Do you recall those childhood days when you eagerly anticipated bedtime stories about Peter Rabbit, Toad or Ratty from The Wind in the Willows? Or the excitement that washed over you every time you opened a children's book teeming with playful, animated animals? 



Well, a new study is giving us a fresh perspective on the role of these furry, iconic characters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-children-s-books-animal-characters">Children's books animal characters</h2>



The research has shed light on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/toddlers-learn-faster-after-witnessing-impossible-events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">potential influence</a> of non-human characters in children's books.



The researchers aimed to gauge how these animal characters affected children's theory of mind skills - crucial abilities which include deciphering social changes in the environment based on voice tone, word choice, or facial expressions.



They worked with over 100 children aged five to 10, each of whom were tested on their theory of mind skills after hearing stories featuring animal characters, as well as those highlighting human characters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-vs-animal-characters-in-books">Human vs. animal characters in books</h2>



The study unveiled an interesting pattern. When exposed to stories centered around human characters, an age-related progression was observed. 



Older children were consistently outperforming their younger counterparts, with 3rd grade children surpassing the researchers' expectations in tests featuring human characters.



But the revelations didn't stop there. The tests that involved animal characters threw up another surprise. 



The younger participants were able to match the scores achieved by pupils in 3rd grade, who were two years their senior. That's quite a feat for our young champions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-insight-into-children-s-development">New insight into children's development</h2>



These findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, highlight the importance of both human and non-human characters in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/outdoor-classes-improve-childrens-mental-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">children's developmental stages</a>.



The research was led by Dr. Gray Atherton and Dr. Liam Cross from the University of Plymouth’s <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/schools/psychology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Psychology</a>.



"Animals play a huge part of children’s stories, whether that is in books and comics or through TV and film. We wanted to test if that is down to more than simply liking the characters, and whether there are actual benefits of children learning through by watching or reading about animals and if this changes over time," said Dr. Atherton.



"Our findings showed that both human and non-human characters are important in helping children interpret the world around them, and that they play differing roles at different stages in their development. Adapting activities and lessons in nurseries and the early school years to take that into account could be hugely effective in helping to support their development."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-educators-and-parents">Implications for educators and parents</h2>



The insights gained from this study have substantial implications for educators and parents aiming to support children's cognitive and social development.



By incorporating both human and animal characters into books, educators can craft a more balanced learning environment that caters to the diverse needs of children across age groups. 



Parents, too, can enrich their children's home learning experiences by selecting a variety of stories that include both human and animal protagonists. 



This approach not only makes reading sessions more engaging but also aids in developing empathy and understanding of complex social scenarios.



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



While this study provides valuable insights, it also opens avenues for further exploration. 



Future research could go deeper into the types of animal characteristics that are most effective in nurturing children's theory of mind. For instance, exploring whether anthropomorphized animals or more realistic portrayals have differing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-who-use-humor-have-better-relationships-with-their-children/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">impacts</a>. 



Similarly, cross-cultural studies could investigate whether the affinity towards animal characters holds true in diverse cultural contexts. These inquiries could refine understanding and application in educational strategies, enhancing the efficacy of storytelling as a developmental tool.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-characters-and-autism-treatment">Animal characters and autism treatment</h2>



In previous studies, Dr. Atherton and Dr. Cross examined the factors influencing the educational and social development of individuals with autism and learning difficulties.



The experts launched initiatives proving how board and online games can bolster confidence among people with autism. 



Borrowing insights from this research, the scholars now plan to dig deeper to explore if their findings could provide specific benefits to children with such conditions.



Dr. Cross envisions a significant impact of this study on individuals with autism or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-with-behavioral-issues-have-high-cortisol-levels-in-their-hair/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">other conditions</a> affecting their learning. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-way-of-looking-at-animal-characters">A new way of looking at animal characters</h2>



The researchers have observed how tasks involving animal characters can result in autistic individuals performing on par with non-autistic children. 



The plan is to replicate this study with autistic children in an effort to unveil more effective ways to support them at a critical stage in their development.



In a nutshell, this study has unraveled an entirely new dimension of how we view animals in children's books. 



Those delightful animal characters do more than simply entertain; they help shape our children's minds and understanding of the world around them in their formative years.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002209652400256X?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Experimental Child Psychology</a>. 



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Animal characters boost social and emotional skills in children

Do you recall those childhood days when you eagerly anticipated bedtime stories about Peter Rabbit, Toad or Ratty from The Wind in the Willows? Or the excitement that washed over you every time you opened a children's book teeming with playful, animated animals? Well, a new study is giving us a fresh perspective on the role of these furry, iconic characters. Children's books animal characters The research has shed light on the potential influence of non-human characters in children's books. The researchers aimed to gauge how these...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.bu.edu/sph/">Boston University School of Public Health</a> (BUSPH) reports that heat-related fatalities in the United States are much higher than what was previously thought, and that even moderate heat can be deadly.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 600 deaths can be attributed to heat each year. However, the researchers found evidence that this number is actually in the thousands. 

