For decades, researchers have questioned whether boys and girls are born with the same natural ability in math. In 2005, cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke took a firm stand, stating that there are no differences in overall intrinsic aptitude for science and mathematics among women and men.



Now, the evidence is even stronger. In a new study, researchers from <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard University</a> and several institutions across France examined math performance in more than 2.5 million French schoolchildren. 



The team found that at the very beginning of first grade, boys and girls start off nearly equal in math. But just four months into formal math instruction, a small gap appears - and it keeps growing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nationwide-study-tracks-the-math-gap">Nationwide study tracks the math gap</h2>



The research draws on a French government testing program that was launched in 2018. This nationwide effort tracked <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reminiscing-can-boost-language-development-in-preschoolers/">language</a> and math skills of young students from first through sixth grade. 



Over five years and across four student cohorts, the program gave researchers an unmatched view of early math development.



At school entry, French girls scored slightly better than boys in language. Math scores, though, were essentially the same. 



"The headline conclusion is that the gender gap emerges when systematic instruction in mathematics begins," Spelke explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-for-gender-differences">Looking for gender differences </h2>



Spelke had already spent decades studying how young children understand numbers and shapes. Back in 2005, she wrote a major review for American Psychologist. The piece challenged the notion that boys are biologically wired for better math performance than girls.



"My argument was, 'OK, if there really were biological differences, maybe we would see them in the infancy period,'" said Spelke. 



She and her team always tracked <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-children-learn-gender-stereotypes-from-storybooks/">gender</a> in their studies, but they never found infant boys outperforming girls in math, or vice versa. Still, Spelke admitted that something could be happening later in development.



"The fact that there are no differences in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/conscious-awareness-when-does-our-sense-of-purpose-emerge/">infants</a> could be because the abilities that show gender effects actually emerge during preschool," she proposed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-math-instruction-for-boys-and-girls">Math instruction for boys and girls</h2>



In recent years, Spelke has turned her attention to how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-a-better-way-for-kids-to-learn-math/">children learn counting</a> and numbers in real classrooms. 



Spelke partnered with Nobel Prize-winning MIT economist Esther Duflo to advise the Delhi office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). The team is helping four Indian states create and test math lessons for children in preschool through first grade.



In France, she works alongside her longtime collaborator, neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene. Together, they serve on the French Ministry of Education's Scientific Council, which helped develop the EvalAide testing program. 



The idea was simple: measure where every child stands in math and language and use that data to guide better teaching.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gender-gap-emerges-in-math">Gender gap emerges in math</h2>



For this study, the team analyzed data from four full cohorts of first-graders entering school between 2018 and 2021. 



What they found was consistent: no math gap at the time of school entry, a small but significant gap favoring boys after four months, and a steadily widening gap by second, fourth, and even sixth grade.



"It was even bigger in fourth grade," Spelke said. "And in sixth grade it was bigger still."



Interestingly, the gender gap in language shrank slightly after the first few months of school and stayed relatively stable in later years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ruling-out-old-explanations">Ruling out old explanations</h2>



So why does the math gap grow with time in school? The researchers ruled out several familiar theories.



"If there was really a pervasive social bias, and the parents were susceptible to it, we would expect boys to be more oriented toward spatial and numerical tasks when they first got to school," said Spelke.



But that didn’t happen. At school entry, there was no math gap. This points away from both biological and early social bias explanations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-experiment-during-the-pandemic">An experiment during the pandemic </h2>



The EvalAide dataset offered other insights. French first-graders can be nearly a year apart in age, depending on when their birthday falls. 



The team wondered if the older students were skewing results. They weren’t. The widening gender gap aligned more closely with time spent in school than with age.



Then came an unusual variable: COVID-19. The 2019 cohort missed the final 2.5 months of first grade due to lockdowns. That gap year created a natural experiment.



"With less time in school, the amount of the gender gap grew by less than it did in the other years where there wasn't a long school closure," said Spelke.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-confirming-the-math-gender-gap">Confirming the math gender gap</h2>



The cohort also began school just after a national education crisis. In early 2019, French students had scored <a href="https://www.polytechnique-insights.com/en/braincamps/society/how-to-improve-the-relationship-between-education-and-employment/maths-an-essential-subject-whose-level-is-falling-in-a-majority-of-countries/#:~:text=In%202003%2C%2015%25%20of%20French,European%20average%20of%20527%20points.">lowest</a> among 23 European countries in math, according to international rankings. 



In response, the French Education Ministry - guided by its Scientific Council - called for more math teaching in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-pandemic-setbacks-reduced-kindergarten-readiness/">kindergarten</a>.



Sure enough, a tiny math gender gap appeared in fall 2019 among new first-graders. That gap hadn’t shown up in 2018 but was still present in 2020 and 2021.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-problems-in-early-math-instruction">Problems in early math instruction </h2>



The study doesn't pinpoint a single cause, but its message is clear: differences in math achievement between boys and girls seem to grow as a result of what happens in early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/schools-are-in-a-battle-with-cell-phones-to-keep-students-engaged/">school</a> instruction.



