For decades, scientists have been grappling with what is considered to be the most fundamental question about the cosmos: How fast is our universe expanding? 



The rate of expansion influences everything from how galaxies form to how they might one day drift apart.



Determining the expansion rate of the universe, a number called the "Hubble constant," shapes our entire understanding of the cosmos, its age, and its ultimate fate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-tension-expansion-conundrum">"Hubble tension" expansion conundrum</h2>



Unfortunately, though many brilliant minds have dedicated their lives to finding the answer to this riddle, all who have tried thus far have failed, running repeatedly into a brick wall that has come to be known as the "Hubble tension."



Adam Riess, a physicist at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johns Hopkins University</a> in Baltimore, has been at the forefront of this debate. "With measurement errors negated, what remains is the real and exciting possibility that we have misunderstood the universe," Riess admitted.



Riess, who won a Nobel Prize for discovering that the universe's expansion is accelerating due to dark energy, has been working tirelessly to resolve what's known as the Hubble Tension.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-hubble-constant-matters">Why the Hubble constant matters</h2>



But before diving deeper, let's consider why the expansion rate -- called the Hubble constant -- is so crucial. 



Named after Edwin Hubble, who first observed that galaxies are moving away from us, this constant helps us map out the history and future of everything we see in the night sky. 



Determining it with precision has been a major goal of astronomers for decades.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hubble-constant_3-steps_illustration_nasa_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hubble-constant_3-steps_illustration_nasa_1s.webp" alt="This illustration shows the three basic steps astronomers use to calculate how fast the universe expands over time, a value called the Hubble constant. All the steps involve building a strong &quot;cosmic distance ladder,&quot; by starting with measuring accurate distances to nearby galaxies and then moving to galaxies farther and farther away. Credit: NASA" class="wp-image-1951709"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This illustration shows the three basic steps astronomers use to calculate how fast the universe expands over time, a value called the Hubble constant. All the steps involve building a strong "cosmic distance ladder," by starting with measuring accurate distances to nearby galaxies and then moving to galaxies farther and farther away. Credit: NASA</figcaption></figure>



When the <a href="https://hubblesite.org/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble Space Telescope</a> was launched in 1990, one of its main objectives was to pin down the universe's expansion rate. 



Before Hubble, estimates of the universe's age ranged wildly from 10 to 20 billion years -- a huge uncertainty. 



Thanks to Hubble's observations of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/expansion-rate-of-the-universe-confirmed-by-jwst/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cepheid variable stars</a> -- stars that pulsate at regular intervals and serve as cosmic mileposts -- we now have a more precise age of about 13.8 billion years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-webb-telescope-to-the-rescue">Webb telescope to the rescue?</h2>



Some scientists wondered if the discrepancies in measurements were due to errors in Hubble's data. Maybe, they thought, the way Hubble measured distances had some hidden flaws. 



Then came the James Webb Space Telescope (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Webb</a>), launched to great fanfare as the successor to Hubble. Webb's infrared observations of Cepheids matched Hubble's optical data perfectly. 



"Combining Webb and Hubble gives us the best of both worlds. We find that the Hubble measurements remain reliable as we climb farther along the cosmic distance ladder," Riess explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-vs-webb-vs-expansion">Hubble vs. Webb vs. expansion</h2>



Despite the new data, the tension between measurements remains. The Hubble and Webb telescopes confirm one universe expansion rate, based on observations of the local universe.



Meanwhile, observations from the early universe, like those from the Planck satellite's mapping of the cosmic microwave background radiation, suggest another. 



This leaves cosmologists scratching their heads. Is there something about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-expansion-rate-dark-energy-measured-11-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fabric of space</a> we don't yet understand? Does resolving this discrepancy require new physics, or is there another explanation?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brenda-frye-tackles-hubble-and-expansion">Brenda Frye tackles Hubble and expansion</h2>



In October 2024, <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2024/10/01/webb-researchers-discover-lensed-supernova-confirm-hubble-tension/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">as reported by NASA</a>, Brenda Frye from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arizona</a> and an international team took a different approach. 



