As wild chimpanzees grow older, they tend to back away from complex tool-use activities. When they do engage, they become less efficient - paralleling many of the changes seen in aging humans.



This is the central finding of a new study based on an extraordinary 17-year record of wild chimpanzee behavior in Guinea’s Bossou Forest.



Researchers discovered that aging chimpanzees were not only less likely to participate in nut-cracking sessions using stone tools, but those who did often worked more slowly and less effectively than in their youth.



Some individuals appeared to struggle considerably with the task, while others retained strong abilities into their later years. The data suggest that, just like humans, chimpanzees vary widely in how age impacts their technical skills.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aging-chimpanzees-slow-down">Aging chimpanzees slow down</h2>



Scientists know much less about how growing older affects wild animals than they do about human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lemurs-reveal-surprising-new-clues-about-healthy-aging/">aging</a>, which is well studied. This is especially true when it comes to physically and cognitively demanding behaviors.



Elliot Howard-Spink, a postdoctoral researcher at the <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior</a>, is the study's lead author.



“<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-pass-tool-use-skills-across-generations/">Tool use</a> is uncommon among animals, possibly because it requires a suite of physical and cognitive abilities, such as planning, fine motor coordination, understanding causal relationships, and identifying physical properties of objects,” he said.



“Given many of these faculties can be impacted by aging, wild animals’ tool-use behaviors could be vulnerable to decline with old age.”



The team analyzed behavior records from Bossou, where chimpanzees use stones to crack oil palm nuts. The technique involves selecting appropriate hammer and anvil stones and executing coordinated, targeted strikes.



Over the 17-year study period, the researchers focused on five adult chimpanzees - four females and one male - who aged from around 40 to 60 years old during the observation window.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-less-interest-lower-efficiency"><a></a>Less interest, lower efficiency</h2>



What they saw was a steady decline in nut-cracking activity among the older individuals. Unlike younger adults, older chimpanzees showed a major decline in their attendance at the outdoor laboratory over successive field seasons.



This reduction suggested a gradual disengagement from the demanding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-foraging-behavior-changing-climate-warming-waters/">foraging behavior</a>. Even when older chimpanzees did show up, some spent noticeably less time interacting with the tools and nuts - further evidence of an age-related withdrawal.



The team also documented changes in performance. Some older chimpanzees took longer to select appropriate tools, switched stones more frequently, or required more attempts to open each nut.



The inefficiencies accumulated: it took more time and more strikes for the older apes to get the job done. But the degree of decline was not universal.



The scientists found stark differences in the magnitude of changes across individuals. Some chimpanzees maintained relatively steady skill levels into old age, while others showed marked decline.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-elder-stands-out">One elder stands out</h2>



Susana Carvalho, a group leader at the <a href="https://www.cibio.up.pt/en/about/">Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources</a> (CIBIO) in Portugal recalled a particularly vivid example from a chimpanzee named Yo. 



“We first spotted an elderly female (Yo) seemingly experiencing difficulties during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/just-one-handful-of-pecan-nuts-each-day-can-lower-cholesterol-heart-health/">nut</a> cracking whilst observing chimpanzees in 2012,” she said. “Yo, formerly a keen and efficient tool-user, was taking a very long time to crack each nut, and was changing the stone tools she was using frequently.” 



The long-term data later confirmed those early observations. This deep behavioral record from Bossou is unique because it covers nearly two decades. 



The data was gathered in a consistent field setup known as the “outdoor laboratory.” The researchers placed nuts and tools in a clearing and filmed the chimpanzees who came to use them.



“This research was only possible through the unique video archive produced by decades of continuous observation,” said Tetsuro Matsuzawa, the founding director of the Bossou Archive.



“The Bossou Archive offers a baseline to inform conservation strategies across wild chimpanzee populations, including accounting for behavioral changes over lifetimes.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimpanzees-mirror-aging-humans">Chimpanzees mirror aging humans</h2>



The study also demonstrates the cultural dimension of tool use among chimpanzees.



“Just as with human technical skills, chimpanzee tool use is culturally learned through social learning and individual practice,” noted study co-author Katarina Almeida-Warren, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-and-bees-are-capable-of-complex-social-learning/">University of Oxford</a>.



