The inclusion of fiber in the diet has been linked to a variety of health perks for decades. The body needs this essential nutrient to keep digestion running smoothly and maintain steady blood sugar levels.&nbsp;



Most experts recommend at least 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams for men, yet many adults in the United States barely reach half that goal. But there is more to this story than a happy belly or balanced glucose.&nbsp;



A recent study in Nature Metabolism shows that fiber may also leave a mark on our genes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-fiber-still-matters">Why fiber still matters</h2>



Fiber comes in many forms, from the crunchy stems of leafy greens to the chewy shells of beans and nuts. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/want-to-lose-weight-try-eating-more-protein-and-fiber/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dietary fiber</a> travels to the large intestine, where friendly bacteria feast on it.&nbsp;



This feast produces short-chain fatty acids, including propionate and butyrate, which have gained attention recently for their effects on gut health.



Researchers have been eager to see whether these acids from fibers impact genes beyond basic energy production.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fiber-gut-and-fatty-acids">Fiber, gut, and fatty acids</h2>



The science behind short-chain fatty acids and genes has intrigued experts for years, and now <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/michael-snyder" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Snyder</a>, Stanford B. Ascherman Professor of Genetics at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford University</a>, has shed more light on it through this project. 



His team traced the biological footprints of propionate and butyrate in both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fiber-rich-diets-reduce-antimicrobial-resistance-in-the-gut/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">normal cells</a> and cancer cells. 



The aim was to see how these acids might switch genes on or off in ways that influence the growth and survival of cells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-fiber-impacts-genes-nbsp">How fiber impacts genes&nbsp;</h2>



Short-chain fatty acids are generated when gut microbes break down fiber. They move into the bloodstream and can reach different tissues.&nbsp;



The study found that propionate and butyrate attach to certain sites on histones - which are proteins that act like spools for DNA - causing direct modifications on genes related to cell division and cell death.



“We found a direct link between eating fiber and modulation of gene function that has anti-cancer effects,” said Snyder.



Instead of simply describing fiber’s link to good health, the researchers pinpointed the exact molecular changes behind those benefits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preventing-uncontrolled-cell-growth">Preventing uncontrolled cell growth</h2>



Cancer often begins when cells lose their usual checks and balances. Normal cells are expected to grow, specialize, and sometimes self-destruct if there’s a problem.&nbsp;



When those processes go haywire, mutated cells can survive too long or multiply too fast. The study uncovered how certain chemical markers on genes for cell regulation might switch in a protective way when these short-chain fatty acids are around.



It is generally the case that people’s diets are very poor in fiber. Adjusting meal plans to include foods like beans, nuts, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/certain-vegetables-protect-us-from-illness-by-strengthening-the-lung-barrier/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cruciferous vegetables</a>, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-one-avocado-each-day-can-add-years-to-your-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">avocados</a> may promote the production of more of these acids, potentially offering some defense against abnormal cell growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-gut-and-genes-might-need-more-fiber">Why gut and genes might need more fiber</h2>



A diet that skimps on fiber starves the microbes that produce these beneficial fatty acids. Low levels can reduce the supply of butyrate and propionate.



That could leave you short on important chemical signals that appear to help keep unwanted cellular behavior under control.&nbsp;



According to the <a href="https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/carbohydrates/fiber/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a>, most Americans only consume around 15 grams of fiber daily, which falls short of <a href="https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/carbohydrates/fiber/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommended amounts</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-risk-and-fiber-s-gene-protective-role">Cancer risk and fiber’s gene-protective role</h2>



Colon cancer is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-cooking-oils-in-your-diet-may-be-linked-to-cancer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">concern for many adults</a>. The <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Cancer Society</a> estimates that about 1 in 23 men and 1 in 25 women will be diagnosed with colon cancer at some point in their lifetime. 



This new study provides a window into how the byproducts of fiber breakdown might influence gene behavior in the colon, and possibly other tissues, in a helpful way.



“By identifying the gene targets of these important molecules we can understand how fiber exerts its beneficial effects,” said Snyder.&nbsp;



Although more work is needed to confirm how each type of fiber interacts with the gut and the rest of the body, this adds to growing evidence that diet and cancer risk are tightly woven together.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-connection-between-diet-gut-and-genes">Connection between diet, gut, and genes</h2>



The research highlights the importance of diet as a modulator of genetic signals. 



It also emphasizes potential opportunities for personalized strategies that combine better eating habits with therapies aimed at correcting harmful gene activity.&nbsp;



Many clinicians see fiber as a key feature of a balanced diet, and these findings may prompt more specific guidelines on how much and which types of fiber are most valuable for long-term health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-foods-can-boost-fiber-intake">What foods can boost fiber intake?</h2>



Whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes remain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ketogenic-diet-may-help-the-body-kill-cancer-cells/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">top options</a> for boosting your daily fiber count. Vegetables like Brussels sprouts and broccoli, as well as fruits such as raspberries, also offer generous amounts.&nbsp;



Even small shifts like opting for a whole-wheat tortilla instead of a white-flour tortilla can push your numbers up. 



