Everyone talks about mindfulness these days. People say it helps with stress, improves sleep, and makes life calmer. But here is a question: can meditation actually sharpen your focus? Turns out, it can.



A new study from the <a href="https://gero.usc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology</a> reveals something surprising: just thirty days of guided mindfulness meditation can change how quickly and accurately people focus. Age does not seem to matter here.



This is not about feelings or guesswork. Researchers used eye tracking, a tool that shows exactly where your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mindfulness-meditation-is-a-powerful-weapon-against-chronic-pain/">attention</a> goes. 



“This study shows that mindfulness isn’t just about feeling more relaxed - it can literally change the way your brain handles attention,” said Andy Jeesu Kim, the study’s first author. “And that’s incredibly important for maintaining cognitive health as we age.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-focus-fades-with-age">Why focus fades with age</h2>



As people get older, their brains <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meditation-can-rapidly-reduce-ptsd-without-revisiting-trauma/">slow down</a>. They do not react as fast. Distractions take over easily.



This happens because of a brain system called the locus coeruleus–noradrenaline system. It controls attention, memory, and alertness - and it weakens with age.



Professor Mara Mather from the USC Leonard Davis School has studied this system for years. She found connections between its decline and early Alzheimer’s disease.



Earlier research hinted that mindfulness could strengthen this brain system. Meditation might boost areas that help with focus. But no one had tested this idea using precise eye-tracking methods - until now.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meditation-s-effect-on-focus">Meditation’s effect on focus</h2>



The researchers did not just ask people how mindful they felt. They watched their eyes when they recruited 69 people. Some were young adults. Others were middle-aged or older.



Half of the group practiced mindfulness meditation using the Headspace app. Just 10 to 15 minutes each day. The other half listened to an audiobook for the same amount of time.



Three times, participants visited the lab. They did visual tasks that measured how fast and accurately they could focus. Their eyes revealed everything. Every glance, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meditation-rewires-the-emotional-centers-of-the-brain/">distraction</a>, or quick decision.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-attention-improves-with-practice">Attention improves with practice</h2>



After a month of mindfulness meditation, something changed. People began reacting faster - their eyes moved directly to the right target, they ignored distractions more easily, and it didn’t matter how old they were.



“We expected older adults to benefit the most, but we found that mindfulness improved attention similarly across young, middle-aged, and older adults,” Kim said. “This suggests mindfulness can be a useful tool at any stage of life.”



Oddly, when the participants filled out mindfulness questionnaires, their answers did not change much. They did not <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-meditation-and-critical-thinking-matter-in-the-age-of-ai/">feel</a> different. Their brains, however, told a different story.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-second-test-backs-meditation">Second test backs meditation</h2>



The findings did not end there. Another study backed them up. Once again, participants practiced mindfulness meditation using Headspace for 30 days. 



The researchers tracked their eye movements while they performed attention tasks, examining both proactive focus and reactive responses. Reaction times improved again. People’s eyes became quicker - regardless of age.



However, not every gain came from meditation. Some improvements likely came from practicing the task itself. But meditation clearly sped up their visual attention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meditation-works-quietly">Meditation works quietly</h2>



The second study confirmed something interesting. Meditation did not boost self-reported mindfulness. People did not feel much different.



But their eyes told a different tale. They reacted faster, spotted targets quicker, and showed subtle changes in focus.



This tells us something crucial. You might not notice the benefits of meditation right away. Yet your brain could already be working better in the background.



Both studies found that age did not limit the benefits. Young, middle-aged, or older, everyone improved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sharper-focus-for-daily-needs">Sharper focus for daily needs</h2>



People often think mindfulness is just about peace and calm. But these studies reveal something bigger.



Mindfulness can sharpen the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/action-observation-network-human-brain-perception-see-what-we-expect-to-see-mind-eye/">brain</a>’s attention. This affects everyday activities. Driving. Reading. Holding a conversation. Even crossing the street.



Sure, the audiobook group also improved a little. That is likely because they practiced the task more. But the meditation group improved faster and more clearly.



Mindfulness does not just make people feel calmer. It changes how the brain works with attention.



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



The researchers are not done yet. They want to see what happens with longer mindfulness meditation programs. Could more time bring stronger results? They are also curious whether these quick gains stick around long term.



