In a remarkable medical breakthrough, engineers have developed a light-activated pacemaker so tiny that doctors can inject it into the body through a syringe. Remarkably, the device simply dissolves after it’s no longer needed.&nbsp;



Designed for newborns, the pacemaker could transform temporary heart care after congenital defect surgeries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controlling-the-heart-with-light">Controlling the heart with light</h2>



The new pacemaker is smaller than a grain of rice. It's wirelessly activated through pulses of light which are delivered by a soft, wearable device mounted on the patient’s chest.



The external controller detects abnormal rhythms and sends light through the body to activate the pacemaker and restore heartbeat. The study demonstrates the device’s effectiveness across animal and human donor hearts.&nbsp;



The development of the pacemaker was led by John A. Rogers, a professor of material science, biomedical engineering, and neurological surgery at <a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Northwestern University</a>.&nbsp;



“We have developed what is, to our knowledge, the world’s smallest pacemaker,” said Professor Rogers.



“There’s a crucial need for temporary pacemakers in the context of pediatric heart surgeries, and that’s a use case where size miniaturization is incredibly important. In terms of the device load on the body - the smaller, the better.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-solution-designed-for-newborns">Solution designed for newborns</h2>



Though the light-activated pacemaker can function in patients of all sizes, its miniaturized design was motivated by the needs of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/infant-speech-is-driven-by-heart-rate-activity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">infants</a>. 



Igor Efimov is a co-leader of the study and experimental cardiologist at Northwestern.&nbsp;



“About 1% of children are born with congenital heart defects. The good news is that these children only need temporary pacing after a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-smallest-robot-could-transform-minimally-invasive-surgery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">surgery</a>. In about seven days or so, most patients’ hearts will self-repair. But those seven days are absolutely critical," said Efimov.



Traditional pacemakers require surgery and have wires sticking out of the chest to connect to an external device. When they are no longer needed, the wires are removed - risking bleeding, tissue damage, or even death.



“Wires literally protrude from the body, attached to a pacemaker outside the body,” Efimov explained. “When the pacemaker is no longer needed, a physician pulls it out. The wires can become enveloped in scar tissue. That’s actually how Neil Armstrong died.”



The new injectable pacemaker addresses these risks. All of its components are biocompatible and bioresorbable, meaning they safely dissolve in the body’s fluids without needing surgical removal. Once the device has served its purpose, it simply disappears.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-refining-the-light-activated-pacemaker">Refining the light-activated pacemaker</h2>



This innovation builds on <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-021-00948-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">earlier work</a> by Rogers and Efimov, who developed a quarter-sized dissolvable pacemaker in 2021. Surgeons asked for a smaller version to allow easier placement and suit the smallest patients.&nbsp;



The original device used near-field communication (NFC), but its antenna limited how small the device could be made. To overcome this, the team replaced the NFC system with a novel light-based mechanism.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pacemaker_light-activated_worlds-smallest_heart-health_Northwestern_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pacemaker_light-activated_worlds-smallest_heart-health_Northwestern_1s.webp" alt="The tiny pacemaker sits next to a single grain of rice on a fingertip. The device is so small that it can be non-invasively injected into the body via a syringe. Credit: John A. Rogers/Northwestern University" class="wp-image-1964846"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The tiny pacemaker sits next to a single grain of rice on a fingertip. The device is so small that it can be non-invasively injected into the body via a syringe. Click image to enlarge. Credit: John A. Rogers/Northwestern University</figcaption></figure>



“Instead of using the radio frequency scheme for wireless control, we developed a light-based scheme for turning the pacemaker on and delivering stimulation pulses to the surface of the heart. This is one feature that allowed us to dramatically reduce the size,” said Professor Rogers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-powered-by-the-body-s-own-fluids">Powered by the body’s own fluids</h2>



The engineers also reimagined how to power the tiny pacemaker. Rather than requiring a battery or external power source, the device uses a simple galvanic cell - a chemical battery formed by two different metals as electrodes.&nbsp;



When the device is inside the body, surrounding biofluids act as the electrolyte, allowing electrical current to flow and stimulate the heart.



“A very tiny light-activated switch on the opposite side from the battery allows us to turn the device from its ‘off’ state to an ‘on’ state upon delivery of light that passes through the patient’s body from the skin-mounted patch,” explained Professor Rogers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reducing-trauma-and-risk">Reducing trauma and risk</h2>



Using infrared light, which can safely penetrate deep into the body, the wearable controller detects when a patient’s heart rate falls too low. It then triggers a light-emitting diode (LED) to flash on and off at the desired pacing rhythm.&nbsp;



“Infrared light penetrates very well through the body,” Efimov said. “If you put a flashlight against your palm, you will see the light glow through the other side of your hand. It turns out that our bodies are great conductors of light.”



Despite its microscopic size - just 1.8 mm wide, 3.5 mm long, and 1 mm thick - the pacemaker delivers stimulation on par with traditional devices. “The heart requires a tiny amount of electrical stimulation,” Rogers said.&nbsp;



“By minimizing the size, we dramatically simplify the implantation procedures, we reduce trauma and risk to the patient, and, with the dissolvable nature of the device, we eliminate any need for secondary surgical extraction procedures.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-era-of-heart-care">A new era of heart care</h2>



Because these light-activated pacemakers are so small and wireless, doctors could one day deploy multiple units on different parts of the heart to create more advanced pacing systems. 



Each device could be controlled independently using different light wavelengths, enabling personalized and precisely timed stimulation across the heart’s surface.



“We can deploy a number of such small pacemakers onto the outside of the heart and control each one,” Efimov said. “Then we can achieve improved synchronized functional care.”



Professor Rogers noted that because it’s so small, the pacemaker can be integrated with almost any kind of implantable device.



“We also demonstrated integration of collections of these devices across the frameworks that serve as transcatheter aortic valve replacements to address complications that can occur during a patient’s recovery process," said Rogers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-bioelectronic-medicine">Future of bioelectronic medicine</h2>



While this breakthrough has clear implications for pediatric heart care, the technology could pave the way for a new generation of bioelectronic medicine.&nbsp;



These tiny, dissolvable devices could one day be adapted to promote nerve and bone regeneration, manage <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mindfulness-meditation-is-a-powerful-weapon-against-chronic-pain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pain</a>, support wound healing, and more.



Northwestern engineers shrank the device and removed risks by making it dissolve after use. In doing so, they’ve created a tool that could reshape how doctors care for the heart - from the tiniest patients to adults.



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Click here to <a href="https://youtu.be/j_0hZ8cUwgo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">watch a video interview...</a>



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08726-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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World's smallest pacemaker is set to revolutionize heart health

In a remarkable medical breakthrough, engineers have developed a light-activated pacemaker so tiny that doctors can inject it into the body through a syringe. Remarkably, the device simply dissolves after it’s no longer needed.&nbsp; Designed for newborns, the pacemaker could transform temporary heart care after congenital defect surgeries. Controlling the heart with light The new pacemaker is smaller than a grain of rice. It's wirelessly activated through pulses of light which are delivered by a soft, wearable device mounted on the patient’s chest. The external controller detects...

Picture Mars - not as the cold, dry and dusty world we see today - but as a temperate place with cloudy skies, rainfall, and rivers that carved valleys into the land. 



This may have been the case billions of years ago, according to a recent study by scientists at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Colorado Boulder</a>. The research suggests that Mars was once a planet shaped by weather cycles. 



"Our study addresses a longstanding mystery about the climate of ancient Mars. Observations of large valley networks suggest formation by flowing water. However, most climate models cannot sustain temperatures above freezing," noted the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-rainfall-feed-rivers-on-mars">Did rainfall feed rivers on Mars?</h2>



The experts suggest that the familiar networks of valleys and channels etched across Mars were likely formed not just by melting ice, but by rainfall or snowfall that fed rivers over long periods.



The findings bring new credibility to the idea that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hot-water-on-ancient-mars-may-have-been-habitable/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ancient Mars</a> may have been warm and wet, offering a possible explanation for the geological features we still observe from space.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
“You could pull up Google Earth images of places like Utah, zoom out, and you’d see the similarities to Mars,” said Amanda Steckel, who led the study and now works at the California Institute of Technology.
</blockquote>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mystery-of-water-on-mars">Mystery of water on Mars</h2>



Today, most researchers agree that water once existed on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clues-beneath-mars-surface-reveal-possible-habitats-for-ancient-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Martian surface</a> - especially during the Noachian epoch, which spanned from about 4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago. But there's been disagreement about how that water got there.



