Astronomers have been captivated by the unusual activities of the supermassive black hole 1ES 1927+654. Located about 100 million light-years away, this particular black hole has a mass that is equivalent to roughly one million Suns.&nbsp;



Initially, in 2018, researchers witnessed a striking event when the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-black-holes-become-supermassive/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">black hole</a>'s corona - a cloud of whirling, white-hot plasma - vanished unexpectedly, only to reassemble months later. 



This dramatic "shut-off" was a first in the study of black holes, setting the stage for further intriguing events.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-x-ray-flashes-from-a-black-hole">X-ray flashes from a black hole</h2>



More recently, the same black hole has displayed another baffling phenomenon. Over a span of two years, astronomers detected <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/understanding-x-ray-radiation-that-spews-out-of-black-holes-surroundings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">X-ray</a> flashes from 1ES 1927+654 that increased in frequency from one flash every 18 minutes to one every seven minutes. This dramatic speed-up in X-ray oscillations is unprecedented for black holes.



The research team explored various explanations for these flashes and leaned toward a scenario involving a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hungry-white-dwarf-stars-eat-heavy-metals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">white dwarf</a>.&nbsp;



They propose that a spinning, compact core of a dead star - a white dwarf - is orbiting dangerously close to the black hole's event horizon.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-white-dwarf-hypothesis">The white dwarf hypothesis</h2>



This white dwarf appears to be approaching the boundary where nothing can escape the black hole's gravitational pull while remarkably avoiding being consumed.



“This would be the closest thing that we know of around any black hole,” said lead author Megan Masterson, a graduate student in physics at <a href="https://www.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIT</a>. “This tells us that objects like white dwarfs may be able to live very close to an event horizon for a relatively extended period of time.”&nbsp;



The scientists suggest that the white dwarf, estimated to be about one-tenth the mass of the Sun, is engaged in a precarious orbit around 1ES 1927+654. Its intense proximity is inferred from the observed X-ray variability, which points to processes occurring near the black hole's edge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flashes-from-a-death-defying-star">Flashes from a death-defying star</h2>



As the white dwarf orbits, it would emit <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gravitational-waves-dark-matter-big-bang-breakthrough/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gravitational waves</a>, drawing it ever closer to the black hole. This tightening orbit would naturally lead to an increase in the frequency of X-ray flashes. 



Remarkably, the white dwarf may not actually fall into the black hole despite its close approach.&nbsp;



The researchers theorize that as the white dwarf sheds part of its outer layers, this process provides a counteracting force that prevents the star from crossing the point of no return.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gravitational-waves-and-future-observations">Gravitational waves and future observations</h2>



If the white dwarf scenario is correct, the system is expected to emit gravitational waves at frequencies detectable by instruments like NASA’s upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA).&nbsp;



“These new detectors are designed to detect oscillations on the scale of minutes, so this black hole system is in that sweet spot,” said Erin Kara, an associate professor of physics at MIT and co-author of the study. 



The detection of such gravitational waves would offer a new way to study the extreme physics near black holes and confirm the presence of the white dwarf.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dramatic-variability-in-the-black-hole-flashes">Dramatic variability in the black hole flashes</h2>



Researchers have never before observed such dramatic variability in the X-ray emissions of a supermassive black hole.&nbsp;



“We’ve never seen this dramatic variability in the rate at which it’s flashing,” Masterson said. 



The frequent and escalating X-ray pulses suggest that the phenomenon is occurring very close to the black hole, where high-energy processes dominate and where objects must move at incredible speeds due to strong gravitational forces.



The team examined data from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Space Agency</a>’s XMM-Newton observatory, which specializes in capturing X-ray emissions. 



The discovery of quasi-periodic oscillations in the X-ray light from this black hole indicates that the source of these emissions is likely in the innermost regions near the event horizon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-extreme-environments-near-supermassive-black-holes">Extreme environments near supermassive black holes</h2>



While one possible explanation for the X-ray patterns was oscillations in the black hole’s corona, the team currently favors the white dwarf hypothesis due to a better grasp of the underlying physics.&nbsp;



The researchers plan to continue monitoring 1ES 1927+654 with current telescopes and prepare for future observations using LISA.



Masterson emphasized the need for continuous observation. “The one thing I’ve learned with this source is to never stop looking at it because it will probably teach us something new.”&nbsp;



As gravitational wave detectors are built, they may capture signals from this extraordinary system, providing deeper insights into the extreme environments near black holes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-the-physics-of-black-holes">Understanding the physics of black holes </h2>



The behavior of 1ES 1927+654 offers a rare opportunity to study the dynamics of objects in extreme gravitational fields. 