“We’re excited about the potential of digital mindfulness interventions to help people support their brain health,” Kim said. “It’s simple, low-cost, and widely accessible. The key is consistency.”



Mindfulness may seem small. Just a few minutes a day. But it is clear. It can quietly improve your brain’s focus, no matter your age. And all it takes is a little patience and practice.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2025/06/26/ENEURO.0356-23.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eNeuro</a>.



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Mindfulness meditation can rewire your brain for sharper focus

Everyone talks about mindfulness these days. People say it helps with stress, improves sleep, and makes life calmer. But here is a question: can meditation actually sharpen your focus? Turns out, it can. A new study from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology reveals something surprising: just thirty days of guided mindfulness meditation can change how quickly and accurately people focus. Age does not seem to matter here. This is not about feelings or guesswork. Researchers used eye tracking, a tool that shows exactly where your...

Establishing trust in science can help make climate change conversations easier. While scientific research continues to highlight and forecast the dangerous impacts of climate change, policies under the Trump administration have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenwashing-trumps-environmental-policie/">done little to factor in these findings</a> and have even cut funding for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/usda-suspends-national-honey-bee-report/">further research</a>.

Right and left political divides coupled with mistrust in the scientific process has led to an increasing rift between environmentalists and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/still-deny-climate-change/">climate change skeptics</a>. 

To help bridge this gap and find ways to talk about the tough issues of climate change, two studies presented at the <a href="https://www.apa.org/">American Psychological Association</a>’s annual convention examined better ways to address mistrust in skeptics and help spur productive conversations about climate change.  

For the first study, researchers from <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> and the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California, Santa Barbara</a> surveyed almost 700 participants about their belief in science and climate science.  

The participants were asked questions like, “How credible is the medical data that germs are a primary cause of disease?” and “How credible is the climate science data that ocean temperatures are rising?”

By first asking questions to help reinforce a belief in widely accepted scientific principles like gravity and the causes of disease, the researchers theorized that skeptics might be more open to the concepts of climate change.  

“When people are faced with two or more opposing beliefs, ideas and values, it tends to create discomfort, which can lead people to becoming more open-minded about a particular issue,” said Christine Vriesema, a co-author of the study.

Half of the participants were given questions about general science and climate science, and the other half were only asked about their belief in climate change science. The surveys also included questions about political leanings. 

The team’s predictions were correct, as climate skeptics that were first asked about other areas of science were more likely to agree with climate change science. 

“We were pleasantly surprised that a brief, two-minute survey changed skeptics’ views on climate change,” said Carly D. Robinson, who presented the research. “It is exciting to know that in real-world settings, we might be able to have more productive climate conversations by starting from a place of common belief.”

For the second study, researchers from <a href="https://www.indiana.edu/">Indiana University</a> found that aquariums, zoos, and national parks are excellent platforms for educating the public on climate change and spreading awareness about conservation.  

“Many educators working at these institutions reported wanting to talk about climate change, and visitors reported wanting to hear about it, yet many educators still felt uncomfortable bringing the topic into their conversations because they were worried about being able to communicate effectively,” said Nathaniel Geiger, who presented the second study. 

203 educators who work in zoos and national parks were surveyed before and after taking part in a yearlong training program meant to help create more confidence when talking about climate change issues. 

The participants were asked to rate their confidence in discussing climate change, how much agency they felt when educating the public on these issues, and if they felt like they had many different ways to tackle climate change conversations. 

The parts of the training program that helped enhance “pathways thinking,” or finding different ways to talk about climate change, were the most effective for inspiring confidence in educators.  

“Our findings suggested that portions of the training that taught how to persevere and be resilient in the face of difficult climate change conversations may have been the most effective at promoting discussion,” said Geiger.  

Both studies show that climate change positions, whether in dealing with skeptics or having difficulty talking about the issues, are not fixed. 

While these conversations are not easy, the research shows that it is possible to reinforce a belief in climate science and inspire more confidence to educate the public. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/24Novembers

Establishing trust in science can help make climate change conversations easier

Establishing trust in science can help make climate change conversations...

