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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...

Nearly a century ago, scientists discovered an aquatic mouse in a stream in Ethiopia with water-resistant fur and broad feet for wading in the water. No one has ever found another mouse belonging to this species, which is now thought to be <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-species-assemblages-cause-local-extinctions/">extinct</a>. 

However, in a new study, scientists have identified close relatives of the mysterious mouse, including two previously unknown species. 

Study co-author Julian Kerbis Peterhans is a researcher at the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> who has studied the rodents for more than three decades. 

"These two groups of mice have been confused with one another for a century," said Peterhans. "They've been so elusive for so long, they're some of the rarest animals in the world, so it's exciting to finally figure out their family tree."

The genus represented by the single specimen collected in Ethiopia is known as Nilopegamys. The relatives of Nilopegamys, which are rare animals found in the Congo Basin and western Africa, belong to the genus Colomys. The name Colomys roughly translates to "stilt mouse" because of its elongated feet for wading and foraging in shallow streams.

"These mice are long-footed, kind of like a kangaroo. They sit up on their haunches, and they wade through shallow streams with their whiskers on the water's surface detecting movements, like sonar," said Peterhans. 

"When I caught my first one some 30 years ago, it was the most beautiful African mouse I'd ever seen, it had water repellent fur that's very thick and lush and warm and cozy. They're incredibly soft, and they have this remarkable snow-white belly."

The mice prefer shallow streams where they can use their whiskers to help them hunt, but they are also found in rivers and swamps.

"To cross one of the rivers where I caught a Colomys, you have to use walking sticks, the water's up to your waist," said study co-author Terry Demos. "And you can have torrential rain in the tropics, so sometimes half the traps get swept away, and you have to go downriver to try to find them."

The research is the first of its kind to evaluate Colomys throughout its broad range. Drawing from field studies and museum collections, the team compared the physical traits of the mice and conducted DNA testing. 

The analysis revealed that within the Colomys genus, there were two new species that had not yet been described, which are now known as Colomys lumumbai and C. wologizi. 

"The new species we named are part of a global effort to understand the biodiversity of African rainforests and highlight the critical areas to be preserved," said Demos. "There are vast areas of the Congo Basin that have barely been explored in the last seventy years, places that are hard to access due to political instability. We're not even completely sure how these animals are distributed, there are big gaps."

Study lead author Professor Tom Giarla managed to extract DNA from a piece of dried tissue on the skull of the 93-year-old specimen, which ultimately revealed that Nilopegamys is the closest known relative of Colomys. 

"It's underappreciated how little is known about the biodiversity of small mammals, especially in tropical parts of the world. We're not discovering a whole lot of new lions, tigers, and bears, but there's an incredible potential for discovery of new species of small mammals because they're tough to find," said Professor Giarla.

"And they're sort of underappreciated animals - they're really cool when you start to learn about their ecology. These are semi-aquatic mice, so they're not just your average, everyday rodents."

The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean">Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New aquatic mice have long feet to wade in rivers and streams

Nearly a century ago, scientists discovered an aquatic mouse in...

Fossils that were recovered from a lignite mine in China indicate that monkeys existed in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-in-the-sahara-linked-to-a-megadrought-in-asia/">Asia</a> at the same time as apes 6.4 million years ago. According to an international team of researchers, the remains most likely belong to ancestors of monkeys that exist in the same region today. 

Study lead author Nina G. Jablonski is a professor of Anthropology at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a>.

"This is significant because they are some of the very oldest fossils of monkeys outside of Africa," said Professor Jablonski. "It is close to or actually the ancestor of many of the living monkeys of East Asia. One of the interesting things from the perspective of paleontology is that this monkey occurs at the same place and same time as ancient apes in Asia."

The fossils were linked to an extinct genus of Old World monkeys called Mesopithecus pentelicus. The team studied a jawbone and a proximal femur bone, as well as a calcaneus, or heel bone.

"The significance of the calcaneus is that it reveals the monkey was well adapted for moving nimbly and powerfully both on the ground and in the trees," said Professor Jablonski. "This locomotor versatility no doubt contributed to the success of the species in dispersing across woodland corridors from Europe to Asia."

