When naturalists tally the frogs in a farm pond or the orchids in a mountain meadow they always encounter the same rule of thumb: when you survey a larger range, the more species you find. The relationship seems simple, yet ecologists have puzzled over an odd signature hidden in species distribution data for nearly a century.



As one zooms out from local plots to regional landscapes. the tally of new species first soars. Then, it plateaus, taking off again at continental and global scales. That curious “S-shaped” curve is technically, the three-phase species–area relationship. 



It has appeared in everything from beetles to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-wings-have-a-surprising-effect-on-island-biodiversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a> and from coral reefs to desert shrubs. Until now, no single mathematical framework explained why the curve changes its slope where it does.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predicting-species-distributions">Predicting species distributions </h2>



A collaboration of researchers spanning Portugal, Germany, the United States and South Africa has now filled that theoretical gap. 



The experts combined basic geometry with giant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-are-the-biggest-drivers-of-biodiversity-loss/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity</a> datasets to show that the three phases arise inevitably from the way individual species spread their geographic ranges across Earth’s surface.



The team's model not only reproduces the classic patterns, it also generates equations that predict how many species should occur at the precise break points between phases - a feat with direct relevance for conservation planners who must estimate extinctions as habitats are lost.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-range-size-affects-species-distributions">Range size affects species distributions</h2>



Ecologists formalized the species-area relationship (SAR) in the early twentieth century, discovering that a log-log plot of cumulative species versus area usually forms a straight line. Yet when studies started to cover larger domains, investigators found the line was actually composed of three segments.



In the first segment, from local quadrants to perhaps a few hundred square kilometers, adding more land brings a flood of new species because each little patch contains slightly different microhabitats. In the middle segment, spanning thousands of square kilometers, the pace slackens; the same bird species, for instance, occupy most forests inside a biogeographic region. 



Beyond that, when continents are added, evolutionary history enters the picture and the slope shoots up again as entirely different faunas come into view. Empirically describing those bends was straightforward; explaining them from first principles proved harder. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-individual-ranges-of-species">Individual ranges of species</h2>



“We demonstrated that the individual geographical ranges of all species within the studied areas shape the typical species distribution patterns we observe across the globe,” said lead author Luís Borda-de-Água of <a href="https://www.cibio.up.pt/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CIBIO</a> in Portugal.



By mathematically stacking these ranges like overlapping tiles on a floor plan, the team showed that the SAR’s inflection points fall where the average range size of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-temperature-extremes-change-the-distribution-of-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resident species</a> equals the sampling area. At small scales most ranges eclipse the plot, so each extra hectare introduces new species.



At intermediate scales the plot begins to rival range size, so fewer novelties appear. At the largest scales even the widest-ranging species occupy only one continent, restoring the steep climb.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-patterns-and-crunching-records">Testing patterns and crunching records</h2>



To test the idea the researchers turned to the <a href="https://www.gbif.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Biodiversity Information Facility</a>, a compendium of citizen-science sightings and museum records. They extracted roughly 700 million geo-referenced observations spanning birds, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-40-of-amphibians-face-extinction-due-to-escalating-climate-threats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amphibians</a>, mammals and vascular plants.



For each taxonomic group they generated empirical SARs and compared them with the theoretical predictions. The correspondence was striking: predicted transition points - where the slope of the SAR changes - matched the observed curves within confidence bounds for all groups.



Borda-de-Água noted that this is a major step forward in ecology because it links a macroecological pattern to a simple, measurable property - range size - without invoking mysterious external factors. 



Senior author Henrique Pereira is a research professor at the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research <a href="https://www.idiv.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(iDiv</a>) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. 



Pereira emphasized the significance of the research. “Discovering fundamental principles in ecology is just as thrilling as breakthroughs in physics.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-practical-stakes-for-a-shrinking-planet"><a></a>Practical stakes for a shrinking planet</h2>



Beyond intellectual satisfaction the model carries weighty consequences for biodiversity assessments. International panels such as IPBES rely on SARs to translate lost habitat into predicted extinctions. 



If analysts know where a landscape sits on the three-phase curve they can apply the correct slope and avoid over- or under-estimating risk. The new equations provide exactly that guidance. 



Suppose a logged forest fragment still covers more area than the average range of its endemic beetles; species losses may be modest. But once destruction pushes the fragment below the first transition threshold, disappearing hectares cause a much steeper decline in species count.



Because the theory is scale-free it can also help conservationists decide whether sampling has been adequate. If observed species richness does not yet reach the slowdown phase, additional survey work is warranted before managers proclaim an inventory complete.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shifting-species-distributions">Shifting species distributions </h2>



The authors acknowledge that species’ ranges are not static. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-action-and-biodiversity-striking-the-right-balance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Climate change</a>, invasive species, and land-use shifts continually redraw distribution maps. 



Incorporating dynamic range models into the three-phase framework will be a priority, as will extending tests to marine organisms and microbes, whose ranges are harder to delineate.



Still, the study offers a rare optimism amid grim extinction headlines. By revealing the geometry behind one of ecology’s most robust laws, scientists gain a clearer lens through which to view and perhaps mitigate humanity’s impact on life’s diversity.



