You've undoubtedly noticed that the Moon has two distinct sides, right? The near side that we see from Earth and the far side that remains a mystery because it is never turned towards us.



This unusual lunar characteristic -- a global dichotomy -- is what a team of scientists led by Professor XU Yigang from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (<a href="http://english.gig.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GIGCAS</a>) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been investigating.



They have been studying lunar soil samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far side of the Moon, and returned to Earth by China's <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=CHANG-E-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chang’e-6 mission</a>.



These invaluable samples have allowed them to investigate the Moon's peculiar dichotomy and the results have shed light on some of its secrets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-chang-e-6">What is Chang’e-6?</h2>



The Chinese space program launched Chang'e 6, their latest Moon mission, on May 3, 2024. The spacecraft blasted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 5 rocket at 9:27 UT (that's 5:27 PM Beijing time). 



Their goal? To grab about four pounds (2 kg) of Moon rocks from the far side - something no one had done before.



The lander touched down in a huge crater called the South Pole Aitken Basin. The team used both a scoop and a drill to dig up surface samples and even went 2 meters deep into the lunar soil. 



They also sent out a small rover that cruised around taking snapshots of the lander doing its work.



Once they collected the samples, the crew packed them into an ascent vehicle sitting on top of the lander. 



On June 3 at 11:38 PM UT (7:38 AM Beijing time the next day), this vehicle shot up from the Moon's surface and met up with the orbiter waiting above. They made the handoff on June 6, 2024.



After ditching the ascent vehicle (which crashed back into the Moon), the return vehicle hung around in orbit for a couple weeks before heading home. 



It pulled off a tricky skip-entry through Earth's atmosphere and landed in Inner Mongolia's Siziwang Banner region on June 25 at 6:07 UT (2:07 PM Beijing time). 



The final haul? Roughly 4.2 pounds (1.9 kg) of Moon rocks and soil from the far side -- marking another big win for China's space program.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-far-side-vs-visible-side-of-the-moon">Far side vs. visible side of the Moon</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/its-official-earth-now-has-two-moons-captured-asteroid-2024-pt5/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moon's</a> dichotomy is visible in its topography, chemical composition, crustal thickness, evidence of volcanism and, most noticeably, in the difference in geomorphology between its near and far sides.



The near side of the Moon is home to the familiar "man in the moon" maria - the dark "seas" that are the result of ancient volcanic activity. 



These areas were flooded with molten lava that created rocks known as mare basalts.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_diagram_credit-YANG-Muhan_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_diagram_credit-YANG-Muhan_1s.webp" alt="Distribution of distinct volcanic episodes on the Moon’s farside. The remote sensing image highlights the Chang’e-6 landing site along with nearby mare and cryptomare basaltic units. Credit: Image by YANG Muhan" class="wp-image-1950782"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Distribution of distinct volcanic episodes on the Moon’s farside. The remote sensing image highlights the Chang’e-6 landing site along with nearby mare and cryptomare basaltic units. Credit: Image by YANG Muhan</figcaption></figure>



How about the far side? Well, here's where it gets intriguing. Only about 2% of this hidden part of the Moon is covered in the basalts, compared to around 30% on the near side.



This inexplicable difference is a vital part of the lunar global dichotomy that the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program aims to unravel.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-secrets-of-the-moon-s-far-side">Secrets of the Moon's far side</h2>



Thanks to the Chang’e-6 lunar soil samples, Professor XU's team discovered the existence of two different types of mare basalts, low-Ti, and very low-Ti (VLT). 



“The samples returned by Chang’e-6 provide a best opportunity to investigate the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2024-pt5-mini-moon-say-goodbye-to-earths-second-moon-we-barely-got-to-know-you/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar</a> global dichotomy,” said Professor XU.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-eruptions_basalt-types_credit-GIGCAS_1s.webp" alt="The two types of basalts in Chang’e-6 soils and isochrons of the Chang’e-6 low-Ti basalt. Credit: GIGCAS" class="wp-image-1950784"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The two types of basalts in Chang’e-6 soils and isochrons of the Chang’e-6 low-Ti basalt. Credit: GIGCAS</figcaption></figure>



Let's not dismiss the aspect of dating these samples either. With high-precision Pb-Pb dating techniques, the team determined that the low-Ti basalt dates back to around 2.83 billion years ago.



This attests to the presence of "young" magmatism or volcanic activities on the far side of the Moon. But of course, young is a relative term when we talk about 2.83 billion years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-the-history-of-volcanoes">Mapping the history of volcanoes</h2>



With such valuable information now in our hands, we can clearly chart the volcanic timeline on the far side of the Moon. 



