Astronomers have spotted what may be a rare type of black hole hiding on the outskirts of a distant galaxy. This discovery could help fill in a key missing piece in our understanding of how black holes grow over time - and how galaxies build themselves around them.



The new object, known as NGC 6099 HLX-1, was picked up through a collaborative effort using NASA’s <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble Space Telescope</a> and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.



The bright X-ray signal coming from this object suggests it might belong to a hard-to-find class of black holes known as intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-elusive-intermediate-black-hole">The elusive intermediate black hole</h2>



The suspected black hole is located within a compact star cluster about 40,000 light-years from the center of the galaxy NGC 6099. This galaxy lies approximately 450 million light-years away in the constellation Hercules.



Most galaxies have two kinds of black holes. The massive ones - millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun - are located in the center of galaxies. Then, there are the much smaller black holes - typically less than 100 times the Sun’s mass - formed from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dead-stars-reveal-the-hidden-physics-of-the-universe/">dying stars</a>.



Between the smallest and largest black holes lies a largely uncharted middle ground: intermediate-mass black holes. Ranging from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of solar masses, they’ve been incredibly difficult to detect.



Unlike their larger cousins, IMBHs usually aren’t feeding. They don’t suck in enough material to glow brightly. Unless something triggers a flare - like a passing star getting too close - they remain invisible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-black-hole-caught-in-the-act">A black hole caught in the act</h2>



In this case, astronomers believe the black hole may have been caught red-handed during one of those feeding episodes, what scientists call a “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/18-black-holes-captured-devouring-nearby-stars-in-dramatic-tidal-disruption-events/">tidal disruption event</a>.” When a black hole tears apart a star, it creates a superheated disk of plasma that shines in X-rays.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/_tdzj2jlKBk?si=KZ9OB1dDOpj5qHX4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/ Paul Morris</figcaption></figure>



Chandra first picked up the signal in 2009. ESA’s XMM-Newton observatory then tracked it over time. In 2012, the object reached peak brightness - about 100 times brighter than it was in 2009. Since then, the brightness has faded.



“If the IMBH is eating a star, how long does it take to swallow the star’s gas? In 2009, HLX-1 was fairly bright. Then in 2012, it was about 100 times brighter. And then it went down again,” noted study co-author Roberto Soria of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). 



“So now we need to wait and see if it’s flaring multiple times, or there was a beginning, there was peak, and now it’s just going to go down all the way until it disappears.”



The X-ray emission from HLX-1 is at a temperature of about 3 million degrees, which is consistent with a violent event. Hubble added more detail by spotting a dense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stunning-star-clusters-captured-in-the-extreme-outskirts-of-the-milky-way/">cluster of stars</a> around the black hole. 



In this packed environment, stars are only a few light-months apart - about 500 billion miles - providing plenty of fuel for a black hole to feast on.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-intermediate-mass-black-holes-matter">Why intermediate-mass black holes matter</h2>



“X-ray sources with such extreme luminosity are rare outside galaxy nuclei and can serve as a key probe for identifying elusive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/intermediate-mass-black-holes-survive-and-thrive-in-giant-star-clusters/">IMBHs</a>. They represent a crucial missing link in black hole evolution between stellar mass and supermassive black holes,” said lead author Yi-Chi Chang of <a href="https://nthu-en.site.nthu.edu.tw/index.php">National Tsing Hua University</a>.



Scientists want to study intermediate-mass black holes more closely because they might be the building blocks for the enormous black holes at galactic centers. 



When smaller galaxies merge into larger ones, their black holes may combine too. Over time, this could form the supermassive black holes we see today. Hubble data has shown that bigger galaxies tend to have bigger central black holes, suggesting they grew together.



Alternatively, some theories suggest that black holes in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-capture-baby-pictures-of-the-very-early-universe-cosmic-microwave-background/">early universe</a> didn’t start small. Instead, clouds of gas in dark-matter halos may have skipped star formation entirely and collapsed straight into giant black holes.



NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has recently found very distant black holes that seem too massive for the size of their galaxies. That might support the direct-collapse idea. Or it could be that we’re just missing the smaller ones because they’re too faint to detect at such great distances.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-telescopes-that-scan-the-entire-sky">Telescopes that scan the entire sky</h2>



“So if we are lucky, we’re going to find more free-floating black holes suddenly becoming X-ray bright because of a tidal disruption event," said Soria.



"If we can do a statistical study, this will tell us how many of these IMBHs there are, how often they disrupt a star, how bigger galaxies have grown by assembling smaller galaxies."



The main problem is coverage. Chandra and XMM-Newton observe only a tiny portion of the sky. That makes it hard to catch these sudden flares in real time. But there’s hope on the horizon.



The upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile will scan the entire sky regularly in optical light. It could help catch more of these events. 



Then, space telescopes like Hubble and Webb can follow up to confirm whether an IMBH was behind the show - and maybe help us figure out how these cosmic heavyweights really come to be.



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'Free-floating' black hole appears to be feeding on a star

Astronomers have spotted what may be a rare type of black hole hiding on the outskirts of a distant galaxy. This discovery could help fill in a key missing piece in our understanding of how black holes grow over time - and how galaxies build themselves around them. The new object, known as NGC 6099 HLX-1, was picked up through a collaborative effort using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The bright X-ray signal coming from this object suggests it might belong to a...

The secrets of how animals manage to learn sounds have intrigued humans for thousands of years. Insight into this ability, known as vocal learning, could reveal new details about the evolution of human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-and-humans-use-similar-speech-patterns/">speech</a> and language.&nbsp;



"Comparative work investigating this trait across different types of animals is particularly important," explained Sonja Vernes of the <a href="https://www.mpi.nl/">Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics</a>.



In their paper, the researchers propose a novel classification system, taking into account how accurately sounds are copied and the time it takes to learn them. Timing is important, explained the study authors, as animals differ in when and how quickly they learn. Parrots are known to mimic sounds throughout their life, while zebra finches can only learn a limited range of sounds while they are young.



The ability to learn sounds was once thought to be rare in the animal kingdom, but a growing collection of evidence reveals that many groups are capable of vocal learning.



"In addition to parrots and songbirds, evidence for vocal production learning has recently come to light in a number of other bird groups, showing that its occurrence is now more widespread than realized even a few years ago," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



Scientists have studied this phenomenon among seals, elephants, bats, dolphins, and whales, as the fascination for animal vocalizations has grown into a research tradition.



"Humans are of course the most-studied vocal learners of all, and the brain networks underlying our vocal abilities have been studied intensively in the 150 years since Paul Broca identified his eponymous brain area," noted the researchers.



Among animals that use vocal learning, the type and role of learning varies greatly. For example, zebra finches learn to copy their father’s song, while parrots pick up sounds from different species, including humans. According to Vernes, the complexity of vocal learning presents particular challenges to the field, but also provides clear opportunities.



"The neurobiology of vocal learning is well studied in some songbirds, such as zebra finches. However, in many bird and mammal species, because of the complexity of the question under study and behaviour involved, the neuroscientific basis of vocal learning remains unknown," said the researchers.



While studying spear-nosed bats, MPI lead author Ella Lattenkamp and her colleagues discovered that bats who could not hear had atypical vocalizations. This shows that bats need to hear the sounds of others to learn their normal calls, just like humans.&nbsp;



The research is published in a special issues of the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rstb">Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B</a>, along with a collection of articles that raise fascinating questions about the development of animal communication and human speech and language.



"We hope that the current issue illustrates the vibrant and wide-ranging research approaches currently surrounding the topic of vocal learning. The increasing diversity of perspectives, methods and study species suggests that this field will continue to grow and innovate in the future, leading to exciting new avenues and a clearer understanding of vocal learning and its evolution.



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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

Scientists explore the fascinating topic of vocal learning in animals

The secrets of how animals manage to learn sounds have...

Data collected for more than 20 years in the Paraná River basin of Brazil has produced evidence of a drastic decline in the number of aquatic insects in the region. The research suggests that this decline is linked to the construction of over 180 dams on the Paraná basin and its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oysters-respond-to-stress-by-growing-less-meat-on-their-shells/">tributaries</a>.



