Earth is unusually lucky: its global magnetic field deflects harmful charged particles from the Sun and deep space, shielding the atmosphere and life at the surface. 



By contrast, cosmic radiation constantly batters worlds like Mars, which lack a comparable shield.



For decades, geophysicists have explained Earth’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/magnetism-at-earths-core-simulations-offer-breakthrough-insights/">magnetism</a> with the dynamo theory. As the planet slowly cools, molten iron-nickel in the outer core circulates in vast convection currents. 



Earth’s rotation twists these flows into helical, screw-like patterns. Moving metal generates electric currents, and those currents, in turn, generate the magnetic field.



There has been a nagging problem, though. Early in Earth’s history, before the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-inner-core-proven-to-be-rapidly-changing-and-now-rotating-backwards/">inner core</a> crystallized (roughly a billion years ago), the core was entirely liquid. Could the geodynamo have operated back then without the extra energy sources and structure provided by a solid inner core?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetism-without-a-solid-core">Magnetism without a solid core</h2>



A team of three geophysicists from <a href="https://ethz.ch/en.html">ETH Zurich</a> and the <a href="https://www.sustech.edu.cn/en/">Southern University of Science and Technology</a> (SUSTech) in China, built a new computer model of the core that shows a completely liquid core could have generated a stable magnetic field in much the same way it does today.



To get there, the researchers tackled a long-standing modeling hurdle: the influence of viscosity - the internal “thickness” or resistance to flow - on the simulated core.



In the real core, viscosity is believed to be extremely small. Yet most numerical models must exaggerate it for computational stability, potentially skewing the physics.



Using high-performance computing (including runs on the Piz Daint supercomputer at the <a href="https://www.cscs.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Swiss National Supercomputing Center</a> in Lugano), the team simulated the correct physical regime where viscosity becomes negligible for the dynamo.



The result: a robust, self-sustaining magnetic field can emerge even when the core is fully molten. “Until now, no one has ever managed to perform such calculations under these correct physical conditions,” said lead author Yufeng Lin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetic-field-no-inner-core">Magnetic field, no inner core</h2>



In the model, the same core ingredients that drive today’s dynamo - buoyancy-driven convection and the twisting effect of rotation - were sufficient to organize flows and magnetic fields even in the absence of a solid inner core.



By minimizing viscosity to effectively “get out of the way” of the physics, the team reproduced a realistic dynamo regime. In this regime, microscopic fluid resistance doesn’t control the outcome - large-scale convection and rotation do the heavy lifting.



That means the early Earth could plausibly have sustained a magnetic shield long before inner-core growth added extra energy from crystallization.



This advances a key idea: the geodynamo is surprisingly resilient. A solid core isn’t required - just the right heat loss, composition, and rotation to drive and organize metal flows.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-early-earth-s-defenses">Rethinking early Earth’s defenses</h2>



“This finding helps us to better understand the history of the Earth’s magnetic field and is useful in interpreting data from the geological past,” said co-author Andy Jackson, a professor of geophysics at ETH Zurich.



If magnetism arose with a liquid core, Earth’s protective shield may have formed earlier and lasted longer than thought. That, in turn, reframes how we think about early habitability.



A magnetic umbrella blocking high-energy radiation would have helped preserve the atmosphere and supported the conditions under which life could emerge and evolve.



Because the approach captures the essential physics of a low-viscosity dynamo, it could help scientists probe magnetic fields elsewhere. These include the Sun’s sprawling magnetism and the intense fields of Jupiter and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturns-rings-beautiful-iconic-will-disappear-this-weekend-ring-plane-crossing/">Saturn</a>. 



Lower-viscosity models let scientists test how composition, rotation, and cooling shape magnetism across the solar system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetism-protects-technology">Magnetism protects technology</h2>



Modern civilization quietly depends on Earth’s magnetic field. It safeguards satellites and power grids from space weather, stabilizes navigation, and underpins countless technologies.



“It is therefore important to understand how the magnetic field is generated, how it changes over time, and what mechanisms maintain it,” Jackson noted. “If we understand how the magnetic field is generated, we can predict its future development.”



Earth’s field has flipped polarity thousands of times, and in recent decades the magnetic north pole has migrated rapidly toward geographic north. Understanding the dynamo’s resilience helps scientists predict future magnetic shifts, from gradual drifts to full reversals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tougher-shield-than-expected">A tougher shield than expected</h2>



By refining core simulations, scientists show Earth’s magnetic shield could ignite without a solid inner core. A fully molten, vigorously convecting, rapidly rotating core would have done the job.



That insight tightens our picture of early Earth, strengthens links between biodiversity and a protective <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/earths-magnetic-field-origin-structure-and-impact-on-humanity/">magnetosphere</a>, and equips researchers to explore magnetic lifecycles on other worlds. 



It also offers a firmer foundation for anticipating how our planet’s magnetic shield might evolve in the centuries to come.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09334-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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How Earth’s ancient magnetic shield may have sparked life

Earth is unusually lucky: its global magnetic field deflects harmful charged particles from the Sun and deep space, shielding the atmosphere and life at the surface. By contrast, cosmic radiation constantly batters worlds like Mars, which lack a comparable shield. For decades, geophysicists have explained Earth’s magnetism with the dynamo theory. As the planet slowly cools, molten iron-nickel in the outer core circulates in vast convection currents. Earth’s rotation twists these flows into helical, screw-like patterns. Moving metal generates electric currents, and those currents, in turn, generate...

New research from the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">Barcelona Institute for Global Health</a> provides solid evidence that COVID-19 is a seasonal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-bats-resist-covid-19-infection/">infection</a>, linked to lower temperatures and drier air. This means COVID is similar to influenza.&nbsp;



The coordinator of the study, Xavier Rodó, is the director of the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en/-/clima-y-salud">Climate and Health programme</a> at ISGlobal.



“The question of whether COVID-19 is a genuine seasonal disease becomes increasingly central, with implications for determining effective intervention measures,” said Rodó.



