Pandemics are not new to us. We've faced numerous ones in history that tested human resilience. And now, we gear up once again to face another looming threat - the H5N1 bird flu virus. 



We have a relentless foe hiding in our midst, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/avian-flu-is-now-spreading-from-mammal-to-mammal-alarming-health-officials/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spreading</a> unseen and silently evolving. A recent study published in the journal Nature has cast a spotlight on the H5N1 virus.



From European fur farms to United States dairy cattle, H5N1 seems to be leaving no stone unturned. But the burning question is - will bird flu cause the next human pandemic?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-pathways-of-bird-flu">Evolutionary pathways of bird flu</h2>



Zoonotic influenza specialist Dr. Thomas Peacock and his team from <a href="https://www.pirbright.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Pirbright Institute</a> have investigated the complex world of virus ecology and evolution.



Dr Peacock, who analyzed the drivers of the current H5N1 avian influenza panzootic, noted that influenza A viruses (IAV) have caused more documented global pandemics in human history than any other pathogen.



"Historically, swine are considered optimal intermediary hosts that help <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pirate-birds-who-steal-food-are-spreading-a-deadly-flu-strain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">avian influenza</a> viruses adapt to mammals before jumping to humans,” said Dr. Peacock. "However, the altered ecology of H5N1 has opened the door to new evolutionary pathways.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-sudden-expansion-of-bird-flu">The sudden expansion of bird flu</h2>



The researchers have identified the "altered ecology" of H5N1 as a key driver in its spread. This particular bird flu virus strain is proving to be a formidable enemy, continually evolving and finding novel ways to infiltrate and infect hosts.



"Could dairy cattle, farmed mink, or South American sea lions serve as new mammalian gateways to humans? Here we explore the molecular and ecological factors driving H5N1’s sudden expansion in host range and assess the likelihood of different zoonotic pathways leading to an H5N1 pandemic," noted the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-major-gaps-in-our-defense">Major gaps in our defense </h2>



The study reveals weak spots in our current control mechanisms. An apparent hesitation to adopt modern vaccine and surveillance technologies, combined with a lack of consistent data collection around H5N1 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cattle-may-become-a-permanent-host-for-bird-flu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">transmission</a> between cows and humans on US dairy farms, are causing major gaps in our defenses.



While previous generations of US cattle producers had successfully stamped out foot-and-mouth disease by rapidly sharing epidemiological data, the current scenario seems to have slipped into a data blackout. 



Unprecedented gaps in data are leaving researchers, veterinarians, and policy-makers grappling in the dark.



While H5N1 is a reportable disease in poultry, it does not hold the same status in mammals in the US. The Department of Agriculture mandates H5N1 testing only in lactating cattle before interstate movement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-silent-spreaders-of-the-bird-flu-virus">Silent spreaders of the bird flu virus</h2>



The current focus for H5N1 monitoring in wildlife is carcass testing, which provides a perfect bypass for the virus to spread silently and undetected among live animals.



So, we are left with a chilling possibility - unseen chains of transmission silently spreading through various avenues.



A process called "genomic reassortment" plays a major role in the current global spread. When two or more viruses infect a host at the same time, they can exchange segments during genome replication, creating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/raw-milk-may-transmit-bird-flu-virus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">novel hybrid viruses</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turning-point-for-hpai">Turning point for HPAI</h2>



The possible continual presence of H5N1 in Europe and the Americas is a significant turning point for High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI). We need to rapidly develop new control strategies, including vaccination.



Stocks of H5 vaccines that are antigenically related to circulating viruses are available and could be scaled up using mRNA platforms for mass production if H5N1 begins spreading in humans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-flu-s-threat-to-humans">Bird flu's threat to humans</h2>



The potential severity of an H5N1 pandemic remains unclear. However, recent bird flu infections in humans have shown a lower case fatality rate compared to previous outbreaks in Asia. This could be due to infection through the eye, instead of viral pneumonia in the lungs.



Older individuals seem to have partial immunity due to prior exposure, while younger individuals may be more susceptible to severe disease in a future H5N1 pandemic.



