High in northern Peru, three frogs no bigger than a thumbprint have stepped out of anonymity and into the scientific spotlight. Their world is a maze of wet cliffs, dripping bromeliads, and wind‑scoured ridges where moss carpets the rocks.



“They’re <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-frog-day-2025-protecting-natures-tiny-guardians/">small</a> and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” said Germán Chávez of the Center for Ornithology and Biodiversity (<a href="https://corbidi.org/">CORBIDI</a>). 



Chávez and his colleagues trekked those ridges between 2021 and 2024, often in freezing rain, to reach calling sites above 9,000 feet.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mountains-support-unique-frog-species">Mountains support unique frog species</h2>



The <a href="https://blog.pensoft.net/2025/06/27/hidden-gems-in-the-mist-three-new-frog-species-uncovered-in-northern-peru/cordillera-de-huancabamba-1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cordillera de Huancabamba</a> forms a natural break in the Andes, splitting watersheds and isolating species. 



Ecologists classify the region as a <a href="https://www.cepf.net/sites/default/files/tropicalandes_techsummary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity hotspot</a>, one of only thirty‑five on Earth where extraordinary endemism collides with severe habitat loss.



"The Cordillera de Huancabamba is not just a remote range - it's a living archive of biodiversity and cultural legacy," said Wilmar Aznaran. "And we've barely scratched the surface."



Isolation breeds novelty, and novelty fills the genus Pristimantis. With 619 described species, Pristimantis is now the most diverse <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/whistling-forest-frogs-recently-discovered-may-be-wiped-out-before-we-learn-about-them/">amphibian</a> genus on the planet.



The new frogs, Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi, and P. yonke, occupy different niches along the same ridge. One clings to cliff faces, one prowls leaf litter beside clear streams, and the smallest tucks itself deep inside tank bromeliads.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-confirming-the-new-species">Confirming the new species</h2>



Night surveys began after dusk, when temperatures hovered near 50 °F and fog erased headlamp beams. Team members listened for faint “peep” notes that barely rose above dripping leaves. 



Finding a caller did not end the chase. Each frog had to be photographed, swabbed for DNA, measured, and released without harming delicate skin.



Back in Lima, the researchers compared mitochondrial 16S sequences. Genetic distances exceeded the three‑percent threshold herpetologists often use to flag separate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/missing-frog-species-alsodes-vittatus-resurfaces-after-130-years/">species</a>, clinching the case for formal description.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-many-amphibians-are-poorly-studied">Many amphibians are poorly studied </h2>



All three newcomers enter the IUCN books as <a href="https://www.thebhs.org/publications/the-herpetological-bulletin/issue-number-169-autumn-2024/4079-03-how-many-data-deficient-amphibians-are-threatened-iucn-red-list-assessments-for-amphibian-species-previously-classed-as-data-deficient" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Data Deficient</a>, meaning scientists lack enough information to judge extinction risk. 



The label sounds neutral, yet recent reassessments show that roughly half of amphibians that start as Data Deficient later prove threatened.



Formal names unlock funding and legal tools that nameless creatures rarely receive. Conservation plans, environmental‑impact statements, and protected‑area budgets almost always hinge on a taxon’s standing in recognized databases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-indicators-of-climate-shifts">Indicators of climate shifts</h2>



The Cordillera de Huancabamba isn't just a biological goldmine, it’s wrapped in layers of folklore. In nearby villages, frogs are often seen as signs of rain or omens tied to agriculture and spiritual beliefs.



This cultural lens makes local communities key allies for conservation. When researchers name <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frogs-lead-the-way-in-developing-new-antibiotics/">species</a> after regional icons or traditions, like P. yonke, they honor local identity and encourage stewardship.



Unlike most frogs, species in the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/64811-Pristimantis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pristimantis genus</a> bypass the tadpole stage entirely. They hatch from eggs as fully formed froglets, ready to climb, hop, and call without ever entering water.



This reproductive shortcut allows them to thrive in places where standing water is rare or seasonal. It also makes them sensitive indicators of climate shifts and microhabitat changes in mountain ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frog-species-in-fire-prone-habitats">Frog species in fire-prone habitats</h2>



Each frog occupies an area smaller than four square miles, hemmed in by crop fields and fire scars. Peru recorded about 10,400 wildfires in 2024, more than double its previous record, burning grasslands and cloud‑forest edges alike.



P. chinguelas calls from a road‑cut cliff where charred bamboo still smells of smoke. P. nunezcortezi shares a single stream corridor that now borders new potato plots.



P. yonke lives higher, inside bromeliads at roughly 9,800 feet, in what locals call the <a href="https://lacgeo.com/northern-andean-paramo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">páramo</a>, a chilly grassland‑wetland mosaic perched above the treeline. 



Páramo vegetation stores water like a sponge, so every lost bromeliad weakens both the frogs and the human communities farther down‑slope.



“Exploring this area is more than fieldwork - it’s an immersion into wilderness, culture, and resilience,” said Karen Victoriano‑Cigüeñas.&nbsp;



"Many of these mountain&nbsp;ridges&nbsp;are isolated, with no roads and extreme terrain," noted Ivan Wong. "The weather shifts within minutes, and the steep cliffs make every step a challenge. It's no wonder so few scientists have worked here before. But that's exactly why there's still so much to find."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-the-new-frog-species">Protecting the new frog species </h2>



No one has recorded the breeding calls of P. nunezcortezi or P. yonke, so females remain unverified. Diet, predators, and lifespan also remain mysteries for all three species.