"We still don't know what that is exactly," Spelke said. "But now we have a chance to find out by randomized evaluations of changes to the curriculum."



The findings put pressure on education systems to ask hard questions about how math is taught in the early years - and what needs to change to make it fair for everyone.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09126-4">Nature</a>.



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Early math instruction may unintentionally favor boys

For decades, researchers have questioned whether boys and girls are born with the same natural ability in math. In 2005, cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke took a firm stand, stating that there are no differences in overall intrinsic aptitude for science and mathematics among women and men. Now, the evidence is even stronger. In a new study, researchers from Harvard University and several institutions across France examined math performance in more than 2.5 million French schoolchildren. The team found that at the very beginning of first grade, boys...

New research highlights the potential for sexual transmission of monkeypox in humans. The 2022 monkeypox outbreak has been linked to sexual contact in patients through direct contact with bodily fluids and skin lesions. Understanding the biology of monkeypox <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smartphone-app-can-detect-covid-19-infection-in-your-voice/">infection</a> of the testes has substantial public health implications.



Investigators at the <a href="https://mrdc.health.mil/">U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases</a> (USAMRIID) analyzed tissue samples from crab-eating macaques, which serve as a primate model for studying the disease and the efficacy of vaccines and treatments against monkeypox.



“We examined tissue samples obtained during both the acute phase of the disease, when infection is at its peak, and the convalescent phase, when infection is gradually subsiding,” explained study senior author Dr. Xiankun (Kevin) Zeng. “We detected monkeypox virus in interstitial cells and seminiferous tubules of the testes, as well as the epididymal lumina, which are the sites of sperm production and maturation.”



The team also found evidence of persistent monkeypox infection in two macaques that survived the virus. While the virus cleared from most organs, it could be detected for up to 37 days post-exposure in the testes.



The USAMRIID team had previously demonstrated that other viruses, including Ebola, can persist in the organs of primates where the immune system is suppressed. Similar to humans, these immune privileged sites include the eyes, brain, and testes.



“Our data provide evidence that monkeypox virus may be shed into semen during both acute and convalescent stages of the disease in crab-eating macaques,” said Dr. Zeng. “It seems plausible, therefore, that human transmission in convalescent male patients might occur via semen.”&nbsp;



Further studies are needed to understand the origins and implications of viral DNA shed in semen, as well as to confirm whether semen from monkeypox patients contains infectious virus.&nbsp;



The researchers noted that the macaque model may not fully reflect monkeypox in humans. This is because the animals demonstrate a more severe disease than in humans.&nbsp; The incubation period in animals is also shorter.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nmicrobiol/">Nature Microbiology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Monkeypox may be sexually transmitted in humans

New research highlights the potential for sexual transmission of monkeypox...

Mortality rates increased in most countries due to the global Coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020. This led to changes in life expectancy that were more severe in some countries than in others. Previous global epidemics have seen life expectancies recover fairly rapidly afterwards, but this has not been the case in all countries as the current pandemic has progressed. New research published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01450-3">Nature Human Behavior</a>.has found that, in some countries, deficits in life expectancy continue to persist more than two years after the start of the pandemic.



Scientists from Oxford’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.demographicscience.ox.ac.uk/">Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.demogr.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research</a> used data from 29 countries, including those in Europe, as well as Chile and the U.S., to assess whether life expectancy had ‘bounced back’ to pre-pandemic levels. They found that life expectancy in 2021 remained lower than would be predicted across all 29 countries, had pre-pandemic trends continued. They say that COVID-19 has caused a protracted shock to life expectancy levels, leading to global mortality changes that are unprecedented in the last 70 years.



This finding about the magnitude and distribution of mortality due to COVID-19 confounds claims that the disease has had no more impact than a flu-like illness. Life expectancy losses during recurring flu epidemics over the second-half of the 20th&nbsp;century have been much smaller and less widespread than those seen in the current pandemic.



The researchers identified a clear geographical divide between Western and Eastern European countries that appeared in 2021. Those in Western Europe experienced life expectancy bounce backs from the sharp losses in 2020. Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and France saw complete bounce backs, and returned to pre-pandemic (2019) life expectancy levels. England and Wales, on the other hand, saw partial bounce backs from 2020 levels in 2021. Life expectancy in Scotland and Northern Ireland, however, still remained at the same depressed level as seen in 2020.&nbsp;



But Eastern Europe and the U.S. witnessed worsening or compounded losses in life expectancy over the same period. The scale of life expectancy losses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eastern Europe were akin to those last seen at the break-up of the Soviet Union, according to the research.&nbsp;



The authors state that this East-West difference in life expectancy during COVID-19 generally reflects bigger losses in countries that had lower pre-pandemic life expectancy levels to start with. Bulgaria was the worst-hit of the countries studied, with a decline in life expectancy of nearly 43 months, over two years of the pandemic. Furthermore, the study’s results show that “Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia suffered substantially higher life expectancy deficits in 2021 compared to 2020, indicating a worsening mortality burden over the course of the pandemic.”



