Imagine a world where animals, like humans, form friendships that endure for years. A world where alliances are forged not through blood ties but through acts of mutual aid. 



This world exists all across Earth, but especially with a bird species called African starlings. They engage in reciprocal "helping" behavior, a concept once thought exclusive to humans.



A new study led by Alexis Earl, a former PhD student at <a href="https://www.columbia.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Columbia University</a> in Professor Dustin Rubenstein’s lab, has cracked open the complex social world of these birds. The findings challenge long-held assumptions that kinship alone drives cooperative behavior.



Instead, the study reveals that starlings form lasting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sparrows-have-fewer-friends-as-they-age-just-like-most-people/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">friendships</a>, built on the expectation that help given today will be returned tomorrow.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-african-starlings-more-than-family-groups">African starlings: More than family groups</h2>



African starling societies are anything but simple. These aren’t just tight-knit family groups. They’re intricate networks of related and unrelated individuals, living together, helping each other, and occasionally switching roles. 



“Starling societies are not just simple families,” Rubenstein said. “They’re much more complex, containing a mixture of related and unrelated individuals that live together, much in the way that humans do.”



The research team observed these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-birds-are-at-great-risk-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a> over 20 years at the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya. During 40 breeding seasons, they documented thousands of interactions among hundreds of birds. By collecting genetic data, they could trace familial ties and map out the social networks within each group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-birds-help-non-relatives">Birds help non-relatives</h2>



The data revealed a striking pattern. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-extinctions-shatter-the-harmonious-balance-of-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Birds</a> weren’t just helping relatives, they were helping non-relatives too.



And not just once - over and over again. These birds were forming relationships based on reciprocity, where the expectation wasn’t immediate repayment but long-term support.



Rubenstein emphasized the significance of these findings. “Many of these birds are essentially forming friendships over time,” he said. 



But why help a non-relative when a relative is nearby? For the starlings, the answer appears to lie in building a network of allies, a safety net that extends beyond family bonds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-role-reversals-and-unexpected-alliances">Role reversals and unexpected alliances</h2>



Starlings don’t stick to one role. They don’t remain helpers or breeders for life. Instead, they switch roles throughout their lifetimes, a phenomenon rarely seen in cooperative breeders. 



The researchers found that individuals frequently moved between helper and breeder roles, sometimes even after raising their own offspring.



This role-switching opened the door for reciprocal helping. A bird that helped another during one breeding season might later become a breeder and receive help from that same individual. 



The study tracked 528 helper-breeder pairs, and in 142 pairs, the same two birds swapped roles and helped each other over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-friendships-form-through-reciprocal-helping">Bird friendships form through reciprocal helping</h2>



Kin selection is a well-established concept in evolutionary biology. Helping family members ensures the survival of shared genes. But the researchers observed a different kind of bond in starlings - one based on reciprocity, not kinship.



Resident males typically helped relatives. Immigrant males, however, helped both kin and non-kin. In fact, the researchers found that the helping rate for reciprocating pairs was 242 percent higher than for non-reciprocating pairs. 



Clearly, these birds were forming alliances that went beyond genetic ties.



But kinship wasn’t entirely irrelevant. Resident females rarely became breeders, so they had fewer opportunities for reciprocal helping. Immigrant females, on the other hand, often moved between helper and breeder roles, forming bonds with specific non-relatives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-power-of-long-term-data">Power of long-term data</h2>



The depth of this study lies in its duration. Twenty years of observations, over 12,000 recorded helping interactions and more than 500 individual birds. 



This long-term dataset allowed the researchers to detect subtle patterns that would have been invisible in a shorter study.



Rubenstein believes these findings have broader implications. “I think this kind of reciprocal helping behavior is likely going on in a lot of animal societies, and people just haven’t studied them long enough to be able to detect it,” he said.



Without such extensive data, the role of reciprocal helping might have remained hidden beneath the more obvious kin-based helping patterns. The study underscores the importance of sustained observation in uncovering the intricacies of animal behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-animal-social-networks">Implications for animal social networks</h2>



Why would a bird help a non-relative, even when a relative is nearby? The answer may lie in the unpredictability of life in the African savannah. Food scarcity. Predator threats. Uncertain breeding success.



In such an environment, forming bonds with non-relatives could serve as a form of insurance. Birds that help today may receive help tomorrow when conditions worsen. It’s a strategy that maximizes survival, not just for the individual but for the entire group.



The researchers observed that these reciprocal bonds sometimes lasted for years. And in some cases, they were even stronger than bonds formed through kinship. 



By maintaining these alliances, birds could increase their chances of receiving support during critical breeding periods.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reciprocal-helping-in-other-birds">Reciprocal helping in other birds</h2>



This phenomenon isn’t limited to African starlings. Other bird species, such as green woodhoopoes and white-fronted bee-eaters, also exhibit reciprocal helping. However, the evidence of such behavior in non-relatives is rare.



The researchers argue that reciprocal helping may be more common than previously thought. The problem is that detecting it requires long-term observation - years, even decades. And that kind of data is difficult to obtain.



In the case of African starlings, the data revealed that reciprocal helping relationships sometimes persisted for multiple breeding seasons. Birds that helped each other one year often maintained that relationship, swapping roles and continuing to support one another over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions</h2>



What drives birds to choose specific partners for reciprocal helping? How do they recognize reliable allies? Are there cues - vocal signals, visual displays, prior interactions - that indicate trustworthiness?