As we stand at the precipice of a possible <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-moving-north-and-breeding-earlier-in-a-changing-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new pandemic</a>, it's time for us to buckle up and tighten our defenses against the H5N1 bird flu virus. We must ask ourselves a crucial question - Are we ready to combat another pandemic?



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08054-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Efforts to control bird flu are not working: Are humans next?

Pandemics are not new to us. We've faced numerous ones in history that tested human resilience. And now, we gear up once again to face another looming threat - the H5N1 bird flu virus. We have a relentless foe hiding in our midst, spreading unseen and silently evolving. A recent study published in the journal Nature has cast a spotlight on the H5N1 virus. From European fur farms to United States dairy cattle, H5N1 seems to be leaving no stone unturned. But the burning question is -...

Extreme poverty in developing countries could be reduced through ambitious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-tipping-points-will-not-be-the-point-of-no-return/">climate</a> policies, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/home">Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research</a> (PIK). 

"Climate policies safeguard people from climate change impacts like extreme weather risks or crop failures. Yet they can also imply increased energy and food prices," said study lead author Bjoern Soergel. 

"This could result in an additional burden especially for the global poor, who are already more vulnerable to climate impacts. Poverty reduction hence needs to be included in the design of climate policies."

The Potsdam scientists determined that, at the current rate of socioeconomic development, about 350 million people will live in extreme poverty by 2030, living on less than $1.90 per day.

The experts report that if climate policies consistent with the Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius were introduced, this could even increase poverty by another 50 million people.

Sorgel said that in order to compensate for this, we should combine emission pricing with a progressive redistribution of the revenues, which could be achieved by establishing a "climate dividend." In this case, the revenues would be returned equally to all citizens, turning poorer households with typically lower emissions into net beneficiaries of the scheme. 

According to Soergel, this could in fact turn the trade-off between climate action and poverty eradication into a synergy.

The researchers found that this type of redistribution plan can alleviate the negative side effects of climate policies on poverty. The scientists also looked at international burden sharing. 

"To share the costs of climate change mitigation in a fair way, industrialized countries should compensate developing countries financially," explained study co-author Nico Bauer.

"Combining the national redistribution of emission pricing revenues with international financial transfers could thus provide an important entry point towards a fair and just climate policy in developing countries," said study co-author Elmar Kriegler. "And it does not stop there: We need to look beyond 2030 and continue to work towards the goal of eradicating extreme poverty."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ambitious climate policies would help reduce extreme poverty

Extreme poverty in developing countries could be reduced through ambitious...

To help restore ecosystems that have been damaged by human activities, land managers are increasingly using a hands-off strategy known as rewilding. One of the most successful rewilding efforts was the recent reintroduction of grey wolves in Yellowstone, where the removal of large <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/do-coral-reefs-depend-on-poop-from-their-predators/">predators</a> had destabilized the park's ecosystem. 

However, a new study shows that rewilding a landscape requires more than just the reintroduction of a plant or animal. The experts found that geography and geology must also be taken into account.

Kenneth Rijsdijk is an ecologist at the <a href="https://www.uva.nl/en">University of Amsterdam</a>, who is presenting the research at the <a href="https://www.egu.eu/">European Geosciences Union</a> (EGU) General Assembly 2021. He explained that it is the landscape that ultimately decides the outcome of rewilding efforts.

One of the key challenges of rewilding is deciding where to do it, said Rijsdijk, especially given competing land-uses like infrastructure and agriculture. 

"Clearly, we cannot, and should not, rewild everywhere. It makes sense to pick out specific areas where rewilding is more likely to succeed, taking into account how landscape features, like ruggedness and soil nutrients, can shape ecosystems."

The success of rewilding is measured based on biodiversity, such as an increase in the abundance and diversity of plant or bird species. These measurements, however, do not factor in the role of landscape, including the topography, river systems, soil and the underlying geology. Known collectively as geodiversity, these aspects of the landscape provide the physical support needed for life.

"Landscape plays a pivotal role in defining the ecosystem: determining where vegetation grows, herbivores graze, animals seek shelter, and predators hunt," said Rijsdijk.

