The world of paleontology recently found itself in a mosh pit of excitement due to two unlikely rockstars named Punk and Emo. 



These are not your typical music icons, but a pair of 430 million-year-old fossils that challenge what we know about one of life's most diverse animal groups - the mollusks.



These 430-million-year-old relics, unearthed in Herefordshire, have made scientists rethink the long-standing assumptions about the early origins of this group of invertebrates. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-mollusks-were-complex">Ancient mollusks were complex</h2>



Dating back to the Silurian period, the fossils belong to the Aculifera group, which includes chitons and worm-like mollusks. Traditionally, scientists viewed these creatures as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-building-blocks-of-life-zinc-arrived-on-early-earth-planetesimals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">basic and primitive</a>.



However, this discovery paints a different picture, revealing their complexity and evolutionary ingenuity.



"Retrieving fossils that are so exceptionally well preserved and reveal details of the soft tissues is extremely rare," noted Dr. Mark Sutton, the study’s lead researcher from <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Imperial College London</a>.



"We have been able to create ‘virtual fossils’ - 3D digital models - that provide us with a gold mine of information and help us understand that the branch of molluskan evolution containing Emo and Punk was much more evolutionarily rich and diverse than we thought." 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-the-mollusk-fossils-punk-and-emo">Meet the mollusk fossils, Punk and Emo</h2>



The names&nbsp;Punk ferox&nbsp;and&nbsp;Emo vorticaudum&nbsp;were chosen to reflect the distinctive traits of these ancient mollusks.&nbsp;



Punk, with its spiky, rugged appearance, reminded researchers of a rebellious punk rocker, with a bold and unconventional look. Its spines set it apart as a unique and striking figure among early mollusks.



Emo, on the other hand, was named for its elongated, folded posture, which suggested unusual and unconventional ways of moving. Its name reflects individuality and adaptability, much like the cultural association with the emo style.



These names capture the essence of the fossils’ individuality, and help convey the extraordinary features that set these ancient mollusks apart in the evolutionary history of their group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-characteristics-of-mollusks">Characteristics of mollusks</h2>



The researchers used advanced imaging methods to study the fossils of Punk and Emo in incredible detail. First, they employed X-ray scanning to examine the internal structures of the fossils without causing any damage.



Then, they carefully ground the fossils down in extremely thin layers, taking high-resolution photographs at each stage. These images were combined to create detailed 3D digital models, showing both the internal and external features of the fossils.



This meticulous process revealed surprising details about how these ancient mollusks lived and moved.&nbsp;Emo&nbsp;likely moved in a manner similar to an inchworm. Its spines helped it grip surfaces, allowing it to push itself forward in a rhythmic motion.



In contrast, Punk remains more mysterious in terms of movement. However, researchers discovered it had a ridge-like foot and gills, a unique combination not seen in any modern mollusks.



These features suggest that Punk had an entirely different and now-extinct way of locomotion and survival, which gives new insights into the diversity of molluskan evolution.



Both fossils exhibited smooth undersides, suggesting a benthic lifestyle on the sea floor.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-mosaic-of-features">A mosaic of features</h2>



The mollusk fossils, Punk and Emo, showed a surprising mix of features that challenge traditional scientific classifications.&nbsp;



Punk combined characteristics typically seen in separate mollusk groups. It had spiny, worm-like traits but also possessed a broad foot and gills, which are features commonly found in chitons - a type of mollusk that is known for its protective, segmented shells.



Emo also had a spiny, elongated body, similar to that found in other worm-like mollusks. However, it stood out with unique adaptations such as a compressed body shape and shell-like structures. These traits are uncommon in its relatives, thus further blurring the lines between known categories of mollusks.



This mix of traits highlights the complexity and diversity of early mollusks, and suggests that their evolutionary history is far more intricate than previously understood. These fossils challenge existing classifications and provide new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-discovery-shifts-the-origin-of-lizards-back-35-million-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">insights</a> into how ancient mollusks adapted to their environments.



"The branch of molluskan evolution containing Emo and Punk was much more evolutionarily rich and diverse than we thought," said Dr. Sutton.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-rewrite-mollusk-evolution">Fossils rewrite mollusk evolution</h2>



The research provides a revolutionary look at how <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/mollusks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mollusks</a> evolved over millions of years.



By analyzing the fossils of Punk and Emo, scientists discovered that the group of mollusks known as Aculifera were more diverse and complex than previously thought.



These ancient creatures displayed unique adaptations, such as unconventional ways of moving and surviving, which helped them thrive in their environments.



The findings challenge old assumptions and show that even organisms that might appear simple at first glance can have surprisingly intricate and fascinating evolutionary histories. 



