In the natural world, family often defines survival strategies. Across species, cooperation among relatives has evolved into a powerful tool to ensure success in challenging environments. Yet few creatures embody this principle so intricately as the long-tailed tit.



Found flitting through British gardens, these small birds reveal extraordinary loyalty to their kin. Far from fleeting connections, long-tailed tits show unwavering commitment to family, even during the upheaval of migration. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cooperation-in-animal-societies">Cooperation in animal societies</h2>



Recent research from the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sheffield</a> brings the hidden social lives of long-tailed tits into sharp focus, offering new insights into how cooperation shapes animal societies.



Decades of careful observation and rigorous analysis culminated in a study that redefines what we know about the evolution of social behaviors. 



Through the lives of these tiny <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-adapt-their-survival-strategies-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a>, we glimpse powerful lessons about kinship, resilience, and the surprising complexity of animal communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-tailed-tits-stay-loyal-to-family">Long-tailed tits stay loyal to family</h2>



The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, draws on an extraordinary 30-year dataset. It confirms that long-tailed tits retain strong family bonds throughout migratory movements - a phenomenon never before documented so consistently in cooperative <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-brains-and-wide-ranges-cant-save-birds-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a>.



Long-tailed tits migrate not as isolated individuals but as tightly knit family units. This behavior ensures that when they arrive at new locations, they are surrounded by familiar, trusted kin ready to support each other.



"This 30-year study is unique in its depth and has allowed us to understand the evolution of cooperation in a way that would not have been possible otherwise. The discovery of family ties persisting through migration is particularly exciting," noted Dr. Jennifer Morinay, co-lead author of the research.



"These tiny <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-evolution-timeline-pushed-back-20-million-years-by-baminornis-zhenghensis-discovery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a> essentially travel with their support network, ensuring that when they reach their new location, they have their kin ready to assist. It highlights the profound importance of family in their social structure."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family-groups-survive-together">Family groups survive together</h2>



The research identifies several intertwined processes that create and sustain these family structures. Limited natal dispersal ensures many young birds settle close to their birthplace. Even when they do move, long-tailed tits often migrate alongside their siblings, keeping family bonds intact across vast distances.



At the same time, environmental pressures, particularly high predation rates, play a significant role. Frequent nest failures result in clusters of surviving families, making the presence of close kin nearby more likely. Together, these ecological and demographic factors form what scientists term "kin neighborhoods."



Incredibly, even migratory long-tailed tits, such as those studied in Estonia, preserve these ties during long journeys. Studies found that 82% of migratory flocks included at least one first-order relative. These findings challenge longstanding assumptions that migration disrupts social cohesion among birds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-roots-of-helping-behavior">Evolutionary roots of helping behavior</h2>



Long-tailed tits do not only stick close to their families; they actively help them. When breeding attempts fail, many individuals redirect their efforts to assist <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-birds-are-at-great-risk-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">relatives</a> raising broods. This redirected helping strengthens the survival chances of their kin’s offspring, ultimately boosting their own inclusive fitness.



"The push and pull between cooperation and competition is something we readily recognize in our own lives. This study demonstrates that these same fundamental tensions are at play in the social dynamics of long-tailed tits and likely many other species," noted Professor Ben Hatchwell, co-lead author of the study.



"Our long-term research provides significant insights into the ecological and social conditions that favour cooperative behaviour and the evolutionary forces that sculpt these intricate social interactions."



Helping decisions are not random acts of kindness. They are influenced by various factors including the bird’s own breeding success, its relatedness to nearby individuals, and the strength of prior social bonds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mistakes-in-kin-recognition">Mistakes in kin recognition</h2>



Despite their strong social instincts, long-tailed tits sometimes help unrelated individuals. 



About 30% of helpers were found assisting nests of non-kin. Scientists believe this stems from errors in kin recognition rather than a deliberate choice.



The birds rely heavily on learned acoustic cues to identify relatives. Calls learned during the nestling stage help them recognize kin, but these vocal cues are not always completely reliable. Studies show overlap in call similarities between kin and non-kin, leading to occasional misdirected care.



Efforts are ongoing to determine whether other cues, such as olfactory signals, also influence how long-tailed tits recognize their family and make crucial helping decisions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environment-shapes-cooperation">Environment shapes cooperation</h2>



The study also shows how environmental pressures influence the rates of cooperation. Moderate levels of nest predation foster the highest levels of helping behaviour. 



If predation is too low, there are fewer failed breeders needing alternative strategies. If too high, there are simply fewer successful nests available to help.



Shorter breeding seasons similarly encourage cooperation. With less time to attempt new broods after failure, many birds abandon independent breeding and instead opt to help their kin.



Interestingly, overall population density did not seem to impact cooperation rates, suggesting that the quality of family connections matters more than simple numbers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-choosing-where-to-live">Choosing where to live</h2>



Where a bird chooses to settle has long-term fitness consequences. Males who stay close to their natal territory accrue higher indirect fitness by helping relatives. Conversely, males who disperse far have fewer opportunities to help and lower overall inclusive fitness.



Females experience a different dynamic. Those who disperse farther tend to achieve slightly better direct reproductive success, likely because dispersal reduces inbreeding risks.