For individuals who struggle to reach recommended targets, talking with a healthcare provider or a registered dietitian can point the way to practical changes that nourish both you and your gut bacteria.



People sometimes balk at the thought of adding more plant-based foods to their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/which-dietary-changes-are-best-for-cancer-prevention/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diet</a>. But a gradual introduction may help your gut adjust without uncomfortable bloating or gas.&nbsp;



Your digestive system, along with your genes, could benefit from these simple swaps, especially as ongoing research on fiber clarifies the links between short-chain fatty acids and various cellular pathways.



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



All signs suggest that fiber is more than just a helper for digestion. These insights about short-chain fatty acids may prompt further collaboration between nutrition science and genetics.&nbsp;



By paying attention to what our microbes need, we may discover fresh paths to protect our cells from harm. The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-024-01191-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Metabolism</a>.



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Eating enough fiber prevents cancer in a surprising way

The inclusion of fiber in the diet has been linked to a variety of health perks for decades. The body needs this essential nutrient to keep digestion running smoothly and maintain steady blood sugar levels.&nbsp; Most experts recommend at least 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams for men, yet many adults in the United States barely reach half that goal. But there is more to this story than a happy belly or balanced glucose.&nbsp; A recent study in Nature Metabolism shows that fiber may...

A new worldwide survey of over 250,000 mountain glaciers has revised earlier estimates of glacial ice volume. The results suggest that there is 20 percent less ice available in the world’s glaciers than previously thought. These findings have important implications for estimates of freshwater availability, as well as for climate models taking into account the relation between glacier melting and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/venice-faces-an-uncertain-fate-due-to-sea-level-rise/">sea level rise</a>. 



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.ige-grenoble.fr/-English-">Institute of Environmental Geosciences (IGE)</a> in France and <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a> in the United States has studied more than 800,000 pairs of satellite images of glaciers acquired in 2017 and 2018 by NASA’s Landsat-8 and the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites. The data, which was processed using over one million hours of computation at IGE, comprises information about 98 percent of the world’s glaciers, including large ice caps, narrow alpine glaciers, slow valley glaciers, and fast tidewater glaciers.



“We generally think about glaciers as solid ice that may melt in the summer, but ice actually flows like thick syrup under its own weight,” said study senior author Mathieu Morlighem, a professor of Earth Sciences at Dartmouth. “The ice flows from high altitude to lower elevations where it eventually turns to water. Using satellite imagery, we are able to track the motion of these glaciers from space at the global scale and, from there, deduce the amount of ice all around the world.”



According to the scientists, the world’s glaciers contain about 20 percent less ice than initially thought. These findings fundamentally change projections for climate-driven <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-levels-are-rising-at-an-alarming-rate/#:~:text=Through%20ocean%20measurements%2C%20satellite%20observations,melting%20of%20Arctic%20sea%20ice.">sea level rises</a>. The new estimate reduces the potential for glacial contribution to sea level rise by approximately three inches, revising downwards the projected number from 13 to 10 inches.&nbsp;



While this may seem good news to many, the researchers stress the fact that comparing global differences with previous estimates is only one side of the picture. “If you start looking locally, then the changes are even larger. To correctly project the future evolution of glaciers, capturing fine details is much more important than just the total volume,” Professor Morlighem explained.



&nbsp;The research findings suggest that many of the world’s glaciers are shallower than previously estimated. In South America’s tropical Andes Mountains, for example, there is nearly a quarter less ice than previously thought. This means that there is up to 23 percent less freshwater stored in an area on which millions of people depend to get their water supplies.



“Many regions around the world have less ice than we thought, and it will have implications for millions of people,” Professor Molighem said. “Drinking water, power generation, and agriculture are among the essential services that will be impacted by these findings.”



Further research is needed to clarify the evolution of glaciers in various parts of the world, and assess the potential impact their potential melting due to global warming might have on sea level rises and freshwater availability.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00885-z">Nature Geosciences</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

The world’s glaciers contain less ice than previously thought

A new worldwide survey of over 250,000 mountain glaciers has...

A new study published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a> highlights the need for better mapping of peatland ecosystems and peatland fires, along with regular pre-and post-fire ground measurements. The researchers also emphasize the need for stricter <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tree-rings-reveal-the-carbon-storage-capacity-of-a-forest/">forest</a> and peatland protection policies, especially considering that their environmental impacts have been underestimated.



