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...

Just hours after it reaches its closest point to Earth, tonight's full moon will enter our planet's shadow in a total lunar eclipse. The Super Blood Moon will appear 17 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a regular full moon. 

During the lunar eclipse, skygazers in Australia, western parts of North and South America, and in Asia along the Pacific Rim will see the moon illuminated by a deep red glow.

The moon will begin to turn red around 2:45 a.m. Pacific time. At 4:11 a.m., the moon will become completely engulfed in Earth’s inner umbral shadow, and will appear dark red for about 14 minutes.

“Folks in Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands will get to see the entirety of this eclipse - it will be quite a show for them,” said NASA expert Bill Cooke. 

According to NASA, a lunar eclipse takes place when the sun and moon occupy precise positions on opposite sides of Earth. Some of the sun’s light is blocked from reaching the full moon, and our atmosphere filters the light as it passes, causing the moon to take on a reddish color.

In the eastern part of the United States and Canada, the moon will be setting by the time the eclipse takes place. However, a partial eclipse may still be visible just before the moon sets.

Regardless of the viewing location, the Super Moon can be seen all over the world. The moon will reach its perigee - the closest point in its orbit to Earth - tonight at 9:21 p.m. Eastern Time. 

"During every 27-day orbit around Earth, the Moon reaches both its perigee, about 226,000 miles from Earth, and its farthest point, or apogee, about 251,000 miles from Earth," explains NASA.

"‘Supermoon’ isn’t an official astronomical term, but typically it’s used to describe a full Moon that comes within at least 90 percent of perigee."

"Even though 17 percent doesn’t make a big difference in detectable size, a full supermoon is a bit brighter than other moons throughout the year." 

"It might be hard to detect a supermoon visually, but it does have an effect on Earth. Because the Moon is in its closest approach to Earth, it can cause higher tides than usual."

Astronomers and observatories around the world will be livestreaming the Super Moon eclipse, and Space.com has all of the links available for viewing <a href="https://www.space.com/super-flower-blood-moon-2021-webcasts">here</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tonight's Super Moon coincides with a total lunar eclipse

Just hours after it reaches its closest point to Earth,...

The ancestors of modern whales made their transition from land to sea about 53 million years ago. At one point during the middle of this transition, whales had a mouth full of both teeth and baleen, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.sdsu.edu/">San Diego State University</a>.

Modern blue whales, humpback whales and gray whales have teeth in the womb but are born toothless. Baleen replaces the teeth for filter feeding small fish and tiny shrimp-like krill. The disappearing embryonic teeth are evidence of a time when ancient whales had teeth and consumed larger prey. 

For the current investigation, the researchers used high-resolution computed tomography (CT) to scan a 25 million year-old fossilized whale skull that belonged to Aetiocetus weltoni, an evolutionary "cousin" of modern whales. The analysis revealed that Aetiocetus had both teeth and baleen at the same time in adulthood.

Baleen decomposes and is rarely preserved intact in fossils, so the scientists turned to digital reconstructions with CT imaging to search for evidence of the elastic substance in Aetiocetus. They identified grooves and holes on the roof of the mouth that were consistent with baleen in modern mysticetes.

"We have found evidence that supports a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen, indicating the tooth-to-baleen transition occurred in a stepwise manner from just teeth, to teeth and baleen, to only baleen," said Ekdale.

"Our study provides tangible fossil evidence of a major shift in feeding behavior from a raptorial carnivorous feeding mode to a bulk filter-feeding mode for obtaining food, among the largest animals that have ever lived in earth's oceans. Krill are around 1/600th the size of blue whales. That's like us humans eating nothing larger than sesame seeds floating in a pool."

Some researchers questioned how Aetiocetus managed to process its food, considering that the baleen could get in the way of teeth in the mastication process. However, the position of the holes observed in Aetiocetus suggests that the baleen was not in the "line of fire" where it would interfere with the function of the teeth.

"While the tiny holes on the palate of Aetiocetus may look similar at a superficial level to other mammals, we can clearly demonstrate that this anatomy is related to baleen in baleen whales," said study co-author Thomas Deméré.

The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean">Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Some ancient whales had both teeth and baleen

The ancestors of modern whales made their transition from land...

