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>.



-----



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.



-----

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...

According to a new study led by the <a href="http://www.reading.ac.uk/">University of Reading</a>, supporting and enhancing pollinators such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pesticides-make-it-harder-for-male-bees-to-attract-mates/">bees</a> could help stabilize the production of important crops like oilseeds and fruits, reducing the uncertainties that often cause food prices to rise. 



The analysis revealed that there was 32 percent less variation in the yields of plants visited by bees and other pollinators than in those grown in the absence of pollinators. Thus, pollinators could help mitigate supply issues and market shocks that cause global price spikes, by holding food supplies steady.



“Our findings suggest that preserving pollinators provides a double benefit, reducing fluctuations in food supplies as well as boosting supplies in the first place,” said study lead author Jake Bishop, a crop scientist at the University of Reading. “Stable and predictable production of nutritious food is a necessity for farmers and for global food security. We are seeing right now that instability or shocks across the food system can lead to dramatic increases in food price.”



“The research has revealed another reason why pollinators are so important to our planet, and to so many families who are struggling to feed themselves with sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Pollinators are particularly important in the production of fruit and vegetable crops. Around half of the experiments we analyzed were testing the effect of real pollinator populations in real crop fields so our results illustrate the benefits that pollinators are currently providing.”



Dr. Bishop and his colleagues assessed the results of over 200 previous experiments that compared the yield of three crop plants - faba beans, oilseed rape, and apples - with and without insect pollination, and concluded that insect pollination consistently made yields more similar between flowers on a plant, between individual plants, between areas within fields, and between fields.&nbsp;



This stabilizing effect of pollination is likely due to a ceiling effect, whereby yield increases resulting from insect pollination hits an upper limit due to limitations of other resources which support crop growth, such as soil nutrients or access to water. This phenomenon creates a raised and more stable baseline against which there is less fluctuation in yield.



This study – published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.14069">Ecology Letters</a> – marks the start of Bees’ Needs Week (18-24 July), a UK government-led initiative championing pollinators and their multiple benefits by encouraging people to take <a href="https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/bees-needs/five-simple-actions/">five simple actions</a> to support pollinators.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Image Credit: Louise Truslove/University of Reading



---



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

Pollinators stabilize the production of food crops

According to a new study led by the University of...

Just like riding a bike, once we learn and retain skills, we rarely have to relearn them. Most studies on learning and long-term <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-ocean-is-losing-its-memory-and-becoming-less-predictable/">memory</a> in the wild have focused on a handful of animal species. Now, researchers at the <a href="https://stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a> (STRI) share the first report of long-term memory in frog-eating bats.



“Frog-eating bats are an excellent emerging model organism for studying cognitive and sensory ecology, learning plays a big part in their lives," explained study lead author M. May Dixon.



When hunting frogs, the bat’s can identify the frog calls that indicate a frog is good to eat, compared to the calls that indicate a frog is poisonous, or even too big to carry.



For the study, 49 wild bats were trained to respond to ringtones played through speakers. When responding to two of the tones, a reward of fish was found, but three other tones were associated with no reward.&nbsp;



The bats quickly learned when ringtones indicated a snack and ignored the ones that did not. The bats were then microchipped and released back into Panama’s Soberania National Park.&nbsp;



The researchers recaptured some of the trained bats. When they played the experimental sounds again, the bats recognized and responded to the reward ringtones - even four years later.&nbsp;



The ringtones sounded like the ping of a text message and the beep of a car being unlocked. Using human-generated sounds ensured that they wouldn't be heard in nature.



As for the unrewarded sounds, the experts played one of them to the recaptured bats, and six of eight bats approached it.&nbsp;



“It’s possible that they remember the extinguished sound, but enough time had gone by that they thought to check it out once more,” said Dixon. “Or it’s possible that they couldn’t remember the exact difference between the ringtones, and that extinguished sound was close enough to the rewarded one that they decided to check that out too. Sort of like a generalization of memory.”