“Our study analyzed data collected on a seasonal basis over a 20-year period. We detected a decline from thousands to tens of individuals per square meter,” said Professor Gustavo Romero.&nbsp;



The project was supported by the <a href="https://fapesp.br/en">FAPESP Research Program</a>, and the fieldwork was conducted by researchers with the State University of Maringá’s Center for Research in Limnology, Ichthyology and Aquaculture (NUPELIA-UEM).&nbsp;



The team studied a floodplain with an area of 40 square kilometers containing rivers, shallow lakes, channels, and backwaters.&nbsp;



According to Professor Romero, the drastic decline in insect populations is a global phenomenon and studies have shown its correlation with human activities.&nbsp;



“A sharp decline was observed not only in more susceptible species but in all aquatic insect orders and families that live in the area. These insects inhabit freshwater environments until they reach adulthood when they migrate to terrestrial environments. This includes dragonflies and water beetles, to mention only the most well-known,” explained Professor Romero.



Considering that some insects transmit diseases, many people assume that all insects are harmful to humans, but Professor Romero pointed out that the insects that are being wiped out in the Paraná River basin are extremely useful.&nbsp;



"They provide many ecosystem services, including pollination, biological control of crop pests and disease-transmitting insects, decomposition of organic matter, and nutrient cycling."



Professor Romero explained that dams have impacted aquatic insects in three ways. First, the dams make the water much clearer. Without the camouflage of murky water, insects are more vulnerable to predators.



In addition, the exotic fish species introduced into dam reservoirs eat insects as well as native fish. Furthermore, the researchers detected a chemical imbalance of the nutrients in the water, changing the proportions of nitrogen and phosphorus.&nbsp;



“The algae that proliferate in dam reservoirs fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and transfer it to the water. Part of the phosphorus is deposited on the reservoir bed. The water that flows through the dam spillway is poor in phosphorus and proportionally richer in nitrogen as a result. This changes its nutritional quality, affecting the animals that depend on a balanced quantity of these nutrients,” explained Professor Romero.



Changes in the ecosystems of the Paraná River sub-basin are significant for all of South America. This is because the river basin touches seven Brazilian states and is part of one of South America’s three main basins.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl">Biology Letters</a>.



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

Aquatic insects have drastically declined in Brazil

Data collected for more than 20 years in the Paraná...

Avocados may be a powerful weapon for women in the fight against dangerous belly fat, according to a new study. The researchers have found that an avocado a day helps women redistribute belly fat toward a healthier profile.



In a randomized controlled trial, 105 overweight or obese adults were provided one meal a day for 12 weeks. The experts discovered that women who consumed avocado as part of their daily meal had a reduction in deeper visceral abdominal fat.



The study was led by Naiman Khan, a professor of Kinesiology and Community Health at the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign</a>.



“The goal wasn’t weight loss; we were interested in understanding what eating an avocado does to the way individuals store their body fat. The location of fat in the body plays an important role in health,” said Professor Khan.



“In the abdomen, there are two kinds of fat: fat that accumulates right underneath the skin, called subcutaneous fat, and fat that accumulates deeper in the abdomen, known as visceral fat, that surrounds the internal organs."&nbsp;



"Individuals with a higher proportion of that deeper visceral fat tend to be at a higher risk of developing diabetes. So we were interested in determining whether the ratio of subcutaneous to visceral fat changed with avocado consumption."



The participants were divided into two groups. One group received meals which contained fresh avocado, while the other group received meals with nearly identical ingredients and similar calories but no avocado.



The researchers measured participants’ abdominal fat and their glucose tolerance, a measure of metabolism and a marker of diabetes, at the beginning and end of the 12 weeks.



The results showed that female participants who consumed an avocado a day as part of their meal had a reduction in visceral abdominal fat. These women also exhibited a reduction in the ratio of visceral fat to subcutaneous fat, indicating a redistribution of fat away from the organs. Among males, there was no change in fat distribution. Glucose tolerance was not improved in either gender.&nbsp;



“While daily consumption of avocados did not change glucose tolerance, what we learned is that a dietary pattern that includes an avocado every day impacted the way individuals store body fat in a beneficial manner for their health, but the benefits were primarily in females,” explained Professor Khan.&nbsp;



“It’s important to demonstrate that dietary interventions can modulate fat distribution. Learning that the benefits were only evident in females tells us a little bit about the potential for sex playing a role in dietary intervention responses.”



