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Dark, finger‑like marks slide down countless Martian cliffs each year. These stripes have prompted decades of speculation about water still trickling across the Red Planet.



A new analysis of 500,000 of these features shows that they form through avalanches of dry dust, report <a href="https://www.csh.unibe.ch/about_us/people/csh__bernoulli_fellows/dr_bickel_valentin/index_eng.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Valentin Tertius Bickel</a> of the <a href="https://www.unibe.ch/index_eng.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bern</a> and <a href="https://deeps.brown.edu/people/postdocs-researchers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adomas Valantinas</a> of <a href="https://www.brown.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brown University</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-martian-stripes-matter">Why the Martian stripes matter</h2>



For almost 50 years, scientists have puzzled over the dusky streaks that run hundreds to thousands of feet down Martian slopes before slowly fading. 



Their shorter‑lived cousins, <a href="https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~shane/publications/mcewen_etal_natgeo_2014.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recurring slope lineae (RSL)</a>, appear seasonally and were once thought to be briny trickles that might shelter microbes.



If <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wave-ripples-discovered-mars-surface-indicate-liquid-water-present-4-billion-years-ago/">liquid water</a> were involved, these sites would demand strict planetary‑protection rules and might even hint at present‑day habitability. 



Proving the absence of water, therefore, reshapes exploration priorities and eases contamination worries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-map-of-dust-based-stripes">Building a map of dust‑based stripes</h2>



Bickel and Valantinas trained a deep‑learning model on images from the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter</a> and scanned 86,000 photographs, thus assembling the first global catalog of half a million Martian stripes. 



The map shows that streaks cover less than 0.1 percent of Mars’ surface, yet shuffle enough dust each Martian year to rival several planet‑wide storms.



Most stripes cluster between 40 degrees north and 20 degrees south, in the dustiest lowlands where reflectance is high and grain size is tiny. 



Bright, older streaks outnumber fresh dark ones by roughly 37 to 1, revealing a surface that is still reworked long after volcanic and fluvial eras ended.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wind-impacts-and-avalanches">Wind, impacts, and avalanches</h2>



The study found no link between Martian stripes and humidity, <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-is-locating-ice-on-mars-with-this-new-map/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subsurface ice</a>, or temperatures that ever rise above the freezing point. 



Instead, stripe density rises sharply in areas with above‑average wind speeds and fresh impact craters, suggesting that blasts and gusts dislodge blankets of ultra‑fine dust.



“Once we had this global map, we could compare it to databases of temperature, wind speed, and rock‑slide activity. Then we could look for correlations over hundreds of thousands of cases,” said Bickel.



High‑resolution images catch some streaks cascading minutes after nearby meteorites land, while others follow seasonal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-storms-can-engulf-the-entire-planet-of-mars-but-how/">dust deposition</a> peaks tracked by orbital weather <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103524001210" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">models</a>. 



Laboratory experiments with micron‑scale grains show that such powders can flow like a liquid under Mars’ weak gravity, giving the stripes smooth outlines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-investigations-of-martian-stripes">Future investigations of Martian stripes </h2>



Because the streaks are dry, rovers and landers can safely approach them without risking forward contamination of a hidden oasis. 



The dusty gullies also provide natural “core samples” of surface coatings, which offer clues to recent climate cycles without the need for drilling.



Planetary‑protection officers may reroute planned missions away from suspected wet spots and toward subsurface ice, where astrobiological potential remains stronger. 



For human explorers, the result underscores that liquid water is still locked in ice or vapor, simplifying landing‑site selection but highlighting the need for in‑situ resource extraction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dust-stripes-and-climate-dynamics">Dust stripes and climate dynamics</h2>



The dust shifted by Martian stripes isn’t just a cosmetic feature, it’s part of a much larger atmospheric loop. 



Each Martian year, flowing stripes displace enough <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-could-threaten-the-health-of-future-astronauts-on-mars/">dust</a> to rival multiple global dust storms, suggesting that they play a bigger role in regulating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-ridges-on-mars-hint-at-an-unexpected-past/">Mars</a>’ thin, dusty air than previously thought.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59395-w/figures/1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/martian-stripes_slope-streaks_global-distribution-map_Nature_1s.webp" alt="Global distribution of slope streaks and RSL on Mars. Credit: Nature" class="wp-image-1977771"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Global distribution of slope streaks and RSL on Mars. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Nature</figcaption></figure>



This ongoing redistribution could influence seasonal temperature patterns, surface reflectivity, and even the strength of regional wind systems. 