To make sure that the bats were not responding to every sound they heard, a pure tone was played. Most of the bats did not fly to it, but only twitched their ears.&nbsp;



This experiment raises more questions on how memory works in bats and other animals, including the metabolic cost of remembering.&nbsp;



“I’m interested in memory capacity in animals and what causes long-term or short-term memories, what ecological conditions select for different memory lengths, what is important to remember and to forget,” explained Dixon. “But studying long-term memory is very difficult, because it takes a long time by definition. And testing memory in captive animals, even if it’s more convenient, isn’t necessarily representative of what animals can remember in the wild.”&nbsp;



“STRI has been the basis for so much research done with bats. They have gathered a large database on frog-eating bats, on experiments done with bats, what stimulus have been used, so if you capture a bat that has been caught before, you already have its whole history. There are few places in the world where you can have that amount of detail."&nbsp;



“I went from liking bats but not thinking they were very interesting, to realizing they are very complex little creatures, with deep personalities and very engaging ways of interacting with the world.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>



---



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

Wild bats have a long-term memory of sounds

Just like riding a bike, once we learn and retain...

Scientists have long thought that conscious awareness of past personal experiences is the exclusive domain of humans. However, a recent study led by the <a href="https://www.buffalo.edu/">University at Buffalo</a> (UB) has now found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-have-an-intuitive-understanding-of-physics/">dogs</a> are capable of learning the instruction “do that again,” and can flexibly access memories of their own recent actions, which are cognitive abilities they were not previously known to possess.



“We found that dogs could be trained to repeat specific actions on cue, and then take what they’d learned and apply it to actions they had never been asked to repeat,” said study lead author Allison Scagel, who conducted the study as a doctoral student in Psychology at UB. “Our findings showed that they were able to apply the concept of repetition to new situations. More generally, we found evidence that dogs are capable of forming abstract concepts […] placing them in an expanding category of other animals that includes bottlenose dolphins and chimpanzees.”



The researchers worked with three dogs – a male long-haired chihuahua and two female golden retrievers – to test whether they could voluntarily think back to what they had just been doing and repeat those actions. In a first step, the experimenters used traditional dog training based on cues and responses to teach the animals to follow simple cues such as spinning in a circle, lying down, or walking around an object.&nbsp;



Then, they taught the dogs a separate repeat cue - the word “again” accompanied by a hand gesture – which instructed them to reproduce the action they had just completed. In order to asses whether the dogs have managed to actually learn a general concept of repeating recent actions, they were asked to repeat new actions that they had not been asked to repeat before. Despite never being asked to repeat such actions, all the dogs successfully passed the test.



“Dogs can do more than learn the relationship between a person’s cue and which specific trick they should perform,” said Dr. Scagel. “They can understand the concept of repetition: whatever you just did, do that again. It can apply to anything they do.”



“This is an important step toward a greater understanding of how other species form abstract concepts. And we’re learning that humans aren’t that cognitively unique after all,” she concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-45661-001">Journal of Comparative Psychology</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Dogs can be prompted to repeat their recent actions

Scientists have long thought that conscious awareness of past personal...

A team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en">Hiroshima University</a> in Japan has investigated muscle gain in cultured human skeletal muscle cells infused with serum from hibernating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-bears-have-a-surprisingly-simple-gut-microbiome/">black bears</a>. The study confirmed that key factors activated in these animals’ blood during winter trigger their amazing capacity to prevent muscle atrophy despite months of inactivity.



Over the fall and winter, hibernating bears can lie still for five to seven months inside their dens without eating or drinking anything. While in humans, only three weeks of inactivity is enough to cause muscle mass loss that could lead to sedentary lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity and diabetes or even early death, bears can survive their hibernation with limited muscle loss, minimal metabolic dysfunction, and intact physical functions.&nbsp;



“The ‘use it or lose it’ phenomenon is a well-accepted physiological principle for the skeletal muscle, which is highly plastic in response to functional demands. Disuse typically leads to skeletal muscle loss and metabolic dysfunction in many animal species, including humans,” said study first author Mitsunori Miyazaki, an associate professor of Integrative Physiology at Hiroshima University.&nbsp;



“In contrast, hibernating animals are likely better described to be under the ‘no use, but no lose’ phenomenon, in that there is potential resistance to muscle atrophy during continued disuse conditions.”