"It's remarkable that, from a conservation standpoint, the landscape itself is significantly undervalued in the success of rewilding projects," said study co-author Harry Seijmonsbergen.

The researchers developed a new index for rewilding that draws on more than a century of geological and geographical map data to measure landscape quality. They also studied how geodiversity influenced rewilding over time using satellite, aerial, and field data.

The team applied their new approach to sites in northwestern Europe that were previously marked by the Dutch State Forestry Service as candidates for rewilding. The experts found that more varied landscapes show greater conservation potential.

"Conservation biologists have been asking how they can pinpoint sites with the right characteristics for rewilding," said Rijsdijk. "Our research is the first to start building the required toolkit to measure landscape quality and inform that choice."

The research was presented at the <a href="https://www.egu21.eu/">EGU General Assembly 2021</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Success of rewilding efforts depends on the landscape

To help restore ecosystems that have been damaged by human...

Grass crops steal genes from their neighbors to gain a competitive advantage, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/">University of Sheffield</a>. The research is the first to show that grasses can incorporate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmental-dna-can-be-used-to-monitor-grass-pollen/">DNA</a> from other species into their genomes through lateral gene transfer.

The stolen genes help the grass crops to speed up their own evolution by growing faster or stronger, or by adjusting to their surroundings faster. The findings could ultimately lead to the development of crops that are more resistant to the effects of climate change.

"We still don't know how this is happening or what the full implications are. But, we know it is widespread in grasses, a family of plants that provide a majority of the food we eat," said study first author Samuel Hibdige.

"We detected foreign DNA in a wide range of grasses with all kinds of life history strategies indicating it is not restricted to those with a specific trait. However, we did detect a statistical increase in species which possess certain kinds of modified stems called rhizomes."

The experts studied grasses that include some of the world's most cultivated crops - wheat, maize, rice, and barley.

"Grasses are taking an evolutionary shortcut by borrowing genes from their neighbors. By using genetic detective work to trace the origin of each gene, we found over 100 examples where the gene had a significantly different history to the species it was found in," said study senior author Dr. Luke Dunning.

"The findings may make us as a society reconsider how we view GM technology, as grasses have naturally exploited a very similar process. If we can determine how this process is happening it may allow us to naturally modify crops and make them more resistant to climate change."

"What we are seeing is not hybridization, but the consequences are similar. Lateral gene transfer can move genetic information across wider evolutionary distances, which means it can potentially have even bigger impacts."

"Whilst only a relatively small proportion of genes are transferred between species, this process potentially allows grasses to cherry pick information from other species. This likely gives them huge advantages and may allow them to adapt to their surrounding environment quicker."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14698137">New Phytologist</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Grass crops steal genes from their neighbors to evolve faster

Grass crops steal genes from their neighbors to gain a...

The waste from harvested corn could be very useful for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunlight-may-provide-millions-with-safe-drinking-water/">water</a> treatment, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a>. The experts demonstrated that corn waste can be transformed into activated carbon to filter pollutants out of drinking water.

After corn is stripped from cobs, the remaining stalks and other material become waste. These leftovers, also known as corn stover, have no commercial or industrial use. 

Kandis Leslie Abdul-Aziz is an assistant professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at UC Riverside's Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering. Her lab is devoted to upcycling plastic and plant waste into valuable commodities.

"I believe that as engineers we should take the lead in creating approaches that convert waste into high-value materials, fuels and chemicals, which will create new value streams and eliminate the environmental harm that comes from today's take-make-dispose model," said Professor Abdul-Aziz.

Activated carbon (AC) has several uses, explained the researchers, especially as an adsorbent for wastewater treatment. "Wastewater treatment plants utilize AC to remove pollutants, such as dyes, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and organic contaminants. The removal of industrial phenolic waste such as vanillin is especially important because it has adverse environmental effects."

The experts compared methods for producing activated carbon from charred corn waste. They found that processing the biomass with hot compressed water - known as hydrothermal carbonization - produced activated carbon that absorbed 98 percent of the water pollutant vanillin.

