Many decades ago, a massive star collapsed. A shockwave erupted, tearing the star apart. As this shockwave hit the star’s surface, it created a burst of intense X-rays, ultraviolet light, and a powerful light echo.



This pulse traveled across space, and 350 years later, it reached a vast region of interstellar gas and dust. This explosion lit up the surrounding material, warming it and causing it to glow in infrared light.



Thanks to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are now able to observe this glowing cosmic material in unprecedented detail. 



The infrared light echoes created by this supernova have revealed intricate structures, like the knots and whorls of wood grain. These observations have allowed scientists to map the interstellar medium in 3D for the very first time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-interstellar-gas-and-dust-details">Interstellar gas and dust details</h2>



"We were pretty shocked to see this level of detail," said Jacob Jencson, principal investigator from <a href="https://www.ipac.caltech.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caltech/IPAC</a> in Pasadena. 



The telescope revealed layers of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-dust-may-contain-signs-of-extraterrestrial-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interstellar material</a>, resembling the layers of an onion.



"We think every dense, dusty region that we see, and most of the ones we don’t see, look like this on the inside. We just have never been able to look inside them before," noted Josh Peek of the <a href="https://www.stsci.edu/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Space Telescope Science Institute</a> in Baltimore.



Webb's infrared imaging is allowing scientists to peer into areas of space that were once completely concealed, uncovering a hidden cosmic landscape.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-light-echoes">What are light echoes?</h2>



The light echo phenomenon occurs when a star explodes, sending light into the surrounding clumps of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-storms-can-engulf-the-entire-planet-of-mars-but-how/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interstellar dust</a>. This light then heats up the dust, causing it to glow in an expanding pattern. 



Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/nircam/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NIRCam</a>) has been crucial in studying these light echoes, revealing their intricate expansion over just a few weeks - a remarkably fast evolution for cosmic phenomena.



The researchers have focused on a particular light echo near the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. This light echo comes from background material behind Cassiopeia A, not from the material ejected by the star’s explosion. 



NASA's retired <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spitzer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spitzer Space Telescope</a> first observed this phenomenon, but Webb’s exquisite resolution has provided a far clearer view of these cosmic echoes.



<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="huBQbcgU76-4226095-12187" type="single"]</div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stunning-images-from-webb">Stunning images from Webb</h2>



The most striking features in the Webb images are dense, tightly packed sheets of gas and dust. These filaments appear on scales of about 400 astronomical units - less than one-hundredth of a light-year.



“We did not know that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solar-storm-triggered-stunning-auroras-worldwide-october-11-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interstellar medium</a> had structures on that small of a scale, let alone that it was sheet-like,” said Josh Peek.



These sheet-like structures might be influenced by interstellar magnetic fields. Webb's images also showcase areas resembling knots in wood grain, which could represent magnetic "islands" within the interstellar medium's more uniform magnetic fields.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3d-scan-of-the-cosmos">3D scan of the cosmos</h2>



The data collected from <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Webb</a> are revolutionary. "This is the astronomical equivalent of a medical CT scan," explained Armin Rest of the Space Telescope Science Institute.



"We have three slices taken at three different times, which will allow us to study the true 3D structure. It will completely change the way we study the interstellar medium."



These findings will not only enhance our understanding of the space around us, but they could also change how we approach the study of the universe's most distant and mysterious regions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-opportunities-to-study-light-echoes">Opportunities to study light echoes</h2>



In addition to these spectacular images, the team is planning to conduct spectroscopic observations using Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/mid-infrared-instrument-miri/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIRI</a>). 



"We can observe the same patch of dust before, during, and after it’s illuminated by the echo and try to look for any changes in the compositions or states of the molecules," said Jencson.



Infrared light echoes are rare events that require a unique type of supernova explosion. The upcoming Nancy Grace <a href="https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Roman Space Telescope</a> is expected to provide additional opportunities to study light echoes, potentially offering new insights that Webb can explore in greater detail.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-lasting-legacy-of-webb">The lasting legacy of Webb</h2>



"Even as a star dies, its light endures - echoing across the cosmos. It's been an extraordinary three years since we launched NASA's James Webb Space Telescope," reflected NASA Administrator <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/people/nasa-administrator-bill-nelson/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bill Nelson</a>.