These differing pressures create a fascinating tug-of-war, shaping dispersal behaviours across generations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family-ties-of-long-tailed-tits">Family ties of long-tailed tits </h2>



Perhaps the most striking revelation is that migration, once believed to hinder the evolution of cooperation, does not necessarily break social bonds. Long-tailed tits maintain their family ties even after traveling hundreds of kilometres.



This finding challenges traditional theories and highlights the incredible flexibility of social strategies in the natural world. Stable territorial groups are not the only route to successful cooperation. 



Dynamic, migratory species can also evolve and sustain sophisticated social systems based on family loyalty.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-long-tailed-tits-recognize-family">How do long-tailed tits recognize family?</h2>



Looking ahead, the researchers aim to untangle the specific mechanisms that allow long-tailed tits to recognize and remember their kin.



Current efforts focus on understanding the role of calls, scents, and social associations built during early life stages. Scientists are investigating whether maintaining winter flock associations with relatives influences recognition in later breeding seasons.



These studies promise to deepen our understanding of how cooperation, kinship, and social cognition evolve across species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-birds-with-mighty-hearts">Tiny birds with mighty hearts</h2>



Through the lives of long-tailed tits, we see how powerful, enduring, and flexible family bonds can be, even in a world full of risks and change.



The study from Sheffield shows that nature’s loyalty is not reserved for mammals or large social species alone. In every tiny flutter of a long-tailed tit’s wing, there lies a rich story of kinship, survival, and the enduring power of cooperation.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.14237" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Animal Ecology</a>. 



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Long-tailed tits migrate in family units and maintain lasting bonds

In the natural world, family often defines survival strategies. Across species, cooperation among relatives has evolved into a powerful tool to ensure success in challenging environments. Yet few creatures embody this principle so intricately as the long-tailed tit. Found flitting through British gardens, these small birds reveal extraordinary loyalty to their kin. Far from fleeting connections, long-tailed tits show unwavering commitment to family, even during the upheaval of migration. Cooperation in animal societies Recent research from the University of Sheffield brings the hidden social lives of long-tailed...

A team of scientists from <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a> led the reconstruction of a family tree connecting all major lineages of perching birds, also known as passerines. The tree includes over 6,000 diverse species, and was pieced together using information from 221 bird specimens from 48 countries, and 56 tissue samples from the <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/mns/collections/genetic-resources.php">LSU Museum of Natural Science's Collection of Genetic Resources</a>. The tree will be published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> on April 1st.

Furthermore, scientists were able to extract <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sleep-deprivation-damages-dna-cancer/">DNA</a> that represents all passerine families and sequence it to see how passerines are related and how they diversified throughout history.

"In addition to inferring how these species are related, our in-depth study found that changes in global temperature or colonization of new continents were not the sole drivers of passerine diversification, as previously suggested,” said lead author Carl Oliveros, a postdoctoral researcher in the <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/science/biosci/">LSU Department of Biological Sciences</a>. “Instead, our results indicate more complex mechanisms were at play to spark bursts of passerine speciation around the globe.”

Over the past 30 years, the number of known passerine families has spiked from 46 to 137. Of those new families, Oliveros and his team identified two new African passerine species (Green Hylia and the Tit-hylia) as well as locate molecular support for the recognition of five additional passerine families previously proposed in other studies, thus bringing the new total number of passerine families to 143.

[caption id="attachment_1870589" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Cape-Sugarbird.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870589" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Cape-Sugarbird.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="433" /></a> Cape Sugarbird, Image Credit: Daniel J. Field, University of Cambridge[/caption]

"In our ongoing work piecing together the evolutionary history of all bird species, natural history museum research collections like the one we have here at the LSU Museum of Natural Science have been absolutely essential,” said co-author Brant Faircloth, an assistant professor in the LSU Department of Biological Sciences and a faculty associate at the LSU Museum of Natural Science. 

“By sequencing DNA from these invaluable specimens using new technologies,” he continued, “we can begin to understand how species evolved over the course of millions of years at a resolution that is unprecedented.”

"This study showcases the critical importance of museum collections in explaining the living world," said David Cannatella, a program director at the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a>. "By integrating modern, cutting-edge analysis of bird specimens with the legacy of natural history, the authors have uncovered valuable insights into how Earth history has influenced species diversity and what it means for the future of life on Earth."

Oliveros notes that this reconstruction of the passerine family tree is just the beginning of what scientists can do for other bird species in the future.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Daniel J. Field, University of Cambridge

New perching bird family tree reveals complex diversification process

A team of scientists from Louisiana State University led the...

A marine heat wave in Western Australia that had lasting impacts on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/algae-neurodegenerative-disease-dolphins/">dolphin populations</a> may be a disturbing sign of things to come, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> (UZH). The researchers have determined that climate change will have more devastating consequences for marine mammals than what was previously realized.

In early 2011, a heat wave caused the water temperatures to rise to more than four degrees above the annual average in Shark Bay, Australia. The persistent heat caused a substantial loss of seagrass, which drives the Shark Bay ecosystem.