They used <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-telescope-finds-a-second-lensed-supernova-in-a-distant-galaxy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gravitationally lensed supernovae</a> to measure the Hubble constant -- a method independent of previous techniques. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hubble-constant_galaxy-cluster-G165_supernova-H0pe_gravitational-lensing_jwst_UArizona_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hubble-constant_galaxy-cluster-G165_supernova-H0pe_gravitational-lensing_jwst_UArizona_1s.webp" alt="NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image of the galaxy cluster PLCK G165.7+67.0, also known as G165, on the left shows the magnifying effect a foreground cluster can have on the distant universe beyond. The foreground cluster is 3.6 billion light-years away from Earth. The zoomed region on the right shows supernova H0pe triply imaged (labeled with white dashed circles) due to gravitational lensing. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, B. Frye (University of Arizona)" class="wp-image-1951711"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image of the galaxy cluster PLCK G165.7+67.0, also known as G165, on the left shows the magnifying effect a foreground cluster can have on the distant universe beyond. The foreground cluster is 3.6 billion light-years away from Earth. The zoomed region on the right shows supernova H0pe triply imaged (labeled with white dashed circles) due to gravitational lensing. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, B. Frye (University of Arizona)</figcaption></figure>



While observing a densely populated cluster of galaxies, they noticed something unusual. "What are those three dots that weren’t there before? Could that be a supernova?" the team wondered. 



It turned out to be a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-travels-back-in-time-to-better-understand-supernovae-science/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Type Ia supernova</a>, an explosion of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/white-dwarf-stars-may-be-billions-of-years-older-than-estimated/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">white dwarf star</a>, magnified and split into multiple images by the gravitational lensing effect of the intervening galaxy cluster.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-gravitational-lensing">What is gravitational lensing?</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-carousel-lens-galaxy-alignment-reveals-dark-matter-secrets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gravitational lensing</a> is important to this experiment. The lens, consisting of a cluster of galaxies situated between the supernova and us, bends the supernova's light into multiple images. 



This effect not only magnifies the supernova but also allows scientists to measure the time delays between the images, providing another way to calculate the Hubble constant.



Their analyses confirmed that these dots corresponded to an exploding star with rare qualities. 



The team's work provided a Hubble constant value of 75.4 kilometers per second per megaparsec, plus 8.1 or minus 5.5. For context, one megaparsec is about 3.26 million light-years. 



"Our team’s results are impactful: The Hubble constant value matches other measurements in the local universe, and is somewhat in tension with values obtained when the universe was young," Frye concluded.



Another strikeout... add Brenda Frye to the long list of brilliant minds still probing the universe for an answer to Hubble tension.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-this-is-getting-sad-now-what">This is getting sad, now what?</h2>



So, where does this leave us? 



The Hubble Tension isn't going away. It might be telling us that there's new physics waiting to be discovered. 



Perhaps our understanding of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-could-explain-the-rapid-expansion-of-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark energy</a>, dark matter, or other fundamental forces needs to be revised. 



"We need to find out if we are missing something on how to connect the beginning of the universe and the present day," Riess pointed out. 



It's possible that new theories or modifications to existing ones could bridge the gap.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shaking-things-up-with-new-theories">Shaking things up with new theories</h2>



Could the solution lie in something entirely unexpected? Perhaps there's a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-matter-may-consist-of-particles-that-travel-faster-than-light/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new particle or force</a> that affects the expansion rate. Or maybe the nature of dark energy changes over time. 



Some theories even propose the existence of extra dimensions or modifications to gravity at large scales. It's also worth considering that the universe might not be uniform in all directions. 



If there are variations in the density of matter and energy across vast distances, this could affect expansion rates in ways we haven't fully accounted for. 



Maybe everyone is completely off base and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-dark-matter-does-not-exist-and-the-universe-is-27-billion-years-old/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark matter doesn't even exist</a>? Or maybe we're looking in the wrong place -- what if the answers can be found by looking for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-are-now-searching-for-dark-matter-inside-old-earth-rocks-minerals-crystals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark matter in rocks on Earth</a>?



One thing's for sure: the cosmos isn't giving up its secrets easily. But that's part of the thrill of science. Every answer leads to new questions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-constant-hubble-tension-mysterious-universe">Hubble constant, Hubble tension, mysterious universe</h2>



In the end, the universe is reminding us that there's still so much we don't know. The quest to figure out how fast our universe is expanding has led to some fascinating discoveries and even more intriguing questions. 



Scientists like Adam Riess and Brenda Frye have used powerful tools like the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to measure the Hubble constant with increasing precision. 



Their efforts confirm that the local universe is expanding at a certain rate, but this doesn't quite line up with measurements from the early universe.



This mismatch, known as the Hubble Tension, suggests there might be something we’re missing in our understanding of the cosmos. Maybe there are new physics to uncover, or perhaps our current models need some tweaking. 



What's clear is that the universe isn't giving up its secrets easily, and that keeps things exciting for astronomers and physicists alike.



As we look ahead, upcoming missions like NASA's <a href="https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope</a> and ESA's <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Euclid mission</a> offer hope for new insights. Until then, we can marvel at the fact that we're part of an ever-expanding universe that's still full of surprises.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad1ddd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Astrophysical Journal Letters</a>.