Future expeditions will test whether the frogs persist on neighboring ridges or whether each ridge hosts its own micro‑endemic. 



Acoustic monitors and <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.2353" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eDNA traps</a> could reveal silent populations hiding in moss tunnels or bromeliad tanks beyond the reach of hikers.



For now, the frogs depend on local goodwill. Community fire patrols, low‑impact grazing, and small protected micro‑reserves can buy time while researchers gather the missing data.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://evolsyst.pensoft.net/article/148522/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evolutionary Systematics</a>.



Image Credit: Germán Chávez et. al



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Three new frog species found in Peru face an uncertain future

High in northern Peru, three frogs no bigger than a thumbprint have stepped out of anonymity and into the scientific spotlight. Their world is a maze of wet cliffs, dripping bromeliads, and wind‑scoured ridges where moss carpets the rocks. “They’re small and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” said Germán Chávez of the Center for Ornithology and Biodiversity (CORBIDI). Chávez and his colleagues trekked those ridges between 2021 and 2024, often in freezing rain, to reach...

The world’s largest invertebrate fishery which harvests Humboldt squid completely collapsed in 2015 with no signs of recovery, and now researchers finally know why. 

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">University of Stanford</a> discovered that shifting weather patterns and changes in the ocean played a major role in the collapse of the fishery.

Squid declines could cause problems for fishery-dependent economies and marine ecosystems, and the researchers say that other major fisheries could experience similar collapses. 

“What is happening with the jumbo squid is indicative of larger changes impacting marine organisms and ecosystems across the northeast Pacific,” said Timothy Frawley, the lead author of the study. “In many respects these squid, with their unique and adaptive survival strategies, function as sentinels of environmental change.” William Gilly, professor of biology, was senior author of the study.

For the study, the researchers reviewed and analyzed fishery records, oceanographic data, and biological measurements of over 1,000 squid. 

By filtering through years of data, the researchers were able to identify key habitat and climate changes that impacted fishery productivity, squid size, and squid lifespan. 

Over the past decade, current and circulation patterns in the Gulf of California shifted, causing ocean temperatures to increase across the region. Warm, nutrient-poor waters are inhospitable for both Humboldt squid and their prey. 

To adapt to their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/squid-flourish-changing-climate/">changing habitat</a>, the squid have gotten smaller, shortened their lifespans, and they also reproduce earlier.

“You can think of it as a sort of oceanographic drought,” said Frawley. “Until the cool-water conditions we associate with elevated primary and secondary production return, jumbo squid in the Gulf of California are likely to remain small.”

It’s possible that overfishing has also led to the collapse of the fishery but even now with all fishing ceased, the squid are still smaller than normal. 

“These results show that our traditional understanding of the dynamics underlying fisheries, their management and sustainability are all at risk when environmental change is rapid and persistent,” said Larry Crowder, a co-author of the study.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

What caused the sudden jumbo squid declines in Mexico?

The world’s largest invertebrate fishery which harvests Humboldt squid completely...

In the animal kingdom, there are many examples of parasitic plants and animals that can turn their hosts into zombie-like creatures. Sometimes the host is used as a vessel for the<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parasitic-wasp-spiders-loners/"> parasites’ offspring</a> or to spread fungal spores to other victims. 

The fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato is one such specialized invasive organism. 

Once infected, carpenter ants will isolate themselves and climb a tall blade of grass, leaf or twig, and latch onto the vegetation with its mandibles until it dies. The fungus then consumes its host and releases its spores to infect other ants below. 

In a new study, researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> have discovered how the fungus can take control of its carpenter ant host. As the ant loses all control over its muscles, it was thought that the fungus attacked the nervous system and brain. 

However, the fungus bypasses the nervous system and goes right for the powerful jaw muscles that control the mandible, forcing the ant to clamp down and stay put. 

The researchers were able to study the fungus in a lab setting and discover how exactly the ant host is infected. 

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato can only infect a host that is roaming free outside of the nest and is only able to survive in humid conditions. The researchers recreated a humid and warm environment in a lab and collected spores to infect other carpenter ants. 

Once an ant was infected and clamped down on a piece of foliage, the researchers froze the dying ant, removed and preserved the jaw muscles, and analyzed the mandible muscles using an electron microscope. 

The researchers saw that the fungus penetrated the muscles but didn’t attack the nervous system. 

Instead, the fungus breaks open the membrane that covers the muscle fibers, which forces the muscles to contract and damages the muscle fiber filaments that slide back and forth. 

The study helps shed light on how an invasive fungus infects carpenter ants, but there are still many unknowns in this complex and toxic relationship. 

“The next steps we want to take include isolating those vesicles and determining whether they are coming from the fungus or the host,” said Colleen Mangold, the lead author of the study. 

The study findings were published in the <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/14/jeb200683">Journal of Experimental Biology</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, Earth.com Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Invasive fungus skips the brain and goes right for the jaw of its ant host

In the animal kingdom, there are many examples of parasitic...