The experts determined that heat contributed to an average of 5,600 deaths each year between 1997 and 2006 in 297 counties.

For the study, heat was not simply based on the temperature, but on the temperatures that are typical for each particular region. From this perspective, most of the heat-related fatalities were associated with weather that is not considered extremely hot. 

Study lead author Dr. Kate R. Weinberger is an assistant professor of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of British Columbia.

"How dangerous a hot day is may depend on where you live. A 90°F day might be dangerous in Seattle, but not in Phoenix. One of the factors that gives rise to this phenomenon is differing degrees of adaptation to heat," explained Dr. Weinberger.

"For example, air conditioning is much more common in cities like Phoenix that experience hot weather frequently versus cities like Seattle with cooler climates."

Dr. Weinberger noted that demographic factors can also affect how vulnerable a population is to hotter temperatures. Heat is particularly dangerous for older adults, children, pregnant women, and outdoor workers.

The research was focused on data from the National Center for Health Statistics on deaths in the highest populated U.S. counties from 1997 to 2006 - the most recent decade with continuous data available. 

The death statistics were combined with the Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM), which estimates temperatures across the United States within a precise range of four square kilometers. 

Across the counties examined, moderate heat killed 3,309 people per year, while extreme heat killed 2,299 people each year.

"These estimates do not depend on anyone recognizing that a given death was due to excess heat, so they are likely closer to the true number than previous estimates," said study senior author Dr. Gregory Wellenius. "Heat is very much a threat to the health of our communities and our families today." 

"Public health officials have a responsibility to implement heat action plans--as many communities across the world already have--in order to warn residents ahead of days of extreme heat and to help residents cope with the heat and minimize their health risks."

The researchers pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic will make it harder to stay cool this summer. 

"Providing publicly accessible air conditioned spaces on hot days now carries additional risks and requires new protocols for keeping people safe from both heat and infection," said Dr. Wellenius.

"At the same time, with many offices, malls, stores, restaurants, and other commercial buildings still largely closed, this summer people are even more reliant on home air conditioning than ever before."

"Given the high unemployment rates, particularly among vulnerable communities, we may see an even bigger impact of heat on people's health this summer."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.lww.com/environepidem/pages/aboutthejournal.aspx">Environmental Epidemiology</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Heat kills thousands in the U.S. each year

A new study from the Boston University School of Public...

In a new study from <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a>, experts have investigated the factors which influence infectious disease in marine mammals. The research comes at a time when there is a heightened awareness of the devastation caused by deadly diseases like COVID-19. 

Study co-author Claire Sanderson is a research associate in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

"We are perhaps more alert than ever to the catastrophic impacts of infectious disease in both humans and animals. Our task now is to begin to understand what drives these events, particularly in species like marine mammals, where our knowledge is even more limited," said Sanderson.

Twenty years ago, a mysterious illness killed over 10,000 endangered Caspian seals in less than four months. The deaths were ultimately tied to a disease known as canine distemper virus.

Mass mortality events from infectious diseases have affected a wide range of both terrestrial and aquatic species. Compared to land animals, however, the effects of disease on marine mammals have not been thoroughly examined. 

Sanderson collaborated with Kathleen Alexander, a professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, to gain a better understanding of how disease outbreaks spread among marine animals. 

According to the researchers, a mass mortality event is a devastating number of fatalities within the same species over a brief period of time. These events trigger a domino effect of consequences that can lead to local species extinctions and ecosystem collapse.

After analyzing relevant literature, the experts found that infectious disease-induced mass mortality events occurred in 14 percent of marine mammal species between 1955 and 2018. Viruses were responsible for 72 percent of the mass mortality events, and caused 20 times more fatalities than bacterial outbreaks. 

Morbillivirus and influenza A outbreaks, which were the most common, can infect multiple hosts because they can jump from one species to another. 

The researchers examined life history traits and environmental variables to determine which factors influenced mass mortality events. The study revealed that more than half of the species involved were pinnipeds, a group of semi-aquatic species that includes seals, sea lions, and walruses.

"Pinnipeds bridge the terrestrial and aquatic interfaces and may have a greater exposure to pathogens that occur across these land types," said Sanderson.

The study showed that 61 percent of the mass mortality events occurred during periods of unusually high sea surface temperatures. The likelihood of a fatal disease outbreak was found to increase concurrently with global sea surface temperature anomalies.

"As climate change intensifies, this may set off a complex chain of events that dramatically alter these ecosystems, affecting marine populations living in these environments," said Professor Alexander.

Changes in ocean composition, such as sea ice retreat, also facilitate disease outbreaks in marine habitats. In polar regions, shrinking sea ice forces pinnipeds to congregate closer together, promoting rapid disease transmission. 

