In the natural world, family often defines survival strategies. Across species, cooperation among relatives has evolved into a powerful tool to ensure success in challenging environments. Yet few creatures embody this principle so intricately as the long-tailed tit.



Found flitting through British gardens, these small birds reveal extraordinary loyalty to their kin. Far from fleeting connections, long-tailed tits show unwavering commitment to family, even during the upheaval of migration. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cooperation-in-animal-societies">Cooperation in animal societies</h2>



Recent research from the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sheffield</a> brings the hidden social lives of long-tailed tits into sharp focus, offering new insights into how cooperation shapes animal societies.



Decades of careful observation and rigorous analysis culminated in a study that redefines what we know about the evolution of social behaviors. 



Through the lives of these tiny <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-adapt-their-survival-strategies-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a>, we glimpse powerful lessons about kinship, resilience, and the surprising complexity of animal communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-tailed-tits-stay-loyal-to-family">Long-tailed tits stay loyal to family</h2>



The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, draws on an extraordinary 30-year dataset. It confirms that long-tailed tits retain strong family bonds throughout migratory movements - a phenomenon never before documented so consistently in cooperative <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-brains-and-wide-ranges-cant-save-birds-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a>.



Long-tailed tits migrate not as isolated individuals but as tightly knit family units. This behavior ensures that when they arrive at new locations, they are surrounded by familiar, trusted kin ready to support each other.



"This 30-year study is unique in its depth and has allowed us to understand the evolution of cooperation in a way that would not have been possible otherwise. The discovery of family ties persisting through migration is particularly exciting," noted Dr. Jennifer Morinay, co-lead author of the research.



"These tiny <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-evolution-timeline-pushed-back-20-million-years-by-baminornis-zhenghensis-discovery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a> essentially travel with their support network, ensuring that when they reach their new location, they have their kin ready to assist. It highlights the profound importance of family in their social structure."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family-groups-survive-together">Family groups survive together</h2>



The research identifies several intertwined processes that create and sustain these family structures. Limited natal dispersal ensures many young birds settle close to their birthplace. Even when they do move, long-tailed tits often migrate alongside their siblings, keeping family bonds intact across vast distances.



At the same time, environmental pressures, particularly high predation rates, play a significant role. Frequent nest failures result in clusters of surviving families, making the presence of close kin nearby more likely. Together, these ecological and demographic factors form what scientists term "kin neighborhoods."



Incredibly, even migratory long-tailed tits, such as those studied in Estonia, preserve these ties during long journeys. Studies found that 82% of migratory flocks included at least one first-order relative. These findings challenge longstanding assumptions that migration disrupts social cohesion among birds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-roots-of-helping-behavior">Evolutionary roots of helping behavior</h2>



Long-tailed tits do not only stick close to their families; they actively help them. When breeding attempts fail, many individuals redirect their efforts to assist <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-birds-are-at-great-risk-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">relatives</a> raising broods. This redirected helping strengthens the survival chances of their kin’s offspring, ultimately boosting their own inclusive fitness.



"The push and pull between cooperation and competition is something we readily recognize in our own lives. This study demonstrates that these same fundamental tensions are at play in the social dynamics of long-tailed tits and likely many other species," noted Professor Ben Hatchwell, co-lead author of the study.



"Our long-term research provides significant insights into the ecological and social conditions that favour cooperative behaviour and the evolutionary forces that sculpt these intricate social interactions."



Helping decisions are not random acts of kindness. They are influenced by various factors including the bird’s own breeding success, its relatedness to nearby individuals, and the strength of prior social bonds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mistakes-in-kin-recognition">Mistakes in kin recognition</h2>



Despite their strong social instincts, long-tailed tits sometimes help unrelated individuals. 



About 30% of helpers were found assisting nests of non-kin. Scientists believe this stems from errors in kin recognition rather than a deliberate choice.



The birds rely heavily on learned acoustic cues to identify relatives. Calls learned during the nestling stage help them recognize kin, but these vocal cues are not always completely reliable. Studies show overlap in call similarities between kin and non-kin, leading to occasional misdirected care.



