Galaxy clusters pack thousands of galaxies into a volume only a few million light-years wide. They also fill the space between them with a thin plasma hotter than the Sun’s surface.



When a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spiral-galaxy-j23453268-0449256-black-hole-fury-defies-current-knowledge-base/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spiral galaxy</a> plunges through this intracluster medium, the hot plasma acts like a supersonic headwind, pushing on the galaxy’s cooler gas. NGC 4858 is currently enduring some of the strongest ram-pressure stripping ever observed.



“This galaxy, NGC 4858, is traveling very quickly through the Coma Cluster,” said Harrison Souchereau, an astronomer at <a href="https://www.yale.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yale University</a> and lead author of a new study exploring this galaxy.



“It is effectively in a wind tunnel, and its gas is in the process of being stripped away by the wind,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-survey-of-jellyfish-galaxies">A survey of jellyfish galaxies </h2>



NGC 4858 is classified as a "jellyfish galaxy." This type of galaxy has long, trailing streams of gas and young stars extending from one side - making it resemble a jellyfish with flowing tentacles.



Earlier optical pictures showed distinct blue tentacles of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-captures-a-young-stars-jet-colliding-with-space-dust/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">young stars</a> trailing behind NGC 4858. These features confirmed that ram-pressure winds removed the galaxy’s interstellar gas and compressed it into new star-forming knots.



But optical light cannot reveal the cold molecular clouds that provide the raw material for future stars.



To map that component, Souchereau and Yale professor Jeffrey Kenney used <a href="https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ALMA Observatory</a>’s high resolution and sensitivity at radio wavelengths. 



Their observations - part of a broader survey of jellyfish galaxies - resolved structures just a few hundred light-years across. These were small enough to compare directly with computer simulations of ram-pressure stripping.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bunny-ears-and-inner-tails"><a></a>Bunny ears and inner tails</h2>



The ALMA images show that the galaxy’s leading edge, which faces into the wind, appears sharply compressed. On the trailing side, a short, hook-shaped plume of CO-bright gas curves back toward the disk.



Above the disk plane, two arched spiral arms stretch outward and backward, giving the galaxy a cartoonish set of “bunny ears.”



“This is likely due to a combination of the environmental wind pushing on the gas and the rotation of the galaxy,” Souchereau explained.



Models show headwinds drag unevenly on spinning galaxies, bending arms and piling gas onto one side of the disk. Stars can still form where the gas density peaks, even as other parts of the disk go without.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-galactic-fountain-effect"><a></a>The galactic fountain effect</h2>



The study highlights one of its most striking findings: clear evidence for “fallback,” a long-theorized but rarely documented process.



When ram pressure pushes gas out of the disk, the material does not always escape into intergalactic space. If it fails to reach the cluster’s escape velocity, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unraveling-gravity-quantum-nature-entanglement-mechanics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gravity</a> eventually reverses its course.



“Most people think of ram pressure stripping as removing the gas from galaxies, which is the main effect and a big deal, since gas is the raw material for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fluffy-molecular-clouds-may-change-our-understanding-of-star-formation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">star formation</a>,” Kenney said.



“But sometimes gas can get pushed out but not stripped, since it never reaches the escape speed. So it falls back, creating a kind of galactic fountain. When this happens, the gas falling back often concentrates in distorted spiral arms on one side of the inner tail.”



In NGC 4858, the returning gas streams converge inside the bunny-ear arms and along the inner tail, triggering bursts of star formation in regions that would otherwise be quiescent.



The galaxy shows both destruction and renewal, as some forces gut certain regions while others briefly revive with recycled gas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recycling-may-change-a-galaxy-s-fate">Recycling may change a galaxy’s fate</h2>



Astronomers consider ram-pressure stripping one of the fastest ways to convert blue, star-forming spirals into red, gas-poor ellipticals inside clusters.



The new ALMA data indicate that the transformation can be messier and more gradual than simple one-way stripping models predict.



