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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Animal characters boost social and emotional skills in children

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

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now being applied to data from acoustic sensors to help protect elephants in the African forest. The technology, which has been developed by the startup company <a href="http://conservationmetrics.com/">Conservation Metrics</a>, uses AI to detect the low-frequency calls of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/captive-elephants-shorter-lives/">elephants</a>.

Across 580 square miles in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, designated listening posts provide scientists with critical information about the behavior and movement of elephants in the remote forest. 

The <a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/elephant/">Elephant Listening Project</a>, which was developed with the help of biologists at <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a>, uses 50 acoustic sensors that generate seven terabytes of data every three months. Developments in machine learning have enabled experts to analyze these files in about one-fifth of the time it used to take, and park managers can be alerted to threats faster than ever before. 

Peter Wrege is the director of the Elephant Listening Project (ELP) in association with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

“A key thing this collaboration will do is speed things up, so we can show the people who manage the national park that we can provide information that will make a difference,” said Wrege. “If it takes us a year to figure out what elephants are doing in the forest, it’s already too late.”


The number of elephants in central African forests has taken a nosedive,  from an estimated 100,000 in 2011 to less than 40,000 today. Many of the elephants were slaughtered by ivory poachers before there was any sign that they were in danger. 

Prior to using the new AI tool from Conservation Metrics, it took ELP six to eight weeks to run the sound data from its acoustic sensors through five computers. Conservation Metrics was able to analyze this amount of data in just 22 days.

The sound files are currently stored on memory cards that are collected by workers in the park on foot, transported 500 miles to the city of Brazzaville, and then express mailed to Ithaca. 

Matthew McKown, CEO of Conservation Metrics, said that running the AI tools directly into the forests may eventually become a reality. 

“It’s years away, but if you look at the technology that is being developed for commercial purposes, it seems feasible, whereas a few years ago we would have just said it was a dream.”
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Artificial intelligence helping to protect African elephants

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now being applied to data from...

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Harnessing solar power could produce unlimited renewable energy. Scientists may have just revolutionized the way that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/solar-power-dominated-investments/">solar power</a> is harnessed. By altering the mechanisms that plants use during photosynthesis, the experts have successfully split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Photosynthesis is one of the most important reactions on the planet because it produces nearly all of the world's oxygen. Hydrogen, which is produced when the water absorbed by plants is split, could potentially become an unlimited source of renewable energy.Harnessing solar power could produce unlimited renewable energy

Experts at <a href="https://www.sjc.edu/">St John's College</a> and the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> used semi-artificial photosynthesis to investigate new ways of producing and storing solar energy. With a combination of biological components and manmade technologies, the team used natural sunlight to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen. 


The new method developed by the researchers was found to absorb more solar light than natural photosynthesis.

“Natural photosynthesis is not efficient because it has evolved merely to survive so it makes the bare minimum amount of energy needed - around 1-2 percent of what it could potentially convert and store,” explained study first author Katarzyna Sokó.

The researchers not only improved on the amount of energy produced and stored, but also managed to reactivate a process in the algae that has been dormant for millennia.

“Hydrogenase is an enzyme present in algae that is capable of reducing protons into hydrogen,” said Sokó. “During evolution this process has been deactivated because it wasn't necessary for survival but we successfully managed to bypass the inactivity to achieve the reaction we wanted - splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen.”

The research could ultimately transform the systems used for renewable energy production.

“It's exciting that we can selectively choose the processes we want, and achieve the reaction we want which is inaccessible in nature,” said Sokó. “This could be a great platform for developing solar technologies. The approach could be used to couple other reactions together to see what can be done, learn from these reactions and then build synthetic, more robust pieces of solar energy technology.”


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nenergy/">Nature Energy</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 
Image Credit: Katarzyna Sokó

Harnessing solar power could produce unlimited renewable energy

Harnessing solar power could produce unlimited renewable energy. Scientists may...

Filter feeders like Manta rays can provide important insight on more efficient filtration systems that could improve technology for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wastewater-oklahoma-quakes/">wastewater</a> treatment. 