Some believe Mars was always a cold and dry planet, where sunlight barely melted the ice that covered its highlands. Others argue the planet experienced a warmer and wetter climate that allowed for ongoing rainfall or snowmelt.



To test these ideas, the team ran a series of computer simulations to see which conditions could best explain Mars’s ancient valley networks. The simulations were built using landscape modeling software originally designed for Earth studies, and adapted for Mars.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-simulations-of-martian-rivers">Simulations of Martian rivers</h2>



The researchers created a digital Mars, mimicking the terrain near the equator where many valley systems are found. They modeled two scenarios: one where the landscape was fed by melting ice caps, and another where water came from falling precipitation.



Over simulated periods ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years, water flowed across the terrain. Each scenario left a distinct mark. 



"We found that the main difference between these scenarios was the location of the origin of the valleys that formed," noted the researchers.



In the melting ice simulation, valleys formed mostly around the edges of where ice would have sat at high elevations. In the precipitation scenario, valley heads emerged across a wide range of elevations - from low basins to areas over 11,000 feet (3,300 meters) high.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rainfall-could-have-helped-valleys-form">Rainfall could have helped valleys form</h2>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
“It’s very hard to make any kind of conclusive statement,” said Steckel. “But we see these valleys beginning at a large range of elevations. It’s hard to explain that with just ice.”
</blockquote>



The results suggest that the precipitation-fed valleys more closely matched the real Martian surface as seen in satellite images captured by NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey missions.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
“<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wave-ripples-discovered-mars-surface-indicate-liquid-water-present-4-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Water</a> from these ice caps starts to form valleys only around a narrow band of elevations,” Steckel said. “Whereas if you have distributed precipitation, you can have valley heads forming everywhere.”
</blockquote>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reading-mars-like-a-history-book">Reading Mars like a history book</h2>



Mars still holds clues to its watery past. Around the equator, images show vast channel networks spreading out from highlands into basins that may once have held lakes - or even oceans.



NASA’s Perseverance rover, which landed in 2021, is now exploring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lake-sediments-found-in-jezero-crater-hint-at-past-life-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jezero Crater</a>, a site that scientists believe once contained a lake that was fed by a powerful river.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
“You’d need meters deep of flowing water to deposit those kinds of boulders,” said Brian Hynek, senior author of the study and a scientist at CU Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.
</blockquote>



To reconstruct this Martian past, Steckel and Hynek used their simulations to trace where these ancient rivers might have started. The results suggest widespread precipitation was more likely responsible for shaping the valleys than occasional ice melt alone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-our-understanding-of-mars-is-evolving">Our understanding of Mars is evolving</h2>



While the study doesn’t fully explain how Mars stayed warm enough to support snow or rainfall, it does add a new piece to the puzzle. The research gives scientists a more detailed view of the planet’s early climate - and may even help us better understand Earth’s own geological past.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
“Once the erosion from flowing water stopped, Mars almost got frozen in time and probably still looks a lot like Earth did 3.5 billion years ago,” Hynek said.
</blockquote>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-captured-in-true-color-like-youve-never-seen-the-red-planet-before/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Red Planet</a> may be dry and desolate now, but its surface still tells stories of a time when water shaped its landscapes. And those stories might bring us closer to understanding both Mars and our own place in the solar system.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024JE008637" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Geophysical Research Planets</a>.



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Mars’ hidden past: Rainfall may have shaped the ancient landscape

Picture Mars - not as the cold, dry and dusty...

Men and women can both be head-over-heels in love at different stages, yet a new investigation suggests that males might plunge into love’s emotional deep end just a little sooner than females do. Researchers say that while both sexes share the intense emotional highs of romance, each group has its own habits and quirks.



The study was led by Adam Bode, a Ph.D. student at the <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australian National University</a>. He and his colleagues gathered data on early-stage relationships to clarify how biological sex might influence the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-are-falling-in-love-with-ai-companions-and-it-could-be-dangerous/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pattern</a> of falling in love.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-men-fall-in-love-faster">Men fall in love faster</h2>



Some scholars <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2006.1938" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">argue</a> that humans have long relied on strong mutual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-does-love-live-in-the-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">attachments</a> to strengthen relationships and raise families effectively. Love can spark vital changes in behavior, prompting people to prioritize a partner or invest resources in a shared future.



Men’s inclination to leap in quickly may come from a desire to signal commitment and availability. They sense that early displays of fondness can create trust and lower doubts about their intentions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-women-love-deeply-once-they-commit">Women love deeply once they commit</h2>



Females often report deeper <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-our-relationships-with-dogs-matter-so-much/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emotional</a> facets when they commit to loving someone. They also seem to think about their beloved more frequently.



“It is the first convincing evidence that women and men differ in some aspects of romantic love,” said Bode. He credits evolutionary processes for shaping these differences, although social and cultural factors may play a role, too.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gender-equality-may-reduce-emotional-intensity">Gender equality may reduce emotional intensity</h2>



“Our study suggests that people from more gender-equal countries experience a lower intensity of romantic love, obsessive thinking, and maybe even commitment,” said Bode. 



That might happen because both men and women in those places face fewer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parent-children-relationships-are-key-to-lifelong-well-being/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social</a> pressures that drive them to sink into love’s emotional whirlwind.



Worldwide variations in education, family structures, or relationship norms may mold how each sex behaves. Many <a href="https://repub.eur.nl/pub/16743/Langeslag%202007%20Biological%20Psychology.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">specialists</a> believe that the interplay between biology and environment offers the most complete picture of why love unfolds the way it does.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-love-s-timing-and-emotional-triggers">Love’s timing and emotional triggers</h2>



Relationship <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00287.x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">researchers</a> point out that recognizing slight differences in men’s and women’s early love experiences doesn’t imply any one method of bonding is superior. Instead, these insights underscore the significance of understanding individual romantic triggers.



Scientists continue to explore how hormones, family upbringing, and cultural standards guide the way people fall in love. Researchers predict that future findings will address both interpersonal differences and how outside factors, such as gender equality, can reshape relationship outcomes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expectations-of-men-and-women">Expectations of men and women</h2>



Friends, family, and therapists often encourage couples to be open and clear about their expectations. This approach might be especially relevant to those who feel like they are fast-tracking an emotional bond.



Some experts have noted that while men might act quickly, that swiftness doesn’t guarantee less intensity down the road. 



Others maintain that once women embrace strong affection, they can become even more focused, devoting time and mental space to cherish their partner.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-empathy-makes-it-work">Empathy makes it work</h2>



Healthy relationships may result from understanding these small but fascinating differences. While romantic attachment is unique to each individual, common trends offer suggestions for better communication and empathy.



Love is still influenced by social factors, such as shifting marriage norms or changing personal goals. What remains consistent is the powerful urge to find meaningful closeness, regardless of whether it emerges in a burst of spontaneity or arrives after careful reflection.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-different-speeds-help-love-grow">Different speeds help love grow</h2>



Men’s faster declarations of love might be an attempt to show seriousness and lower the possibility of rejection. Women’s strong fixation on their partner could reflect a deeper mental focus that arises once trust and reassurance appear.



Both tendencies hint at love’s core function: to help two people commit enough energy and emotion to build something lasting. This motivation, shaped by biology and steered by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-bonds-drive-learning-in-monkeys-and-humans-alike/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social factors</a>, may let relationships thrive in different cultures and eras.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-love-doesn-t-follow-a-fixed-timeline">Love doesn't follow a fixed timeline </h2>



While simple stereotypes about men rushing forward and women hesitating might not capture everyone’s experience, these findings show that each sex can have distinct concerns and benefits. 



Couples can support each other by acknowledging that love doesn’t always follow a fixed timeline.



Staying aware of fast emotional bonds can help partners decide if they’re ready for a milestone, like moving in together or meeting each other’s families. Those who prefer a gentler pace might want to voice that need to avoid feeling overwhelmed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-every-relationship-has-its-own-pace">Every relationship has its own pace</h2>



Communities and health professionals often look for ways to help couples handle potential misalignments in how they experience early-stage romance. Suggesting open dialogue and shared decision-making can avoid misunderstandings about pace and depth.



People who feel they’ve fallen for someone almost overnight may benefit from self-reflection before acting on that emotion. That short gap can avoid conflicts and ensure a steadier foundation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-communication-prevents-mismatched-love">Communication prevents mismatched love</h2>



Men’s rush to say “I love you” might be a spontaneous statement of genuine devotion. At the same time, women’s lingering approach could reflect a thorough emotional check-in.