If a white dwarf is indeed orbiting close to the event horizon, this system will serve as a unique laboratory for understanding how matter behaves under such intense conditions.&nbsp;



The increasing frequency of X-ray flashes and the potential detection of gravitational waves could revolutionize our understanding of black hole physics and the life cycles of compact objects in their vicinity.



A preprint of the article - which has been accepted by the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> - has been published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2501.01581" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arXiv</a> database.



Image Credit: Aurore Simonnet/Sonoma State University



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Mysterious x-ray flashes are accelerating in a black hole

Astronomers have been captivated by the unusual activities of the supermassive black hole 1ES 1927+654. Located about 100 million light-years away, this particular black hole has a mass that is equivalent to roughly one million Suns.&nbsp; Initially, in 2018, researchers witnessed a striking event when the black hole's corona - a cloud of whirling, white-hot plasma - vanished unexpectedly, only to reassemble months later. This dramatic "shut-off" was a first in the study of black holes, setting the stage for further intriguing events. X-ray flashes from a...

Climate change action must be taken immediately if we want Earth to remain habitable. This is the implication of a grim new report released today by the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> (IPCC).



The report states that human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks.



“The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human well-being and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future,” said IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Hans-Otto Pörtner.



“This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction,” said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. “It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our well-being and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”



Extreme weather events, including heatwaves, droughts and floods, are happening much more frequently - and often simultaneously. The experts say that the cascading impacts are becoming increasingly difficult to manage. 



For example, heat and drought have already driven mass mortality events in species such as trees and corals. Weather extremes have also caused widespread food and water shortages in places like Africa and Asia. The experts say that the people and ecosystems that are least able to cope are already taking the hardest hit.



Reinhard Mechler is the <a href="http://iiasa.ac.at/">IIASA</a> Systemic Risk and Resilience Research Group Leader and a lead author on Chapter 17 of the report, which focuses on decision-making options for managing risk



“The cumulative scientific evidence of this report is indisputable: climate change is a threat to human well-being and the health of the planet. This report builds on the messages of previous IPCC reports, showing that climate impacts and risks are proliferating at specific levels of global warming," said Mechler.



"While action on adaptation (and mitigation) is being taken across the world, there are growing gaps with regard to avoiding and reducing risks, as well as dealing with unavoided and unavoidable impacts and risks."



According to Mechler, adaptation limits will soon be reached in both natural and human systems without urgent action. "The 1.5°C global ambition on climate mitigation is real: beyond this warming level, impacts and risks will become increasingly existential and irreversible."



The experts emphasized that safeguarding and strengthening nature is key to securing a liveable future. The report provides new insights into nature’s potential to not only reduce climate risks, but to also improve people's lives.



“Healthy ecosystems are more resilient to climate change and provide life-critical services such as food and clean water," said Pörtner. “By restoring degraded ecosystems and effectively and equitably conserving 30 to 50 percent of Earth’s land, freshwater and ocean habitats, society can benefit from nature’s capacity to absorb and store carbon, and we can accelerate progress towards sustainable development, but adequate finance and political support are essential.”



The experts note that while cities are hotspots of impacts and risks, they are also a crucial part of the solution.&nbsp;



“Together, growing urbanization and climate change create complex risks, especially for those cities that already experience poorly planned urban growth, high levels of poverty and unemployment, and a lack of basic services,” said IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Debra Roberts.



“But cities also provide opportunities for climate action – green buildings, reliable supplies of clean water and renewable energy, and sustainable transport systems that connect urban and rural areas can all lead to a more inclusive, fairer society.”



The IPCC report states that building climate resiliency is already challenging at current warming levels, but will become much more limited if global warming exceeds 1.5°C. In some regions, resilience will become impossible if global warming exceeds 2°C. This highlights the urgent need for climate change adaptation and emissions reductions.



“Action on climate change is inextricably linked to action on other global challenges. It is important to note that pursuing climate resilience development pathways will also create opportunities - rapid urban growth, for instance, presents a time-limited opportunity to achieve climate resilient and sustainable development. The benefits would be felt in more rural areas as well through stronger supply chains and financial flows,” said Mechler.&nbsp;



“A healthy planet is fundamental to climate resilient development. Biodiversity and ecosystem services have limited capacity to adapt to increasing global warming levels, which will make climate resilient development progressively harder to achieve beyond 1.5°C warming. Maintaining the resilience of biodiversity and ecosystem services at a global scale depends on effective and equitable conservation of approximately 30 to 50 percent of Earth’s land, freshwater, and ocean areas, including currently near-natural ecosystems."