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/indonesias-orangutans-decline/">Orangutans</a> can be widely considered one of the most recognizable faces of animal conservation efforts around the world, as these intelligent great apes are one of the most captivating endangered species. 

Efforts to preserve the species have faced numerous challenges in recent years due to habitat loss and poaching, and a new study published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a> gives a closer look at just how these conservation efforts are going.

Led by Donna Simon of the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wide Fund for Nature</a> and colleagues, a recent series of surveys of the population of endangered Bornean orangutans in Sabah – the Malaysian state in the north-east of Borneo – have found mixed results. While the species’ populations within the well-managed forests are stable, they have declined in areas near major oil palm plantations. 

In Sabah, the lowland forest is the most crucial habitat for orangutans. But in the last half-century, extensive logging and land clearance for agriculture have results in habitat loss and fragmentation, leading to a significant decline in the species’ population. Despite these declines, the full story of the effects this activity is having on the orangutans is still not well known.

This new study is the largest and most complete population survey of orangutans in Borneo, which is home to this endemic species. The study’s authors conducted aerial transects covering almost 5,500 kilometers in Sabah, and calculated a population just under 10,000 orangutans. This number (officially 9,558) included a previously unknown population of about 1,770 orangutans in numerous widely dispersed sub-populations.

The survey showed that the largest populations existed within forests that are either sustainably managed or unlogged in the central uplands of Sabah. However, the populations in the fragmented forest areas surrounded by oil palm plantations have declined by as much as 30%. 

“A recent survey on orangutan populations in Sabah, North-east Borneo showed a mixed picture from different regions,” explains Simon. “However, overall the research shows that they have maintained the same numbers over the last 15 years and can remain so as long as proper conservation management measure continues to be put in place.”

The results of this study are expected to be used by the government of Sabah to help form environmental policies designed to sustain these orangutan populations.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: WWF-Malaysia, Lee Shan Kee

Endangered Bornean orangutan numbers drop near oil palm plantations

Orangutans can be widely considered one of the most recognizable...

Historic wildlife bust highlights how the black market threatens ecosystems. When we think of the impact of industry on the environment, we tend to think of legal industry. The impact of pollution from mining, deforestation from logging or farming, and overfishing may all come to mind. Unfortunately, illegal industry that is beyond the realm of normal governmental regulation has an impact on wildlife populations and the environment as well. 

According to the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/international/travel-and-trade/illegal-wildlife-trade.html">US Fish &amp; Wildlife Service</a>, the trade of illegal wildlife is thought to be a multi-billion dollar business. Many animals have been used to highlight the dangers of this illegal trade and promote tougher laws and regulations. Rhinoceros, elephants, even the lesser known but more interesting pangolin are widely known to be harmed by the illegal trade in animal parts. 

Less often considered but no less detrimental to wild ecosystems is the illegal trade in exotic pets. As we’ve reported, exotic pets can be <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cassowary-kills-owner-exotic-pets/">dangerous</a> and harmful to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exotic-pet-trade-tiger-gecko/">animal populations</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exotic-pets-threaten-ecosystems/">local ecosystems</a>. In Latin America, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/wildlife-trafficking-149079896/">Smithsonian</a> reports that biologists have found as much as 30% of parrot nests raided for the pet trade. I’ve been disappointed while volunteering in parrot conservation work in the Bahamas to find nest cavities cleared of parrot chicks overnight. Historic wildlife bust highlights how the black market threatens ecosystems

Wildlife smuggling as a whole, beyond just the illegal pet trade, is a large and global affair in cases involving hundreds of countries and transnational borders. The illegal wildlife trade can also be fairly localized. Parrots, monkeys and other wild animals have been traditionally kept as pets in Latin America. Many North Americans remember fondly pet lizards, raccoons or turtles from their youth. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/wildlife-trafficking-149079896/">Smithsonian</a> reports that 30% of Brazilians and 25% of Costa Ricans recently surveyed said they’ve kept wild animals as pets. Wild pets kept in their home country are not technically ‘exotic’ but they certainly damage wild populations. These pets can also fuel the illegal export of other animals out of the country, where they become truly exotic pets.     

There are obviously terrible examples from the exotic pet trade like pet monkeys, but historically even the decline of Texas' horned lizards was contributed to by the pet trade. The trade in horned lizards has declined and there's hope that their populations will <a href="https://www.news-journal.com/efforts-continue-to-save-support-secure-texas-horny-toads/article_324be126-c45d-11e8-97f0-77cedde7991a.html">rebound</a> but not so with many other exotic pets. The popularity of exotic pets can be partially blamed on e-commerce and social media. Videos of adorable slow loris' abound online, despite that the animals cruelly have teeth pulled to make them 'safe' for human contact. 

Beyond the cruelty, removing the slow loris and other animals from the wild makes it harder for the wild population to exist at all. In places like Madagascar, radiated tortoises have been smuggled out of the country for the pet trade, decimating the wild population. 

