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By focusing on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-change-their-roots-to-survive-harsh-conditions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">root systems</a>, researchers aim to create new plants, using an artificial intelligence (AI) tool called SLEAP, that can store more carbon for extended periods.



For this intriguing new study, scientists are leveraging AI to optimize plants' natural ability to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/good-news-plants-are-absorbing-more-human-produced-co2-than-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">draw carbon dioxide</a> out of the atmosphere, a crucial step in combating climate change and limiting global temperature rise. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sleap-game-changing-ai-tool-that-creates-plants">SLEAP: Game-changing AI tool that creates plants</h2>



Talmo Pereira and Professor <a href="https://www.salk.edu/scientist/wolfgang-busch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wolfgang Busch</a> from Salk’s <a href="https://www.salk.edu/harnessing-plants-initiative/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harnessing Plants Initiative</a> have joined forces to apply SLEAP, a sophisticated AI software initially designed for tracking animal movement, to the study of plants. 



Their research introduces a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-022-01426-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new protocol</a> for using SLEAP to analyze plant root phenotypes, such as depth, width, and mass.



"This collaboration is truly a testament to what makes Salk science so special and impactful," says Pereira. "We're not just 'borrowing' from different disciplines -- we're really putting them on equal footing in order to create something greater than the sum of its parts."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-streamlining-plant-analysis-with-ai">Streamlining plant analysis with AI</h2>



Prior to SLEAP, analyzing plant and animal characteristics was a labor-intensive process that slowed scientific progress. 



Researchers had to manually flag parts of images frame-by-frame, part-by-part, and pixel-by-pixel before older AI models could process the data.



SLEAP's unique combination of computer vision and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/machine-learning-could-help-save-mangrove-forests/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deep learning</a> allows researchers to skip this intermediary step, jumping straight from image input to defined plant features. 



This approach significantly reduces analysis time and human error while emphasizing accessibility and ease of use.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sleap-roots-digging-deep-into-plant-biology">sleap-roots: Digging deep into plant biology</h2>



The Salk team developed sleap-roots, a downloadable toolkit for SLEAP that enables the software to process biological traits of root systems, such as depth, mass, and angle of growth. 



The toolkit, available as open-source software, was tested on various plants, including soybeans, rice, canola, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-capture-plant-communication-on-video/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arabidopsis thaliana</a>.



"We created a robust protocol validated in multiple plant types that cuts down on analysis time and human error, while emphasizing accessibility and ease-of-use -- and it required no changes to the actual SLEAP software," says Elizabeth Berrigan, a bioinformatics analyst in Busch's lab.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deciphering-the-secrets-of-climate-saving-plants">Deciphering the secrets of climate-saving plants</h2>



By connecting phenotypic data, such as a plant's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/measuring-plant-root-health-scanning-leaves-xray-device/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deep root system</a>, with genotype data obtained through genome sequencing efforts, researchers can identify the genes responsible for creating desirable traits. 



This step is crucial in Salk's mission to create plants with AI that hold on to more carbon for longer periods, as these plants will require root systems designed to be deeper and more robust.



"We have already been able to create the most extensive catalogue of plant root system phenotypes to date, which is really accelerating our research to create carbon-capturing plants that fight climate change," says Busch, the Hess Chair in <a href="https://pbio.salk.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plant Science at Salk</a>. 



"SLEAP has been so easy to apply and use, thanks to Talmo's professional software design, and it's going to be an indispensable tool in my lab moving forward," Busch concluded.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-the-hidden-world-of-plant-root-systems">Understanding the hidden world of plant root systems</h2>



To further clarify, plant root systems are intricate networks of roots that play a crucial role in anchoring plants to the soil, absorbing water and nutrients, and storing essential compounds. 



There are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/maize-plant-genetics-shape-root-health-and-growth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two main types of root systems</a> exist in plants: taproot systems and fibrous root systems. 



<ul>
<li>Taproot systems feature a single, dominant root that grows vertically downward, with smaller lateral roots branching off from it. </li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>Fibrous root systems, on the other hand, consist of numerous small roots that grow outward from the base of the plant, forming a dense network.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Functions of root systems</h3>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-roots-follow-gravity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Root systems</a> perform several critical functions for plants:



<ul>
<li>Anchoring: Roots secure plants to the soil, providing stability and preventing them from toppling over.</li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>Absorption: Fine root hairs absorb water and dissolved nutrients from the soil, which are then transported to the rest of the plant.</li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>Storage: Some plants, such as carrots and beets, use their roots to store carbohydrates and other essential compounds.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Factors influencing root growth</h3>



Several factors influence the growth and development of plant root systems:



<ul>
<li>Soil type: Different soil types, such as sandy, loamy, or clay soils, affect root growth and distribution.</li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>Water availability: Plants adapt their root systems in response to water availability, with some species growing deeper roots to access water in times of drought.</li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>Nutrient availability: The presence or absence of essential nutrients in the soil can impact root growth and architecture.</li>
</ul>



Healthy root systems are essential for overall plant health and productivity. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-rooted-crops-can-significantly-improve-soil-carbon-storage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Well-developed roots</a> enable plants to efficiently absorb water and nutrients, leading to stronger growth and increased resilience to stresses such as drought or disease. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-and-the-future-of-climate-saving-plants">AI and the future of climate-saving plants</h2>



The accessibility and reproducibility of SLEAP and sleap-roots have the potential to revolutionize plant research worldwide. The Salk team has already begun discussions with NASA scientists hoping to utilize the tool to guide <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-air-pollution-could-greatly-boost-carbon-sequestration-by-plants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">carbon-sequestering plants</a> on Earth and to study plants in space.



