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...

Plastic waste is causing serious problems when it comes to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-bacteria-found-in-the-uk-linked-to-warming-waters/">water</a> pollution. While iit is easy assume that a simple litter cleanup could solve the issue, it is becoming increasingly obvious that this is not the case. A growing collection of studies show that microplastics are a persistent problem that can cause irreversible damage. 



New research led by <a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University</a> has been investigating exactly how significant the issue of microplastics is when it comes to rivers. The study found that the constant motion of a river actually traps microplastics within riverbeds for as long as seven years.



The researchers discovered that hyporheic exchange, a process in which riverbed water mixes with surface water, traps lightweight microplastics in the river preventing them from floating and ultimately being removed.&nbsp;



“Most of what we know about plastics pollution is from the oceans because it’s very visible there,” said study co-senior author Aaron Packman. “Now, we know that small plastic particles, fragments, and fibers can be found nearly everywhere. However, we still don’t know what happens to the particles discharged from cities and wastewater. Most of the work thus far has been to document where plastic particles can be found and how much is reaching the ocean.”&nbsp;



In order to gather the crucial data for the study, the research team used a newly developed model to simulate how microplastic particles moved through freshwater systems. The model is the first to illustrate the hyporheic exchange process in relation to microplastics, and used global data on river flow conditions and urban wastewater discharges.



Ultimately, the researchers found that microplastic pollution persists for the longest time at the source of freshwater, moving at a rate of just one kilometer per five hours. During low-flow conditions, this rate slowed even further to an astonishing single kilometer per seven years. The long-term presence of these microplastics makes them likely to be ingested by organisms, and this could have detrimental effects on the health of the ecosystem.



“These deposited microplastics cause ecological damage, and a large amount of deposited particles means that it will take a very long time for all of them to be washed out of our freshwater ecosystems," said Packman. “This information points us to consider whether we need solutions to remove these plastics to restore freshwater ecosystems.”



The researchers aim to use the findings to further inform efforts to preserve the ecosystems of freshwater systems. The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Microplastics linger in riverbeds for years

Plastic waste is causing serious problems when it comes to...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/119/2/e2023340118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> has found that the mechanisms behind the sense of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-can-a-smell-transport-us-to-another-place/">smell</a> may be far simpler than previously thought. By studying the olfactory sense of locusts, a research team led by the <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington University in St. Louis</a> mapped the neuronal underpinnings behind invariant odor recognition.



“The smell of coffee is the same whether it is smelled in a coffee shop or grocery shop (different backgrounds), on a hot day or a cold day (different ambient conditions), after lunch or dinner (different temporal contexts), or using a deep inhalation or normal inhalation (different stimulus dynamics),” explained the study authors.



“This feat of pattern recognition that is still difficult to achieve in artificial chemical sensing systems is performed by most sensory systems for their survival. How is this capability achieved?”



In order to answer this question, the scientists first trained locusts to associate a specific odor with some of their favorite foods, such as blades of grass. After staying without food for a day, the locusts were exposed to a puff of odor (hexanol or isoamyl acetate), then given a blade of grass. After only six such presentations, the locusts learned to open their palps (the sensory appendages close to its mouth) in expectation of food immediately after smelling the “training odorant.”



The researchers then mapped which neurons were activated when the locusts were exposed to the odorant under different environmental conditions, such as in conjunction to other smells, in humid or dry conditions, or when the locusts were fully fed or starving. Even though the locusts opened their palps every time, different patterns of neurons were activated, depending upon each specific context.



"The neural responses were highly variable," said study senior author Baranidharan Raman, a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University. "That seemed to be at odds with what the locusts were doing, behaviorally."