In addition, the melting ice alters the salinity of the water. As a result, important prey for pinnipeds - like fish and crustaceans - become less abundant. Nutritional stress makes the mammals more susceptible to disease.

"Marine mammals represent important sentinels of aquatic health by providing information essential for managing threats to these vulnerable ecosystems," said Sanderson. "Addressing the root causes of climate change will be of critical importance as we chart a path forward in managing these species."

The researchers determined that 37 percent of the marine mammal species that suffered from a fatal disease outbreak were classified as endangered or vulnerable to extinction.

"This work underscores the critical threat infectious disease can pose to marine species and the potential importance of climate change as a wide reaching driver of this process," said Professor Anderson.  

"Here, our role is complex as we contribute directly to our changing climate, increasing pathogen pollution, and habitat degradation. But we also have the power to change things, address climate change, protect species and environments through effort and innovation - humanity at its best."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

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Climate change promotes infectious disease in marine mammals

In a new study from Virginia Tech, experts have investigated...

Scientists at the <a href="https://ciat.cgiar.org/">International Center for Tropical Agriculture</a> (CIAT) are analyzing drone images captured above the soil to examine what is going on below. With the help of machine learning, the experts are revolutionizing the way that farmers and breeders monitor crop health. 

The Pheno-i platform provides real-time data that can be used to determine how root crops are responding to heat or drought. 

The main objective of the phenotyping platform is to contribute to sustainable agriculture and the development of more climate-resilient crops. 

Root crops like carrots and potatoes often show no signs of the diseases and deficiencies that affect their growth. The plant leaves may look green and healthy, but that is not always a good indication of what is going on beneath the soil. 

Plant breeders have to wait months or years before discovering how crops respond to temperature changes or dry spells. Without the right nutrients or growing conditions, crop health and development can be stifled early on. 

"One of the great mysteries for plant breeders is whether what is happening above the ground is the same as what's happening below," said study co-author Michael Selvaraj.

"That poses a big problem for all scientists. You need a lot of data: plant canopy, height, other physical features that take a lot of time and energy, and multiple trials, to capture what is really going on beneath the ground and how healthy the crop really is."

Drone technology is becoming much cheaper, and capturing physical images during crop trials is now easier than ever before. However, analyzing vast quantities of visual information, and then converting it into useful data, has been a major challenge. 

The Pheno-i platform merges data from thousands of high-resolution drone images, analyzes them through machine learning, and then produces a spreadsheet. Scientists using the platform can assess crop health and see how plants are responding to external conditions in real-time.

The technology makes it possible for breeders to immediately identify what crops need, such as when they are lacking nutrients or water. 

The data also helps scientists determine which crops are more resilient to climate change. 

"We're helping breeders to select the best root crop varieties more quickly, so they can breed higher-yielding, more climate-smart varieties for farmers," said Gomez Selvaraj.

"The drone is just the hardware device, but when linked with this precise and rapid analytics platform, we can provide useful and actionable data to accelerate crop productivity."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://plantmethods.biomedcentral.com/">Plant Methods</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Scientists use AI and drone images to interpret crop health

Scientists at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) are...

A mysterious fossil that was recovered nine years ago has turned out to be the largest soft-shell egg ever discovered, as well as the first fossilized egg ever found in Antarctica.

The egg was discovered by a team of Chilean scientists in 2011. Resembling a deflated football, the egg sat unidentified and unlabeled in Chile's National Museum of Natural History. The unusual specimen was known only by its movie-inspired nickname "The Thing."

A recent analysis led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> has revealed that the giant egg, which measures more than 11 by 7 inches, was laid by a dinosaur-sized relative of snakes and reptiles about 66 million years old. 

The findings are particularly significant because scientists thought that the large marine reptiles of this time, such as mosasaurs, gave birth to live offspring rather than laying eggs. 

"It is from an animal the size of a large dinosaur, but it is completely unlike a dinosaur egg," said study lead author Lucas Legendre. "It is most similar to the eggs of lizards and snakes, but it is from a truly giant relative of these animals."

Study co-author David Rubilar-Rogers of Chile's National Museum of Natural History was one of the scientists who discovered the fossil in 2011. He asked various experts to take a look at the specimen, but its origin remained unknown for years. 

When Professor Julia Clarke visited the museum in 2018, she theorized that the mysterious fossil may be a deflated soft-shell egg. 

Back in the lab, Legendre used a variety of microscopes to confirm the egg's identity in several layers of membrane. Legendre said the structure is very similar to transparent, quick-hatching eggs laid by some snakes and lizards today. 

Since the fossil egg had hatched and contained no skeleton, Legendre investigated by compiling a dataset to compare the body size of 259 living reptiles to the size of their eggs. He determined that the fossil egg belonged to a creature with a body that was more than 20 feet long, not even counting a tail. 