In summary, the Salk Institute's pioneering research in plant-based carbon capture, powered by the innovative SLEAP software and sleap-roots toolkit, paves the way for a greener future. 



As scientists continue to refine and expand these tools, they accelerate the development of climate-saving plants with optimized root systems capable of storing more carbon for longer periods. 



The accessibility and reproducibility of SLEAP and sleap-roots invite researchers worldwide to join the fight against climate change, fostering global collaboration and innovation. 



With the Harnessing Plants Initiative at the forefront, Salk scientists are rooting for change, digging deep into plant biology, and branching out to make a lasting impact on our planet's future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/plantphenomics.0175" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plant Phenomics</a>.



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AI is creating new plants that can help fight climate change

By focusing on root systems, researchers aim to create new plants, using an artificial intelligence (AI) tool called SLEAP, that can store more carbon for extended periods. For this intriguing new study, scientists are leveraging AI to optimize plants' natural ability to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, a crucial step in combating climate change and limiting global temperature rise. SLEAP: Game-changing AI tool that creates plants Talmo Pereira and Professor Wolfgang Busch from Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative have joined forces to apply SLEAP, a sophisticated AI...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/university/">University of Bonn</a>, Germany and <a href="https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/">Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University</a>, China has investigated why some plant species changed pollinators over the course of their evolution. By studying the reproductive system of three sister species pairs, where one species was pollinated by insects and one by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hummingbirds-can-smell-dangerous-insects/">hummingbirds</a>, the scientists found that birds are much more effective than bees in pollinating plants that are not capable of self-pollination, and are thus dependent on cross-pollination.



Insects - especially <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-american-bumblebee-may-be-on-the-brink-of-extinction/">bees</a> - are the most common pollinators worldwide. However, bees have quite small activity ranges, while other pollinator species, such as hummingbirds, can fly much longer distances.&nbsp;



“It was previously assumed that plants switch their pollinator group from bees to hummingbirds when the activity and thus the pollination efficiency of bees is too low or too unpredictable, for example in the high mountains,” said study lead author Dr. Stefan Abrahamczyk, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.bonn.de/microsite/en/international-profile/international-location/nees-instituteforthebiodiversityofplantsatbonnuniversity.php">Nees Institute for Plant Biodiversity</a> at the University of Bonn.



Surprisingly though, many plants in regions with high bee diversity and abundance have nevertheless switched to hummingbirds, bats, or even ground-dwelling mammals such as mice, honey possums, or lemurs as their pollinators.



In order to understand this phenomenon, Dr. Abrahamczyk and his colleagues analyzed three sister species pairs (new species arising from a common ancestor, but evolving into two different directions because their distribution range was divided by factors such as mountain folding or an ice age). All the examined species emerged from bee-pollinated ancestors and had their habitats in areas characterized by a high diversity and abundance of bees. However, while some were pollinated by bees, their sister species switched to hummingbirds at one point of their evolutionary history.&nbsp;



By using a series of pollination experiments, the scientists found that all the hummingbird-pollinated species had a significantly higher seed set. Moreover, their seeds had much higher germination rates when they resulted from pollination with pollen from another plant individual from the same species.



“From these results, we can conclude that hummingbird pollination evolved in populations of bee-pollinated species that are particularly dependent on cross-pollination, i.e., cannot self-pollinate,” said Dr. Abrahmamczyk.



Since bees often visit all open flowers on one plant before moving to another plant, they mainly encourage self-pollination. By contrast, due to their larger radius of activity compared to bees and their frequent movement between different plants from the same species, hummingbirds are highly efficient in pollinating plants that cannot self-pollinate. Moreover, bees groom extensively during flight and deposit much of the pollen taken from plants in their pollen baskets to feed it to their larvae. Hummingbirds, on the other hand, are not interested in pollen, so they use the entire pollen they collect to fertilize plants.



“These newly gained insights can also be applied to the evolution of other pollination systems, such as bat or moth pollination, in terms of their frequency and efficiency,” concluded Dr. Abrahamczyk.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.8621">Ecology and Evolution</a>.



---



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

Bird pollination can be advantageous for plants

A new study led by the University of Bonn, Germany...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.scripps.edu/">Scripps Research Institute</a> has investigated how the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) - a species of carnivorous plant native to subtropical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-wetlands-can-become-too-salty-for-some-resident-plants/">wetlands</a> on the East Coast of the United States - snaps shut at the approach of prey. 



According to the researchers, a protein mechanosensitive channel aptly named Flycatcher1 is the biological structure that enables these plants to catch their prey. Understanding the structure and functions of Flycatcher1 sheds more light on similar proteins in other organisms including plants, bacteria, or even humans.



