Sebecid fossils are changing everything we thought we knew about the ancient Caribbean. Imagine a crocodile built like a greyhound - tall, fast, and fully land-dwelling. These agile predators, some stretching up to 20 feet long, once ruled South American landscapes after the extinction of the dinosaurs.



Scientists believed they vanished around 11 million years ago. But a surprising discovery in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/caribbean-salt-affects-global-climate-study-reveals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caribbean</a> tells a different story - one that begins with a few unusual fossilized teeth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-fossil-discovery-changed-the-story">A fossil discovery changed the story</h2>



Back in the 1990s, scientists discovered a pair of fossilized teeth in Cuba. The teeth, about 18 million years old, were serrated and sharp - built for tearing meat.



Then came another one in Puerto Rico, dated to 29 million years ago. The shape of these fossils clearly pointed to a large predator. 



But researchers were baffled. Until then, they thought the Caribbean had no land predators of that size. Without more bones to go on, the mystery sat unsolved.



Then in early 2023, something changed. A new fossil tooth turned up in the Dominican Republic, but this time it came with two vertebrae. It was a small clue, but it changed everything. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-large-predators-in-the-caribbean">Large predators in the Caribbean </h2>



The fossils confirmed the presence of a sebecid. That meant the Caribbean had been a safe haven for these large, land-based predators. They were still roaming these islands five million years after disappearing everywhere else.



This new discovery comes from a research team led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Florida</a>. 



“That emotion of finding the fossil and realizing what it is, it’s indescribable,” said Lazaro Viñola Lopez, the study's lead author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crocodiles-that-ran-like-dinosaurs">Crocodiles that ran like dinosaurs</h2>



Sebecids were part of a long-extinct family of crocodile relatives called notosuchians. Unlike <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-amphibians-swam-like-modern-crocodiles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modern crocodiles</a> that lurk in rivers and swamps, sebecids were fully land-dwelling. 



They ran on strong limbs and hunted like the carnivorous dinosaurs that came before them. Some were enormous. 



Sebecids had armored bodies with tough bony plates beneath their skin. Their teeth were made for slashing meat, not catching fish.



When the mass extinction 66 million years ago wiped out most life, only the sebecids from the notosuchian line managed to survive in South America. With <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nuclear-winter-dinosaurs-were-likely-killed-by-dust/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dinosaurs</a> gone, they rose to dominate the food chain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sebecids-may-have-crossed-the-sea">Sebecids may have crossed the sea</h2>



How did a sebecid get to the Caribbean? The ocean has always been a serious barrier for land animals. That’s where the GAARlandia hypothesis comes in. 



The theory suggests there was once a chain of temporary land bridges or stepping-stone islands between South America and the Caribbean. 



These paths may have allowed animals like sebecids to migrate and settle. If the other teeth found across the Caribbean also belonged to sebecids, it means these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/past-climate-change-drove-the-rapid-evolution-of-reptiles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reptiles</a> weren’t just visitors. They were long-term residents.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-land-bridges-reshaped-ecosystems">Land bridges reshaped ecosystems </h2>



The land bridges may have shaped island ecosystems for millions of years. Now that they’re gone, smaller animals like birds, snakes, and native crocodiles have taken their place.



“You wouldn’t have been able to predict this looking at the modern ecosystem,” said a paleontologist from the Florida Museum of Natural History. 



“The presence of a large predator is really different than we imagined before, and it’s exciting to think about what might be discovered next in the Caribbean fossil record as we explore back further in time.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossil-secrets-of-the-caribbean">Fossil secrets of the Caribbean </h2>



Scientists often describe islands as natural museums. Their isolation makes them safe places for rare plants and animals to hang on after they’ve vanished elsewhere. But the Caribbean still holds many sebecid secrets - especially from deep in the past.



Until now, most Caribbean fossils have been found in caves and water-filled sinkholes called blue holes. Caves protect bones from the elements, while blue holes prevent decay by cutting off oxygen. 



These places have been valuable but only give a narrow view into recent biodiversity. They don’t tell us much about ancient species like sebecids.



Today, researchers are switching tactics. Instead of relying on caves and sinkholes, they’re going after older fossils in harder-to-reach spots.