Researchers haven’t yet observed the dust entering the atmosphere during a stripe’s formation, but models suggest this movement contributes significantly to the surface-atmosphere dust exchange budget.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-martian-dust-stripes-flows-like-a-fluid">Martian dust stripes flows like a fluid</h2>



The motion of Martian slope stripes mimics the behavior of liquids, even though they consist of dry dust. 



Laboratory studies on granular materials show that fine particles can flow downhill in dense, smooth waves, especially in low-gravity environments like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/detecting-life-on-mars-a-breakthrough-in-space-research/">Mars</a>.



On Earth, this kind of granular flow is seen in slow-moving avalanches or the collapse of powdery hills. 



On Mars, it may explain why slope stripes form without leaving behind visible dust clouds. The dust might move in tightly packed sheets, held together by electrostatic forces and grain-to-grain interactions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-unanswered-questions">The unanswered questions</h2>



Researchers still debate why <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016JE005012" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RSL</a> favor sun‑facing southern highlands while most Martian stripes sit in northern lowlands. They question whether this is related to different grain sizes or bedrock textures. 



Dust‑devil tracks often skirt stripe fields but rarely overlap, raising puzzles about the effects of localized wind turbulence and static charging.



Future high‑cadence imaging could reveal exactly how fast each stripe forms, whether seconds or hours, and whether Marsquakes ever help kick‑start an avalanche. 



For now, the Red Planet’s famous stripes turn out to be the work of wind and impacts, not water, deepening our understanding of a world that remains strikingly dry.



The full study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59395-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>. 



Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.



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New analysis offers alternative theories on the mysterious 'Martian stripes'

Dark, finger‑like marks slide down countless Martian cliffs each year. These stripes have prompted decades of speculation about water still trickling across the Red Planet. A new analysis of 500,000 of these features shows that they form through avalanches of dry dust, report Valentin Tertius Bickel of the University of Bern and Adomas Valantinas of Brown University. Why the Martian stripes matter For almost 50 years, scientists have puzzled over the dusky streaks that run hundreds to thousands of feet down Martian slopes before slowly fading. Their...

Air pollution drastically declines across Europe amid lockdowns. The <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> reports that air pollution is declining across Europe as strict <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/severe-covid-19-infections-may-be-caused-by-overactive-immune-cells/">COVID-19</a> quarantine measures continue. Some cities have seen levels of nitrogen oxide (NO2) reduced by as much as 54 percent compared to the same timeframe last year. 

Scientists at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) have been monitoring air pollution over Europe using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite's Tropomi instrument.

New satellite images reveal that from March 13 to April 13, NO2 levels dropped by 45 percent in Madrid, Milan, and Rome compared to the same weeks in 2019. Paris has experienced the most dramatic difference in air pollution, with a 54-percent decline in NO2 levels.

Atmospheric levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are primarily influenced by vehicle emissions and electricity generation. Nitrogen dioxide is associated with respiratory problems, such as inflammation of the airways, asthma attacks, and reduced lung function. 

NO2 concentrations also experience daily fluctuations due to weather conditions. This variability makes it difficult for experts to draw solid conclusions based on short-term measurements. The most reliable information requires data that can be compared over a substantial time period. 

"There are considerable variations of weather in every country from one day to the next, creating a large impact on the dispersion of nitrogen dioxide," explained Dr. Henk Eskes of KNMI. 

"Averaging data over longer periods of time allows us to see clearer changes in concentrations owing to human activity. For this reason, the maps show concentrations over a monthly period and are provided with an uncertainty of 15% which reflects weather variability not accounted for in the monthly averages used."

In Europe, cases of COVID-19 have doubled in the last ten days. At the same time, the infection rates in the hardest-hit countries have leveled off. 

The UK government just announced that quarantine measures will remain in place for at least three more weeks. Some other European countries like Germany are taking the first steps to ease their lockdowns.

Dr. Hans Kluge, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, is calling for solidarity as countries move to loosen restrictions. Dr. Kluge warns that Europe is now "in the eye of the storm."

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Air pollution drastically declines across Europe amid lockdowns

Air pollution drastically declines across Europe amid lockdowns. The European...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> have identified a group of roundworms that are genetically predisposed to die before reaching old age. The worms seem to have adapted programmed death as a strategy to benefit the colony by reducing food demand.

The study provides the very first evidence of programmed death in an animal that has evolved for the sake of the community. 

"According to evolution theory, altruistic death to leave more food to your relatives normally can't evolve. This is because other individuals who live longer would consume resources left behind by altruistic comrades and outcompete them, in what's called a tragedy of the commons," said study lead author Professor David Gems.

"But it was recently discovered that wild C. elegans roundworms live in colonies of identical worms, which would prevent long-living worms with different genes from taking over."