The oldest fossil forest has been discovered in Asia. A team of researchers from China’s <a href="http://english.pku.edu.cn/">Peking University</a> and <a href="http://lyu.admissions.cn/">Linyi University</a> discovered a 250,000-square-meter stretch of fossilized forest dating to the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ancient-insects-biofuel/">Devonian period</a>, which was 419 million to 359 million years ago. 

The forest, located near Xinhang in China's Anhui province, is the earliest example of a forest in Asia ever found.

The fossilized forest is made up of lycopsid trees, which resemble modern-day palms with bare trunk and leafy crowns. The researchers state that these trees were found in coastal regions that were prone to flood, and grew between 3.2 and 7.7 meters tall. Later, in the Carboniferous period, which directly followed the Devonian, these lycopsid trees grew to giant sizes, and their fossils are actually much of the coal we mine today.

"The large density as well as the small size of the trees could make Xinhang forest very similar to a sugarcane field, although the plants in Xinhang forest are distributed in patches," said co-first author Deming Wang, a professor in the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University. "It might also be that the Xinhang lycopsid forest was much like the mangroves along the coast, since they occur in a similar environment and play comparable ecologic roles."

[caption id="attachment_1876295" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/lycopsid.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1876295" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/lycopsid.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="797" /></a> Reconstructions of juvenile and adult lycopsid trees plant. Image Credit: Zhenzhen Deng[/caption]

Wang and co-first author Min Qin of Linyi University first discovered the fossilized trees in 2016. Only two other Devonian fossils have ever been recovered thus far — one was found in the United States, and the other was located in Norway.

The newly-discovered fossilized trees are actually visible in the walls of the Jianchuan and Yongchuan clay quarries, both below and above a four-meter-thick sandstone bed. 

"Jianchuan quarry has been mined for several years and there were always some excavators working at the section. The excavations in quarries benefit our finding and research,” Wang said via the study’s paper, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>. “When the excavators stop or left, we come close to the highwalls and look for exposed erect lycopsid trunks.”

“The continuous finding of new in-situ tree fossils is fantastic,” Wang concluded. “As an old saying goes: the best one is always the next one."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The oldest fossil forest has been discovered in Asia

The oldest fossil forest has been discovered in Asia. A...

Abundant populations of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-boost-coral-resilience/">marine microbes</a> could soon play a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate as the oceans get warmer. 

Currently, algae at the bottom of the food chain have a leading role in carbon storage, and chlorophyll-equipped ocean algae capture sunlight and convert into energy. 

Researchers led by the <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a> discovered that bacteria with a certain pigment called rhodopsins might become even more widespread and replace algae as the ocean’s key energy converter in areas where nutrients are scarce.  

“Oceans are important for climate change because they play a key role in the carbon cycle. Understanding how that works, and the marine organisms involved, helps us refine our climate models to predict climate in the future,” said Laura Gómez-Consarnau, the lead author of the study.  

Bacteria with rhodopsins are able to live off of both sunlight like algae and organic matter, like most bacteria.

Even though past research found that rhodopsins make up about 80 percent of all marine bacteria, this is the first study of its kind to measure microbe concentrations and identify areas where rhodopsins are more likely to be found. 

“Oceans are important for climate change because they play a key role in the carbon cycle. Understanding how that works, and the marine organisms involved, helps us refine our climate models to predict climate in the future,” said Gómez-Consarnau. 

The researchers measured rhodopsin density along a 3,000 mile stretch of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea in 2014. Water samples were collected to identify microorganisms and find out where rhodopsins preferred to inhabit. 

Not only did the researchers find that rhodopsins were abundant throughout the areas sampled, but the bacteria seemed to prefer nutrient-poor regions and were more efficient at capturing sunlight than algae in those areas.  

“Rhodopsins appear to be more abundant in a nutrient-poor ocean, and in the future, the ocean will be more nutrient poor as temperatures change,” said Gómez-Consarnau. “So, with fewer nutrients near the surface, algae will have limited photosynthesis, and the rhodopsin process will be more abundant.”

Current climate models do not account for this shift in microbial abundance, the researchers note, and the study highlights the importance of bacteria in the marine ecosystem. 

Long considered decomposers, this study shows that certain bacteria can also serve as the primary energy source at the surface. 