The egg was found in an Antarctic site that also contained skeletons from baby mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, along with adult specimens. 

"Many authors have hypothesized that this was sort of a nursery site with shallow protected water, a cove environment where the young ones would have had a quiet setting to grow up," said Legendre.

The scientists have some ideas as to how the massive reptile may have managed to lay the eggs - in the open water like some sea snakes or on a beach like sea turtles. 

The researchers said that laying the eggs on the beach would require some fancy maneuvering. The reptile would have had to wriggle its tail onshore while staying mostly submerged and supported by water.

"We can't exclude the idea that they shoved their tail end up on shore because nothing like this has ever been discovered," said Professor Clarke.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

First-ever fossil egg in Antarctica laid by massive reptile

A mysterious fossil that was recovered nine years ago has...

After analyzing evidence on the link between the economy and the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/lakes-green-environment/">environment</a>, a team of experts has determined that wealth and overconsumption are the biggest economic drivers of environmental disasters such as climate change. 

Even today's technology cannot keep pace with human overconsumption, and playing a central role in the degradation of the natural world are the wealthiest and most affluent people.

According to the researchers, the world's affluent citizens are responsible for most environmental impacts, which means their actions will help to determine whether there is a chance for retreating to safer conditions in the future.

When working toward sustainability, the experts explained that technology will only get us so far, and that drastic changes in lifestyles and economic models are needed. 

Study lead author Professor Tommy Wiedmann heads the Sustainability Assessment Program in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">University of New South Wales</a>. 

"Recent scientists' warnings have done a great job at describing the many perils our natural world is facing through crises in climate, biodiversity and food systems, to name but a few," said Professor Wiedmann. "However, none of these warnings has explicitly considered the role of growth-oriented economies and the pursuit of affluence." 

"In our scientists' warning, we identify the underlying forces of overconsumption and spell out the measures that are needed to tackle the overwhelming 'power' of consumption and the economic growth paradigm - that's the gap we fill."

"The key conclusion from our review is that we cannot rely on technology alone to solve existential environmental problems - like climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution - but that we also have to change our affluent lifestyles and reduce overconsumption, in combination with structural change."

In the last 40 years, the growth of wealth has consistently offset any gains toward efficiency and sustainability. 

"Technology can help us to consume more efficiently, i.e. to save energy and resources, but these technological improvements cannot keep pace with our ever-increasing levels of consumption," said Professor Wiedmann.

Study co-author Julia Steinberger is a professor of Ecological Economics at the University of Leeds. She noted that affluence is often portrayed as something to aspire to, yet the research has shown that it is actually dangerous and leads to planetary-scale destruction. 

"To protect ourselves from the worsening climate crisis, we must reduce inequality and challenge the notion that riches, and those who possess them, are inherently good," said Professor Steinberger.

Study co-author Lorenz Keysser of ETH Zurich said that consumption by affluent households worldwide is "by far the strongest determinant - and the strongest accelerator - of increased global environmental and social impacts."

"Current discussions on how to address the ecological crises within science, policy making and social movements need to recognize the responsibility of the most affluent for these crises," said Keysser.

The researchers emphasized that overconsumption and affluence need to be addressed through lifestyle changes. At the same time, broader economic changes are needed. 

"Individuals' attempts at such lifestyle transitions may be doomed to fail, because existing societies, economies and cultures incentivise consumption expansion," said Professor Wiedmann.

"The structural imperative for growth in competitive market economies leads to decision makers being locked into bolstering economic growth, and inhibiting necessary societal changes."

"So, we have to get away from our obsession with economic growth - we really need to start managing our economies in a way that protects our climate and natural resources, even if this means less, no or even negative growth."

"In Australia, this discussion isn't happening at all - economic growth is the one and only mantra preached by both main political parties. It's very different in New Zealand - their Wellbeing Budget 2019 is one example of how government investment can be directed in a more sustainable direction, by transforming the economy rather than growing it."

According to the researchers, sustainable economic growth is a myth. Professor Wiedmann explained that as long as there is growth in economies and populations, environmental impacts will only increase.

Professor Wiedmann's team will continue to investigate ways for minimizing the environmental impacts of human overconsumption by using computer models to analyze the future of different economies alongside potential sustainable renovations.

"We have already started doing this with a recent piece of research that showed a fairer, greener and more prosperous Australia is possible - so long as political leaders don't focus just on economic growth," said Professor Wiedmann.

"We hope that this review shows a different perspective on what matters, and supports us in overcoming deeply entrenched views on how humans have to dominate nature, and on how our economies have to grow ever more. We can't keep behaving as if we had a spare planet available."

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

&nbsp;

Overconsumption is the leading cause of environmental disaster

After analyzing evidence on the link between the economy and...

