For decades, scientists have puzzled over Uranus. Unlike its fellow giant planets, it seemed unusually quiet in terms of heat.



When NASA’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-pulls-another-life-saving-maneuver-for-voyager-from-15-billion-miles-away/">Voyager 2</a> spacecraft flew past the icy world in 1986, its instruments detected almost no internal warmth. That didn’t make sense. Planets the size of Uranus should still be radiating heat from their formation - so where was it?



Now, new research suggests the heat is there - just harder to detect. This new evidence helps resolve an old mystery and opens the door to better understanding not just Uranus, but how planets form, evolve, and interact with their environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-uranus-is-still-losing-ancient-heat">Uranus is still losing ancient heat</h2>



The study comes from researchers at the <a href="https://www.uh.edu/">University of Houston</a>, working with planetary scientists across the globe. 



It draws on decades of spacecraft data and advanced computer modeling. Together, the evidence paints a clearer picture: Uranus does release more energy than it gets from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/widest-high-resolution-photo-of-the-sun-ever-captured-solar-orbiter/">Sun</a>.



“This means it’s still slowly losing leftover heat from its early history, a key piece of the puzzle that helps us understand its origins and how it has changed over time,” said first author Xinyue Wang.



The findings also line up with those from a separate team led by Professor Patrick Irwin at the University of Oxford.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-as-hot-as-its-neighbors">Not as hot as its neighbors</h2>



While Uranus does emit heat, it gives off far less than the other giant planets in our solar system. Jupiter, Saturn, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/auroras-captured-on-neptune-for-the-first-time-thanks-to-the-webb-telescope/">Neptune</a> all emit more than twice the energy they absorb from sunlight. Uranus emits only about 12.5 percent more.



The reason isn’t clear, but researchers believe Uranus may have a different internal structure or evolutionary history than its neighbors.



In other words, Uranus might be built differently on the inside - or it may have followed a unique evolutionary path over billions of years that shaped how it stores and releases heat.



The study also found that Uranus’s heat output varies with its seasons - and those seasons are extreme. Each one lasts around 20 years, due to the planet’s tilted spin and off-center orbit.



As Uranus makes its long journey around the Sun, its energy levels rise and fall.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planning-future-uranus-missions">Planning future Uranus missions</h2>



Scientists aren’t just curious about Uranus for curiosity’s sake. Understanding how the planet works could directly affect the planning of future space missions.



Liming Li, also a co-author of the study, believes the findings come at the right time. NASA is gearing up for a major mission to Uranus - one that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine ranked as a top priority for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/civilian-spacewalk-is-a-giant-leap-in-space-exploration/">space exploration</a> through 2032.



“This study could improve planning for NASA’s flagship mission to orbit and probe Uranus,” Li said.



“From a scientific perspective, this study helps us better understand Uranus and other giant planets. For future space exploration, I think it strengthens the case for a mission to Uranus,” Wang added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-earth">Lessons for Earth</h2>



The research also holds lessons for Earth. The methods used - combining space data with physical models - don’t apply only to Uranus. They could be used to study heat flow on other planets, even ones outside our solar system.



“By uncovering how Uranus stores and loses heat, we gain valuable insights into the fundamental processes that shape planetary atmospheres, weather systems, and climate systems,” Li said. 



“These findings help broaden our perspective on Earth’s atmospheric system and the challenges of climate change.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-research-in-space">The future of research in space</h2>



This study isn't just about Uranus - it's a preview of where space science is headed. As tools for modeling, data collection, and observation improve, scientists are gaining new ways to study planets across the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-announce-evidence-suggesting-that-our-solar-system-has-nine-planets-again/">solar system</a> and beyond. 



The methods used to analyze Uranus’s heat could help decode the atmospheres of other ice giants, exoplanets, and even newly discovered worlds in distant systems.



NASA’s upcoming Uranus mission is just one example of how this research will shape future exploration. By combining long-term data with modern computational models, scientists are building a deeper understanding of how planets form, change, and interact with their environments.