As Pereira puts it, advances like these “unveil hidden patterns that have been shaping life on Earth for millions of years,” providing the knowledge base needed to steer those patterns, responsibly, into the future.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59239-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Saving biodiversity: Scientists discover hidden pattern guiding species distributions

When naturalists tally the frogs in a farm pond or the orchids in a mountain meadow they always encounter the same rule of thumb: when you survey a larger range, the more species you find. The relationship seems simple, yet ecologists have puzzled over an odd signature hidden in species distribution data for nearly a century. As one zooms out from local plots to regional landscapes. the tally of new species first soars. Then, it plateaus, taking off again at continental and global scales. That curious “S-shaped”...

A friend of mine is a natural history sculptor.  Recently he showed me some life-like sculptures of a little known porpoise – the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/vaquitas-go-extinct-year/">vaquita</a>, a quite small species native only to the northern part of the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California).  The Vaquita is quite striking as a real animal or even as a statue. The little animal is colored in subtle shades of grey slightly reminiscent of an orca but larger females only reach a length of about 55.4 inches and males an average length of 53.1 inches.  Not only is their size small, but the <a href="https://swfsc.noaa.gov/MMTD-Vaquita/">NOAA</a> reports that they have the smallest range of any marine mammal in the world and have a population of less than 30 individuals.  

The dwindling number of vaquitas is the result of a small population isolated in a small geographic area pushed hard by dangerous fishing practices.  According to the NOAA, the vaquita populations was approximately 567 individuals in 1997, but has declined by over 95% to its low point today.  

Fishing for Totoaba, a large, six foot long, 200 pound fish has been a large part of the porpoise’s decline.  The Totoaba is harvested for its swim bladder which is exported to China for use as food and traditional ‘medicine’.  The swim bladders can bring as much as $8,500 per kilogram, an exorbitant price. Gillnets used to catch the Totoaba and other fish in the area often catch vaquita by accident, often drowning the porpoise.  Vaquita conservationists agree that for the small porpoise to be saved, gill net fishing must be halted completely in the vaquita range. 

According to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/02/americas/mexico-bans-gill-nets-vaquita-porpoise/index.html">CNN</a>, the Mexican government announced a permanent ban on gillnet fishing as late as 2017 but it’s hard to say whether or not it’s already too late for the vaquita.  Some scientists have also been working towards a desperate captive breeding program as a way to save the vaquita. The plan is risky in entering uncharted waters – no one has ever successfully captured a live vaquita, much less raised one in captivity.    

[caption id="attachment_1867591" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/vaquita.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1867591" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/vaquita.jpeg" alt="" width="700" height="367" /></a> Image Credit: Greenpeace, Marcelo Otero[/caption]

Captive breeding would make it possible for the critically endangered porpoise to live and breed away from the dangers of fishing and other threats.  Unfortunately, plans to catch vaquitas for the captive breeding program in 2017 went very wrong. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/vaquita-porpoise-mexico-extinction/545204/">The Atlantic</a> reports that <a href="https://www.vaquitacpr.org/">Vaquita CPR</a>, an international collaborative organization, was behind the efforts to create a captive breeding program.  With a 67 person team as well as four US Navy trained dolphins, the organization carefully tracked down the few remaining vaquitas and captured two.  The vaquitas were located by the navy dolphins using their own sonar and herded into sea enclosures by the dolphins. The enclosures were to be protective cages for the vaquitas.    

The first vaquita was a calf that had to be released due to stress.  The second was an adult female who died before she could be released.  The death placed a shadow over the captive breeding program as well as vaquita conservation efforts in general.  Saving the vaquita is only one part of a greater fight to save the Sea of Cortez.

According to <a href="https://mission-blue.org/2012/12/saving-the-wonders-of-the-sea-of-cortez/">Mission Blue</a>, the Sea of Cortez is the world’s youngest sea.  The sea is also home to 900 islands where birds nest and iguanas live.  6,000 species of birds have been observed in the Sea of Cortez and scientists think there may be as many as 30% more species that utilize the place.  There are endemic coyotes and snakes living on some of the islands. The Sea of Cortez is only 750 miles long from the Colorado River delta to the tip of Baja California.  Anyone who’s spent time in the region and really looked at the landscape knows it’s a wondrous one full of life and beauty. There are at least 5,000 invertebrate species and almost a thousand fish species live in the Sea of Cortez.  The place is also inexorably connected to the western United States.

The Colorado River once made the northern end of the Sea of Cortez a wetland paradise for birds and other animals as well as plants.  Much of the western US is arid and the human populations that inhabit it seem to be continuously thirsty. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-colorado-river-runs-dry-61427169/">Smithsonian Magazine</a> reports that dams, irrigation and even climate change have reduced a once mighty river to a trickle as it strains towards its end in Mexico.  The Colorado River ends 50 miles north of the Sea of Cortez. 70 percent or more of the Colorado River is diverted for use on crops. Even dams have been lower than expected in recent years.  

The Colorado River once flowed in the home of the vaquita, now on the verge of extinction.  Both problems are linked together geographically and ecologically. The decline of wild rivers and wild marine mammals are also both connected to a burst in human population and greed.

In <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/colorado-river-delta-proof-natures-resiliency">2014</a> there was a collaboration between the US and Mexico to experiment with the Colorado River.  Dams were opened and a river flowed in what had for much of living memory been nothing but a dry ditch.  Children in the desert played in the river as their ancestors must’ve once done. The water came in a short but dramatic burst, nothing meant to last.  

