Can farms produce enough food to feed us while still leaving space for wildlife? A new proposal says they can.



By setting aside one-fifth of farmland for nature, and tweaking everyday practices on the rest, we can help wildlife recover without sacrificing the food on our tables.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farming-with-wildlife-in-mind">Farming with wildlife in mind</h2>



The plan comes from ecologists at the <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/">UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology</a> and the University of Alcalá in Spain. Study co-author Professor James Bullock elaborated on the importance of the research.



“Reversing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-report-calls-for-global-change-to-stop-biodiversity-loss/">biodiversity loss</a> and degradation of ecosystems is essential both for nature as well as long-term global food security. But there is no single silver bullet for nature recovery and so far it has been unclear how to integrate rewilding into agricultural landscapes," said Professor Bullock. 



“Our proposed approach moves beyond land sparing versus land sharing. We believe rewilding can be interwoven into agricultural landscapes and could be key to maintaining <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/increasing-plant-based-food-production-would-have-extremely-positive-impact/">food production</a> in a way that is sustainable in the long term for people and the planet.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dedicating-land-to-nature-recovery">Dedicating land to nature recovery</h2>



According to the study, fostering rewilding approaches alongside farming could create agroecological landscapes that accommodate biodiversity while remaining resilient and functionally connected. Certain incentives would encourage farmers to adopt this approach.



“While setting aside land for nature recovery could potentially be made a legal requirement for farmers and landowners, there is more likely to be acceptance and success of rewilding if there are incentives in the form of payments for ecosystem services and tax deductions,” noted Professor José María Rey Benayas, lead author on the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-farming-needs-wildlife">Why farming needs wildlife</h2>



Modern farming has greatly increased food production since the 1940s. But this has often come at the expense of nature. 



Clearing land, using heavy fertilizers and pesticides, and removing natural features like hedgerows have pushed many plant and animal species to the edge.



This loss doesn’t just affect wildlife - it disrupts vital services that farms depend on, such as healthy soil, natural pest control, and water retention. As these services decline, the long-term productivity and resilience of farming systems are put at risk.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cost-of-declining-wildlife">The cost of declining wildlife</h2>



Across Europe and beyond, once-common species are disappearing from farmland. For example, the U.K. has lost over 40 million birds since 1970, and wild bee populations have declined in more than half of European countries, according to multiple long-term surveys.



These animals aren’t just part of the scenery - they’re key to food production. Birds eat crop pests. Bees and other insects pollinate the flowers that develop into fruits and vegetables. Their loss means greater reliance on artificial fertilisers, pesticides, and expensive manual labour.



Bringing wildlife back isn’t just a conservation goal - it’s a practical step toward more affordable and reliable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mixed-cover-crops-may-be-the-future-of-sustainable-farming/">farming</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-steps-to-farming-alongside-wildlife">Steps to farming alongside wildlife </h2>



The researchers suggest a four-part plan that links nature conservation with everyday farming. 



First, they recommend reserving at least 20% of farmland for nature. This space would include large patches of woodland, wetlands, and species-rich grassland to form strong core habitats. 



Second, these patches should be connected by green corridors - such as hedgerows, ponds, and strips of scrubland - that allow wildlife to move, feed, and reproduce.



Third, they propose protecting small hotspots within working fields. This would involve setting aside about 10% of cropped land for flower strips, beetle banks, and bird perches, bringing the total to the 30% global restoration goal. 



Finally, they call for small changes in daily farming practices, like reducing chemical use, planting flowers for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pollinators-face-extinction-risk-due-to-climate-change/">pollinators</a>, and letting livestock graze more freely to help spread seeds and support healthy soil.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rewilding-has-benefits-for-farmers">Rewilding has benefits for farmers</h2>



Many European regions cannot host bears or bison. However, smaller species such as lynx, wildcat, or European hare can still boost ecosystem health. Choosing the right mix depends on local conditions.



Helping wildlife can pay off in more ways than one. When farms support natural habitats, they often see practical benefits in return. 



Better soil retains more water and nutrients, which supports stronger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farmers-can-help-make-crops-more-resilient/">crops</a>. Pollinators and natural predators of pests can help increase yields in nearby fields. 



