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...

Experts at <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">UC San Diego</a> have developed nanoparticles that attract and neutralize the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/coronavirus-detected-in-air-pollution-particles/">coronavirus</a> by soaking up harmful pathogens and toxins like a sponge. 

The particles, which are covered in human lung cell and human immune cell membranes, suppress the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to hijack host cells and reproduce.

In lab experiments, the nanosponges reduced the viral infectivity level of SARS-CoV-2 by up to nearly 90 percent.

The "nanosponges" do not directly attack the virus, but rather protect the healthy cells that the virus invades.

The biomimetic nanosponge platform was first created about a decade ago in the lab of Professor Liangfang Zhang. 

"Traditionally, drug developers for infectious diseases dive deep on the details of the pathogen in order to find druggable targets. Our approach is different. We only need to know what the target cells are. And then we aim to protect the targets by creating biomimetic decoys," explained Professor Zhang.

The nanoparticles may also be capable of soaking up inflammatory cytokine proteins, products of the body's immune response that are implicated in the most severe COVID-19 cases.

Each nanosponge is a thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair, consisting of a polymer core coated in cell membranes extracted from either lung epithelial type II cells or macrophage cells. 

At the Boston University School of Medicine, Professor Anthony Griffiths tested the ability of each type of nanoparticle to reduce the effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2.

The study revealed that the lung cell membrane-covered particles inhibited 93 percent of the viral infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 at a concentration of 5 milligrams per milliliter. Meanwhile, the macrophage-covered particles inhibited 88 percent of the viral infectivity of SARS-CoV-2. 

"From the perspective of an immunologist and virologist, the nanosponge platform was immediately appealing as a potential antiviral because of its ability to work against viruses of any kind," said study co-first author Anna Honko.

"This means that as opposed to a drug or antibody that might very specifically block SARS-CoV-2 infection or replication, these cell membrane nanosponges might function in a more holistic manner in treating a broad spectrum of viral infectious diseases." 

"I was optimistically skeptical initially that it would work, and then thrilled once I saw the results and it sunk in what this could mean for therapeutic development as a whole."

In the next few months, the research team will test the nanosponges in animal models. Trials at UC San Diego have already demonstrated short-term safety in the respiratory system of mice. 

"Another interesting aspect of our approach is that even as SARS-CoV-2 mutates, as long as the virus can still invade the cells we are mimicking, our nanosponge approach should still work. I'm not sure this can be said for some of the vaccines and therapeutics that are currently being developed," said Zhang.

According to the researchers, the nanosponges will work against other respiratory viruses and any new viruses that attack the respiratory system. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/nalefd">ACS Nano Letters</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Nanosponges suppress COVID-19 by protecting healthy cells  

Experts at UC San Diego have developed nanoparticles that attract...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> are describing evidence of massive carnivorous dinosaurs found in Australia. The team analyzed fossilized footprints in Southern Queensland that date back to the late <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/jurassic-crocodile-identified/">Jurassic</a> Period between 165 and 151 million years ago.

The analysis revealed that the dinosaurs were about three meters in height and ten meters long. This is comparable to the size of North America's Tyrannosaurus Rex and South America's Giganotosaurus.

"I've always wondered, where were Australia's big carnivorous dinosaurs? But I think we've found them, right here in Queensland," said study lead author Dr. Anthony Romilio.

"The specimens of these gigantic dinosaurs were not fossilized bones, which are the sorts of things that are typically housed at museums. Rather, we looked at footprints, which - in Australia - are much more abundant."

"These tracks were made by dinosaurs walking through the swamp-forests that once occupied much of the landscape of what is now southern Queensland."

Most of the tracks examined in the study belong to theropods, the same group of dinosaurs that includes Australovenator, Velociraptor, and birds - their modern-day descendants. According to Dr, Romilio, these were clearly not bird tracks.

"Most of these footprints are around 50 to 60 centimeters in length, with some of the really huge tracks measuring nearly 80 centimeters."

"We estimate these tracks were made by large-bodied carnivorous dinosaurs, some of which were up to three meters high at the hips and probably around 10 meters long."

"To put that into perspective, T. rex got to about 3.25 meters at the hips and attained lengths of 12 to 13 meters long, but it didn't appear until 90 million years after our Queensland giants."

"The Queensland tracks were probably made by giant carnosaurs - the group that includes the Allosaurus. At the time, these were probably some of the largest predatory dinosaurs on the planet."

Dr. Anthony Romilio said that while this is the first time the fossils have been scientifically described, they were discovered more than half a century ago.

"They were discovered in the ceilings of underground coal mines from Rosewood near Ipswich, and Oakey just north of Toowoomba, back in the 1950s and 1960s," said Dr. Romilio.

"Most hadn't been scientifically described, and were left for decades in museum drawers waiting to be re-discovered."

"Finding these fossils has been our way of tracking down the creatures from Australia's Jurassic Park."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ghbi20/current">Historical 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;

Australia had huge predatory dinosaurs during the late Jurassic

Experts at the University of Queensland are describing evidence of...