Gas recycling may prolong a galaxy’s star-forming life, albeit in distorted patches rather than orderly spiral arms. The uneven fallback suggests that angular momentum and magnetic fields steer stripped gas - key factors for next-generation simulations to model.



Upcoming optical and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-galaxies-revealed-in-a-single-webb-image/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Webb telescope</a> observations will analyze the chemical makeup of gas flowing into and out of the galaxy. These studies will test whether recycled material can eventually build a fresh, stable disk or simply fuel brief starbursts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-galaxy-survival-limits">Testing galaxy survival limits</h2>



Astronomers study NGC 4858 as a compelling case of extreme environmental effects on galaxies because it lies nearby and sits in one of the densest known clusters.



By comparing it to other jellyfish in the Coma sample - some at different angles of motion and stages of stripping - astronomers hope to build a timeline of how ram-pressure interactions unfold.



For now, the galaxy’s whimsical bunny-ear silhouette offers three key lessons. Ram-pressure winds compress and bend spiral arms; gas can cycle out and back in a galactic fountain; and even under relentless external assault, galaxies can briefly reignite pockets of star formation.



Observing these processes in real time provides a critical benchmark for theories of galaxy evolution in the universe’s most crowded neighborhoods.



A preprint of the study can be found on <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.07262" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arXiv</a>.



-----



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Jellyfish galaxy grew ‘bunny ears’ while battling galactic wind

Galaxy clusters pack thousands of galaxies into a volume only a few million light-years wide. They also fill the space between them with a thin plasma hotter than the Sun’s surface. When a spiral galaxy plunges through this intracluster medium, the hot plasma acts like a supersonic headwind, pushing on the galaxy’s cooler gas. NGC 4858 is currently enduring some of the strongest ram-pressure stripping ever observed. “This galaxy, NGC 4858, is traveling very quickly through the Coma Cluster,” said Harrison Souchereau, an astronomer at Yale University...

A new study has revealed that it was not one, not two, but three climate-related forces that triggered a devastating coral <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/brutal-coral-bleaching-event-strikes-the-great-barrier-reef/">bleaching</a> event across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in 2016. 

Study author Kristopher Karnauskas is an expert at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and an associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">UC Boulder</a>.

"When the Great Barrier Reef bleached severely back in 2016, it earned global attention," said Professor Karnauskas. "Some speculated it was global warming, others thought it was El Niño, but the actual role of those two forces have not really been disentangled. As a physical climate scientist with a bias for the ocean, I thought I should dig in."

Professor Karnauskas combined satellite observations with a mathematics-based method to estimate the timing and extent of warming that could be linked to each weather event.

The study revealed that the first culprit was an El Niño system that instigated a marine heatwave by shifting sun-blocking clouds away from the region. 

This was followed by a terrestrial heatwave that moved over the coast of Australia just as the marine heatwave was subsiding.

Meanwhile, the heatwaves were exacerbated by long-term global warming.

"It turns out that El Niño did play a role, and the eventual warmth was certainly higher because of the long-term trend, but the reason it lasted so long was actually this terrestrial heatwave lurking over eastern Australia until the marine warming event was just finally waning, and then: bang, the heatwave leaked out over the coastline," said Professor Karnauskas. 

"That warm air over the ocean changed the way heat is exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere, keeping the ocean warm and bleaching for an extra month or so."

According to Professor Karnauskas, the 2016 marine heatwave persisted well into the winter, dramatically changing the species composition of the reefs.

"This new finding reveals that climate variability and change can lead to marine impacts in surprising, compounding ways, including heatwaves both on land and in the ocean."

"From heatwaves to hurricanes, we need to double down on efforts to understand the complexities of how anthropogenic climate change will influence extreme events in the future."

The accumulated heat stress of back-to-back mass bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 impacted two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef. 

Even the fastest-growing corals need at least a decade to recover from bleaching. Nearly half of all the GBR's corals perished by the end of 2017, and increasingly frequent bleaching events are giving the reefs little time to recuperate. 

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

&nbsp;

Mulitiple forces caused 2016 coral bleaching event

A new study has revealed that it was not one,...