In 2017, <a href="https://tucson.com/news/local/more-water-more-restoration-bound-for-colorado-river-delta/article_099f6f47-b507-5dc8-8c89-3c1df9f0f2a0.html">Tucson.com</a> reported on plans to release more water into the delta in smaller but more continuous amounts.  The aim was to restore wetlands at least in whatever way was possible. The results have been impressive.  More than 230,000 cottonwoods and willows have been planted in an area where they now stand a chance. It seems the wetlands needed little more to survive than what the river gave them, simply water.  Restoring them was a bit more work. 

What we can learn from both the vaquita and the wetlands area is that it’s easier to leave nature alone than to interfere in the first place.  Trying to save the vaquita now that we’ve nearly pushed it into extinction may be a lesson in futility. Damming a river for own needs seems to be failing in its own way as well, only temporarily delaying a greater water crisis.  For now, let us hope we can let water flow. If we’re lucky, leaving the vaquita alone is what they need most to survive as well. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach FItzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer                    

Image Credit: Paula Olson, NOAA

Verge of extinction: How efforts to save the vaquita backfired

A friend of mine is a natural history sculptor.  Recently...

Experts at the <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> have found that insects are vanishing at a rate of 2.5 percent per year, which is eight times faster than mammals, birds, or reptiles. At this rate, it is possible that insects could disappear entirely within a century.

The research adds to a growing collection of studies which suggest that Earth has entered into its sixth mass extinction. If this is the case, then we are now experiencing the first major extinction event in 66 million years. 

The current study represents the first global scientific survey of the state of insects. The research team determined that 41 percent of all insect species are currently in decline. Scientists are warning that the loss of these insects will trigger a “catastrophic collapse” of ecosystems across the globe.

While critics argue that the claims are exaggerated, the study authors insist that they are not. The researchers hope that the shocking findings will help to raise awareness about insect conservation.

<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6689581/Scientists-warn-insects-extinct-century.html">MailOnline</a> reports that the alarming decline of insects discovered by the study authors prompted them to use a forceful approach that is highly unusual for scientific papers. Both the researchers and the journal editors agreed that a condescending tone was necessary to draw attention to the urgency of this global crisis.

Over the past decade, 53 percent of butterfly species have declined, along with 46 percent of bees species. Dragonflies and beetles are also in a major state of decline, while 68 percent of all caddisfly species are dwindling.

Dr. Andrew Bladon is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Cambridge. He explained to MailOnline that it is unlikely that all insects will ever die out, but their numbers will drop so low that it will minimize their ecological function.

“It is probably very unlikely that you would lose every single insect, but highly likely that if we do not change agricultural practices we will lose the vast majority of species and individuals,” Dr. Bladon told MailOnline. “An important point to make is that long before the last one died it would be ecologically extinct and unable to perform their function.”

“They would offer no pollination or pest control services and be an insufficient food source for many animals. If this was to happen, humanity would be in a poor place.”

While the experts found that intensive agriculture is the “root cause of the problem,” they identified additional threats to insects including climate change, habitat loss, and disease.

“The trends confirm that the sixth major extinction event is profoundly impacting life forms on our planet,” wrote the study authors. “Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades. The repercussions this will have for the planet's ecosystems are catastrophic to say the least."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/biological-conservation">Biological Conservation</a>.

--

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>

Insects may be completely wiped out within a century, scientists warn

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

Geologist Abderrazak El Albani and his team from the <a href="http://ic2mp.labo.univ-poitiers.fr/index.php/language/en/">Institut de chimie des milieux et matériaux de Poitiers (CNRS/Université de Poitiers)</a> have discovered the oldest evidence of mobility on Earth. This new evidence, discovered in a fossil deposit in Gabon in Central Africa, is estimated to be about 2.1 billion years old. Previously discovered remnants of mobility have only been dated to 570 million years ago.

El Albani and his team also discovered the oldest existing <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ancient-fossils-antarctic-subglacial-lake/">fossils</a> of multicellular organisms in the same basin in Gabon. These ancient fossils helped the team prove that the appearance of multicellular life on Earth began around 2.1 billion years ago — about 1.5 billion years earlier than previously estimated. Now, with the discovery of fossilized motility evidence, researchers now know that certain of these multicellular organisms were evolved enough to move around in the mud.

[caption id="attachment_1867583" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/mobility.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1867583" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/mobility.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="258" /></a> Image Credit: A. El Albani / IC2MP / CNRS - Université de Poitiers[/caption]

This evidence, published February 11th in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">PNAS</a>, was found and three-dimensionally reconstructed via X-ray computed microtomography. The team found the traces of motility to be tubular and generally consistent in diameter. These sinuous-like structures run through fine layers of sedimentary rock and are biological in origin.

Researchers believe that the organisms responsible for leaving these traces moved in search of nutritive elements and the dioxygen, both produced by cyanobacteria. They may have been similar in appearance to colonial amoebae, which cling together when resources are scarce, thus forming a type of slug that searches for a better environment.

Finding evidence of mobility this far back in history raises new questions such as, was this movement a prelude to more complex and perfected forms of movement? And/or did the drop in oxygen cut this evolutionary mobility short?

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: A. El Albani / IC2MP / CNRS - Université de Poitiers

Oldest evidence of mobility on Earth discovered in Gabon

Geologist Abderrazak El Albani and his team from the Institut...

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is an illness in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/decline-hunting/">deer</a>, elk, and moose that attacks the brain and spinal cord, causes drastic weight loss, aggression, and eventually leads to death. It’s sometimes referred to as “zombie deer disease” because of the disease causes an infected animal to waste away. 