According to a new study from the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a>, animal populations have lower genetic quality and a higher risk of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dead-land-species-changed-ocean-chemistry-during-extinction-event/">extinction</a> without sexual competition and selection. 

The experts found that forced monogamy leaves animal populations less resilient to environmental stressors like climate change.

The study was focused on flour beetles that had evolved under natural polyandrous mating patterns or monogamous mating patterns. The researchers investigated how the two groups responded to strenuous conditions.

 "Species around the world are undergoing mass extinction due to a range of factors such as climate change, habitat loss and genetic bottlenecks," said study lead author Professor Matt Gage. "These different stresses can trap populations within a reinforcing feedback loop known as the extinction vortex. We used this extinction vortex scenario to experimentally measure the importance of sexual competition and choice for population resilience."

The flour beetle populations examined for the study had been raised in a lab for 10 years. Some lines of beetles were forced to be monogamous with no sexual competition or choice, while others were allowed to engage in a polyandrous mating pattern where each female was given a choice of five males every generation.

After 95 generations of beetles were produced under the two conditions, the experts studied how the following 15 generations coped with different environmental and genetic stresses down a simulated extinction vortex.

"We mimicked 'real life' scenarios facing biodiversity today through repeated cycles of stress from food limitation, exposure to heatwaves, and being forced through a genetic bottleneck," said Professor Gage.

"We found that beetles from the monogamous history of selection could not cope with environmental or genetic stress in the vortex. They were much more likely to decline, and all had become extinct by the end of the trial."

"So the removal of competition and choice from reproduction had created populations that were weaker when facing environmental and genetic stress."

"By contrast, beetles with a polyandrous background, where males had been forced to compete and females had been given the opportunity to choose their mates for reproduction, declined much more slowly with 60 percent of the population still alive at the end of the study."

"It's not clear whether the forces that operate in the struggle to reproduce are positive or negative for population resilience. Darwin famously felt sick when he looked at the tail of a peacock because he could not understand how such a flamboyant structure could evolve if it hampered survival, but our study clearly shows how important this sexual selection is for maintaining wider population health."

"Our long-term experiment suggests that sexual selection is a positive force for population resilience by purging out bad genes and fixing in good genes, improving a population's overall genetic quality and therefore resilience for facing harsh environments or genetic stress."

According to the researchers, the findings should apply to any species that reproduces sexually, experiences some degree of sexual selection, and faces environmental stress. The research may ultimately help with conservation management and captive breeding practices. 

"We propose that, if an endangered species has an evolved mating pattern where competition and choice is evident, then that opportunity should wherever possible be given to maintain genetic health," said Professor Gage. 

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

&nbsp;

Sexual competition makes animal populations more resilient

According to a new study from the University of East...

Century-old <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/seaweed-storing-carbon/">seaweed</a> is providing brand new insight into the natural history of Monterey Bay. In a new study, researchers tapped into the environmental record contained in seaweed samples that date back more than 140 years.

Located off the coast of central California, Monterey Bay is one of the world's leading research sites for marine science. The bay has an abundance of nutrients supplied by natural upwelling and supports countless species. 

Despite its significance, however, not much is known about the health and condition of habitats in the bay prior to 1946 - when experts started documenting patterns of natural upwelling.

"This part of California's Central coast is renowned for the sheer amount of marine life it can sustain. Even through the pressures of the past century, Monterey Bay is still teeming with birds, whales, fishes and seaweeds," said <a href="https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/">Monterey Bay Aquarium</a> Chief Scientist Kyle Van Houtan. 

"These plants and animals were around long before scientists, so we thought if we could find historical samples we might learn something by extracting the information stored in their tissues."

In the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Ocean Memory Lab, scientists use a variety of chemical analyses to unlock valuable data held in the tissues of various marine life specimens.

"We were able to add nearly seven decades of data, extracted from seaweed samples more than a century old, to better understand historical changes in Monterey Bay," said study lead author Emily Miller.

"This information offers us a new perspective on one of the features that makes Monterey Bay home to such diversity, its upwelling cycles." 

"Documenting these patterns helps us to understand shifts in the foundation of the food web, and to make more informed conservation decisions in the future."

The research team, which included scientists at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station and the University of Hawaii, analyzed pressed seaweed samples from collections dating back to 1878, as well as new specimens. 

The samples came from six species of seaweed, including giant kelp, rockweed, sea lettuce, and grape tongue.

"Izzy Abbott, who was professor of biology at Hopkins, helped to curate and build our collection of algae for over 25 years," said study co-author Professor Stephen Palumbi. "She and the algae biologists that came before her knew that preserving specimens was vital." 

"But it took this new approach from Monterey Bay Aquarium to dig into the very atoms of the algae and ask the kelp forest questions about the history of the oceans."

The analysis produced unprecedented details of the ocean conditions in Monterey Bay during the rise and fall of the sardine fishery in the 1940s and 1950s. The researchers identified poor upwelling conditions in Monterey Bay in the years immediately prior to the crash. 

The findings highlight the role of ecosystem changes in the shift from a sardine-dominated system to one that is now anchovy-dominated. 