Farmers may also spend less on fertilizers and pesticides, lowering overall input costs. In some places, governments might provide payments or tax breaks to reward efforts that support biodiversity and ecosystem services.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-making-room-for-wildlife">Making room for wildlife</h2>



Reaching the 20% target may be challenging for small farms, but collective action can make it achievable. At the same time, each region will need to adapt the plan to fit its local conditions. 



Areas with heavily degraded farmland have the most to gain, while places with traditional, low-impact farming may require fewer changes. 



The researchers emphasize that this is just a starting point - but the message is clear: making room for wildlife alongside farming can help secure both indigenous species and food for the future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2860">Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Farming for wildlife: How traditional practices can protect nature

Can farms produce enough food to feed us while still leaving space for wildlife? A new proposal says they can. By setting aside one-fifth of farmland for nature, and tweaking everyday practices on the rest, we can help wildlife recover without sacrificing the food on our tables. Farming with wildlife in mind The plan comes from ecologists at the UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology and the University of Alcalá in Spain. Study co-author Professor James Bullock elaborated on the importance of the research. “Reversing biodiversity loss...

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects nearly 30 percent of the global population and, over time, can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. While there are no approved drug treatments or effective cures for this condition yet, previous research has shown that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/its-not-how-much-but-how-often-we-exercise-that-counts/">exercise</a> can improve liver fat, physical fitness, body composition, and quality of life for patients diagnosed with this disease. However, the precise “dose” of exercise to help NAFLD patients achieve clinically meaningful improvements (defined as at least a 30 percent reduction of liver fat) has remained a mystery for decades.



Now, by reviewing 14 studies with a total of 551 subjects with NAFLD who participated in randomized, controlled trials involving exercise interventions, a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> has found that 150 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic activity per week can significantly reduce liver fat.



“Our findings can give physicians the confidence to prescribe exercise as a treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,” said study lead author Jonathan Stine, an associate professor of Medicine and Public Health at Penn State. “Having a target amount of physical activity to aim for will be useful for health care and exercise professionals to develop personalized approaches as they help patients modify their lifestyles and become more physically active.”



The analysis revealed that, independent of weight loss, exercise training was 3½ times more likely to reduce liver fat compared to standard clinical care. Moreover, the experts found that 39 percent of patients prescribed greater than or equal to 750 metabolic equivalents of task per week (such as 150 minute of brisk walking) achieved significant responses compared to only 26 percent of those prescribed lesser amounts of exercise.



“Exercise is a lifestyle modification, so the fact that it might match the ability of in-development therapeutics to achieve the same outcome is significant. Clinicians counseling patients with NAFLD should recommend this amount of activity to their patients. Brisk walking or light cycling for half an hour a day five times a week is just one example of a program that would meet these criteria,” Stine concluded.



The study is published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.14309/ajg.0000000000002098">The American Journal of Gastroenterology</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

150 minutes of exercise per week reduces liver fat

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects nearly 30 percent of...

A team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> has recently discovered a protein in the human lungs that blocks <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-remains-a-global-health-emergency/">Covid-19</a> infection and thus acts as a natural protective barrier in the organism. The leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 15 (LRRC15) is an inbuilt receptor which binds to the coronavirus without passing the infection. This discovery could open new pathways for developing drugs to prevent infection or even help curing fibrosis in the lungs.



“Alongside two other groups, one at Oxford, the other at Brown and Yale in the USA, we found a new receptor in the LRRC15 protein that can stop SARS-CoV-2. We found that this new receptor acts by binding to the virus and sequestering it which reduces infection,” said study senior author Gregory Neely, a professor of Functional Genomics at Sydney.



“For me, as an immunologist, the fact that there’s this natural immune receptor that we didn’t know about, that’s lining our lungs and blocks and controls virus, that’s crazy interesting. We can now use this new receptor to design broad acting drugs that can block viral infection or even suppress lung fibrosis.”



SARS-CoV-2 infects humans by using a spike protein that binds to a specific receptor in our cells called the&nbsp;angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Since human lungs have high levels of ACE2 receptor, the virus often causes severe problems in this organ. Although, like ACE2, LRRC15 is also a receptor for the coronavirus, it does not help propagating infection, but rather sticks to the virus and immobilizes it, while preventing other vulnerable cells from becoming infected.