“This is like a renaissance,” said Viñola-Lopez, describing the new wave of excitement in Caribbean paleontology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vanishing-fossil-sites">Vanishing fossil sites </h2>



In the Caribbean, fossil sites vanish quickly. Rain, wind, and forests erase rocky outcrops fast. When workers cut new roads or dig into hills, researchers have to act fast. 



That’s how the sebecid fossils were found. Road work in the Dominican Republic exposed the fossil bed just in time.



A graduate student from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez was studying the rocks in the area and spotted the site. He notified his colleagues, and soon after, the team from the University of Florida arrived to excavate the bones.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-surprises-to-come">More surprises to come</h2>



The sebecid fossils are only one piece of a much larger puzzle. In recent years, researchers have also found the first signs of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mosasaurs-had-fierce-survival-strategies-including-cannibalism/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mosasaurs</a> - massive sea reptiles - in the Caribbean. 



The experts have identified the region’s oldest ground sloth fossils. And new work is hinting that early human arrival may have led to the extinction of native rodents.



It’s clear there’s more to uncover. “The sebecid is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Viñola-Lopez. And with more eyes now turned to the Caribbean, who knows what ancient giants might turn up next?



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.2891" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



Image Credit: Illustration by Jorge Machuky



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Giant crocodile in the Caribbean? Fossils reveal a lost apex predator

Sebecid fossils are changing everything we thought we knew about the ancient Caribbean. Imagine a crocodile built like a greyhound - tall, fast, and fully land-dwelling. These agile predators, some stretching up to 20 feet long, once ruled South American landscapes after the extinction of the dinosaurs. Scientists believed they vanished around 11 million years ago. But a surprising discovery in the Caribbean tells a different story - one that begins with a few unusual fossilized teeth. A fossil discovery changed the story Back in the 1990s,...

A team of experts in Italy has found that mosquitoes can be genetically modified to make them less of a threat to human health. By using an advanced DNA-altering technique called CRISPR, the researchers can engineer female mosquitoes that are unable to spread diseases. 

According to the <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a>, malaria threatens half of the global population. In 2015 alone, there were 212 million cases of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dogs-diagnose-malaria/">malaria</a>, including 429,000 casualties.

Only female mosquitoes have mouths that are big enough to bite humans, which is how infections such as malaria, Zika, and dengue fever are passed along. The researchers want to use genetic mutations to give female mosquitoes male characteristics, including smaller mouths. 

According to <a href="https://www.npr.org/">NPR</a>, the mutation will also cause deformities in the reproductive organs of females, leaving them unable to reproduce. Furthermore, these modifications have been designed to be passed on to nearly all of the offspring, which could ultimately kill off the species. 

The research team has successfully modified mosquitoes with this mutation in a high-security lab in Italy. Ruth Mueller, an entomologist who runs the lab, told NPR: “This will really be a breakthrough experiment. It's a historic moment.”

If the lab experiments are successful, the team hopes to eventually release some of the engineered mosquitoes in parts of Africa to wipe out local populations of Anopheles gambiae, the mosquito species that spreads malaria. 

There are many critics, however, who warn that introducing the modified mosquitoes could lead to unforeseen consequences, such as pollination issues. 


Nnimmo Bassey, director of the <a href="https://homef.org/">Health of Mother Earth Foundation</a> in Nigeria, told NPR: “This is a technology where we don't know where it's going to end. We need to stop this right where it is. They're trying to use Africa as a big laboratory to test risky technologies.”

Tony Nolan of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine helped to create the engineered insects while at the <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a>. 

“There's going to be concerns with any technology,” said Nolan. “But I don't think you should throw out a technology without having done your best to understand what its potential is to be transformative for medicine. And, were it to work, this would be transformative.”

The research is part of the the <a href="https://targetmalaria.org/">Target Malaria</a> project, which is primarily funded by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates foundation.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Genetically modified mosquitoes could help eradicate malaria

A team of experts in Italy has found that mosquitoes...

A new study from researchers at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a>, has found that it is likely a 66 million-year-old asteroid or comet impact in the Caribbean Sea reignited volcanic eruptions in India. However, it remains unclear if and how these two events contributed to the mass extinction of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/asteroid-dinosaurs-global-tsunami/">dinosaurs</a> and other prehistoric life forms.

The data, published February 21st in Science, shows how massive lava flows have erupted and and affected Earth’s atmosphere and life on the planet throughout history.