There was also an apparent vaccination effect that followed the same East-West divide in Europe. Countries with higher proportions of fully vaccinated people experienced smaller life expectancy deficits. Older people, especially those over 80 who had seen the bulk of deaths in 2020, benefitted from vaccine protection and suffered less excess mortality in 2021.



“A notable shift between 2020 and 2021 was that the age patterns of excess mortality shifted in 2021 towards younger age groups, as vaccines began to protect the old," said study co-author <a href="https://www.demographicscience.ox.ac.uk/ridhi-kashyap">Dr. Ridhi Kashyap</a>. But there were ‘outliers’ that had surprisingly high life expectancy deficits, in spite of high vaccination rates.&nbsp;



“Finer-grained details of the age prioritization of vaccine roll-out and the types of vaccines used may account for some of these differences, as well as correlations between vaccine uptake and compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions or the overall health care system capacity," explained study co-author Dr. Jonas Schöley.&nbsp;



“Countries, such as Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and France, managed a recovery to pre-pandemic levels of life expectancy because they managed to protect both the old and the young.”



The research team expresses concern about the possible wider international impact of the pandemic. “In 2020, losses in life expectancy suffered in Brazil and Mexico exceeded those experienced in the U.S., so it is likely these countries may have continued suffering mortality impacts in 2021 – even potentially exceeding the 43 months we estimated for Bulgaria," said study co-author&nbsp;<a href="https://www.demographicscience.ox.ac.uk/jose-manuel-aburto">Dr. José Manuel Aburto</a>.



‘It is plausible that countries with ineffective public health responses will see a protracted health crisis induced by the pandemic with medium-term stalls in life expectancy improvements, while other regions manage a smoother recovery to return to pre-pandemic trends," wrote the researchers.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

COVID-19's impact on life expectancy is worse than anticipated

Mortality rates increased in most countries due to the global...

By examining data on the past four decades of hurricane activity and the conditions that shaped them, a team of researchers from Department of Energy’s <a href="https://www.pnnl.gov/">Pacific Northwest National Laboratory</a> (PNNL) has found that the U.S. Atlantic Coast is becoming a breeding ground for rapidly intensifying massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hurricanes-stronger-climate-change/">hurricanes</a>, due to climate change and other environmental conditions that beget increasingly severe storms.



“Our findings have profound implications for coastal residents, decision- and policy-makers,” said study lead author Khartik Balaguru, a climate scientist at PNNL. “And this isn’t specific only to the Atlantic. It’s happening in several prominent coastal regions across the world.”



According to Dr. Balaguru and his colleagues, climate change is the key factor influencing the severity of hurricanes. As temperatures rise, the Earth’s surface warms, with land becoming significantly warmer than the sea. As greenhouse gases continue to build, the temperature difference between warmer land and cooler sea increases substantially.&nbsp;



“Unlike the ocean with unlimited water supply, there’s much less water in soil. That means the land can’t evaporate as much water, so it can’t get rid of the extra heat trapped by greenhouse gases as quickly as the ocean,” explained study co-author Roby Leung, an atmospheric scientist at PNNL.



The higher-pressure air over the cooler sea blows inward, toward lower-pressure land areas, while the Earth’s rotation guides these winds in a cyclonic, twisting direction, thus strengthening what scientists call “vorticity” – a spinning motion of air that sucks up warm, moist air and convert its energy into damaging winds. As moist air rises inside the hurricane’s core and cools towards the top, water vapor condenses and emits heat which, in its turn, warms nearby air, causing it to ascend further, invigorating the storm.&nbsp;



Although vertical wind shear can throw a wrench into this “heat engine”&nbsp;– as hurricanes are often described – by injecting dry air into the storm’s core, this negating force has unfortunately weakened on the Atlantic Coast over the past decades.&nbsp;



“The nearshore environment has absolutely become more favorable for hurricanes near the Atlantic Coast, and that’s very consistent with the rising hurricane intensification we’ve observed in the region,” said Dr. Balaguru.



By using models depicting the consequences of climate change on these factors, the scientists found that wind shear will continue to weaken on the Atlantic Coast, while the atmospheric humidity and nearshore vorticity will increase, bringing even greater chances of wetter, faster-developing hurricanes by the end of the century. Although this research has only focused on the northern hemisphere, one could expect similar phenomena in the southern hemisphere too, Dr. Balaguru concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19448007">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Hurricanes will continue to become more intense

By examining data on the past four decades of hurricane...

Snailfish are found in all of the world’s oceans, at depths varying from shallow intertidal to the deepest oceanic trenches. Of the approximately 400 identified species, 20 are known from the eastern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warming-pool-of-water-in-the-pacific-linked-to-human-activities/">Pacific</a>, off the west coast of South America. Although the shallow-living species are relatively well studied, those that inhabit the deepest oceanic habitat, known as the hadal zone, are not well known.



In 2018, an international team of scientists studied the fauna of the Atacama Trench, an expansive underwater subduction zone that runs along the west coast of South America and is as deep as the parallel-running Andes Mountains are high. The deepest regions of this trench, lying between 6,000 and 8,000 meters below sea level, fall in the hadal zone, where conditions are characterized by immense pressures, freezing cold temperatures and pitch darkness. It is no surprise that the fauna inhabiting this trench have not been studied very much.