Road verges present an opportunity to support <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-bees-struggle-to-recover-after-extreme-weather-events/">bees</a>, trees, and wildflowers, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>. In Great Britain, for example, road verges make up a land area the size of Dorset that could be managed to provide habitats for wildlife. 

The researchers used Google Earth and Google Street View to estimate that road verges in Great Britain account for almost 1,000 square miles of land. About 27 percent of the verges are frequently mowed, 41 percent are left as wild grassland, and 19 percent is woodland. The experts report that there are "significant opportunities" to improve verges by reducing mowing and planting trees.

"Our key message is that there's a lot of road verge in Great Britain and we could manage it much better for nature," said study lead author Ben Phillips.

"About a quarter of our road verges are mown very regularly to make them look like garden lawns - this is bad for wildlife."

Previous research has shown that mowing just once or twice per year produces more flowers for pollinators, allows plants to set seed, and creates better habitats for other animals.

"Some parts of verges need to be mown regularly for safety, but many verges could be mown much less, and this could save money due to reduced maintenance costs," said Phillips.

"We found that only a quarter of frequently mown verges had trees, so there's potential to add trees and shrubs, which will also help to capture carbon."

"But tree planting must be done carefully to avoid damaging flower-rich grass verges, and to prevent any impacts on visibility for drivers, or damage to infrastructure from roots and branches."

Overall, the researchers note that planting trees in road verges could provide a wide range of benefits for people, nature, the environment, and could also contribute toward the UK government's tree-planting ambitions.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/landscape-and-urban-planning">Landscape and Urban Planning</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Road verges could be used to support wildlife

Road verges present an opportunity to support bees, trees, and...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/">Binghamton University</a> has revealed how some Anolis <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lizards-can-create-their-very-own-love-language/">lizards</a>, or anoles, can submerge themselves underwater for up to 16 minutes at a time. The anoles have adapted their own natural version of a scuba tank by "rebreathing" air that is trapped between their skin and the surrounding water.

"Rebreathing had never been considered as a potential natural mechanism for underwater respiration in vertebrates," said study co-author Professor Luke Mahler. "But our work shows that this is possible and that anoles have deployed this strategy repeatedly in species that use aquatic habitats."

Anoles live along neotropical streams and frequently dive underwater for refuge. While documenting this behavior with a GoPro in Costa Rica, Professor Lindsey Swierk was shocked to see an anole submerge itself for such long periods. 

"It's easy to imagine the advantage that these small, slow anoles gain by hiding from their predators underwater - they're really hard to spot!" said Professor Swierk. "But the real question is how they're managing to stay underwater for so long."

The researchers conducted experiments to study underwater respiration in several distantly related species of semi-aquatic anoles. They found that the lizards can respire underwater by 'rebreathing' exhaled air that is held in a bubble that clings to their snout.

"We found that semi-aquatic anoles exhale air into a bubble that clings to their skin," said study lead author Chris Boccia. "The lizards then re-inhale the air, a maneuver we've termed 'rebreathing' after the scuba-diving technology."

The experts believe that the function of the anoles' hydrophobic skin may have shifted throughout evolution to facilitate rebreathing in species that regularly dive. The team's findings strongly suggest that specialized rebreathing is adaptive for semi-aquatic habitat specialists. 

The researchers used an oxygen sensor inside the bubbles to determine whether anoles were consuming oxygen from them. Just like a scuba tank, the oxygen concentration in an anole's air bubble was found to decrease over the length of the dive.

"The finding that different species of semi-aquatic anoles have evolutionarily converged to extract oxygen from their rebreathed air bubbles leads to other exciting questions," said Professor Swierk. 

"For example, the rate of oxygen consumption from the bubble decreases the longer an anole dives, which could possibly be explained a reduction in an anole's metabolic rate with increased dive time," added study co-author Alexandra Martin.

The researchers are planning future projects to better understand the evolution of the physiology related to rebreathing. 

"Anoles are a remarkable group of lizards, and the number of ways that this taxon has diversified to take advantage of their environments is mind-boggling," said Swierk.

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

Anole lizards have adapted their own version scuba diving

A new study led by Binghamton University has revealed how...

Clownfish develop their stripes at different rates depending on the species of sea anemone in which they live, according to a new study. The research also revealed that thyroid hormones are responsible for how quickly the stripes appear, through changes in the activity of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grass-crops-steal-genes-from-their-neighbors-to-evolve-faster/">gene</a> called duox.

