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...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a> has identified a lesser-known form of ozone that seems to be playing a large role in heating the Southern Ocean – which is one of the Earth’s major cooling systems - by removing a large amount of carbon dioxide and excess heat from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-atmosphere-is-expanding-due-to-climate-change/">atmosphere</a>. While many previous studies have described the ozone layer in the stratosphere and its crucial role in protecting humans and animals from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation, researchers have now discovered that a form of ozone closer to the ground (tropospheric ozone) can be highly damaging for your planet, by significantly warming up the Southern Ocean.



“People haven’t paid much attention in the past to tropospheric ozone in terms of ocean heat uptake. Based on our models, they should be,” said study lead author Wei Liu, a climate scientist at UC Riverside.



Together with an international team of scientists, Dr. Liu explored climate model simulations with changes in ozone levels between 1955 and 2000. These simulations aimed to isolate both stratospheric and tropospheric ozone from other influences on Southern Ocean temperatures, allowing the researchers to assess how each factor contributes to ocean temperature rises.



While both factors were found to significantly contribute to warming, scientists were surprised to discover that tropospheric ozone played a larger role in this process. “Historically, about a third of the ocean’s warming is attributable to ozone. For this third, about 40 percent is from the stratosphere, and the rest is troposphere,” said Dr. Liu.



According to Dr. Liu and his colleagues, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from products such as pesticides, automobiles, or tobacco smoke are the gases that form the building blocks of tropospheric ozone, together with nitrogen oxides produced by combustion, and carbon monoxide from gas stoves, furnaces, or automobile exhaust. Most of these products could be modified to produce fewer VOCs.&nbsp;



“Tropospheric ozone is an air pollutant. If we reduce our production of this, we get the dual benefits of less air pollution and most likely, less Southern Ocean warming as well,” concluded Dr. Liu.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01320-w">Nature Climate Change</a>.



---



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

Lesser-known form of ozone contributes the most to global warming

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

According to a new study presented at the <a href="https://www.seismosoc.org/annual-meeting/">Seismological Society of America’s Annual Meeting</a>, the presence of diamonds deep in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-resolutions-misconceptions-about-recycling-plastics/">Earth</a> suggests that fluids play an essential role in generating earthquakes at depths where high pressures should keep brittle failure from happening.&nbsp;



Although fluid-assisted faulting in subducted slabs 300 to 700 kilometers deep – in the transition zone between the upper and lower mantle - may explain deep earthquakes, evidence for this process was scarce until recently. However, the discovery of diamonds formed in this transition zone (“sublithospheric diamonds”) provide clear evidence of the presence of fluids carried by subducting slabs, since these diamonds’ internal growth structure indicate that they are formed from fluids moving through host rock.



“I think it’s up to the seismological community at this point to try to understand why fluids would be important,” said study lead author Steven Shirey, a geochemist of the <a href="https://carnegiescience.edu/">Carnegie Institution for Science</a>.&nbsp;“We know fluids are down there, we know they’re moving, and the petrology of the diamonds tell you that, because these diamonds always form in regions of the mantle where fluids are moving. Diamonds tell you there is a crack or vein relationship with host mantle. You have to have fluids moving through host rock in veins or cracks and equilibrating with it.”



According to Dr. Shirey and his colleagues, deep earthquakes – occurring 500 to 700 kilometers below the Earth’s surface, appear to happen only in the slabs which can transport water or that can carry carbonate deep enough to trigger melting. At such depths, water or carbonate fluids could be triggering the earthquakes, or the earthquakes could trigger fluid release, or both things could happen.



The distinctive chemistry and inclusions of sublitospheric diamonds are telltale signs of their origin from the subducted oceanic plate. They indicate that fluid-bearing rock does make its way into the mantle, and is carried by cold subducting slabs, ultimately giving rise to deep earthquakes. Further research is needed to map the precise locations where these earthquakes form, by clarifying the position of the slabs.



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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

What can diamonds reveal about the formation of earthquakes?

According to a new study presented at the Seismological Society...

