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...

Lizards known as green-blooded skinks manage to remain healthy despite having levels of bile that are 40 times higher than the lethal concentration in humans.

Prasinohaema virens is a species of lizards in New Guinea that has high levels of a toxic green bile pigment called biliverdin, which makes the muscles, bones, and even the blood of these creatures appear bright, lime green. 

Study lead author Zachary Rodriguez is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences at <a href="http://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a>.

“In addition to having the highest concentration of biliverdin recorded for any animal, these lizards have somehow evolved a resistance to bile pigment toxicity,” said Rodriguez. 

“Understanding the underlying physiological changes that have allowed these lizards to remain jaundice-free may translate to non-traditional approaches to specific health problems.”

The researchers investigated the evolutionary history of green blood, which can be found in several groups of New Guinea lizards. 

Working in the lab of Professor Chris Austin, the team examined 51 species of skinks. The experts found six species that had green blood, and discovered two species which were previously unknown. 

“The green-blooded skinks of New Guinea are fascinating to me as a parasitologist because a similar liver product, bilirubin, is known to be toxic to human malaria parasites,” said study co-author Susan Perkins. 

“Ongoing work with the Austin lab examines the potential effect of the green blood pigment on malaria and other parasites that infect these lizards.”

DNA analysis revealed four separate lineages of green-blooded lizards, and each of these lines evolved independently from a red-blooded ancestor.

“We were excited by the complex history of these animals and surprised by the breadth of green-blooded lineages across lizards,” said Rodriguez. The fact that green blood emerged repeatedly suggests that it has been naturally selected for some type of benefit.

Previous research has demonstrated that bile pigment can act as an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grape-waste-wine-antioxidants/">antioxidant</a>, terminating free radicals. Bile pigment is also linked to disease prevention during in vitro fertilization. As of now, however, the function of bile pigment in green-blooded lizards remains a mystery.

“Our next goal is to identify the genes responsible for green blood,” said Rodriguez.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Chris Austin, LSU

Why some lizards have toxic lime-green blood

Lizards known as green-blooded skinks manage to remain healthy despite...

Do we find older dogs less cute and less lovable than their younger puppy counterparts? 

A new study has found that although we don’t stop loving our four-legged friends the minute they grow out of the puppy stage, humans often subconsciously feel that canine cuteness reaches a peak at a certain age. The findings have implications on why rescue and adoption efforts can be more challenging for older dogs.

Clive Wynne, a professor of psychology at <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a>, set out to explore what drove the bond between humans and dogs after the mother was done weaning them. 

Wynne examined what ages we find dogs to be the most attractive and found a link between the vulnerability of young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/puppies-talk-older-dog/">puppies</a> at weaning age and their maximum appeal to humans. 

The results, published in the journal Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of the Interactions of People and Animals, found that dogs are most attractive to humans at eight weeks of age, just when they need us most. 

“This could be a signal coming through to us of how dogs have evolved to rely on human care,” said Wynne. “This could be dogs showing us how the bond between human and dog is not just something that we find immensely satisfying in our lives. ... But for them, it's the absolute bedrock of their existence. That being able to connect with us, to find an emotional hook with us is what actually makes their lives possible.” 

For the study, Wynne and his colleagues showed 51 participants a series of photographs of dogs at different ages from the first weeks of life to adulthood. The researchers chose Jack Russell terriers, cane corsos, and white shepherds for the study. 

Participants were asked to rank the level of attractiveness of the dog in each photo. 

At birth, puppies are the least attractive to humans, but this grows to a maximum attractiveness before ten weeks of age. 

To break it down by breed, the researchers found that maximum cuteness for corsos was reached at 6.3 weeks, for Jack Russells it was 7.7 weeks, and white shepherds were the most attractive at 8.3 weeks. 

“Around seven or eight weeks of age, just as their mother is getting sick of them and is going to kick them out of the den and they're going to have to make their own way in life, at that age, that is exactly when they are most attractive to human beings,” said Wynne. 

One interesting aspect of the study is that the results suggest that the early domestication of dogs was dependent more on their ability bond and our instinct to nurture than on canine intelligence. 

“I think that the intelligence of dogs is not the fundamental issue,” said Wynne. “It's this tremendous capacity to form intimate, strong, affectionate bonds. And that starts at maybe eight weeks of life when they're so compelling to us.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Puppy cuteness peaks and older dogs get less love, research finds

Do we find older dogs less cute and less lovable...