To understand how variable neural responses produced stable behavior, Professor Raman and his colleagues used a machine-learning algorithm that exploited two functional types of neurons: “ON neurons,” which were activated when an odorant was present, and “OFF neurons,” which fired only after the odor presentation had ended.&nbsp;



"You can think of the ON neurons as conveying 'evidence for' an odor being present, and OFF neurons as 'evidence against' that odor being present," explained Professor Raman.&nbsp;



To recognize the presence of an odorant, the scientists simply needed to add evidence for the odorant being present (add the spikes across all ON neurons), and subtract evidence against the odorant being present (add the spikes across all OFF neurons). If the result was above a certain threshold, the machine learning algorithm would reliably predict that the locust smelled the odor and opened its palps.



“We were surprised to find that this simple approach is all that was needed to robustly recognize an odorant,” Professor Raman concluded.



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

Locusts have a surprisingly simple way of sensing smells

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the...

The health benefits associated with exposure to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-nature-affect-human-health-in-urban-areas/">nature</a> are remarkable. Experts have found that spending time in natural environments can enhance memory and mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve heart health, among other benefits. 



Many studies have shown that nature and green spaces can make urban environments healthier and improve the well-being of millions of city dwellers. With this goal in mind, researchers at the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a> are urging governments to consider nature-based citizen science as part of their public health policies.



"Despite being a named component of scientific and environmental strategies of governments, to our knowledge, the intrinsic health benefits of citizen science in natural environments do not form part of public health policy," wrote the study authors.



"We contend that citizen science programs that facilitate exposure to natural environments in urban areas may represent an important public health policy advance."



The United Nations estimates that 88 percent of the global population will be living in urban areas by the middle of this century. According to UniSA Professor Craig Williams, it is more important than ever to maintain a connection with natural environments.



“Whether you’re watering the garden, taking a stroll around the block, or simply watching the world go by, getting out into nature is good for your health,” said Professor Williams.



“Natural environments can enhance human performance, improve success at work (or school) and are known to provide significant mental, emotional, and physical health benefits."



“Conversely, urbanization can negatively affect human health by increasing the prevalence of allergic, autoimmune, inflammatory, and infectious diseases, with some of these factors contributing to rise in cancers, depression and cardiovascular disease."



“As cities grow, fewer people have access to natural environments, which is part of the reason urban living can be bad for your health."



“Citizen science can change this. Nature-based citizen science projects can motivate people to engage with natural environments. And if they can be orchestrated, organised, and promoted in cities - particularly as part of a public health policy - then we have the potential to improve people’s health through that mechanism.”



Professor Williams pointed out that citizen science can also alleviate stress and isolation. “In as little as 15 minutes in a natural environment, a person can experience lower stress levels as measured by blood pressure, cortisol levels and pulse rate."



He noted that in Australia, the outdoors remains one of the few places where people can safely get together despite the persistent risk of COVID-19.



“Being out and about in nature – whether in person, or by electronic means (as are many of our projects), is a great way to help people stay connected, while also providing them with a purpose, helping them feel like they’re contributing to something, and being part of a community."



“At the same time, they’re discovering great places to go in their city, and hopefully improving their well-being by doing so.”



The paper is published in the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph">International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health</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

Natural environments play an overlooked role in public health

The health benefits associated with exposure to nature are remarkable....

Observing animal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-acidification-disrupts-the-behavior-of-fish-shoals/">behavior</a> and ecology in the wild is the basis of conservation planning. However, the cost, time commitment, and danger involved in basic observational work can make it extremely challenging.&nbsp;



Scientists often substitute observations with data collected through biologging devices. These high-tech devices can monitor heart rate, breathing, animal movement, and more. To accurately interpret data from logging devices, statistical analysis is needed. Like other scientific technologies, statistical tools are always evolving. A new study from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> improves on statistical tools used for interpreting data from biologgers.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The thing we really tackled with this paper was trying to get at some of those fine-scale behaviors that aren’t that easy to model,” said study lead author Evan Sidrow, a doctoral student in the UBC Department of Statistics.&nbsp;



“It’s a matter of finding behaviors on the order of seconds - maybe 10 to 15 seconds. Usually, it’s a matter of a whale looking around, and then actively swimming for a second to get over to a new location. We are trying to observe fleeting behaviors, like a whale catching a fish.”