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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

IPCC report: window to secure a liveable future is rapidly closing

Climate change action must be taken immediately if we want...

Each year, pregnant elephant seals travel over 10,000 kilometers across the Eastern North Pacific Ocean before returning to their breeding beaches to give birth (in about five days after their arrival). A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California Santa Cruz</a> has found that this 240-days trek is possible due to the animals’ impressive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/howler-monkeys-use-mental-maps-for-route-navigation/">navigation</a> abilities depending upon an internal map sense that functions much like an in-built GPS system.



“We found that migrating elephant seals know how far they are from their breeding beach thousands of kilometers away. They also know approximately how long it will take them to get back,” said study lead author Roxanne Beltran, a postdoctoral researcher in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz.



Although scientists have long known that elephant seals are expert navigators, how the seals managed to make it back to the beach just in time for the breeding season remained a mystery. By using satellite tracking data collected from over 100 adult female seals, Dr. Beltran and her colleagues discovered that elephant seals can adjust the timing of their travels based on a complex internal perception of space and time.



The data suggested that seals decided to turn around based on how far they were from the breeding beaches. According to the researchers, these decisions were not related to their body condition, measured as amount of body fat.



“We were surprised that foraging success or percent body fat was not more strongly related to when seals begin the return portion of the migration,” Beltran said. “We expected that highly successful (i.e. fatter) seals might end their foraging trips earlier, but that was not the case; instead, it seems like they are well programmed to turn around strategically based on where they are and in turn how long it will take them to get back.”&nbsp;



Further research is needed to find out what sensory cues the elephant seals depend on to keep track of where they are and to decide to head in the right direction at the right time. Clarifying these issues will help scientists better understand elephant seals and devise more efficient strategies of conservation.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.031">Current Biology</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

Elephant seals have impressive navigation abilities

Each year, pregnant elephant seals travel over 10,000 kilometers across...

A research team from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> in the UK and the<a href="https://www.unl.pt/en"> Nova University Lisbon</a> in Portugal has recently developed an efficient method to turn carbon dioxide into clean, sustainable fuels without any unwanted products or waste. The results demonstrate that polluting carbon <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lower-emissions-needed-to-save-the-winter-season/">emissions</a> can be turned into clean fuels efficiently without any wasted energy.



Most methods for converting CO2&nbsp;into fuels also produce unwanted by-products such as hydrogen.&nbsp;Although chemical conditions can be altered in order to minimize the production of hydrogen, this process reduces the performance for CO2 conversion. Thus, cleaner fuel can be produced, but only at the cost of efficiency.&nbsp;



The newly developed proof of concept relies on enzymes isolated from bacteria to power electrolysis – the chemical reactions that convert CO2 into fuel. While enzymes are more efficient than other catalysts, such as gold, they are highly sensitive to local chemical environments.&nbsp;



By fine-tuning the solution conditions to alter the local environment of the enzymes, the researchers managed to improve fuel production efficiency by 18 times, compared to previous attempts. Moreover, adding an extra enzyme to control the environment, they sped up the reactions, both increasing efficiency and reducing unwanted by-products.



“We ended up with just the fuel we wanted, with no side-products and only marginal energy losses, producing clean fuels at maximum efficiency,” said first author of the&nbsp;Nature Chemistry&nbsp;paper Dr. Sam Cobb, an expert in Electrochemistry and Bioelectrocatalysis at the University of Cambridge. “By taking our inspiration from biology, it will help us develop better synthetic catalyst systems, which is what we’ll need if we’re going to deploy CO2&nbsp;electrolysis at a large scale.”



“Once you manage to make better catalysts, many of the problems with CO2&nbsp;electrolysis just disappear. We’re showing the scientific community that once we can produce catalysts of the future, we’ll be able to do away with many of the compromises currently being made, since what we learn from enzymes can be transferred to synthetic catalysts,” he added.



Such processes will play a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions. Instead of capturing and storing carbon dioxide – a highly energy-intensive endeavor – electrolysis can capture carbon and transform it into something useful, in an energy-efficient way.



“In future we want to use what we have learned to tackle some challenging problems that the current state-of-the-art catalysts struggle with, such as using CO2&nbsp;straight from air as these are conditions where the properties of enzymes as ideal catalysts can really shine,” concluded Dr. Cobb.



The research is published in two related papers in&nbsp;<a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41557-021-00880-2&amp;data=04%7C01%7Csc604%40cam.ac.uk%7C2771a0b447d24f77510208d9f5f49584%7C49a50445bdfa4b79ade3547b4f3986e9%7C0%7C0%7C637811253085182436%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=USovubW3qeD3PbJiuICCFeKasVHE0acKShxXNWitkH8%3D&amp;reserved=0">Nature Chemistry</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/119/4/e2114097119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> (PNAS).