To answer this question, the researchers looked at how COVID-19 spread in association to temperature and humidity in 162 countries in five continents. The study found that higher transmission rates coincided with lower temperatures and lower humidity.&nbsp;



On both global and local scales, the research showed an overall trend of COVID-19 transmissions increasing as temperatures fell. However, this pattern was broken during the summer time on all continents studied.&nbsp;



“This could be explained by several factors, including mass gatherings of young people, tourism, and air conditioning, among others,” explained study first author Alejandro Fontal.



Overall, this study provides important information for COVID-19 policies. This also allows scientists and healthcare workers to prepare for increases in COVID-19 transmissions connected to changes in the weather.&nbsp;



“Altogether, our findings support the view of COVID-19 as a true seasonal low-temperature infection, similar to influenza and to the more benign circulating coronaviruses,” said Rodó.



Importantly, the study also gives an insight into how the disease is transmitted through the air. Diseases like influenza and now COVID-19 are known to stay airborne longer as aerosol sizes decrease due to drier air. This means a focus on better ‘air hygiene.’&nbsp;



“This link warrants an emphasis on ‘air hygiene’ through improved indoor ventilation as aerosols are capable to persist suspended for longer times,” said Rodó.



The research is particularly relevant now, as the COVID-19 pandemic persists in the United States and many people are resisting the call to vaccinate and wear masks.&nbsp;



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



---



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

New evidence that COVID-19 is a seasonal infection

New research from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health provides...

There has been a puzzling gap in our understanding of the evolutionary history of crabs on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frequent-asteroid-strikes-delayed-oxygen-growth-on-earth/">Earth</a>. The oldest fossilized remains of land crabs, mostly pieces of claws, date to somewhere between 75 and 50 million years ago. But DNA analysis suggests that land crabs diverged from their marine ancestors more than 125 million years ago.&nbsp;



It was against this background that Javier Luque,&nbsp;a post-doctoral researcher in the Harvard Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, became aware of an unusual specimen of a modern-looking crab that had been collected by local miners in Myanmar in 2015.&nbsp; The specimen was suspended in fossilized amber and is currently housed at the Longyin Amber Museum in China.



Luque worked on the specimen for three years, starting in 2018. In collaboration with a team of international scientists,&nbsp;Luque <a href="https://science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj5689">reported the findings</a> in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</a>.



The fossilized amber, which formed from the resin of an ancient tree, has been dated to 100 million years, making the tiny crab the oldest known fossil of a “true crab." The crab is only 5 millimeters in size, and was walking along a tree trunk at the time it became engulfed in resin. It represents the oldest evidence of incursions into non-marine environments by true crabs.



“If we were to reconstruct the crab tree of life – putting together a genealogical family tree – and do some molecular DNA analysis, the prediction is that nonmarine crabs split from their marine ancestors more than 125 million years ago,” said Luque.



"But there’s a problem because the actual fossil record – the one that we can touch – is way young at 75 to 50 million years old. So, this new fossil and its mid-Cretaceous age allows us to bridge the gap between the predicted molecular divergence and the actual fossil record of crabs.”



Moving from a marine to a nonmarine habitat involves many significant adaptations and has not happened commonly in most animal groups. The physical and physiological requirements for animals living in saltwater are different from those in fresh water, making invasion of terrestrial aquatic habitats very challenging. In addition, there are different predators and competitors in freshwater habitats.&nbsp;



True crabs, or Brachyura, are among the animal groups that have conquered land, brackish water, and freshwater multiple times over the history of their evolution, but the crab in amber gives evidence of the earliest land invasion made by the true crabs.



The researchers now believe that an event known as the Cretaceous Crab Revolution – when crabs diversified worldwide and started evolving their characteristic body forms – happened more times than previously thought. This new research brings the number of times that different crab species independently evolved to live outside their marine habitat to at least 12.&nbsp;



The new fossil was named Cretapsara athanata, meaning “the immortal Cretaceous spirit of the clouds and waters.” The name was given to honor its origin in the Cretaceous period as well as the South and Southeast Asian mythological spirits. The researchers say it is the most complete fossilized crab ever discovered.



The specimen was examined using micro-CT scans, that enabled the scientists to see extraordinary detail of the crab’s delicate tissues, including antennae, legs, mouthparts, compound eyes and gills. Based on the crab’s exceptional preservation in amber, and the researchers’ phylogenetic analysis, it has been placed in a new family with a unique mixture of primitive and advanced characters.



The study was a collaboration between Harvard and the China University of Geosciences, and included authors from 10 institutions including Yale University, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution Panama, University of Alberta, UC Berkeley, Yunnan University, and the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.



The work is part of a larger National Science Foundation funded project with Javier Ortega-Hernández, an assistant professor in OEB and curator of invertebrate paleontology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Joanna Wolfe, a researcher in Ortega-Hernández’ lab, and Heather Bracken-Grissom from Florida International University, to investigate the evolution of crabs over 200 million years.



The authors acknowledge the socio-political conflict in northern Myanmar and say they have limited their research to material predating the 2017 resumption of hostilities in the region. They hope acknowledging the situation in the Kachin State will serve to raise awareness of the current conflict in Myanmar and the human cost behind it.



“They are all over the world, they make good aquarium pets, they’re delicious for those of us who eat them, and they’re celebrated in parades and festivals, and they even have their own constellation," said Luque, who has been studying crab evolution for more than a decade.



"Crabs in general are fascinating, and some are so bizarre looking – from tiny little pea-shaped crabs to humongous coconut crabs. The diversity of form among crabs is captivating the imagination of the scientific and non-scientific public alike, and right now people are excited to learn more about such a fascinating group that are not dinosaurs. This is a big moment for crabs.”



---



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

Tiny crab found in 100-million-year-old amber

There has been a puzzling gap in our understanding of...