“By studying the same chimpanzees over two decades, we’ve been able to see how chimpanzees’ cultural skills change with old age.”



While the research did not pinpoint the biological mechanisms behind the decline, it opens new avenues for exploring how age affects cognition and behavior in our closest living relatives.



“As ours was an observational study, we can’t yet identify the specific reasons why aging affects nut cracking,” said co-senior author Dora Biro, a primatologist at the <a href="https://www.rochester.edu/">University of Rochester</a>.



“But our results raise important questions about how aging influences apes’ cognition and behavior in natural settings.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aging-changes-chimpanzee-culture">Aging changes chimpanzee culture</h2>



With its detailed focus on individual animals over many years, the Bossou study provides a rare look at aging outside of captivity or the human species.



It also raises questions about how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/adults-learn-skills-faster-than-children-but-theres-a-catch/">skill learning</a>, use, and decline might shape not only individual lives but group dynamics and traditions in wild chimpanzee communities.



“Until now, there has been no systematic study of how old age influences the technological behaviors of wild animals,” said Howard-Spink. That’s beginning to change - and the results suggest that even in the forest, age can bring challenges similar to those in humans.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/105411">eLife</a>.



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What aging chimpanzees can teach us about ourselves

As wild chimpanzees grow older, they tend to back away from complex tool-use activities. When they do engage, they become less efficient - paralleling many of the changes seen in aging humans. This is the central finding of a new study based on an extraordinary 17-year record of wild chimpanzee behavior in Guinea’s Bossou Forest. Researchers discovered that aging chimpanzees were not only less likely to participate in nut-cracking sessions using stone tools, but those who did often worked more slowly and less effectively than in their...

Researchers are describing how ancient creatures adapted arms and legs. The study demonstrates that fish, mice, and modern-day vertebrates share a genetic advantage that was used to build limbs.

Experts at the <a href="http://www.uchospitals.edu/index.shtml">University of Chicago Medical Center</a> are reporting that the unpaired dorsal fin in ancient fish was duplicated to produce paired appendages, like pelvic fins, arms, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-evolved-running/">legs</a>.


“The unpaired dorsal fin is the first one you see in the fossil record,” said study co-author Neil Shubin. “Here we show that the genetic mechanisms that pattern all the fins and other paired appendages originally arose there and were redeployed to others.”

The research team performed genetic testing in mice and fish to examine the expression of Sonic hedgehog (Shh), which is a gene that is critical in the formation of limbs.

Mice have a type of on-and-off switch called ZRS that controls the expression of Sonic hedgehog. If ZRS is inhibited in a mouse, the limbs cannot properly develop.

The team used gene editing tools to knock out ZRS in a well-known aquarium fish that is known as a Japanese rice fish. Instead of influencing the development of the paired fins, the fish did not grow unpaired dorsal fins. Meanwhile, the paired pelvic and pectoral fins developed as expected.

The researchers examined potential other genetic enhancers and found a related "shadow enhancer" called sZRS that was a critical component working alongside the ZRS switch.

When ZRS and sZRS were suppressed in the medaka, both the dorsal fin and paired fins were lost. The researchers have determined that it is likely that ZRS was first used to develop dorsal fins, and later copied and reused as sZRS when paired fins first emerged about 475 million years ago.

“It's very ancient, and the sequence and function are conserved across all vertebrates,” said Shubin. “It turns out the primitive role for the ZRS was involved with the dorsal fin. It's only later that its activity in the paired fins required this other shadow enhancer.”

Shubin said that understanding the activity of these enhancers helps to identify the traces of evolutionary ancestors present in all vertebrates, including humans.

“A number of human maladies are based on mistakes in the ZRS that can lead extra or missing fingers, or changes in the shape of hands,” said Shubin.

“Humans probably have this shadow enhancer too, so if we want to study the dynamics of how this affects limb patterning, what we see in these fish models is a great place to start.”

The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/ng/">Nature Genetics</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, Earth.com Staff Writer

Dorsal fin marked the start of vertebrates growing arms and legs

Researchers are describing how ancient creatures adapted arms and legs....