These advances don’t just push planetary science forward - they also strengthen our ability to study climate systems, design new technologies, and prepare for the challenges of Earth’s future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL115660#https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL115660">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Hidden heat on Uranus changes what we know about ice giants

For decades, scientists have puzzled over Uranus. Unlike its fellow giant planets, it seemed unusually quiet in terms of heat. When NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past the icy world in 1986, its instruments detected almost no internal warmth. That didn’t make sense. Planets the size of Uranus should still be radiating heat from their formation - so where was it? Now, new research suggests the heat is there - just harder to detect. This new evidence helps resolve an old mystery and opens the door to...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.otago.ac.nz/">University of Otago</a> have discovered that an effective way to conserve New Zealand lizards is to isolate them after they are translocated. The study shows that the use of a penned release - enclosing the geckos in a pen to adapt to their new site - helps the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tropical-lizards-are-surprisingly-adaptable-to-climate-extremes/">lizards</a> to become established.

"Globally, translocations of herpetofauna have been notoriously unsuccessful. Most previous translocations of green geckos have failed to result in population establishment," wrote the researchers

"However, recent penned releases of jewelled geckos have led to increased site fidelity, reduced dispersal, reduced home range sizes, and reduced minimum daily movements, facilitating population establishment." 

"The success of these penned releases prompted use of the method in a translocation of 19 barking geckos to Mana Island, New Zealand, the first application of the technique to this species."

The experts penned the area used by the lizards over three months, and then evaluated their behavior for two weeks after they were released.

"We aimed to determine whether barking gecko area use decreased over time, which can be an early indication of territory establishment," explained the researchers.

"Mean barking gecko area use decreased significantly throughout the study, supporting previous work on jewelled geckos that suggests penning is an effective tool for translocations of green geckos and may also be beneficial to other lizard taxa." 

According to study co-author Dr. Jo Monks, understanding the behavioral response of barking geckos to a penned release, helps to determine which techniques are most helpful for a new population of geckos to become established following translocations.

Many green gecko populations have declined as a result of predators, habitat modification, and poaching, yet little research has been conducted on the relationships between geckos and various environments.

"Protecting barking geckos and other reptiles of Aotearoa is important in its own right and for the mauri of ecosystems in which they have important roles as pollinators and seed dispersers as well as being predators of invertebrates and prey of larger animals," said Dr. Monks.

The study is published in the <a href="https://newzealandecology.org/nzje">New Zealand Journal of Ecology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Isolation helps geckos become established in new areas

Scientists at the University of Otago have discovered that an...

Rising temperatures are contributing to lower quality diets and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cost-healthy-foods-malnutrition/">malnutrition</a> among children. An international study led by the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/">University of Vermont</a> is the largest-ever investigation into how climate change affects children's diets. 

The researchers analyzed the diet quality of 107,000 children, including micronutrient intake. They found that climate change has an equal or greater impact on child malnutrition as poverty, poor education, and unsanitary conditions.

Study lead author Meredith Niles is an assistant professor of Nutrition and Food Sciences and a research fellow in the University's Gund Institute for Environment.

"Certainly, future climate changes have been predicted to affect malnutrition, but it surprised us that higher temperatures are already showing an impact," said Professor Niles.

The experts examined diet diversity among more than 100,000 children aged five and under in 19 countries. Five of the six regions that were represented across Asia, Africa, and South America showed significant reductions in diet quality that were related to higher temperatures. 

Micronutrients like iron, folic acid, zinc, and vitamins A and D are critical for child development. A lack of these nutrients can cause malnutrition, which affects one out of every three children under the age of five.

The study was focused on diet diversity, which is measured by counting the number of food groups eaten over a given time period. The experts found that children in the study had eaten food from an average of 3.2 out of 10 food groups in the previous 24 hours. By contrast, diet diversity in other countries such as China have been measured at more than double this average.

"Diet diversity was already low for this group," said study co-author Brendan Fisher. "These results suggest that, if we don't adapt, climate change could further erode a diet that already isn't meeting adequate child micronutrient levels."

The researchers also found that higher precipitation was associated with higher child diet diversity. In some cases, the effect of higher precipitation had a greater impact on child diet diversity than education and improved sanitation.

"Higher rainfall in the future may provide important diet quality benefits in multiple ways, but it also depends on how that rain comes," said study co-author Molly Brown of the University of Maryland. "If it's more erratic and intense, as is predicted with climate change, this may not hold true."

"A warming climate has the potential undermine all the good that international development programs provide," said study co-author Taylor Ricketts. 