Bacteria in the ocean are incredibly numerous and play important roles in the marine ecosystem, some of which we may not yet understand. Despite their plentitude, there are many gaps in our knowledge of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-is-the-perfect-time-to-support-the-ocean-decade/">ocean</a> microbes. New research sought to investigate one of the most basic aspects of the lives of marine bacteria - do they actively hunt or merely drift through the water consuming whatever they encounter? The science suggests the former.&nbsp;



An international group of scientists led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/">University of Technology Sydney</a> (UTS) used microchips to peer into the world of microbes. What they discovered is that bacteria move in ways comparable to larger animals when foraging.&nbsp;



“We had some idea that microbes could swim around their immediate environment to find and exploit food patches, but the only available evidence came from laboratory experiments, which are often not very realistic or representative of natural environments," said study lead author and microbial ecologist Dr. Jean-Baptiste Raina.



"This kind of behavior had never been comprehensively examined in the environment among natural populations of microbes. Now, for the first time, we’ve been able to show that the swimming behaviour of microbes in the natural environment is governed by the attraction of bacteria to specific chemical cues, which dictates important processes and interactions that structure the base of the marine food web.”



The scientists created bacteria traps in order to investigate the microbes feeding preferences and found that certain chemicals that the bacteria consume create “feeding frenzies.” The scientists say that the behaviors and preferences of bacteria can have important implications.&nbsp;



“When we think about how small a bacterium is, it is easy to dismiss the consequences of its behavior," explained study senior author Professor Justin Seymor.



"However, because marine bacteria are so numerous and diverse, the way they find, consume and recycle chemicals in seawater can have a profound influence on processes that control global climate and the productivity of the marine food web."



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



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Marine bacteria hunt with purpose

Bacteria in the ocean are incredibly numerous and play important...

Many things have changed in the two years since the beginning of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mental-illness-increases-risk-of-breakthrough-covid-infections/">COVID-19</a> pandemic: a series of innovative vaccines have been developed and distributed to a large number of people, highly efficient antiviral treatments are now available (although mostly in richer countries). And, with the fulminant passage of the highly contagious yet less severe Omicron variant through most of the world, there is currently a massive amount of natural immunity among most of the globe’s population. 



With restrictions such as mask wearing or social distancing eased or even dropped completely in many countries, more responsibility in calculating the risks of coronavirus infections now lie on the shoulders of each individual.&nbsp;



Several scientists - such as Katelyn Jetelina (a professor of Epidemiology at the <a href="https://sph.uth.edu/campuses/dallas">University of Texas School of Public Health</a>) or Cameron Byerley (an associate professor of Mathematics Education at the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a>) - have recently tried to quantify individual risks engendered by COVID, depending upon factors such as age, vaccination status, or comorbidities. “We’re doing a really terrible job of communicating risk,” said Dr. Jetelina. “I think that’s also why people are throwing their hands up in the air and saying, ‘Screw it.’ They’re desperate for some sort of guidance.”



Comparing the risks of being hospitalized or dying from a COVID infection with the risks entailed by engaging in other activities such as driving, participating in wars, or taking drugs, these experts came up with rather optimistic and reassuring statistics. For instance, while an average 40-year-old vaccinated more than six months ago faces the same chance of being hospitalized after an infection as someone does of dying in a car accident in the course of 170 cross-country road trips, an average unvaccinated 65 years old person is as likely to die from an Omicron infection as a person using heroin for one year and a half. However, an average vaccinated and boosted senior 65 or older faces a risk of dying from COVID only slightly higher than that of a soldier fighting for a year in the Afghanistan war from 2011.



While such statistical and probabilistic analyses are indeed reassuring, the fact that the coronavirus is still circulating widely in many areas of the world, while a large number of immunocompromised individuals cannot much rely on vaccines or previous infections to protect them, placing the burden of risk assessment completely on the shoulders of individuals is perhaps not yet the best course of action. 



“As much as we wouldn’t like to believe it, we still need a society-wide approach to the pandemic, especially to protect those who can’t benefit fully from vaccination,” said Anne Sosin, an expert in Health Equity at <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a>.