The Manta ray, in particular, is unique because its filtration system allows water to pass through, but tiny food particle ricochet off and can then be eaten. In other words, the Manta ray’s feeding mechanism repels particles instead of trapping them. 

This makes the Manta ray’s filter feeding process resistant to clogging, unlike traditional solid-liquid separation systems. 

Filtration systems like the sieve or cross-flow separation system commonly used in industrial and engineering processes today are prone to clogging and are difficult and costly to clean. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www2.calstate.edu/">California State University</a> and <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> set out to better understand how the separation mechanism in the feeding filter of the Manta ray worked.  

To do this, the researchers printed a 3D model of the Giant oceanic manta ray. The model was placed in a recirculating flow tank that was filled with colored water that had been dyed in order to show how the water flowed through the filter feeding system.

The researchers observed that flow separation occurred behind the leading edge of the ray’s filter lobes, and this caused a large vortex in each pore in the filtration system. Particles were naturally repelled away from the filters and were instead sucked into the mouth to be then eaten.  

“This solid-fluid separation mechanism may have interesting industrial applications, since it operates at high flow rates, effectively filters neutrally buoyant particles, and resists clogging,” the researchers wrote.

A study detailing the research efforts was published in the journal Science Advances.

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Steve Kajiura

Manta rays have filtration system that could improve water treatment

Filter feeders like Manta rays can provide important insight on...

Depicted as brutish, clumsy, dumb, and gone before they could say otherwise, Neanderthals have often been labeled as inferior to Homo sapiens and seen as a primitive distant cousin. 

But recently, more and more evidence has emerged showing that in actuality, Neanderthals were much more <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/rethinking-neanderthals-83341003/">intelligent, caring and adaptable</a> than they have been given credit for. 

Scientists have even excavated tools made by Neanderthals proving our distant ancestor was not only extremely capable but possessed sophisticated skills. 

Now, new research has discovered why Neanderthals were able to master such skills even though they were thought to possess limited dexterity. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/university.html">University of Tübingen</a> in Germany recently conducted a study to better understand how Neanderthals used their hands. 

The study was published in the journal Science Advances. 

Previously it was assumed that because Neanderthals were stockier with thicker bones compared to early humans, they were not able to control their grip or hand motions as easily. 

Neanderthals were thought to use the “power grip,” or the whole fist to grasp and hold things, rather than the “precision grip,” which is holding things between the thumb and finger. 

To see if this was the case for Neanderthals, the researchers examined the bones of six Neanderthals and six early modern humans. 

More specifically, the researchers focused on the enthesis, the raised areas of the bone where the muscles were attached on the hand. 

3D scanning allowed the researchers to measure the surface area of the different enthesis. 

Because precision and power grips use different muscles, the researchers analyzed the enthesis surface area to see if there was evidence that the Neanderthals used the precision grip muscles.  

The researchers discovered that Neanderthals were able to hold objects between their finger and thumb and used the precision grip most of the time. 

Early modern humans, on the other hand, used both their fist and fingers to grasp and manipulate objects, and some of the bones studied indicated that the early humans preferred or used one over the over. 

“Our study reconciles the archaeological with the anatomical fossil evidence,” Katerina Harvati, an author of the study told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2180724-neanderthals-had-dexterous-hands-that-could-have-held-tools-like-a-pen/?intcmp=NLCNSNS2018-0927-GLOBAL-NSDAY&amp;utm_medium=NLC&amp;utm_source=NSNS&amp;utm_campaign=NSDAY">New Scientist</a>. “It was previously proposed that Neanderthals relied on force for their manual activities, [but this perception] was at odds with mounting archaeological evidence for the sophisticated cultural behavior of Neanderthals.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Neanderthals had dexterous hands capable of precision

Depicted as brutish, clumsy, dumb, and gone before they could...

We know that the brain controls how and when our limbs move, but until now, little has been known about how this process works.

Studying how neurons in the brain control the limbs of animals can be especially challenging because this research needs to be conducted while an animal is moving. 

However, a more in-depth understanding of limb activity for insects and other animals has a wide range of applications, including improving robot technology.

The problem is that studying motor and premotor neural activity is virtually impossible and scientists have yet to find a way to get a full view of this activity in real-time. 

