Just 35 light-years away, a small red dwarf star is turning heads. This unassuming star, named L 98-59, is in the center of one of the most closely examined planetary systems near Earth.&nbsp;This is because some of its planets fall in the habitable zone. 



Scientists from the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (IREx) and the <a href="https://www.umontreal.ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Université de Montréal</a> have now mapped the L 98-59 system with record precision.



The findings confirm a fifth <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/six-planet-system-hd110067-discovered-that-moves-in-perfect-mathematical-harmony/">planet</a> in the habitable zone of this nearby red dwarf star. This planetary system now provides a promising location to explore conditions suitable for life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planets-identified-around-their-star">Planets identified around their star</h2>



L 98-59 is a small red dwarf star hosting three planets discovered by NASA’s <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/tess/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TESS mission</a> in 2019. A fourth was later found using the ESPRESSO spectrograph. These four planets orbit their star at distances that are much closer than Mercury is to the Sun.



“These new results paint the most complete picture we’ve ever had of the fascinating L 98-59 system. It’s a powerful demonstration of what we can achieve by combining data from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-catch-exact-moment-when-planets-form-around-a-star-hops-315/">space</a> telescopes and high-precision instruments on Earth,” noted Charles Cadieux, lead researcher at <a href="https://exoplanetes.umontreal.ca/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IREx</a>.



The research also provides scientists with key targets for future atmospheric studies using the James Webb Space Telescope [<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JWST</a>],



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hot-and-watery-planets-in-the-system">Hot and watery planets in the system</h2>



The team analyzed a large archive of ground and space-based data. They determined the masses and sizes of the planets with high accuracy. L 98-59 b, the innermost planet, is a sub-Earth - it is around 84% of Earth’s size and half its mass.



The two closest planets might host volcanic activity due to tidal heating, similar to Jupiter’s moon Io. 



The third planet stands out as a potential “water world,” with its low density suggesting a deep, water-rich composition. The nearly circular orbits of these planets improve their suitability for detailed atmospheric study.



“With its diversity of rocky worlds and range of planetary compositions, L 98-59 offers a unique laboratory to address some of the field’s most pressing questions," said René Doyon, co-author and director of IREx. 



These questions include the following: What are super-Earths and sub-Neptunes made of? Do planets form differently around small stars? Can rocky <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-announce-evidence-suggesting-that-our-solar-system-has-nine-planets-again/">planets</a> around red dwarfs retain atmospheres over time?” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fifth-planet-falls-in-habitable-zone">Fifth planet falls in habitable zone </h2>



One of the study’s highlights is the confirmation of L 98-59 f, a non-transiting fifth planet. Its presence came to light through precise radial velocity readings from HARPS and ESPRESSO. 



This planet is particularly interesting because it receives about the same energy from its star as Earth does from the Sun.



“Finding a temperate planet in such a compact system makes this discovery particularly exciting. It highlights the remarkable diversity of exoplanetary systems and strengthens the case for studying potentially habitable worlds around low-mass stars,” Cadieux said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-old-telescope-data-and-new-planets">Old telescope data and new planets</h2>



Instead of scheduling new observations, the team used existing data from TESS, HARPS, ESPRESSO, and JWST. They applied advanced techniques developed at IREx, including a line-by-line radial velocity method and a new temperature indicator. 



These tools allowed them to filter out noise from stellar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-observatory-will-reveal-millions-of-objects-hidden-in-our-solar-system/">activity</a>. Combining this with transit data from JWST, the team improved planet size and mass estimates by twofold.



“We developed these techniques to unlock this kind of hidden potential in archival data. It also highlights how improving analysis tools allow us to improve upon previous discoveries with data that is just waiting to be revisited,” said study co-author Étienne Artigau.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-on-the-planet-system">Future research on the planet system</h2>



L 98-59 now stands as one of the most promising systems near Earth for studying rocky planets. Its varied compositions and close orbits around a small star make it an ideal candidate for atmospheric studies with JWST.



The IREx team has already begun follow-up observations. L 98-59 could soon join systems like TRAPPIST-1 as a key player in exoplanet research.



“With these new results, L 98-59 joins the select group of nearby, compact planetary systems that we hope to understand in greater detail over the coming years," concluded study co-author Alexandrine L’Heureux.



"It’s exciting to see it stand alongside systems like TRAPPIST-1 in our quest to unlock the nature and formation of small planets orbiting red dwarf stars.” 