"In fact, that is something we find again and again in this global research: continued environmental degradation has the potential to undermine the impressive global health gains of the last 50 years."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326">Environmental Research Letters</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rising temperatures linked to low quality diets among children

Rising temperatures are contributing to lower quality diets and malnutrition...

The world's oceans have become less resilient to climate change. Global warming depletes the ocean of oxygen, and oceanic anoxia is expected to become more widespread under future <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-the-biggest-threat-to-wild-bees/">climate</a> projections. In a new study from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>, however, experts report that oxygen levels in the ancient oceans were surprisingly resilient to climate change.

During the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum about 55 million years ago, the global average temperature rose by more than 5 degrees Celsius. 

"The Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is one of the best studied climate perturbation events in Earth’s history, but the driving mechanisms, environmental consequences, and recovery processes are still debated," wrote the study authors. 

When the researchers used geological samples to estimate ocean oxygen levels during the PETM, they found that there was "limited expansion" of oceanic anoxia.  Despite the extreme warming associated with the PETM, the results suggest that the lack of oxygen affected no more than two percent of the seafloor worldwide.

Today, conditions have changed dramatically compared to the PETM. The chemistry of the ocean is increasingly changed by carbon and nutrient pollution, which could drive more rapid and expansive oxygen loss.

"The good news from our study is that the Earth system was resilient to seafloor deoxygenation 56 million years ago despite pronounced global warming," said study lead author Dr. Matthew Clarkson of ETH Zurich.

"However, there are reasons why things are different today. In particular, we think the Paleocene had higher atmospheric oxygen than today, which would have made anoxia less likely."

"Additionally, human activity is putting more nutrients into the ocean through fertilizers and pollution, which can drive oxygen loss and accelerate environmental deterioration."

To estimate ocean oxygen levels during the PETM, the researchers analyzed the isotopic composition of uranium in ocean sediments, which can be used to track oxygen concentrations. The experts were surprised to find that the oxygen levels barely changed.

Based on the uranium isotope analysis, the team used computer simulations to determine that oceanic anoxia impacted a maximum of two percent of the global seafloor.

Still yet, the extent of oxygen deprivation during the PETM was significant, affecting an area that was around ten times larger than the modern anoxic range. The researchers noted that there were clearly detrimental impacts and extinctions of marine life in some parts of the ocean.

"This study shows how the resilience of the Earth's climate system has changed over time," said study co-author Professor Tim Lenton, who is the director of Exeter's Global Systems Institute.

"The order of mammals we belong to - the primates - originated in the PETM. Unfortunately, as we primates have been evolving for the last 56 million years, it looks like the oceans have been getting less resilient."

Professor Lenton said that despite the discovery that oceans were more resilient to warming in the past than what was expected, "nothing should distract us from the urgent need to reduce emissions and tackle the climate crisis today."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a> 

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The world's oceans have become less resilient to climate change

The world's oceans have become less resilient to climate change....

A new study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep">Scientific Reports</a> has revealed that seagrass meadows help to remove marine plastic <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-contributed-to-1-67-million-deaths-in-india-last-year/">pollution</a>. The researchers estimate that Mediterranean seagrass meadows trap up to 867 million plastic items each year, most of which are carried onshore.

"Seagrass meadows are widespread in shallow coastal waters and provide important ecosystem services and benefits, such as water quality improvement, CO2 absorption, climate change mitigation, sediment production for seafloor and beach stabilization, coastal protection, nursery and refuge areas for many species, and support in fisheries production," explained the researchers.

The new investigation suggests that another benefit of underwater seagrass meadows is that they trap plastic waste and carry it to shore. 

Previous studies have found that most plastics end up in the seafloor and that some are washed back to shore. Exactly how this occurs, however, has remained unclear. 

"There is strong evidence that the seafloor constitutes a final sink for plastics from land sources," wrote the study authors. "There is also evidence that part of the plastics lying on the shallow seafloor are washed up back to the shoreline. However, little is known on the natural trapping processes leading to such landwards return."

A team led by Anna Sanchez-Vidal of the University of Barcelona set out to investigate the role that seagrass may have in trapping and removing marine plastic. The experts measured the amount of plastic debris present in seagrass litter from four beaches in Mallorca, Spain, between 2018 and 2019. Mallorca has extensive seagrass meadows, as well as high levels of plastic near the shore. 