“Despite how different Venus flytraps are from humans, studying the structure and function of these mechanosensitive channels gives us a broader framework for understanding the ways that cells and organisms respond to touch and pressure,” said study co-senior author Andrew Ward, a professor of Integrative Structural Biology at the Scripps Institute.



Cells’ ability to sense pressure and movement is highly important for people’s sense of touch and hearing, as well as for many internal processes, such as the ability of the bladder to feel when it is full or the capacity of lungs to sense how much air is being breathed.&nbsp;



“Every new mechanosensitive channel that we study helps us make progress in understanding how these proteins can sense force and translate that to action and ultimately reveal more about human biology and health,” added co-senior author&nbsp;Ardem Patapoutian, a professor of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience at Scripps who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his research on the mechanosensitive channels allowing the human body to sense temperature and touch.



By using cryo-electron microscopy – a new technique which reveals the location of atoms within a frozen protein sample – the scientists analyzed the precise arrangement of molecules which form the Flycatcher1 protein channel in Venus flytrap plants and discovered that it is similar to a family of mechanosensitive channels found in bacteria (MscS).&nbsp;



However, while both Flycatcher1 and MscS channels exhibited seven groups of identical helices surrounding a central channel, Flycatcher1 had an unusual linker region extending outward from each group of helices. Like a switch, each linker could be flipped up or down, and appeared to be fundamental for the plant’s ability to close upon removal of pressure.



Further research is needed to determine whether Flycatcher1 is solely responsible for the snapping shut of Venus flytrap leaves, or whether other channels play complementary role. Moreover, the ways in which these protein channels relate to the mechanosensitive ion channels found in humans needs to be further investigated.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28511-5">Nature Communications</a>.



---



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

Scientists reveal how Venus flytraps catch their prey

A new study led by the Scripps Research Institute has...

The Congo Basin is home to the world's second-largest contiguous tropical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-in-the-amazon-hits-new-record-high/">forest</a> region. Despite its vast size and significance in the global climate system, very limited data is available on how the gases generated within the forest interact with the atmosphere. Research into the greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide and methane, in particular, is still in the early stages.



Several tropical forests have been identified as a substantial source of nitrous oxide and a methane sink. However, because comparable data for the Congo is unavailable, research into how these greenhouse gases react in that region has thus far been confined to modeling. Since the data for these models came from the Amazon, Indonesia, and the tropical region of Australia, scientists assumed the Congo Basin behaved similarly to these other tropical forests.



Now, this knowledge gap has been partially filled by an international research team led by <a href="https://ethz.ch/">ETH Zurich</a> Professor Johan Six. The scientists measured how much methane and nitrous oxide the Congo Basin tropical forest absorbs or releases after an extensive and laborious measurement campaign that lasted several years.&nbsp;



The researchers measured gas fluxes at several sites in three different forest types in the Congo Basin between 2016 and 2020. Montane forest, lowland tropical forest, and occasionally flooded marsh forest are among the forest types studied.&nbsp;



This is the first time that the gas fluxes of the Congo Basin's tropical forests are distinguished from those of other tropical locations throughout the world. Nitrous oxide emissions from the forest, for example, are quite minimal.



“This was unexpected. Our measurements from both the first short measurement campaigns and subsequent long-​term studies didn’t confirm the model assumptions,” said study lead author Matti Barthel.



For methane, the situation is different. The Congo Basin should be a methane sink, according to the models. For the montane and lowland tropical forests, the ETH researchers were able to confirm that this is the case. However, the Congolese tropical forest as a whole appears to be a source of methane since the much smaller swamp forests of the Congo Basin periodically exhale vast amounts of this greenhouse gas. Swamp forests generate up to 1,500 times more methane during the rainy season than during the dry season, negating the sink capacity of the other two forest types.



The researchers "looked into the soil" to understand why the Congo Basin forest behaves differently in response to certain climate gases, as Six explains it. They looked at microorganisms and their functions in one study and the isotopic composition of nitrogen in nitrous oxide in another. The experts found that soil bacteria convert the majority of nitrous oxide to gaseous nitrogen (N2) to create energy for their metabolism. As a result, this powerful greenhouse gas is removed from the atmosphere. N2 is a non-toxic gas that comprises about 80 percent of the atmosphere.



“Africa is underrepresented in such climate gas measurements, and the Congo Basin is particularly poorly researched,” said Barthel. He is aware of only one such study, which dates back to 1963 and was conducted by Belgian academics. Research in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, virtually collapsed after Mobutu assumed power. Furthermore, the vast tropical country remains inaccessible and its infrastructure is in a deplorable state.



Professor Six began the basic research for this paper in 2008, participating in two Congo River missions. He invited Barthel to investigate the movement of gas from this tropical forest, a missing piece in the global carbon cycle puzzle, based on the findings of these two missions. In 2016, as part of a two-month reconnaissance excursion, Barthel took the first measurements. This journey took him to the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern region. The data analysis revealed that the montane forest emits very little nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.



In the following years, Barthel and local scientists established two permanent monitoring stations, one in the Kisangani region and the other in the eastern Congo's Kahuzi-Béga National Park. During many 7- to 14-day measurement campaigns throughout the year, gas exchange between the atmosphere and the ground was measured.