With advanced tools like 3D imaging, researchers continue to uncover these hidden stories that transform the way in which we understand the evolution of life on Earth.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08312-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Fossils called Punk and Emo rewrite the story of mollusk evolution

The world of paleontology recently found itself in a mosh pit of excitement due to two unlikely rockstars named Punk and Emo. These are not your typical music icons, but a pair of 430 million-year-old fossils that challenge what we know about one of life's most diverse animal groups - the mollusks. These 430-million-year-old relics, unearthed in Herefordshire, have made scientists rethink the long-standing assumptions about the early origins of this group of invertebrates. Ancient mollusks were complex Dating back to the Silurian period, the fossils belong...

California redwoods are famous worldwide for their impressive size and age. The species is the sole living representative of the genus Sequoia, and includes the tallest and oldest living things on Earth. Because of these attributes, redwoods have been thoroughly studied and are considered one of the best understood organisms on the planet. 



However, scientists from <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis</a> have recently discovered something brand new about these trees – they have two different types of leaves on their branches, and those leaves have completely different functions.



Redwoods occur naturally in coastal areas that can experience both wet conditions and droughts. The rainfall can be high and coastal fog also coats the trees with moisture much of the time. But dry conditions can prevail in certain seasons, or certain areas of the species’ range, and the plants are able to cope with both types of environmental conditions.



They do this partly through the specializations of their leaves, according to the study by the UC scientists. The peripheral leaves have longer leaflets that are covered with a waxy, water-repellent cuticle. These leaves are on the outer edges of the branches and receive most sunlight. They function as organs of photosynthesis, manufacturing sugars for the tree from carbon dioxide, water and sunlight energy.&nbsp;



In contrast, the axial leaves have very short leaflets that lie flush with the central stem and their function is to absorb water through the leaf blades. Plants usually absorb their water through their roots, so the fact that redwood axial leaves have this ability is already remarkable. In fact, the study found that a large redwood can absorb up to 14 gallons of water in just the first hour after its leaves become wet.



The problem is that leaves need to absorb carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere in order to photosynthesize. They do this through tiny pores, called stomata, which are found on the leaf surface. In wet conditions, the pores clog up with water and photosynthesis becomes inhibited. In contrast, a leaf with a waxy coating may be able to photosynthesize in wet conditions better but will be unable to absorb water in significant quantities.&nbsp;



For redwoods, the different leaf types allow the trees to get wet and still be able to photosynthesize. The peripheral leaves forgo the ability to absorb water but are better adapted for photosynthesis in moist conditions, while the axial leaves don’t contribute to photosynthesis but are able to supply the tree with essential water.&nbsp;



“I’d be surprised if there weren’t a lot of conifers doing this,” said study lead author Alana Chin. “Having leaves that aren’t for photosynthesis is in itself surprising. If you’re a tree, you don’t want to have a leaf that’s not photosynthesizing unless there’s a very good reason for it.”



In order to work out how water uptake by redwood leaves is balanced with the tree’s need to photosynthesize, the researchers collected shoot clusters from six redwood trees at five forest locations between wet Del Norte County and the dry Santa Cruz Mountains. They exposed these shoots to experimental fog conditions and measured how much water they were able to absorb.&nbsp;



The experts also estimated the water absorption potential for seven additional whole trees – including the tallest living tree – by taking samples of their leaf shoots at varying heights and scaling up the numbers of leaves, branch by branch, until they could represent the entire tree canopy. This enabled the team to make the first whole-crown estimates of the capacity of redwood leaves to take up water, using some of the largest trees known. Using this method, they could quantify the contribution of leaf uptake to the water balance of the tree as a whole.&nbsp;



The researchers then compared the anatomy and measured the rates of photosynthesis in the peripheral and axial leaves to understand their functions more completely.&nbsp;



Apart from finding that the two different leaf types have different, complementary functions, the study also found that leaves can be located in different regions of the tree, depending on whether the environment is wet or dry. In the wet, rainy north coast, the water-absorbing leaf type is found on the tree’s lower branches, leaving the upper, sunnier levels to the photosynthesizing leaf type. However, redwoods in the southern, drier regions have their water-collecting axial leaves mainly on the higher branches, to take advantage of the less frequent fog and rain.&nbsp;



“The cool thing here is their ability to thrive under all these circumstances and adjust themselves to these different environments,” said Chin, who grew up near the redwoods in Mendocino County. “That things like this can be happening right under our nose in one of the best-studied species out there – none of us assumed this would be the story.”