According to a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/occurrence.html">recent update</a> by the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control</a> (CDC), the disease has spread to 24 states in the US and two provinces in Canada. There have also been cases of CWD reported in Norway and Finland among reindeer and moose. 

First reported in Colorado in the 1960s among captive deer, CWD later spread to wild deer across the US. 

“Since 2000, the area known to be affected by CWD in free-ranging animals has increased to at least 24 states, including states in the Midwest, Southwest, and limited areas on the East Coast,” the CDC reports. “Once CWD is established in an area, the risk can remain for a long time in the environment. The affected areas are likely to continue to expand.”

In some cases, it can take years for an infected animal to show signs, but once the disease is visible, the symptoms are severe. 

The CDC says that the prevalence of the disease is still relatively low even though it’s spreading and that infection rates are much higher among captive deer. 

As of yet, there’s no evidence that the disease can spread to humans, but the CDC reports that experiments have produced varied results with the disease infecting <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/transmission.html">squirrel monkeys, mice and macaques</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bizarre “zombie” deer disease has now spread to 24 states

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is an illness in deer, elk,...

Perching birds, also known as passerines, make up about 6,500 of the 10,000 bird species alive today. There was a time, however, when these birds were rare. Scientists recently discovered a passerine species from 52 million years ago, which is now the earliest known specimen of its kind.

“This is one of the earliest known perching birds. It's fascinating because passerines today make up most of all bird species, but they were extremely rare back then. This particular piece is just exquisite,” said study co-author Lance Grande, who is a distinguished curator at the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>. “It is a complete skeleton with the feathers still attached, which is extremely rare in the fossil record of birds.”

Eofringillirostrum boudreauxi, which was found in what is now Wyoming, is the earliest example of a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/nesting-roadway-tropical-birds/">bird</a> with a beak like modern-day sparrows and finches. The finch-like beak of the ancient bird gives experts some insight into its diet.

“These bills are particularly well-suited for consuming small, hard seeds,” said study lead author Daniel Ksepka.

Grande added that the earliest birds probably ate insects and fish, and some may have eaten small lizards. “Until this discovery, we did not know much about the ecology of early passerines. E. boudreauxi gives us an important look at this.”

The fossil skeleton of E. boudreauxi was found near Fossil Lake, a site that is known for having perfect fossilization conditions.

[caption id="attachment_1867414" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/perching-bird.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1867414" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/perching-bird.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="819" /></a> Image (c) Lance Grande, Field Museum[/caption]

“Fossil Lake is a really graphic picture of an entire community locked in stone - it has everything from fishes and crocs to insects, pollen, reptiles, birds, and early mammals,” said Grande. “We have spent so much time excavating this locality, that we have a record of even the very rare things.”

“Knowing what happened in the past gives us a better understanding of the present and may help us figure out where we are going for the future.”


Grande will continue to explore the site. “I've been going to Fossil Lake every year for the last 35 years, and finding this bird is one of the reasons I keep going back. It's so rich,” said Grande. “We keep finding things that no one's ever seen before.”

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

The earliest known perching bird found in Fossil Lake, Wyoming

Perching birds, also known as passerines, make up about 6,500...

Caves challenge our bravery.  Dark winding passages can hide any danger.  Dangers are abundant, bat guano in large amounts can create ammonia to levels that can cause an adult to lose consciousness.  It’s easy for the unwary to hit their head on rock ceilings or trip on uneven floors. Once a flashlight runs out, a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/inside-caves/">cave</a> becomes a vast maze navigated in pitch blackness.  

Caves can also be a place to hide from danger.  Crocodiles hiding in caves sound like a dragon myth replete with human skeletons littering a dark den come to life.  Cave dwelling crocodiles are a reality, though. But the reason crocodiles live in caves may have more to do with hiding from danger than lurking in the dark waiting for unwary prey.

Throughout Africa, the bushmeat trade as well as trades in crocodile skin have devastated a once healthy crocodile population.  Fear of the reptiles only makes the situation worse, even for the relatively tiny African Dwarf Crocodile which reach a maximum length of less than two meters.  Such pressure from human hunting may be the driving force behind some crocodiles in Africa taking shelter inside caves. Luckily for crocodiles, local people in Africa are often reluctant to enter caves.      

In Gabon, research on cave dwelling crocodiles is still in its infancy.  Cave dwelling crocodiles in Madagascar haven’t yet been researched in any real way.  In Gabon, researchers first noticed what appear to be African Dwarf Crocodiles in the Abanda cave system in 2016, <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/abanda-gabon-orange-cave-african-dwarf-crocodiles-spd/">National Geographic</a> reports.

The crocodiles live in pools with large amounts of bat guano in them.  The guano seems to bleach the skin color of the older crocs to a strange orange-ish hue, which is strikingly different from the more common green/brown color.  The crocodiles also seem to eat mainly bats as opposed to the mostly fish diet of their non-cave dwelling relatives. 

Scientists believe that young crocodiles can come and go from the caves small openings at will, but once a croc grows to a certain size, it may be trapped in the subterranean ecosystem for the rest of its life.  Researchers have found real genetic differences in the cave dwelling crocodiles which suggests that they’ve been evolving differently from the top side African Dwarf Crocodiles. Interestingly, outside of cave environments, the African Dwarf Crocodiles are also nocturnal, making the transition into cave living relatively straightforward.  