Using a method called argon-argon dating, researchers were able to pinpoint the volcanic eruptions in India to a specific date — a date that coincides with the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period (the K-Pg boundary). The eruptions, which spanned over a million years, spurted lava over 500 kilometers of the Indian continent, creating what we now know as the Deccan Traps flood basalts.

"Now that we have dated Deccan Traps lava flows in more and different locations, we see that the transition seems to be the same everywhere. I would say, with pretty high confidence, that the eruptions occurred within 50,000 years, and maybe 30,000 years, of the impact, which means they were synchronous within the margin of error," said senior author Paul Renne, a professor-in-residence of earth and planetary science at UC Berkeley, and director of the <a href="http://www.bgc.org/">Berkeley Geochronology Center</a>. "That is an important validation of the hypothesis that the impact renewed lava flows."

The new dates also show that three-quarters of the total lava erupted after the impact, which contrasts previous beliefs that 80% of the lava erupted before the impact.

It was previously thought that if most of the lava erupted before the impact, then the volcanic gases could have caused global warming within the last 400,000 years of the Cretaceous Period, thus increasing the temperatures and forcing species to evolve to survive within the warming climate. Then, confronted by global cooling, either from volcanic dust or climate cooling gases, species would be ill prepared and would end up going extinct.

However, the new data proves that this probably didn’t happen.

"This changes our perspective on the role of the Deccan Traps in the K-Pg extinction," said first author Courtney Sprain, a former UC Berkeley doctoral student and current postdoc at the <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/">University of Liverpool</a>. "Either the Deccan eruptions did not play a role — which we think unlikely — or a lot of climate-modifying gases were erupted during the lowest volume pulse of the eruptions."

Climate-altering gases frequently leak out of underground magma chambers, as is happening right now with Mt. Etna and Popocatepetl. Eruptions aren’t necessarily needed to transmit gases into the atmosphere.

"We are suggesting that it is very likely that a lot of the gases that come from magma systems precede eruptions; they don't necessarily correlate with eruptions," Renne said. This theory therefore suggests that the K-Pg extinction, the beginning symptoms of climate change took place before the peak in volcanic eruptions across the entire Indian continent.

It’s still unclear which gasses were emitted from the Deccan Traps, however Renne and Sprain hope to discover more about the sequence, scale, and effects of the eruptions from the Traps, which are young enough to contain this information.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Courtney Sprain

Volcanic eruptions played a mysterious role in the dinosaur extinction

A new study from researchers at the University of California,...

In 1911, a 500-million-year-old worm named Amiskwia was described by paleontologist Charles Doolittle Walcott. He compared it to modern arrow worms known as chaetognaths, which are fierce <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-predators-prey/">predators</a> in the ocean that use spines on their head to grasp their prey.

More than 50 years after Doolittle Walcott came up with this theory, however, scientists rejected his interpretation because they could not find evidence of the grasping spines. They suggested it could be a ribbon worm, or a distinct lineage with only distant relatives remaining today.


When Dr. Jakob Vinther from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> studied specimens of Amiskwia at the Smithsonian Institution, he discovered something that had been missed before.

“I coated the specimen with ammonium chloride smoke to make the relief of the fossil stand out and then I could see that in the head was a pair of robust elements,” said Dr. Vinther.

He interpreted these structures as a set of jaws, which strongly resembled the distinctive jaws of a group of microscopic worms called gnathiferans. The scientists realized that Amiskwia had the jaw of a gnathiferan, but the body of an arrow worm.


“The bizarre combination of anatomy seemed altogether alien back in 2012,” said Dr. Vinther. “Some people have proposed that there could be a relationship between arrow worms and gnathiferans based on their shared possession of a jaw apparatus, both made of a substance called chitin.”

“However, there was little other evidence to suggest a relationship, such as evidence from phylogenetic analyses of DNA.”

[caption id="attachment_1868340" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/500-million-year-old-worm-is-the-key-link-between-two-animal-groups.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868340" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/500-million-year-old-worm-is-the-key-link-between-two-animal-groups.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="478" /></a> Image Credit: Rafael Martin Ledo/Consejería de Educación de Cantabría[/caption]

Study co-author Luke Parry added, “It altogether seemed like heresy to propose that gnathiferans and arrow worms may be related back then so we held off publishing our intriguing results out of fear of criticism from our peers. However, new DNA studies have since emerged that found arrow worms to be more and more closely affiliated to the Gnathifera in the Tree of Life.”