Of all the study’s remarkable and novel findings, Chin is most excited to have found an easy and effective way to indicate redwood trees’ ability to access fog. Researchers can monitor how and if redwoods are adapting to changing climate conditions and a future, drier world by simply looking at the visible waxes covering the two types of leaves – something that could be captured on a cell phone camera and shared by other scientists or even members of the public.



The study was published recently in the <a href="https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15372197">American Journal of Botany</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

New discovery in Redwoods highlights the species’ mystery

California redwoods are famous worldwide for their impressive size and...

One of the biggest questions in Biology has always dealt with the possible origins of life. For several decades, one hypothesis has been that RNA molecules – which are vital for cell functions – existed on ancient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supermountains-were-essential-for-the-evolution-of-life-on-earth/">Earth</a>, possibly together with proteins and other organic molecules, and that around four billion years ago, they started to self-replicate and develop from a simple single molecule into a diversity of complex molecules. This step-by-step change eventually led to the emergence of life as we know it, consisting of a wondrous array of plants, animals, and everything in-between.



While there has been much theoretical discussion about this subject, until recently scientists have not been able to physically create such RNA replication systems. However, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/">University of Tokyo</a> has now managed to build an RNA molecule that replicates, diversifies, and develops in complexity, following Darwinian evolution, which is characterized by a self-perpetuating process of incessant change based on mutations and natural selection, enabling different characteristics to emerge, and the ones that were adapted to the environment to survive.



“We found that the single RNA species evolved into a complex replication system: a replicator network comprising five types of RNAs with diverse interactions, supporting the plausibility of a long-envisioned evolutionary transition scenario,” said study lead author Ryo Mizuuchi, an assistant professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tokyo.



“Honestly, we initially doubted that such diverse RNAs could evolve and coexist,” he added. “In Evolutionary Biology, the ‘competitive exclusion principle’ states that more than one species cannot coexist if they are competing for the same resources. This means that the molecules must establish a way to use different resources one after another for sustained diversification. They are just molecules, so we wondered if it were possible for nonliving chemical species to spontaneously develop such innovation.”



The simplicity of Mizuuchi’s molecular replication system, compared to biological organisms, will allow scientists to examine evolutionary phenomena with unprecedented resolution. While there are still many questions left to answer about the origins of life, this study has provided empirically-based insights into a possible evolutionary route that a primitive RNA molecule may have taken on ancient Earth.



“The results could be a clue to solving the ultimate question that human beings have been asking for thousands of years - what are the origins of life?” Professor Mizuuchi concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29113-x">Nature Communications</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

Scientists find new clues about the origins of life

One of the biggest questions in Biology has always dealt...

Social bonds are good for people, and many studies have shown that our relationships with friends and family help us live healthier and longer. However, our knowledge of how social bonds affect stress in non-<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baboons-sacrifice-sleep-to-meet-lifes-daily-demands/">primate</a> species is lacking, especially considering the complex social lives of many animals.&nbsp;&nbsp;



An international team of scientists has attempted to glimpse into the social lives of an incredibly social animal to examine how their relationships, or lack thereof, affect their stress levels.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The researchers studied 95 Asian timber elephants (Elephas maximus) living in Myanmar. Since they are timber elephants, they work with people to move logs out of the forest. However, they spend a lot of time on their own in the forest. Studying elephants with this lifestyle gave the researchers a remarkable opportunity.&nbsp;



Study lead author Dr. Martin Seltmann is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology at the <a href="https://www.utu.fi/en">University of Turku</a>.



"This is a unique research environment and population that allows us to study many elephants living in their natural environment, but at the same time have detailed information about their social lives," said Dr. Seltmann.



The handlers have an intimate understanding of the.elephants' social lives and behavior. They provided insight on whether the elephants preferred to be sociable or to be alone.&nbsp;



The researchers also evaluated the sizes and demographics of the work groups. To measure stress levels, they collected fecal samples and measured glucocorticoid hormones, also known as stress hormones.



"We found, that male elephants show higher levels of stress when they have no friends and when they are in social groups with more males than females," said study co-authors Martin Seltmann and Professor Virpi Lummaa.



"Female elephants show lower levels of stress when babies are present in the social group. The size of the social group is not related to levels of stress hormones in males nor females."&nbsp;



Interestingly, the researchers found that solitary females were not as stressed as predicted. This may be because- although they don't have strong social bonds with other elephants - the females can interact with individuals on a superficial level, which is enough to ease their stress.