Global demand for wood and foods, such as soy beans, palm oil and beef, is known to fuel the deforestation of rainforests in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia. Felling these forests to make space for croplands, pastures and plantations removes the trees that would otherwise absorb and store carbon. This process also involves burning the indigenous vegetation to the ground, and even below the ground.



Although visual images of deforestation fires raging in the Amazon have become more common in the media, calculations of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reaching the atmosphere due to deforestation fires have been varied and contradictory.&nbsp;



Now, Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti of the University of Houston has quantified the GHG emissions associated with the 2019 and 2020 deforestation fires in Brazil and Indonesia. The study also considered the contribution from the burning of peatlands - dense, waterlogged ecosystems that underlie many of the rainforests in these two countries.



“The impact that human activities are causing in forests, especially in critical ecosystems like peatlands, is not well communicated to the general audience,” explained Dr. Krishnamoorti.



“During the 2019 fire season in Indonesia and Brazil, we observed a wide range of numbers being quoted in scientific and media communications."&nbsp;



“We wanted to understand the basis of these numbers but ran into challenges accessing the data. That led us to analyze the sources of measurement and errors, how the errors are compounded over time, and their impact on policies.”



The researchers used publicly available data for deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia to estimate the total GHG impact of deforestation fires in 2019 and 2020. They analyzed available data from all Indonesian provinces, and the Legal Amazon and Pantanal regions in Brazil. They accounted for emissions from the burning of above-ground biomass, as well as from the peat soils and dry matter in peatlands.&nbsp;



In Brazil, a total of 11,088 km2&nbsp;of forest were destroyed between August 2019 and July 2020. In 2019, Indonesia lost 31,000 km2&nbsp;of forest to deforestation fires. Many of these fires burned in carbon-rich peatland ecosystems.



Peatlands are wetland ecosystems in which&nbsp;waterlogged conditions prevent plant material from fully decomposing. Instead, it accumulates and becomes a dense layer of carbon-rich organic matter. Peatlands are known to store and sequester more carbon than any other type of terrestrial ecosystem.&nbsp;



In the humid tropics, peat forms under conditions of high precipitation and high temperature such as are found in Brazil’s Amazon and in the rainforests of Indonesia. In these locations, peatlands underlie the rainforest trees and are exposed when the forests are cleared.&nbsp;



During deforestation fires, peat ignites and burns, often underground. Peatland fires can smolder for weeks, as the dense organic matter slowly combusts. The stored carbon gets released into the atmosphere as CO2, along with other GHGs such as carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4). The accompanying smoke causes a haziness of fine particulate matter that contributes to air pollution and affects wildlife and human health.



The results of the analysis, published today in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/climate/sections/climate-services">Frontiers in Climate</a>, show that Brazil and Indonesia collectively emitted nearly 2 gigatons of CO2 equivalents (<a href="https://climatepolicyinfohub.eu/glossary/co2eq">CO2e</a>) in 2019 and 1 gigaton CO2e in 2020 from the combustion of above-ground biomass.&nbsp;



However, when the researchers included the emissions from deforestation fires in peatlands, the combined GHG impact in both countries increased to 3.65 gigatons CO2e in 2019 and 1.89 gigatons CO2e in 2020.&nbsp;This represents an increase of around 200 percent from the emissions generated by burning above-ground biomass alone.&nbsp;



The results indicate that burning peatlands contributed to between 40 and 60 percent of the GHG emission impact caused by deforestation fires, in those two countries. This implies that previous estimations underrepresented the contribution of these slow-burning fires in peat ecosystems.&nbsp;



In total, deforestation fires in Brazil and Indonesia accounted for three and seven percent, respectively, of the planet’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 and 2020,&nbsp;reports the study.



“Monitoring and measurement challenges in peatlands lead to an underestimation of the true impact of deforestation fires. Since these estimates form the basis of the policy response from national governments, it results in inadequate attention to forest and peatland protection as part of climate crisis mitigation efforts,” said Krishnamoorti.



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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

The true impact of peatland fires has been underestimated

A new study published by Frontiers highlights the need for...

Since light limits the productivity of algae, few nutrients reach the depths of the permanently ice-covered Arctic Ocean. However, a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.mpi-bremen.de/en/Home.html">Max Plank Institute for Marine Microbiology</a> has recently discovered surprisingly rich and densely populated ecosystems on the peaks of extinct underwater volcanoes in the Arctic, consisting of giant sponge gardens.



“Thriving on top of extinct volcanic seamounts of the Langseth Ridge we found massive sponge gardens, but did not know what they were feeding on,” said the chief scientist of the expedition Antje Boetius, an expert in Deep-Sea Ecology and Technology at the Max Planck Institute.



