When we think of a heart attack, the image that often comes to mind is straight out of a movie: someone suddenly clutches their chest in pain and collapses as shocked bystanders look on. It's a scene etched into our collective memory by decades of TV and film.



However, the real experience of a heart attack rarely fits that narrative. In fact, believing in that dramatic version can delay life-saving treatment.



Hollywood’s version has shaped public perception in ways that may be doing more harm than good. The truth is far more complex and subtle. 



For Ann Eckhardt, a nursing professor and researcher at <a href="https://www.uta.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The University of Texas at Arlington</a>, this public misunderstanding is not just a matter of health education. It is a deeply personal mission rooted in years of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-kills-differently-now-than-five-decades-ago/">research</a> and a family experience that first sparked her passion for the subject.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-missing-the-signs-of-a-heart-attack">Missing the signs of a heart attack </h2>



Movies from the 1980s and 1990s cemented an unrealistic idea of heart attacks. The result? Many people don’t recognize the signs when it happens to them.



“We did ourselves a disservice in the 1980s and 1990s with what’s known as ‘The Hollywood Heart Attack,’” Dr. Eckhardt said. “That’s unfortunately not real life. It’s not always intense." 



"Sometimes it’s just discomfort that doesn’t feel quite right, so people tend to wait to see a doctor. The longer you wait, the more likely you are to have negative consequences after your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-remains-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide/">heart</a> attack.”



This tendency to wait, to dismiss symptoms that don’t seem dramatic enough, can cost precious time. And in cardiology, time is muscle. 



The longer blood flow to the heart is restricted, the greater the damage. But if people are looking for cinematic signals, they might miss the real ones.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heart-attack-symptoms-can-be-subtle">Heart attack symptoms can be subtle </h2>



One of the biggest myths is that heart attacks always present with severe, sudden <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-sweeteners-erythritol-directly-linked-to-heart-attacks-and-strokes/">pain</a>. In reality, many symptoms are subtle. 



People may experience vague discomfort, pressure, or a strange feeling they can’t quite describe. These symptoms are easier to ignore, especially when life is busy or stressful.



Eckhardt and her team wanted to understand these misconceptions in detail. They explored how people interpret chest pain and whether that interpretation affects how and when they seek care. 



The team has identified a dangerous gap between public belief and medical reality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-the-warning-signs">Rethinking the warning signs </h2>



Many people also believe that heart attacks look drastically different in men and women. While that belief was once supported in the medical community, experts are now rethinking the language they use.



“We used to say men have typical symptoms and women have atypical symptoms,” Eckhardt said. “We’re trying very hard to move away from that language now."



"The most common symptom for men and women is chest-related. We created confusion by saying women are somehow completely different.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-false-expectations-about-heart-attacks">False expectations about heart attacks</h2>



Labeling symptoms as typical or atypical can confuse patients. If someone doesn’t feel the expected kind of pain, they may assume it isn’t serious. Worse, they might believe it can’t possibly be a heart attack. That false assurance can delay treatment.



Eckhardt’s team wanted to dig deeper into how people form these ideas. To do that, they created the <a href="https://www.heartandlung.org/article/S0147-9563(23)00121-8/abstract?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chest Pain Conception Questionnaire</a>. The tool is designed to measure what people think heart attack symptoms look like, and where those ideas come from.



Three years into the project, the team made a striking discovery: nearly 75% of respondents had gotten their information about heart attacks from media sources like TV and film. That suggests medical messaging is losing the battle for public attention.



“We often tell people chest pain is a symptom of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-this-amount-of-coffee-helps-prevent-heart-disease-and-diabetes/">heart</a> attack, but what we don’t tell them is what they might actually feel,” Eckhardt said. 