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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

Carbon emissions can be turned into clean fuels

A research team from the University of Cambridge in the...

Canada’s drug regulator <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada.html">Health Canada</a> has recently approved a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-based-covid-vaccine-is-safe-and-effective/">plant-based coronavirus vaccine</a> developed by the Quebec City-based company <a href="https://medicago.com/en/">Medicago</a> in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/home/">GlaxoSmithKline</a>&nbsp;(GSK). 



According to the health regulators, clinical trials had shown that the two-dose Covifenz vaccine was 71 percent effective against infection. However, since the trials took place before the emergence of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-is-surging-but-may-cause-less-severe-illness/">Omicron</a> variant, it is not yet clear how the vaccine fares against this particular strain. This is the second non-mRNA vaccine approved in Canada, after the protein-based vaccine developed by Novavax, a medical company from Maryland.



Covifenz is based on proteins resembling the coronavirus that are produced by a plant similar to tobacco, and is administered intramuscularly together with an adjuvant produced by GSK that helps rev up the immune system. Health Canada recommended the use of this vaccine to individuals 18 to 64 years of age in two doses given 21 days apart.



This vaccine can be stored at normal refrigerator conditions, between two and eight degrees Celsius. One of the most common side effects identified during the clinical trials was arm soreness, which is likely caused by the GSK adjuvant. Although other minor side effects such as chills, fatigue, joint and muscle aches, headaches, or nausea have also been identified, Covifenz appears to cause less cases of fever or flu-like systemic symptoms than other vaccines.



“The approval of our COVID-19 vaccine is a significant milestone for Canada in the fight against the pandemic. We appreciate Health Canada’s timely review,” said Takashi Nagao, president and CEO at Medicago. “We’re also grateful for the Government of Canada’s support in the development of this new vaccine, and we are manufacturing doses to start fulfilling its order.”



“This first approval is an important milestone in our approach of pairing GSK’s well-established pandemic adjuvant with promising antigens to develop protein-based, refrigerator-stable COVID-19 vaccines to help protect people against COVID-19 disease,” added Roger Connor, president of GSK Vaccines.



Last year, the Canadian government agreed to buy 76 million doses of Covifenz. However, since 82 percent of Canadians over the age of five are already vaccinated, many of these doses will probably be sent to other countries.



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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

Canada’s plant-based vaccine is finally approved

Canada’s drug regulator Health Canada has recently approved a plant-based...

Since the beginning of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetic-variant-linked-to-both-covid-risk-and-hiv-protection/">COVID-19</a> pandemic, cleaning products have become more widely and frequently used, particularly in indoor settings. According to a new study led by <a href="https://www.indiana.edu/">Indiana University Bloomington</a>, commercial disinfectants can significantly affect indoor air quality and health, particularly for workers who are repeatedly exposed to these chemical products.



The scientists have found that a group of molecules called “monoterpenes,” which are commonly added to cleaners and furniture polish to help remove oil and grease, can easily react with ozone – an outdoor pollutant which is the main ingredient of smog. When ozone enters buildings, it can turn monoterpenes into peroxides, alcohols, and other molecules which grow into airborne particles that can lodge into people’s lungs, irritating cells and, at high enough exposure, leading to health issues such as asthma.



In order to investigate in a realistic setting what happens with airborne reactions during a typical floor cleaning, scientists brought their lab instruments into a room with an air volume of 50 cubic meters, mopped the floor with a terpene-based cleaner, and monitored the molecules and particles as they reacted over the next 90 minutes.



By using a standard computer model, the researchers calculated how many dangerous nanoparticles would a person inhale during mopping. The result was staggering: during and after a simple cleaning procedure, an average person would breathe in about one billion to ten billion nanoparticles each minute – the equivalent to vehicle traffic on a busy street in a typical U.S. or European city.



Moreover, the researchers also detected short-lived molecules called radicals, such as hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl, which are known to drive chemical reactions that usually create particles outdoors. These findings suggest they can also form indoors, from reactions between monoterpenes and ozone. “The rate at which it occurs indoors is surprising,” said study co-author Colleen Rosales, a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a>.



“I was absolutely amazed that mopping produced potentially harmful aerosols at similar rates to those generated by traffic on a busy street,” commented Nicola Carslaw, a professor of Indoor Air Chemistry of the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a> who was not involved in the study. “The people who should be paying particular attention to this paper are NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,” added Genn Morrison, an environmental scientist at the <a href="https://www.unc.edu/">University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill</a>. “There is a lot of particle formation during these cleaning events, even under conditions that we would consider very normal.”