“We think it acts a bit like Velcro, molecular Velcro, in that it sticks to the spike of the virus and then pulls it away from the target cell types,” explained study lead author Lipin Loo, a postdoctoral fellow in RNA Therapies at Sydney.



“Basically, the virus is coated in the other part of the Velcro, and while it’s trying to get to the main receptor, it can get caught up in this mesh of LRRC15,” added co-author Matthew Waller, a PhD student at the same university.



While LRRC15 is present in many areas of the body, including lungs, skin, placenta, fibroblasts, and lymph nodes, the experts found that, after infection with SARS-CoV-2, the lungs light up with such receptors.



“When we stain the lungs of healthy tissue, we don’t see much of LRRC15, but then in Covid-19 lungs, we see much more of the protein,” Loo&nbsp;said. “We think this newly identified protein could be part of our body’s natural response to combating the infection by creating a barrier that physically separates the virus from our lung cells most sensitive to Covid-19.”



“Since this receptor can block Covid-19 infection, and at the same time activate our body’s anti-virus response, and suppress our body’s fibrosis response, this is a really important new gene. This finding can help us develop new antiviral and antifibrotic medicines to help treat pathogenic coronaviruses, and possibly other viruses or other situations where lung fibrosis occurs,” Neely concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001967">PLoS Biology</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Scientists find a receptor that blocks Covid-19 infection

A team of scientists led by the University of Sydney...

According to a new study led by <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> in Sweden, the size of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-dragonflies-are-thriving-in-a-warmer-climate/">dragonflies</a> and damselflies varies around the globe, being generally larger in temperate areas than in the tropics – a phenomenon caused by a combination of temperature differences and the presence of predators.



The scientists compared the size of these insects in the tropics with their counterparts living in cooler, temperate regions in the north, in order to quantify geographical variation and clarify its causes. “Two hundred million years ago, these insects were larger in the tropics than in temperate climates. That trend has since reversed, however, and the opposite is now true, with larger species generally found at our northerly latitudes. We believe that this is partly caused by the evolutionary appearance of birds,” explained study lead author Erik Svensson, a biologist at Lund.



These findings suggest that, after birds emerged around 150 million years ago, they started catching more dragonflies and damselflies in the tropics, thus driving the insects northward, towards cooler regions at higher latitudes. Besides the increased prevalence of these avian predators in the tropics, the higher temperatures at low latitudes are also partly responsible for smaller body sizes in the tropics.



“We discovered that the regional bird species diversity is a stronger predictor of size than the regional temperatures, when we analyzed how these insects’ body sizes varied around the globe. As a&nbsp;whole, species are smaller in warmer climates, but the link between size and the latitude at which species live has changed since birds began to evolve,” Svensson explained.



Since it is easier for birds to catch larger insects, smaller species fare better in the presence of predators. Better understanding where and why species with different body sizes occur is highly important for clarifying the extinction risks of species with different characteristics.



“There is currently heavy focus on the climate issue and the significance of temperature in determining the risk extinction risks of species. Our results show how information about predators and body sizes are important to fully understand variation in the local, regional, and global species composition of this important insect order,” Svensson concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14544">Journal of Biogeography</a>.&nbsp;



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Insect size is shaped by predators and temperature

According to a new study led by Lund University in...

Fossils are commonly studied to learn about the history of animals and their behaviors, but sometimes unexpected clues arise. One such example is a recent study conducted by the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a>. Looking at caribou antlers from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-biodiversity-will-get-a-boost-from-rising-temperatures/">Arctic</a> calving grounds, the researchers discovered that the mammals have used the same sites for over 3,000 years.&nbsp;



The study was based on the knowledge that Caribou leave behind calving records in the form of their antlers, which they shed days after giving birth. These antlers were sourced from across Candas’ Yukon all the way out Alaska. Some records included antlers from the Bronze Age that have been undisturbed in the Artic tundra for thousands of years.