Plastic debris was found among 50 percent of the loose seagrass leaf samples. Plastic items were also found intertwined in a substantial number of bundles of seagrass fibers known as “Neptune balls."

Up to 613 plastic items were found per kilogram of loose seagrass leaves and up to 1,470 plastic pieces were found per kilogram of Neptune balls. 

Based on this data, combined with estimates of seagrass fiber production in the Mediterranean, the experts determined that Neptune balls potentially trap 867 million pieces of plastic debris each year. 

The number of Neptune balls carried to shore, as well as the fate of the plastic after it has washed ashore, is unknown.

"There appears to be a considerable proportion of all plastic dumped into the ocean that is missing as it has not been found in surveys tracking floating plastic debris," wrote the researchers.

"Here we show that plastic debris in the shallow seafloor could be trapped in seagrass remains, eventually leaving the marine environment through beaching."

According to the study authors, the trapping services of seagrass may be particularly important in the Mediterranean Sea, where high microplastics loadings have been found at surface waters and on the seafloor. 

The researchers noted that seagrass conservation should remain a priority, as previous research found that seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean Sea have decreased by up to 50 percent since 1960.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep">Scientific Reports</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Seagrass meadows remove plastic debris from the ocean

A new study published in Scientific Reports has revealed that...

Some guppies have no self-control. In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>, researchers have found that guppies have varying levels of self-control. The experts report that Trinidadian guppies lack the ability to resist ill-natured impulses on an individual level, and also when compared to other guppy species. 

The team studied the behavior of Trinidadian guppies with a focus on "inhibitory control," or the capacity to suppress unhelpful impulses and urges.

For the investigation, the tiny fish were first taught how to swim into a cylinder to get food. Next, a cover was removed to make the cylinder transparent.

The researchers measured inhibitory control based on whether a guppy resisted the urge to swim directly toward the food. If they darted directly at the food, they bumped into the cylinder. Otherwise, they resisted this impulsive behavior and patiently swam around into the cylinder.

The study revealed that there was "consistent individual variation" among the guppies, and some had more self-control than others.

"Studies of inhibitory control have traditionally focussed on a few bird and mammal species, but we now know it exists in a wide range of animals," said Dr. Alessandro Macario.

"As well as finding consistent differences between individual guppies, the population of guppies we studied were, on average, half as able to control impulses as a different strain of guppies tested in a previous study under similar conditions."

"We can't be certain about the causes of this difference, but it's possible that the strain we studied had evolved in different social and environmental conditions - with less need for inhibitory control."

The study was focused on captive females, and each guppy was tested multiple times. Overall, the fish inhibited the urge to swim directly at the food in 28.5 percent of trials.

The fish showed no signs of improvement over time, but the researchers say this may have changed if the guppies had been tested for longer.

"Our study is a first step towards understanding how inhibitory control has evolved in guppies," said Professor Darren Croft. "Guppies live in small rivers alongside predators so, for example, they might need the ability to hide and resist the urge to leave that hiding place to get food."

"The next step in this research is to examine the extent to which this trait affects guppies' chances of survival or reproduction."

The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10958649">Journal of Fish Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Some guppies have no self-control

Some guppies have no self-control. In a new study led...

Bacteria may be increasing the amount of meltwater on the Greenland ice sheet and ultimately contributing to sea level rise, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a>. The experts report that the microbes cause sunlight-absorbing sediment to clump together and accumulate in meltwater streams.

The scientists say that their findings can be incorporated in climate models for more accurate predictions of melting across the massive island of Greenland.

"These streams can be seen all over Greenland and they have a brilliant blue color, which leads to further melting since they absorb more sunlight than the surrounding ice," said lead author Sasha Leidman, a graduate student in the lab of co-author Asa K. Rennermalm, an associate professor in the Department of Geography in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. "This is exacerbated as dark sediment accumulates in these streams, absorbing even more sunlight and causing more melting that may increase sea-level rise."

The Greenland ice sheet is about 656,000 square miles in size, covering most of the island. If all of this ice melted, it would push up the average global sea level by an estimated 20 feet.

The Rutgers team set out to investigate why so much sediment accumulates in glacial meltwater streams. In 2017, the scientists flew drones over a stream in southwest Greenland, took measurements, and collected sediment samples. 