More than 500 million years ago, a strange-looking sea creature – Kerygmachela kierkegaardi – roamed the Earth’s oceans. Now, researchers have found more than a dozen fossilized brains and eyes of the ancient ancestor of lobsters, spiders and other modern creepy crawlies.

The newly discovered fossils held a surprise for researchers, however. Until now, many scientists suspected that the common ancestor of vertebrates and arthropods – which would have been an ancestor of K. kierkegaardi, too – had a three-segmented brain, a trait most modern insects share with humans. 

But a research team led by Dr. Jakob Vinther of the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> and Dr. Tae-Yoon S. Park of the <a href="https://www.uarctic.org/member-profiles/non-arctic/28245/korea-polar-research-institute">Korea Polar Research Institute</a> discovered that this was not the case.

The collection of 15 fossilized brains, discovered in Greenland in 2011 and 2016, show that K. kierkegaardi’s brain had only one segment. That means the three-segmented brains seen in its modern relatives likely evolved later. It also means the shared ancestor of humans and insects probably didn’t have a three-segmented brain, either.

“It has been surmised, based on developmental evidence, that the ancestor of vertebrates and arthropods had a tripartite brain, which is refuted by the fossil evidence presented here,” the researchers wrote in their study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03464-w">Nature Communications</a>.

K. kierkegaardi was about 10 inches long, oval-shaped, with 11 flaps for movement on each side, two long appendages on its head and a long tail. It lived between 521 and 514 million years ago, during the Cambrian explosion. It’s simple “protocerebral” brain may have helped it to survive the time period, when a large number of new animal species began to evolve, the scientists said.

The researchers also believe the fossils demonstrate a middle stage between simpler eye structures and the complex eyes found in modern insects like flies and spiders.

“You can call it a missing link as it contains feature that exists in living creatures, but not in previous fossils,” Vinther told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Rebecca Gelernter, <a href="http://www.nearbirdstudios.com/">Near Bird Studios</a>

The surprising fossilized brains of ancient sea creatures

More than 500 million years ago, a strange-looking sea creature...

It’s obvious that animals kept in captivity are unable to live very similar lives to their counterparts in the wild. Even the best zoos struggle to properly simulate the environment and lifestyle that a tiger would experience in the jungle, or an orca would have in the open ocean. 

As you can imagine, there are some negative impacts on the overall health of some species that live in captivity. Most recently, a new study has shown that animals born in captivity have only about half the odds of successful breeding compared to wild animals. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/science/life-environment/">University of Sydney’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences</a> and <a href="http://www.sandiegozooglobal.org/">San Diego Zoo Global</a> analyzed the results of 39 studies covering 44 diverse species, comparing reproductive success of captive-born animals and their wild-born counterparts. The study covered animal breeding programs that included invertebrates, fish, birds, and mammals. This spanned species such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lemur-diet-bizarre-behavior/">lemurs</a>, Tasmanian devils, shrimp, mice, and ducks, among many others. 

The results put a lot of doubt on the potential success of the animal breeding programs that are necessary to prevent the extinction of thousands of species. “More than 2,000 threatened species rely on successful reproduction through captive breeding programmes for conservation alone,” says study supervisor Dr. Catherine Grueber, of the University of Sydney. But these findings have implications beyond just conservation. “In order to maintain our food supply, it’s crucial we improve captive breeding; for example, the aquaculture industry is looking at introducing new species for commercialisation.”

Some of the measurements taken for the study include a number of different reproductive traits, like fertility, number of offspring, and timing of reproduction. The results showed that some of these traits, such as offspring weight and mothering ability, were the most strongly affected by captivity. The silver lining for these findings could be that scientists now know what areas to focus on for improvements. 

Throughout the animal kingdom, it was found that captive-born animals have an average of 42 percent decreased odds of reproductive success when compared to those that are wild-born. Hopefully, the findings of this study will lead to an increased effort to improve captive breeding programs. A lack of success with these programs would have significant consequences for both our conservation efforts and our food supply.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Animals born in captivity are half as likely to reproduce

It’s obvious that animals kept in captivity are unable to...