The lower jawbone and proximal femur bone indicate that the individual was a female, explained the researchers. They theorize that M. pentelicus was probably a "jack of all trades" who was able to navigate in the trees and on land. The analysis of the teeth revealed that the monkeys could eat a wide variety of fruits and flowers.

"The thing that is fascinating about this monkey, that we know from molecular anthropology, is that, like other colobines (Old World monkeys), it had the ability to ferment cellulose," said Professor Jablonski. "It had a gut similar to that of a cow."These monkeys can eat low-quality food that is high in cellulose and obtain sufficient energy by fermenting the food and using the fatty acids that are made available from the bacteria. A similar pathway is used by other animals, including cows, goats, and deer.

"Monkeys and apes would have been eating fundamentally different things," said Professor Jablonski. "Apes eat fruits, flowers, things easy to digest, while monkeys eat leaves, seeds and even more mature leaves if they have to. Because of this different digestion, they don't need to drink free water, getting all their water from vegetation."

"These monkeys are the same as those found in Greece during the same time period. Suggesting they spread out from a center somewhere in central Europe and they did it fairly quickly. That is impressive when you think of how long it takes for an animal to disperse tens of thousands of kilometers through forest and woodlands."

While there is evidence to suggest that the species emerged in Eastern Europe and spread out from there, the researchers say the exact patterns are unknown. What they do know, however, is that the dispersal was rapid in evolutionary terms. 

At the end of the Miocene when these monkeys were leaving Eastern Europe, apes were vanishing from everywhere except in Africa and parts of Southeast Asia.

"The late Miocene was a period of dramatic environmental change," said Professor Jablonski. "What we have at this site is a fascinating snapshot of the end of the Miocene - complete with one of the last apes and one of the new order of monkeys. This is an interesting case in primate evolution because it testifies to the value of versatility and adaptability in diverse and changing environments. It shows that once a highly adaptable form sets out, it is successful and can become the ancestral stock of many other species."

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-human-evolution">Journal of Human Evolution</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fossils reveal that monkeys were in Asia 6.4 million years ago

Fossils that were recovered from a lignite mine in China...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a> have identified a previously unknown <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-species-assemblages-cause-local-extinctions/">species</a> of toothless, two-fingered dinosaurs that resembled parrots around 68 million years ago. The research is providing new insight into dinosaurs known as oviraptors, which were thriving at this point in time.

The research was focused on the analysis of remarkably well-preserved skeletons of O. avarsan that were unearthed by the Edinburgh-led team in the Gobi Desert. 

The unusual new species, Oksoko avarsan, had one less finger on each forearm than other closely-related oviraptors, which had three-fingers. According to the researchers, the loss of one finger may have been an adaptation that helped dinosaurs spread during the Late Cretaceous Period.

Along with its two functional digits, O. avarsan grew to be around two meters in length. They were covered in feathers and had a large, toothless beak similar to the type seen in parrots today. 

The discovery that the dinosaurs could evolve forelimb adaptations suggests the animals could alter their diets and lifestyles, which enabled them to diversify and multiply, according to the team.

Across the evolutionary history of oviraptors, the researchers identified the reduction in size, and eventual loss, of the third finger. The experts discovered that the dinosaurs' arms and hands changed drastically as they migrated into new geographic areas - specifically as they spread throughout North America and the Gobi Desert.

The study revealed that, like many other prehistoric species, O. avarsan was social at a young age. The fossil remains of four young dinosaurs were preserved resting together.

"Oksoko avarsan is interesting because the skeletons are very complete and the way they were preserved resting together shows that juveniles roamed together in groups," said study lead author Dr. Gregory Funston. "But more importantly, its two-fingered hand prompted us to look at the way the hand and forelimb changed throughout the evolution of oviraptors - which hadn't been studied before. This revealed some unexpected trends that are a key piece in the puzzle of why oviraptors were so diverse before the extinction that killed the dinosaurs."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Parrot-like dinosaurs adapted new arms as they migrated

Experts at the University of Edinburgh have identified a previously...

As the world is transformed by climate change, identifying new assemblages of species is critical for protecting them from <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mammal-extinctions-are-driven-almost-exclusively-by-humans-not-climate-change/">extinction</a>. In a new study led by John Pandolfi and Dr. Timothy Staples of the <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/">ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies</a>, scientists looked at how the assemblages of plankton species have changed over the past 66 million years across the world's oceans.

