A recent NASA-funded study has deepened the enigma of why life uses molecules with specific orientations.&nbsp;



Researchers have discovered that RNA - a crucial molecule thought to have potentially carried life's instructions before DNA emerged - can favor making the building blocks of proteins in either left-handed or right-handed forms. This finding could provide valuable clues to the origin of life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-puzzle-of-life-s-molecular-orientation">The puzzle of life's molecular orientation</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-life-begins-egg-sperm-and-a-covert-team-of-proteins/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proteins</a> are essential molecules in all living organisms, serving functions from structural components like hair to enzymes that speed up or regulate chemical reactions. 



Similar to how the 26 letters of the alphabet combine to form countless words, life uses 20 different amino acids in a vast array of arrangements to create millions of different proteins.&nbsp;



Some amino acids exist in two mirror-image forms, like left and right hands, but life predominantly uses the left-handed variety - a phenomenon known as homochirality.&nbsp;



Scientists remain puzzled about why life chose left-handed amino acids over right-handed ones, especially since life based on right-handed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-did-the-building-blocks-of-life-form/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amino acids</a> would presumably function just as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-the-rna-world-hypothesis">Exploring the “RNA world” hypothesis</h2>



DNA holds the instructions for building and maintaining living organisms but is complex and specialized. It “subcontracts” the work of reading instructions to RNA molecules and building proteins to ribosomes.&nbsp;



Due to DNA's complexity, scientists theorize that a simpler molecule preceded it billions of years ago during early life evolution. RNA, capable of both storing genetic information and building proteins, is a leading candidate, giving rise to the “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rna-world-unraveling-mysteries-life-origin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RNA world</a>” hypothesis.



If this proposition is correct, perhaps something about RNA caused it to favor building left-handed proteins over right-handed ones.&nbsp;



However, the new research did not support this idea, deepening the mystery of why life favored left-handed proteins.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-evolutionary-pressures-nbsp">The role of evolutionary pressures&nbsp;</h2>



The experiment tested RNA molecules that act like enzymes to build proteins, called ribozymes.&nbsp;



“The experiment demonstrated that ribozymes can favor either left- or right-handed amino acids, indicating that RNA worlds, in general, would not necessarily have a strong bias for the form of amino acids we observe in biology now,” said corresponding author Irene Chen, a scientist at the <a href="https://www.ucla.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Los Angeles</a> (UCLA) Samueli School of Engineering.



In simulating potential early-Earth conditions of the RNA world, researchers incubated a solution containing ribozymes and amino acid precursors to observe the relative percentages of right-handed and left-handed phenylalanine amino acids produced.&nbsp;



They tested 15 different ribozyme combinations and found that ribozymes can favor either left-handed or right-handed amino acids. This lack of inherent preference challenges the notion that early life was predisposed to select left-handed amino acids, which dominate in modern proteins.



“The findings suggest that life’s eventual homochirality might not be a result of chemical determinism but could have emerged through later evolutionary pressures,” said co-author Alberto Vázquez-Salazar, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar and member of Chen’s research group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-understanding-life-s-origins">Implications for understanding life's origins</h2>



Earth's prebiotic history predates the oldest fossil records, which have been erased by plate tectonics - the slow movement of Earth's crust.&nbsp;



During that time, the planet was likely bombarded by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-would-happen-small-asteroid-hit-earth-nasa-ai-simulation-found-out/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asteroids</a>, which may have delivered some of life's building blocks, such as amino acids. Alongside chemical experiments, other origin-of-life researchers are examining molecular evidence from meteorites and asteroids.



Study co-author Jason Dworkin is a senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goddard Space Flight Center</a> in Greenbelt, Maryland, and director of <a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/691/analytical/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goddard’s Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory</a>.



Dworkin is also the project scientist on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission - which extracted samples from the asteroid Bennu and delivered them to Earth.