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Webb telescope confirms: What we think we know about the universe is very wrong

For decades, scientists have been grappling with what is considered to be the most fundamental question about the cosmos: How fast is our universe expanding? The rate of expansion influences everything from how galaxies form to how they might one day drift apart. Determining the expansion rate of the universe, a number called the "Hubble constant," shapes our entire understanding of the cosmos, its age, and its ultimate fate. "Hubble tension" expansion conundrum Unfortunately, though many brilliant minds have dedicated their lives to finding the answer to...

Herring gulls are passing along chemicals used in plastic production to their offspring, according to new research from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>. The study adds to a growing collection which shows that coastal environments are hit particularly hard by plastic pollution. 

Phthalates are chemical compounds that are added to plastics to keep them flexible. In collaboration with experts at the University of Queensland, the Exeter team found up to six types of phthalates in newly laid herring gull eggs.

"Herring gull mothers pass on vital nutrients to their offspring via their eggs," said Professor Jon Blount.

"This includes lipids that nourish developing embryos, and vitamin E, which helps to protect chicks from oxidative stress that can occur during development and at hatching."

"Unfortunately, our findings suggest that mothers are inadvertently passing on phthalates and products of lipid damage." 

Professor Blount noted that eggs with higher phthalate contamination also contained greater amounts of lipid damage and less vitamin E. Further research is needed to investigate the consequences this may have for baby chicks. 

The team collected 13 herring gulls eggs from various sites in Cornwall. All of the contained phthalates, which are now found in almost every environment on Earth. The compounds tend to accumulate in the fatty tissues of living organisms. Previous studies have discovered phthalates in birds that herring gulls are known to prey upon. 

"Research on the impact of plastic on animals has largely focussed on entanglement and ingestion of plastic fragments," said Professor Blount. "Far less is known about the impacts of plastic additives on the body."

"By testing eggs, our study gives us a snapshot of the mother's health - and it appears phthalate contamination could be associated with increased oxidative stress, and mothers transfer this cost to their offspring via the egg."

"More research is now needed to discover how developing offspring are affected by being exposed to phthalates before they have even emerged as a hatchling."

"We need to look more deeply into the pervasive threats of plastics - not just the breakdown of plastic items themselves, but also the dispersal of the multiple chemicals they contain.

"Where do these end up, and what effects are they having on wildlife and ecosystems?"

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/marine-pollution-bulletin">Marine Pollution Bulletin</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Plastic additives found in the eggs of herring gulls

Herring gulls are passing along chemicals used in plastic production...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>, drone footage has revealed that killer whales have complex <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-isolation-impacts-physical-functioning-in-older-adults/">social</a> lives that center around close friendships. The researchers found that killer whales spend the most time interacting with specific individuals of the same sex and similar age.

In collaboration with experts at the Center for Whale Research (CWR), the team also discovered that killer whales become less socially connected as they get older.

"Until now, research on killer whale social networks has relied on seeing the whales when they surface, and recording which whales are together," said lead author Dr. Michael Weiss.

"However, because resident killer whales stay in the social groups into which they're born, how closely related whales are seemed to be the only thing that explained their social structure.'

"Looking down into the water from a drone allowed us to see details such as contact between individual whales." 

According to Dr. Weiss, the findings show that even within their tight-knit groups, whales clearly  prefer to interact with certain individuals.

"It's like when your mom takes you to a party as a kid - you didn't choose the party, but you can still choose who to hang out with once you're there."

While examining patterns of physical contact, the experts found that both females and younger whales play a central social role in the group. The older the whale, the less central they became in the overall social structure.

The study was focused on more than four decades of data on a critically endangered population of southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Ocean. The researchers also analyzed 651 minutes of drone videos that they filmed over ten days.

"This study would not have been possible without the amazing work done by CWR," said Professor Darren Croft. "By adding drones to our toolkit, we have been able to dive into the social lives of these animals as never before."

"We were amazed to see how much contact there is between whales - how tactile they are. In many species, including humans, physical contact tends to be a soothing, stress-relieving activity that reinforces social connection."

"We also examined occasions when whales surfaced together - as acting in unison is a sign of social ties in many species."

"We found fascinating parallels between the behavior of whales and other mammals, and we are excited about the next stages of this research."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Killer whales have close friendships

In a new study from the University of Exeter, drone...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mild-covid-19-infection-leads-to-lifelong-antibody-protection/">COVID-19</a> outbreak has raised serious concern over zoonotic diseases - not only the diseases themselves but the animals that carry pathogens that can potentially infect humans. These diseases draw us to question our sometimes exploitative relationship with animals, and how using animals could harm us in turn.

