Thirty‑five millennia may sound like a long time, yet for a mammal, it is practically yesterday. A new study uses whole‑genome data to show that the Norwegian lemming, Lemmus lemmus, split from its Siberian cousin only about 35,000 years ago.



“The Norwegian lemming is a key ecological species in the Fennoscandian tundra. Among other things, it serves as primary food for many predator <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-animals-evolved-in-different-ways-to-beat-the-cold/">species</a>, including some threatened ones such as the Arctic fox,” said David Díez del Molino, a researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics, <a href="https://www.su.se/">Stockholm University</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lemmings-shape-arctic-life">Lemmings shape Arctic life</h2>



Ecologists have tracked lemming booms and busts for decades because those <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2656.1999.00258.x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cycles</a> ripple through the tundra food web, shaping the breeding success of Arctic foxes, owls, and even geese. 



When rodent numbers crash, fox litters shrink, snowy owls skip nesting, and grasses rebound after seasons of heavy grazing.



Unlike most small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-water-day-2025-preserving-glaciers-protecting-our-future/">mammals</a>, Norwegian lemmings overwinter aboveground by tunneling under snow, a habit that keeps them active when many rodents lie low. Their winter wanderings aerate soil, mix plant nutrients, and feed predators during the hungriest months.



During peak years, the species can reach densities of hundreds per acre. Yet its loud squeaks and bold charge‑and‑bite defense make predators think twice, granting the animal an outsized ecological voice relative to its three‑ounce frame.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lemmings-became-a-separate-species">Lemmings became a separate species</h2>



Researchers compared nine modern and two ancient lemming genomes and found a clean split from the Western Siberian lemming with no evidence of crossbreeding, even in areas where the two meet today. 



That result stands in sharp contrast to polar bears and brown bears, whose DNA still shows <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22517859/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ancient admixture</a> from repeated hybridization events.



“Our findings indicate that the Norwegian lemming is among the most recently evolved <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-otter-day-2025-on-the-front-lines-of-a-habitat-crisis/">mammals</a>, diverging from its sister taxon, the Western Siberian lemming, at a remarkably shallow time depth,” said <a href="https://palaeogenetics.com/people/edana-lord/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Edana Lord</a>, a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics.



The team’s high‑resolution sequencing also resolved relationships within the genus Lemmus, confirming that Eastern Siberian lemmings belong to a separate species and helping clean up a century of contested rodent taxonomy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-species-born-in-an-ice-age">A species born in an ice age</h2>



The divergence date places the split just before the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1172873" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Last Glacial Maximum</a>, when ice sheets peaked between roughly 26,500 and 19,000 years ago. 



Glacial barriers likely trapped an ancestral lemming population in a Scandinavian refuge, cutting gene flow with Siberian relatives and setting the stage for rapid speciation.



Once the ice retreated, the newly minted Norwegian lineage expanded westward, but climatic swings had already written separation into the animals’ DNA. Modern population genetics shows no trace of later contact, suggesting that geography and behavior together kept the young species distinct.



Because the entire living population coalesces to a common ancestor only about 6,400 years ago, every Norwegian lemming alive today shares surprisingly shallow roots, a reminder that dramatic evolutionary change can happen fast.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-color-blocks-crossbreeding">Color blocks crossbreeding</h2>



Hybridization often lingers for thousands of years after a split, yet these rodents seem to have slammed the door shut. 



One reason may be their vivid black‑and‑yellow coat, a pattern that functions as an <a href="https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/aposematism-warning-signals" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aposematic warning</a> and an instant badge of identity, reducing mating mistakes with the drab Siberian form.



Aggressive ritual boxing, loud chirps, and high‑speed chases further isolate the species by favoring individuals that court their own kind and bully outsiders away from snow burrows.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-that-power-survival">Genes that power survival</h2>



Sequencing uncovered unique changes in the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3093193/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LYST pigment gene</a> that help produce the lemming’s splashy jacket, a mutation class also linked to altered melanosome function in laboratory mice. 



The same region shows signs of a recent selective sweep, hinting at strong predator‑driven pressure for conspicuous colors.