Moreover, the results suggest that social bonds are more important for semi-captive male elephants than would be the case in a wild population, where males are typically solitary.&nbsp;



The study helps us understand the social lives of these brilliant animals. The authors hope that this information will be used to create more enriching environments for elephants and other captive animals.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/general-and-comparative-endocrinology">General and Comparative Endocrinology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Social bonds can ease stress among elephants

Social bonds are good for people, and many studies have...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/video/coastal-wetlands-are-threatened-by-salt-water-intrusion/">Wetlands</a> can be hard places to make a living, and life in fragmented forest amidst wetlands may be even harder. Despite the difficulty, the rare Olalla’s titi monkey (Plecturocebus olallae) has found a way to live in the Llanos de Moxos, the largest wetland in the Amazon Basin.&nbsp;



New research from the <a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a> (WCS) may explain how the monkeys can survive in the fragmented and damaged forest of the Llanos de Moxos. The scientists observed two groups of Olalla’s titi monkeys for a year. It seems that the key to their survival might be in their ecological flexibility.&nbsp;



During times of abundance, the monkeys were observed eating fruits and moving around a lot. During the leaner dry season, the monkeys ate less fruit and more leaves, and did not move around as much. They also expanded their diet to include more lichens, seeds and fungi.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Interestingly, the study shows that monkeys with their ecological flexibility have some ability to tolerate changes in their habitat, such as fragmentation caused by deforestation.&nbsp;



"The study illustrates the relevance of understanding primate ecological flexibility in response to food reductions to the development of conservation actions, especially in the light of increasing forest degradation and loss in the study region," said study co-author Rob Wallace, director of WCS's Greater Madidi-Tambopata Landscape Program.



The scientists believe that these monkeys are still threatened by habitat loss and range limitations. It seems that eventually, even flexible monkeys have a breaking point. The monkeys are already critically endangered and endemic to a small area.&nbsp;



"The observed shift in diet toward consuming alternative foods during the fruit lean period and reducing movement instead of expanding ranging behavior to look for higher quality foods suggests that P. olallae follows an energy-area minimizing strategy that may enable these primates to inhabit fragmented forests," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Nevertheless, deforestation and further fragmentation in the range of these endemic and critically endangered primates must be addressed, as they represent significant threats to the severely range-restricted P. olallae populations."



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10764">International Journal of Primatology</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

Monkeys can adapt by changing their diet

Wetlands can be hard places to make a living, and...

The entire genome of a dodo – a three-feet tall flightless <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lead-poisoning-from-hunting-is-killing-europes-most-charismatic-birds/">bird</a> that became extinct in the 17th century – has been sequenced for the first time by a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>. This accomplishment raises hopes that the bird could be soon brought back to life through genetical engineering.



The dodo was discovered in the 16th century on the island of Mauritius. It weighed about 50 pounds (23 kilograms), had a blue-gray plumage, a huge head, stout yellow legs, and small useless wings.



Since it lived in isolation on Mauritius for hundreds of years, the dodo bird seemed to be fearless. Its audacity though, combined with an inability to fly, made it easy prey not only for humans, but also for the cats, dogs, and pigs that they brought with them while exploring the Indian Ocean. Thus, only 64 years after Dutch sailors had first spotted it, the dodo unfortunately became extinct.



Scientists from UC Santa Cruz used DNA from a dodo specimen kept in the <a href="https://snm.ku.dk/english/">Natural History Museum of Denmark</a> and managed to sequence this bird’s entire genome for the first time (the sequencing has not been published yet). However, according to study leader Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary molecular biologist at UC Santa Cruz, it will most likely be very difficult to bring the dodo back to life.



“Mammals are simpler,” Professor Shapiro said. “If I have a cell and it's living in a dish in the lab and I edit it so that it has a bit of dodo DNA, how do I then transform that cell into a whole living, breathing, actual animal? The way we can do this is to clone it, the same approach that was used to create Dolly the Sheep, but we don't know how to do that with birds because of the intricacies of their reproductive pathways.”



“So there needs to be another approach for birds and this is one really fundamental technological hurdle in de-extinction.&nbsp;There are groups working on different approaches for doing that and I have little doubt that we are going to get there but it is an additional hurdle for birds that we don't have for mammals.”



According to&nbsp;Mike Benton, a professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, in order to bring this bird back from extinction, scientists will most likely edit Nicobar pigeon DNA to include dodo DNA, since the two species are very closely related genetically. However, the result may not completely resemble what the flightless bird originally looked like, warned Professor Benton.



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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

Can the dodo bird be brought back from extinction?

The entire genome of a dodo – a three-feet tall...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.emory.edu/home/index.html">Emory University</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-predators-have-outsmarted-monarch-butterflies/">monarch butterflies</a> are increasingly plagued by a debilitating parasite - the protozoan&nbsp;Ophryocystis elektrosirrha (O.E.) – which invades the guts of monarch caterpillars. If the adult butterfly leaves the pupal stage with a severe O.E. infection, it begins oozing fluid from its body and eventually dies. Even the rare butterflies that survive cannot fly well and live shorter than uninfected ones.



