The influence of synthetic plastic on our planet is concerning, to say the least. It's everywhere - from the depths of our oceans to the food we eat, even finding its way into our bodies. But, Avinash Manjula-Basavanna, a seasoned research scientist at Northeastern University, sees "MECHS" as a solution. 



"The kind of impact that human-made materials are making on the living world is resulting in&nbsp;climate change, pollution and more," he says. 



"One of the ways that we are able to address this is to make materials sustainable and also make materials which are smart or intelligent."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-birth-of-a-new-bioplastic">Birth of a new bioplastic</h2>



Joining forces with Neel S. Joshi, an associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern, Manjula-Basavanna gave birth to a new bioplastic named MECHS.



It stands for Mechanical Engineered Living Materials with Compostability, Healability, and Scalability.



The team recently showcased their discovery in the journal Nature Communications. Here, they articulated their unique work with engineered living materials, living cells that produce functional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-changing-the-entire-earth-system/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">materials</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wonders-of-bioplastic">Wonders of bioplastic</h2>



What makes MECHS stand out? Manjula-Basavanna and Joshi gave us two major reasons.



Firstly, MECHS exhibits the beauty of nature-inspired solutions, with the ability to regenerate, regulate themselves, and respond to external stimuli such as light. 



The second reason is even more significant in today's context. Unlike the harmful plastics choking our planet and bodies, MECHS is biodegradable in water and even in a compost bin. 



"Right now we use a lot of conventional nonbiodegradable plastics for applications they don't need to be used in at all," Joshi says. "If we replace that with our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/major-plastic-pollution-lurks-beneath-the-surface-of-rivers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plastic</a>, you could just flush it down the toilet and it would biodegrade."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-engineered-living-materials">Engineered living materials</h2>



Until now, such engineered living materials haven't been scalable for broad production. Enter MECHS.



Essentially, it's comprised of engineered E. coli bacteria intertwined with a fiber matrix, crafted into a paper- or film-like material. 



The fibrous structure gives MECHS some desirable properties. For instance, the bioplastic can stretch like plastic wrap and be genetically engineered for variable stiffness. And, quite fascinatingly, it has self-healing capabilities.



But the real cherry on top? MECHS is fully dissolvable, be it in large amounts of water or a compost bin. It dissolves rapidly, much faster than other existing biodegradable plastics. Plus, it can be mass-produced similarly to paper.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-potential-applications">Potential applications</h2>



The scientific marvels envision MECHS as the solution to "primary packaging." This includes the plastic cover protecting your new iPhone or the detergent pods for your appliances. Imagine MECHS wrapped around a pot plant, slowly breaking down and releasing proteins to fertilize the plant!



Addressing the global problem of plastic pollution, Manjula-Basavanna sees a strong potential for MECHS in plastic packaging, which covers almost one-third of the plastic market. 



He observes that such packaging’s lifespan could last a few days to two years, but the petrochemical plastics used can take hundreds of years to biodegrade.



"For such a short lifespan of packaging, the petrochemical plastics that can take hundreds of years to biodegrade are unnecessary in many cases and thus a sustainable alternative like MECHS due to its biodegradability, flushability, and mechanical tunability could be a game changer," says Manjula-Basavanna.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-in-adopting-mechs">Challenges in adopting MECHS</h2>



While MECHS presents a revolutionary solution to the global plastic crisis, adopting this technology on a large scale is not devoid of challenges. One primary concern lies in the genomic stability of the engineered E. coli bacteria used in MECHS. 



Scientists must ensure that the bacteria remain safe and stable under various environmental conditions to avoid unintended consequences. Additionally, transitioning industries reliant on traditional plastics to MECHS involves overcoming significant economic and logistical barriers. 



Production facilities worldwide may need to adopt new techniques and infrastructure to accommodate this novel material, potentially incurring considerable costs in the short term. 



Furthermore, public perception and regulatory hurdles need to be navigated to gain trust and approval for its widespread use.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-sustainable-materials">Future of sustainable materials</h2>



Looking to the future, the innovations around MECHS signal a burgeoning era of sustainable and adaptable materials capable of transforming industries. 



As research into living materials progresses, new possibilities emerge, such as enabling the development of dynamic, adaptable materials for technologies yet to be imagined. 



Building on their success with MECHS, Manjula-Basavanna and Joshi envision an expanding palette of biodegradable materials, each tailored for specific applications ranging from environmental conservation to health care. 



Their work emphasizes collaboration across disciplines - bridging biology, chemistry, and engineering - to advance sustainable solutions.



