobia’ saves a town from a deadly infestation of spiders.&nbsp;



“His character in the film is a spider killer, which is exactly what these nematodes are,” said Dillman, who led the team that discovered the nematode.



“When I first heard a new species of nematode had been named after me, I thought, ‘Why? Is there a resemblance?’” joked Daniels. “Honestly, I was honored by their homage to me and 'Arachnophobia.' Made me smile. And of course, in Hollywood, you haven’t really made it until you’ve been recognized by those in the field of parasitology.”



The scientists investigated the lifecycle of the worms, and where exactly they resided in the infected spiders. They found that infestations of worms occurred in the mouth area and on the pedipalps, special appendages near the mouth that the spiders use to sense and manipulate food. No worms were found in the stomachs of infected spiders.&nbsp;



Once infected, spiders lost the ability to use their jaws and feed themselves, and began to show strange behavior, such as walking on the very tips of their legs. The infection would ultimately prove fatal for a tarantula, as it would starve to death.&nbsp;



“It may take months because tarantulas don’t have to eat particularly often. However, if they get this infection, they will die of starvation,” Dillman said.&nbsp;



When culturing the nematode worms in the laboratory, the researchers noted that they ate bacteria such as E. coli and did not appear to feed off the parasitized spiders themselves. This led the researchers to conclude that the worms may be feeding on the bacteria found around the oral cavity of the spider.&nbsp;



However, there is not yet an understanding of how the worms change tarantula behavior or render the pedipalps and jaws non-functional. Dillman is planning additional studies to investigate this, as well as how breeders can treat or even prevent infections in their captive-bred tarantulas.



The researchers found that the average lifespan of jeffdanielsi nematodes in the laboratory was 11 days. These worms are mostly hermaphrodites – each individual produces sperm as well as eggs. Furthermore, they fertilize themselves and each produces approximately 160 offspring within its 11-day lifespan.



Although this is only the second time that nematode parasites have been found infecting tarantulas, Dillman feels this reflects the fact that little research is done on these spiders. Nematode worms are very common parasites and it would be unusual if there were no species that parasitized tarantulas.



“Nematodes have been around for hundreds of millions of years. They’ve evolved to infect every kind of host on the planet including humans,” he said. “Any animal you know of on planet Earth, there’s a nematode that can infect it.”



The team’s work describing jeffdanielsi has recently been&nbsp;<a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/journal-of-parasitology/article-abstract/108/1/30/476785/TARANTOBELUS-JEFFDANIELSI-N-SP-PANAGROLAIMOMORPHA?redirectedFrom=fulltext">published</a>&nbsp;in the&nbsp;<a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/journal-of-parasitology">Journal of Parasitology</a>.



---



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

Scientists have discovered worms that kill tarantulas

When a breeder of tarantulas noticed, in 2018, that several...

Protecting 30 percent of land and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-heat-reached-a-record-high-for-the-sixth-straight-year/">sea</a> by 2030 is an important benchmark, but it will not be enough to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, according to a team of more than 50 scientists from 23 countries. 



The experts delivered a synthesis of the science supporting 21 targets in a draft of the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/article/draft-1-global-biodiversity-framework">Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework</a>, a plan being negotiated by the United Nations.



The scientists are calling for systematic changes, including substantial reductions in damaging fisheries and farming subsidies, great reductions in overconsumption, and limiting global warming to 1.5°C.&nbsp;



Paul Leadley, a professor at Paris-Saclay University, is also an assessment leader and past chair of <a href="http://www.biodiscovery.com/">BioDISCOVERY</a>.



“The target of protecting 30% of all land and seas is important and attracting a lot of attention. And expanding protected areas is a good start if done well, but far short of what's needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss - called ‘bending the curve’ for biodiversity."



"There’s very good evidence that we will fail again to meet ambitious international biodiversity objectives if there’s too much focus on protected areas at the expense of other urgent actions addressing the threats to biodiversity.”&nbsp;



“Governments are clearly struggling with the breadth and depth of the ‘transformative changes’ needed to bend the curve for biodiversity, and sometimes seem unwilling to face up to it.&nbsp; But deep changes are necessary and will greatly benefit people in the long run.”



The key points highlighted in the study were that reversing biodiversity loss requires transformative change, coordinated at every level. Along with these changes, assessments must be carried out and greater monitoring efforts funded. Perhaps most importantly, action must be taken immediately to be impactful.&nbsp;



“The sooner we act the better. Time lags between action and positive outcomes for biodiversity can take decades so we must act immediately and sustain our efforts if we are to reach the global goals by 2050," said study co-author Maria Cecilia Londoño Murcia of the Humboldt Institute.



"The time needed for safeguarding and restoring ecosystem structure, function and resilience is particularly critical for people and communities whose livelihoods and well-being directly depend on these systems and the benefits they provide.”&nbsp;



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

Sweeping changes needed to reverse biodiversity loss

Protecting 30 percent of land and sea by 2030 is...

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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;



---



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

[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



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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...