Earth.com has previously covered Bear’s Ears National Monument as it was first <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/utah-national-monument-proposal-sparks-fierce-debate/">established</a>, and again when the Trump administration <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/canyon-tree-frogs-bears/">reduced</a> it by 85 percent. The monument is found in southern Utah and shares much the same fate as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, also <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-grand-staircase-escalante/">reduced</a> by Trump.&nbsp;



Now, there is a new chapter in the saga, as the Biden administration has reversed Trump’s reduction of the national monuments. This is a move long hoped for by environmentalists, public land advocates and Native American activists.&nbsp;



A <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/07/fact-sheet-president-biden-restores-protections-for-three-national-monuments-and-renews-american-leadership-to-steward-lands-waters-and-cultural-resources/">fact sheet</a> from the White House frames the restoration of these national monuments as part of a greater commitment to the environment. The administration has also halted leasing of oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and restored protections to Tongass National Forest. These all point to an attempt to reverse the last administration's legacy of pilfering the public lands and ignoring any conservation prerogatives.



Over the last year, I’ve traveled from the southern part of Arizona all the way through Utah. Along the way, I hiked through saguaro cacti, descended into the Grand Canyon and watched condors circling cliffs in southern Utah. These are big, beautiful desert areas, places full of Native American ruins, an array of arachnids and dinosaur fossils buried in soft stone. Red cliffs stand in contrast to green yucca and the politics of Utah stands in stark contrast with those of federal lands.&nbsp;



The unfortunate reality is this: states like Utah and Alaska, home of Tongass, are hostile to federal land conservation. Trump has shown us that national monuments can be destroyed, wildlife refuges can be drilled for oil, and roads can be built through old growth forests for profits.&nbsp;



Unless a more permanent fix happens, it seems protection could whipsaw back and forth from one administration to the next. In the meantime, if only one road is built through a forest before the rule is reversed, damage is done. If only one artifact is stolen without adequate protection, damage is done.&nbsp;



As things are now, there’s nothing to stop our public lands from being chipped away bit by bit. We should be grateful that these monuments are restored but make no mistake, the war is far from over.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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

Biden restores national monuments, but for how long?

Earth.com has previously covered Bear’s Ears National Monument as it...

As seedlings emerge from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-will-release-more-co2-as-plants-hit-a-growth-spurt/">soil</a>, they face a significant challenge: gravity’s downward push. In order to grow, plants must win against the force of gravity and push upward with an even greater force. A research team composed of plant biologists at <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington State University in St. Louis</a> and material scientists at the <a href="https://www.njit.edu/">New Jersey Institute of Technology</a> and <a href="https://www.alasu.edu/">Alabama State University</a> have created the first artificial scaffolds which can support the growth of individual plant cells.



The scientists analyzed more than 20 types of scaffolds, each composed of different materials with different sets of physical and chemical properties. “We found a range of effectiveness, which was useful in probing which properties were important for adherence of plant cells to the scaffold,” said study lead author Ryan Calcutt, a graduate student in Washington University’s&nbsp;<a href="https://sites.wustl.edu/pmbprogram/">Plant and Microbial Biosciences Program</a>. “We could compare the properties of the scaffolds that did not work very well with those that did.”



The most effective scaffolds appeared to be those made of negatively charged, hydrophobic materials that generate an electrical charge in response to mechanical stress, thus mimicking the properties and structure of the plant’s cell wall. One particular material stood out: scaffolds made of polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymers&nbsp;fared better than the rest in supporting plant cell growth.



“This was exciting to us because it reveals that the way plant cells adhere to scaffolds is similar to the way they adhere to each other within plant tissues. Therefore, these scaffolds should be suitable for the construction of functional plant tissues in the future,” explained Calcutt.



The researchers discovered that pectin, a plant cell wall polysaccharide, was largely responsible for cell adhesion to scaffolds. “Because pectin is found in the cell walls of all land plants, these scaffolds hold promise as a widely applicable tool,” explained study co-author Ram Dixit, a professor of Biology at Washington State University.



This new tool will allow scientists to grow and observe plant cells in physiologically relevant settings, and can shed more light on the different forces or developmental cues that are needed for a plant cell to grow into a plant.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj1469">Science Advances</a>.



---



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

Artificial scaffolds can support the growth of plant cells

As seedlings emerge from the soil, they face a significant...

Sodium chloride, or common table salt, is an essential compound that has many functions in our bodies. But a high salt intake is correlated with hypertension (high blood pressure) and the associated risks of cardiovascular and kidney disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum salt intake of 2,000 mg/day for an adult, but the average global salt intake in 2010 was around twice that.&nbsp;



In response, the WHO set a target of a 30 percent reduction in global salt intake by 2025. A recent study by a team of international scientists set out to determine what progress has been made towards achieving this goal in five countries. The salt contents of different types of processed meat and fish in three developed countries (UK, USA, China) and two developing countries (Australia, South Africa) were measured.



The five nations included in this study all have their own strategies to reduce dietary salt intake and are part of The International Network for Food and Obesity/noncommunicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS), which aims to collate and track the nutritional content of processed foods worldwide.&nbsp;



A total of 26,500 processed meat and fish products (19,601 meat and 6,899 fish) were included in the study. They were sourced from supermarkets in the five countries, and their food nutrition labels were scanned to assess the salt (sodium) content (mg/100 g). The total number of items included ranged from 885 for the UK to 17,098 for the USA.



Processed meat products were classified as: meat alternatives; bacon; canned meat; frozen meat; meat burgers; salami and cured meats; sausages and hot dogs; sliced meat; dried meat; pate and meat spreads; kebabs; ‘other’ meat products; raw flavored meats; whole hams and similar products; roast chicken; and raw unflavored meats.&nbsp;



Processed fish products were categorized as: canned; chilled; frozen; and ‘other’.



Overall, Chinese products had the highest salt level (median of 1050 mg/100 g), making it the country with the saltiest products for both meat (1066 mg/100 g) and fish (942 mg/100 g). China was followed by the USA, South Africa, Australia and the UK (median of 432 mg/100 g).&nbsp;&nbsp;There were similar variations, in other words a two- to threefold difference in sodium content, between the highest and lowest countries, even when processed meat and fish products were considered separately.&nbsp;



There was a lot of variation in salt content within product categories and between countries. For example, the salt content of roast chicken in China was 4.5 times that of the same product in the UK (893 mg/100 g vs 197 mg/100 g); chilled fish in China was 4.5 times saltier than that in the USA (1744 mg/100 g vs 389 mg/100 g).