Six feet is not far enough for safe social distancing. Current social distancing guidelines of staying six feet apart are not sufficient to prevent <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hydroxychloroquine-is-not-an-effective-covid-19-treatment/">COVID-19</a> exposure, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.aip.org/">American Institute of Physics</a>. 

The researchers demonstrated that in windy conditions - even with the slightest breeze - saliva can travel 18 feet in five seconds.

The airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses is not entirely understood. The experts set out to gain a better understanding of how particles travel through the air when a person coughs.

"The droplet cloud will affect both adults and children of different heights," said study co-author Dimitris Drikakis. "Shorter adults and children could be at higher risk if they are located within the trajectory of the traveling saliva droplets."

Saliva droplets travel in a bulk of surrounding air released by a cough, but they do not always travel through the air in the same way. The movement of airborne particles is influenced by many factors such as humidity and air temperature.

For their investigation, the researchers created a computational fluid dynamics simulation that examines the state of every saliva droplet moving through the air in front of a coughing person. 

The model accounted for the effects of humidity, dispersion force, the interactions of saliva molecules and air, and the evaporation process.

Overall, about 3.7 million equations were analyzed with the computer model. The simulation contained a grid that represents the space in front of a coughing person.

"Each cell holds information about variables like pressure, fluid velocity, temperature, droplet mass, droplet position, etc.," said study co-author Talib Dbouk. 

"The purpose of the mathematical modeling and simulation is to take into account all the real coupling or interaction mechanisms that may take place between the main bulk fluid flow and the saliva droplets, and between the saliva droplets themselves."

The study revealed that a mild cough occurring in wind speeds as low as 4 kilometers per hour, or 2.5 miles per hour, can propel saliva droplets 18 feet.

According to the experts, further research is needed to determine the effect of ground surface temperature on the behavior of saliva in the air. 

Additional studies are also needed to examine indoor environments, where air conditioning has a significant impact on particle movement.

"This work is vital, because it concerns health and safety distance guidelines, advances the understanding of spreading and transmission of airborne diseases, and helps form precautionary measures based on scientific results," said Drikakis.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/journal/phf">Physics of Fluids</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Six feet is not far enough for safe social distancing

Six feet is not far enough for safe social distancing....

The increasing frequency and severity of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/drought-in-western-u-s-may-become-the-worst-in-history/">drought</a> in California poses a major threat to salmon populations, but a new study led by <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">UC San Diego</a> describes how conservation efforts could make a big difference. 

According to the researchers, pools that serve as drought refuges would drastically reduce the risk for California's endangered salmon. 

The experts monitored nearly 20,000 fish in streams across Sonoma County from 2011 to 2017. The Russian River watershed is home to an endangered group of coho salmon that nearly vanished less than two decades ago, but conservation efforts have helped the population recover. 

"We were able to measure survival during this historic drought, which will help us understand how future droughts will impact this population of salmon," said study co-author Professor Ross Vander Vorste.

Droughts are becoming more frequent and intense in California as a result of climate change. The small streams that salmon depend on often dry up in drought conditions, which can leave the fish stranded. 

The experts set out to investigate how future habitat fragmentation associated with more severe drought will threaten salmon survival. The team also wanted to estimate how much water is needed to support salmon populations throughout the dry summer months. 

The research is providing insight into what habitats can serve as refuges during extreme conditions, and what physical and environmental conditions may influence the survival of juvenile salmon.

The team found evidence to suggest that even during the most extreme droughts, many stream pools act as refuges. In other areas, however, a lack of flowing water traps salmon in drying pools where they experience high mortality rates.

"For the most part, as long as water persisted in pools throughout the summer, salmon were able to survive," said Professor Vander Vorste. "So even though we saw decreased survival in many pools, there were some places that emerged as refuges."

"With the trend towards increasing drought, it's going to be harder and harder for these salmon to hang on," said study co-author Mariska Obedzinski. "So it's really important that some of these pools did maintain conditions that supported survival. That gives us hope that there is at least some habitat out there that can support these fish during drought."