Ultimately, this study’s results highlight the idea that no two hearts beat exactly alike. Practical advice involves respectful communication, realistic expectations, and empathy for differing emotional speeds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-slow-or-fast-love-needs-trust">Slow or fast, love needs trust</h2>



The quest to understand romance blends biology, anthropology, and psychology. Each discipline adds fresh ideas about how men and women bond and commit their attention.



Couples who celebrate each other’s natural pace or intensity may see improved trust. Small gestures like simple check-ins, thoughtful messages, or shared decisions can support stronger connections.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-love-comes-from-culture">Love comes from culture</h2>



This growing body of research has real-world implications for relationship counseling and personal growth. Keeping an open mind about alternate approaches to expressing passion can reduce friction and build more rewarding bonds.



The observations contribute to an ongoing effort by social scientists and mental health practitioners to identify healthy relationship practices.



Knowing that men and women may vary in how they spark or maintain romance can remove confusion and encourage consideration of each partner’s perspective.



The study is published in <a href="https://bsd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13293-025-00698-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biology of Sex Differences</a>.



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Men might say 'I love you' first to show they care

Men and women can both be head-over-heels in love at...

A team of researchers has recently revealed new findings about Earth’s ancient crust. They studied 1.6-billion-year-old rocks in northeast Queensland and noticed that water had a far greater role in forming this early substratum than people once realized.



Geological teams examined the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0009254107003580" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Georgetown Inlier</a> in Queensland. This location is one of the few places on Earth where ancient rocks from Earth’s deep crust remain in very good condition, showing all stages of continental crust formation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-water-reshaped-earth-s-crust">How water reshaped Earth’s crust</h2>



Lead researcher Dr. Silvia Volante completed the work while at Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and is now based at <a href="https://ethz.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH Zurich</a>. She explained the surprising chemistry behind these ancient rocks.



“In the early days of our planet, volcanic rocks erupted on the ocean floor and were then altered by hot water as they cooled down and solidified. Over time, these water-rich rocks were buried deep within the Earth’s crust, where the introduction of additional water caused them to partially melt at temperatures ranging from 1,292°F to 1,382°F (700°C to 750°C),” said Dr. Volante.&nbsp;



By examining the oxygen levels in the rocks, the research team identified a distinct contrast between the original volcanic rocks and the granitic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-inner-core-proven-to-be-rapidly-changing-and-now-rotating-backwards/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rocks</a> they later became, which indicated the action of an extra source of water originating from deep within the Earth's mantle.



After analyzing tiny differences in oxygen levels, the scientists saw two surprising signs of water in the ancient crust.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-in-old-minerals">Clues in old minerals</h2>



To track down where the water came from, researchers used <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/education/minerals-energy/australian-mineral-facts/zircon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">zircon</a> and <a href="https://commonminerals.esci.umn.edu/minerals-g-m/garnet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">garnet</a>, two minerals that hold onto oxygen signals even after millions of years. These minerals act like time capsules, keeping the chemical fingerprint of the fluids they interacted with when they first formed.



By comparing the oxygen ratios in different types of rock, the team saw clear evidence that something unusual was going on. The isotope values in the granitic rocks were much closer to what you’d expect from fluids rising out of the <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/mantle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth’s mantle</a> - not just from seawater or local sources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-water-triggered-melting-of-earth-s-crust">Water triggered melting of Earth’s crust</h2>



“The two sources of water which formed the continental crust <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mantle-heat-shaped-earths-crust-3-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rocks</a> - one from the volcanic rocks themselves and, more surprisingly, also from deep within the Earth - fueled a chain reaction of melting which lasted millions of years and helped form the building blocks of the continents we live on today,” said Dr. Volante.



Water from both the upper sections of basaltic crust and deeper mantle zones sparked a long-lasting reaction.&nbsp;



These findings support the idea that water migrates in ways once overlooked. That movement had a bigger role in building up granitic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-crust-is-dripping-under-turkey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">layers</a> beneath us than previously assumed by geologists worldwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-closer-look-at-earth-s-crust">A closer look at Earth's crust</h2>



Scientists have long <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825221002452" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">argued</a> over what drives the slow transformation of basaltic rock into lighter, buoyant crust. Some claimed that friction and pressure alone produced enough heat to melt rock, but this new work adds water as a potential major factor.



Study co-author Professor Zheng Xiang Li elaborated on how these rare samples help reveal the process of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-first-crust-already-had-chemical-traits-of-modern-continents/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crust</a> formation.



“We had an incredible opportunity to work in unique locations such as the Georgetown Inlier, which is one of the only places in the world where we can see all stages of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17051208/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">continental crust</a> formation locked in billion-year-old rock,” said Professor Li. 



"Our next step is to investigate whether similar water-based melting processes occurred in even older crust fragments."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mantle-water-helped-move-land-and-sea">Mantle water helped move land and sea</h2>



Earth’s crust holds answers to how mountains form and why continents ended up where they are today. A better understanding of water’s influence helps geologists rethink the mineral composition of ancient landmasses.



Many experts suggest that pockets of hydrous minerals deep underground acted like chemical triggers. This hot, wet environment may have boosted partial melting and set the stage for shifts in Earth’s surface that shaped where oceans and continents stand today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-practical-impact-and-future-studies">Practical impact and future studies</h2>



These new results open doors for more targeted projects in other parts of the world. Different ancient terrains might have hidden clues that echo or contrast the Georgetown Inlier’s story.



Teams will now look for similar isotopic signals to see if water from the mantle or other sources was involved. If more of these sites show the same signs, it would mean that water has guided the growth of Earth’s crust far more than scientists once assumed.



With more research, geologists could revise how early life sprang up on land. Water in the crust might have created chemical pathways that were needed by emerging ecosystems.



It also reminds us that what lies beneath the surface is not fixed or dry. Under certain conditions, water can slip through minerals, spark melting, and initiate reactions that help shape the landscape we see every day.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02250-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Communications Earth &amp; Environment</a>.



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How water reshaped Earth’s crust 1.6 billion years ago

A team of researchers has recently revealed new findings about...

Landscape,Of,The,North,Pole,Where,Climate,Change,Has,Caused

When we picture tectonic plates drifting apart and colliding, we usually imagine a time-lapse spanning millions of years. However, a new study reveals melting ice can affect continental drift and volcanic activity. 



Research from the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Colorado Boulder</a> indicates that Earth’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-first-crust-already-had-chemical-traits-of-modern-continents/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crust</a> can feel a substantial jolt on a far shorter timetable - thousands of years - whenever colossal ice sheets melt away. Geophysicists Tao Yuan and Shijie Zhong traced events that began roughly 26,000 years ago, near the peak of the last <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-ice-age-cycles-are-predictable-but-humans-may-change-that/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ice Age</a>. 



Back then, the Laurentide Ice Sheet blanketed much of North America in layers of ice several kilometers thick, stretching south to what is now Pennsylvania. As global temperatures warmed, that icy behemoth dwindled. 



Meltwater poured into the oceans, lifting sea levels by roughly a centimeter per year. Yet the scientists found that the consequences went well beyond rising coastlines: they extended deep into the mechanics of plate tectonics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melting-ice-and-continental-drift">Melting ice and continental drift </h2>



“As ice volume was greatly reduced, it caused a huge motion in Earth’s crust,” said Yuan, a doctoral candidate in CU Boulder’s Department of Physics and lead author of the study. “Scientists knew that the ice melting caused the plates to uplift. But we show that they also moved a lot horizontally due to the ice melting.”



Yuan and Zhong’s models indicate that between about 12,000 and 6,000 years ago, the North American plate may have increased its overall drift speed by roughly 25 percent. 



Even more striking was the behavior of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This ridge is a submarine mountain chain where magma wells up to form new crust and push the North American and Eurasian plates apart. There, seafloor spreading may have surged by as much as 40 percent during the post-glacial interval.



Zhong, a professor of physics at CU Boulder and senior author on the study, elaborated on the significance of the findings. 



“That story that we’ve been telling for a long, long time - that processes like seafloor spreading and continental drift operate at timescales of millions of years driven by Earth’s internal engine, thermal convection. That’s still true, but we show that glacial forcing can also cause <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/glacier-melting-threatens-global-water-supplies-and-coastal-communities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">significant motion</a> on relatively short timescales of 10,000 years," said Zhong.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melting-ice-messes-with-the-mantle">Melting ice messes with the mantle</h2>



To understand this surprising connection, picture Earth’s lithosphere - the rigid outer shell comprising crust and upper mantle - as a giant memory-foam mattress. When you lie on memory foam, the surface depresses; when you get up, it slowly rebounds. 



