A pulsing headache can feel like your brain is fighting for space. New research suggests that this tug-of-war may trace back to Neanderthal skull traits we share with our extinct cousins.



A recent study zeroes in on Chiari malformation type 1, a condition in which the lower <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538167/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cerebellum</a> droops through the foramen magnum, the bony opening at the skull’s base.



Lead author Kimberly Plomp of the <a href="https://upd.edu.ph" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of the Philippines Diliman</a> teamed up with neurosurgeon Yvens Barbosa Fernandes from Brazil’s <a href="https://unicamp.br/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">State University of Campinas</a> to test an idea he floated in 2013.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-neanderthal-skull-shape-squeezes-the-brain">Neanderthal skull shape squeezes the brain</h2>



Surgeons diagnose <a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/chiari-malformation-fact-sheet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chiari</a> after spotting a compressed cerebellum on MRI scans, but the root cause has stayed murky. Scientists estimate that type 1 affects about one in every 100 Americans.



The new modeling work confirms that people with Chiari share a smaller, flatter <a href="https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1136/inp.m1869" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">occipital bone</a> than unaffected <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-inject-40000-year-old-neanderthal-dna-gli3-gene-into-mice-with-incredible-results/">peers</a>. That subtle tilt reduces the bony cradle that normally cups the cerebellum and keeps it clear of the spinal canal.



“It makes sense, if you have less angulation, you have less space for the modern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthal-superhighways-through-eurasia-recreated-with-supercomputers/">human</a> brain,” said Barbosa Fernandes at the end of surgery rounds. He first noticed the resemblance while examining museum casts of ancient skulls during a European trip.



Headaches are common, yet <a href="https://www.aans.org/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Chiari-Malformation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chiari</a> pain often flares when coughing, straining, or even laughing. Other symptoms range from neck pain to tingling hands, and some cases stay silent for years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-neanderthal-skull-shape-linked-to-brain-condition">Neanderthal skull shape linked to brain condition</h2>



Plomp’s team built digital 3‑D models of 46 Chiari skulls and 57 controls from hospital CT scans, then compared them to eight fossil crania. 



The Chiari group <a href="https://academic.oup.com/emph/advance-article/doi/10.1093/emph/eoaf009/8175225" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">matched</a> Homo neanderthalensis almost point for point, while Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, and early Homo sapiens aligned with today’s rounder <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthal-fossils-reveal-signs-of-a-population-collapse/">skulls</a>.



“It highlights the idea that these are Neanderthal traits, not just early traits,” said Plomp, her screen filled with color‑coded heat maps of bone angles. She called the overlap “another way that Neanderthal genes might be influencing our health, and in this case, in a negative way.”



Neanderthals carried brains slightly larger than ours, but their cranial base sloped backward like a built‑in ramp. That shape fits an ice‑age life of powerful jaw muscles and big sinus spaces, yet it also left scant room for a bulging <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-theory-explains-why-neanderthals-vanished-and-homo-sapiens-are-alive-today/">human</a> cerebellum.



Most people carry between 1 and 2 percent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature12961" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neanderthal DNA</a>, a legacy of interbreeding roughly 50,000 years ago. Much of that genetic cargo is benign, though some alleles affect immune response, metabolism, and now, it seems, skull geometry.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-neanderthal-dna-and-skull-shape">Ancient Neanderthal DNA and skull shape</h2>



The overlap does not prove cause and effect, so the team now plans full‑genome scans of Chiari patients to hunt “introgressed” sequences, bits of archaic DNA that slipped into the modern gene pool. 



Introgression <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36763080/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> have already linked certain Neanderthal variants to nicotine addiction and even severe COVID‑19 cases.



If a skull‑shaping gene set turns up, clinicians could screen high‑risk families before symptoms strike. Early detection matters because decompression surgery, while effective, involves removing bone and sometimes fusing vertebrae.



“I didn’t have the science to prove my hypothesis. This paper is a big step closer toward that proof,” said Barbosa Fernandes after reviewing the metric curves.