By analyzing samples collected during the expedition, the scientists discovered that the sponge gardens adapted to their nutrient-poor environment by accommodating complex communities of microorganisms in symbiotic relationships, and forming so-called “sponge holobionts.” These microbial symbionts contribute to the health and nutrition of the sponges by producing antibiotics, transferring nutrients, and disposing of excretions.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, thousands of years ago, substances seeping from the interior of the seabed were supporting a rich ecosystem, home to a large diversity of animals. When they died, their remnants remained, forming the food base of the current sponge population.



“Our analysis revealed that the sponges have microbial symbionts that are able to use old organic matter. This allows them to feed on the remnants of former, now extinct inhabitants of the seamounts, such as the tubes of worms composed of protein and chitin and other trapped detritus,” explained study first author Teresa Morganti, a marine scientist at the Max Planck Institute.&nbsp;



In addition, the sponges seem to act as ecosystem engineers, producing spicules that form a mat on which they crawl, and which traps particles and biogenic materials. The symbiotic microbes can digest refractory particulate and dissolved organic matter and use it as a carbon and nitrogen source. Thus, with the help of their symbionts, the sponges can tap into this detrital matter, utilizing it as a food source.



Since the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ecosystems-are-endangered-by-global-warming/">Arctic</a> is one of the most affected regions by climate change, these sponge communities are in need of immediate protection. 



“With sea-ice cover rapidly declining and the ocean environment changing, a better knowledge of hotspot ecosystems is essential for protecting and managing the unique diversity of these Arctic seas under pressure,” concluded Professor Boetius.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28129-7">Nature Communications</a>.



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

Giant sponge gardens found deep in the Arctic Ocean

Since light limits the productivity of algae, few nutrients reach...

Thanks to groundbreaking technology developed by the <a href="https://www.epfl.ch/en/">Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne</a> (EPFL) in collaboration with the <a href="https://www.lausanneuniversityhospital.com/">Lausanne University Hospital</a> (CHUV), three paraplegics have now been able to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lack-of-sleep-changes-how-you-walk/">walk</a>, swim, and cycle again, after years of inactivity cased by their illness. The new technology consists of spinal cord implants controlled by artificial intelligence software that employs electrical stimulation to reactivate spinal neurons which control trunk and leg muscles.



“Our stimulation algorithms are still based on imitating nature,” said study senior author Grégoire Courtine, a neuroscientist at EPFL and CHUV. “And our new, soft implanted leads are designed to be placed underneath the vertebrae, directly on the spinal cord. They can modulate the neurons regulating specific muscle groups. By controlling these implants, we can activate the spinal cord like the brain would do naturally to have the patient stand, walk, swim or ride a bike, for example.”&nbsp;



The researchers implanted the leads into the patients’ spinal cords, and inserted a pacemaker into their stomach, which they connected to a tablet able to forward a variety of signals to the pacemaker, which in turn activated spinal cord neurons responsible for specific types of movements.&nbsp;



Until now, three paraplegics with complete sensorimotor paralysis have successfully tested the system as part of an ongoing clinical trial. Within a single day, the implants controlled by the stimulation programs enabled the participants to stand, walk, cycle, swim, and control their trunk movements.&nbsp;



“That’s thanks to the specific stimulation programs we wrote for each type of activity,” explained Professor Courtaine. “Patients can select the desired activity on the tablet, and the corresponding protocols are relayed to the pacemaker in the abdomen.”



While the progress these patients achieved in a single day is amazing, the gains visible in a few months of using the new device are even more astonishing. After following a training regimen based on the stimulation programs, the three paraplegics were able to regain muscle mass, move around more independently, and participate in social activities such as having a drink while standing at a bar.



“This study further demonstrates the benefits of our approach,” said Professor Courtine. “We’re now working with&nbsp;<a href="http://onwd.com/">ONWARD Medical</a>, which recently listed on Euronext, to turn our discoveries into genuine treatments that can improve the lives of thousands of people around the world.”



The new technology and its results are described in an article published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01663-5">Nature Medicine</a>.



---



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

Groundbreaking new technology helps paraplegics move again

Thanks to groundbreaking technology developed by the Swiss Federal Institute...

A recent study led by the <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/">Australian National University</a> (ANU) has argued that ancient giant mountain ranges as high as the Himalayas and stretching up to 8,000 kilometers across entire supercontinents may have played a crucial role in the emergence and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-role-did-meat-eating-play-in-human-evolution/">evolution</a> of life on Earth. According to the scientists, the erosion of these supermountains has provided essential nutrients to the oceans while boosting oxygen levels in the atmosphere – which are both necessary ingredients for life to emerge and thrive.