Similarly, when an ice sheet thousands of meters thick presses down on a continent, the underlying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-giants-the-mysterious-structures-deep-inside-earths-mantle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mantle</a> deforms. Once that ice melts and its weight shifts to the oceans, the mantle rebounds upward. Geologists call this response “glacial isostatic adjustment.”



Vertical rebound is well documented: regions near Hudson Bay, once the epicenter of glacial weight, still rise by about a centimeter per year. What Yuan and Zhong uncovered is a lesser-known horizontal component. 



As the mantle flowed to readjust, it exerted lateral stresses that nudged tectonic plates, effectively giving them a temporary shove. Their models show that this nudge affected both continental interiors and mid-ocean ridges. 



The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a critical test case because geologists have long treated its two-centimeter-per-year spreading rate as a textbook constant. The CU Boulder simulations suggest that rate has actually fluctuated markedly, speeding up in tandem with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astonishing-glacier-retreat-in-the-arctic-signals-climate-disaster/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glacial retreat</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-volcanic-echo-in-iceland"><a></a>A volcanic echo in Iceland</h2>



One real-world clue supporting the model’s conclusions lies in Iceland, which straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge just south of Greenland. Geological evidence indicates a spike in volcanic and geothermal activity on the island as the last Ice Age waned. 



Zhong believes faster spreading beneath the ridge made it easier for magma to reach the surface, fueling Iceland’s fiery outbursts. “This pattern of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-orbit-may-trigger-massive-volcanic-eruptions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">volcanism</a> may have been partly due to the glacial melting that we studied,” Zhong noted.



Although Greenland’s ice is melting rapidly today, its present rate is not yet large enough to jolt continents around. However, many climate models predict accelerated ice melting which could once again modulate magma supply at nearby ridges and, indirectly, volcanic activity in places such as Iceland within the next several centuries. 



“Ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica are still melting,” Yuan said. “We think the ice melting could enhance seafloor spreading and volcanism at nearby mid-ocean ridges in the future.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-will-melting-ice-accelerate-continental-drift">Will melting ice accelerate continental drift?</h2>



The implications of the study reach beyond Iceland or any single ridge. If glacial cycles can tweak plate speeds, geologists may need to revisit other intervals in Earth’s history when ice ages ended abruptly.



Could bursts of continental acceleration have left signatures in mountain-building episodes or sediment records? Might similar dynamics occur under today’s rapidly melting Antarctic ice shelves, subtly influencing tectonics in the Southern Ocean?



Zhong and Yuan’s results remind scientists that tectonics and climate are not wholly separate realms. The deep interior drives plate motion, but surface processes - especially the waxing and waning of planetary ice - can modulate that motion on geologically brief timescales. 



The Earth, in other words, is a tightly coupled system: what disappears atop a continent can ripple beneath an ocean ridge thousands of kilometers away. “That’s a fairly well-known, textbook number,” Zhong said of the ridge’s 2 cm/year spreading pace. He noted that the textbook may need an update.



Funded by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. National Science Foundation</a>, this research highlights a key point for both geologists and climate scientists: the planet’s frozen water doesn’t just sculpt landscapes; it can also tweak the gears of Earth’s tectonic machinery. And as the modern cryosphere continues to shrink, understanding such connections becomes ever more vital.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08846-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Melting ice can speed up continental drift and fuel volcanic eruptions

When we picture tectonic plates drifting apart and colliding, we...

If you’ve ever wondered whether your post-workout protein shake needs to come from chicken or chickpeas, you’re not alone. There’s a lot of talk about which type of protein is best for building muscle - plant-based or animal-based.



And does it help to space out your protein intake throughout the day? Or get a bigger serving at dinner? A new study has tackled these questions head-on and the answers may surprise you.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-assumptions-about-muscle-protein-synthesis">Assumptions about muscle protein synthesis </h2>



Researchers at the <a href="https://illinois.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign</a> designed a nine-day clinical trial to test three common assumptions about muscle protein synthesis. 



The experts wanted to know: Does the protein source - plant versus animal - impact muscle building? Does timing throughout the day affect how your body uses protein? And is there any real benefit to moderately high protein intake for muscle growth?



According to the study, the answer to all three questions is no.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-what-builds-muscle">Rethinking what builds muscle</h2>



“The longstanding belief or the current dogma was that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/do-humans-need-to-eat-animal-protein-to-build-muscle-science-has-the-answer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animal-based protein</a> sources were better, particularly for the muscle-building response,” said Nicholas Burd, one of the lead researchers. 



This belief was based on previous studies showing that animal protein led to a stronger muscle-building response after a single meal. “And so, our general hypothesis, based on these previous studies, was that the animal-based eating pattern would be more effective at supporting the muscle-building response," said Burd.



But there's a catch. Many of those older studies were based on a single meal, not what happens over the course of a whole diet. The new study aimed to better reflect how people actually eat - whether they follow a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-based-foods-promote-weight-loss-regardless-of-processing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plant-based</a> or omnivorous diet over time.



Burd pointed out that a previous 10-week trial found similar muscle synthesis in vegans and omnivores, but those participants consumed high levels of protein (1.6 to 1.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day), which goes beyond what most people need to gain muscle. That earlier study also relied heavily on plant protein supplements, which doesn’t mirror how real <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vegan-diet-improves-heart-health-in-a-matter-of-weeks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vegans</a> eat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protein-choices-put-to-the-test">Protein choices put to the test</h2>



To explore this further, the team recruited 40 healthy adults between age 20 and 40. For seven days, everyone ate a standardized diet to normalize their nutrition. Then they were randomly assigned to either a vegan or an omnivorous diet for the trial. All meals were provided by the researchers, with most eaten at home and some in the lab.



For the omnivorous group, about 70% of the protein came from animal sources like beef, chicken, pork, eggs, and dairy. The vegan diet used whole plant-based foods, carefully combined to provide complete proteins with all the essential amino acids.



Each dietary group was split again. Some participants had their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-too-much-protein-greatly-increases-heart-disease-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protein intake</a> spread evenly across three meals. Others ate five meals per day with the majority of their protein at the end of the day. Everyone did muscle-strengthening workouts every three days and wore accelerometers to track physical activity outside the lab.



To measure muscle protein synthesis, participants drank deuterium-labeled “heavy water.” This allowed researchers to trace the incorporation of amino acids into muscle tissue over time. Muscle biopsies were taken before and after the trial.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-post-workout-protein-is-key">Post-workout protein is key</h2>



The results showed no difference in muscle protein synthesis between the vegan and omnivorous diets. Timing of protein intake didn’t matter either.



“It was thought that it was better to get a steady-state delivery of nutrients throughout the day,” Burd said. “I also thought that if you’re getting a lower-quality protein - in terms of its digestibility and amino acid content - that perhaps distribution would make a difference. And surprisingly, we showed it doesn’t matter.”



The findings build on earlier work from Burd’s lab that suggested consuming more than 1.1 grams of protein per kilogram per day doesn’t lead to greater muscle gains. That’s in line with what many Americans eat naturally.



Now, Burd has a simple answer when people ask him what to eat to build <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-molecule-that-helps-grow-stronger-and-bigger-muscles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">muscle</a>: “It’s the kind you put in your mouth after exercise. As long as you’re getting sufficient high-quality protein from your food, then it really doesn’t make a difference.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/abstract/9900/impact_of_vegan_diets_on_resistance.771.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Medicine &amp; Science in Sports &amp; Exercise</a>.



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What’s the best protein for muscle gain? it might not matter

If you’ve ever wondered whether your post-workout protein shake needs...

Sea slugs are famous for their unusual shapes and colors, but their habit of shining during daylight is still surprising to many. They refuse to hide and instead display bright spots, stripes, or swirling hues that some predators quickly learn to avoid.



Dr. Cedric van den Berg from the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Queensland</a> and his team examined 45 species of <a href="https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/collage-nudibranch-colors" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nudibranch slugs</a> to see how color patterns might work as predator deterrents. 



The researchers looked at how certain slugs appear to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-slugs-use-sunlight-to-survive-just-like-plants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fish</a> with trichromatic vision, finding that being active under bright conditions helps highlight toxic or stinging defenses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sea-slugs-flash-bright-colors">Sea slugs flash bright colors</h2>



“Sea <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mystery-mollusk-glowing-sea-slug-found-in-the-deep-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slugs</a> use bright, contrasting color patterns to send messages to potential predators like ‘Don’t eat me, I’m poisonous,’” noted Dr. van den Berg.