“In particular, some researchers found that arrow worms share a duplication of the important Hox genes with a gnathiferan, the rotifers. We suddenly felt no more in a deadlock situation.”

The new phylogenetic study found evidence to support the theory that arrow worms formed an evolutionary group with gnathiferans.

“We were excited to see that these researchers found a relationship between arrow worms and rotifers,” said Parry. “Our phylogenetic analysis, based on anatomical features, strongly suggest a relationship between these two groups of animals as well.”

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

Image Credit:Martin Vinther Sørensen/SNM Denmark

500 million-year-old worm is the key link between two animal groups

In 1911, a 500-million-year-old worm named Amiskwia was described by...

A newly discovered species is the oldest Cretaceous tyrannosaur species ever found in North America. The small tyrannosaur, Moros intrepidus, narrows a 70-million-year gap in the fossil record and sheds new light on how <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tyrannosaurus-rex-planted-fruit/">T. rex</a> took control of the continent. 

Moros intrepidus lived about 96 million years ago during the Cretaceous period in what is now Utah. The tyrannosaur was given a name that means “harbinger of doom” for the much larger relative that it foreshadowed.  

Study lead author Lindsay Zanno is a paleontologist at <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a> and the head of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Sciences.

“With a lethal combination of bone-crunching bite forces, stereoscopic vision, rapid growth rates, and colossal size, tyrant dinosaurs reigned uncontested for 15 million years leading up to the end-Cretaceous extinction - but it wasn't always that way,” said Zanno. “Early in their evolution, tyrannosaurs hunted in the shadows of archaic lineages such as allosaurs that were already established at the top of the food chain.”

Medium-sized tyrannosaurs have been found in North America dating back almost 150 million years ago to the Jurassic period. By the Cretaceous period around 81 million years ago, North American tyrannosaurs had become enormous. In between these time periods, however, the fossil record has been empty. 

“When and how quickly tyrannosaurs went from wallflower to prom king has been vexing paleontologists for a long time,” said Zanno. “The only way to attack this problem was to get out there and find more data on these rare animals.”

The team spent a decade hunting for dinosaur remains, and ultimately found teeth and a hind limb belonging to Moros intrepidus in rocks from the Late Cretaceous. The individual, which was estimated to have been seven years old and nearly full-grown, was only three or four feet tall at the hip.

“Moros was lightweight and exceptionally fast,” said Zanno. “These adaptations, together with advanced sensory capabilities, are the mark of a formidable predator. It could easily have run down prey, while avoiding confrontation with the top predators of the day.”

“Although the earliest Cretaceous tyrannosaurs were small, their predatory specializations meant that they were primed to take advantage of new opportunities when warming temperatures, rising sea-level and shrinking ranges restructured ecosystems at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous. We now know it took them less than 15 million years to rise to power.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsbio/">Communications Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Jorge Gonzalez

Smaller tyrannosaur species was a preview of the massive T. rex

A newly discovered species is the oldest Cretaceous tyrannosaur species...

A protein discovered in the ringed teeth of a squid's arms may provide a biodegradable and renewable alternative to plastics. The protein can be processed into fibers and films with applications ranging from “smart” clothes for health monitoring to self-healing, recyclable fabrics.

Study lead author Melik Demirel is the director of the Center for Research on Advanced Fiber Technologies (CRAFT) at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State University</a>.

“Squid proteins can be used to produce next generation materials for an array of fields including energy and biomedicine, as well as the security and defense sector,” said Demirel. “We reviewed the current knowledge on squid ring teeth-based materials, which are an excellent alternative to plastics because they are eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable.”

After 100 years of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plastic-belizes-great-blue-hole/">plastic</a> production, the subsequent waste is plaguing our planet, and scientists are seeking eco-friendly alternatives. 

“Nature produces a variety of smart materials capable of environmental sensing, self-healing and exceptional mechanical function,” said Demirel. “These materials, or biopolymers, have unique physical properties that are not readily found in synthetic polymers like plastic. Importantly, biopolymers are sustainable and can be engineered to enhance their physical properties.”

The protein from squid ring teeth (SRT) has remarkable properties that will produce elastic, flexible, and strong materials. These SRT-based materials will have self-healing, optical, thermal, and electrical conducting capabilities. In the textiles industry, the SRT protein could address one of the main sources of microplastic pollution by producing a coating that will reduce microfiber erosion in washing machines.