The researchers found that the largest of these supermountains only formed twice in our planet’s history – the first between 2,000 and 1,800 million years ago (called the “Nuna Supermountain”), and the second one between 650 and 500 million years ago (the “Transgondwanan Supermountain”). While the Nuna Supermountain corresponded to the emergence of eukaryotes (the ancestors of plants and animals), the Transgondwanan marked the appearance of large animals 575 million years ago and the Cambrian explosion 45 million years later, when an amazing diversity of animal species emerged and rapidly proliferated.



“What’s stunning is the entire record of mountain building through time is so clear. It shows these two huge spikes: one is linked to the emergence of animals and the other to the emergence of complex big cells,” said study co-author&nbsp;Jochen Brocks, a professor of Earth Sciences at ANU.



According to Professor Brocks and his colleagues, when these supermountains eroded they most probably provided essential nutrients such as phosphorous or iron to the oceans, promoting new biological cycles and driving life on our planet to new levels of complexity. Furthermore, these supermountains may also have boosted oxygen levels in the atmosphere, which was necessary for complex forms of life to breathe.&nbsp;



“The early Earth’s atmosphere contained almost no oxygen. Atmospheric oxygen levels are thought to have increased in a series of steps, two of which coincide with the supermountains,” explained study lead author Ziyi Zhu, a doctoral candidate at ANU.&nbsp;“The increase in atmospheric oxygen associated with the erosion of the Transgondwanan Supermountain is the largest in Earth's history and was an essential prerequisite for the appearance of animals.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Between these two major evolutionary events, there is no evidence of the formation of other supermountains. “The time interval between 1,800 and 800 million years ago is known as the Boring Billion, because there was little or no advance in evolution,” said study co-author Ian Campbell, an emeritus professor of Geochemistry and Geochronology at ANU.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The slowing of evolution is attributed to the absence of supermountains during that period, reducing the supply of nutrients to the oceans. This study gives us markers, so we can better understand the evolution of early, complex life.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012821X22000279?dgcid=author#!">Earth and Planetary Science Letters</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

Supermountains were essential for the evolution of life on Earth

A recent study led by the Australian National University (ANU)...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">UC Santa Barbara</a>, experts have investigated a deadly fungal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pigs-are-highly-resistant-to-sars-cov-2-infection/">infection</a> called chytridiomycosis that has been killing amphibians all over the world for decades. The research represents the most comprehensive study to date of the devastating amphibian disease in the Mediterranean region of Baja California.&nbsp;



Amphibians are already severely threatened by invasive species, habitat loss, climate change and pollution. In an effort to safeguard these endangered animals, the scientists have analyzed many aspects of chytridiomycosis, including its origin, genetics, and impact. The findings indicate that the disease is more prevalent on the Baja peninsula than in similar areas of Southern California.



“Contrary to what we had expected, what’s going on in Baja California is very different than what’s going on with chytrid fungus in Southern California, where the species are pretty much the same, and the environment is very similar," said study lead author Andrea Adams.



Chytrids are a large group of soil-dwelling fungi that are typically harmless. Two species of chytrids, however, have evolved to infect the skin of amphibians. In animals with severe infections, the skin responds by thickening. This can be very detrimental because frogs not only "drink through their skin,” but also exchange salts and minerals this way. For many amphibians, thicker skin can be deadly.&nbsp;



The researchers set out to investigate the environmental and biological factors that influence chytrid infection in Baja California, particularly at different elevations.&nbsp;



“We knew chytrid was here, but we didn’t know how it was affecting different species or which variables mattered most,” said study co-author Anny Peralta-García, director of Conservación de Fauna del Noroeste, a nonprofit organization dedicated to research and conservation in Baja California.



“We found that when it comes to chytrid infection, the most important things are where you live and who you are,” said Adams. The team found that chytrid infections were more common and more intense at higher elevations. This is because the environment is cooler and holds more moisture - conditions that are just right for the fungus to thrive.



According to the experts, some species are also more susceptible to the infection than others. For example, the California red-legged frog was among the most infected.



While the researchers found that 68 percent of animals they surveyed in Baja California had the fungus, only 15 percent of amphibians were infected in Southern California. “In Baja California, we found that 99 percent of the California red-legged frogs at the highest-elevation site were infected,” said Adams.



The disease was not only was not only more prevalent in Baja - the infected animals also carried a higher pathogen load. The chytrid fungus has evolved over time, and more virulent or infectious strains could emerge in different locations.



“Right now, our main focus is trying to increase populations of California red-legged frogs in Baja California and Southern California,” said Peralta-García.



“Anny and I are actually doing very similar things,” said Adams. “We are both working to find the best ways to bring these frogs back to places they’ve disappeared from, and we learn a lot from each other.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/global-ecology-and-conservation">Global Ecology and Conservation</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

Fungal disease is wiping out amphibians in Baja California

In a new study from UC Santa Barbara, experts have...