Not only can the removal of an animal from the wild hurt the ecosystem, it can be damaging later when an irresponsible pet owner dumps an unwanted animal in an environment it isn’t native to. The introduction of burmese pythons to the Florida Everglades is a perfect example of a non-native animal taking root with detrimental consequences. Beautiful but dangerous lion fish have also taken a toll on the ecology of the Caribbean and surrounding areas, including marine ecosystems off Florida. Without the trade in exotic pets, both the legal and illegal, it seems unlikely that these invasive non-native species would have made it into the US in viable numbers. 

Related to the smuggling of wild animals is the increased traffic in plants both live plants taken illegally for sale as house plants and the poaching of endangered trees for high end and illicit furniture.

Of course, government agents the world over have been fighting the illegal trade in live wildlife as well as parts from endangered species. It's not just the trade itself that damages the environment and wildlife, it is also the money from it that contributes to other types of organized crime. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wildlife-heroin-trafficking-ring-africa-bust-southern-district-new-york-fish-and-wildlife/">CBS</a> reported earlier this year on a case where an organization was caught smuggling wildlife as well as heroine. A <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34395.pdf">congressional report</a> says that wildlife smuggling is sometimes even connected to foreign military groups, insurrectionists and crime syndicates. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/07/10/740330108/worldwide-smuggling-crackdown-rescues-endangered-wildlife">NPR</a> reported earlier this month on one of the largest wildlife smuggling busts to date. The bust was coordinated by the World Customs Organization and Interpol, seizing apes parrots, big cats and elephant tusks among other living wildlife and remains. Nearly 2000 species of wildlife and plants were seized in the bust. 

The operation was dubbed "Operation Thunderball" and worked out of Singapore, ultimately arresting 600 suspects. This crackdown is the third in large scale crackdowns and the first to involve more than 100 countries. Other related projects under <a href="https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Environmental-crime/Wildlife-crime">Interpol</a> have been successful and are increasingly large scale. Operations under Project Wisdom, for instance, have led to the arrest of 1,100 people with conviction rates of over 80% and seizure of 50,000 carved ivory items. Project Wisdom is focused solely on elephants and rhinoceros. Other operations focus on different regions or different specific wildlife species, like Asia or tigers.

Much of the trade in animal parts as well as exotic pets is premised on ignorance, superstition, or a simple lack of caring on the part of the end consumer. I’ve seen bushmeat markets in west Africa where Nile monitors are sold alive in cramped mesh sacks, sometimes next to grilled monkey. From the comfort of a couch at home, sugar gliders, koalas, monkeys and slow lorises seem like adorable pets, and it’s easy to not consider how a parrot comes to be at a pet shop. 

For those desperate for cures to a host of ailments in China, things like tiger bones or rhinoceros horn might seem to be miracle drugs to those who don’t know better. For as long as human history, we’ve exploited wildlife in all these ways but for most of that time it was fairly localized. With global networks of consumers, we can detachedly destroy wildlife on the other side of the globe by our consumption. It’s up to us as global consumers to also shoulder the responsibility of global citizens. Supporting agencies that bust illegal trafficking and not participating in trafficking is a good start.                

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/RossHelen

Historic wildlife bust highlights how the black market threatens ecosystems

Historic wildlife bust highlights how the black market threatens ecosystems....

Many species, including predators like pumas and bobcats, view humans as an apex predator and lay low when they sense we’re around. 

This creates a chain reaction of fear that sends ripples through the food web, according to a new study published in the journal Ecology Letters that sheds light on how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/selfies-animals-danger/">humans impact wildlife</a>. 

There’s a well known saying that “while the cat’s away, the mice will play,” but researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a> discovered that this saying was true in the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

When humans are around, pumas, opossums and other medium-sized carnivorous predators hide away, keeping their movement and activity to a minimum.

Without bobcats and pumas to worry about, smaller prey animals like deer mice and woodrats took advantage of the opportunity created by humans and bravely forage outside of their typical range. 

“Humans are sufficiently scary to pumas and smaller predators that they suppressed their behavior and changed the way they used their habitats when they thought we were around,” said Justin Suraci, a lead author of the study. “The most surprising part was seeing how those changes benefit rodents.”

For the study, the researchers placed 25 speakers in a grid pattern across two remote research sites and played recordings of human voices or tree frogs through the speakers while monitoring the areas. 

When pumas nearby heard the human voices, they slowed their movements and stayed away from the direction of the sound. However, when the pumas heard the tree frogs, it didn’t impact their behavior. 

Bobcats were more active at night when they heard the human voices, skunks decreased their activity by 40 percent, and opossums foraged 66 percent less when they heard the human recordings. 

“Bobcats pretty much gave up on daytime activity, shifting almost entirely to the night, when they presumably feel safer,” said Suraci. “These predators aren’t necessarily leaving the area, they’re just less active, presumably because they’re hiding more.”

[caption id="attachment_1875296" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/deer-mouse.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1875296" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/deer-mouse.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="371" /></a> Deer mouse, Image Credit: Aria Crabb[/caption]

Smaller animals had the opposite reaction. While the pumas kept a low profile, deer mice foraged further and foraging among mice and woodrats increased by 17 percent. 

“Just the fear of humans can affect how wildlife use the landscape and how they interact with each other,” said Suraci. “It turns out, the mere perceived presence of humans triggers a disruption of natural predator-prey interactions--and rodents really benefit. They’re not too averse to people, so they’re taking advantage of the opportunity.”