The team of researchers, including Newcastle University scientists, used specially engineered underwater cameras and lights that were lowered to these depths on custom-made, free-falling landers. Bait, in the form of mackerel, was attached to the landers to attract organisms to the area, and traps enabled the collection of some of these. The two landers were lowered to the depths on 18 different occasions and recorded the presence of numerous small, deep-sea creatures that inhabit this inhospitable zone, including three different types of snailfish.



Previous investigations of deep-sea trenches in many locations have confirmed the importance of snailfish in the hadal zone. They are suction-feeding predators that prey on the many small amphipods (crustaceans) also inhabiting the depths. However, the true diversity and distribution of snailfish species, particularly in the deepest regions of the ocean, remain uncertain due to the scarcity of samples. From the camera footage the researchers identified one type of snailfish that was unfamiliar to them and appeared different from what they expected.&nbsp;



The small blue fish, seen between about 6,000 to 7,600 m in depth, didn’t look like other hadal snailfish. Instead of being pale in color with diminutive eyes, it was blue and had large eyes – unexpected for a creature that lives in total darkness. With these features, it resembled other species of snailfish that are found living in much shallower waters.&nbsp;



The team managed to trap one of these unfamiliar individuals and brought it to the surface. Although it died due to the extreme change in pressure, the researchers were able to use microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) and DNA analysis to compare the new species with other members of the snailfish family. In their description, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12526-022-01294-0">Marine Biodiversity</a>, they name the new species Paraliparis selti, with the specific name meaning ‘blue’ in the Kunza language of the indigenous peoples of the Atacama Desert.



To the team's surprise, the new species appears to be a separate colonizer of the Atacama Trench and marks a new lineage of deep sea snailfish. It is not directly related to the other species known from the area. Species in the genus Paraliparis are particularly abundant in the Southern Ocean of the Antarctic and are rarely found living at depths greater than 2,000 m. This is the first time that a species from this genus has been found inhabiting the hadal zone.&nbsp;



Study lead author, Dr Thom Linley, a visiting researcher at <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a> said: “I find this family of fishes absolutely fascinating. They are not at all what we expect from a deep-sea fish and I love to show people that the world’s deepest fishes are actually pretty cute.”



“For me to get a camera down to where these animals live, it’s made of inches thick stainless steel and sapphire glass. It then films these delicate and beautiful animals perfectly adapted to this extreme environment. With engineering-built force we can only clumsily visit these animals for a short time.”



“We have been wondering for some time just what makes this type of fish so good at living deep. Maybe it was a series of lucky accidents, a chance fluke, that happened in one lineage. Finding this new species tells us that it’s bigger than that. Lightning struck twice and there is something special about this Family.”



“Paraliparis selti provides a fantastic opportunity to explore what allows fish to live so deep. If we only had a single lineage to study, we could never be sure which traits were just part of that lineage and which are the deep-sea secret sauce.”



The researchers conclude that the new species may have evolved from the cold-adapted species of the Southern Ocean, and its discovery and genetic data will help unravel how this group of remarkable fish have evolved, adapted, and diversified into the greater depths of the deep sea. This little blue fish opens new questions about the relationship between cold temperature and high-pressure adaptation and gives a new understanding of how and when life took to the deep.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Blue snailfish discovered in the darkest ocean depths

Snailfish are found in all of the world’s oceans, at...

A team of astrophysicists from the <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/">Liverpool John Moores University</a> (LJMU) in the UK and the <a href="https://www.umontpellier.fr/en/">University of Montpellier</a> in France has devised an “early warning” system to sound the alert when a massive star – typically between eight and 20 solar masses - is about to end its “life” in a <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/supernova-explosion-lit-up-the-sky-1700-years-ago/">supernova explosion</a>.



According to the experts, in the last phase of their lives – the so-called “red supergiant” phase, occurring a few months before their explosion – massive stars will suddenly become about a hundred times fainter in visible light. This significant dimming is caused by a sudden accumulation of materials around the stars, obscuring their light.



Until recently, scientists were not sure how long it took for the stars to accrete these materials. Now, for the first time, the researchers managed to simulate how red supergiants might look like when they are embedded in such pre-explosion “cocoons.”&nbsp;



Since old telescope archives show images of stars that exploded about a year after the images were taken, and the stars appeared normal – meaning that they cannot yet have built up the circumstellar cocoon – the cocoon must be assembled in less than a year, which is considered to be extremely fast.



“The dense material almost completely obscures the star, making it 100 times fainter in the visible part of the spectrum. This means that, the day before the star explodes, you likely wouldn’t be able to see it was there,” said study lead author Benjamin Davis, an associate professor of Astrophysics at LJMU.&nbsp;



“Until now, we’ve only been able to get detailed observations of supernovae hours after they’ve already happened. With this early-warning system we can get ready to observe them real-time, to point the world’s best telescopes at the precursor stars, and watch them getting literally ripped apart in front of our eyes,” he concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac2427">Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society</a>.