To investigate how this environmental damage affected the survival and reproduction of dolphins, the researchers used long-term data on hundreds of animals collected from 2007 to 2017. The study revealed that the survival rate of dolphins had dropped by 12 percent following the 2011 heat wave. The experts also noted that female dolphins were giving birth to fewer calves, even six years later. 

“The extent of the negative influence of the heat wave surprised us,” said study first author Sonja Wild. “It is particularly unusual that the reproductive success of females appears to have not returned to normal levels, even after six years.”

The heat wave did not have the same impact on all dolphins. For example, dolphins that use sponges as foraging tools were not as badly affected as those that do not use this technique.

[caption id="attachment_1870535" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/dolphin-calf.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870535" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/dolphin-calf.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="407"></a> Dolphin mother and calf, Image Credit: Sonja Wild[/caption]

“Nevertheless, our work raises concerns that such sudden events might have quite negative long-term effects even in groups of marine mammals that are known to adapt usually well to novel environmental conditions,” said Wild.

The study demonstrates that marine heat waves affect animals at the top of the marine food chain, and not just the organisms at the bottom. 

“Marine heat waves are likely to occur more frequently in the future due to climate change,” said study lead author Professor Michael Krützen. “This is worrying not only for the long-term prospects of marine mammal populations, but also for the entire oceanic ecosystems.”

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

--

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

Main Image Credit: Sonja Wild

Marine heat waves threaten the survival of dolphins and other mammals

A marine heat wave in Western Australia that had lasting...

Romeo, a <a href="https://www.earth.com/animals/sehuencas-water-frog-telmatobius-yuracare/#.XJ5ulphKhPY">Sehuencas water frog</a> collected from Bolivia ten years ago, has finally found his Juliet and the two seem to be settling in quite well together, according to the <a href="https://www.globalwildlife.org/">Global Wildlife Conservation</a> (GWC). 

It was believed that Romeo was one of the last of his kind and the hunt was on to find a mate fast. About a year after Romeo settled into captivity, the lonely frog started calling for a mate, but over the years those musical calls began slowing down. 

“When biologists collected Romeo 10 years ago, we knew the Sehuencas water frog, like other amphibians in Bolivia, was in trouble, but we had no idea we wouldn’t be able to find a single other individual in all this time,” said Arturo Muñoz, GWC associate conservation scientist.

A massive campaign was launched to find a Juliet for Romeo and help save the frogs from extinction. Last February, Global Wildlife Conservation, Match.com, and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MUSEOdOrbigny/">Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny</a> where Romeo lives, teamed up to give Romeo a global platform and even his very own <a href="https://www.globalwildlife.org/press-room/single-frog-seeks-mate-on-match-to-save-his-species/">dating profile on Match.com</a>.

The goal was to use Romeo’s profile to help raise funds for expeditions into areas of Bolivia where Sehuencas water frogs were once abundant and hopefully find Romeo’s other half.

After raising $25,000 and receiving worldwide attention, the Bolivian expeditions were hugely successful, and Romeo is now no longer the world’s loneliest frog. 

Juliet, a female of the species, was discovered in January of this year, and after taking careful measures to ensure that Juliet was cleared a deadly infectious disease called chytridiomycosis, the two went on their “first date.”

[caption id="attachment_1870515" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/frogs.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870515" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/frogs.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="319" /></a> Image Credit: Global Wildlife Conservation[/caption]

Researchers introduced the two frogs into a single tank to see how they would interact, and their first meeting went so well that Juliet moved into Romeo’s aquarium soon after. 

“When the fate of an entire species is on the line, there’s really no time for taking it slow before committing to moving in together,” said Teresa Camacho Badani, the museum’s chief of herpetology. “Romeo has been really sweet to Juliet, following her around the aquarium and sacrificing his worm meals for her. After he’s been alone for so long, it’s wonderful to see him with a mate finally.”

Romeo even started calling for a mate again when Juliet moved in but as far actual mating goes, the once single bachelor is having a hard time figuring out the right positions, according to Global Wildlife Conservation.

When frogs mate, the male takes a position called amplexus where he grasps the female and holds on, sometimes for weeks or months, until he can fertilize the female's eggs. 

Romeo has been able to get into the amplexus position but only a few times and not for very long. Still, having the two frogs together has provided a unique research opportunity to monitor their interacting together. 

“For now we’re keeping them together, and observing them, which as simple as it sounds, is already revealing previously unknown behaviors and answering natural history questions about this relatively unknown species,” said Chris Jordan, Global Wildlife Conservation’s Central America, and Tropical Andes coordinator. “It has served as a reminder of how little we know about a lot of the species with which we share this planet.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: <a href="https://www.globalwildlife.org/">Global Wildlife Conservation</a>

World's loneliest water frog finally gets a shot at love

Romeo, a Sehuencas water frog collected from Bolivia ten years...

Dubbed the “strangest parrot on Earth,” New Zealand's kakapo (caw-caw-poe) were on the brink of endangerment less than 50 years ago. But now, having found an entirely new population of kakapo, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-zealand-megathrust-earthquake/">New Zealand</a> conservationists are working hard to keep the population safe and grow their numbers.

The nocturnal kakapos have owl-like facial features. Standing at about two feet tall and boasting plump, green feathers, they are only able to waddle and climb rather than fly. Further, the kakapo can live between 60 and 90 years.