The researchers explained that evolutionary theorists originally believed aging evolved to reduce the population and increase food availability for the young, but scientists have since argued that this cannot be true because natural selection favors longer-lived animals in most species.

On the other hand, some organisms have something that appears to be a "self-destruct program" that prevents them from exceeding a certain age. In the roundworm C. elegans, the manipulation of certain genes can drastically extend their lifespan.

For the UCL study, the researchers analyzed the C. elegans life cycle to gain further insight into the benefits of prearranged death. The experts developed a computer model to represent a roundworm colony growing with a limited food supply. 

Using the computer model, the team tested whether a shorter lifespan would increase the reproductive capacity of the colony. The study revealed that shorter lifespan, shorter reproductive span, and reduced adult feeding rate significantly increased the reproductive success of the colony.

"It's been known for years that programmed cell death benefits living organisms, but we're now realizing there is programmed organismal death as well, that can benefit animal colonies," said study first author Dr. Evgeniy Galimov.

"It appears possible that adaptive death could happen in some types of salmon, which spawn and die in huge numbers in the upper reaches of rivers. It's been shown that the rotting, dead salmon nourish the salmon fry. We call this form of adaptive death biomass sacrifice."

Other animals have genes similar to those of C. elegans that promote disease later in life, and a greater understanding of how these genes work could have major implications for studies of biological aging.

"Our findings are consistent with the old theory that aging is beneficial in one way, as they show how increasing food availability for your relatives by dying early can be a winning strategy, which we call consumer sacrifice," said Professor Gems.

"But adaptive death can only evolve under certain special conditions where populations of closely related individuals don't mix with non-relatives. So this is not predicted to apply to humans, but it seems to happen a lot in colonial microorganisms."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14749726">Aging Cell</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;

Programmed death in worms benefits the colony

Researchers at University College London have identified a group of...

Paper towels are far more effective in eliminating viruses from hands than jet dryers, according to new research from the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a>.

Hand drying is critical for minimizing the spread of dangerous microbes, including the virus that causes COVID-19. Viruses that are not removed from the hands during the drying process are easily transferred to surfaces, where they are picked up by others. 

"We believe that our results are relevant to the control of the novel coronavirus that is spreading at pace worldwide," wrote the study authors. "Paper towels should be the preferred way to dry hands after washing and so reduce the risk of virus contamination and spread."

To investigate the effectiveness of each hand drying method, the researchers analyzed the extent of virus transmission beyond a public restroom in a hospital.

The hands of the study participants were contaminated with a bacteria that is harmless to humans known as a bacteriophage. The individuals did not wash their hands after contamination, and dried them with either a jet air dryer or paper towels. 

The volunteers wore aprons so that body and clothing contamination could be measured. After drying their hands, the individuals ventured out into common areas of the hospital. Samples were collected from surfaces that made contact with a participant's hand or apron. 

The sites sampled included doors, stairs, handrails, lift buttons, chairs in public areas, phones, buttons on access intercoms to wards, stethoscope tubing, and armchairs.

The study showed that both hand drying methods reduced virus contamination. However, across 10 out of 11 surfaces, the researchers found substantially greater contamination after jet drying. 

The average surface contamination following contact with jet-dried hands was more than 10 times higher than contact with hands dried using paper towels. 

The aprons worn by participants contained five times more bacteria after jet drying, and the transfer of germs from the apron to an armchair was only detected after jet drying. This particular finding indicates that a person's clothing or body can become contaminated after using a hand dryer, and the germs can be transferred to other surfaces.

"There are clear differences, according to hand drying method, in the residual microbial contamination of the subject's hands and body," wrote the researchers. "Crucially, these differences in contamination translate into significantly greater levels of microbe contamination after jet air drying versus paper towel use from hands and body beyond the toilet/washroom." 

"As public toilets are used by patients, visitors and staff, the hand drying method chosen has the potential to increase or reduce pathogen transmission in hospital settings."

The research will be presented at the <a href="https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2020/30th-european-congress-of-clinical-microbiology-and-infectious-diseases-eccmid-2020">European Congress on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases</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;

Paper towels are more effective in removing viruses than jet dryers 

Paper towels are far more effective in eliminating viruses from...

Health experts advise against giving children drinks with added sugars and artificial flavors, yet these are the types of drinks that are predominantly sold. Researchers at <a href="http://nyu.edu">NYU School of Global Public Health</a> are recommending for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to modify labeling regulations to help consumers make healthier choices.

A large number of drinks on the market for children have labels that can easily be misinterpreted, making it difficult for parents to distinguish between nutritional fruit juices and sugary drinks. The FDA regulates drink labels, but a wide range of claims often appear on the packaging that do not accurately represent the drink's ingredients. 