The investigation revealed that sediment covers up to a quarter of the stream bottom. This is far more sediment than the estimated 1.2 percent that would be present if organic matter and cyanobacteria did not cause sediment granules to clump together. 

"We found that the only way for sediment to accumulate in these streams was if bacteria grew in the sediment, causing it to clump into balls 91 times their original size," said Leidman. "If bacteria didn't grow in the sediment, all the sediment would be washed away and these streams would absorb significantly less sunlight. This sediment aggregation process has been going on for longer than human history."

The solar energy absorbed by streams likely depends on the health and longevity of the bacteria, and further warming in Greenland may lead to greater sediment deposits in glacial streams, explained the researchers.

"Decreases in cloud cover and increases in temperature in Greenland are likely causing these bacteria to grow more extensively, causing more sediment-driven melting," said Leidman. 

"With climate change causing more of the ice sheet to be covered by streams, this feedback may lead to an increase in Greenland's contribution to sea-level rise. By incorporating this process into climate models, we'll be able to more accurately predict how much melting will occur, with the caveat that it is uncertain how much more melting will take place compared with what climate models predict. It will likely not be negligible."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19448007">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bacteria in meltwater sediments speed up ice loss in Greenland

Bacteria may be increasing the amount of meltwater on the...

Stretching is more effective than walking for lowering blood pressure, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.usask.ca/">University of Saskatchewan</a>. The research suggests that stretching should be part of a treatment plan for high blood pressure, the biggest risk factor for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-cardiovascular-benefits-of-exercise-are-unlimited/">cardiovascular</a> disease. 

"Everyone thinks that stretching is just about stretching your muscles," said study co-author Dr. Phil Chilibeck. "But when you stretch your muscles, you're also stretching all the blood vessels that feed into the muscle, including all the arteries. If you reduce the stiffness in your arteries, there's less resistance to blood flow." 

Dr. Chilibeck noted that resistance to blood flow is the cause of high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. The investigation is the first of its kind to directly compare walking and stretching for reducing hypertension. 

The researchers randomly assigned 40 older adults with stage 1 hypertension to two groups for an eight-week study period. One group engaged in a full-body stretching routine for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, while the other group engaged in brisk walking for the same amount of time. 

Before and after the study period, the experts measured participants' blood pressure while they were sitting, lying down, and over 24 hours using a portable monitor. Across all three measures, stretching lowered blood pressure more than walking. 

On the other hand, participants in the walking group lost more body fat in their waist over the course of the eight weeks. According to Dr. Chilibeck, people who are walking to reduce their high blood pressure should continue to do so, but also add in some stretching sessions.

"I don't want people to come away from our research thinking they shouldn't be doing some form of aerobic activity. Things like walking, biking, or cross- country skiing all have a positive effect on body fat, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar."

Dr. Chilibeck believes the same benefits can be achieved through even shorter stretching routines that focus on the larger muscle groups in the legs, particularly the quadriceps and hamstrings. He pointed out that yoga produces similar reductions in blood pressure.

The beauty of stretching, said Dr. Chilibeck, is that it is so easy to incorporate into a daily routine. Stretching is not limited by inclement weather, is easy on the joints, and does not require a big time commitment. 

"When you're relaxing in the evening, instead of just sitting on the couch, you can get down on the floor and stretch while you're watching TV."

The study is published in the <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jpah/jpah-overview.xml">Journal of Physical Activity and Health</a>. 

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Stretching reduces high blood pressure more than walking

Stretching is more effective than walking for lowering blood pressure,...

Humans share many of the same behaviors as other mammals and birds that live in the same place in the world, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>. The experts report that foraging humans reproduce, parent, and even organize their social groups in similar ways as neighboring <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/animals-needed-sleep-before-they-even-had-brains/">animals</a>.

The researchers analyzed data from more than 300 locations around the world. For almost all of the behaviors examined, humans were more likely to behave similarly to non-human species living in the same place compared to those living elsewhere.

"Previous research has explored how environmental conditions shape the behavior of closely related species. This is the first time a broad comparative perspective has been used to systematically compare very different species - humans, mammals, and birds - across a wide range of behaviours. Our evidence shows how remarkably pervasive and consistent the effect of the local environment is on behaviour," said Dr. Toman Barsbai.