Professor Miyazaki and his colleagues discovered that the serum drawn from the blood of hibernating Japanese black bears weakened the “destruction mechanism” controlling muscular degeneration. After only 24 hours of treatment with this serum, the cultured human muscle cells showed significant protein growth – an increase that was not seen in cultured muscle cells infused with serum collected from bears during their active summer season.



Although the scientists managed to identify certain physiological factors that may be responsible for this phenomenon – such as the suppressed expression of MuRF1 (Muscle RING-finger protein-1), the switch triggering the shredding of unused muscles, or the increased levels of the growth factor hormone IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) in the hibernating bear serum – the exact mechanisms and blood components that protect muscle mass during hibernation have not yet been fully identified.



“We have indicated that ‘some factor’ present in hibernating bear serum may regulate protein metabolism in cultured human skeletal muscle cells and contribute to the maintenance of muscle mass. However, the identification of this ‘factor’ has not yet been achieved,” Professor Miyazaki said.&nbsp;



“By identifying this ‘factor’ in hibernating bear serum and clarifying the unexplored mechanism behind ‘muscles that do not weaken even without use’ in hibernating animals, it is possible to develop effective rehabilitation strategies in humans and prevent becoming bedridden in the future,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263085">PLoS ONE</a>.



---



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

How hibernating bears could help humans prevent muscle loss

A team of researchers led by Hiroshima University in Japan...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-can-learn-the-names-of-their-companions/">cats</a> who suffered burns and smoke inhalation during urban wildfires in California were at a significant risk of developing lethal blood clots. This study follows up on a <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/news/are-cats-canary-coal-mine-wildfire-effects-human-health">previous one</a> conducted at the same university, which showed that cats injured in urban wildfires had a higher incidence of cardiovascular issues.



“Prior to these two papers, we didn’t realize that cats impacted by urban wildfires were prone to forming clots, which can lead to sudden death,” said study co-author Ronald Li, an associate professor of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at UC Davis. “This study will change the standard of care for rescued cats from these wildfires and hopefully save more lives.”



By examining cats treated for injuries from the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, the scientists found that they have more overactive platelets – cells that circulate in the blood and help forming blood clots – than healthy cats or cats with heart diseases such as subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a common cardiovascular disease in felines which causes a thickening of the heart muscle.&nbsp;



“Cats with HCM are hypercoagulable, meaning they are more likely to form clots,” explained study lead author Avalene Tan, a veterinary research fellow at UC Davis. “That’s why we used them as a control group to compare with cats in the wildfire group. We found cats exposed to wildfire smoke and injuries are even more prone to throwing clots, showing a direct association between wildfire injuries, platelet response, and clot formation.”



The scientists also discovered a novel receptor on cat platelets, the Toll-Like-Receptor-4, which may play a significant role in clotting and could be targeted in future treatments. “These results could lead to bigger health implications for our feline patients and highlight the important role that platelets play in linking inflammation with the coagulation system,” Professor Li said.



Since wildfires pose a major risk to humans too, often causing heart attacks and strokes after prolonged wildfire exposure, better understanding the phenomenon of systemic platelet activation – which plays a crucial role in mediating the likelihood of developing blood clots as a result of wildfire injuries in cats – could shed more light on the impact of wildfires on human health and open novel therapeutic pathways.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.892377">Frontiers in Veterinary Science</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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Cats exposed to wildfires are at risk of deadly blood clots

A new study led by the University of California, Davis...

Although climate change is currently affecting our entire planet, the Arctic region is feeling its effects the most, in the form of glacial melt, permafrost thaw, and sea ice decline. Key players in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-arctic-is-warming-four-times-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-planet/">Arctic warming</a> include clouds and microscopic aerosols called ice nucleating particles which seed the formation of ice in the clouds.&nbsp;



Until recently, these ice-creating aerosols – which include mineral dust, microbes, or sea spray – have not been extensively studied in the Arctic. However, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.colostate.edu/">Colorado State University</a> (CSU) has sailed to the Arctic in 2019 and gathered thousands of air, seawater, sea ice, snow, and meltwater samples in order to investigate how ice nucleation and clouds over the Arctic Ocean evolve over time.