“Understanding the chemical properties of life helps us know what to look for in our search for life across the solar system,” said Dworkin.&nbsp;



“We are analyzing OSIRIS-REx samples for the chirality (handedness) of individual amino acids, and in the future, samples from Mars will also be tested in laboratories for evidence of life including ribozymes and proteins.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-search-for-life-s-molecular-secrets">The search for life's molecular secrets</h2>



This discovery adds complexity to our understanding of life's molecular orientations, suggesting that homochirality might not have resulted from initial chemical conditions but could have developed due to evolutionary factors.&nbsp;



The findings prompt further research into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-clues-about-the-origins-of-life-on-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">origins of life</a> and may influence how scientists search for life beyond Earth.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52362-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



Image Credit: NASA



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Life’s molecular orientation: New discovery deepens the mystery

A recent NASA-funded study has deepened the enigma of why life uses molecules with specific orientations.&nbsp; Researchers have discovered that RNA - a crucial molecule thought to have potentially carried life's instructions before DNA emerged - can favor making the building blocks of proteins in either left-handed or right-handed forms. This finding could provide valuable clues to the origin of life. The puzzle of life's molecular orientation Proteins are essential molecules in all living organisms, serving functions from structural components like hair to enzymes that speed up...

In a new study, researchers have found that two adult <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/indonesias-orangutans-decline/">orangutans</a> were able to play a kazoo within just minutes of being introduced to the instrument. The study demonstrated that orangutans can control their voice in a way that is very similar to humans, and this finding may ultimately improve our understanding of how human speech evolved.

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/">University of St. Andrews</a> collaborated on the project with a team of experts at the Indianapolis Zoo, which has one of the largest populations of orangutans in the country. The study was focused on an 11-year-old named Rocky and a 36-year-old named Knobi.

The orangutans were given a basic instrument known as a membranophone, which produces music when vocalizations vibrate a stretched membrane. The animals used their kazoos with voluntarily control over their vocal production.

"Language defines human communication, but its evolution defies scientific explanation," said study lead author Dr. Adriano Lameira. "Great apes, our closest relatives, may hold the key to how language evolved in our lineage."

"Our results provide the first positive diagnostic test of vocal production learning in great apes, namely active voicing, during novel voiced vocal production in orangutans."

The team observed as Rocky and Knobi learned to play their instruments, on some level, within a few minutes. The researchers found that the voice control used by apes varies from that of humans in its magnitude, but is otherwise very similar.

"This important study redefines our understanding of how spoken language may have evolved," said Dr. Rob Shumaker, who is the president of the Indianapolis Zoo. "It also demonstrates that the abilities of orangutans, and likely all great apes, have been greatly underestimated."

"This new knowledge compels us to have a stronger conservation ethic at a time when all wild great ape populations face serious threats to their survival."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/JFS07

Vocal abilities of orangutans may help unravel the mysteries of human speech

In a new study, researchers have found that two adult...

Scientists may have found the key to developing flood-resistant crops. Rice is the only major food crop that can survive flooding, but a new genetic study from <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a> may ultimately lead to the creation of additional flood-resistant crops. The potential breakthrough comes at a time when <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-impact-soil/">climate change</a> is pushing rainfall patterns to the extremes. 

"This is the first time that a flooding response has been looked at in a way that was this comprehensive, across evolutionarily different species," said study co-author Professor Siobhan Brady.

For the investigation, the researchers examined how a wild-growing tomato, a tomato used for farming, and a plant similar to alfalfa responded to being submerged in water compared to rice. 

The study revealed that all of the plants shared at least 68 families of genes that are activated in response to flooding, which are called submergence up-regulated families (SURFs).

"Since evolution separated the ancestors of rice and these other species as many as 180 million years ago, we did not expect to find 68 SURFs in common," said co-author Professor Neelima Sinha.

Rice was domesticated from wild species that grew in tropical regions, where it evolved to endure monsoons and waterlogging. Some of the genes involved in this adaptation were found in the other plants, but were not effective in response to flooding around the roots.

"We hope to take advantage of what we learned about rice in order to help activate the genes in other plants that could help them survive waterlogging," said study lead author Professor Julia Bailey-Serres.

The team analyzed cells located at the tips of the plant roots to understand whether and how their genes were activated when they became submerged in water and deprived of oxygen.

"We looked at the way that DNA instructs a cell to create particular stress response in a level of unprecedented detail," said study co-author Mauricio Reynoso. 