“For a lot of people, it’s not pain in the traditional sense. It’s more discomfort, pressure, tightness. They just don’t feel quite right, but they can’t really put their finger on it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vague-signs-delay-treatment">Vague signs delay treatment</h2>



Many heart attack sufferers report a general unease or tightness instead of sharp pain. But because it’s vague, they hesitate to call a doctor or go to the hospital. This indecision can lead to devastating outcomes.



Eckhardt wants medical professionals to change how they talk to patients. Instead of simply asking about chest pain, they should expand the question to include more accurate descriptions.



“The longer you wait, the more likely it is you’ll have irreversible damage to the heart,” Eckhardt said. 



“So, if we can determine what people think a heart attack will be like, perhaps we can help the medical community better triage and ask questions. It’s not just ‘Are you having chest pain?’; it’s also ‘Do you have any discomfort, pressure, tightness, squeezing?’”



This approach could help doctors identify patients at risk more effectively. It also makes space for individuals to describe their symptoms without second-guessing themselves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-lifelong-mission">A lifelong mission </h2>



For Eckhardt, this work is not just about data or education. It is deeply personal. Her commitment to the subject began when she was young, shaped by a frightening family event.



“That experience sparked my interest early on,” Eckhardt said. When she was in middle school, her grandfather was rushed to the hospital after a heart attack. 



Thankfully, he survived the ordeal thanks to timely bypass surgery and lived for another two decades. That moment planted the seeds of a lifelong commitment to health education and research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changing-the-public-perception">Changing the public perception </h2>



Eckhardt and her colleagues know it won’t be easy to re-educate the public. Hollywood images are hard to shake. 



However, the team's research continues, driven by a clear goal: help people recognize real heart attack symptoms, seek help early, and improve outcomes.



Every person who rethinks their idea of what a heart attack feels like could be one life saved. It is not always about pain. Sometimes, it is a quiet, persistent signal that something is wrong. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.heartandlung.org/article/S0147-9563(25)00104-9/abstract" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heart &amp; Lung</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Subtle warning signs: What a heart attack really feels like

When we think of a heart attack, the image that often comes to mind is straight out of a movie: someone suddenly clutches their chest in pain and collapses as shocked bystanders look on. It's a scene etched into our collective memory by decades of TV and film. However, the real experience of a heart attack rarely fits that narrative. In fact, believing in that dramatic version can delay life-saving treatment. Hollywood’s version has shaped public perception in ways that may be doing more harm than good....

Experts have discovered the oldest human footprints ever found in Europe on the British coast of Norfolk. The tracks date back almost a million years, making them the oldest <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ancient-human-ancestor-footprints/">footprints</a> left behind by humans outside of Africa.

Paul Macro spotted the prints on a beach in Happisburgh when he was photographing the region as part of an assignment for London-based studio ScanLAB Projects.

The tracks are believed to have been made by Homo Antecessor, also known as "Pioneer Man," between 850,000 and 950,000 years ago. Homo Antecessor was about 5.5 feet tall and likely descended from Homo Erectus. Due to a lack of fossil evidence, much about this archaic human species still remains a mystery. 

The markings were located close to where footprints from the same time period were discovered in 2013. Not far from the first site, researchers had also uncovered tools.

"Happisburgh tells us about the earliest humans in Britain," said Professor Simon Lewis from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a>. "They had simple stone tools. They used flint and raw materials to flake tools. We're dealing with the earliest types of stone tool technology."

Experts hope to find fossil bones to confirm whether the footprints were left by Homo Antecessor. 

[caption id="attachment_1875422" align="aligncenter" width="633"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/footprints.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1875422" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/footprints.jpg" alt="" width="633" height="456" /></a> Image Credit: Triangle News[/caption]

"The search is now on to find some fossil bones to prove if Homo Antecessor, or indeed another type of Hominin was busy was here in Norfolk almost a million years ago," said Jason Gibbons of Norfolk Museum. 

"This is a very exciting and important site, we will see what this, and future discoveries will tell us about the most remote period of ancient habitation in north west Europe."