The researchers have used the findings of their study to develop the first-ever method for detecting new communities of species in all types of ecosystems.

"A novel ecological community is one with combinations of species that are different to any past observations from that site," said Professor Pandolfi. "These different species combinations can be due to new species arriving in the community, existing species leaving, or species becoming rarer or more common."

"We found that when novel communities formed, existing species were twice as likely to disappear from the community permanently, representing a 'local' extinction. Species in the novel community were also more likely to be new arrivals that had never been observed in the community before."

One place where new assemblages have appeared is across communities of coral reefs in the Caribbean. Two types of branching coral that once dominated the region are now rare, and new coral species have emerged in their place. 

Branching corals were lost due to the impacts of overfishing, changes in water quality, and climate change. The transformation of reef assemblages leads to different inhabitants and functions. 

"The challenge is to manage at risk or vulnerable areas like this where novel communities exist, or where they're in the process of forming," said Professor Pandolfi.

"To do this we need to understand the changes in species composition we see in novel communities, as well as what is driving these changes. To achieve these goals, we need to be able to reliably identify when a novel community has emerged."

The study has produced the first standardized, quantitative methodology for determining the existence of novel ecological communities based on a database of marine plankton over millions of years.

"We came up with a measure of novelty that can be used with community data from any time scale, organism or ecosystem, so comparative approaches to the study of novelty are now possible," said Dr. Staples. "In this study, we applied our methodology to the past 66 million years, but it would work just as well on much shorter time frames."

Using a global set of microfossil data from deep sea drilling cores, the researchers examined the marine plankton record. Professor Pandolfi said that while novelty was rare, extinction was an important component. Furthermore, after novel communities emerged, subsequent communities were more likely to transform into new assemblages.

"Novelty begets novelty," said Professor Pandolfi. "And the likelihood of extinction was higher when novel communities emerged." He said the pressures that cause communities to become novel in the first place need to be relieved. "Otherwise we may end up with cascading novelty, where the emergence of novel communities drives further novelty, including the loss of existing, native, species."

According to Professor Pandolfi, this means when a novel community is identified it needs attention and effective preventive management. He noted that future studies need to identify novel communities within vulnerable ecosystems, such as the Great Barrier Reef. "At the end of the day that's where we want to go to test this."

"Modern novel ecological communities may need to be managed effectively to prevent the propagation of subsequent novel communities, because of the associated risk of increased extinction," said Professor Pandolfi. "We can't just throw in the towel and let those ecosystems degrade, we need to arrest this progression."

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

New species assemblages cause local extinctions

As the world is transformed by climate change, identifying new...

Worldwide, many species of snakes are in a state of decline as a result of habitat loss, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/birds-that-try-to-keep-pace-with-climate-change-face-hidden-dangers/">climate</a> change, and infectious diseases. In a new study from the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a>,  scientists have teamed up with military service members to investigate the prevalence of an emerging snake disease.

With the help of personnel on military bases across 31 states in the U.S., the researchers analyzed snake samples to detect a fungal pathogen which causes ophidiomycosis, a potentially deadly disease.

The study revealed that the fungus is much more widespread that what was previously known. The team identified infected snakes on military bases in 19 states and Puerto Rico.

"Ophidiomycosis - formerly known as 'snake fungal disease' - is an emerging infectious disease caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola," said study lead author Dr. Matt Allender. "It has been documented in over 15 genera of wild and captive snakes. Infection with the pathogen causes a wide range of clinical signs in snakes, from difficulty shedding skin, to crusts and ulcers on the head and body, and even death in some cases."

"We looked for this pathogen in samples from 657 snakes and found that 17% were infected. Our findings include the first reports of this disease in Oklahoma, Idaho and Puerto Rico."

The health and abundance of snakes are important to human health, as snakes control populations of small mammals that carry and amplify pathogens that also cause disease in humans such as hantavirus and Lyme disease, said Dr. Allender. He noted that natural lands on military bases provide an unexpected sanctuary for many threatened or endangered species.

The research was focused on swab samples that represented 58 species of snakes. The researchers used a tool they developed to amplify DNA molecules so they could measure the extent of infection. The biologists who collected the samples inspected the snakes for scabs or other signs of disease. 