"As the largest parrot on Earth, (they are) quite the sight in person," Wes Sechrest of <a href="https://www.globalwildlife.org/">Global Wildlife Conservation</a> told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/new-zealand-aims-to-save-the-strangest-parrot-on-earth/2019/03/22/9516a07e-3619-11e9-854a-7a14d7fec96a_story.html">Washington Post</a>. "They have a teddy-bear quality to them with their soft feathers, wide eyes and owl-like expressions." 

In 1977, after humans depleted the kakapos’ resources and predators helped wipe out the majority of the population, only 18 live kakapos — all male — were recorded. That is, however, until scientists discovered an entirely new population of kakapos. Conservationists blended the two groups on three small predator-free islands. Today, there are about 147 adult birds in New Zealand — about triple the population in 1995.

Because kakapos only breed when fruit-bearing trees bloom, this means that the years the trees don’t bloom, there is no kakapo breeding. So, scientists sometimes partake in assisted breeding. Females then lay up to four eggs, which hatch within 30 days, and are heavily monitored by conservationists via nest cameras, infrared beams, microchips, and radio transmitters fitted under the birds' wings. If chicks need help hatching, then eggs are placed into incubators while the mothers watch over “smart eggs” that wiggle and crack like real eggs to prepare the mother for caretaking.

You can follow kakapo news get involved in the conservation process and recovery efforts <a href="http://doc.govt.nz/our-work/kakapo-recovery">here</a>.

"Kakapo are amazing birds, unlike anything else on Earth," scientist Andrew Digby told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/new-zealand-aims-to-save-the-strangest-parrot-on-earth/2019/03/22/9516a07e-3619-11e9-854a-7a14d7fec96a_story.html">Washington Post</a>. "But there are lots of other endangered species, including some near where you live. Once these species are gone, we'll never get them back. If you're interested, get involved in conservation. The best way to start is to volunteer at a reserve or sanctuary near where you live" and to join or learn about conservation groups.”

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/docnz/8528623525/">Department of Conservation</a>

New Zealand works to save the world’s largest parrot

Dubbed the “strangest parrot on Earth,” New Zealand's kakapo (caw-caw-poe)...

Scientists to use advanced IVF method to save the northern white rhino. Scientists at the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> are determined to save the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/northern-white-rhino-died/">Northern White Rhinoceros</a>, despite the fact that the animals are all but wiped out. In a desperate attempt to save the species, the team will use an advanced method of egg production and IVF treatment. 

After the last known male died last year, the Northern White rhino species has been narrowed to just two remaining females, Najin and Fatu. To further complicate matters, neither of these animals are capable of carrying a baby to term. Scientists to use advanced IVF method to save the northern white rhino

The Oxford researchers plan to remove ovarian tissue from the females, which will be stimulated to produce a potentially large number of eggs. Using sperm previously collected from males of the same species, the team will fertilize the eggs and implant the embryos into surrogate mothers. 

While this technique has been successfully performed in mice for many years, it has never been tested in a rhinoceros. The scientists are conducting a series of trials with ovarian tissue from a Southern White Rhinoceros to practice the procedure.


Dr. Suzannah Williams of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Women's &amp; Reproductive Health leads the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2019/03/26/oxford-fertility-scientists-launch-last-ditch-bid-save-extinct/">Rhino Fertility Project</a>.

“With the death of the last male, Sudan, the Northern White Rhino has passed the point where it can be saved naturally and is a shade away from extinction. This will add yet another species to the list of those wiped out by humans,” said Dr. Williams.

“What is exciting about this research is that it could enable us to pull critically endangered species back from the brink by utilizing ovarian tissue from old or injured animals to produce offspring.”

“Once genetic variation within a population has been lost, it is lost forever. This makes it important for us to be able to maintain as many breeding individuals as possible in any conservation programme, to maximise genetic diversity of future populations. This will be a huge buffer against disease and ill health in the long-term, and give the new herds better genetic ability to adapt to changing environments in the future.”

Dr. Williams said that some researchers are exploring the possibility of using the remaining Northern White Rhino sperm to cross-breed with Southern White Rhinos to create a hybrid population, but she wants to focus on saving the Northern White Rhino as a unique species.

“If successful, this technique would be a powerful tool in the global effort to conserve endangered species.”

The research is funded by <a href="https://www.uopeople.edu/tuition-free/our-scholarships/fondation-hoffmann-scholarship/">Fondation Hoffmann</a>.
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists to use advanced IVF method to save the northern white rhino

Scientists to use advanced IVF method to save the northern...

Pumpkin toadlets are colorful<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-golden-frog-species-ethiopia/#.XJ0ro5hKhPY"> miniature frogs</a> that live in the Brazilian Atlantic, but now researchers have discovered that these frogs are fluorescent.

In a new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers led by <a href="https://nyuad.nyu.edu/">New York University Abu Dhabi </a>describe fluorescent patterns on the Pumpkin toadlet’s back and head, theorizing that these markings may help attract mates.

The researchers were studying the toadlets during mating season and the sounds they made. It was soon discovered that the frog couldn’t hear its own mating calls and so the researchers tried to find other visual cues that the frog might use for mating.