“We estimate that, given the concentrations found in seawater, rhodopsins could capture more light energy than chlorophyll in the ocean,” said Gómez-Consarnau. “These findings change the fundamental assumption that the marine biosphere is only powered by sunlight captured by chlorophylls during algal photosynthesis.”

The study findings were 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 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/abcphotosystem

Marine microbe that captures sunlight could soon help regulate climate

Abundant populations of marine microbes could soon play a critical...

Slow brain learning may soon be the focus of ultrafast artificial intelligence. For seven decades, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/artificial-intelligence-ethically-designed/">artificial intelligence</a> has been used to mimic the learning capabilities of the human brain using modern computers and large datasets. However, the slow and natural learning process of the human mind has remained distinct from AI learning algorithms, which operate at lightning fast speeds.

But now, a team of scientists at <a href="https://www1.biu.ac.il/indexE.php">Bar-Ilan University</a> has demonstrated a new type of ultrafast artificial intelligence algorithm that is based on very slow neuronal networks. The program can outperform the comprehension rates of the most advanced learning algorithms to date.

"The current scientific and technological viewpoint is that neurobiology and machine learning are two distinct disciplines that advanced independently," said the study lead author Professor Ido Kanter. "The absence of expectedly reciprocal influence is puzzling."

"The number of neurons in a brain is less than the number of bits in a typical disc size of modern personal computers, and the computational speed of the brain is like the second hand on a clock, even slower than the first computer invented over 70 years ago." 

"In addition, the brain's learning rules are very complicated and remote from the principles of learning steps in current artificial intelligence algorithms."

Brain dynamics do not have a synchronous timeline for the neural sensory inputs that are received from the external world.

"When looking ahead one immediately observes a frame with multiple objects. For instance, while driving one observes cars, pedestrian crossings, and road signs, and can easily identify their temporal ordering and relative positions," said Professor Kanter. 

"Biological hardware (learning rules) is designed to deal with asynchronous inputs and refine their relative information." In contrast, traditional artificial intelligence algorithms are based on synchronous inputs, hence the relative timing of different inputs constituting the same frame is typically ignored."

The current study has revealed that ultrafast learning rates are surprisingly identical for small and large networks. According to the researchers, this means that "the disadvantage of the complicated brain's learning scheme is actually an advantage.

The experts also found that learning can occur without depending on learning steps through asynchronous inputs. This type of "learning-without-learning" occurs in the dendrites, as previous research has shown. 

The concept of deep learning algorithms based on slow brain dynamics creates the opportunity for a new generation of advanced artificial intelligence. "Insights of fundamental principles of our brain have to be once again at the center of future artificial intelligence," concluded the study authors. 

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/sdecoret

Slow brain learning may soon be the focus of ultrafast artificial intelligence

Slow brain learning may soon be the focus of ultrafast...

Canada wildfire smoke offered a glimpse of what to expect after nuclear war. Wildfires that swept through British Columbia during the summer of 2017 forced thousands of people to evacuate, destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, and the firefighting costs alone <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2017/wildfires-continue-to-beleaguer-western-canada">reached $172.5 million</a>. 

The fires were extreme, but the amount of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smoke-wildfires-affect-atmosphere/">smoke released into the atmosphere from the fires</a> was so large that researchers are using the smoke clouds to model the climate impacts of nuclear war. 

There was so much smoke emitted into the upper atmosphere that most of the Northern Hemisphere was shrouded in a pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud, one of the largest ever observed. 

When the smoke reached the lower stratosphere, solar radiation was absorbed by the soot, which heated the smoke and sent in higher into the air.  

In two months, the smoke rose or “self-lofted” seven miles, and the smoke lingered in the stratosphere for more than eight months.  

Researchers from <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> saw a unique opportunity to study the smoke cloud from the wildfires to help predict what might happen after a nuclear bomb drops. 

Nuclear winter is what researchers predict will occur after a nuclear bomb. The resulting smoke, soot, and radioactive debris emitted into the atmosphere could cool the planet considerably, destroying crops and causing mass food shortages. 

In this study, the researchers used the smoke from wildfires to model the climate impacts of a nuclear blast. 