Study lead author Professor Joshua Miller has been using rafts to navigate remote rivers across the tundra since 2010 when he began leading Arctic National Wildlife Refuge summer expeditions.“To walk around the landscape and pick up something that’s 3,000 years old is truly amazing," said Professor Miller.



These records represent nature’s longest overland migration, with some barren ground caribou traveling up to 800 miles to reach the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Canada’s Ivvavik National Park. It is hypothesized that these areas are favored by caribou due to their lack of predators, the prevalence of seasonal vegetation, and shelter from mosquitoes.&nbsp;



In addition to helping scientists better understand the calving process of caribou, the study has also outlined the importance of conserving these areas, which have been targeted by energy companies to exploit fossil fuels in the area. “We know this region of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been an important area for caribou for millennia,” said Professor Miller. “That should give us pause on how we think about those landscapes.”



Furthermore, the antlers dropped by female antlers contain calcium, phosphorus, and other nutrients that are important to local ecosystems, creating “nutrient sinks” which could play a local role in the area's vegetation. Professor Miller suggests that the caribou’s migration could serve as a “conveyor belt” system, bringing the mammals back to this fertilizer in a reinforcement loop.



“We think about having to dig down into the soil to find that kind of ecological history, but on the Coastal Plain, the vegetation grows extremely slowly,” explained Professor Miller. “Bones dropped by animals that lived dozens or even hundreds of generations in the past can provide really meaningful information.”



The findings of the study have been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1059456">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.&nbsp;



Image Credit: Michael Miller



—-



By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</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.

Caribou have used the same calving grounds for 3,000 years

Fossils are commonly studied to learn about the history of...

A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/">University of Sheffield</a> in the UK has recently discovered a new ring system on the edge of our Solar System. These <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturns-rings-may-have-formed-from-a-shattered-moon/">rings</a> – located around Quaoar, a Pluto-sized dwarf planet orbiting beyond Neptune – are unique, orbiting much further away from the planet than Saturn’s rings, for instance, and thus posing challenges to current ring formation theories.



The experts discovered the rings by using HiPERCAM, an extremely sensitive high-speed camera mounted on Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), the world’s largest telescope, with a diameter of 10.4 meters. Since the rings are too small and faint to observe directly, the researchers detected them by noticing an “occultation” – a phenomenon in which the light from a background star was blocked by Quaoar as it orbited the Sun. Although this event lasted less than a minute, it was unexpectedly preceded and followed by two dips in light, indicating the presence of a ring system around this planet.



Such ring systems are quite rare in our Solar System, being present only around a handful of planets, including Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Chariklo, and Haumea. All these previously detected rings are able to survive due to the fact that they orbit close to their planets, so tidal forces prevent the ring material from accreting and forming moons. By contrast, the newly discovered ring lies at a distance of more than seven planetary radii – twice as far than what scientists thought to be the maximum radius where rings can form. Thus, this finding may force experts rethink current theories of ring formation.



“It was unexpected to discover this new ring system in our Solar System, and it was doubly unexpected to find the rings so far out from Quaoar, challenging our previous notions of how such rings form. The use of our high-speed camera -&nbsp;HiPERCAM - was key to this discovery as the event lasted less than one minute and the rings are too small and faint to see in a direct image,” said study co-author Vik Dhillon, an astrophysicist at Sheffield.



“Everyone learns about Saturn's magnificent rings when they’re a child, so hopefully this new finding will provide further insight into how they came to be.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05629-6">Nature</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

New rings found on the edge of our Solar System

A team of researchers led by the University of Sheffield...

Citizen science projects include <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-create-a-landscape-of-fear-for-wildlife/">wildlife</a> recording activities that provide crucial data for assessing environmental change. A new study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10432">People and Nature</a> has found that science itself is not the only beneficiary of citizen science projects. According to the experts, engagement in such projects promotes well-being and a stronger connection to nature.&nbsp;



The experts enrolled 500 volunteers from across the United Kingdom and randomly assigned them to carry out a ten-minute nature-based activity at least five times during a period of eight days. The activities included a pollinating insects survey, a butterfly survey, simply spending time in nature and writing down three “good things” they noticed, or a combination of survey and observation activities. Then, the researchers developed a questionnaire to assess the differences in participants’ connection to nature, well-being, and pro-nature behavior.



