Beautiful,Spider,Web,Close-up,On,The,Background,Of,Nature.,Selective

Scientists have bred spiders that weave bright red, fluorescent draglines, proving that the animals’ silk can be genetically re-engineered inside the living organism. This finding shows a new path toward designer fibers with tunable strength, elasticity, and surface chemistry.



The experiments were carried out by the Biomaterials research group at the <a href="https://www.uni-bayreuth.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bayreuth</a>. Using the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crispr-gene-editing-gets-a-revolutionary-upgrade-with-new-tool/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system</a>, the team inserted a fluorescent marker gene into the spiders’ silk-protein DNA, then confirmed the edit when the offspring produced crimson red threads.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-spider-silk-excites-engineers"><a></a>Why spider silk excites engineers</h2>



Dragline silk already outperforms many man-made fibers. It resists tearing, stretches without snapping, weighs very little and breaks down harmlessly in nature. 



If its molecular recipe can be tweaked at will, future filaments could combine even greater toughness with added functions ranging from antimicrobial activity to electrical conductivity. Over the past decade CRISPR-Cas9 has become biology’s precision scalpel. 



The enzyme-guide complex targets chosen DNA sites, cuts them, and lets the cell’s own repair crew delete unwanted sequences or patch in new ones. The method has been applied to plants, insects, mice and more, yet <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/do-spiders-have-personalities-what-new-research-reveals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spiders</a> had remained untouched.



“Considering the wide range of possible applications, it is surprising that there have been no studies to date using CRISPR-Cas9 in spiders,” said senior author Thomas Scheibel, a professor of biochemistry at Bayreuth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-egg-injection-to-glowing-fiber"><a></a>From egg injection to glowing fiber</h2>



Scheibel and doctoral researcher Edgardo Santiago-Rivera mixed the gene-editing components with a sequence coding for a red fluorescent protein. They injected this cocktail into unfertilized spider eggs and later mated the females.



Because the edit happened before <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flowers-are-picky-when-choosing-their-mate-for-fertilization/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fertilization</a>, every cell in the brood carried the new blueprint. When the juveniles spun safety lines, the filaments glowed scarlet under blue light, confirming a successful gene knock-in.



“We have demonstrated, for the first time worldwide, that CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to incorporate a desired sequence into spider silk proteins, thereby enabling the functionalization of these silk fibers,” Scheibel said.



“The ability to apply CRISPR gene-editing to spider silk is very promising for materials science research. For example, it could be used to further increase the already high tensile strength of spider silk.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-learned-from-red-spider-silk">Lessons learned from red spider silk</h2>



The fluorescent marker acts as a beacon, showing where and how the modified proteins fold into the fiber. That view should help unravel the still-mysterious link between amino-acid sequence, spinning process, and macroscopic performance.



With the roadmap clearer, scientists can test added modules that stiffen the thread, alter its stickiness or carry therapeutic payloads.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-artificial-vs-natural-spider-silk">Artificial vs. natural spider silk</h2>



Earlier attempts to engineer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/holy-grail-artificial-spider-silk-indistinguishable-from-natural-silk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">silk</a> relied on copying genes of spiders into bacteria, yeast, plants or even goats. While those hosts churn out raw protein, the artificial threads seldom match the natural product because spinning in air differs from extrusion through a spider’s duct.



Editing the spider itself preserves the native assembly line, letting researchers fine-tune properties without losing the fiber’s intricate nanostructure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-balancing-innovation-and-ecology"><a></a>Balancing innovation and ecology</h2>



The gene-edited arachnids remained confined to secure laboratories, and the team stresses that large-scale production will require strict containment.



Spiders play key roles in ecosystems, so any field release of modified lines would demand careful risk assessment. For now. the focus lies on fundamental insight and small-batch, high-value uses such as surgical sutures or micro-mechanical springs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-next-web-strands-to-come">The next web strands to come</h2>



Having proved that complex proteins can be knitted into dragline <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/holy-grail-artificial-spider-silk-indistinguishable-from-natural-silk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">silk</a>, the Bayreuth group plans to insert sequences that enhance strength, adjust elasticity, or add sensing abilities.