Efforts are ongoing to determine whether other cues, such as olfactory signals, also influence how long-tailed tits recognize their family and make crucial helping decisions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environment-shapes-cooperation">Environment shapes cooperation</h2>



The study also shows how environmental pressures influence the rates of cooperation. Moderate levels of nest predation foster the highest levels of helping behaviour. 



If predation is too low, there are fewer failed breeders needing alternative strategies. If too high, there are simply fewer successful nests available to help.



Shorter breeding seasons similarly encourage cooperation. With less time to attempt new broods after failure, many birds abandon independent breeding and instead opt to help their kin.



Interestingly, overall population density did not seem to impact cooperation rates, suggesting that the quality of family connections matters more than simple numbers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-choosing-where-to-live">Choosing where to live</h2>



Where a bird chooses to settle has long-term fitness consequences. Males who stay close to their natal territory accrue higher indirect fitness by helping relatives. Conversely, males who disperse far have fewer opportunities to help and lower overall inclusive fitness.



Females experience a different dynamic. Those who disperse farther tend to achieve slightly better direct reproductive success, likely because dispersal reduces inbreeding risks.



These differing pressures create a fascinating tug-of-war, shaping dispersal behaviours across generations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family-ties-of-long-tailed-tits">Family ties of long-tailed tits </h2>



Perhaps the most striking revelation is that migration, once believed to hinder the evolution of cooperation, does not necessarily break social bonds. Long-tailed tits maintain their family ties even after traveling hundreds of kilometres.



This finding challenges traditional theories and highlights the incredible flexibility of social strategies in the natural world. Stable territorial groups are not the only route to successful cooperation. 



Dynamic, migratory species can also evolve and sustain sophisticated social systems based on family loyalty.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-long-tailed-tits-recognize-family">How do long-tailed tits recognize family?</h2>



Looking ahead, the researchers aim to untangle the specific mechanisms that allow long-tailed tits to recognize and remember their kin.



Current efforts focus on understanding the role of calls, scents, and social associations built during early life stages. Scientists are investigating whether maintaining winter flock associations with relatives influences recognition in later breeding seasons.



These studies promise to deepen our understanding of how cooperation, kinship, and social cognition evolve across species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-birds-with-mighty-hearts">Tiny birds with mighty hearts</h2>



Through the lives of long-tailed tits, we see how powerful, enduring, and flexible family bonds can be, even in a world full of risks and change.



The study from Sheffield shows that nature’s loyalty is not reserved for mammals or large social species alone. In every tiny flutter of a long-tailed tit’s wing, there lies a rich story of kinship, survival, and the enduring power of cooperation.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.14237" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Animal Ecology</a>. 



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Long-tailed tits migrate in family units and maintain lasting bonds

In the natural world, family often defines survival strategies. Across species, cooperation among relatives has evolved into a powerful tool to ensure success in challenging environments. Yet few creatures embody this principle so intricately as the long-tailed tit. Found flitting through British gardens, these small birds reveal extraordinary loyalty to their kin. Far from fleeting connections, long-tailed tits show unwavering commitment to family, even during the upheaval of migration. Cooperation in animal societies Recent research from the University of Sheffield brings the hidden social lives of long-tailed...

These days, the knowledge that birds descended from dinosaurs is widely accepted. However, the complex journey from traditional reptile to modern bird still raises questions.

In a <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6327/792.full">new paper</a>, Dr. Stephen L. Brusatte of the <a href="http://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a> took a look at recent research on avian evolution. He found that new discoveries have added new tangles in birds’ evolutionary thread.

Since the discovery of the “London specimen” of Archaeopteryx lithographica in 1860, paleontologists have wondered if and how modern birds and ancient dinosaurs are related.

Fossil discoveries in the past few decades have supported the theory – but they’ve also shown that the path from dinosaur to bird has been a much more complex journey than paleontologists first believed.

For example, Brusatte noted, new research shows that dinosaurs may have initially feathers for warmth or camouflage purposes long before they became useful for flight. Chinese fossils found in the 1990s had a wide variety of wings, he wrote.

“Furthermore, wings first appeared even earlier in much more primitive, sheep-to-horse-sized theropod dinosaurs that are widely held to be too large to fly,” Brusatte wrote.