An in-depth discussion of COVID risks, together with comparisons with other activities, can be found in Dr. Jetelina’s open-access article “<a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/understanding-risk?s=r">Understanding Risk</a>,” while Dr. Byerley’s interactive online tool which allows people to adjust their age, vaccination status, or health background in order to predict the risks a coronavirus infection might entail can be accessed <a href="https://www.covidtaser.com/comparison-mobile6">here</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

How do we quantify the risk of a COVID infection?

Many things have changed in the two years since the...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.uab.cat/web/universitat-autonoma-de-barcelona-1345467954774.html">Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona</a> have presented a brand new perspective on how early humans adapted to climate change. The evidence was discovered in the remains of ancient marine mollusk shells.



"Current global climate warming is having, and will continue to have, widespread consequences for humans. Looking to the past, multiple climatic and environmental changes have long been thought to have shaped human evolution and behavior," wrote the researchers.



According to the experts, the "8.2 ka event" was the largest and most abrupt climate change event of the past 11,700 years. This was caused by meltwater from North American lakes flooding into the North Atlantic and stopping ocean circulation systems.



"The influx of cold water into the Atlantic Ocean led to a reduction of sea surface salinity and a decline of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), provoking a reduction in sea surface temperatures (SST) across the North Atlantic," explained the researchers. "The cooling effects of this event have been documented in proxies from the Greenland ice cores and across Europe."



Study lead author Asier García Escárzaga and colleagues used stable carbon isotope analyses to examine marine mollusk shells that were collected in the El Mazo cave along the European Atlantic coast. El Mazo has a long stratigraphic sequence of 1,500 years, with especially high chronological resolution of each archaeological layer.



The results showed that colder ocean water temperatures led to changes in the availability of different shellfish species. For example, one of the most commonly consumed species decreased during the 8.2 ka event, while another commonly harvested species increased.



The results also revealed a major increase in mollusk exploitation by humans. This activity was indicated by a decrease in average mollusk size and evidence of increased harvesting in more dangerous coastal areas.&nbsp;



"A decrease in shell size was also observed at El Mazo during this colder period, something that has been variously linked to either changes in sea surface temperatures or a higher human pressure on coastal resources, mostly in the form of demographic increase and additional resource pressure," wrote the study authors.



"At El Mazo, a clear reduction in shell size for the three most dominant mollusc species can be seen during the 8.2 ka event. Given that each of these species have well-documented differences in temperature tolerance, it seems that changes in sea surface temperatures cannot be considered responsible for changes in shell size."



The researchers propose that humans were flocking to the Atlantic coast as a refuge during the cold event. Despite the influx of people, however, the fossil evidence suggests that humans living around El Mazo managed to avoid over-exploiting their coastal resources. The experts found that the average mollusk size very rarely decreased below 20 millimeters, which has since been established as the minimum size needed to guarantee long-term species survival.&nbsp;



“Our results suggest an ongoing application of local marine ecological knowledge by some of the last foragers in western Europe, despite major changes to climate and demography," explained García-Escárzaga.



The techniques used in the study could be extremely useful for other studies seeking to determine the significance of climate change on marine environments. The research also provides new clues to help predict the nature of future climate change and the impacts on human societies.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.



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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

Mollusk shells reveal new clues about past climate change

Researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have presented a...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en">Utrecht University</a>, scientists have investigated the mental well-being of shelter dogs by examining stress hormones.&nbsp;



"Dogs can suffer from chronic stress in environments that are sub-optimal to their needs, such as in many kennel environments," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"Chronic stress may exceed the animals’ adaptive capacity and thus, threaten its welfare state. Chronic stress may even elicit medical and behavioral problems in the long term. Therefore, to improve canine welfare, reliable and feasible non-invasive indicators of long-term stress levels need to be evaluated."



It comes as no surprise that shelter dogs are stressed. They are exposed to lots of other dogs, strange humans and are more isolated from the outside world.