Marker colors beyond red could enable multicolored performance mapping. Researchers also hope to explore the spider’s six other silk types - each specialized for tasks like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spiders-adapt-their-webs-to-filter-out-human-made-noise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">web</a> capture or egg protection - to see how far CRISPR can stretch nature’s design space.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turning-point-for-sustainable-fibers">Turning point for sustainable fibers</h2>



By merging a molecular editing toolkit with the planet’s premier fiber spinner, the study opens a fresh chapter in biomaterials science. It hints at a future where customized, biodegradable threads are spun at ambient temperature by miniature eight-legged factories - no smokestacks or petrochemicals required. 



For now, a vivid red glow in a strand of spiders silk stands as proof that the possibilities are real, and only beginning to be woven.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202502068" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Angewandte Chemie</a>.



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World's first gene-edited spiders spin red silk

Scientists have bred spiders that weave bright red, fluorescent draglines, proving that the animals’ silk can be genetically re-engineered inside the living organism. This finding shows a new path toward designer fibers with tunable strength, elasticity, and surface chemistry. The experiments were carried out by the Biomaterials research group at the University of Bayreuth. Using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system, the team inserted a fluorescent marker gene into the spiders’ silk-protein DNA, then confirmed the edit when the offspring produced crimson red threads. Why spider silk excites engineers...

Nature offers many examples of individual organisms that live and act together in groups known as biological collectives or “superorganisms.” In bee colonies, for instance, the interactions of individual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bees-are-experts-at-social-distancing/">bees</a> add up to benefit the entire collectivity. However, until recently, it was not clearly understood how bee colonies can make decisions in the face of changing conditions that are crucial for their survival.



A research team from the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California, San Diego</a> has found that colony size is a key factor in bees’ individual and collective decision-making. Honey bees use a vigorous “waggle dance” to inform their mates about potential food sources. However, when the food source deteriorates or when there are predators close by, the bees produce “stop signals,” letting waggle dancers know that the source is not a viable option anymore.



By collecting data over several years on both small and large bee colonies, the scientists discovered that large, established colonies with sufficient levels of food stores were less likely to take chances with risky food sources than smaller colonies that were pressed to quickly find adequate food sources.



“We created an artificial stop signal that, like natural stop signals, caused waggle dancers to briefly pause,” explained study lead author Heather Bell, a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego. “We then used the artificial signal on waggle dancers from colonies of different sizes. By measuring how long waggle dances lasted, we found that bees from small colonies were indeed less likely to listen to the message from our artificial signal than those from large colonies.”



“It all boils down to risk. Smaller colonies will take more risk because they need food,” added study senior author James Nieh, a professor of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution at the same university. “When a swarm starts a new colony, they are in a desperate situation and likely more willing to take chances.”



The results of this study can help scientists better understand how bees and perhaps other animals adapt to dynamic conditions, including climate change.&nbsp;



“Global climate change is shifting many things, including when flowers bloom, which in turn is likely shifting the habits of predators. Honey bees have an amazing resilience to these changes in part because of their intricate communication system, so this study helps us understand how they can adapt better,” Professor Nieh concluded.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

When it comes to bee colonies, size matters

Nature offers many examples of individual organisms that live and...

All <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-half-of-the-worlds-vertebrates-reside-in-the-tropics/">vertebrates</a> have a similar body plan, including a head, spine, and four appendages. Although these appendages vary greatly in shape, size, and function (from fins and wings to arms or legs), a new genetic analysis led by the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a> and the <a href="http://www.cabd.es/en/">Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology</a> has found that the genes which control the development of different types of appendages share a deep evolutionary history.