Even though mice and rats benefit from the changes in activity, overtime long-term behavior changes could reduce food intake and hunting activity among top predators in the area.  

“Humans are incredibly lethal,” said. “We are major predators, and thus a source of fear, for a lot of these species. What’s novel about this study is that we can see what that fear looks like in the environment at a relatively large scale.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/Baranov E

Human sounds cause predators to hide, while prey bravely venture out

Many species, including predators like pumas and bobcats, view humans...

‘Intensive’ beekeeping does not increase the spread of disease, study finds. Beekeepers that hold large clusters of bees in close proximity to each other are not increasing the risk of diseases spreading, according to a new study. 

Intensive agriculture is a practice where animals or plants are densely crowded together.  With livestock and crops, there are concerns that this creates the perfect conditions for the spread of harmful diseases. 

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> and the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> examined how intensive agriculture impacts honeybees. ‘Intensive’ beekeeping does not increase the spread of disease, study finds

“We carried out this study because beekeepers were worried about this - especially given the many threats currently causing the decline of bees,” said Lewis Bartlett, a member of the research team. 

For the study, the researchers modeled the spread of several well-known <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-vaccine-bee-colonies/">honeybee diseases</a>. 

Diseases like American and European foulbrood and bee parasitic mite syndrome can devastate bee colonies. 

[caption id="attachment_1875293" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/beekeeping.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1875293" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/beekeeping.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="434" /></a> Intensive beekeeping, Image Credit: Ben Rouse[/caption]

The models showed that while intensive agriculture can increase the risk of disease, it’s not a problem for honeybees, at least not for the known diseases included in the study. 

“To our surprise, our results show it’s very unlikely that crowding of honeybees meaningfully aids the spread of diseases that significantly harm honeybees,” said Bartlett. “Honeybees live in close proximity to each other naturally, and our models show that adding more bees does little to raise disease risk.”

The biggest concern a beekeeper should have in terms of bee density is ensuring that there is enough food to support large colonies of bees in their apiary.

“The key is not whether they encounter a disease - it’s whether they are fit and healthy enough to fight it off.”

While known diseases are not likely to spread faster with intensive beekeeping, the researchers say that intensive agriculture and its increased use of harmful pesticides is a problem. 

There is also the chance that new bee diseases could spread faster among bees kept close together.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Ben Rouse

‘Intensive’ beekeeping does not increase the spread of disease, study finds

‘Intensive’ beekeeping does not increase the spread of disease, study...

Decline of Washington’s pygmy rabbits was due to incompetence and grazing. Recently, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/washingtons-pygmy-rabbits-challenges/">I reported</a> on the reintroduction of Washington State’s pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) population. But how did the rabbits decline in the first place? After all, despite the comeback of pygmy rabbits in Washington, full blooded Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits (the original population) are not part of that comeback. Instead, the rabbits were bred with nearby relatives to create hybrid rabbits that have been reintroduced. 

After the original article was published, I was contacted by Steven Herman, a biologist who worked on early recovery efforts of Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits. Dr. Herman shared that the original Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits might have been saved if it wasn’t for incompetence. As with much conservation and land use in the arid American west, cattle were involved. Decline of Washington’s pygmy rabbits was due to incompetence and grazing.

A 2003 <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/53/8/759/269635">paper</a> from Bioscience points out the importance of ranching to the ‘new west’. Ranching is often seen as an alternative to intensive development and a benign pursuit that has limited impact on conservation. 

“If biological conservation is to be successful on the western grasslands and shrublands, ranchers must be central to any plan,” the paper’s authors wrote.

Opinions are divided on the impact of grazing and whether it is beneficial to biodiversity and ecosystem function or not. Although it is worth noting that ungulates (bison, etc.) have grazed the plains of the United States for a long period of time beyond the introduction of cattle. One thing is certain about the role of cattle, which is that they are the livelihood of many in the American west and are also cultural icons in their own right. Ranching as we know it is dependent on the use of public lands, according to a 2015 <a href="https://academic.oup.com/af/article/5/4/32/4638743">paper</a> in Animal Frontiers. But ranching is also dependent on cooperative public land managers.

In 1994, while the last of Washington’s pygmy rabbits were living on only 3,500 acres of sagebrush-dominated land in Douglas County, Steven Herman wrote a paper about the Coordinated Resource Management Plan (CRMP) of this last pygmy rabbit stronghold. At that time, the plan included increasing grazing by 20%, an action justified by saying that rabbits and cattle were ‘compatible’ going so far as to claim that the pygmy rabbits might benefit from grazing. 

Dr. Herman debates these claims, saying they’re at odds with what we know of the rabbits and their ecosystem. The parcel in question, Sagebrush Flats, is the last of the wild Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit’s range and was purchased by the Washington Department of Fish &amp; Game as the rabbits were declining. 

Beyond increasing the amount of cattle on the Sagebrush Flats parcel, the Washington Department of Fish &amp; Game also made water available to cattle in areas previously inaccessible to the ungulates. This encouraged cattle to move to parts of the land where they hadn’t damaged as much previously. According to Dr. Herman grazing contributed to the decline of Washington’s pygmy rabbits and a 2004 paper in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222038153_Effects_of_cattle_grazing_on_ecology_and_habitat_of_Columbia_Basin_pygmy_rabbits_Brachylagus_idahoensis">Biological Conservation</a> backs him up.