“Even a relatively small nuclear war between India and Pakistan could cause climate change unprecedented in recorded human history and global food crises,” said Alan Robock, a co-author of the study. 

The researchers used a climate model from the <a href="https://ncar.ucar.edu/">National Center for Atmospheric Research</a> and simulated the self-lofting and movement of the pyrocumulonimbus smoke cloud created by the fires in Canada. 

The climate model factored in aspects like the ratio of soot to other components in the cloud and how long before the ozone in the upper atmosphere breaks down the smoke.  

Even though the wildfire smoke contained about .3 million tons of soot and nuclear war could generate 15 to 150 million tons of soot, the researchers are confident that wildfire smoke can offer valuable insight into the climate impacts of nuclear war.

Next, the researchers plan to use wildfire modeling to help understand how climate and food production will be impacted by nuclear war. 

The study findings were published in the journal Science. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Canada wildfire smoke offered a glimpse of what to expect after nuclear war

Canada wildfire smoke offered a glimpse of what to expect...

New research sheds light on early plant-fungal relationships. A new study from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> may completely change how some parts of the fossil record are interpreted, particularly a group of early terrestrial plants. While investigating the environment that some fossil plants lived in, paleobotanist Az Klymiuk discovered that fungi have a harder time growing in cattail roots that are underwater. 

"I was studying fossil plants that are 48 million years old. In these fossils, we can see the plant cells and everything in them, including fungi. In describing these fossil fungi, I realized we actually don't know much about fungi that are living in wetland plants today," said Klymiuk. "There's been very little work done, next to nothing in terms of their ecology and distribution."

Plants must have <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/algae-fungi-first-terrestrial-plants/">fungi</a> living in their roots to create the energy they need to survive. On the other hand, plants also host a group of fungi that play mysterious roles called dark septate endophytes. New research sheds light on early plant-fungal relationships

Klymiuk set out to investigate the ecological purpose of these fungi, and was also interested in understanding why some fossil plants had an abundance of root fungi while others had very few. Because these fossil plants originated in swampy wetlands millions of years ago, the study was focused on cattails, which can be found in both ancient and modern wetland plants. 

Klymiuk collected cattail roots from several wetlands, collecting samples from the shoreline all the way to the deepest points they could be found. In the lab, the team examined the roots under a microscope and compared the fungi in cattail roots that had been growing at various depths underwater. 

The study revealed that, at least in these cattails, the fungi did not respond well to inundation. Whether they were growing in inches or feet of water, the cattails were found to contain very little fungi in their roots. On dry land, however, cattails had plenty of fungi living in their roots.

"It turns out that any degree of flooding whatsoever massively suppresses the amount of fungi in plant roots," said Klymiuk. "This gives us a new way to understand what we're seeing in the fossils."

"I have some roots where fungi are completely absent. I can look and look and look and there's nothing there. I have other roots that are just loaded, packed. To me, that indicates that we're dealing with different levels of inundation. I feel pretty confident saying that when we find a lot of fungus in a plant root, that root was probably not inundated during its life."

The discovery will provide scientists with a new tool for understanding prehistoric ecosystems. The findings also suggest that some of the fossil record of plant-fungal interactions may need to be reconsidered. 

"There's been this pervasive narrative, all across biology," said Klymiuk. "The basic idea is that plants needed fungi to get out of water, to get onto land. The oldest preserved community of land plants, the 407 million-year-old Rhynie Chert, is often cited as fossil evidence for this." 

"This community of land plants has mostly been interpreted as a wetland assemblage associated with hot spring overflow or outwash, and many of these early land plants hosted mutualistic fungi, just like most living plants do today. What my research suggests, is that these plants were probably victims of intermittent flooding, as opposed to living right in the water."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/umyc20/current">Mycologia</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New research sheds light on early plant-fungal relationships

New research sheds light on early plant-fungal relationships. A new...

Solar-power desalination produces 20,000 gallons of fresh water each day. While it seems that converting ocean water into fresh drinking water is the perfect solution to the world's growing water crisis, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-method-desalination-profitable-efficient/">desalination</a> process requires a massive amount of energy and the technology that is currently available is extremely expensive. 

However, in a coastal community of Kenya, the organization <a href="https://givepower.org/">GivePower</a> has introduced a solar-powered desalination system that can produce enough drinking water for 25,000 people each day. 