The study is published in <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.09343" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Astronomical Journal</a>.



Image Credit: Benoit Gougeon, Université de Montréal



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Planet found in nearby star system is in the habitable zone

Just 35 light-years away, a small red dwarf star is turning heads. This unassuming star, named L 98-59, is in the center of one of the most closely examined planetary systems near Earth.&nbsp;This is because some of its planets fall in the habitable zone. Scientists from the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (IREx) and the Université de Montréal have now mapped the L 98-59 system with record precision. The findings confirm a fifth planet in the habitable zone of this nearby red dwarf star. This planetary...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a>, experts have found that outbreaks of West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/land-use-changes-increase-the-risk-of-diseases-like-covid-19/">diseases</a> could become more frequent in coastal areas of southern California as the climate gets warmer.

The West Nile virus has been a threat to the Los Angeles metropolitan area since it first appeared in this region in 2003. While birds can also carry the deadly virus, it is most commonly transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. 

For the current study, the team analyzed data on nearly two million mosquitoes that had been captured in Los Angeles and tested for West Nile between 2006 and 2016. The experts used machine learning to identify certain factors, such as climate conditions, that influenced mosquito infection throughout various neighborhoods.

The analysis revealed that West Nile infection among the captured mosquitoes was strongly tied to the average temperature in the neighborhood.

Study lead author Nicholas Skaff is a former postdoctoral scholar in Environmental Health Sciences at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health. 

"Our data revealed a sharp transition, where - as temperatures shift between 70 to around 73 degrees Fahrenheit - the likelihood of capturing infected mosquitoes in L.A. neighborhoods increases dramatically," said Skaff. "Above this range, conditions become consistently favorable for transmission, and below this range, conditions are consistently unfavorable."

The findings help explain why coastal communities in Los Angeles seem to be protected from the threat of West Nile outbreaks in some years, yet vulnerable in others.

According to study co-author Professor Justin Remais,  a greater number of West Nile cases can be expected along the southern California coast with significant warming expected over the coming decades.

"Coastal L.A. appears to be vulnerable to the expected warming of California's climate by mid-century, which will push coastal climates more consistently into the favorable zone," said Professor Remais. 

"Inland L.A. may not be as susceptible to these shifts, as the climate is already favorable. Yet, as climate warming progresses towards the century's end, it is possible that temperatures become too hot in these areas."

The researchers emphasize that one or even a few hot days do not appear to increase transmission risk. The outbreaks should be expected after sustained warm temperatures over the course of weeks, after West Nile has had the opportunity to become established.

"Our research suggests that, rather than focusing on daily weather reports, it's important to examine temperatures over the long haul," said Skaff. 

"If coastal Los Angeles experiences a month or two of warm temperatures during the summer or early fall, it's probably a good time to be extra careful to avoid mosquito bites. Inland parts of L.A. are almost always sufficiently hot during the summer, so other factors end up determining whether intense transmission occurs there."

While the study clearly indicates that temperature will play an important role in transmission of the virus, the researchers emphasize that many factors ultimately determine whether a West Nile outbreak will occur.

"You can think of the favorable temperature range we identified as a prerequisite - if other things don't go right for the vector or the virus, transmission may still not occur, even when temperatures are favorable," said Skaff.

"For example, if most of the susceptible birds in the region were infected during the previous year or two because a large outbreak occurred, herd immunity will be high, and the risk to people will be limited."

"Predicting the transmission of infectious diseases carried by animal hosts and vectors represents a complex puzzle, and machine learning can pick up patterns in vast epidemiological and ecological datasets that help us understand why certain people and neighborhoods are at the highest risk, as well as what the future holds," said Professor Remais.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/for-authors">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

West Nile outbreaks may become common in southern California

In a new study from UC Berkeley, experts have found...

A new study from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a> has revealed that life on <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/monitoring-earths-oceans-from-space/">Earth</a> has a lower energy limit than expected. An international team of scientists has found microorganisms buried in sediment beneath the seafloor that can survive on about 50 billion times less energy than humans - a rate of energy consumption that was not previously known to support life.

The study has implications for understanding more about the origins of life on Earth, and about the potential for life on other planets.

The researchers used data on the abundance and distribution of carbon and microbial life in Earth's deep biosphere and combined this information with the rate of biological and chemical reactions. The analysis enabled the researchers to determine the power consumption rate of individual microbial cells, or the rate at which they use energy. 