According to the paper, the decline of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits was most likely due to “the combined results of habitat degradation and fragmentation, disease, and predation.”

Cattle played a role in habitat degradation and fragmentation as well. Research found significantly more pygmy rabbit burrows in areas without grazing than in areas where grazing was allowed. Grazing in the late summer and winter also removed roughly 50% of grass cover, leaving much less nutrition for the rabbits. The pygmy rabbits in winter make grass less than 2% of their diet (when they eat mainly sagebrush) but in late summer, grasses and forbs make about 53% of their diets. Because of less food, the pygmy rabbits were obviously unable to live in high abundance in graded areas. 

It is a complicated issue, though. Depending on the intensity and season of grazing, cattle can reduce grasses but also increase the size of sagebrush. Pygmy rabbits are known to choose areas with taller and denser sagebrush as the most important part of their range. The downside of cattle is the removal of the grasses and forbs that the pygmy rabbits also rely on, as well as decreasing the ability of sagebrush to regenerate by ripping it out by the roots. Interestingly, other less well understood factors played a role in why less pygmy rabbit burrows are to be found in grazed areas as opposed to un-grazed areas. 

Cottontail rabbits do not dig their own burrows like pygmy rabbits do, instead they occupy burrows dug by other animals. In grazed areas, more cottontails occupy pygmy rabbit burrows than in areas that aren’t grazed. Cattle also sometimes collapse burrows of pygmy rabbits, a good reason for the rabbits to stay away. It’s also interesting to note that pygmy rabbits in this part of the American west didn’t evolve with large amounts of ungulates. Instead of large densities of bison as in other plains areas, there were originally only smaller populations of deer, elk and pronghorn. The misunderstandings and ignorance surrounding the needs of Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits also contributed to early failures in captive breeding. 

Originally, 16 Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits were captured for captive breeding. These rabbits represented a unique race of pygmy rabbits, separated from their nearest relatives by roughly 40,000 years of evolution. These rabbits were first offered only sagebrush as food, without the grasses and forbs necessary for their successful reproduction. Unsurprisingly, the early rabbit breeding efforts didn’t fare well. Some of these first rabbits died in captivity. After these failures, pygmy rabbits from Idaho were introduced into the population and with changes in diet and a ‘semi-wild’ enclosure more closely replicating nature, the rabbits started breeding. 

Unfortunately, it seems that a mix of an over-friendly bias towards grazing as well as an incompetent misunderstanding of Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit diet led to the extinction of the population. Although there are pygmy rabbits being reintroduced into Washington and they’re likely to serve the ecosystem well, we can’t claim that the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit is still truly alive.         

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Randy Bjorklund

Decline of Washington’s pygmy rabbits was due to incompetence and grazing

Decline of Washington’s pygmy rabbits was due to incompetence and...

Small triceratops relative was horned and walked on two feet. A few <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-fossils-ownership-dispute/">fossils</a> may be all that’s left of a single extinct species, and describing an entire species let alone family or genus based off of these scant remains is more common than you might realize. 

When we think of new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-fossils-ownership-dispute/">dinosaur discoveries</a>, we sometimes imagine whole skeletons unearthed from their rocky tombs and put together like a puzzle and displayed in museums, but this is far from reality. 

It’s suggested that 75 percent of known dinosaurs were described from five or fewer individual specimens. Auroraceratops rugosus, an early relative of Triceratops, is one such species. 

From meager beginnings, Auroraceratops rugosus went on to be recognized as one of the most well-documented early dinosaurs to date. 

It started with a single skull discovered in the Gobi Desert in 2005. But in the years since, fossils from more than 80 individuals have been found thanks to the persistent efforts of researchers and paleontologists. Small triceratops relative was horned and walked on two feet

In a collection of articles published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, researchers from multiple institutions compiled a detailed history of the herbivorous horned dinosaur describing the anatomy, age, evolution and how the preservation of such a robust fossil collection came to be. 

Auroraceratops lived 115 million years ago, weighed around 34 pounds and stood approximately 49 inches tall. It was a horned dinosaur but not nearly to the extent of Triceratops. 

“When I first saw this animal back in 2004, I knew instantly it was a new kind that had never been seen before and was very excited about it,” said paleontologist Peter Dodson, senior author of the articles, “This monograph on Auroraceratops is long-awaited.”Small triceratops relative was horned and walked on two feet

Dodson named the species Auroraceratops and later Dodson’s former students would go one to find 80 more Auraceratops ranging from adults to hatchlings. 

As the only horned dinosaur in the group Neoceratopsia from the Early Cretaceous to be described from a complete skeleton, Auroraceratops represents an important phase in the evolution of horned dinosaurs. 

The early dinosaurs were bi-pedal and walked on two legs, unlike Triceratops which was quadrupedal.

“Before this study, we had to rely on Psittacosaurus, a more distantly related and unusual ceratopsian, for our picture of what the last bipedal ceratopsian looked like,” said Eric Morschhauser, a lead author of the collaborative work. “It can now provide us with a better picture of the starting point for the changes between bipedal and quadrupedal ceratopsians.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Robert Walters

Small triceratops relative was horned and walked on two feet

Small triceratops relative was horned and walked on two feet....