Scientists are warning that we are already in the middle of the Earth's sixth mass extinction. The last event of this magnitude was responsible for wiping out the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroid-submarine-volcanoes/">dinosaurs</a>.

The ongoing event, which is referred to as the Holocene or the Anthropocene Extinction, is primarily a result of human activity and man made climate change.

Human activity is by far the biggest driver of habitat loss, which is the number one cause of species extinction. When we build dams and roads and clear the forests, we are destroying ecosystems. Humans are also overhunting and overharvesting.

Over the course of three years, a comprehensive analysis was conducted by 600 volunteer scientists using data from thousands of published studies. 

The results of the research will be presented at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

The reports, which represent the most up-to-date view of the health of the planet's species, have been created to inform policy decisions in the future.

For the last 100 years, an average of two species of vertebrate have gone extinct every year. In addition, around 25 percent of mammals and 41 percent of amphibians are currently threatened with extinction, and the list is growing.

The study also revealed that there are an estimated 8.7 million plant and animal species on Earth, but around 86 percent of land species and 91 percent of marine species are not yet known. Many of them will vanish before they are ever identified.

The following numbers of known species are endangered: 1,204 mammal, 1,469 bird, 1,215 reptile, 2,100 amphibian, and 2,386 fish species.

“The science is clear: biodiversity is in crisis globally,” said WWF Director General Marco Lambertini. “We depend on biodiversity for the food we eat, the water we drink, the clean air we breathe, the stability of weather patterns, and yet our actions are pushing nature's ability to sustain us to the brink.”

The biodiversity crisis will be addressed with a global assessment of the damage based on the findings of this research at the IPBES conference this Saturday in Colombia.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists issue ominous warning of an imminent mass extinction

Scientists are warning that we are already in the middle...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orca-whale-reproduction-harmed/">Orca whale</a> numbers in the Puget Sound have plummeted, and there are currently just 76 whales that can be spotted off the coast of Washington. 

Even though orcas in general are not endangered, Southern Resident killer whales were listed as endangered in 2005, according to the<a href="http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/killer-whale.html"> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries</a> (NOAA).

It’s not uncommon to find local pods or populations of orcas, such as the ones that hunt in Puget Sound, threatened or nearing extinction. 

There can be many reasons for this kind of localized endangerment. For Southern Resident killer whales, a lack of salmon, polluted waters, noise, and less space are all to blame for the whales’ low numbers. 

There also haven’t been any new calves reported in the area for a few years due to infertility issues from the stress caused by salmon shortages. 

Governor Jay Inslee urged state agencies to take immediate action to protect and recover the few orcas left in the area. 

Inslee issued an executive order that aims to provide provide clean water, space, and an ample food supply for the whales. A new task force was assembled to come up with strategies to meet this goal. 

“This is a wake-up call,” said Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman. “It's going to take some pain. We're going to have to make some sacrifices.”  

A key part of conserving the Southern Resident orcas is increasing salmon populations. Climate change has drastically impacted salmon populations, and many salmon species have faced reduced numbers. This puts an added strain on the predators like killer whales who typically feed on salmon. 

In order to protect the orcas of Puget Sound, lawmakers are asking hatcheries to increase the production of salmon by five million. 

“I applaud anything that helps (the orcas) through the short term, but the long-term is what we really have to look at - and that's the restoration of wild salmon stocks throughout Washington state,” said Ken Balcomb, a senior scientist at the <a href="https://www.whaleresearch.com/">Center for Whale Research</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Washington takes action to save endangered whales

Orca whale numbers in the Puget Sound have plummeted, and...

Major flooding from natural disasters takes a huge toll on an environment that can take years to fully recover from. Water damage can destroy buildings, homes, and infrastructure but flooding also disrupts vital ecosystems. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ou.edu/">University of Oklahoma</a> and <a href="https://www.cameron.edu/">Cameron University</a> happened upon a unique opportunity to study the impacts of a 100-year flood on invertebrate species such as spiders, ants, and millipedes. 

The researchers were set to examine invertebrates before and after a controlled burning event in 2015, but in June of that year record rainfall and subsequent flooding devastated parts of Oklahoma. 