Although the SURFs were activated in all the plants during the flooding experiments, only the genetic responses observed in rice were effective enough for survival. The researchers will conduct additional studies to improve the flood survival rates of other crops.

"Imagine a world where kids do not have enough calories to develop," said Professor Bailey-Serres. "We as scientists have an urgency to help plants withstand floods, to ensure food security for the future."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Germain Pauluzzi / UCR

Scientists may have found the key to developing flood-resistant crops

Scientists may have found the key to developing flood-resistant crops....

Synchronized heartbeats can indicate attraction, study reveals. How can you tell if someone is attracted to you?

A new study has found that the answer surprisingly doesn’t lie in body language or how long it takes for someone to text you back after a date, but rather if your heart rates sync up.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en">Leiden University</a> in the Netherlands studied physiological markers in real-life dating settings to determine if attraction was something that could be measured. 

“You hear about people who are well suited to each other in theory but there is no spark – we wanted to know if you can quantify the spark,” said Mariska Kret, a co-author of the study, at the European Federation of Primatology meeting which took place in Oxford. 

For the study, the researchers set up camp at a music festival and had a cabin where festival-goers could go on mini “blind dates” with potential partners. 140 people took part in the study, according to <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2217297-when-two-people-fancy-each-other-their-heart-rates-jump-in-harmony/">New Scientist</a>, which reported on the findings. 

Participants were given two minutes to look at each other and then had another two minutes to talk. 

During these short meetings, the researchers asked the participants to wear special eye-tracking glasses that were embedded with cameras and devices that measured heart rate and skin conductance. 

The skin conductance response is the measure of the changes in conductivity in the skin due to emotions and stress. 

The researchers asked the participants questions about the meetings and if they wanted to go on a real date. 

The researchers found that visible markers like eye contact, mirroring body language, or facial expressions did not predict whether or not couples were attracted to each other. Instead, attraction was rooted in unconscious physiological signals like heart rate and body sweat. 

The more two heart rates synced up, the more likely those two people reported feeling attracted. 

“There was no body language to tell you if your partner was interested – physiology is where we found much better estimates,” said Eliska Prochazkova, an author of the study. “We can’t perceive the other person’s heart. But often our subconscious can be influenced by our physiology.”

The yet-to-be formally reviewed study findings were published to the preprint server <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/748707v1">bioRxiv.</a> 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/adriaticfoto

Synchronized heartbeats can indicate attraction, study reveals

Synchronized heartbeats can indicate attraction, study reveals. How can you...

Tsunamis may have pushed a tropical disease into the Pacific Northwest. Since 1999, hundreds of people and animals in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/pacific-northwest-forests-wildfire-birds/">Pacific Northwest</a> have been infected by a tropical fungus, Cryptococcus gattii, which is mainly found in Brazil and other parts of South America. 

An investigation led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.jhsph.edu/">Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health</a> has now revealed that the fungus may have been translocated by the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 and its subsequent tsunamis.

The experts propose that ships likely initiated the northward spread of C. gattii by transporting it in their ballast tanks after the 1914 opening of the Panama Canal. Decades later, multiple tsunamis that were triggered by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake in Alaska could have pushed the tropical fungus onshore into coastal forest regions. 

"The big new idea here is that tsunamis may be a significant mechanism by which pathogens spread from oceans and estuarial rivers onto land and then eventually to wildlife and humans," said study co-author Dr. Arturo Casadevall. "If this hypothesis is correct, then we may eventually see similar outbreaks of C. gattii, or similar fungi, in areas inundated by the 2004 Indonesian tsunami and 2011 Japanese tsunami."

Since the first case of C. gattii was reported on Vancouver Island 20 years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has documented more than 300 infections in the Canadian and U.S. Pacific Northwest region. The fungus typically infects people through inhalation, causing a pneumonia-like illness. If the infection spreads to the brain, C. gattii can lead to potentially fatal meningoencephalitis. 

Evidence of C. gattii has been found in soil, water, and trees across coastal areas of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. However, experts could not understand how this tropical fungus could establish itself in a northern region with a cool climate. Study co-author and epidemiologist Dr. David Engelthaler was asked by the CDC to investigate. 