Monitoring bats, in particular, can help us look at the possibility of another disease jumping to humans. These mammals are widespread throughout the world and are often found in human dominated habitats. In some parts of the world, bats are even eaten by humans.

A new study published by <a href="https://plos.org/">PLOS</a> has looked at bats in Switzerland to investigate the potential zoonotic viruses they carry. 

A virus is rarely transmitted directly from a bat to a human. More commonly, a virus jumps from a bat to another animal and then to humans. This is how the virus which causes COVID-19 arrived in human hosts - from bats through an intermediate. 

While bat diseases have been studied throughout the world, the current study is the first to focus on Swiss bats, providing potentially important data that was missing. 

A team of experts led by Isabelle Hardmeier of the University of Zurich analyzed DNA and RNA in viruses collected from bat droppings and organs. 

"Metagenomic analysis of bats endemic to Switzerland reveals broad virus genome diversity," said the study authors. "Virus genomes from 39 different virus families were detected, 16 of which are know to infect vertebrates, including coronaviruses, adenoviruses, herpesviruses, rotaviruses A and H, and parvoviruses."

The researchers note that genomic analysis of bat stool samples could be a useful tool to continuously monitor viruses harbored by bats, including the MERS-CoV-related virus. This type of tracking could lead to earlier detection of viruses that pose danger to humans, they said.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">Plos One</a>.       

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zack Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Swiss bats may harbor zoonotic diseases

The COVID-19 outbreak has raised serious concern over zoonotic diseases...

More than half of the world's rivers run dry each year In a new study led by <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a>, researchers have determined that more than half of the world's rivers and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/californias-streamside-forests-are-threatened-by-water-management/">streams</a> stop flowing for at least one day per year. The experts found that between 51 and 60 percent of the 64 million kilometers of Earth's rushing waters run dry periodically.

The research highlights the need to change the general assumption that water flows in rivers and streams year-round. The study has also produced a map of non-perennial rivers that provides crucial baseline information for the assessment of future changes in river flow intermittence. North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be described as the northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. Because it is on the North American Tectonic Plate, Greenland is included as part of North America geographically. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 16.5% of the Earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface. North America is the third-largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa,

"Non-perennial rivers and streams are very valuable ecosystems as they are home to many distinct species that are adapted to cycles of water presence and absence," said study first author Mathis Messager.

"These rivers can provide critical water and food sources for people and they play an important role in controlling water quality. But more often than not they are mismanaged or altogether excluded from management actions and conservation laws as they are simply overlooked."

Study co-senior author Professor Bernhard Lehner noted that given continued global climate and land use change, an increasingly large proportion of the global river network is expected to cease to flow seasonally over the coming decades.

"In fact, many formerly perennial rivers and streams, including sections of iconic rivers such as the Nile, the Indus and the Colorado River have become intermittent in the past 50 years due to climate change, land use transitions, or the temporary or permanent withdrawal of water for human use and agriculture."

The researchers analyzed long-term records of water flow in 5,615 locations around the world. The data included information on the hydrology, climate, and surrounding land cover at these locations. 

The experts determined that non-perennial rivers are most common in places where there is much more evaporation than rainfall. They also found that smaller streams have more variable flow, which makes them more likely to dry up periodically. 

Surprisingly, the study showed that non-perennial rivers occur in tropical climates - and even in the Arctic - where rivers freeze up for parts of the year.

The researchers estimate that more than half of the world's population lives in locations where the closest river or stream around them is non-perennial. 

"By mapping non-perennial rivers and streams, our study pushes for a recognition of their prevalence and ecological significance by the scientific community," said co-senior author Thibault Datry. 

"We hope that our study will trigger efforts to adequately manage these river ecosystems and halt attempts to exclude them from protective legislation."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

More than half of the world's rivers run dry each year

More than half of the world's rivers run dry each...

It may seem like science fiction but researchers at <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California, San Diego</a> proved it’s possible. The new study has recreated a complex bird song complete with pitch, tone and volume from nothing more than the bird’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-insects-have-more-than-200000-brain-cells/">brain</a> activity.

The research was focused on zebra finches, which are small, beautifully colored birds that are native to Australia. The experts implanted silicone chips into the birds brains to record the brain activity controlling vocal muscles while they sang. 

The readings were then fed into a computer algorithm where computers recreated the bird songs. In research such as this, the test animals are typically euthanized when the study has concluded. 

The scientists hope to sacrifice a few birds for the good of disabled people by applying this research to humans eventually. The idea is to build a "vocal prosthetic" where someone can recreate their own verbal words simply by thinking them. 