By using a genetic editing tool called <a href="http://www.crisprtx.com/gene-editing/crispr-cas9">CRISPR</a>, the scientists proved that a gene which controls the growth of bones at the terminal end of fish fins (gli3) plays a similar role in the formation of fingers and toes in four-legged vertebrates. The gli3 gene controls this process in both paired fins (the progenitors to limbs), and the unpaired dorsal fin that is common to all fish species. The single dorsal fin evolved before the emergence of paired fins.&nbsp;



The findings suggest that the last common ancestor between ray- and lobe-finned fish, which lived approximately 500 million years ago, had the same appendage-shaping genetic toolkit that is possessed by all modern-day vertebrates.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“There's this deep homology or similarity between fins and limbs, something ancient in structures that really don't look alike,” said study co-author Neil Shubin, a professor of Anatomy at the University of Chicago.&nbsp;



“We're showing a deeply conserved, deeply ancient and preserved gene function that's been around for hundreds of millions of years in vastly different structures. So, the molecular toolkit is ancient, and it does the same thing in different kinds of animals.”



Scientists already knew that humans and mice who have a mutation in the gli3 gene often grow extra digits (polydactyly). Professor Shubin and his colleagues wanted to find out whether gli3 worked in a similar way among fish.&nbsp;



By using CRISPR gene-editing tools, the researchers knocked out the gli3 gene in the medaka, or the Japanese rice fish. They discovered that this fish also developed a version of polydactyly, with multiple radial bones at the base of the fin and more fin rays.



“The speculation is that you have a primitive function of&nbsp;gli3&nbsp;present in all vertebrate appendages ever since about 500 million years ago, and that was to promote proliferation, or the number of cells and hence the number of bones in the terminal end.”



“We all share a certain genetic toolkit, even though the anatomy may look very different in adult stages. We're finding these hidden, but very important, mechanistic similarities,” Shubin concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/46/e2100575118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Science</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fins and limbs share a deep evolutionary history

All vertebrates have a similar body plan, including a head,...

Honey bees worldwide have been hit hard by a number of diseases. New research published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, looks at how changing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-warming-linked-to-extreme-winter-weather-in-the-u-s/">weather</a> patterns in the UK may be impacting diseases in local honey bees. 



The research shows that one of the most devastating diseases, caused by Varroa sp. mites, increases in prevalence as temperatures rise. Interestingly, the prevalence of infectious mites was found to decrease as rain and wind increased.&nbsp;



Ben Rowland is a PhD student in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a> and the study’s lead researcher.



“Our analysis clearly shows that the risk of a colony contracting one of the diseases we examined is influenced by the weather conditions experienced by that colony," said Rowland.&nbsp;



"Our work highlights some interesting contrasts; for example, rainfall can drive one disease to become more common whilst another will become rarer.”



The scientists collected data from over 300,000 honey bee colonies, as well as data on temperature, wind and rainfall. The analysis revealed that different diseases responded and interacted in different ways to different climatic factors.&nbsp;



“We have long known that weather can influence the ability of honey bees to leave the hive and forage for food, but to better understand how our climate can influence honey bee disease is fascinating! This new knowledge will help us predict how honey bee disease might be influenced by future climate change," said study senor author Professor Giles Budge.



The research also looked specifically at the impact of weather on disease outbreaks or "hot spots." The southwest of England, for instance, is at greater risk of infection from Varroa sp. mites due to weather conditions.&nbsp;



An area including Powys, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire is also at risk of an outbreak of the damaging disease European foulbrood, the research shows. This type of prediction will likely become more important as climate change continues to become worse.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Deadly honey bee diseases are influenced by the weather

Honey bees worldwide have been hit hard by a number...