"Given the many different drinks marketed to children that contain or appear to contain <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/arsenic-metals-fruit-juices/">juice</a>, it is important that caregivers are able to differentiate among products and identify healthier options," said study lead author Jennifer Pomeranz.

The team investigated the labels and ingredients of top-selling children's juice drinks, including brands with at least $10 million in annual sales. For comparison among brands, the experts  focused their study on fruit punch drinks.

Among 39 fruit punch drinks, the amount of fruit juice was found to vary dramatically. Seven drinks contained 100 percent juice, and eight drinks contained anywhere from 2 to 99 percent juice with added sugars or low-calorie sweeteners. Meanwhile, eight of the drinks contained less than two percent fruit juice, if any, and consisted mainly of flavoring and sugar.

The FDA requires products with 100 percent juice to provide information about added sweeteners on the label, but products with less than 100 percent juice are not required to do so. As a result, there are deceptive nutrition claims on many drink labels. 

For example, drinks containing stevia extract included claims such as "no artificial sweeteners" and "no sugar added." In addition, less than half of the drinks with images of fruit on the packaging actually included juice from the featured fruit.

"We identified numerous labeling practices that obscure the true nature of drinks trying to pass as juice, blurring the distinction between drinks that are acceptable for children and those containing added sugar or sweeteners," added Pomeranz. "Nonetheless, these practices align with current FDA regulations, which allow the naming and use of fruit images that reflect the drink's flavor, regardless of the product's ingredients."

"The FDA should make it easier for consumers to tell what products are healthy for children - without having to carefully inspect the nutrition panel and decipher each ingredient on the back of the package."

The study is published in the <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/">American Journal of 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;

Nutrition claims on children's juice drinks are widely deceptive

Health experts advise against giving children drinks with added sugars...

Over the last couple of decades, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-droughts-hotter/">drought</a> has plagued much of the western United States and northern Mexico. Scientists have predicted that climate change is pushing the region toward an unprecedented long-term drought.

The results of a new study indicate that a megadrought is already in progress, and the event could become as bad or worse than any known drought in history. 

Based on weather observations, 1,200 years of tree-ring data, and dozens of climate models, the analysis suggests that climate warming is a key contributor to the extreme drought conditions. 

The investigation is the most comprehensive of its kind, covering a region that spans from Oregon and Montana down through California and New Mexico into northern Mexico.

Study lead author Park Williams is a climatologist at <a href="https://www.earth.columbia.edu/">Columbia University's Earth Institute</a>.

"Earlier studies were largely model projections of the future," said Williams. "We're no longer looking at projections, but at where we are now. We now have enough observations of current drought and tree-ring records of past drought to say that we're on the same trajectory as the worst prehistoric droughts."

Modern observations only date back to around the beginning of the 20th century, but tree rings hold valuable scientific data for centuries.

The researchers used tree ring data from thousands of trees to analyze environmental factors such as soil moisture. They charted dozens of droughts across the region, beginning in 800 AD. 

The study pinpointed four events that stood out as being megadroughts during the late 800s, mid-1100s, the 1200s, and the late 1500s. 

The team compared the data from ancient megadroughts to soil moisture records from 2000 to 2018. They concluded that the drought in the Western U.S. is already exceeding the earliest three megadroughts in terms of severity.  

All of the ancient droughts lasted longer than 19 years, but they also started out with conditions similar to those that are now emerging. 

According to the researchers, the current drought is affecting wider areas more consistently than any of the early droughts, which can be attributed to global warming.

Overall, rising temperatures are responsible for about half the extreme conditions, while natural fluctuations are also playing a large role. 

Without the influence of manmade climate change, the ongoing drought would rank as the 11th worst in history, while now it is well on its way to ranking as the all-time worst.

"It doesn't matter if this is exactly the worst drought ever," said study co-author Benjamin Cook. "What matters is that it has been made much worse than it would have been because of climate change." 

Since temperatures are expected to continue rising, the drought will persist for a long time, even if it briefly fades. 

"Because the background is getting warmer, the dice are increasingly loaded toward longer and more severe droughts," said Williams. "We may get lucky, and natural variability will bring more precipitation for a while. But going forward, we'll need more and more good luck to break out of drought, and less and less bad luck to go back into drought." 

Williams said it is conceivable the region could stay arid for centuries. "That's not my prediction right now, but it's possible."

The drought has already produced devastating effects, ranging from worsening California wildlifes to shrinking water reservoirs in Colorado. Although 2019 was a relatively wet year, there are some indications that 2020 will be much less cooperative.