"Every image, every discovery, shows a portrait not only of the majesty of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/international-space-station-observes-something-unknown-55-miles-above-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">universe</a> but the power of the NASA team and the promise of international partnerships.



"What a privilege it has been to oversee this monumental effort, shaped by the tireless dedication of thousands of scientists and engineers around the globe. This latest image beautifully captures the lasting legacy of Webb - a keyhole into the past and a mission that will inspire generations to come."



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (Caltech/IPAC)



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Webb captures the light echoes of an exploding star

Many decades ago, a massive star collapsed. A shockwave erupted, tearing the star apart. As this shockwave hit the star’s surface, it created a burst of intense X-rays, ultraviolet light, and a powerful light echo. This pulse traveled across space, and 350 years later, it reached a vast region of interstellar gas and dust. This explosion lit up the surrounding material, warming it and causing it to glow in infrared light. Thanks to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are now able to observe this glowing cosmic...

Fossils of the dinosaur group known as Stegosauria have been discovered on all continents except Antarctica and Australia, but more than half of the 14 different species unearthed thus far have been found in China. These iconic herbivorous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-dinosaurs-died-in-the-springtime/">dinosaurs</a> with small heads and impressive armored plates and sharp spikes on their bodies roamed the planet during the Middle and Late Jurassic period, about 170 to 145 million years ago.&nbsp;



Stegosaurian fossil finds are rare, and the skeletons are always incomplete, making it difficult to work out how many different species there are, and what evolutionary relationships exist between them.&nbsp;



A team from the Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development in China, and London’s Natural History Museum, have now identified and named a new species, Bashanosaurus primitivus. The remains of the new stegosaur were excavated from a deposit in Chongqing, China. Its scientific name, “Bashan,” refers to the ancient name for the area of Chongqing in China where it was found.



The new species has some unique features that led the paleontologists to place it in a brand new genus. It has a smaller head and less developed shoulder blades, as well as armored plates that are narrower and have thicker bases than other stegosaurians discovered thus far. In addition, the bony point at the end of the Bashanosaurus shoulder blade is small and less well developed than in other stegosaurians, while a bony projection of the thighbone is positioned below the middle of the shaft, and the bases of the armor plates curve outwards and are thicker than the plates on the backs of its later relatives.&nbsp;



Interestingly, it does share some features with the very earliest armored dinosaurs, which date from 20 million years earlier, indicating that it may indeed be an early representative of the Stegosauria. The evolutionary history of this group is not well understood, so the addition of a new species contributes important and valuable knowledge.&nbsp;



“All these features are clues to the stegosaurs’ place on the dinosaur family tree,” said Dr. Dai Hui, who led the research. “Bashanosaurus&nbsp;can be distinguished from&nbsp;other Middle Jurassic stegosaurs, and clearly represents a new species.”



The fossilized remains of the new stegosaurian, which included bones from the back, shoulder, thigh, feet, and ribs, as well as several armor plates, have been dated to the Bajocian stage of the Middle Jurassic period, around 168 million years ago. This is much earlier than most known stegosaurians and can thus cast light on the early evolution of the group.&nbsp;



“Our analysis of the family tree indicates that it is one of the earliest-diverging stegosaurs along with the Chongqing Lizard (Chungkingosaurus) and Huyangosaurus. These were all unearthed from Middle to Late Jurassic Shaximiao Formation in China, suggesting that stegosaurs might have originated in Asia,” said Dr. Hui.



Well-known Stegosauria include&nbsp;Huayangosaurus&nbsp;(one of the most primitive members of the group),&nbsp;Gigantspinosaurus, notable for its enormous shoulder spines, and&nbsp;Miragaia, known&nbsp;for its extremely long neck. However, the fragmentary fossil material has hindered attempts to understand how the stegosaurians evolved and what the evolutionary relationships are between species.