Sea slugs often rely on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/aposematism" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aposematic signals</a>, which are bright or bold patterns that suggest they’re not worth a predator’s time.&nbsp;



Animals with chemical defenses, such as irritating toxins or stinging cells, appear to flaunt thick stripes or glowing spots. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/sea-slug_Risbecia-apolegma_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/sea-slug_Risbecia-apolegma_1s.webp" alt="Colorful sea slug, species name Risbecia apolegma" class="wp-image-1966961"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Colorful sea slug, species name Risbecia apolegma. Click image to enlarge.</figcaption></figure>



Those colors can look intense to fish that rely on sight, so it’s a clear communication strategy in well-lit environments.



Nocturnal slugs, by comparison, usually stick to calmer patterns. Their prey time is after sunset, so they’re less likely to advertise threats that won’t be easily seen in the dark.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-avoid-slugs-that-shine-in-sunlight">Fish avoid slugs that shine in sunlight</h2>



The researchers used specialized imaging to simulate how these patterns register with a fish’s eyes. A quick flash of white or dark stripes against a colorful background can make a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/inspired-by-sea-slugs-microneedles-could-transform-health-monitoring/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fish</a> think twice about an easy meal.



“We can even use the fingerprint to successfully classify the daytime activity of almost 90% of all the species we looked at,” said Dr. van den Berg. This suggests a strong link between how slugs look and when they move around each day.



Some slugs have more than just bright colors at their disposal. They also pack potent chemicals that might taste awful or damage a predator’s tissues on contact.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sunlight-strengthens-sea-slug-colors">Sunlight strengthens sea slug colors </h2>



Light is crucial for these color patterns to send the right message. Bold outlines or high-contrast spots fade in dim conditions, but under direct sun, the same hues scream for attention.



A fish that tries nibbling a slug with toxins might get a nasty mouthful. That experience can teach predators to avoid the next brightly spotted slug they see.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/sea-slug_nudibranch_Favorinus-mirabilis_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/sea-slug_nudibranch_Favorinus-mirabilis_1s.webp" alt="Color nudibranch sea slug, species name Favorinus mirabilis" class="wp-image-1966959"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Color nudibranch sea slug, species name Favorinus mirabilis. Click image to enlarge.</figcaption></figure>



Scientists call these patterns and body outlines essential parts of the slug’s warning display. It’s like wearing a vibrant outfit that signals danger to those who might otherwise bite first and ask questions later.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-toxic-chemicals-and-warning-colors">Toxic chemicals and warning colors</h2>



These creatures store or produce toxic compounds, depending on their diet and species-specific <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-predator-prey-feast-ever-seen-in-the-ocean-enormous-quickly-altered-food-chain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">traits</a>. A few absorb nasty elements from what they eat, then load them into stinging cells on their backs.



Not all sea slugs rely on chemical deterrents, though. Some have mild or no toxins and instead hide or blend with the environment at night.



Other slugs team multiple strategies. One group even uses <a href="http://www.seaslugforum.net/showall/biolumin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bioluminescent flashes</a>, but that tends to happen if they get harassed after dark.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-colors-as-survival-strategies">Colors as survival strategies</h2>



Colorful warnings are common in reef environments filled with fish that spot <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/did-you-know/why-are-corals-so-colorful/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bright objects</a> from many angles. Sea slugs are only one example of creatures that play this card.



These slugs aren’t alone in teaching predators to step back. Some marine animals sport bright polka dots or bold stripes, but the principle is the same: let attackers know a nasty surprise awaits them.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/sea-slugs_Costasiella-Kuroshimae-nudibranch_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/sea-slugs_Costasiella-Kuroshimae-nudibranch_1s.webp" alt="Colorful sea slug nudibrance, species name Costasiella Kuroshimae" class="wp-image-1966963"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Colorful sea slug nudibrance, species name Costasiella Kuroshimae. Click image to enlarge.</figcaption></figure>



Biologists are keen to see how these patterns might shift as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seamounts-are-gathering-hubs-for-ocean-predators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ocean</a> conditions change. If waters get murkier or fish populations decline, it could alter what signals remain effective.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bold-colors-help-sea-slugs-survive">Bold colors help sea slugs survive</h2>



Future research may reveal more about how brightness levels in shallow waters affect slug survival. Since some species rely on colorful hints to broadcast their poison, changes in light could tilt the scales in favor of camouflage instead.



Learning more about daytime patterns might also explain how certain toxins develop. If a slug’s flashy outfit reliably stops attacks, chemical defenses might grow stronger over time.



It’s a balancing act. Slugs can’t be so bold that hungry predators want to test them, yet they have to be bold enough for the signal to stand out in daylight.



Studying sea slugs provides a glimpse of how clever visual signals shape daily routines. Their reliance on sunshine to amplify threats is a neat twist on survival.



Most species in this research project seem to embrace the idea of risking daylight for the payoff of a loud warning. The few that prefer darkness skip the bright stripes and trust stealth to keep them off the menu.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.70036" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Animal Ecology</a>.



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Sea slugs are very tiny, but they might also be the most beautiful creatures in the seas

Sea slugs are famous for their unusual shapes and colors,...

Archaea - an often-overlooked group of microbes - are quietly living in our guts, and scientists are finally starting to understand just how important they might be.



While most research on the human microbiome has focused on bacteria, a new species of methane-producing gut microbe is shifting that attention.



In a recent study, microbiologists from the <a href="https://www.medunigraz.at/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Medical University of Graz</a>, the DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures in Germany, and the University of Illinois, discovered a previously unknown methane-producing archaea species in the human gut. They named it Methanobrevibacter intestini sp. nov., strain WWM1085.



The team also isolated a new variant of Methanobrevibacter smithii, called GRAZ-2. These findings offer fresh insight into how our gut and its microbial inhabitants interact.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-archaea-so-unique">What makes archaea so unique?</h2>



Archaea are one of the three recognized domains of living organisms, along with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-gut-bacteria-behave-like-vampires-to-target-human-blood/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bacteria</a> and eukaryotes (which include animals, plants, and fungi). 



Under a microscope, archaea might look a bit like bacteria - but they are fundamentally different. Their cell structure, metabolism, and genetic code all set them apart.



Most people associate archaea with extreme environments like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hot-springs-may-have-played-a-key-role-in-the-emergence-of-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hot springs</a> and salt flats. But they also live in more familiar places, including in the human digestive tract.



One group of archaea, known as methanogens, produces methane by breaking down hydrogen and carbon dioxide. These microbes are vital to metabolic processes in animals - including humans.



Still, studying them isn’t easy. Archaea cannot tolerate oxygen, and they’re difficult to grow in the lab. That’s why research into their role in the human gut is only just beginning.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-microbes-may-play-a-big-role">Small microbes may play a big role</h2>



“Our discovery is a further piece in the puzzle towards understanding how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-microbiome-trillions-of-bacteria-unique-like-fingerprints/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human microbiome</a> functions,” said Christine Moissl-Eichinger, professor of interactive microbiome research at Med Uni Graz.



While most microbiome studies center on bacteria, archaea have received little attention - despite the big role they might play in our health.



“Archaea have long been overlooked,” Moissl-Eichinger said. “They may play a significant role in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-microbes-have-an-unexpected-link-to-anxiety/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gut</a> function, microbial gas metabolism, and possibly even the development or progression of certain diseases.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gut-microbes-that-produce-methane">Gut microbes that produce methane</h2>



To identify the methane-producing gut microbes, the team used advanced techniques, including specialized anaerobic cultivation (growing organisms without oxygen), high-resolution electron microscopy, and DNA sequencing. 



The experts found that Methanobrevibacter intestini WWM1085 stands apart from all known archaea species. It survives only in oxygen-free environments and produces <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-methane-emissions-threaten-earths-habitability/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">methane</a>.



More surprisingly, it also generates large amounts of succinic acid - a substance linked to inflammation in the body. This suggests a possible connection between archaea and certain health conditions.



The second discovery, GRAZ-2, is a strain of Methanobrevibacter smithii. It produces formic acid, which could disrupt how other gut microbes function. This suggests that even slight genetic variations in archaea might lead to very different roles within the gut.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-archaeome-might-reveal">What the “archaeome” might reveal</h2>



These findings support the idea that gut archaea are more diverse - and potentially more important - than previously believed.



Scientists are beginning to use the term “archaeome” to describe the full range of archaea living within us. This emerging field holds promise for revealing how these organisms influence human health. The ability to grow archaea in the lab is crucial for learning what they do. 