Other forms of Chiari, labeled types 2 through 4, follow different rules. Type 2, in contrast, is tightly linked to severe <a href="https://www.spinabifidaassociation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spina bifida</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-skull-shape-affects-daily-life">How skull shape affects daily life</h2>



The cerebellum fine‑tunes balance, speech, and motor control, so its squeeze can scramble day‑to‑day skills such as handwriting or climbing stairs. 



MRI technicians now know to look for the tell‑tale “tonsillar descent,” a downward bulge of cerebellar tissue past the foramen magnum.



Many patients report that lying flat eases pressure, hinting that gravity exacerbates the pinch. Others seek help only after years of unexplained migraines, an example of how ancient traits can hide in plain sight.



Anthropologists see the study as proof that evolutionary leftovers do not always vanish quietly. A skull optimized for an Ice Age hunter may pose problems for a modern desk worker whose brain spends hours hunched over screens. 



Pediatric surgeons are also watching. If Neanderthal‑linked genes surface, prenatal scans may one day flag a risky skull angle long before birth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predicting-brain-conditions">Predicting brain conditions</h2>



Plomp’s group now collaborates with population geneticists to map their CT findings onto hundreds of living genomes. They hope to learn whether carriers of specific Neanderthal skull DNA face higher odds of surgical intervention.



Public health officials could then estimate regional Chiari burdens and tailor neurosurgery training programs. In areas with limited MRI access, a simple cranial X‑ray angle might serve as an early warning.



Evolution offers trade‑offs, and the Neanderthal‑style skull saved heat in bitter winters but became a tight squeeze for our expanded cerebellum. Knowing that trade‑off exists empowers clinicians and patients alike.



“It looks like this is just another way that Neanderthal genes might be influencing our health, and in this case, in a negative way,” said Plomp. The team hopes DNA data will seal the evolutionary link.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/emph/advance-article/doi/10.1093/emph/eoaf009/8175225?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health</a>.



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Neanderthal skull traits cause modern human brain problems

A pulsing headache can feel like your brain is fighting for space. New research suggests that this tug-of-war may trace back to Neanderthal skull traits we share with our extinct cousins. A recent study zeroes in on Chiari malformation type 1, a condition in which the lower cerebellum droops through the foramen magnum, the bony opening at the skull’s base. Lead author Kimberly Plomp of the University of the Philippines Diliman teamed up with neurosurgeon Yvens Barbosa Fernandes from Brazil’s State University of Campinas to test an idea he floated...

Bacteria experiment results shed light on the possibility of life on Mars. A new experiment from <a href="https://www.wichita.edu/">Wichita State University</a> found that salt-tolerant bacteria grown in brine were able to revive after the brine was dried and then rewetted. The researchers believe that their findings have implications for the possibility of life on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/frozen-water-found-mars/">Mars</a>, and also prove there is a dangerous potential for contaminating Mars with terrestrial microbes.

"Ours is the first demonstration of microbes surviving and growing after being dried and then re-wetted with humidity only," said Mark Schneegurt, PhD, Professor of Biological Sciences at <a href="https://www.wichita.edu/">Wichita State University</a>. 

Researchers grew species of Halomonas and Marinococcus taken from Washington’s Hot Lake, and Oklahoma’s Great Salt Plains in a mixture of 50% magnesium sulfate and 50% water. They then dried small amounts of the culture and successfully revived the dried samples in both water and a salt solution.Bacteria experiment results shed light on the possibility of life on Mars

The salts in the dried culture ultimately absorbed enough water to create a brine in which the bacterial cells revived themselves.

The team’s work will be presented at the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.asm.org/">American Society for Microbiology</a>.

Mars’ surface contains sulfate salts of calcium, iron, and magnesium, which have the potential to form saturated brines within Mars’ humid nighttime air that could ultimately mix well with terrestrial microorganisms or harbor Martian microbes

"The likelihood is high that at times surface salts may be able to attract sufficient water to form brines that can support microbial growth," Dr. Schneegurt explained. "The current research may also help redefine what constitutes a habitable zone, broadening the search for life to other icy worlds."

"Understanding how microbes can grow on Mars relates directly to the risks of contaminating Mars or other celestial bodies with organisms that can potentially grow on these worlds. This also speaks to the definition of habitable zones and the search for life on Mars and the icy worlds," said Dr. Schneegurt.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Jurik Peter

Bacteria experiment results shed light on the possibility of life on Mars

Bacteria experiment results shed light on the possibility of life...