The study revealed that sub-seafloor microbes survive on far less energy than has ever been known to support any form of life. This expands the habitable boundaries of life to encompass lower energy environments, which could help to inform future studies of when and where life emerged on our planet.

"When we think about the nature of life on Earth, we tend to think about the plants, animals, microscopic algae, and bacteria that thrive on Earth's surface and within its oceans - constantly active, growing and reproducing," said study co-author Dr. James Bradley, who is a professor of Environmental Science at Queen Mary.

"Yet here we show that an entire biosphere of microorganisms - as many cells as are contained in all of Earth's soils or oceans, have barely enough energy to survive. Many of them are simply existing in a mostly inactive state - not growing, not dividing, and not evolving. These microbes use less energy than we previously thought was possible to support life on Earth."

"The average human uses around 100 watts of power - meaning they burn approximately 100 joules of energy every second. This is roughly equivalent to the power of a ceiling fan, a sewing machine, or two standard light bulbs. We calculate that the average microbe trapped in deep ocean sediments survives on fifty-billion-billion times less energy than a human."

Study co-author Jan Amend is the director of the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) at the University of Southern California.

"Previous studies of life in the subseafloor - and there have been many good ones - focused predominantly on who's there, and how much of it is there."

"Now we're digging deeper into ecological questions: what is it doing, and how fast is it doing it? Understanding the power limits of life establishes an essential baseline for microbial life on Earth and elsewhere."

The research provides new insight into how microbes interact with chemical processes that take place deep below the seafloor. While oxygen provides the highest amount of energy to microbes, it is present in less than three percent of deep ocean sediments.

Anoxic sediments often contain microorganisms that produce methane as a result of their activity. Even though marine sediments are practically inactive, they are so abundant and persist for such extreme timescales that they make a significant contribution to Earth's carbon and nutrient cycles.

"The findings of the research call into question not just the nature and limits of life on Earth, but elsewhere in the Universe," said Dr. Bradley. "If life does exist on Mars or Europa for example, it would most likely take refuge in the subsurface of these energy-limited planetary bodies. If microbes only need a few zepto-watts of power to survive, there could be remnants of extant life, long dormant but still technically 'alive', beneath their icy surface."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Organisms beneath the seafloor barely need energy for life

A new study from Queen Mary University of London has...

Excess weight restricts cerebral blood flow and slows down activity in essentially every region of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sleep-gives-us-the-brain-capacity-to-learn-continuously/">brain</a>, according to research published by <a href="https://www.iospress.nl/">IOS Press</a>.

The study is one of the most comprehensive of its kind to investigate a link between obesity and brain dysfunction.

The scientists measured blood flow and brain activity in more than 17,000 people. To obtain these measurements, the experts analyzed 35,000 functional neuroimaging scans using single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT).

Localized changes in cerebral blood flow affect the activity of nearby neurons, altering their communication and disrupting the transfer of information throughout the brain.

In brain imaging scans, the detection of low cerebral blood flow is the number one predictor of Alzheimer's disease. Reduced cerebral blood flow is also associated with mental health issues, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, ADHD, addiction, and suicide.

Study lead author Daniel G. Amen is the founder of Amen Clinics, one of the leading brain-centered mental health clinics in the United States.

"This study shows that being overweight or obese seriously impacts brain activity and increases the risk for Alzheimer's disease as well as many other psychiatric and cognitive conditions," explained Dr. Amen.

The researchers discovered shocking patterns of reduced cerebral blood flow that corresponded with the extent of excess weight or obesity in each individual.

Brain areas that are known to be vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease, such as the temporal and parietal lobes and the hippocampus, were found to have increasingly reduced blood flow across the spectrum of obesity.

The latest studies indicate that 72 percent of Americans are overweight, and this estimate has disturbing implications for the state of the country's mental and cognitive health.

The findings suggest that there is an urgent need to address obesity as a target for interventions designed to improve brain function.

"One of the most important lessons we have learned through 30 years of performing functional brain imaging studies is that brains can be improved when you put them in a healing environment by adopting brain-healthy habits, such as a healthy calorie-smart diet and regular exercise," said Dr. Amen.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.j-alz.com/">Journal of Alzheimer's Disease</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Body weight impacts cerebral blood flow and brain function

Excess weight restricts cerebral blood flow and slows down activity...