Our early mammalian ancestors were very fond of insects and today, researchers have discovered ancient enzymes in our genes, one still active, that specifically aid in breaking down the tough outer skeleton of insects while eating them. 

The study, conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of Berkley</a>, sheds insight on how early mammals shifted their diet after the dinosaurs died out and delves into the evolutionary history of enzymes that developed specifically to aid in the digestion of different foods. 

The results were published in the journal Science Advances. 

First, the researchers analyzed the genomes of 107 different species of mammals and found enzymes that would have helped our digest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-insects-biofuel/">insects</a> in almost all of the mammal genomes. 

This led the researchers to theorize that early mammals, alive 66 million years ago, were mostly insectivores and we carry the evidence in our own genomes today. 

“It is a signature in your genome that says, once upon a time you were not the dominant group of organisms on Earth,” said Christopher Emerling, a member of the research team. “By looking at our genomes, we are looking at this ancestral past and a lifestyle that we don't even live with anymore.”

The outer shell of insects is made up of a tough carbohydrate called chitin and the enzymes that break it down are called chitinases. Humans have a chitinase gene, which makes sense because many humans still eat insects as part of their diet today. 

However, the researchers also found the remnants of three other inactive chitinase genes in the human genome. The team traced five different chitinase enzymes to a large group of mammals. 

In order to find out which chitinase enzymes were still active, the researchers used a database of animal genomes and the newly sequenced genomes of armadillos. 

The more insects in an animal’s diet, the more active chitinase enzymes it has. 

“The only species that have five chitinases today are highly insectivorous, that is, 80 to 100 percent of their diet consists of insects,” said Emerling. “Since the earliest placental mammals likely had five chitinases, we think that this makes for a strong argument that they were highly insectivorous.” 

The results of the study align with previous paleontology studies showing that the shape of skulls and teeth from early mammals meant that they ate mostly insects. 

Early mammals were insectivores but when the dinosaurs died off 66 million years ago, diets quickly shifted to match what many species typically eat today. 

Without the food competition from the dinosaurs, mammals could expand their diets to meat and plant-based, and the first carnivorous and herbivorous mammals arose within 10 million years of the extinction of the dinosaurs. 

The study shows how our diets can be imprinted in our DNA and shed insight into the role insect enzymes played in early mammal diets before the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. 

“This is suggesting that there are a lot of these enzymes that might be helping organisms digest their food,” said Emerling. “This goes from being a simple curiosity - humans have a chitinase, how cool! - to being something that can help us understand how different animals are adapted to their specialized diets.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Quentin Martinez

Early mammals ate insects until the dinosaurs died off

Our early mammalian ancestors were very fond of insects and...

One summer, I volunteered to work on a parrot conservation project in the Bahamas.  There is only one parrot species native to the Bahamas, the Bahamian Parrot (or Cuban Amazon, depending on who you ask).  The main reasons the parrots are slipping from a parrot with a naturally small population located on an island to a species in danger of extinction are pet trade and domestic cats.  

It’s a bit ironic that both of these problems are connected to the human desire for non-human companionship, but cats may be harder to stop than illegal parrot smuggling.  

During my work on parrots, I spent time looking through motion activated camera shots, waiting to see a cat, a pet trader, or a wild predator.  I remember seeing more cats and shots of plants moving in the wind than anything else.

There are estimated to be between 200 million and 600 million house cats in the world today.  If you’ve ever walked down an alley lined with dumpsters at night, you’ve probably seen feral cats.  Seeing feral cats scavenging, hunting, quickly hiding, it’s easy to see how hard it is to get exact numbers on cat populations but there are a lot of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-love-heads-scratched/">cats</a> out there.  <a href="https://www.statista.com/">Statistica</a> estimates the number of house cats in the U.S. alone to be 95.6 million.  

This doesn’t seem like much of a problem for cat lovers... but it is a huge problem for birds.  According to <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/">cbc.ca</a>, cats are estimated to be the number one cause of death for wild birds in Canada. 

A study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a> in 2013 found that cats in the U.S. (both feral and outdoor pets) killed an estimated 1.3 billion to 4.0 billion birds annually.  Part of the problem is that many cats, unlike dogs in most of the US, are allowed to roam freely, hunt at will, and kill seemingly for sport.  Cats are superb hunters too, as anyone who’s ever been gifted a pile of dead things from their feline friend can attest.