When compared with a process where corn waste is charred at increasing temperatures over a long period of time, hydrothermal carbonization created a biochar with higher surface area and larger pores.

"Finding applications for idle resources such as corn stover is imperative to combat climate change. This research adds value to the biomass industry which can further reduce our reliance on fossil fuels," said study co-author Mark Gale.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/acsodf">ACS Omega</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Corn waste can be transformed into powerful water filters

The waste from harvested corn could be very useful for...

A new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-holds-genetic-material-from-the-coronavirus/">genetic</a> study from the the Centre for Palaeogenetics at <a href="https://www.su.se/">Stockholm University</a> shows that the last remaining populations of the Sumatran rhinoceros display surprisingly low levels of inbreeding. However, unless their populations start to increase, the researchers expect rates of inbreeding to rise among the rhinos.  

The Sumatran rhinoceros is one of the most endangered mammal species in the world, with less than 100 individuals remaining. Health issues and low fertility have raised concerns about a potentially high rate of inbreeding.

To investigate, the researchers analyzed the genomes of 16 individuals on Borneo and Sumatra, as well as five specimens from a population on the Malaysian Peninsula that recently went extinct. 

The experts estimated inbreeding levels, genetic variation, and the frequency of harmful mutations for each of the three populations. Furthermore, the researchers used the historical genetic data to explore the genetic consequences of the severe population decline of the past 100 years.

"To our surprise, we found relatively low inbreeding levels and high genetic diversity in the present-day populations on Borneo and Sumatra," said study co-lead author and PhD student Johanna von Seth.

The researchers theorize that low inbreeding levels found in the present-day rhinos can be attributed to the fact that the substantial decline in population size occurred recently. In other words, inbreeding has not yet caught up with the small population size.

While this indicates that there is still time to preserve the species' genetic diversity, the researchers also found that there are many potentially harmful mutations hidden in the genomes of the Sumatran rhinos. 

"Unless the populations start increasing in size, there is a high risk that inbreeding levels will start rising, and consequently that genetic diseases will become more common," said study co-lead author Nicolas Dussex.

The recently extinct Sumatran rhinoceros population on the Malaysian Peninsula serves as a warning of what could soon happen to the remaining populations in Borneo and Sumatra.

According to the study, the Malaysian population experienced a rapid increase in inbreeding levels before it went extinct. The researchers also found changes in the frequency of potentially harmful mutations that are consistent with inbreeding depression, where closely related parents produce offspring that suffer from genetic disease. 

"The Sumatran rhino is by no means out of the woods. But at least our findings provide a path forward, where we might still be able to rescue a large part of the species' genetic diversity," said Professor Love Dalén.

The study authors said it is imperative that the population size increases in order to minimize the risk of extinction. They also recommend the exchange of genes between Borneo and Sumatra, either through translocation or artificial insemination. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The fate of the Sumatran rhinoceros is uncertain

A new genetic study from the the Centre for Palaeogenetics...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell Press</a>, experts have discovered that sea sponges have been moving across the floor of the Arctic Ocean. The researchers identified mysterious trails of light brown sponge spicules that were spotted in a video.

"We observed trails of densely interwoven spicules connected directly to the underside or lower flanks of sponge individuals, suggesting these trails are traces of motility of the sponges," explained the researchers. "This is the first time abundant sponge trails have been observed in situ and attributed to sponge mobility."

According to the study authors, it looked as though the sponges had "crawled" into their current positions. But once these creatures have settled in a spot and matured there, they do not generally move around.

In fact, sponges have no muscles or specialized organs for locomotion, so the researchers were amazed to find a large number of trails 

Sponges can only move a little by contracting or expanding their bodies. In some cases of sponges raised in the lab, movement involved remodeling their entire bodies.

The video footage was captured in 2016 by the research icebreaker Polarstern as it surveyed the Langseth Ridge, which is permanently covered in ice. The peaks of the ridge were found to be covered by one of the densest communities of sponges that has ever been recorded. 