Study senior author Professor Vincent Laudet leads the Marine Eco-Evo-Devo Unit at the <a href="https://www.oist.jp/">Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology</a> Graduate university (OIST).

"Metamorphosis is an important process for clownfish - it changes their appearance and also the environment they live in, as clownfish larvae leave life in the open ocean and settle in the reef," said Professor Laudet.

"Understanding how metamorphosis changes depending on the sea anemone host can help us answer questions not only about how they adapt to these different environments, but also how they might be affected by other environmental pressures, like climate change."

The study was initially focused on the clownfish species Amphiprion percula in Kimbe bay, Papua New Guinea. In this region, clownfish live either in the magnificent sea anemone, Heteractis magnifica, or the more toxic giant carpet anemone, Stichodactyla gigantea.

The experts noticed that juvenile clownfish living in the giant carpet anemone gained their adult white bars faster than clownfish living in the magnificent sea anemone.

"We were really interested in understanding not only why bar formation occurs faster or slower depending on the sea anemone, but also what drives these differences," said study first author Dr. Pauline Salis.

In an experiment in the lab, the team worked with the clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris, a close relative of Amphiprion percula. The researchers treated larval clownfish with various doses of thyroid hormones, which are known to trigger metamorphosis in frogs.

The study revealed that the higher the dose of thyroid hormones, the faster the clownfish developed their white stripes. By contrast, when the clownfish were treated with a drug that stopped thyroid hormones from being produced, bar formation was delayed.

Dr. Salis noted that levels of thyroid hormones were much higher in the clownfish from the giant carpet anemone than in the clownfish from the magnificent sea anemone. To investigate what caused these higher levels of thyroid hormones, the team measured gene activity.

"The big surprise was that out of all these genes, only 36 genes differed between the clownfish from the two sea anemone species," said Professor Laudet. "And one of these 36 genes, called duox, gave us a real eureka moment."

The findings suggest that increased activity of duox leads to higher levels of thyroid hormones, as well as a faster rate of stripe formation, in clownfish living in the giant carpet anemone.

For scientists, the research raises new questions, including the ecological reason for variation in the rate of white bar formation. The researchers said that one possible explanation is that since the giant carpet anemone is more toxic, thyroid hormone levels increase as a response to stress.

"Here at OIST, we're starting to delve into some possible explanations," said Professor Laudet. "We suspect that these changes in white bar formation are just the tip of the iceberg, and that many other differences are present that help the clownfish adapt to the two different sea anemone hosts."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proceedings_of_the_National_Academy_of_Sciences_of_the_United_States_of_America">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

Clownfish get their stripes at different rates depending on their host

Clownfish develop their stripes at different rates depending on the...

A team of conservation scientists led by <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">UNSW Sydney</a> has managed to bring a group of wallabies back from the brink of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-third-of-oak-tree-species-are-threatened-with-extinction/">extinction</a> using a strategy known as "headstarting."

The wallabies were placed within a protected area to grow into adulthood without the threat of their main predators,  feral cats, and then released back into the wild.

Study lead author Alexandra Ross explained that juvenile wallabies under three kilograms, which is smaller than a rugby football, are easy prey for feral cats.

"Previous studies have shown that more than half of these young bridled nailtail wallabies were killed by feral cats before they could reach adulthood," said Ross.

"But when you look at the numbers of adults, the survival rate goes up to 80 percent - which shows that size is a good predictor of survival."

"So we figured if we can just get them through that tough period - when they're still little and an easy size for a cat to prey on - by putting them in feral-free protected areas, then we could make a positive difference to the population numbers."

Out of 56 wallabies that were raised within the protected area between 2015 and 2018, 89 percent survived long enough to be released back into the wild. 

Study co-author Professor Mike Letnic said that headstarting is a cost-effective intervention when compared to other, more complex strategies that involve the creation of large nature reserves, like the one created in Sturt National Park in 2019.

"Aly's headstarting project involved fencing off an area about 10 hectares which was big enough to hold about 30 or 40 wallabies at a time," said Professor Letnic.

"We're basically growing them from football size to medicine ball size before releasing them back into the wild, which can take anywhere from a few months to a year."