Dr. Engelthaler's team applied a "molecular clock" analysis to the DNA sequences of the C. gattii subtypes, and concluded that these strains of the fungus had arrived from an area in or surrounding Brazil 60-100 years earlier. This time frame corresponds with the opening of the Panama Canal. 

Dr. Engelthaler also concluded that the regions which were colonized by several subtypes of C. gattii were the same areas of the Pacific Northwest that were inundated with seawater during the 1964 tsunamis.

"We propose that C. gattii may have lost much of its human-infecting capacity when it was living in seawater, but then when it got to land, amoebas and other soil organisms worked on it for three decades or so until new C. gattii variants arose that were more pathogenic to animals and people," said Dr. Casadevall.

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

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Mark Skalny

Tsunamis may have pushed a tropical disease into the Pacific Northwest

Tsunamis may have pushed a tropical disease into the Pacific...

The <a href="https://deepcarbon.net/">Deep Carbon Observatory</a> (DCO) program has released the findings of a ten-year study designed to calculate the immense carbon reserves of our planet, including how much carbon is naturally taken in and released by the Earth's crust, mantle, and core. The research spans time from the present to billions of years past.

"Carbon, the basis of all life and the energy source vital to humanity, moves through this planet from its mantle to the atmosphere. To secure a sustainable future, it is of utmost importance that we understand Earth's entire carbon cycle," said DCO scientist Marie Edmonds.

"Key to unraveling the planet's natural carbon cycle is quantifying how much carbon there is and where, how much moves - the flux - and how quickly, from Deep Earth reservoirs to the surface and back again."

The experts found that just .002 percent of Earth's total <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fast-fashion-carbon-footprint/">carbon</a>, or 43,500 gigatons, is above its surface in the oceans, on land, and in the atmosphere. The rest is located in the subsurface, with an estimated 1.85 billion gigatons overall.

Looking at Earth's deep carbon cycle over time, the researchers found balanced, long-term stability in atmospheric CO2 levels. The team also determined that this balance was altered by major events, such as the massive Chixculub impact in the Yucatan area of Central America, at least five times in the past 500 million years. Catastrophic volumes of carbon were outgassed during these disruptions, leading to a warmer atmosphere, acidified oceans, and mass extinctions.

Today, volcanoes and other active regions release an estimated 280 to 360 million tons per year into the atmosphere and oceans, including the carbon released from mid-ocean ridges. Annual carbon emissions from human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, were found to be 40 to 100 times greater than overall volcanic emissions.

According to the DCO researchers, with rare exceptions over millions of years, the quantity of carbon released from Earth's mantle has been in relative balance with the quantity returned through the downward subduction of tectonic plates and other processes. 

However, this balance was disrupted by large volcanic events about four times in Earth's history. Carbon cycle imbalance can cause accelerated global warming, changes to the silicate weathering rate, changes to the hydrologic cycle, and intense habitat shifts that can lead to mass extinction as the Earth rebalances itself.

"The Deep Carbon Observatory has advanced understanding of the inner workings of Earth. Its collective body of more than 1,500 publications has not only increased what is known but established limits to what is knowable, and perhaps unknowable," said study co-author Tobias Fischer of the University of New Mexico.

"While we celebrate progress, we underline that deep Earth remains a highly unpredictable scientific frontier; we have truly only started to dent current boundaries of our knowledge."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/elements">Elements</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Yves Moussallam, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory

New report quantifies Earth’s immense carbon reserves

The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) program has released the findings...

As part of the Clean Space initiative, the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> (ESA) launched an investigation into the potential for citric acid to replace nitric acid as a natural solution to corrosion in 2014.

More recently, a project by the Technology Development Element Program (TDE) tested the use of citric acid for passivating the typical stainless steel grades used in spacecraft and ground support structures.

Passivation is the process of treating a metal to reduce the chemical reactivity of its surface, which is typically accomplished by immersing an industrial part in a bath of nitric acid. When a metal is passivated, it has a longer life span, a tougher resistance to rust, and a smooth, polished appearance.