There is the standard story about an assistant lighthouse keeper, David Lyall on Stephens Island near New Zealand.  Lyall, the lighthouse keeper was a birder, tallying up interesting avian species he saw in his lonely work on the island.  David Lyall also had a cat named Tibbles. One day Tibbles brought David Lyall a bird. The bird Tibbles had killed and gifted to Lyall was a wren, more importantly it was a flightless wren.  Being an amateur naturalist, David Lyall skinned the dead wren and sent off the skin as a specimen to a well-known biologist of the day; Walter Buller. Sir Walter Buller, upon inspecting the bird skin was thrilled to see it was a previously undescribed species.  Lyall had found the first specimen of Stephens Island Wren (Traversia lyalli).   

The lighthouse began operation on January, 29, 1894 with three keepers and their family living on the island.  By 1899, the bird was never again found alive. In the intervening years specimens of the bird kept being sent off to scientists and commercial collectors, many of them caught by the cat.  Today there are still 15 specimens of the Stephens Island Wren in museum collections. 

An illustration of the wren shows a small bird with delicate, non-descript features.  The beak is a black, stout, practical thing and the feathers are a pretty but not eye catching pattern of tan and brown.  The legs are thin and orange like many birds. It’s easy to see how the flightless wren would be quick prey to a roving house cat.  

The simple story of one cat is complicated a bit by historical records come to light more recently.  Feral cats became established on Stephens Island in 1894 and bred with increasing numbers until they were eventually eradicated.  So it seems that Tibbles probably didn’t act alone. The fact is though that cats were a huge part in wiping the wren from the planet.  

The Stephens Island Wren today is little more than a collection of skins and we know very little of the specifics of its life.  Once the wren roamed all of New Zealand, Stephens Island was its last hold out before oblivion. 

According to Scott R. Loss, et al. writing in <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, free roaming cats have caused or contributed to 14% of bird, mammal, and reptile extinctions recorded by the IUCN red list.   

The main culprit of bird killings is not just your house cat but more commonly, un-owned house cats.  It’s estimated that 69% of bird mortalities in the US are caused by un-owned cats, according to the same study in Nature.  Predation rates for un-owned cats are thought to be as much as three times as high as owned cats.  According to <a href="http://www.wildlife-removal.com/">wildliferemoval.com</a>, there are an estimated 58 million stray cats in the US, but they’re quick to qualify that this is a tricky estimation to make.  There could be as few as 35 million or as many as 75 million strays.

Unfortunately when cats aren’t kept responsibly, the cats can suffer as well as the wildlife.  The parrot project I volunteered with worked closely with a game warden. A big part of the warden’s job was hunting down stray cats, with dogs and with guns.  The Bahamas isn’t the only place to resort to such measures. Islands are especially vulnerable to predation by cats, island species usually evolve away from cats and have no natural defenses.  Islands also usually have lower numbers of wildlife because they’re smaller. 

In February 2017, the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/">Sydney Morning Herald</a> reported that the Australian Government set aside $5 million (Australian dollars) for community groups to help eradicate cats.  The goal is to cull two million feral cats, an estimated third of the population. 

New Zealand is now also debating more controls on feral cats.  In both the case of Australia and New Zealand, many endemic, rare and wonderful species are threatened by cats.  Flightless birds, bats that feed on forest floors and bush tailed possums are all possible prey items for hungry house cats.       

The tragedy of all this is that it’s really easy on an individual level to not contribute to the problem, especially in the US.  You can keep your cat entirely indoors, as a friend of mine does, which is the best way to have a cat not contribute to the decline in wildlife.  You also can neuter or spay your animal, so as not to contribute to the growing number of unwanted cats. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Cats get away with murder, have caused bird population declines

One summer, I volunteered to work on a parrot conservation...

New research has revealed that climate change will push commercially important fish north, causing strain on many United States fisheries.

While there have been other similar studies examining the impacts of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a> on species, these were either too big on a global scale or too small on a regional scale to get a better understanding of species migration in North America. 

The recent study was conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> and published in the journal PLOS ONE. 

The results show how climate change will cause fish, some which are of high economic importance to the U.S., to move north to cooler waters and shift vital fishing grounds in the process. 