"For the most part they're fending for themselves in the headstart exclosure just like they do in the wild, except without the threat of feral animals. But they're not completely protected - they can still get eaten by eagles which means there is still some predator recognition."

According to Ross, the population of bridled nailtail wallabies more than doubled following the three years of headstarting in Avocet Nature Refuge, which is the largest increase that had been observed in this particular population since monitoring began in 2011.

"Before we started the headstarting strategy, we estimated the core Avocet population at 16 individuals," said Ross. "When we did a recount in 2018 after three years of gradually releasing headstarted wallabies that had reached the right size, the estimate of the total population of bridled nailtail wallabies - both inside and outside the headstarting exclosure - was 47."

"This clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the headstart exclosure as a conservation strategy."

The researchers calculated how the wallaby population would fare with or without varying lengths of headstarting scenarios. The projections showed that, if headstarting was ceased, the population would become extinct within two to 52 years.

"What this tells us is that until we find a way to eliminate feral cats in the wild, headstarting may be the only way to keep this population at a sustainable level."

The wallaby headstarting project was the very first of its kind for a land-based mammal, and raises new hope for other potential endangered species among which the size of juveniles may be a factor in population survival.

"One of the great things about headstarting is it's relatively cheap, doesn't interfere too much with animals' awareness of predators, and can get good results in a short time," said Ross.

"And there are plenty of other mammal species around the world that could benefit. Any species that is particularly vulnerable in the early life stage could potentially thrive under a headstarting strategy."

Up until now, headstarting has been used with some success with birds, fish, reptiles, and seals, and there is no reason why it shouldn't also be implemented for terrestrial mammals, concluded the researchers.

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

Headstarting strategy saved an endangered wallaby population

A team of conservation scientists led by UNSW Sydney has...

People who had mild cases of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neurological-problems-affect-8-out-of-10-covid-19-patients/">COVID-19</a> have develop antibody-producing cells that can last a lifetime, according to a new study from the <a href="https://medicine.wustl.edu/">Washington University School of Medicine</a>. The findings suggest that, among people who experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms, repeated infections are likely to be uncommon.

"Last fall, there were reports that antibodies wane quickly after infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, and mainstream media interpreted that to mean that immunity was not long-lived," said study senior author Dr. Ali Ellebedy.

"But that's a misinterpretation of the data. It's normal for antibody levels to go down after acute infection, but they don't go down to zero; they plateau. Here, we found antibody-producing cells in people 11 months after first symptoms. These cells will live and produce antibodies for the rest of people's lives. That's strong evidence for long-lasting immunity."

A viral infection causes antibody-producing immune cells to rapidly multiply and circulate in the blood. Most of these cells die once the infection subsides, but some of them migrate to the bone marrow. These antibody-producing cells are known as long-lived plasma cells, or LLPCs.

Once LLPCs have settled into the bone marrow, they continuously secrete low levels of antibodies into the bloodstream to help guard against another infection from the virus.

Dr. Ellebedy realized that the key to figuring out whether COVID-19 leads to long-lasting antibody protection lies in the bone marrow. 

In addition to tracking antibody levels in blood samples from COVID-19 survivors, the team obtained bone marrow from 18 individuals seven or eight months after they had a mild infection. Four months later, some of the participants provided a second bone marrow sample. The scientists also analyzed bone marrow from 11 people who had never had COVID-19 for comparison.

The study revealed that, as expected,  antibody levels in the blood of the COVID-19 participants dropped quickly in the first few months after infection before leveling off. Some antibodies were detectable even 11 months after infection. 

Furthermore, most of the bone marrow samples from people who had had COVID-19 contained antibody-producing cells specifically targeting the virus that causes the disease. These LLPCs persisted, and were detectable months later in the second round of bone marrow samples.

By contrast, the participants who had never had COVID-19 possessed no such antibody-producing cells in their bone marrow.

"People with mild cases of COVID-19 clear the virus from their bodies two to three weeks after infection, so there would be no virus driving an active immune response seven or 11 months after infection," said Dr. Ellebedy. 

"These cells are not dividing. They are quiescent, just sitting in the bone marrow and secreting antibodies. They have been doing that ever since the infection resolved, and they will continue doing that indefinitely."