Macro said that two days after he made 3D scans of the footprints they were already covered in sand. "It was phenomenally exciting when I sent the photos over to the Norfolk Museum Service, and they said the footprints could be 850,000 years old."

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Triangle News

Human footprints in England are the oldest ever discovered outside of Africa

Experts have discovered the oldest human footprints ever found in...

Some scientists believe that a feasible strategy for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/moisture-vegetation-climate-change/">climate change</a> mitigation is to inject carbon dioxide (CO2) deep into the seafloor. If this plan was put into action, however, scientists have not yet established a reliable way to monitor these sites for gas leakage. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) may have now found a solution to this problem. By studying natural sources of CO2 release off the coast of Italy, the experts managed to design models for potential deep sea storage sites.

Off the Norwegian coast, the multinational energy company Equinor operates a facility that captures and stores almost a megaton of CO2 in an offshore sandstone aquifer that is located deep in the ocean. If CO2 is leaked here, it is less threatening to humans because the water acts as a buffer.

On the other hand, the leaked gas can dissolve into seawater, which decreases the pH and poses a risk to marine life. As of now, scientists lack a strategy to locate or quantify CO2 leaks across the ocean floor. 

Led by Jonas Gros, the ACS team analyzed pH changes near natural CO2 seeps in the vicinity of Panarea, a small island off the coast of northern Sicily. The experts collected gas and water samples from deep CO2 plumes to develop a computer model that could predict the pH changes in water that result from gas leakage.

The model was able to pinpoint over 79 percent of the CO2 dissolved within four meters of the seafloor. The team also found that their model could predict a pattern of pH variation in waters surrounding the leakage site that was similar to actual data collected by sensors towed underwater. 

Through routine sampling, the new technology could be used to guide monitoring strategies and to estimate the marine ecosystem impacts of CO2 releases in the deep sea.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag">Environmental Science and Technology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Christian Howe

Scientists develop a way to monitor CO2 leaks on the seafloor

Some scientists believe that a feasible strategy for climate change...

As exciting as it is for astronauts to brave the final frontier, spending a prolonged amount of time suspended in microgravity comes at a cost. 

In space, the lack of gravity <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-extract-mars-astronauts/">shrinks muscle mass</a> and bone density, and those are just some of the impacts of being in space. Returning to Earth can also be a health hazard with many astronauts fainting due to changes in blood pressure. 

A new study has found that exercising in microgravity can help astronauts decrease the risk of fainting during and after the return journey. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/">University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center</a> examined how exercise impacted the risk of Orthostatic hypotension for astronauts.

Orthostatic hypotension is characterized by a sharp temporary drop in blood pressure after sitting or laying down for a long time. As the blood flow rushes to the feet, it can cause dizziness and fainting. 

“One of the biggest problems since the inception of the manned space program has been that astronauts have fainted when they came down to Earth. The longer the time in a gravity-free environment space, the greater the risk appeared,” said Benjamin Levine, M.D., the senior author of the study. “This problem has bedeviled the space program for a long time, but this condition is something ordinary people often experience as well.”

Twelve astronauts, eight men and four women ages 43 to 56, participated in the study, so it was a relatively small sample size. The astronauts spent six months in space and completed up to two hours of endurance and resistance training per day. 

Each exercise regime was individualized for each participant, and the goal of the daily physical training was to protect muscle mass, strength, and heart health. 

Blood pressure was recorded before, during, and after the six months in space. When the astronauts returned to Earth, they were also given a saline infusion.

None of the astronauts got dizzy or fainted when they landed, and the research is the first to prove that routine exercises while in flight can reduce the risk of Orthostatic hypotension.

“What surprised me the most was how well the astronauts did after spending six months in space. I thought there would be frequent episodes of fainting when they returned to Earth, but they didn’t have any. It’s compelling evidence of the effectiveness of the countermeasures--the exercise regimen and fluid replenishment,” said Levine. 