After viewing the frogs under an ultraviolet lamp, a series of small bony plates located on the back and head started glowing under the skin.

[caption id="attachment_1870432" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/pumpkin-toadlet.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870432" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/pumpkin-toadlet.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="326" /></a> Pumpkin toadlet under natural light (left) and ultra-violet light (right). Image Credit: NYU Abu Dhabi Postdoctoral Associate Sandra Goutte[/caption]

The fluorescence is only visible in areas where the skin is extremely thin even though the frog’s whole skeleton is fluorescent. Once ultraviolet light passes through the frog, its skeleton reflects fluorescent light, and the bones under the thin skin appear bluish-white.

The researchers are not sure exactly what purpose this fluorescence serves and say future research is required to explore these visual cues better.

“The fluorescent patterns are only visible to the human eye under a UV lamp. In nature, if they were visible to other animals, they could be used as intra-specific communication signals or as reinforcement of their aposematic coloration, warning potential predators of their toxicity,” said Sandra Goutte, the leader of the study. “However, more research on the behavior of these frogs and their predators is needed to pinpoint the potential function of this unique luminescence.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: NYU Abu Dhabi Postdoctoral Associate Sandra Goutte

Tiny Brazilian frogs found to exhibit fluorescent patterns

Pumpkin toadlets are colorful miniature frogs that live in the...

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a somewhat legendary place that seems unique in the world in many aspects.  The wildlife of PNG is certainly unusual, as the large island is home to tree climbing kangaroos. A large island nation of 178,704 square miles, it’s also remote and extremely rugged, with much of the interior little known to science.  Even so, there are probably at least 200,000 plant and animal species on PNG, where half of the species are estimated to be still unnamed.

PNG is home to a large portion of the world’s third largest <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/woody-vines-smothering-trees/">tropical rainforest</a>.  Many aspects of human culture are unusual in Papua New Guinea as well. Geographic features such as mountain chains and rivers that divide animal populations and create more speciation (and biodiversity) also lead to the formation of different human cultures.  

Perhaps due to PNG’s rugged landscape, the country has the largest diversity of human languages, with 841 living languages and 12 extinct, according to <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/country/PG">Ethnologue</a>.  840 of the living languages are indigenous languages.  Of this diversity of languages, 124 are threatened and 40 seem to be actually dying.  Similar to factors that drive diversity in culture and biology, similar environmental factors can favor simplification and extinctions.  

Some animals like the Norwegian rat (Rattus norvegicus) are so successful in new environments they outcompete native species, driving them towards extinction and simplifying a complex ecosystem.  Similarly, certain cultural aspects such as religion (Christianity and Islam are good examples) spread and outcompete in many cases indigenous beliefs.  This is true in the case of language as well, as some languages such as English and Mandarin are thriving the world over, while others such as Haida or Kawishana are becoming rarer and rarer.  

The reasons for the relative success of both species and cultural elements are usually contextual, as the animal or language survives because it fits well into the environment it is competing in.  This is all to say that in Papua New Guinea, cultural diversity and biodiversity are both threatened and the key to saving one may be the key to saving the other.

All the regulations needed to protect the unique environment of Papua New Guinea are in place.  Unfortunately, <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/beautiful-legislation-fails-to-protect-pngs-environment-landowners/">Mongabay</a> reports that enforcement of environmental law leaves the regulations toothless.  Much of the environmental legislation in PNG is actually part of a legacy of colonialism left by Australia.  Independence was declared in Papua New Guinea in only 1975, so colonial rule is still in living memory and it’s not surprising that it isn’t a memory many want to re-live.  Beyond that, much of the environmental laws were originally crafted for use in England or Australia and simply imported into PNG without any thought to the difference in environment and cultures.  

<a href="https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/11713/In-Papua-New-Guinea-an-Indigenous-Tribes-Journey-to-Protect-its-Forest.aspx">Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Newsroom</a> reports that 25% of New Guinea’s rainforest has been destroyed in the last 30 years.  <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/evicted-for-a-showpiece-project-this-png-community-fights-for-justice/">Mongabay</a> found that often development that destroys PNG’s natural forests also disenfranchises local people.  As host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2018, Papua New Guinea evicted thousands of people near a conference hall for development of a show piece.  As APEC’s poorest member nation, it seems the government of PNG put perception of their nation over the realities faced by their own populace. Top-down government hasn’t traditionally held sway in Papua New Guinea, though.      

[caption id="attachment_1870436" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/lake-papua.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870436" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/lake-papua.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="438" /></a> Lake near Mount Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea, Image Credit: Michal Knitl[/caption]

Today, 97% of land in Papua New Guinea is customarily owned, not private or state property.  The land is governed instead by the customs of tribes and clans which use land for hunting, fishing, living and farming.  It’s actually illegal to sell this communally owned land as private property in PNG. All decisions on land management must be made by consensus of the community managing the land.  Many see this ‘bottom up’ community-led governance system as a way forward for conservation in Papua New Guinea, while the modern ‘top down’ government is a relic of the colonial period.  