But now, researchers from the <a href="https://bioengineering.epfl.ch/">EPFL's Brain Mind Institute and Interfaculty Institute of Bioengineering</a> have developed a method to help remedy this challenge in a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. 

The method uses two-photon microscopy to observe and record how neural activity influences limb control, and the team tested it on a fruit fly which is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-fight-flight-response/">model organism for research</a>. 

Two-photon microscopy is a popular imaging technique for deep tissue, and a laser is used to activate fluorescently labeled neurons. 

The researchers were able to image the ventral nerve cord of a fruit fly while it was moving and performing specific activities.  The ventral cord is a major hub of neural circuits that control the limbs and wings. 

Grooming, walking forward, and walking backward were investigated for the study, and the researchers were able to identify the neurons that controlled the fruit fly’s movements and abilities to maneuver around a complex environment. 

The researchers also created a genetic technique to help easily access the ventral nerve cord for future research. 

“I am very excited about our new recording approach,” said Pavan Ramdya, an author of the study. “Combined with the powerful genetic tools available for studying the fly, I believe we can rapidly make an impact on understanding how we move our limbs and how we might build robots that move around the world just as effectively as animals.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Pavan Ramdya, EPFL

How does the brain control the movement of our arms and legs?

We know that the brain controls how and when our...

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mdma-therapy-ptsd/">MDMA</a>, most commonly known as the main component of ecstasy, has been proven to make people more cooperative when interacting with trustworthy people. According to a study conducted by researchers at <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/index.aspx">King’s College London</a>, MDMA also causes change in regions of the brain linked with social processing.

Social processing issues are symptoms of many psychiatric diagnoses, and are often difficult to treat with medication. The study’s findings, published in <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">The Journal of Neuroscience</a>, could lead to better treatment of psychiatric conditions like PTSD.

To test the effects of MDMA, a neurotransmitter-releasing compound used to emotionally and socially alter one’s personality, researchers gave 20 adult men either a recreational dose of MDMA or a placebo pill. The men were then tasked with several activities while being monitored via an MRI scanner. One such task was the virtual game “Prisoner’s Dilemma” during which the men were told to either cooperate or compete with another player. Both players are awarded points if they cooperate, however, if one chooses to compete, that player receives all the points while his competitor earns nothing. 

Researchers saw that those under the influence of MDMA became more cooperative, but only when dealing with trustworthy opponents. Said trustworthy or untrustworthy players were actually computer-programmed responses written in a way to make the participant trust or not trust their opponent.

“We asked people what they thought of their opponent and, surprisingly, MDMA did not alter how trustworthy they thought the other players were,” said senior author, Professor Mitul Mehta from the <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/index.aspx">Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology &amp; Neuroscience (IoPPN)</a>. He continued, “Untrustworthy players were rated as low on the scale, whether on MDMA or placebo, and trustworthy players were given equally high ratings. Importantly, MDMA did not cause participants to cooperate with untrustworthy players any more than normal. In other words, MDMA did not make participants naively trusting of others.”

Furthermore, the researchers noted that when the trustworthy players betrayed the participants, both those affected by MDMA and those who had taken the placebo experienced equal negative reactions. However, those under the influence of MDMA recovered their cooperative behavior faster and rebuilt relationships with other trustworthy opponents. The team saw that MDMA didn’t affect the participant’s ability to make decisions, but rather had an impact on brain activity when the participant was processing others’ behaviors. 

Professor Mehta concluded, “Understanding the brain activity underlying social behaviour could help identify what goes wrong in psychiatric conditions. Given the social nature of psychotherapy, understanding how MDMA affects social interaction sheds light on why the drug could become a valuable tool in treating patients.”

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

MDMA makes people more cooperative, new research finds

MDMA, most commonly known as the main component of ecstasy,...

Marc Kramer, an associate professor of environmental chemistry at <a href="https://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/">Washington State University Vancouver</a>, has discovered that one-fourth of carbon within the Earth’s soil is bound to minerals about six feet below the surface. This revelation could lead to new ways to deal with the influx of carbon due to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/geoengineering-program-global-warming/">global warming</a>.