"We know that a shelter is not a stress-free environment for dogs, even though staff members do their best to achieve the highest possible welfare," said lead researcher Janneke Van der Laan. "Even if you organize a shelter in the best possible way, there are still stress factors, such as crowds of other dogs and not being able to go outside as often as usual. And most important: the dog is gone from their old, familiar environment.”



The scientists carried out the research by measuring levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that is found in humans as well as dogs. The cortisol levels can be measured from hair samples, so the research team collected hair from dogs at the beginning of their stay at a shelter, throughout the course of their stay, and after they were adopted out.  



"In addition to the cortisol measurements in hair, we also measured cortisol values in the dogs’ urine. This gives a short-term picture while the hair measurements show the long term," explained van der Laan.



"We took daily measurements in the shelter for over a year. After adoption, the new owners - after clear instructions - cut the dogs hair and sent it to us. They were helpful and enthusiastic, and were very interested in what their dog had experienced before adoption.”



The dogs' cortisol levels started at the same levels of other domestic dogs but rose during their time at the shelter, peaking after six weeks. Fortunately, these stress levels fell at about the same rate when dogs found new homes and ultimately returned to normal. One surprising (and so far unexplained) result was that smaller dogs exhibited higher cortisol levels than their larger counterparts.&nbsp;



The study shows that even a shelter like the one used, which does its best to improve welfare for animals, is a stressful place for dogs. The research highlights the need to get dogs adopted as soon as possible to good homes.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Shelter dogs have high levels of stress

In a new study from Utrecht University, scientists have investigated...

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> in UK and Stellenbosch University in South Africa has recorded sounds made by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humpback-whales-travel-thousands-of-miles-to-mate/">humpback whales</a> at the Vema Seamount in the Atlantic Ocean, a few hundreds of miles west of the South African coast. The recordings revealed a variety of calls, including an “impulsive sound” – dubbed “gunshot” by the scientists – that has never been recorded before.



The researchers used moored hydrophones deployed during the Southern Hemisphere spring of 2019 to record the whales’ calls. These calls were detected during a period of 11 days, and were categorized into continuous “song” and shorter “non-song” calls. 



Among the over 600 non-song calls recorded, the most common one was a low “whup,” which is known to be used between mothers and calves to help them locate each other. Occasionally though, whales also “whup” while feeding. Other sounds included “grumble” calls – which are also emitted by whales while feeding – as well as a more mysterious “gunshot” call, whose significance is still unknown.



“We still don’t fully understand what the “gunshot” call means, and it is fantastic to record it in humpback whales for the first time,” said&nbsp;study co-author Dr. Kirsten Thompson, a population biologist at the University of Exeter. “It really shows how much we still have to learn about these incredible animals.”



According to Dr. Thompson, the “whup” and “grumble” calls confirm that the whales passing through&nbsp;the Vema Seamount during their long migration to the polar regions are feeding. “Seamounts can provide rich habitat for all sorts of migratory species and we urgently need widespread protection of the global oceans to ensure these habitats can persist.”



Although the area around the Vema Seamount was heavily overfished after its discovery in 1959, it is now closed for fishing and recognized as a vulnerable marine ecosystem in need of protection due to its unique biodiversity. However, no legally binding international agreement exists to protect the network of seamounts in the high seas.



“50 years ago, governments came together to turn around the fate of humpback whales. Now they have a chance to secure the progress already made and protect the high-seas habitats that whales rely on. While such large areas of our oceans remain unprotected, these ecosystems are highly vulnerable. A coherent and connected network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) across our oceans is urgently needed to ensure seamounts like Vema are protected,” concluded Dr. Thompson.



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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

Humpback whale calls reveal mysterious gunshot sound

A team of researchers from the University of Exeter in...