A new study has revealed that sedentary behavior is independently associated with a higher risk of dying from <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/experts-discover-how-cancer-cells-protect-themselves-from-viruses/">cancer</a>. Individuals who were the least active were found to have an 82 percent higher risk of cancer mortality compared to individuals who were the least sedentary.

Study lead author Dr. Susan Gilchrist is an associate professor of Clinical Cancer Prevention at the <a href="https://www.mdanderson.org/">University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center</a>.

"This is the first study that definitively shows a strong association between not moving and cancer death," said Dr. Gilchrist. "Our findings show that the amount of time a person spends sitting prior to a cancer diagnosis is predictive of time to cancer death."

The researchers also determined that replacing just 30 minutes of sedentary time reduced the risk of cancer mortality. Moderate-intensity activity was associated with a 31 percent lower risk of cancer mortality, while light-intensity activity was associated with an 8 percent lower risk of cancer mortality. 

"Conversations with my patients always begin with why they don't have time to exercise," said Dr. Gilchrist. "I tell them to consider standing up for 5 minutes every hour at work or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. It might not sound like a lot, but this study tells us even light activity has cancer survival benefits."

The investigation was focused on data from the REGARDS cohort study, which involved more than 30,000 U.S. adults over the age of 45. 

More than 8,000 participants, who were cancer-free at the time of enrollment, wore an accelerometer to track their activity for seven consecutive days. The monitoring data was collected between 2009 and 2013. 

After an average follow-up of five years, 268 participants died of cancer. The analysis of data showed that a longer duration of sedentary behavior was independently linked to a greater risk of cancer mortality.

"Our findings reinforce that it's important to 'sit less and move more' and that incorporating 30 minutes of movement into your daily life can help reduce your risk of death from cancer," said Dr. Gilchrist. 

"Our next step is to investigate how objectively measured sedentary behavior impacts site-specific cancer incidence and if gender and race play a role."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology">JAMA Oncology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sedentary behavior linked to higher risk of cancer mortality

A new study has revealed that sedentary behavior is independently...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.wvu.edu/">West Virginia University</a> has found that U.S. cities with pro sports have more seasonal deaths from the flu each year. Based on the findings, sports leagues should reconsider opening back up to the public during the ongoing <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/protein-that-fights-covid-19-infection-inhibits-lung-repair/">COVID-19</a> pandemic. 

The research was focused on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1962 and 2016. 

The study showed that flu deaths increased by as much as 24 percent during the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB seasons. The largest spike in seasonal flu deaths was associated with NHL games.

COVID-19 is believed to be even more contagious and deadlier than the flu. The researchers said that until a vaccine is available or herd immunity exists, the fans should not be coming back to the games.

"Opening pro sports games to fans is probably a terrible idea, in terms of public health," said study co-author Professor Brad Humphreys. "You're right on top of people and everybody's yelling, screaming, high-fiving and hugging. And you've got people eating and drinking. You could be putting the virus right into your mouth."

"The bottom line is we need to be very careful if we're considering opening up games to the fans."

The experts looked at cities that introduced a new professional sports franchise during the 54-year study period. They found that new teams led to an increase in flu mortality, regardless of the sport.

"We found data that reported flu mortality by city by week dating back to the 1960s," said Professor Humphreys. "We decided the best experiment was to try to look at what happened when a city got a new pro sports team compared to cities that didn't."

"As it turned out, after a new professional sports team came into a city, that flu season and every flu season afterward had more people dying of the flu.

"It isn't one or two people dying. This is closer to 30 or 40 additional flu deaths over the course of flu season. When you blow it up to a virus that's more fatal like COVID-19, we could be talking about hundreds of additional deaths because of these games."

During suspensed seasons, the data showed a decline in flu deaths. For example, U.S. cities reported fewer flu deaths during the 2011 NBA lockout and the 1982 NFL strike.

The research was initiated in March as the NBA and other organizations called off games due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Professor Humphreys was further motivated to investigate after learning about a spike in COVID-19 following a soccer game in Italy.

On February 19, more than 40,000 residents of Bergamo traveled to nearby Milan to see their home team Atalanta compete with Spain’s Valencia. Before the soccer match,  there were only three confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy. Two weeks later, that number jumped to almost 1,000 in Bergamo alone.

"At the time, they had the highest death rate anywhere in the world," said Professor Humphreys. "That game served as a super-spreader event."

Both the NBA and NHL are planning to resume their seasons this summer without fans in attendance. As part of an ongoing study from the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, NBA players will have the option of wearing an Oura smart ring that detects early signs of COVID-19.

The experts hope their findings will not only help inform decisions about reopening sporrs, but will also deter mass gatherings in general such as concerts, conferences, and conventions.