The researchers speculate that people who were infected and never had symptoms may also be left with long-lasting immunity. However, they noted that it is yet to be determined whether those who endured more severe infection would be protected against a future bout of disease.

"It could go either way," said study first author Dr. Jackson Turner. "Inflammation plays a major role in severe COVID-19, and too much inflammation can lead to defective immune responses." 

"But on the other hand, the reason why people get really sick is often because they have a lot of virus in their bodies, and having a lot of virus around can lead to a good immune response. So it's not clear. We need to replicate the study in people with moderate to severe infections to understand whether they are likely to be protected from reinfection."

The researchers are currently investigating whether vaccination may also induce long-lasting antibodies.

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

Mild COVID-19 infection leads to lifelong antibody protection

People who had mild cases of COVID-19 have develop antibody-producing...

A new study from <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> has linked the excessive use of entertainment-related technology to lower educational aspirations among young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-media-use-linked-to-binge-eating-among-preteens/">teens</a>. The researchers found that middle-school aged children who use social media or video games for more than an hour each day during the school week have significantly lower grades and test scores.

According to the experts, the findings provide parents with a threshold for the moderate use of entertainment-related technology. The study indicates that this limit would be no more than one hour on school days and four hours a day on weekends.

"Interactive technology is widely used to promote children's educational access and achievement," said lead author Professor Vivien Anthony. 

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology has been essential to facilitating remote learning. At the same time, there is a growing concern that excessive technology use, particularly for entertainment, may adversely affect children's educational development by facilitating undesirable study habits and detracting from time spent on learning activities."

The researchers analyzed the China Education Panel Survey data, a national study that followed 10,000 first-year middle school students with an average age of 13.5 years.

The results of the analysis showed that children who used entertainment-related technology four or more hours daily were four times more likely to skip school than those who did not. Compared to girls, boys used this technology significantly more, showed lower engagement levels, and performed worse in school overall.

"Such findings are critical, particularly in light of the recent movement toward online learning in countries throughout the world," said Professor Anthony. 

"In a learning environment that integrates the internet, it is easy for children to move across educational and entertainment platforms during learning without alerting teachers or adults to alternate activities."

Professor Anthony noted that children in the study who used technology in moderation experienced less boredom at school - potentially due to the positive effects of participation in social media, video games and video streaming such as peer bonding and relationship building. A moderate amount of entertainment-related technology was found to advance children's cognitive development.

The findings suggest that placing time limits on children's interactive technology use could have major benefits. The study also indicates that parents and teachers should help children develop effective time management skills to reduce their reliance on technology.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/computers-in-human-behavior">Computers in Human Behavior</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Teens should use entertainment-related technology in moderation

A new study from Rutgers University has linked the excessive...

A new study from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a> has uncovered the mating secrets of honeybee drones. The researchers used radar technology to reveal that male honeybees, also known as drones, swarm together in specific aerial locations to mate with queens.

The lifetime goal of a male honeybees is to mate with a queen bee in mid-air. These drones are believed to gather in massive groups of up to 10,000 individuals in mating congregation areas.

The tracking data showed that drones alternated between periods of straight and convoluted looping flight patterns within a single flight. Upon further investigation,  the researchers discovered that phases of looping flight were associated with four distinct aerial locations where drones congregated. Remarkably, the specific congregational sites were consistent over a two year period.

It remains a mystery how the drones find these congregation areas. Considering that their average lifespan is only around 20 days, new generations of bees could not find these areas by simply following older drones. 

"Our findings suggest drones locate congregation areas as early as their second ever flight, without apparent extensive search. This implies that they must be able to get the information required to guide them to a congregation from observing the landscape close to their hive. In the future, we will look at how they accomplish this feat," explained study co-author Professor Lars Chittka.

The researchers propose that drone congregation areas could function like 'leks,' mating systems in which large numbers of males gather solely in an attempt to mate. Lek systems are most well known in vertebrates like deer, and males typically stick with a location.

"By using harmonic radar technology to track the bees, we found that individual flight paths show a clear change of behavior from straight flight to looping flight," said study lead author Dr. Joe Woodgate. "Periods of looping flight were clustered in particular locations and repeatable over two years, confirming that stable drone congregation areas, similar to 'leks' in other species, do exist."