The scientists found that the O.E. infection rate has increased from less than one percent of the eastern monarch population in 1968 to as much as ten percent today.&nbsp;



“We’re seeing a significant change in a wildlife population with a parasitism rate steadily rising from almost non-existent to as high as ten percent,” said study first author Ania Majewska, a postdoctoral fellow in Biology at Emory. “It’s a signal that something is not right in the environment and that we need to pay attention.”



According to Dr. Majewska and her colleagues, this rise in infection rates is caused by increased density of monarchs in places where they lay their eggs. The increased density is due to several factors including the loss of wildlife habitat, the widespread planting of exotic, non-native species of milkweed that butterflies gather in massive numbers to feed upon, and people’s raising large monarch colonies in confined spaces.&nbsp;



This rise in parasitism may significantly endanger the mass migration of the monarchs – one of the most spectacular displays in the animal kingdom, involving hundreds of millions of western butterflies traveling hundreds of miles down the Pacific Coast to spend the winter in California, and similar numbers of eastern butterflies flying over 3,000 miles from the U.S.- Canadian border to overwinter in Central Mexico. Moreover, their crucial ecological roles as pollinators or essential food for wasps, ants, and other invertebrate predators are also endangered by this worrisome increase in parasitic infection.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Our findings suggest that tens of millions of eastern monarch butterflies are getting sick and dying each year from these parasites,” said study senior author Jaap de Roode, a professor of Biology at Emory. “If the infection rates keep going up, fewer and fewer monarchs will be able to survive to migrate to their overwintering sites.”



“Ultimately, a continuing rise in the monarch’s parasitic infection rate could cause the species to suffer significantly,” added Dr. Majewska. “If tens of millions of them are dying annually from parasitic infections, then an extreme weather event during the winter in Mexico might reduce the population to a level that could be dangerous for their genetic diversity.”



“Parasitism is often overlooked in conservation efforts, but our findings show how parasites can have a massive impact on wildlife,” concluded Professor de Roode.



The study is published in the <a href="https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Monarch_infection_data/17929721/1">Journal of Animal Ecology</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

Millions of monarch butterflies are killed by parasites yearly

A new study led by Emory University has found that...

Pollen is a well-known airborne allergen that can cause allergic reactions varying from mild itchiness and sneezing right up to serious problems with breathing and anaphylaxis. It is estimated that as many as 60 million people in the USA suffer from seasonal allergies each year. And now, a study from scientists at the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> has suggested that the length and intensity of allergy season will increase dramatically as Earth’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-eruptions-of-the-past-provide-new-clues-about-climate-change/">climate</a> warms.



“Pollen-induced respiratory allergies are getting worse with climate change,” said study first author Yingxiao Zhang. “Our findings can be a starting point for further investigations into the consequence of climate change on pollen and corresponding health effects.”



The scientists considered pollen from 15 different plant species that occur throughout the U.S. and modeled the potential responses of these plants to various climate change scenarios. They investigated the potential impact of increases in temperature and changes in precipitation on the different grasses, weeds and trees.&nbsp;



The production of pollen by many plant species will be affected by a warming climate, which will enable them to start producing pollen earlier than normal and continue for longer. Hotter temperatures can also increase the amount of pollen produced, and even its allergenicity (capacity to cause an allergic reaction).



Initially, the researchers tested their predictive model using historical climate data and known pollen levels for the period 1995 through 2014. They then used their model to predict pollen emissions for the last two decades of the 21st century, under different potential warming conditions.



Their results predict that, by the end of this century, pollen emissions could begin 40 days earlier in the spring than was the case between 1995 and 2014. In addition, misery for allergy sufferers could last longer – an additional 19 days – before high pollen counts subside. This would be the case under the most extreme climate change scenario, but even under the best-case scenario, where global average temperatures rise by only 2.7oF (1.5oC), pollen season will still start 20 days earlier.



In addition, thanks to rising temperatures the emission of pollen could increase by 40 percent. If the model considers the effects of increasing CO2 levels as well, the annual amount of pollen emitted each year could increase by as much as 200 percent.



The experts from Michigan University say that pollen season in the U.S. has already moved earlier in the year over the past three decades.&nbsp;They found that between 1990 and 2018, the start of the pollen season shifted from around Valentine's Day (14 February), to St Patrick's Day (17 March) each year.



Pollen-induced respiratory allergy affects up to 30 percent of the world population, particularly children, and causes large economic losses in terms of medical expenses, missed work and school days, and early deaths.. In the U.S., pollen allergy is particularly difficult for the 25 million Americans with asthma, as it makes symptoms worse.