The fungal pathogen was detected in samples from 113 snakes, including copperheads, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, Puerto Rican boas, sidewinders, and whip snakes. 

According to the researchers, adult snakes were the most likely to be diagnosed with ophidiomycosis. "Snakes from Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all had greater odds of ophidiomycosis diagnosis, while snakes from Idaho were less likely to be diagnosed with the disease," they noted.

Dr. Allender explained that the pattern of infection likely reflects a larger distribution of the disease in snakes in the eastern U.S. than previously thought, and its possible expansion from east to west. The disease was first confirmed in 2006 in a population of timber rattlesnakes in New Hampshire.

"Ophidiomycosis has potentially serious consequences for the success of snake conservation efforts in North America, threatening biodiversity across several habitats," said Dr. Allender.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

An emerging snake disease is much more widespread than expected

Worldwide, many species of snakes are in a state of...

A study published by the <a href="https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/">British Ecological Society</a> has produced one of the first examples of sophisticated tool use by <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/water-droplets-on-plant-leaves-provide-nutrition-for-insects/">insects</a>. When faced with the risk of drowning, black imported fire ants used sand to draw liquid out of containers.

In lab experiments, the ants were presented with small containers of sugar water. They were able to float and feed on the surface at first, but then the researchers reduced the surface tension. At this point, the ants began adding grains of sand to the container.

Study lead author Dr. Aiming Zhou is an associate professor at Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, China.

"We found the ants used sand to build a structure that could effectively draw sugar water out of the container to then be collected," said Dr. Zhou."This exceptional tool making skill not only reduced the drowning risk of ants, but also provided a larger space for them to collect sugar water."

The sand deposits turned out to be so efficient that they could syphon almost half of the sugar water out of the containers in five minutes.

The experts manipulated the surface tension of the sugar water by adding surfactant. When the surfactant concentrations exceeded 0.05 percent, and the ants could no longer float, they automatically responded by building the sand structures. According to the researchers, the structures were never observed in containers of pure sugar water, which indicates that the ants were using an adaptable approach to tool use.

The findings demonstrate the ability of black imported fire ants to use tools to forage, and show that they can recognize an increased foraging risk and can adjust their tool use in response.

Study 

"We knew some ant species are able to use tools, particularly in collecting liquid food; however, we were surprised by such remarkable tool use displayed by black imported fire ants," said study co-author Dr. Jian Chen. "Our findings suggest that ants and other social insects may have considerable high cognitive capabilities for unique foraging strategies."

The use of tools, which indicates cognitive sophistication, has mostly been observed in primates and birds. Tool use by invertebrates has not been as well studied.

Further research is needed to look for this behavior among other ant species. "Our study is the first to touch on this interesting topic," said Dr. Chen. "We hope our paper will motivate others to do the related investigations."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652435">Functional Ecology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ants show signs of cognitive sophistication

A study published by the British Ecological Society has produced...

Wild animals are constantly facing dangerous situations with uncertain outcomes. There are many circumstances when the survival of a wild animal depends on a single decision, and some individuals are willing to take more risks than others.

Every day that they strike out into unknown territory to search for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/shift-from-meat-to-plant-based-food-could-offset-years-of-emissions/">food</a>, animals could be attacked and killed by a predator. In a new study from <a href="https://www.uni-jena.de/">Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena</a>, researchers determined that animals living in difficult conditions are willing to take more frequent risks later in life, and these risks are often driven by a lack of food. 

"Just as there are humans who are more cautious and others who take more risks, among animals of a particular species there are also individuals that are more or less risk-averse," said study co-author Professor Holger Schielzeth. 

While these differences are innate to some degree, they are also influenced by an individual's development. The researchers have determined that an animal's risk appetite is decisively influenced by the nutritional conditions it experiences while growing up. 

Study lead author Nicholas Moran and his team analyzed more than 120 experimental studies that involved over 100 animal species. One common theme found throughout the studies was that all of the animals - spiders, fish, birds, and amphibians - had experienced phases of good and bad nutrition. Their risk appetite was measured later in life.