The growing trend of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/seals-regulate-oxygen-diving/">wearable smart devices</a> may soon be overshadowed by electronic fabrics that can be worn more comfortably, and can also be washed. Scientists are currently working to determine which textiles are the best candidates for functioning as smart devices. 

A team of experts led by Dr. Jung-ah Lim at the <a href="https://eng.kist.re.kr/">Korea Institute of Science and Technology</a> (KIST) has recently announced the development of a transistor that has a fibrous structure, which gives it the characteristics of a fabric while allowing it to retain an adequate level of functionality after being washed.

Existing technology involves physically attaching an electronic device such as a sensor to the surface of clothing without much regard for the user's comfort. Until now, it was difficult to create electronic circuits for woven fabrics, or to apply a protective layer to the transistor so that it could be washed.

[caption id="attachment_1874280" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/electronic-textile.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1874280" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/electronic-textile.jpeg" alt="" width="650" height="433" /></a> New electronic textile that turns on LEDs on top of fabric. Image Credit: Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)[/caption]

The new transistor developed by the KIST research team is made by connecting twisted electrodes. This allows the length of the threads to be adjusted and the thickness of the semiconductor to handle currents over 1,000 times higher than those possible with existing transistors.

Dr. Lim's team has tested the technology and demonstrated that even after bending the transistor or winding it around a cylindrical object over 1,000 times, it can maintain a performance level of over 80 percent. After washing the transistor with detergent, the performance level still remained high.

Furthermore, the researchers were able to activate an LED device with the transistor inserted between the threads of clothing and measure electrocardiogram signals through signal amplification.

"The results of this study point to a new device structure that can overcome the limitations of current electronic textiles, including low current, high activation voltage, and low resilience to washing," said Dr. Lim. 

"We expect that our study will contribute to the development of even smarter wearable products in the future, including next-generation wearable computers and smart clothing that can monitor vital signs."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15214095">Advanced Materials</a>.

--

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: Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)

Wearable technology is about to be taken to the next level

The growing trend of wearable smart devices may soon be...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">University of Plymouth</a> has revealed that the cumulative stress caused by past <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hidden-earthquakes-southern-california/">earthquakes</a> could help to explain why they occur and predict where they may strike next. 

Identifying patterns for earthquakes has proven to be a very difficult challenge over the years, with some scientists arguing that seismic activity is largely unpredictable and random. 

The current study, however, suggests that the static stress present on a fault plane prior to rupture, known as Coulomb pre-stress, can help explain both historical and modern earthquakes.

Study lead author Dr. Zoë Mildon is a lecturer in Earth Sciences at the University of Plymouth, who conducted much of the research while earning her PhD at University College London (UCL). 

"Earthquakes are caused by rock sliding past each other along fault lines which causes the forces and stress in the surrounding rocks to change after a big earthquake. It is often assumed that the nearest fault to a particular earthquake will be the next to rupture," Dr. Mildon said at the 2019 General Assembly of the <a href="https://www.egu.eu/">European Geophysics Union</a>.

"However, our study shows this is never the case so typical approaches to modelling Coulomb stress transfer (CST) have limited potential to improve seismic hazard assessment."

"Our model adds the stresses of lots of earthquakes together and shows that in the majority of cases fault lines are positively stressed when they rupture. It is a step change in modelling CST and shows this is an ignored yet vital factor when trying to explain earthquake triggering."

The research was focused on the central Apennines region of Italy, where earthquakes have struck on a regular basis over the past 700 years. Records dating back to 1349 detail the damage and losses across individual towns and villages throughout this area.

By looking at the locations and comparing the amount of damage, scientists can understand more about where, when, and how large historical earthquakes occurred.

Using their new method for the current study, the researchers were able to demonstrate that 97 percent of earthquakes which struck the Italian region between 1703 and 2016 occurred on faults that were at least partially stressed.