The researchers plan to test if the results can be replicated with larger sample sizes and for astronauts who spend more time in space. 

The study findings were published in the journal Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Andrey Armyagov

Exercising in space helps astronauts avoid fainting back on Earth

As exciting as it is for astronauts to brave the...

Offshore wind farms may ultimately help Europe achieve its climate goals. According to an association of European grid operators, using a network of artificial energy islands as <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wind-farm-efficiency/">wind power</a> hubs in the North Sea is a technically and economically feasible concept. The consortium, which includes TenneT, Energinet, Gasunie, and the Port of Rotterdam, proposed the project to meet the climate targets established by the Paris Agreement. 

The North Sea Wind Power Hub (NSWPH) could play a major role in transitioning the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany to a low-carbon energy system. 

The NSWPH partners have been studying technical, environmental, and market perspectives to investigate the potential for the large wind collection hub. Last week, the consortium announced that their project assessment results showed that the concept is achievable. 

"The North Sea holds a large potential for offshore wind power," said the grid operators. Their research suggests that a series of smaller islands would be better than the initial vision of one large island. 

Kees van der Leun is a sustainable energy expert and the director of <a href="https://www.navigant.com/">Navigant</a>, an international energy and climate consultancy that contributed to the research. 

"It would be very transformative,” said Van der Leun. He explained that the proposed scale of wind farms is "completely beyond” what is operating off the coast of the UK and Germany today.

The first island hub could be developed by the early 2030s. For each individual hub, the goal is to have a network of wind farms with up to 15 gigawatts of capacity, which is enough energy to power more than 12 million homes across the UK. The biggest wind farms that are operating in the region today have a capacity of just over one gigawatt.

Van der Leun told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a> that the project's success will primarily depend on whether it gets enough support from governments. 

"Whether the project will happen depends largely on policy makers. If they set the right targets, appoint sufficient clustered offshore wind areas, set the right boundary conditions from a market and regulatory perspective the project is likely to go through."

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Eugene Suslo

Offshore wind farms may ultimately help Europe achieve its climate goals

Offshore wind farms may ultimately help Europe achieve its climate...

In a new study led by <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a>, scientists have discovered how brown fat may help protect against obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

The research is shedding new light on the role of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/kids-cold-climates-fat-content/">brown fat</a> in human health and may ultimately lead to the development of improved treatments for controlling weight and blood sugar.

Also known as brown adipose tissue, brown fat is considered a heat organ. It is found in small amounts in specific regions of the body, including the neck, collarbone, kidneys, and spinal cord. When brown fat is activated by cool temperatures, it uses sugar and fat from the blood to generate heat in the body.

The researchers determined that brown fat can also help the body filter and remove branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) from the blood. BCAAs are found in foods like meat, fish, eggs, and milk, and are also found in supplements used by athletes to build muscle mass.

At normal levels, these amino acids are essential for good health. However, an excess of BCAAs in the blood is associated with diabetes and obesity. 

According to the study, people with little or no brown fat have a more difficult time clearing BCAAs from their blood, which may lead to the development of weight and blood sugar problems. 

The study has also unraveled a longstanding mystery about how BCAAs enter the mitochondria that generate energy and heat in cells. The scientists discovered a protein, SLC25A44, which controls the rate that brown fat eliminates the amino acids and uses them for energy and heat.

Study co-author Professor Labros S. Sidossis chairs the Department of Kinesiology and Health in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. 

"Our study explains the paradox that BCAA supplements can potentially benefit those with active brown fat, such as healthy people, but can be detrimental to others, including the elderly, obese and people with diabetes," said Professor Sidossis.