The study raises more questions than it answers. The researchers plan to expand their observations to other species within the same environment. By doing so, they hope to determine whether reciprocal helping is a widespread strategy among cooperative breeders or a unique trait of African starlings.



Additionally, they aim to explore the impact of environmental factors on reciprocal helping. Does food scarcity strengthen these bonds? Do predator threats prompt birds to seek new allies?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-redefining-animal-cooperation">Redefining animal cooperation</h2>



The findings of this study challenge the conventional view that cooperative behavior in animals is driven solely by kin selection. While helping relatives remains a vital strategy, reciprocal helping may play an equally significant role in stabilizing social groups.



For the African starlings, reciprocal helping is a way to build alliances, secure support, and hedge against future uncertainties. It’s a strategy that mirrors human friendships - complex, enduring, and sometimes unpredictable.



“I think this kind of reciprocal helping behavior is likely going on in a lot of animal societies, and people just haven’t studied them long enough to be able to detect it,” Rubenstein said.



The study, published in Nature, provides a rare glimpse into the hidden world of animal friendships. It shows that even in the harsh and unpredictable environment of the African savannah, social bonds can form, endure, and evolve. 



And in the end, the birds that help today may just be the ones receiving help tomorrow.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08958-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Birds observed exhibiting many behaviors that resemble human friendships

Imagine a world where animals, like humans, form friendships that endure for years. A world where alliances are forged not through blood ties but through acts of mutual aid. This world exists all across Earth, but especially with a bird species called African starlings. They engage in reciprocal "helping" behavior, a concept once thought exclusive to humans. A new study led by Alexis Earl, a former PhD student at Columbia University in Professor Dustin Rubenstein’s lab, has cracked open the complex social world of these birds. The...

A tale of tails: Vestigial organs as evolutionary footprints “The leg bone’s connected to the hip bone…the hip bone’s connected to the backbone...”

So goes the song used to teach school children the skeletal structure. And a useful little ditty it is, at least in describing the human skeleton. But, in fact, neither of these lines applies to certain animals, such as whales and manatees. Their much-reduced pelvises are detached from their spinal columns. And when they have legs at all, they are minute and usually embedded inside the body. The same is true of snakes. These evolutionary artifacts are remnants of structures that were, in earlier incarnations of the creatures, useful and even essential. A tale of tails: Vestigial organs as evolutionary footprints 

They are “vestigial”, so-called after the Latin “vestigium,” for “footprint.” Vestigial features found in animals—and plants as well—provide some of the clearest evidence of their evolution from other organisms. Like a trail of footprints, the successive modification of these features can be traced back to their origins. As organisms adapted to new niches over the millennia, they lost the need to maintain certain organs and appendages. 

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/whales-select-new-songs/">Whales</a> and manatees lost the hind limbs so necessary to their terrestrial ancestors as they took to the seas, instead evolving flukes to propel them through the water. Snakes shed the limbs of their lizard forebears as they adopted a new means of locomotion that did not require them. Lamarck and Darwin referred to the anatomical remnants of these limbs and of other structures as “<a href="https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/DCP-LETT-2503.xml">rudimentary</a>.” German anatomist Robert Wiedersheim popularized the use of the term “vestigial” in an 1891 paper and the term has stuck.

Vestigiality is, however, frequently misunderstood. It’s semantically vague, which likely accounts for some of the confusion. Vestigiality can describe structures that no longer have a clear purpose and is often delimited by that criterion in popular science coverage. But <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4662599/">it can also describe</a> structures that have, over periods of evolutionary time, changed in function, such as the wings of flightless birds, which, while no longer used in flying, often aid in balance.

Science denialists, particularly those of the creationist bent, have eagerly latched on to the latter notion as evidence that these structures were intentionally designed and do not in fact offer support for the theory of evolution by natural selection. While it is true that many vestigial structures previously thought to be without purpose have in recent years been found to retain anatomical functions, the creationist argument fails to understand the logic that explains the existence of vestigial features in the first place. 

Whether functional or not, these structures are homologues of those found in ancestral forms. That is, they are traceable to features found in less-derived organisms. Humans, for example, possess an appendix, an organ located at the juncture of the large and small intestines. In more-primitive mammals, this organ is the apex of a larger structure known as the cecum, which houses bacteria that allow them to digest cellulose, a necessary adaptation to feeding on leaves and other vegetable matter. We evolved to process a diet relatively low in cellulose and so did not require an extensive cecum. 

Some primitive primates, notably lemurs, still retain a functional cecum, indicating an evolutionary continuum between primitive and advanced primates. While recent research has demonstrated that the human appendix may serve as a refuge for useful bacteria, humans can survive without it, as indicated by the lack of detrimental effects noted in those who have their infected appendices removed. So, too, modern horses retain two structures known as splint bones on either side of their hooves. These bones are relics of an earlier stage in horse evolution. Primitive horses had three toes rather than the one, highly modified, toe that comprises the hoof of a modern horse. 

A related phenomenon, known as atavism, further reinforces the fact that vestigial structures are consistent with an  evolutionary explanation of life. Though vestigial structures represent reduced forms of structures found in less-derived organisms, the genes that code for their production often remain in the genomes of more-derived organisms. Such is the case with the coccyx, or tailbone, in humans. In animals with tails, the coccyx serves as the base of the tail. While in most humans, the coccyx remains hidden inside the body, where it serves as a point of muscular attachment and not much more, in rare instances, infants are born with protuberant tails extending from this structure. 