Researchers at the <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> have found that insects suffer from chronic pain like humans. While previous studies demonstrated that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/edible-insects-grasshoppers-antioxidants/">insects</a> experience pain, this is the first study to provide evidence that the pain can last long after a wound has healed. 

The research pinpoints the genetic cause of chronic pain in fruit flies and suggests that similar mechanisms drive chronic pain in humans. The findings may ultimately lead to the development of treatments that target the root of chronic pain instead of just the symptoms.

"If we can develop drugs or new stem cell therapies that can target and repair the underlying cause, instead of the symptoms, this might help a lot of people," said study lead author Professor Gteg Neely. His team is studying pain in an effort to identify non-opioid solutions for pain management.

"People don't really think of insects as feeling any kind of pain," said Professor Neely. "But it's already been shown in lots of different invertebrate animals that they can sense and avoid dangerous stimuli that we perceive as painful. In non-humans, we call this sense 'nociception', the sense that detects potentially harmful stimuli like heat, cold, or physical injury, but for simplicity we can refer to what insects experience as 'pain.'"

"So we knew that insects could sense pain, but what we didn't know is that an injury could lead to long lasting hypersensitivity to normally non-painful stimuli in a similar way to human patients' experiences."

The investigation was focused on neuropathic pain that occurs in fruit flies after damage to the nervous system. In humans, this is usually described as a burning or shooting pain that results from a pinched nerve, spinal cord injury, diabetic neuropathy, cancer bone pain, or an accidental injury.

To test for chronic pain in fruit flies, the researchers damaged a nerve in one leg of the fly and then allowed the injury to fully heal. At this point, the experts found the fly's other legs had become hypersensitive. 

"After the animal is hurt once badly, they are hypersensitive and try to protect themselves for the rest of their lives," said Professor Neely. "That's kind of cool and intuitive."

Next, the team investigated how this happens genetically. 

"The fly is receiving pain messages from its body that then go through sensory neurons to the ventral nerve cord, the fly's version of our spinal cord. In this nerve cord are inhibitory neurons that act like a 'gate' to allow or block pain perception based on the context," said Professor Neely. 

"After the injury, the injured nerve dumps all its cargo in the nerve cord and kills all the brakes, forever. Then the rest of the animal doesn't have brakes on its pain. The pain threshold changes and now they are hypervigilant."

"Animals need to lose the pain brakes to survive in dangerous situations but when humans lose those brakes it makes our lives miserable. We need to get the brakes back to live a comfortable and non-painful existence."

Professor Neely explained that chronic pain in humans is presumed to develop through either peripheral sensitisation or central disinhibition.

"From our unbiased genomic dissection of neuropathic pain in the fly, all our data points to central disinhibition as the critical and underlying cause for chronic neuropathic pain."

"Importantly now we know the critical step causing neuropathic pain in flies, mice and probably humans, is the loss of the pain brakes in the central nervous system, we are focused on making new stem cell therapies or drugs that target the underlying cause and stop pain for good."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/nechaevkon

Insects experience chronic pain like humans do

Researchers at the University of Sydney have found that insects...

According to new research from a team at the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>, rising temperatures caused by <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/conifer-extinction-climate-change/">climate change</a> could thwart male Cape Verde loggerhead turtles from hatching at a key breeding ground by the end of the century. 

In fact, the researchers posit that by 2100, more than 90% of loggerhead nests on the Cape Verde islands could incubate at exponentially higher temperatures, thus killing the turtles before they hatch.

"Cape Verde hosts one of the largest nesting population of loggerhead turtles in the world — up to 15% of the global nesting total," said Dr. Lucy Hawkes, of the University of Exeter. "We estimate that 84% of current hatchlings are female, and warmer temperatures will increase this proportion.”

The sex of the loggerhead turtle hatchlings is decided by the incubation temperature. Using information provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the research team realized that by 2100, only 0.14% of hatchlings would be male.

“Under all three climate change scenarios in our study,” Dr. Hawkes continued, “by 2100 more than 99% of hatchlings would be female — and under mid and high-emissions scenarios there could be no males at all."

[caption id="attachment_1875207" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/loggerhead-turtle.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1875207" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/loggerhead-turtle.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> Loggerhead turtle in Cape Verde, Image Credit: Lucy Hawkes[/caption]

"What surprised us was how even the low emissions scenario has detrimental effects for this population,” said lead author Claire Tanner, who earned her masters with this study. "What this shows is that now is the time to act on climate change — before it is too late to prevent the estimations seen in this paper."

This study is published in <a href="https://www.int-res.com/journals/meps/meps-home/">Marine Ecology Progress Series</a>.

The researchers used current nesting behavior of the loggerheads to come to their conclusion, meaning that the turtles could adapt to climate change by nesting earlier in the year when it’s cooler. Furthermore, Dr. Hawkes said that natural selection should favor the turtles that attempt to do this, however, the longevity of the loggerheads matched with the speed of climate change could mean that the turtles would not have enough time to properly evolve.

And about 85% of loggerhead nests in Cape Verde are currently built on Boa Vista, where incubation temperatures are coolest. Therefore, most of the loggerhead population would be unable to switch to cooler locations — unless they find “refugia” areas covered in shade.