The researchers established an additional measurement station in the western portion of the country, in the swamp forests of the Cuvette Centrale, from 2019 to 2020. These swamp forests make up just approximately seven percent of the Congo Basin's total tropical forest area, but they produce so much methane that it more than compensates for the rest of the forest's negative emissions, according to the study.



“Methane emissions there were exorbitant at times. During the first scouting expedition, we quickly realized that we wouldn’t be able to use high-​tech measuring equipment. So we worked with devices that are as easy to use, reliable and robust as possible, and that can run on batteries,” said Barthel, adding that the whole supply situation is too bad and there was no way to get spare components if something goes wrong. In addition, the power supply is unreliable.



The measuring stations were supervised by researchers from local universities. The volunteers also collected gas samples, placed them in bottles, and shipped them to Zurich for analysis. During the transfer of the over 6,500 samples, not a single one was broken or lost.



“That’s almost a miracle, because often the cardboard boxes in which the tubes were sent on their journey definitely looked the worse for wear," said Barthel.



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



---



By <a href="http://mailto:ashikha92@gmail.com">Ashikha Raoof</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The Congo forest does not behave like other rainforests

The Congo Basin is home to the world's second-largest contiguous...

Close,Up,Blue,Columbine,Wildflower,Blooms,In,Mountain,Aspen,Forest

Charles Darwin’s view of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supertramp-birds-provide-insight-into-how-evolution-works/">evolution</a> by natural selection envisioned one species changing gradually into another by means of many, small genetic mutations over a very long time. As Darwin wrote in his seminal work, On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection, “We see nothing of these slow changes in progress, until the hand of time has marked the long lapse of ages.”



Not all evolutionary biologists agree with this view of genetic change, however. Although it may explain the way in which species adapt to changing conditions over time, there are many instances where sudden, large morphological alterations occur within relatively short geologic timespans. Such changes are thought to be due to instances of significant genetic mutation, rather than to micro-mutations that accumulate over time. In this case, biologists would view evolution as involving sudden punctuations, or steps, during which genetic changes give rise to radical new morphologies.&nbsp;



Professor Scott Hodges in the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">UC Santa Barbara</a> Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, along with doctoral student Zachary Cabin and their colleagues, have just identified an example of a sudden evolutionary change. They have found a population of mutant Colorado blue columbine plants (Aquilegia coerulea) that produce flowers with no petals. Columbine flowers usually have small, white petals, each with an elongated spur that contains nectar and attracts pollinating insects. The mutants have lost their petals and nectar-filled spurs entirely, and these have been replaced by an extra set of sepals.



It seems that this type of mutation in A. coerulea has been seen before; in 1897, a mutant where the petals were replaced by sepals was described in the Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences.&nbsp; And a 100 years later, mutant plants were found to be abundant in an area about 24 km south of the original locality in central Colorado. This implies that the mutation involving petal loss was not a disadvantage to the plants – they have continued to survive and reproduce without being able to attract pollinators to their nectar-filled spurs.



The plants are usually pollinated bumblebees and hawkmoths, that would normally be attracted to the petals with spurs because of the nectar reward they contain. It is highly unusual to find that a mutation persists in a population when this makes the plant less attractive to its pollinating agents.



This is why Hodges and the team decided to investigate this population (in Reynolds Park Open Space) more closely. Over the span of three flowering seasons (between 2014 and 2016), they mapped the position of every flowering plant in one portion of Reynolds Park and recorded the morphology, number of flowers produced, signs of herbivory on the flowers, and whether the fruits matured. They also made extensive video recordings of the insect pollinators that visited flowers, and collected tissue samples for genetic analysis.



The researchers found that at least 25 percent of the plants in the area were of the mutant variety and had no petals or spurs. When they searched the DNA for the source of this unexpected change in morphology, they found the culprit to be a mutation in a single gene, APETALA3-3, which is known to affect spur development. This type of gene is a homeotic gene because it controls the development of an entire organ. It codes for a transcription factor that influences many other genes involved in building the whole organ.&nbsp;



“The gene is either on or off, so it’s about as simple of a change you can get,” said lead author&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eemb.ucsb.edu/people/students/cabin">Zachary Cabin</a>. “But that simple difference causes a radical change in morphology.” The finding adds weight to the idea that adaptation can occur in large jumps, rather than by merely plodding along over extended timespans.



Geneticists who have managed to introduce experimental mutations in the homeotic genes of fruit flies, have produced flies with entire organs in the wrong place in the body. For example, antennae grow out of the abdomen of the fly, or legs grow where there should be wings. These extreme changes are likely to affect survival in most instances.



“Most of the mutations of this nature are going to be like that, just awful,” Hodges said. “The animal won’t have any chance of surviving.”



But every once in a very long while, a macromutation can be neutral, or even confer an advantage to an individual in a particular environment. This individual could, according to Richard Goldschmidt – a prominent US geneticist – be seen as a ‘hopeful monster’. Such an individual would be the product of a fortuitous radical genetic mutation that would enable it to adopt a new mode of life.&nbsp;



Hopeful monsters are not usually found in the fossil record because changes take place rapidly, but if biologists could spot a hopeful monster in the early stages of its evolution, it would show that evolution can indeed proceed in single, large jumps.