<a href="https://steiner.engin.umich.edu/research-group/">Allison Steiner</a>, UM professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, said that while allergy suffering will increase across the U.S., the Southeast will get hit hardest. She said the pollen emissions modeling developed by her team could eventually allow for allergy season predictions targeted to different geographical regions.&nbsp;



“We're hoping to include our pollen emissions model within a national air quality forecasting system to provide improved and climate-sensitive forecasts to the public,” said Professor Steiner..



According to the researchers, this study provides an important predictive tool to start investigating the consequences of climate change on future plant communities and their corresponding health effects.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</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

Allergy season will become increasingly  brutal as climate warms

Pollen is a well-known airborne allergen that can cause allergic...

A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> recently looked at volcanic eruptions on Earth for the last 60,000 years. To estimate the number and intensity of these eruptions, the scientists looked at ice cores drilled in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-species-are-arriving-with-ships-in-antarctica/">Antarctica</a> and Greenland. Gases trapped in the ice cores revealed the surprising history of volcanoes.&nbsp;



"We haven't experienced any of history's largest volcanic eruptions. We can see that now. Eyjafjellajökull, which paralyzed European air traffic in 2010, pales in comparison to the eruptions we identified further back in time. Many of these were larger than any eruption over the last 2,500 years," said Anders Svensson of Niels Bohr Institute.



In the span of time examined, the scientists found 85 large global eruptions, 69 of which were more explosive than the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history - Mt. Tambora in Indonesia in 1815. Mt. Tambora caused significant cooling in its wake, along with famine, drought, tsunamis, and the deaths of 80,000 people.&nbsp;



"The new 60,000-year timeline of volcanic eruptions supplies us with better statistics than ever before," said Svensson.



"Now we can see that many more of these great eruptions occurred during the prehistoric Ice Age than in modern times. Because large eruptions are relatively rare, a long timeline is needed to know when they occur. That is what we now have."



Although the history of volcanic eruptions gives us valuable information, the data needed to predict the next major volcanic eruption isn’t forthcoming.&nbsp;



"Three eruptions of the largest known category occurred during the entire period we studied, so-called VEI-8 eruptions (see fact box). So, we can expect more at some point, but we just don't know if that will be in a hundred or a few thousand years. Tambora sized eruptions appears to erupt once or twice every thousand years, so the wait for that may be shorter."



The data does provide some insight into how the climate changed after each eruption, such as how much material in the atmosphere drove what amount of cooling.&nbsp;



"Ice cores contain information about temperatures before and after the eruptions, which allows us to calculate the effect on climate. As large eruptions tell us a lot about how sensitive our planet is to changes in the climate system, they can be useful for climate predictions," explained Svensson.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.climate-of-the-past.net/">Climate of the Past</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

Volcanic eruptions of the past provide new clues about climate change

A team of researchers led by the University of Copenhagen...

The increased use of air conditioning technologies is both a cause and an effect of climate change. Greenhouse gas <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-co2-emissions-reached-unprecedented-highs-in-2021/">emissions</a> from air conditioners are expected to rise as economic growth drives efforts to control both temperature and humidity. While the energy used to power air conditioners has been extensively studied already, the impact from removing air moisture has not yet received proper scientific attention. According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/">National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a> (NREL) and <a href="https://www.parc.com/">Xerox PARC</a>, controlling humidity is in fact responsible for roughly half of the energy-related emissions.



“It’s a challenging problem that people haven’t solved since air conditioners became commonplace more than a half-century ago,” said study co-author Jason Woods, a senior research engineer at NREL. “It's a good and a bad thing. It's good that more people can benefit from improved comfort, but it also means a lot more energy is used, and carbon emissions are increased.”



According to Woods and his colleagues, air conditioning is responsible for the equivalent of 1,950 million tons of carbon dioxide released annually, or 3.94 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Of this figure, 531 million tons arise from energy expended to control the temperature, 599 million tons from removing humidity, and the rest from the leakage of global-warming-causing refrigerants and emissions during the manufacturing and transport of the air conditioning equipment.



The researchers argue that the development of new technologies is necessary in order to limit these emissions. “We’ve already made the existing, century-old technology nearly as efficient as possible,” Woods said. “To get a transformational change in efficiency, we need to look at different approaches without the limitations of the existing one.”