The analysis revealed that all volunteers showed increased feelings of well-being and connectedness to nature after completing their assigned activities. Some of their comments included: “it gave me permission to slow down,” “it made me more aware of nature in all aspects of the environment,” and “it reminded me that small things can make a big difference to my mood.”



Moreover, those who were asked to write down three good things about their natural surroundings reported they were more likely to engage in pro-nature behaviors after the experiments, such as planting more pollinator-friendly plants in their garden or creating shelters for wildlife.



“Being in and around nature is good for our well-being, and we’ve shown that focused, active engagement with nature is just as important – whether that is ‘mindful moments’ in nature or taking part in citizen science,” said study lead author Michael Pocock, an ecologist and academic lead for public engagement with research at the <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/">UK Center for Ecology &amp; Hydrology</a> (UKCEH).



“This has been a valuable exercise for us in exploring how we can make citizen science even better. We now know that if we design future projects with additional nature-noticing activities, for example, we can enhance people’s own connection to nature, while still collecting valuable data.”



“People connect with nature in different ways, so it’s great to see nature-based citizen science can provide another form of active engagement that can strengthen the human-nature relationship,” added co-author Miles Richardson, an expert in Nature Connectedness at the <a href="https://www.derby.ac.uk/">University of Derby</a>. “When combined with noticing the positive emotions nature can bring, citizen science and help unite both human and nature’s well-being.”



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Citizen scientists gain a stronger connection with nature

Citizen science projects include wildlife recording activities that provide crucial...

Since giraffes have no breeding season, don’t go into heat like cats or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-do-some-dogs-howl-but-others-dont/">dogs</a>, and don’t make mating calls or provide visual cues of sexual readiness, understanding their sexual behavior is not an easy task. However, a recent study led by the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a> has now provided novel insights into the unique sex life of these fascinating creatures, their reproductive behavior, and how their specific anatomy supports this behavior.



By observing giraffes during multiple research trips to Namibia’s Etosha National Park, the scientists found that males test females for sexual receptivity by first provoking them to urinate by nudging them and sniffing their genitalia. If the female is open to a bull’s invitation, she widens her stance and pees for around five seconds, while the male takes the urine in his mouth. Afterwards, he curls his lip, inhaling with an open mouth – a behavior known as “flehmen” which transports the female’s scent and pheromones from the male’s oral cavity to his vomeronasal organ.



Although flehmen is common among many animal species, including cats or horses, most mammals wait until the urine is on the ground before starting to investigate. The giraffes, however, are not built for such explorations.&nbsp;



“They don’t risk going all the way to the ground because of the extreme development of their head and neck,” said study lead author&nbsp;Lynette Hart, a professor of Population Health and Reproduction at UC Davis. “So they have to nudge the female, effectively saying, ‘Please urinate now.’ And often she will. He has to elicit her cooperation. If not, he’ll know there’s no future for him with her.”



“This is part of their reproductive behavior,” added senior author Benjamin Hart, a professor emeritus of Veterinary Medicine at the same university. “This adds to our understanding of what giraffes are doing as they accumulate around a water hole.&nbsp;People love watching giraffes. I think the more the public understands about them, the more interested they’ll be in their conservation.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13030354">Animals</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Scientists shed new light on the sex life of giraffes

Since giraffes have no breeding season, don’t go into heat...

Calorie restriction, which has been proven to slow <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/managing-negative-emotions-may-prevent-dementia/">aging</a> in animals, has now produced evidence of slowing the pace of biological aging in humans.&nbsp;



An international team of researchers led by the Butler Columbia Aging Center at the <a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/">Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health</a> conducted a randomized controlled trial of healthy adults that is the first of its kind.&nbsp;



“In worms, flies, and mice, calorie restriction can slow biological processes of aging and extend healthy lifespan," explained study senior author Daniel Belsky, “Our study aimed to test if calorie restriction also slows biological aging in humans.”