“It is important to know the natural background of these ice nucleating particles before we can really assess how changes due to climate are affecting the populations of these aerosols,” said study lead author Jessie Creamean, an expert in Atmospheric Science at CSU. By observing how ice nucleating particles in the central Arctic evolve during the entire annual sea ice growth and decline cycle, the scientists found that these particles are characterized by a strong seasonality, with lower concentrations in the winter and spring, and higher concentrations during the summer melt, most likely from marine biological production in local open waters.



Clarifying the dynamics of these ice nucleating particles is fundamental for understanding the effects of climate change on our planet. Since adding ice to clouds – a process in which these particles play a critical role - changes how clouds interact with light and heat coming from the sun or bouncing back from the Earth’s surface, the ways in which the particles fluctuate over the seasons influence global warming.



“It’s an important process we just don’t have a good understanding of, especially in the Arctic. The models just don’t get it right when it comes to estimating these ice nucleating particles or their cloud effects. So, this was a big observation – to have a look at where these things are coming form, and how they change over the course of a year,” Dr. Creamean concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31182-x">Nature Communications</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Aerosol particles contribute to rapid warming in the Arctic

Although climate change is currently affecting our entire planet, the...

A recent study led by the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin – Madison</a> has found that some species of copepods such as Eurytemora affinis – tiny <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-species-crustaceans-italian-cave/">crustaceans</a> measuring about a millimeter in length and roaming coastal waters of oceans and estuaries around the world in massive numbers – can evolve fast enough to survive in the face of rapid climate change.



“This is a dominant coastal species, serving as very abundant and highly nutritious fish food,” said study senior author Carol Eunmi Lee, a professor of Integrative Biology at UW Madison. “But they’re vulnerable to climate change.”&nbsp;



Since ocean salinity is dropping rapidly as ice melts and precipitation patterns change, this saltwater species that evolved over the ages in waters high in salinity, now needs to adapt to much fresher water in their environment.&nbsp;



In order to study how copepods respond to drops in salinity, the scientists kept a population of Eurytemora affinis&nbsp;from the Baltic Sea in their laboratory and observed them over a few generations. After splitting the copepods into 14 groups of a few thousands each, they placed four of these groups in environments similar to the Baltic, while exposing the other ten groups to declining salinity levels that simulated the type of pressure caused by climate change. For a total of ten generations, these groups had their water gradually reduced to lower salinity levels.



To track evolutionary changes across the genomes of the tiny crustaceans, the researchers sequenced the genome of each line of copepods at the beginning of the experiment, as well as after six and ten generations. 



The analysis revealed that the strongest signals of natural selection – where changes were largest and more frequent across the groups exposed to low salinity levels – were in areas of the genome that are important in regulating ions, such as sodium transporters.



“In saltwater, there are a lot of ions, like sodium, that are essential for survival. But when you get to freshwater, these ions are precious,” Professor Lee explained. “So, the copepods need to suck them up from the environment and hang on to them, and the ability to do that relies on these ion transporters that we found undergoing natural selection.”



At the end of the experiment, the copepods with certain genetic combinations of the ion transporter were more likely to survive, even as the salinity of their water decreased. According to the researchers, the gene variants found in the copepods that managed to survive the salinity decline in the laboratory are also common among copepods living in the fresher regions of the Baltic Sea.



“This copepod gives us an idea of what it takes, an idea of what conditions are needed, that enable a population to evolve rapidly in response to climate change. It also shows how important evolution is for understanding our changing planet and how — or even whether — populations and ecosystems will survive,” Professor Lee concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31622-8">Nature Communications</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Tiny crustaceans have what it takes to survive climate change

A recent study led by the University of Wisconsin –...