And the salt content of pâté and meat spreads in China was around 4 times that of Australia (1916 mg/100 g vs 480 mg/100 g). Yet the salt content of bacon, frozen meat, salami and cured meats, dried meat and frozen fish in China was the lowest of all the five countries.&nbsp;



The researchers used the ‘traffic light’ system adopted by the UK, where salt (sodium) level was defined as low (green)&nbsp;if it was under 120 mg/100 g; medium if between 120 and 599 mg/100 g; and high (red) if above 600 mg/100 g.&nbsp;



According to this classification system, a large proportion of the processed meat and fish products fell into the red and amber light categories. The highest proportion of green light products were found in the UK, where they made up 12.5 percent of all the products considered. Only ten percent of USA products fell into the green light category, whereas no more than five percent were green light products in China and South Africa.



These findings imply that if a person ate 100 grams of processed meat or fish products each day, this would supply around 47 percent of the WHO recommended daily maximum intake in China and the USA, 37 percent in South Africa, nearly 35 percent in Australia and 27 percent in the UK.&nbsp;



“It is not easy to simply replace or reformulate the high sodium products that have already existed for years. However, the large difference in sodium content of similar products in different countries, and the difference in sodium content among different brands within the same country, indicate that there is still a lot of room for salt reduction,” wrote the researchers.



The study has some limitations that are acknowledged by the experts. Scanning the labels for the salt content of a product does not quantify actual sodium consumption by individuals. In addition, the data were collected over several years (2012–2018), during which time the products may have been reformulated to contain less salt.&nbsp;



“The sodium content of meat and fish products in all the selected countries was very high, with a 100 g serving size of meat or fish products contributing to between one-third and one-half of WHO recommended maximum daily sodium intake," wrote the study authors.



The research is published in the <a href="https://www.bmj.com/">British Medical Journal</a>.



---



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

U.S. foods have the second highest salt content in the world

Sodium chloride, or common table salt, is an essential compound...

Humans often leave for work early or walk an alternative route to avoid awkward social encounters, and surprisingly this behavior is also found in carnivorous mammals. However, as opposed to avoiding social encounters, the avoidance instead plays a role in negotiating essential resources and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/developed-countries-counterterrorism-efforts/">territory</a> for survival.



This interesting observation was made by researchers at <a href="https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en">Hiroshima University</a>, monitoring mammal behavior through 73 infrared sensor cameras across six years in the Malaysian state of Sabah.



“Approximately 20 percent of the world’s mammal species face the risk of extinction, mainly due to threats such as habitat loss and overexploitation,” said study lead author Professor Miyabi Nakabayashi. “The status of mammals in the Indomalayan realm - one of Earth’s eight biogeographic regions, covering most of South and Southeast Asia - is among the world’s worst.”



A lack of basic ecological information is one of the biggest obstacles blocking conservation efforts of endangered species across Indomalayan regions.



“Information regarding temporal activity patterns of animals is crucial to assess responses to anthropogenic disturbances and to allow the implementation of proper conservation measures,” explained Professor Nakabayashi. “Camera trapping is one of the most useful techniques to study cryptic and rare animals.”



By collecting 37,379 photographs from camera traps, the researchers were able to capture and categorize activity patterns of nine distinct carnivore species. Whilst closely related animals such as wild cats presented behaviors of temporal segregation, three species of civets were active all night, with this behavior emerging due to limited competition resulting from varying diets.



Furthermore, the researchers discovered that mammal behaviors vary depending on levels of tourism in the area. The one tourist site included in the study demonstrated that nocturnal tourism resulted in temporal movement amongst nearby mammals.



“The potential benefits of ecotourism may include reduced threats to wildlife,” said Professor Nakabayashi. “But our results indicate that the temporal activity pattern of a species might be directly affected by tourism activity. The effect of tourism on animal behavior should be evaluated, even though it is non-lethal ecotourism.”



To further improve conservation efforts, the researchers are recommending that the study be extended by three years in order to gather more data on the carnivore activities.



“Current information is too limited and sporadic to understand basic behaviors of mammals, which may affect the progress in evaluating and improving the threatened status,” said Professor Nakabayashi. “We should accumulate more information on rare species to determine their basic ecology and to reassess whether current conservation management strategies are appropriate.”



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



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By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Carnivores modify their behavior to avoid each other

Humans often leave for work early or walk an alternative...

Researchers looking at Pacific salmon populations have found that declines are related to 40 years of change in both their marine and freshwater <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/three-important-reef-building-coral-habitats-are-vanishing/">habitats</a>. The research looked at declining numbers of five salmon species in the Keogh River on Vancouver Island.&nbsp;



“It’s not just the ocean that is driving declines," said lead researcher Kyle Wilson. "The combination of marine and freshwater stressors effectively ‘squeezes’ some salmon populations by lowering survival in both the river and the sea.”&nbsp;



There are multiple causes of change in both environments, including logging in watersheds (and associated erosion), increases in seal populations along coasts, changing ocean climate, and other competing salmon.



"Collectively, these changing environments limited juvenile production and lowered future adult returns," wrote the study authors. "These results reveal how changes in freshwater and marine environments can jointly shape population dynamics among ecological communities, like Pacific salmon, with cascading consequences to their resilience."



When it comes to which factors are the most detrimental to salmon, the results from previous studies are mixed. This new study puts the blame on both freshwater and marine environmental declines.



“Some research attributes the decline to worsening ocean conditions while others point to climate change or overfishing," said Wilson. "There has even been great uncertainty about which is more responsible, freshwater or marine processes, for salmon and steelhead declines.”&nbsp;



Such a deep analysis of salmon populations is not possible everywhere and required analysis of long-term data collected over decades. This shows the importance of keeping a close eye on salmon everywhere, noted research collaborator Jonathon Moore, a professor at <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/">Simon Fraser University</a>.