Angeline Pendergrass, a staff scientist at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, said that it is too early to say whether the region is on the cusp of a true megadrought, considering that natural weather fluctuations are also heavily involved. She added that "even though natural variability will always play a large role in drought, climate change makes it worse."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Drought in Western U.S. may become the worst in history

Over the last couple of decades, drought has plagued much...

With an increasing global demand for agricultural products and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/farmland-biodiversity-pest-control/">farmland</a>, a strategy is urgently needed to preserve land for natural ecosystems and wildlife habitats. 

According to a study from the <a href="https://iiasa.ac.at/">International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis</a> (IIASA), high-yield farming would require only about half the land that is currently used for growing crops.

The research is the first of its kind to provide insight into the amount of cropland needed to satisfy growing demands through the highly-efficient use of land.

Conservation biologists emphasize that there is a limit to how much farmland can be kept "wildlife friendly" without compromising crop yields. Most threatened species can only recover if land is available to restore their natural ecosystems. 

The <a href="https://eowilsonfoundation.org/half-earth-project/">Half Earth project</a>, created by the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, aims to return half of the land and sea back to wildlife habitats. The new research shows that nearly half of the land dedicated to farming could be spared.

Study lead author Christian Folberth is a researcher in the IIASA Ecosystems Services and Management Program.

"The main questions we wanted to address were how much cropland could be spared if attainable crop yields were achieved globally and crops were grown where they are most productive. In addition, we wanted to determine what the implications would be for other factors related to the agricultural sector, including fertilizer and irrigation water requirements, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration potential, and wildlife habitat available for threatened species," explained Folberth.

According to the study findings, high nutrient inputs and the reallocation of crops on present cropland would make it possible to produce the same yields of major crops with only about 50 percent of the present cropland. Ideally, the remaining land could be used to restore natural landscapes and wildlife habitats. 

Overall, current land use was found to be somewhat inefficient, and this lack of productivity was strongly tied to management decisions.

The researchers also determined that with a reduced area of cultivated land, greenhouse gas emissions and irrigation water requirements will likely decrease. 

Project lead Michael Obersteiner is the former IIASA Ecosystems Services and Management Program Director. 

"The results of our study can help policymakers and the wider public to benchmark results of integrated land use scenarios. It also shows that cropland expansion is not inevitable and that there is significant potential for improving present land use efficiency," said Obersteiner. 

"If the right policies are implemented, measures such as improved production technologies can be just as effective as demand-side measures like dietary changes," says project lead and "However, in all cases such a process would need to be steered by policies to avoid unwanted outcomes."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natsustain/">Nature Sustainability</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

High-yield farming could preserve wildlife habitats

With an increasing global demand for agricultural products and farmland,...

If sea levels continue to rise on the current trajectory, major coastal <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/flooding-drastically-affected-crop-production-in-south-dakota/">flooding</a> events that are considered unusual today will soon become part of the normal routine. 

A new study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4dr0BRCxARIsAKUNjWRvZAowrzOT7rZqDbvBZnvOsbw6JUkbqGCdB2g5DBdNYX5fsUtKfAQaAuJlEALw_wcB">Scientific Reports</a> has found that extreme flooding events are set to double every five years across many coastal regions of the United States.

According to the researchers, the predicted pattern of sea-level rise has the potential to cause daily occurrences of 50-year water levels by the end of this century. 

A team of experts led by Mohsen Taherkhani of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Sean Vitousek of the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">USGS</a> investigated how the frequency of major flooding events will increase in the coming decades.

To estimate the future rate of extreme water levels, the researchers combined sea-level rise scenarios with data from 202 tide gauges located in various regions across the United States coastline.

The researchers found that among 73 percent of the tide gauges, the difference between the daily average highest tide and the 50-year extreme water level was less than one meter. Most sea-level rise projections exceed one meter by 2100, especially under a high emissions scenario. 

The model developed in the current study predicted that by 2050, once-in-a-lifetime flooding events will happen annually across 70 percent of the U.S. coastline. By the year 2100, 50-year water level extremes will be exceeded on a near-daily basis for 93 percent of the sites measured.

The most susceptible areas will be low-latitude regions, where the rate of coastal flooding is set to double every five years. 

The most vulnerable sites, located along the Hawaiian and Caribbean coast, are expected to experience a doubled rate of extreme water levels with every centimeter of sea-level rise.

The study authors pointed out that the risk of coastal hazards associated with flooding, such as beach and cliff erosion, will accelerate alongside an increased risk of flooding.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4dr0BRCxARIsAKUNjWRvZAowrzOT7rZqDbvBZnvOsbw6JUkbqGCdB2g5DBdNYX5fsUtKfAQaAuJlEALw_wcB">Scientific Reports</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Coastal flooding will soon be common in the U.S.

If sea levels continue to rise on the current trajectory,...