Breaking up is hard to do, and men are not immune to the stressful effects ensuing from relationship failure, separation and divorce. The stereotype that men choose to go it alone and do not want support at these times is simply not true, say researchers from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Colombia</a>’s School of Nursing.&nbsp;



In a new study, published in the journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/home/qhr">Qualitative Health Research</a>, researchers from British Colombia and Australia investigate the ways in which men go about seeking help when adjusting to the breakup of an intimate relationship. <a href="https://experts.news.ubc.ca/expert/john-oliffe/">Dr. John Oliffe</a>, senior author and a professor of nursing who leads the men's health research program at UBC, along with research co-author <a href="https://menshealthresearch.ubc.ca/Mary-t-kelly/">Mary T. Kelly</a>, say men do not actively avoid mental health promotion and can be resourceful and resilient as they work their way through painful breakup.



“A failed relationship can lead to significant mental stress – men already have higher risks for suicide than women, and marital separation increases that risk four times. By exploring the ways through which men seek help after a breakup, we can potentially design better supports for their mental health,” said Kelly.



“It’s also important to shift the narrative,” said Dr. Oliffe, the Canada Research Chair in men‘s health promotion. “The story&nbsp;that is most often told is that when a relationship breaks down, the man goes into crisis and/or perpetrates violence on his partner, but this is not the trajectory for most men. It’s helpful for guys to see that most breakups end with the men working through their challenges by leaning into help.”



The results of the study are based on the use of interpretive descriptive methods to analyze in-depth interviews with 47 Canadian or Australian men in connection with their help-seeking behavior after a relationship breakup. Such behavior was categorized into three themes: (1) Solitary work and tapping established connections, (2) Reaching out to make new connections, and (3) Engaging professional mental health care.&nbsp;



“We’ve known that men seek help when an intimate partner relationship breaks down, but we always thought it was professional help they sought. Our research shows that they creatively used various strategies,” said Dr. Oliffe.



Men who were younger or had seen the break-up of a shorter relationship tended to engage in solitary work and reached out to established connections. About a quarter of the men said they did a lot of internet searches for blogs, coaches and other resources. They reached out to friends or family members, not necessarily to find a solution, but to chat things through. They also made use of self-help books to guide them in their understanding and responses.



Men who had been in longer-term relationships, where children were involved or litigation concerning division of assets was taking place, were more likely to cope by making new connections and seeking out community-based help like local dads’ groups or groups of men who had been through separation or divorce.



About half the men engaged professional mental health care services such as counselling. Typically these were men who had a pre-existing mental illness or those who needed formal help to get through the enormity of what they were feeling.&nbsp;



According to Mary Kelly, these resourceful help-seeking responses disprove the popular stereotype that men do not go to the doctor and they don’t want help. “It shatters the trope that men aren’t emotional and aren’t affected as much as the rest of us by a breakup. We also tend to think that men don’t do introspection or vulnerability, but a lot of the men were really engaging in that deep kind of work.”



Kelly noted that there are not a lot of resources out there to help guys build better relationships. “However, our group at UBC is working on a few projects. With support from Movember, we’re building an online resource for men who want to learn more about dealing with relationship conflicts and building relationship skills. We’re also currently looking for participants for a&nbsp;<a href="https://menshealthresearch.ubc.ca/mbipr/">new project</a>&nbsp;that will invite men to share their ideas on what contributes to a healthy relationship.”



For men currently dealing with a breakup, Dr. Oliffe recommends taking the time to “sit with the emotions that go with the breakup. You can be sad and happy, angry and sorrowful at the same time. Look to reconnect or stay connected with friends and family. Be careful about substance use. Maintain a routine, get some exercise and be open to reaching out for professional help.”



---



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

Men use resourceful strategies to cope with breakups

Breaking up is hard to do, and men are not...

Although women tend to live longer than men, they typically have higher rates of illness. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> (UGA) has found that these problems can be improved by a better <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/healthier-diets-can-reduce-depression-in-young-men/">diet</a> containing pigmented carotenoids such as kale, spinach, yams, watermelon, bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, and oranges. These brightly-colored fruits and vegetables are crucial for preventing visual and cognitive degeneration.