Ultimately, MECHS is a testament to how embracing nature-inspired innovation can lead to breakthroughs with the power to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-on-beaches-is-now-visible-from-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reshape our relationship with the materials</a> we use and the environment we inhabit.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53052-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Nature-inspired solutions: New bioplastic dissolves rapidly in water

The influence of synthetic plastic on our planet is concerning, to say the least. It's everywhere - from the depths of our oceans to the food we eat, even finding its way into our bodies. But, Avinash Manjula-Basavanna, a seasoned research scientist at Northeastern University, sees "MECHS" as a solution. "The kind of impact that human-made materials are making on the living world is resulting in&nbsp;climate change, pollution and more," he says. "One of the ways that we are able to address this is to make materials...

About a million years ago, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379106002332">Mid-Pleistocene Transition</a> (MPT) occurred – a major shift in the response of Earth’s climate system to variations in our planet’s orbit around the Sun. If before MPT, cycles between warmer (interglacial) and colder (glacial) periods had occurred rarely (approximately every 41,000 years), afterwards they became more frequent and intense, giving the Earth the regular ice-age cycles that have persisted since the origins of humanity.&nbsp;



Until recently, scientists believed that the main cause for this transition had been a change in the phenomena called&nbsp;<a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2948/milankovitch-orbital-cycles-and-their-role-in-earths-climate/">Milankovitch cycles</a> – cyclic changes in the Earth’s orbit and orientation towards the Sun which affect how much solar energy can the Earth absorb. However, new research has shown that these cycles did not undergo any significant change during the MPT.



By analyzing cores of deep-sea sediments from the South and North Atlantic, a research team led by <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a> has found that about a million years ago, a large system of ocean currents that helps heat move around the globe, called the <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/oceans/amoc">Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation</a> (AMOC), experienced a severe weakening.&nbsp;



“What we found is the North Atlantic, right before this crash, was acting very differently than the rest of the basin,” said study lead author Maayan Yehudai, a doctoral student at Columbia University. Immediately before AMOC’s weakening, ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere had begun to stick more effectively to their bedrock, causing glaciers to grow thicker and thus leading to a global cooling that initiated the new climatic pattern characterized by stronger and more frequent ice ages.



“Our research addresses one of the biggest questions about the largest climate change we had since the onset of the ice ages,” explained Yehudai. “It was one of the most substantial climate transitions and we don’t fully understand it. Our discovery pins the origin of this change to the Northern Hemisphere and the ice sheets that evolved there as driving this shift towards the climate patterns we observe today.&nbsp;



“This is a very important step toward understanding what caused it and where it came from. It highlights the importance of the North Atlantic region and ocean circulation for present and future climate change,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/46/e2020260118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Major climate shift a million years ago linked to ocean currents

About a million years ago, the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT) occurred...

Nature offers many examples of individual organisms that live and act together in groups known as biological collectives or “superorganisms.” In bee colonies, for instance, the interactions of individual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bees-are-experts-at-social-distancing/">bees</a> add up to benefit the entire collectivity. However, until recently, it was not clearly understood how bee colonies can make decisions in the face of changing conditions that are crucial for their survival.



A research team from the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California, San Diego</a> has found that colony size is a key factor in bees’ individual and collective decision-making. Honey bees use a vigorous “waggle dance” to inform their mates about potential food sources. However, when the food source deteriorates or when there are predators close by, the bees produce “stop signals,” letting waggle dancers know that the source is not a viable option anymore.



By collecting data over several years on both small and large bee colonies, the scientists discovered that large, established colonies with sufficient levels of food stores were less likely to take chances with risky food sources than smaller colonies that were pressed to quickly find adequate food sources.



“We created an artificial stop signal that, like natural stop signals, caused waggle dancers to briefly pause,” explained study lead author Heather Bell, a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego. “We then used the artificial signal on waggle dancers from colonies of different sizes. By measuring how long waggle dances lasted, we found that bees from small colonies were indeed less likely to listen to the message from our artificial signal than those from large colonies.”



“It all boils down to risk. Smaller colonies will take more risk because they need food,” added study senior author James Nieh, a professor of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution at the same university. “When a swarm starts a new colony, they are in a desperate situation and likely more willing to take chances.”



The results of this study can help scientists better understand how bees and perhaps other animals adapt to dynamic conditions, including climate change.&nbsp;



“Global climate change is shifting many things, including when flowers bloom, which in turn is likely shifting the habits of predators. Honey bees have an amazing resilience to these changes in part because of their intricate communication system, so this study helps us understand how they can adapt better,” Professor Nieh concluded.



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

When it comes to bee colonies, size matters

Nature offers many examples of individual organisms that live and...