“The current state of the art in communication prosthetics is implantable devices that allow you to generate textual output, writing up to 20 words per minute…Now imagine a vocal prosthesis that enables you to communicate naturally with speech, saying out loud what you're thinking nearly as you're thinking it. That is our ultimate goal, and it is the next frontier in functional recovery," explained study senior author Timothy Gentner.

While it may seem like a stretch to jump from bird song to human speech, anyone who has listened on a spring morning to the cacophony knows that bird’s songs can be quite complex. In fact, the researchers say that there are many similarities between the two. 

Previous research shows that if you delay the sound of a person’s voice, playing it back just a bit later, they will start to stutter. The same is true of birds when they sing.

Ultimately, the researchers hope that their prosthetic will be close in timing to actual speech. Something that can be reacted upon as we react naturally to hearing our own voice. 

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

---

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

Mind reading technology recreates bird song from brain waves

It may seem like science fiction but researchers at University...

Ocean circulation is key to climate change  In a new study from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>, researchers have found that atmospheric changes are not the biggest contributor to the uncertainty that arises in global climate change projections. The experts report that such uncertainties are primarily associated with changes to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lakes-are-losing-oxygen-much-faster-than-oceans/">ocean</a> circulation in the North Atlantic.

There are 30 state-of-the-art IPCC climate models that predict dramatically different climates for the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=north%20america&amp;qs=n&amp;form=QBRE&amp;sp=-1&amp;pq=&amp;sc=0-0&amp;sk=&amp;cvid=2A486C7EEB7F4DC9A48B1971A274D39A">Northern</a> Hemisphere, especially Europe. Variables such as atmospheric pressure, cloud cover, and ocean surface temperatures interact differently in each model. 

An international team of researchers set out to understand what is driving the major differences in climate projections from the IPCC models.  Ocean circulation is key to climate change. 

"We want to understand the differences among these models. Why does one model project an overall global temperature change of two degrees while another one of four degrees? Our objective is to narrow down this inter-model uncertainty," explained study lead author Dr. Katinka Bellomo. "We also want to understand the differences in these models in terms of regional climate change."

Among the climate models, the researchers found disagreement on the rate of the decline in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). This is a large network of ocean currents in the North Atlantic that plays a crucial role in the distribution of heat from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere.

"To see how this difference was reflected in projections of the future climate, we grouped together the top ten models (from a total of thirty) in which the AMOC decline is smaller. We then compared the group with the average of the 10 models that have the largest decline," said Bellomo.

Two distinct climate patterns emerged from the study. In models where the AMOC decline is large, Europe is predicted to warm only slightly, but wind patterns in Europe and precipitation patterns in the tropics are predicted to change dramatically. 

On the other hand, in models where the AMOC decline is smaller, the Northern hemisphere heats up considerably. This leads to a well-known pattern in which wet regions get wetter and dry regions get dryer.

Ultimately, the research suggests that future climate predictions should be largely focused on how models account for changes in ocean circulation in the North Atlantic. 

"This is important because it points to the AMOC as one of the largest sources of uncertainties in climate prediction," said Dr. Bellomo. "I am excited about this research, because there is so much more that can be done in addition to this." 

"We need to investigate the processes leading to the inter-model differences in the ocean circulation response, the link between the ocean circulation response and precipitation change, and we also need to compare this with near-future projections of climate change."

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

Ocean circulation is key to climate change

Ocean circulation is key to climate change  In a new...

A study from <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis</a> is providing brand new insight into how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-why-plants-have-a-burst-of-activity-at-dawn/">plants</a> evolve unique defense mechanisms known as specialized metabolites. The experts found that these protective chemicals are shaped by a combination of genetics, geography, and environmental conditions.

"Plants produce diverse metabolites to cope with the challenges presented by complex and ever-changing environments. These challenges drive the diversification of specialized metabolites within and between plant species," wrote the researchers.

"However, we are just beginning to understand how frequently new alleles arise controlling specialized metabolite diversity and how the geographic distribution of these alleles may be structured by ecological and demographic pressures."

Each plant has a unique profile of specialized metabolites that are linked to genetic variants that have evolved over years in response to environmental conditions.

"We already know that environmental pressures such as the type of herbivores that prey on plants influences the specialised metabolites plants produce," said study first author Ella Katz. 

"We wanted to understand how the intersection of environmental pressure, demography and genomic complexity gives rise to the pattern of metabolic variation across a plant species."

To investigate, the experts measured the variation in specialized metabolites across almost 800 seed samples of the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana collected from across Europe.

The researchers analyzed three locations in the plant genome known to influence A. thaliana's survival fitness. They also examined the entire genome to find genes linked to metabolite production. 