According to a new report released by the <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/">Copernicus Climate Change Service</a> (C3S) on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/for-earth-day-lets-make-our-planets-heartbeat-louder/">Earth Day</a> 2022, Europe experienced its warmest summer on record in 2021, with over 1.0°C above the 1991-2020 average. Severe and long-lasting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-heatwaves-reduce-the-oceans-ability-to-absorb-carbon/">heatwaves</a> contributed to wildfires in Greece, Italy, and Turkey, and were compounded by heavy rainfall causing massive floods in Western Europe. Moreover, in large areas of the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, annual sea surface temperatures spiked substantially and were the highest since at least 1993.&nbsp;



“2021 was a year of extremes including the hottest summer in Europe, heatwaves in the Mediterranean, flooding, and wind droughts in Western Europe, showing that the understanding of weather and climate extremes is becoming increasingly relevant for key societal sectors,” said Carlo Buontempo, the director of C3S.



Although spring in Europe was cooler than average last year, summer temperatures rose well beyond their expected values, reaching an all-time record of 48.8 degrees in Sicily, and causing devastating wildfires in several European countries (the total area burnt during July and August in the Mediterranean region exceeded 800,000 hectares). According to Freja Vamborg, a senior scientist at C3S, the main reason for these European (as well as global) temperature spikes and extreme weather events is the increased atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases.



“It is the same key message on greenhouse gases that is forever repeated. We see large increases in carbon dioxide in 2021, and it is the main driver behind a general global rise in average temperature between 1.1 and 1.2 degrees Celsius (1.98 and 2.16 degrees Fahrenheit) since the pre-industrial age,” Vamborg said.



The report revealed that global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide increased by 2.3 parts per million and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-emissions-are-higher-than-previously-estimated/">methane</a> by 16.5 parts per million. “The rise has been steady for both greenhouse gases with no sign of reduction over the last 10 years. However, we saw a larger than usual increase of methane in both 2020 and 2021,” said Vincent-Henry Peuch, the director of the <a href="https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/">Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service</a>.



&nbsp;“An increase of methane concentrations could be linked not only to emissions but also to a possible change in the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. More research is required to get a robust understanding. Still, some recent work points towards changes in tropical areas and emissions from natural sources like wetlands and from human sources such as rice culture and cattle.”



If urgent measures are not taken by governments, policy makers, as well as each and every individual to significantly curb these emissions, last year’s summer will undoubtedly be followed by even more severe ones, significantly threatening life on Earth as we know it.&nbsp;



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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

Europe experienced its warmest summer on record last year

According to a new report released by the Copernicus Climate...

In Steven Spielberg’s iconic film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), the lead character – played by Harrison Ford – warns of the dangers of small scorpions, claiming that “when it comes to scorpions, the bigger the better.” Now, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.nuigalway.ie">National University of Ireland, Galway</a> (NUI Galway) has confirmed Indiana Jones’ insights. By analyzing 36 species of scorpion, the scientists found that smaller species with smaller pincers have more potent venom compared to larger species with robust claws.



“When we look at the most potent, and dangerous, scorpion venoms we find they tend to be associated with species such as the deathstalker which are relatively small. In contrast, the biggest species such as rock scorpions have venoms that are likely to only cause slight pain,” said study senior author Kevin Healy, a lecturer of Zoology at NUI Galway. “Outside of entertaining movie trivia there are good evolutionary reason to expect the results and important medical implications for such patterns.”&nbsp;



Dr. Healy and his colleagues argued that, although scorpions use both their venomous sting and their pincers to capture prey and defend themselves, there is an evolutionary trade-off between these weapons. Energy used to make and maintain larger pincers means less energy is available for the scorpion’s chemical arsenal. Thus, larger scorpions that can use their physical size are less reliant on venom, while smaller ones have evolved more potent, deadly venoms.



“Not only did we find that bigger is better - when it comes to people being stung - we also found that bigger pincers are better when it comes to assessing the danger level of a scorpion. While species such as large-clawed scorpion might be small to medium in size, they mainly rely on their large pincers instead of their relatively weak venom,” explained study lead author Alannah Forde, a graduate student in Zoology at NUI Galway.