Multiple layers of SRT proteins may be combined with other compounds or technology for the development of “smart” clothes, which could protect people from air pollution while also monitoring health.

“SRT photonics are biocompatible and biodegradable, so could be used to make not only wearable health monitors but also implantable devices for biosensing and biodetection,” said Demirel.

SRT proteins are easily produced from renewable resources, and the researchers have found a way to make them without catching a squid. 

“We don't want to deplete natural squid resources and hence we produce these proteins in genetically modified bacteria. The process is based on fermentation and uses sugar, water, and oxygen to produce biopolymers,” explained Demirel.

The team hopes that SRT-based prototypes will soon become widely available, but more development is needed.

“Scaling up these materials requires additional work,” said Demirel. “We are now working on the processing technology of these materials so that we can make them available in industrial manufacturing processes.”


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry">Frontiers in Chemistry</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Protein from squid could become a sustainable alternative to plastics

A protein discovered in the ringed teeth of a squid's...

From the blue whale to the honey bee, all animals have at least one thing in common: we all sleep. 

While the exact definition of sleep differs depending on the species, and periods of inactivity for some animals can be as short as a few minutes, sleep is a core part of the everyday experience. 

Studies have shown that we need sleep and sleep deprivation has been linked to problems with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-deprivation-impacts-performance/">work performance, memory, cognition, and focus</a>.

Too little or too much sleep has been found to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-heart-disease/">increase the risk of heart disease</a>, and most people would probably admit that they don’t get as much sleep as they would like. 

But is sleep crucial to survival in the that way food and water are? 

This was the question asked by a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a> who conducted a lifelong sleep deprivation experiment using fruit flies. 

The results, published in the journal Science Advances, suggest that while sleep plays a vital role in wellbeing and cognition in humans, for male fruit flies at least, it is not essential to survival. 

“One of the reasons sleep is considered essential for life is that all animals sleep, so we were surprised to find some flies that needed so little,” said Giorgio Gilestro, a co-author of the study. “We wanted to find out if this was just a peculiarity for a lucky few flies, or whether it was something any fly could do.”

At the start of the study, the researchers observed fruit flies sleeping for as little as five to fifteen minutes per day. 

To examine the impacts of sleep deprivation on the flies’ lifespan, the researchers put a fly in a tube that would rotate if it detected a period of no movement lasting for 20 seconds. This rotation would wake the fly up and keep them active. 

Hundreds of flies were kept in individual tubes at a time with one fly per tube, and the researchers noticed that out of a 40-50-day lifespan, sleep deprivation did not cause males to die earlier than usual and females only died around three days earlier. 

When allowed to sleep again, the flies only slept a little longer than usual rather than making up for all the lost sleep in one long nap, which indicated to the researchers that the flies did not build up a sleep debt. 

The researchers concluded that for some species, sleep might not be as crucial to survival as previously thought.

“For food, we have calories that are ‘vital’ to keep us alive and calories that are ‘useful’ to help us function well,” said Gilestro. “It might be that sleep is only ‘useful’: it would still be difficult for us to function without it, but not necessarily fatal.”

Gilestro emphasizes that while the study shows sleep is not necessarily essential to survival, sleep deprivation is not without its consequences.  

“It's not that there are no consequences to not sleeping - in fact we will be investigating the effects on mental performance in flies in future experiments - but our study has made us question whether sleep deprivation alone causes death,” said Gilestro. 
--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chronic sleep deprivation is not fatal for flies, study finds

From the blue whale to the honey bee, all animals...

The Bramble Cay melomys has been officially declared as “extinct” by the Australian government. Experts believe that this small rodent is the first mammal that has been wiped out as a result of human-induced <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a>. 

The rat-like rodent, Melomys rubicola, lived on the isolated island of Bramble Cay in northern Australia. First discovered in the 1800s, the melomys was considered to be the Great Barrier Reef's only endemic mammal species.

It is believed that 2009 was the last time anyone spotted a Bramble Cay melomys. Scientists from Queensland, who had previously concluded that the melomys was gone, said the extinction was “almost certainly” due to extreme habitat loss.