Experts are urgently investigating whether overactive immune cells are to blame for the most severe cases of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exercise-may-prevent-ards-in-covid-19-patients/">COVID-19</a> infection. 

Eleven international medical research organizations have teamed up to form a consortium known as the NETwork.

In a paper published today, the researchers describe the late stage of severe COVID-19 infection, which is characterized by pulmonary inflammation, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), thick mucus secretions in the airways, extensive lung damage, and blood clots. Patients with these complications require invasive mechanical ventilation and many are still unable to survive. 

The NETwork has found evidence that the worst cases of COVID-19 may result from overactive white blood cells known as the neutrophils. 

Triggered by the body's immune system, neutrophils can expel their DNA to attack bacteria with a gauzy web of DNA that contains toxic enzymes, called a NET. 

Although NETs can bind and kill pathogens, they can also cause damage to the lungs and other organs. 

"Given the clear similarities between the clinical presentation of severe COVID-19 and other known diseases driven by NETs, such as ARDS, we propose that excess NETs may play a major role in the disease," said study co-author Dr. Betsy Barnes. "As samples from patients become available, it will be important to determine whether the presence of NETs associates with disease severity and/or particular clinical characteristics of COVID-19."

Study co-author Dr. Mikala Egeblad is a cancer biologist at the <a href="https://www.cshl.edu/">Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory</a> who organized NETwork research group.

"NETs were identified in 2004, but many scientists have never heard of them. Most of the researchers in the NETwork have worked on NETs in other diseases, and when we started hearing about the symptoms of the COVID-19 patients, it sounded familiar," explained Dr. Egeblad.

Dr. Jonathan Spicer is a thoracic surgeon who has witnessed the devastating effects of COVID-19 infection firsthand. 

"We see in these patients severe lung damage known as ARDS, another serious problem caused by excess NETs and seen in cases of severe influenza," said Dr. Spicer. 

"In addition, their airways are often clogged with thick mucus and unlike most severe lung infections, these patients tend to form small clots throughout their body at much higher rates than normal. NETs have also been found in the blood of patients with sepsis or cancer, where they can facilitate the formation of such blood clots."

If the researchers conclude that excess NETs are causing the severe symptoms of COVID-19, new treatments may be deployed to help COVID-19 patients recove. Treatments that are currently used in other NET-driven diseases may inhibit the activity of NETs in COVID-19 patients, which may reduce the need for invasive mechanical ventilation.

The study is published in the <a href="https://rupress.org/jem">Journal of Experimental Medicine</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;

Severe COVID-19 infections may be caused by overactive immune cells

Experts are urgently investigating whether overactive immune cells are to...

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/aspirin-serious-risks/">Aspirin</a> may lower the risk of deadly cancers of the digestive tract, such as pancreatic and liver cancer. In the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers found that aspirin was associated with a reduced risk of developing digestive tract cancers by between 22 and 38 percent.

Previous studies have established a link between aspirin and a lower risk of bowel, esophagus, and stomach cancers.

The current research, which is published by the <a href="https://www.esmo.org/">European Society for Medical Oncology</a>, analyzed the results of 113 observational studies. The study was focused on cancers of the bowel, head and neck, esophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder and bile ducts, and pancreas.

The researchers found evidence to suggest that taking at least one or two aspirin a week significantly lowers the risk of developing all of the cancers examined in the study, with the exception of head and neck cancer.

Aspirin was linked to a 27-percent reduced risk of bowel cancer.

"There are about 175,000 deaths from bowel cancer predicted for 2020 in the EU, of which about 100,000 will be in people aged between 50 and 74," said study senior author Professor Carlo La Vecchia.

"If we assume that regular use of aspirin increases from 25% to 50% in this age group, this would mean that between 5,000 to 7,000 deaths from bowel cancer and between 12,000 and 18,000 new cases could be avoided if further studies show that aspirin does indeed cause the reduction in cancer risk."

"Corresponding figures would be approximately 3,000 deaths each for esophageal, stomach and pancreatic cancer, and 2,000 deaths from cancer of the liver. Given the unfavorable prognosis for these cancers, the number of new cases would be only slightly greater."

The team analyzed the effect of aspirin dose and duration on bowel cancer, combining data for how frequently aspirin was taken at low, regular, or high doses.

Study lead author Dr. Cristina Bosetti is the head of the Unit of Cancer Epidemiology at the Mario Negri Department of Oncology in Milan.

"We found that the risk of cancer was reduced with increased dose; an aspirin dose between 75 and 100mg a day was associated with a 10% reduction in a person's risk of developing cancer compared to people not taking aspirin; a dose of 325mg a day was associated with a 35% reduction, and a dose of 500mg a day was associated with a 50% reduction in risk. However, the estimate for high dose aspirin was based on just a few studies and should be interpreted cautiously," explained Dr. Bosetti.