In a new study from the lab of <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> ecohydrologist Alexandra Konings, experts have identified “double-hazard” zones for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-and-extreme-heat-waves-increase-air-pollution/">wildfire</a> in the western United States. The results show that the risk of wildfire is even greater than expected in areas with a combination of atmospheric dryness and highly sensitive, tinder-dry plants.



According to the researchers, the study suggests that the distribution of vegetation (the arrangement of scrub, alpine meadows, sagebrush, coniferous forest and other plant communities) has amplified the effect of climate change on wildfire hazard across many Western states, creating double-hazard zones.



In these areas that face greater wildfire risks, much more land will burn.



“California and other Western states are working hard to figure out how to adapt to the changing wildfire risk landscape, including long-term decisions around issues such as land use, vegetation management, disaster planning and insurance,” said study co-author Noah Diffenbaugh.&nbsp;



“There’s a wealth of information in this analysis to support decisions about how to more effectively manage the risks of living in the West in the context of a changing climate.”



The experts set out to investigate whether climate change is increasing wildfire hazard uniformly in the West. “I asked, is that true everywhere, all the time, for all the different kinds of vegetation? Our research shows it is not,” said study lead author Krishna Rao.&nbsp;



The study looked at something known as the vapor pressure deficit, which is an indicator of how much moisture the air can suck out of soil and plants.&nbsp;



Vapor pressure deficit has increased over the past 40 years across most of the American West, mostly because warmer air can hold more water. This is one of the primary mechanisms by which climate change is intensifying wildfire hazards.



The experts report that vapor pressure deficit is rising fastest in areas where plants are especially prone to drying out.&nbsp;



The study identified 18 double-hazard zones, where a rapid rise in burn area has occurred with each jump in vapor pressure deficit over the past two decades.&nbsp;



The high-risk areas, which range in size from hundreds to thousands of square miles, have been found in eastern Oregon, Nevada’s Great Basin, central Arizona’s Mogollon Rim and California’s southern Sierra Nevada.



The causes of catastrophic wildfires across the American West are complex, involving factors such as climate change and decades of fire suppression. Furthermore, human populations are growing along the boundary of undeveloped wilderness. This transition zone is referred to as the wildland-urban interface (WUI).&nbsp;



In California alone, more than 11 million residents live in the WUI. The researchers found that communities within the WUI are booming in the very places where ecosystems are most sensitive to drought.



“This redoubles the need to be thinking about what we can do to reduce wildfire impacts in the WUI in general, including for this subgroup of people who are in the most vulnerable locations," said Konings.



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

"Double-hazard" wildfire zones identified in the American West

In a new study from the lab of Stanford University...

Both <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-60131986">Pfizer/BioNTech</a> and <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/26/health/moderna-omicron-antibodies-booster/index.html">Moderna</a> have recently reported that they are starting clinical trials to test their newly developed Omicron-specific boosters, which may provide better protection against this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-partial-immune-evasion-after-vaccination/">immune-evasive</a>, highly contagious variant. However, a new study conducted on primates (which is yet to be peer-reviewed) argues that there may not be significant benefits from updating the current vaccines to target specifically the Omicron variant.



A research team led by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ <a href="https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/vrc">Vaccine Research Center</a> has found that macaque monkeys boosted with the original Moderna vaccine had similar protection against Omicron-caused disease in the lungs as animals that received an updated, variant-specific booster. In fact, blood studies have shown that measurable immune responses, such as rises in neutralizing antibody levels, were mostly similar, regardless of the booster used.



According to senior author Robert Seder, the chief of the Cellular Immunity section at the Vaccine Research Center, these findings corroborate those of a previous study published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl8912">Science</a> last year, which showed that a booster shot based on the Beta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was not more effective against this particular variant than the original vaccines designed to target the wild-type virus that emerged in Wuhan in 2019.



“These data would suggest that the initial imprinting of the initial vaccine generated B cells that […] when you give them a boost six or nine months later, they’re cross-reactive to Omicron or Beta or Delta,” said Seder.&nbsp;



“The existing boosters provide improved (but imperfect) protection against infection,” added Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan’s <a href="https://vido.org/">Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization</a>. “Based on these data, it doesn’t look like an Omicron-specific booster would improve that all that much. Certainly both booster formulations provide significant protection compared to the controls, but it may not be necessary to have Omicron-specific boosters.”&nbsp;



Moreover, according to Professor Seder and his colleagues, preliminary data suggests that an Omicron-specific vaccine may not be ideal if given on its own, since it might not generate the same level of cross-immunity as the original vaccines. Thus, if Delta or other variants make a comeback, or if new variants emerge, people may turn out be less protected by the Omicron-based vaccine than by the original ones.