Could it be that this recent research study on columbines, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>, has unearthed a hopeful monster?



“We did not have a good example of a hopeful monster due to a single genetic change,” said Hodges, “until now.” Researchers have to catch these abrupt changes as they’re happening, otherwise they disappear into an organism’s genome. The fact that it is actively happening in the Colorado blue columbine enabled the team to confirm this plant’s status as a hopeful monster.



“There’s definitely some luck involved with us being around at the right time to capture this,” Cabin said.



The team discovered five versions, or alleles, of&nbsp;APETALA3-3, only one of which codes for a petal with a functional nectar spur. The other four were ‘broken’, as Hodges put it. They also determined that spurlessness is a recessive trait. The flower will develop normally as long as the plant has one copy of the functional allele. But any two of the mutant alleles together will prevent this.&nbsp;



Since about a quarter of Colorado blue columbines in the study area displayed the recessive trait of spurlessness, it appeared that this mutation was advantageous to the plants in some way.&nbsp;



“To get that many of this mutant type really suggests that there’s selection favoring it somehow,” Hodges said, which proved perplexing as the spurs produce nectar that attracts the plant’s pollinators. “So, how the heck can you lose your spurs and still be favored?” he asked.



Analyzing the data that they had collected in the field, the researchers&nbsp;identified that flowers with spurs attracted more herbivores in the form of aphids and deer. These animals seemed to prefer eating the flowers with the nectar-filled spurs, and it was this pressure that was likely driving the selection for flowers with no spurs.



“The first time we really realized the pattern was at the airport on the way home,” Cabin recalled. He was reading off data as Hodges entered it into the computer. “Scott could see the pattern developing, because he had all the data in front of him, and was getting more and more excited.”



Shifts in floral morphology are usually driven by pollinators, but spurlessness seems to be driven by herbivory. “Natural selection can come from very surprising sources,” Hodges said. “It’s not always what you’d expect it to be.”



The researchers now want to track how spurlessness is spreading through the columbine population. They also suspect that, thanks to this genetic mutation, the Colorado blue columbine may be diverging into separate species. “That splitting process would be slow,” Cabin said, “but there is evidence that it could be on its way.”



---



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

Colorado blue columbines show punctuated evolution in action

Charles Darwin’s view of evolution by natural selection envisioned one...

Fusarium is an important and dangerous fungal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-plants-develop-resistance-to-potentially-deadly-pathogens/">pathogen</a> for a broad range of crops. A soil borne disease, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (FOC), infects the roots of banana plants. From the roots, the disease spreads into the plant’s vascular system, causing gradual deterioration and death. What makes the disease especially tenacious is that spores linger for up to twenty years after the infected plant is removed.



The banana industry has been severely impacted by FOC, particularly the Cavendish group. The impact of the disease has spread across the world for over 100 years and is predicted to spread further into Asia. Important banana producers such as China, the Philippines, Pakistan and Vietnam are likely to be impacted.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Predictions are especially dire for Vietnam. Within the next five years, FOC is predicted to cause a loss of 8 percent of the banana production area of Vietnam. This number rises substantially to as much as 71 percent in the next 25 years.&nbsp;



Most bananas are traded locally in Vietnam, as well as in many other banana growing regions throughout Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. This means that the consequences of FOC have a direct effect on local economies and nutrition. Because of the high stakes involved, it’s become increasingly important to learn which species are causing Fusarium wilt in Vietnamese bananas.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In an effort to learn more about the Fusarium wilt (and hopefully understand how to control it), an international team from research institutions in Vietnam set out to investigate. The team included experts from the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Meise Botanic Garden, KU Leuven, and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center.



The scientists used DNA analysis as well as traditional morphological research to identify the fungal species. Interestingly, ¾ of the fungal infections in northern Vietnam were caused by F. tardichlamydosporum. Other species account for only a small percentage of infections. Tragically, infections are also now found in wild bananas as well. This means that wild bananas could possibly act as a reservoir for reinfecting cultivated bananas in the future.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://mycokeys.pensoft.net/">MycoKeys</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

Vietnam's banana industry is threatened by disease

Fusarium is an important and dangerous fungal pathogen for a...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> is investigating the cause of the "skunky" <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-odors-repellent-crops/">odor</a> that is emitted by cannabis production facilities. The experts want to understand how cannabis emissions may affect air quality, workers, and the general public.



Davi de Ferreyro Monticelli, a doctoral student in UBC’s Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences is leading the study. According to Monticelli, knowledge gaps concerning cannabis emissions should be addressed while the industry is still developing.



In a recent interview, Monticelli explained what’s missing in our knowledge about cannabis production emissions, and how their smell compares to other odors.



"One way scientists measure odors is through ‘dynamic olfactometry’ analyses, where people capture a sample of air near a known odorous source and bring it back to the lab so it can be sniffed by trained assessors," said Monticelli.



"The sample is first diluted with clean air and then concentrated further and further until half of the assessment panel can smell it. When this happens, the level of dilution is converted into an odor concentration. This has been performed for many industries and operations, including cannabis facilities, waste and wastewater treatment, and livestock operations."