"You'll have some people say, 'Oh, but everybody can wear a mask,' but you've seen how people are complying with that, right? And if these arenas are at full capacity, social distancing isn't happening," said Professor Humphreys.

A COVID-19 model that was formerly used by the White House projects that more than 200,000 American could die from the virus by October. As of today, 119,000 people have died in the United States.

"Our results reveal that bringing fans back to games would be a huge mistake," said Professor Humphreys. "Imagine someone going to a game and sitting in the stands and then they go see grandma at the nursing home. Let's wait til we have a vaccine or reach herd immunity."

The research was presented at the <a href="https://research.reading.ac.uk/economics/reading-online-sport-economics-seminars-roses/">ROSES </a> seminar hosted by the University of Reading.

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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

&nbsp;

Seasonal flu deaths are higher in U.S. cities with pro sports teams

A new study led by West Virginia University has found...

An investigation into the impacts of forest cover loss on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/1880486/">biodiversity</a> has revealed widespread changes in species all over the world. The experts found that forest loss has a transformative effect on the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/1880486/">species</a> present, accelerating both gains and losses in biodiversity.  

The researchers analyzed biodiversity fluctuations related to 150 years of forest cover changes in over 6,000 locations. 

Study lead author Gergana Daskalova is a PhD student in the School of GeoSciences at the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a>.

"Biodiversity, the types of species like different plants and animals around the world, is always changing and the species we see on our forest walks today are likely different from the ones we saw growing up," said Daskalova.

"We're harnessing the power of generations of scientists recording data as they walk through forests. This allowed us to find signals amidst the noise and pick apart the influence of forest loss from the natural variation in biodiversity over time."

Forests support around 80 percent of all terrestrial species. Some of these plants and animals are best suited for life in unimpaired older forests. 

Human activities such as deforestation and land use changes alter forest ecosystems. The researchers found that forest cover loss amplified gains and losses in the abundance of different species as well as in the overall biodiversity.

"Surprisingly, we found that forest loss doesn't always lead to biodiversity declines," said Daskalova. "Instead, when we lose forest cover, this can amplify the ongoing biodiversity change." 

"For example, if a plant or animal species was declining before forest loss, its decline becomes even more severe after forest loss. That same intensification of the signal was also true for increasing species."

"Changes in the biodiversity of the planet's forests matter because they will echo through how these landscapes look, the types of species they support and the benefits that forests provide for society like clean air and water."

The study was focused on data from the BioTIME and Living Planet biodiversity databases, which include documentation from research conducted in sites all over the world. The team analyzed over 5 million records of biodiversity numbers along with information on both historic and recent peaks in forest cover loss.

"To get a global picture of how the planet is changing we need to combine different types of information from observations of plants and animals on the ground through to satellite records of ecosystem change from space," said study co-senior author Dr. Isla Myers-Smith.

"Our study brings together these two perspectives to make new insights into how biodiversity responds when forests are lost around the world."

"Ecology is being reshaped by the new tools available to us as researchers. From satellite observations through to high-performance computers, we ecologists can now ask questions with larger and more complex datasets. We are now coming to a new understanding of how ecosystems are responding to human impacts around the planet."

The analysis showed that forest ecosystems experienced both immediate and delayed effects after forests were converted. The findings indicate that human-induced biodiversity changes are complex and unfold over years to decades.

Grasses, plants, and insects respond to forest loss within a few years, while older trees and large birds and mammals respond much more slowly - over decades. 

"Humans are undoubtedly changing the planet. Yet, global analyses of how biodiversity is changing over time, like our study, are revealing biodiversity changes are nuanced and variable," said study co-senior author Dr. Maria Dornelas of the University of St. Andrews.

"With a better understanding of the different ways, both positive and negative, in which forest loss influences biodiversity, we can improve future conservation and restoration of global ecosystems.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Forest cover loss leads to decades of biodiversity changes

An investigation into the impacts of forest cover loss on...

Last year, a survey from the Allensbach Institute found that more than six million Germans are <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/vegetarian-options-reduce-meat-consumption/">vegetarians</a>, a number that was up by 400,000 from 2018. 

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.cbs.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences</a> set out to investigate how a vegetarian diet may affect people both mentally and physically, regardless of factors such as age or gender. 

The study revealed that vegetarians maintain a healthier weight and are less extroverted than people who eat meat. 

The researchers found a strong link between lower levels of animal products and lower body mass index (BMI). One explanation for this is the reduction of heavily processed foods in a plant diet. 

"Products that are excessively rich in fat and sugar are particularly fattening. They stimulate the appetite and delay the feeling of satiety. If you avoid animal foods, you consume fewer such products on average," explained study first author Evelyn Medawar.

Vegetarian food contains dietary fibers that make you feel fuller with less food. These fibers have a positive effect on the intestinal microbiome.

Body mass index is also influenced by the type of animal products an individual typically consumes. Eating secondary products like dairy is associated with a lower BMI than eating primary meat products like sausage. 