The findings could help resource managers determine the best strategies to protect salmon during drought conditions.

"There are limited resources to address streamflow issues, so this study helps focus our attention in certain areas," said Obedzinski. "There are different strategies for different conditions." 

The areas that are likely to serve as refuges could become a priority for management, while the areas that become impaired during a drought could be targeted for streamflow enhancement.

The research has implications for understanding the threats of habitat fragmentation for other endangered species as well.

"Drought is not only going to affect the Russian River, but will also affect streams and rivers up and down the West Coast and around the world. Identifying environmental factors that are limiting salmon survival during those periods is an important finding that could have broader implications," said Professor Vander Vorste.

The study is published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>. 

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Conservation efforts are needed to save California salmon

The increasing frequency and severity of drought in California poses...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> are describing why cats are twice as likely to survive a venomous snake bite compared to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dogs-struggle-with-adolescence-just-as-much-as-teenagers/">dogs</a>. The researchers discovered that after a snake bite, blood clotting begins much faster in dogs.

"Snakebite is a common occurrence for pet cats and dogs across the globe and can be fatal," said study co-author Dr. Brian Fry. "This is primarily due to a condition called 'venom-induced consumptive coagulopathy' - where an animal loses its ability to clot blood and sadly bleeds to death."

According to Dr. Fry, the eastern brown snake is responsible for an estimated 76 percent of reported domestic pet snakebites each year in Australia.

"And while only 31 percent of dogs survive being bitten by an eastern brown snake without antivenom, cats are twice as likely to survive - at 66 percent."

Cats also have a significantly higher survival rate if they receive antivenom treatment. Prior to this study, the phenomenon remained a mystery.

The researchers set out to compare the effects of snake venoms on the blood clotting agents in dogs and cats. They used a coagulation analyzer to test the effects of eastern brown snake venom and 10 additional venoms on dog and cat plasma in the lab.

"All venoms acted faster on dog plasma than cat or human," said study co-author Christina Zdenek.

"This indicates that dogs would likely enter a state where blood clotting fails sooner and are therefore more vulnerable to these snake venoms."

Zdenek explained that the spontaneous clotting time of the blood was dramatically faster in dogs than in cats, even without venom.

"This suggests that the naturally faster clotting blood of dogs makes them more vulnerable to these types of snake venoms," said Zdenek. "And this is consistent with clinical records showing more rapid onset of symptoms and lethal effects in dogs than cats."

The researchers pointed out behavioral differences among dogs and cats that likely increase the chances that a venomous snake bite will prove fatal for dogs.

"Dogs typically investigate with their nose and mouth, which are highly vascularised areas, whereas cats often swat with their paws," said Dr. Fry. "And dogs are usually more active than cats, which is not great after a bite has taken place because the best practice is to remain as still as possible to slow the spread of venom through the body."

The researchers hope their findings will lead to a higher awareness of the critically short window available to rescue dogs after venomous snake bites.

"As dog lovers ourselves, this study strikes close to home but it also has global implications," said Dr. Fry. "I've had two friends lose big dogs to snakebites, dying in less than ten minutes even though the eastern brown snakes responsible were not particularly large specimens."

"This underscores how devastatingly fast and fatal snake venom can be to dogs."

&nbsp;

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/comparative-biochemistry-and-physiology-part-c-toxicology-and-pharmacology">Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology &amp; Pharmacology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Snake bites kill dogs much faster than cats

Experts at the University of Queensland are describing why cats...

The analysis of four decades of satellite imagery has revealed that hurricanes are getting stronger. Led by the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a>, a team of researchers found that the maximum sustained winds associated with hurricanes are intensifying, and global <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/warming-seawater-will-push-antarctic-krill-farther-south/">warming</a> is to blame. 

"Through modeling and our understanding of atmospheric physics, the study agrees with what we would expect to see in a warming climate like ours," said study lead author and NOAA scientist James Kossin.

In a 2013 study, Kossin and his colleagues identified trends in hurricane strengthening based on data from 28 years. According to Kossin, the findings were less conclusive and required further research.