The CALERIE™ trial measured participants’ blood DNA using the algorithm DunedinPACE (Pace of Aging, Computed from the Epigenome). The calorie intervention resulted in a two top three percent slowing in the pace of aging. In other studies, this translates to a 10 to 15 percent reduction in mortality risk, an effect similar to a smoking cessation intervention.&nbsp;



The trial randomized 220 healthy men and women to a 25 percent calorie-restriction or normal diet for two years.&nbsp; To measure biological aging, blood samples were collected from the participants at pre-intervention baseline and after 12- and 24-month follow-ups.&nbsp;



The team analyzed methylation marks on DNA extracted from white blood cells. DNA methylation marks are chemical tags on the DNA sequence that regulate the expression of genes and are known to change with aging.



In the primary analysis, three measurements of the DNA methylation data were used. These measurements are sometimes known as “epigenetic clocks.”&nbsp;



The first two clocks, the PhenoAge and GrimAge clocks, estimate biological age, or the age at which a person’s biology would appear “normal." These provide a static measure of how much aging a person has experienced. The third measure studied was DunedinPACE, which estimates the pace of aging, or the rate of biological deterioration over time, much like a “speedometer”.



“In contrast to the results for DunedinPace, there were no effects of intervention on other epigenetic clocks,” said study co-lead author Calen Ryan. “The difference in results suggests that dynamic ‘pace of aging’ measures like DunedinPACE may be more sensitive to the effects of intervention than measures of static biological age.”



While calorie restriction may not be possible for everyone, the study provides evidence that slowing human aging may be possible. A follow-up trial is now ongoing to determine if the intervention had long-term effects on healthy aging.&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nataging/">Nature Aging</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</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.

Calorie restriction makes it possible to slow down aging

Calorie restriction, which has been proven to slow aging in...

A study led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> is providing new details about how climate change is reducing oxygen availability in many lakes around the world. The researchers analyzed data on hundreds of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-earths-new-lakes-affect-the-carbon-budget/">lakes</a> to investigate how often the concentration of dissolved oxygen has been dropping below critical levels that are needed to support fish and other marine species.



“Lakes with dissolved oxygen losses strongly outnumber those with gains,” said study lead author Stephen Jane, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. “At large scales, aerobic organisms are losing available habitat as warming of lakes continues. This is particularly the case for organisms that rely on well-oxygenated cool waters deep in lakes to survive warm periods.”



The experts examined about 25 years of data for more than 400 lakes, most of which were temperate climate lakes located in the United States.&nbsp;



The study revealed that the amount of low oxygen water is increasing by 0.9 to 1.7 percent per decade. The researchers also found that the volume of lake water lacking oxygen has increased by more than 50 percent over the past three decades.



Rising temperatures are extending the number of summer weeks that lakes experience thermal stratification. This is when bodies of water divide into distinct layers due to different temperatures.&nbsp;



In July or August, it is typical for a lake surface to be about 70 degrees while the lake bottom is about 40 degrees. The result of stratification is that oxygen from the atmosphere is prevented from replenishing dissolved oxygen in deep waters, explained Jane. This can cause a state of oxygen deprivation called hypoxia, or even a complete lack of oxygen called anoxia.



“Water temperature and density are related,” said Jane. “So it becomes a situation where basically you have oil and vinegar, where strong water temperature differences between layers causes resistance to mixing – which is stratification.”



Stratification changes lead to more time for deoxygenation - the interruption of the natural oxygenation process - for deep-water habitats, said June.&nbsp;



“We show here that as warming is continuing, the amount of time that lakes exhibit stratification is increasing and this leads to increases in the amount of low-oxygen water in lakes,” explained study co-author Professor Kevin Rose of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “The bad news is that given projected warming rates, we’ll likely see even greater increases in the amount of oxygen-depleted water in lakes in the future.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16525">Global Change Biology</a>.



---



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.

Lakes are struggling to maintain oxygen as temperatures rise

A study led by Cornell University is providing new details...

Studying rare species can be a significant challenge for researchers, particularly when the subject is as elusive as the Antarctic blue <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/killer-whale-mothers-pay-a-high-price-for-raising-sons/">whale</a>. Researchers have strived for years to find humane ways to tackle this challenge. In 2013, Dr. Virginia Andrews-Gold and her team managed to successfully deploy satellite tags on two of the rarely-sighted creatures.