The ecology of extinct organisms - particularly those that appear very alien to us - can surprise even seasoned scientists. Paleontologists must base their hypotheses off of modern animals and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-ecosystems-are-disrupted-by-small-temperature-changes/">ecosystems</a>. However, the 21st century biosphere has been depleted of megafauna, and even if it weren’t, mammals occupy many terrestrial niches. When examining reptile or amphibian-dominated ecosystems, we must often change our frame of reference.&nbsp;



A new study from researchers at the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a> reinforces this principle. The research shows that many of the roles today filled by a variety of bird species may have been occupied by just a handful pterosaurs, who filled different niches as they grew up.



The researchers focused their study on the Kem Kem beds of Morocco - famous for producing Spinosaurus (or Sigilmassasaurus, depending on your stance) specimens.&nbsp;



“Over the last 10 years or so, we’ve been doing fieldwork in Morocco’s Sahara Desert and have discovered over 400 specimens of pterosaurs," said study lead author Roy Smith.



He added that some of the fossils “looked like smaller jaws - about the size of a fingernail - but these tiny pterosaur remains could have just been the tips of big jaws so we had to do some rigorous testing to find out if they were from a small species or from tiny juveniles of large and giant pterosaurs.”&nbsp;



Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan studies the histology, or internal structure, of fossil bone at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.She was able to determine the relative maturity of some of the specimens.&nbsp;



“By looking at the paper-thin section of the bones under a microscope, I could tell that they were from juveniles as the bone was fast growing and didn’t have many growth lines. We also examined the surface of the bones and found they had a rippled texture. This was further evidence they were the bones of immature individuals as mature pterosaur bones have an incredibly smooth surface once they are fully formed," explained Chinsamy-Turan.



This, in conjunction with the recent discovery illustrating that pterosaurs could fly straight after hatching, paints a different picture of their ecology than what we might expect from flying animals today.&nbsp;



“What really surprised me about this research is that the feeding ecology of these magnificent flying animals is more like that of crocodiles than of birds,” said Portsmouth Professor David Martill. Whereas birds will have a number of species occupying very specific roles in the ecosystem, crocodiles filter through different niches until they become apex predators.&nbsp;



“It’s likely that the juvenile pterosaurs were feeding on small prey such as freshwater insects, tiny fishes and amphibians," said Professor Martill. "As they grew they could take larger fishes - and who knows - the biggest pterosaurs might have been capable of eating small species of dinosaurs, or the young of large dinosaur species.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cretaceous-research">Cretaceous Research</a>.



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By <a href="http://mailto:rugerpaleo@gmail.com">Alex Ruger</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tiny pterosaurs were fierce competitors in the Late Cretaceous

The ecology of extinct organisms - particularly those that appear...

Hundreds of millions of years before the hermit crab appeared, some of the earliest animals on Earth were already using snail shells as protection from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seahorses-may-be-slow-but-they-are-fierce-ambush-predators/">predators</a>. A new study from <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk/">Durham University</a> has revealed that penis worms invented the hermit lifestyle about 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed collections of Guanshan fossil deposits. These fossils preserve soft tissue, such as the bodies of worms, along with other material that is more commonly fossilized.



The experts discovered four specimens of the penis worm Eximipriapulus inside of the conical shells of hyoliths, a group of extinct marine invertebrates. These are some of the first types of shells that appear in the fossil record.&nbsp;



“The worms are always sitting snugly within these same types of shells, in the same position and orientation," explained study co-author Dr. Martin Smith. 



According to the researchers, Cambrian predators were abundant and aggressive, which forced the penis worms to take shelter in empty shells.



“The only explanation that made sense was that these shells were their homes – something that came as a real surprise," said Dr. Smith.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Not long before these organisms existed, there was nothing alive more complex than seaweeds or jellyfish: so it’s mind-boggling that we start to see the complex and dangerous ecologies usually associated with much younger geological periods so soon after the first complex animals arrive on the scene.”