Despite its widespread use, nitric acid poses a threat to both public health and the environment due to its highly acidic nature. Nitric acid produces toxic fumes, hazardous waste, and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/greenhouse-gases-climate/">greenhouse gases</a>. By contrast, citric acid - which is the same acid found in lemon juice - requires lower acid concentrations and does not generate toxic fumes or hazardous waste.

The TDE project was focused on the effectiveness of citric acid in treating three stainless steel grades made from various metallurgical types. After they were passivated with citric acid, the scientists tested the chemical composition, corrosion resistance, and the mechanical properties of the specimens and then compared this with specimens that were passivated with nitric acid.

The study revealed that specimens which had been treated with environmentally friendly citric acid demonstrated equal or better performance in corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. The success of the project has led to the development of a follow-up experiment.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Ekaterina43

Citric acid has the potential to replace nitric acid for treating metal

As part of the Clean Space initiative, the European Space...

The molecular basis of life may have first emerged in interstellar clouds. Nitrogen-containing compounds called nucleobases are the essential building blocks of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/denisovans-looked/">DNA</a>. In a new study from <a href="https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/">Hokkaido University</a>, scientists have found evidence that nucleobases may have originated in gaseous clouds that are scattered between stars. For the first time, the compounds have been detected in a simulated environment.

"This result could be key to unravelling fundamental questions for humankind, such as what organic compounds existed during the formation of the solar system and how they contributed to the birth of life on Earth," said study lead author Yasuhiro Oba.

Scientists have already detected some of the organic molecules necessary for life in gaseous clouds, as well as in comets and asteroids. The molecules may have reached Earth through meteorite impacts four billion years ago, providing the basis for life. If scientists can gain a better understanding of how these molecules initially formed, they can gain valuable insight into life's mysterious origin.

The most basic structural units of DNA and RNA, known as nucleotides, contain a nucleobase, a sugar, and a phosphate group. Previous studies that imitated the conditions of interstellar clouds have identified the presence of sugar and phosphate, but nucleobases were not detected. Oba's team has now used advanced analytical methods to detect the fundamental nucleobases in a simulated interstellar cloud environment.

Experimenting in an ultra-high vacuum reaction chamber, the researchers continuously pumped a gaseous mixture of water, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and methanol onto a cosmic-dust analogue at a temperature of -263° Celsius. When ultraviolet light was used to induce chemical reactions, an icy film developed on the dust analogue.

The chamber was warmed to room temperature, and a high-resolution mass spectrometer was used to analyze the film. Combined with the use of high-performance liquid chromatography, the experts detected the presence of the nucleobases cytosine, uracil, thymine, adenine, xanthine, and hypoxanthine. They also detected amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, and several kinds of dipeptide.

The team speculates that nucleobases were also present in past experiments which simulated interstellar molecular cloud environments, but that the analytical tools used were not sensitive enough to detect them. "Our findings suggest that the processes we reproduced could lead to the formation of the molecular precursors of life," said Oba. "The results could improve our understanding of the early stages of chemical evolution in space."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Hokkaido University

The molecular basis of life may have first emerged in interstellar clouds

The molecular basis of life may have first emerged in...

Increases in ocean temperature and acidity due to climate change have been linked to mass coral bleaching events and the decline of coral reef ecosystems.

Corals offer protection against flooding and storm surges and reef habitats host a diverse <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/restoring-coral-reefs-benefits/">array of marine species</a> that depend on corals for their survival. 

 As carbon emissions increase, more CO2 gets absorbed into the ocean which lowers the pH of seawater. Increased acidity is a key contributor to coral bleaching, and a United Nations report found that <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/climatechange/10458445/Ocean-acidity-to-more-than-double-by-2100.html">ocean acidity could double by 2100</a>. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a> set out to investigate the effects of ocean acidification on coral reef health.  

However, while many studies on coral reefs have asked these same questions, for this project, the researchers took their experiments away from the aquarium and into the ocean.  

“We wanted to get away from experiments in glass boxes and do them on the reef under natural conditions,” said David Kline, the leader of the study. “But we never imagined the differences would be so dramatic.”