Studies reviewed by Brusatte put forth the hypothesis that wings may have been display structures on earlier dinosaurs. The transformation into tools for flight may have come later, he said.

Paleontologists are also struggling to determine which dinosaurs could fly, and how. Brusatte pointed to a 2016 study that used mathematical and biomechanical equations to determine which known winged species might be able to fly.

“The verdict: Except for a handful of paravians, the dinosaurs did not have the wing sizes or configurations necessary for powered flight,” he wrote.

Another astonishing recent find was a dinosaur tail embedded in amber – feathers still intact – last year. The find has allowed paleontologists to begin studying the three-dimensional structure of feathers, Brusatte said.

The rapidly advancing field of paleontology and new fossil discoveries have made two things clear.

First, the development of flight in feathered dinosaurs – and their evolution into modern birds – was a lot more complicated than previously believed. However, engineering and ongoing fossil discoveries are allowing paleontologists to learn much more about how flight evolved.

Second, flying dinosaurs may have been much more diverse than we thought.

“The Mesozoic Era (from 252 million to 66 million years ago) must have been aflutter with an aviary of dinosaurs, experimenting with different ways of navigating the air …” Brusatte said. “But much work remains to be done to better understand this heady period of evolution.”

Brusatte’s review was published in the journal <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, Earth.com staff writer

Scientists: transition from dinosaurs to birds was complex journey

These days, the knowledge that birds descended from dinosaurs is...

Woolly mammoths have been extinct for at least 4,000 years. Scientists based at <a href="http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> have been looking to reverse that.

Now, they could be on the verge of reverse engineering the closest modern equivalent: a hybrid embryo created using woolly mammoth and Asian elephant traits.

The “revision” of the woolly mammoth would have small ears, long fur, blood adapted for cold environs and subcutaneous body fat. However, it’s not an exact replica. Instead, scientists have used a gene-editing tool called CRISPR to edit the Asian elephant genome with mammoth traits.

The result, the scientists hope, would be a sort of elephant-mammoth hybrid that some are calling a “mammophant.”

While the team is several years from creating a living creature, they have produced cells. They hope to move on to the embryo stage soon, scientists said. They could have a successful embryo within two years, they added.

When the time comes, the researchers hope to raise the embryo in an artificial womb rather than using a living female elephant as a surrogate, team leader Dr. George Church said.

However, the project has raised some concerns from biologists.

One of these concerns is ethical: perhaps scientists can revive woolly mammoths, but should they? Scientists have argued in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/18/mammoth-cloning-wrong-save-endangered-elephants">The Guardian</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/09/should-we-bring-extinct-species-back-dead">Science</a>, and other publications over the ethical implications of reviving extinct species. The question has been at the core of the blockbuster Jurassic Park movie series.

Other experts question whether a viable embryo is possible at all. With more than 1,600 differences between woolly mammoth DNA and the genetic code of Asian elephants – their closest living relatives – the 45 edits made by the team may produce something more like a shaggy Asian elephant than a true mammoth-elephant hybrid.

The Harvard team acknowledges that it could be years or decades before anything close to an ancient woolly mammoth roams the Earth again.

However, their research could have a much more tangible result: by studying and editing the Asian elephant genome, they could help that species adapt to its changing environment, Church said.

Asian elephants are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with only about 40,000 to 50,000 left in the wild.

—

By Kyla Cathey, Earth.com staff writer

Could scientists bring woolly mammoths back from extinction?

Woolly mammoths have been extinct for at least 4,000 years....

In Greenland, nature's clock has gone haywire. Some plants are sprouting or emerging from winter dormancy far earlier than they should. Others are showing up later than usual.

According to biologists and polar ecologists from the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a>, the early spring that is speeding up or short-circuiting plants’ biological clocks seems to be connected to Earth’s changing climate.

“Monthly Arctic-wide sea ice extent was a significant predictor of emergence timing in 10 of 14 species,” the <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/12/20160332">new study</a> found.

It’s not just affecting plants, but also the species that depend on them for food, the scientists said.

Caribou in Greenland head into the low Arctic at the same time each year, in early spring, to forage for food. They rely on new growth, which is more nutritious, for the vitamins and energy they need to birth healthy calves.