The researchers said it is not clear, given the challenging environment, how the area supports such a large community. The team was even more surprised to observe trails of spicules that appeared in nearly 70 percent of the seafloor images that contained living sponges.

The trails were several centimeters in height and many meters long, often connecting directly to living sponges. 

The team generated 3D models to show the way the trails were interconnected. The findings suggest that the moving sponges sometimes change direction, explained the researchers.

According to the experts, the movement is not simply a matter of gravity. For example, the images revealed that the trails often meandered uphill. The researchers speculate that the sponges may have to move in order to access food.

"These features are all indicative of feeding and population density behavioral trends previously observed in encrusting sponges," wrote the study authors. 

"The extremely low primary productivity, sedimentation, and particle advection rates of the Langseth Ridge region overall result in some of the lowest standing stocks of benthic life; so potentially, this Arctic Geodia community relies on particulate and dissolved fractions from the degradation of old organic debris trapped within the spicule mat as additional food sources." 

"We suggest that the mobility indicated here may be related to sponges searching for and feeding directly on the accumulated detrital matter trapped within the sponge spicule mat underlying the living sponges."

The research was led by Teresa Morganti of the Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology and Autun Purser of the Alfred Wegener Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sponges are mysteriously moving across the Arctic seafloor

In a new study from Cell Press, experts have discovered...

The body's natural pain killers can be stimulated, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.uofmhealth.org/">Michigan Medicine</a>. Experiments in both cells and mice revealed that pain-relieving compounds in the human body can be effectively enhanced with fewer side effects than opioids. 

Drugs like fentanyl, oxycodone, and morphine are known as a reliable source of pain relief, but are also known as the cause of widespread addiction and death.

For years, experts have tried to balance the pain-relieving properties of opioids with their numerous negative side effects without a lot of success. Led by Dr. John Traynor and Dr. Andrew Alt, the Michigan Medicine team has turned its attention to harnessing the body's own ability to block pain.

All opioid drugs, from opium to heroin, work on receptors that are naturally present in the brain and elsewhere in the body. One receptor, the mu-opioid receptor, binds to natural pain killers in the body called endogenous endorphins and enkephalins. 

"Normally, when you are in pain, you are releasing endogenous opioids, but they're just not strong enough or long lasting enough," said Dr. Traynor. The team had long theorized that substances called positive allosteric modulators could be used to enhance the body's endorphins and enkephalins. 

In their latest study, the researchers have demonstrated that a positive allosteric modulator known as BMS-986122 can boost the ability of enkephalins to activate the mu-opioid receptor.

Unlike opioid drugs, positive allosteric modulators only work in the presence of endorphins or enkephalins, meaning they would only kick in when needed for pain relief. 

The modulators bind to the receptor in a different location than opioids - one that enhances the receptor's ability to respond to natural pain relief.

"When you need enkephalins, you release them in a pulsatile fashion in specific regions of the body, then they are metabolized quickly," explained Dr. Traynor. "In contrast, a drug like morphine floods the body and brain and sticks around for several hours."

The next goal is to enhance activation of endogenous opioids under conditions of stress or chronic pain, to ensure that they are effective but do not lead to more dangerous responses like depression of breathing, said Dr. Traynor.

"While these molecules won't solve the opioid crisis, they could slow it and prevent it from happening again because patients in pain could take this type of a drug instead of a traditional opioid drug."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists learn how to activate the body's natural pain killers

The body's natural pain killers can be stimulated, according to...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/">California Institute of Technology</a>, experts have discovered that fruit flies can fly up to 15 kilometers in a single journey. This distance is the equivalent of the average human traveling over 10,000 kilometers, or more than 6,200 miles.

The record for the longest distance by a human was set in 2005, when an ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes ran continuously for 80 hours over 350 miles - roughly 324,000 times his body length. The Caltech study has found that fruit flies can travel up to six million times the length of their body.

The experts designed a series of "release and recapture" experiments involving hundreds of thousands of fruit flies under various wind conditions.

The experiments were conducted in a dry lakebed in the Mojave Desert. Fruit flies were released and lured into traps with fermenting juice, as the researchers measured their top speeds.

