Genetic,Brain,Disorders,,Conceptual,3d,Illustration.,Mutations,In,The,Dna

When folks picture Neanderthals, the image often involves heavy brows, furry pelts, and stone tools. Yet pieces of their DNA are still part of the modern human genome. Recent research suggests that some of these genetic variants inherited from Neanderthals could be linked to autism spectrum disorder.



About 50,000-60,000 years ago, small groups of modern humans trekked out of Africa into Eurasia. They met Neanderthals, exchanged tools, and also exchanged genes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dna-analysis-reveals-most-recent-modern-human-to-interbreed-with-neanderthals/">through interbreeding</a>. 



It has been estimated that Eurasian-derived populations have approximately <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq3010" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2% Neanderthal DNA</a>, which was acquired during introgression events occurring shortly after anatomically modern humans migrated out of Africa.



Later, some descendants journeyed back to Africa, sprinkling a much thinner dusting of Neanderthal genes across the continent. 



That genetic shuffling means nearly everyone on Earth carries at least a trace of <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-neanderthal-in-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neanderthal ancestry</a>, though the amount varies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-fragments-big-questions">Small fragments, big questions</h2>



Genetic leftovers can be helpful. Certain <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-06587-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neanderthal alleles</a> boost immune responses or aid survival at high altitudes. 



Many others never meshed well with our biology and were slowly weeded out by natural selection. Brain-related genes are especially unforgiving; even minor glitches can prove disruptive. 



With the recent sequencing of multiple <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867424001168" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archaic human genomes</a>, there has been growing interest concerning the influence of archaic human-derived alleles on modern health.



Yet some Neanderthal variants slipped past that filter. They linger in regions tied to perception, memory, and social understanding, sparking curiosity about their subtle effects.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-autism-clues-in-neanderthal-dna">Autism clues in Neanderthal DNA</h2>



The study linking autism to Neanderthal DNA was led by researchers from <a href="https://www.clemson.edu/">Clemson University</a> and <a href="https://www.luc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Loyola University</a>.



The authors compared whole-genome data from autistic people, their unaffected siblings, and unrelated controls across diverse ethnic backgrounds. 



They saw that both rare and common Neanderthal-derived variants appeared more often in autistic participants. 



The pattern wasn’t about carrying more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-inject-40000-year-old-neanderthal-dna-gli3-gene-into-mice-with-incredible-results/">Neanderthal DNA</a> overall; it hinged on possessing particular snippets.



One striking theme involved genes that guide how distant brain regions talk to each other. 



Visual-processing circuits appeared to run hotter, while the so-called default mode network, linked to daydreaming and social reflection, ran cooler. 



Those connectivity signatures match traits many autistic individuals report - keen pattern recognition alongside social fatigue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-seeing-the-world-in-sharp-focus">Seeing the world in sharp focus</h2>



Functional MRI scans from the same project confirmed this pattern. People who carried a higher load of the identified <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/inner-ears-of-neanderthals-reveals-catastrophic-population-event-during-their-evolution/">Neanderthal variants</a> - whether autistic or not - showed stronger signaling in visual areas. 



Meanwhile, pathways that normally hum during casual conversation or idle thought stayed quieter. 



The result hints that these ancient genes might sculpt a cognitive profile tuned for intense observation and precise motor planning.



Archaeologists note a similar nuance in Neanderthal craftsmanship and stone tool making skills. 



Their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levallois_technique" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Levallois technique</a> required stepwise planning, spatial reasoning, and sustained focus - skills that resonate with strengths many autistic thinkers display today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-evolutionary-twist">An evolutionary twist</h2>



Why would such variants stick around? One idea points to the small, tight-knit bands <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-and-neanderthals-species-face-structure-evolved-differently/">Neanderthals</a> likely formed. In that setting, visual scouting for game, shelter, or stone resources could outweigh complex social juggling. 



When Homo sapiens groups interbred with them, those advantageous perceptual talents may have proved useful enough to persist.