When they eat plants that have been green for longer, they’re not as healthy, the Davis researchers said. Fewer calves are born, and fewer calves survive to adulthood, they said.

The timing of plant growth and flower budding has disrupted nature's clock in Greenland for dozens of species, said the Davis researchers, who have been studying plant growth in Greenland for 12 years now. They study plant growth enclosed plots near the Russell Glacier in western Greenland every spring.

Over the past several years, which have seen record high temperatures and rapid loss of sea ice in the Arctic, the researchers have documented plants emerging much earlier or later than usual. For example, one sedge species begins its spring growth nearly a month earlier than it did a decade ago, the scientists said.

"When we started studying this, I never would have imagined we'd be talking about a 26-day per decade rate of advance," lead author Dr. Eric Post said in a press release. Post has studied the Arctic for more than 25 years. "That's almost an entire growing season. That's an eye-opening rate of change."

Not every plant has been affected. One willow species still buds at about the same time each year, and a dwarf birch species has only shifted by a few days.

However, the shifting of nature's clock for some species is a trend scientists can’t ignore.

“Think of it as going from something like a Picasso painting that blurs before your eyes and reorganizes into some kind of Dali landscape,” Post said. “You can see the pieces are still there, but the way they’re organized in relation to each other doesn’t look like what it used to be, and you wonder, ‘What am I looking at now and what does that mean for how it all works together?’”

The Davis researchers are working with colleagues to study how else warmer temperatures and ice loss may be affecting Arctic species.

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Biology Letters</a>. It was funded by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> and the <a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.org/grants/">National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration</a>.

— 

By Kyla Cathey, Earth.com staff writer

Climate change plays havoc with nature's clock in Greenland

In Greenland, nature's clock has gone haywire. Some plants are...

Do humans really need eight hours of sleep? What if they didn’t? Those are two of the questions being explored by <a href="http://www.fau.edu">Dr. Alex C. Keene</a>, corresponding author of a study on sleep and the Mexican cavefish and an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in <a href="http://www.fau.edu">Florida Atlantic University</a>’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Dr. Keene sat down for an exclusive interview with <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> to discuss his research on cavefish and sleep. 

Yes, cavefish. They require very little <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/insomnia-cure-camping/">sleep</a>. That’s why Keene and his university neuroscientists have been studying them for ten years. 

“We are still working to understand how our findings in cavefish relate to human sleep, but we believe this a model to understand how to build a brain that needs less sleep, and ultimately, better therapeutics for people with sleep disturbances,” said Dr. Keene. “We are particularly interested in the narcolepsy gene, orexin, that appears to be expressed at higher levels in cavefish.”

Keene’s team is studying the evolutionary process that gave cavefish and certain other animals the ability to get by with minimal sleep. One answer seems to be the cavefish’s ability to ignore stimulation in its environment. Keene also pointed out that researchers at the University of California San Francisco identified a human gene mutation called DEC2 that resulted in reduced sleep need. “We think cavefish may provide us with additional genes underlying natural variation in sleep, and these can be further investigated in rodents and humans.”

Keene’s team is investing heavily in genomics to identify genes underlying sleep loss.

“In the long run, we believe this will be a powerful model for gene discovery, allowing us to identify new sleep genes,” said Keene. “Even more fascinating, is there appear to be few negative consequences for this sleep loss, and we may be able to develop treatments for sleep disorders with fewer side effects.”

--

David Searls, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://www.fau.edu/"> Florida Atlantic University</a>

Do cavefish hold the answer for human sleep disorders?

Do humans really need eight hours of sleep? What if...

In the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/satellite-images-save-chimpanzees/">chimpanzee</a> world, the strongest male is king. But that doesn’t mean the alpha male is necessarily the group’s best teacher. That’s the conclusion reached through puzzle box experiments conducted by researchers from Scotland’s University of St Andrews, who worked with a group of 38 chimps at a research center in Texas.