Land use changes worldwide are increasing the risk of zoonotic disease outbreaks like <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-lockdown-measures-may-trigger-global-food-crisis/">COVID-19</a>, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a>. 

By altering landscapes, humans are disrupting the balance of wild animal communities, and the researchers found that land use changes often tip this balance in favor of animals that carry infectious pathogens.

The analysis also showed that animals with zoonotic diseases were more common in landscapes that were used the most intensively by people.

The investigation was focused on 184 studies, including evidence from 6,801 ecological communities across six continents. The dataset involved nearly 7,000 species, and 376 of these species are known to carry human-shared pathogens.

Study lead author Rory Gibb is a PhD candidate at the UCL Centre for Biodiversity &amp; Environment Research. 

"The way humans change landscapes across the world, from natural forest to farmland for example, has consistent impacts on many wild animal species, causing some to decline while some others persist or increase," said Gibb.

"Our findings show that the animals that remain in more human-dominated environments are those that are more likely to carry infectious diseases that can make people sick."

In the environments that had been disturbed by humans, animals that host zoonotic pathogens made up a higher proportion of the species present compared to ecological communities in wild habitats that were not influenced by humans. This was found to be the case for animals that carry more infectious pathogens of any kind, regardless of whether they threaten humans.

By comparison, most other wild animal species are found in lower numbers in human-altered environments. According to the researchers, this unequal balance suggests that similar factors may be influencing both whether a species can tolerate humans and how likely it is to carry potentially zoonotic diseases.

"Other studies have found that outbreaks of emerging zoonotic infectious diseases appear to be increasingly common - our findings may help to explain that pattern, by clarifying the underlying ecological change processes that are interacting to drive infection risks," said study co-lead author author Dr. David Redding.

"Global land use change is primarily characterised by the conversion of natural landscapes for agriculture, particularly for food production," said study senior author Professor Kate Jones. "Our findings underscore the need to manage agricultural landscapes to protect the health of local people while also ensuring their food security."

The researchers said that while there are numerous other factors influencing emergent disease risks, the findings point to strategies that could help mitigate the risk of further infectious disease outbreaks comparable to COVID-19.

"As agricultural and urban lands are predicted to continue expanding in the coming decades, we should be strengthening disease surveillance and healthcare provision in those areas that are undergoing a lot of land disturbance, as they are increasingly likely to have animals that could be hosting harmful pathogens," said Professor Jones.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Land use changes increase risk of diseases like COVID-19

Land use changes worldwide are increasing the risk of zoonotic...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a> reports that scientists have discovered 11 new emperor penguin colonies in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/first-ever-fossil-egg-in-antarctica-was-laid-by-massive-reptile/">Antarctica</a> using satellite mapping technology. The research has revealed the existence of nearly 20 percent more colonies than what was previously realized.

The findings provide an important benchmark for monitoring the impacts of environmental change on emperor penguins.

The birds were located through the analysis of images from the European Commission's Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission. 

There are now 61 known emperor penguin colonies on the continent of Antarctica. Of the 11 new colonies described, three were previously identified but never confirmed.

Emperor penguins are located in remote regions that are often inaccessible and difficult to study. For the last decade, scientists at the British Antarctic Survey have been looking for new colonies by searching for their guano stains on the ice.

"This is an exciting discovery. The new satellite images of Antarctica's coastline have enabled us to find these new colonies," said study lead author Dr. Peter Fretwell. "And whilst this is good news, the colonies are small and so only take the overall population count up by 5-10% to just over half a million penguins or around 265,500 - 278,500 breeding pairs."

Emperor penguins are vulnerable to the loss of sea ice, their preferred breeding habitat, which will continue to disappear as a result of global warming. Most of the newly discovered colonies are located at the margins of the emperors' breeding range, and could be lost as temperatures rise.

Study co-author Dr. Phil Trathan has been studying penguins for the last three decades.

"Whilst it's good news that we've found these new colonies, the breeding sites are all in locations where recent model projections suggest emperors will decline," said Dr. Trathan. "Birds in these sites are therefore probably the 'canaries in the coalmine' - we need to watch these sites carefully as climate change will affect this region."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20563485">Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Satellite images reveal 11 new emperor penguin colonies

A new study from the British Antarctic Survey reports that...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a>, experts have used hundreds of thousands of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/carbon-capture-technology-could-greatly-reduce-emissions/">carbon</a> observations to determine that climate change has increased the productivity of forests over the last quarter of a century.