The researchers said they hope to conduct a follow-up study that would provide participants with all their daily meals and look at additional markers of gut health and physical health to get a more complete picture of the metabolic effects of avocado consumption and determine whether the difference remains between the two sexes.



“Our research not only sheds a valuable light on benefits of daily avocado consumption on the different types of fat distribution across genders, it provides us with a foundation to conduct further work to understand the full impact avocados have on body fat and health,” said study co-author Professor Richard Mackenzie of the University of Roehampton in London.



“By taking our research further, we will be able to gain a clearer picture into which types of people would benefit most from incorporating avocados into their diets and deliver valuable data for health care advisers to provide patients with guidance on how to reduce fat storage and the potential dangers of diabetes."



The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jn">Journal of Nutrition</a>.



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

Avocados reduce dangerous belly fat in women

Avocados may be a powerful weapon for women in the...

In a new study published by <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">AAAS</a>, scientists have identified a link between climate change in the Arctic and extreme winter weather events in the United States. The surprising findings suggest that climate warming is driving severe winter weather in a phenomenon called stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) disruption.



"Anthropogenic global warming is projected to increase some weather extremes - for example, more heat waves and heavy precipitation events - but not severe winter weather such as cold air outbreaks and heavy snowfalls. Yet, contrary to global climate model (GCM) projections, recent weather extremes have included an increase in cold air outbreaks and/or heavy snowfalls across the Northern Hemisphere since 1990 up to the recent past," explained MIT climatologist Judah Cohen and co-authors.



"The most recent example of extreme winter weather was the anomalous cold weather of January and February 2021 in Asia, Europe, and especially the United States (US). The US Southern Plains cold wave of February 2021 may be exceptional in the observational record for the region based on the aggregate severity of the cold intensity, cold duration, and widespread disruptive snowfall."&nbsp;



"The collapse of the Texas energy infrastructure could make it the state’s costliest natural disaster, even more so than previous hurricanes and at least twice as costly as the entire record-breaking North Atlantic 2020 hurricane season. This event has reignited the debate whether climate change contributes to more severe winter weather."



The researchers used observational and modeling data to establish a physical link between anthropogenic climate change and stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) disruption. This atmospheric feature is defined by the strong westerly winds that encircle the Arctic and - under normal conditions - keep its cold air contained.



The study shows that accelerated warming in the Arctic, or Arctic amplification (AA), is driving extreme winter weather by disturbing the Arctic stratospheric polar vortex.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, their results could be used to extend the warning lead time of cold extremes in Asia, Canada, and the United States. They emphasize that the analysis is also informative for policy-makers.&nbsp;



"Preparing for only a decrease in severe winter weather can compound the human and economic cost when severe winter weather does occur, as exemplified during the Texas cold wave of February 2021," wrote the study authors.



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

Arctic warming linked to extreme winter weather in the U.S.

In a new study published by AAAS, scientists have identified...

A new study from the <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/">University of Buffalo</a> suggests that whale songs are very different from the songs performed by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-involved-in-more-seed-dispersal-have-evolutionary-stability/">birds</a>. After years of research, Dr. Eduardo Mercado has found that whale songs have a dynamic nature that signifies much more sophisticated sound production.



“The analyses in this paper suggest that we shouldn’t be thinking about whale songs as language or musical notes,” explained Dr. Mercado. “What the singers are doing seems to be much more dynamic, both within songs and across years."



“Maybe it’s a matter of switching from thinking about whale songs as musical notes to something more freeform, like dancing.”



Most existing theories are based on the assumption that whales combine sounds, or units, into phrases to build songs that broadcast important information about their health and fitness to potential mates. From this perspective, said Dr. Mercado, single units are like individual quills in a peacock’s tail - each functionally equal and useful only as a collective.