The puzzle box contained a payoff of two pieces of fruit in separate chambers, each of which unlocked by sliding a door in a different direction. In four separate groups, two groups of low-ranking females and two of alpha males, the chimps were taught how to open one door or the other – not both. The chimps were then brought back to separate groups and were given 20 minutes over two consecutive days to “train” others in their group by opening the box in front of them. The observer chimps were then left with the puzzle boxes for eight-hour periods to see if they could figure it out.

Observers of the females picked up on what they saw faster than groups that watched the dominant males. Researchers theorized that the behavior patterns of the leaders might have deterred others from learning from them.  

In a Science News article, Dr. Stuart Wilson, a primatologist at the University of St Andrews, said, “Alpha male chimps are large, powerful and prone to temper tantrums, so it makes sense to be vigilant for signs of what they’ll do next.”

In other words, their groups might have been so distracted watching for aggression in their leaders that they paid little attention to their box-opening techniques.

Another interesting finding was that two low-ranking female observers of dominant males figured out how to open both chambers for two fruit treats. In one instance, a dominant male teacher learned the improved method from the lower-ranking female.

Why did the females learn faster? One theory is that low-status chimps must be more creative when it comes to finding food because they have less access to it.

--

By David Searls, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/"> Science News</a>,<a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/"> University of St Andrews</a>

Chimps learn better from beta females than from alpha males

In the chimpanzee world, the strongest male is king. But...

It’s not just <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-cats-meet-wild-dogs-happens/">dogs</a>, primates, marine mammals and some birds that learn stupid animal tricks for treats. Scientists have now proven that bumblebees can be led by example to complete a small task for a sweet reward, and that they can even learn the trick from others in their social group.

Animal communications and evolutionary biology researcher Olli J. Loukola and his team set up the experiment by placing bumblebees on a platform with a yellow ball that blocked access to a sugar solution. The researchers used a plastic bumblebee to show how to move the ball from the edge to the center of the platform to earn their reward.

The bees all figured it out in good time, so naturally the next step was to make them work harder for their payoff. They’re worker bees, after all.

In the setup for the next round, untrained bumblebees were broken into three groups. The first group learned the ball trick in a social context, by watching already-trained bees. The second group learned it through a “ghost” demonstration, wherein the ball was moved to the center of the platform for them by use of a magnet. The third group consisted of the laziest learners of all. The ball had already been positioned at the center of the platform so their sugar treat was available without tricks.

Next, all three groups faced a more complex problem. There were three balls on the platform, but the two nearest balls were cruelly glued in place. Only the far ball could be rolled out of the way for a treat.

The social learners, the bumblebees who had learned from observing other bees, were the quickest studies. The next best group were those who learned from the ghost demonstration. The slowest (and, presumably, crankiest) learners were those who’d never been taught to roll the ball away.

Additionally, the social learners took steps beyond what they were taught by other bees, such as by trying the ball closest to them or starting with a ball of another color in a follow-up session.

The experiments showed that bees learn from others and that they can even improve on the performance shown them. And that they don’t necessarily sting annoying humans even when they would have every right.

—

By David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer
Source:<a href="http://www.aaas.org/"> American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>

Why bumblebees are smarter than we thought

It’s not just dogs, primates, marine mammals and some birds...

Here at Earth.com, we love monkeys! In the past few weeks, we've told you about new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/facial-recognition-technology/">facial recognition technology</a> scientists have begun using to track wild lemurs. We <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baboons-math-abilities-par-kids/">learned</a> that baboons have math skills that are on par with human kids. And today, we bring you some of our favorite monkey nonprofit organizations.

After all, it's a crazy world out there. Last month we <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/primates-danger-extinction/">reported</a> that 60% of the earth's primates are in danger of extinction, so monkeys could use a little protection. That's why today we're celebrating some incredible monkey nonprofit organizations around the globe.