Since scorpion stings are a global health problem with over one million cases and thousands of deaths each year, identifying the attacking species is vital for treatment.&nbsp;



“As scientists, our job is also to put popular wisdom to the test. Most victims hospitalized with severe symptoms following scorpion stings are children below the age of 15. Identifying the species responsible is essential to administer the correct treatment, and a simple rule such as ‘bigger is better’ is a first small step toward saving lives,” concluded another senior author, Dr Michel Dugon, Head of the <a href="https://www.nuigalway.ie/zoology/research/venom/">Venom System Lab</a> at NUI Galway.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/14/3/219">Toxins</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

Indiana Jones was right, small scorpions are more deadly

In Steven Spielberg’s iconic film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom...

On Thursday, April 21, 2002, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) issued a <a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/han00462.asp">nationwide health alert</a> concerning an unusual cluster of serious hepatitis cases with unknown origin in young children in the United States. These U.S. cases were identified soon after the United Kingdom and several European countries such as Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands have also reported mysterious cases of hepatitis of unknown etiology.



The first known case in the United Kingdom occurred in January in Scotland, followed by over 100 other cases across, most of them in England. These cases presented clinically with severe acute hepatitis, exhibiting increased levels of liver enzymes, jaundice, as well as – in some cases – gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and vomiting. Eight children in the U.K. underwent liver transplants, but no deaths have yet been reported. In the U.S. nine cases of hepatitis in children aged 1-6 have been identified in Alabama and two in North Carolina, between October 2021 and February 2022. The experts did not manage to identify any epidemiological link connected these cases.



Hepatitis can be triggered by many factors, including toxic chemicals, autoimmune disorders, or viruses, such as those causing chickenpox or common cold. However, the most common cause of viral hepatitis are the hepatitis A, B, and C viruses. According to health experts though, all these common causes have been ruled out in both the U.S. and the U.K.



Officials are now investigating a possible association between these mysterious cases of pediatric hepatitis and adenoviruses – a family of widespread viruses that cause various infections, most commonly respiratory illnesses. Although such viruses rarely cause hepatitis, all nine children in Alabama were infected with adenoviruses, with five of the nine cases testing positive for a specific type of adenovirus (adenovirus 41) which often causes cases of pediatric acute gastroenteritis. In the U.K. several – but not all - children tested positive for adenovirus too. While some of the U.K. children were also found to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, no such infections were yet detected in the U.S.



“At this time, adenovirus may be the cause for these, but investigators are still learning more, including ruling out other possible causes and identifying other possible contributing factors,” reported the CDC.



According to Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious disease expert at the <a href="https://www.uhhospitals.org/rainbow">University Hospitals Rainbow Babies &amp; Children’s Hospital</a> in Cleveland, with the lifting of mask mandates and social distancing measures, it is normal for children to be more susceptible to a wide range of infections.



“Now that COVID is down, viral interference has been released and I think we are going to see a lot of old pathogens coming back and maybe some new ones, which worries me too,” confirmed Monica Gandhi, a professor of Medicine at the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California, San Francisco</a>.



CDC urges clinicians who may encounter pediatric patients with hepatitis of unknown origin to consider adenovirus testing and to immediately report such cases to state public health authorities.



---



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

Mysterious cases of hepatitis detected in children

On Thursday, April 21, 2002, the Centers for Disease Control...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.nist.gov/">National Institute of Standards and Technology</a> (NIST) has found that disposable coffee cups coated with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) can release trillions of plastic nanoparticles when exposed to boiling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/its-the-timing-of-water-that-matters-to-plants/">water</a>. Although the effect of these particles on living organisms are not yet clear, these findings are quite alarming for many scientists, who worry that repeated exposure to such pollutants could have long-term health effects.



While there are different types of plastic materials, they are all made of polymers – natural or human-made substances consisting of large molecules linked together. Scientists have already found myriad microscopic particles from these plastics in the world’s oceans and many other places, including even the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-found-in-the-human-blood-for-the-first-time/">human blood</a>. These tiny particles are categorized into two groups: microplastics (smaller than five millimeters but visible to the naked eye), and nanoparticles (smaller than one micrometer and invisible to the human eye).