Keeping ozone levels below one part per billion by reducing ventilation or using activated carbon air filters would help diminish the formation of these dangerous particles. So would avoiding cleaning products containing monoterpenes, or cleaning in the morning or evening, when ozone levels are lower.&nbsp;



Unfortunately, current regulations for the design and operation of buildings, and the use of various chemicals during cleaning processes, are rather scarce and fail to adequately protect the health of cleaning workers. This study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj9156">Science Advances</a>, can be an important step forward in solving these problems.



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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

Cleaning products can damage our health

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, cleaning products have...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/119/9/e2116435119#xref-ref-2-1">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> describes a genetic risk factor for severe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-is-still-circulating-widely-through-animal-populations/">COVID-19</a> that some humans seem to have inherited from the Neanderthals - a prehistoric population of hominids that lived in Eurasia between 200,000 and 35,000 years ago. The experts report that this particular genetic variant may offer a certain degree of protection against HIV and possibly other infectious diseases.



According to study author Hugo Zeberg, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/index/">Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a>, this major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 – located on chromosome 3 in a genomic region encompassing a gene cluster encoding chemokine receptors – has been introduced into modern human populations through gene flow from Neandertals 50,000 to 70,000 years ago. While there was no clear evidence why this genetic variant was adaptive, it has nevertheless increased in frequency over time and is unusually common today, with 16 percent of Europeans, and 50 percent of South Asians carrying it in their genomes.



In a previous <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/9/e2026309118">study</a> published in 2021, Professor Zeberg and Professor Svante Pääbo, a colleague from the Max Plank Institute, have found that hospitalized COVID-19 patients presenting this genetic variant were 70 percent more likely to develop a severe form of the disease. But why would such a dangerous DNA variant persist for such a long time and spread so widely in human populations?



“This major genetic risk factor for COVID-19 is so common that I started wondering whether it might actually be good for something, such as providing protection against another infectious disease,” Professor Zeberg said.



Further analyses revealed that people who carried this genetic risk factor for COVID-19 had fewer CCR5 receptors, which are known to be used by another virus to infiltrate into and infect white blood cells: the notorious human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).&nbsp;By analyzing patient data from three major biobanks (FinnGen, UK Biobank, and the Michigan Genomic Initiative), Professor Zeberg discovered that carriers of the risk variant for COVID-19 had a 27 percent lower risk of contracting HIV.&nbsp;



“This shows how a genetic variant can be both good and bad news: Bad news if a person contracts COVID-19, good news because it offers protection against getting infected with HIV,” he said.



However, since HIV emerged only in the 20th century in human populations, protection against AIDS cannot be an explanatory factor for why this genetic variant persisted through natural selection for so long. “Now we know that this risk variant for COVID-19 provides protection against HIV. But it was probably protection against yet another disease that increased its frequency after the last ice age,” Professor Zeberg concluded.



Further research is needed to find out which other diseases may be modulated by this genetic variant and in what ways (smallpox seems to be a possibility, though further data is needed). Clarifying this might offer new therapeutic pathways in the case of already established human diseases, and perhaps even against pathogens that may emerge in the future and cause massive outbreaks.



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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

Genetic variant linked to both Covid risk and HIV protection

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

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pomegranates-contain-an-anti-aging-substance/">Aging</a> is considered to be a biological process that is subject to metabolic control. Not everyone ages in the same way, and the reasons for this are not yet clear, even though the process has been intensely investigated by those seeking to understand it better.&nbsp; A team of scientists in the&nbsp;Department of Biological Sciences at <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a> has now published a landmark study showing that a botanical extract can extend longevity in roundworms by improving their metabolic health.&nbsp;



Although the roundworms (Caenorhabditis elegans) may not appear to have much in common with humans, the investigation supports the results of previous work involving mice, which was conducted at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center under Professor Jacqueline Stephens.&nbsp;



“The reason this study made so much sense to do in worms is because worms live for only about three weeks, so in a month or two, we had definite results,” said Bhaswati Ghosh, LSU student and lead author of the recently published study.