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/savinggorillas/">Saving Gorillas</a>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
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<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQORepsjo4b/" target="_blank">Agahozo, who left the day Cantsbee reappeared, attempted to return to the group yesterday but was chased away. Photo of Agahozo.</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (@savinggorillas) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-02-07T20:00:39+00:00">Feb 7, 2017 at 12:00pm PST</time>

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQABsCeB1Rz/?taken-by=gibbonconservationcenter">Gibson Conservation Center</a>
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<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQABsCeB1Rz/" target="_blank">Tuk #gibbonconservationcenter #endextinction #conservation #endangeredspecies #endangered #gibbon #pileatedgibbon #ape #primate</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by Gibbon Conservation Center (@gibbonconservationcenter) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-02-02T07:13:18+00:00">Feb 1, 2017 at 11:13pm PST</time>

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/centerforgreatapes/">Center for Great Apes</a>
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<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNFVh-egT5M/" target="_blank">We are thankful for chimpanzees! #thankful Featuring: Brooks #chimpanzees #greatapes #sanctuary #centerforgreatapes #grateful #thanksgiving</a>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/chimphaven/">Chimp Haven</a>
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<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQxzCn9DXjZ/" target="_blank">😛#tongueouttuesday</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by Chimp Haven (@chimphaven) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-02-21T15:07:20+00:00">Feb 21, 2017 at 7:07am PST</time>

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lolayabonobo/">Lola Ya Bonobo</a>
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<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPxw-jSBP2f/" target="_blank">www.lolayabonobo.org Dilolo. Male adult rescued at Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary. #drc #kinshasa #congo #conservation #education #sanctuary #lolayabonobo #primate #greatape #bonobo #123lepremierdenousdeuxquiriraauraunetapette #almosthuman #nature #wildlife #eyes #look #ibonoboyou</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by Lola Ya Bonobo (@lolayabonobo) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-01-27T18:17:55+00:00">Jan 27, 2017 at 10:17am PST</time>

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/orangutanfoundationintl/">Orangutan Foundation International (OFI)</a>
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<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.28703703703704% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQoHLVNgDbK/" target="_blank">Playful &amp; confident Trudeau is growing up fast! You can join OFI's Foster Program to follow Truedeau's progress as a foster parent ⇒ orangutan.org/trudeau #FosterFriday #Trudeau #Orangutan #EndExtinction</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by Orangutan Foundation Intl (@orangutanfoundationintl) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-02-17T20:50:53+00:00">Feb 17, 2017 at 12:50pm PST</time>

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/savethechimps/">Save The Chimps</a>
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<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQa5A0-B-8L/" target="_blank">Happy 17th birthday to Teá! 🎉Teá was born at the Coulston Foundation at a time when the lab was entering into extreme financial difficulty. To try and raise money, Coulston sold a number of chimps to the entertainment business. Teá was purchased by a family on behalf of a Hollywood animal trainer. She lived part-time with the family and part-time with the trainer. After learning more about the use of chimps in entertainment, the family decided it would be in Teá’s best interests to be sent to Save the Chimps. Tea was reunited with her mother Vanna and has many chimp friends and family members to play with! She loves exploring her sunny island home and also enjoys painting. #teathechimp #happybirthday #sanctuary</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by savethechimps (@savethechimps) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-02-12T17:36:59+00:00">Feb 12, 2017 at 9:36am PST</time>

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By Rory Arnold, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Instagram's best monkey nonprofit organizations

Here at Earth.com, we love monkeys! In the past few...

Life certainly was more interesting 400 million years ago. For instance, if you’d been around and decided on a cooling swim in the deep sea, you might have had to share the space with a six-foot-long carnivorous bristle worm. Yep, a slithery meat eater with what’s described as the most powerful set of jaws ever found on a creature of its kind. It’s also the first example of “gigantism,” the Darwinian supersizing of animals, found among marine worm fossil.

The “new” critter is called the bristle worm for its sensory bristles. That and its very impressive set of jaws – nearly an inch long – helped it hunt down and consume the fishy meals of its long-gone day.

The fossil was actually found in the mid-1990s and held ever since at the Royal Ontario Museum. The museum’s David Rudkin said, “This is an excellent example of the importance of looking in remote and unexplored areas for finding new exciting things, but also the importance of scrutinizing museum collections for overlooked gems.”

Unfortunately, the bristle worm does have a living relative, and it’s even more scarifying: the bobbit worm can grow to ten feet long. This still-living creature skulks at the bottom of the sea and uses its bristly sensors to target passing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/app-helps-fishermen-sell/">fish</a>, squid and octopi. Researchers relied on what we know of the bobbit worm, as well as the fossil set of massive jaws, to calculate the description and size of the extinct bristle worm.