With the discovery of this new species, however, the relationships have become clearer.&nbsp;Bashanosaurus primitivus&nbsp;has several primitive features that are similar to those of the earliest stegosaurians like&nbsp;Huayangosaurus&nbsp;and&nbsp;Gigantspinosaurus,&nbsp;as well as to early representatives of the armored dinosaurs. These features include longer tail vertebrae, a shoulder blade that is narrower and flares out, and features of the back vertebrae that are similar to the early armored dinosaur, Scelidosaurus, which lived during the Early Jurassic period.



“The discovery of this stegosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China adds to an increasing body of evidence that the group evolved in the early Middle Jurassic, or perhaps even in the Early Jurassic, and as such represent some of the earliest known bird-hipped dinosaurs,” said study co-author Dr. Susannah Maidment.



“China seems to have been a hotspot for stegosaur diversity, with numerous species now known from the Middle Jurassic right the way through until the end of the Early Cretaceous period.”



Image Credit: Banana Art Studio



The study is published in the <a href="https://vertpaleo.org/journal-of-vertebrate-paleontology/">Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</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

Fossil from China may be the world’s oldest stegosaur

Fossils of the dinosaur group known as Stegosauria have been...

It’s been long hypothesized that Stonehenge was a solar calendar of sorts. Specific alignments of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-sun-may-be-the-original-source-of-earths-water/">Sun</a> with different stones is suggestive. Now, a new analysis of the famous stone ring reveals exactly how it may have functioned.&nbsp;



“The clear solstitial alignment of Stonehenge has prompted people to suggest that the site included some kind of calendar since the antiquarian William Stukeley,” said Professor Timothy Darvill of Bournemouth University. “Now, discoveries brought the issue into sharper focus and indicate the site was a calendar based on a tropical solar year of 365.25 days.”



According to Darvill’s analysis the calendar was based on what seems to us to be an unusual ten day week. Special stones seem to mark the beginning of each of the twelve months denoted by the circle.&nbsp;



“The proposed calendar works in a very straightforward way. Each of the 30 stones in the sarsen circle represents a day within a month, itself divided into three weeks each of 10 days,” said Professor Darvill.



Although seven day weeks seem natural to most of us, there is a precedence for ten day weeks. They were used in other parts of the world near the time that Stonehenge was built.&nbsp;



“Such a solar calendar was developed in the eastern Mediterranean in the centuries after 3000 BC and was adopted in Egypt as the Civil Calendar around 2700 and was widely used at the start of the Old Kingdom about 2600 BC,” explained Professor Darvill.



Although there isn’t solid evidence of travel between Stonehenge and the Mediterranean or Egypt yet, there is some evidence of distant travel from that time. The “Amesbury Archer,” a bronze age man whose burial was found nearby seems to have been born in the Alps and moved to Britain as a teenager.&nbsp;



Professor Darvill hopes that future research, possibly including DNA analysis will make a link between far flung cultures more clear. Still, his work has already furthered our understanding of Stonehenge.&nbsp;



“Finding a solar calendar represented in the architecture of Stonehenge opens up a whole new way of seeing the monument as a place for the living," said Darvill. "A place where the timing of ceremonies and festivals was connected to the very fabric of the universe and celestial movements in the heavens.”&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://antiquity.ac.uk/">Antiquity</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

New analysis reveals that Stonehenge was a solar calendar

It’s been long hypothesized that Stonehenge was a solar calendar...

In response to the dire circumstances surrounding the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-older-adults-develop-medical-conditions-after-covid-19/">COVID-19</a> pandemic, countries pledged around $13 trillion in stimulus packages to help economic recovery. However, of this large sum of money that could have been used to restructure economies in a more visionary manner, only six percent of it was invested in projects that address climate change issues.&nbsp;



This is the finding of a <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> study, details of which are published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>. The authors analyzed over $13 trillion in COVID-19-related stimulus packages from 19 countries and the European Union, and found that the vast majority of recovery spending didn’t address climate issues at all. Moreover, three percent of the money went to support projects that are likely to increase greenhouse gas emissions.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“These economic recovery packages provided an opportunity for countries, including the United States, to really envision what they want their economies to look like going forward,” said co-author&nbsp;<a href="https://engineering.jhu.edu/ehe/faculty/scot-miller/">Scot Miller</a>, an assistant professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins. “The pandemic could have been an opportunity to push countries toward greener economies and a lot of governments have failed to do so.”