"Earthquakes are hugely destructive to both people and property, and the Holy Grail of earthquake science would be to predict where they are going to happen and when," said Dr. Mildon. "We are a very long way from that, and indeed it may never be possible to accurately predict the location, time and size of future earthquakes. Our research, however, could be a starting point in helping us develop better forecasts of which fault lines might be more susceptible based on previous tremors."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Narongsak Nagadhana

Stress from earthquakes on faults helps scientists understand and predict them

A new study from the University of Plymouth has revealed...

Blender:File:E:Blenderant_pictureant_pictureant_gallery_alt_04.blend

If you’ve ever repeatedly bent a transparent plastic piece, like a ruler or protractor, you may have begun to notice that stretched plastic begins to turn into an opaque white, rather than staying transparent. 

This is caused by the stretching out of polymers at a molecular level, known as “crazing,” which forms tiny, thin fibers known as fibrils. Now, these fibrils may be the answer to pigment-less printing.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.icems.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/">iCeMS</a> at <a href="https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/">Kyoto University</a> have found that by controlling the way microscopic fibrils are formed and organized, they are able to control the scattering of light and create <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/red-color-pigments-ancient-fossil/">colors</a> across the entire visible spectra. This process is called Organized Microfibrillation (OM). 

The technology allows for large-scale, inkless color printing processes that can produce images at resolutions up to 14000 dpi in flexible and transparent formats.

“OM allows us to print porous networks for gases and liquids, making it both breathable and wearable,” explains Professor Easan Sivaniah, head of the Pureosity Group at iCeMS. “So, for example in the area of health and well-being, it is possible to incorporate it into a kind of flexible ‘fluid circuit board’ that could sit on your skin, or your contact lenses, to transmit essential biomedical information to the Cloud or directly to your health care professional.”

The researchers have shown that the technology works in many widely used polymers, such as polystyrene and polycarbonate. But before non-pigment-based color was ever utilized by us humans, it had been perfected by nature. 

Named “structural color” by zoologists, this process is exactly how butterfly wings get their vivid colors, and birds such as peacocks achieve their shimmering and iridescent plumage. 

Many species on the planet depend on light interaction on the surface structure of their external appearance rather than pigmentation for color.

While the applications of this new technology apply to everything from food and drug safety to printing anti-forgery currency, the researchers are still working to perfect OM. After all, it takes a lot of work to recreate what Mother Nature has already perfected.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Kyoto University iCeMS

A new way of printing in color… without using color

If you’ve ever repeatedly bent a transparent plastic piece, like...

Using artificial intelligence, experts at the <a href="https://www.un-ihe.org/water-peace-and-security-partnership">Water, Peace and Security Partnership</a> (WPS) have developed a tool to predict where global water conflicts will occur up to a year in advance. According to the researchers, alerts from the system can be used to investigate the causes of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/risk-severe-water-shortages/">water conflicts</a> and direct targeted help to areas that need it most.

The new AI system tracks water supplies and combines this data with social, economic, and demographic information to flag areas where water-related security risks are developing. Testing showed that the tool was capable of predicting more than three quarters of water-related conflicts in Mali's Inner Niger Delta.

"We want to detect conflict early enough...to then engage in a dialogue process that helps to address these conflicts - ideally mitigate them early on or resolve them," said Susanne Schmeier of the <a href="https://www.un-ihe.org/">IHE Delft Institute for Water Education</a>.

Water insecurity is increasing as a result of factors such as population growth, climate change, and increasing economic demand. With about 36 percent of the global population already located in water-scarce regions, the crisis has become a threat to global security, economies, and livelihoods.

The causes of conflict over water are diverse and locally specific, which has made it difficult to identify high-risk areas in the past. The WPS tool overcomes these challenges by effectively combining advanced remote sensing, large data sets, and machine learning. 

Data from NASA and European Space Agency satellites enable the system to monitor water resources around the world. These findings are analyzed alongside relevant information from governments, international bodies, and research organizations using the power of artificial intelligence. 

Charles Iceland of the <a href="https://www.wri.org/">World Resources Institute</a> explained that machine learning can identify patterns in the data that humans cannot detect. 

"The early warning system serves as a prioritization tool," Iceland told <a href="https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en.html">Reuters</a>. "We can determine the hotspots - the places you have to really tackle immediately - versus other places that may just be simmering or are fine."