From 1992 to 2015, the rate of carbon capture nearly doubled across the Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research site.

The scientists attribute much of the increase in storage capacity to the growth of 100-year-old oak trees, revitalized by the warmer temperatures and longer growing season associated with climate change. 

Regional increases in precipitation and atmospheric carbon dioxide have also boosted tree growth. At the same time, reduced levels of air pollution, such as ozone, sulfur, and nitrogen, have reduced environmental stress.

Study co-author Adrien Finzi is a professor of Biology at Boston University. 

"It is remarkable that changes in climate and atmospheric chemistry within our own lifetimes have accelerated the rate at which forest are capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," said Professor Finzi.

The measurements collected in Harvard Forest over 25 years enabled the team to trace carbon through air, trees, soil, and water. The amount of data analyzed for the study is unprecedented, and so is the consistency of the results, said the researchers.

Study co-lead author Audrey Barker Plotkin is a senior ecologist at the Harvard Forest.

"Our data show that the growth of trees is the engine that drives carbon storage in this forest ecosystem," said Plotkin. "Soils contain a lot of the forest's carbon - about half of the total - but that storage hasn't changed much in the past quarter-century."

Even as the trees enter into their second century of life, they show no signs of slowing their growth, but the future is still uncertain.

"It's entirely possible that other forest development processes like tree age may dampen or reverse the pattern we've observed," said Professor Finzi.

The experts identified other signs of vulnerability stemming from climate change and human activity, including the spread of invasive insects.

At Harvard Forest, for example, hemlock-dominated forests were accumulating carbon at similar rates to hardwood forests until the arrival of an invasive insect - the hemlock woolly adelgid - in the early 2000s. In 2014, the hemlock forest transitioned from a carbon sink to a carbon source, which releases more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than it captures.

Other pressures that have the potential to reverse the carbon capture gains in forests include extreme storms, suburbanization, and the recent relaxation of federal air and water quality standards.

"Witnessing in real time the rapid decline of our beloved hemlock forest makes the threat of future losses very real," said Plotkin. "It's important to recognize the vital service forests are providing now, and to safeguard those into the future."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://ecologicalprocesses.springeropen.com/">Ecological Processes</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Climate change has boosted the productivity of some forests

In a new study from Harvard University, experts have used...

In a new study published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a>, experts have gained new insight into the social networks of cattle based on their <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-learn-grooming-mothers/">grooming</a> behavior. The research may ultimately improve farm management practices and create healthier living environments for dairy cows.

An international team of scientists from the United States and Chile observed a small herd of dairy cows that had recently given birth. The experts wanted to gain a better understanding of the implications of social grooming behavior, which is also known as allogrooming.

In dairy production systems, cows are often shuffled around into different groups based on factors such as lactation stage, nutrition requirements, and breeding. 

As the cattle form new groups, they have to re-establish their social structure. Previous studies have shown that constant re-grouping causes negative effects on the behavior, health, and productivity of cows.

Allogrooming, which usually involves one cow licking another around the head and neck, is thought to serve a number of social purposes. For example, grooming improves social cohesion and establishes individual bonds among group members.

Study lead author Dr. Gustavo E. Monti is an expert in the Institute of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at the Austral University of Chile.

"Our aim was to understand how social networks are formed by cows after they are reunited at the beginning of the milking period, and what factors may influence these changes. This is important because cattle form strong bonds, which offer them social support and help them cope with the stressors that occur regularly in dairy cows' lives," said Dr. Monti.

Over the course of 30 days, the researchers recorded a total of 1,329 allogrooming events from 38 cows at a pasture-based dairy farm.

The team identified various patterns that were tied to specific attributes, such as a cow's age or social rank. For example, they noted that cows were mutually cooperative, grooming individuals that had previously groomed them. 

The cows also tended to groom individuals of a similar age to theirs, which indicates they had a certain level of familiarity because they grew up together. In addition, older individuals groomed more cows than younger ones, suggesting that allogrooming could be related to seniority.

"Our results indicate that licking behavior is important to make friends and to maintain harmony in the herd. That older cows groom more individuals suggests that they take the role of 'peacemakers' in the herd," said Dr. Monti.

"It is important for farmers to be mindful of the relevance of the social aspects of the lives of cows, animals that form complex emotional relationships within their group. Farmers should be aware that cows frequently grooming each other is a positive sign that means that those cows get along."