"Our findings on bowel cancer support the concept that higher aspirin doses are associated with a larger reduction in risk of the disease. However, the choice of dose should also take into consideration the potential risk of stomach bleeds, which increases with higher aspirin doses."

"Compared to people who did not take aspirin regularly, the risk of bowel cancer declined in regular aspirin users up to ten years. The risk was reduced by 4% after one year, 11% after three years, 19% after five years and 29% after ten years."

Professor La Vecchia said the findings suggest there is a beneficial effect of aspirin in the prevention of bowel and other cancers of the digestive tract. 

"The results for bowel, esophageal, and pancreatic cancers are consistent with evidence from clinical trials on aspirin in the prevention of heart and blood vessel diseases."

"The findings for pancreatic and other digestive tract cancers may have implications for the prevention of these highly lethal diseases. For pancreatic cancer, we found that risk of the disease declined by 25% after five years among people who took aspirin regularly compared to those who did not.

"Taking aspirin for the prevention of bowel cancer, or any other cancers, should only be done in consultation with a doctor, who can take account of the person's individual risk. This includes factors such as sex, age, a family history of a first-degree relative with the disease, and other risk factors. People who are at high risk of the disease are most likely to gain the greatest benefits from aspirin," said Professor La Vecchia.

The side effects of aspirin include stomach bleeds, bleeding in other parts of the body, and hemorrhages. The study is limited in that it is based on observational studies and can only show that aspirin is associated with a reduced risk of digestive tract cancers. 

The research is published in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/annals-of-oncology">Annals of Oncology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Aspirin is associated with a lower risk of developing digestive tract cancers

Aspirin may lower the risk of deadly cancers of the...

High <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fruits-vegetables-memory-loss-men/">vegetable</a> consumption before pregnancy has been linked to a lower risk of premature birth, according to research from the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a>. While it is widely known that additional nutrients and minerals are needed during pregnancy, the new study is shedding light on the importance of a healthy diet prior to conception.   

An investigation conducted by PhD candidate Dereje Gete was focused on the diets of nearly 3,500 women. The study revealed that the regular consumption of carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, cabbage, green beans, and potatoes before conception led to a greater chance for expectant mothers to have a full term pregnancy. 

"Traditional vegetables are rich in antioxidants or anti-inflammatory nutrients, which have a significant role in reducing the risk of adverse birth outcomes," explained Gete.

"Women depend on certain stored nutrients such as calcium and iron before conception, which are critical for placenta and foetus tissue development."

"Starting a healthier diet after the baby has been conceived may be too late, because babies are fully formed by the end of the first trimester."

Babies delivered before 37 weeks of gestation are considered premature. In the United States, the preterm birth rate is 10 percent, or one out of every ten babies. 

Among Australian infants, preterm birth is the leading cause of death, affecting 8.5 percent of babies born each year. 

According to Professor Gita Mishra, the study findings suggest that dietary intervention and strategies to change behavior may be helpful when women start thinking about having a baby.

"People born prematurely face a greater risk of metabolic and chronic diseases in adulthood, as well as poor cognitive development and academic performance," said Professor Mishra.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/ejcn/about?gclid=CjwKCAjwvtX0BRAFEiwAGWJyZC7sguZcwZrr5XNNcjISKD-olcqrjmLBnXZ9LqcAn7pJW2Y8raTXQxoC8FwQAvD_BwE">American Journal of Clinical Nutrition</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Vegetable consumption before pregnancy lowers risk of preterm birth

High vegetable consumption before pregnancy has been linked to a...

Thousands of monarch <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/monarch-butterflies-lose-migration-ability/">butterflies</a> are caught and tagged during their fall migration, and just as many caterpillars are used in classroom demonstrations and outreach events. A new study has found that human handling can put a great deal of stress on monarch butterflies when they are in the early stages of life.

Andy Davis is an assistant research scientist in the Odum School of Ecology at the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a>. He set out to investigate how human handling may adversely affect monarch butterflies. Davis looked into whether monarchs had faster heartbeats after being handled by humans. Among insects, elevated heart rate is a sign of stress that is triggered by perceived predators.

"Most people don't realize that insects get stressed in much the same way as vertebrates do," said Davis. "People handle monarchs for all of these activities, but if you imagine yourself in their place, what would it be like for us if a 50-foot-tall robot picked us up and passed us around? From the monarch's perspective, maybe for them this is akin to being attacked by a predator."

Davis measured the heart rates of the butterflies at all life stages - larval, pupal and adult.