Other <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30006135/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mutations</a> appear in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/53630" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BCO1</a>, <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/apob/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">APOB</a>, and <a href="https://www.genecards.org/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=RELCH" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RELCH</a> - genes involved in fat transport and storage; in mice, knocking out BCO1 triggers fatty‑liver disease and shifts cholesterol pathways. Extra‑efficient lipid metabolism may keep lemmings fueled through subzero winters when seeds are scarce.



The researchers also found clusters of rapidly evolving olfactory receptor genes, suggesting that a refined sense of smell guides the rodents through deep snow tunnels to mates, food, and lurking stoats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-arctic-mammals">Lessons for Arctic mammals</h2>



Climate upheaval can spin off new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/aquatic-robot-inspired-by-flatworms-can-swim-in-harmony-with-nature/">species</a> in a geological blink, and the lemming’s youth underscores how quickly isolation plus selection can rewrite a mammal’s genetic blueprint. 



Similar patterns play out in Arctic whales, foxes, and hares as shrinking ice opens and closes migration corridors.



“This work represents a big step in our understanding of lemming speciation and evolution,” said Love Dalén, a professor in <a href="https://utbildning.su.se/english/education/course-catalogue/bl/bl7082" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evolutionary Genomics at Stockholm University</a>. 



Professor Dalén noted that tracing ancient DNA in more Pleistocene specimens could reveal exactly when each adaptive mutation took hold.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2424333122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



 n

How Norwegian lemmings rapidly evolved into a new species

Thirty‑five millennia may sound like a long time, yet for a mammal, it is practically yesterday. A new study uses whole‑genome data to show that the Norwegian lemming, Lemmus lemmus, split from its Siberian cousin only about 35,000 years ago. “The Norwegian lemming is a key ecological species in the Fennoscandian tundra. Among other things, it serves as primary food for many predator species, including some threatened ones such as the Arctic fox,” said David Díez del Molino, a researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm University. Lemmings...

Across the globe, overhunting in tropical forests has led to widespread biodiversity loss. But according to new research, sustainable subsistence hunting by Amazonian communities does not pose a severe threat to the surrounding forests.

The study, performed by researchers at the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia </a>(UAE), explored any lasting impact of hunting by communities that are only looking to to support themselves at micro, local levels. 

Elsewhere, overhunting has resulted in devastating species loss and the creation of “empty forests.”

"Understanding the impacts of subsistence hunting in tropical forests is crucial not only to safeguard the world's most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems but also to secure a sustainable future for forest-dependent communities,” said Dr. Mark Abrahams, from UEA's School of Environmental Sciences and the lead author. 

The results of the study showed that in areas where communities depended on large forests in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/illegal-activity-brazilian-amazon/">Amazon</a> with access to abundant fish stocks, subsistent hunters were not emptying, or overhunting their forests. 

The researchers used 383 motion-activated trail cameras and conducted 78 interviews with subsistence hunters in the Juruá and Uatumã regions of Amazonas, Brazil to find out what impact these communities had on the local ecosystem. 

The researchers made several key discoveries. First, they found that larger animals were depleted near Amazonian communities, and the biomass of entire species had been reduced. But in areas with high forest cover and alternative sources of protein like fish, hunters did not deplete game populations nearby. 

“Our results imply that conservationists can be cautiously optimistic about the prospect of sustainable subsistence hunting by Amazonian communities. Small communities, living in large areas of intact forest and with access to healthy stocks of fish, do not appear to be emptying their forests,” said Abrahams. 

However, the researchers note the results still show depleted levels of larger species including primates and bigger game, species that play an important role in biodiversity and maintaining the ecosystem. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Local Amazonian subsistence hunters are not emptying forests

Across the globe, overhunting in tropical forests has led to...

A study from the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> may give new insight into the disappearance of ancient kangaroos. The researchers found evidence that an extinct species of kangaroos known as fanged kangaroos survived millions of years longer than previously thought. 

Fanged kangaroos, also known as balbarids, were thought to have died out approximately 15 million years ago, but a new analysis reveals that fanged kangaroos were still around as recently as 10 million years ago. The research team used fossil evidence to investigate the various species of fanged kangaroos, their body size, and the timing of their extinction.

Kaylene Butler is a PhD student at the University of Queensland School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

"Currently, we can only hypothesize as to why balbarids became extinct - the original hypothesis related to events during a change in climate 15 million years ago but the balbarids persisted past that," said Butler. "This new finding of their persistence until 10 million years ago means something else must have been at play, such as being outcompeted by other species."