The study does not argue that Neanderthal DNA “causes” autism. Instead, it suggests that a handful of inherited tweaks can raise the odds of certain traits emerging along a spectrum. 



Those traits might have offered benefits in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-theory-explains-why-neanderthals-vanished-and-homo-sapiens-are-alive-today/">ancestral environments</a> - and still do in fields that prize logic, detail, and pattern spotting.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-neanderthal-contributions-to-autism">Neanderthal contributions to autism</h2>



Researchers stress that genetics is only part of the autism puzzle. Environment, early development, and countless other genes interact in ways science is still charting. 



Even so, identifying concrete Neanderthal contributions helps explain why autism exists worldwide, independent of culture or upbringing. 



It also reframes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/placenta-hormones-may-have-driven-human-brain-evolution/">neurodiversity</a> as a legacy of humanity’s mixed heritage rather than a modern anomaly.



Many families notice clusters of analytical talent - mathematicians, engineers, visual artists - scattered among autistic and non-autistic relatives alike. The new findings offer a biological thread connecting those shared gifts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next?</h2>



“We hope this research will lead to further investigation into the ongoing influences of ancient hybridization between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthals-and-humans-had-multiple-waves-of-contact/">Homo sapiens and Neanderthals</a> in brain development, human intelligence, and overall human health, as well as spur work into additional clinical resources for this complex population,” the research team wrote.



Future projects will likely probe other neurodevelopmental conditions, explore how Neanderthal variants interact with modern lifestyles, and refine personalized supports. 



As we continue to discover, the story of human evolution didn't stop with one lineage replacing another. It wove their strengths together, leaving fingerprints that guide our thoughts, perceptions, and innovations in modern humans to this day.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-024-02593-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Molecular Psychiatry</a>.



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Scientists link autism to Neanderthal DNA found in modern humans

When folks picture Neanderthals, the image often involves heavy brows, furry pelts, and stone tools. Yet pieces of their DNA are still part of the modern human genome. Recent research suggests that some of these genetic variants inherited from Neanderthals could be linked to autism spectrum disorder. About 50,000-60,000 years ago, small groups of modern humans trekked out of Africa into Eurasia. They met Neanderthals, exchanged tools, and also exchanged genes through interbreeding. It has been estimated that Eurasian-derived populations have approximately 2% Neanderthal DNA, which was...

Thanks to a Neanderthal tooth, anthropologists now know a lot more about what humans’ ancient cousins ate.

And they definitely weren’t vegetarians, the tooth revealed.

A study of the tooth’s nitrogen isotope ratios showed that the Neanderthals relied very heavily on meat, in what the researchers called a “very monotonous diet.” Mammoth was a common part of their meals, as was horse and reindeer meat. 

“Using this technique, we discovered that the Neanderthal of Les Cottés had a purely terrestrial carnivore diet,” lead author Dr. Klervia Jaouen of the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> said in a press release.

Recently, evidence that Neanderthals ate plants had challenged the long-standing theory that the ancient people were carnivores. The Neanderthal tooth – from an adult woman who lived in France tens of thousands of years ago – had very high levels of nitrogen isotopes. That indicates a meat-based diet.

“She was not a late weaned child or a regular fish eater, and her people seem to have mostly hunted reindeers and horses,” Jaouen said. “We also confirmed that the Grotte du Renne Neandertal was a breastfeeding baby whose mother was a meat eater.”

The early Homo sapiens who moved into France as the Neanderthals disappeared have shown similarly high nitrogen isotope levels, probably from eating massive amounts of raw fish, according to researchers.

The team’s study of the Neanderthal tooth echoes earlier isotope analyses, which also pointed to a meat-based diet. 

“Previous isotope results indicated a primarily carnivorous diet for Neanderthals, which matches the extensive archaeological record of animal remains found and deposited by Neanderthals,” said Dr. Michael Richards of <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/">Simon Fraser University</a> told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html">Daily Mail</a>. “These new compound-specific isotope measurements confirm earlier interpretations of Neanderthal diets as being composed of mainly large herbivores, although of course they also consumed other foods such as plants.”