Led by Professor LI Qiuli, the team conducted radioisotope dating on 108 basalt fragments, with 107 of them revealing a consistent formation age of 2807 million years ago.



But there's more. One fragment, a high-aluminum basalt, was dated to a monumental 4203 million years ago, making it the oldest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/harvest-moon-2024-will-feature-a-partial-lunar-eclipse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar</a> basalt for which age has been precisely determined.



This implies elevated levels of volcanic activity on the far side of the Moon for at least 1.4 billion years - between 4.2 billion and 2.8 billion years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



These findings, available for everyone to dissect, can help recalibrate the existing lunar crater chronology models. 



Christopher Hamilton, an independent planetary volcano expert, emphasized the importance of obtaining samples from this previously unchartered lunar territory.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_Change-6-mission_landing_credit-CLEP_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_Change-6-mission_landing_credit-CLEP_1s.webp" alt="China's Chang’e-6 mission spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. Credit: CLAP" class="wp-image-1950787"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">China's Chang’e-6 mission spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. Credit: CLAP </figcaption></figure>



More than just understanding the Moon, these lunar soil samples also have implications for some broad astronomical theories.



The new data indicates a constant impact flux after 2.83 billion years, which can offer new insights into planet migration in the early Solar System. 



So, by looking at the Moon, we are indirectly learning about our own cosmic neighborhood as well!



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next?</h2>



With more missions like the Chang'e-6, the future will undoubtedly bring many enlightening discoveries about our constant celestial companion.



In the end, we see that the Moon, despite its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-may-have-captured-the-moon-from-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">familiar appearance</a>, still hides untold secrets waiting to be discovered. 



These lunar missions represent a new age of lunar and planetary exploration that pushes the boundaries of our understanding.



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The researchers from the <a href="https://english.cas.cn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> express their gratitude for the support received from various institutes such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. These institutions' enduring support enables such important lunar explorations.



The study is published in the journals <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08382-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> and <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt1093" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Far side of the Moon had volcanic eruptions for over one billion years

You've undoubtedly noticed that the Moon has two distinct sides, right? The near side that we see from Earth and the far side that remains a mystery because it is never turned towards us. This unusual lunar characteristic -- a global dichotomy -- is what a team of scientists led by Professor XU Yigang from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (GIGCAS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been investigating. They have been studying lunar soil samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far...

The benefits of playing with objects (such as cars, dolls, blocks, puzzles) for infant learning and development are well documented in many structured experiments taking place in child-friendly lab environments. However, very little is known about how natural play unfolds spontaneously in real-life settings. A recent study led by <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a> (NYU) aimed to address this research gap by investigating infant free play in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/working-from-home-reduces-air-pollution/">home</a> environments.



Study participants included 40 infants from families living in New York. In order to enable comparisons between crawlers and walkers, the scientists selected twenty 13 month-olds, ten 18 month-olds, and ten 23 month-olds. The study took place between December 2017 and September 2019.&nbsp;



The researchers recorded infants who were free to interact with whatever objects they wanted during two home visits. While playing at home, infants exuberantly transitioned among dozens of objects each hour, showing preference to both toys and common household objects such as boxes, bins, pillows, stools, or remote controls.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Our findings show an essential first step in identifying the everyday inputs to infants’ natural learning,” said study co-author Catherine Tamis-LeMonda, a professor of Applied Psychology at NYU. “At a time in development when infants must acquire information about what objects are and what they can do with them, massive amounts of practice playing with a variety of objects at home is beneficial for learning. And varied exploration is adaptive. We thus seek to flip the narrative from a critique of what infants have not yet achieved to an acknowledgement of how infants interact with their natural learning environment at home.”



According to study lead author Orit Herzberg, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU, infant’s exuberant behavior should not be seen as flighty and distractible, but rather as a developmental asset – “an ideal curriculum for learning about the properties and functions that propels growth in motor, cognitive, social and language domains. Infants learn about the world by playing with as many things as possible, in short bursts of activity. And every object is a potential play object."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.13669">Child Development</a>.



---



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

Free play helps infants learn and develop

The benefits of playing with objects (such as cars, dolls,...

Having big eyes may not only have helped the wolf to see Little Red Riding Hood better. A recent study also suggests that having larger eyes makes some bird species less likely to be selected as hosts by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baby-birds-can-learn-sounds-before-theyve-even-hatched/">birds</a> that are brood parasites.