The ten-year-old data has now been released by Dr. Andrews-Goff and her colleagues at the Australian Antarctic Divison, publishing the satellite tracks in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e94228">Biodiversity Data Journal</a>. The data demonstrated to the United Nations International Court of Justice that the research can be conducted without killing whales. The research also sheds light on the logistical challenges of locating, tagging, and tracking the Antarctic blue whale.



“This is a unique data set that was incredibly challenging to get, and, unfortunately, for 10 years no-one has been able to generate more data,” said Dr. Andrews-Goff. "We know very little about the movement and distribution of Antarctic blue whales, where they migrate, where they forage and breed, and we don’t understand the threats they might face as they recover from whaling.”



Whilst tagging and tracking the creatures is certainly no easy task, the most significant challenge is finding them in the first place. An estimated 90 percent of the Antarctic blue whale population (approximately 290,000) was killed in commercial whaling throughout the 1960s and 1970s, leaving less than 2,280 individuals remaining by the late 1990s.&nbsp;



To tackle this challenge, cutting-edge acoustic tracking techniques were used to detect whale calls and estimate their location from up to 1,000 kilometers away. Once tagged, the recorded tracks revealed that the whales traveled 1,390 kilometers in just 14 days, and 5,550 kilometers across a 74-day period - moving at an average of 100 kilometers per day.&nbsp;



 “What became obvious is that these animals can travel really quickly,” commented Dr. Andrews-Goff. “If you consider how far and fast these animals moved, protecting the broader population against potential threats will be tricky because they could potentially circumnavigate Antarctica within a single feeding season.”



Thanks to new analytical method innovations in recent years, researchers have managed to gain some additional behavioral context from the data. Through these techniques, two separate movement rates were noted - a regular 4.2km/hr rate and a slower speed of 2.5km/hr, understood to correspond with searching and foraging behaviors.&nbsp;



“It looks like the whales might hang around in one area to feed and then move quickly to another area and hang around there for another feed,” explained Dr. Andrews-Goff.



She said that despite the small sample size, the satellite tracks will assist greatly in researchers’ understanding of the blue whale foraging ecology, movement rates, feeding habits, and habitat preferences. The findings will inform a further assessment of Antarctic blue whales, due to begin in 2024.



Image Credit: Australian Antarctic Division



—-



By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</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.

New insights into the behavior of Antarctic blue whales

Studying rare species can be a significant challenge for researchers,...

As humanity emits increasing amounts of greenhouse gases, the Earth’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insect-swarms-charge-the-lower-atmosphere-with-static-electricity/">atmosphere</a> traps more and more of the sun’s energy, leading to a steady rise in our planet’s temperature. For decades, scientists have considered using screens or other objects to block enough of the sun’s radiation (about one to two percent) in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. Now, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> and the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> has explored another strategy – the potential of using moon dust to shield sunlight.



The researchers investigated different properties of dust particles, quantities of dust, and the orbits which would be best suited for shading the Earth. They discovered that launching dust from Earth to a way station located at the so-called “Lagrange point” - the closest point between Earth and the sun where the gravitational forces are balanced and where objects tend to stay along a path between the two celestial bodies - would be the most effective strategy. This approach, however, would require enormous costs and efforts. To overcome these problems, the experts have proposed using moon dust as an alternative.



“It is amazing to contemplate how moon dust - which took over four billion years to generate - might help slow the rise in the Earth’s temperature, a problem that took us less than 300 years to produce,” said study co-author Scott Kenyon.



According to the researchers, planet formation is a messy process, kicking up astronomical dust that forms rings around host stars. Such rings intercept light from the central star and re-radiate it in ways that can be easily detected. “That was the seed of the idea; if we took a small amount of material and put it on a special orbit between the Earth and the sun and broke it up, we could block out a lot of sunlight with a little amount of mass,” said study lead author Professor Ben Bromley.



The scientists found that a sunshield’s effectiveness would depend on its capacity to sustain an orbit that casts a shadow on the Earth. “Because we know the positions and masses of the major celestial bodies in our solar system, we can simply use the laws of gravity to track the position of a simulated sunshield over time for several different orbits,” said study co-author Sameer Khan.