However, according to the new study, the units of whale songs are not functionally equal. In collaboration with study co-author Professor Christina E. Perazio from the University of New England, Dr. Mercado explains that the units within whale songs are dynamic, changing through the years.



The researchers found that this unit morphing produces some units that are much less detectable than others. The findings of the study challenge previous conclusions regarding fitness. Instead, the new research supports the idea that whale songs reveal locations and movements - with each change making relevant units easier to hear across long distances.



“There are clear differences in the units when listening to whale songs from different years,” said Dr. Mercado. “They’re so different that it’s like switching from one musical genre to another. In any given year, the whales are using an altogether different set of sounds.”



Despite the irregularities, the morphing units are more likely to be random. According to Dr. Mercado, the changes appear evolutionary in nature, with the modifications adhering to a clear set of rules, such as maintaining the same pitch range as the previous unit.&nbsp;



The researchers said this could possibly increase the number of positions from which whales can reliably detect and track the signals. Overall, the research highlights the fact that whale songs are too sophisticated to be studied based on bird songs and other animal vocalizations.



“These labels are a bad idea,” said Dr. Mercado. “Shifts in pitch and duration might force an incorrect re-categorization of units. We might think we’re hearing something different, but the whale might be saying nothing has changed.”



“Humans are not the gold standard for distinguishing sounds, and we have to acknowledge and respect that when conducting research.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10071">Animal Cognition</a>.



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

Whale songs are in a sophisticated league of their own

A new study from the University of Buffalo suggests that...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01127-1">Nature Climate Change</a> modeled the occurrence of extreme sea levels (exceptionally high seas caused by a combination of tides, waves, and storm surges) in the coming decades. The results are bleak: due to rising temperatures caused by global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ecosystems-are-endangered-by-global-warming/">warming</a>, such extreme phenomena may become a hundred times more frequent by the end of the 21st century.



An international team of scientists led by Claudia Tebaldi, a climate scientist at the Department of Energy’s <a href="https://www.pnnl.gov/">Pacific Northwest National Laboratory</a>, statistically analyzed the probability of extreme sea levels for 7,283 locations all over the globe.&nbsp;



The experts estimated that the effects of rising seas will be felt most acutely in the Southern Hemisphere, the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Peninsula, the southern part of North America’s Pacific coast, the Caribbean, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Less affected regions will be those found at higher latitudes, such as the Pacific coast of Asia and the northern Pacific coast of North America.



The most worrisome aspect of this research is that even with a global temperature increase of only 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius (compared to preindustrial temperatures), which scientists currently consider the best-case scenario for the following decades, these extreme phenomena will still occur with greater frequency, as the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/">2019 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> also reported.



“One of our central questions driving this study was this: How much warming will it take to make what has been known as a 100-year event an annual event? Our answer is, not much more than what has already been documented,” said Tebaldi. “It’s not huge news that sea level rise will be dramatic even at 1.5 degrees and will have substantial effects on extreme sea level frequencies and magnitude.”



More research is needed to clearly understand how these changes will affect local communities. The extreme sea levels will have different impacts at local scales, depending upon how vulnerable to rising waters specific places are, and how prepared are the local communities to cope with these changes.&nbsp;&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

Extreme sea levels will become a hundred times more common

A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change...

A large international team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/faculty-of-veterinary-medicine/about-the-faculty/departments/iras">the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Utrecht University</a> in the Netherlands has found that long-term exposure to air pollution is still strongly linked to higher mortality rates, despite the existence of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/better-air-quality-linked-to-lower-dementia-risk/">air quality</a> standards restricting the levels of pollution.



Air pollution concentrations in Europe have fallen substantially since the 1990s, following strict guidance from the European Union (<a href="https://europa.eu/european-union/index_en">EU</a>), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.epa.gov/">EPA</a>), and the World Health Organization (<a href="http://archive">WHO</a>). However, scientists still found a significant correlation between mortality and long-term exposure to the lower levels of air pollution concentrations which are considered acceptable by these organizations.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed a large amount of data on people from six European countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden), totaling 325,367 adults.&nbsp;



The large longitudinal study, known as the Effects if Low-Level Air Pollution: A Study in Europe (<a href="http://www.elapseproject.eu/">ELAPSE</a>), recruited its participants in the 1990s and 2000s. Among all of the participants, who were followed up with over two decades, 14.5 percent died during the study period.