They settled on the scientific name Websteroprion armstrong for the bristle worm, in honor of bassist Alex Webster of the death metal rock band Cannibal Corpse, a favorite of one of the researchers.

Somehow that just seems appropriate.

—

Source: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4242734/Worm-two-metres-long-discovered-scientists.html">The Daily Mail</a>

Photo: James Ormiston

Prehistoric bristle worm terrified fish with biggest jaws ever

Life certainly was more interesting 400 million years ago. For...

It would seem that elephants within the confines of a nature preserve would be safer than those roaming in the wild. However, conservationists were alarmed to discover that elephant populations in important preserves throughout Central Africa plummeted over a ten-year period of time. 

Elephant numbers in Gabon’s Minkébé National dropped between 78 and 81 percent during the years 2004 and 2014. The main cause of their decline? <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asian-lion-bone-market-poaching/">Poachers</a>. 

“With nearly half of Central Africa's estimated 100,000 forest elephants thought to live in Gabon, the loss of 25,000 elephants from this key sanctuary is a considerable setback for the preservation of the species,” John Poulsen, a<a href="https://www.duke.edu"> Duke University</a> professor who worked with the research team, said. Their findings were published in the journal<a href="https://secure.jbs.elsevierhealth.com/action/getSharedSiteSession?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cell.com%2Fcurrent-biology%2Fhome&amp;rc=0&amp;code=cell-site"> Current Biology</a>. 

While elephant populations in the south part of the preserve were reduced, the central and the northern parts of the park have been virtually wiped out of elephants. Poulsen noted that the southern part of the park is 58 kilometers from the nearest major road. Meanwhile, the area where the elephant population has dropped to nil is – at one point – only 6.1 kilometers from a major road. 

This means that it’s an easy access point for poachers to get in and out with highly valuable elephant tusks. 

In 2011, the Gabonese government backed an effort to conserve the country’s elephant population. They reclassified forest elephants as “fully protected” in addition to increasing the national park agency’s budget and creating a police force to enforce poaching laws. They also started burning all ivory confiscated from poachers. 

This has done little to discourage poachers who deal in cross-border ivory sales, Poulsen says. 

“To save Central Africa's forest elephants, we need to create new multinational protected areas and coordinate international law enforcement to ensure the prosecution of foreign nationals who commit or encourage wildlife crimes in other countries,” he said. 

--

By: Dawn Henderson,<a href="http://earth.com"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: John Poulsen,<a href="https://www.duke.edu"> Duke University</a>

Shocking numbers reveal steep decline in elephant population

It would seem that elephants within the confines of a...

So much of today’s environmental news is doom and gloom. The ice caps are melting. Sea levels are rising. A giant asteroid is headed for earth at some point thousands of years from now. Solar rays from the sun will eventually suck us all in and we’ll melt into nothing. Ostriches have recently developed a taste for human flesh and they’re coming for us. 

Ok – so that last bit wasn’t actually environmental news. I just wanted to make sure you were all paying attention for the good news we’d like to deliver…

The Mexican gray wolf population is rebounding.  Researchers say that their numbers have reached 113 in eastern Arizona and New Mexico. 

While that might not sound like a lot, the population had struggled to reach 110 two years ago since the wolves were reintroduced into the wild in 1998. By the end of 2015, though, their numbers had dropped back to only 97 – a stunning setback for conservationists. They say that the drop was due to illegal shootings, as well as a lower pup survival rate. Only 23 pups survived in 2015. By comparison, 50 Mexican gray wolves born in the wild survived last year. 

In a news release,<a href="https://www.fws.gov"> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> Regional Director Benjamin Tuggle said that the goal is to achieve a 10% average population gain. 

"We are encouraged by these numbers, but these 2016 results demonstrate we are still not out of the woods with this experimental population,” he said. 

Wolf <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kenyan-railway-nairobi-national-park/">conservationists</a> are coming up against ranch owners and deer and elk hunters who would like to see a lower number of wolves roaming around their states. The state of New Mexico actually went to court to get a court injunction to prevent any more wolves from being released into the state. 