[caption id="attachment_1868305" align="aligncenter" width="633"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/bramble-cay.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1868305" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/bramble-cay.jpg" alt="" width="633" height="332" /></a> Bramble Cay melomys, Image Credit: QLD Government[/caption]

The researchers explained that the low-lying island has been exposed to “repeated episodes of seawater inundation.” As a result, the leafy plants used by the rodents for shelter declined by 97 percent between 2004 and 2014. A survey conducted in 2014 found no trace of the animals. 

After the decision to change the status of the melomys to extinct was announced on Tuesday, Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch told <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/">The Herald</a> that it shows that “we are living the real effects of climate change right now. How many more species do we have to lose for the federal government to take action?”


According to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>, the Bramble Cay melomys is survived by the grassland melomys and two other melomys species. 

The current time period is often referred to as the Anthropocene, the Earth's six major mass extinction event. Scientists have discovered that thousands of species are currently in a state of decline, many of which are not even listed as endangered. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Human-induced climate change has claimed its first mammal

The Bramble Cay melomys has been officially declared as “extinct”...

A team of researchers from the <a href="http://www.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/">School of Life Sciences</a> has discovered a stickleback fish that successfully delivered offspring from eggs that were fertilized while they were still inside of her. This represents the first-ever discovery of internal fertilization and the development of babies inside of a species that normally lays eggs.

The experts collected the fish, which was nicknamed “Mary,” during an expedition to the Outer Hebrides to gather wild sticklebacks. The three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is a small fish that can be found in the Northern Hemisphere in both salt and freshwater. 

Typically, the male sticklebacks build nests and attract females to lay their eggs inside by performing a zig-zagging dance routine. The male chases the female away, fertilizes the cluster, and then guards and nurtures the eggs for around two weeks until they hatch.

Mary was close to death when her unusual pregnancy was noticed, and the researchers made the decision to put her to sleep and deliver the near-complete embryos by Caesarean section. The team successfully delivered 54 embryos, which hatched and grew to adulthood. The experts found that the offspring could be bred in normal aquarium conditions.

“We were astounded at what we found when we examined Mary in our lab in the Outer Hebrides,” said Dr. Laura Dean. “She looked like an ordinary egg-bound fish so we couldn't believe it when we found she had almost completely developed embryos inside her ovaries. This is pretty much unheard of in an egg laying species. The embryos were perfectly healthy, not deformed in any way, and most have gone on to live a normal adult lifespan."

This abnormal type of reproduction in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fish-recognize-reflection/">fish</a> can occur in three possible ways. The first possibility was that the fish cloned herself, and the second was that may be hermaphroditic with both male and female sex organs.

“We were able to rule these two possibilities out because, in parthenogenesis, her offspring would have been genetically identical to the mother, or, if hermaphroditism, they would have only had versions of genes that she had, with no genetic input from anywhere else. So, we did some very simple genetic testing on the offspring and found that they had versions of genes that Mary didn't have and so must have had a father,” said Dr. Dean.

“Our theory is that somehow sperm had got into the fish, fertilized the eggs and they developed into normal two-parent embryos. What has probably happened is that she has gone into a nest to lay her eggs where another female had already laid her eggs which had been covered with sperm by a male stickleback. Somehow some of the sperm in the nest must have got into Mary, presumably through her egg tube, and fertilized the eggs inside her but she never laid the eggs.”


[caption id="attachment_1868300" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/offspring.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868300" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/offspring.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="525" /></a> Mary's offspring, Image © Dr. Laura Dean[/caption]

“Although this almost accidental find revealed a vanishingly rare phenomenon, it might help us to understand a really important change that has happened throughout the tree of life,” said Professor Andrew MacColl. “Most animals lay eggs, but some (including almost all mammals, but few fish) retain their eggs inside and give birth to live young. Although this appears to be a difficult thing to achieve in evolution, this one little fish seems to have got there almost by itself!”

The researchers are now actively looking for more female sticklebacks who display the same type of pregnancy. They are exploring the idea that this phenomenon may be an indication of an evolutionary or genetic change in the reproductive mechanism of the species.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image © Dr. Laura Dean

Female fish delivers offspring after eggs are fertilized inside of her

A team of researchers from the School of Life Sciences...

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> conducted one of the largest field experiments to investigate the Darwinian theory that species located in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tropics-widening-predicted-rate/">tropics</a> and lower elevations interact more with other species than anywhere else in the world. And, as stated in <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>, the team ultimately proved the theory true.