Next, the researchers will investigate whether uptake of BCAAs by brown fat can be controlled by environmental factors, such as exposure to mildly cold temperatures, the consumption of spicy foods, or by drug treatments. Sidossis said this could improve blood sugar levels that are linked to diabetes and obesity.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/content/nature_subs/cpmlp_2a/index.html?productId=nature&amp;coupon=nat50q219&amp;end_date=09/30/2019&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw1_PqBRBIEiwA71rmtXUpNKb_hANkzMepOeX6LZOS9vHYFggmo857eKSLMLpQRjACkyds3hoCshsQAvD_BwE">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Sebastian Kaulitzki

Brown fat is important to good health and helps protect against obesity

In a new study led by Rutgers University, scientists have...

Neighboring star system may have conditions suitable for life. In 2018, NASA launched the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to search for new planets outside of our solar system, or exoplanets. The space telescope gathered enough data to identify 21 new <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exoplanet-proxima-centauri-life/">exoplanets</a> in its first year, including three worlds orbiting a neighboring star.

The new star system, called TESS Object of Interest (TOI-270), consists of a rocky planet that is slightly larger than Earth and two gaseous planets that are about twice the size of Earth. 

The smaller planet is of particular interest because it is within what is known as the habitable zone, which means that it orbits close enough to a star to allow for liquid-water oceans. The fact that the TOI-270 star is relatively "quiet" with few flares will allow for the planets to be observed more easily.

Stephen Kane is an associate professor of Planetary Astrophysics and a member of the NASA-funded Alternative Earths Astrobiology Center at <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a>. 

"We've found very few planets like this in the habitable zone, and many fewer around a quiet star, so this is rare," said Professor Kane. "We don't have a planet quite like this in our solar system."

In other words, we have either rocky planets like Earth that are small, or much larger planets like Saturn and Neptune that are dominated by gases rather than land. We do not have planets that fall somewhere in between that are about half the size of Neptune.

"TOI-270 will soon allow us to study this 'missing link' between rocky Earth-like planets and gas-dominant mini-Neptunes, because here all of these types formed in the same system," said lead researcher Maximilian Gunther of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

When the James Webb Space Telescope is launched next year, it will be able to measure the composition of the TOI-270 planets' atmospheres for oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide. 

According to Professor Kane, these types of observations can help determine whether a planet has ever had a liquid water ocean and whether any of the planets has conditions that are suitable for life as we know it.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natastron/">Nature Astronomy</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Jurik Peter

Neighboring star system may have conditions suitable for life

Neighboring star system may have conditions suitable for life. In...

Scorpion toxin – specifically, a chemical isolated from the venom of the Australian Black Rock scorpion – could be the key to understanding chronic pain. It might even help scientists develop non-addictive treatments for it. 

The toxin activates a protein in the brain that researchers have dubbed the “wasabi receptor.” It got the name because certain spicy foods, including wasabi, mustard, onions and ginger, also activate the TRPA1 protein.

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California, San Francisco</a> and the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> set out to see if there was an animal venom that might also activate the protein. They found it in the Australian scorpion toxin.

“Think of TRPA1 as the body's 'fire alarm' for chemical irritants in the environment,” UCSF doctoral student and lead author John Lin King said in a press release. “When this receptor encounters a potentially harmful compound – specifically, a class of chemicals known as ‘reactive electrophiles,’ which can cause significant damage to cells – it is activated to let you know you're being exposed to something dangerous that you need to remove yourself from.”

The TRPA1 protein can also be triggered by environmental pollutants like cigarette smoke, the researchers said. In that case, the protein reaction is in the cells that line the airway, and can cause coughing and airway inflammation.

The scorpion toxin that triggers the protein only seems to do so in mammals, according to the researchers, although all animals have some form of the TRPA1 protein. Since the Black Rock scorpions don’t hunt mammals, it’s likely the toxin is defensive. That may be the case for plants like garlic and ginger, too.

“Our results provide a beautiful and striking example of convergent evolution, whereby distantly related life forms – plants and animals – have developed defensive strategies that target the same mammalian receptor through completely distinct strategies,” senior author Dr. David Julius of UCSF said.