Because the researchers had already sampled insect species in the area, it was easy enough to study the after-effects of the flood on the insect community, which gave the researchers insight into how natural disasters can disrupt ecosystems and species. 

The study was published in the journal Environmental Entomology and shows the hidden impacts of natural disasters. 

Invertebrate species populations were calculated before and after the flood. The researchers set traps and took samples of different invertebrate species to get an accurate count of population totals in the area. 

The researchers found drastic decreases in abundance, biomass, and species presence in the months after the flood. There was very little species diversity compared to the data recorded before the flood. 

“I will never forget picking up the traps, and it just seemed like every trap had one cricket and one spider," said Karl A. Roeder, the lead researcher of the study. “The area had transitioned from a diverse insect community to a large expanse of crickets and spiders. We were pretty surprised at how similar everything was.”

Many species were not even recorded or present after the flood occurred. For example, only three of the 14 ant species sampled pre-flood were found afterward. 

This decline in biodiversity and populations puts an added strain on prey who would typically thrive on abundant species of invertebrates. 

The study illustrates the importance of understanding the full impact that natural disasters have on the ecosystem and species as well as urban areas. 

Exactly how long it will take species and communities to recover after a major event and if certain species are more able to adapt to huge changes are important questions that need to be thoroughly considered, according to the researchers. 

“As these weather events can perturb natural communities in very dramatic ways, it will be important to understand which organisms are likely to persist or at least able to recolonize areas quickly,” said Karl. “If such species are unable to perform functions of the displaced individuals--such as soil cycling, decomposition, or pollination--ecosystems may have trouble returning to their previous states.

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Image Credit: Jeff Thrasher

The hidden impacts of natural disasters on ecosystems

Major flooding from natural disasters takes a huge toll on...

Researchers at the <a href="http://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> have found that humans are changing animal migration patterns by altering the landscape. These modifications can also affect interactions between wildlife and parasites, which poses a threat to public health.

Study co-author Richard Hall is a faculty member in the Odum School and the College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Infectious Diseases. Hall collaborated with researcher Leone Brown to investigate how feeding wildlife can influence both migration and disease using mathematical models.

“One familiar example for that would be American robins, where widespread ornamental plantings of berry-bearing bushes in city parks and backyards means there's food for them in the winter, so an increasing fraction of them is staying north,” said Hall. “That's a species that we know is an important host for maintaining West Nile virus in places such as New York City.”


While some people intentionally provide food for animals using tools such as bird feeders, other people may not be aware they are feeding wildlife by actions such as setting food outside in trash cans. When animals have access to food, particularly when it's year-round access, many of them will choose not to migrate.

Animals often migrate to escape extreme weather conditions or to find better access to food, but migration also has another important advantage. Migration can reduce parasite infection in animal populations by giving animals a chance to escape infested areas and by weeding out the infected animals because they cannot survive the trip.

If animals choose not to migrate because they have human-provided food resources, there can be harmful consequences. For example, individuals who stayed behind and formed resident populations could already be taking up breeding territories and resources by the time migratory animals return, putting them at a serious disadvantage. 

In addition, those animals who stayed behind are more likely to be infected by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parasites-extinct-2070/">parasites</a>.

“When you get resident populations forming, you might extend the parasite transmission season, and additionally if those residents are supported by food subsidies through the winter, the infected individuals might be more likely to make it through,” said Hall. “So now these migrants are returning to areas where there's already a larger number of infected individuals, so those mechanisms for escaping parasitism become less effective.

Hall said that there are steps that can be taken to minimize some of the risks of feeding wildlife. For example, planting native species that have a fruiting or flowering period that co-evolved with native birds would prevent interference in migratory patterns. He also explained that people who use bird feeders should regularly sweep out seed husks and clean them regularly to prevent disease.


“Migration is considered to be a threatened phenomenon by some because of the many barriers resulting from human land use and activities,” said Hall. “Providing food and shelter for wildlife in our backyards provides us with an important connection with the natural world, with associated benefits for our well-being and engagement with conservation issues. I don't want to say to people, 'Stop bird feeding,' but rather to adopt practices to ensure its benefits for people and wildlife alike.”