For the current study, the researchers focused on global hurricane data from 1979 to 2017. The team was able to create a more uniform dataset to clearly identify trends.

"The main hurdle we have for finding trends is that the data are collected using the best technology at the time," said Kossin. 

"Every year the data are a bit different than last year, each new satellite has new tools and captures data in different ways, so in the end we have a patchwork quilt of all the satellite data that have been woven together."

Kossin has previously documented additional variations in hurricane behavior that have emerged over the decades, such as the location and speed of the storms. 

In 2014, he identified poleward migrations of hurricanes, where tropical cyclones are traveling farther north and south, placing new coastal populations at a higher risk of impact.

In 2018, Kossin demonstrated that hurricanes are moving more slowly across land due to changes in the climate. This leads to greater flooding dangers as the storms hover over populated areas for extended periods of time.

"Our results show that these storms have become stronger on global and regional levels, which is consistent with expectations of how hurricanes respond to a warming world," said Kossin. 

"It's a good step forward and increases our confidence that global warming has made hurricanes stronger, but our results don't tell us precisely how much of the trends are caused by human activities and how much may be just natural variability."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">PNAS</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Hurricanes are getting stronger as Earth gets warmer

The analysis of four decades of satellite imagery has revealed...

Researchers at <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a> have identified a small area of the brain that "profoundly" shuts down pain. According to the study, a single switch dampens the response of at least 16 brain regions that process pain. 

The experts were surprised to find that the brain center has the ability to shut pain off, but not on. Another surprise was the location of the switch, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/amygdala-experience-fear/">amygdala</a>, which is widely perceived as the brain's center for negative emotions like general anxiety.

"People do believe there is a central place to relieve pain, that's why placebos work," said study senior author Professor Fan Wang. "The question is where in the brain is the center that can turn off pain."

"Most of the previous studies have focused on which regions are turned ON by pain. But there are so many regions processing pain, you'd have to turn them all off to stop pain. Whereas this one center can turn off the pain by itself."

In previous work, Professor Wang's team investigated neurons that are activated by general anesthetics. The experts found that anesthesia promotes slow-wave sleep by activating the supraoptic nucleus of the brain. 

In addition, the researchers found that general anesthesia activates a specific set of neurons in the central amygdala, which they refer to as CeAga neurons.

Using a mouse model, Professor Wang and her colleagues found that the CeAga neural network is connected to many different areas of the brain. Although mice have a relatively larger central amygdala than humans, Professor Wang said she has no reason to think we have a different system for controlling pain.

The researchers gave mice a mild pain stimulus and mapped all of the pain-activated brain regions. The study revealed that at least 16 brain centers known to process the sensory or emotional aspects of pain received inhibitory input from the CeAga.

"Pain is a complicated brain response," said Professor Wang. "It involves sensory discrimination, emotion, and autonomic responses. Treating pain by dampening all of these brain processes in many areas is very difficult to achieve. But activating a key node that naturally sends inhibitory signals to these pain-processing regions would be more robust."

The team experimented with optogenetics, a technology that uses light to activate neural cells. By stimulating the CeAga neurons, the researchers managed to switch off behaviors exhibited by mice when they feel uncomfortable.

The moment the light was turned on to activate the pain-inhibiting neurons, behaviors such as paw-licking or face-wiping were "completely abolished." 

"It's so drastic," said Professor Wang. "They just instantaneously stop licking and rubbing."

Next, the researchers will search for drugs that can safely activate the CeAga cells in an effort to develop improved painkillers. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/neuro/">Nature Neuroscience</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Experts identify brain cells that can shut down pain

Researchers at Duke University have identified a small area of...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">NYU</a>, experts have discovered a previously unknown link between our daily surroundings and our sense of well-being. The researchers found that new and diverse experiences boost <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/experience-happiness-changes-age/">happiness</a>, and the effects are visible in our brain activity. 

Study co-author Catherine Hartley is an assistant professor in NYU's Department of Psychology.