The balbaroo fangaroo is an ancient balbarid which was found to be around the size of a wallaby. This fanged creature was identified from a fossilized skull found at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Northern Australia, which is also the origin of the fossils examined for the current study. These fossil deposits, which are held at the Queensland Museum, date back 25 million years.

"Fanged kangaroos and the potential ancestors of modern kangaroos are both browsers - meaning they ate leaves - and they scurried, but did not hop," said Butler. "There is a lot of research to be done before we can be sure what their canine teeth were used for but some have suggested they were used to attract potential mates. We do know that despite their large canines they were herbivorous.”

The researchers determined that the fanged kangaroos increased in body size right up until they vanished. While their body mass was growing, however, the diversity of their species was shrinking. 

Butler said the study may help experts establish a more detailed timeline of kangaroo evolution. Furthermore, understanding what caused the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-smallest-animals-extinction/">extinction</a> of the fanged kangaroo species could help save other macropod species from vanishing forever.

"Currently 21 macropod species are listed as vulnerable or endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species," said Butler.

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00310182">Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The extinction of fanged kangaroos could save other species

A study from the University of Queensland may give new...

Tightly knit families and groups of friends. Alliances toward specific goals. Teaching each other hunting techniques. If these sound like human behaviors to you, you’re not wrong – but they’re not. Whales and dolphins form human-like societies with complex relationships and culture, according to marine biologists.

In a new study, scientists found that Cetaceans generally have intricate societies complete with social play, transfer of knowledge, and even “dialects” in their vocal communication. Some of the whistles and chirps common in whale and dolphin song may even be names, the biologists said.

More complex societies appear to be linked to brain size in proportion to the whales’ or dolphins’ bodies, they said.

Humans have long known that whales and dolphins have elaborate cultures, said Dr. Susanne Shultz, an evolutionary biologist at the <a href="http://www.manchester.ac.uk/">University of Manchester</a>. But the insight into their behaviors and how they influence whales’ and dolphins’ human-like societies has added a new layer to the understanding of how intelligence evolves.

"That means the apparent co-evolution of brains, social structure, and behavioural richness of marine mammals provides a unique and striking parallel to the large brains and hyper-sociality of humans and other primates on land,” Shultz said. “Unfortunately, they won't ever mimic our great metropolises and technologies because they didn't evolve opposable thumbs."

The team, from the University of Manchester, <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a>, the <a href="http://www.lse.ac.uk/">London School of Economics and Political Science</a>, and the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a>, gathered information about 90 different species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. With that information, they created a database documenting cooperative behaviors and other aspects of the Cetaceans’ social structures.

They used the datasets to test evolutionary hypotheses about the social brain and cultural brain, two ideas proposed to explain the evolution of human society and intelligence in other land mammals.

The team of researchers found that the theories appear to apply to marine mammals as well.

 "This research isn't just about looking at the intelligence of whales and dolphins; it also has important anthropological ramifications as well,” said Dr. Michael Muthukrishna of the London School of Economics and Political Science. “In order to move toward a more general theory of human behaviour, we need to understand what makes humans so different from other animals. And to do this, we need a control group. Compared to primates, cetaceans are a more ‘alien’ control group.”

The research may also offer clues into how certain behaviors crop up in some animals but not others – especially as Cetacean brain structures are not very similar to those of land mammals.

Those different brain structures led some scientists to theorize that dolphins and whales couldn’t develop higher cognitive skills, let alone human-like societies, said Dr. Kieran Fox of Stanford.

“I think our research shows that this is clearly not the case,” he said. “Instead, a new question emerges: How can very diverse patterns of brain structure in very different species nonetheless give rise to highly similar cognitive and social behaviors?"

The team’s study has been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0336-y">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Scientists: whales and dolphins form human-like societies

Tightly knit families and groups of friends. Alliances toward specific...

A study from <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">The Field Museum</a> and the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> provides insight that could help protect flying fox fruit bats in the Solomon Islands. The flying foxes not only play a key role in the health of the ecosystem but are also important to local tradition.

"Island flying foxes are a diverse group of bats, and they're nearly all in trouble. Many species are endangered or extinct from some islands," said lead author Tyrone Lavery.