Most people are aware that getting plenty of rest is essential to staying healthy, and experts recommend that adults get seven to nine hours of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lack-of-sleep-changes-how-you-walk/">sleep</a> every night. However, the importance of precise bedtimes remains relatively unexplored, and new research from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> is attempting to change this.



A study led by researcher Dr. David Plans has concluded that the risk of heart disease is greatly decreased by going to sleep between 10 and 11 pm. Dr. Plans noted that this bedtime range is very specific, with heart-related problems increasing for both later and earlier bedtimes.



“The body has a 24-hour internal clock, called circadian rhythm, that helps regulate physical and mental functioning,” explained Dr. Plans. “While we cannot conclude causation from our study, the results suggest that early or late bedtimes may be more likely to disrupt the body clock, with adverse consequences for cardiovascular health.”



Based on data in the UK Biobank, the study objectively measured the bedtimes of over 88,000 adults with an average age of 61 years. The sleep onset data was collected through wrist-worn smart devices. Participants also completed questionnaires to provide information on their demographic, lifestyle, and physical condition.



The individuals were followed for an average of 5.7 years. During this time frame, 3,172 participants were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. The lowest risk was found among those who had bedtimes between 10 and 11 pm, while the highest risk was found among individuals who fell asleep at midnight or later.&nbsp;



“Our study indicates that the optimum time to go to sleep is at a specific point in the body’s 24-hour cycle and deviations may be detrimental to health” stated Dr. Plans. “The riskiest time was after midnight, potentially because it may reduce the likelihood of seeing morning light, which resets the body clock.”



Although late bedtimes were significant, the analysis revealed that there was a 24 percent increase in cardiovascular risk among those who typically fell asleep before 10 pm. The association was strongest among women, who appeared to be affected by both early and late sleep schedules, while heart-related issues in men were only linked with bedtimes before 10 pm.



It is currently unclear as to why there is a stronger association between cardiovascular disease and sleep onset in women. Plans hypothesized that “it may be that there is a sex difference in how the endocrine system responds to a disruption in circadian rhythm.”



He continued to suggest an alternative conclusion, that the older age of study participants could be a confounding factor since women’s cardiovascular risk increases post-menopause – meaning there may be no difference in the strength of the association between women and men.



The research is published in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ehjdh">European Heart Journal – Digital Health</a>.



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

Study reveals a precise bedtime that reduces heart disease risk

Most people are aware that getting plenty of rest is...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/46/e2112108118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> has found that poorly drained agricultural soils produce nitrous oxide emissions in quantities large enough to contribute to climate change. According to the scientists, such negative effects far exceed the potential benefits of using these soils as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-sinks-are-a-powerful-weapon-against-climate-change/">carbon sinks</a>.



Researchers, policymakers, and farmers have long explored the potential of agricultural soils to sequester carbon, and thus mitigate climate change. However, a research team led by <a href="https://www.iastate.edu/">Iowa State University</a> has argued that such strategies should take into account the fact that such soils emit nitrous oxide, a gas that has 298 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over 100 years.



As they cycle nitrogen, microorganisms in the soil emit nitrous oxide as a byproduct. Furthermore, since nitrogen stimulates nitrous oxide production, adding nitrogen fertilizers to the soil results in even more emissions.&nbsp;



In order to gather data for the study, the researchers used small containers placed on various locations on top of corn and soybean fields in central Iowa that measured nitrous oxide emissions every four hours.



“In this study, we show that the climate warming effects of nitrous oxide emissions from local corn and soybean soils are two-fold greater than the climate cooling that might be achieved by increasing soil carbon storage with common agricultural practices,” said study senior author Steven Hall, an associate professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University.



According to Professor Hall and his team, these findings suggest that management plans should also encourage nitrous oxide mitigation strategies together with carbon sequestration. Such strategies include more efficient uses of nitrogen fertilizers, the employment of new products such as enhanced efficiency fertilizers, or the application of biochar to agricultural fields.



“If we want to maximize our climate benefit, we want to be strategic about it. We’re not simply going to flip the switch on climate just by putting more carbon in the soil. Nitrous oxide emissions need to be a priority as well,” concluded Hall.



---



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

Agricultural soils contribute to climate crisis by releasing nitrous oxide

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

Herbs and spices bring flavor to our meals and make them more interesting. Moreover, a new study finds that the addition of herbs and spices to food that is high in saturated fat and carbohydrate may lower blood pressure and reduce the risks of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-air-pollutants-contribute-to-cardiovascular-disease/">cardiovascular disease</a>.



Professor Penny Kris-Etherton of Evan Pugh University and Professor Kristina Petersen, co-principal investigator of the study while at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a>, said the findings of the study offer people a simple way to help improve their heart health.