"Our results suggest that people feel happier when they have more variety in their daily routines - when they go to novel places and have a wider array of experiences," said Professor Hartley. "The opposite is also likely true: positive feelings may drive people to seek out these rewarding experiences more frequently."

In previous studies, scientists had noted similar results among animals. 

"Collectively, these findings show the beneficial consequences of environmental enrichment across species, demonstrating a connection between real-world exposure to fresh and varied experiences and increases in positive emotions," said study co-author Professor Aaron Heller of the University of Miami. 

The researchers set out to investigate whether diversity in our daily experiences is associated with a more positive emotional state. Study participants were asked to report periodically on their mental states as their movements were tracked by GPS.

The results showed that on days when people had more variability in their physical location, they reported feeling more positive. When an individual visited more locations on the same day and spent about the same amount of time at these locations, they reported feeling happy, excited, strong, relaxed, and/or attentive.

To see if the link was visible in brain activity, the scientists used MRI scans for about half of the study participants. 

Individuals who had the strongest connection between diverse experiences and positive feeling exhibited a greater correlation between brain activity in the hippocampus and the striatum. The hippocampus processes novelty and reward, while the striatum processes beneficial or positive experiences.

"These results suggest a reciprocal link between the novel and diverse experiences we have during our daily exploration of our physical environments and our subjective sense of well-being," said Professor Hartley.

The study was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the researchers acknowledge that there are currently widespread restrictions on movement.

However, the experts said even small changes that introduce greater variability into the physical or mental routine - such as exercising at home, going on a walk around the block, and taking a different route to the grocery store or pharmacy - could yield similar benefits.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/neuro/">Nature Neuroscience</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

New and diverse experiences spark positive emotions

In a new study from NYU, experts have discovered a...

Rising <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/destructive-weather-pattern-may-return-to-the-indian-ocean/">ocean</a> temperatures will alter the distribution and life cycles of Antarctic krill in the coming decades, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au/">University of Tasmania</a>.

Antarctic krill are ecologically and commercially important animals.  They are the main food source for hundreds of marine species, including whales, seals, ice fish, and penguins.

The researchers investigated how changing ocean temperatures will affect the habitat and preferred food of krill, which is phytoplankton.

The study showed that 85 percent of the Southern Ocean will be impacted, and krill will likely move farther south where conditions are more favorable. 

Study lead author Devi Veytia said the findings forecast a change in the seasonal distribution of krill habitat, particularly around fishing grounds near the Antarctic Peninsula.

"Understanding how krill will respond to climate change and the ecological impacts of those changes is important to both conservation efforts and the management of the fishery, the largest in the Southern Ocean," said Veytia.

"Our study combined projections of sea surface temperatures and phytoplankton using climate change scenarios with an established krill growth model."

"We found that over the coming decades krill habitat quality can be expected to improve in spring, particularly further south and on the continental shelf."

"In summer, there was little net change, but good habitat redistributed, increasing at high and low latitudes and declining in mid-latitudes."

Veytia said that the greatest decline in habitat quality and range will occur in the fall, mainly in sub-Antarctic regions. As a result, krill will shift south into higher latitudes.

"At the same time there will be a change in the time of year when krill habitat is optimal, improving in spring, but declining in important regions during summer and autumn."

According to Veytia, the shift in seasonal habitat quality, especially around the Antarctic Peninsula, could disturb the synchronization between krill and the annual cycle of this important ecosystem.

"Synchronization usually allows krill to capitalize on seasonally available food sources, allowing growth, reproduction and storing of reserves to survive the winter," said Veytia.

"A temporal shift in habitat quality could create a timing mismatch, potentially affecting krill reproduction and population dynamics."

"The commercial fishery, which is currently centred on the Antarctic Peninsula and south Scotia Sea, could also be affected, leading to shifts in the distribution and timing of the fishing effort."

"The geographical shift of krill habitat towards more southerly waters is also likely to have ecosystem impacts, particularly for land-based predators at sub-Antarctic islands that have limited capacity to follow their preferred food source."

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Warming seawater will push Antarctic krill farther south

Rising ocean temperatures will alter the distribution and life cycles...