On many Pacific islands, hunting has dramatically reduced flying fox populations. Lavery learned about a custom on one of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-rat-species-solomon-islands/">Solomon Islands</a>, Makira, where flying fox teeth are used as currency. He wanted to find out what impact this may have on hunting.

"Many island flying foxes are endangered, but the effects of using their teeth as currency hasn't been studied before," explained Lavery.

The research team surveyed 197 residents of Makira to learn about their use of flying fox teeth. The scientists wanted to try to gain a better understanding of how the teeth were being used, whether the teeth were a driving factor in hunting, and how hunters might play a role in conservation of the flying foxes.

"Doing this study was fun -- people think you are crazy to be asking about bats," said co-author John Fasi, who is originally from Makira. "They see how abundant the bats are in the wild and have no knowledge that they are threatened."

As a result of the survey, the researchers learned that there are two types of flying foxes on Makira, the larger Pacific flying fox and the smaller Makira flying fox. They also discovered that people were more interested in hunting the larger bats. These bats have bigger teeth, but the primary reason the larger bats are more desirable is because they have more meat.

"It is becoming evident that modern currency is slowing taking over the use of traditional currency,"said Fasi. "However, we see that the use of bats as food is still going on. But conserving bats involves a number of fronts, like protecting their habitats, forests and mangroves, from destruction. Perhaps balancing between the number of bats killed for traditional practices and the need to conserve some will continue to keep the population of bats intact."

Lavery explained that the significance of the study is its role in protecting flying foxes, which ultimately protect the island's environment. 

"The bats are hugely important for health of Makira's whole ecosystem. The Pacific islands are exposed to hurricanes, which can destroy forests -- fruit bats spread seeds that help forests regenerate."

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryx">Oryx</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Saving bats whose teeth are used as currency

A study from The Field Museum and the University of...

For the second time in three years, a colony of Antarctic penguins has suffered a tragic die-off of its chicks. 

In 2015, the colony of about 36,000 Adelie penguins lost all of its chicks. So far this year, all but two of the baby penguins have died.

The culprit, experts believe, was late spring ice that forced the adult penguins to travel much farther for food. 

According to the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a>, the Adelie penguin is the smallest and most widespread penguin species in Antarctica. Although they’re considered a species of “least concern” – meaning they’re not considered endangered or threatened – that could change in the future. 

Like other Antarctic penguins, the Adelie colony faces the duel challenges of a changing climate and commercial fishing in their traditional feeding grounds. 

In areas that have already begun to show the effects of climate change over the past 25 years, Adelie penguin populations have dropped by as much as 65 percent, the WWF reports.

The little penguins only breed on land that has no ice, which means that when ice extends farther than usual – as it did this year – adult penguins have to travel farther to find food for themselves and their chicks. In normal years, adults travel 30 to 75 miles to their fishing territory. 

When commercial fishing operations move into that territory, that just means one more competitor for the Adelie penguins’ fish.

"The risk of opening up this area to exploratory krill fisheries, which would compete with the Adelie penguins for food as they recover from two catastrophic breeding failures in four years, is unthinkable,” Rod Downie, the WWF’s head of polar programs, told the BBC.

The WWF is calling for the creation of a Marine Protection Area at the fishing grounds near the colony. 

In an opinion column about the tragic die-off of the penguin chicks printed in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/13/penguins-starving-death-something-very-wrong-antarctic">The Guardian</a>, John Sauven, the director of <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/">Greenpeace</a>, also called for a marine sanctuary for the colony. 

“All of us who live on this planet are the guardians of these environments, not only to protect the wildlife that lives in them, but because the health of our oceans sustains our planet and the livelihoods of billions of people,” Sauven wrote.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Antarctic penguins face catastrophic loss of chicks

For the second time in three years, a colony of...

‘Tis the season for wild turkeys in Massachusetts, but one group of troublemaking turkeys have Boston residents in a "fowl" mood.

The indigenous bird was once completely eradicated from the state. Thanks to the hard work of wildlife restoration experts, the turkeys Ben Franklin once wanted to honor as America’s national bird have made a comeback.

That comeback hasn’t come without a cost. Gangs of wild urban turkeys have begun strutting around Boston like the own the place.

“There was a girl at church on Sunday who was telling me how she got chased. She and her dog got chased by a wild turkey,” Councilman Craig Kelly said during a recent Cambridge City Council meeting.