“We can only conduct specific mechanistic investigations with cultivated strains,” said Viktoria Weinberger, the study’s first author. “This is essential in order to better understand the role of individual microorganisms in health and disease - and in the long term to develop therapeutic approaches as well.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-the-new-gut-microbes">Understanding the new gut microbes</h2>



Understanding Methanobrevibacter intestini and GRAZ-2 could be just the beginning. These archaea may one day help shape more personalized approaches to gut health - ones that include not just the bacteria, but also the other overlooked players living quietly in our digestive systems.



The discovery of new archaea species in the human gut raises more questions than it answers. What other microbes are we missing? And how might they influence everything from digestion to disease?



As research expands, the once-overlooked archaea may become key players in shaping the future of microbiome science.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.006751" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology</a>.



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New methane-producing microbe discovered in the human gut

Archaea - an often-overlooked group of microbes - are quietly...

Most parents agree that puberty is an important topic to cover with their kids. But when is the right time to start? And what’s the best way to approach it? These are questions many parents still struggle with.



A recent national poll by researchers at the <a href="https://www.mottchildren.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital</a> sheds light on how families are handling this crucial stage of childhood. 



The poll highlights some common uncertainties, such as the best age to start the conversation and whether to include topics like sex and reproduction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-to-begin-the-puberty-talk">When to begin the puberty talk</h2>



The results show that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-often-feel-lonely-burnt-out-parenting-demands/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">parents</a> are split on when to begin the puberty talk. About one-third say it’s best to start before age 10. Others prefer to wait until their kids are 10 or older. This uncertainty can make it tough to know when to speak up.



“It’s easy to assume a child is too young for conversations about puberty, but many parents are surprised to find their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tweens-used-media-more-during-the-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tween</a> already showing signs of puberty or asking unexpected questions about body changes,” said Mott Poll Co-Director Sarah Clark.



“Starting the conversation early gives parents a chance to shape the message in an age-appropriate way and help kids know what to expect, so they’re not confused or anxious. If parents don’t open the door to these talks, kids may get their information elsewhere, like from classmates, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/goldilocks-amount-of-social-media-time-may-protect-teens/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social media</a>, or what they see on TV.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-talking-about-puberty-can-be-hard">Talking about puberty can be hard</h2>



Parents take different approaches to discussing puberty. Around half say they’re proactive. Two in five wait for their child to ask questions. A small group - about 5% - avoid the topic entirely.



There are also emotional hurdles. One in five parents say they worry about feeling embarrassed. Others fear saying the wrong thing. 



Some parents of 10- to 12-year-olds say their child avoids the subject. Meanwhile, nearly a third of parents with 7- to 9-year-olds think their child is too young to understand. Clark suggests some of that hesitation might come from parents' own childhoods.



While nearly half have shared their personal puberty experiences with their kids, fewer than one in three say they learned about puberty from their own parents. Over a third note that it wasn’t discussed at all in their home growing up.



“Whether they realize it or not parents may bring their own experiences into their parenting approach,” Clark said. “Many parents said they had little or no discussion of puberty when they were young. If puberty was treated as an awkward or embarrassing subject growing up, that can make it harder to know how to begin.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-question-of-sex">The question of sex</h2>



One of the biggest challenges for parents is knowing how and when to talk about sex and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lunar-cycles-have-a-secret-influence-on-human-reproduction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reproduction</a>. For some, this part of the conversation can feel even more overwhelming.



“Early conversations should focus on making kids aware that they will experience physical and emotional changes, and reassuring them that those changes are normal. Discussions about sex can occur over time,” Clark said.



She also points out that parents don’t have to do it all alone. Resources like parenting books, educational videos, and school health programs can help start the conversation or reinforce the message. Annual doctor visits may also provide a comfortable setting to bring up puberty-related topics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spotting-the-signs">Spotting the signs</h2>



About half of parents say they feel very confident in recognizing signs of puberty. Among parents of kids aged 10 to 12, that number jumps to 60 percent. 



For younger kids, only 17% of parents say they’ve noticed changes. And fewer than one in three say they know what signs to look for.



Many parents also report that their children have brought up questions about their own bodies, their parents' bodies, or puberty in general. These moments, Clark says, are great chances to open up the discussion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keep-the-conversation-going">Keep the conversation going</h2>



Puberty isn’t just a physical transition. It can also bring emotional changes that make open conversations harder. But that makes the need for communication even more important.



“Puberty isn’t just about physical changes - it’s also a time of emotional disruption, which can make open communication challenging,” Clark said. “Many tweens feel embarrassed or uncomfortable talking with their parents about these changes.”



“To help ease the discomfort, some parents may give their child an age-appropriate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-children-learn-gender-stereotypes-from-storybooks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">book</a> or video about puberty and allow the child to explore the topic privately. Often, that leads to additional discussion with parents.”



In the end, the key is to make room for these conversations early - and to keep them going. By doing so, parents can support their kids through one of the most confusing and important transitions of their lives.



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Talking to kids about puberty: Why sooner may be better than later

Most parents agree that puberty is an important topic to...

Bonobos are known for gentle interactions, yet recent work suggests they might be less tolerant when rewards are split unequally. Researchers set out to see if these apes would walk away from deals that favored a partner and shortchanged them.



This insight emerges from the work of first author Kia Radovanović from <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Utrecht University</a>. A team at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology collaborated on these trials to gauge bonobos’ <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-bonobo-day-a-celebration-of-love-peace-and-conservation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reactions</a> to unequal treats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bonobos-recognize-unfair-rewards-and-protest">Bonobos recognize unfair rewards and protest</h2>



Some experts use the phrase <a href="https://www.behavioraleconomics.com/resources/mini-encyclopedia-of-be/inequity-aversion/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">inequity aversion</a> for patterns in animals that refuse to cooperate when they get a raw deal. Human <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-abstract/114/3/817/1848113?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> have noted how people often protest if someone else is given better benefits for the same effort.



Bonobos share close ties with people on the <a href="https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s12052-008-0035-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evolutionary tree</a>. Their social lives revolve around interactions where resources and tasks are commonly exchanged. 



When tested in a token-exchange setting, they faced a scenario where one <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobo-communication-shares-many-structural-similarities-with-human-language/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">participant</a> got a higher-value treat, while the other settled for a lesser option.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-turn-down-free-snacks">Why turn down free snacks?</h2>



“We found that bonobos more often refused to participate when faced with inequitable rewards,” said Radovanović. This outcome goes against the idea that they simply expect the same tasty morsel and quit if disappointed.



There were instances where an automated contraption handed out the treats. Bonobos avoided interacting if the gadget gave them a lower reward, yet spared a friend something tastier. 



This trend did not appear to stem from dissatisfaction with the human caretaker but instead from the unequal handouts themselves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-much-unfairness-can-bonobos-tolerate">How much unfairness can bonobos tolerate?</h2>



Cooperative behavior in this species is often viewed as a key characteristic. Some pairs seemed more tolerant of small imbalances, especially if they had strong social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-are-more-endangered-than-previously-known/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bonds</a>.



The closer pairs of bonobos sometimes accepted the mismatch without walking away. These differences in how each ape responds hint that personal relationships might play a role in how big a difference in goodies they are willing to allow.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bonobos-chimps-and-unfair-rewards">Bonobos, chimps, and unfair rewards</h2>



Unlike bonobos, chimpanzees in similar tests often show refusal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orphaned-bonobos-can-regain-social-skills-and-empathy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">patterns</a> that seem tied more to the person handing out the food than to fairness itself. 



When chimpanzees received lesser rewards, they reacted more strongly if the distributor was a human instead of a machine. That suggests they may be expressing frustration with the person, not necessarily protesting the unfairness of the trade.



Bonobos didn’t follow that same pattern. Their refusals were strongest when a machine was involved and their partner still got something better. 



This detail sets them apart and raises the possibility that bonobos might have developed a clearer internal barometer for fairness, while chimpanzees may lean more toward social expectations or experimenter-based cues.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-tests-to-explore-fairness-in-apes">More tests to explore fairness in apes</h2>



Fair-minded behavior might develop from social structures that value harmony.



"This study provides new insights into how fairness may have evolved, but further research is needed,” said Daniel Haun, Director at the <a href="https://www.mpg.de/de" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a>.



Researchers continue to plan follow-up tasks that offer group-based <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-are-thriving-in-salonga-national-park/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">activities</a> and broader test groups. They hope to see whether living conditions or group composition shape each individual’s perception of what is or is not an acceptable share.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bonobos-value-rewards-and-fairness">Bonobos value rewards and fairness</h2>



People once believed that only humans show strong objections when rewards are lopsided. Bonobo evidence suggests some apes may notice these imbalances too. 