"On the contrary, if social grooming declines, it may be a sign of impaired welfare. This new knowledge should be translated into innovative practical strategies that will result in the continued integration of cattle emotional and social needs into management systems."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science">Frontiers in Veterinary Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Grooming behavior exposes the complex social lives of dairy cows

In a new study published by Frontiers, experts have gained...

A growing collection of research confirms just how important sleep is to our health, and the extensive benefits include a healthier heart and reduced levels of stress and inflammation. In a new study, researchers have discovered that sleep is what gives us the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-brain-devotes-its-limited-energy-to-what-we-focus-on/">brain</a> capacity to continue learning throughout the course of our lifetime.

Experts in the <a href="https://medschool.ucsd.edu/Pages/default.aspx">UC San Diego School of Medicine</a> used computational models to simulate the brain during various states. The researchers investigated how sleep consolidates new memories and prevents damage to old memories.

"The brain is very busy when we sleep, repeating what we have learned during the day. Sleep helps reorganize memories and presents them in the most efficient way," said study lead author Dr. Maksim Bazhenov. "Our findings suggest that memories are dynamic, not static. In other words, memories, even old memories, are not final. Sleep constantly updates them." 

"We predict that during the sleep cycle, both old and new memories are spontaneously replayed, which prevents forgetting and increases recall performance."

Dr. Bazhenov said that memory replay during sleep plays a protective role against forgetting by allowing the same populations of neurons to store multiple interfering memories. 

"We learn many new things on a daily basis and those memories compete with old memories. To accommodate all memories, we need sleep."

"When you play tennis, you have a certain muscle memory. If you then learn how to play golf, you have to learn how to move the same muscles in a different way. Sleep makes sure that learning golf does not erase how to play tennis and makes it possible for different memories to coexist in the brain."

According to the study authors, the restorative value of sleep may be what is lacking in current state-of-the-art computer systems that recognize images with incredible speed and accuracy. These artificial intelligence systems lack the ability to learn continuously, and old knowledge is forgotten when new information is learned. 

"We may need to add a sleep-like state to computer and robotic systems to prevent forgetting after new learning and to make them able to learn continuously."

Dr. Bazhenov said the study results could lead to developing new stimulation techniques during sleep to improve memory and learning, which could be particularly beneficial for older adults or people with learning disabilities.

"While sleep is certainly involved in many important brain and body functions, it may be critical for making possible what we call human intelligence - the ability to learn continuously from experience, to create new knowledge and to adapt as the world changes around us," said Dr. Bazhenov.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/">eLife</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Sleep gives us the brain capacity to learn continuously 

A growing collection of research confirms just how important sleep...

Seafood consumption has reached an all-time high in 2020, and experts are investigating ways to make aquaculture more sustainable. Half of all the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ecolabeling-global-seafood-fraud/">seafood</a> that is currently consumed now comes from farmed sources, as opposed to fish caught in the world's freshwaters and oceans, and aquaculture is expected to double by 2050.

"Aquaculture is now being more widely recognized as an important part of our global food system, and it will continue to grow," said <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">UC Santa Barbara</a> Professor Halley E. Froehlich. "So the question is, how do we plot that course in a more sustainable way?"

Even though aquaculture has improved the livelihoods of millions of people across many low and middle-income nations, this sector is still in need of some major improvements. For example, the fish farming industry faces a range of sustainability challenges, including environmental degradation and the overuse of antibiotics. 

In some regions, aquaculture is also associated with gender inequality and poor labor practices. Regardless of its poor reputation, however, aquaculture has great potential to benefit society. 

One of the biggest advantages of fish farming is its nutrient efficiency. In addition, aquaculture can operate on a smaller footprint than many other forms of food production.

Professor Froehlich has contributed to an evaluation of aquaculture, specifically addressing the complex interactions between the environmental, human and animal health parameters, which is a view that scientists refer to as the One Health framework. 

For the current investigation, a diverse team of scientists, economists, sociologists, and policy specialists led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/saf/">Center for Sustainable Aquaculture Futures</a> has collaborated to establish strategies that could be implemented worldwide to improve sustainability as the aquaculture industry expands. 

The experts have examined critically important aspects of sustainable aquaculture such as access to nutritious food and quality employment, the health of wild fish ecosystems, and resilience to climate change.

"The paper results from extensive interaction between a wide range of academic experts in aquaculture, health, environmental and social sciences, economists, industry stakeholders and policy groups," said study senior co-author Charles Tyler from the University of Exeter.