“The idea is that men get a lot of the diseases that tend to kill you, but women get those diseases less often or later so they persevere but with illnesses that are debilitating,” explained study co-author Billy R. Hammond, a professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at UGA. “For example, of all of the existing cases of macular degeneration and dementia in the world, two-thirds are women. These diseases that women suffer for years are the very ones most amenable to prevention through lifestyle.”



Professor Hammond and his colleagues studied several degenerative conditions that women seem to experience at much higher rates than men, ranging from autoimmune diseases to dementia. “If you take all the autoimmune diseases collectively, women account for nearly 80 percent. So, because of this vulnerability, linked directly to biology, women need extra preventive care,” he added.



One of the reasons for women’s vulnerability to such diseases is related to the way they store vitamins and minerals in their bodies. Since women have, on average, more body fat than men, they can better store in their bodies dietary vitamins and minerals. However, there are less of these vitamins available for their retina and brain, thus putting them at more risk for degenerative problems.



Since pigmented carotenoids such as lutein or zeaxanthin act as powerful antioxidants in humans, they can help improve central nervous system degeneration. “Men and women eat about the same amount of these carotenoids, but the requirements for women are much higher,” said Professor Hammond.



“The recommendations should be different, but there are, generally, not any recommendations for men or women for dietary components that are not directly linked to deficiency disease (like vitamin C and scurvy). Part of the idea for the article is that recommendations need to be changed so that women are aware that they have these vulnerabilities that they have to proactively address, so they don’t have these problems later in life.”



Although these carotenoids are also available via dietary supplements, getting them through food is a much better strategy.&nbsp;



“Components of diet influence the brain, from things like personality to even our concept of self.&nbsp;I don’t think people quite realize what a profound effect diet has on basically who they are, their mood, even their propensity to anger. And now of course this is extended to the microbiome and the bacteria that make up your gut - all of these components work together to create the building blocks that compose our brain and the neurotransmitters that mediate its use,” Professor Hammond concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2022.2084125">Nutritional Neuroscience</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Women can live longer and better with a healthy diet

Although women tend to live longer than men, they typically...

Outer,Space,Planet,Earth,Mars,Meteorite,Comet,Asteroid,Astrology,Solar

It is impossible to know the geological history of the formation of our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-habitability-of-a-planet-is-affected-by-the-location-of-its-land/">planet</a>, because it has been destroyed by the subsequent tectonic movement and evolution of the Earth’s surface. Or perhaps it is not entirely impossible… 



There are very rare clues about this process that may be obtained from pieces of other planets that have arrived on Earth’s surface in the form of meteorites. In particular, Mars may provide an indication of the early evolutionary path of our planet. More than 4.5 billion years ago, Mars may have had a crust similar to that found on early Earth, and the information about this crust may be hiding in the very oldest Martian meteorite currently known to have landed on Earth.&nbsp;



But first, scientists had to identify where exactly the 4.48-billion-year-old meteorite, nicknamed Black Beauty, came from on the surface of Mars. The study, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31444-8">Nature Communications</a>, details the methods that the international team used to identify that this piece of Martian rock originated from one of the oldest regions of the surface of Mars.



“This meteorite recorded the first stage of the evolution of Mars and, by extension, of all terrestrial planets, including the Earth,” said Valerie Payré, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science at <a href="https://nau.edu/">Northern Arizona University</a>. “As the Earth lost its old surface mainly due to plate tectonics, observing such settings in extremely ancient terrains on Mars is a rare window into the ancient Earth surface that we lost a long time ago.”