Birds that lay their eggs in the nests of other species relieve themselves of the burden of raising their own chicks. By recruiting the services of numerous hosts, brood parasites such as cuckoos can end up with a higher reproductive success than if they simply raised their own chicks.



Some host species can recognize an imposter’s egg and will pierce it or turf it out of the nest. But if the foreign egg is not detected, the host parents will end up devoting large amounts of energy to feeding and caring for a chick that does not carry their genes.



<a href="https://sib.illinois.edu/profile/mhauber">Mark Hauber</a> is a professor of&nbsp;E<a href="https://sib.illinois.edu/eeb/">volution, Ecology and Behavior</a>&nbsp;at the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign</a>, who co-led the new research with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/ian-ausprey/about-me/">Ian Ausprey</a>, a recent doctoral graduate from the University of Florida.&nbsp;



“The failure of some host birds to recognize foreign eggs in their own nests is somewhat perplexing,” said&nbsp;Professor Hauber. “Birds have much better vision overall than we do as humans. They have four color receptors instead of our three. They also can see into the ultraviolet range. What we did not know before this study was whether their eyes are adapted to egg rejection.”



To investigate the relationship between eye size and nest parasitism, the researchers used data originally collected in the 1970s by Stanley Ritland, a student at the University of Chicago. Ritland measured the eyeballs of more than 4,000 species of birds in museum collections. Ausprey and colleagues digitized this data and have previously used it to study the impacts of eye size on different traits.&nbsp;



The results, published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl">Biology Letters</a>, show that bird species that are brood parasites have larger eyes than bird species that are hosts. This difference was present even after allowing for the larger body sizes of brood parasites. In addition, the researchers found that birds with larger eyes relative to their overall body mass were less likely to have their nests parasitized.&nbsp;



“Non-host birds tend to have larger eyes than hosts,” said Professor Hauber. “One interpretation of that is that the parasites go for birds with poorer eyesight.”



“Having larger eyes is similar to having a bigger camera lens,” said Ausprey. “By collecting more light, large eyes improve a bird’s visual acuity, its ability to resolve an image in dim conditions and at long distances.”&nbsp;



In addition, within the range of host birds, those with larger eyes were more likely to recognize a foreign egg in their nest, unless the egg closely resembled the hosts’ own eggs.



This research is the first to show how eyes and other sensory systems contribute to the relationship between parasite and host species in birds. The study is a major step forward in understanding the evolution of such interactions between birds. &nbsp;



“Nest parasitism exerts enormous selective pressure on host populations, with major implications for population demography and local species persistence,” said Ausprey. “It’s incredible that such a simple trait as eye size can provide a powerful window into the sensory systems that mediate the coevolutionary arms race between nest parasites and their hosts.”



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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

Brood parasites target host birds with small eyes

Having big eyes may not only have helped the wolf...

Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are often maligned and feared because they <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-activities-help-scavengers-take-over-the-alpine-habitats-of-arctic-foxes/">scavenge</a> carcasses and are associated with dark nights and eerie, whooping or cackling calls. Some even see them as the embodiment of evil.&nbsp;



But in certain towns in Ethiopia - Mekelle and Harar, for example - hyenas are an accepted part of town life and may even bring benefits to the townsfolk.&nbsp;



In a recent study, a University of Michigan conservation ecologist and two colleagues attempted to quantify the health and economic benefits brought by the population of hyenas that scavenge at the landfill outside the town of Mekelle, the capital of northern Ethiopia's Tigray region.&nbsp;



“This is an important contribution to a growing body of work that highlights the benefits of predators and scavengers, rather than focusing only on their costs to humanity,” said study senior author Neil Carter, an assistant professor at the School for Environment and Sustainability.



Mekelle has a population of 310,000 people and 120,000 livestock. Animals are slaughtered for consumption and their carcasses are mostly disposed of on the town’s landfill or simply on the roadsides. Hyenas visit these sites every night to scavenge and, in so doing, remove the unwanted waste. The researchers investigated whether the hyenas prevent the spread of pathogens to people and livestock by consuming these remains.&nbsp;



The team first estimated the size of the spotted hyena population that visits the town by night. They did this by broadcasting pre-recorded hyena distress calls from the roof of a vehicle at five sites around the town. During each hour-long survey, hyenas that responded to the calls were counted using night-vision binoculars. The researchers estimated that 210 hyenas visit the town at night to scavenge.&nbsp;



Next, the researchers used night-time observations of hyena feeding behavior at the landfill to determine the number and identity of carcasses scavenged. The results showed that each adult hyena consumes around 2,100 lb of carcass waste in a year, and that this mass is made up mostly from horse carcasses.&nbsp;



Chicken carcasses are the most commonly eaten item, but waste from cattle, horses, sheep and goats is also consumed. The total mass of waste consumed by the hyenas is 207 metric tons per year, which represents 4.2 percent of the total animal carcass waste disposed of by the town’s residents and businesses.