"The similarities are not only present for behaviors directly relating to the environment, such as finding food, where we might expect a clear correlation, but also for reproductive and social behaviours, which might seem less dependent on the local environment."

For example, environments where humans get a significant proportion of their calories from hunting were found to have a much larger proportion of carnivorous mammals and birds. Similar associations were also identified in reliance on fishing, how far to travel to gather food, whether or not to store food, and whether or not to migrate between seasons.

When it comes to reproductive behavior, locations where humans have children later in life were found to have local mammals and birds that are older when they first reproduce. Other variables that correlated across species were the proportion of individuals having multiple partners, how far individuals move to live with new partners, and how likely couples are to split up. 

For both humans and non-human species, there were also places identified in the world where offspring care is more equally shared, certain social classes are more dominant, and where group sizes are larger.

The results of the study show that environmental factors have a major influence on how foraging human and animal populations behave, despite having very different backgrounds. It is not yet clear which specific environmental factors relate to specific behaviors, or what the mechanisms are linking them.

"We were surprised these associations appeared across humans, mammals, and birds," said Dr. Dieter Lukas. "Different species could be expected to sense and interact with their environments in very different ways. Even if they end up with the same behavior, they might have gotten there through different paths." 

"In particular, the flexibility that allows humans to adapt behavior to environments around the world is probably facilitated by relying on learning from other people and building on this information over generations."

The study focused on human populations who obtain most of their food by foraging in the environment where they live. 

"It would be interesting to see how many of these environmental restrictions shape other societies where individuals get food through agricultural specialization and trading," said author Dr. Andreas Pondorfer. 

"Agricultural intensification is often thought to buffer humans from the environment. Nevertheless, individuals in these populations might not be as buffered as we think and behaviours might still reflect adaptations that occurred before the adoption of agriculture."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Humans share many of the same behaviors as animals that live nearby

Humans share many of the same behaviors as other mammals...

Researchers have discovered a new strategy that bees use to cope with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plant-and-pollinator-connections-become-stronger-after-wildfires/">wildfires</a>. In the aftermath of a fire, blue orchard bees produce more female offspring, according to a new study from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a>.

Female bees control the sex of their offspring. The eggs that they fertilize with sperm become females, while the non-fertilized eggs become males.

The study revealed that the percentage of female offspring was even higher in the most severely burned areas compared to areas that were moderately burned. 

"This is one of the first studies that has looked at how forest fire severity influences bee demography," said co-author Jim Rivers, who is an animal ecologist with the OSU College of Forestry. "Sex ratio varied under different fire conditions but the number of young produced did not, which indicates bees altered the sex of their offspring depending on the degree of fire severity."

Many of the flowering plants that make up native ecosystems and food chains depend on bees for pollination. If experts can gain a better understanding of how bees respond to wildfires, which are expected to increase in frequency in severity, they can develop more effective post-fire recovery strategies.

"We placed bees on different sites within recently burned mixed-conifer forest in southwestern Oregon and used them as a measuring stick to tell us how good the bee habitat was," said study lead author Sara Galbraith. "Adjusting offspring production toward the more expensive offspring sex shows a functional response to changes in habitat quality via an increased density of flowering plants."

Pollinators can benefit from canopy-reducing fires in dense conifer forest ecosystems. For example, flowering plant abundance usually increases for several years following a fire, which leads to more food resources. This ultimately boosts wild bee diversity and abundance.

Pollinators are an essential component of insect and plant biodiversity. Animal pollinators enhance the reproduction of nearly 90 percent of the Earth's flowering plants, including many food crops. 

The blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria, is a solitary mason bee that is native to the United States and Canada. 

To investigate the relationship between fire severity and reproductive output of blue orchard bees, the researchers set up nest blocks containing a standardized number and sex ratio of adult bees, and then monitored the offspring across local and landscape scales

"In fire-prone landscapes, there is variation in species-level response to wildfire that serves to maintain ecosystem structure and function," said Rivers. "With the blue orchard bee and similar species, foraging females invest in larger progeny and more females when more resources are available."

The analysis showed that burned mixed-conifer forest provides floral resources for the blue orchard bee along a gradient of severity. An increase in these resources after high-severity fire prompts blue orchard bees to invest their energy in producing larger female offspring. 