Since the inherent properties of lunar dust are perfect to effectively work as a sunshield, the scientists proposed to shoot this dust from a platform on the surface of the moon towards the sun – a cost-effective strategy due to the fact that much less energy is needed to launch dust from the moon than from the Earth. “It is astounding that the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in just the right configuration to enable this kind of climate mitigation strategy,” Kenyon said.



However, the researchers emphasize that this study only explores the potential impact of such a method, rather than evaluating whether this strategy is logistically feasible.&nbsp;



“We aren’t experts in climate change, or the rocket science needed to move mass from one place to the other. We’re just exploring different kinds of dust on a variety of orbits to see how effective this approach might be. We do not want to miss a game changer for such a critical problem,”&nbsp;concluded Bromley.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/climate/">PLOS Climate</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Could moon dust help slow global warming?

As humanity emits increasing amounts of greenhouse gases, the Earth’s...

Individuals who cut their social media use by 30 minutes a day, and use this time for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-physical-activity-protects-the-brain-from-aging/">physical activity</a>, can dramatically improve their mental health. This is the conclusion of a study led by Dr. Julia Brailovskaia of the Mental Health Research and Treatment Center at <a href="http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/">Ruhr-Universität Bochum</a>.



Participants who replaced 30 minutes of social media with exercise every day for two weeks had powerful results. They reported feeling happier, more satisfied, less stressed, and less depressed. The positive effects persisted for at least six months after the study had ended.



“'Digitalization' is a main characteristic of the twenty-first century. It represents a transformation of society to an intensive use of digital technologies in various areas of life," wrote the study authors. "Daily use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp is a central aspect of this transformation."



"The global outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 resulted in significant changes in people’s daily routine. Lockdowns, curfews, and restrictions of offline social contacts (“social distancing”) sped up the digital transformation in various sectors. Social media use became one of the main options for social interaction and pastime."



The experts noted that excessive social media use is known to have a negative influence on mental health. "Intensive active exchange with other users can evoke the perception of social support, which fosters the development of an emotional bond to social media. This bond is closely linked to an obsessive need to stay permanently online, even if the use interferes with obligations and causes interpersonal conflicts," wrote the study authors.



The researchers set out to investigate how to improve mental health in this time of rapid digitalization. They wanted to explore cost- and time-efficient strategies that may help protect the public from the adverse effects of social media addiction.&nbsp;



“Given that we don’t know for certain how long the coronavirus crisis will last, we wanted to know how to protect people’s mental health with services that are as free and low-threshold as possible,” explained Dr. Brailovskaia.&nbsp;



For the investigation, the team recruited a total of 642 volunteers, who were randomly assigned to one of four groups. The first group reduced daily social media use by 30 minutes, the second group increased physical activity by 30 minutes per day, and the third group was instructed to do both - reduce social media use and increase physical activity for 30 minutes a day. Members of the fourth (control) group did not change their behavior during the two-week trial.



The participants completed online surveys before, during, and up to six months after the two-week intervention phase. The surveys documented the duration, intensity and emotional significance of their social media use; physical activity; overall life satisfaction; subjective feeling of happiness; depressive symptoms; the psychological burden of the Covid-19 pandemic; and cigarette consumption.



The results clearly showed that both reducing the amount of time spent on social media and increasing physical activity had a positive impact on well-being. The experts found that in all of the experiential groups, addictive social media use and depressive symptoms decreased, while physical activity, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness increased. "All effects were stronger and more stable in the combination group in the longer-term," wrote the researchers.



The team found that six months after the intervention, the combination group dedicated one hour and 39 minutes more to physical activity each week. The positive mental health effects continued throughout the entire follow-up period.



“This shows us how vital it is to reduce our availability online from time to time and to go back to our human roots,” said Dr. Brailovskaia. “These measures can be easily implemented into one’s everyday life and they’re completely free – and, at the same time, they help us to stay happy and healthy in the digital age.”



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10389-022-01751-x">Journal of Public Health</a>.



---



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

Exercise over social media: less stress, more life satisfaction

Individuals who cut their social media use by 30 minutes...

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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

News coming your way