The field data were collected and analyzed by study lead author Chinmay Sonawane, a former student of Carter's who is now a doctoral student at Stanford University.



The data were then used in a model of disease transmission to predict the number of anthrax and bovine tuberculosis infections that would arise in humans and livestock due to contact with infected carcass waste. The model predicted that hyena scavenging prevents five infections of anthrax and bovine tuberculosis in Mekelle residents and 140 infections in cattle, sheep and goats, during the course of a year. This disease-control service potentially saves the city $52,000 annually in treatment costs and livestock losses avoided.



“Yes, the effects are modest. Even so, this study totally upends the traditional narrative around hyenas - that they are a nuisance and should be removed,” said Carter.



“In comparison to the large cattle enterprises in the Global North, the benefits that we found are quite small,” said Sonawane. “However, losing even a single cow to anthrax or bovine tuberculosis can cause significant financial stress to cattle owners in Ethiopia, who tend to own much smaller herds of cattle than cattle owners in other parts of the world.”



“In addition, we only estimated the benefits accrued from hyenas within 5 kilometers of the city. It is very, very likely that hyenas from much further than 5 kilometers away are also coming into Mekelle and consuming even more waste.”



The study authors note that the benefits of hyena presence must be weighed against the costs of hyena attacks each year. A 2011 study reported 10 nonfatal hyena attacks on humans annually in Mekelle, along with an estimated economic loss of $2,928 from 33 fatal attacks on cattle and small ruminants annually. It is clear that in order to preserve and extend the health and financial benefits provided by the hyenas of Mekelle, the population of these scavengers must be managed to minimize the inherent risks to the humans with which they coexist.&nbsp;



“By maintaining the hyenas' access to waste, human-hyena conflict can be mitigated in Mekelle, and the sanitation and disease control benefits provided by hyena scavenging can be preserved or even increased,” wrote the researchers.&nbsp;Excluding hyenas from scavenging the animal carcasses may force them to hunt livestock, which would increase the human-hyena conflict.&nbsp;



Currently, the activities of the hyenas of Mekelle help fulfil three of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: they ensure good health, help provide clean water and sanitation, and promote terrestrial diversity. Furthermore, waste generation will increase in Mekelle as the population gets larger, and the sanitation situation is unlikely to improve, given the financial constraints in this low-income region.&nbsp;



“Hyena scavenging may, therefore, be even more valuable in the future,” concluded the researchers.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652664">Journal of Applied Ecology</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

Hyena scavenging brings health and economic benefits

Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are often maligned and feared because...

Asian elephants in the Myaing Hay Wun Elephant Camp in Yangon, Myanmar, are semi-wild and live in social groups. Their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/light-pollution-disrupts-flight-calling-behavior-of-thrushes/">behavior</a> naturally involves different forms of cooperation, for example with the protection of genetically related siblings, that enhances the survival of members in the group.&nbsp;



In new research conducted by Li-Li Li from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yunnan, China, and colleagues, nine elephants in this Camp were given a simple cooperative task and their behavioral responses were observed. The elephants were presented with two trays of food that could only be accessed by pulling two ropes simultaneously. Elephants had to cooperate in pairs, each one pulling a rope, in order to open up the two trays of food.&nbsp;



The researchers found that pairs of elephants cooperated successfully in 80 percent of trials, but there were also individuals that cheated by stealing part of the reward from a cooperating pair. The elephants used behavioral strategies to maintain cooperation, and also to mitigate conflict when cheating occurred. These strategies included resisting individuals that attempted to cheat or moving to a different side of the tray to feed.&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, when the researchers repeated the trials with a single food tray, the stakes were raised and one partner in the pair could dominate the other. When resources were limited in this way, the elephants became competitive and showed more costly behavior, like fighting, to gain access to the food. Elephants that had previously cooperated in pairs quickly became competitors and their mitigation behavior broke down.&nbsp;



The authors explain that elephants are generalist browzers and grazers in the wild and would be unlikely to encounter a scenario where individuals could monopolize a food source. They feel that this may explain why behavioral cooperation broke down once the elephants had to compete for a limited supply of food.&nbsp;



This is the first experiment to test cooperative behavior between elephants in a rope-pulling task, although similar results have been found for non-human primates. This may suggest that such behavior has evolved in distantly related species in order to maintain cooperation between members in social groups.&nbsp;



“We found that Asian elephants have a diverse repertoire of behaviors to use when cooperating with others, and are careful about how to mitigate competition based on their relationships,” adds Li. “This is an exciting demonstration of how flexible and socially intelligent elephants are!”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLoS Biology</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

Elephants can be very cooperative, until the food gets scarce

Asian elephants in the Myaing Hay Wun Elephant Camp in...