Image Credit: European Southern Observatory/L. Calçada



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists can now observe supernova explosions

A team of astrophysicists from the Liverpool John Moores University...

Glass,Globe,In,The,In,Nature,Concept,For,Environment,And

New research from the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a> has revealed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/low-oxygen-zone-is-expanding-in-the-arabian-gulf/">oxygen</a> levels in the Earth’s atmosphere “fluctuated wildly” one billion years ago, which could have accelerated the development of early animal life.



Atmospheric oxygen is believed to be developed in three stages, starting with the Great Oxidation Event around two billion years ago, when oxygen first appeared in the atmosphere. During the third stage, around 400 million years ago, atmospheric oxygen rose to levels that exist today. &nbsp;



The second stage remains uncertain. This stage occurred during the Neoproterozoic Era, which started about one billion years ago and lasted for around 500 million years. This was when early forms of animal life emerged.  &nbsp;



Scientists have been trying to identify what led to the development of oxygen levels during this time that played a pivotal role in early evolution.  Did oxygen levels suddenly rise or was there a gradual increase? &nbsp;



Early animals known as Ediacaran biota were multi-celled organisms that required oxygen. These organisms&nbsp; have been found fossilized in sedimentary rocks that are 541 to 635 million years old. &nbsp;



To investigate, the research team used measurements of carbon, or carbon isotopes, found in limestone rocks taken from shallow seas. Based on the different types of carbon found, the researchers calculated photosynthesis levels that existed millions of years ago to infer atmospheric oxygen levels. &nbsp;



The experts used the data to produce a record of oxygen levels in the atmosphere over the last 1.5 billion years. This historical detail tells us how much oxygen would have been diffusing into the ocean to support early marine life.&nbsp;



Dr. Alex Krause, lead scientist on the project, said the findings give a new perspective on how oxygen levels were changing on Earth. “The early Earth, for the first two billion years of its existence, was anoxic, devoid of atmospheric oxygen. Then oxygen levels started to rise, which is known as the Great Oxidation Event." &nbsp;



“Up until now, scientists had thought that after the Great Oxidation Event, oxygen levels were either low and then shot up just before we see the first animals evolve, or that oxygen levels were high for many millions of years before the animals came along," said Dr. Krause.



“But our study shows oxygen levels were far more dynamic. There was an oscillation between high and low levels of oxygen for a long time before early forms of animal life emerged. We are seeing periods where the ocean environment, where early animals lived, would have had abundant oxygen - and then periods where it does not." &nbsp;



This periodic change in environmental conditions would have produced evolutionary pressures where some life forms may have become extinct and new ones could emerge, explained Dr. Benjamin Mills, who supervised the project. He noted that the oxygenated periods expanded “habitable spaces” – parts of the ocean where oxygen levels would have been high enough to support early animal life forms. &nbsp;



“When oxygen levels decline, there is severe environmental pressure on some organisms which could drive extinctions. And when the oxygen-rich waters expand, the new space allows the survivors to rise to ecological dominance.”



These habitable spaces lasted for millions of years, which provided enough time for early ecosystems to develop.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Animal evolution was accelerated by fluctuating oxygen levels

New research from the University of Leeds has revealed that...

According to a recent comprehensive study led by <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/">University of Glasgow</a> based on the experiences of nearly 100,000 participants, many people do not fully recover months after being infected with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pigs-are-highly-resistant-to-sars-cov-2-infection/">SARS-CoV-2</a> – a debilitating condition known as “long Covid.” The experts found that between six and 18 months after infection, one in 20 people had not fully recovered, and a staggering 42 percent of the participants reported only partial recovery. However, people with asymptomatic infections, as well as vaccinated individuals, appear to suffer less long-term effects.



“It’s one more well-conducted, population-level study showing that we should be extremely concerned about the current numbers of acute infections,” said David Putrino, the director of rehabilitation innovation at the <a href="https://www.mountsinai.org/">Mount Sinai Health System</a> in New York. “We are in trouble.”



“There are lots of different impacts going beyond health to quality of life, employment, schooling and the ability to look after yourself,” added study senior author Jill Pell, a professor of Public Health at the University of Glasgow.



The wide range of reported symptoms – including breathlessness, fatigue, brain fog, chest pain, or palpitations – and the inability to provide a clear prognosis for people with this condition have long perplexed scientists, even as the dangers of this long Covid are became clearer, with between seven and 23 million Americans currently suffering from the long-term effects of battling the novel coronavirus. Unfortunately, as Covid-19 is turning into an endemic disease, these numbers are expected to rise dramatically.



Although symptoms of long Covid tend to be more severe among patients hospitalized during their acute stage of infection, milder or even asymptomatic cases are also at risk of developing this debilitating condition. “It has always been the case that those who are sicker are more likely to have long-term sequelae. What is frightening is that the mild cases by far outnumber the severe, so even a small percentage of mild cases going on to develop long-term sequelae is a massive public health concern,” Dr. Putrino warned.