Despite the politics, the increase in wolf numbers are good news for conservationists and animal lovers, as well as the wolves themselves. 

Even if the earth finally does collide with the sun, at least we’ll have plenty of beautiful animal species to enjoy up until that last, fiery moment, right? 

--

By Dawn Henderson,<a href="http://earth.com"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source:<a href="https://www.fws.gov"> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a>

Here’s some good environmental news, for a change

So much of today’s environmental news is doom and gloom....

Frankenstein’s monster, the Loch Ness monster, and the Tully monster. Only one of these has a basis that goes beyond fiction and conspiracy theory. The Tully monster – or thousands of them, actually – were fossilized specimens first discovered in 1958. 

Scientists studied and studied the specimens, but they couldn’t decide what sort of creatures they had found. They couldn’t even pin down the Tully monster’s phylum, a major group in the classification of animals.   

In 2016, all of that changed. A slew of scientific and news outlets published reports that the Tully monster mystery was no more. The creature was a vertebrate, and not only that – it was a kind of fish known as a lamprey. 

Not so fast, says a new report by paleobiologists with the<a href="http://www.upenn.edu"> University of Pennsylvania</a>. They’re insisting that the mystery is still on. 

Lauren Sallan, the leader of the research team, explains why the previous classification attempts were faulty. 

“This animal doesn't fit easy classification because it's so weird," she said. “It has these eyes that are on stalks and it has this pincer at the end of a long proboscis and there's even disagreement about which way is up. But the last thing that the Tully monster could be is a fish.”

The report, published in the journal<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1475-4983"> Paleontology</a>, argues that when all of the appropriate lines of evidence are applied to the Tully monster, its current classification simply doesn’t hold up. If this is true, the creature should rightly remain unclassified. However, the current team is offering lots of different options for what the creature may be. 

"Initially it was published as a worm," Sallan said. "There is a well-constructed argument that it is some kind of mollusc, like a sea cucumber. And there's another very strong argument that it's some kind of arthropod, similar to a lobster.”
Lamprey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/even-teenage-worms-angsty/">worm</a>, sea cucumber, lobster: the Tully monster debate rages on. 
--

By Dawn Henderson,<a href="http://earth.com"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: Lauren Sallan,<a href="http://www.apple.com"> University of Pennsylvania</a>

&nbsp;

Think the Tully monster mystery is over? Think again!

Frankenstein’s monster, the Loch Ness monster, and the Tully monster....

When you pack up your bathing suit and head out south to find warmer temperatures in the frigid winter months, know that you’re in good company. Scientists have discovered that Britain’s basking sharks also search for a more pleasant climate when the mercury plunges. 

Basking sharks were previously thought to stay closer to home, hibernating around the coast of the UK and Ireland during the winter. This was tough to verify, however, as the creatures tend to spend very little time at the water’s surface. They also spend most of their time far away from land. 

To better follow and study the shark species, scientists employed satellite tracking technology. This enabled them to follow the sharks’ migration to see if they vacation in the winter, as well as where. 

Of the 70 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharks-recycle-toxic-ammonia/">sharks</a> that were tagged, 28 of them continued transmitting data to the research team for more than five months. Of these 28, scientists found that while some of them stayed near the UK, others spent the winter off of Spain, North Africa, or Portugal. Some spent time in the waters of the Bay of Biscay. Sharks that migrated left in the late summer and autumn, returning home in the spring and early summer months. 

Philip Doherty of the University of Exeter is the lead author of the study that was published in<a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/"> Scientific Reports</a>. He explained the importance of tracking the sharks’ migration habits. 

"Knowing where these animals are all year round allows us to understand the threats they face,” he said.

"This is essential information if we want to protect them, especially as they swim far outside UK waters, meaning any conservation efforts must be international,” he continued. “In terms of man-made threat they may face, we tend to think of commercial fishing as the only danger to these animals, but other issues such as boat strike, marine litter, civil engineering and ocean noise might also have an effect.”

--

By Dawn Henderson,<a href="http://earth.com"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: Philip Doherty,<a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk"> University of Exeter</a>

Like to vacation? Basking sharks do, too!

When you pack up your bathing suit and head out...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

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Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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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