For the study, the researchers focused on the North American continental shelves on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Different species of fish and marine wildlife were included in the research such as finfish, sharks, rays, crustaceans, and quid. 

Some of the most sensitive species to climate change are Pacific rockfishes, Atlantic cod, and black sea bass. 

The researchers used 16 different climate models to project ocean temperatures and species migration. Each model had a low and high level scenario of greenhouse gas emissions in North America. 

Fish will move away from waters that are too warm and seek out cooler areas. Researchers have already documented this process among some fish and as the impacts of climate continue, more and more species will follow suit. 

“We've already seen that shifts of a couple of hundred miles in a species' range can disrupt fisheries,” said James Morley, the study’s lead author. “This study shows that such dislocations will happen all over the continent and on both coasts throughout the 21st century.”

With the models, the lower level greenhouse emission scenarios coincided with the Paris Accord goals, and the researchers matched the ocean temperature and climate projections with statistical data that shows what temperatures different species preferred. 

The researchers found that species’ migration north was inevitable even with the lowest emissions scenario, but habitat shifts would be two to three times greater with high emission scenarios. 

This northward shift could present some major problems for the fishing operations that depend on fisheries in North America. 

“For commercial fishers, this often means longer trips and higher fuel costs,” said Malin Pinsky, the studies co-author. “Some species along the U.S. and Canadian Pacific coasts will move as much as 900 miles north from their current habitats.”

Pinsky went on to explain that although many fishers are used to traveling long distances, for some regions, the added mileage would put a real strain on the costs and effort associated with fishing. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change will force fish north and strain fishing business

New research has revealed that climate change will push commercially...

With the discovery of four new types of mice on Mindoro Island in the Philippines, a team of scientists has identified the smallest known island where several species of animals have evolved from one single species.

Study co-lead author Lawrence Heaney is the Negaunee Curator of Mammals at Chicago's <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>.

“The single most remarkable thing about planet Earth is there are so many species here, so much biodiversity. We take it for granted, but holy cow, there's a whole lot of stuff out there - how did it get here?” said Heaney.

“This is one of the few papers ever written to look at whether there's a limit to how small an island can be for species diversification to occur, and it's the only one looking at it in mammals. Mindoro is by far the smallest island on which we've seen this happen.”

When animals are isolated on islands, they diversify into unique new species. 

“There are many islands that have species that arrived from somewhere else and that subsequently changed into something distinctive. Many of these islands are much smaller than Mindoro,” explained Heaney. 

“Rather, the key to this study is whether a single species that arrived from somewhere else has produced multiple species that all evolved within the given island from the single ancestral species. It is the issue of an increase in the number of species within the island, by evolution within the island.”

Prior to this study, the smallest island where scientists knew mammal species had diversified was Luzon, the largest island of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/philippines-volcano-spewing-lava/">Philippines</a>. 

Heaney said his team wanted to find an even smaller island that supported evolution within a species. “We looked at a map and said, okay, where's there a smaller island where diversification may have occurred?” 

The scientists set their sights on Mindoro, which is a tenth the size of Luzon and around two-thirds the size of Connecticut. Study co-author Danny Balete, who is now deceased, led four seasons of fieldwork missions on Mindoro in search of the island's mammals.

“The mice we looked at in this study are all members of the ‘earthworm mouse’ group Apomys - they love earthworms, but they also eat seeds and fruits. They've got big dark eyes, great big ears, long soft fur, white feet, dark tails--they're very pretty little mice,” said Heaney.

DNA analysis revealed that the earthworm mice belonged to four separate species, three of which were previously undiscovered. The research also showed that all four of the species had branched out from a common ancestor on Mindoro Island.

“The results are unambiguous - we've got four species of forest mice on Mindoro from one colonization event from Luzon about 2.8 million years ago, and three of those four mouse species are found on their own separate mountains.”

Mindoro Island is the same size as Yellowstone National Park, which means that new mammal species can evolve from one ancestor in areas as small as some wildlife preserves.

“This study changes how I think about conservation,” said Heaney. “When we think about how to design protected areas, we need to think about the topography of the Earth, not just a flat map. The fact that these mice evolved on their own separate mountains within a limited geographic area tells us that mountains are important.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652699">Journal of Biogeography</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: L. R. Heaney, The Field Museum

Island study reveals animals can diversify in very small regions

With the discovery of four new types of mice on...