“Adding herbs and spices to your food is a great way to add flavor without adding extra sodium, sugar or saturated fat,” said Professor Kris-Etherton. “And, if you go a step further and add these seasonings to foods that are really good for you, like fruits and vegetables, you can potentially get even more health benefits by consuming that extra produce.”



During the study, 71 people with risk factors for heart disease, such as obesity and high blood pressure, were asked to add a mixture of herbs and spices to their daily meals. Three levels of herb and spice use were defined; the low-spice diet involved the addition of 0.5 g per day, the medium-spice diet added 3.2 g per day and the high-spice diet made use of 6.5 g of herbs and spices per day. The mixture added to the food contained 24 different herbs (such as basil and rosemary) and spices (including cinnamon and turmeric), all commonly used in the daily preparation of food.



Every participant took part in all three of the diet trials and each trial lasted for four weeks. Blood pressure was measured, and blood samples from every participant were tested, at the start of each four-week trial and then again at the end. Trials were separated by a two-week break during which the participant ate a normal diet.&nbsp;



Apart from adding the herbs and spices to the food, the diets were based on an average American diet and were not adjusted in any way other than by adding the flavorings.



The results showed that participants had a lower systolic blood pressure after consuming the high-spice diet than after the medium-spice diet. They also had lower diastolic blood pressure after the high-spice diet than they did after the low-spice diet.&nbsp;



Kris-Etherton said the results were especially exciting to her because the diets in the study were not designed to be specifically heart healthy, and only differed from an average diet by the amount of herbs and spices added.



“As nutritionists, we’re interested in new ways we can use diet to benefit health, and cardiovascular health in particular,” said Professor Petersen. “We were curious about how herbs and spices could affect heart health, since they are versatile and can be added to many different types of food.”



It has long been recognized that high blood pressure is a risk factor in cardiometabolic diseases like heart disease, strokes and type two diabetes, and that these diseases are a leading cause of death in the United States. Sodium intake, in the form of table salt, has been implicated as a factor in high blood pressure. Professor Petersen said that while people have been encouraged to flavor their food with herbs and spices instead of salt, less was known about whether herbs and spices have health benefits of their own.



“I think it’s really significant that participants consumed an average American diet throughout the study and we still found these results,” said Kris-Etherton. “We didn’t decrease sodium, we didn’t increase fruits and vegetables, we just added herbs and spices. It begs the next question that if we did alter the diet in these ways, how much better would the results be?”



The researchers suggest that future studies should test the effects of including herbs and spices into a healthy diet that is lower in salt, added sugars and solid fats. The results could help guide future dietary recommendations.



The study is published in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn">the&nbsp;American Journal of Clinical Nutrition</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

Herbs and spices linked to lower blood pressure

Herbs and spices bring flavor to our meals and make...

All <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-half-of-the-worlds-vertebrates-reside-in-the-tropics/">vertebrates</a> have a similar body plan, including a head, spine, and four appendages. Although these appendages vary greatly in shape, size, and function (from fins and wings to arms or legs), a new genetic analysis led by the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a> and the <a href="http://www.cabd.es/en/">Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology</a> has found that the genes which control the development of different types of appendages share a deep evolutionary history.



By using a genetic editing tool called <a href="http://www.crisprtx.com/gene-editing/crispr-cas9">CRISPR</a>, the scientists proved that a gene which controls the growth of bones at the terminal end of fish fins (gli3) plays a similar role in the formation of fingers and toes in four-legged vertebrates. The gli3 gene controls this process in both paired fins (the progenitors to limbs), and the unpaired dorsal fin that is common to all fish species. The single dorsal fin evolved before the emergence of paired fins.&nbsp;



The findings suggest that the last common ancestor between ray- and lobe-finned fish, which lived approximately 500 million years ago, had the same appendage-shaping genetic toolkit that is possessed by all modern-day vertebrates.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“There's this deep homology or similarity between fins and limbs, something ancient in structures that really don't look alike,” said study co-author Neil Shubin, a professor of Anatomy at the University of Chicago.&nbsp;



“We're showing a deeply conserved, deeply ancient and preserved gene function that's been around for hundreds of millions of years in vastly different structures. So, the molecular toolkit is ancient, and it does the same thing in different kinds of animals.”



Scientists already knew that humans and mice who have a mutation in the gli3 gene often grow extra digits (polydactyly). Professor Shubin and his colleagues wanted to find out whether gli3 worked in a similar way among fish.&nbsp;



By using CRISPR gene-editing tools, the researchers knocked out the gli3 gene in the medaka, or the Japanese rice fish. They discovered that this fish also developed a version of polydactyly, with multiple radial bones at the base of the fin and more fin rays.