The meteorite, known officially as NWA (Northwest Africa) 7034 for where it was recovered, is composed of a variety of igneous, sedimentary, and impact melt clasts, including the most evolved and oldest igneous clasts and zircons, dated at 4.44–4.48 Ga (billion years), approximately the time of the formation of Mars. Although the scientists know details of its chemical composition, the source region of this unique meteorite on Mars has so far remained unknown. Given its antiquity, it is possible that it is a piece of the planet’s early crust and thus preserves insights into the geological history of the planet.&nbsp;



Previous research, using a crater-detection algorithm and high resolution images of the surface of Mars, had identified only 18 crater sites where asteroid strikes were powerful enough to have hurled NWA 7034 far enough off the Martian surface to enter space and begin its journey to Earth’s surface.&nbsp;



The current research, led by Anthony Lagain from Curtin University in Australia, used the geochemical and geophysical properties of the ancient meteorite, along with its geochronology, to identify which of these craters was the potential origin of this piece of Mars. They found only one candidate - the Karratha crater - which matched the meteorite’s unique combination of magnetic field intensity, high concentrations of potassium and thorium, and dating details. Furthermore, the experts deduced that when the asteroid that formed this crater struck the surface of Mars, it ejected other debris, including NWA 7034, that was lying on the surface as the result of a much earlier collision that had formed the older crater named Khujirt.&nbsp;



Both these craters are found in the region known as Terra Cimmeria-Sirenum, a highland region covering about 10 percent of the planet, where there are high concentrations of the elements potassium and thorium, and a high magnetic field intensity. It is one of the most ancient regions of Mars, considered to represent a block of ancient crust, and this makes it possible that the Black Beauty is actually a piece of the very early geological history of the planet.&nbsp;



“For the first time, we know the geological context of the only brecciated Martian sample available on Earth, 10 years before the NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission is set to send back samples collected by the Perseverance rover currently exploring the Jezero crater,” said Lagain, a research fellow in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Curtin. “This research paved the way to locate the ejection site of other Martian meteorites, in order to create the most exhaustive view of the Red Planet’s geological history.”



Payré studies the nature and formation of Mars’ crust to determine if Earth and Mars share a common past that includes both a continent-like and ocean-like crust. She uses orbital observations captured in this region to investigate whether traces of volcanism similar those found on Iceland exist on Mars.



“As of today, Mars’ crust complexity is not understood, and knowing about the origin of these amazing ancient fragments could lead future rover and spatial missions to explore the Terra Sirenum-Cimmeria region that hides the truth of Mars’ evolution, and perhaps the Earth’s,” said Payré.&nbsp;



"This work paves the road to locate the ejection site of other Martian meteorites that will provide the most exhaustive view of the geological history of Mars and will answer one of the most intriguing questions: why Mars, now dry and cold, evolved so differently from Earth, a flourishing planet for life.”



---



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

Martian meteorite holds clues about Earth's origins

It is impossible to know the geological history of the...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.stir.ac.uk/">University of Stirling</a> has revealed that several rare plants native to Scottish mountains could soon become extinct due to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-debate-is-over-humans-caused-climate-change/">climate change</a>, if no urgent measures are taken to protect them. Since plants found on the slopes of the Ben Lawers mountain range in Scotland - including the snow pearlwort, the drooping saxifrage, or the mountain sandwort – require a cool climate to thrive, the recent increase in global temperatures has led them to shift their range to higher ground. Moreover, some of these species, such as the snow pearlwort, have declined by over 66 percent since the mid-1990s, and may soon become extinct.&nbsp;



“Our research signals a rapid loss of biodiversity happening right now which means that, if it’s allowed to continue on this accelerated trajectory, due to climate change, we will see the extinction of species like these,” said study lead author Sarah Watts, a doctoral researcher in Ecology at the University of Stirling.



“What we are seeing here is range contraction – where species that grow in cold places, in the north and at high altitude, are moving further north and higher up the mountain. But at some point, they’ll have no further to go and will disappear. For example, drooping saxifrage is now only found 50 meters from the top of Ben Lawers.”



Moreover, global rises in temperature caused by climate change has also led to lowland species colonizing upland regions and outcompeting these rare mountain plants, significantly reducing the area they can grow and thrive in.