"On the one hand, one could assume that animals that have always enjoyed good circumstances and are therefore in a better condition would have more to lose and would therefore be more risk-averse," said study co-author Professor Klaus Reinhold. On the other hand, he noted, a better nutritional status could mean that an animal would escape more easily from a risky situation, and would therefore be more likely to take a risk.

The analysis clearly showed that an insufficient food supply causes animals to engage in higher-risk behavior. The willingness to take risks increased by an average of 26 percent in animals that had experienced hunger earlier in life.

"We were surprised that this result was so clear and unambiguous," said Professor Schielzeth. Despite widespread variation in the strength of the effect among different species, Professor Schielzeth believes that this correlation could also exist in humans, at least to some extent.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1469185x">Biological Reviews</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

Animals who have suffered from hunger will take more risks

Wild animals are constantly facing dangerous situations with uncertain outcomes....

Humans are most likely passing COVID-19 along to other animals, according to a new study published by <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us">WILEY</a>. The researchers noted that if SARS-CoV-2 could be sustainably transmitted among mammals, this would create <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/rivalry-has-helped-drive-intelligence-among-animals/">animal</a> reservoirs that could serve as a persistent source of new COVID-19 outbreaks.

Furthermore, the spread of COVID-19 in wild mammal populations has the potential to impact species that are endangered. 

"It has been a long time since the world has experienced a pandemic with such a rapid devastating impact as the current COVID-19 pandemic," wrote the study authors. "The causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is unusual in that it appears capable of infecting many different mammal species." 

"As a significant proportion of people worldwide are infected with SARS-CoV-2 and may spread the infection unknowingly before symptoms occur or without any symptoms ever occurring, there is a non-negligible risk of humans spreading SARS-CoV-2 to wildlife, in particular to wild non-human mammals." 

"Because of SARS-CoV-2’s apparent evolutionary origins in bats and reports of humans transmitting the virus to pets and zoo animals, regulations for the prevention of human‐to‐animal transmission have so far focused mostly on these animal groups."

After analyzing recent studies and reports that show that a wide range of distantly related mammals are likely susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the experts are urging people to take sanitary precautions when they are in contact with any other mammal species.

"Preventing human‐to‐wildlife SARS-CoV-2 transmission is important to protect these animals (some of which are classed as threatened) from disease, but also to avoid establishment of novel SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs in wild mammals," wrote the experts. They said the risk of repeated infection in human populations from such wildlife reservoirs could severely damage efforts to get SARS-CoV-2 under control.

During activities where humans have direct or indirect interaction with wild mammals, such as through wildlife research or forestry work, the researchers recommend physical distancing, wearing face masks and gloves, and frequent decontamination.

"We further recommend active surveillance of domestic and feral animals that could act as SARS-CoV-2 intermediate hosts between humans and wild mammals."

Study lead author Dr. Sophie Gryseels is an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona and the University of Antwerp.

"We really should avoid turning our pandemic into a multi-species problem," said Dr. Gryseels. "It's difficult enough to control the SARS-CoV-2 in human populations--imagine what it will be like if it spreads among wild mammals.'

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652907">Mammal Review</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

What if humans are spreading COVID-19 to other mammals?

Humans are most likely passing COVID-19 along to other animals,...

More than 75 percent of threatened species lack adequate protection. A new study from the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> has revealed that if governments fail to honor their commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the consequences could be devastating.

A team of scientists led by Dr. Sean Maxwell and Professor James Watson reviewed national area-based <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/conservation-planning-in-the-amazon-should-be-redirected-to-freshwater-species/">conservation</a> efforts, including protected areas. 

The researchers found that 78 percent of known threatened species and more than half of all important ecosystems remain without adequate protection on both land and sea. Furthermore, seven of the world's most productive fisheries have no formal protected area coverage.

The global nature conservation treaty was established in 2010, when nearly every nation agreed that areas which are important for biodiversity and ecosystem services must cover at least 17 percent of land and 10 percent of ocean by 2020. 

"We reviewed progress toward this target by overlaying maps of protected areas on natural ecosystems, threatened species, carbon services on land and sea and fisheries productivity in the world's oceans," said Dr. Maxwell. 

"We found some welcome progress - particularly in the marine realm - since global environmental targets were agreed. But terrestrial protected area expansion needed to be double what it was in the past decade in order to achieve 17 percent coverage for land and freshwater environments."