“The speculation is that you have a primitive function of&nbsp;gli3&nbsp;present in all vertebrate appendages ever since about 500 million years ago, and that was to promote proliferation, or the number of cells and hence the number of bones in the terminal end.”



“We all share a certain genetic toolkit, even though the anatomy may look very different in adult stages. We're finding these hidden, but very important, mechanistic similarities,” Shubin concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/46/e2100575118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Science</a>.



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

Fins and limbs share a deep evolutionary history

All vertebrates have a similar body plan, including a head,...

Preindustrial societies in Europe were significantly impacted by climatic events and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/snow-leopards-disease-epidemic/">epidemics</a>, finds a new study conducted by researchers from the USA and Switzerland. The study involved the use of microfossil data obtained from ice cores drilled in the Colle Gnifetti glacier, located in the Monte Rosa Massif of the Swiss Alps. This was the first study of microfossils frozen into ice cores from continental Europe. 



Over centuries, wind, rain and snow have carried microfossils from the European lowlands, the United Kingdom and North Africa to the exposed glacier at Colle Gnifetti. Ice in this glacier dates back tens of thousands of years. The altitude of the glacier - 4,450 meters above sea level - indicates that the ice has probably not melted, meaning that the layers would retain their chronological order and not be mixed.&nbsp;



The microfossils preserved in the ice cores include pollen, spores, dust, carbon and charcoal particles that give information about vegetation, land use practices, fire activity and the use of fossil fuels for combustion, going back about 1,000 years. Samples taken from the cores at decadal intervals span the time period from 1050–2015. In addition, the analysis of oxygen isotopes (δ18O) in the ice provides an indication of past temperatures.



The researchers compared the long-term data from the ice cores to historical records (such as church records or diaries) of specific events to determine the main ecological and environmental factors that influenced European ecosystem dynamics during the past 1,000&nbsp;years. This approach enabled them to gain a better understanding of the ways in which European societies and ecosystems were reorganized in response to climatic changes.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The historical sources that were available before, I don’t think [the sources] got the full picture of the environmental context,” said Sandra Brugger, a paleoecologist at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada and lead researcher on the study. “But also, with the ice core, we couldn’t get the full picture until we started collaborating with historians on this. It needs those two sides of the coin.”



Some of the main findings include the following:



<ul><li>The microfossil record begins in the medieval period with pollen from herb and crop plants suggesting that agricultural and pastoral activities were increasing. At the same time, tree and shrub pollen was declining, indicating large-scale deforestation. This matches documentary data describing that the clearing of forests and new crop rotations led to increased crop yields and population growth.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<ul><li>Around 1300 CE, the Little Ice Age cooling began and this resulted reduced crop cultivation and pastoral activity. In addition, forests recovered to an extent, as reflected in the increase in tree and shrub pollen. These events are also reflected in written sources that report rainy years during which crop cultivation and storage were challenging. The Black Death emerged after 1348 CE, which decimated populations and led to a reduced demand for grain. Marginal farming land was thus left to return to forest.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<ul><li>Evidence of a devastating drought is found in the ice cores, dated around 1540 CE. This event is recorded in more than 300 written documents that tell of low river flows and lake levels, crop failures, and continental-wide forest fires. The ice cores show very large levels of charcoal and black carbon particles that coincide with this time period. At the same time, the presence of crop plant pollen is at a minimum in the ice cores.</li></ul>



<ul><li>By 1750 CE, the economy had transformed from subsistence into industrialized production, with its associated energy demands. The Colle Gnifetti microfossil record shows the first presence of maize (Zea mays) pollen at this time and documentary evidence mentions the widespread introduction of maize agriculture south of the Alps.</li></ul>



<ul><li>By 1820 CE, the ice core record shows a decline in tree pollen, reflecting large-scale deforestation as people sought wood to burn for charcoal production, heating, mining, metallurgy, and smelting. These forest clearings resulted in a series of environmental catastrophes around the Alps, such as floods and avalanches, that are reported in documentary data.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Evidence of pollution due to fossil fuel combustion was also present in the ice core data. The researchers dated the early burning of coal in the United Kingdom to around 1780, much earlier than the expected onset of industrialization around 1850, which could have implications for global climate change modeling.</li></ul>



In summary, the findings illustrate how microfossil data preserved in ice cores can be placed in historical context and can reveal how life for early European societies was dominated by climatic events and pestilences. Industrialization and the establishment of maize and other new crops helped European societies to be more resilient against climatic vicissitudes but environmental consequences resulted, which are now culminating in global warming and species loss.