<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/07/decolonizing-conservation-qa-with-png-marine-activist-john-aini/">Mongabay</a> reports that John Aini is a traditional community leader in Papua New Guinea as well as an award winning conservationist and fisheries scientist.  Aini believes that conservation projects that balance indigenous communities with scientists are more successful than the older colonial approach to conservation.  John Aini and his brother, Miller Aini and anthropologist Paige West, founded The Roviana Solwara Skul (Salt water School), a school that teaches both western conservation science and traditional knowledge.  John Aini has spoken out about ‘decolonizing’ conservation. The local, indigenous model of conservation Aini is promoting in Papua New Guinea flies in the face of the United States model of big government protecting each park with little regard to local desires, traditions or cultures.  The American model has often led to evicting indigenous people in North America as well as other places, such as Africa where it has been implemented. Besides the injustice, this model also distorts views of nature as an ‘other’ place, somewhere people can’t and shouldn’t live instead of a view of humans as an integral part of nature.  

Unfortunately, the grassroots, indigenous approach to conservation isn’t popular with large NGOs.  Many organizations pay lip service to working with local communities, but the reality often falls short.  Sometimes local people are given jobs but rarely are whole conservation efforts and high end leadership roles given over to indigenous or local communities.  John Aini told Mongabay that he’s given up on trying to work with large NGOs, instead finding other means of funding his efforts.  

Papua New Guinea is a rapidly changing place that only very recently came into contact with the ‘outside’ world.  Not only are forests at risk but also ways of living with those forests that have held sway and developed in isolation over 60,000 years since humans first arrived on PNG.  Social justice for the local people in places like Papua New Guinea is intimately tied to environmental justice. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Conservation in Papua New Guinea relies on community-led efforts

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a somewhat legendary place that...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.rug.nl/?lang=en">University of Groningen</a> shows that the wildlife in Africa’s Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is being “squeezed” to the core by increasing <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/human-activity-shrink-natural-habitats-species/">human activity</a>. After analyzing 40 years worth of data, researchers realized that, in some areas within the Serengeti-Mara region, there has been a 400% increase in human population and a 75% decrease in Kenyan wildlife populations in a single decade.

"This finding alters our view on what is needed to protect biodiversity,” said lead author Dr. Michiel Veldhuis, via the study published in <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

Although the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, which spans 40,000 square kilometers, is protected, human activity around the protected area borders has a negative impact on plants, animals, and soils. Human population growth and increase in livestock within the buffer zones between protected and unprotected land has limited the space for wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle migration. Therefore, these larger species are spending more time grazing less nutritious grasses than in decades past, thus changing the vegetation, occurrence of natural fires, and changing grazing habits of other native species.

[caption id="attachment_1870410" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/border-of-Maswa-Game-Reserve.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870410" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/border-of-Maswa-Game-Reserve.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> The border of the Maswa Game Reserve, Image Credit: Michiel Veldhuis, University of Groningen[/caption]

"The intense compression of a large protected area, such as the Serengeti-Mara, should ring alarm bells because most other protected areas are far smaller in size and therefore experience even more intense pressures from human activities impinging on their borders,” said contributing researcher Dr. Joseph Ogutu from the <a href="https://www.uni-hohenheim.de/en/english">University of Hohenheim</a>. “In countries where far more wildlife are still found outside than inside protected areas, such as Kenya where more than 65% of wildlife occur outside protected areas, expanding human population size, livestock and human activities pose serious and unprecedented threats to wildlife populations."

The effects of human population increase trickle down the entire natural food chain, and has the potential to damage microorganisms that help the ecosystem absorb nutrients necessary to fight the effects of climate change, such as drought.

[caption id="attachment_1870411" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Wildebeest-in-the-Serengeti-National-Park-Tanzania.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870411" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Wildebeest-in-the-Serengeti-National-Park-Tanzania.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="433" /></a> Wildebeest in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Image Credit: James Probert, University of Liverpool[/caption]

"There is an urgent need to rethink how we manage the boundaries of protected areas to be able to conserve biodiversity,” Dr. Veldhuis said. “The future of the world's most iconic protected area and their associated human population may depend on it."

"We should rethink our protected area strategy, making sure that conservation efforts do not stop at protected area boundaries,” added contributing researcher Dr. Simon Mduma.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Han Olff, University of Groningen

The iconic Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is being stifled by human activity

A new study from the University of Groningen shows that...

After rusty crayfish were introduced into lakes in northern Wisconsin as live bait decades ago, they eventually took over the lake bottoms and began destroying native plants and animals. A team of scientists from the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a> set out to investigate why crayfish populations are still thriving in some of these lakes, yet sharply declining in others.

“Some researchers have long proposed that invasive species should experience periods of population growth followed by periods of population decline, but very few have documented declines and even fewer have suggested a reason,” explained lead author Professor Eric Larson.

Study co-author David M. Lodge, the director of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University, has been monitoring the rusty crayfish in northern Wisconsin lakes since 1983.

“This analysis would have been impossible without our many years of data collection, highlighting how essential long term studies are for describing and ultimately understanding environmental changes,” said Lodge.

The team examined population trends in 17 lakes from 1972 to 2017 and found that about half were experiencing population declines. 