The researchers also discovered that the risk of long Covid is higher among women, older individuals, those living in economically disadvantaged communities, or people who already suffered from various health issues, including respiratory disease or depression. Although vaccination appear to reduce the chance of developing long Covid, the protection vaccines offer against long-Covid is significantly lower than previously thought. The reasons for this need further investigation. “That is one of the most important things we need to understand next,” Dr. Putrino concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33415-5">Nature Communications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists raise alarm about long Covid prevalence

According to a recent comprehensive study led by University of...

Many species of animals sport markings that subjectively appear to represent vertebrate eyes. These eyespots are conspicuous on the wings of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/monarch-butterflies-are-officially-listed-as-endangered/">butterflies</a> and moths, on caterpillars, beetles, fish, reptiles and even some birds, and their potential functions have been discussed and debated by scientists for decades.&nbsp;



In some instances, large eyespots are thought to make an animal appear much bigger than it actually is, leading a predator to think twice about attacking. They are also assumed to protect a prey animal’s vital parts by directing the predator’s attention to the non-vital end (a prey is much more likely to survive a bite to its tail than its head). Most commonly, though, eyespots are assumed to appear intimidating to potential predators such that they choose not to attack at all.



Most of these hypothetical explanations suppose that predators actually see the paired spots as eyes, and not just as splashes of contrasting color that warn of toxicity or noxiousness. There are many conspicuous colors and patterns in the animal kingdom that are aversive to predators but look nothing like eyes – for example, the red and black patterns of certain locusts. Humans might perceive eyespots to look like eyes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that predators do too. They may simply see ‘scary’ conspicuous markings.



In new research, John Skelhorn from the Biosciences Institute at Newcastle University, and Hannah Rowland from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology have tested whether eyespots are indeed perceived by predators as eyes. Furthermore, they investigated whether predators would respond more aversively to eyespots that faced them directly, appearing to glare menacingly at them, or to eyespots that faced away from them.



The researchers trained 126 domestic chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) to run along a narrow 50 cm runway and peck a favorite prey item from the wall at the end. The prey item was initially a mealworm, but after the chicks were accustomed to pecking at the prey, the mealworm was subsequently covered with a triangular piece of grey paper representing wings. After a few days of training, all the chicks would run along the runway and attack the concealed mealworm within 2 seconds.&nbsp;



With the training complete, the researchers designed three alternative patterns to be placed on the paper wings. All the wings received a pair of markings that resembled eyes; the outside ring was white (against the grey background of the paper), while the inside circles were of darker grey, resembling an iris. On some of the wings, the iris was displaced to the left or right of the white circle, as though the eyes were looking to the left or to the right respectively. However, on others the iris was directly in the center of the white ring, as though the eyes were looking straight ahead.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Eyes that are depicted as staring straight ahead give rise to an optical illusion known as the Mona Lisa effect, after Leonardo da Vinci’s famously enigmatic painting. Such eyes appear to gaze directly at the observer, wherever he or she stands, be it to the left, right or in front of the staring eyes. Nature seems to have hit upon the same idea here, but in the animal kingdom it can be a matter of life or death. The researchers hypothesized that, if predators do indeed interpret eyespots as potential eyes, they will be more wary of eyespots that seem to stare directly at them.



The trained chicks were made to approach the prey from different angles by moving the runway into a left, central or right position. In addition, the eye spots on the prey’s wings either stared straight ahead or stared to one side, left or right. The researchers then timed how long it took a chick to approach and attack each type of ‘moth’ from each of the three directions.&nbsp;



The results, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.951967">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>, show that chicks were slow to approach from the left when the moth’s eyespots were ‘looking’ to the left, and slow to approach from the right when the moth’s eyespots were ‘looking’ to the right. However, when chicks approached these moths from the opposite direction, there was no hesitancy and they ate the mealworm within about 20 seconds.&nbsp;



In the case of moths with concentric circle eyespots that appeared to gaze directly at the chicks, irrespective of the direction from which they approached, the time taken to eat the mealworm was between 100 and 170 seconds – some chicks failed to eat the prey at all, even though they were given up to 10 minutes to do so.&nbsp;



The researchers say their results show that the chicks perceived the artificial eyespots as actual eyes and that the eyespots were most effective when they appeared to gaze at the predator. This suggests that eyespots consisting of concentric circles could offer greater protection than eyespots with left- or right-shifted central circles in situations where individual predators approach from a range of different directions, just like the portraits that maintain eye contact from wherever you stand. They conclude that this probably explains why concentric circle eyespots are so common in nature.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Eyespots on moth wings use optic illusion to deter predators

Many species of animals sport markings that subjectively appear to...

Recent fossil evidence suggests that modern humans (Homo sapiens) and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthals-first-home/">Neanderthals</a> (Homo neanderthalensis) may have co-existed in Europe for as long as five or six millennia before the latter became extinct. However, until recently, not much evidence was found regarding their co-existence at a regional level, making it rather difficult to reliably establish when the two species first appeared and disappeared in these regions.&nbsp;



Now, a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en">Leiden University</a> in the Netherlands has found that, in France and northern Spain, modern humans may have co-existed with Neanderthals for between 1,400 and 2,900 years before the Neanderthals disappeared.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The scientists analyzed a dataset of 56 modern human and Neanderthal artefacts from seventeen archaeological sites across France and northern Spain, together with other ten Neanderthal specimens from the same areas. All the samples that were collected were radiocarbon dated. Then, the experts used Optimal Linear Estimation and Bayesian probability modeling to estimate the date ranges for these samples, in order to infer the earliest and latest dates at which these groups of hominins had been present in those regions.