John Birks, a paleoecologist at the University of Bergen who was not associated with the study emphasizes the significance of studies that combine two different sources of data.&nbsp;



“They can actually pinpoint and identify the relationships between what’s happening on the continent with climatic records inherent in the ice. They can develop, in a stronger way, this link between human civilization and change and climate, particularly in the last thousand years or so where conventional pollen analysis is rather weak.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19448007">Geophysical Research Letters</a>, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.



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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

Ice cores show that early societies were dominated by climate events

Preindustrial societies in Europe were significantly impacted by climatic events...

The ecology of extinct organisms - particularly those that appear very alien to us - can surprise even seasoned scientists. Paleontologists must base their hypotheses off of modern animals and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-ecosystems-are-disrupted-by-small-temperature-changes/">ecosystems</a>. However, the 21st century biosphere has been depleted of megafauna, and even if it weren’t, mammals occupy many terrestrial niches. When examining reptile or amphibian-dominated ecosystems, we must often change our frame of reference.&nbsp;



A new study from researchers at the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a> reinforces this principle. The research shows that many of the roles today filled by a variety of bird species may have been occupied by just a handful pterosaurs, who filled different niches as they grew up.



The researchers focused their study on the Kem Kem beds of Morocco - famous for producing Spinosaurus (or Sigilmassasaurus, depending on your stance) specimens.&nbsp;



“Over the last 10 years or so, we’ve been doing fieldwork in Morocco’s Sahara Desert and have discovered over 400 specimens of pterosaurs," said study lead author Roy Smith.



He added that some of the fossils “looked like smaller jaws - about the size of a fingernail - but these tiny pterosaur remains could have just been the tips of big jaws so we had to do some rigorous testing to find out if they were from a small species or from tiny juveniles of large and giant pterosaurs.”&nbsp;



Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan studies the histology, or internal structure, of fossil bone at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.She was able to determine the relative maturity of some of the specimens.&nbsp;



“By looking at the paper-thin section of the bones under a microscope, I could tell that they were from juveniles as the bone was fast growing and didn’t have many growth lines. We also examined the surface of the bones and found they had a rippled texture. This was further evidence they were the bones of immature individuals as mature pterosaur bones have an incredibly smooth surface once they are fully formed," explained Chinsamy-Turan.



This, in conjunction with the recent discovery illustrating that pterosaurs could fly straight after hatching, paints a different picture of their ecology than what we might expect from flying animals today.&nbsp;



“What really surprised me about this research is that the feeding ecology of these magnificent flying animals is more like that of crocodiles than of birds,” said Portsmouth Professor David Martill. Whereas birds will have a number of species occupying very specific roles in the ecosystem, crocodiles filter through different niches until they become apex predators.&nbsp;



“It’s likely that the juvenile pterosaurs were feeding on small prey such as freshwater insects, tiny fishes and amphibians," said Professor Martill. "As they grew they could take larger fishes - and who knows - the biggest pterosaurs might have been capable of eating small species of dinosaurs, or the young of large dinosaur species.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cretaceous-research">Cretaceous Research</a>.



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By <a href="http://mailto:rugerpaleo@gmail.com">Alex Ruger</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tiny pterosaurs were fierce competitors in the Late Cretaceous

The ecology of extinct organisms - particularly those that appear...

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated more than eight million tons of plastic waste since its start, most of it single-use plastic for personal protective purposes. This is according to a new model, developed by researchers at the <a href="https://www.nju.edu.cn/en/">Nanjing University</a> in China.&nbsp;



A portion of this plastic will end up entering the oceans of the world, and will either sink to the bottom or remain floating on top until it collects on beaches, in oceanic gyres or in the seas of the Arctic.&nbsp;



The Nanjing University MITgcm-plastic model (NJU-MP) that was developed and used in this study works like “a virtual reality,” according to Yanxu Zhang, professor at the School of Atmospheric Sciences at Nanjing University. He said that the model was built based on Newton’s laws of motion and the law of conservation of mass.&nbsp;



“The model simulates how the seawater moves, driven by wind, and how the plastics float on the surface ocean, degraded by sunlight, fouled by plankton, landed on beaches, and sank to the deep,” said Professor Zhang. “It can be used to answer ‘what if’ questions, for example, what will happen if we add a certain amount of plastics to the ocean?”