The study is published in <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Philosophical Transactions 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

People feeding animals are altering wider wildfire migration

Researchers at the University of Georgia have found that humans...

What separates a queen bee from a regular <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honeybees-agricultural-issue/">honeybee</a>? Besides the metaphorical crown, queen bees are separated from the average worker bee when they are fed large quantities of a food known as royal jelly when they are larvae. Other than determining whether a larva becomes a queen, the royal jelly also keeps it safely anchored to the roof of the queen cell – the structure in which the bee develops. New research published in <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a> explains the role that the pH of royal jelly plays in making the substance viscous enough to keep the future queen from falling.

“Royal jelly is kind of viscous and sticky and jelly-like; that’s why it’s called ‘jelly.’ It’s like a mixture of marmalade and honey,” says Anja Buttstedt, a molecular ecologist at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, and senior author of the study.

While other larvae are fed small quantities of food jelly directly, the worker bees feed it to the queen-to-be in large amounts, accumulating a sticky mass that both feeds the larva and keeps it in place. This is important, as the queen larva are too big to fit into the cells of the hive’s honeycomb, so usually the only place on the hive with enough room for the queen cells is hanging off the bottom of it. The lack of space makes the role that royal jelly plays vitally important. When Buttstedt and her team were experimenting with the proteins that make up this substance, they found that it completely changed its consistency, changing to a more liquid viscosity. 

In further analysis, they looked at the royal jelly at several different pH levels. Normally, it has a pH of 4, but they found that between a pH of 4 and 5, the viscosity of the jelly changed dramatically. At a neutral pH, it became more of a runny consistency. “And then we realized that the protein that we were purifying at pH 4 was somehow much bigger in size than what we would expect from its amino acid sequence,” explains Buttstedt. “Most purification protocols use pH 7, so other people never expected or saw the huge size of the protein.”

The researchers determined that the main protein in royal jelly, MRJP1, polymerized with another protein in more acidic conditions to form a network of fibers. The fibers increased the size of this protein and actually changed the jelly’s consistency. “That was, in the end, the missing link between the pH, the viscosity change, and the protein,” says Buttstedt.

While it’s still not known how the fibers change the viscosity of royal jelly, the researchers do have a hypothesis of why this change is necessary. Royal jelly is produced in the glands of worker bees and needs to be fluid enough to travel through their glandular ducts. The jelly is produced in two separate glands; one produces the proteins in a neutral pH and the other makes fatty acids that can reduce the pH when the two secretions combine.

“The longer I think about it, the less surprising I find it," Buttstedt says. “There are many other proteins in royal jelly, and I would like to find out what all of them are doing. Because these proteins exist in this way just in honeybees, they most likely use them to do something very special.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The secret ingredient that turns honeybees into queen bees

What separates a queen bee from a regular honeybee? Besides...

New research from the <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/apes/">Wits School of Animal Plant and Environmental Sciences</a> has identified a group of female pythons that nurture their offspring to a surprising degree. South African pythons not only incubate their eggs but also care for the babies after they have hatched.

“This is the first-ever report of maternal care of babies in an egg-laying snake,” said study author Graham Alexander.

For his investigation, Professor Alexander conducted intensive fieldwork for seven years at the Dinokeng Game Reserve, just north of Pretoria. He used radio transmitters to track the movement of 37 pythons.

Over the course of the study, eight of the pythons laid eggs. Professor Alexander recorded their breeding behavior using infrared video cameras which were carefully lowered into the nest chambers.

“I was amazed by the complex reproductive biology of this iconic snake,” said Professor Alexander.


He discovered that the female <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-proof-pythons-reproducing-florida/">pythons</a> make huge sacrifices to nurture their babies. During the six-month breeding cycle, the mothers do not eat at all, causing them to lose about 40 percent of their body mass.


The female snakes also turn black while breeding, which is an ability that has been adapted by the pythons to heat up faster while basking in the sun.

“Efficient basking is probably crucial for incubation,” explained Professor Alexander. “Unlike some other python species, southern African pythons are unable to warm their eggs by elevating their metabolism. Instead, our pythons bask near to the burrow entrance until their body temperature is almost 40 °C (within a few degrees of lethal temperatures), and they then coil around the eggs to warm them with their sun-derived body heat.”