The WPS plans to launch the tool later this year. 

--

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/Piyaset

New AI tool can help identify water security risks worldwide

Using artificial intelligence, experts at the Water, Peace and Security...

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Australian Outback plant species challenges the idea of binary sexuality. A team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.bucknell.edu/">Bucknell University</a> is describing a new species of bush tomato from the remote <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/emus-australian-drought/">Australian Outback</a>. For decades, the plant has amazed field biologists because of the unusual variability of its flower form. 

The plant was first documented by Australian botanists during the 1970s. This team had noted the challenge of identifying the sexual condition of the plant, which appeared at different times to be female, male, or bisexual.Australian Outback plant species challenges the idea of binary sexuality

In the lab of Bucknell Professor Chris Martine, DNA studies produced evidence that the diverse specimens were not only examples of the same plant, but also belonged to an undescribed species.

The researchers set out on an expedition in the remote northwestern region of the Northern Territory to relocate populations of the plant and collected numerous new specimens. The team named the species Solanum plastisexumas, in reference to the notable variation in the plant's sexual condition.

"This name, for us, is not just a reflection of the diversity of sexual forms seen in this species," wrote the study authors. "It is also a recognition that this plant is a model for the sort of sexual fluidity that is present across the Plant Kingdom - where just about any sort of reproductive form one can imagine (within the constraints of plant development) is present."

Also known as the Dungowan bush tomato, Solanum plastisexum is a distant relative of the cultivated eggplant. The experts said the new species provides a compelling example of the fact that sexuality among Earth's living creatures is far more diverse, and interesting, than what is expected. 

"In a way, S. plastisexum is not just a model for the diversity of sexual/reproductive form seen among plants - it is also evidence that attempts to recognize a 'normative' sexual condition among the planet's living creatures is problematic," wrote the researchers. 

"When considering the scope of life on Earth, the notion of a constant sexual binary consisting of two distinct and disconnected forms is, fundamentally, a fallacy."

[caption id="attachment_1874128" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Fruit-of-Solanum-plastisexum..jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874128" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Fruit-of-Solanum-plastisexum..jpg" alt="" width="650" height="867" /></a> Fruit of Solanum plastisexum. Image Credit: McDonnel[/caption]

Professor Martine explained that 85 percent of the world's flowering plant species have flowers that are bisexual, with both male and female organs present in every blossom.

"So that's already quite different than what some people might expect; but the remaining 15% or so come in all sorts of forms that push the envelope further, including unisexual flowers and (like we see in a plant like Cannabis) whole plants that are either male or female," said Professor Martine.

"For the most part, a given plant species will stick to one primary and predictable type of sexual expression, but what makes Solanum plastisexum stand out is that it is one of a just a few plants that kind of do it all. It really seems like you never know what you'll get when you come across it."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/">PhytoKeys</a>.

--

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: Chris Martine

Australian Outback plant species challenges the idea of binary sexuality

Australian Outback plant species challenges the idea of binary sexuality....

The autonomous submarine vehicle Autosub Long Range has provided climate scientists with unprecedented evidence of a link between increasing Antarctic winds and rising sea temperatures. The data will help experts to better predict how climate change will impact <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-rise-exceed-projections/">sea level rise. </a>

"Our study is an important step in understanding how the climate change happening in the remote and inhospitable Antarctic waters will impact the warming of the oceans as a whole and future sea level rise," explained study lead author Alberto Naveira Garabato, who is a professor at the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/">University of Southampton</a>.

Information obtained by the underwater vehicle, also known as Boaty McBoatface, was used to study changing temperatures at the bottom of the Southern Ocean. Over the course of three days, Boaty measured the temperature, saltiness, and turbulence of the bottom waters as it trekked through 180 kilometers of mountainous underwater valleys.

"The data from Boaty McBoatface gave us a completely new way of looking at the deep ocean - the path taken by Boaty created a spatial view of the turbulence near the seafloor," said Dr. Eleanor Frajka-Williams of the <a href="https://www.noc.ac.uk/">National Oceanography Centre</a>.

Using an echo sounder, Boaty navigated the depths of the ocean up to 4,000 meters deep before reaching a programmed destination point to be recovered. 

The hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica, combined with increasing greenhouse gases, has strengthened the winds over the Southern Ocean. The data collected by Boaty and additional measurements collected by research vessel RRS James Clark Ross have revealed that these increased wind speeds create turbulence deep in the Southern Ocean.

[caption id="attachment_1874110" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/boaty-mcboatface.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874110" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/boaty-mcboatface.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="432" /></a> Boaty McBoatface. Image Credit: Povl Abrahamsen, British Antarctic Survey[/caption]

The disturbance causes warm water at medium ocean depths to mix with cold water in the abyss. The subsequent warming of the denser, colder water on the seabed is a significant contributor to rising sea levels. 

"This study is a great example of how exciting new technology such as the unmanned submarine 'Boaty McBoatface' can be used along with ship-based measurements and cutting-edge ocean models to discover and explain previously unknown processes affecting heat transport within the ocean," said Dr. Povl Abrahamsen of the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a>.

The research is published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main Image Credit: Povl Abrahamsen, British Antarctic Survey

Boaty McBoatface: Submarine mission offers insight into sea level rise

The autonomous submarine vehicle Autosub Long Range has provided climate...

Some <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hydrothermal-vents-phytoplankton-blooms/">marine plankton</a> classified as dinoflagellates are bioluminescent, lighting up themselves and the waters surrounding them with an incredible glow. A new study has revealed that one particular dinoflagellate species, Lingulodinium polyedra, uses this ability to deter predators called copepod grazers. 

"That bioluminescence, in addition to being a beautiful light phenomenon in the sea, is a defensive mechanism that some species of plankton use to ward off their enemies," said Andrew Prevett of the <a href="https://www.gu.se/english">University of Gothenburg</a>. 

"The bioluminescent cells sense very low concentrations of their grazers and turn up the light when needed, which is rather impressive for a unicellular organism. This in turn helps to better protect them from their grazers, letting them survive longer to reproduce and therefore compete better within the plankton."

By studying high-speed and low-light sensitive videos, the research team found that the bioluminescent cells flash upon contact with the copepod grazer, and the copepod rapidly rejects the flashing cell.

Observational data from the west coast of Sweden confirmed the theory that the presence of copepod grazers would increase the abundance of bioluminescent L. polyedra. These single-celled dinoflagellates have a competitive disadvantage because they grow at about a third of the rate of other plankton. However, copepods reject L. polyedra and turn to faster-growing plankton species that have poorer defenses.

The researchers assumed that increased bioluminescence would result in reduced grazing by copepods, but the reduction was much greater than what they had anticipated. 

"Earlier studies had shown that dinoflagellates with naturally brighter bioluminescence than L. polyhedra were grazed less but still required cell concentrations to be relatively high before all grazing on the bioluminescent cells ceased," said Prevett. "L. polyedra abundance in our study is low by comparison, and we were surprised at how effective the bioluminescence defense became despite this."

It is still not clear how the glow protects L. polyedra, but Prevett described three popular theories. 

"The first is that it acts as aposematic coloration, a warning to potential grazers that the cell is toxic or harmful to the grazer in some way," explained Prevett. "The second is that the flash of bioluminescence behaves like a flash-bang and startles the copepod, provoking a copepod escape response or disorienting it long enough for the dinoflagellate to escape." 

"The third theory suggests that the flash acts as a form of burglar alarm, attracting the attention of a larger visual predator, like a fish, which could track and consume the copepod. There is evidence to support each of these theories and bioluminescence protection could be combinations of some or all of the above."

Regardless of how it works, the researchers said their ability to ward off predators with bioluminescence seems to serve as a key mechanism behind the success of an otherwise poor competitor such as L. polyedra.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</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: Michael Latz and Jenny Lindström

The ability to glow protects marine plankton from predators

Some marine plankton classified as dinoflagellates are bioluminescent, lighting up...

Scientists identify the two molecules that activate life itself. Chromosomes contributed by the egg and sperm form a unique genome within hours of fertilization. Initially, however, this new genome is inactive and must be "awakened" for the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/genetics-expert-dna-determines-success/">DNA</a> transcription process to facilitate embryonic development. 