The researchers found that it took about 16 minutes for the fruit flies to cover one kilometer to reach the traps, corresponding with a speed of approximately one meter per second. Previous studies from the lab showed that a fully fed fruit fly has the energy to travel continuously for up to three hours. 

Based on this data, the team concluded that the common fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster can fly roughly 12 to 15 kilometers in a single flight, even into a gentle breeze, and will go further if aided by a tailwind. This distance is about 6 million times the average body length of a fruit fly, which is 2.5 millimeters.

"The dispersal capability of these little fruit flies has been vastly underestimated," said Professor Michael Dickinson. "They can travel as far or farther than most migratory birds in a single flight. These flies are the standard laboratory model organism, but they are almost never studied outside of the laboratory and so we had little idea what their flight capabilities were."

The research indicates that the fly brain still contains ancient behavioral modules, said Professor Dickinson. 

"For any animal, if you find yourself in the middle of nowhere and there's no food, what do you do? Do you just hop around and hope you find some fruit? Or do you say - 'Okay, I'm going to pick a direction and go as far as I can in that direction and hope for the best.' These experiments suggest that that's what the flies do."

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://pnas.otg">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fruit flies can travel six million times their body length

In a new study from the California Institute of Technology,...

Rat eradication on tropical islands can benefit the surrounding coral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reefs-provide-5-3-billion-in-flood-protection-on-u-s-coast/">reefs</a> in a major way, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a>. The researchers found that in the absence of rats, valuable nutrients in the form of seabird poop are able to reach the reefs. 

The experts report that seabird nutrient flows can bolster the health of delicate coral reef ecosystems, and may improve their chances of recovering climate disturbance events.

Seabirds make critically important contributions to nutrient distribution on tropical islands. After feeding on fish far out in the open ocean, the birds return to roost and deposit nitrogen-rich nutrients in their poop, or guano.

When it rains, the guano is washed off into the surrounding ocean where it fertilizes corals, algae, and other marine species. 

Rats have been accidentally introduced to many tropical islands over the last few centuries through human settlement and sailing between islands. The invasive animals can completely alter ecosystems and are particularly threatening to seabirds, eating eggs, chicks and even some adults. 

In previous work, the Lancaster team showed that islands with rat infestations had much smaller seabird populations than islands without rats. As a result, there was much less nitrogen on the islands and in the surrounding marine environments. The lack of nutrient runoff was linked to smaller reef fish and slower coral growth on adjacent reefs.

The current study was focused on 20 islands in the central and western Indian Ocean, including the Chagos Archipelago and the Scattered islands.

The team compared islands with ongoing infestations to those where rats have been eradicated, as well as with islands that never had rats. 

The greatest number of seabirds was found on islands where rats have never been introduced. Islands with existing rat infestations had the fewest seabirds, as well as seabird-derived nutrients. 

Seabird populations are steadily increasing on two sites within the Scattered Islands - Île du Lys and Tromelin.

"Rats were eradicated on Tromelin in 2005," said study co-author Matthieu Le Corre. "Since then there has been an eight-fold increase in seabirds, and six species that were locally extinct because of the rats have restarted to breed after rat eradication. On Île du Lys, where rats were eradicated in 2003, surveys show there has been a ten-fold increase in seabirds since."

By testing fish and algae, the researchers determined that there were higher levels of seabird-derived nitrogen surrounding these islands.

The study showed that - even around islands that have been infested for hundreds of years - seabird nutrients begin flowing to coral reefs within 16 years of rat eradication.

"We know that rats are devastating for island seabird populations, and that the loss of these birds from islands is harmful to the surrounding coral reef ecosystems. However, we needed to test whether removing the rats from islands could help these important nutrient cycles return, and if so, how quickly and how far the benefits would spread onto fragile coral reefs," explained study lead author Dr. Casey Benkwitt.

"Our study shows the first evidence that rat eradication programs can indeed be an important tool in helping restore these vital seabird-led nutrient cycles not just on tropical islands themselves, but also in their surrounding seas - and that they can recover within relatively short timeframes, which is very encouraging."