Over the past three years, Boston and its suburbs have received countless similar complaints, including that they damage cars, attack people and pets, and ruin gardens. A review of public records turned up 60 such reports last year alone, the <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a> said. 

One Cambridge meeting to discuss the turkey problem became an example itself. When the meeting ended, Councilman Dennis Carlone was rushed by a turkey as soon as he left.

“It was like the turkey was waiting for me,” he told the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/">Boston Globe</a>. “They’re clearly strategizing. And I agree, we have to think of some humane way to deal with this.”

In five cases, turkeys became so aggressive that police had to shoot them for public safety, the Associated Press reported.

The troublemaking turkeys aren’t just a problem in Boston. Cities throughout the U.S. have had to deal with more of the feathered fiends finding their way into urban areas. 

And of course, they’re not alone. Other animals like raccoons, foxes and mountain lions have made appearances in cities in recent years. The Boston area has been swamed by rabbits as well as turkeys, and they do just as much damage to yards and gardens.

The problem is that wild animals become acclimated to human areas, but don’t abandon their normal, wild behaviors. Residents who leave food out for wildlife don’t help, because it encourages them to return to the area. 

"Turkeys don't really mean to harm people – it's just tied to their social dynamics within the flock," David Scarpitti told the Associated Press. Scarpitti is a wildlife biologist and turkey expert for the <a href="https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-fish-and-game">Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife</a>. "They lose perspective that humans are humans and turkeys are turkeys. They just want to assert dominance over anything."

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Troublemaking turkeys are ruffling feathers in Boston

‘Tis the season for wild turkeys in Massachusetts, but one...

By now, it’s a well-known fact that cows are a major contributor of methane emissions in the atmosphere. But now, a surprising new study has found that clams and worms in the Baltic also emit vast quantities of methane, even comparable to that of 20,000 dairy cows. 

The study was conducted by researchers from<a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/"> Cardiff University</a> and <a href="http://www.su.se/english/">Stockholm University</a> and published in the journal Scientific Reports. 

The researchers found that ocean clams and worms release <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-emissions-measured-reported/">methane</a> and nitrous oxide from bacteria in their guts. The sheer amount of greenhouse gases emitted by these seemingly innocuous creatures has a far more significant impact on global climate change than previously considered. 

“These small yet very abundant animals may play an important, but so far neglected, role in regulating the emissions of greenhouse gases in the sea,” said Dr. Stefano Bonaglia, the lead author from Stockholm University. 

Methane is 28 times more harmful than carbon dioxide in terms of warming potential, which is why methane emissions from animals are such a cause for concern. 

For the study, the researchers collected sediment samples and analyzed trace gas, isotopes, and molecules from the Baltic worms and clams. 

After careful analysis, the researchers found that 10 percent of the total emissions may be due to clams and worms.

The amount of methane the clams emit is comparable to 20,000 dairy cows, or put another way, as much as 10 percent of the entire Welsh dairy cow population. 

“What is puzzling is that the Baltic Sea makes up only about 0.1% of Earth's oceans, implying that globally, apparently harmless bivalve animals at the bottom of the world's oceans may, in fact, be contributing ridiculous amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere that is unaccounted for,” said Dr Ernest Chi Fru, from Cardiff University's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences and co-author of the study. 

The neglected source of greenhouse gas emissions could impact future policies regarding shellfish farming.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Clams and worms emit shockingly high amounts of methane

By now, it’s a well-known fact that cows are a...

Ant queens who have chosen to co-found a colony were discovered performing a strange burial ritual if one of the co-queens died. When this happened, the surviving queen would sometimes bite and bury the dead queen, possibly to avoid the spread of infection. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the<a href="https://ist.ac.at/"> Institute of Science and Technology in Austria</a> and was published in the journal <a href="https://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-017-0201-4">BMC Evolutionary Biology</a>.

The team observed ant queens, who had co-founded a colony with a sick queen who later died, performed “undertaking behaviors,” such as biting the corpse to make it easier to transport, and then burying it.  

These undertaking behaviors were linked to a greater likelihood that the queen would survive, instead of getting infected themselves. 

Christopher Pull, corresponding author of the study, explained why this behavior was out of the ordinary and surprising to the researchers.