The researchers used data from the start of the pandemic in 2020 through August 2021, and found that most of the global pandemic plastic waste entering the ocean comes from rivers in Asia; they account for 73 percent of the total discharge of plastics.&nbsp;



The three biggest contributors to ocean plastic pollution are the Shatt al-Arab, Indus, and Yangtze Rivers, which discharge into the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and East China Sea respectively. European rivers account for 11 percent of the discharge, and other continents have only minor contributions to the problem.&nbsp;



The study, led by a team of researchers at Nanjing University’s School of Atmospheric Sciences and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, found that the bulk of pandemic plastics discharged on land were derived from medical waste. This was particularly true in areas where waste management was already under pressure before the start of the pandemic.



“When we started doing the math, we were surprised to find that the amount of medical waste was substantially larger than the amount of waste from individuals, and a lot of it was coming from Asian countries, even though that's not where most of the COVID-19 cases were,” said study co-author Amina Schartup, an assistant professor at Scripps Oceanography.&nbsp;



“The biggest sources of excess waste were hospitals in areas already struggling with waste management before the pandemic; they just weren't set up to handle a situation where you have more waste.”



Out of the more than eight million tons of pandemic-associated plastic generated globally, more than 25,000 tons would enter the global ocean. The model predicted that, within three to four years, a significant portion of this ocean plastic debris would either be washed up on beaches or sink to the seabed.&nbsp;



However, a portion will likely go into the open ocean, eventually being trapped in the centers of ocean basins or subtropical gyres, or ending up in a circumpolar plastic accumulation zone in the Arctic Ocean.&nbsp;



While this Arctic accumulation zone does not yet exist, the model predicts that, due to ocean circulation patterns the Arctic Ocean appears to be a “dead-end” for plastic debris transported in the oceans of the world. The model shows that about 80 percent of the plastic debris that transits into the Arctic Ocean will sink quickly, but a circumpolar plastic accumulation zone is predicted to form by 2025.&nbsp;



“There is a pretty consistent circulation pattern in the ocean, and that's why we can build models that replicate how the ocean moves – it's just physical oceanography at this point,” said Schartup, whose research normally focuses on understanding mercury in the oceans.&nbsp;



“We know that if waste is released from Asian rivers into the North Pacific Ocean, some of that debris will likely end up in the Arctic Ocean – a kind of a circular ocean which can be a bit like an estuary, accumulating all kinds of things that get released from the continents.”



The Arctic ecosystem is already particularly vulnerable due to the harsh environmental conditions and sensitivity to global warming. The addition of plastic pollution to this already fragile system carries further threats to the organisms that live there and adds another layer of concern.



The authors stress the importance of better management of medical waste derived from treating COVID-19 patients, particularly in developing countries where management systems may already be insufficient. They also call for global public awareness of the environmental impact of personal protection equipment (PPE) and other plastic products, and the development of innovative technologies for better plastic waste collection, classification, treatment, and recycling, and development of more environmentally friendly materials.



“Indeed, the COVID-related plastic is only a portion of a bigger problem we face in the 21st century: plastic waste,” said Zhang. “To solve it requires a lot of technical innovation, transition of economy, and change of lifestyle.”



The study is published today in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Thousands of tons of COVID-related plastic could end up in the ocean

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated more than eight million tons...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0245-21.2021">eNeuro</a> has found that sharing happy stories can increase feelings of closeness and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bats-have-brains-that-synchronize-when-they-socialize/">brain synchrony</a> between speakers and listeners to a greater extent than sharing sad or neutral stories.



A research team led by the <a href="http://english.ecnu.edu.cn/">East China Normal University</a> compared how emotional stories impacted interpersonal communication and feelings of closeness and connection.&nbsp;



“Our lives revolve around sharing stories with others. Expressing emotion (i.e., happy and sad) is an essential characteristic of sharing stories and could enhance the similarity of story comprehension across speaker and listener pairs,” explained the study authors.



In the study, one participant (the speaker) watched happy, sad, and neutral videos and then recorded themselves explaining the contents of the videos. Other participants listened to the narrated stories and rated how close they felt to the speaker. Both the speaker and the listeners completed the tasks while the scientists used EEG to measure their brain activity.



The researchers discovered that sharing happy stories produced higher ratings of interpersonal closeness between the listeners and the speaker. These stronger feelings of interconnection were linked to increased synchrony between the brain activity of the listeners and the speaker, especially in the frontal and left temporoparietal cortices, which are known to play a fundamental role in emotional processing and interpersonal understanding.



Moreover, the researchers found that the quality of recall after hearing an emotional story was also correlated with the affective pattern of the story. Thus, happy stories were more vividly recalled than the sad ones.