Air,Pollution,By,Smoke,Coming,Out,Of,Two,Factory,Chimneys.

Many previous studies have linked various types of ambient air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/working-from-home-reduces-air-pollution/">pollution</a> with poor pregnancy and birth outcomes all over the world. However, a new study published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/">PLoS Medicine</a> is the first to quantify the effects of indoor air pollution, mostly from cooking stoves, on key indicators of pregnancy.



According to the World Health Organization, more than 90 percent of people live with polluted outdoor air, and half the global population is also exposed to indoor air pollution from the combustion of coal, wood and dung inside homes.&nbsp;



The UC San Francisco and University of Washington global burden of disease study is a meta-analysis that looks at how indoor and outdoor air pollution affects gestational age at birth, reduction in birth weight, incidence of low birth weight and preterm birth.&nbsp;



The study was conducted with researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington and found that air pollution probably contributed to around 6 million premature births and 3 million underweight babies in 2019. Both these factors are major risks for infant mortality throughout the world.



“The air pollution-attributable burden is enormous, yet with sufficient effort, it could be largely mitigated,” said lead author Rakesh Ghosh, PhD, a prevention and public health specialist at the Institute for Global Health Sciences at UCSF.



Preterm birth rates are the highest in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and this is also where indoor air pollution is common. The researchers concluded that the global incidence of preterm birth and low birthweight could be reduced by almost 78 percent if air pollution were minimized these regions.



The study also found that outdoor air pollution poses a significant risk in more developed countries. In the United States, for example, outdoor air pollution is estimated to have contributed to almost 12,000 preterm births in 2019.&nbsp;



Previously, the same research team&nbsp;found that, in 2019, air pollution contributed to the deaths of 500,000 newborns within the first month of life.



“With this new, global and more rigorously generated evidence, air pollution should now be considered a major driver of infant morbidity and mortality, not just of chronic adult diseases,” said Ghosh. “Our study suggests that taking measures to mitigate climate change and reduce air pollution levels will have significant health co-benefit for newborns.”&nbsp; &nbsp;



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

Millions of premature births linked to air pollution

Many previous studies have linked various types of ambient air...

A new longitudinal study led by the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> has found that, as a consequence of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-threatens-the-base-of-the-polar-food-web/">climate</a> change, great tits (Parus major) in Britain are nesting and laying their eggs two weeks earlier than they did 60 years ago. Scientists believe that these <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/phenology">phenological</a> modifications were connected to changes in the oak trees’ blooming patterns caused by global warming, as well as to the health of the oak trees located nearby the birds’ nesting areas.



In order to examine the impact of global warming on birds, researchers used breeding data gathered over six decades about more than 13,000 great tits living and nesting in a 385-hectare woodland in Oxfordshire.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“When we consider data for the population as a whole between 1961 and 2020, both female laying date and the annual timing of peak abundance of winter moth larvae have advanced by over two weeks,” explained the study authors.



Great tits belong to a comprehensively studied food-web, feeding on caterpillars, which in turn feed on newly-emerging oak leaves. Due to climate change, early onsets of springs are making the oak trees bloom earlier, and are thus changing both caterpillars’ and great tits’ timing of crucial biological events.



"A significant predictor of the variability in laying date was the health of oak trees located within 75 metres of each nest box," explained the researchers. "For example, birds breeding in boxes surrounded by healthy oaks advanced their laying by 0.34 days per year, while those nesting in areas with oaks in poor health advanced by only 0.25 days per year. Great tits breeding in oak-rich territories tend to breed earlier and have higher reproductive success.”



This research has important implications for understanding the capacity of organisms to survive and adapt to climate change. Studying the modifications in the timing of biological events of species such as the great tit can shed new light on how animals can adapt to changing environments.