Kramer, who made this discovery with help from his colleague Oliver Chadwick, a soil scientist at the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California Santa Barbara</a>, explained via his study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>, that water dissolves organic carbon and pulls in deep into the soil. There, the carbon is physically and chemically bound to certain minerals. 

Kramer estimates that 600 billion metric tons (known as gigatons) of carbon is currently underneath the Earth’s surface — that amount is more than twice the carbon added into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. Most of this carbon is underneath the world’s wettest forests, which unfortunately, won’t absorb as much carbon as atmospheric temperatures continue to rise.

This “major breakthrough” discovery, as Kramer called it, is a starting point for the process of moving atmospheric carbon underground as climate change and global warming progresses. However, there is still major work to be done. 

“We know less about the soils on Earth than we do about the surface of Mars. Before we can start thinking about storing carbon in the ground, we need to actually understand how it gets there and how likely it is to stick around,” Kramer said. “This finding highlights a major breakthrough in our understanding."

Kramer analyzed soil from all over the world to come to his conclusion. He found that moist environments absorb more carbon than drier ones due to layers of organic material sequestering and transporting carbon six feet below the forest ground’s surface. However, Kramer notes that if climate change warms these wet forests, there may be less water moving carbon underground because of evaporation. 

Even so, this discovery can help scientists figure out how to begin moving atmospheric carbon below the Earth’s surface in an attempt to fight back against global warming. 

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A new way to curb global warming hides beneath the Earth’s surface

Marc Kramer, an associate professor of environmental chemistry at Washington...

A new study has revealed that humans actually have two internal clocks that are controlled by neural networks in different parts of the brain. Depending on the situation at hand, the appropriate network kicks in to help us anticipate what is about to happen.

According to the researchers, one of our internal clocks bases its timing on past experiences, while the other relies on rhythm. Study lead author Assaf Breska is a postdoctoral researcher in Neuroscience at <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a>.

“Whether it’s sports, music, speech or even allocating attention, our study suggests that timing is not a unified process, but that there are two distinct ways in which we make temporal predictions and these depend on different parts of the brain,” said Breska.

The findings are shedding new light on how humans calculate the timing of their actions. 

“Together, these brain systems allow us to not just exist in the moment, but to also actively anticipate the future,” explained study senior author Richard Ivry.

The study was focused on patients with either Parkinson’s disease or cerebellar degeneration. The researchers tested the anticipatory timing skills of the individuals, evaluating both strengths and deficits. 

The experts found a connection between rhythmic timing and the basal ganglia. They connected interval timing, which is based and memories and experiences, to the cerebellum. 

The results of the study suggest that these <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/low-protein-high-carb-diets-aging/">brain</a> regions, which are both associated with movement and cognition, are interchangeable. In other words, one internal clock could kick in if the other was not functioning properly. 

“We show that patients with cerebellar degeneration are impaired in using non-rhythmic temporal cues while patients with basal ganglia degeneration associated with Parkinson’s disease are impaired in using rhythmic cues,” said Ivry.

Breska added, “Our study identifies not only the anticipatory contexts in which these neurological patients are impaired, but also the contexts in which they have no difficulty, suggesting we could modify their environments to make it easier for them to interact with the world in face of their symptoms.”

According to the study authors, the research confirms that two different mechanisms are used by the brain for anticipatory timing, which contradicts theories that there is a single internal clock that guides timing.

“Our results suggest at least two different ways in which the brain has evolved to anticipate the future,” said Breska. “A rhythm-based system is sensitive to periodic events in the world such as is inherent in speech and music. And an interval system provides a more general anticipatory ability, sensitive to temporal regularities even in the absence of a rhythmic signal.”

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

The brain uses two different internal clocks to anticipate the future

A new study has revealed that humans actually have two...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/">Purdue University</a> are exploring ways to help save some of the millions of birds who die in collisions with planes each year. The experts have found that red and blue LED lights may be used to warn <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bats-hummingbirds-flying-robots/">birds</a> to go in another direction. 

Airports have tried to scare birds away using everything from dogs to firecrackers, but without much success.