"There are also alarming shortfalls in ecological representation and management effectiveness, and measurable biodiversity outcomes persist in area-based conservation efforts."

The researchers also investigated how effective protected area management has been based on the 2010 targets.

"We know that adequately funding protected areas are one of our best tools for reducing threats to biodiversity," said Dr Maxwell. "Yet the current financial shortfall for area-based conservation likely exceeds the multi-billion dollar mark, and as much as 90 per cent have inadequate or below optimum on-site staff capacity."

Professor Watson said the next round of conservation targets, which were meant to be set this year, is fundamental to the future of global biodiversity.

"It is obvious that governments have dramatically underinvested in protected areas and been weak in legally protecting them," said Professor Watson.

"For biodiversity to have any chance to survive climate change, nations must invest more resources in consolidating area-based conservation efforts and ensuring biodiversity conservation is a far stronger part of managed land and seas.

"There are significant opportunities to better recognise and support conservation by indigenous peoples, local communities and private actors, and we now need to embrace new models for land stewardship that rewards good behaviour by farmers, developers and miners."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

More than 75 percent of threatened species lack adequate protection

More than 75 percent of threatened species lack adequate protection....

A new study led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> has found that birds are changing their breeding patterns to keep pace with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/arctic-fires-are-changing-and-the-climate-impacts-could-be-devastating/">climate</a> change. The experts report that these types of behavioral shifts come along with hidden dangers, including the threat of starvation. 

The study was focused on 30 years of data on weather, food availability, and breeding among Tree Swallows in Ithaca,  NewYork. The researchers discovered that the birds are breeding earlier alongside first signs of spring with potentially drastic consequences. When chicks hatch earlier, they are faced with an increased risk of bad weather, food shortages, and mortality.

The experts concluded that the timing of when to breed and when food is available is becoming decoupled for some animals, which highlights serious complications in how organisms respond to climate change.

Study first author Ryan Shipley is a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.

"Simply moving dates earlier to track climate change isn't necessarily risk free. Riskier conditions earlier in the year can expose animals to unintended consequences when responding to bouts of unusually warm spring weather," said Shipley.

Some previous studies have emphasized the importance of animals adjusting their life cycles to keep pace with rising temperatures and earlier spring arrivals. However, the current study notes that breeding earlier may place animals at a greater risk of exposure to inclement weather events that tend to occur more frequently earlier in the year. 

The analysis showed that Tree Swallows have been advancing breeding by 3 days per decade over the last 30 years. This has put offspring at a greater risk of exposure to bad weather, and these conditions also reduce the availability of the insects that the birds rely on for food.

"Our results raise the possibility that animals relying on food resources that can rapidly change in abundance due to the weather may be particularly at risk to climate change," said Shipley.

The findings may help to solve the mystery of why aerial insectivorous birds, including swallows, swifts, flycatchers, and nightjars, are declining faster than other groups in much of North America and Europe.

"For birds that feed on flying insects, one day is feast, the next is famine. This means during unusually warm springs, parents are betting current conditions that prompt earlier egg laying are indicative of similar good conditions for rearing hatched young 3 weeks in the future," said Shipley.

"Considerable attention has been given to potential widespread decline of insect populations and this might be hitting insectivorous birds particularly hard. But we show a mechanism that doesn't require change in insect abundance - just availability over a short time, like a few days."

Professor Maren Vitousek said that long-term studies like these are essential to understand how and why species are affected by climate change. "They can also provide valuable insights into how organisms function, interact and evolve in complex ecological networks."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Birds that try to keep pace with climate change face hidden dangers

A new study led by Cornell University has found that...

Experts at <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a> in Hungary have compared how dogs and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mammal-extinctions-are-driven-almost-exclusively-by-humans-not-climate-change/">humans</a> process visual information about others. The study showed some striking similarities, but also revealed that faces do not matter nearly as much to dogs as they do to people.

In humans, faces are central to visual communication - we have an entire brain network that is dedicated to face processing. While dogs pay attention to faces and use them to read our emotions, they also rely on other body signals to communicate. Prior to this study, it was not yet clear whether dog brains are specialized for face processing like human brains.