The scorpion toxin has some other unusual properties: it can “force” its way through the cell wall rather than being checked by the normal processes that protect cells from invaders. That could offer a unique insight into someday treating chronic pain and inflammation. 

“It was surprising to find a toxin that can pass directly through membranes. This is unusual for peptide toxins,” Lin King said. “But it’s also exciting because if you understand how these peptides get across the membrane, you might be able to use them to carry things – drugs, for example – into the cell that can’t normally get across membranes.”

The pain response from the scorpion toxin also does not trigger inflammation. That may eventually help researchers figure out how to stop the inflammatory response that’s often triggered by chronic pain. 

“The discovery of this toxin provides scientists with a new tool that can be used to probe the molecular mechanisms of pain, in particular, to selectively probe the processes that lead to pain hypersensitivity,” Lin King said. “And for those interested in drug discovery, our findings underscore the promise of TRPA1 as a target for new classes of non-opioid analgesics to treat chronic pain.”

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(19)30779-2">Cell</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Could scorpion toxin be the key to non-addictive pain killers?

Scorpion toxin – specifically, a chemical isolated from the venom...

A study from <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a> (MSU) is shedding new light on how plants first started growing on land. While scientists have long theorized that the first plants descended from green algae, details of the early transition from the water to land has remained a mystery. 

The MSU research provides evidence that, over 500 million years ago, algae may have hitched a ride out of the water with fungi to colonize the land.

“Fungi are found all over the planet," said study co-author Zhi-Yan Du. "They create symbiotic relationships with most land plants. That is one reason we think they were essential for the evolution of life on land. But until now, we have not seen evidence of fungi internalizing living algae."

The investigation was focused on a strain of soil fungus, Mortierella elongata, and the marine alga Nannochloropsis oceanica. These organisms, which are both from old lineages, form a strong relationship when they are grown side-by-side.

"Microscopy images show the algal cells aggregating around and attaching to fungal cells,” said Du. “The algal wall is slightly broken down, and its fibrous extensions appear to grab the surface of the fungus.”

Remarkably, after the algae and fungi were grown together for about a month, some of the algal cells actually entered the fungal cells. According to a report from MSU, this is the first time experts have seen fungi internalize a eukaryotic, photosynthetic organism.

“This is a win-win situation. Both organisms get additional benefits from being together,” explained Du. “They exchange nutrients, with a likely net flow of carbon from alga to fungus, and a net flow of nitrogen in the other direction. Interestingly, the fungus needs physical contact with living algal cells to get nutrients. Algal cells don’t need physical contact or living fungus to benefit from the interaction. Fungal cells, dead or alive, release nutrients in their surroundings.”

“Even better, when nutrients are scarce, algal and fungal cells grown together fend off starvation by feeding each other. They do better than when they are grown separately."

This increased resilience may explain how algae survived the move onto land.

“In nature, similar symbiotic events might be going on, more than we realize,” said Du. “We now have a system to study how a photosynthetic organism can live inside a non-photosynthetic one and how this symbiosis evolves and functions.”

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

Algae may have teamed up with fungi to give rise to the first terrestrial plants

A study from Michigan State University (MSU) is shedding new...

Rapid eye movement (REM) is a crucial stage in the sleep cycle associated with dreaming. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-prepares-brain-learning/">mechanics and purpose of REM sleep</a> have long fascinated researchers, but a new study has found that the brain may actively forget or store information during this phase. 

When we slip away to dreamland and enter REM, breathing becomes erratic, heart rates increase, and the brain is host to a flurry of activity. 

It’s been suggested that REM plays an important role in storing new memories and eliminating excess information which could be why so few dreams are remembered the next day. 

Francis Crick, one of the discoverers of the DNA double helix, suggested that the brain actively forgets information during REM, but exactly how this happens was unknown until now. 