Existing vapor compression technology uses harmful refrigerants to cool the air down long enough to take out its moisture, often over-cooling the air and wasting energy. Improving this technology seems to have reached its theoretical and practical limits, showing the need to develop radically new ways to cool and dehumidify buildings.&nbsp;



According to the scientists, new technology that split the cooling and humidity control problem into two processes may have the potential to improve efficiency by 40 percent or more. Using liquid desiccant-based cooling cycles such as the many liquid desiccant air conditioning technologies that NREL is currently developing could fundamentally change the way humidity is controlled and could reduce cooling-energy emissions by 42 percent in 2050 – the equivalent of avoiding the emissions of 2,460 tons of carbon dioxide annually.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(22)00094-0">Joule</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

Air conditioning is both a cause and effect of climate change

The increased use of air conditioning technologies is both a...

A new study led by the <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/">University of Waterloo</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-is-taking-a-toll-on-the-wine-industry/">wildfire</a> smoke can damage the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/this-years-ozone-hole-is-larger-than-antarctica/">ozone</a> shield – a part of the stratosphere that has a crucial role in absorbing ultraviolet rays from the sun. These results suggest that if major fires become more frequent with a changing climate, more damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun will reach the ground, endangering numerous ecosystems.



The researchers used data from the Canadian Space Agency’s <a href="http://www.ace.uwaterloo.ca/">Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment</a> (ACE) satellite&nbsp;to measure the effects of smoke from the Australian wildfires of 2019 and 2020.&nbsp;



“The ACE satellite is a unique mission with over 18 continuous years of data on atmospheric composition. ACE measures a large collection of molecules to give a better, more complete picture of what is happening in our atmosphere,” said study lead author Peter Bernath, a professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of Waterloo.&nbsp;



“Models can’t reproduce atmospheric smoke chemistry yet, so our measurements provide a unique look at chemistry not seen before.”



Professor Bernath and his colleagues found that the smoke resulting from Australia’s wildfires destroyed atmospheric ozone in the Southern Hemisphere for months. Similar to the holes in the ozone layer over the polar regions, this damage was fortunately temporary, and the ozone levels returned to pre-wildfire levels after the smoke disappeared from the stratosphere. However, an increase in the frequency of wildfires would mean that such events will occur more often.



“The Australian fires injected acidic smoke particles into the stratosphere, disrupting the chlorine, hydrogen, and nitrogen chemistry that regulate ozone,” said Professor Bernath. “This is the first large measurement of the smoke, which shows it converting these ozone-regulating compounds into more reactive compounds that destroy ozone.”&nbsp;



Urgent climate mitigation actions are needed to reduce the frequency and severity of wildfires, and thus to protect our planet and its various ecosystems.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abm5611">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

Wildfire smoke damages the ozone layer

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

Urban areas are home to a large proportion of the world’s population and represent places where environments and ecosystems are altered to suit the needs of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-decide-which-plants-win-or-lose-and-most-are-losing/">humans</a>. Urban environmental change can influence evolutionary processes, such as the ways in which plants and animals adapt to local conditions and selection pressures. Most of the known examples of animal or plant adaptation to urban environments involve a single city, or a few cities in the same region, making it unclear whether species can adapt to urban habitats in similar ways across cities throughout the world.&nbsp;



This would be an example of parallel evolution, where populations evolve in similar ways in response to similar environmental selective pressures in cities all over the world. Urbanization can lead to similar environmental changes across cities, but whether this convergence causes parallel evolution has never been examined at a global scale.



In a study published today in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</a>, 287 scientists from around the world collaborated to test whether a common species of plant, the white clover (Trifolium repens), has undergone similar evolutionary changes in 160 different cities in 26 countries. The Global Urban Evolution Project (GLUE) was led by evolutionary biologists at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, and their report gives the clearest evidence yet that humans can be a dominant force driving evolution.&nbsp;



White clover is a cosmopolitan species that is found in cities and in rural areas all over the world. In addition, it produces hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as a means to deter herbivores that feed on its leaves, and to cope better with water stress. The collaborating scientists tested the levels of HCN produced by white clover plants in cities and in the nearby rural areas, with the premise that herbivory would be less of a selection pressure in cities.&nbsp;



The research found that clover growing in cities was, in fact, less likely to produce HCN than clover growing in nearby rural fields. The probability that a plant produced HCN increased by 44 percent on average from the center of an urban area to the furthest rural population, indicating that there is less pressure from herbivory in cities and more in rural ecosystems.&nbsp;



The results also found that clover growing in a city was more similar to clover in other cities than it was to clover growing in nearby rural fields, despite the fact that genetic exchange between urban and rural populations took place freely. This result indicated repeated adaptation to conditions prevalent in urban environments. Humans change urban environments in many ways, but the reduction in herbivores appears typical of cities everywhere.



“We’ve long known that we’ve changed cities in pretty profound ways and we’ve dramatically altered the environment and ecosystems,” said study co-lead&nbsp;author James Santangelo. “But we just showed this happens, often in similar ways, on a global scale.”