These tails may contain additional vertebrae and, disturbingly, can even wag. The presence of these anomalous appendages testifies to the preservation of genes that code for tails even in the most advanced primate species. In fact, most animals, even those that do not possess tails in adulthood, display them at some point in the embryonic stage. Though the ubiquity of tails diminished as primates came down from the trees, where their balancing and gripping functions were useful, the genes that coded for them persisted in the genome. And unknown factors may cause them to occasionally express. 

Whales have proven this as well: one in perhaps 500 whales possesses visible remnant legs. Even more demonstrative proof of this has occurred in birds, which, as everyone knows, lack true teeth. However, this is due to the lack of a single protein. When that protein is experimentally reintroduced, chickens can indeed grow teeth, conclusively demonstrating the presence of genes coding for teeth in their genomes. 

Plants, too, have shown the persistence of genes that code for vestigial structures. Certain plants produce unisexual flowers; that is, they are either male or female. Nonetheless, they retain vestiges of anatomical features of the opposite sex. Plants that evolved from these forms have occasionally reverted to bisexual reproduction, in which both sexes are again evident in a single flower. The genes necessary to produce bisexual flowers had lain dormant until natural selection forced them to express again. 

So it is that vestigial structures provide both anatomical and genomic signposts in our search for evolutionary origins. While few of us would wish for a tail of our own, we should be grateful for the traction that our tailbones offer us in the debates between proponents of evolution and those of creationism. Though creationists would use the existence of vestigial structures to “wag the human” as it were, we can rest assured of their utility in shoring up the theory of natural selection.

--

By <a href="http://mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

A tale of tails: Vestigial organs as evolutionary footprints

A tale of tails: Vestigial organs as evolutionary footprints “The...

With Thanksgiving behind us, holiday shopping is now in full effect, with many running to malls, local shops and the internet in search of the perfect present. For many people, it may seem like the perfect gift for a loved one would be an adorable new puppy or kitten. But giving a pet as a present is a controversial notion with some in the animal welfare field urging people to forgo the furry gifts altogether.

A <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/designer-pets-health-issues/">pet</a> can make a thoughtful and loving present that stays with the person for years to come. But therein lies the potential problem. When someone buys a pet as a surprise present for someone else, the recipient of the pet has not agreed to the years-long and financially burdensome commitment. While the present is well-intentioned, it may become taxing to the recipient. 

Even for children, giving a pet as a present can become difficult if the child has not thought through the responsibilities involved with owning a pet. The young kitten who seems alluring curled under the tree on Christmas morning may become less appealing once it scratches the child or the child gets tasked with cleaning the litter box.

The issue of pets as presents becomes apparent when you examine rabbits bought during Easter time. Shortly after Easter, many shelters and rescues experience hikes in the number of rabbits relinquished. Rabbits can make difficult pets for the unprepared household. As prey animals, they will run in fear at the sight of danger and prefer not to be picked up by humans. The child may become bored with the skittish animal and the parents overwhelmed with all the care the rabbit needs.

According to a National Geographic <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/rabbits-easter-animal-welfare-pets-rescue-bunnies/">article </a>on this issue, one rabbit rescue group stated they normally receive one to two calls a week about abandoned rabbits but six weeks after Easter they receive three to four calls a day. 

Because of the risk of relinquishment, some animal rescues will not allow their animals to be adopted out as presents. But the <a href="https://www.aspca.org/">ASPCA</a> does not see any reason to prohibit this. 

“There really is just no data to support that we should be denying the adoption of a dog or cat to person one who wants to gift a pet to a loved one,” their website states.

The ASPCA conducted a <a href="https://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/position-statement-pets-gifts">survey </a>on people who acquired their pets as a present. Ninety-six percent of respondents thought receiving their pet as a present either increased or had no impact of their love or attachment to their pet. Almost 90% of respondents still had their pet.

Similarly, a 1999 <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philip_Kass/publication/7406615_Reasons_for_Relinquishment_of_Companion_Animals_in_US_Animal_Shelters_Selected_Health_and_Personal_Issues/links/02bfe50eeeb03d678d000000.pdf">study </a>which examined the reasons for the relinquishment of companion animals in the U.S. found that only 0.3% of dogs and 0.4% of cats were surrendered because they were an “unwanted gift”.

So, should you give pets as presents? The ASPCA says, “The ASPCA recommends the giving of pets as gifts only to people who have expressed a sustained interest in owning one, and the ability to care for it responsibly….If the recipient is under 12 years old, the child’s parents should be ready and eager to assume care for the animal. If the gift is a surprise, the gift-giver should be aware of the recipient’s lifestyle and schedule—enough to know that the recipient has the time and means be a responsible owner.”

The problem with giving a pet as a present does not seem to be the idea of “gifting” an animal, but rather the potential lack of preparedness from the recipient. As seen with rabbits adopted around Easter time, if the proper research and forethought is not put into the decision the animal could end up relinquished to a shelter once the novelty wears off. 

This holiday season, if you want to give your loved ones a doe-eyed puppy with a bow wrapped around his neck, first have a conversation with them about whether they are prepared for the commitment.

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Is it a good idea to give a pet as a holiday gift?

With Thanksgiving behind us, holiday shopping is now in full...