"We found in the literature that a facility that grows about 1,700 cannabis plants can emit the same odor concentration as a livestock operation with about 30 pigs or about 1,600 chickens. So, although their smells are not the same, one cannabis plant might be equivalent to about one chicken with respect to the intensity of the odors it produces."



Monticelli said that so far, the skunky cannabis smell has been linked to two classes of chemicals that are terpenes and volatile sulphurous compounds, which are volatile organic compounds. "However, we do not really know which type contributes more to the odors, and a better understanding would help the industry and policy makers control odorous emissions more effectively."



The UBC team conducted a review which identified 16 major gaps that need to be addressed, including the monitoring of air quality in and around cannabis facilities. 



"Most of the chemicals that are emitted react quickly in the atmosphere. Some of these can influence the formation of ultrafine particles and ozone at ground level, which are harmful to people and the environment," said Monticelli.



"Because of the fast-changing nature of the chemicals released when cannabis is grown, we need to use real-time sampling instruments that can capture changes in the composition of the air within short periods to properly understand the impact of cannabis facilities on overall air quality."



Monticelli explained that creating and maintaining a database of different cannabis strains and their emissions will improve the accuracy of cannabis cultivation emission inventories over time. "Such inventories provide the basic information needed at the beginning of any air quality assessment."



"This is a relatively new industry which is growing with the rise in cannabis legalization worldwide. Effective emission control practices and environmental policies are needed before new industrial practices become entrenched, and addressing the gaps identified in our review is a first step."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</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

How do "skunky" cannabis emissions affect air quality?

A new study from the University of British Columbia is...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-meadows-absorb-less-co2-than-previously-thought/">Seagrasses</a> cover shallow coastal regions of temperate and tropical seas worldwide, and form the basis of a crucial ecosystem that is home to many animals, including some endangered species of fish, sea turtles, or seahorses. Moreover, they protect coastal areas from erosion and sequester millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.&nbsp;



Unfortunately, they also emit greenhouse gases, particularly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-methane-is-the-fastest-way-to-slow-global-warming/">methane</a>, which is even more damaging for the climate than carbon dioxide. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.mpi-bremen.de/en/Home.html">Max Plank Institute for Marine Biology</a> in Germany has recently found that seagrasses emit this gas even decades after they died off.



“In seagrass sediments, methane is formed solely from one class of organic compounds,” said study lead author Sina Schorn, a microbiologist at the Max Plank Institute. “These so-called methylated compounds are produced by the seagrass plant itself. Specialized microorganisms, the methanogenic archaea, then convert these compounds into methane.”



The release of methane into the water column is very fast, since the plant tissue acts as a straw, helping the gas quickly escape from the seabed into the water. Furthermore, because the seagrasses only grow in shallow water, pelagic microorganisms don’t have the opportunity to consume the methane before ending up in the atmosphere.&nbsp;



As part of their study, the researchers also sampled a dead seagrass meadow. To their surprise, the rates of methane production in this meadow were similar to those in intact meadows. “We believe that the reason behind this continuing methane production is that methylated compounds persist in the plant tissue for a very long time,” even up to two decades after the plants die, explained study senior author Jana Milucka, head of the Greenhouse Gases Research Group at the Max Planck Institute.



“Currently, we are seeing a die-off of seagrass meadows worldwide which has a devastating effect on the coastal ecosystems. Our results caution that whereas upon the death of the plant carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will no longer be sequestered and stored in the sediment as 'blue carbon', methane may still continue to be released.” &nbsp;



These results suggest that methane emissions from dead seagrass partially offset the blue carbon effect of living meadows, thus highlighting the ecologic importance of these plants and the urgent need to protect and conserve them.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Seagrasses continue to release methane after they die

Seagrasses cover shallow coastal regions of temperate and tropical seas...

The risks of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-can-we-save-the-regent-honeyeater-from-extinction/">extinction</a> for specific plants and animals are generally collated in regional, national, and global threat assessments, known as “Red Lists.” These lists help legislators and conservation organizations make decisions about which species need the most urgent protection in order to avoid losing them forever.&nbsp;



Although there are many national lists available, they are often not integrated into the global <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">Red List of Threatened Species</a> compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), particularly when it comes to plants. According to current estimates, the global list lacks threat assessments for almost 90 percent of plant species.



An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.uni-halle.de/?lang=en">Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg</a> (MLU) in Germany has now managed to address this assessment gap in the case of European vascular plants – which comprise most species of plants, besides mosses, algae, and lichens.&nbsp;



By integrating data streams on the global geographic distribution of vascular plant species and national Red Lists from 37 European countries, spanning a period from 1999 to 2020, the researchers discovered that seven to nine percent of the European vascular plant flora is endangered.&nbsp;



In other words, about 1,800 out of the 20,000 to 25,000 known European vascular plant species are at risk. However, since the national lists generally include only half of all plants occurring in a specific country, these findings are very conservative estimates.



While the IUCN list for the major vertebrate groups was completed decades ago, this has unfortunately not been the case for plants.&nbsp;



“Such data gaps can be disastrous because they lead to uncertainties in priority setting in international conservation policy,” said study lead author Hanna Holz, a Biology MSc student at MLU. “Our findings help update and expand the most important instrument in international conservation policy.”