“Further work should test how phenological change varies at different spatial scales in a range of systems and explore both the underlying mechanisms and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of these processes,” the study authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=55199X1584066&amp;isjs=1&amp;jv=15.2.0-stackpath&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fsciencetech%2Farticle-10033377%2FGreat-tits-Britain-laying-eggs-two-weeks-earlier.html&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41558-021-01140-4&amp;xguid=&amp;xs=1&amp;xtz=-180&amp;xuuid=fe8e4493e515587e777ab8b1cd755010&amp;xjsf=other_click__auxclick%20%5B2%5D">Nature Climate Change</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

Great tits are nesting earlier due to climate change

A new longitudinal study led by the University of Oxford...

Honeybees can be infected by a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-could-cause-a-surge-in-coronavirus-cases/">virus</a> that makes their wings develop in an abnormal manner and causes them to fly poorly, or even lose their ability to fly altogether. The infection has also been shown to affect the ability of bees to learn and remember, which means that they may lose their way and not return home after a foraging trip. Bees that do not return to the hive at night are likely to die.



Bee colonies have been declining in number globally, and this has serious consequences for the pollination of important food crops. Scientists suggest this decline is due, in part, to the effects of the numerous different pathogens that infect bees.&nbsp;



The results of a recent study, published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/home">iScience</a>, indicate that a cheap, naturally occurring compound can prevent and even reverse the effects of Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) on infected honeybees.&nbsp;



“Pathogens are definitely a stressor for bees,” said study first author Cheng-Kang Tang at National Taiwan University. “But the beekeepers don’t want to use pesticides because of food safety concerns. So, we set out to find some compounds that can increase the strength of bees.”



The scientists found that DWV suppresses the expression of genes associated with nerve impulse transmission and other processes related to learning and memory in bees. Past research has shown that feeding aged mice with sodium butyrate (NaB), a common compound found in plants and in human intestines, can significantly improve their memories. Furthermore, NaB is known to increase the expression of genes in a range of different animals.&nbsp;



A previous study by the same authors demonstrated that including NaB in the diet of honeybees resulted in a significant increase in the expression of genes involved in immunity as well as in learning and memory. NaB also restored learning ability in bees that had been treated with neonicotinoid, an ingredient in some pesticides. Therefore, the researchers set out to test whether adding NaB to the diet of honeybees would improve their ability to resist the effects of infection with DWV.&nbsp;



A team led by Yueh-Lung Wu at National Taiwan University initially fed bees with NaB-laced sugar water for a week before infecting them with DWV. More than 90 percent of these bees remained alive after five days, while 90 percent of the infected bees that didn’t get NaB died over the same period.



“Our findings show that feeding the insects with NaB before virus exposure can counteract the negative impacts of the pathogen,” said Wu. “We also found previously that NaB can upregulate some immune response genes in bees, and this can help suppress viral replication and improve bees’ chances at survival.”



After finding this result, Wu’s team monitored the numbers of bees leaving and returning to several different beehives on a bee farm. The data, collected over a month, showed that in hives infected with DWV, only half of the foraging bees managed to return to the hive, while more than 80 percent of the bees fed with NaB sugar water were able to return.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“It is a really interesting study because we tested the effect of NaB on bees across different scales, from the genetic level, to behaviors in the lab, then in the field under a natural scenario,” said Wu.&nbsp;



“Sodium butyrate is really cheap. So, if we can prove its benefits, it would be an easy and affordable approach for beekeepers to keep their bees. Honeybees are important pollinators of myriad fruits and vegetables with economic importance worldwide and therefore are crucial for maintaining the balance of the ecosystem”



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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

Plant compound may help diseased honeybees find their way home

Honeybees can be infected by a virus that makes their...

A recent study led by the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a> suggests that the prolonged social isolation and changes in work opportunities during UK’s first <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lockdowns-improved-air-quality-in-some-states-but-not-in-others/">lockdown</a> in 2020 were linked with fundamental changes in people’s thought patterns, including disruptions in future-oriented thinking, as well as a pointed decrease in thinking about other people.&nbsp;



In order to understand the effects of social isolation on cognitive patterns, researchers texted study participants at random times during a period of one week to ask them what they were thinking about. Afterwards, they compared the data they gathered to a similar dataset they had collected before the lockdown.



“Anecdotally people have reported changes in aspects of their mental lives brought about by the pandemic, such as changes in what occupies their thoughts or dreams. Our study is the first to actually document the systematic changes that have occurred in thinking patterns during this unprecedented time,” said study co-author Giulia Poerio, a lecturer in Psychology at the University of Essex.



The researchers found that future thinking was significantly reduced during lockdown and seemed to occur at pre-lockdown levels only when people were engaged in work.&nbsp;



According to lead author Brontë McKeown, a PhD student in the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/psychology/">Department of Psychology</a> at the University of York, future thinking is generally associated with positive mental health outcomes. Thus, “the fact that this type of thinking was reduced in lockdown may help explain some of the negative emotional changes documented during this time.”