Typically, queens avoid any risks to their health and survival so that they can be counted on for reproduction and the colony’s well-being. But queens do not seem to avoid sick queens, most likely due to competing for nesting sites, Pull noted. 

Co-founding with a knowingly sick queen and burying that queen could expose the healthy queen to infection, but actually, the reverse was found to be true.

“We found that queens that perform these behaviors are actually less likely to contract infections from dead co-founders and are less likely to die compared to those that do not perform undertaking,” said Pull. 

The researchers observed the queens of the black garden ant and discovered that if two queens shared a closed nest with only one chamber and one of them died, a large majority of the surviving queens would bite and bury the dead. 

If the queens had an open nest with multiple chambers, most of the surviving queens would still bite the dead queen, but only 22 percent of the live queens would bury the corpse. 

The researchers also wanted to explore how the introduction of pathogens would affect an ant queen’s choice to co-found a colony. The researchers exposed certain ant queens to fungal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sex-evolved-fight-pathogens/">pathogens</a>, making them sick. 

Overall, the researchers found that healthy queens did not go out of their way to avoid co-founding with infected queens. 

In another experiment, the researchers found that if one of the queens died, whether infected or not, the surviving queen still performed the same undertaking behaviors. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Ant queens perform strange burial ritual

Ant queens who have chosen to co-found a colony were...

Beaked whales in the Bahamas surprised researchers when they were discovered diving deeper than expected for whales of their size. It had previously been thought that only larger whales could dive that deep in the water for longer periods.

Typically, larger whales dive tens to thousands of meters deep to forage for prey, while smaller beaked whales dive down only around 3,000 meters. 

The dive capacity of larger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-north-american-whales-dying-off-quickly/">whales</a>, or Odontocetes as they are known, increases with body mass, as more oxygen can be stored to sustain the dive.

Now, with the discovery of the several beaked whales breaking the mold, researchers from the <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a> suggested that certain beaked whales alternate between aerobic to anaerobic respiration to be able to dive deeper and for longer periods. 

Aerobic respiration requires oxygen while anaerobic respiration produces energy without oxygen. By alternating between these two different types of energy production, the beaked whales can dive out of their usual comfort zones. 

To test the theory, the researchers tagged 17 beaked whales, 13 melon-headed whales, 15 short-finned pilot whales, and 27 sperm whales.

The study also used satellite data to monitor the dive patterns of the different whale species as they foraged for prey in underwater canyons in the Bahamas. 

The results showed two beaked whale species took long, deep, dives in contrast to their size but they also took longer to recover, with intervals between dives taking around 62 minutes. 

The researchers had collected data on weight and concentrations of myoglobin (a muscle protein that binds oxygen), but those numbers only explained 36 percent of the variance in dive times. 

The longer dive times are most likely linked to lactic acid that accumulates in the muscle during anaerobic respiration, which supports the researchers claim that alternating between the two  different types of respiration is why beaked whales can dive so deep. 

The ability to dive deeper allows these beaked whales more options for prey, which in some cases can more plentiful deeper in the water.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization

Beaked whales break the mold and dive deeper for more prey

Beaked whales in the Bahamas surprised researchers when they were...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopuses-social-thought/">Octopus</a> and cuttlefish are some of the most intelligent creatures in the world, a fact that scientists have known and studied for decades. But it’s not just their brains that can be called intelligent – it’s their skin as well. Both cephalopods are able to instantaneously change their skin pattern and color in order to camouflage and blend into their environment. But it doesn’t stop there; these animals can also mold their skin into a textured, 3D surface in order to mimic the landscape around them. 

Now, a team of engineers at <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> have invented camouflage stretchable surfaces with programmable 3D texture inspired by the real skin of octopus and cuttlefish. The material mimics the 3D bumps on the surface of these animals’ skin – known as papillae. Cephalopods can express these papillae in one-fifth of a second in order to mimic textures, and then retract them in order to swim away without any hydrodynamic drag.

“Lots of animals have papillae, but they can't extend and retract them instantaneously as octopus and cuttlefish do," says Roger Hanlon, a cephalopod biologist at the <a href="http://www.mbl.edu/">Marine Biological Laboratory</a> (MBL) who is the leading expert on cephalopod dynamic camouflage. “These are soft-bodied molluscs without a shell; their primary defense is their morphing skin.”