The study has been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1814087116">PNAS</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kyla.cathey@gmail.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Neanderthal tooth offers clues to ancient paleo diet

Thanks to a Neanderthal tooth, anthropologists now know a lot...

Expecting parents who smoke are putting their baby’s health at risk – and not just if they’re the pregnant partner.

A new study found that for pregnant parents, both smoking and secondhand smoke could increase the risk of heart defects in their children. In fact, exposure to secondhand smoke could do even more damage.

"Fathers-to-be should quit smoking," study author Dr. Jiabi Qin of <a href="http://en.csu.edu.cn/">Central South University</a> in China said in a press release. "Fathers are a large source of secondhand smoke for pregnant women, which appears to be even more harmful to unborn children than women smoking themselves."

Eight in 1,000 babies worldwide are born with congenital heart defects. While new surgical techniques can allow these babies to enjoy quality of life and improve their prognosis, treatment can also be terrifying for families – and in some counties, very expensive. Heart defects are also the leading cause of stillbirth, bringing heartbreak to expecting parents.

"Smoking is teratogenic, meaning it can cause developmental malformations. The association between prospective parents smoking and the risk of congenital heart defects has attracted more and more attention with the increasing number of smokers of childbearing age," Qin said.

Qin’s study is among the first meta-analyses to focus on smoking habits of both expecting parents and the effects of secondhand smoke, not just on the pregnant partner’s smoking. He and his team examined about 125 studies leading up to June 2018; those studies examined more than 130,000 babies.

They found that any smoking by expecting parents raised the risk of heart defects in infants. However, when the pregnant partner smoked, the risk went up 25 percent; when they “passively” smoked – that is, inhaled secondhand smoke regularly – the risk went up 124 percent.

"Women should stop smoking before trying to become pregnant to ensure they are smoke-free when they conceive,” Qin said. "Staying away from people who are smoking is also important. Employers can help by ensuring that workplaces are smoke-free. Doctors and primary health care professionals need to do more to publicize and educate prospective parents about the potential hazards of smoking for their unborn child."

The research analysis has been published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2047487319831367">European Journal of Preventive Cardiology</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kyla.cathey@gmail.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Expecting parents: Beware of secondhand smoke, too

Expecting parents who smoke are putting their baby’s health at...

March 22nd is <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clean-water-goal/#.XJUPcChKhPY">World Water Day</a>. Over two billion people in the world still lack access to safe drinking water, and 4.5 billion don’t have access to proper sanitation, according to the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/12-07-2017-2-1-billion-people-lack-safe-drinking-water-at-home-more-than-twice-as-many-lack-safe-sanitation">World Health Organization</a>. 

The <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a> (UN) is working to achieve it's Sustainable Development Goal 6, the goal of which is to ensure that everyone has access to clean water by 2030. 

Great strides have been made in improving access to clean drinking water and better sanitation management in developing nations. However, these successes have been overshadowed by increasing water shortages and projected water demands. 

Population growth coupled with climate change will have major impacts on water availability in the future. This is where the<a href="https://www.esa.int/"> European Space Union (ESA)</a> and other satellite monitoring programs come into play. 

Less than three percent of all water on Earth is freshwater, and of this, less than one percent is accessible for drinking and agriculture. Most of the world’s freshwater is frozen in glaciers and icecaps. 

With so little accessible freshwater and rising demands, it has never been more crucial to monitor the world’s freshwater sources.

ESA satellites like the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/SMOS">SMOS mission</a> and the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Overview4">Copernicus Sentinel satellites</a> are currently being used to track water availability and changes, bring attention to receding lakes and reservoirs, and even calculate soil moisture. 

Satellite monitoring will play an increasingly important role in conserving and managing our natural resources, especially as climate change and expanding infrastructure threaten to degrade many key coastal, woodland, and freshwater habitats. 