A new study published by the <a href="https://www.egu.eu/">European Geosciences Union</a> has revealed that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/led-lights-seabirds-fishing-nets/">seabirds</a> could potentially be used to measure ocean currents. Obtaining data about the tide from birds could be particularly helpful for the marine renewable energy industry because detailed information on current speeds is needed to generate tidal energy. 

When the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) tracked razorbills to study their behavior, the tag data revealed that the seabirds spent a lot of their time floating on the surface of the ocean at night. 

Matt Cooper is a Master of Oceanography graduate from <a href="https://www.bangor.ac.uk/">Bangor University</a> in Wales and the lead author of the current study.

“We saw this as an opportunity to re-use the data and test if the birds might be drifting with the tidal current,” said Cooper.

Engineers traditionally measure the tide using radar or with instruments deployed on anchors and buoys, but these methods are challenging and expensive. Tagged seabirds could help identify sites that would be good sources of tidal energy if they could provide tidal data over a large area.

[caption id="attachment_1863185" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Seabirds-may-help-reveal-how-to-produce-renewable-tide-energy.png"><img class="wp-image-1863185" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Seabirds-may-help-reveal-how-to-produce-renewable-tide-energy.png" alt="" width="700" height="726" /></a> Image Credit: Derren Fox/RSPB[/caption]

“We took data that was discarded from the original study and applied it to test a hypothesis in a different area of research,” said Cooper. “As far as we are aware, this paper is the first to describe the use of tagged seabirds for measuring currents of any kind.”

The GPS tags on the razorbills recorded their position every 100 seconds, which enabled the experts to calculate the speed and direction of the birds' movements. After sunset, the birds spent long periods of time on the sea surface drifting along with the current. 

Cooper explained that using seabirds to measure tidal currents has limitations.“We must remember that these birds are behaving naturally and we cannot determine where they go.”

However, the study does prove that there is potential for this inexpensive method to provide crucial tidal information over a wide area. Cooper hopes that this technique will ultimately reduce the costs of generating tidal renewable energy, “which has been a barrier to the development of this much needed industry.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.ocean-science.net/">Ocean Science</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: Derren Fox/RSPB

Seabirds may help reveal how to produce renewable tide energy

A new study published by the European Geosciences Union has...

Populations of Atlantic cod and Polar cod, both species of fish that spawn in extremely cold temperatures, could drastically decrease if climate change continues unchecked. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.awi.de/en.html">Alfred Wegener Institute</a> found that an increase in ocean temperatures and ocean acidification could force Polar and Atlantic Cod farther north, a move that could endanger populations and collapse an important link in the Arctic food web. 

If the cod die off, the Arctic seals and seabirds that depend on cod as a major food source will suffer, as will fishing operations that primarily catch Atlantic cod. 

The study was published in the journal Science Advances and the results highlight the necessity of limiting global warming and meeting the targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement. 

Both Atlantic cod and Polar cod thrive and spawn in cold waters, and increases in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/warming-waters-marine-ecosystems/">ocean temperature</a> could threaten the health and development of the cod eggs. 

To see just how much of a risk climate change poses to Atlantic and Polar Cod, researchers Flemming Dahlke and Daniela Storch used climate models and lab experiment data to show how increases in temperature and ocean acidification will impact embryo development. 

When cod larvae hatch, they are especially vulnerable to environmental changes, and even a small increase in water temperature can cause the larvae to die or become deformed according to the study. 

The researchers also found that ocean pH levels of 7.7 decrease the chance of survival by 20 to 30 percent. 

“We've observed that the young Atlantic cod not only react adversely to warmer temperatures, but also to especially cold ones,” said Storch. “The acidification amplifies this effect." In other words: the added burden of acidification reduces the suitable temperature range for Atlantic cod and polar cod to spawn.”

For the study, the researchers reviewed three climate scenarios, a business-as-usual scenario, a moderate warming scenario, and a scenario where the goals of the Paris Accord are met. 

“They show that, for the business-as-usual scenario, conditions for the young Atlantic cod will especially deteriorate in the North Atlantic near the end of this century,” said Dahlke. “In the regions around Iceland and Norway, up to 60 percent fewer cod larvae will hatch from their eggs.”

The team also found that if emissions are not reduced, Atlantic cod will be forced farther north and may encroach on the territory of Polar cod. 

“If the Atlantic cod populations and their spawning grounds shift to the northeast in the future, the fish will most likely spawn in completely different systems of currents,” said Dahlke. “If that happens, we can't yet begin to gauge the effects.”

The researchers say that if emissions are reduced and the goals of the Paris Accord achieved, it could have a drastic impact in reducing the threats climate change poses to Atlantic and Polar cod populations. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Warming waters will push Atlantic cod north and threaten populations

Populations of Atlantic cod and Polar cod, both species of...

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Call it a cephalopod renaissance. Octopuses, it seems, are everywhere these days. Science news sites are rife with stories about these molluscs—their <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/04/14/new-england-aquarium-has-its-own-octopus-escape-story/3ShjEIp3tdIAqbLGPLtuSO/story.html">daring escapes from aquariums</a>, their <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/2003/oct/feateye">oddly human interactions with their keepers</a>, their <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2016/04/01/why-the-mimic-octopus-is-the-ultimate-master-of-disguise/">talent for mimicry</a>, the propensity for one species to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lho7Ej34Q4">use discarded coconut shells as moveable shelters</a>. Home decor, jewelry, fashion, and art have picked up on the trend too. This is hardly a new development, though—it’s more like a resurgence. Ancient cultures, from the Minoans and Greeks, to the Japanese, to the Scandinavians, have fixated on the bizarre appearance and disconcerting intelligence of octopuses, enshrining them in art and legend. 