The team of scientists analyzed each nation’s stimulus policy from the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 to well into 2021, identifying the percentage of funds allocated to projects that would lower greenhouse gas emissions, those that would increase them and those that would have no impact. The six percent of recovery funding that did support emission-reducing projects was invested in activities such as the development of electric vehicles and transit infrastructure, building energy efficient homes and offices, and carrying out research into renewable energy.&nbsp;



“Even though this was a public health crisis, in principle governments could have intervened in the economy in a way that changed everything, getting together to do something really big to meet the climate challenge,” said lead author&nbsp;<a href="https://sais.jhu.edu/users/jnahm1">Jonas Nahm</a>, assistant professor of energy, resources, and environment at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies. “But the vast majority of the money spent has very tenuous relations to emissions so it was, overall, very disappointing.”



The team found that of green stimulus measures, only about 27 percent would directly reduce greenhouse emissions. The remaining approximately 72 percent would have only an indirect impact; these included projects like subsidies for biofuel producers in Brazil, or funding in Germany to aid the construction of electric vehicle charging stations.



South Korea and the European Union each devoted 30 percent of their stimulus money to funding green projects, while Brazil, Germany and Italy invested more than 20 percent. France spent ten percent of its recovery money on green projects, but the majority of countries, including the United States, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom, paid almost no attention to climate-related projects and spent less than five percent of their stimulus packages in this area.&nbsp;



Governments clearly did not prioritize climate protection over economic growth in the attempts to recover from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is common during economic downturns, the authors say, yet stimulus spending during recessions offers an opportunity to combine climate and economic objectives. In the aftermath of the 2009 recession, for instance, 16% of global stimulus spending targeted emissions-reducing activities.



The trillions of dollars pledged by countries around the world to stimulate economic recovery were spent, instead, mainly on unconditional checks issued to individuals and businesses. They could have been invested in technology, infrastructure, and research and development to meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, creating jobs and economic recovery along the way.&nbsp; Signatories to the Agreement have 2030 deadlines to meet concerning interim emissions goals, and recovery funding could have been used to support their attempts to reach these targets.&nbsp;



“If there was ever an opportunity to tie economic recovery with these climate goals that are drawing closer by the day, this would have been the time to do it,” Miller said. “In the months and years ahead, we shouldn’t forget about climate and greenhouse gas emissions goals when devising economic recovery measures. These 2030 climate goals are coming faster and sooner than we think and we can’t put off thinking about climate change until the pandemic is over.”



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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

Pandemic stimulus funding could have been used to address climate crisis

In response to the dire circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic,...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomato-fruit-warns-the-rest-of-the-plant-when-attacked/">Tomatoes</a> have been domesticated by native American cultures thousands of years ago. However, since very few tomato archaeological remains have been found, the precise history of this plant’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cat-brains-shrank-in-size-as-they-became-domesticated/">domestication</a> remains a mystery. While some scientists claim that the domestication occurred in Mesoamerica, the region comprising Mexico and Central America, others argue that this process happened in Peru and Ecuador. 



By analyzing the whole genome of 628 wild and cultivated tomato plants, a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.upv.es/en/">Polytechnic University of Valencia</a> in Spain has discovered that the history of the American tomato is more complex than initially thought.



The genomic analyses revealed that, while most of the contemporary cultivated tomato is very similar to the wild Mesoamerican plants (Solanum lycopersicum&nbsp;var.&nbsp;cerasiforme), wild Ecuadorian and Peruvian species (S. pimpinellifolium) have also been involved in its domestication.