“This study showcases the power and importance of careful monitoring of both adult and juvenile life-stages of salmon and steelhead in order to understand what parts of their life-cycles are driving overall population change,” said Professor Moore.



The research will help guide Canada’s federal government policy on salmon management and allocation of $647.1 million through the recently announced Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI). It could also guide other nations to look at the declines of their own salmon populations, such as those in parts of the United States.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.&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

Declining salmon populations linked to environmental decline

Researchers looking at Pacific salmon populations have found that declines...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aba9584">Science</a> investigated how the brains of Egyptian fruit bats process complex group interactions. The researchers found that, within individual brains, different sets of neurons were used to distinguish between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baby-birds-can-learn-sounds-before-theyve-even-hatched/">vocalizations</a> made by oneself and others, as well as among different individuals in the group. Across the brains of multiple bats, vocalizations often elicited neuronal synchronization patterns that remained stable over weeks of interaction.&nbsp;



Egyptian fruit bats are highly social creatures, passing the daylight hours packed together with hundreds or thousands of other bats into tight caves or crevices. During these hours, they vocalize to squabble over food, mating partners, or sleeping spaces.



“These bats are very long-lived - they live about 25 years - and basically their entire lives are spent in this group social living. So, the ability to live together in a group and communicate with each other is an inherent feature of their lives,” explained senior author Michael Yartsev, an assistant professor of Neurobiology and Bioengineering at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a>.



By using wireless neural recording devices, the scientists tracked the brain activity of bats as they freely interacted within groups and communicated with each other. They found that within each bat’s frontal cortex (a brain area known to mediate social behaviors in mammals), different sets of neurons were activated depending on which of the bats in the group vocalized.&nbsp;



“What these individual neurons cared about was, ‘Am I making the call? Or is somebody else making the call?’ no matter what type of vocalization it was. Other neurons were only sensitive to when one specific bat within the group was talking,” explained co-author Boaz Styr, a postdoctoral fellow in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.michaelyartsev.com/">NeuroBat Lab</a>&nbsp;at UC Berkeley.



Moreover, the scientists found that the brains of different bats tended to synchronize when they socialized. This degree of correlation among the group members’ brains depended upon which bat was vocalizing, with some bats having stronger synchronization with specific individuals. These inter-brain patterns lasted for weeks, presumably representing stable social relationships among bats.&nbsp;



Both the intra- and inter-brain activity patterns were modulated by the social preference of individual group members: bats preferring to spend more time with others elicited stronger neural identity representation and higher levels of brain synchrony. Understanding the neural bases of why some individuals can smoothly engage in social interactions, while others are constantly misunderstood or ostracized, could have major implications for improving human mental health.&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

Bats have brains that synchronize when they socialize

A new study published in the journal Science investigated how...

According to a recent <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/2021-production-gap-report">report</a> (The Production Gap Report) by the United Nations Environment Programme (<a href="https://www.unep.org/">UNEP</a>), governments’ fossil fuel production plans remain dangerously out of sync with the limits imposed by the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">Paris Agreement</a> that aimed to limit global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/centuries-old-record-of-arctic-warming-found-in-driftwood/">warming</a> to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius increase by 2030.&nbsp;



The Production Gap Report was first launched in 2019 in order to measure the gap between the governments’ planned production of gas, coal, and oil, and the global production levels allowed to meet the Paris Agreement limits. In 2021, the experts found that, despite increased ambition to mitigate climate change by reducing emissions, governments still plan to produce double the amount of oil and gas by at least 2030.



The 2021 Production Gap Report provides profiles for 15 major countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.&nbsp;



The scientists involved in the report have found that these countries’ governments plan to produce in the following decade 110 percent more fossil fuel, 240 percent more coal, 57 percent more oil, and 71 percent more gas than would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. Furthermore, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have directed over $300 billion in funds towards fossil fuel activities – much more than they have towards clean energy.



“The research is clear: global coal, oil, and gas production must start declining immediately and steeply to be consistent with limiting long-term warming to 1.5°C,” said study lead author Ploy Achakulwisut, an expert in fossil fuels and climate change at the <a href="https://www.sei.org/">Stockholm Environment Institute</a>. “However, governments continue to plan for and support levels of fossil fuel production that are vastly in excess of what we can safely burn."



“The devastating impacts of climate change are here for all to see. There is still time to limit long-term warming to 1.5°C, but this window of opportunity is rapidly closing,” added Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.&nbsp;



“At COP26 and beyond, the world’s governments must step up, taking rapid and immediate steps to close the fossil fuel production gap and ensure a just and equitable transition. This is what climate ambition looks like.”



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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

Fossil fuels must be reduced immediately and drastically

According to a recent report (The Production Gap Report) by...

We are all well aware that increasing brain capacity has been a defining characteristic of the human lineage. Our oldest hominin ancestors, for example <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature00879">Sahelanthropus</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19810194">Ardipithecus</a>, who lived about 4 million years ago, boasted brain sizes comparable with those of modern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-give-us-clues-about-early-human-evolution/">chimpanzees</a>.&nbsp;



Since then, cranial capacity has increased dramatically, with maximum values reached around 130,000 years ago in populations of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.



What is not as well advertised is that, since the end of the Pleistocene Epoch around 12,000 years ago, the brain size of modern humans has decreased by approximately 10 percent. Some say the decrease has been associated with a slight reduction in body size and robustness, related to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/203138">warmer conditions</a>&nbsp;of the Holocene, but this hypothesis has met with resistance.



In order to identify the pattern of cranial capacity decrease in modern humans and shed light on the potential reasons, a team of researchers from different academic fields set out to study the historical patterns of human brain evolution, and to compare their findings with what is known in ant societies.&nbsp;



“A surprising fact about humans today is that our brains are&nbsp;smaller&nbsp;compared to the brains of our Pleistocene ancestors. Why our brains have reduced in size has been a big mystery for anthropologists,” explained co-author Dr. Jeremy DeSilva, from Dartmouth College.