Further research is needed to clarify whether these findings hold in the case of human subjects too, and whether other Omicron-specific vaccines, such as that developed by Pfizer/BioNTech have similar effects.



A pre-print of the study can be found on <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.03.479037v1.full.pdf">bioRxiv</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

Omicron-specific boosters may not be necessary

Both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have recently reported that they are...

Healthy,Serene,Young,African,American,Girl,Sleeping,Well,In,Comfortable

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a> and the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> has found that getting more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childrens-sleep-can-be-disrupted-by-even-dim-light-at-bedtime/">sleep</a> can reduce caloric intake, and thus lead to weight loss, without sustained control over dietary habits or increases in the frequency or intensity of physical exercise.



In a randomized clinical trial with 80 adult participants, a team of researchers led by Dr. Esra Tasali, the director of the University of Chicago’s <a href="https://sleep.uchicago.edu/">Sleep Research Center</a> (SRC), has helped young, overweight adults who habitually slept fewer than 6.5 hours per night to increase their sleep duration by an average of 1.2 hours per night through a personalized sleep hygiene counselling session.&nbsp;



“We saw that after just a single sleep counseling session, participants could change their bedtime habits enough to lead to an increase in sleep duration,” said Dr. Tasali. “We simply coached each individual on good sleep hygiene, and discussed their own personal sleep environments, providing tailored advice on changes they could make to improve their sleep duration. Importantly, to blind participants to sleep intervention, recruitment materials did not mention sleep intervention, allowing us to capture true habitual sleep patterns at baseline.”



Dr. Tasali and her colleagues monitored participants’ caloric intake both before and after the change in their sleeping patterns, and found that the increase in sleep duration helped participants reduce this intake by an average of 270 kilocalories per day – which would translate to roughly 12 kg of weight loss over three years if the effects were maintained over a long term.



“Over the years, we and others have shown that sleep restriction has an effect on appetite regulation that leads to increased food intake, and thus puts you at risk for weight gain over time,” said Dr. Tasali. “More recently, the question that everyone was asking was, ‘Well, if this is what happens with sleep loss, can we extend sleep and reverse some of these adverse outcomes?”



Further research is needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms explaining these results, and to design larger studies on weight control to determine if extending sleep could be of use in weight-loss programs and help prevent or reverse obesity.



“Many people are working hard to find ways to decrease their caloric intake to lose weight - well, just by sleeping more, you may be able to reduce it substantially,” concluded Dr. Tasali.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.8098">JAMA Internal Medicine</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Getting more sleep can boost weight loss

A new study led by the University of Chicago and...

Biologist and ethologists have long noticed that some nonhuman animals, such as bears, elephants, or bees have the capacity to self-medicate. However, until recently, no evidence has emerged that animals are also able and willing to assist other suffering members of their species.&nbsp;



In November 2019 though,&nbsp;Alessandra Mascaro, a volunteer at the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.ozouga.org/">Ozouga Chimpanzee Project</a> - a research organization investigating chimpanzee behavior in Gabon, Central Africa - observed a female chimpanzee inspecting a wound on the foot of her adolescent son. Next, the mother was seen catching an insect out of the air, putting it in her mouth, and then applying it onto her son’s wound.



After this extraordinary event, which Mascaro managed to capture on video, the Ozouga team started to monitor the chimpanzees for such wound-tending behavior. Over the next 15 months, they documented 76 more cases.



According to the researchers, these acts of applying insects to others’ wounds are clear examples of prosocial behavior, in which the chimpanzees act in the best interest of others rather than just themselves. 



“This is, for me, especially breathtaking because so many people doubt prosocial abilities in other animals,” said study co-author Simone Pika, a cognitive biologist at the <a href="https://www.uni-osnabrueck.de/en/home/">Osnabrück University</a> in Germany. “Suddenly we have a species where we really see individuals caring for others.”



Further research is needed to clarify which types of insects the chimpanzees use in order to tend one another’s wounds, and what therapeutic properties these insects have. 



“Humans use many species of insect as remedies against sickness - there have been studies showing that insects can have antibiotic, antiviral, and anthelmintic functions,” said Dr. Pika. One theory, which still needs to be tested, is that some of the insects used by chimpanzees may also provide pain relief.



“Studying great apes in their natural environments is crucial to shed light on our own cognitive evolution,” said study senior author Tobias Deschner, a primatologist at the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/index/">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a>. “We need to still put much more effort into studying and protecting them and also protecting their natural habitats.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.12.045">Current Biology</a>.