According to the scientists, the domestication process started with the Mesoamerican materials, which migrated southward to a region located between the foot of the Andes and the Amazonian <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-in-the-amazon-rainforest-hits-new-records/">rainforest</a> in Peru and Ecuador called Ceja de Montaña. This initial migration was probably fast and most likely due to the emergence of commercial relationships between different Mesoamerican and Ecuadorian and Peruvian cultures.



More recently though, some of these plants, very similar to the ones still grown in Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador, migrated back to Mexico. Surprisingly, the vintage Yucatan tomatoes are more similar to the ones found in&nbsp;Ceja de Montaña than to their wild counterparts found in Mexico, suggesting that some wild tomatoes migrated southward and, then, went back as cultivated.



These voyages would change the tomato forever. Growers from&nbsp;Ceja de Montaña did not use pure Mesoamerican plants, but rather admixtures created by crossing the newly arrived plants with wild varieties from coastal Peru and Ecuador. This hybridization between Mesoamerican and Ecuatorial plants was necessary for the adaptation of northern tomatoes to the climate and latitude of Ecuador.



These complex movements between Mesoamerican and Ecuatorial territories were only the beginning of the tomato’s trip around the world. After being introduced in Europe in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadores, many more different genetic varieties were and continue to be created according to various people’s needs, uses, and tastes. From a secondary crop used mainly to prepare sauces by some Mesoamerican populations, the tomato spread around the world and became one of the most famous and widely consumed vegetable.



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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

Tomato domestication was more complex than previously thought

Tomatoes have been domesticated by native American cultures thousands of...

An international team of archaeologists led by the <a href="https://www.shh.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History</a> and the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> has recently discovered an innovative 40,000-year-old culture in a well-preserved Paleolithic site in northern China. This previously unidentified set of cultural innovations found at the site of Xiambei in the Nihewan Basin consists of a set of distinct blade-like stone tools, together with the earliest known evidence of ochre processing in Eastern Asia.



“One main layer of the site contains the earliest known ochre-processing feature in East Asia, a distinctive&nbsp;miniaturized stone tool assemblage with bladelet-like tools bearing traces of hafting, and a bone tool,” reported study lead author Dr. Shixia Yang, a researcher at the Max Plank Institute and the Chinese Academy.



By using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to establish the chronology of a 290-cm-deep section of the site, the researchers found that the main cultural layer discovered at Xiambei is 41,000 to 39,000 years old. Although no hominin remains were found at Xiambei, the presence of modern human fossils at sites located nearby suggests that the visitors to Xiambei were probably Homo sapiens, although genetic and cultural exchanges with archaic groups of Denisovans or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetic-variant-linked-to-both-covid-risk-and-hiv-protection/">Neanderthals</a> are not excluded.



According to the scientists, the different types of ochre found at this site were brought to Xiambei and processed through pounding and abrasion to produce powders of different color and consistency. Some of the blade-like stone tools showed clear evidence of hafting to a handle, with functional and residue analysis suggesting that they were used for boring, hide scraping, whittling plant material, and cutting soft animal matter. These hafted, multipurpose tools are evidence of a complex technical system for transforming raw materials not seen at older or slightly younger archeological sites.



“The ability of hominins to live in northern latitudes, with cold and highly seasonal environments, was likely facilitated by the evolution of culture in the form of economic, social, and symbolic adaptations,” said Dr. Yang. “The finds at Xiamabei are helping us to understand these adaptations and their potential role in human migration.”



According to Dr. Yang and her colleagues, the record emerging from Eastern Asia shows that a variety of adaptations were taking place as modern humans entered the region 40,000 years ago that challenge previous ideas of continuous cultural innovation and the existence of a fully formed set of adaptations that enabled early humans to expand from Africa all over the globe.



“Our findings show that current evolutionary scenarios are too simple,” said study co-author Michael Petraglia, a professor of Human Evolution and Prehistory at the Max Planck Institute. “Modern humans, and our culture, emerged through repeated but differing episodes of genetic and social exchanges over large geographic areas, rather than as a single, rapid dispersal wave across Asia,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04445-2">Nature</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

Evidence of innovative 40,000-year-old culture found in China

An international team of archaeologists led by the Max Planck...