The researchers improved a statistical tool based on a hidden Markov model, which is used to interpret animal movement datasets.



“Traditional hidden Markov models break down at very fine scales,” said Sidrow. “That’s because there’s structure in the data you can’t capture using the basic type of hidden Markov model. We’re trying to capture it with this model - we’re trying to account for this ‘wigglyness' that a traditional hidden Markov model wouldn’t be able to account for.”



Because modern data logging devices collect data almost continuously, an enormous amount of data points are collected in a relatively short period of time. The Markov model has a hard time interpreting such a large amount of data. The new statistical modeling method allows a finer scale look into the data, which produces greater information for conservation planning by decision makers, including those working on orca conservation.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"As a case study, we use this framework to model the fine-scale kinematic movements of a northern resident killer whale ( Orcinus orca) off the western coast of Canada," wrote the study authors.&nbsp; "Through simulations, we show that our model produces more interpretable state estimation and more accurate parameter estimates compared to existing methods."



According to study senior author Dr. Marie Auger-Méthé, the study is one of the first steps on the road to fully understanding why southern resident killer whales are not faring as well as their northern counterparts.



“Using our methods to detect when the animals are catching prey and to model their energy expenditure will be key to understanding the differences between these neighbouring whale populations,” said Dr. Auger-Méthé.



She explained that the next goal is to understand when the whales are capturing prey and applying the models to both northern and southern resident killer whale populations to see how they are behaving differently.



“The paper offers many ‘building block’ solutions that can be used together or independently,” said Dr. Auger-Méthé. “In essence, we are providing a toolbox to researchers using high-frequency movement data, and other similar high-frequency time series.”



The study is published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1708945x">The Canadian Journal of Statistics</a>.



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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

New statistical tool could improve killer whale conservation

Observing animal behavior and ecology in the wild is the...

Mammals in general are not able to digest cellulose, the carbohydrate that is found in the cell walls of plant cells. Even <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/large-herbivores-must-be-restored-to-balance-ecosystems/">herbivores</a>, such as cows, horses and elephants do not produce the enzyme that breaks down cellulose. Instead, mammals (including humans) need gut microbes to carry out this function and enable them to access the nutrients found inside plant cells.&nbsp;



Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are unusual because they are bears, in the order Carnivora, but their diet consists entirely of bamboo leaves and shoots. Carnivores have short gastrointestinal tracts, geared for digesting animal flesh, and this makes the herbivorous diet of giant pandas even harder to process efficiently. Pandas are thus heavily dependent on the microbes in their guts for breaking down cells in leaves and shoots to make the contents available.



In the wild, pandas feed on fibrous old bamboo leaves for eight months of the year. This diet is poor in nutrients and contains almost no fat. However, during late spring and early summer the bears feed on new shoots that have a higher nutritional value that enables them to gain weight.&nbsp;



Previous research has shown that the gut microbiome of giant pandas changes between the leaf-eating season and the shoot-eating season. However, there has been no research on the effects of these seasonal changes on the body characteristics or physiology of the pandas.&nbsp;



A study published today in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/home">Cell Reports</a> addresses this gap in current understanding and finds that shifts in the gut microbes enable pandas to gain weight and store fat when bamboo shoots are available to eat.&nbsp;



“This is the first time we established a causal relationship between a panda’s gut microbiota and its phenotype,” said study first author Guangping Huang from the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>. “We’ve known these pandas have a different set of gut microbiota during the shoot-eating season for a long time, and it’s very obvious that they are chubbier during this time of the year.”



The team of scientists, led by Fuwen Wei at the CAS Institute of Zoology, has been studying wild giant pandas living in the Qinling Mountains in central China for decades. The team collected fecal samples from eight adult pandas during the leaf-eating season (14 samples) and the shoot-eating season (15 samples). These were assessed for the presence and numbers of different types of gut microbes.&nbsp;



Wei says that these wild pandas have distinctly different populations of gut bacteria in the two seasons. In particular, a significantly higher abundance of a bacterium called&nbsp;Clostridium butyricum&nbsp;is present in the gut during the shoot-eating season compared with during the leaf-eating season. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of the short-chain fatty acids in the feces also revealed that the fatty acids butyrate and acetate were present in greater amounts during shoot-eating season.