The argonaut, a lesser-known octopus whose blob-like mantle, or body, is tucked away inside a translucent, removable shell has thus far been given short shrift in this most recent surge of appreciation. Though perhaps lacking the humanoid charisma of their benthic, or bottom-dwelling cousins, these pelagic, or open-ocean, denizens are hardly deficient in charm. 

Aristotle hypothesized in his History of Animals that they used their webbed forearms as sails for their boat-like shells, which he believed to have been hijacked from another animal. This has long been disproven, but what is now known about the argonauts is equally bizarre. Also called the paper nautilus, these creatures were first assigned their current taxonomy in Carolus Linnaeus’s Systema Naturae (1758 ed.). 

Long referred to as nautiluses or “sailors”  by the ancient Greeks, that name was given by Linnaeus to their cousins the true nautiluses (family Nautilidae), a separate group of cephalopods that also have shells. Linnaeus named them instead for the sailors aboard the mythological Argo, captained by Jason. Jason and his Argonauts were a fixture in Greek mythology, notable for questing after the Golden Fleece, the hide of a magical ram. Like the Argonauts, these octopi roam the open ocean, but they quest after more prosaic things….food and mates. 

The females of the species attract the most attention. It is they that produce the papery shells that give them their common name—paper nautilus. These shells appear to be receptacles, or brood chambers, for their eggs, which are carried until hatching. The males, 4-10% of the size of the females, which may reach lengths of up to a foot, do not produce shells at all. Their anatomy, though, is just as modified as that of the female. They possess a hectocotylus, a modified arm on the left side. This arm is stored inside a sac until a suitable female is happened upon. Then, it is released into the females mantle cavity, where the spermatophore it contains fertilizes the 20,000-100,000 eggs.

When these arms, which can persist in living form for a considerable amount of time, were first discovered, they were believed to be parasitic worms. Females have been found with up to 30 hectocotyli, indicating that they mate more than once. On occasion, the miniscule males have been found riding along inside the female’s shell. Very little else is known about their behavior. The more-conspicuous females, though only rarely observed alive in the wild, have provided most of the current knowledge about the argonaut. Further insights have been provided by occasional mass strandings, which provide numerous specimens for study.

Because the female shells display a fair degree of individual variation, it was once thought that there were some 50 species of argonauts. Closer study has suggested that there may be as few as four. These shells are secreted by the female’s specialized forearms, a fact not discovered until it was demonstrated by pioneering French marine biologist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jeanne-Villepreux-Power">Jeanne Villepreux-Power</a> in 1832. 

Females begin producing them when they are only two weeks old. Unlike most shells, which are composed of aragonite, those of the argonaut are composed of calcite. That composition, along with its attenuated thickness, makes it <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/BBLv223n2p236">uniquely vulnerable to the effects of ocean acidification</a>, a side effect of the release of CO2 into the atmosphere. The declining pH of the ocean may make it difficult for females to mineralize their shells.

[caption id="attachment_1863061" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/argonaut-eggcase.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1863061" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/argonaut-eggcase-1024x747.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="510" /></a> Argonauta hians (eggcase of the winged argonaut octopus), Image Credit: James St. John/Flickr[/caption]

This is a major problem for this eerily beautiful mollusc. In addition to providing shelter for their eggs, these shells also assist females in maintaining neutral buoyancy at depth. Bubbles found inside the shell in captive specimens were long thought to be an result of captive life, perhaps forced in by aeration devices. But <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/05/18/rspb.2010.0155">a 2010 study</a> demonstrated that female argonauts actively take air into the shell at the surface and compress it in order to adjust their buoyancy. Neutral buoyancy is a key adaptation in a pelagic species; it allows the animal to expend less energy maintaining its position in the water column. Interestingly, unlike their cousins the nautiluses, they can exit their shells without apparent harm. If they lose a shell, they can simply secrete a new one. Despite the fragility of these vessels, argonaut shells are evident in the fossil record as early as 33 million years ago.

When females have been observed alive in the wild, they display a number of strange habits. Individuals have been found riding atop jellyfish. Closer examination has revealed that they aren’t just hitchhiking. They’re actually using the unfortunate cnidarians as food vacuums. They chew holes into the top of the bells of the jellyfish and siphon off food that their hosts have captured. They’ve also been seen living inside of salps, a type of gelatinous, transparent invertebrate. Their closest relatives, the blanket and football octopuses, have similar associations. When not parasitizing lower life forms, female argonauts may form rafts of up to 30 individuals, clinging to each other as they float through the waves. This rafting strategy, which likely saves energy, may also make them vulnerable to their many predators. Seabirds, fish, including sharks, seals, and whales and dolphins all enjoy the juicy bodies tucked away inside those papery porcelain shells. What could be more tempting than a whole cluster of them, floating together like grapes ready to be plucked from the stalk?

Argonauts are predators themselves and are known to eat fish, crustaceans, and other mollusks, including pteropods and heteropods, which are free-swimming snails, and even other octopi. When not using jellyfish to suck them up, they chase their prey using jet propulsion. This means of locomotion involves taking water into the mantle and expelling it forcefully—hardly the passive sailing imagined by Aristotle. 