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites, as well as ESA’s CryoSat, are also being used to monitor changes in glaciers which is important for regions like the Himalayas where ice fields provide freshwater to nearly 20 percent of the world's population. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: ESA/Belspo – produced by VITO

Satellite monitoring plays a key role in managing water resources

March 22nd is World Water Day. Over two billion people...

Today, March 22nd, is World Water Day, and it serves as an important reminder of how many people on Earth do not have access to clean and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/socioeconomic-groups-unsafe-drinking-water/">safe drinking water</a>. The <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a> (UN) first launched World Water Day in 1993, and now say that as many as 2.1 billion people do not have safe water in their home.

But now, a new online tool has been created by <a href="https://unu.edu/">UN University</a> to help countries develop effective plans to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The resource will guide nations through six steps to reach SDG 6: clean water and sanitation for all by 2030.

The SDG Policy Support System was designed to expose policy weaknesses so that workable strategies and action plans could be created. Extensive research into the elements needed for SDG-6 progress were used to build the system. 

“Water problems constitute a crisis today in an increasing number of countries,” said <a href="http://inweh.unu.edu/">UNU-INWEH</a> Director Vladimir Smakhtin. “Around 1.5 to 2 billion people currently live in areas of physical water scarcity, where water resources are insufficient to meet water demands, at least during part of the year. Around half a billion people experience water scarcity year-round. And there has been more than 50% drop in globally available freshwater per capita since 1960.”

“Implementing SDG 6, the 'water goal,' brings immense development, economic and health benefits and can unlock long-term funding. All too often, however, faced with competing goals and limited budgets, water-related development falls behind other priorities, and yet water is arguably the development issue that touches the largest number of people.”

There is an online training tutorial of how to use the system, and it is free and available to everyone. The SDG Policy Support System will help professionals and policymakers use existing national data and translate it into the resource needed to assess and monitor progress toward SDG6.

“An effective, sustainable path to SDG 6 depends on the ability to assess strengths and weaknesses and track changes and progress for these components, and on the collaboration of all concerned government institutions, expert groups and civil society,” explained Manzoor Qadir.

“We hope that by sharing knowledge and training people in a proven system, more nations can effectively assess their situations and replace gaps and weaknesses with workable policies, frameworks and action plans,” said Dr. Jong-Soo Yoon. “This will ultimately contribute to reducing water scarcity and pollution, mitigating disasters, and halt the ongoing degradation of water-dependent ecosystems.”


The SDG Policy Support System was launched by UN University on World Water Day.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

World Water Day: New online tool helps countries achieve clean water goal

Today, March 22nd, is World Water Day, and it serves...

New research from the <a href="https://www.bath.ac.uk/">University of Bath</a> may ultimately lead to the production of slaughter-free bacon. The scientists have managed to grow pig cells on blades of grass, a trial that could prove to be an important breakthrough for the future of cultured meat.

“The idea was to essentially, rather than feeding a cow grass and then us eating the meat - why don't we, in quotation marks, ‘feed our cells grass,’” Scott Allan, a postgraduate student in chemical engineering, told the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a>.

“We use it as a scaffold for them to grow on - and we then have an edible scaffold that can be incorporated into the final product."

The end product would be pure muscle tissue - basically, lean mince, rather than something with the taste and texture of a chop or steak, which means adding fat cells and connective cells to give it a bit more taste.”

Dr. Marianne Ellis sees the potential for cultured meat to be “an alternative protein source to feed the world.” The cultured pig cells that are being grown in her lab could make it possible to produce bacon in a more humane way. 

“In the future, you would take a biopsy from a pig, isolate stem cells, grow more cells, then put them into a bioreactor to massively expand them,” postgraduate student Nick Shorten of Aberystwyth University told BBC. “And the pig's still alive and happy and you get lots of bacon at the end.”

[caption id="attachment_1870082" align="aligncenter" width="630"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/pig-cells-lab.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1870082" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/pig-cells-lab.jpg" alt="" width="630" height="454" /></a> Image Credit: University of Bath[/caption]

In order for the cultured meat to become widely available, however, the process of growing the cells would have to transition to a large, industrial scale.