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.sri.com/about/organization/biosciences/center-neuroscience">Center for Neuroscience at SRI International</a> in California, <a href="http://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/">Nagoya University</a> in Japan, and <a href="https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/">Hokkaido University</a> in Japan focused on cells that produce melanin-concentrating hormones (MCH) which are known to influence sleep and appetite. 

The researchers found that hypothalamic MCH cells sent messages to the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain. 

“From previous studies done in other labs, we already knew that MCH cells were active during REM sleep. After discovering this new circuit, we thought these cells might help the brain store memories,” said Dr. Thomas Kilduff, an author of the study.

Once this link was discovered, the researchers switched MCH neurons in mice on and off with different genetic tools and conducted memory tests. 

For one test, the mice had to distinguish between familiar and new objects. When the MCH cells were switched on as the mice retained information, it had a negative effect on memory, but when the cells were turned off, memory improved. 

The mice also performed better on memory tests when the MCH neurons were disabled during REM. 

“These results suggest that MCH neurons help the brain actively forget new, possibly, unimportant information,” said Dr. Kilduff. “Since dreams are thought to primarily occur during REM sleep, the sleep stage when the MCH cells turn on, activation of these cells may prevent the content of a dream from being stored in the hippocampus - consequently, the dream is quickly forgotten.”

The research, published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aax9238">Science</a>, could help with finding new pathways for studying and treating sleep and memory disorders. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Syda Productions

During deep sleep, the brain may actively forget unimportant information

Rapid eye movement (REM) is a crucial stage in the...

Dust from an asteroid collision in space caused an ancient ice age on Earth. Dust from an <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/the-paths-of-thousands-of-asteroids/">asteroid</a> collision that rained down on Earth over two million years correlates with an ancient ice age, the cause of which was unknown until now. 

446 million years ago, the Earth experienced a period of global cooling. The poles started to freeze, and life flourished as evolving species adapted to the gradually decreasing temperatures. 

For the first time, researchers from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> and <a href="https://lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> in Sweden have discovered what triggered this ice age. The culprit was dust from a 93-mile wide asteroid between Mars and Jupiter that broke apart around the same time as temperatures started dropping. 

Dust from outer space is continuously finding its way to Earth, but in such small quantities that there is little impact on the planet’s climate systems. 446 million years ago, though, it was a different story. 

“Normally, Earth gains about 40,000 tons of extraterrestrial material every year,” said Philipp Heck, a member of the research team. “Imagine multiplying that by a factor of a thousand or ten thousand. Our hypothesis is that the large amounts of extraterrestrial dust over a timeframe of at least two million years played an important role in changing the climate on Earth, contributing to cooling.” 

The researchers analyzed space dust in ancient rocks. First, the rocks were treated with an acid that disolved away the rock but left behind the important extraterrestrial matter for analysis. 

“We studied extraterrestrial matter, meteorites, and micrometeorites, in the sedimentary record of Earth, meaning rocks that were once sea floor,” said Heck. “And then we extracted the extraterrestrial matter to discover what it was and where it came from.”

The researchers were able to link global cooling millions of years ago to an increase in extraterrestrial dust in the atmosphere, which filtered out sunlight. 

The period of cooling was dramatic but gradual, slow enough that species could adapt and thrive.

“In the global cooling we studied, we’re talking about timescales of millions of years,” said Heck. “It’s very different from the climate change caused by the meteorite 65 million years ago that killed the dinosaurs, and it’s different from the global warming today--this global cooling was a gentle nudge. There was less stress.” 

The researchers are careful to highlight the differences between climate change today and the ice age 446 million years ago. Plans to artificially cool the planet by mimicking the same conditions that cooled Earth millions of years ago should be considered carefully. 

A study detailing the findings was published in the journal Science Advances. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Don Davis, Southwest Research Institute

Dust from an asteroid collision in space caused an ancient ice age on Earth

Dust from an asteroid collision in space caused an ancient...