Because they quickly expire in captivity, it is not known whether argonauts possess the intelligence so apparent in other octopuses. Appropriately enough for a creature with mythological associations, much of their life history is still obscured by the depths, and shared with human observers in tantalizing fragments washed ashore or seen through a veil of ink as the creatures retreat into the waves.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrpbps/2888129947/in/photolist-5pdqpV-5y9vaa-on2cM-fTHk81-ir51Mb-cn2mi7-58RhvM-a1xxR4-XPMzXZ-XapLGv-KYNX3E-fSCznG-4YCFhB-596fM1-cn2jwj-6PDgrz-cn2aGW-cn2bGJ-7XtxfD-KYNWoy-KAoys3-KYNDZb-9TCTCa-oatvTP-n9FT6s-adePSL-ehLqB9-e4f3xc-4CNgZu-axubJp-rH3HQ-dXUQCA-a96wuA-qq1hmy-G63EsU-X1gp9q-7d9BXT-cqCpHm-fdThyw-596idJ-cqCped-fnmdoa-fJnU8e-fz5BGj-cqCnPq-ZvxLah-J4jCTC-bx774w-23rgVfN-fB73xb">mrpbps</a>/flickr

Octopus on the half shell: The amazing argonaut

Call it a cephalopod renaissance. Octopuses, it seems, are everywhere...

New species of microbes discovered in the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California could play an essential role in reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the ocean.

The discovery, which was published in the journal Nature Communications, shows that there is much to be learned from microbes and that there are whole worlds of new species waiting to be explored and identified. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://utmsi.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin’s Marine Science Institute</a> explored microbial communities living in deep-sea sediments in the Guaymas Basin 2,000 meters below the surface. 

Water temperature at those depths is extremely hot, measuring around 200 degrees Celsius in some areas due to undersea volcanic activity. 

The researchers collected and analyzed sediment samples and were able to identify and map 551 microbes, some of which were wholly new discoveries and represent new branches on the tree of life. 

Nearly two dozen new types of microbes were discovered within the sediments, and like other microbial communities living in harsh and extreme environments, the Guaymas Basin microbes depend on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cave-organisms-methane-gas/">methane and butane as energy sources</a>. 

Because of these pollutant-eating abilities, the researchers think that the newly discovered microbes could one day help clean up oil spills.

[caption id="attachment_1863117" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/deep-sea.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1863117" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/deep-sea-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="525" /></a> Image Credit: Brett Baker/University of Texas at Austin[/caption]

“This shows the deep oceans contain expansive unexplored biodiversity, and microscopic organisms there are capable of degrading oil and other harmful chemicals,” said Brett Baker, the lead researcher for the study. “Beneath the ocean floor huge reservoirs of hydrocarbon gases--including methane, propane, butane and others--exist now, and these microbes prevent greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere.”

Baker and his team have so far conducted the largest ever genomic sampling of the Guaymas Basin, but there are likely many more new microbes yet to be discovered. 

“We think that this is probably just the tip of the iceberg in terms of diversity in the Guaymas Basin,” said Baker. “So, we're doing a lot more DNA sequencing to try to get a handle on how much more there is. This paper is really just our first hint at what these things are and what they are doing.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Brett Baker/University of Texas at Austin

Newly discovered deep-sea microbes feed on greenhouse gasses

New species of microbes discovered in the Guaymas Basin in...

Tegu lizards are large, omnivorous reptiles native to South America, but are also an invasive species in the US and pose a threat to local habitats and endangered animals. 

Like many invasive species, tegus in the United States can be attributed to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/popular-exotic-pets-dumped/">exotic pet trade</a>, a major driver of introducing invasive species to new environments. 

While the tegu is a threat to native species in Florida where invasive colonies of tegus are most abundant, the reptile possesses some unique qualities that make it an appealing animal to study. 

For one, the tegu is unlike most reptiles because it can regulate its own body temperature and raise its temperature by 10 degrees Celsius above its surroundings. 

Genomic information on reptiles is surprisingly lacking, but DNA and genome mapping could offer valuable insights into why the tegu is so different from other reptiles and what allows it to thrive in non-native habitats. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.mpi-cbg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology</a> chose to sequence the genome of the Salvator merianae tegu lizard in a new study published in the journal GigaScience. 

The tegu’s genome sequence is the most complete reptile genome ever pieced together, and the study could help with future reptile genome research.

[caption id="attachment_1863112" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/What-makes-tegu-lizards-adapt-so-well-to-non-native-habitats.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1863112" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/What-makes-tegu-lizards-adapt-so-well-to-non-native-habitats-1024x611.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="418" /></a> Image Credit: Renato Recoder[/caption]

State of the art, “long read” sequencing technology allowed the researchers to read the tegu’s DNA and sequence its complete genome despite the difficult hurdles in mapping repetitive sequences. 

“Similar to other reptiles, a large portion of the tegu genomes consists of repetitive sequences, which occur many times in the genome,” said Michael Hiller and Juliana Roscito, authors of the study. “Repeats are a main problem when assembling a genome, especially when repeats are longer than the length of the sequenced DNA fragments, which results in gaps (breaks) in the assembly.”

One of the main goals of the research was to sequence a reptile genome that would aid in the study of other limbless reptiles like snakes.

“We were interested in studying limb loss in snakes and other reptiles,” Hiller and Roscito said. “Since limbless reptiles had ancestors with fully developed limbs, we needed a well-assembled genome of a lizard with fully developed limbs as a reference.”

The researchers were able to compare the tegu’s genome to 16 other species. 