“What we're doing here is looking to design bioreactors, and the bioprocess around the bioreactors, to grow muscle cells on a large scale that is economical and safe and high quality, so we can supply the muscle cells as cultured meats to as many people as want it,” said Dr. Ellis.

“Cultured meat might be one of these promising alternatives to reduce agricultural emissions but until we get more production data we can't automatically assume that for the time being,” said study co-author John Lynch.

Lab-grown food will not be widely available to consumers for at least five years, and the public response to engineered meat is expected to be mixed. Surveys in the UK suggest that city-dwellers along with younger and wealthier people would be the most open to trying it.
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Growing bacon in labs using pig cells could offer slaughter-free supply

New research from the University of Bath may ultimately lead...

As someone who takes a personal interest in caves and occasionally explores them myself, I’ve noticed that different cultures treat them differently.  In South Dakota, the Lakota were aware of caves, even considered them sacred and linked Wind Cave to an <a href="https://www.nps.gov/wica/learn/historyculture/the-lakota-emergence-story.htm">emergence myth</a>, but it was taboo to actually enter sacred caves.  Outside of Wind Cave, prayer bundles can be found, but the cave itself had virtually no artifacts of human marks before European Americans arrived.  

Further south, in the desert canyon country of <a href="https://www.nps.gov/para/index.htm">Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument</a>, I’ve helped map caves where small baskets and other human remnants have been found.  Not much in the way of larger artifacts or even petroglyphs were found in these caves. These few artifacts suggest that these caves were visited but not inhabited or used in regular important rituals.  Travelling even further south, into Mexico caves seem to have grown in importance to indigenous people. 

<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/mayan-caves-places-sacred-rituals/">National Geographic</a> reported that to the Maya specific caves were of great importance; a part of a mystical underworld.  According to <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/2014/dec/15-cave-of-the-crystal-maiden">Discover Magazine</a>, the Mayan even made sacrifices in important caves.  The most infamous of these sacrifices is that of the so-called crystal maiden.  In Actun Tunichil Muknal, a jungle cave in Western Belize, a woman of about 20 years old was sacrificed by a Mayan priest over a thousand years ago.  The skeleton lies in the cave among pottery and other ruins. In the cave, calcite crystals grow on the undisturbed human remains, the crystal maiden is literally becoming a part of the cave where she died.  

Other caves where the Maya worshipped have been found with sacrificial remains, animal as well as humans.  Stingray spines are sometimes left in caves where they were used in bloodletting rituals. Vases and other less eerie artifacts are also common. 

Only for about the last 60 years have archaeologists paid any attention to the caves snaking under the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ancient-mayans-raised-dogs/">Mayan</a> world of Central America.  Hieroglyphs impressive pyramids and cities seemed to be the important aspects of a culture that seemed to sit over a rich maze of limestone caves merely by accident.  The importance of caves was first discovered when a guide found a room full of Mayan vases in Balankanché, a cave near Chichén Itzá in 1959. 

Since that time, hundreds of caves with Mayan artifacts have been discovered.  Virtually every cave in Belize has some association with the Maya and even water filled sinkholes or cenotes (essentially flooded vertical caves) have been found to contain artifacts dropped from above as offerings.  <a href="http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&amp;int_new=31676#.XIVdpsBKj3g">Art Daily</a> reports that over 300 of the 1000 caves and cenotes in the Puuc region of the Yucatan have been registered with the National Institute of Anthropology and History, making them part of 2,000 archaeological sites in the area.   Just this month, archaeologists announced the discovery of another cave full of important artifacts, this time underneath Chichén Itzá itself. 

Chichén Itzá is an <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/483">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a> and one of the most important pre-Columbian archaeological sites in Mexico.  The city is a thousand years old and embodies a fusion of Mayan and Toltec cultures.  Monuments in the forms of impressive stepped pyramids stand as testimony of the influence and power of these cultures in their day.  The Temple of Kukulcan also known as ‘The Castle’ is a famed temple in the form of a giant stepped pyramid, sitting in the center of Chichén Itzá.