“A biological anthropologist, and a behavioral ecologist and evolutionary neurobiologist, began sharing their thoughts on brain evolution and found bridging research on humans and ants might help identify what is possible in nature,” said co-author Dr. James Traniello from Boston University.



Previous research has shown that ants with specialized tasks that require learning and memory can have enlarged regions within the mushroom body of the brain, a phenomenon that becomes more pronounced as colony size increases. The scientists wondered whether there were any parallels between the evolution of ant and human brains.



They applied a change-point analysis to a dataset of 985 fossil and modern human crania. The results showed that human brains increased in size 2.1m years ago and again 1.5m years ago, during the Pleistocene. However, cranial capacity underwent a noticeable decrease in size around 3,000 years ago, during the Holocene Epoch, which is more recent than previously thought.



“Most people are aware that humans have unusually large brains - significantly larger than predicted from our body size. In our deep evolutionary history, human brain size dramatically increased,” said Dr. Traniello. “The reduction in human brain size 3,000 years ago was unexpected.”



Although the increases in brain size can be correlated with the early evolution of the genus Homo, and the associated technical advances that led, for example, to the manufacture of more complex tools, to better diet and larger social groups, the timing of the decrease in brain size has not yet been explained.&nbsp;



The interdisciplinary team involved in the current study proposes a new hypothesis to explain the decrease in brain size, based on clues and comparisons within ant societies.&nbsp;



“We propose that ants can provide diverse models to understand why brains may increase or decrease in size due to social life. Understanding why brains increase or decrease is difficult to study using only fossils,” explained Dr. Traniello.



Studying patterns of worker ant brain size, structure, and energy use in some ant clades, such as the&nbsp;weaver ants (Oecophylla),&nbsp;leafcutter ants (Atta), and common garden ants&nbsp;(Formica), showed that group-level cognition and division of labor may select for adaptive brain size variation. This means that within a social group where knowledge is shared or individuals are specialists at certain tasks, brains may adapt to become more efficient, sometimes by decreasing in size.



“Ant and human societies are very different and have taken different routes in social evolution,” said Dr. Traniello. “Nevertheless, ants also share with humans important aspects of social life such as group decision-making and division of labor, as well as the production of their own food (agriculture). These similarities can broadly inform us of the factors that may influence changes in human brain size.”



The study authors propose that, since brains use up a lot of energy, it would be advantageous to have a smaller brain if not all of its potential is needed for survival. The externalization of knowledge in human societies (relying on other sources and other people for information), as well as the division of labor, means that individual humans do not need to store or use all potentially useful information.&nbsp;



Thus, the experts hypothesize that increases in the complexity of human societies, along with increased labor division may have favored a decrease in brain size.



“We propose that this decrease was due to increased reliance on collective intelligence, the idea that a group of people is smarter than the smartest person in the group, often called the ‘wisdom of the crowds,’” explained Dr. Traniello.



“We look forward to having our hypothesis tested as additional data become available," said Dr. DeSilva.



Their paper is published in the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution">journal&nbsp;Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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

Ants help explain why the human brain shrank 3,000 years ago

We are all well aware that increasing brain capacity has...

In November 2019, Venice experienced its second worst <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-flood-disaster-in-germany-raises-new-questions-about-extreme-precipitation/">flood</a> in its history, with waters reaching up to 1.87 meters and inundating over 80 percent of the city. Within six weeks, the famous city was flooded four more times, triggering increasing fears about the worsening impact of climate change. 



Although such events have always been common during the autumn and winter months, in 2021 Venice was also flooded during summer. “I can only say that in August, a month when this never used to happen, we had tides over a meter five times,” said Carlo Alberto Tesserin, the chief caretaker of Venice’s iconic St. Mark’s Basilica.



“Conditions are continuing to worsen since the flooding of November 2019. We therefore have the certainty that in these months, flooding is no longer an occasional phenomenon. It is an everyday occurrence,” he added.



Due to its unique topography, with long pointed wooden poles driven straight into the seafloor, and 117 canals flowing throughout the city, Venice is particularly vulnerable to climate change.&nbsp;



According to several studies published in a special issue of the journal <a href="https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/special_issue1124.html">Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences</a>, long-term future projections indicate a great uncertainty regarding the relative <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-levels-are-rising-at-an-alarming-rate/">sea level rise</a> of Venice by the end of the 21st century. The projections range from 17 to 120 centimeters, depending on various greenhouse gas emission scenarios.



In the past, sea level rise was mainly caused by storm surges, but a greater variety of factors will be involved in future flooding, including meteotsunamis (lighter forms of tsunamis generated by atmospheric conditions), or massive planetary atmospheric waves that affect sea levels at multiple scales.&nbsp;



“When you are this close to the upper limit of the tidal range, any meteorological event can be hazardous and cause an extreme flood,” said Piero Lionello, a professor of Oceanographic and Atmospheric Sciences at the <a href="https://international.unisalento.it/">University of Salento</a>. “Small increases can have a large impact.”



In the short-term, the protection of Venice from flooding depends on the effective and timely deployment of the new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mosevenezia.eu/project/">MoSE</a>&nbsp;coastal defense system, which is designed to predict the water levels four to six hours ahead of their maximum and to close several underwater barriers in order to isolate the lagoon from the sea. However, in terms of long-term planning, greenhouse emissions should be urgently curbed in order to save Venice and other coastal cities.



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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

Venice faces an uncertain fate due to sea level rise

In November 2019, Venice experienced its second worst flood in...

The skins and pulp left behind after the early stages of red wine production have traditionally been considered a useless by-product known as pomace. The mass of skins, pulp, seeds and stems left after the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orange-juice-can-reduce-inflammation-and-chronic-disease/">juice</a> has been extracted is mostly used as fodder or fertilizer.&nbsp;



However, a new study led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> has shown that red wine grape pomace contains valuable polyphenols that could be useful nutritional supplements and even have effects on intestinal functionality and morphology, as well as on the gut microbiome.&nbsp;



The important plant nutrients present in red grape pomace are stilbenes, natural compounds that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Both resveratrol and pterostilbene are present in the skins of red grapes, and the scientists were interested in testing the potential effects of these polyphenols on gut functionality.