“We hope that these resources facilitate comparative reptile genomics to understand how unique morphological features evolved in this group of species and how vertebrate genomes evolve in general,” said Hiller and Roscito. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What makes tegu lizards adapt so well to non-native habitats?

Tegu lizards are large, omnivorous reptiles native to South America,...

Thirteen pounds of plastic and waste were found in the stomach a dead sperm whale in Indonesia. 

Researchers from the Wakatobi National Park, the Academy of Marine and Fisheries Community, and the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund (WWF)</a> tasked with studying the whale have not yet determined a cause of death, but its stomach contents highlight the realities of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/polar-bear-cubs-plastic-pollution/">plastic crisis</a> currently taking over our world’s oceans.

According to the WWF 115 plastic cups, two sandals, 19 pieces of hard plastic, six wood splinters, four plastic bottles, seven pounds of rope, and 25 plastic bags were found in the sperm whale. 

The whale had washed ashore on Kapota Island in Southeast Sulawesi where it was first found by a team from the Wakatobi National Park, according to the <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/11/20/6-kg-of-garbage-found-in-dead-whales-stomach-in-wakatobi.html?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1542698749">Jarkata Post</a>.

By the time the whale was found, it had already started to decompose which further complicated identifying a cause of death. According to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/11/20/669685624/researchers-find-115-plastic-cups-in-dead-whales-stomach">NPR</a>, the sperm whale was over 31 feet long. 

Plastic is extremely problematic for marine wildlife, and this isn’t the first time a whale has been found with a stomach full of plastic. 

When a whale eats plastic, it disrupts the digestive system and tricks the whale into thinking it’s full, according to <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/whale-dead-plastic-bags-thailand-animals/">National Geographic.</a>

“At some point, their stomach fills up with trash and they can't eat real food,” Regina Asmutis-Silvia from the <a href="https://us.whales.org/">Whale and Dolphin Conservation</a> program told National Geographic. “You're not getting any nutrients in and you've basically completely clogged your digestive system.”

Our oceans are filling up with plastic. Millions of tons of unrecycled plastic and microplastics enter the oceans every year, wreaking havoc on marine wildlife and habitats. 

This latest incident is just one in a long, tragic line of the world’s wildlife suffering due to humanity’s widespread problem with pollution. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Muhammad Irpan Sejati Tassakka/AKKP Wakatobi/AP

Dead whale found with a stomach full of 115 plastic cups

Thirteen pounds of plastic and waste were found in the...

A mother’s phone call seems to be have been the key to the discovery of a new dinosaur: Macrocollum itaquii.

The fossilized bones represent what may be the oldest known long-necked sauropodomorph ever discovered. And they were discovered after Estefânia Temp Müller gave her paleontologist son a call in 2012, to tell him his uncle had found some fossils on his property in southern Brazil.

His mother’s call led to the discovery of the new species, Dr. Rodrigo Temp Müller told the website <a href="https://www.livescience.com/">LiveScience</a>. He and his colleagues found the remains of three long-necked dinosaurs at the property in Agudo, with two skulls perfectly preserved. 

Macrocollum itaquii lived about 225 million years ago, during the Triassic. The dino was about 11 feet long and 5 feet tall, and weighed in at 220 pounds. Unlike its relative the brontosaurus, M. itaquii walked on two legs, not four.

Its long neck probably gave it an advantage when foraging for food and allowed it to reach vegetation high in trees – an important trait for the likely herbivorous species.

“There are three articulated skeletons in five tons of rock,” Müller, from the <a href="http://w3.ufsm.br/sai/index.php/2016-03-14-12-07-10/studying-at-ufsm">Federal University of Santa Maria</a> in Brazil, told <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/">The Independent</a>. “This is unique. It suggests these animals probably died together, as they share the same degree of disarticulation.”

If the dinosaurs truly did die together, it suggests they lived in groups rather than separately, he added.

"It had a small head and a long neck," Müller told LiveScience. "In its hand, there was a large and sharp claw on its 'thumb.'"

In addition to its distant connection to brontosaurus, Macrocollum itaquii appears to be related to several species discovered in India. Brazil and South Asia were both once part of a supercontinent known as Gondwana, before it broke up into South America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Australia and Antarctica.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/14/11/20180633">Biology Letters</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image credit: <a href="http://coral.ufsm.br/cappa/">CAPPA/UFSM</a>

Mother's phone call leads to dino Macrocollum itaquii

A mother’s phone call seems to be have been the...

As fans of “Dynasties” tune in to today’s episode, they’ll not only learn about how lioness mothers raise their young. They’ll also learn more about Earth’s shrinking lion populations.

The <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06mvmmr">new BBC One nature series</a>, hosted by Sir David Attenborough, follows five of Earth’s endangered species: chimpanzees, penguins, lions, painted wolves and tigers.

This week’s episode shows how lionesses protect their cubs from male lions and hyenas – but those aren’t the biggest threats to lions’ survival.

Humans are.

“Down from as many as 200,000 lions a century ago, some experts believe that we could now have as few as 20,000 individuals remaining in the wild – and that number is likely to be falling by the day,” Dr. Niki Rust, a postdoctoral researcher, wrote in a review of the episode for <a href="http://theconversation.com/dynasties-lions-may-disappear-without-urgent-funding-for-conservation-107116">The Conversation</a>. “Worryingly, the general public are mostly unaware of their precarious conservation status. We have done a bad job of showing the perilous state of these big cats.”