The <a href="https://www.cbd.int/">United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity</a> (CBD), a multilateral treaty that was signed in 1992, set itself the goal of compiling a full list of endangered plant species by 2020. Unfortunately, this goal is far from being achieved even in 2022.&nbsp;



“Through a comprehensive synthesis of existing national Red Lists with global distribution data, national efforts can be incorporated relatively easily into global risk assessments of plants and, hopefully, accelerate these efforts,” said study senior author Ingmar Staude, a senior scientist at <a href="https://www.uni-leipzig.de/en">Leipzig University</a>.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ppp3.10251">Plants People Planet</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

Alarming number of European vascular plants are threatened

The risks of extinction for specific plants and animals are...

According to satellite data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (<a href="https://landsat.usgs.gov/CUB">INPE</a>), the number of trees cut down in January in the Amazon (by far) exceeds the amount of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-in-the-amazon-rainforest-hits-new-records/">deforestation</a> for the same month last year.



Brazil’s vast Amazon rainforest absorbs large amounts of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, acting as one of the most powerful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tree-rings-reveal-the-carbon-storage-capacity-of-a-forest/">carbon sinks</a> on our planet. Thus, protecting it is essential in our fight against climate change. Unfortunately, increasing numbers of trees are being cut both for their wood and to clear spaces to plant crops in order to supply global food companies.&nbsp;



Cutting large numbers of trees at the start of the year is unusual because the rainy season stops loggers from accessing many areas of the forest. However, in January 2022, deforestation totaled 430 square kilometers (166 square miles) – an area more than seven times larger than Manhattan.



Although at the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cop26-deal-failure-or-historic-achievement/">COP26</a> international climate summit in Glasgow last year, over 100 governments – including the Brazilian one - promised to stop and reverse deforestation by 2030, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in fact weakened the environmental protection for this region, arguing that the government should exploit the Amazon in order to reduce poverty. Moreover, high global demand for agricultural products such as beef or soya beans keep fueling the destruction of the forest.



“Even in January, when deforestation is usually lower due to the rainy season in the Amazon region, destruction has dramatically skyrocketed,” said Cristiane Mazzetti, a campaigner at <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/brasil/">Greenpeace Brazil</a>. “Just weeks ago, this government had delayed the release of annual deforestation numbers that revealed a massive increase and then told the world that it was resolving deforestation in Glasgow. The new data yet again exposes how the government’s actions contradict its greenwashing campaigns.”&nbsp;



Mazzetti and her colleagues at Greenpeace strongly urge supermarkets all over the world to drop suppliers who are involved in deforestation, refusing to accept their meat and dairy supplies.



Moreover, according to Ana Karina Pereira, a political scientist at the <a href="https://international.unb.br/">University of Brasilia</a>, fundamental changes in political structure are necessary in order to reverse this trend, since even though the Bolsonaro government changed their tone last year (especially at the COP26 summit), their policies have largely remained the same.&nbsp;



“Changing the political profile of the president and federal government leadership is crucial in this moment to see a break in this trend of high levels of deforestation,” she concluded.



---



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

Deforestation in the Amazon hits new record high

According to satellite data from Brazil's National Institute for Space...

Food,In,Laboratory,,Dna,Modify

Genetically modified (GM) crops are often considered contentious, especially in Europe where the topic is politicized. However, GM crops can be necessary to meet the increasing global demand for food production. Increasing food production is a concern for global climate change, as agriculture accounts for 25 percent of greenhouse gas <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lower-emissions-needed-to-save-the-winter-season/">emissions</a> worldwide.&nbsp;



Existing scientific literature has shown that GM crops can lead to economic, environmental, and health benefits through higher crop yields, higher farm profits, and lower pesticide use. Genetically modified crops can also help reduce GHG emissions through carbon sequestration in soil.&nbsp;



A recent study has identified a new connection between GM crops and GHG emissions. As genetically modified crops can increase yields, researchers considered the possibility that increased crop yields could reduce land use changes to support food production.&nbsp;&nbsp;



To evaluate this hypothesis, the study considered the climate benefits that would occur through more widespread GM crop adoption in the European Union (EU). The EU was selected for this study as it has not yet widely adopted genetically modified crops, and is re-evaluating GM regulatory policy. This analysis gives a preview of the positive impacts of policy change.&nbsp;



Researchers evaluated the impact of the EU increasing GM crops such as maize and soybean, to the levels of the USA. The selected crops are widely grown in other parts of the world, but hardly in Europe.&nbsp;



“The main reasons are public acceptance issues and political hurdles,” said Dr. Matin Qaim, Director of the Center for Development Research at the <a href="https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/university/">University of Bonn</a>.



The findings of the study are staggering, and suggest that increasing genetically modified crops in the EU could avoid 33 million tons of CO2 equivalents, roughly 7.5 percent of the EU’s annual agriculture GHG emissions.&nbsp;



The study authors argue that the associated climate benefits could be gained at a global scale. “The EU imports a lot of maize and soybean from Brazil, where the expansion of agricultural land contributes to tropical deforestation. Higher yields in the EU could reduce some of these imports and thus help preserve the Amazon rainforest.”