"Theory predicts that interactions among species — like predation and competition — will be strongest in the warm, productive, biodiverse ecosystems of the tropics and at low elevations," said lead author Anna Hargreaves, formerly of the <a href="https://biodiversity.ubc.ca/">UBC Biodiversity Research Centre</a> and currently a professor at <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a>.

“For example,” she continued, “the spectacular diversity of tropical trees is thought to result partly from stronger interactions between plants and the animals that prey on their seeds, which shapes how and where plants grow and adapt."

To test this theory, the international team of researchers left seeds outside for 24 hours to see how many would be consumed by animals. They dropped a total of seven thousand seed beds across 70 sites from Alaska to the Equator.

After several go-throughs of the same experiment, the team found that seed consumption/predation increased 2.6% for every 10 degrees latitude toward the Equator. Furthermore, seed consumption increased 0.4% for every 100-meter decline in elevation.

Overall, seed predation increased 17% between Alaska and the Equator and 17% from 4,000 meters above sea level to sea level.

"These interactions form the basis of how ecosystems function and the direct benefits of those ecosystems to human society," said team member Santiago David, a PhD student at UBC. "Understanding global patterns in key interactions between species, such as seed predation, is essential when we think about managing or restoring the ecosystems, especially in the face of climate change."

Researchers also found that this large-scale pattern is being driven by the smallest of animals — mainly insects and invertebrates.

Compared to a similar study that found that attack rates of clay model caterpillars increased in lower latitudes, Hargreaves noted that “invertebrates [appear to] play an outsized role in the community dynamics and evolution of tropical and lowland ecosystems.And yet we know relatively little about invertebrates, for example, how climate change is affecting their populations."

The team will now use fake caterpillars alongside seeds to see if this theory remains true for other forms of predation.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Interaction between species is greater towards the tropics, lowlands

Researchers from the University of British Columbia conducted one of...

Researchers observed golden snub-nosed monkey infants being nursed by a monkey other than its mother during a five-year field study. 

While this behavior, called allomaternal nursing, is not unheard of among mammals in the animal kingdom including humans, this is the first time the behavior has been reported among Old World monkeys. 

Over five birth seasons, researchers observed groups of golden snub-nosed monkeys in the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve in central China. 

Allomaternal nursing was observed frequently among the groups, and the researchers reported that 40 out the 46 infants studied nursed from one or more females other than their mothers. 22 out of 46 infants nursed from two or more females. 

Infants were nursed by other group members most commonly during the first three months of their lives, and females related to the infant like a grandmother or aunt were more likely to share nursing duty. 

It was a reciprocated behavior, and the researches noticed that 90 percent of the allomaternal mothers nursed another mother’s infant if that female had previously nursed their own infants. 

The research was backed by the <a href="http://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> and published in the journal Science Advances, and the study helps provide insight into the role of allomaternal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orangutan-breast-feeding-evolution/">nursing in human evolution. </a>

It’s an energy-consuming behavior that takes a toll on non-mothers but is beneficial both to mothers and their infants, as the researchers noticed that infants who were allonursed had a higher chance of survival. 

Four out of the six infants that were only nursed by their mothers died. 

The researchers theorize that allomaternal nursing evolved as a way to ensure infant survival among animals that have strong family-based support networks. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Zuofu Xiang

Golden snub-nosed monkeys nurse the young of other females

Researchers observed golden snub-nosed monkey infants being nursed by a...

A study led by <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/">Binghamton University</a> has found that cold temperature variability is just as important as global warming for projecting the negative impacts of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-summer-weather-severe/">climate change</a>. Cold temperatures are consequences of climate change that are often overlooked. 

The research team investigated the effect of climate change on amphibian health, with an emphasis on their susceptibility to contaminants and parasites. Instead of focusing on the effect of rising temperatures, the researchers focused on the effect of cold and variable temperatures.

The analysis revealed that cold temperatures make amphibians more susceptible to road salt but less susceptible to parasites. Study co-author Jessica Hua explained that the findings highlight the importance of considering cold-temperature variability, and not just warming temperatures, when evaluating the impacts of global climate disruption.

“There is a lot of misconception that global climate change only refers to an increase in warming temperatures,” said Hua. “We feel that the research in this paper is important because it highlights that global climate change is more complex than just an increase in average temperature. In fact, global climate change is also predicted to increase the prevalence of extreme cold temperature events, as well as increase the amount of variation in temperature fluctuations.”