Over a period of eight months, the researchers lowered the pH of seawater surrounding a living reef. 

A device called the Free Ocean Carbon Enrichment (FOCE) system was used to pump carbon into the water which would show first hand how reefs respond to ocean acidification and if they can adapt to a rapidly changing environment. The researchers went through around five tanks of CO2 gas.  

“Our underwater time machine (also called a Free Ocean Carbon Enrichment or FOCE system) used an array of sensors and dosing pumps to simulate future high CO2 conditions by controlled pumping of high CO2 seawater over both living and dead Porites cylindrica colonies in our open experimental flumes on the reef flat at the University of Queensland’s Heron Island field station on the Great Barrier Reef,” said Kline. 

The reef went through a drastic transformation, and both living and dead corals were negatively affected by the increased acidity. Coral growth rates dropped to almost zero, and dead corals started dissolving twice as fast. 

The results show that coral reef declines may occur sooner than previously realized. There was one silver lining to the study. The corals that were covered with living tissue were more resilient than their dead coral counterparts.

“The huge difference between the fate of living and dead corals in a natural environment gives me hope,” said Kline. “As we create marine reserves and learn how to increase the amount of living coral by restoring reefs, we’re setting up a positive feedback loop because living coral will grow the reef and slow dissolution.”

The study was published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0988-x">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: David Kline

Coral reef experiments confirm climate change predictions

Increases in ocean temperature and acidity due to climate change...

NASA will develop a $600 million telescope to detect near-Earth objects. NASA is developing a $600 million orbiting telescope to help protect the planet from potentially dangerous <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/space-agencies-asteroid-defense/">asteroids</a>. Plans for the planetary defense system were prioritized after a close encounter with an asteroid went nearly undetected this summer.

In July, a Brazilian observatory spotted "2019 OK" only 24 hours before it passed Earth at a speed of nearly 55,000 miles per hour within just 44,300 miles. This is less than one-fifth of the distance to the Moon, and is referred to in astronomical terms as a "near-miss."

"If 2019 OK had entered and disrupted in Earth’s atmosphere over land, the blast wave could have created localized devastation to an area roughly 50 miles across,” NASA said in a press release.

In an email to colleagues, Paul Chodas of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory described OK as a "sneaky" space rock. “This object slipped through a whole series of our capture nets,” he wrote. “I wonder how many times this situation has happened without the asteroid being discovered at all.”

The new NASA project is aimed at giving scientists much more warning in advance of an approaching asteroid. The Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveillance Mission is based on the NEOCam Mission, which has been stuck in the design phase for years as other Discovery Program initiatives took precedent.

Dr. Amy Mainzer of NASA's asteroid hunting mission said that trying to spot asteroids with current telescopes is like trying to spot a "lump of coal in the night sky." She explained that the technology we have available now is ineffective at detecting asteroids in time to avert a potentially catastrophic impact.

NASA associate administrator Thomas Zurbuchen said the surveillance mission should help to detect around 65 percent of the presently-unknown near-Earth objects, or NEOs, within its first five years of operation, adding that this figure should reach 90 percent within a decade of its launch. 

The infrared-based telescope will be designated as a "planetary defense" strategy rather than a scientific mission, and the development will be led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Oliver Denker

NASA will develop a $600 million telescope to detect near-Earth objects

NASA will develop a $600 million telescope to detect near-Earth...

A study from <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a> is revealing new details about prehistoric life in the Denisova Cave complex in southern Siberia. The researchers have meticulously analyzed evidence which shows that, for more than 300,000 years, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/carnivores-healthy-ecosystem/">large carnivores</a> competed with ancient humans for shelter at this site.

Using modern geoarchaeological techniques, a team of Russian and Australian scientists found that non-human predators, such as wolves and hyenas, predominantly inhabited the Denisova Cave.

The analysis of fossilized animal droppings, charcoal from ancient fires, and bone fragments suggests that nomadic human groups occupied the cave for short time periods, while the fierce animals were present at all other times. 