A team of researchers has found that beds made by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-learn-tools/">chimpanzees</a> high in the treetops are cleaner than most human beds. An investigation into the microbes and insects present in chimpanzee nests and human beds revealed that chimpanzees have more sanitary sleeping accommodations.

Study lead author Megan Thoemmes is a Ph.D. student at <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a>.

“We know that human homes are effectively their own ecosystems, and human beds often contain a subset of the taxa - or types - of organisms found in the home,” said Thoemmes. 

“For example, about 35 percent of bacteria in human beds stem from our own bodies, including fecal, oral and skin bacteria. We wanted to know how this compares with some of our closest evolutionary relatives, the chimpanzees, which make their own beds daily.

The team used samples collected from 41 chimpanzee nests in Tanzania to test for microbial biodiversity. Samples of arthropods such as insects and spiders collected from 15 of the nests were also used for the study.

The experts were not surprised to find major differences in the biodiversity found in chimpanzee beds and human beds. In addition to a greater diversity of microbes, the chimpanzee beds contained species present in forest habitats.

More significantly, the chimpanzee beds were found to be much less likely to harbor fecal, oral, or skin bacteria.


“We found almost none of those microbes in the chimpanzee nests, which was a little surprising,” said Thoemmes. “We also expected to see a significant number of arthropod parasites, but we didn't. There were only four ectoparasites found, across all the nests we looked at. And that's four individual specimens, not four different species.”


Thoemmes said that the research highlights the role that man-made structures play in shaping the ecosystems of our immediate environment. “In some ways, our attempts to create a clean environment for ourselves may actually make our surroundings less ideal.”

The study is published in the journal Royal <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chimpanzees have surprisingly clean beds compared to humans

A team of researchers has found that beds made by...

Smoke from wildfires can have a major impact on air quality, and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/wildfires/smoke.html">exposure</a> to particles and fumes from wildfire smoke can cause <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-dangerous-seniors/">respiratory problems</a>, chest pain, headaches, create symptoms that mimic a sinus infection and trigger asthma attacks. 

During fire seasons, it’s recommended to stay on top of air quality alerts and limit exposure to avoid getting sick. 

For wild animals like orangutans, an already critically endangered species, avoiding wildfire smoke during fire season is nearly impossible, and a new study found that smoke is just as harmful to orangutans as it is to humans. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the Department of Anthropology at <a href="https://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University-New Brunswick</a> and the <a href="https://coreborneo.wordpress.com/">Tuanan Orangutan Research Station </a>in Borneo and published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Between 1999 and 2015, almost 100,000 Bornean orangutans were lost from intact forests.  

While habitat loss from logging operations and human activities has played a big role in their demise, the sheer number of orangutans who died indicates that habitat loss alone is not the sole driver of population loss. 

The researchers were studying male orangutans in Indonesian Borneo before and after the 2015 annual fire season.

Wendy Erb, the lead author of the study, noticed a few weeks into the season that the male orangutans’ “long call” vocalization, meant to attract females and warn males, sounded different. 

“I thought they sounded raggedy, a little like humans who smoke a lot,” said Erb.

This led Erb to hypothesize that the wildfire smoke was damaging to the health of the orangutans and the researchers then tested to see how smoke inhalation affected the orangutan's health. 

The researchers observed four “flanged” males with large cheek pads and urine was collected every day. During this time the researchers notices the orangutans traveled less, rested more and ate more calories but the analysis of their urine showed they were burning fat. 

Wildfire smoke was the only explanation for the change in the orangutan's behavior and urine because that was the only new element in the in the great apes’ environment. 

Previous research has emphasized the health risks of smoke exposure to humans, and two 2015 studies found that haze from wildfire smoke was responsible for anywhere between 12,000 and 100,000 premature human deaths. 

This study, however, is one of the few to show the negative health impacts of smoke on wildlife respiratory systems. 

Fires in Indonesia have increased dramatically in recent decades the researchers say that more needs to be done to understand how smoke from Indonesia peatland fires affect the ecosystem. 

The researchers next plan to study female and juvenile orangutans to see if there are similar behavioral and biological changes due to the wildfire smoke. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Beth Barrow

Already endangered orangutans face wildfire smoke health risks

Smoke from wildfires can have a major impact on air...

A new investigation into the efficiency of roadkill removal by vultures indicates that the number of wild animals killed by motor vehicles is not very well-documented or understood.