This pattern could reinforce cooperation over time, because no one wants to keep playing with a partner who always gets the bigger prize.



These observations add a new perspective on how a sense of fair play might have taken shape in diverse primate lineages. Focusing on bonobos’ responses could clarify the complexities of social ties and resource division in living groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-bonobos-fix-unfairness-themselves">Can bonobos fix unfairness themselves?</h2>



Researchers propose testing different tasks where bonobos can actively equalize outcomes. Deeper analysis may also reveal if other apes respond similarly in varied settings. 



Questions remain about how environment and familiarity influence the readiness to leave an unfair arrangement.



If bonobos keep showing that they can detect and reject unequal rewards, the idea of fairness in non-human species grows stronger. That could shift how we talk about morality and ethical conduct in the broader animal kingdom.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.2873" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.



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Bonobos say no to unfair trades, even if it costs rewards

Bonobos are known for gentle interactions, yet recent work suggests...

Robots have long struggled with flexibility. Until now, even the most advanced robotic systems have required massive amounts of data and painstaking instruction to complete basic tasks. 



If a robot dropped a tool or failed to follow a script precisely, it would typically shut down or fail completely. However, a new breakthrough from <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cornell University</a> might change that dynamic entirely. 



A team of computer scientists has recently developed a new AI-powered framework called RHyME (Retrieval for Hybrid Imitation under Mismatched Execution). 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-robots-learning-from-humans">Robots learning from humans</h2>



The new technology allows robots to learn complex, multi-step tasks by watching just a single human demonstration, even if the way humans perform a task differs significantly from how robots do.



“One of the annoying things about working with robots is collecting so much data on the robot doing different tasks. That’s not how humans do tasks. We look at other people as inspiration," explained Kushal Kedia, a doctoral student in computer science at Cornell and the lead author of the study. 



Kedia is set to present the team’s findings at the <a href="https://2025.ieee-icra.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation</a> in Atlanta, highlighting a system that could fundamentally alter how robots are trained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-perfect-scripts-to-practical-adaptation"><a></a>From perfect scripts to practical adaptation</h2>



For decades, robotic learning has depended heavily on imitation. In a method known as “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cultural-learning-begins-in-infancy-during-parent-child-imitation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">imitation learning</a>,” robots watch human demonstrations to acquire new skills. 



But this training has required extremely controlled demonstrations - human movements had to be smooth, precise, and consistent, or the robot wouldn’t be able to replicate the actions. Any deviation would result in failure.



“Our work is like translating French to English - we’re translating any given task from human to robot,” said senior author Sanjiban Choudhury, an assistant professor of computer science at Cornell’s Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.



However, there’s a significant hurdle: humans are too fluid. Our movements are complex and unpredictable, often performed in ways that robots can’t easily mimic. 



Training robots on video also traditionally required an enormous amount of footage to be even marginally successful. The mismatch between how humans behave and how robots are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/robots-can-now-learn-like-humans-using-self-awareness/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">built to act</a> has long been a stumbling block.



“If a human moves in a way that’s any different from how a robot moves, the method immediately falls apart,” Choudhury noted. “Our thinking was, ‘Can we find a principled way to deal with this mismatch between how humans and robots do tasks?’”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-smarter-memory-for-smarter-machines"><a></a>A smarter memory for smarter machines</h2>



RHyME is designed to overcome this long-standing challenge. Rather than trying to replicate human actions step by step, it equips robots with a sort of “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/household-robots-now-with-added-common-sense-and-ability-to-self-correct/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">common sense</a>” memory system. 



When a robot encounters a task it’s seen performed by a human - like putting a mug in the sink - it can recall and adapt related movements from its video archive, such as grasping a different object or performing a similar arm motion.



This process allows the robot to “connect the dots” even when human demonstrations don’t perfectly align with the robot’s own mechanics. RHyME essentially enables robots to synthesize new behaviors by creatively combining past examples.



In laboratory trials, robots trained with RHyME achieved over a 50% improvement in task success rates compared to traditional training techniques. 



Even more impressive, RHyME accomplished this using just 30 minutes of robot-specific data, dramatically reducing the training overhead that has long been a barrier in robotics.



“This work is a departure from how robots are programmed today,” Choudhury said. “The status quo of programming robots is thousands of hours of tele-operation to teach the robot how to do tasks. That’s just impossible. With RHyME, we’re moving away from that and learning to train robots in a more scalable way.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-robots-a-step-toward-home-helpers">Robots: A step toward home helpers</h2>



Though consumer-grade home assistant robots are still a distant dream, RHyME represents a significant step in that direction. 



The ability for robots to learn quickly and flexibly by observing people - even from a single video - could one day make robotic helpers more practical, affordable, and accessible.



As automation becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life, systems like RHyME are poised to streamline robotic training across industries. From <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-glimpse-of-the-future-robots-in-nursing-homes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">elder care</a> to warehouse logistics, these smarter robots could adapt to the dynamic nature of real-world environments with much less human oversight.



For now, the researchers are continuing to refine RHyME and explore how it might scale to even more complex tasks. 



But the core insight remains: instead of forcing robots to copy us precisely, we can teach them to draw inspiration from us - just like we do from one another.



Read the paper, “<a href="https://portal-cornell.github.io/rhyme/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">One-Shot Imitation under Mismatched Execution</a>."



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Robots can now learn from humans by watching 'how-to' videos

Robots have long struggled with flexibility. Until now, even the...

Our inner emotions don’t always match what we show on the outside. People often say they’re fine while feeling overwhelmed inside - a common habit that can lead to mental health struggles like anxiety or panic attacks. 



Spotting these hidden emotions isn’t always easy, especially for health care providers who are trying to help.



In a breakthrough study, researchers have created a stretchable, rechargeable sticker that senses the body’s emotional signals, including changes in heart rate and skin temperature.



Developed by scientists at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Penn State</a>, the device offers a way to see beyond facial expressions and get a more accurate read on how someone is really feeling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-emotions-beneath-the-surface">Tracking emotions beneath the surface</h2>



“This is a new and improved way to understand our emotions by looking at multiple body signals at once,” said Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, a professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State.



“Relying only on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/facial-expressions-arent-enough-to-understand-human-emotions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">facial expressions</a> to understand emotions can be misleading. People often don't visibly show how they truly feel, so that’s why we’re combining facial expression analysis with other important physiological signals, which will ultimately lead to better mental health monitoring and support.”



The sticker tracks several indicators that are tied to emotional states. These include skin temperature, heart rate, humidity, and blood oxygen levels. 



The emotion sensors are carefully designed to work independently, which means each variable reading stays accurate and does not interfere with the measurement of the others.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sensor-identifies-emotional-reactions">Sensor identifies emotional reactions</h2>



The patch also uses facial expression data and compares it with body signals to tell the difference between a real emotional reaction and a faked one.



The data is then sent wirelessly to mobile devices or the Cloud, where it could help doctors assess patients remotely. Importantly, the device doesn’t collect personal data - just the signals - to protect user privacy.



“This technology has the potential to help people who are struggling with their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/using-apps-to-practice-mindfulness-improves-mental-health-of-children/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mental health</a>, but maybe aren’t being fully honest with others or even themselves about how much they are struggling,” explained Yangbo Yuan, who is a co-author on the paper, and a doctoral student studying engineering science and mechanics at Penn State.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-device-understands-context">The device understands context</h2>



Some people may seem calm when they’re actually overwhelmed. Others might appear visibly distressed more easily. 



According to Cheng, these differences - often shaped by culture or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/personality-traits-are-not-strongly-inherited-from-parents/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">personalit</a>y - could be better understood using this tool.



“By keeping track of these signals, it could be possible to detect problems like anxiety or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alcohol-and-depression-study-challenges-self-medication-theory/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">depression</a> earlier in its progression,” said Cheng.



The patch is about the size of a Band-Aid and can bend and stretch without breaking. The team used thin layers of flexible metals like platinum and gold, cut into wavy patterns to maintain flexibility. 



Materials that react to temperature changes were added, along with carbon nanotube tubes to detect humidity.



Each sensor was placed with care to ensure one didn’t disrupt another. For example, the temperature and humidity sensors were protected by a stiff backing to prevent stretching, while waterproof layers shielded them from outside moisture.