"Using microscopic analyses, our latest study shows sporadic hominin visits, illustrated by traces of the use of fire such as miniscule fragments, but with continuous use of the site by cave-dwelling carnivores such as hyenas and wolves," explained study co-author Professor Roberts.

"Fossil droppings (coprolites) indicate the persistent presence of non-human cave dwellers, which are very unlikely to have cohabited with humans using the cave for shelter."

Located in the Altai Mountains, the Denisova cave is one of the most important human evolution sites in the world. Around ten years ago, the cave became famous when experts discovered the fossil remains of a previously unknown group of humans, who are now known as Denisovans. 

[caption id="attachment_1878235" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/denisova.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1878235" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/denisova.jpeg" alt="" width="650" height="479" /></a> Denisova fossil gallery, Image Credit: Dr. Mike Morley, Flinders University[/caption]

Dirt deposited in the cave over thousands of years contains evidence that at least two additional human groups - Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens - have also used the cave for shelter.

"These hominin groups and large carnivores such as hyenas and wolves left a wealth of microscopic traces that illuminate the use of the cave over the last three glacial-interglacial cycles," explained study lead author Dr. Mike Morley.

"Our results complement previous work by some of our colleagues at the site that has identified ancient DNA in the same dirt, belonging to Neanderthals and a previously unknown human group, the Denisovans, as well as a wide range of other animals."

The team found critical new clues about the use of the cave and other information in the sediment that had not yet been described. According to Professor Roberts, the research is very significant because it shows how much can be achieved by sifting through sedimentary material using advanced microscopy and other archaeological science methods.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Dr Mike Morley, Flinders University

Large carnivores dominated the Denisova Cave for 300,000 years

A study from Flinders University is revealing new details about...

Tracking the global distribution of a frog-killing fungus. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> have mapped the distribution and spread of a deadly fungal disease that is rapidly wiping out amphibians. 

Chytrid is the name given to nearly 1,000 species of fungi, and some variants are more harmful than others. The variety Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which was first discovered in the 1990s, is deadly to frogs and has been linked to amphibian extinctions on a global scale. 

One study, published in the journal <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6434/1459">Science</a>, found that Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis had caused declines in nearly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fungal-disease-mass-amphibian-extinction/">501 species of amphibians</a> over the years. 

“Amphibians are already one of the most imperiled groups on the planet, and this fungal disease is further threatening their biodiversity,” said Erica Bree Rosenblum, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Rosenblum, along with an international team of researchers, analyzed swabs taken from the skin of hundreds of frogs to help track the disease and map the geography of the different genetic lineages of the fungus.  

Knowing which variants that a frog is most susceptible to based on its geographic range could help prevent the spread of disease and reduce frog declines. 

“An invisible aspect of globalization is that when we move plants and animals around, we are moving their diseases around, and that can have really devastating consequences,” said Rosenblum. “If we know what lineages are where, we can better predict conservation outcomes, because some of these lineages are really deadly, and others less so.” 

Tracing the genetic lineage of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is incredibly challenging because so much about the variety remains a mystery. 

For this study, the researchers found a way to determine which variant of fungus a frog was infected with using just a skin swab. This shortcut was helpful because it saved the researchers from having to sequence the entire, lengthy genome. Tracking the global distribution of a frog-killing fungus

“Now, from these skin swabs, we can figure out not just that this frog is infected, but specifically what lineage of the disease it carries,” said Rosenblum. “Is it the same lineage that infects the frog living next door, or in another country, or across the world?”

The researchers were able to map the distribution of four known lineages of the disease, and the analysis also revealed a new lineage that likely originated in Asia.  

Even though chytrid is widespread, the study shows that policies limiting the trade and transport of frogs across international borders could help reduce the risk of deadly pathogens spreading to other regions. 

The study findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Rafe Brown &amp; Jason Fernandez

Tracking the global distribution of a frog-killing fungus

Tracking the global distribution of a frog-killing fungus. Researchers from...

Why viewing past human populations as separate branches can be misleading. The authors of a new study propose that viewing past human populations as a progression of separate or distinct branches on an evolutionary tree may be misleading because it reduces the human story to a series of "splitting times" that is unrealistic. According to the experts, the quest to pinpoint a single location for the origin of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/modern-humans-immunity-denisovans/">modern humans</a> is basically a wild goose chase. 