"A person with a 1.2 point lower BMI on average either completely avoids certain animal products, such as the primary ones, and is on a vegetarian diet. Or she continues to eat meat and fish, but less often," said Medawar.

The researchers are currently working on a follow-up study to determine whether nutrition is ultimately the cause of lower body weight or if there are other factors responsible.

The portion of the study focused on personality showed that people with predominantly plant-based foods in their diet are more introverted than those who mainly consume meat. 

"It is difficult to say what the reason for this is," said study lead author Veronica Witte. "It could be because more introverted people tend to have more restrictive eating habits or because they are more socially segregated because of their eating habits." 

While other studies have suggested that a plant-based diet is associated with neurotic behavior, the Max Planck researchers found no evidence to support this idea. 

"Earlier analyses had found that more neurotic people were generally more likely to avoid certain groups of foods and to behave more restrictively. We focused here solely on the avoidance of animal products and could not observe any correlation," said Witte.

The investigation also analyzed a potential link between a plant-based diet and symptoms of depression.

"We could not detect this correlation," said Witte. "It is possible that in previous analyses other factors had blurred the results, including the BMI or conspicuous personality traits that are known to be associated with depression. We accounted for them."

Last year, a major UN study concluded that plant-based diets can help fight climate change.

“Balanced diets, featuring plant-based foods, such as those based on coarse grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and animal-sourced food produced in resilient, sustainable and low- emission systems, present major opportunities for adaptation and mitigation while generating significant co-benefits in terms of human health,” the UN report said.

The Max Planck study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients">Nutrients</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Plant-based diets promote healthier weight

Last year, a survey from the Allensbach Institute found that...

In the coming decades, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-alter-the-composition-of-arctic-watersheds-for-50-years/">Arctic</a> Ocean will absorb significantly more carbon dioxide than what has been predicted by current climate models, according to new research from the <a href="https://www.unibe.ch/index_eng.html">University of Bern</a>. 

The increased rate of ocean acidification, combined with other rapidly changing chemical conditions, could ultimately disrupt the entire Arctic food chain. 

A growing collection of studies suggest that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are now the highest they have been in millions of years. 

The ocean plays a major role in helping to capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, excessive levels of CO2 are dramatically increasing the ocean's acidity.

Animals such as clams, mussels, corals, and starfish are particularly vulnerable to higher acidity because it weakens their ability to form and maintain protective shells from calcium carbonate. 

While it was known that ocean acidification will increase at the fastest rate in the Arctic, a team of climate scientists has now determined that acidification will accelerate in the Arctic even faster than expected. 

The research was focused on the analysis of current climate models. Even though projections of 21st-century acidification were highly variable across the models, the team identified a correspondence in the estimates of Arctic sea surface density.

The experts used the surface density simulations as a proxy for estimating deep water formation. With a greater extent of deep-water formation, more carbon dioxide is transported into the ocean interior.

Based on the current rate of CO2 emissions, the experts determined that the Arctic Ocean will absorb 20 percent more CO2 this century compared to recent climate model estimates. 

"This leads to substantially enhanced ocean acidification, particularly between 200 and 1,000 meters," explained study co-author Dr. Jens Terhaar is a member ocean modeling research group in the Oeschger-Centre for Climate Change Research. 

As ocean acidity rises, oysters, corals, and other calcifying organisms are severely impacted. The animals struggle to build their shells and skeletons, which are dissolved by the acidic water. 

According to study co-author Lester Kwiatkowski, the findings suggest that it will be even more difficult for Arctic organisms to adapt to ocean acidification than what was anticipated. 

The loss of calcifying species, some of which form the base of the food chain, could have drastic consequences. The cascading effects could threaten the entire Arctic food web all the way up to fish and marine mammals.

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

&nbsp;

Ocean acidification will be worse than expected in the Arctic

In the coming decades, the Arctic Ocean will absorb significantly...

In a new study from the <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/">University of Buffalo</a>, scientists have gained new insight into how <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/some-plants-have-evolved-to-take-advantage-of-ant-pollination/">plants</a> have evolved the remarkable ability to produce chemicals that help them reproduce, defend their territory, and ward off predators. 

The research was focused on the first-ever genome sequence of Gardenia jasminoides, an evergreen shrub with white flowers that grows wild in tropical climates.

Gardenia makes a brightly-colored chemical called crocin, which gives gardenia fruit its reddish-orange color. The researchers identified the genes that regulate the production of crocin and used them to create the compound in the lab. 

The study represents an important step toward the large-scale production of crocin for its natural medicinal properties. 

The research also highlights the power of an evolutionary process called tandem gene duplication, or the accidental copying of DNA. 

In a tandem duplication event, a single gene gets replicated by mistake during reproduction. This provides organisms with excess genetic material that can be used for new specialized gene functions. 