According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/">Business Insider</a>, the technology was set up in the coastal area of Kiunga last July. The desalination system can pump out 19,800 gallons of fresh drinking water on a daily basis. 

Hayes Barnard is the president of GivePower, a nonprofit that builds and deploys sustainable clean water and energy systems to communities in need. 

"You have to find a way to pull water out of the ocean in a scalable way, in a sustainable way," Barnard told Business Insider. He has a vision of installing the desalination system in similar facilities around the world where fresh water is needed the most.

The <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a> (WHO) reports that by 2025, half of the global population will be living in water-stressed areas. The lack of access to safe drinking water is linked to the transmission of serious diseases including cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio.

"Some 829,000 people are estimated to die each year from diarrhea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation, and hand hygiene," the WHO states. 'Yet diarrhea is largely preventable, and the deaths of 297,000 children aged under 5 years could be avoided each year if these risk factors were addressed."

So far, GivePower has installed solar grids in over 2,650 locations such as schools and medical facilities in 17 countries. However, many of these regions were still facing critically limited access to fresh drinking water. 

"So we thought the next thing would be to bring the water to them," Barnard told Business Insider. "That's where this idea came from. Could we provide the most affordable, healthy, sustainable water? And at scale?"

The Kiunga facility cost $500,000 and took one month to build. Barnard's goal is to generate $100,000 in annual revenue from the system. "We hope that one of these systems funds another additional sister system every five years."

The team is now working on projects in Haiti's Isle de la Gonâve and in Mombasa, Kenya, while planning a future project in Colombia.

--

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/jennygiraffe

Solar-power desalination produces 20,000 gallons of fresh water each day

Solar-power desalination produces 20,000 gallons of fresh water each day....

The last reversal of Earth’s magnetic field may have taken much longer to complete than previously thought, according to a new study. 

Roughly every few hundred thousand years, the Earth’s magnetic poles switch, and research suggests that we may be <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-poles-flip/">overdue for another reversal</a>. 

Earth’s magnetic field is produced by spinning molten iron in the Earth’s core. The field protects the planet from harmful solar and cosmic radiation. A pole reversal could leave us exposed to this radiation, interfere with satellites, and even shut down power grids. 

We depend on the magnetic poles, and yet researchers know very little about how and why field reversals occur. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> examined lava flows, ice cores, and magnetic readings from the seafloor to piece together a complete picture of the Earth’s magnetic field during the last pole reversal, which took place around 777,000 years ago.  

That reversal, called the Matuyama-Brunhes reversal, took around 22,000 years to complete, much longer than previously realized, according to the study published in the journal Science Advances. 

“Unless you have a complete, accurate and high-resolution record of what a field reversal really is like at the surface of the Earth, it’s difficult to even discuss what the mechanics of generating a reversal are,” said Brad Singer, a geologist involved in the study.  

The researchers collected and analyzed samples from lava flows in Chil, Tahiti, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the Canary Islands. 

“Lava flows are ideal recorders of the magnetic field. They have a lot of iron-bearing minerals, and when they cool, they lock in the direction of the field,” said Singer. “But it’s a spotty record. No volcanoes are erupting continuously. So we’re relying on careful fieldwork to identify the right records." 

The team reviewed data from Antarctic ice cores to reconstruct a record of the Earth’s magnetic field over a period of 70,000 years. 

During the final stages of the last field reversal, the poles snapped into their new positions in just 4,000 years. However, this final stage was preceded by a long period of instability and partial reversals that took nearly 18,000 years. 

The study shows that pole reversals take nearly twice as long as previously thought. 

As the magnetic field has consistently been getting weaker each century, there are concerns that we’re in the midst of an imminent reversal. But this study shows that while a weakening field is a tell-tale precursor to a pole flip, it may be sometime before the poles completely switch positions. 

“I’ve been working on this problem for 25 years,” said Singer. “And now we have a richer record and better-dated record of this last reversal than ever before.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Marc Ward

Earth’s magnetic field may have taken longer to reverse than previously thought

The last reversal of Earth’s magnetic field may have taken...