“The main takeaway here is that there are plastic particles wherever we look. There are a lot of them. Trillions per liter. We don’t know if those have bad health effects on people or animals. We just have a high confidence that they’re there,” said study lead author Christopher Zangmeister, a chemist at NIST.



Dr. Zangmeister and his colleagues have analyzed two types of commercial plastic products – single-use hot beverage cups, such as coffee cups coated with LDPE, and food-grade nylon bags, such as baking liners.&nbsp;After exposing the LDPE-lined coffee cups to boiling water for 20 minutes, they sprayed the water out into a fine mist and dried the mist and all that was left within a solution in order to isolate the plastic nanoparticles.&nbsp;



By running a powerful computer program that could count the particles, together with state-of-the art procedures such as scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, the scientists managed not only to count the nanoparticles, but also to measure their size. They found that the average size of the particles was between 30 and 80 nanometers, and that the concentration of nanoparticles released into boiling water by food-grade nylon was seven times higher compared to that released from coffee cups.



“In the last decade scientists have found plastics wherever we looked in the environment. People have looked at snow in Antarctica, the bottom of glacial lakes, and found microplastics bigger than about 100 nanometers, meaning they were likely not small enough to enter a cell and cause physical problems,” said Dr. Zangmeister.&nbsp;“Our study is different because these nanoparticles are really small and a big deal because they could get inside of a cell, possibly disrupting its function.”



These findings could open new avenues of research for scientists working on the problem of plastic pollution and its effects on human and animal health, while also informing the larger public about the risks involved in using various types of plastic materials. “Most of the studies on this topic are written toward educating fellow scientists. This paper will do both: educate scientists and perform public outreach,” concluded Dr. Zangmeister.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c06768">Environmental Sciences &amp; Technology</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

Disposable coffee cups release trillions of plastic particles

A new study led by the National Institute of Standards...

President Biden will sign an executive order in Seattle today that will ultimately save some of America's largest and oldest trees. The goal is to help mitigate climate change by preserving old-growth forests, which are valuable carbon stores. The order also aims to restore national forests that have been devastated by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-third-of-global-forest-loss-has-been-caused-by-wildfires/">wildfires</a> and drought, including forests in California that recently lost thousands of giant sequoias to fire.&nbsp;



The executive order requires the <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/">Forest Service</a>, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service to take inventory of the country's old-growth forests within a year.&nbsp;



The agencies have been directed to identify threats to older trees and to develop policies to help protect them, along with the establishment of a reforestation goal by 2030. The experts will address some of the biggest challenges of tree planting efforts in the West, such as expanding the capacity for seed collection and seedling production.&nbsp;



According to a report from the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>, the executive order is also aimed at curbing deforestation overseas, promoting economic development in regions with major timber industries and calculating the economic value of other natural resources such as wetlands.



Collin O’Mara is the president and chief executive of the National Wildlife Federation. He said the order may be an incredibly smart fire resilience strategy.



“We know old growth forests are less prone to megafires, especially when they’re managed well,” O’Mara told the Washington Post. “And apart from the benefits for wildlife and water quality and carbon sequestration, this also could be something that mitigates a lot of the fire risk if we do it right.”



A team of 135 scientists, including Former Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck, called on President Biden to protect mature and old-growth forests as a critical climate solution.



“Older forests provide the most above-ground carbon storage potential on Earth, with mature forests and larger trees driving most accumulation of forest carbon in the critical next few decades. Left vulnerable to logging, though, they cannot fulfill these vital functions,” the scientists wrote on Thursday.



The experts said that protecting mature forests would set an important, highly visible example for other major forest-holding nations to follow as they address climate change threats.



President Biden will speak today in Seattle about his administration’s plans for action on climate change and other environmental threats. The event is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET, and the live feed can be accessed <a href="https://youtu.be/Iu7x4j847_8">here</a>.



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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

President Biden moves to strengthen forests, boost wildfire resilience

President Biden will sign an executive order in Seattle today...

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

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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.



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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.

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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.



<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...

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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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" 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> 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...

<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



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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?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" 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 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

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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;



---



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...

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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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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