Millions of animals are killed on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-roads-flooding-frequently/">roads</a> in the United Kingdom every year, often as a result of fragmented habitats. The rapid removal of carcasses by vultures is a valuable service, but may cause experts to underestimate the overall impact that roads have on wildlife.

The team set out to estimate the extent of roadkill scavenging by analyzing many factors including which scavenger species are present in urban areas, how the location and time of day can influence scavenging, and the likelihood of roadkill being removed by scavengers.

In the city of Cardiff, the researchers deployed camera traps baited with chicken heads to simulate roadkill corpses in six residential sites and six parkland sites.

Out of 120 corpses, 90 were removed in under 12 hours. The time of day had a significant effect on the rate of roadkill removal, with activity peaking in the first few hours of daylight. For example, the majority of roadkill planted at 9:00 a.m. was removed in just two hours.


Overall, seven species of scavengers removed the roadkill. Members of the crow family called corvids were found to be the most common and were responsible for 42 percent of the cleanups. 

The scavengers also included a red fox, domestic dog, domestic cat, Eurasian magpie, and two species of gull. In addition, several wood mice and a brown rat were observed scavenging on the bait, but did not assist in removing it.

Birds were found to scavenge most frequently, with 51 occurrences of roadkill removal compared to 28 occurrences by mammals. 

The study also revealed that the type of habitat impacted the likelihood of certain animals scavenging. For example, gulls fed predominantly in residential areas, while corvids mostly fed in parkland areas.

The results of the study suggest that the actual number of road deaths is around six times more than what is reported or observed during surveys.

“Removal of animals by scavengers is believed to be the most important factor causing underestimations of roadkill numbers, particularly of small animals such as garden birds and rodents,” said study lead author Amy Williams Schwartz. 

“Our study demonstrates the frequency and speed at which scavengers can remove roadkill, and the extent to which we could underestimate the true number of casualties, but also suggests that many urban scavengers such as crows, gulls, and foxes could be providing an under-appreciated and largely unnoticed carcass removal service in our cities.”

The research is published by Oxford University Press in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jue">Journal of Urban Ecology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Amount of animals killed on roads is heavily underestimated

A new investigation into the efficiency of roadkill removal by...

A new study has found that many diverse tropical species now found in Latin America originated in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amazon-rainforest-back-deforestation/">Amazonian rainforests</a>.

The American tropics are one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet, with many unique species found nowhere else in the world. 

An international team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard</a> Visiting Scholar Alexandre Antonelli identified the processes by which many species first colonized and evolved in Latin America, leading to a thriving ecosystem with unrivaled species diversity. 

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

“We were astonished to detect so much movement across such different environments and over such large distances,” said Antonelli, the study's lead author. “Up until now, these natural dispersal events were assumed to be quite rare. Our results show how crucial these events have been in the formation of tropical America's unique and outstandingly rich biodiversity.”

Species have naturally come to colonize different regions and it’s a process that has taken tens of millions of years. 

The plants and animals that migrated away from their original area had to learn to adapt to different conditions and over time, these species evolved into completely different species in their new environment. 

This process is exactly why the American Tropics are so diverse compared to other regions around the world and the researchers wanted to better understand what mechanisms drive species distribution.

“Most evolutionary research focuses on how new species form,” said Antonelli. “But we want to understand how whole ecosystems evolve, and what makes some regions much more species-rich than others. This is important because it shows us how plants and animals deal with new environments and what factors determine biodiversity.”

The researchers collected an expansive amount of data on evolutionary relationships, distribution, and timing of the origin of thousands of tropical species in order to calculate the frequency that species were distributed to a different region.  

Birds, frogs mammals, snakes, lizards, and plants were all considered for the study. 

Among all the regions in the American tropics that have distributed species, Amazonia was the main source of many of the species in the area. 

“Two main factors seem to explain the key role of Amazonia in exporting so much diversity: its huge area, and the large amount of time that species have existed there,” said Antonelli. “Together, these have increased the chances of species dispersing into new habitats and regions.” 

Besides proving the key role that Amazonia played in the biodiversity of the American Tropics, the study shows the danger that many tropical ecosystems face due to human activities. 

“Biodiversity is the dark matter of our planet: we know there must be millions of species that we haven't found yet,” said Antonelli. “Finding, understanding, and protecting this diversity is probably humanity's toughest but most important challenge”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Many diverse tropical species can find their roots in the Amazon

A new study has found that many diverse tropical species...