The research illustrates how predators played a critical role in shaping ecology during the earliest stages of animal evolution. The behavior of a hermit crab has never been documented in penis worms or in any other organism that existed so early in history.&nbsp;



“Grabbing a shell takes a level of behavioral complexity to say, ‘Well, I need to find a shell that I fit in,'” Dr. Smith told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a>.&nbsp;



“And it requires a reasonably sophisticated neural processing level, which isn’t something we’ve associated at all with these worms that just slime around on the seafloor, [nor] with the Cambrian.”



“But fossil records keep throwing us these curve balls, and making us think, ‘Whoa, OK, this was even more of an explosion than we thought.'"



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.



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

Hermit crab lifestyle discovered in 500-million-year-old worms

Hundreds of millions of years before the hermit crab appeared,...

New Zealand’s sea lions are among the rarest in the world, with less than 12,000 individuals populating the country’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/islands-are-not-evolutionary-dead-ends-for-animals/">islands</a>, where they had been driven off the mainland two centuries ago. Recently, conservation efforts to protect these creatures have created populations large enough to return to the mainland. Thus, their current geographical distribution is not well understood. 



A research team led by <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a>&nbsp; (MSU) has constructed elaborate species distribution models to assess more realistically where the members of this endangered species are located and to reconstruct their recent patterns of migration.



“It’s one thing for wildlife rangers to look out for sea lions on sandy beaches, but it’s another challenge for them to tromp through forests to find baby sea lions hiding under the trees,” said study lead author Veronica Frans, a member of MSU’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.canr.msu.edu/csis/">Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability</a>. “While we can’t know for sure where female sea lions will go on the mainland, we can use models to make helpful predictions.”



The sea lions’ return to the mainland is fraught with perils for both them and the humans that they encounter. Their new habitats, including barriers such roads, livestock fencing, or commercial pine forests, exposes them to car accidents and others hazards. Moreover, humans are often attacked by overly protective mothers that weigh up to 400 pounds. 



By developing a framework to create an integrated species distribution model database that takes into consideration female sea lions’ breeding habitat requirements and inland movements, Frans and her colleagues managed to build highly detailed maps of these animals’ movements and habitats.



“There is currently only one official breeding colony on the mainland right now, and only a few other spots where they’ve had pups, but the populations are still small,” Frans reported. “Nearly 400 sites seem like an incredible potential for a bright future for these sea lions. All signs point to many more sea lion pups in the future, if we do our best to welcome them.”



The maps that the researchers created are publicly available and can be used to identify potential hazards and explore new habitats as the sea lions hedge their way home.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.13736">Methods in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Predicting the movement of sea lions can help protect them

New Zealand’s sea lions are among the rarest in the...

According to the Darwinian theory of natural selection, organisms that are better adapted will have better chances of surviving and passing on copies of their genes to future generations through their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/older-parents-may-be-beneficial-to-offspring/">offspring</a>. This implies that less fit individuals, including those with physical impairments, will not enjoy the same chances. This long-held assumption has been tested in a new study on white-footed mice in the state of New York.



The study involved capturing, marking and monitoring a total of&nbsp;27,244 white-footed mice. The project was initiated by Richard Ostfeld in 1991, and ran for 26 years. Catch and release trapping was carried out every 3 to 4 weeks, using live traps baited with oats.&nbsp;



Upon first capture, the mice were given metal ear tags for identification, and data on sex, age, mass, ectoparasite load (e.g., bot fly larvae, ticks), and location were&nbsp;recorded. In addition, trappers took detailed notes about the physical features of each animal. In total, 543 (2 percent) of the mice had some form of physical impairment, including broken, deformed or missing tails or limbs, missing eyes or eyes with cataracts.&nbsp;



“White-footed mice are survivors. We know they thrive in degraded forests and can tolerate high parasite loads. We were interested in determining if this tolerance extended to physical impairments," said study lead author Francesca Rubino of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.



Mouse survival was determined by estimating persistence time in the trapping area, and body mass, movement, and ectoparasite burdens (larval bot fly and ticks) were also analyzed.