The research may ultimately help to inform ecosystem-based management. According to NOAA, this management approach aims to maintain ecosystems in a healthy and resilient condition so they can continue to provide important ecosystem services.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rspb/2020/287/1925">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Seaweed gives scientists a history lesson on Monterey Bay

Century-old seaweed is providing brand new insight into the natural...

Bats share social information through echolocation calls. Bats use sound waves and echoes, or echolocation, to locate prey in the dark. A new study from the <a href="https://stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a> (STRI) has found that some bat species use echolocation calls to identify group members and to find food faster. 

In previous work, experts have identified several ways that social  information is shared among bats through echolocation. For example, bats produce echolocation calls known as feeding buzzes to zero in on prey, and these sounds alert nearby bats to the prey's location.

Prior to the STRI study, however, it was not known that the echolocation calls produced while bats search for food contain social information as well. 

The researchers theorized that these "search-phase" calls may also contain individual signatures that can be perceived by bats. If so, they may be able to identify each other without the need for specialized communication signals. 

To investigate whether search-phase echolocation calls carry information about a bat's identity, the team set out to investigate whether bats of the species Molossus molossus recognized specific group members.

The experts used a cognitive experiment known as a habituation-dishabituation paradigm, during which the bats were exposed to repeating search-phase calls until they no longer reacted to them. The bats were then exposed to echlocation calls that were different yet similar.  

If the bats reacted to the second stimulus, it would show that they perceived a difference between the two stimuli.

Study lead author Jenna Kohles is an STRI fellow and doctoral candidate at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany.

"We played echolocation calls from two different bats that were both group members of the subject bat," said Kohles. "By measuring the responses of the subject bats as we switched between calls from different individuals, we could learn about whether the bats perceived differences and similarities between the calls."

The experiment confirmed that the bats are, in fact, able to distinguish between different group members, and they likely make the distinction through individual signatures encoded in the calls. 

The findings suggest that search-phase calls not only help bats detect prey, but also convey individual identities to nearby foraging group members. This would explain why the auditory cortex of M. molossus is primarily tuned in to these search-phase calls, considering that they contain such important information. 

The research sheds new light on the social strategies bats use to meet their energetic needs, as well as the evolution of social communication in bats.

"This study suggests that we may be underestimating the crucial ways social information influences bat foraging success and ultimately survival," said Kohles.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco">Behavioral Ecology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Bats share social information through echolocation calls

Bats share social information through echolocation calls. Bats use sound...

Human activities are placing an enormous amount of strain on the world's largest river systems, according to a new study. Political and economic pursuits, combined with the effects of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/infectious-disease-in-marine-mammals-is-driven-by-climate-change/">climate</a> change, threaten the future of rivers along with the livelihood of millions of people.

According to the researchers, everyday actions are impacting rivers much faster than the long-term effects of climate change.

Study co-author Jim Best is a professor of Geology and Geography at the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</a>.

"Climate change is of huge importance in terms of changing flood or drought frequency and intensity," said Professor Best. "However, there is a range of other stressors affecting big rivers such as damming, sediment mining, pollution, water diversions, groundwater extraction and the introduction of nonnative species - all of which affect rivers on a timescale that has much more immediate consequences."

The researchers explained that rivers respond to changes in the environment through self-adjusting processes of erosion and sedimentation. These responses make rivers very adaptable. 

However, a growing collection of research shows that rivers are becoming less resilient under the compounding stress of human activity and climate change.

The team reviewed published studies on the drivers of flooding in the Mekong River Delta in Southeast Asia, which supports 18 million people and a vast rice agricultural area. 

The analysis revealed that delta subsidence, or sinking, due to groundwater extraction has now become a major issue because of a lack of sediment. Damming and mining are interfering with the natural downstream sediment flows.

"The scale of the effects of sediment starvation and subsidence in driving increased flood risk is currently far greater than sea-level rise generated by global climate change," said Professor Best. "But when all of these pressures are combined, there is now a real risk that we could cross a major tipping point in the next 10-20 years."

The researchers reported that politics also plays a significant role in the health and resiliency of the world's major river systems. For example, the COVID-19 crisis has relaxed the enforcement of pollution monitoring in the United States, and polluters can currently avoid penalties if they argue that violations are a result of the pandemic.

"We have seen evidence of the effect of these types of political and societal shocks on river systems in the past, too," said Professor Best. "The stresses from the Gulf War led to increased river pollution in the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin, a situation that was also compounded by upstream damming in Turkey."

The experts emphasize the urgent need for governance at the local level to the international level to effectively confront these issues.

"There are some things we as scientists can do on the monitoring end of this issue, but it will demand collaboration and trust between nations for it to make a difference," said Professor Best. 

"We can't take our eye off the ball - we've just got to devote more attention to these more frequent, shorter-timescale stressors. It's far from being just about climate change."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/home">One Earth</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

River systems are threatened by human activity and climate change

Human activities are placing an enormous amount of strain on...

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

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>.

---

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>.

---

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>.

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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;

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...

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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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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