But there are still many unanswered questions about the crocodiles. Scientists have no knowledge of how the crocodiles mate.  If after growing to a certain length, the crocodiles are truly trapped in the cave environment, it puts real restrictions on reproduction.  In most African Dwarf Crocodiles, vegetation is an important part of nest material. Crocodiles are ectotherms or ‘cold blooded’, so they rely on decay from plant material and other methods to regulate nest incubation temperatures.  Inside caves, there isn’t much available plant material for a crocodile to use for nesting. Perhaps the crocodiles have found a way to leave the cave for breeding, perhaps they are incapable of breeding after reaching a certain size.  More interestingly, it’s possible that the cave crocodiles actually nest inside the caves, a possibility that has yet to be observed. 

Even more mysterious are the cave crocodiles of Madagascar.  Madagascar is a place with a large human population and a related pressure upon the island’s wildlife.  People hunt crocodiles in Madagascar for the same reasons they do elsewhere in Africa and the rest of the world – for food, money and safety.  Ankarana Reserve in Madagascar has crocodiles hiding in caves, but it’s uncertain whether they spend as much time underground as those in Gabon.  

The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/">New York Times</a> <a href="https://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/">Scientist at Work</a> column reports that ichthyologist John Sparks investigated the crocodiles informally.  Dr. Sparks had been studying cave fishes in Madagascar when he first encountered the cave crocodiles.  Unlike the crocodiles in Gabon, those of Madagascar are Nile Crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus), a much larger species.  The cave with crocodiles yielded no interesting cave fishes for research but is waiting for a crocodile specialist to carry out research.  It could be that these crocodiles too are undergoing subtle evolution different from above ground crocodiles in Madagascar. 

Various accounts of the caves in the region say that there are various habitats within the cave system from dry guano beds to blue pools and even ‘sunken isolated forests’.  It sounds like a mythical underground world separate from the above ground like Madagascar is separate from the rest of the world and still connected. Bat guano in the caves supply a rich source of nutrients for animals like fishes and shrimp that the crocodiles could in turn feed upon.  The longest cave in the system, Ambatoharanana ‘crocodile’ cave, is 18 km long, big enough for many crocodiles to hide in. Some other caves in the system are also quite large, as long as 10 to 11 km. 

Much like the dwarf crocodiles in Gabon, little is known about how exactly crocodiles utilize the caves in Madagascar.  The caves likely keep crocodiles from being killed. There was a species of crocodile, Voay robustus, endemic to Madagascar.  Tellingly, the crocodile is thought to have gone extinct shortly after humans arrived on Madagascar roughly 2000 years ago.  As with many aspects of Malagasy culture, there are many different perceptions surrounding wildlife in general and crocodiles specifically in different parts of the island.  <a href="https://www.madamagazine.com/en/der-see-der-krokodile/">Mada Magazine</a> reports that there is a village in Madagascar where the locals make sacrifices of zebu (a type of cow) meat to crocodiles connected mythically to their ancestors.  Despite this, there are also Malagasy that are quick to kill crocodiles and this pressure might be driving the reptiles underground to become a different type of animal.                          

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Why some crocodiles hide out in caves

Caves challenge our bravery.  Dark winding passages can hide any...

The past few years have shown us the deadly and wide-reaching impacts that natural disasters can have on people, their homes, the environment, and also animals. But now, a <a href="https://titus.house.gov/sites/titus.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/PREPARED%20Act%20text%20116th_FINAL.pdf">newly introduced bill</a>, named the Providing Responsible Emergency Plans for Animals at risk of Emerging Disasters (PREPARED) Act, would require entities regulated under the Animal Welfare Act to have emergency plans for their animals.

The safety of animals during natural disasters was a relatively obscure issue until Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans in 2005. The aftermath of the hurricane shed a light on the lack of emergency services for pets affected by natural disasters. Many victims refused disaster services, risking their own lives because they would have to leave their beloved pets behind. Others had to make the heart-wrenching decision to leave without their companions. An estimated 600,000 pets died or were left without shelter during Hurricane Katrina, according to<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hurricane-harvey-shelter-saves-cats-dogs-pets-new-orleans-a7936976.html"> The Independent</a>.

Lawmakers responded to this tragedy by passing The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act which mandated that states, cities and counties needed to include pets and service animals in their disaster relief plans in order to receive federal funding. The PETS Act was a ground-breaking law that changed the future of disaster planning. However, commercially owned animals were not included in this change.

The PREPARED Act hopes to fill this gap by requiring that entities covered under the Animal Welfare Act, such as zoos, circuses, commercial breeding facilities and research facilities, develop and implement emergency contingency plans. The contingency plans need to cover a wide range of emergencies including natural disasters, electrical outages and animal escapes. The bill was introduced by Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Pete King (R-NY).

“The lives of animals are too precious to leave to chance,” said Representative Dina Titus in a<a href="https://titus.house.gov/press-releases/reps-titus-king-introduce-bipartisan-prepared-act-to-protect-animals-during"> press release</a>. “This bipartisan bill will ensure that zoos, commercial breeders, research facilities, and the like are prepared to keep their animals safe when disaster strikes. Sadly, we’ve learned that if these entities do not have a plan in place when an emergency hits, it is already too late. I’m grateful for the support of Representative King and the many animal advocacy organizations that are helping advance this important legislation.”

As we have<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/zoo-animals-natural-disaster/"> previously reported</a>, zoo animals have suffered through natural disasters, sometimes dying because of the extreme conditions. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums requires all of their member animal care facilities to develop and test an emergency plan. Not all zoos are members of the AZA though, and the AZA requirements do not cover other facilities such as research laboratories which can house a large number of animals.