Without funding for conservation and work by humans, shrinking lion populations may soon lead to extinction, said Rust, a social scientist at <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a> and technical advisor in wildlife for the <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/">World Wildlife Fund-United Kingdom</a>.

Threats to the lions include habitat loss and loss of prey animals as humans develop rural areas, to farmers killing them to protect livestock, illegal wildlife trade and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asian-lion-bone-market-poaching/">poaching</a>, and trophy hunting, she said.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, she added.

“For instance, for lions that reside alongside people in areas outside national parks, research has shown that it is absolutely vital to reduce the perceived costs of lions to local people, like livestock depredation, while increasing their benefits, such as income from photographic tourism or trophy hunting,” Rust said.

Employing poachers as lion guardians in places like Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia has helped to turn around shrinking lion populations in those countries, reducing killing by up to 99 percent, she said.

Pride Lion Conservation Alliance has brought together five different conservation groups so that they can combine their efforts to protect the wild cats.

But more help is needed – to the tune of $900 million to $2.1 billion for conservation. It’s time for brainstorming to determine how to raise that funding, if people want to protect big cats, Rust said.

“An idea from Sir David Attenborough himself argues that companies that use lions in their marketing should pay for lion conservation. What is abundantly clear is that if we want lions to have a future, we must start stumping up the cash for their conservation,” she said.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

New BBC show sheds light on shrinking lion populations

As fans of “Dynasties” tune in to today’s episode, they’ll...

A new species of Triassic mammal-like reptile was recently discovered in Poland, and the new fossils shed insight on the early ancestors of mammals, dinosaurs, and reptiles. 

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-triassic-period/">The Triassic period (252-201)</a> began with a mass extinction event that wiped out over 90 percent of life on Earth but as the world recovered an unprecedented diversification of species occurred. 

In the fossil record, the Triassic is where we see the first dinosaurs as well as ancestors of today’s reptiles and mammals. This was also a time when all the Earth’s landmasses came together to form the supercontinent Pangea. 

Researchers have been particularly interested in mammal-like reptiles from the Triassic called therapsids. 

A group of therapsids called dicynodonts were the dominant terrestrial herbivores in the Middle and Late Triassic, but they were thought to have gone extinct before dinosaurs became the most abundant four-footed terrestrial animal on Earth. 

However, researchers from <a href="https://www.uu.se/en">Uppsala University</a> in Sweden have unearthed new fossil evidence that have called into question everything researchers previously knew about dicynodonts. 

While excavating near the Polish village of Lisowice, the researchers found fossils that belonged to a new species of dicynodont, which they called Lisowicia bojani.

[caption id="attachment_1862274" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ancient-mammal-like-reptile-was-the-size-of-an-elephant-.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1862274" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ancient-mammal-like-reptile-was-the-size-of-an-elephant--1024x645.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="441" /></a> Image Credit: Tomasz Sulej[/caption]

“The discovery of Lisowicia changes our ideas about the latest history of dicynodonts, mammal Triassic relatives,” said Tomasz Sulej, a member of the research team. “It also raises far more questions about what really make them and dinosaurs so large.” 

A study detailing the findings was published in the journal Science. 

After sorting through and analyzing thousands of bones and bone fragments from the area, the researchers pieced together Lisowicia bojani. 

The fossils showed that the animal was as big as an elephant and weighed around nine tons, the largest of any known dicynodont. 

Lisowicia bojani also lived much later, ten million years later, compared to other dicynodont species, and as such co-existed with the first sauropodomorph dinosaurs. 

“Dicynodonts were amazingly successful animals in the Middle and Late Triassic. Lisowicia is the youngest dicynodont and the largest non-dinosaurian terrestrial tetrapod from the Triassic,” said Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki, a co-author of the study. “It's natural to want to know how dicynodonts became so large. Lisowicia is hugely exciting because it blows holes in many of our classic ideas of Triassic ‘mammal-like reptiles’.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki

Ancient mammal-like reptile was the size of an elephant

A new species of Triassic mammal-like reptile was recently discovered...

A team of researchers from Australia and Scotland has found that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/killer-whales-personality-traits/">whales</a> change the songs that they share among their pods every few years, selecting tunes that are basic and easier for everyone to learn and remember. 

Prior to this study, many experts have speculated that whale songs help the animals navigate new territory.

After observing 95 male humpbacks for 13 years, the researchers concluded that this strategy helps the animals cope with their limited learning capacity and acts as a type of reset button. The scientists, who are from the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> and <a href="https://www.sa.edu/">St. Andrews University</a>, referred to the phenomenon as a “cultural revolution.” 

The study was focused on 95 male humpback whales from eastern Australia. The research team discovered that gradual song changes are derived from individual whales, but are quickly picked up on by the rest of the group.

According to the researchers, this system is used because the animals have a limited learning capacity. In other words, it is easier for the mammals to gradually adapt their existing songs instead of developing and sharing entirely different melodies. 

“We examined two measures of song structure, complexity and entropy (a tendency to become more disordered),” said study lead author Dr. Jenny Allen. 

“Complexity increased as songs evolved over time, but decreased when revolutions occurred. No correlation between complexity and entropy suggests it would allow males to stand out amidst population-wide conformity.”

“The consistent reduction in complexity during song revolutions suggests a potential limit to the social learning capacity of novel material in humpback whales.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Whales select new songs every few years that are easier to remember

A team of researchers from Australia and Scotland has found...

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
</div></figure>



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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



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The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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