The report not also describes a strategy for developing aquaculture, but also proposes ways that can be used to measure its sustainability and success. 

"This is an important paper, acknowledging that aquaculture is set to deliver most of our seafood by 2050, but also that sustainability must be designed-in at every level," said study lead author Grant Stentiford.

"I hope it will become a blueprint for how government and industry interact on these issues in the future. Most importantly, it considers aquaculture's evolution from a subject studied by specialists to an important food sector - requiring now a much broader interaction with policy and society than arguably has occurred in the past."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natfood">Nature Food</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Aquaculture is the world's fastest growing food sector

Seafood consumption has reached an all-time high in 2020, and...

The poison baits that are used in parts of Australia to wipe out dingoes may actually be making the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/animals-have-a-generic-memory-of-their-ancestral-environments/">animals</a> larger, according to experts at the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">University of New South Wales</a>. In recent decades, dingoes have grown up to nine percent larger, but only across regions where poison baiting has been used.

The researchers compared the size of dingoes that lived in three baited regions with the size of dingoes in an unbaited region that stretched from the Northern Territory to South Australia. The investigation was focused on the skull size of nearly 600 specimens.

Study lead author Michael Letnic is a professor in Conservation Biology and Ecosystem Restoration at UNSW Science.

"Skulls from the baited regions grew by about four millimeters since poison baiting was introduced," said Professor Letnic. "This equates to roughly a kilogram in body mass."

Both male and female dingoes had expanded in size, but the effect was much stronger in the females. While male skulls had increased by 3.6 millimeters, female skulls had grown by 4.5 millimeters, which is almost 9 percent body mass. 

Study co-author Professor Mathew Crowther explained that dingoes are most likely growing in poison-baited areas because the individuals that survive baiting campaigns have less competition for food. 

Professor Crowther pointed out that kangaroos, which are dingoes' primary prey, have been shown to increase in numbers when dingo populations are suppressed. "With more food in abundance, dingoes' physical growth is less restricted."

The pesticide sodium fluoroacetate 1080 is commonly used across Australia to control dingoes and other animals that are considered pests. The white powdery poison is usually stuck into meat baits and dropped into dingo hotspots from helicopters. 

Baiting was rolled out in the three study areas - Kalgoorlie, Pilbara and pastoral South Australia - during the 1960s and 70s. By contrast, the experts found that dingoes from the unbaited region had experienced no change in body size. 

According to the researchers, this is not the first time a pesticide has been linked to modifications in animals.

"Our interventions have consequences - and they're actually quite predictable consequences," said Professor Letnic. "Whatever pressures we put on animal populations - be it pesticides or not - there will be side effects."

These impacts have usually been observed in invertebrate pests. For example, cockroaches and some other insects are becoming more resistant to insecticides. The current study is one of the first to show that vertebrates are also changing as a result of pesticides.

"Poison baiting campaigns could be favoring the survival of larger dingoes," said Professor Crowther. "Smaller dingoes need less poison for a lethal dose, so are more likely to be killed by baiting. This leaves the larger dingoes to survive and breed."

The dose of 1080 dose required to kill a dingoes in baited regions has increased over the years as the animals have gradually increased in size.

"The reaction to this finding may be to add more poison to the baits, or to find a new poison," said Professor Letnic. "But, eventually, the cycle will start again."

"Baiting is changing dingoes, so it could be changing other animal populations. Animals respond to human interventions, whether directly or indirectly. The changes could well be adaptive, and we must think about that."

The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean">Biological Journal of the Linnean Society</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Poison intended to kill dingoes is helping them grow larger

The poison baits that are used in parts of Australia...

The worst case scenario should be used in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-extremes-make-reef-fish-less-diverse-and-productive/">climate</a> models to accurately represent C02 emissions through 2050, according to experts at the <a href="https://whrc.org/">Woods Hole Research Center</a>.

In 2005, four scenarios known as Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) were developed to inform the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report. The RCP scenarios, which include historical greenhouse gas emissions until 2005, are used in global climate models to project future emissions.

RCP 8.5 represents the highest theoretical use of fossil fuels, which would result in an additional 8.5 watts per square meter of radiative forcing by 2100.

RCP 8.5 has been dismissed by many experts as being a scare tactic that is unrealistic or misleading. However, a team including WHRC President Dr. Philip Duffy has now determined that RCP 8.5 is actually the closest approximation of both historical emissions and the expected outcomes of current global climate policies - tracking within one percent of actual emissions.