"Our study revealed more female progeny than is typically observed with blue orchard bees," said Galbraith. "The greater proportion of females in areas surrounded by a more severely burned landscape indicates an investment in more female offspring because of greater resource availability."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/442">Oecologia</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

Blue orchard bees respond to fires by producing more females

Researchers have discovered a new strategy that bees use to...

In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian</a>, researchers have discovered electric eels hunting in groups for the first time. The unexpected behavior was observed in a small lake in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/jaguars-in-the-amazon-are-threatened-by-climate-extremes/">Amazon</a> River basin that was filled with more than 100 adult electric eels.

The eels teamed up to herd small fish called tetras into tightly packed balls. Groups of up to 10 eels collaborated to launch an attack, surrounding the fish and shocking them into submission. 

"This is an extraordinary discovery," said study senior author David de Santana. "Nothing like this has ever been documented in electric eels."

The findings raise new questions about the lifestyle and behavior of electric eels, which were previously thought to be solitary predators. 

"Hunting in groups is pretty common among mammals, but it's actually quite rare in fishes," said de Santana. "There are only nine other species of fishes known to do this, which makes this finding really special."

The research is the latest of de Santana's ongoing investigation into freshwater fish diversity in South America. His expeditions to the remote waters of the Amazon and its many tributaries have uncovered 85 new species of electric fish. 

Last year, de Santana identified two new species of electric eels. One of the new species, Volta's electric eel, is capable of producing 860-volt electric shocks. This is not only the strongest electric discharge of any animal on Earth, but is also 210 volts higher than the previous record. 

The current study was focused on Volta's electric eels, which can reach lengths of 8 feet.

"If you think about it, an individual of this species can produce a discharge of up to 860 volts - so in theory if 10 of them discharged at the same time, they could be producing up to 8,600 volts of electricity," said de Santana. "That's around the same voltage needed to power 100 light bulbs."

De Santana's team first witnessed Volta's electric eels hunting in groups during a field expedition in August of 2012. Study first author Douglas Bastos discovered a small lake directly connected with the Iriri River. He was amazed to find that the lake held more than 100 adult electric eels.

Two years later, the team logged 72 hours of continuous observation of the eels congregating in this location along the Iriri River.

For most of the day and night, the eels layed almost motionless in the deeper end of the lake, only coming to the surface occasionally to take a breath. The scientists found that the eels became active at dusk and dawn - interacting with each other and then swimming in a large circle. 

The eels corralled thousands of the tiny tetras into tighter and tighter shoals as they herded them into shallow water. Once the tetras were trapped by the main group, de Santana said that bands of two to 10 eels would move in closer and then launch synchronized electric attacks on the prey ball. 

The electric shocks sent the tetras flying out into the air, and then they fell back into the water stunned and motionless. De Santana noted that each dawn or dusk hunting ritual took around one hour and contained between five to seven high-voltage attacks.

"This is the only location where this behavior has been observed, but right now we think the eels probably show up every year," said de Santana. "Our initial hypothesis is that this is a relatively rare event that occurs only in places with lots of prey and enough shelter for large numbers of adult eels."

According to de Santana, these large gatherings of electric eels are not likely to be very common. 

"These animals can be 8 feet long and produce 860-volt electric shocks; if 100 of them being in one place was a common occurrence, I think we would have heard about it before now."

With the Amazon under threat from deforestation, wildfires, and climate change, de Santana said there is a profound sense of urgency to accelerate biodiversity assessment in the region. 

"Electric eels aren't in immediate danger, but their habitats and ecosystems are under immense pressure. This paper is an example of how much we still don't know, how many organisms whose life histories we don't yet understand."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe">Biology and Evolution</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

Electric eels found hunting in groups

In a new study led by the Smithsonian, researchers have...

Oolong tea burns fat while you sleep. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/">University of Tsukuba</a> have found that tea and caffeine help you lose weight while you <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-covid-19-pandemic-has-caused-severe-sleep-disruptions/">sleep</a>. The experts report that drinking two cups of oolong tea per day triggers the breakdown of fat overnight.

"The effects of oolong tea consumption to increase fat oxidation during sleep may have clinical relevance for controlling body weight and glucose metabolism," wrote the researchers. 