Both the initial study on mice, and the current study on C. elegans, investigated how the consumption of Artemisia scoparia (an extract named SCO) affected the laboratory organisms. Commonly known as wormwood, A. scoparia is an aromatic herb that is widely distributed across Asia. It is a member of the sunflower family, and an important plant in traditional Chinese medicine. It is known to have many bioactive constituents, including flavonoids, coumarins, phenolic acids and terpenoids.&nbsp;



In the lab of Professor Adam Bohnert, the researchers made an extract from the plant’s leaves and fed worms with this in various doses. They found that the worms fed the highest, and second-highest doses, showed immediate improvement in their metabolic health. They showed heightened levels of unsaturated fat, rather than accumulating saturated fat, which is not as healthy. The treated worms lived 40 percent longer than the untreated worms.&nbsp;



Although the worms that received the extract grew fat and became less mobile, they also became healthier and more resistant to stress. The researchers found that&nbsp;SCO&nbsp;helped convert unhealthy fat stores into healthy fat stores in the worms’ bodies. These findings, published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology">Journal of Gerontology</a>, suggest that diet is an important factor that can influence aging at a cellular level. The research indicates that the extract from Artemisia scoparia&nbsp;can activate many pro-longevity pathways in the body, and effectively turn on multiple genes involved in regulating lifespan.



“Until recently, it wasn’t really known how aging could be modified through diet, or how core metabolic signaling pathways influence longevity,” said Bohnert. “What we’ve been able to show is that a natural extract can come in and influence these pathways in much the same way as a genetic mutation would.”



The finding that a dietary supplement (SCO) can have such a significant effect on longevity suggests that we have a certain amount of control over our own aging.&nbsp;



“Importantly, it gives us a therapeutic standpoint,” Bohnert said. “We know age is the primary risk factor for many diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, but if you think of aging as a treatable disease, you can actually treat many diseases at once.”



The worms that showed the greatest improvement in lifespan were fed the A. scoparia&nbsp;extract during the time before they reached reproductive maturity. However, Bohnert’s team also observed significant effects in worms treated for the first time in middle age. Instead of a 40 percent increase in lifespan, these worms still managed to live about 20 percent longer.



This result is important because it emphasizes the important connection between metabolic health, fat regulation and longevity. The worms that benefited from the SCO treatment not only lived longer, but also became fatter. This indicates that the presence of fat may enhance some aspects of physiological health in older age, as long as it involves healthy, unsaturated fats.&nbsp;



“Usually people think of fat as ‘bad,’ but in these cases, it seems good, and actually pro-longevity,” said Bohnert. “Artemisia scoparia&nbsp;could have some exciting potential as a dietary supplement.”



“Also, the simple fact that an organism is short, fat&nbsp;and slow-moving does not necessarily qualify it as in poor health,” Ghosh added. “These phenotypes must be considered in the full context of other parameters, including lifespan.”



Artemisia scoparia extract is not currently recommended for humans to take as a life-extending dietary supplement, and there is no understanding of what would be a safe or effective dosage. However, the properties of the extract do seem to have had significant impacts. The researchers also investigated the effects of extracts from several other, related plant species, but only observed positive effects on fat regulation and longevity with&nbsp;the A. scoparia extract.&nbsp;



The study authors conclude that the A. scoparia extract is a natural product that can modify fat regulation and benefit longevity by altering core metabolic parameters. They propose that natural products like this may provide a means to extend animal lifespan and promote healthy aging.&nbsp;&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

Could a botanical extract extend the lifespan of humans?

Aging is considered to be a biological process that is...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03042-3">Nature Communications Biology</a> has revealed a worrisome correlation between warming waters, decreased sea ice levels, and reduced abundance of Antarctic Silverfish. If this trend continues, the Silverfish could be brought on the brink of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/higher-levels-of-biodiversity-reduce-extinction-risks-in-birds/">extinction</a>, an outcome that would affect many other marine populations too.



The Antarctic Silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica) comprises over 90 percent of adult and larval fish biomass in the coastal areas of the Southern Ocean. Due to their availability and abundance, they are important prey for many other marine species, including seals, penguins, seabirds, and other fish.



Currently, their natural habitat faces significant changes due to global warming. From 1945 to 2009, the average winter air temperature in the region increased by six degrees Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit). At the same time, the annual duration of sea ice decreased by almost two months. &nbsp;



“The study area is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, with increases in air and water temperatures leading to substantial reductions in sea-ice coverage over the last half century,” said study co-author Deborah Steinberg, a professor of Marine Biology at the <a href="https://www.vims.edu/">Virginia Institute of Marine Science</a> (VIMS).



In order to investigate the correlation between climate change and the abundance of Antarctic Silverfish populations, Professor Steinberg and her colleagues analyzed over 7,000 larval fish specimens collected over 25 years (1993-2017) as part of the <a href="https://pallter.marine.rutgers.edu/">Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research program</a> (an ongoing investigation of the effects of climate change on the ocean food web along the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula). They found that warmer sea surface temperature and decreased sea ice were strongly associated with reduced larval abundance, and consequently to declining populations of mature Antarctic Silverfish.