“When disasters strike, preparation is crucial to effective response,” said Association of Zoos and Aquariums President and CEO Dan Ashe in a statement. “AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums are leaders in disaster preparedness, and our 233 member facilities applaud Congresswoman Titus and her cosponsors for their leadership in introducing the PREPARED Act. It will provide needed and helpful focus in an era of changing climate and increasingly unpredictable and severe weather events.”

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

New bill mandates emergency plans for commercially owned animals

The past few years have shown us the deadly and...

Scientists estimate that the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/taller-older-rainforests-drought/">Amazon rainforest</a> is home to one-third of the world's plants and animals, but with so many species yet to discover, this could be an understatement. Experts at Chicago's <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> are describing six previously unknown species of catfish that can be distinguished by a face covered in tentacles. 

Study lead author Lesley de Souza is a conservation scientist and ichthyologist at the museum. 

“We discovered six new species of really cool catfish from the Amazon and Orinoco River basins,” said de Souza. “They have tentacles on their snouts, they have spines that stick out from their heads, almost like claws, to protect themselves and their nests, and their body is covered with bony plates like armor. They're warriors, they're fish superheroes.”

The catfish are all members of the genus Ancistrus, or bristlenose catfish. At the aquarium, these are the sucker-mouthed “algae-eaters” that help clean the tanks. 

The fish are between three and six inches long, and the males have tentacles covering their snouts, which help them stand out to potential mates. Ancistrus catfish fathers are responsible for guarding nests of eggs and protecting them from predators, and the tentacles make them appear qualified for the job. 

“The idea is that when a female fish sees a male with these tentacles, to her, they look like eggs. That signifies to her that he's a good father who's able to produce offspring and protect them,” explained de Souza.

The catfish can be found in northeastern South America in clear, fast-moving rivers and streams. 

“If you're in the right habitat, you're going to find a lot of them,” said de Souza. “But they are sensitive to subtle changes in the environment, we have seen this at sites where they were plentiful and now scarce, this is due to habitat destruction.”

[caption id="attachment_1867344" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/catfish.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1867344" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/catfish.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="262" /></a> Image Credit: Jonathan W. Armbruster[/caption]

Some of the biggest threats are large-scale agriculture, deforestation, and gold mining. 

“Miners dredge up the river bottom causing increased sediment load, this changes the habitat structure of the river system, thus impacting the fishes ability to survive,” said de Souza. “Another effect from gold mining is the use of mercury to extract the gold in the river. This impacts all wildlife and principally local people that consume these fishes and other species in the watershed.”

“The whole ecosystem is interconnected - you can't separate the species in it. Giant river otters love to eat these catfish, and jaguars have been observed to have higher mercury levels from eating contaminated fish or other species that feed on fish. This can have dire impacts on the whole ecosystem. All the layers of the Amazon basin are interconnected from the rivers to the forest canopy.”

According to de Souza, the process of saving the Amazon starts with discovering new species and giving them names. With so many potentially unknown species remaining in the Amazon, the work will continue. 

“I have this undying curiosity - what's around that bend, that corner, what's in that creek, what can I find? And this project was all about discovery, whether we were finding new species in rivers in Guyana or in jars in museum collections. This study included more than 500 specimens, but this is just a drop in the bucket - there's still so much more to learn about Ancistrus and other Neotropical fish.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/">Zootaxa</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Six new strange-looking catfish species discovered in South America

Scientists estimate that the Amazon rainforest is home to one-third...

One of the oldest cases of bone cancer was recently discovered in a 240-million-year-old shell-less stem-turtle fossil known as Pappochelys rosinae, proving that cancer has been around long before humans.

The turtle lived during the middle <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-triassic-period/">Triassic</a> when dinosaurs first began to appear, and the species is an integral part of the modern-day turtle’s evolutionary history. 

A fossil of Pappochelys rosinae, first discovered in 2013 and kept in the <a href="https://www.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/intl/englisch/stuttgart-state-museum-natural-history">Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History</a>, had a mysterious growth on its back leg bone. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/en">Natural History Museum in Berlin</a> studied the bone growth and found that it was a malignant and aggressive tumor.

“This is one of the oldest cases of cancer in the fossil record of vertebrates, and the oldest case in an amniote, which is the group that encompasses reptiles, birds and mammals,” said Florian Witzmann, an author of a study detailing the bone cancer.

[caption id="attachment_1867422" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Ancient-turtle-fossil-proves-that-cancer-long-predates-humans-copy.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1867422" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Ancient-turtle-fossil-proves-that-cancer-long-predates-humans-copy.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="471" /></a> Image Credit: Rainer Schoch/Wikimedia[/caption]

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Oncology, highlights the importance of paleopathology which is the study of ancient diseases.

This recent finding is particularly noteworthy because it’s difficult to find cancers in early fossils.

“Generally, paleopathologies are rare in fossils, particularly malignant cancers which are almost unheard of in the fossil record, making this a rare find indeed,” said Patrick Asbach, a co-author of the study.

The researchers scanned the turtle fossil and examined the growth under a microscope to help identify the tumor, which was located in the back of the left leg toward the hip joint.

The earliest case of bone cancer in humans was found in the bone of an ancient human ancestor that died in South Africa between 1.6 and 1.8 million years ago.