The analyses revealed that the Neanderthal artefacts first appeared between 45,343 and 44,248 years ago, and disappeared between 39,894 and 39,798 years ago. Since Neanderthal extinction occurred between 40,870 and 40,457 years ago, and modern humans were estimated to emerge between 42,653 and 42,269 years ago, the scientists concluded that the two species co-existed in these regions for between 1,400 and 2,900 years. Nevertheless, it is not yet clear how or whether modern humans and Neanderthals interacted during their period of co-existence.



“[Our] observations strengthen the proposition that the initial Upper Palaeolithic in this region likely involved a period of co-existence between Neandertals and&nbsp;Homo sapiens. The precise nature of this co-existence, however, remains to be resolved,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-19162-z#Sec6">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Humans and Neanderthals may have co-existed for many years

Recent fossil evidence suggests that modern humans (Homo sapiens) and...

Over the past 40 years, the proportion of major tropical cyclones (categories 3–5) has increased and this trend is predicted to continue under the influence of climate change. The incidence of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/measuring-the-effect-of-wildfires-on-air-quality/">wildfires</a> has also increased and it is possible that these two forms of ecological disturbance may be interacting with each other, causing alterations to ecosystems and having long-lasting impacts on biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services.&nbsp;



The authors of a new review, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2022.08.005">Trends in Plant Science</a>, state that while the effects of tropical cyclones and fires on ecosystems have been considered in isolation from each other, it is likely that these two types of disturbance interact, causing ecosystem impacts that may have been missed in past investigations. They say that cyclones and fires fuel one another, with each type of disturbance worsening the effect of the other.



“Rainforests, for instance, are wet by definition, which makes them resistant to fire. But when they are disturbed by cyclones, it can allow fire to spread into those ecosystems. To have a fire, we need three things: fuel to burn, dry enough micro-climate, and a source of ignition,” says lead author Thomas Ibanez, a plant ecologist at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development working with the University of Montpellier. “Cyclones can affect all three elements.”



Cyclones are storms that originate in the South Pacific or Indian Oceans and, like hurricanes in the Atlantic or typhoons in the Nothwestern Pacific, they deliver heavy rains, storm surges, and gale-force winds that can rip off the leaves and branches of trees, consigning more potential fuel to the ground. In addition, microclimates are altered as there is more air circulation and less canopy cover where a cyclone has passed through.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“When the wind from a cyclone blows, it damages trees, bringing down a lot of leaves, twigs, branches, and logs to the ground, which make great fuel for future fire,” says Ibanez. “Wind also opens the canopy, bringing more light in the undergrowth, which can promote the growth of grasses or bushes that also make good fuel. Also, when the canopy is opened, it makes the undergrowth drier because the canopy usually shades it from the sun and locks in moisture.”



The authors reviewed the disturbance regimes, particularly in woody ecosystems, and found that humans have altered natural disturbance regimes directly by introducing novel disturbances or suppressing historical disturbances, and indirectly by changing land use, local environments, and global climate. They first identify those regions where tropical cyclones and fires co-occur and then summarize the evidence for interactive effects on woody ecosystems.&nbsp;



Cyclones may also indirectly increase the instances of human-generated ignition by rendering forests promising places to conduct agriculture. “This phenomenon is common where people depend on slash-and-burn agriculture or forest resources for livelihoods,” says Ibanez. “After cyclones, damaged forests may be burned to provide ash beds for planting new crops and for easier access to forest resources.”



Not only do cyclones make the likelihood of fire greater, but the fires may also change the ways that cyclones affect forests. “Of course, fire cannot directly affect the likelihood of cyclones, because the cyclones originate from oceans, but they can affect the response of the ecosystem to cyclones,” says Ibanez.&nbsp; “If you have a fire, it can make the trees weaker to resist cyclone winds or it can kill trees and promote the regrowth of trees that are less resistant to cyclones.”



In these ways, altered cyclone-fire interactions can change the composition of ecosystems and biomes, especially on islands and in coastal regions where these disturbances occur frequently. Alternatively, a cyclone or a fire could render any subsequent disturbance more severe because damage caused by the first disturbance lowers the resistance of established trees or favors the establishment of less resistant trees (compound interaction).



Where strong cyclones and fires have co-occurred historically, the events are a natural part of maintaining the land. “In cyclone-prone regions, there are also ecosystems that are adapted to frequent cyclones and fires, and interactions between these disturbances actually maintain original and species-rich ecosystems,” says Ibanez. “In these ecosystems, human activities that reduce fire, such as land use change and fire suppression, can threaten the stability of the ecosystem&nbsp;and cause biodiversity loss.”