“Our results suggest that sharing happy and sad stories can facilitate interpersonal closeness. Positive emotional information is more likely to be transferred and received by representing a positive image. On the behavioral level, this result further contributed to the reconciliation of the controversy on the effect of sharing different emotional stories on interpersonal closeness. Specifically, our findings show that, compared with the sad group, the happy group showed the better recall quality and led to higher interpersonal closeness,” the study authors concluded.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Further research is needed to map the brain mechanisms that facilitate story comprehension and that help storytellers and listeners connect in meaningful ways.



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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

Sharing happy stories increases interpersonal closeness

A new study published in the journal eNeuro has found...

According to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s&nbsp;<a href="https://professional.heart.org/en/meetings/scientific-sessions">Scientific Sessions 2021</a>, reduced air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/even-low-level-air-pollution-is-dangerous-for-health/">pollution</a> in the United States during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 was linked to fewer severe heart attacks.



“Reducing pollution is not only helpful for the environment it may also have significant health benefits at the population level such as preventing heart attacks,” said study lead author Sidney Aung, a medical student at the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California, San Francisco</a>.



Heart attack is the leading cause of death in the United States. Besides risk factors such as smoking, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol or physical inactivity, air pollution can also increase the frequency of heart attacks, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000930?utm_campaign=sciencenews20-21&amp;utm_source=science-news&amp;utm_medium=phd-link&amp;utm_content=phd11-05-20">2020 American Heart Association policy statement</a>.



By reviewing daily pollution measurements from the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a> during the first months of lockdown and data regarding heart attacks in the U.S. population, Aung and his colleagues found that with each 10 µg/m3&nbsp;(micrograms per cubic meter) drop in particulate matter 2.5 (a common type of air pollutant containing microscopic pieces of solid substances), the number of heart attacks decreased by 6 percent.



“This study highlights the importance of reducing air pollution, which could, in turn, prevent heart attacks,” Aung said. “We also hope our study may influence other investigators to pursue similar research to corroborate these results or to investigate other forms of air pollutants outside of particulate matter 2.5 that may have also declined during the pandemic lockdowns.”



“If it turns out that we can meaningfully link a reduction in traffic-related air pollution during COVID lockdowns to a reduction in heart attacks, it points the way toward a major change that could help to reduce the burden of heart disease. We know how to reduce air pollution concentrations and have seen that it is possible,” added Joel Kaufman, the chair of the American Heart Association’s 2020 policy statement on air pollution.



“This could reinforce the benefits of air pollution reduction as a cost-effective way to improve health. It also means that reducing fossil fuel combustion, which we need to do anyway to combat climate change, may yield tremendous health benefits now, even if the climate benefits take years to accrue,” he concluded.



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

Reducing air pollution can prevent heart attacks

According to preliminary research to be presented at the American...

Hundreds of millions of years before the hermit crab appeared, some of the earliest animals on Earth were already using snail shells as protection from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seahorses-may-be-slow-but-they-are-fierce-ambush-predators/">predators</a>. A new study from <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk/">Durham University</a> has revealed that penis worms invented the hermit lifestyle about 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed collections of Guanshan fossil deposits. These fossils preserve soft tissue, such as the bodies of worms, along with other material that is more commonly fossilized.



The experts discovered four specimens of the penis worm Eximipriapulus inside of the conical shells of hyoliths, a group of extinct marine invertebrates. These are some of the first types of shells that appear in the fossil record.&nbsp;



“The worms are always sitting snugly within these same types of shells, in the same position and orientation," explained study co-author Dr. Martin Smith. 



According to the researchers, Cambrian predators were abundant and aggressive, which forced the penis worms to take shelter in empty shells.



“The only explanation that made sense was that these shells were their homes – something that came as a real surprise," said Dr. Smith.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Not long before these organisms existed, there was nothing alive more complex than seaweeds or jellyfish: so it’s mind-boggling that we start to see the complex and dangerous ecologies usually associated with much younger geological periods so soon after the first complex animals arrive on the scene.”



The research illustrates how predators played a critical role in shaping ecology during the earliest stages of animal evolution. The behavior of a hermit crab has never been documented in penis worms or in any other organism that existed so early in history.&nbsp;



“Grabbing a shell takes a level of behavioral complexity to say, ‘Well, I need to find a shell that I fit in,'” Dr. Smith told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a>.&nbsp;



“And it requires a reasonably sophisticated neural processing level, which isn’t something we’ve associated at all with these worms that just slime around on the seafloor, [nor] with the Cambrian.”



“But fossil records keep throwing us these curve balls, and making us think, ‘Whoa, OK, this was even more of an explosion than we thought.'"



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</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

Hermit crab lifestyle discovered in 500-million-year-old worms

Hundreds of millions of years before the hermit crab appeared,...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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