“In the context of the interacting climate change and biodiversity crises, this research has worrying global implications,” said study senior author Alistair Jump, a professor of Plant Ecology at the University of Stirling. “It shows that low-latitude, arctic-alpine plant populations already situated at maximum local elevations are effectively on the elevator to extinction. We face their loss from our mountains because there is no higher ground left for them to retreat to as temperatures continue to rise.”



According to the researchers, a solution to safeguard these endangered plant species is to move them to other sites, such as more suitable mountain habitats or even botanical gardens.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320722001732?via%3Dihub">Biological Conservation</a>.



---



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

Rare plants are facing extinction in the Scottish mountains

A new study led by the University of Stirling has...

High heat coupled with low water conditions caused by global warming can weaken the resistance of pine trees to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warming-water-is-driving-eelgrass-wasting-disease/">disease</a>. A new study from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> is the first to analyze host and pathogen genes in climate change conditions



The study was focused on Austrian pine trees, which are native to southern Europe, and can also be found in Canada and the United States. The researchers examined the effects of climate change by testing the trees after they were infected by two fungi that kill the pines over time.



“We decided to study the effects of the combined stresses of higher temperatures and lower water availability because that’s what trees will experience in the future,” said senior author Professor Enrico Bonello.



“Within three days of infection under climate-change conditions, the tree was pulled in two different directions: It was deprived of carbon by both reduced photosynthesis and enhanced acquisition of the carbon by the fungi. When we’re talking about carbon, we’re talking about sugars, food and reserves for all other metabolic processes in the trees, including growth and defense.”



The world’s forests provide carbon sequestration, a major mitigator of climate change. Experts say this natural service could be enhanced by ensuring the protection, management and restoration of forests.&nbsp;



In a 2021 <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2021.716582/full">study</a> of U.S. forest plots, scientists estimated recent disease and insect disturbances lowered carbon sequestration rates by 28 percent and 69 percent, compared to undisturbed forests.



“This is another reason to combat global warming induced by human activities – another piece of evidence that what we are doing to the planet has so many implications,” said Professor Bonello.



The researchers exposed Austrian pines to two sets of conditions. First, they used a control setting, where daily temperatures ranged from 59 to 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit. To mimic climate change, the trees were exposed to daily temperatures of 68 to 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The hotter conditions reduced the amount of water in the atmosphere.&nbsp;



Once the trees had adjusted to these conditions, they were inoculated with one of two strains of the pathogenic fungus. The fungi are largely dormant, waiting for the best opportunity to kill host cells and feed on the dead plant material when their host is weakened. The fungi have also begun damaging Scots pines in Scandinavia.



“The hypothesis is that the warming and lower water availability in those areas is making trees more susceptible to a pathogen that would normally sit in the background,” explained Professor Bonello.



Three days after infection, the team collected plant and pathogen tissue that was used for an RNA sequencing analysis to identify gene activation in the trees and both strains of the fungi.



A fundamental change was found in the pine trees exposed to climate-change conditions. Their capacity to carry out photosynthesis decreased, leaving fewer resources to invest in their own food supply, growth and defense against disease.



At the same time, both strains of the fungus ramped up their carbon utilization machinery, and they became significantly more pathogenic.



“Essentially, climate change conditions led the host to starvation, which is compounded by the fact that the fungi became more aggressive, grew faster and killed more host tissue faster,” Bonello said. “These were early responses, but it gives us an idea of what’s happening in the system.”



The research offers insights into how much damage global warming may do to one of the planet’s main carbon sinks.



“Pathogen and pest invasions are already having an effect on carbon sequestration,” said Professor Bonello. “If you make it even worse with climate change, carbon sequestration will be affected negatively because trees will die in ever larger numbers. Trees that might otherwise survive adverse environmental conditions for a while, and recover if conditions become better or intermittent, may be killed by pathogens in the meantime.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.872584/full">Frontiers in Forests and Global Change</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

Heat makes pine trees more susceptible to disease

High heat coupled with low water conditions caused by global...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

<figure class="wp-block-embed 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/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



-----



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



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



-----

What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

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

<figure class="wp-block-embed 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/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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>.



-----



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



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



-----

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.



<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...

News coming your way