“We've engineered this device to measure these different signals independently, without them interfering with each other, providing a much clearer and more accurate picture of what's happening beneath the surface,” said study co-author Libo Gao, an associate professor at Xiamen University.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fake-feelings-versus-real-emotions">Fake feelings versus real emotions</h2>



The team also trained artificial intelligence to discriminate between real <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/words-shape-how-our-brains-process-feelings-and-guide-decisions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">feelings</a> and fake ones. They asked eight participants to make six common facial expressions - joy, surprise, fear, sadness, anger, and disgust - one hundred times each. 



The device recorded their movements, and the data was used to teach the AI to spot emotional cues. Then, three new participants joined to test the system. The AI identified the posed emotions with over 96% accuracy.



To test for genuine emotion, the same participants watched videos meant to stir feelings. The device picked up on the emotional shifts with nearly 89% accuracy. 



The sensors confirmed that things like rising heart rate and skin temperature matched expected reactions, such as during anger or surprise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-sensor-to-monitor-human-emotions">A sensor to monitor human emotions</h2>



The emotion sensor could become a valuable tool in virtual healthcare. Since it sends data wirelessly, doctors could one day use it to check in on patients from afar.



“This sensor can serve a vital function in bridging gaps in access to care,” Cheng said. “Given the rising stress levels in modern society, the ability to monitor emotions can provide early indicators of debilitating conditions and allow for proactive support.”



There may be other uses, too. The team believes the same technology could help understand emotional responses in non-verbal patients, identify early signs of dementia, and even track athletic performance or wound healing. 



Ultimately, the emotion sensors may be able to assist in detecting overdoses or following the course of neurodegenerative diseases.



“While still in the research and development phase, this device is a significant step forward in our ability to monitor and understand human emotions, potentially paving the way for more proactive and personalized approaches to mental health care,” concluded Cheng.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c06392" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nano Letters</a>.



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New sensor reveals your true emotions, even when you're faking it

Our inner emotions don’t always match what we show on...

Conservation scientists often reassure themselves with a simple rule of thumb: species that live over huge swaths of territory and boast large populations are usually safer from extinction than creatures confined to small patches of habitat. 



However, a new global analysis of roughly 1,500 bird species has revealed that there's no comfortable rule when it comes to climate change.



The study, led by the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Texas at Austin</a>, shows that a wide geographic footprint can hide an unexpectedly narrow dependence on climate. In a warming world, that hidden fragility could make certain familiar birds surprisingly vulnerable.



“Because that region is so big, species that occupy it tend to have large populations and large geographic range sizes - two characteristics that are often associated with lower <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-extinctions-shatter-the-harmonious-balance-of-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extinction</a> risks,” explained Carlos Botero, an associate professor of integrative biology and senior author of the study.



“The problem here is that because many of those species are adapted to a very narrow range of climates, those seemingly large populations can be quite <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-bird-species-face-extinction-risks-in-the-neotropics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">susceptible</a> to collapse when climate patterns begin to change.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-paradox-from-the-arctic"><a></a>A paradox from the Arctic</h2>



One of the clearest examples comes from the Arctic, where a single broad climatic regime stretches across thousands of miles. The Bohemian waxwing is emblematic: its breeding distribution spans an immense arc from Scandinavia to Alaska.



Yet the Arctic’s uniform environment means that the waxwing’s entire life cycle is tied to cold temperatures and consistent snow cover. Even minor warming or shifts in precipitation could push the species outside its comfort zone - no matter how far it can fly within that chilly belt.



In their analysis, Botero’s team contrasted the waxwing with the chestnut-crowned laughingthrush. The laughingthrush is restricted to a sliver of montane forest in Nepal, Bhutan, and neighboring parts of Asia - an area a fraction of the waxwing’s extent.



But the Himalayan foothills expose that small-ranged bird to a wider palette of temperatures and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-rainfall-increases-as-a-direct-result-of-global-warming/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rainfall</a> patterns throughout the year. The laughingthrush therefore occupies a broader “climate niche,” potentially giving it more room to maneuver as conditions shift.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-brains-and-climate-specialization">Bird brains and climate specialization</h2>



The surprises did not stop with range maps. Analyses also revealed an unexpected relationship between brain size and climate flexibility. 



Larger-brained birds, long celebrated for their resourcefulness, tended to be the very species most tightly wedded to specific climate regimes. “Larger brain sizes correlate with more flexible behavior, so `big-brained birds are usually expected to be more adaptable,” Botero said. 



“However, it turns out that many big-brained birds are climate specialists - meaning that they have evolved to thrive in very particular climate types and may therefore also be more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-birds-are-more-at-risk-from-climate-change-than-others/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vulnerable</a> to climate change than we expected.”



Why would an animal capable of problem-solving and tool use paint itself into a narrow climatic corner? Botero and coauthor João Fabrício Mota Rodrigues (now at <a href="https://unicamp.br/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brazil’s University of Campinas</a>) suspect that cognitive prowess helps species exploit highly specific environments with great efficiency. 



Over evolutionary time, that specialization can lead to tight physiological tolerances - exactly the trait that becomes risky when the planet’s thermostat creeps upward.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-two-dimensional-climate-map"><a></a>Building a two-dimensional climate map</h2>



To quantify each species’ niche, the team merged two huge datasets. First came detailed range maps created from hundreds of thousands of sightings submitted by volunteer birders to the <a href="https://ebird.org/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eBird</a> platform. 



Second, the researchers developed a simplified, yet powerful, climate classification that captures two axes of environmental hardship. The first axis - “temperature harshness” - rises as places become colder, more variable, and less predictable. 



The second - “xeric harshness” - ratchets upward with drier, more erratic rainfall. Plotting Earth’s land areas across those twin axes produced a two-dimensional climate space. 



Points near the center represent benign zones: warm, moist, and seasonally steady. Farther out lie the extremes: parched deserts, storm-prone tropics, or frigid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-changing-tundra-landscapes-affect-earths-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tundra</a>. 



By overlaying each bird’s distribution onto that grid, the researchers measured how much of the climate space the species actually uses. A small ellipse located at one edge of the diagram signals trouble. 



Birds confined to that limited set of conditions may find it hard to track shifting isotherms or precipitation belts. Conversely, a large swath cutting across multiple quadrants suggests climatic breadth and, potentially, resilience.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-interactions-hidden-risks"><a></a>Hidden interactions, hidden risks</h2>



The latest study adds to a growing chorus urging conservation planners to reconsider single-factor threat lists. 



“We need to stop looking at individual risk factors in isolation, but evaluate how these complex factors combine,” Botero emphasized. “Sometimes, it is the unexpected interactions that matter most.”



Indeed, a species can check all the traditional “safe” boxes - huge range, big population, high intelligence - yet still sit on a climatic knife-edge. Arctic breeders are just one illustration. 



Tropical forest birds with large brains and tight humidity requirements could face similar hazards if droughts intensify. Even desert specialists might falter if rainfall becomes too unpredictable for reliable breeding.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-citizen-science-and-big-picture-insights">Citizen science and big-picture insights</h2>



According to Rodrigues, the analysis was made possible by citizen scientists. Data derived from eBird gave the experts an unprecedented global snapshot.



Without hundreds of thousands of observers recording where they saw even the most common species, they couldn’t have mapped climate niches with this precision. Such an approach is quickly becoming a backbone of ecological forecasting. 



By harnessing real-time, geo-tagged records from amateurs, researchers can update models as species ranges expand, contract, or fragment - often faster than traditional field surveys could manage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smarter-species-conservation">Smarter species conservation</h2>



Recognizing climate specialization where none was suspected may reshape conservation priorities. Agencies often triage limited funds toward charismatic, range-restricted species. 



But Botero’s work suggests that some cosmopolitan birds deserve equal attention, precisely because their “bigness” masks a slender climatic lifeline. Future investigations will probe whether similar patterns hold for mammals, reptiles, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amphibians-are-being-pushed-beyond-their-heat-limits/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amphibians</a>. 



For now, the message is clear: size - of range, of population, of brain - does not guarantee safety. In a rapidly changing climate, ecological nuance matters. 



Understanding that nuance could spell the difference between proactive protection and costly rescue missions when numbers suddenly plummet. As policymakers craft strategies for the coming decades, studies like this remind us that vulnerability isn’t always where we expect it. 



Sometimes it hides beneath vast northern skies, in flocks that seem abundant - until the weather shifts just a little too far, and the invisible boundaries of their climate niches close in.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58815-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Big brains and wide ranges can't save birds from climate change

Conservation scientists often reassure themselves with a simple rule of...

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



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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?

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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 



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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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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