Study lead author Matthew Wersebe from the University of Oklahoma pointed out that many people overlook the impact of climate change on plants and animals.

“We all recognize that climate change is one of the most serious issues facing us today. However, as much as it is recognized as a serious concern for people, the impacts to animal and plant populations is much less front and center,” said Wersebe. “Along with this, many studies only consider warming, or changing patterns of water availability on natural systems, and not the impact of the variability in the short-term that is also expected with climate change. Studies like these are critical to understanding the full impacts of climate change.”

The researchers found that amphibians exposed to constant cold conditions as embryos were more susceptible to road salt contamination, but were able to recover with age. This is particularly relevant because the use of road salt will increase during extreme cold weather events. 

Amphibians exposed to cold temperatures as embryos were also found to be smaller as they aged, and were slower to develop. This actually made them less of a target for parasites because their miniature size made them less attractive. 

“We initially predicted that exposure to cold temperatures would be stressful to developing embryos. As a consequence, we expected that exposure to stressful conditions early in life would make amphibians less able to deal with other stressors later in life (i.e. parasites),” said Hua. 

“We were also surprised because past studies have found that cooler temperatures can increase amphibian susceptibility to another parasite (the fungus, chytrid). In this case, the negative effects of the cooler temperatures on amphibians are driven by the fact that the fungus survived better in cooler temperatures.”

It is difficult to say whether the impact from the cold was harmful or helpful for the amphibians.

[caption id="attachment_1868279" align="aligncenter" width="640"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/wood-frog-embryos.jpeg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1868279" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/wood-frog-embryos.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="480" /></a> Wood frog embryos, Image Credit: Jessica Hua[/caption]

“In some cases, exposure to cold temperatures was harmful. For instance: exposure to cold temperatures during the egg phase made young tadpoles more susceptible to road salt,” said Wersebe. “However, if we allowed these tadpoles to grow older, we found that exposure to cold temperatures during the egg stage no longer mattered for their susceptibility to road salt (i.e. older tadpoles were able to overcome the negative effect of embryonic exposure to cold).”

“Exposure to cold also made amphibians smaller - this is potentially harmful to amphibian populations because smaller amphibians have fewer offspring and this can over time potentially contribute to populations declines. Amphibian populations are declining globally, so considering the effects of cold temperatures may be important in understanding how to protect this imperiled group of animals.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20457758">Ecology and Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cold temperature variability: An overlooked effect of climate change

A study led by Binghamton University has found that cold...

Slow-moving sharks are preparing to strike, just like in the movies. A new study from the <a href="https://www.nipr.ac.jp/english/">National Institute of Polar Research</a> in Japan has found that sharks slow down dramatically when they are hungry and ready to pounce on their prey. The research, which monitored sharks for up to 37 hours at a time, suggests that the slow, charging pace of the shark in the film Jaws is actually quite realistic.

After tagging eight <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/great-white-shark-genome/">great white sharks</a>, the researchers discovered that the fish traveled at exceptionally fast speeds. When the sharks were ready for feeding, however, they were observed moving sluggishly. 

For example, as the sharks approached a seal colony, they were recorded moving more slowly than what would be energy efficient for them. This behavior suggests that the sharks were stalling while they selected the best seal to attack. 

“This strategy is as close to a ‘sit-and-wait’ strategy as is possible for perpetual swimmers, such as white sharks,” said Professor Yuuki Watanabe.

Sharks are unable to pump water through their gills, so they have to keep swimming to stay alive. In order to obtain the oxygen they need, they swim through the ocean with enough energy to force the water through their gills.

The experts tagged sharks off the coast of the Neptune Islands in Australia to examine how fast they usually travel. They witnessed the sharks slowing down to a speed that was completely unexpected because it would be so costly in terms of energy. The findings suggest that catching a nutrient-rich seal is worth the energy that is spent. Slow-moving sharks are preparing to strike, just like in the movies


“Overall, our results support our hypothesis that white sharks aggregating near seal colonies adopt slow speeds that may be optimized to increase encounter rates with fast-swimming seals while reducing swimming costs,” wrote the study authors. 

The research is published in the <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/">Journal of Experimental Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Slow-moving sharks are preparing to strike, just like in the movies

Slow-moving sharks are preparing to strike, just like in the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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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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