As of right now, it’s difficult for researchers to predict when the population would decline if males cease hatching, due to the fact that the reproductive lifespan on loggerhead males is not known. Older males could continue breeding for years after the last male loggerheads hatch.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main Image Credit: Lucy Hawkes

Rising temperatures threaten Cape Verde turtle population

According to new research from a team at the University...

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.museums.or.ke/">National Museums of Kenya</a>, <a href="https://www.uark.edu/">University of Arkansas</a>, <a href="https://missouri.edu/">University of Missouri</a>, and <a href="https://www.duke.edu/">Duke University</a> have discovered the fossil of a tiny monkey that inhabited Kenya about 4.2 million years ago. They believe it is an ancient ancestor of the modern talapoin monkey, the smallest species of Old World monkey that only weighs about two to three pounds. 

Talapoins are members of the larger <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wild-monkeys-adopted-injured-juvenile/">monkey</a> group called guenons, which are common across modern-day Africa.

The new ancient species, dubbed Nanopithecus browni, is believed to have been the same size as the talapoin. It was discovered on the eastern side of Kenya at a dry grassland area known as Kanapoi.

[caption id="attachment_1875195" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/comparison.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1875195" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/comparison.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="208" /></a> A typical guenon (left) compared to Nanopithecus browni (middle) and a cat (right). Image Credit: Carol Ward[/caption]

This area of discovery goes against what has been previously understood about the evolution of guenons, thought to be driven by changes in their forest environment. Talapoins, for example, reside in tropical forests of West Central Africa, and were thought to be smaller versions of a larger ancestor. 

Nanopithecus browni, the second-oldest guenon ever to be discovered, raises interest based on the location it was found. Researchers now believe the evolution of the guenon is much more complex than previously thought. Dwarfing must have occurred earlier than suspected and may have happened in different stages within different habitats.

[caption id="attachment_1875194" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/location.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1875194" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/location.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> Location of where Nanopithecus browni was found, Image Credit: Research team/Google Earth[/caption]

"The discovery of Nanopithecus browni reaffirms Kenya's contribution to understanding the evolution and diversity of Pliocene fauna and the environmental contexts in which they lived," said study leader Fredrick Kyalo Manthi of the National Museums of Kenya said via the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-human-evolution">Journal of Human Evolution</a>. "Environmental changes during the Plio-Pleistocene may have influenced the present-day distribution of guenons."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Carol Ward

Fossil of a tiny monkey species found in Kenya

A team of researchers from the National Museums of Kenya,...

In Pixar's “Finding Nemo,” two of the main characters – clownfish Marlin and royal blue tang Dory – run into a trio of sharks and fear they’re done for. But the group of apex predators reassure the pair by explaining that they are victims of sharks’ bad reputations. 

"I am a nice shark, not a mindless eating machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends, not food,” their pledge goes.

Real life sharks may not have a pledge, but one man has set out to prove that they really aren’t mindless eating machines. 

Marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan is probably best known for allowing sharks to bite him hundreds of times – all to test his underwater <a href="http://www.jeremiahsullivan.com/">SharkArmor</a>. But he’s also made it his mission to show that sharks’ bad reputation isn’t all true, and they’re not as they’re portrayed in films like “Jaws.”

In the upcoming “Man vs. Shark” special on <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic</a>, he hitches a ride on a calm great white shark without becoming dinner.

“It became apparent to me that the shark was so chill that I was drawn out,” Sullivan told the <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/">Daily Beast</a>. “So I slipped my hand under its caudal fin as it swam by, and the shark was so big it didn’t even flinch. You know, it was important to me to make very clear to the powers that be out there that kept putting out all this hostile conversation about these animals that that wasn’t the whole story.”

Which isn’t to say sharks aren’t dangerous, or that just anyone should go and try to befriend one.

In the special, Sullivan also convinces a tiger shark to bite him, to test his newest sharksuit. That bore some risks. Tiger sharks are known for their extremely damaging bites.

“We weren’t sure what was going to happen,” he said. “I had a lot of people with me that were quite sure that when one bit me, the other tiger sharks were gonna come swarm on me.”

Sullivan was inspired to study sharks after seeing the movie “Born Free” as a child. The movie portrays a positive encounter between lions and humans, and Sullivan wondered if such friendly interactions were possible between humans and other predators.

He first began developing his sharksuits in the 1970s. 

Throughout the “Man vs. Shark” episode, Sullivan has nerve-wracking encounters with the ocean’s most feared predators. But time and time again, he proves sharks’ bad reputation to be wrong.

That said, he believes anyone who wants to interact with sharks should have a very healthy respect for them – and the damage they can do. When he’s witnessed people being bit, it’s often because they forget that respect or show off.

“But you know, I’m always looking to confirm my belief that there can be much more to the interactions between humans and sharks in the sea, and I’m delighted to say that that’s proven out to be true,” he said. 

“Man vs. Shark” will air on July 17 on National Geographic TV.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Devon Massyn, National Geographic

Documentary bites back at sharks' bad reputation

In Pixar's “Finding Nemo,” two of the main characters –...

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;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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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 



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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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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



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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