Although bamboo leaves and shoots contain almost no fat, pandas were able to gain weight and store fat when they preferentially ate shoots. The bacterium C. butyricum produces the fatty acid butyrate as a product of its metabolism in the gut of the pandas, and the scientists were interested in the effects of this fatty acid on panda metabolism.



To investigate whether the change in gut microbiota could affect a panda’s metabolism, the researchers performed a fecal transplant of panda feces, collected in the wild, to the intestinal tracts of germ-free mice. They introduced fecal matter from panda donors during the leaf-eating season into some mice, while other mice received feces collected from pandas during the shoot-eating season. A third group of mice – the control group – received no panda fecal matter.&nbsp; Then they fed the mice for 3 weeks with a bamboo-based diet that simulated what pandas eat. &nbsp;



The experts found that mice transplanted with panda feces collected during shoot-eating season gained significantly more weight and had more fat after 21 days than mice transplanted with feces from leaf-eating season, despite consuming the same amount of food. Further analysis revealed that the fatty acid butyrate, a metabolic product of&nbsp;C. butyricum, could upregulate (enhance) the expression of a gene called&nbsp;Per2, which increases lipid synthesis and storage. Thus, the mice showed the same patterns of seasonal weight gain as the pandas do, indicating the critical role of the gut microbiome in panda metabolism.



Fat storage is important in many animals that eat a nutrient-poor diet. The bamboo eaten by pandas in the wild is deficient in fat but the shoots, eaten in late spring and early summer, contain higher levels of protein and carbohydrate. The gut bacteria in these mammals enables them to use the protein and additional carbohydrates in the shoots, to synthesize lipids that are then available for storage.&nbsp;



Many animals experience a seasonal shift in gut bacteria as a result of changes in food availability. For example, certain species of monkeys have different gut microbiota in summer, when they eat fresh leaves and fruits, compared with that in winter, when they feed on leaves and tree bark. A similar shift has also been observed in the digestive systems of Hadza people, modern hunter-gatherers living in Tanzania, as the type of available food changes through the year.



The researchers plan to investigate and map out more microorganisms in the panda’s gut in future, and to find out how they affect the animals’ health. “Causal research of host phenotype and gut microbiota in wild animals is just beginning. Identifying what bacteria are beneficial for animals is very important, because one day we may be able to treat some diseases with probiotics,” said Huang.



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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

Giant pandas’ gut bacteria turn nutrient-poor food into fat

Mammals in general are not able to digest cellulose, the...

The turning blades on wind turbines and drones make a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/traffic-noise-linked-to-higher-risk-of-dementia/">noise</a>, as do the airfoils used on planes and helicopters. Most of the nose that arises as an object moves through air originates at the trailing edge as air flowing over and under the object meet. The same is true for the noise that a bird’s wings make as it flies overhead – except, of course, in the case of owls. They are renowned for being able to fly silently.



In&nbsp;a quest to design airfoils that produce less noise pollution, researchers from <a href="http://en.xjtu.edu.cn/">Xi'an Jiaotong University</a> mimicked the characteristics of owl wings to inform a new design of airfoil that significantly reduces the trailing-edge noise. Details of the study are published today in the journal <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/journal/phf">Physics of Fluids</a>.



“Nocturnal owls produce about 18 decibels less noise than other birds at similar flight speeds due to their unique wing configuration,” said study co-author Xiaomin Liu. “Moreover, when the owl catches prey, the shape of the wings is also constantly changing, so the study of the wing edge configuration during owl flight is of great significance.”