In addition to observing global adaptation by clover plants to living in cities, the researchers also identified the genetic basis of this adaptation. From the more than 110,000 samples of clover collected by the collaborating scientists, 2,500 individual genomes were sequenced and used to assess genetic differentiation between city and rural populations. This has created a massive dataset that will be of use to scientists for years to come.



“This study is a model to understand how humans change the evolution of life around us. Cities are where people live, and this is the most compelling evidence we have that we are altering the evolution of life in them. Beyond ecologists and evolutionary biologists, this is going to be important for society,” said Professor Rob Ness, who co-led the project with Professor Marc Johnson and their PhD student Santangelo.



The study was made possible by the collaboration of several hundred scientists from around the world, something that Johnson refers to as a model for inclusive science. Men and women were equally represented on the team, and it included not just established researchers, but also students at all levels and from all inhabited continents across the world.



“Nearly everyone we asked to collaborate said yes – and that was kind of remarkable, because we were asking people to take on a lot of work,” said Johnson, who coordinated the more than 280 other researchers who participated in the study. “Our collaborators recognized the importance of this project. There has never been a field study of evolution of this scale, or a global study of how urbanization influences evolution. It would have been impossible to do this without our global set of collaborators.”



Now that the potential impact of humans as drivers of evolution in city ecosystems is understood, this can be used to develop strategies to conserve rare species and allow them to adapt to urban environments. It can also help us better understand how to prevent unwanted pests and diseases from adapting to human environments, says Johnson.&nbsp;



“Urbanization is increasingly transforming rural and natural environments into unique ecosystems that Earth’s biodiversity has never experienced, and these changes are altering the evolution of life," concluded the study authors. "If adaptation to urban environments is common, then this could have cascading effects on populations and ecosystems.”&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

Humans change the evolution of life around us

Urban areas are home to a large proportion of the...

According to a new study led by the <a href="https://uiowa.edu/">University of Iowa</a>, disease in the small airways of the lungs is a potential long-lasting effect of <a href="https://daytonews.com/2022/01/30/omicrons-sister-has-arrived-and-covid-may-be-here-to-stay-earth-com/">Covid-19</a>. This condition has often occurred independently of initial infection severity and its long-term consequences are still unknown.



Early reports indicate that over 50 percent of Covid-19 survivors experience post-acute sequelae commonly known as “long Covid.” Nearly 30 percent of patients who had long Covid – including those with initial mild infections – continue to have respiratory symptoms such as cough and dyspnea for a long time after the acute phase of the disease subsides.



A team of researchers and clinicians from the University of Iowa set out to study such long-term effects by enrolling a cohort of 100 adults with confirmed Covid-19 who had remained symptomatic for over 30 days, along with 106 healthy participants in a control group. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-and-the-flu-can-increase-severe-risks-including-death/">Covid </a>survivors, with a median age of 48, included 67 classified as ambulatory, or not requiring hospitalization, 17 who were hospitalized, and 16 who required intensive care during the acute phase of their infection. 



The scientists performed both inspiratory and expiratory CT in these patients. While inspiratory CT (performed after patients inhale) is the standard imaging technique for observing lung tissue, post-exhalation expiratory scans are sometimes needed in order to assess “air trapping,” a condition in which people are not able to empty their lungs completely when they breathe out. Air trapping is found in many obstructive airway diseases, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).



After performing these clinical exams, the researchers found that air trapping was highly prevalent among the long Covid group.&nbsp;



“For the first time, we’re describing small airways disease in this population of Covid-19 patients with persistent symptoms,” said study senior author Dr. Alejandro Comellas, a professor of Internal Medicine at Iowa. “Something is going on in the distal airways related to either inflammation or fibrosis that is giving us a signal of air trapping.”



Dr. Cornellas and his colleagues found that the mean percentage of total lung area affected by air trapping ranged from 25 percent in the ambulatory group to almost 35 percent in the hospitalized group, compared to only 7.2 percent in the control group. This condition persisted in eight of the nine participants who underwent CT scans over 200 days after their initial diagnosis.&nbsp;



The persistence of respiratory abnormalities raises concerns for permanent airway remodeling and fibrosis after SARS-CoV-2 infection and requires further research in order to understand its causes and devise proper treatments.



“If a portion of patients continues to have small airways disease, then we need to think about the mechanisms behind it,” said Dr. Cornellas. “It could be something related to inflammation that’s reversible, or it may be something related to a scar that is irreversible, and then we need to look at ways to prevent further progression of the disease.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/full/10.1148/radiol.212170">Radiology</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

"Long Covid" linked to disease in the lung airways

According to a new study led by the University of...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" 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.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

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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