“This by-product of making wine has important potential,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://blogs.cornell.edu/takolab/">Elad Tako</a>, associate professor of food science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “If we can use the pomace to either extract key compounds or use them as a dietary ingredient to fold into food, then grape pomace can be a very sustainable source of nutritional compounds with demonstrated health benefits.”



“I’ve been working with polyphenols (plant-based nutritional compounds), and I was intrigued by previous research that suggested that bioactive compounds – such as resveratrol in red wine – has cardiovascular and other health benefits. The mechanism of how these compounds work in the body was not clear, so I used my in vivo model to find the answer.”



Professor Tako and the team used a developing chicken’s egg to test the effects of the two stilbenes, resveratrol and pterostilbene. A chicken embryo takes 21 days to develop to hatching and, during this time, it is nourished by the surrounding amniotic fluid (egg white).&nbsp;



The researchers injected different mixtures of the two stilbenes into the amniotic fluid on day 17 of incubation - a method developed by Professor Tako called “intra amniotic administration.”



In this way, the group learned how the resveratrol and the pterostilbene affect the gastrointestinal tract, as well as other physiological systems and tissues, said Professor Tako.&nbsp;



The experts found that the morphology of the intestine was positively altered (villi with greater length and diameter), and that there was better absorption of micronutrients such as zinc and iron into the chickens’ blood. They concluded that the inclusion of dietary stilbenes led to an improvement in gut health in their in vivo chicken model.&nbsp;



Further research is needed to focus on the use of the red grape compounds in humans and the associated effects on gut health. The study is published in a special edition of the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients">Nutrients</a>.



---



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

Red wine grapes have unexpected gut health benefits

The skins and pulp left behind after the early stages...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqlF0XKzHY4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The hidden science behind tickling.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-discover-the-brain-s-tickling-command-center">Scientists discover the brain's 'tickling command center'</h2>



Researchers have finally solved one of humanity's most enduring mysteries: why we can't <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/after-centuries-of-debate-we-still-dont-know-how-tickling-works/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tickle</a> ourselves and what makes some people incredibly ticklish while others barely react? Recent scientific discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of this peculiar human behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breakthrough-discovery-in-the-brain">Breakthrough discovery in the brain</h2>



In 2023, Dr. Michael Brecht's team at <a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humboldt University</a>-<a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berlin</a> made a major discovery published in the <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)01991-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">journal Neuron</a>. They identified the brain's actual "tickling command center" – specific neurons in a region called the periaqueductal gray that control both tickling responses and play behavior.



When researchers used cutting-edge optogenetic technology to shut down these neurons in laboratory rats, something remarkable happened. The animals completely lost their ability to be tickled or engage in playful behavior.



"We found that global blockade of the rat periaqueductal gray with either muscimol or lidocaine interfered with ticklishness and play," the research team reported in their study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-types-of-tickling-revealed">Two types of tickling revealed</h2>



What we call "tickling" is two completely different phenomena, according to the latest research. Light tickling – that feathery sensation that makes you want to scratch – is essentially your body's sophisticated bug detection system. This alerts you to potential insects or parasites on your skin.



Deep tickling – the kind that makes you laugh uncontrollably – involves complex brain circuits and is fundamentally social. You literally cannot tickle yourself with this type of stimulation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-self-tickling-is-impossible">Why self-tickling is impossible</h2>



Your cerebellum acts like a prediction machine, recent findings show. When you move your own hand to touch yourself, your brain generates precise predictions about what you will feel and then cancels out the tickling sensation through neural inhibition.



When someone else tickles you, your brain can't predict their movements, so the full tickling response activates. It's like your brain's way of distinguishing between self and others.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-individual-differences-explained">Individual differences explained</h2>



Individual differences in ticklishness depend on genetics, psychology, and even trust. Dr. Xinzhong Dong at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johns Hopkins University</a> notes that people with denser nerve endings tend to be more sensitive.



Psychological factors matter just as much. You respond more strongly when tickled by people you trust, and anxiety completely shuts down tickling responses. This explains why the same physical stimulus can produce completely different reactions depending on who's doing the tickling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controlling-your-ticklishness">Controlling your ticklishness</h2>



Science offers answers for controlling your ticklishness. You can reduce tickling sensitivity through systematic desensitization – gradual exposure in controlled settings.



Dr. Konstantina Kilteni's 2025 research, published in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt0350" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>, reveals another technique: place your hand on the tickler's hand. This allows your brain to partially predict the sensations, reducing the tickling response by up to 90 percent.



"Your brain is essentially learning to override its own reflexes," Kilteni explained in her review of tickling research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-purpose-discovered">Evolutionary purpose discovered</h2>



From an evolutionary perspective, tickling serves vital functions according to <a href="https://www.umd.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Maryland</a> researcher Dr. Robert Provine's extensive studies. It trains our defense reflexes for vulnerable body areas and facilitates social bonding between family members.



Tickling-induced laughter is actually one of the first forms of communication between infants and caregivers. "Tickle involves a neurological self/nonself discrimination, providing the most primitive social scenario," Provine noted in his research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clinical-applications-emerge">Clinical applications emerge</h2>



Research shows people with autism spectrum disorder perceive touches as more ticklish than people without the condition. Investigating this difference could provide insight into brain differences and help advance autism research.



People with schizophrenia tend to experience self-touches similarly to external tickles, allowing them to essentially tickle themselves. This suggests altered sensory prediction mechanisms in the condition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-research-reveals-universal-nature">Animal research reveals universal nature</h2>



Scientists have discovered that many species beyond humans are ticklish. Rats emit ultrasonic "laughs" when tickled, while chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans all respond to tickling stimulation.



This widespread occurrence across species suggests that tickling serves fundamental biological and social functions that evolved long before humans developed complex language and culture.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions</h2>



Dr. Kilteni argues that tickling research deserves more scientific attention. "It is a complex interplay of motor, social, neurological, developmental, and evolutionary aspects," she stated in her recent review.