The research team found that people who had the highest exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM2.5), and black carbon - even in concentrations considered acceptable by the EU, EPA, and the WHO - were significantly more likely to die.&nbsp;



For example, in the case of participants who were exposed to pollution levels below the EPA recommended value of 12 µg/m3, an increase of only 5 µg/m3&nbsp;in PM2.5&nbsp;was associated with a 29.6 percent increase in natural deaths. For people exposed to NO2 at less than half the EU standard of 40 µg/m3, a 10 µg/m3&nbsp;increase in NO2 was associated with a 9.9 percent increase in natural deaths.



&nbsp;“Our study contributes to the evidence that outdoor air pollution is associated with mortality even at levels below the current European and North American standards and WHO guideline values,” concluded the study authors. “These findings are therefore an important contribution to the debate about revision of air quality limits, guidelines and standards, and future assessments by the Global Burden of Disease.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1904">BMJ</a>.&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

Even low-level air pollution is dangerous for health

A large international team of scientists led by the Institute...

Researchers from <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis</a> have gathered some of the first scientific evidence that climate change can affect the distribution of pathogens. The team studied the incidence of white pine blister rust in the forests of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. White pine blister rust is caused by a fungus Cronartium ribicola that infects several types of pine trees, including whitebark pine, and has caused serious damage to white pine populations in the United States.&nbsp;



The pathogen was introduced by accident in 1900 and is an invasive species that inevitably causes tree mortality. Part of the life cycle of C. ribicola is completed in secondary hosts, namely currant and gooseberry plants.



In the past, blister rust infections did not occur in high-altitude forests because the pathogen prefers warmer, milder conditions. Consequently, the forests above the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks acted as a refuge from this disease. However, with changing climatic conditions, the pathogen has begun to infect trees that are higher up the slopes.&nbsp;



“Because pathogens have thermal tolerances, we are seeing expansions and contractions in this disease's range,” said study lead author Joan Dudney, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis in the lab of Professor Andrew Latimer. “Climate change isn’t so much leading to widespread increases in this disease but rather shifting where it is emerging.”



The researchers used data from long-term monitoring plots in the National Park forests in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains. Data spanned the period between 1996 and 2016, which is considered to be a warmer, drier period than normal. Observations from over 7,800 potential host trees were included and, in addition, the scientists measured stable isotope ratios in pine needles.&nbsp;



They found that the optimal climatic conditions for blister rust moved, during the 20-year study period, from lower to higher elevations. The incidence of blister rust decreased by 5.5 percent in the more arid, lower-elevation forests and increased by 7 percent in forests at cooler, higher elevations.



“Our study clearly demonstrates that infectious plant diseases are moving upslope, and they're moving fast,” said Dudney. “Few pines are resistant to what is basically a Northern Hemisphere white pine pandemic.”



The high-elevation refuges where pine trees were protected from pathogens by the inhospitable conditions, are now under threat because of climate warming; conditions there are becoming tolerable to the diseases and pests. Pathogens are expanding their ranges into these higher elevation areas while contracting in the lower areas where the climate is now too warm and dry for their survival.



"It's kind of a race between evolution and climate change," said Professor Latimer. "So far, climate change is winning."



Although it seems inevitable that blister rust will impact severely on white pine populations as the climate becomes warmer, Dudney stated that employing disease prevention methods could help to slow the spread of the disease.&nbsp;



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

High altitudes no longer protect pine trees from disease

Researchers from UC Davis have gathered some of the first...

A new study carried out with the support of eight universities and seven environmental organizations in Australia has identified the most endangered plants and animals on the continent. This is the most comprehensive national-scale dataset describing the threats that are faced by Australia’s flora and fauna.&nbsp;



The researchers identified 1,339 species of plants and 456 species of animals that are listed as threatened under the Australian Commonwealth law by habitat loss, fragmentation, degradation, other invasive species, and disease. Among these, ten birds, seven mammals, twenty fish, six reptiles, and one butterfly are likely to become extinct in the next two decades if no major conservation actions are undertaken.