Antonio Giraldez is the Fergus F. Wallace Professor of Genetics and chair of the Department of Genetics at <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a>.

"This is the beginning of life from a molecular standpoint," said Professor Giraldez. "What hasn't been clear is how and what kick-starts the transcriptional activity of the embryonic genome, so that the embryo starts taking control of its own development with its own genetic blueprint."

The researchers identified two specific factors that are needed to activate DNA in a new genome. They examined the first step of DNA-based gene expression, or transcription, in the nucleus of a zebrafish embryo using a combination of microscopy and RNA sequencing analysis.

The experts developed tools that would allow them to visualize the first activated gene in the zebrafish genome, miR-430, so that its activity could be traced in living embryos.

"Now we can visually look inside the nucleus and analyze how the first gene within the silent genome is awakened," said study lead author and doctoral student Shun Hang Chan.

The team found that the presence of two proteins produced by the mother, P300 and Brd4, are required for the activation of the zebrafish genome. When the researchers disrupted the activity of these two proteins using small molecule inhibitors, the activation of the embryonic genome was prevented. As a result, the development of the embryo was blocked.Scientists identify the two molecules that activate life itself 

The researchers discovered, however, that they could prematurely trigger the activation of the embryonic genome by artificially introducing P300 and Brd4, even after the production of the maternal proteins was inhibited. 

"These molecular factors act as a sort of molecular timer, which sets the timing of genome's awakening," said Professor Giraldez. "Finding these key factors involved in genome activation serve as the critical first step towards our understanding of how life begins."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/developmental-cell/home">Developmental Cell</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/crystal light

Scientists identify the two molecules that activate life itself

Scientists identify the two molecules that activate life itself. Chromosomes...

Warming oceans are dangerous for marine species, and not just because the temperature shift can harm delicate species. Warmer waters also lose oxygen – and that could be bad news for many of the large species that live in the Antarctic region. 

Since the mid-1900s, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-oxygen-levels-global/">ocean oxygen levels</a> have declined, on average, by 2 to 5 percent, data shows. 

Dr. John Spicer of the <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">University of Plymouth</a> and Dr. Simon Morley of the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a> teamed up to see what kind of effect the warming oceans and their lower oxygen levels had on Antarctic species.

"Marine animals thrive in the Southern Ocean but life in these freezing waters has led to the evolution of many distinct characteristics. These 'strategies,' which allow animals to survive in the cold, are expected to make many Antarctic marine invertebrates and fish vulnerable to the impact of climate change,” Morley said. “Understanding these impacts will not only help us to predict the fate of marine biodiversity at the poles but will also teach us much about the mechanisms that will determine the survival of species across the world's oceans."

The pair of scientists studied various amphipod species that live in the Antarctic’s warming oceans. Amphipods come in a variety of sizes and can easily be found all over the region.

They found that in waters where the oxygen levels had fallen, larger amphipod species were not thriving as their smaller cousins were. The findings indicate that larger species might struggle as oxygen levels decline, while smaller species may adapt more easily.

The researchers did note that there are factors beyond size that will influence how species adapt to warmer temperatures and shrinking oxygen supplies.

"Our research also shows that some species have evolved mechanisms to compensate for reductions in oxygen, and so it is not always as simple as drawing a link between size and future survival. But it would be foolhardy to pin our hopes on such 'evolutionary rescue,'” Spicer said.

Still, large species that have not adapted those coping mechanisms could struggle to keep their populations afloat in the warming oceans.

“Unless they adapt, many larger marine invertebrates will either shrink in size of face extinction, which would have a profoundly negative impact on the ecosystems of which they are a part. This is obviously a major cause for concern,” Spicer said.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0034">Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Dr. Simon Morley, British Antarctic Survey

Paid for by Earth.com.

As warming oceans lose oxygen, large species are at risk

Warming oceans are dangerous for marine species, and not just...

The world’s population of 7.5 billion people is <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-population-billion-people/">expected to increase</a> to 9 billion by 2050, and 70 percent of those people will likely be living in big cities and urban areas. 

Cities offer employment opportunities and the potential to make more money, but rapid growth can limit living spaces and put a strain on infrastructure and city health and safety services. 