The body temperatures of pregnant females observed in the study were at least 5 degrees Celsius warmer than non-reproductive females.

“All of this takes its toll on mother pythons: they take a long time to recover after breeding and so can only produce a clutch every second or third year, depending on how many meals they are able to catch in the months after leaving the nest. Some of them never recover.”

According to Professor Alexander, all of the pythons that were monitored during his research survived, but none of them bred the following year. This groundbreaking study sheds light on the fact that there is still so much this is unknown about the reproductive biology of snakes.

“Research is showing that snake reproductive biology is far more complex and sophisticated than we previously thought, and there is a range of behaviours that have been recorded in several species that can be classed as maternal care.” 

“For example, biologists are discovering that females of many types of rattlesnakes show maternal care of babies. In some species, mothers appear to even cooperate by taking shifts to look after young. But all these species are live bearing - our python is the first egg laying species that has been shown to care for its babies.”

The research is published in the <a href="http://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1469-7998/">Journal of Zoology</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: Graham Alexander/<a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/">Wits University</a>

Why female pythons make great moms

New research from the Wits School of Animal Plant and...

After the war in Angola had ended, wildlife ecologists had noted that the African savannah elephant population appeared to be recovering. Now, new research from <a href="http://elephantswithoutborders.org/">Elephants Without Borders</a> (EWB) and the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/">University of Massachusetts Amherst</a> is reporting that this trend has now reversed.

“Our study shows that ending war is not necessarily sufficient for the long-term recovery of wildlife populations,” they say in the open access journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>. “Active protection of wildlife is also needed. Measures such as anti-poaching and limiting human encroachment in protected areas are now essential to saving Angola's elephants.”

Prior to the 1970s, Angola was home to as many as 70,000 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/interbreeding-survival-early-elephants/">elephants</a> – one of the largest populations in southern Africa. Unfortunately, war that raged from 1975 to 2002 led to a mass slaughter of elephants, along with a great loss of human life. In 2004 and 2005, the study’s authors Chase and Griffin conducted the first systematic survey in 25 years, and found a “small but apparently healthy and growing population estimated at 1,800 elephants.” Over the next 10 years, no elephant research was possible in Angola, but in 2015, the government gave EWB permission to resume research.

For this study, the researchers use aerial surveys and satellite monitoring of eight collared elephants to determine the status of populations in Angola and determine how humans may affect the elephants’ habitat. Their surveys showed a population of 3,395 elephants – a decrease of 21 percent from a subset of the 2015 study-area that was surveyed in 2005. 

The researchers observed a high number of elephant carcasses in 2015, approximately four carcasses for every 10 live elephants, whereas none were observed back in 2005. This observation may suggest that populations have increased after the 2005 survey, but were declining as of 2015. The number “suggests a much more rapid decline” than the 2 percent per year decrease indicated by the number of live elephants surveyed. The authors believe that their survey may have “substantially underestimated the current rate of decline for elephants in Angola.”

Another significant finding of this study is that human development is widespread in southeast Angola, and may be limiting elephant distributions. Satellite tracking has shown that elephants avoid areas that are within 6 kilometers of human indicators. Conservationists have proposed establishing the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) to protect core habitats and movement corridors for elephants between Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. However, the results of this study suggest that increased poaching in these areas would threaten the integrity of the conservation areas and could harm the elephants’ ability to move around safely. 

Instead, the authors believe that if the government in Angola commits to active protection, “There may be time to reverse the ongoing decline of elephants in Angola and conserve this important population.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Elephant populations once thought to be rising are now in decline

After the war in Angola had ended, wildlife ecologists had...

Male birds may be better known for their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-teach-children-duets/">singing</a>, but female birds perform their own songs as well. Researchers are calling for more widespread documentation of the female birdsong, arguing that a better understanding of these vocalizations could lead to a better understanding of bird biology.

Karan Odom from Cornell<a href="https://www.cornell.edu/"> University</a> and Lauryn Benedict from the <a href="http://www.unco.edu/">University of Northern Colorado</a> have both independently studied female bird songs.