According to <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pyramid-kukulcan-chichen-itza">Atlas Obscura</a>, a shadowy serpent can be seen climbing The Temple of Kukulcan during the spring and autumn equinoxes.  The serpent is a trick of shadows cast by the temple itself, a shadow undulated in a snake-like way over the pyramid steps.  The shadow is said to be Kukulcan (or Quetzalcoatl), the Mayan feathered serpent god the temple was dedicated to and indeed, the shadow body appears to join the stone serpent heads at the bottom of the pyramid.  Kukulcan is clearly important but what lies beneath the giant pyramid is important as well. 

An archaeologist was first told about a cave with artifacts near The Temple of Kukulcan in <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8xyezp/1000-year-old-mayan-artifacts-found-in-sealed-jaguar-god-cave">1966</a> by locals.  The archaeologist had the cave walled off to seal it from would be artifact robbers and never returned to it.  The memory of the cave was lost among archaeologists but the local people of the area remembered. Recently, archaeologist Guillermo de Anda learned about the cave from local man Luis Un who was one of the first people to explore the cave while still a teenager.  Intrigued, de Anda underwent a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/03/10/702017075/archaeologists-find-trove-of-maya-artifacts-dating-back-1-000-years">six hour</a> long purification ritual by a modern Mayan priest to ensure safety before entering the sacred cave to find what artifacts were hidden underground.  

What de Anda found left him dumbstruck.  The archaeologist entered the cave alone, crawling on his belly through incredibly tight passageways before entering a room full of artifacts.  De Anda said upon seeing the state and extent of the artifacts left behind, he was overwhelmed and began to cry, almost feeling the presence of the Maya who left the artifacts.  Vases, ceramic incense holders, decorated plates and more were left in the cave untouched for centuries. In fact, some of the artifacts had sat unmoved for so long that stalagmites had started to form around some of the objects in the cave, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/03/maya-ritual-balamku-cave-stuns-archaeologists/">National Geographic</a> reports.

[caption id="attachment_1870024" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/maya-cave.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870024" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/maya-cave.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="433" /></a> National Geographic archeologist Guillermo de Anda, Image credit: Karla Ortega[/caption]

The cave has been named Balamku for the Mayan jaguar god.  Many of the artifacts seem to have images referencing Balamku but others have images of the face of Tláloc, the Toltec rain god as well as Ceiba trees (a symbol of the Mayan universe) and other designs. More than 200 artifacts were found in the cave so far.    

[caption id="attachment_1870025" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cave-mexico.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870025" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cave-mexico.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="366" /></a> Image credit: Karla Ortega[/caption]

Like many other caves used by the Maya, is hard to access today with modern equipment including electric headlamps.  How difficult it would have been for the Maya relying only on flame to light their way through tortuously cramped passageways hints at the importance of the place to them.  Balamku is beneath Chichén Itzá, less than two miles from the Temple of Kukulcan, an auspicious location. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer           

Main image credit: Karla Ortega, Great Mayan Aquifer Project

Mayan artifacts discovered in cave beneath ancient city of Chichén Itzá

As someone who takes a personal interest in caves and...

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> and <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a> have developed “particle robots” — simple robots that connect together to move around, transport objects, and complete tasks. Each “particle” is a disc-shaped robot that can become loosely connected to other particles via magnets around their perimeter. Each particle can expand and contract, and when specifically timed, these two actions can coordinate motion within the entire cell of particles. 

The team wrote about their new invention in <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

"We have small robot cells that are not so capable as individuals but can accomplish a lot as a group," said Daniela Rus, director of the MIT <a href="https://www.csail.mit.edu/">Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)</a>. "The robot by itself is static, but when it connects with other robot particles, all of a sudden the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sea-slug-movement-efficient-robots/">robot</a> collective can explore the world and control more complex actions. 

“With these 'universal cells,' the robot particles can achieve different shapes, global transformation, global motion, global behavior, and, as we have shown in our experiments, follow gradients of light,” Rus continued. “This is very powerful."