Some of these species are struggling with a large variety of threats. The swift parrot, for instance, is facing no less than 17 different threats, including habitat loss from agricultural processes and logging, invasive weeds, and climate change. Similarly, koalas are severely afflicted by habitat loss from urban development and agriculture, diseases, dog attacks, and many other stressors.&nbsp;



The publication of this dataset in the journal <a href="about:blank">Ecology and Evolution</a> is an important step forward for increasing the efforts to save these endangered animals. 



“Before now we didn’t have comprehensive information on the threats to these species, and more importantly, the severity of those threats,” explained study co-author Dr. April Reside from the&nbsp;<a href="https://agriculture.uq.edu.au/">School of Agriculture and Food Sciences</a>.



“More accurate conservation efforts are now possible due to the ability to categorize and address these threats facing our at-risk species,” said study lead author Michelle Ward, a doctoral student at UQ’s&nbsp;<a href="https://sees.uq.edu.au/">School of Earth and Environmental Sciences</a>.



“Looking at the data, conservation managers can see that mitigating habitat loss, invasive species, and disease, while also improving fire regimes and curtailing the impact of climate change wherever possible is crucial for curbing species decline.”



The database has already been widely distributed to federal and state governments, as well as conservation groups such as the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a>, <a href="https://www.birdlife.org.au/">BirdLife Australia</a>, and the <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/">Nature Conservancy</a>. In order to protect these numerous endangered plant and animal species, collaborative action is urgently needed.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&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

Action needed to save Australia’s plants and animals

A new study carried out with the support of eight...

Bird dispersal has long been thought to be controlled by complex factors. New research by Dr. Santiago Claramunt, Associate Curator of Birds at the <a href="https://www.rom.on.ca/en">Royal Ontario Museum</a>, provides a different explanation.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Published in the journal Ecology, the study suggests that bird dispersal from hatching site to breeding territory depends on the shape, size and physiology of the wing.&nbsp;



A basic question in ecology is how far a bird disperses from where it hatches to its adult territory. For many species, the question of bird dispersal has still not been answered, despite the prevalence of tracking devices.&nbsp;



"The factors responsible for variation in dispersal distances across species remain poorly understood. Previous comparative studies found differing results and equivocal support for theoretical predictions," wrote Dr. Claramunt.



"Here I re-examine factors that influence natal dispersal distances in British birds while taking into account the cost of transport as estimated from proxies of long-distance flight efficiency."



Using specimens from several locations and dispersal data on birds from the British Isles, Dr. Claramunt matched various wing types with different dispersal distances.&nbsp;



Previous research already suggested that long wings are more efficient for long flights. The current study has simply confirmed that birds with long wings do indeed dispersal further afield. Birds with shorter, rounder wings such as the omnipresent house sparrow (Passer domesticus) fly shorter distances.&nbsp;



The idea has important implications for conservation of birds. Previous research shows that flightless birds, such as the dodo, are at much greater risk of extinction. It’s possible that birds with poor flight ability might also be at risk.&nbsp;



By using the research predictions and museum specimens of birds, those species at greater risk can more easily be identified and hopefully protected. “Climate change and habitat fragmentation are having a huge impact on bird populations and the capacity of species to move across the landscape can determine which species will thrive and which may become endangered," explained Dr. Claramunt.



"Species with reduced flight capabilities will have a harder time dealing with these impacts.”



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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

Bird dispersal controlled by wing shape

Bird dispersal has long been thought to be controlled by...