"Several lines of evidence suggest that an individual’s capacity to oxidize dietary fat is a metabolic determinant of future weight gain."

All tea originates from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, by they are distinguished by their processing techniques. Unoxidized tea is green tea, while fully oxidized tea is black tea. Oolong tea is half-oxidized and shares characteristics with both green and black tea. 

The health benefits of green tea, such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol, are well documented. The potential effects of oolong tea, however, have remained somewhat of a mystery.

"Like all teas, oolong contains caffeine, which impacts energy metabolism by increasing our heart rate. However, studies suggest that tea consumption may also increase the breakdown of fat, independent of the effects of caffeine," said study senior author Professor Kumpei Tokuyama. 

"We therefore wanted to examine the effects of oolong consumption versus caffeine alone on energy and fat metabolism among a group of healthy volunteers."

The researchers found that both oolong tea and pure caffeine increased fat breakdown by about 20 percent in the healthy volunteers, and oolong tea continued to have an effect while the participants were asleep. 

The experts report that neither treatment caused an increase in energy expenditure, which means that the volunteers developed a tolerance to the stimulatory effects of caffeine over the two-week study period.

Furthermore, the tea did not disrupt the sleeping patterns of the individuals. This indicates that drinking oolong tea, and burning fat overnight, did not prevent any of the participants from getting a good night's sleep.

"The stimulatory effects of oolong tea on fat breakdown during sleep could have real clinical relevance for controlling body weight," said Professor Tokuyama.

"However, we need to determine whether the effects we observed in the 2-week study translate into actual body fat loss over a prolonged period."

"In addition, we want to trial a decaffeinated oolong tea to better distinguish the effects of caffeine from other components of tea, which will help us understand exactly how oolong helps with fat breakdown."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients">Nutrients</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

Oolong tea burns fat while you sleep

Oolong tea burns fat while you sleep. Researchers at the...

A shocking number of lakes in the Northern Hemisphere may soon lose their ice cover for good, according to a study from <a href="https://www.yorku.ca/">York University</a>. The experts report that at the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, about 5,700 lakes could permanently lose their ice by the end of this century, and 179 of them will become ice-free within the next decade.

The affected areas include large bays in some of the deepest of the Great Lakes, such as Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. These regions could lose their ice by 2055, unless urgent action is taken to slow global warming.

Many of the lakes that are predicted to stop freezing serve as important sources of drinking water for nearby communities. Losing ice will impact the quantity and quality of the water.

"We need ice on lakes to curtail and minimize evaporation rates in the winter," said study lead author Professor Sapna Sharma. "Without ice cover, evaporation rates would increase, and water levels could decline. We would lose freshwater, which we need for drinking and everyday activities. Ice cover is extremely important both ecologically and socio-economically."

The analysis was focused on 51,000 lakes in the Northern Hemisphere.  The researchers combined annual winter temperature projections from 2020 to 2098 with 12 climate change scenarios to determine which lakes will become ice-free.

"With increased greenhouse gas emissions, we expect greater increases in winter air temperatures, which are expected to increase much more than summer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere," said study co-author Alessandro Filazzola. "It's this warming of a couple of degrees, as result of carbon emissions, that will cause the loss of lake ice into the future."

The lakes that have the greatest risk of losing ice cover are those in southern and coastal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, and some of them rank among the largest lakes in the world.

"It is quite dramatic for some of these lakes, that froze often, but within a few decades they stop freezing indefinitely," says Filazzola. "It's pretty shocking to imagine a lake that would normally freeze no longer doing so."

The study showed that when the air temperature was above -0.9 C, most lakes no longer froze. 

"Ice cover is also important for maintaining the quality of our freshwater," said Professor Sharma. "In years where there isn't ice cover or when the ice melts earlier, there have been observations that water temperatures are warmer in the summer, there are increased rates of primary production, plant growth, as well as an increased presence of algal blooms, some of which may be toxic."

According to Professor Sharma, more aggressive measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions are urgently needed to preserve lake ice cover. "I was surprised at how quickly we may see this transition to permanent loss of ice cover in lakes that had previously frozen near consistently for centuries."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19448007">Geophysical Research 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

Hundreds of northern lakes will permanently lose their ice cover

A shocking number of lakes in the Northern Hemisphere may...

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

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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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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

[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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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

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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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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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