With that many people flocking to urban landscapes, city planning will be crucial to ensure that pollution and waste are kept in check and that residents have access to proper sanitation, healthcare, and sturdy infrastructure. 

One way to help city developers proactively plan for projected population growth is to map current human settlements and show how peak populated areas will change over time. 

The <a href="https://tep.eo.esa.int/">European Space Agency Urban Thematic Exploitation Platform</a> (ESA U-TEP) provides a platform for the World Settlement Footprint 2015 (WSF-2015) map to help monitor urbanization. 

U-TEP’s high-resolution global map is based on 700,000 satellite images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar and Landsat-8 which were taken from 2014 through 2015.

[caption id="attachment_1874001" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Urban-sprawl-in-Shanghai.png"><img class="wp-image-1874001" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Urban-sprawl-in-Shanghai.png" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> Urban sprawl in Shanghai, Image Credit: DLR, GEE[/caption]

The World Settlement Footprint 2015 is the first global map of the world’s human populations, and U-TEP incorporated the WSF-2015 dataset into its Visualization and Analytics Tool to explore how factors like socio-economic statistics or social media use influence human settlement. 

Having the data and map available in one space will be helpful for researchers, policymakers, and city planners not just in major cities but also in smaller communities. 

The map is especially helpful for examining urbanization and human settlements in countries where little data has been collected. 

“U-TEP will benefit from the new WSF-2015 data, particularly in view of services for more effective urban planning and service provision, enhanced risk analysis related to natural disasters, or improved assessment of human impact on ecosystems,” says Mattia Marconcini, who managed the WSF-2015 development at the <a href="https://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/">German Aerospace Center. </a>

The German Aerospace Center in collaboration with the <a href="https://earthengine.google.com/">Google Earth Engine Team</a> is working on an extended version of the U-TEP platform, the WSF-Evolution, which will use six million satellite images to help model human settlement from year to year. 

U-Tep is just one of seven Thematic Exploitation Platforms in development that will allow users access to large datasets based on satellite missions. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: ESA/DLR

New global map provides bird’s-eye view of human settlements

The world’s population of 7.5 billion people is expected to...

Mining the Moon for important resources may soon be a reality, as <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> has invested in several promising new projects involving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nights-moon-colder/">lunar exploration. </a>

It was announced that the agency has plans to return to the Moon by 2024 and even build a lunar base by 2028. 

NASA is now entering the next phase of its <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/index.html">Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program </a>which will focus on robotics and mining to help make the Moon a more feasible jumping off point for future space exploration. 

Two proposals were greenlit by the agency to make this a reality. 

“We are pursuing new technologies across our development portfolio that could help make deep space exploration more Earth-independent by utilizing resources on the Moon and beyond,” said Jim Reuter, the associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-invests-in-tech-concepts-aimed-at-exploring-lunar-craters-mining-asteroids"> in a statement</a>. “These NIAC Phase III selections are a component of that forward-looking research, and we hope new insights will help us achieve more firsts in space.”

Each proposal is guaranteed funding up to $2 million, and in the next two years, researchers working on the projects will test and refine their methodologies for the next phases. 

The first proposal, called Skylight, will involve finding more efficient ways to survey and model lunar craters. Researchers from <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/">Carnegie Mellon University</a> created the Skylight proposal with the goal of using high-resolution images to create 3D crater models. 

NASA scientists could then use these models to determine which craters should be explored further. 

A new way to quickly and efficiently surveil the Moon’s surface will be hugely beneficial for any future lunar missions, human-crewed or otherwise. 

The second proposal will look at the feasibility of optical mining on the Moon and nearby asteroids. With optical mining, the idea is that a targeted beam of light from the sun will release valuable minerals and debris from the Moon’s surface that can be easily extracted and put into an inflatable bag. 

“This is the first year NASA offered a NIAC Phase III opportunity, and there were many strong proposals,” said Jason Derleth, NIAC program executive. “We selected two proposals because we think both of the technologies could positively impact the industry. We are excited that these technology concepts could help humanity explore space in new ways.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: William Whittaker, Carnegie Mellon University

New NASA projects could allow for mining the Moon and asteroids for resources

Mining the Moon for important resources may soon be a...

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

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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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