When air flows over the top of an airfoil-shaped surface, it forms a layer of turbulence. Similarly, air flowing underneath also forms a layer of turbulence, and these two layers meet at the trailing edge of the structure. When they meet and air flows back through the trailing edge, it scatters and radiates noise.&nbsp;



The wing feathers of owls form a serrated edge at the trailing end of the wing, and this is thought to minimize turbulence and the associated noise. Previous studies have explored the use of serrated trailing edges and found that the serrations effectively reduce the noise of rotating airfoils. However, the noise reduction was not universal, depending heavily on the way in which the airfoil was used.



“At present, the blade design of rotating turbomachinery has gradually matured, but the noise reduction technology is still at a bottleneck,” said Liu. “The noise reduction capabilities of conventional sawtooth structures are limited, and some new non-smooth trailing-edge structures need to be proposed and developed to further tap the potential of bionic noise reduction."



The researchers used noise calculation and analysis software to conduct a series of detailed theoretical studies of simplified airfoils that had characteristics reminiscent of owl wings. They applied their findings to suppress the noise of rotating machinery.



The study showed that improving flow conditions around the trailing edge of the airfoil and optimizing the shape of the edge did suppress the noise. The experts also found that asymmetrical serrations reduced the noise more than symmetrical serrations.&nbsp;



However, the extent of noise reduction varied with different operating conditions, so the scientists emphasized that the airfoil designs should be further evaluated based on the specific application for which they would be used.



For example, wind turbines have complex incoming flow environments that require a more general noise reduction technology. Examining noise reduction techniques under the influence of different incoming flows would make their conclusions more universal.



The researchers believe their work will serve as an important guide for airfoil design and noise control in the future.



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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

Owl wings inspire noise reduction in wind turbines and aircraft

The turning blades on wind turbines and drones make a...

Scientists estimate that 19 million people in the United States live in so-called “food deserts” – places with low access to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/children-should-eat-the-same-healthy-foods-as-adults/">healthy</a> and nutritious food. In addition, more than 32 million people live below the poverty line, and are forced to buy the cheapest available food, regardless if it is less healthy than other options available in their proximity. 



However, the complex ways in which diet and health are influenced by individual and community characteristics - such as education and food access - are still not fully understood.&nbsp;



An interdisciplinary team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> and <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> has recently completed the largest nationwide study in the United States on the intricate relationship between food environments, demographics, and dietary health.&nbsp;



Using the <a href="https://www.myfitnesspal.com/">MyFitnessPal</a> app, a popular smartphone-based food journaling application, the scientists collected a vast amount of data, spanning over five years.&nbsp;



"Our findings indicate that higher access to grocery stores, lower access to fast food, higher income and college education are independently associated with higher consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, lower consumption of fast food and soda, and less likelihood of being classified as overweight or obese," reported study lead author Tim Althoff, an assistant professor of Computer Science at the University of Washington.



According to Professor Althoff and his colleagues, previous understanding of the relationship between environment, socioeconomic factors, and diet has been challenged by small sample sizes, single locations, and non-uniform design across studies. By contrast, this new study analyzed data from over 1.1 million users, spanning 2.3 billion food entries, and encompassing more than 9,800 U.S. zip codes.



Scientists discovered that higher educational attainment was the greatest positive predictor of a healthier diet and body mass index (BMI). However, high family income was associated with a marginally higher percentage of people with a BMI verging towards obesity, regardless of their educational status.



As the researchers stress though, these broad, population-level results fail to do full justice to the complexity of individual and community differences. "When we dug into the data further, we discovered that the population-level results masked significant differences in how the food environment and socioeconomic factors corresponded with dietary health across subpopulations," said study co-author&nbsp;Hamed Nilforoshan, a doctoral student in Computational Social Science at Stanford.



Further research is needed to assess whether population-level findings can be applied to smaller communities. “While policies aimed at improving food access, economic opportunity and education can and do support healthy eating, our findings strongly suggest that we need to tailor interventions to communities rather than pursuing a one-size-fits-all approach," concluded study co-author Jenna Hua, a former postdoctoral fellow at Stanford.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27522-y">Nature Communications</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

Healthy diets linked to education and food access

Scientists estimate that 19 million people in the United States...