Moreover, social thoughts also seemed to diminish substantially during periods of isolation. These findings suggest that how much we think about other people depends on how much time we spend with them.&nbsp;



“During prolonged periods of physical isolation, we reduce the amount of time we think about others and when we do get to engage in&nbsp;social interaction, that promotes a bigger increase in our social thoughts," explained McKeown.



"Our findings are exciting because they show how important our&nbsp;external environment&nbsp;and social interactions are for shaping what is going on&nbsp;internally&nbsp;and suggest that changing our external world could be one way of changing the (mal)adaptive thought patterns that make up so much of our waking lives," concluded Dr. Poerio.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2102565118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Social isolation disrupts future and social thinking

A recent study led by the University of York suggests...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03889-2?utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_source=commission_junction&amp;utm_campaign=3_nsn6445_deeplink_PID100032693&amp;utm_content=deeplink">Nature</a> has found that wild seafood and other aquatic foods (“<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blue-foods-are-healthy-and-environmentally-friendly/">blue foods</a>”) have a much smaller <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/african-mountain-forests-store-huge-amounts-of-carbon/">carbon</a> footprint than red meat or dairy products, and thus present an opportunity for more sustainable diets.&nbsp;



A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.american.edu/">American University</a> in Washington D.C. analyzed the greenhouse gas emissions associated to 23 marine species that make up nearly three quarters of the animal species humans consume.&nbsp;



The experts discovered that the emissions associated with wild seafood were significantly lower than those connected to beef (one-sixth), lamb and mutton (one-fifth), or even cheese (half). Thus, a single burger basically generates the same amount of CO2 as 9 lbs of wild sardines.



This low environmental impact is caused by the fact that blue foods use little or no land to cultivate, compared to other foods, such as beef, which requires more than five square feet of land in order to produce a single protein.



Among the wild seafood and fish that the scientists analyzed, farmed seaweeds, clams, mussels, and scallops had the smallest environmental impact, with anchovies, herring, mackerel, and other pelagic fish coming not very far behind.&nbsp;



In the case of farmed fish and crustaceans, researchers found that salmon and trout used the least land and water resources. Silver and bighead carp had the lowest associated greenhouse gas, nitrogen, and phosphorus emissions, but the highest water usage.



“The food system occupies half of all ice-free land and is responsible for three-quarters of global consumptive water use,” explained study lead author Jessica Gephart, an environmental scientist at the American University.&nbsp;



“As a critical source of nutrition generating relatively low average environmental pressures, blue foods present an opportunity to improve nutrition with lower environmental burdens. Blue foods already have great potential for reducing food system environmental stressors,” she 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

Wild seafood has one-sixth the carbon footprint of red meat

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

Pocket gophers aren’t exotic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-are-shapeshifting-to-survive-climate-change/">animals</a>. They’re small, common rodents that live in underground burrows made of sandy soils. In a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www3.nd.edu/~ammidnat/">The American Midland Naturalist</a>, researchers have made a surprising discovery about pocket gophers - they glow under ultraviolet light.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The research was inspired by flying squirrels and opossums, which were already known to glow under ultraviolet light. 



"A bunch of people, myself included, were curious about other animals," said study lead author PhD candidate J.T. Pynne. "We tested it on the flying squirrels we had, and sure enough, it worked. So, I said, 'Well, what else do we have?'"&nbsp;



While a student at <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">UGA</a> Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Pynne focused his research on pocket gophers, so it was natural for him to test their biofluorescence too.



"And it turned out, pocket gophers, flying squirrels and opossums were the only animal specimens that fluoresced. And I'm thinking, of course my strange little animals do this," said Pynne.



Other known animals that glow under UV light are the platypus, spiders, some birds and more. "We have known for a long time that arthropods fluoresced. Any time I catch a scorpion or a spider or a millipede and I have my black light, they're bright blue," said Pynne.



Finding all of these glowing animals naturally leads to the question - why do they glow? Unfortunately, there is no clear answer from scientists yet. For some like Pynne, it’s simply an interesting way to explore the natural world - go out on a dark night with a UV flashlight and see what glows out there. 



"Although unknown, the adaptive significance of biofluorescence in pocket gophers is likely similar to that documented in terrestrial and arboreal species previously, including communication or predator evasion," wrote the study authors.



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

Pocket gophers glow under UV light

Pocket gophers aren’t exotic animals. They’re small, common rodents that...