In the mid-2000s, the researchers deployed cameras to characterize the bottom of each <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/lakes-green-environment/">lake</a>. They discovered that rusty crayfish populations declined only in lakes with mucky and sandy bottoms. Across lakes with rocks, the crayfish populations flourished.

“The rusty crayfish wants to be in rocky substrate,” said Larson. “It uses that rock to avoid predation by fish or even wading birds, river otters, or raccoons. If it doesn't have that rock, it uses aquatic plants as secondary habitat as shelters to avoid predators.”

As the crayfish forage and burrow, they constantly uproot plants and turn over rocks. With millions of crayfish in a single lake, they had nearly wiped out all of the plants in some study areas.

“From a condition decades ago where 50-60 percent of our trap locations in some lakes had plants, it's now about 5 percent. It's a pretty big reduction of coverage,” said Larson.

The crayfish in lakes without rocks had inadvertently removed their only shelter from predators by destroying the aquatic plants. On the other hand, Larson emphasized that the underlying cause of the sharp population declines may be more complex than just rock versus muck.

“Other mechanisms besides habitat quality could be contributing. We'd like to know what impact parasites and predatory fish are having. We'd also like to study more of the effects of climate on these crayfish from year to year through lake temperatures, drought, and duration of ice cover.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19399170/">Ecology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Eric Larson, University of Illinois

Invasive rusty crayfish may be responsible for their own demise

After rusty crayfish were introduced into lakes in northern Wisconsin...

From West Nile virus to Malaria, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mosquito-populations-control/#.XJvY7ihKhPY">mosquito-borne diseases</a> continue to plague many countries around the world and cause millions of deaths each year. 

To prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, scientists must first understand how mosquitoes seek out and choose their hosts. 

In a new study published in the journal<a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)30215-5"> Current Biology</a>, researchers from the <a href="https://www.fiu.edu/">Florida International University of Miami</a> discovered which olfactory receptors help female mosquitoes pick up the scent of human sweat, or more specifically, the acidic volatiles present in human sweat. 

Mosquitoes can sense a wide range of cues to help find a suitable host including carbon dioxide emissions, body odor, body heat, moisture, and visual cues. 

The researchers expanded on previous studies that found that by disrupting a mosquito’s olfactory receptor, the mosquito had a harder time telling the difference between humans and animals. 

The researchers focused on an olfactory coreceptor called Ir8a, which is found in the antenna of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to disrupt the receptor’s abilities.  

The gene-edited mosquitoes carrying a mutant version of Ir8a weren’t drawn to the lactic acid found in sweat and were not able to pick other acidic volatiles in human odors. 

Modifying the receptor did not change a mosquito’s sensitivity to CO2, but it did reduce the mosquito’s ability to seek out human hosts. 

“Removing the function of Ir8a removes approximately 50 percent of host-seeking activity,” said Matthew DeGennaro, a senior author of the study.  “Odors that mask the IR8a pathway could be found that could enhance the efficacy of current repellents like DEET or picaridin. In this way, our discovery may help make people disappear as potential hosts for mosquitoes.”

The study could help pave the way for the development of innovative mosquito repellents that tackle the underlying mechanisms driving host-seeking behavior. 

“The transmission of diseases like dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and malaria can be blocked if we stop these mosquitoes from biting us,” said DeGennaro. “In order to find new solutions to prevent mosquito bites, we need to focus on understanding the molecular basis of mosquito behavior.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Alex Wild

Modifying a mosquitoes sense of smell can help prevent spread of disease

From West Nile virus to Malaria, mosquito-borne diseases continue to...

The human understanding of death has always been closely tied to religion.  What other human activity claims to have any sort of control over death than a system of worship?  The oldest evidence for any sort of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/prehistoric-religion">spiritual or religious belief</a> comes from the remains of ceremonial burials dating back to the Paleolithic Era.  The burials include human corpses interred with tools and flowers. It seems that from the beginning, religions were about the business of asserting control over the aspect of life most impossible to control or come to terms with – death.  Religions ever since have seemed obsessed with death and the hope for human immortality.

The Ancient Egyptians built enormous stone monuments with slave labor and created elaborate embalming rituals as evidence of their fear of death.  Christians and other monotheistic religions make Heaven and Hell as major tenets of the faith. Other religions focus on reincarnation as a way to escape the brevity of human existence.  Considering the obsession with death, it’s not surprising that worship would turn towards animals that can kill. 

Few animals inspire as much fear as crocodilians.  <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/crocodiles-hide-caves/">Crocodiles</a> and their relatives seem to have ambivalence towards humans, occasionally eating them and showing no obvious outward fear for us.  

In ancient Egypt, there were many cults surrounding different deities associated with animals both wild and domesticated.  Ibises, cats and jackals have been found mummified. One of the most fascinating cults focusing around an animal deity is the ancient Egyptian crocodile cult.  Hundreds of mummified crocodiles, both those killed very young and those that died of old age, have been found. It’s not entirely clear what the exact role of the crocodiles were in these cults, but they were associated with temples to Sobek, a crocodile headed god and other lesser gods as well.  There are breeding facilities found with striking similarity to modern crocodile or alligator captive rearing facilities from the Graeco-Roman period of ancient Egypt. It seems that especially docile crocodiles were kept alive in temples where they were venerated in life. Other parts of the African region also show adoration for crocodiles.