"We show that drones frequently visited more than one congregation area on a single flight. This is the first evidence for males of any species routinely moving between lek-like congregations and may represent a new form of lek-like mating system in honeybees."

Within these congregation areas, the experts noted some similarities between the behavior of drones and swarms of mosquitoes. 

The researchers observed that when drones are making looping flight in one congregational area - the farther they go from the center, the harder they accelerate back toward it. This creates an apparent force, drawing bees toward the center and leading to a stable, coherent swarm.

"We believe that bee-inspired robotics will play a role in improving robotics and artificial intelligence in the future," said Dr. Woodgate. "Understanding how bees select and find distant goals based on their explorations of their surroundings will be important for this."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/home">iScience</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Honeybee drones have congregational sites for mating

A new study from Queen Mary University of London has...

Around five percent of flowering plants use a "deceptive pollination strategy" that involves advertising a false reward to attract pollinators. In a new study published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a>, experts have discovered a flower that emits the smell of decomposing insects to imprison coffin flies.

The plant Aristolochia microstoma uses its unique trick to deceive flies from the genus Megaselia, who search for insect corpses to mate over and lay their eggs in. The coffin flies are tricked into entering a flower, imprisoned for a time, and then released unharmed.

Study co-author Professor Stefan Dötterl is the head of the plant ecology group and the Botanical Gardens at the Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, Austria. 

"Here we show that the flowers of A. microstoma emit an unusual mix of volatiles that includes alkylpyrazines, which are otherwise rarely produced by flowering plants," said Professor Dötterl.

"Our results suggest that this is the first known case of a flower that tricks pollinators by smelling like dead and rotting insects rather than vertebrate carrion."

Deceptive pollination strategies work because pollinators are poor at distinguishing between the reward and the mimic, noted the researchers. These strategies are quite common in orchids, but have also evolved in other plants.

"Aristolochia contains over 550 species around the world, especially in the tropics and subtropics. They are mostly woody vines and herbaceous perennials with striking, complex flowers that temporarily imprison their visitors to get pollinated," said study co-author Professor Christoph Neinhuis.

Upon entering an Aristolochia flower, the coffin flies are guided by hairs to a small chamber which holds the sex organs. While trapped inside, they deposit any pollen they carry on the female organs. Next, the stamens ripen and release more pollen. 

"Many Aristolochia species are known to attract flies with floral scents, for example mimicking the smell of carrion or feces of mammals, decaying plants, or fungi," said study first author Thomas Rupp. 

"But our curiosity was piqued by A. microstoma, a species known only from Greece: unlike other Aristolochia with their showy flowers, A. microstoma has inconspicuous brownish flowers that lie horizontally, partly buried or close to the ground among leaf litter or rocks. The flowers release an unpleasant, carrion-like smell, noticeable to people at a short distance."

The researchers analyzed A. microstoma plants from three sites in Greece. They identified 16 scent compounds including oligosulfides, which are produced by many plant species who rely on carrion flies for pollination.

Another compound is one that is known in nature to occur in decomposing beetles and in the urine of rodents. This indicates that A. microstoma mimics an unusual fake reward to attract specific pollinators.

"Earlier studies had suggested that A. microstoma might be pollinated by leaf litter-dwelling insects such as ants, because of the orientation and position of the flowers. But here we show that this isn't correct: instead, the main pollinators are Megaselia 'coffin flies,'" said Professor Dötterl.

"As their name suggests, these flies feed on carrion, on which they lay their eggs and which serves as food for the larvae, which is why they are often used as evidence in forensic medicine."

"We show A. microstoma flowers emit a simple but highly unusual mix of scents that includes 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, a molecule that occurs neither in vertebrate carcasses nor in feces, but does occur in dead beetles," said study co-author Professor Stefan Wanke. 

"We conclude that A. microstoma likely uses a strategy that has never been reported before: its flowers mimic the smell of invertebrate carrion to attract and imprison pollinators."

"The peculiar orientation of the flowers close to the ground may also help, as pollinating coffin flies search for breeding sites or food close to the ground, in leaf litter or between rocks."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Flower smells like dead insects to attract coffin flies

Around five percent of flowering plants use a "deceptive pollination...