[caption id="attachment_1867423" align="aligncenter" width="634"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/turtle.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1867423" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/turtle.jpg" alt="" width="634" height="777" /></a> Image Credit: JAMA Oncology[/caption]

Because there are so few cases of cancer that pop up in the fossil record, researchers know very little about the disease’s origins, and there has long been an assumption that cancer is a modern malady.

“Our finding provides further evidence that cancer is not restricted to the modern human physiology. Instead, the susceptibility to this disease roots far back in the evolutionary history of vertebrates, hundreds of millions of years before the origin of humans,” said Yara Haridy, the first 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 

Main Image Credit: Rainer Schoch/Wikimedia

Ancient turtle fossil proves that cancer long predates humans

One of the oldest cases of bone cancer was recently...

New research published by <a href="https://www.unl.edu/">University of Nebraska-Lincoln</a> shows that in Earth’s largest mass extinction, plants were likely killed off before animals started to wink out.  While this pattern of death is somewhat intuitive, it has real implications to our lives today.

About 252 million years ago, 70% of land vertebrates like you and me died off.  Along with animals living on land, 96% of ocean life also died off. The cause of the extinction seems to be from massive volcanic eruptions in what is now modern Siberia triggered by collision of tectonic plates.  

The volcanic eruptions threw ash and other pollutants into the air, creating a global cooling event, similar to a hypothetical nuclear winter.  Nickel from the eruption in particular may have killed off plants now fossilized in Australia 400,000 years before most of the marine extinctions occurred.  Scientists with University of Nebraska-Lincoln have been studying pollen fossils in the sea cliffs of Australia’s Sydney Basin where high levels of nickel have been found associated with pollen.  The scientists hypothesize that the nickel was turned into an aerosol by the volcanic eruptions in Siberia, and rained down on plant life, poisoning it and kicking off the mass extinction event. Unexpectedly high levels of nickel have been recorded in other parts of the world as well.    

The extinction, commonly called the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/permian-mass-extinction/">end Permian extinction event</a>, came along at a time of great change in the history of life on Earth.  In the Permian oceans, there was a rich diversity of shellfish. There were cephalopods that looked much like the modern nautilus with coiled snail-like shells enclosing bodies more like squids.  On land, enormous primitive dragonflies were fearsome predators. Mammals were just on the verge of evolving from reptiles. The whole planet was alien to modern eyes but full of an abundance of wildlife.  Plants of the time were mainly ‘primitive’; flowering plants not having evolved yet. Still the primitive forms supported entire ecosystems and filled niches later occupied by more ‘advanced’ forms. Ferns, mosses, gymnosperms and equisetum are a few examples of the plants that dominated the Permian landscape.      

If nickel did indeed kill off large amounts of plants, it’s easy to see how this would devastate whole ecosystems.  When there are no plants, herbivores starve and die. When there are no herbivores, carnivores starve and die. It’s a pretty straightforward connection between the extinction of plants and the extinction of animals.

An earlier paper in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818110002286">Global and Planetary Change</a> discusses how plant composition changed at the extinction at the end of the Permian.  Before the end Permian extinction event, gymnosperms seem to be the most prevalent plants.  Gymnosperms are best represented today by conifers such as pine trees, that is plants bearing cones are gymnosperms as opposed to flowered plants.  Gymnosperms are more often pollinated by wind than insects like flowering plants. After the end Permian extinction event, there is a shift from a dominance of gymnosperms in the fossil record to a dominance of lycopods.  Lycopods are plants much more easily missed than gymnosperms. Commonly known as ground pines or creeping cedars, lycopods reproduce via spores, similar to ferns. Lycopods are small and inconspicuous for the most part, looking a little like mosses with small cones that bear their spores sticking above the soil.

Interestingly, the shift from gymnosperm dominance to that of lycopods was relatively short-lived.  Despite plants being the first to die off, they also seem to be some of the first organisms to rebound from the massive extinction.  All major plant groups ended up surviving the end Permian extinction and helps to explain the lesser extent to which land animals died off when compared to marine organisms.  Perhaps even more interestingly, the turnover of different plant regimes and the rebound of plant diversity are linked to carbon in the atmosphere. 

A study published in <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/362/6419/eaat1327">Science</a> suggests that indeed, it was carbon and related ocean warming that drove the extinction of marine species.  The research shows that oceans at the end of the Permian rose in temperature by a staggering 20°F, and caused the loss of 80% of the ocean’s oxygen.  This change in temperature and dissolved gases obviously had devastating effects on life. In the long run, we can say that the oceans ‘recovered’ meaning that an abundance of new species evolved and again filled the waters with life.  In another view, something was lost forever. Individual species lost are lost forever but diversity can again recovery over extremely long periods of time. It’s easy to think of it like this – an individual child may die and the parents of that child might have three more.  We can say that on some level the family recovered from the loss of the child but we know on another level, they will never be the same.

An article in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/priyashukla/2018/12/10/what-we-can-learn-from-a-252-million-year-old-ocean-extinction/#535a08f4706e">Forbes</a> asks, ‘What can we learn’ from the Permian extinction?  As we are in a new age of mass extinction, partially caused by carbon emissions, there is a lot we can learn.  One disturbing takeaway is that ocean life may suffer more from climate change than terrestrial biota. Another lesson is that plant life is of utmost importance to the resilience and survival of terrestrial biodiversity.  It’s disturbing that along with carbon emissions, humans are also destroying millions of acres of forests. We’re also massively altering plant communities with agriculture. Sadly, we can only learn so much from the end Permian extinction because it happened at a much slower pace than our current extinction event.  The Permian event was on a scale of millions of years, now we’re working on a scale of hundreds or thousands of years. Beyond climate, habitat destruction, resource overuse, overhunting, and many more human created problems are driving our current extinction event. Only time will tell if plants can lead another rebound in diversity of life once humans are done wreaking destruction.      