A new report from the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/">UN</a> says that weather disasters are five times more prevalent today than in the 1970’s and cause seven times more damage. A silver lining to this storm cloud is that weather disasters are now less deadly.&nbsp;



In the 70s and 80s, an average of 170 people were killed each day by weather events worldwide. This number dropped to 40 by the 2010’s.&nbsp;



“The number of weather, climate and water extremes are increasing and will become more frequent and severe in many parts of the world as a result of climate change," <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en">WMO</a> Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.&nbsp;



"That means more heat waves, drought and forest fires such as those we have observed recently in Europe and North America."&nbsp;



"We have more water vapor in the atmosphere, which is exacerbating extreme rainfall and deadly flooding. The warming of the oceans has affected the frequency and area of existence of the most intense tropical storms,”&nbsp;



The dynamic that is driving the increased financial cost seems to be people moving into areas with a greater risk of extreme weather as the human population grows and the threat of climate change looms. At the same time, better warning technology allows more people to escape with their lives.&nbsp;



Professor Taalas noted that "we are better than ever before at saving lives" with improved multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster management methods. At the same time, however, some of the hardest hit countries are yet to benefit from improved technology.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"The good news is that we have been able to minimize the amount of casualties once we have started having growing amount of disasters - heatwaves, flooding events, drought, and especially intense tropical storms like Ida, which has been hitting recently Louisiana and Mississippi in the United States," said Professor Taalas.



"But the bad news is that the economic losses have been growing very rapidly and this growth is supposed to continue."



The report analyzed 11,000 weather disasters that have occured since the 1970s, looking at the economic cost as well as the death toll. All of the five most expensive weather disasters happened in the United States, with Hurricane Katrina being the most costly. The United States also bears over one-third of all costs associated with weather, climate and water extremes.&nbsp;



Of the deadliest weather disasters, droughts killed the most people (650,000) followed by storms (577,232). In addition, extreme heat killed 55,736 people during the study period. Weather disasters are only set to get worse, but how much money and lives they cost will depend on how prepared we are.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Weather disasters are getting even worse

A new report from the UN says that weather disasters...

Experts in disaster and emergency response from <a href="https://www.ecu.edu.au/">Edith Cowan University</a> (ECU) report that responders to the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001 are still battling significant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-who-value-their-leisure-time-have-better-mental-health/">health</a> issues two decades later.



More than 91,000 people were directly exposed to a variety of hazards during the recovery and clean-up operations following the terrorist attacks. After the event, 80,785 of the responders enrolled in the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/wtc/">World Trade Center Health Program</a> (WTCHP).



The researchers found that 3,439 of these participants are now dead – a significantly larger number than the 412 who died during the attacks. The main causes of death were aerodigestive illnesses (34 percent), cancer (30 percent) and mental health issues (15 percent).&nbsp;



Since 2016, deaths attributed to these causes as well as to musculoskeletal and traumatic injuries increased six-fold. Leukemia has been one of the main health problems to emerge in the past five years.



“Leukemia has overtaken colon and bladder cancer in the rankings,” said study lead author Erin Smith, an associate professor at ECU’s School of Medical and Health Sciences. “This equates to an increase of 175 per cent in certified leukemia cases within this cohort of responders over a five-year period. &nbsp;



“It’s not surprising: there is a proven link between benzene exposure and acute myeloid leukemia, and benzene is found in jet fuel which was one of the toxic exposures at the WTC site.” &nbsp;



Prostate cancer is also increasingly common among responders, with an increase of 181 percent since 2016. “Inhaling the toxic dust at the WTC site potentially caused a cascading series of cellular events, increasing the number of inflammatory T-cells in some of these 9/11 responders,” explained Professor Smith. &nbsp;“This increased inflammation may eventually lead to prostate cancer.” &nbsp;



However, physical illness is not the only issues that 9/11 responders face. Scientists estimate that 15 to 20 percent of these individuals struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, which is over four times the rate of this mental illness in the general population. Moreover, the brain scans of many responders have shown evidence of the onset of early-stage dementia.



“Even almost 20 years later, the prevalence of mental health disorders and need for mental health treatment remains elevated among this group of 9/11 responders: almost half of all responders report an ongoing need for mental health care,” Professor Smith said. &nbsp;



The comorbid conditions that many 9/11 responders&nbsp; struggle with makes them particularly vulnerable to other illnesses too - most recently COVID-19.&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="about:blank">Prehospital and Disaster Medicine</a>.



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

9/11 responders are battling long-term health issues

Experts in disaster and emergency response from Edith Cowan University...

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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.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

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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

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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



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.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[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

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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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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image 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.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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