"The important principle is that plants can reinvent things," said study co-author Dr. Victor Albert. "They can duplicate some parts of their genetic toolkit and twiddle the functions a little."

"So let's say you have a screwdriver, but the head is a super-big one. Imagine you could duplicate that screwdriver, but you could grind the head to make it smaller and useful for little screws, but you also still have the original one with the big head to handle large ones. That's what these plants are doing."

The study revealed that tandem duplication led to the evolution of a gene that is needed for crocin synthesis in gardenias. The researchers found that this type of genetic replication also enabled the coffee plant Coffea canephora - a close relative of the gardenia - to develop genes that produce caffeine.

"This is a case where we see the same underlying evolutionary mechanism generating these tandem duplicates to create two different biosynthetic pathways of interest in two plants," said Dr. Albert. "We have coffee and gardenia, which evolved from a close common ancestor, and in one case tandem duplicates formed and went crazy in coffee to make caffeine. And in the other, they formed and went crazy in gardenia to make crocins."

Crocin is also found in the crocus plant, which produces saffron. Gardenias and crocus plants did not inherit the ability to make crocin from a common ancestor, but evolved the genes independently. Coffee, tea, and chocolate plants acquired caffeine genes independently of each other as well. 

"Plants are playing games with multiple evolutions of interesting phytochemicals," said Dr. Albert. "And, of course, all of these phytochemicals are useful to the plants, maybe in fighting against pathogens or serving as attractants to insects."

Gardenias have the advantage of fiery-colored fruits that attract animals to eat them. This is beneficial for seed dispersal to extend the gardenia's range.

"It's a known fact that the same chemical (for instance, caffeine, or crocin) can appear again and again in distant plant species," said study co-author Dr. Giovanni Giuliano.

"One outstanding question was: How do the genes involved in the biosynthesis of such chemicals appear all at once in these different species?" 

"The work we published not only describes for the first time the complete pathway to crocin biosynthesis in any plant, but also shows that the pathway evolved in gardenias through the appearance of just one gene that acts early in the pathway, while the later ones were pre-existing, and were hitchhiked for making crocin." "This is an elegant demonstration, at the biochemical level, of how nature reuses and adapts pre-existing mechanisms, rather than creating completely novel ones."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/">BMC Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Gardenias reveal how plants became chemistry experts

In a new study from the University of Buffalo, scientists...

Physical <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/reduced-activity-negatively-impact-health/">activity</a> prevents nearly four million deaths every year, according to new research led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>. The researchers believe there is too much focus on the negative health consequences of physical inactivity, when more emphasis should be placed on the benefits of being physically active.

Dr. Paul Kelly is an expert in the Physical Activity for Health Research Center at the University of Edinburgh. 

"Research into lifestyle factors such as lack of physical activity, poor diet, drinking alcohol, and smoking, tends to focus on the harms these do to health," said Dr. Kelly. "This helps create a narrative to try and prevent and reduce these behaviors."

"We also believe there is value in trying to understand the benefits that 'healthy behaviors' confer in order to argue for maintaining and increasing them. Can we look instead at population activity levels and estimate the health benefits of all this activity to society?"

Led by Dr. Tessa Strain from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge, the research team used a number known as the Prevented Fraction for the Population to estimate the number of deaths that are prevented through physical activity.

The experts analyzed published data from 168 countries to determine what percentage of each population meets the World Health Organization weekly guideline of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or 75 minutes of high-intensity activity.

The results were highly variable among the different countries, ranging from 33 percent in Kuwait to 94 percent in Mozambique. By combining this data with estimates of the relative risk of premature death due to physical inactivity, the experts were able to calculate the proportion of premature deaths prevented by exercise. 

Worldwide, physical activity was found to lower the annual number of premature deaths by 15 percent, which is the equivalent of 3.9 million lives.

Despite variation in physical activity levels across different countries, the positive contribution of physical activity was surprisingly consistent across the globe. 

The effects were the most profound in low income countries, where 18 percent of premature deaths were averted compared to 14 percent in high income countries. 

In the United States alone, 140,200 early deaths are prevented each year.

"We're used to looking at the downsides of not getting enough activity - whether that's sports or a gym or just a brisk walk at lunchtime - but by focusing on the number of lives saved, we can tell a good news story of what is already being achieved," said Dr Strain. 

"It tells us how much good is being done and helps us say 'look how much benefit physical activity is already providing - let's make things even better by increasing physical activity levels further.'"

"Although there's a risk of complacency - people asking why we need to invest more when it's already providing benefit - we hope our findings will encourage governments and local authorities to protect and maintain services in challenging economic climates."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/issue/current">Lancet Global Health</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Physical activity prevents millions of premature deaths every year

Physical activity prevents nearly four million deaths every year, according...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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