In Madagascar, <a href="https://www.madamagazine.com/en/der-see-der-krokodile/">there is a myth</a> associated with a particular village. The myth says that long ago, an old man came to the village and walked around asking for water.  Instead of granting him this simple request, the villagers shut their doors and ignored the old man’s thirst. Only one woman gave the old man water and so the old man told her, “When your child cries tonight, take your children and leave the village”.

That night, it rained heavily in the village and the woman’s young child started crying.  Remembering the old man’s advice, the woman took her children and left her home, walking away from the village in the rain.  The next day the woman returned to the village to find it under a lake. In the lake swam the villagers who had been magically transformed into crocodiles.  The old man had been a sorcerer and this was his revenge. 

Today, a village in Madagascar still holds this myth to mean that crocodiles in a local lake represent the embodiment of their ancestors.  When the villagers have a need of assistance, they sing a prayer which brings the crocodiles to the edge of the lake where they’re given an offering of zebu (a type of cow) meat.  If a crocodile accepts the meat, it means the prayer will be answered. If the meat is ignored, it means the prayer will be ignored as well. It’s hard to know how old such a tradition may be.  Since Madagascar had its first human inhabitants arrive as late as 2,000 years ago, the crocodile worship in Madagascar can’t be older than Christianity. It’s possible that the worship at a particular lake in Madagascar is associated with a much older tradition.  

In India, there’s a worshipful affection for crocodiles as well. <a href="https://www.indiatimes.com/news/weird/meet-babiya-the-vegetarian-crocodile-who-guards-a-temple-in-kerala-245392.html">India Times</a> reports that there’s a temple in India guarded by a crocodile claimed to be vegetarian.  The crocodile lives in a pond near the temple where he’s fed daily by priests. It’s said that a crocodile living in the pond was once shot by a British soldier who then died of a snake bite as part of cosmic justice.  Another crocodile is said to have miraculously replaced the previous animal, leading to the idea that as soon as one crocodile dies, another replaces it. <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/130-year-old-crocodile-dies-villagers-mourn/article25970924.ece">The Hindu</a> reports on another venerated crocodile that was said to have lived to be 130 years old.  When the crocodile was found dead in its lake, local villagers mourned the deceased reptilian, even refusing to cook meals for the day.  Being eaten by a crocodile is also thought by some Hindus to be a good death. 

In Australia, crocodiles are used as totem, associated with certain aboriginal groups and honored as such.  <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2012/07/02/3536791.htm">ABC Darwin Radio</a> reports that the Larrakia people of northern Australia respect the crocodile, called ‘Dungalaba’ in their language.  The word is an important one, as it’s remembered as part of a language that is no longer spoken fluently by anyone. The crocodile is recognized as dangerous, but also the people desire it to live in its native habitat near them.  The relationship is similar to that of anyone who loves wild animals that can sometimes also be dangerous. 

It’s easy to imagine that the mythology, worship and respect surrounding crocodiles in so many different cultures is an important way to face fear. Other dangerous animals and phenomena are traditionally worshiped or respected; things such as thunder, bears and so on all have their deities and myths.

When you can be literally eaten by a crocodile, it’s comforting to understand the animal and perhaps even the death of someone eaten by it in a mythological way.  By making crocodiles part of mythology, they become more sensible as does death. This imbues the crocodile and its prey with meaning otherwise lacking in an uncaring world.  When you can be eaten, it’s comforting to feel it means more than just a snack. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

In a number of different cultures, crocodiles are worshipped

The human understanding of death has always been closely tied...

The Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behavior and performance Skills (CAVES) is a <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> astronaut training course that takes place in a cave environment. One CAVES team has discovered a previously unknown species of crustaceans that once lived in the water, moved to land, and has now returned to the water again. 

According to a report from ESA, the creatures are just under one centimeter long and belong to a group commonly known as woodlice. While most <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/crustaceans-renewable-energy-wood/">crustaceans</a> such as shrimp live in the water, woodlice are the only group that can live on land.

Scientists have named the new species Alpioniscus Sideralis from the latin word for “stellar” in honor of the astronauts who spotted the blind, colorless creatures on the Italian island of Sardinia. The discovery was made during a 2012 CAVES expedition when the astronauts noticed the crustaceans in a small pond.

“I asked the astronauts to take some specimens. When we analyzed them under the microscope we quickly understood that they were an extraordinary type of aquatic species,” said zoologist Paolo Marcia from the University of Sassari.


During CAVES, astronauts and scientists collaborate to study terrestrial and aquatic fauna, and Marcia is responsible for the biology experiments. “Finding new species is not only crucial to understand these habitats, but also to protect them,” said Marcia. 

The cave experience helps to train astronauts in alien worlds, placing them in situations that will prepare them for space exploration.


“I would like to think that when humans land on Mars and explore its caves, this experience will help them to look for other species knowing that life has few limits and can develop in the most inhospitable places.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://zookeys.pensoft.net/">ZooKeys</a>.
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: ESA–M. Fincke

Astronauts discover a new species of crustaceans deep in an Italian cave

The Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behavior and...

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

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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