The researchers found large variability in the types of specialized metabolites, or chemotypes, in central Europe compared to northern Europe. They identified two predominant chemotypes that were clearly separated by geography.

The study also suggests that the relationship between environmental conditions and specialized metabolites varies across different regions in Europe. For example, even if higher levels of precipitation were linked to a certain chemotype in southern Europe, it would not be the same in northern Europe.

"Our work provides a new perspective on the complexity of the forces and mechanisms that shape the generation and distribution of specialized metabolites and affect the plant's ability to survive in a changing environment," said study senior author Professor Daniel Kliebenstein. 

"Using a larger plant population from other locations around the world will enable us to deepen our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms that determine the variation in a population."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/">eLife</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How plants develop specialized metabolites for survival

A study from UC Davis is providing brand new insight...

Getting a song stuck in your head helps you to remember related life <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/traumatic-experiences-can-be-detected-in-the-eyes/">experiences</a>, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis</a>.

The experts said the research offers an initial glimpse into these mechanisms and, somewhat surprisingly, finds that the songs that get stuck in your head help that process of strengthening memories as they first form. 

"Scientists have known for some time that music evokes autobiographical memories, and that those are among the emotional experiences with music that people cherish most," said study co-author Professor Petr Janata.

"What hasn't been understood to date is how those memories form in the first place and how they become so durable, such that just hearing a bit of a song can trigger vivid remembering."

The study is the first to link music-evoked remembering to a catchy song that gets stuck in your head, which is also referred to as an "earworm."

For the investigation, the researchers worked with 25 to 31 different people in three experiments. The trials were conducted over the course of three different days, and were spaced weeks apart. 

First, the study participants listened to unfamiliar music. A week later, they listened to the music again, but paired with unfamiliar movie clips. In one instance, movies were played without music. 

&nbsp;

The participants were asked to recall as many details as they could from each movie as the music played. They were also asked about their recollection of the associated tunes and how often they experienced each of the tunes as an earworm. 

The results showed that the more often a tune played in a person's head, the more accurate the memory for the tune became. In addition, the more frequent earworm, the more details the participant remembered from the specific section of the movie with which the song was paired.

After a week of viewing the movie, the effect of repeatedly experiencing a tune from the soundtrack as an earworm resulted in near-perfect retention of the movie details. These memories were as clear as when the individuals had first seen the movie. 

Furthermore, most of the participants were able to report what they were doing when the catchy song ran through their mind.

"Our paper shows that even if you are playing that song in your mind and not pulling up details of memories explicitly, that is still going to help solidify those memories," said Professor Janata.

"We typically think of earworms as random nuisance beyond our control, but our results show that earworms are a naturally occurring memory process that helps preserve recent experiences in long-term memory," said study co-author Benjamin Kubit.

The experts said they hope their research may eventually lead to the development of music-based interventions to help people suffering from dementia and other neurological disorders to remember events, people, and daily tasks.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/xge">Journal of Experimental Psychology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Catchy songs help to form lasting memories

Getting a song stuck in your head helps you to...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> has shown that mosquitoes could become active year-round in places where they are usually dormant in the winter. The experts found that mosquitoes can adjust to rapid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/temperatures-are-rising-unexpectedly-fast-on-the-tibetan-plateau/">temperature</a> changes.

"In tropical regions, mosquitoes are active all year, but that isn't the case for the rest of the world. Outside of the tropics, winter temperatures cause mosquitoes to go into a kind of hibernation called diapause. We call these mosquitoes 'cold bounded' because their activity is limited by these lower temperatures," explained study senior author Professor Brett Scheffers.

"However, with climate change, we expect summers to get longer and winters to become shorter and warmer. What will that mean for those cold bounded mosquitoes? How will they respond?" 

To investigate, the researchers conducted experiments with mosquitoes collected at more than 70 sites in and around Gainesville, Florida, which is located on the dividing line between subtropical and temperate climates. 

Overall, about 1,000 mosquitoes were randomly sampled for lab testing. The experts analyzed how mosquitoes responded to changes in temperature while considering what time of year they were collected. 

"We found that the mosquitoes in our study are what we call 'plastic,' meaning that, like a rubber band, the range of temperatures they can tolerate stretches and contracts at different times of year," said Professor Scheffers.

The study revealed that the mosquitoes' tolerable temperature range stretched out in the spring to include both warmer days and colder nights. In the summer, when the nights are warmer, their suitable temperature range contracts. 

In autumn, when temperatures begin to cool off, the range stretches again, explained Professor Scheffers.

"That tells us that as climate change makes our autumns and winters warmer, mosquitoes in more temperate regions are well prepared to be active during those times," said Professor Scheffers.