Inside of every <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animal-products-linked-to-double-the-emissions-of-plant-based-foods/">animal</a>, there is an entire community of gut bacteria which contribute to digestion and fighting off disease. Without these “microbiomes,” complex, multicellular organisms would be far worse off. Now, a recent study is shedding light on the variety of compositions these microbiomes might take on within a single animal over the course of a year.&nbsp;



The study examined the migration and biology of Kirtland’s Warbler by sampling a key resource for ecologists - scat. The selected population of Kirtland’s Warbler migrates every year from Michigan (in spring) to the Bahamas (in the winter). Researchers from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>, the Smithsonian, and Georgetown University sampled the warbler’s poop in both locales.&nbsp;



"This study shows how much we can learn about even foundational aspects of bird biology, such as migration, from the combination of new and old technologies - fieldwork and following birds in their breeding, migrating, and wintering habitats, to newer technologies of radiotelemetry and next-generation DNA sequencing," explained study co-author Shannon Hackett.



By utilizing old and new methodologies, the team discovered that the bird’s gut microbiomes changed as they traveled.&nbsp;



“We’ve seen in other animals that microbiomes can be influenced by the places their hosts live. Lots of birds migrate, and they experience different environments at different points of their migratory cycle. We didn’t know how these different environments affected the birds’ microbiomes,” said study lead author Heather Skeen.



The relative rarity of Kirtland’s Warbler allowed them to track individual birds, and over a much smaller geographic area. Using twelve radio towers in Michigan, they were able to pinpoint the birds’ locations after they were tagged.&nbsp;



“One of the most important parts about this study is that we were able to recapture birds at different portions of the annual cycle in different locations, and we have this one-to-one comparison of the same population and the same individuals and how their microbiomes changed,” said Skeen.



This study’s results are important because birds have a much more flexible microbiome content than mammals. By tracking changes as populations move, due to migration or, potentially, climate change, we can have a better understanding of how changes correspond to changes in geography.&nbsp;



“An animal’s gut microbiome is an additional level of molecular diversity, and as global climate change alters ecosystems, the gut microbiome might be one of the avenues in which animals can adapt to the changing environment," said Skeen. "The gut microbiome has its own unique ecosystem, and it’s ripe for discoveries.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1365294x">Molecular Ecology</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

Birds pick up new gut bacteria as they travel

Inside of every animal, there is an entire community of...

Balanced diets containing plenty of fruit and vegetables are known to positively contribute to the physical health of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/boys-who-play-sports-as-young-children-have-better-mental-health/">children</a>. And now, new research from the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> has concluded that fruit, vegetables, and nutritious diets also have a beneficial effect on mental well-being.



The study examined the association between fruit and vegetable intakes, breakfast and lunch choices, and mental health of almost 9,000 school children across 50 local primary and secondary schools.



Lead researcher Professor Ailsa Welch explained the importance of the research. "We know that poor mental well-being is a major issue for young people and is likely to have long-term negative consequences. Adolescent mental health problems often persist into adulthood, leading to poorer life outcomes and achievement.”



Mental well-being data was gathered through self-reported dietary choices and age-appropriate surveys that asked students to score their mental well-being based on cheerfulness, relaxation, and interpersonal relationships.



Ultimately, the study concluded that children who exceeded their ‘five a day’ had the highest mental well-being scores. “As a potentially modifiable factor at an individual and societal level, nutrition represents an important public health target for strategies to address childhood mental wellbeing," explained Professor Welch.



The study also provided insight into nutrition trends among school children, showing that over 20 percent of primary students did not eat breakfast, over 10 percent of secondary students did not eat lunch, and approximately 75 percent of students did not eat their recommended five-a-day.



This is significant, as Dr. Richard Hayhoe explains that the types of breakfast and lunch ate by both primary and secondary school pupils were also significantly associated with well-being. For example, children who ate a traditional breakfast experienced better well-being than those who only had a snack or drink, said Dr. Hayhoe.



On the other hand, “secondary school children who drank energy drinks for breakfast had particularly low mental well-being scores, even lower than for those children consuming no breakfast at all.”



Other environmental factors that could negatively impact mental well-being (such as adverse childhood experiences and home situations) were considered within the analysis. However, Dr. Hayhoe concluded that nutrition had as much or more of an impact on wellbeing as factors such as witnessing regular arguing or violence at home.



The research has been published in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention &amp; Health.&nbsp;



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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

Children who eat fruit and vegetables have greater well-being

Balanced diets containing plenty of fruit and vegetables are known...

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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

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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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

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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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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...