Under a microscope, the heart rates of caterpillars were assessed before and after they were carefully passed from hand to hand for three minutes.

Adult butterflies, who were netted during fall migration, underwent a similar process. Davis measured their heart rates before and after he simulated the procedure for tagging them.

To measure the heartbeats of monarch pupae, Davis used an electronic device that could remotely detect heart movement inside the chrysalis. This process was more complicated, especially due to the unusual cardiac function of monarch pupae.

"At the pupal stage, their hearts beat in a weird way," said Davis. "The heart will beat for about 15 minutes and then stop for up to two hours; it flatlines."

The study revealed that human handling significantly impacted heart rates at the two early stages of life. Caterpillars experienced a heart rate increase of approximately 20 percent, while pupal heart rates skyrocketed from zero to 88 beats per minute. This is almost three times higher than the typical active beating rate for pupae, according to previous research.

Meanwhile, the heart rates of adult monarchs showed no significant change after handling. This indicated that either the experiment did not capture the stress response of the adult butterflies or that gentle handling does not cause them stress.

"It kind of makes sense that adult monarchs would be fairly stress-tolerant," said Davis. "The migration itself is fraught with dangers and perils along the way, and for a monarch to be able to accomplish that, it has to be able to deal with a wide variety of natural stressors."

Davis said that just because larvae and pupae seem prone to stress reactions from handling, people should not stop working with monarchs.

"These results do not mean people should stop important activities like research and outreach. But the results should at least make us more cognizant about how the monarch is feeling about being handled. In other words, we shouldn't kid ourselves by thinking the monarchs are OK with it."

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.lepsoc.org/content/journal">Journal of the Lepidopterists' 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;

Young monarch butterflies are stressed by human handling 

Thousands of monarch butterflies are caught and tagged during their...

A new study has traced the mahogany family of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tropical-trees-higher-elevations/">trees</a> back to the era when dinosaurs vanished. The research shows that the earliest appearance of mahogany in the fossil record was actually 15 to 20 million years earlier than what was previously thought. 

The analysis was conducted by Brian Atkinson, an assistant professor of Ecology &amp; Evolutionary Biology at the <a href="https://www.ku.edu/">University of Kansas</a>.

The findings indicate that the mahogany family originated during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous between 72-79 million years ago. Previously, experts believed that mahogany trees appeared about 60 million years ago during the Paleocene.

The fossil presence of mahogany is significant because it gives scientists an indication of where tropical forests once stood. 

"For understanding when many of the different branches of the tree of life evolved, we're primarily dependent on the fossil record," said Professor Atkinson, "In this case, Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is an ecologically and economically important group of trees." 

"A lot of researchers have used this group as a study system to better understand the evolution of tropical rainforests. This work is the first definitive evidence that the tropically important trees were around during the Cretaceous period, when we first start to see the modernization of ecosystems and modern groups of plants."

The current investigation was focused on a well-preserved mahogany specimen discovered just off Vancouver Island. 

"The rock that contained the specimen was collected by a local fossil collector, Graham Beard, who is the director of the Qualicum Beach Museum of Natural History," said Professor Atkinson. "He collected it years ago, but I was actually interested in the rock that has this fossil in it for something else. And as I kept preparing this rock more for the other fossils that were in there, this thing showed up by surprise. So, it was kind of found by accident."

Professor Atkinson examined the structure of the fossilized fruit and analyzed phylogenetic information to identify the fossil.

"I combined the molecular data from living representatives of the mahogany family with the morphology of the fossil, as well as the morphology of living species. And then I subjugated that combined dataset to phylogenetic analyses, which allows us to reconstruct evolutionary relationships. Based on this analysis, we found the fossil is closely related to this genus called Melia, which is living today."

The newly described specimen, Manchestercarpa vancouverensis, is now the oldest-known mahogany fossil. Its scientific name represents where the specimen was discovered, and the genus is named to honor one of Professor Atkinson's colleagues.

"I named it after a prolific paleobotanist who's really improved our understanding of the evolution of flowering plants through the fossil record. So, I named it in honor of Steve Manchester, who's at the University of Florida Museum of Natural History."

The research not only pushes back the origin of mahogany, but also helps to improve our understanding of early flowering plant evolution, according to Professor Atkinson.

"They're our most diverse group of plants on Earth, and so there's a whole lot to explore. And there are some cool things you can do methodologically that you might not be able to do with other groups of plants. I can really ask some exciting paleontological and general evolutionary questions with this group."

The study is published in the <a href="https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15372197">American Journal of Botany</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;

Mahogany tree fossil pushes back origin back by 15 to 20 million years

A new study has traced the mahogany family of trees...

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

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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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