Although lights have been used to induce “avoidance behavior” in birds before, there is very little information available on what type of lights may work. The Purdue team collaborated with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to investigate. 

“The way we figure this out is to give the animal a choice,” explained study lead author Professor Esteban Fernandez-Juricic.

The study was focused on brown-headed cowbirds at the Ross Biological Reserve. The birds were released a few inches shy of a divide in their flight path, which had a light on one side and no light on the other.  

Professor Fernandez-Juricic explained that a single-choice test, in which the bird chooses between a light on and off rather than between two colors, is ideal for measuring avoidance behavior. If the bird chooses to take the path with no light, this is a good indication that light on the other side is associated with danger. 

The test was repeated using five different wavelengths of light. The study revealed that birds consistently avoided LED lights with peaks at 470 and 630 nanometers, which appear blue and red to humans. Ultraviolet (UV), green, and white light did not produce any noticeable patterns. 


It is not yet clear whether the behavior of the birds was affected by light peaks or by the levels of contrast, and Professor Fernandez-Juricic plans to conduct further research to find out. The team will also modify the test to investigate how other bird species respond to different types of light.

“We now have a behavioral assay we can use to test these attraction and avoidance behaviors in a systematic, standardized matter, and we can do it on various species,” said Professor Fernandez-Juricic. “We're able to test not just whether a light may be highly visible to a bird or not, but whether that light leads to the behaviors we're trying to generate.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/">PeerJ</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

LED lights can help steer birds away from collisions with planes

Researchers at Purdue University are exploring ways to help save...

As we <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hurricane-harvey-global-warming/">previously reported</a>, scientists have confirmed that 2017’s Hurricane Harvey was intensified by warming ocean waters driven by climate change.

Now, recent supercomputer simulations have revealed that future hurricanes will have more rainfall and stronger winds. The research also shows that climate change has increased the amount of rainfall from recent hurricanes by 5 to 10 percent. 

The study was conducted by climate scientists from the <a href="https://www.lbl.gov/">Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory</a> and published in the journal Nature.

By using data on past hurricanes to simulate the storms in past and future scenarios, the researchers were able to examine how human activities impacted past storms and will affect future events. 

For example, the researchers modeled Hurricane Katrina in a past scenario using pre-industrial climate conditions which showed just how much human activities changed the storm’s precipitation and wind speed. 

The researchers choose to model 15 hurricanes and tropical cyclones that occurred over the last decade for the study. 

Different scenarios using varying levels of CO2 emissions, temperature increases, and ocean temperatures provided an in-depth look at how climate change can impact precipitation and wind speed. 

 “We're already starting to see anthropogenic factors influencing tropical cyclone rainfall," said Christina Patricola, the lead author of the study. “And our simulations strongly indicate that as time goes on we can expect to see even greater increases in rainfall.”

The team’s method, combined past observations and future scenarios and each of the 15 hurricanes, was simulated in five different climate scenarios. Each of the scenarios was then repeated ten times to ensure accurate results. 

“One of the important things about this study is that we were able to use the same climate model and methodology for 15 storms, which allows us to assess how robust the results are, and had never been done before,” said Patricola said.

As far as how climate change impacted the 15 storms, the researchers found that rainfall was 5 to 10 percent more intense compared to storm scenarios using pre-industrial climate conditions. 

“You can certainly use your expert judgment in a better way after the fact,” said Michael Wehner, a member of the research team. “So you simulate the event in the world that was, followed by simulating a counterfactual storm in a world that might've been had humans not modified the climate system.”

After simulating pre-industrial scenarios, the researchers modeled the 15 storms in three future scenarios with varying levels of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. In these future scenarios, rainfall increased between 15 and 35 percent. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Future hurricanes projected to get wetter and windier

As we previously reported, scientists have confirmed that 2017’s Hurricane...

Virtual reality can be a powerful tool for environmental education. A team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> has explored the use of virtual reality to help teach people about significant threats to the environment. The experts found that when individuals observed a virtual simulation showing the harmful impacts of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ocean-acidification-coastal-waters/">ocean acidification</a>, it helped them to gain a more meaningful understanding of the issue. 