Study lead author Dr. Eleanor Scerri is an archaeologist at the <a href="https://www.shh.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History</a> and heads the Pan-African Evolution Research Group.

"People like us began to appear sometime between 500,000 and 300,000 years ago," said Dr. Scerri. "That is something in the order of 8,000 generations, a long time for early people to move around and explore a big space. Their movements, patterns of mixing and genetic exchanges are what gave rise to us."

Professor Mark Thomas of University College London explained that the genetics of modern humans is very clear, with the greatest genetic diversity found among Africans. 

"The old theory that we descend from regional populations spread across the Old World over the last million years or so is not supported by genetics data. Sure, non-Africans today have some ancestry from Neanderthals, and some have appreciable ancestry from the recently discovered Denisovans. And maybe other, as yet undiscovered ancient hominin groups also interbred with us, Homo sapiens. But none of this changes the fact that more than 90% of the ancestry of everybody in the world lies in Africa over the last 100,000 years," said Professor Thomas. 

"The problem is that knowing that we are an African species has led many to ask the question 'where in Africa.' Superficially this is a reasonable question. But when we consider the genetic patterns alongside what we know of fossils, ancient tools, and ancient climates, the 'single region of origin' view just doesn't cut it, and we have to start thinking differently. This means different models, and we argue in the current paper that structured population models are the way forward."

[caption id="attachment_1878134" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/denisovans-map.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1878134" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/denisovans-map.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="476" /></a> Image Credit: James Cheshire/Mark G. Thomas[/caption]

Dr. Lounès Chikhi of the University of Toulouse explained that the interpretation of the available data changes when it is viewed through the lens of dynamic changes in connectivity, or metapopulations.

"Instead of a series of population splits branching off an ancestral tree, changes in connectivity between different populations over time seem a more reasonable assumption, and appear to explain several patterns of genomic diversity not explained by current alternative models," said Dr. Chikhi. 

"Metapopulations are the kind of model you'd expect if people were moving around and mixing over long periods and wide geographic areas. We cannot objectively identify this geographic area today from genetic data alone, but data from other disciplines suggest that the African continent represents the most likely geographical scale."

The scientists argue that viewing the human story as a "dynamic interconnected patchwork of populations" is better supported by the fossil, genetic, and archaeological evidence. In addition, this approach better explains the palaeoanthropological record beyond Africa.

"We see physically diverse early human fossils from across Africa, some very old genetic lineages and a pan-African shift in technology and material culture that reflects advanced cognition, including new technical and social innovations, across the continent. In other words, what you'd expect from a dynamic interconnected patchwork of populations that were at times more or less isolated from each other," said Dr. Scerri. "This would also help to explain the increasing evidence for unexpected populations, including in areas outside Africa such as the Hobbits on Flores."

The study authors emphasize that what this really means is that the scientific community may finally have the means to address complex questions in human evolutionary studies that could not be addressed previously.

"We have so much new data now from genetics, archaeology and fossils, and a better understanding of how past climates and environments affected early people. We have come to a point where the old models are constraining progress in our understanding of the past," said Dr. Chikhi.

"A metapopulation model helps us to find a way to acknowledge the paleontological, archaeological and genetic evidence for a recent African origin with limited gene flow from non-African metapopulations, such as Neanderthals, without falling into overly polemic and restrictive debates," added Dr. Scerri.

"Our African origins cannot be denied, but we definitely don't yet have the resolution to include or exclude different bits of evidence simply because they don't fit with a particular view. We need better reasons than that."

Professor Thomas suggested that the human record starts to make a lot more sense when studied from the perspective of changes in connectivity. 

"We need such flexibility to be able to make sense of the past, or we get lost in a malaise of ever-increasing named species, failed trajectories and population trees that never existed," said Professor Thomas. "Science always favors the simpler explanation and it is becoming increasingly difficult to stick to old narratives when they have to become over-complicated in order to stay relevant."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/robuart

Why viewing past human populations as separate branches can be misleading

Why viewing past human populations as separate branches can be...

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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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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