A new study has revealed that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/why-do-some-birds-develop-so-much-faster-than-others/">birds</a> adapted certain types of wing shapes based on their environment and behavior. The research was focused on wing measurements from 10,000 bird species. 

Understanding how different organisms move around is very important for conserving biodiversity. Since tracking the movement of animals can be very expensive, there are still many things that are not known about their movement and dispersal. 

The activities of animals in remote locations are especially mysterious, but studying bird wings can provide important clues. 

The Arctic tern makes a long annual journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again. On the other side of the spectrum, the Inaccessible Island rail is the world's smallest flightless bird, which never leaves the five-square-mile radius of its island.

Measurements of wing shape, such as the elongation of the wing, indicate how well the wing is adapted for long-distance flight. 

A team led by the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> measured the wings of 45,801 birds in museums and field sites around the world. Using these measurements, the researchers created a map of the global variation in wing shape. The study revealed that the best-adapted fliers were primarily found in high latitudes, while birds with more sedentary lifestyles were mainly found in the tropics.

By comparing these values with detailed information about each species' environment, ecology, and behavior, the experts found that the geographical differences in wing shape are primarily driven by temperature variability, territory defense, and migration.

"This geographic pattern is really striking," said study lead author Dr. Catherine Sheard. "Given the role we know dispersal plays in evolutionary processes, from speciation to species interactions, we suspect this relationship between behavior, the environment, and dispersal may be shaping other aspects of biodiversity."

The study is the first comprehensive analysis of a dispersal-linked trait across an entire class of animals.

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://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

&nbsp;

Bird wing shape is driven by environment and behavior

A new study has revealed that birds adapted certain types...

Hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/children-with-covid-19-may-have-gastrointestinal-symptoms/">COVID-19</a>, according to the results of two recent studies published in <a href="https://www.bmj.com/">The BMJ</a>. In fact, the research suggests that the drug may do more harm than good. 

A team of experts in France found that hydroxychloroquine does not significantly reduce the odds of admission to intensive care or death from the disease. 

In a randomized clinical trial in China, hospitalized patients with persistent COVID-19 who were given hydroxychloroquine did not recover from the virus more quickly than those receiving standard care. 

Furthermore, a higher number of adverse events occurred among the individuals who received the trial drug.

Hydroxychloroquine can reduce inflammation, pain, and swelling. It is widely used to treat rheumatic diseases and malaria. 

Lab tests have shown promising results for hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, but a growing collection of evidence is proving otherwise. 

However, hydroxychloroquine is included in Chinese guidelines on how best to manage the disease, and has been authorized for emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Patients have been advised by the FDA to avoid the drug outside of a hospital setting due to the risk of heart rhythm problems.

In the first study, researchers in France evaluated the effectiveness and safety of hydroxychloroquine in adults admitted to the hospital with pneumonia caused by COVID-19 who needed oxygen.

Among 181 patients, 84 received hydroxychloroquine and 97 did not.

The experts found no meaningful differences in the health outcomes of the two groups.

In the second study, a research team in China investigated the effectiveness and safety of hydroxychloroquine in 150 adults hospitalized with mild or moderate COVID-19.

Half of the patients received the treatment and the other half received standard care. 

By day 28, tests revealed similar rates of COVID-19 among patients in the two groups, but adverse events were more common in those who received hydroxychloroquine. 

The study authors said that the results do not support the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, but further research is needed to confirm these findings.

The study is published in <a href="https://www.bmj.com/">The BMJ</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Hydroxychloroquine is not an effective COVID-19 treatment

Hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment for COVID-19, according to...

A new study from <a href="http://www.ecu.edu.au/">Edith Cowan University</a> suggests that Google is not the best place to seek out a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exercise-can-boost-brain-health-at-any-age/">health</a> diagnosis. According to the research, online symptom checkers are only accurate in one out of every three searches. 

The experts analyzed 36 web-based symptom checkers. The study showed that the correct diagnosis was the top result 36 percent of the time, and the advice on when and where to seek health care was accurate 49 percent of the time.