“To our knowledge, no prior study has included as big a sample size of individuals or as long a time series. Having mark-recapture records on a large number of mice both before and after their impairment provided us with a unique opportunity to distinguish cause-effect relationships from mere correlation,” explained Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at <a href="https://www.caryinstitute.org/">Cary Institute</a> of Ecosystem Studies.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Although mice with tail and limb impairments carried more black-legged ticks and mice with cataracts had more bot fly larvae, the overall results showed that mice with impairments were just as likely as their unimpaired counterparts to survive on the trapping plots. In fact, mice with eye and tail impairments had greater average mass than unimpaired mice, and mice with tail impairments had larger home ranges.



“We found no evidence that physical impairments in white-footed mice were associated with decreased fitness," explained Rubino. "On the contrary, looking across standard measures of fitness, mice with impairments performed at least as well, on average, as mice without impairments.”



“Mice appear able to compensate for broken or missing major appendages and for partial or total loss of vision in ways that generally avoid compromising longevity, body condition, movement, or protection from ectoparasites," said Ostfeld.



The apparent resilience of mice in this study is consistent with data from prior studies that shows the mice can tolerate infection by some parasites. Whether this tolerance to injury and infection is shared with other species, and the potential mechanism underlying such high tolerance, are as yet unknown.&nbsp;



“This study is both powerful - more than 27,000 wild mice over 26 years - and surprising,” said Doug Levey, a program director in NSF’s Division of Environmental Biology, which provided grant support for the work. “Until now, few ecologists would have said that impaired mice live as long as mice that are free of impairments.”



“Our findings challenge broader assumptions that physical impairments reduce the fitness of their bearers and are inconsistent with the devaluation of impaired individuals that pervaded early thinking in evolutionary biology."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wild mice don't just survive, but thrive with physical impairments

According to the Darwinian theory of natural selection, organisms that...

While staying together with family and friends can be a rewarding experience for some voles, social interaction is merely tolerable to others. New research published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/72684">eLife</a> has explored how individual, sex, and species differences among voles influence their social lives.&nbsp;



Since similar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-hormones-crop-invaders/">hormones</a> and brain structures are involved in social interactions in many species, including humans, this study can shed more light on some of the foundations of social differences.&nbsp;



According to scientists, some vole species, such as prairie voles, form long-lasting social bonds with their mates, as well as same-sex peers. On the other hand, meadow voles form social relationships only to help them survive the winter and part ways in warmer months.



"We wanted to determine why voles of these two species spend time in social contact," said study first author Annaliese Beery, a biologist at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a>. "Specifically, we wanted to know what role social motivation plays in their behavior, or to what extent social selectivity is more about avoiding strangers."



In order to answer these questions, Beery and her team trained prairie and meadow voles to push a bar to receive food rewards. Afterward, they replaced the food with brief access to familiar voles or strangers to see how often they would push the bar to get access to the other animal.



The researchers found striking species and sex differences structuring the voles’ behavior. While female prairie voles worked harder to see familiar voles rather than strangers, male prairies voles did not show a preference for close acquaintances. Instead, they worked harder to approach females rather than males. The meadow voles, which were only females, did not seem very interested in any type of social interaction.



The results indicate that prairie voles found social interaction with familiar animals more rewarding, while the meadow voles, although likely to tolerate family or friends, did not seem to find much satisfaction in social interactions in general.



By analyzing the brain chemistry of these animals, the scientists discovered that variations in behavior were associated with concentrations of oxytocin – a hormone linked to sociality. While animals with more oxytocin receptors in a part of the brain called the nucleus ambiens were more social, those with more receptors in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis were more aggressive.



"Knowing more about how the mechanisms supporting social relationships are similar and different across species and sexes will help us understand which mechanisms are universal and which are species-specific,” concluded Beery.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Social behavior of voles linked to oxytocin levels

While staying together with family and friends can be a...

With lockdowns being lifted in many parts of the world, a large number of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-and-cats-test-positive-for-alpha-variant-of-sars-cov-2/">dogs</a> left home alone by their owners face psychological problems such as separation anxiety. 