Papillae are what are known as a muscular hydrostat, which is a biological structure that is entirely made of muscle with no skeletal support – such as your tongue. Hanlon and members of his laboratory were actually the first to describe the structure, function, and biomechanics of the morphing 3D papillae in detail. However, their major breakthrough was in creating synthetic tissue groupings that contain programmable, 2D stretchable materials that can extend and retract into 3D shapes.

“This is a classic example of bio-inspired engineering,” says Hanlon. He also believes it has a range of potential applications, such as being able to reflect light in its 2D spaces and absorb light in its 3D shapes. “That would have applications in any situation where you want to manipulate the temperature of a material,” he says.

When animals have survived for millions of years in one of the least-friendly environments on earth, it makes sense that we should study their most dynamic traits in an attempt to mold them to our own uses. Some day soon, we may see wearable materials that can camouflage you just as well as a cephalopod!

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Octopus skin helped scientists develop new camouflage material

Octopus and cuttlefish are some of the most intelligent creatures...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> may offer up some hope for a strategy in preventing climate change. The answer? Herbivores. That’s right; researchers believe that plant-eating species may be a key factor in helping certain ecosystems survive global warming.

In their study, the researchers created mini-marine ecosystems on the shore of Ruckle Park on British Columbia’s Salt Spring Island. These ecosystems were built on hard plastic plates, allowing the temperature to be controlled. Limpets, an established herbivore species, were allowed on some plates, while they were made absent on others. 

They were studying life in the intertidal zone, which is the area of the shore between low and high tide. Generally, it contains ecosystems consisting of starfish, mussels, anemones, seaweed, and barnacles. The interesting aspect of these intertidal ecosystems is that they experience huge temperature fluctuations as the tides go in and out – sometimes as much as 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. This means that the species in the intertidal zone must cope with significant temperature variation every day. 

“These creatures are already living at their physiological limits, so a two-degree change – a conservative prediction of the warming expected over the next 80 years or so – can make a big difference,” said Kordas. “When heat waves come through B.C. and the Pacific Northwest, we see mass mortality of numerous intertidal species.”

Surprisingly, the researchers found that certain communities in the intertidal zone could survive even in the warmest summer temperatures – but only if limpets were present in their ecosystem. 

According to Christopher Harley, senior author of the study and a professor of zoology at <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">UBC</a>, consumers such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-otters-dolphins-smartest/">sea otters</a> and starfish like limpets, and these species are very important in maintaining biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. Losing these species may destabilize ecosystems, so if we’re able to better protect species such as limpets, it may help make ecosystems more resilient.

“We should be thinking of ways to reduce our negative effects on the natural environment and these results show that if we do basic conservation and management, it can make a big difference in terms of how ecosystems will weather climate change,” says Harley.

Who would’ve thought that something so small could be so important to keeping complicated ecosystems intact?

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Herbivores could protect ecosystems from climate change

A new study from the University of British Columbia may...

New research has found that birds who live next to their friends and family live longer and experience less stress. 

A study conducted by researchers at the<a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/"> University of East Anglia </a>monitored Seychelles warblers who live in the Seychelles Islands. The team examined how the birds interacted with each other and the impact those interactions had on their stress levels. 

The results showed that birds who lived near family and friends did not fight with each other, and that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-declining-numbers/">birds</a> who had friends and family close showed fewer signs of aging and stress. 

The researchers were able to measure the warblers stress levels by looking at telomeres, which are the caps at the end of a chromosome. 

Telomeres are important in gauging stress and aging because they erode faster as a result of both. The birds who weren’t fighting with their neighbors had longer telomeres. 

“Territory owners who are constantly fighting with neighbours are stressed and have little time to do other important things – such as finding food and producing offspring – and their health suffers as a result,” said Kat Bebbington, lead author of the study.

Birds and other animals are like humans in that they “own” a piece of property, a home or nest that they defend against predators. Territorial disputes with unfamiliar neighbors result in a stressful environment and impacts health and longevity of the birds.

The research helps to show how birds socialize and interact with each other, particularly amidst habitat degradation where they find themselves in unfamiliar situations with close, unknown neighbors. 

Bebbington and fellow researchers hope that this study will showcase the importance of understanding the complexities of bird relations and how they impact a bird’s health and well-being. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Birds need friends too! Those who do have longer lives

New research has found that birds who live next to...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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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

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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