---



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

Chimpanzees use insects to tend to each other’s wounds

Biologist and ethologists have long noticed that some nonhuman animals,...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.ecu.edu.au/">Edith Cowan University</a> (ECU), researchers have found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-can-control-single-muscle-fibers-while-singing/">muscle</a> strength can be improved in as little as three seconds a day by lifting weights.&nbsp;



In collaboration with researchers from Niigata University of Health and Welfare (NUHW) in Japan, the researchers focused their study on 39 healthy students over the course of four weeks.&nbsp;



The participants performed one muscle contraction at maximum effort for three seconds per day, five days a week.&nbsp;The students were assigned one of three exercises (isometric, concentric or eccentric bicep curls) in which the muscle has different duties while being activated. 



Concentric contraction is achieved by lifting the weight in a bicep curl, eccentric contraction is activated by lowering the weight, and holding the weight parallel to the ground produces an isometric contraction.&nbsp;



Before and after the study period, the experts measured the muscles’ maximum voluntary contraction strength. The same measurements were obtained from an additional 13 students who performed no exercise.



Professor Ken Nosaka, who led the research, said the results show that people don't have to spend vast amounts of time exercising to improve their muscle strength.&nbsp;



“The study results suggest that a very small amount of exercise stimulus - even 60 seconds in four weeks - can increase muscle strength,” said Professor Nosaka.&nbsp;



“Many people think you have to spend a lot of time exercising, but it’s not the case. Short, good quality exercise can still be good for your body and every muscle contraction counts.”&nbsp;



The study revealed that all three lifting methods improved muscle strength, with the biggest gains found among students who performed eccentric contractions. Overall, the eccentric group’s&nbsp;



muscle strength improved by 11.5 percent after a collective effort of just 60 seconds. Students in this group saw significant improvements across all three measurements: concentric strength increased by 12.8 percent, isometric by 10.2 percent, and eccentric strength increased by 12.2 percent.&nbsp;



“Although the mechanisms underpinning eccentric contraction’s potent effects are not clear yet, the fact only a three-second maximal eccentric contraction a day improves muscle strength in a relatively short period is important for health and fitness,” said Professor Nosaka.&nbsp;



The concentric lifting group improved slightly in isometric strength but not elsewhere. The isometric group saw an increase in eccentric strength of 7.2 percent, while the volunteers who did not lift weights showed no improvement.&nbsp;



Professor Nosaka said the findings were exciting for promoting physical fitness and health, such as prevention of sarcopenia – a decrease in muscle mass and strength with aging.&nbsp;



“We haven’t investigated other muscles yet, but if we find the three-second rule also applies to other muscles then you might be able to do a whole-body exercise in less than 30 seconds,” said Professor Nosaka. “Also, performing only one maximal contraction per day means you don’t get sore afterwards.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/16000838">Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports</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

Three seconds a day is all it takes to build muscle strength

In a new study from Edith Cowan University (ECU), researchers...

Known locally as kuluva, the Fijian Dillenia biflora trees have long been a mystery to scientists aiming to understand their position in the evolutionary tree of flowering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-that-breathe-underwater-could-improve-crop-resilience/">plants</a> and the way in which they were pollinated. Until recently, the Dilleniaceae&nbsp;plant family was believed to offer no nectar rewards and be pollinated mainly by bees. However, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a> (UniSA) has found that blossom bats (Notopteris macdonaldi) play a fundamental role in the pollination of these plants.



“We discovered that the kuluva flowers never opened on their own, and instead were being pulled off by blossom bats that were after the sugar-rich nectar inside,” said study lead author Sophie Petit, an expert in Pollination Ecology at UniSA.&nbsp;



“The bat lands on a whorl of leaves, removes the corolla, and licks the nectar, covering its nose with pollen in the process. The pollen on the bat is then transported to other flowers of the same species, which are pollinated and produce fruits containing seeds.”



Since kuluva flowers are mature and receptive for one night only during their life cycle, they just have one chance of being pollinated. By removing their corollas - which would otherwise remain forever closed&nbsp;– blossom bats are fundamental for their reproduction.&nbsp;



These findings highlight the need to understand the co-dependence of different species. In this particular case, without blossom bats, some Dillenia trees may not survive - while without these trees, some endangered bat species may become extinct.



“Our discovery has the potential to facilitate the conservation of several threatened tree and bat species across countries,” said Professor Petit. 



“In Fiji, blossom bats are a threatened species. Given that 70 percent of the bats’ dietary samples contained kuluva, it’s obvious that the bats rely heavily on this tree for food. Considering the threatened status of several Dillenia species in different countries, their potential association with bats needs urgent attention, particularly since so many bat species are also threatened.”



“We are currently establishing collaborations in other parts of the Dillenia range. Urgent conservation action is needed, and many nocturnal discoveries await. It’s time for botanists and ecologists to stay up late!” 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262985">PLoS One</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

Bats play an active role in plant pollination

Known locally as kuluva, the Fijian Dillenia biflora trees have...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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