Nearly 40 percent of Australians look online to self-diagnose their health issues. It is estimated that there are about 70,000 health-related Google searches every minute. 

Study lead author Michella Hill said the findings should give people pause for thought.

"While it may be tempting to use these tools to find out what may be causing your symptoms, most of the time they are unreliable at best and can be dangerous at worst," said Hill.

She noted that online symptom checkers may be providing people with a false sense of security.

"We've all been guilty of being 'cyberchondriacs' and googling at the first sign of a niggle or headache. But the reality is these websites and apps should be viewed very cautiously as they do not look at the whole picture - they don't know your medical history or other symptoms," said Hill.

"For people who lack health knowledge, they may think the advice they're given is accurate or that their condition is not serious when it may be."

Online advice for when and where to seek healthcare, known as triage advice, was found to be more accurate than the health diagnoses.

"We found the advice for seeking medical attention for emergency and urgent care cases was appropriate around 60 percent of the time, but for non-emergencies that dropped to 30 to 40 percent," said Hill.

"Generally the triage advice erred on the side of caution, which in some ways is good but can lead to people going to an emergency department when they really don't need to."

According to Hill, online symptom checkers are not a replacement for going to the doctor, but can be useful in providing more information after an official diagnosis. 

"We're also seeing symptom checkers being used to good effect with the current COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the UK's National Health Service is using these tools to monitor symptoms and potential 'hotspot' locations for this disease on a national basis."

The research was published in the <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/">Medical Journal of Australia</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

&nbsp;

Google is not a reliable source for a health diagnosis 

A new study from Edith Cowan University suggests that Google...

Children are more enthusiastic about <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exercise-can-boost-brain-health-at-any-age/">exercise</a> when their parents acknowledge their interests and get involved, according to researchers at the <a href="https://www.jyu.fi/en">University of Jyväskylä</a>. 

By contrast, when children do not feel they have the freedom to choose their physical activities, they are much less motivated. 

The best strategy to encourage children to exercise was found to be child-centered parenting. With this approach, parents took into account their child's interests, offered new opportunities for hobbies, participated in physical activities, and accepted their child's occasional lack of motivation. 

The least successful strategy was parental control - when parents used coercion, disregarded their child's preferences, and dominated the decision-making process. This approach was perceived as undesirable and reduced the desire to exercise.

The researchers interviewed children between the ages of 7 and 10. They found that the children could clearly distinguish between parental behaviors that motivated them to exercise and those that did not.

"For example, strong, public and overt encouragement in tournaments and games was perceived in some cases as embarrassing and even shameful," said study co-author Arto Laukkanen. 

"In addition, underestimating and ignoring the temporary cessation of exercise motivation, for example, was perceived as controlling and reducing enthusiasm for exercise."

The children also described experiences when a parent's strong guidance was much more acceptable and increased their enthusiasm for exercise.

"The children pointed out situations where the parent's actions had initially felt domineering and strict," said Laukkanen. "Common to experiencing such situations positively and strengthening exercise motivation was that the parent participated in the activities with the child. Secondly, these parents sensed the line between coercion and acceptable guidance in the child's mind."

The study also revealed that children were less motivated to exercise when a parent used the strategy of limiting screen time to encourage physical activity. 

"This is very contradictory, as parents try to take care of the children's screen time and adequate level of exercise, but at the same time they may be contributing to alienation from exercise," said Laukkanen.

"Perhaps exercise should not be set in opposition to screen time, but one should strive to organize independent space for both of them in everyday life."

Some of the children expressed that they had flexible limitations or no boundaries regarding screen time. 

"Limiting screen time independently can be challenging, especially for children," said Laukkanen. "In some cases, children also apply considerable effort and ingenuity to create more screen time for the day."

The findings suggest that striking a balance between screen time and adequate physical activity can be a difficult task for parents. According to the study authors, further research on this topic is urgently needed.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph">International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health</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

&nbsp;

Children exercise more when parents consider their interests

Children are more enthusiastic about exercise when their parents acknowledge...

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;



---



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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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"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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