"Not only are the emissions consistent with RCP 8.5 in close agreement with historical total cumulative CO2 emissions, but RCP8.5 is also the best match out to mid-century under current and stated policies with still highly plausible levels of CO2 emissions in 2100," wrote the study authors. 

"Not using RCP8.5 to describe the previous 15 years assumes a level of mitigation that did not occur, thereby skewing subsequent assessments by lessening the severity of warming and associated physical climate risk."

The researchers emphasized that while there are signs of progress on bending the global emissions curve and that our emissions picture may change significantly by 2100, focusing on the uncertain and distant future may distort the current debate on these issues. 

"For purposes of informing societal decisions, shorter time horizons are highly relevant, and it is important to have scenarios which are useful on those horizons. Looking at mid-century and sooner, RCP8.5 is clearly the most useful choice," wrote the experts.

"Given the agreement of 2005-2020 historical and RCP8.5 total CO2 emissions and the congruence between current policies and RCP8.5 emission levels to mid-century, RCP8.5 has continued utility, both as an instrument to explore mean outcomes as well as risk. Indeed, if RCP8.5 did not exist, we'd have to create it."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Worst case emissions scenario is the most realistic

The worst case scenario should be used in climate models...

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dogs-process-speech-in-the-same-way-as-humans/">human</a> brain can only process so much information at once, which is due to a constant yet limited energy supply, according to expert at <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a>. 

Using a brain imaging technique to measure cell metabolism, the researchers found that the brain dedicates more energy to what we pay attention to and focus on.

Meanwhile, less energy is allocated for processing information outside of our range of focus.

Study senior author Nilli Lavie is a professor in the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

"It takes a lot of energy to run the human brain. We know that the brain constantly uses around 20% of our metabolic energy, even while we rest our mind, and yet it's widely believed that this constant but limited supply of energy does not increase when there is more for our mind to process," said Professor Lavie.

"If there's a hard limit on energy supply to the brain, we suspected that the brain may handle challenging tasks by diverting energy away from other functions, and prioritizing the focus of our attention."

"Our findings suggest that the brain does indeed allocate less energy to the neurons that respond to information outside the focus of our attention when our task becomes harder. This explains why we experience inattentional blindness and deafness even to critical information that we really want to be aware of."

A team of cognitive neuroscientists and biomedical engineers used a non-invasive optical imaging method to measure cerebral metabolism. This allowed the experts to investigate how much energy is used by the brain as people focus attention on a task, and how this energy level may change when a task becomes more mentally demanding. 

"In this way, we have managed to connect people's experience of brain overload to what's going on inside their neurons, as high energy demands for one purpose are balanced out by reduced energy use related to any other purpose," said Professor Lavie. 

"If we try to process too much information we may feel the strain of overload because of the hard limit on our brain capacity."

The team measured the oxidation levels of an enzyme that is involved in energy metabolism in the mitochondria of brain cells located in different regions of the visual cortex. 

This technique was performed on 18 participants as they executed visual search tasks that were either complex or simple. The individuals were sometimes presented with a visual distraction that was irrelevant to the task.

&nbsp;

The experts observed elevated cellular metabolism in the brain areas that were responding to the task, and the energy dedicated to the task increased as it became more challenging. This activity directly corresponded with reduced cellular metabolism levels in brain areas responding to irrelevant stimuli.

According to the researchers, the push-pull pattern was closely synchronized, showing a trade-off of limited energy supply between attended and unattended processing.

"By using our in-house developed broadband near-infrared spectroscopy, an optical brain monitoring technology we developed at UCL, we were better able to measure an enzyme in the mitochondria (the power factory of the cells) that plays an integral part in metabolism," said study co-author Professor Ilias Tachtsidis.

"During recent months, we've heard from a lot of people who say they're feeling overwhelmed, with constant news updates and new challenges to overcome," said study first author Merit Bruckmaier.

"When your brain is at capacity, you are likely to fail to process some information. You might not even notice an important email come in because your child was speaking to you, or you might miss the oven timer go off because you received an unexpected work call. Our findings may explain these often-frustrating experiences of inattentional blindness or deafness."

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of 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;

The brain devotes its limited energy to what we focus on

The human brain can only process so much information at...

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



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



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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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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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

[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



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

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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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