Many birds learn their songs in the same way that humans learn a language or dialect –from their parents and neighbors, through mimicry. According to most biologists, this is an uncertain and error-prone method, often resulting in slow but unmistakable changes in the nature of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humpback-whale-songs-are-used-to-locate-not-attract-other-whales/">songs</a> over the years.



However, new research led by the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> has found that some isolated populations of double-collared East African sunbirds have been singing the same songs - passed down to each new generation - for up to a million years.&nbsp;



The amazingly static nature of their songs may be due to the birds’ unchanging environment. The birds have inhabited so-called sky islands on East African mountaintops since ancient times.



"If you isolate humans, their dialects quite often change; you can tell after a while where somebody comes from. And song has been interpreted in that same way," said study senior author Rauri Bowie, a professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley. "What our paper shows is that it's not necessarily the case for birds. Even in traits that should be very labile, such as song or plumage, you can have long periods of stasis."



According to Professor Bowie and his colleagues, the idea that birdsong changes very often likely arose from studies of Northern Hemisphere birds, which have repeatedly encountered environmental changes, such as glaciers coming and going over the last thousands of years. These changing environmental conditions can cause significant modifications in plumage, song, and mating strategies.



However, since mountaintop environments in the tropics, particularly in East Africa (such as Mount Kenya or Kilimanjaro) have witnessed very little geological change over the millennia, the birds living there faced no evolutionary pressure to change their plumage or songs.



"We are showing, using a really nice setup where we could look at song evolution using naturally isolated populations, that [in East African sunbirds] you don't see this gradual change through cultural or genetic drift at all," Bowie said. "You see these sharp bursts of change in a trait such a birdsong and lots and lots of evidence for stasis, even when that trait should be very plastic. To me, that was a really fascinating result."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.2062">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</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

The song of the East African sunbird may be a million years old

Many birds learn their songs in the same way that...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c04158">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a> has recently assessed the stability of the Earth system based on the impact of the cocktail of synthetic chemicals and other “novel entities” flooding the environment. The experts warn that humanity has exceeded a <a href="https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries/the-nine-planetary-boundaries.html">planetary boundary</a> related to environmental pollutants, placing the Earth and all of its species at risk.



There are over 350,000 different types of human-made chemicals on the global market, including <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seabirds-are-damaging-their-health-by-eating-plastic/">plastics</a>, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. The total mass of plastics on the planet is now more than twice the mass of all living mammals, and over 80 percent of all plastics ever produced are still present in the environment.&nbsp;



Since plastics contain roughly 10,000 different chemicals, their environmental degradation creates new and dangerous combinations of materials and, thus, unprecedented environmental hazards. Additionally, significant amounts of other novel entities continuously enter the environment, endangering our planet and its various ecosystems.&nbsp;



“There has been a 50-fold increase in the production of chemicals since 1950. This is projected to triple again by 2050,” said study co-author Patricia Villarubia-Gómez, a doctoral candidate in Sustainability Science at the <a href="https://www.stockholmresilience.org/">Stockholm Resilience Center</a>. “The pace that societies are producing and releasing new chemicals and other novel entities into the environment is not consistent with staying within a safe operating space for humanity.”



“Some of these pollutants can be found globally, from the Arctic to Antarctica, and can be extremely persistent.&nbsp;We have overwhelming evidence of negative impacts on Earth systems, including biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles,” added study co-author Bethanie Carney Almroth, an associate professor of Ecotoxicology at the <a href="https://www.gu.se/en">University of Gothenburg</a>.&nbsp;



“The rate at which these pollutants are appearing in the environment far exceeds the capacity of governments to assess global and regional risks, let alone control any potential problems.”