"Our results suggest that to better understand how well populations and species may be able to tolerate ongoing climate change, we need to measure species thermal responses across different times of the year," said study first author Brunno Oliveira.

"This information would help us to deliver a more accurate representation of the temperature range a species can tolerate."

To establish the upper or lower temperature thresholds, the researchers monitored the activity of each mosquito, which was placed in a vial that was then put in a water bath. Over time, the researchers changed the water temperature. When the mosquitoes became inactive, it was a signal that the upper or lower threshold had been reached. 

"It was surprising to see how well these little creatures could tolerate high temperatures during the experiments, often well above the mean ambient temperatures measured by the weather stations," said study co-author Gécica Yogo.

According to the researchers, it is not yet clear what allows mosquitoes to adjust to rapid changes in temperature.

"Many people do not realize how quickly natural selection can act on short-lived animals," said study co-author Professor Daniel Hahn. 

"Whether the changes we are seeing in mosquito thermal properties are due to rapid natural selection across seasons, seasonal plasticity - much like a dog changing its coat - or a combination of both, is what we are working on now."

The experts noted that insights from this study can help communities better prepare for the impacts of climate change as they relate to mosquitoes, which spread diseases that affect humans and animals.

"The more mosquito activity there is, the greater the risk of these diseases spreading. Knowledge is power, and knowing that mosquitoes will be more active for more of the year can inform how we get ready for climate change," said Professor Scheffers.

"When we talk about how climate change might affect plants and animals, we are often talking about species moving to new areas because the conditions are changing -- in other words, the arrival of something new. However, climate change will also affect species we live with right now, like highly flexible mosquitoes, and that's another aspect to consider."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19399170">Ecology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mosquitoes could become active year-round

A new study from the University of Florida has shown...

Krill populations in the Southern Ocean are projected to decline by about 30 percent this century, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">CU Boulder</a>. While the projected krill losses are tied to anthropogenic global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-in-three-heat-related-deaths-tied-to-global-warming/">warming</a>, this will not be obvious right away. 

The experts report that the human-driven effects on Antarctic krill habitat will be indistinguishable from natural climate variability for decades to come.

The research has important implications for the local food web, and also for the largest commercial fishery in the Southern Ocean that supports a $2 billion fish oil industry.

Krill are small shrimplike crustaceans that play a huge role in the aquatic food chain. In the Southern Ocean, krill serve as the primary source of nutrients and energy for most of the marine predators, including penguins, seals, and whales.

"Krill are what links the ecosystem together," said study lead author Zephyr Sylvester. "They're really important to the Southern Ocean for pretty much every predator species."

Human-induced climate change is not the only factor that is altering the Antarctic krill habitat. Natural variability is also driving major changes.

"Climate change is rapidly altering the habitat of Antarctic krill, a key species of the Southern Ocean food web. Krill are a critical element of Southern Ocean ecosystems as well as biogeochemical cycles, while also supporting an international commercial fishery," wrote the study authors. 

"In addition to trends forced by global-scale, human-driven warming, the Southern Ocean is highly dynamic, displaying large fluctuations in surface climate on interannual to decadal timescales."

"The dual roles of forced climate change and natural variability affecting Antarctic krill habitat, and therefore productivity, complicate interplay of observed trends and contribute to uncertainty in future projections."

In order to predict population numbers and plan harvest limits, experts must separate the trends associated with human-driven warming from those arising naturally in krill habitat.

"The thing that we really have to understand is: Is there enough krill to feed everything that needs to eat it in the Southern Ocean, as well as humans?" said study co-author Professor Cassandra Brooks. "My hope is that we can take this as a first step to understanding how to manage krill better."

Despite being one of the most abundant species on Earth, krill can only survive in a limited temperature range and are extremely sensitive to changes in their environment.

Fishing in the Southern Ocean is currently managed by the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), an international body established as part of the Antarctic Treaty System. 

Four decades after CCAMLR was founded, however, catch limits on krill are still based on a stock assessment that does not account for natural environmental variability or climate change impacts.

While there is widespread recognition of the importance of understanding the impacts of climate change on this marine ecosystem, knowing how the climate naturally varies is an important prerequisite, explained Sylvester.

To investigate, the researchers ran a larger group of models many times, known as a large ensemble Earth system model. It is the first time this approach has been used for the Southern Ocean or for krill.

"Then we were able to look at the different trends and quantify how much the natural variability was masking the signal for climate change," said Sylvester.

The study is the first of its kind to use climate models to demonstrate that natural climate variability can obscure human-driven trends.

By being able to quantify how much change is likely to occur from natural variability, and separately from climate change, it allows everyone involved to plan better for the future and sustain krill for those who depend on it, said Professor Brooks.