When it comes to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/conservation-displaces-native-peoples/">conservation</a> efforts, location is just as important as management and protection of the species and habitats themselves. 

However, for countries like Canada where conservation and wildlife management are high priorities, there aren’t any existing scientific parameters to inform which regions should be protected to ensure the best results.

A new study, conducted by conservation scientists and researchers from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia </a>(UBC), seeks to address this gap in wildlife conservation practices. 

The research will be published in the journal Facets and the results show just how critical location is when considering which wildlife spaces to protect. 

Canada has 194 unique ecoregions and is home to a majority of the world’s intact wilderness. Many of the most at-risk species, though, live in areas that are highly populated and not optimal for restoration or preservation. 

“Where Canada protects land is a significant decision,” said UBC Okanagan campus researcher Laura Coristine, the study's lead author.  “We wouldn't build a school in the highest traffic density area in a city--especially if few children live there. Selecting a site for a protected area similarly needs to guard against current threats to species and safeguard biodiversity into the future.”

The researchers created a framework, the first of its kind, that would allow wildlife managers to identify geographical hotspots with the most ecological potential for reducing biodiversity loss. 

The researchers picked five ecological principles for their framework and created maps of potential sites for protection and conservation. 

These principles were preserving habits to for species at risk, making sure new protected areas were representative of the biodiversity of Canada, conserving Canada’s remaining wilderness, landscape connectivity and paying special attention to areas that can adapt to climate change.

Even though the framework and principles are specific to Canada, the study could help inform wildlife management on a global scale. 

With species decline steadily increasing, finding ways to protect and manage wildlife areas and habitats is a large part of reducing species loss. 

In Canada, for example, more than 735 species are at the risk of extinction, and climate change is only exacerbating this issue. 

“Now is a critical time for the country to decide what is it that we most want to protect,” said Coristine. “What we choose not to protect, we risk losing; what we protect remains a legacy for the future.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Evan Richardson

Location is crucial to wildlife management and conservation

When it comes to conservation efforts, location is just as...

Scientists exploring the Mariana Trench found something entirely unexpected: a plastic bag, 36,000 feet under the Pacific Ocean.

The bag isn’t alone. Researchers launched a database to collect 30 years of evidence of deep-sea trash last year. They found that plastic trash swirls even at nearly 20,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. More than 90 percent of that detritus is single-use plastics like shopping bags.

In the deep North Pacific, researchers found anywhere from 17 to 335 pieces of plastic trash per square kilometer.

The debris was recorded through bottom-sampling, along with photos and video collected by deep-sea submersibles and remotely operated vehicles.

“Although pollution in the deep sea was often perceived as being less dependent on land-based human activities, those studies reported that plastic debris were frequently observed in the deep sea, particularly in areas close to highly populated regions,” researchers wrote in a new study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X17305195#!">Marine Policy</a>.

Scientists sifting through deep-sea photos for the <a href="http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/catalog/dsdebris/e/index.html">Deep-sea Debris Database</a> uncovered the deepest known piece of plastic trash – the bag at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. 

Large pieces of plastic trash like bags can be dangerous to sea life. Sea turtles can get <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-turtles-killed-ocean/">tangled in plastic</a> or <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/plastic-pollution-bigger-threat-sea-turtles-oil-spills-752585">mistake bags for jellyfish</a>. In April, a sperm whale was found dead off the coast of Spain, with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-sperm-whale-dead-trash/">64 pounds of plastic garbage</a> in its digestive system.

But even plastic that deteriorates into small particles can be dangerous.

“Micro-plastic ingested by zooplankton can be transferred to higher trophic level animals, including commercially important fish species, through the food web, with potential effects on human health,” the researchers wrote.

In other words, plankton eat tiny plastic particles, then fish eat the plankton. The plastic particles can kill the fish – or sea birds that eat the fish. Other predators can be harmed as plastic builds in their systems.

While most of the deep-sea trash is plastic, rubber, wood, metal, cloth and other discarded items have been discovered in the deep.

—

By Kyla Cathey,<a href="http://www.earth.com"> Earth.com</a> staff writer

Not even the Mariana Trench is free of plastic trash

Scientists exploring the Mariana Trench found something entirely unexpected: a...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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