According to the scientists, these environmental pollutants negatively impact our planet in multiple ways, deteriorating the climate and fresh water sources, helping the spread of invasive species, and increasing the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotic-resistance-could-reach-catastrophic-levels/">antibiotic resistance</a> of various microbes.&nbsp;



“We need to be working towards implementing a fixed cap on chemical production and release,” advised Professor Carney Almroth.&nbsp;“And shifting to a circular economy is really important,” added Villarubia Gómez. “That means changing materials and products so they can be reused not wasted, designing chemicals and products for recycling, and much better screening of chemicals for their safety and sustainability along their whole impact pathway in the Earth system.”



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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

Safe planetary boundary for pollutants has been exceeded

A new study published in the journal Environmental Science &amp;...

The Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay is quite threatened, so it’s no surprise that lowland tapirs in this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-exposes-coastal-cities-to-more-deadly-storms/">forest</a> are severely endangered as well. Although tapirs are adaptable and found in a wide variety of habitats across South America, they are still declining in numbers across their range. Lowland tapirs are now found in only 1.78 percent of their original range in the Atlantic Forest.&nbsp;



A new study published in the journal <a href="https://neotropical.pensoft.net/">Neotropical Biology and Conservation</a> warns of the dire need for conservation actions to protect lowland tapirs of the Atlantic Forest. The research was headed up by Dr. Kevin Flesher of Biodiversity Study Center, Michelin Ecological Reserve and Dr. Patrícia Medici of the <a href="https://tapirconservation.org.br/">Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative</a>.



"Of the 48 tapir populations identified during the study, between 31.3% and 68.8% are demographically unviable (low number of individuals), and between 70.8% and 93.8% of the populations are genetically unviable (low gene flow). Only 3-14 populations are still viable in the long run when both criteria are considered. The evidence suggests that with the appropriate conservation actions, the lowland tapir could be broadly distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest," explained Dr. Flesher.&nbsp;



"Tapirs have low reproductive potential, including a long reproductive cycle with the birth of just one young after a gestation period of 13-14 months and intervals of up to three years between births. Our populational simulations clearly show how, in the case of small populations, even the loss of a single individual per year can result in rapid extinction of an entire local population," added Dr. Medici.&nbsp;



Dr. Flesher spent 15 years visiting 93 reserves in the Atlantic Forest, conducting interviews and analyzing 217 data sets to create a conservation plan for tapirs in the area. Unfortunately, tapirs in the states of São Paulo and Paraná in Brazil - where the largest number of populations remain - are isolated from each other.



"As far as our knowledge goes, there is no evidence of movement of tapirs between these populations," said Dr. Medici.&nbsp;



The fragmented populations aren’t connecting with each other, not because of great distances but the threat from cars involved. "The central problem is the multiple threats they face while crossing the habitat," said Dr. Flesher.&nbsp;



Highways and attendant motor traffic are a huge obstacle and threat to disbursing tapirs. "For example, the heavy traffic on highway BR-101 (which cuts the Brazilian Atlantic Forest from North to South) is a death trap to wildlife. Tapirs often die when attempting to cross it," explained Dr. Medici.&nbsp;



Highway traffic is a significant cause of death for tapirs in six out of eight reservations where highways cross tapir populations. However, the situation seems to call for a small amount of optimism. "Despite these continuing challenges for tapir conservation, most populations appear to be stable or increasing and the conservation outlook for the species is better than several decades ago, when the first efforts to protect the species began," said Dr. Flesher.



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

Lowland tapirs in the Atlantic Forest are at risk of extinction

The Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay is quite...

In collaboration with citizen scientists, an astronomer at <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a> has identified a giant gas planet that was basically hidden in plain sight. The research, which was presented at the American Astronomical Society virtual press event, describes the discovery of TOI-2180 b, a Jupiter-sized planet located about 379 light-years away from Earth.



"TOI-2180 b is such an exciting planet to have found," said study lead author and UCR planetary astronomer Paul Dalba. "It hits the trifecta of 1) having a several-hundred-day orbit, 2) being relatively close to Earth (379 lightyears is considered close for an exoplanet), and 3) us being able to see it transit in front of its star. It is very rare for astronomers to discover a planet that checks all three of these boxes."