"Even if we won't see this really strong signal from climate change until later, what's important for us to understand is that the Southern Ocean is a very dynamic system and we absolutely have to be managing for natural variability," explained Professor Brooks. "And we should be ready to manage the broader impacts of climate change."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science">Frontiers in Marine Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Krill face a double whammy of climate change

Krill populations in the Southern Ocean are projected to decline...

Thale,Cress,(arabidopsis,Thaliana),Blossoms,And,Buds,Macro,Picture

The scientific exploration of the natural world is a conundrum. We’ve scaled the highest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flood-risk-could-triple-in-the-high-mountains-of-asia/">mountains</a> and discovered trash already waiting for us on the bottom of the ocean. Science has gathered so much information that sometimes, it seems there should be little left to learn. 

There are some aspects of the natural world especially familiar to science. Like the proverbial guinea pig, scientists come back to some organisms again and again to test ideas with potential broad applications. Thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) is one of those organisms for botanists. 

Thale Cress is a pretty but nondescript little plant with spindly stalks bearing simple, white flowers. The plant is considered a weed, found in disturbed areas in its native home of Africa and Eurasia. First described by science in the 16th century, Thale Cress has become popular in genetic experiments since the 1940s. 

Rather than asking questions about the plant itself, most research has focused on using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model organism to ask more general questions about genetics, such as their impact on development and physiology. While it seemed that the research had surpassed understanding the modest thale cress, scientists recently discovered that we still have more to learn. 

Since 2008, Dr. Timothy Gookin, a postdoctoral researcher with Sarah Assmann’s lab at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a>, has been working with thale cress. Considering the amount of study already directed at the thale cress, what he discovered was surprising - a new piece of plant anatomy dubbed the "cantil." 

“It took over 12 years of experimentation to really get a grasp on what we were seeing and to understand how cantils were regulated," said Dr. Gookin. "This study required the growth of 3,782 plants to full maturity and the manual inspection of over 20,000 flower-bearing stalks in 34 unique plant lines”

The name cantil itself comes from the unique function of the structure. Under rare circumstances such as short day length, cantils develop, seemingly as a counter balance to hold up flowers. The unique feature connects to the flower’s stem and hangs like a cantilever.    

"One speculative interpretation is that the cantil represents a highly repressed ancestral linkage between different types of flowering plant architectures; the multiple layers of genetic and environmental factors that regulate cantil development are certainly quite striking," said Dr. Gookin.

The study is published in <a href="https://www.biologists.com/">The Company of Biologists</a> journal <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/dev">Development</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Experts discover a new body part in plants

The scientific exploration of the natural world is a conundrum....

Satellite imagery has revolutionized the way we see the world. The international charter “Space and Major Disasters” in particular uses satellite imagery to help take a closer look at natural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-media-posts-predict-economic-recovery-after-natural-disasters/">disasters</a> that may be hard to analyze without such a large view. 

On February 7, 2021 about 27 million metric tons of rock and ice fell from the flank of Ronti Peak in the Chamoli District of the Uttarakhand region in India. The debris plowed down the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga and Dhauliganga river valleys, sparking a humanitarian crisis. Over 200 people were killed and two under construction hydroelectric plants were destroyed. 

This tragedy activated the “Space and Major Disasters” services which provided free satellite images of the catastrophe as it unfolded. Combined with other freely available imagery, scientists were able to look closely at the parameters of the calamity. Elevation change, volume and distance travelled were able to be quantified. 

It was initially thought that the Chamoli disaster might be caused by a glacier lake outburst flood but this was quickly ruled out. A new report from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how a team of 53 scientists and experts reconstructed the events as they happened, incorporating video footage from bystanders with the satellite images. 

The analysis found that, in fact, the disaster was caused by an avalanche which formed near a Bergschrund. A Bergschrund is a crevasse that forms where ice sheets meet with a rock face on a mountain. Copernicus Sentinel-2 images show that the Bergschrund in question had opened up earlier and an avalanche had deposited debris in 2016. 

Overall, this approach to analysis shows that satellites may play a role in predicting the possibilities of avalanche threats in the future. It’s likely, the scientists involved in the study point out, that such natural disasters will become more common as the earth warms up.

“The rapid increase in the number of satellites orbiting Earth allowed our team to understand the basics of what happened in a matter of hours," said study lead author Professor Dan Shugar of the University of Calgary.

"We now have access to satellites that image every part of Earth every day - sometimes even multiple times per day - and this has really revolutionized how we do this sort of science.”

The study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>. 

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Satellites confirm: Avalanche caused the Chamoli Disaster

Satellite imagery has revolutionized the way we see the world....

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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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



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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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"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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