The researchers are also optimistic for the future, as their study was limited to already existing GM variations. “New genomic breeding technologies are currently being used to develop a wide range of new crop applications that could lead to additional climate change mitigation and adaptation benefits in the future," said Dr Qaim.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/plant-science/home">Trends in Plant Science</a>.



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

Genetically modified crops could reduce climate impacts

Genetically modified (GM) crops are often considered contentious, especially in...

Researchers have long hypothesized that, by intensifying environmental stressors such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/europe-will-face-more-frequent-and-extreme-droughts/">droughts</a> or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/record-wildfires-linked-to-human-activity-will-only-get-worse/">wildfires</a>, climate change could make ecosystems more vulnerable to invasive plants. These plants may in turn alter the environment in ways which amplify the negative impacts of climate change. A new long-term field study conducted by the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> (UF) has now offered the first experimental evidence to support this hypothesis.



The researchers exposed small plots of long-leaf pine to three scenarios: extreme drought, colonization by the rapidly growing and highly adaptable invasive plant congograss, and a combination of the two stressors. After waiting six years for the trees to grow under each scenario, the scientists added yet another stressor, fire, in order to test how each scenario affected the trees’ capacity of survival.



They found that the trees which experienced both drought and the colonization by invasive plants were least likely to survive after the fire.&nbsp;



“Less water meant the trees didn’t grow as tall. At the same time, the cogongrass, which is drought-tolerant, provided extra fuel to the fire, making it burn hotter and increasing the height of flames,” said study lead author Luke Flory, a professor of Ecology at the UF.



According to Professor Flory, the combination of shorter trees plus taller and hotter flames provided little chance of survival to the long-leaf pines. By contrast, in plots where the pines were able to grow taller or were not surrounded by the fire-fueling invasive plant, the trees fared much better and nearly all survived.



Experiments that show the complex interplay between climate change and invasive plants can provide essential information for land managers in fire-prone areas or regions where prescribed fires are used.&nbsp;



“In addition, these findings are one more reason why managing invasive plants is so important to conserving native ecosystems,” Professor Flory concluded.



The study, published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ele.13974">Ecology Letters</a>, is part of a larger global scientific effort called&nbsp;<a href="https://drought-net.colostate.edu/">Drought-Net</a>, which collects data from all over the globe to investigate how different ecosystems respond to extreme drought.



---



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

Climate change will intensify the issue of invasive plans

Researchers have long hypothesized that, by intensifying environmental stressors such...

Plants are subject to many attacks and injuries, from rabbits or caterpillars munching on their leaves to fungi or grubs attacking their roots. While <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-molecule-makes-animals-switch-from-eating-to-mating/">animals</a> can employ “fight or flight” responses when attacked, plants cannot run. Instead, according to a new study led by New York University’s <a href="https://as.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/as/departments/biology/research/gsb/cgsb.html">Center for Genomics and System Biology</a>, injury triggers a “fight or fix” response in plants, prompting them to either regenerate their damaged or missing parts, or to defend themselves by rapidly producing chemicals designed to stop animals or pathogens from further attacks.&nbsp;



Better understanding how plants regulate the trade-off between repairing damaged tissue and ramping up their defenses enabled scientists to nudge wounded plants towards repair rather than defense, a strategy which can be useful in improving crop regeneration.



In order to investigate how plants regulate these responses, the researchers cut off parts of several specimens of Arabidopsis, a small plant widely used as a model organism in Plant Biology, and corn, America’s largest crop and a very important source of nutrition for both people and animals. They found that, after an injury, plants produced some regeneration and some defense response, but did not ramp up both to maximum capacity. In fact, lowering one response appeared to increase the other.



“The ‘fight or fix’ responses seem to be connected, like a seesaw or scales - if one goes up, the other goes down. Plants are essentially hedging their bets after an attack,” said study lead author Marcela Hernández Coronado, an expert in Plant Molecular Biology at the <a href="https://www.cinvestav.mx/">Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute</a> in Mexico.



The scientists discovered that the balance in regeneration and defense responses was regulated by plant glutamate receptor-like (GLRs) proteins, which are distant relatives to glutamate receptors found in animal and human brains. Understanding the essential role these proteins play in the plants’ responses to injury presents a unique opportunity to improve plant growth, especially in cereal crops such as corn, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetics-and-the-environment-interact-in-plant-development/">sorghum</a>, or wheat, which are particularly resistant to regeneration.



“These glutamate receptors provide a ‘druggable target’ that we can use to enhance plant regeneration and propagation,” explained study senior author Kenneth Birnbaum, a professor of Biology at NYU.



By using both genetic interventions and three types of neuronal antagonist drugs to inhibit GLR activity, Professor Birnbaum and his team managed to alter the plants’ decision-making process in favor of regeneration.&nbsp;



“Retuning the balance between plant defense and regeneration could be used to improve regeneration for biotechnology, conservation, and propagation of staple food crops. Breeding crops that more readily regenerate and can adapt to new environments is critical in the face of climate change and food insecurity,” Professor Birnbaum concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2022.01.013">Developmental Cell</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

Plants have a “fight or fix” response to injury

Plants are subject to many attacks and injuries, from rabbits...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[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



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

[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;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[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 



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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



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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



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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"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...