The researchers believe that by combining rat eradication programs with other restoration strategies, it could be possible to speed up the recovery of seabird populations, and their benefits to surrounding marine environments.

"This study adds to the weight of evidence suggesting rat eradication can have substantial conservation benefits to tropical island and adjacent marine ecosystems," said Professor Nick Graham.

"The nutrient cycles that returning seabirds bring can bolster coral and fish assemblages. With climate impacts severely impacting coral reefs, management actions to boost the ecosystem are incredibly important."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rat eradication is beneficial for seabirds and coral reefs

Rat eradication on tropical islands can benefit the surrounding coral...

Excessive social media use does not have the potential to become addictive, according to research from the <a href="https://www.strath.ac.uk/">University of Strathclyde</a>. The study examined whether social media users have an "attentional bias," which is a hallmark of addictive behavior such as gambling and alcohol.

"The push towards characterizing excessive social media use as a potentially addictive behavior, which might produce negative mental health outcomes, has received mixed support in the literature," explained the study authors.  

"While there is some evidence that excessive use may be associated with lower self-esteem, and increased levels of depression and anxiety, other studies, some using longitudinal methods, have failed to replicate these effects." 

"What is clear, is that in contrast to substance-related addiction research, much less focus has been attributed to investigating whether excessive social media use can be detected through changes in cognitive processes such as selective attention." 

To investigate, the researchers asked 100 participants to locate specific social media apps on a simulated smartphone screen as quickly and accurately as possible, while ignoring other apps. The volunteers reported varying levels of daily social media use. 

The study was designed to determine whether individuals who reported the most frequent social media use were more likely to have their attention drawn to the apps through attentional bias. The results did not provide evidence that the attention of frequent social media users was drawn more to these types of applications, and there were no self-reported or measurable levels of addictive severity.

"Social media use has become a ubiquitous part of society, with 3.8 billion users worldwide," said Dr. David Robertson. "While research has shown that there are positive aspects to social media engagement, such as feelings of social connectedness and well-being, much of the focus has been on the negative mental health outcomes which are associated with excessive use, such as higher levels of depression and anxiety."

"The evidence to support such negative associations is mixed but there is also a growing debate as to whether excessive levels of social media use should become a clinically defined addictive behavior."

"We did not find evidence of attentional bias. People who frequently checked and posted their social media accounts were no more likely to have their attention drawn to the icon of a social media app than those who check and post less often."

"Much more research is required into the effects of social media use, both positive and negative, before definitive conclusions can be reached about the psychological effects of engagement with these platforms. Our research indicates that frequent social media use may not, at present, necessarily fit into traditional addiction frameworks."

The study is published in the <a href="https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/2006-overview.xml">Journal of Behavioral Addictions</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

Social media use is not an addictive behavior

Excessive social media use does not have the potential to...

A new study from <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/">Purdue University</a> has revealed that vervet monkeys tend to keep their distance from others when they are dealing with a parasitic infection.

Study lead author and biological anthropologist Dr. Brandi Wren spent a year studying wild vervet monkeys in South Africa. She documented the parasite loads of individual monkeys, as well as social grooming behavior within groups.

Dr. Wren found that monkeys carrying certain gastrointestinal parasites did not groom others as much as those without the parasite. 

Vervet monkeys share more than 90 percent of their DNA with humans, and have also been known to exhibit anxiety and hypertension. These are conditions the are not often found in non-human animals.

By studying the physiology, genetics, and behavior of vervet monkeys, biologists can better understand certain aspects of human biology.

"We have so many behavioral similarities; the roots and nuances of social behavior tend to be similar across all of the primates, especially from monkeys to humans," said Dr. Wren. 

"This study shows some of those similarities down to, when we feel sick, we don't want to talk to anybody. 'You can rub my back, whatever, but I really want to be left alone.' We see a lot of similarities in how humans and monkeys interact within their own groups."

The gastrointestinal parasites that Dr. Wren investigated are not typically spread through social contact, but through contaminated soil or substances in the environment. However, the research shows that the parasites may be spread through social contact, and can significantly affect an individual's social behavior.