However, what with increased numbers of tropical cyclones predicted in future, it is possible that some ecosystems that have already been damaged by the action of a cyclone will be more vulnerable to the effects of a subsequent fire. For example, winds generated by a tropical cyclone (Ophelia, category 2, in 2017) fueled massive fires in temperate and Mediterranean forests in the Iberian Peninsula, an area not historically prone to cyclones. Studies from the North Atlantic basin suggest that biomes influenced by cyclone-fire interactions are at conservation risk due to climate change and human manipulation of fire regimes.



“We would like to better understand how this phenomenon varies by location. We could then predict with climate change which places would be more likely to be affected by these changes,” says Ibanez. “An important component of global change is that ecosystems do not face just one disturbance, but a mix of several disturbances, and the interaction between new disturbances can result in unexpected effects.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cyclones and fires interact, worsening the effects of each other

Over the past 40 years, the proportion of major tropical...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a>, experts have determined that the Greenland ice sheet is more sensitive to climate change than expected. The researchers found that rising <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-temperatures-shorten-the-lifespan-of-fig-tree-pollinators/">temperatures</a> are amplifying the effects of melting caused by ocean warming.



While it was previously established that the Greenland ice sheet is shrinking as a result of warmer air and ocean water, the current study describes how these two stressors combine to worsen the effects. The researchers compare this phenomenon to how ice cubes melt more quickly if they are in a drink that is being stirred.



“The effect we investigated is a bit like ice cubes melting in a drink - ice cubes will obviously melt faster in a warm drink than in a cold drink, hence the edges of the Greenland ice sheet melt faster if the ocean is warmer. But ice cubes in a drink will also melt faster if you stir the drink, and rising air temperatures in Greenland effectively result in a stirring of the ocean close to the ice sheet, causing faster melting of the ice sheet by the ocean," explained study lead author Dr. Donald Slater.



Warm air temperatures melt the surface of the Greenland ice sheet. When the meltwater flows into the ocean, this creates turbulence that causes more heat to melt the edges of the ice sheet that are submerged in the ocean, which is known as submarine melting.



After analyzing the 40-year period from 1979 to 2018, the researchers found that air temperature has had almost as much influence on submarine melting as ocean temperature. The experts determined that if the atmosphere had not warmed since 1979, the retreat of Greenland ice associated with submarine melting could have been reduced by up to half.



“This unfortunately adds to the overwhelming body of evidence showing the sensitivity of the Greenland ice sheet to climate change, hence the need for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Dr. Slater.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-010135-9">Nature Geoscience</a>.



Image Credit: Jamie Holte



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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

Greenland ice sheet is less stable than previously thought

In a new study from the University of Edinburgh, experts...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warmer-soils-lose-their-capacity-to-store-carbon/">Soils</a> are home to billions of organisms, such as earthworms, insects, fungi, bacteria, or nematodes, which have a profound impact on ecosystems. Without soils and their inhabitants, there would be little life on land, and definitely no humans, since most of the food we eat depends on soil fertility. However, since soils are vulnerable to climate and land-use change, to better conserve soil ecological values we need to know where their protection is needed most.



Now, a study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05292-x">Nature</a> has provided the first global estimate of hotspots for conserving soil ecological values. A team of international experts conducted an impressive global field survey including over 10,000 observations of soil biodiversity and indicators for ecosystem services within 615 soil samples from all continents, in order to assess three soil ecological dimensions: local species richness, biodiversity uniqueness, and ecosystem services (such as carbon storage or water regulation).



The analyses revealed that each of the three dimensions peaked in different areas of the planet. For example, temperate ecosystems exhibited the highest local soil species richness, while biodiversity uniqueness peaked in arid ecosystems and the tropics, and ecosystem services in the colder, high-latitudinal regions.&nbsp;



“When you dig into a European soil, for instance in a forest, you will find many different species in one single spot. When you go to a forest some kilometers further, while different, you will find similar species. Not so in the tropics, where a few kilometers can mean completely different communities,” explained study lead author Carlos Guerra, an expert in Macroecology at the <a href="https://www.idiv.de/en/index.html">German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research</a> (iDiv).&nbsp;



These contrasting spatial patterns discovered for the three dimensions prove how difficult it is to protect all three of them at the same time. “It is much more challenging than for plants and mammals, where there is usually a better spatial match of the different dimensions,” Guerra said. “When it comes to protecting soils, we should probably not focus on locally maximizing all soil ecological dimensions at the same time but rather on integrated approaches that highlight the local potential.”



Despite these difficulties, the scientists managed to identify ecosystem hotspots which should have the highest priority for soil nature conservation, located mainly in the tropics, Northern Europe, North America, and Asia. Unfortunately, half of these hotspots are currently under no form of nature conservation.



“Protected areas have been selected mostly for conserving plants, birds, or mammals,” said study senior author Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.irnas.csic.es/">Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla</a>. “We need to include soils, their biodiversity and services in our perspective. Therefore, governments and decision-makers need to set soil nature conservation as a priority in the context of the international negotiations for the 2030 biodiversity targets.”



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Global hotspots for soil conservation are poorly protected

Soils are home to billions of organisms, such as earthworms,...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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