New study reveals true evolution of Earth’s plate tectonics. A new study from researchers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">John Hopkins University</a> has revealed that Earth’s plate tectonics have evolved over the last 2.5 billion years. 

This conclusion refutes previous contradictory findings that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/natural-lubrication-plate-tectonics/">plate tectonics</a> have always been a part of Earth’s history, or that they appeared only about 0.7 billion years ago.

This new discovery, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, will inevitably shift scientists’ understanding of how Earth has changed within its 4.56-billion-year history.New study reveals true evolution of Earth’s plate tectonics

"One of the key ways to understand how Earth has evolved to become the planet that we know is plate tectonics," said first author Robert Holder, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins.

Plate tectonics are responsible for the shifting of continents across the Earth’s surface. They create volcanoes and earthquakes, predict erosion and ocean circulation cycles, and ultimately allow life on Earth to evolve.

Holder and his colleagues analyzed a global compilation of metamorphic rocks from 564 sites, each of which had formed over the past 3 billion years. Metamorphic rocks are formed underground, where they are transformed from regular rocks via heat deep within Earth’s crust into their new metamorphic form.

By measuring the depth and temperatures at which metamorphic rocks form, scientists can predict temperature at different levels in Earth’s crust. And because tectonic plates influence heat flow, these rocks act as a history book for Earth’s past with tectonic plates. This is how the team concluded that plate tectonics evolved gradually over the last 2.5 billion years.

"The framework for much of our understanding of the world and its geological processes relies on plate tectonics," Holder said. "Knowing when plate tectonics began and how it changed impacts that framework."

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Mopic

New study reveals true evolution of Earth’s plate tectonics

New study reveals true evolution of Earth’s plate tectonics. A...

Researchers at the <a href="http://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) have investigated how much the cost of energy storage must fall before the use of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/renewable-energy-carbon-capture/">renewable energy</a> can reach its full potential. The experts estimated the target costs that would allow solar and wind energy to compete with other on-demand energy sources, and examined which types of technology could be used to help reach these targets. 

"One of the core sources of uncertainty in the debate about how much renewable energy can contribute to the deep decarbonization of electricity is the question of how much energy storage can be improved," explained study senior author Professor Jessika Trancik. 

"Different assumptions about the cost of energy storage underlie significant disagreements between a number of assessments, but little was known about what costs would actually be competitive and how these costs compare to the storage technologies currently being developed. So, we decided to address this issue head on."

"Quantifying cost targets for energy storage required a new piece of insight about how patterns of the renewable energy supply, and fluctuations in this supply, compared to electricity demand profiles. Large but infrequent solar and wind shortage events are critical in determining how much storage is needed for renewables to reliably meet demand, and it's important to understand the characteristics of these events."

The study was focused on the costs of using storage together with wind and solar energy to reliably supply various outputs for twenty years. Next, the team modeled the target costs that would make these renewable options competitive.

The researchers also analyzed the characteristics that distinguish various storage options. For example, some technologies are designed to store large quantities of energy inexpensively, but with a slower output. Other technologies are designed to store smaller amounts of energy that can be discharged at high speeds. 

The study revealed that technologies with energy storage capacity costs below $20/kWh could enable cost-competitive power that is consistently available over a twenty-year period. Professor Trancik said that it is critical to reduce the costs of the materials and manufacturing that contribute to the cost of the storage energy capacity. 

"The numerical target we estimate, which varies with location, could mean a 90 percent drop in storage costs relative to today's technologies. It's a large drop but some technologies do tend to improve a lot, as we've seen in the case of solar panels, for example.'

"However, and importantly, there is another factor that could raise this target considerably and allow more expensive technologies to cost-competitively store renewable energy, which is to use supplemental technologies for a small percent of the time," explained Professor Trancik.

The team is now exploring options for low-cost and low-carbon supplemental technologies. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/joule/home">Joule</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: Shutterstock/artjazz

Renewable energy storage costs may soon become more competitive

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have investigated...

A fossil specimen that was sitting in storage for the past 30 years was recently discovered as belonging to a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-small-dinosaur-species-australia/">new species of dinosaur</a>. 

Kimberley Chapelle, a Ph.D. student at the <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/">University of the Witwatersrand</a>, along with a team of researchers, recognized something unusual about a dinosaur fossil collection in Johannesburg, namely that one specimen didn’t belong there. 