“I started studying California towhees 17 years ago, and I was fascinated by the duet vocalization given by females and males,” said Benedict. 

“That led me to start looking for female song in other North American bird species, and I was surprised to learn that it was much more common than I expected. The reports of female song are buried in odd corners of the literature, but when you put them all together, you start to see some interesting patterns.”


The ancestors of modern birds most likely had many more females that sang. According to the experts, today's female songs are not represented very well in collections of birdsong recordings and are also understudied. 

The researchers believe that additional documentation of the female birdsong with more detailed descriptions of song structure and output could improve our understanding of birds on many levels, including their comparative physiology, neurobiology, behavioral ecology, evolution, and even conservation. 

Endangered birds are frequently identified by their songs during surveys, but assumptions that all singing birds are male could misinform wildlife managers about the state of populations.

Odom and Benedict are asking both ornithologists and amateur bird lovers to share any resources they may have regarding the female birdsong. They have created a website where any birdwatcher can upload their observations. 

“If you hear a bird singing, do not assume it's a male,” said Odom. “If you observe a female bird singing, document it by uploading field notes, audio, or video to the collections on our website, <a href="http://femalebirdsong.org/">femalebirdsong.org</a>. Make sure to indicate how you recognized the bird was female.”

Zoology expert Katharina Riebel from <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en">Leiden University</a> formerly collaborated with Odom.

“Odom and Benedict have written an excellent appeal to document and record more female bird song,” said Riebel. 

“They rightly point out that the extent of female bird song has been starkly underestimated, as almost by default we assume that a singing bird must be the male of the species. As a consequence, we might have missed out many aspects and the dynamics of male and female vocal signaling in songbirds--clearly, there is still lots to discover! I am confident that ornithologists in the field can make substantial contributions toward these questions by sharing their observations and recordings, as I very much hope this article will encourage them to do.”

The study is published in in <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/auk-ornithological-advances">The Auk: Ornithological 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: K. Thomas

Female bird songs have been underappreciated, study finds

Male birds may be better known for their singing, but...

Herd of African elephants. Amboseli National Park, Kenya.

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> are reporting that around half of plant and animal species in the world's most diverse regions, such as the Amazon and the Galapagos, will face extinction by the end of this century if human-induced climate change continues at the current rate. 

At this point, even if <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/limit-global-warming/">global warming</a> is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, these regions are still likely to lose around 25 percent of their species.

“Our research quantifies the benefits of limiting global warming to 2°C for species in 35 of the world's most wildlife-rich areas,” said study lead author Rachel Warren. 

“We studied 80,000 species of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians and found that 50% of species could be lost from these areas without climate policy. However, if global warming is limited to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, this could be reduced to 25%. Limiting warming to within 1.5°C was not explored, but would be expected to protect even more wildlife.”

The study was focused on 35 of the world's most wildlife-rich areas. The researchers took into account a number of future climate scenarios that would result in a rise of global mean temperatures from 2 degrees Celsius to 4.5 degrees Celsius.

The experts identified the most vulnerable regions in the world, which include the Miombo Woodlands, southwest Australia, and the Amazon-Guianas. A global mean temperature rise of 4.5 degrees Celsius in these areas would make most habitats completely unsuitable to sustain life.

The study revealed that up to 90 percent of amphibians, 80 percent of mammals, and 86 percent of birds could become locally extinct in the Miombo Woodlands under these conditions. 

In southwest Australia, 89 percent of amphibians could disappear, while 69 percent of plant species in the Amazon would likely vanish.

“Within our children's lifetime, places like the Amazon and Galapagos Islands could become unrecognizable, with half the species that live there wiped out by human-caused climate change,” said WWF CEO Tanya Steele. 

“Around the world, beautiful iconic animals like Amur tigers or Javan rhinos are at risk of disappearing, as well as tens of thousands plants and smaller creatures that are the foundation of all life on earth. That is why this Earth Hour we are asking everyone to make a promise for the planet and make the everyday changes to protect our planet.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/10584">Climatic Change</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: WWF

Half of plant and animal species in diverse places face extinction risk

Researchers at the University of East Anglia are reporting that...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

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Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" 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> 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;



---



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"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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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

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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



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"

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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

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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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