A new study from <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz</a> has revealed that 33 percent of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-did-not-hold-modern-mammals-back-from-evolving/">mammal</a> species respond negatively to human presence and struggle to live alongside people. By contrast, 58 percent of mammals were found to live successfully in places with higher levels of human disturbance.

The researchers analyzed data from 3,212 camera traps to show how human activities may be shifting the makeup of mammal communities across North America.

The team was particularly interested in understanding how mammals respond to different types of human disturbance, and whether these responses are linked to traits such as body size, diet, and reproductive success. 

In previous work, the researchers observed how wildlife in the Santa Cruz Mountains respond to human disturbance. They found that species like pumas and bobcats are less likely to be active in areas where humans are present, while deer and wood rats become bolder and more active. 

The experts set out to investigate which mammals are best equipped to live alongside humans on a larger scale. They combined their local camera trap data with that of researchers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 

Overall, the team tracked 24 species across 61 regionally diverse camera trap projects to look for trends on a continental scale.

"We've been very interested for a long time in how human disturbance influences wildlife, and we thought it would be interesting to see how wildlife in general are responding to similar anthropogenic pressures across North America," said study senior author Professor Chris Wilmers.

The findings showed that grizzly bears, lynx, wolves, and wolverines were less likely to be found in more developed areas, and were less active at these sites. Moose and martens were also less active in areas with a higher development footprint.

On the other hand, raccoons and white-tailed deer were more likely to spend time in developed areas, and were also more active in these spaces. 

Overall, mammals that were smaller, faster-reproducing, and had generalist diets were the most positively associated with human disturbance. Black bears, bighorn sheep, and wolverines were more likely to be found in areas frequented by humans, while deer, bobcats, grey foxes, pumas, and wolves were more active in these sites. 

The study results indicate that most mammals are willing to tolerate some level of human recreation in order to remain in high quality habitats. 

However, the research also shows that there is a limit to how much human disturbance animals can withstand. For example, red foxes were the only animals in the study that seemed to continue to be more active or present at medium to high levels of human disturbance.

In order to maintain suitable habitats that support diversity in mammal populations for the future, it will be important to understand the cutoff at which the costs of having humans nearby outweigh the benefits, explained the researchers.

"From a management perspective, I think the thresholds that we've started to identify are going to be really relevant," said Suraci. "This can help us get a sense of how much available habitat is actually out there for recolonizing or reintroduced species and hopefully allow us to more effectively coexist with wildlife in human-dominated landscapes."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Some mammals actually benefit from human disturbance

A new study from UC Santa Cruz has revealed that...

A study published by <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us">Wiley</a> has found extremely high levels of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tap-water-contaminants-2/">contaminants</a> in killer whales. The researchers identified new types of flame retardants that accumulate in the tissues of killer whales near Norway and are also passed on to nursing offspring.

"The study is shedding new light on how predators in the top of the food chain are affected by environmental contaminants, which has remained largely unknown," wrote the study authors.

"Little is known of the movement or presence of unregulated, emerging contaminants in top predators. The aim of the present study was to conduct the first screening of legacy and emerging contaminants in multiple tissues of killer whales from Norway and investigate tissue partitioning and maternal transfer." 

"Blubber was collected from 8 killer whales in 2015 to 2017, in addition to muscle from 5 of the individuals, and kidney, liver, heart, and spleen from a neonate."

In addition to flame retardants, the experts detected man-made chemicals called perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the tissues of adult killer whales. This chemical has been linked to reproductive and endocrine effects in wildlife. 

The researchers also found polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the blubber of 7 of the 8 killer whales in the study. PCBS were detected at levels that exceeded the proposed threshold for toxicological effects in marine mammals. The manufacturing of PCBs was banned in 1979.

"Top predators such as the killer whale (Orcinus orca) are considered sentinel species for marine ecosystem health, and many killer whale populations have been evaluated as being at risk from the harmful effects of legacy POPs, such as PCBs," wrote the study authors. 

"Levels of pollutants in top predators give not only an indication of ecosystem health, but of the persistence of chemicals, passive mobility in the environment, and active biotransport with migrating animals."

"Our results are relevant for the continued environmental monitoring of contaminants in the Arctic."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15528618">Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry</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 are accumulating high levels of contaminants

A study published by Wiley has found extremely high levels...

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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

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" 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 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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" 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.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

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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