According to Dalba, the new planet is special because it takes 261 days to complete a journey around its star, a relatively long time compared to many known gas giants outside our solar system. The planet should be easy for experts to study in further detail due to its relative proximity to Earth and the brightness of the star it orbits.



NASA's TESS satellite is designed to observe one particular section of the sky for a month, before moving on. The goal is to identify <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-discover-366-new-exoplanets/">exoplanets</a>, which orbit stars other than the Sun.&nbsp;



"The rule of thumb is that we need to see three 'dips' or transits before we believe we've found a planet," said Dalba. He explained that a single transit event could be caused by a telescope with a jitter, or a star masquerading as a planet.&nbsp;



Former U.S. naval officer Tom Jacobs is a participant in Planet Hunters, a NASA-funded citizen science project run through the online platform Zooniverse.



While examining data collected by TESS, Jacobs and his teammates saw light from the TOI-2180 star dim, just once, and then alerted Dalba.



Using the Automated Planet Finder Telescope at the <a href="https://www.lickobservatory.org/">Lick Observatory</a>, Dalba managed to observe the planet's gravitational tug on the star. This allows him and his colleagues to calculate the mass of TOI-2180 b.



Based on a campaign conducted in August 2021 (which involved about 20,000 images), the researchers estimate that TESS will see TOI-2180 b transit its star again in February, when they are planning a follow up study.&nbsp;



In a press release from NASA, Dalba said that discovering TOI-2180 b was "a great group effort demonstrating that professional astronomers and seasoned citizen scientists can successfully work together."



The study is published in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1538-3881">The Astronomical Journal</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

Citizen scientists have discovered a giant gas planet

In collaboration with citizen scientists, an astronomer at UC Riverside...

Accidentally trapping marine animals such as sharks, seabirds, turtles, or sea mammals in fishing gear is one of the biggest barriers for making fisheries more sustainable. While <a href="https://marineprotectedareas.noaa.gov/">marine protected areas</a> are aiming to minimize accidental catch, they often prove to be quite inefficient in protecting marine biodiversity, particularly in the case of marine species that are very mobile and constantly travel between these static areas.&nbsp;



According to new research from the <a href="http://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> (UW), “dynamic ocean management,” or the shifting of ocean closures, can be much more effective against accidental catch.



“We hope this study will add to the growing movement away from permanently closed areas to encourage more dynamic ocean management,” said study senior author&nbsp;Ray Hilborn, a professor at the UW <a href="https://fish.uw.edu/">School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences</a>. “Also, by showing the relative ineffectiveness of static areas, we hope it will make conservation advocates aware that permanent closed areas are much less effective in reducing accidental catch than changes in fishing methods.”



Professor Hilborn and his colleagues investigated 15 fisheries around the world, and modelled what would happen both to targeted fish and accidental catches (or “bycatch”) if 30 percent of the fishing grounds were permanently closed, compared with dynamic management. They found that restricting fishing by 30 percent would only diminish bycatch by 16 percent, in contrast to using dynamic closures, which could reduce accidental catch by a staggering 57 percent.



“We found we can significantly reduce bycatch without decreasing the catch of target species by closing small fishing areas that can move year to year,” said study lead author&nbsp;Maite Pons, who completed this article as a UW postdoctoral fellow. “This dynamic approach is increasingly valuable as climate change drives species and fisheries into new habitats, altering these interactions.”



However, the authors acknowledge that, in some cases, static protected areas may remain the best choice. If the main purpose is to protect a critical habitat, a biodiversity hotspot, or a critical feature, static closures might remain most effective and easier to implement. Thus, all conservation goals should be broadly considered before determining which types of ocean protections are best in a specific situation.



&nbsp;---



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

Dynamic ocean closures offer protection from accidental catch

Accidentally trapping marine animals such as sharks, seabirds, turtles, or...

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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

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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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...