While it may seem that dogs who are left home with other canine companions would feel less lonely and anxious, a new study led by the Academy for Animal Naturopathy in&nbsp;Dürnten, Switzerland has found that the opposite is usually true. Dogs appear to be even more anxious when left home with other dogs.



“Many dogs are left alone at home by their owners for several hours on a daily basis. This practice is known to be a possible source of complication in dog keeping. Behaviorists and veterinarians are frequently consulted due to excessive vocalizations, destructive behavior and house-soiling of dogs left alone by their owners,” explained the study authors.&nbsp;



“These observations are thought to be symptoms of a disorder which most authors refer to as separation anxiety or separation related behavior.”&nbsp;



Signs of separation anxiety in dogs include barking, howling, increased physical activity, digging, scratching, disruptive chewing, or excessive urination and defecation.



The scientists videotaped 32 dogs in single-dog households and 45 dogs in multi-dog households that were left alone as part of their usual routine. Surprisingly, intense physical activity was higher in multi-dog households, primarily in the first hours after separation.&nbsp;



“We observed more separation-related behavior in multi-dog households,” reported study lead author Gerrit Stephan, a researcher at the Academy for Animal Naturopathy.



“It's a common misconception – and often given as poor advice – that a dog with separation-related anxiety will fare better and show fewer stress responses if another dog is added to the household,” said Natalie Waran, a professor of Animal Welfare at the <a href="https://www.eit.ac.nz/">Eastern Institute of Technology</a> in New Zealand.&nbsp;



“This doesn't address the underlying problem for the dog with separation anxiety, and it often results in another dog showing anxious or excitable behavior. The key is to understand the causes of problem behavior to be able to manage or treat those effectively.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Further research is needed in order to better understand the reasons why separation anxiety appears to be stronger in multi-dog households and to open therapeutic pathways for pets struggling with emotional issues.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159121002501#!">Applied Animal Behavior Science</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dogs get more separation anxiety when left with another animal

With lockdowns being lifted in many parts of the world,...

Plenty of evidence shows that invasive species damage <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-damages-the-base-of-the-marine-food-web/">food webs</a> but the specifics of these damages over time remain somewhat mysterious. A new study conducted at the <a href="https://www.umt.edu/">University of Montana</a> Flathead Lake Biological Station is providing new insight into the impacts of invasive species.&nbsp;



"This has been a truly collaborative effort," said Shawn Delvin of FLBS. "The work leverages the rather bleak history of introduction and invasion of nonnative species in northwest Montana lakes into an ecological experiment built on the power of long-term data and a deeper understanding of lake ecology.”



U.S. Fish &amp; Wildlife biologist Charles Wainright, who just finished his graduate school work at FLBS explained the importance of the study.



“This study provides new details about how invasive lake trout affect entire lake food webs," said Wainright. "The findings will be important for conserving native species and ecosystems in Montana and elsewhere.”



The researchers examined long term fisheries records to determine the timing of introduction of invasive lake trout in ten Montana lakes. The researchers also examined the impact of these introductions on the food webs in the lakes.&nbsp;



The results showed that native fishes were forced to feed on less than ideal diets and scrape by in unfamiliar habitats. Eventually, this led to the loss of native bull trout, a threatened species under the US Endangered Species Act.&nbsp;



“Native bull trout populations have drastically declined in many lakes across western Montana due to competitive interactions with invasive lake trout," said Clint Muhlfeld, an aquatic ecologist with the USGS.



"For the first time, we show what happens not only to bull trout but entire food webs supporting them as lake trout invade and upset lake ecosystems over time.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The research showed the invasive fish populations grew over time for decades. After 50 years, lake trout were the dominant apex predator in these food webs.&nbsp;



The findings confirmed that over time, invasive lake trout disrupted - and ultimately replaced - the native fish species, drastically changing the ecosystem.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>,&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Invasive species can drastically alter food webs

Plenty of evidence shows that invasive species damage food webs...