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.bangor.ac.uk/">Bangor University</a> School of Natural Sciences has investigated the potential for fermenting alcohol with starch from peas instead of wheat. The study revealed that producing gin with pea starch could have a substantially positive impact on the environment.

"Allocation of system burdens across gin and animal feed co-products indicated that gin produced from peas had a smaller environmental footprint than gin produced from wheat across 12 of 14 environmental impact categories considered, including 12%, 48% and 68% smaller global warming, acidification and eutrophication burdens, respectively," wrote the study authors. 

Growing wheat requires the use of nitrogen fertilizers, but legumes such as peas can take nitrogen directly from the atmosphere. The widespread use of legumes in alcoholic beverages has the potential to reduce global <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/meat-dairy-production-emissions/">greenhouse gas emissions</a> by 439 million metric tons.

The environmental impact of gin production could be even further reduced through the use of byproducts as animal feed. This would lower the demand for imported soybeans, which largely contributes to deforestation in Latin America.

"Boundary expansion in life cycle assessment to account for animal feed substitution by co-products further increased the environmental advantage of pea gin overall, owing to larger amounts of protein contained in co-products from pea fermentation," explained the researchers.  

"The potential for enhanced soybean meal substitution from use of peas in alcohol production could reduce Europe's protein deficit whilst potentially avoiding deforestation in Latin America."

The research team collaborated with Scotland’s Arbikie Distillery, where experimentation has already begun to make gin from pea starch and to collect byproducts for animal feed. According to study co-author David Styles, the gin is expected to taste exactly the same as the more familiar type made with wheat. 

The researchers also pointed out that if the new gin production is successful, pea starch may ultimately be used to make other alcoholic beverages such as vodka and beer.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international">Environmental International</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Javier Somoza

Making gin from pea starch could have some major environmental benefits

A team of researchers from the Bangor University School of...

Harvesting energy from coastal saltwater where ocean and freshwater mingle, also known as blue energy, could be the next big thing in renewables, according to a new study.  

Researchers from <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> have developed a new technology in the form of a battery that could be used to harness blue energy and provide another source of renewable energy. 

“Blue energy is an immense and untapped source of renewable energy,” said Kristian Dubrawski, a co-author of the study. “Our battery is a major step toward practically capturing that energy without membranes, moving parts or energy input.”

The new technology builds on an earlier concept for a battery that uses salt gradients, and the researchers applied the concepts to coastal wastewater treatment plants.  

It’s the first blue energy battery that uses electrochemistry instead of pressure or membranes to work. 

The technology works by releasing sodium and chloride ions from electrodes in the battery into a special solution. The ions create a flow of current from one electrode to the other, and wastewater and saltwater are then flushed through the system which forces the ions to reverse the flow of the current. 

A prototype battery was developed, and the researchers tested potential energy production with the battery by flushing it with wastewater and seawater, alternating between the two every hour.

The prototype was extremely successful and was able to effectively capture energy from saltwater over 180 cycles.  

Freshwater and saltwater in coastal wastewater treatment plants could generate enough energy to power more than 1,7000 homes for a year. 

Using the battery in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/converting-wastewater-renewable-energy/">wastewater treatment plans</a> could make plants energy independent and reduce electricity use and emissions. 

The battery could provide an affordable, sustainable, and durable alternative for harnessing blue energy. 

“It is a scientifically elegant solution to a complex problem,” said Dubrawski. “It needs to be tested at scale, and it doesn’t address the challenge of tapping blue energy at the global scale - rivers running into the ocean - but it is a good starting point that could spur these advances.”

The researchers next plan to test the battery to scale in wastewater treatment plants. 

A paper detailing the battery and new technology was published in the American Chemical Society’s journal ACS Omega.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Doc Searls / Flickr

Saltwater could provide another source of renewable energy

Harvesting energy from coastal saltwater where ocean and freshwater mingle,...

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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

News coming your way