Farming insects for food and for animal feed is set to take off in the near future, according to the authors of an Opinion piece published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/plant-science/home">Trends in Plant Science</a>. The experts point out that the EU has recently authorized the incorporation of insects into pig and poultry feed, and that this will support the newly developing practice of insect farming. 



Insects provide an excellent source of readily available protein and, unlike the situation with mammal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scavengers-protect-livestock-from-infectious-disease/">livestock</a>, the whole insect body is edible. In addition, the farming of insects gives rise to a steady supply of waste products that can be used to fertilize soils and improve crop growth.



In the publication, researchers including Marcel Dicke of Wageningen University discuss the many potential benefits of using the waste from insect production in circular farming practices to promote sustainable agriculture. The authors argue this approach could enhance plant growth, health, pollination, and resilience.



Waste comes in two main forms; there are the exuviae (molted exoskeletons or skins), and the frass, which is insect feces mixed with uneaten food. Both substances are rich in nutrients and could form an important organic fertilizer, especially these days as the use of inorganic fertilizers becomes more and more restricted. Frass is rich in nitrogen, an element that is required for plant growth, but that is often in short supply in the soil. And exuviae contain chitin, an amino-sugar polysaccharide that is indigestible for most animals but can be broken down by bacteria.&nbsp;



“There is a set of bacteria that can metabolize chitin, and those microbes help plants to be more resilient to diseases and pests,” explained Dicke. “When exuviae are added to soil, the populations of those beneficial bacteria increase.”



The scientists propose that by adding waste from insect farming to the soil, the microbial populations in the soil could be enhanced. Microbes are very beneficial for plant growth and modern agricultural practices often include inoculating soils with specific types of soil bacteria that improve crop growth, resistance to disease and herbivory, and tolerance of abiotic conditions. Enhancing soil microbes is seen as an attractive alternative to using agrochemicals.



However, inoculating soil with microbes is not always a successful practice. The authors of the paper suggest, instead, that enriching the soil with organic waste from insect farming will encourage the development of the important microbes anyway. They propose that insect “livestock” could be fed waste from crops, such as offcut leaves and stems. The insects would form food for people or for livestock, such as poultry or pigs, and their waste could be introduced into the soil as an organic fertilizer, to enhance the growth of the crops. This type of circular farming leads to almost no wastage.&nbsp;



Insects are very efficient to farm, especially when compared with more traditional livestock. It takes roughly 25 kilograms of grass to produce one kilogram of beef. The same amount of grass can produce ten times as much edible insect protein. This is because insects are more efficient at converting their food into body mass, and also because up to 90 percent of an insect’s body mass is edible, as opposed to only 40 percent of a cow.



The team’s research showed that beneficial soil bacteria, derived from the enrichment of the soil with insect waste, can boost plant growth and also cause changes in plant physiology, attract mutualistic insects such as pollinators and natural enemies, and suppress insect pests on crop plants. They stress that further studies on the effects of insect waste on plant production are needed because these interactions are complex and dynamic but potentially extremely useful.&nbsp;



Currently, several different species of insects are farmed for use as both human food and livestock feed. These include yellow mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), lesser meal-worms (Alphitobius diaperinus), house crickets (Acheta domesticus), black soldierflies (Hermetiaillucens), and houseflies (Musca domestica).&nbsp;



“I have eaten crickets, mealworms, and locusts,” said Dicke. “Many people in in our part of the world need to get used to eating insects, but I can tell you that I've eaten many other insect species around the globe, and I've always had a wonderful meal on them.”



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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

Insect farming could have huge benefits for crop production

Farming insects for food and for animal feed is set...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Exposure to green space reduces oxidative stress in children

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Solar panels used to grow plants in the desert

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Extinct Ice Age animals join the metaverse

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Exercise literally becomes harder when you don't do it

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

River canyon shows that tropical locations can be erosion hotspots

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Primates sacrifice sleep to meet life's daily demands

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

[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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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"

[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...