“I believe virtual reality is a powerful tool that can help the environment in so many ways,” said study co-author Professor Jeremy Bailenson. “Changing the right minds can have a huge impact.”


Professor Bailenson and his team shared the Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience with more than 270 people, including high school and college students. In one phase of the study, high school seniors from a marine biology class took on the virtual identity of a pink coral that lived on a productive reef filled with sea urchins, snails, and other animals. 

By the time the simulation reached the end of the century, the colorful species had been replaced by slimy green algae and the silver Salema Porgy, which is a fish that is expected to thrive in more acidic waters. Ultimately, the coral skeletons completely disintegrated.

The narration explained to the students: “If ocean acidification continues, ecosystems like your rocky reef, a world that was once full of biological diversity, will become a world of weeds.” The simulation was based on the research of Fiorenza Micheli, a renowned professor of Marine Science at Stanford.

After the experience, the students scored 150 percent higher on questions about the causes and mechanisms of ocean acidification, and the information was found to be retained weeks later. 

“Across age groups, learning settings and learning content, people understand the processes and effect of ocean acidification after a short immersive VR experience,” said study lead author David Markowitz, who is  an assistant professor at the <a href="https://www.uoregon.edu/">University of Oregon</a>.

“We don't know whether a VR experience results in more learning compared to the same materials presented in other media,” said Professor Bailenson. “What we do know is that it increases motivation - people are thrilled to do it, much more so than opening a textbook - and because of the richness of the data recorded by the VR system, you can tweak the learning materials in real time based on how well someone is learning.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology">Frontiers in Psychology</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

Virtual reality can be a powerful tool for environmental education

Virtual reality can be a powerful tool for environmental education....

How much starlight has the universe produced? A team of scientists led by Marco Ajello from <a href="https://www.clemson.edu/science/">Clemson University’s College of Science</a> have managed to measure the total amount of light produced by stars in the observational universe...ever.

Since our universe began forming its first <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exploding-stars-clouds-climate/">stars</a> a few billion years ago, astrophysicists tell us there are currently about two trillion galaxies and about a trillion trillion stars. Now, Clemson scientists have used new methods of starlight measurement to calculate how much starlight has been produced since the first star’s formation.

“From data collected by [NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope], we were able to measure the entire amount of starlight ever emitted. This has never been done before," Ajello, who is also lead author of the study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a> on November 30th, said. "Most of this light is emitted by stars that live in galaxies. And so, this has allowed us to better understand the stellar-evolution process and gain captivating insights into how the universe produced its luminous content."

According to the team’s calculations, the number of photons or, particles of visible light, produced by stars thus far is 4x10^84, which can also be written, 4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 photons.

Ajello, an assistant professor in the department of physics and astronomy, and postdoctoral fellow Vaidehi Paliya analyzed nine years worth of gamma ray data from the Fermi telescope to get a firmer grasp on the amount of starlight produced through extragalactic background light (EBL), a cosmic fog made up of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light emitted by stars. 

“Gamma-ray photons traveling through a fog of starlight have a large probability of being absorbed," said Ajello. "By measuring how many photons have been absorbed, we were able to measure how thick the fog was and also measure, as a function of time, how much light there was in the entire range of wavelengths."

Measuring the EBL alongside blazers — galaxies with massive black holes that release parallel jet streams of energetic particles and gamma ray photons that collide with the EBL and leave an imprint — also helped the team figure out how much starlight was being produced by galaxies too far away to be detected by telescopes.

"By using blazars at different distances from us, we measured the total starlight at different time periods," Paliya, of the department of physics and astronomy, said. "We measured the total starlight of each epoch — one billion years ago, two billion years ago, six billion years ago, etc. — all the way back to when stars were first formed. This allowed us to reconstruct the EBL and determine the star-formation history of the universe in a more effective manner than had been achieved before."

Measuring the EBL has been a challenging feat for many researchers, and now having done so, the team hopes their discovery will help others in their studies of stellar evolution, with the ultimate goal being to trace stellar history back to the Big Bang.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Pete Martin / Clemson University

How much starlight has the universe produced?

How much starlight has the universe produced? A team of...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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