“This is the first statistically significant relationship reported between sea ice and the long-term abundance of any Antarctic fish species,” said study lead author Andrew Corso, a doctoral student in fisheries sciences at VIMS.



“With continued regional warming, these fish could disappear from the region entirely, triggering major changes in the marine ecosystem,” he warned.



Image Credit: Andrew Corso/VIMS



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

Antarctic fish are increasingly threatened by climate change

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications Biology...

<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> satellites have played a crucial role in detecting how ice sheets in the Arctic and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-sea-ice-levels-are-at-their-lowest-on-record/">Antarctic</a> have lost mass in the past decades. However, they have significantly struggled to measure fine details regarding how variations in snow depth on the surface of the ice affected the thickness of these glaciers. 



Since snow blows almost constantly all around an ice sheet and piles on its surface over several years, scientists need to make sure that the thickness changes detected by satellite imagery are not just caused by a single snowfall event (or the lack of it).&nbsp;



According to NASA scientists, a way to overcome these problems is to use highly proficient drones that could fly for several days over the ice sheets and measure the depth of snow accumulating on top of sea ice.&nbsp;



Currently, the researchers are testing the performance of <a href="https://vanillaunmanned.com/">Vanilla Unmanned</a>, a fixed-wing drone which can carry an instrument that uses radar to measure snow depth. The drone is equipped with heating systems and a special anti-icing coating to protect it against fog and moisture. In November 2021, Vanilla flew for six hours over open ocean and sea ice from an airport in Deadhorse, Alaska. During the flight, a pilot controlled the aircraft and a scientist controlled the radar instrument.&nbsp;



Although in Alaska unusual precipitation prevented multi-day flights, Vanilla earned the world record for continuous flight without refueling by flying in more temperate weather for eight days straight in 2021. Scientists hope that this drone will manage to fly for nearly five days over Arctic sea ice.&nbsp;



“Drones have come a long way, enough that they can start to be more than just quadcopters flying locally and looking at your neighborhood,” said project leader Brooke Medley, a research scientist at NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">Goddard Space Flight Center</a> in Greenbelt, Maryland. Medley. “Flying drones is ultimately more green and safer than flying large planes, so this checks a lot of boxes.”



According to Medley and his colleagues, the use of drones can open a path toward increasingly accurate projections of how sea-level rise will affect coastlines worldwide. Moreover, in more temperate climates, they could be promising new tools to monitor wildfires, algal blooms, or other important ecological changes.



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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

NASA is using drones to measure changes in ice sheets

NASA satellites have played a crucial role in detecting how...

On February 24th, Tule elk had their day in court. No word yet on the outcome of the hearing after animal activists sued the National Park Service (NPS) over their management of rare Tule elk in Point Reyes National Seashore.



Harvard Law School’s Animal Law &amp; Policy Clinic filed the <a href="https://animal.law.harvard.edu/news-article/nps-fail-to-protect-tule-elk/">lawsuit</a> against the National Park Service for negligence, alleging that the government agency has been allowing Tule elk to die from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/endangered-whale-sharks-starvation/">starvation</a> and dehydration.



The animal rights organization is suing not only NPS and the Department of the Interior (DOI), but also Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.&nbsp;



According to NPS elk survey numbers, the Tule elk population has dropped from 442 individuals in 2019 to 221 in December of 2021. The plaintiffs in the case claim that this is directly caused by the NPS fence which, at 3 miles long and 8 feet high, keeps elk from reaching other possible sources of food and water.&nbsp;



Instead, the land and water on the other side of the fence is utilized by cattle. The plaintiffs pushed back on NPS claims of natural population declines, pointing out that the land the elk now occupy was already overgrazed and that cattle ponds in the elk allotment dry up periodically. Pressure from citizens and In Defense of Animals (IDA) activists forced NPS to install water troughs for the elk last year while they still claimed the death was due to starvation.&nbsp;



In Defense of Animals Communication Director Fleur Dawes said her organization is "fully committed to saving Tule elk lives in all three herds at Point Reyes Seashore, with more activist demonstrations and public outreach."&nbsp;



"Wild elk should be wild, not fenced in a national park. Five thousand cows, commercially exploited for meat and milk profits at taxpayer expense, don’t belong inside a national park.”



The bottom line for the activists seems to be the claim that NPS is intentionally limiting Tule elk to a small portion of their former range solely for the profit of private ranching interests subsidized by the federal government.&nbsp;



Lead plaintiff Jack Gescheidt is also the Tule Elk Campaigner for In Defense of Animals.