After studying social interactions combined with data on infection from fecal samples, the researchers found that monkeys infected with whipworm spent less time grooming other monkeys. 

"Infected individuals show a little bit of lethargy, but the interesting thing is that they still let other individuals groom them; they just don't groom others. They also don't cuddle with the other monkeys as much. It appears they just don't feel well."

Dr. Wren noted that the difference in social behavior is not so stark that it is noticeable just by observing the monkeys. 

"There's no way we would have been able to tell which monkeys were infected just from observation. There are no other signs of the infection, other than the social behavior. And the change is often so hard to detect. It takes following one individual for a substantial time and collecting the data to see it. The effect is hidden in this complex web of interactions," explained Dr. Wren.

"There are some individuals you watch and you think, 'Gosh, this guy is such a jerk! He always lets everybody groom him, but he doesn't groom anybody else! What we're attributing to personality or attitude could just be because he has a gut full of parasites."

According to the experts, the monkeys' behavior parallels human behavior during the pandemic. Like vervet monkeys, humans crave social contact, can spread diseases through social contact, and tend to withdraw a bit during an illness. 

"All these social behaviors affect health on a practical level," said Dr. Wren. "We know COVID-19 is spread through close social contact. A fascinating thing about studying other species, and one reason to observe and understand them, is that we are always learning new things. There is always more to learn. Even when we're looking at previous research, even when we thought we understood the results, we still may not know the whole picture."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</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

Monkeys practice social distancing when they have an infection

A new study from Purdue University has revealed that vervet...

The expansion of solar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/horses-gut-bacteria-talk-to-their-cells-to-regulate-energy/">energy</a> can be shaped to benefit pollinators, according to new research. The experts have identified many ways that bees and other pollinators could gain from the strategic development of solar parks across Europe. 

"Land use change for solar parks could cause further degradation of our environment but, if done well, offers much potential to improve our environment," said Dr. Alona Armstrong of <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a>.

"If we transition well, we could use energy system decarbonization to also address the ecological crisis. Given where we are, can we afford not to?"

Renewable energy sources such as solar photovoltaic (PV) take out much more space than fossil fuels. The study shows that, with careful planning, the deployment of clean energy could actually help pollinators instead of hurting them. 

Pollinators like bees, wasps, beetles, and butterflies play a key role in food production, with around 75 percent of the leading global food crops depending on them to some degree.

For the Lancaster study, a team of environmental scientists systematically reviewed the available evidence on how land management practices relating to solar parks could enhance pollinator biodiversity in Northwest Europe.

The researchers have outlined ten evidence-based ways to protect and even enhance pollinator biodiversity. The strategies range from planting wildflowers to connecting solar parks to nearby habitats.

Solar parks can produce large amounts of power, with the UK's largest solar park set to power 91,000 homes once complete. However, the amount of land required for solar parks can be damaging to the environment.

About half of PV in the UK has been installed as ground-mounted solar parks, ranging in size from one to 40 hectares. The experts report that, because solar parks are often built on landscapes that have been intensively farmed and are poor for biodiversity, they may provide opportunities to establish hotspots of pollinator biodiversity.

"Many pollinators are in decline both in the UK and in other parts of the world," said study co-author Hollie Blaydes. "Actions to conserve pollinators include reversing agricultural intensification and maintaining natural habitat, both of which can be achieved within solar parks. Often built amongst agricultural land, solar parks offer a unique opportunity to provide pollinator resources where they are most needed."

"As well as promoting biodiversity, pollinator-friendly solar parks also have the potential to provide tangible economic benefits to farmers through enhancing pollination services to adjacent agricultural land, boosting crop yields," explained Professor Simon Potts of the University of Reading. 

"Imagine a world where solar parks not only produced much needed low carbon electricity but were also diverse and attractive wildflower meadows buzzing with insect life."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-and-sustainable-energy-reviews">Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews</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

Pollinators can benefit from the expansion of solar energy

The expansion of solar energy can be shaped to benefit...

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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



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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



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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



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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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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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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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



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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



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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

[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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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