New haptic technologies and advanced research methodologies now permit scientists to investigate tickle sensation with unprecedented precision. Standardized experimental methods using mechanical tickling devices ensure consistent results across studies.



Recent findings published in Science Advances show that tickling research is opening new doors in neuroscience, potentially leading to a better understanding of social behavior, sensory processing, and neurological conditions.



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Scientists solve the mystery of tickling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqlF0XKzHY4 The hidden science behind tickling. Scientists discover the brain's...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elr4948_uOU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals secret mission to create working time travel device.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-an-equation-truly-bend-time-a-physicist-s-decades-long-quest-to-rewrite-reality">Could an equation truly bend time? A physicist's decades-long quest to rewrite reality</h2>



Imagine the impossible: stepping back through time in a time machine, not in fantasy, but through a scientific endeavor driven by profound personal loss. For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astrophysicist-says-hes-cracked-the-equation-for-time-travel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Ronald Mallett</a>, a distinguished astrophysicist and professor emeritus at the <a href="https://uconn.edu/">University of Connecticut</a>, this deeply human longing has fueled a lifelong mission. He claims to have discovered the equation that could unlock temporal displacement, pushing boundaries once deemed purely science fiction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-profound-grief-that-forged-a-vision">A profound grief that forged a vision</h2>



Mallett's extraordinary pursuit began with devastating tragedy in 1955. At merely 10 years old, he endured his father Boyd's sudden death—a television repairman whose passion for science had ignited a similar spark in his young son. Boyd Mallett, only 33, succumbed to a heart attack, leaving behind a grief-stricken child searching for solace.



That solace came through H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Within its pages, Mallett found a captivating concept: "Time is only a kind of Space." These words transformed from a literary phrase into a guiding principle, becoming the driving force behind his unwavering commitment to unraveling time's fundamental mysteries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-humble-beginnings-to-academic-heights">From humble beginnings to academic heights</h2>



Mallett's journey was far from straightforward. After serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War era, he utilized the GI Bill for higher education, earning his Ph.D. in physics from Pennsylvania State University in 1973 at the age of 28.



In 1975, he made history as the first African American professor in the University of Connecticut's physics department, achieving full professorship in 1987 before retiring in 2024 as professor emeritus.



Throughout these successful academic years, Mallett harbored his radical ambition as a closely guarded secret. "I kept my time travel goal a secret," he confessed. "I worried people would think I was nuts." His public research centered on black holes, serving as a "cover story" while he quietly developed his revolutionary time travel theory.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-breakthrough-moment">The breakthrough moment</h2>



His pivotal insight arrived while hospitalized for a heart condition—a profound irony given his father's heart attack started this journey. The breakthrough was elegantly simple yet revolutionary: "If gravity can bend time, and light can create gravity, then light can bend time."



"It turns out that black holes can create a gravitational field that could lead to the creation of time loops that could allow us to go back in time," he explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-blueprint-for-a-temporal-vortex">The blueprint for a temporal vortex</h2>



Mallett's vision for a functioning time machine replicates spacetime-warping phenomena around black holes. He offers a compelling analogy: "Picture a cup of coffee. Stir it with a spoon, and the coffee swirls. A spinning black hole does the same to spacetime."



In Einstein's general relativity, the universe is a dynamic fabric woven from space and time. Massive objects like black holes warp this fabric—an effect we perceive as gravity. Mallett theorizes that an intense, continuous, circulating beam of light from a ring of powerful lasers could replicate this gravitational torsion, effectively twisting time into a loop.



This "time loop" would theoretically allow information—or perhaps matter—to travel backward in time. He detailed this mathematical concept in his 2006 autobiography, Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-published-research-and-recognition">Published research and recognition</h2>



His work, published in respected journals including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/physics-letters-a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Physics Letters A</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/10701" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foundations of Physics</a>, suggests circulating laser light could generate gravitational fields potent enough to create closed timelike curves, enabling time travel for data.



Mallett's research has gained worldwide media attention, featured on <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Public Radio's This American Life</a>, the <a href="https://www.history.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">History Channel</a>, and <a href="https://www.today.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBC's Today Show</a>. The widespread interest reflects both his compelling personal story and rigorous scientific approach.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-galactic-hurdles-and-persistent-skepticism">The galactic hurdles and persistent skepticism</h2>



While Mallett's equations captivate imagination, the path to reality faces immense obstacles. The energy requirement is staggering—Mallett acknowledges needing "galactic amounts of energy," far beyond current technological capabilities.



There's also a poignant limitation: even if realized, his machine could only send information back to when it was first activated, meaning it couldn't transport him to 1955 to prevent his father's death.



The scientific community remains skeptical. Physicists Ken Olum and Allen Everett argue that Mallett's proposed laser ring would need to be larger than the observable universe to achieve the necessary spacetime distortion. They invoke Stephen Hawking's chronology protection conjecture, suggesting physics may prevent macroscopic time travel.



Astrophysicist Paul Sutter has voiced doubts about Mallett's underlying mathematics, while science writer Brian Clegg finds the concept intriguing enough to warrant experimental investigation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-legacy-that-transcends-time">A legacy that transcends time</h2>



Now approaching 80, Dr. Mallett remains steadfast. "I believe my work will show time travel is possible," he asserts. "Future generations will build on it in ways we can't yet imagine."



His equations, though yet to physically bend time, have bent our collective imagination. Ongoing public interest, evidenced by his continued media appearances and Spike Lee's film adaptation of his memoir, underscores his ideas' profound impact.



More than a scientific pursuit, Mallett's story testifies to human resilience, intellectual courage, and hope's enduring power. Whether his theoretical time machine ever materializes, his legacy is immeasurable—inspiring countless individuals to challenge conventional limits and perceive time not as an unyielding barrier, but as a boundless frontier awaiting exploration.







-----



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Retired professor claims he solved time travel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elr4948_uOU Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

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



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



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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

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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



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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



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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.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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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.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

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

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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

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&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.

How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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