“The Park Service is intentionally and lethally confining rare Tule elk for one reason, and one reason only: to please private cattle operators," said Gescheidt. "Ranchers prefer to have elk fenced, starved, and shot rather than sharing publicly-owned parklands.”



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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

National Park Service accused of willfully killing Tule elk

On February 24th, Tule elk had their day in court....

A bizarre new species of frog (Synapturanus danta) with a nose similar to a tapir’s has recently been discovered in the Amazon rainforest in Loreto, Peru. Its body shape and general appearance seem to be perfectly adapted for burrowing in the soft soils of the Amazonian peatlands. The field researchers were only able to find it by tracking its distinctive, “beeping” calls through the peatlands and digging on their hands and knees, with the help of local guides.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The inhabitants of Peru’s Comunidad Nativa Tres Esquinas have long been familiar with this tiny, burrowing frog with a long snout. A local name for it is rana danta (“tapir frog”) due to its resemblance to the large-nosed Amazonian mammal.



“These frogs are really hard to find, and that leads to them being understudied,” said study co-author Michelle Thompson, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> in Chicago. “It's an example of the Amazon's hidden diversity, and it's important to document it to understand how the local ecosystem functions.”



“Frogs of this genus (Synapturanus) are spread throughout the Amazon, but since they live underground and can't get very far by digging, the ranges each species is distributed in are fairly small. Since we found this new species in Amazon peatland, it wouldn't be strange for it to be restricted to this environment. Its body shape and general look seems to be adapted to the soft soil of the peatland, rather than the robust and wider shape of species in other environments,” added study lead author Germán Chávez, a researcher at the Instituto Peruano de Herpetología in Lima, Peru.



Synapturanus danta is a brown, small creature with a blobby body and a tiny pointy head that emits a pointed, “beeping” sound that helped researchers localize it. This species belongs to a group that evolved in the prehistoric wetlands of the Western Amazon. Due to their burrowing behavior, these frogs most probably have a crucial role in nutrient cycling and changing the soil structure.



Peru’s Putumayo Basin, where the frog was discovered is part of a larger conservation scheme. “The Putumayo Corridor spans from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and down to Brazil, following the Putumayo River. There's very little deforestation, and it's also one of the last free flowing rivers that has no current dams. There's like a huge conservation opportunity to conserve the whole corridor, watershed and surrounding areas. This tapir frog is another piece of evidence of why scientists and local people need to work together to protect this region,” concluded Thompson.



A detailed description of this new species is published in the journal <a href="https://evolsyst.pensoft.net/article/80281/element/8/4930/">Evolutionary Systematics</a>.



Image Credit: Field Museum&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

Bizarre frog with tapir-like nose discovered in Peru

A bizarre new species of frog (Synapturanus danta) with a...

A new study led by the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> has found that higher levels of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-biodiversity-crisis-will-take-millions-of-years-to-recover-from/">biodiversity</a> – the enormous variety of life in specific ecosystems – appears to reduce the risk of extinction in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-populations-are-declining-worldwide/">birds</a>. These results suggest that species conservation targets could best be achieved by maintaining high levels of overall biodiversity in natural ecosystems.



Past research has already discovered various short-term benefits of biodiversity. Diverse systems seem to be less prone to invasion and more disease-resistant, and have more stable productivity. This recent study has revealed yet another positive aspect of biodiversity: its fundamental role in reducing extinction rates.



The scientists constructed a comprehensive dataset of the functional traits in birds by using natural history museum specimens covering over 99 percent of all bird species in the world. They used this data to measure the diversity of birds around the world, including the species found in specific communities, together with their evolutionary relationships and functional traits.



By employing structural equation modelling, the researchers found that diversity was associated with lower levels of contemporary extinction risk in birds. While many attributes, such as large body size, poor dispersal ability, or small range size, can make the species that have them more likely to go extinct, it appears that the benefits afforded by living in a diverse community protect these extinction-prone species, allowing a large number of them to continue to exist and thrive. Thus, diverse communities are providing a safe harbor for species that are at risk of extinction.



“While we know that biodiversity impacts the functioning of ecosystems in predictable ways, it is less clear how these biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships impact extinction risk across longer timescales,” said study lead author Brian Weeks, an evolutionary biologist and ornithologist at the University of Michigan. “Our findings suggest that the conservation of biodiversity is not only a goal of conservation but is also likely a necessary component to effective conservation interventions.”



Moreover, according to Professor Weeks and his colleagues, since single-species conservation interventions are quite expensive, the maintenance of biodiverse communities could be a more cost-effective approach to preventing extinction.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.13860">Ecology Letters</a>. &nbsp;&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

Higher levels of biodiversity reduce extinction risks in birds

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

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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

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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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



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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



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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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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