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The plants go first: Lessons from Earth’s largest mass extinction

New research published by University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows that in...

Scientists have discovered a relative of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/black-widow-spiders-strong-silk/">Black Widow spider</a> in South Africa. The Phinda Button spider is the first new widow species to be described in 28 years, and may also be the largest of the poisonous widow spiders. 

Barbara Wright, an entomologist at the <a href="https://www.wildtomorrowfund.org/">Wild Tomorrow Fund</a>, initially found the spider in 2014 at Tembe Elephant Park. The experts speculate that the bite of the Phinda Button spider is comparable that of the Black Widow, which is considered to be the most venomous in North America. 

“Although we still haven't done the toxicology on this species, all widow spiders (genus Latrodectus) are considered medically important due to their potent neurotoxic venom,” said Wright. “The effects of the venom on human beings may include pain, palpitation, sweating and vomiting.”

“Previously-discovered species of widow spider make up three of the world's nine deadliest spiders, as listed by the Encyclopædia Britannica. Yet in truth, Latrodectus bites rarely result in death - and the same will likely be true of the new species.”

According to Dr. Ian Engelbrecht, an arachnid expert at the <a href="https://www.up.ac.za/">University of Pretoria</a>, the Phinda Button is native to the critically-endangered sand forests of South Africa. The females have distinctive bright red marks on both their back and underbelly. The spider can also be distinguished by its purple-colored egg sac, which holds hundreds of hatchlings.

According to Wright, the species is extremely shy, reclusive, and docile. She noted that there have been no reports of bites from them. While it has not yet been determined whether it is the largest widow spider in the world, Dr. Engelbrecht said it is “certainly the largest in Africa.”

“I immediately thought this was something special but I was uncertain if it was just some specimen that blew in from Madagascar or some other exotic place.”

[caption id="attachment_1867342" align="aligncenter" width="548"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/spider.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1867342" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/spider.jpg" alt="" width="548" height="368" /></a> Image Credit: Pen News/Luke Verburgt[/caption]

Dr. Engelbrecht helped Wright confirm that the Phinda Button is a new species.

“When Barbara showed me the first photo, I literally could not believe this spider existed and that it was unknown to science. Discovering a new species is always exciting, but the feeling of finding something so spectacular and unique is indescribable,” said Dr. Engelbrecht. “Widow and button spiders are medically important for humans, so it's important to understand their diversity.”
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer
Main Image Credit: Pen News/Luke Verburgt

New species of widow spider may be the largest of its kind

Scientists have discovered a relative of the Black Widow spider...

Aedes aegypti

Suppressing mosquito appetites could persuade them not to bite. New research from scientists at the <a href="https://www.rockefeller.edu/our-scientists/heads-of-laboratories/913-leslie-b-vosshall/">lab of Leslie B. Vosshall</a> from <a href="https://www.rockefeller.edu/">The Rockefeller University</a> reveals it may be possible shut down the host-seeking and blood-feeding behaviors of female mosquitoes. Their findings, published February 7th in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell</a>, could result in mosquitoes being rendered harmless creatures in the future.

Scientists experimented on the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species of mosquito responsible for spreading life-threatening diseases like Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever, and dengue. Female Aedes feed on human beings because our blood possesses protein needed for the Aedes to produce her eggs. After they feed and become bloated, they do not seek blood for several days.

This bloated phenomenon can be recreated by scientists injecting female <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/malarial-mosquitoes-cattle-decoys/">mosquitoes</a> with large doses of neuropeptides, which activate certain receptors. Laura Duvall, the postdoctoral fellow project leader, and her team were able to figure out which neuropeptide compound would work to suppress the mosquitos’ appetite — by studying similar receptors in our own human bodies. 

Duvall and her team found that anti-obesity drugs used to inhibit Neuropeptide Y or NPY receptors in humans — those being receptors that regulate food intake — could affect NPY-like receptors in mosquitoes as well.

"We were impressed and amazed that drugs designed to affect human appetite worked perfectly to suppress mosquito appetite," said Vosshall, Rockefeller’s Robin Chemers Neustein Professor.

After a series of neuropeptide cloning tests, the team found that the drug was affecting the mosquito NPY-like receptor known as NPYLR7.

Because this human drug could not be safely introduced into the wild, the team then searched for molecules that would activate NPYLR7 without triggering human NPY receptors. They narrowed down a list of 250,000 candidates to one molecule — compound 18, the molecule that suppressed Aedes' host-seeking behavior without showing off-target effects.Mosquitoes who were fed compound 18 didn’t hunt for human blood, nor other mammal’s blood. 

The next step is to find where the receptor is located within the mosquitoes’ bodies to help stop the spread of mosquito-transmitted diseases. And perhaps, compound 18 could be delivered to female mosquitoes in the wild to thwart disease before new disease-carrying mosquitoes are born.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Suppressing mosquito appetites could persuade them not to bite

Suppressing mosquito appetites could persuade them not to bite. New...

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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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
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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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" 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> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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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



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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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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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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The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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