The researchers realized that the dinosaur belonged to an entirely new species of sauropodomorph and was part of a new genus as well. 

It was a remarkable find that was hiding in plain sight, according to the researchers. 

The specimen was called Ngwevu intloko which translates to “grey skull” in the Xhosa language. 

Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa.

[caption id="attachment_1876185" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/dinosaur.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1876185" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/dinosaur.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="377" /></a> Micro-CT scan of Ngwevu intloko skull, Image Credit: Kimberley Chapelle/Wits University[/caption]

“The specimen has been in the collections in Johannesburg for about 30 years, and lots of other scientists have already looked at it,” said Professor Paul Barrett, an author of the study. “But they all thought that it was simply an odd example of Massospondylus.” 

Massospondylus specimens have been found all over Southern Africa. 

In this study, the researchers were lucky in that they were able to work with a nearly complete specimen. The skull of the dinosaur, in particular, was incredibly well-preserved. 

“In order to be certain that a fossil belongs to a new species, it is crucial to rule out the possibility that it is a younger or older version of an already existing species,” said Chapelle. “Luckily, the most common South African dinosaur Massospondylus has specimens ranging from embryo to adult. Based on this, we were able to rule out age as a possible explanation for the differences we observed in the specimen now named Ngwevu intloko.”

Ngwevu intloko would have measured nearly ten feet long from tail to snout and had a long neck typical of sauropodomorphs.

“This new species is interesting, because we thought previously that there was really only one type of sauropodomorph living in South Africa at this time,” said Professor Barrett. “We now know there were actually six or seven of these dinosaurs in this area, as well as variety of other dinosaurs from less common groups. It means that their ecology was much more complex than we used to think.” 

The study was published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/7240/">PeerJ. </a>

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Kimberley Chapelle/Wits University

New species of dinosaur was ‘hiding in plain sight’ in South Africa

A fossil specimen that was sitting in storage for the...

The recent rise of anti-vaxxers and flat Earthers, along with politicians who despite scientific evidence proving the realities of climate change, have many wondering if public trust in scientists is on the decline.

Americans continue to put their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-trust-scientists/">trust in scientific research</a>, but political divides persist when it comes to the role that scientists should play in informing public policy. 

A new poll conducted by the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/">Pew Research Center</a> shows that trust and confidence in scientists in the US is on the rise.

In fact, Americans have as much faith in scientists as they do in the military, according to the survey. Scientists are viewed as more reliable than the media and even elected officials. 

Republicans and Democrats differ in the amount of trust they place in scientists, especially in terms of environmental studies and conservation. 

4,464 adults took part in the survey in January 2019. The poll asked questions about trust in scientists, how often scientists can be counted on to perform a job competently, and if scientists present findings fairly and accurately. 

86 percent of the participants reported a “fair amount” of confidence in scientists to act in the public interest. 

Democrats were more likely to admit having a “great deal” of confidence in scientists compared to Republicans. 

[caption id="attachment_1876182" align="aligncenter" width="632"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/study1.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1876182" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/study1.jpg" alt="" width="632" height="801" /></a> Image Credit: Pew Center[/caption]

When it came to how much influence scientific experts should have in policy decisions, Democrats were more likely to put their trust in an expert and want scientists involved in policy debates. 

56 percent of Republicans, on the other hand, said that scientists should be kept out of policy debates. 

“The Center’s new survey highlights the degree to which the public values scientific expertise and how those perceptions are sometimes shaped by the crosscurrents of politics as well as familiarity with scientists and their work,” the Pew Research Center’s <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2019/08/02/trust-and-mistrust-in-americans-views-of-scientific-experts/">study authors wrote</a>. 

More specifically, it shines a spotlight on trust and potential sources of mistrust connected with scientists who work in three fields: medicine, nutrition and the environment. 

Even though trust in scientists is increasing, most of the survey responders had misgivings about transparency and accountability. Only 2 in 10 Americans say that scientists are open about conflicts of interest. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/Matej Kastelic

Poll: Public trust in scientists is on the rise, but political divides continue

The recent rise of anti-vaxxers and flat Earthers, along with...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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