To explore how the brains of both species respond to visual information about others, the researchers tested 20 dogs and 30 people people in the same functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment. The study subjects were all presented with short videos of dog and human faces, as well as the back of the heads for comparison.

The experts identified brain regions in both dogs and humans that had a different response to the images depending on whether they contained individuals of their own species. 

"Earlier, our research group already showed a similar correspondence between dog and human brains for voice processing," said study senior author Attila Andics. "We now see that species-sensitivity is an important organizing principle in the mammalian brain for processing social stimuli, in both the auditory and the visual modality. " 

On the other hand, the researchers found no brain areas in dogs that encode whether the images showed a face or the back of a head. For humans, there was an obvious distinction made between the two. 

"A preference analysis of the brain response patterns confirmed that in dogs, conspecific-preference is primary over face-preference and in humans, face-preference is primary over conspecific-preference," said study co-first author Nóra Bunford. "This is an essential difference. It demonstrates that there can be substantial dissimilarities in cortical specialization for face perception across mammals."

"Actually, these findings also shed new light on previous dog fMRI studies claiming to have found 'face areas': we now think that the stronger activity to dog faces in those studies indicated dog-preferring rather than face-preferring brain areas."

The team also identified dog and human brain regions that showed a similar activity pattern in response to the videos. 

"This so-called representational similarity analysis can directly compare brain activity patterns across species," said study co-first author Raúl Hernández-Pérez.

"Interestingly, similarities between dog and human activity patterns were stronger for what we named functional matching (comparing activity for dog face in the dog brain to activity for human face in the human brain), than for physical matching (comparing activity for dog face in the dog brain to activity for dog face in the human brain)."

"This shows that here we may have tapped into high-level categorical processing of social information rather than low-level visual processing, in dogs as well as in humans."

According to Andics, similarities in species-sensitivity yet differences in face-sensitivity show that the visual processing of social information is not organized in the same way among dogs and humans. 

"This is another demonstration that comparative neuroimaging with phylogenetically distant mammalian species can advance our understanding of how social brain functions are organized and how they evolved," said Andics.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dogs do not pay as much attention to faces as humans do

Experts at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary have compared how...

Intelligence evolved among animals to help them handle the challenges that come along with conflict, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>. The researchers found that beyond the various types of social interactions that have been thoroughly explored, battles among rivals have also driven cognition in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/not-enough-is-known-about-how-rainfall-affects-tropical-animals/">animals</a> ranging from insects all the way up to primates.

"Outside threats and opportunities likely present a range of cognitive challenges. Animals have to defend their territories, find mates and compete for resources - we believe negotiating such challenges requires considerable brain power," said study lead author Dr. Ben Ashton.

"A vast amount of time and effort in the animal kingdom is devoted to gathering information about outsiders, and to avoiding, exploiting and winning interactions with them," said study senior author Professor Andy Radford. "But this aspect of sociality has traditionally been ignored in explanations of animal brain evolution."

Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher and writer that is best known for his political work, The Prince - a commentary on how to establish and retain power.

Corsican military leader Napoleon Bonaparte is considered one of the greatest military minds in history whose strategic intelligence on the battlefield is still admired two centuries later.

"Biologists have shown how interactions with groupmates can generate 'Machiavellian' intelligence, the House of Cards-style cunning needed to get ahead in social politics within groups," said study co-author Dr. Patrick Kennedy. "We argue that animals also need 'Napoleonic' intelligence, the more Game of Thrones-style sharpness necessary to triumph in a world packed with rival outsiders."

Dr. Ashton noted that cognitive evolution is one of the most hotly debated topics in biology, with considerable uncertainty remaining over the predominant drivers. "Some of that uncertainty might be because a whole social axis - interactions with rival outsiders - has been largely ignored in both theoretical and empirical work."

According to Dr. Kennedy, 

The possibility that outsiders have shaped human intelligence has been proposed before, said Dr. Kennedy, but it is time to apply this x theory beyond human cognition.

"What do big-brained animals have in common with Napoleon Bonaparte? We suspect that their ancestors possessed the intelligence to triumph in one of the highest-stakes games of all: outmanoeuvring outsiders," said Professor Radford.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms">Nature Communications</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rivalry helped drive intelligence among animals

Intelligence evolved among animals to help them handle the challenges...

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?

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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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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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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