Researchers have long been fascinated by the extraordinary skills spiders show in building intricate and beautiful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reef-food-webs-threatened-by-the-loss-of-picky-eaters/">webs</a> by relying mostly on the sense of touch.&nbsp;



A team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> has recently used night vision and artificial intelligence to track and record every movement the spiders made in order to shed more light on how creatures with such small brains are capable to build these elegant, complex, and geometrically precise structures.



“I first got interested in this topic while I was out birding with my son. After seeing a spectacular web, I thought, 'if you went to a zoo and saw a chimpanzee building this, you'd think that's one amazing and impressive chimpanzee,'” said senior author Andrew Gordus, a behavioral biologist at Johns Hopkins.&nbsp;



“Well, this is even more amazing because a spider's brain is so tiny and I was frustrated that we didn't know more about how this remarkable behavior occurs. Now we've defined the entire choreography for web building, which has never been done for any animal architecture at this fine of a resolution."&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;



Gordus and his colleagues designed an arena with infrared lights and cameras to record the web-building activities of six hackled orb weavers, a species of spider native to the western United States. They used machine vision software designed specifically to detect limb movements in order to track the millions of individual leg movements the spiders performed in order to build their webs.



By analyzing the footage, the scientists found that web-making behaviors were extremely similar across spiders.&nbsp;



"Even if the final structure is a little different, the rules they use to build the web are the same," Gordus explained. "They're all using the same rules, which confirms the rules are encoded in their brains. Now we want to know how those rules are encoded at the level of neurons."



In future studies, the researchers aim to experiment with mind-altering drugs to determine which circuits of the spiders’ brains are responsible for each stage of web-building.



"The spider is fascinating because here you have an animal with a brain built on the same fundamental building blocks as our own, and this work could give us hints on how we can understand larger brain systems, including humans,” said study lead author Abel Corver, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982221012707">Current Biology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists reveal spiders’ web-making secrets

Researchers have long been fascinated by the extraordinary skills spiders...

Instances of animals being infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-evidence-that-covid-19-is-a-seasonal-infection/">COVID-19</a>) have bee)n documented from around the world. The species affected include pet dogs, cats and ferrets, zoo animals such as big cats, otters and primates, farmed mink and wild white-tailed deer. 



A new study reports the first instav7thnce of pet infection by the alpha&nbsp;variant of SARS-CoV-2, which&nbsp;was first detected in southeast England and is commonly known as the UK variant or B.1.1.7. This variant rapidly outcompeted pre-existing variants in England due to its increased transmissibility and infectivity.&nbsp;



Two cats and one dog returned positive PCR tests for this variant of the Coronavirus, while two additional cats and one dog displayed antibodies to the virus two to six weeks after they had developed signs of cardiac disease. All of the pets had suffered an acute onset of cardiac disease, including severe myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).



Many of the owners of these pets had also tested positive for COVID-19, and had developed respiratory symptoms several weeks before their pets became ill.



“Our study reports the first cases of cats and dogs affected by the COVID-19 alpha variant and highlights, more than ever, the risk that companion animals can become infected with SARS-CoV-2,” said lead author Luca Ferasin,&nbsp;DVM, PhD, of The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre, in the UK.



“We also reported the atypical clinical manifestations characterized by severe heart abnormalities, which is a well-recognized complication in people affected by COVID-19 but has never been described in pets before."&nbsp;



"However, COVID-19 infection in pets remains a relatively rare condition and, based on our observations, it seems that the transmission occurs from humans to pets, rather than vice versa."



The study is published by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/">Wiley</a> in the journal <a href="https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20427670">Veterinary Record</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dogs and cats test positive for alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2

Instances of animals being infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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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

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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

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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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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&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> Staff Writer 



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.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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"

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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...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



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.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video 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 history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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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.

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&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 capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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