Particle robots are able to transform into many different shapes, navigate around objects, and squeeze through tight openings. And because the particles do not directly communicate with each other, new particles can be added to or removed from the cell without complication. This also means the cell can continue to work even if an individual particle malfunctions.

Each particle houses a battery, a small motor, sensors that detect light intensity, a microcontroller, and a communication component that sends out and receives signals. On top of each particle is a Hoberman Flight Ring kids toy that is made of small panels connected in a circular formation that can be pulled and pushed to expand and contract. The magnets reside in each panel.

In their paper, the researchers demonstrate how the particles within a cell can navigate toward a light source. They installed an algorithm in each particle that analyzed broadcasted information about light intensity from every other particle, without the particles needing to communicate with each other. 

All particles continually broadcasted the light intensity as they approached the light source, and the levels of intensity corresponded with a specific time the particle must expand. This method of expanding and contracting based on light intensity helped the cell move toward the light source.

"This creates a mechanical expansion-contraction wave, a coordinated pushing and dragging motion, that moves a big cluster toward or away from environmental stimuli," said first author Shuguang Li, a CSAIL postdoc. Li added that the precise timing from a shared synchronized clock among the particles is what enables efficient movement. "If you mess up the synchronized clock, the system will work less efficiently," Li said.

"The key novelty here is that you have a new kind of robot that has no centralized control, no single point of failure, no fixed shape, and its components have no unique identity,” concluded corresponding author Hod Lipson, of <a href="https://engineering.columbia.edu/">Columbia Engineering</a>.

The team plans to miniaturize the particles to make a cell comprised of microscopic particle robots.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Felice Frankel

‘Particle robots’ work together as cells to accomplish tasks

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University...

An anesthetic administered at the right time could help dull and weaken traumatic memories that trigger stress and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/depression-anxiety-harm-health/">anxiety disorders</a>, according to a new study.

Researchers found that after receiving an anesthetic, it was harder to recall a troubling memory 24 hours later.

Anxiety disorders plague around <a href="https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics">40 million US adults every year</a> and finding new ways to help individuals cope and process with triggering traumatic memories could open up new treatment options to more people suffering from anxiety and treatment-resistant disorders. 

Previous animal studies have found that reactivating a consolidated memory, or a stable long-term memory, during reconsolidation makes the memory weaker and vulnerable to modification. 

Consolidation is the process of converting short term memories into long term memories. 

For this study, 50 participants were shown two narrated slide shows that featured aversive and negative content. A week later, the participants were reminded about the slide shows to help reactivate the negative memory. 

Once the participants recalled the memory, the researchers administered one intravenous dose of propofol and split the participants into two groups. 

One group was asked to remember the slide shows 24 hours after the anesthesia and the second group had to recall the memories immediately after being given the propofol. 

The researchers wanted to test how the propofol impacted memory recall of reactivated and non-reactivated memories. 

The group that was given 24 hours had a harder time recalling the reactivated memory. 

The results of the study show that the non-invasive approach of using an anesthetic like propofol could help pave the way to new therapies and treatments for disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder.

The findings of the study were published in the journal Science Advances which is backed by the <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Anesthesia could help weaken traumatic memories, new study shows

An anesthetic administered at the right time could help dull...

A team of experts led by the <a href="http://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> has described the first fossil bird ever found with an egg preserved inside of its body. The specimen also represents a new species, Avimaia schweitzerae. 

The fossil was discovered in northwestern China in deposits that date back 110 million years. The bird belongs to the group Enantiornithes, which was the most abundant and diverse group of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/alligators-birds-hearing-dinosaur/">birds</a> known during the Mesozoic era. 

The new fossil is incredibly well preserved, and the remains of an egg are still contained  inside of its abdomen. The experts noticed an unusual tissue in the flat specimen and removed a small fragment to determine that it was actually an egg.

A detailed analysis of the egg shell consists of two layers instead of one, which indicates that the egg was retained too long inside of the abdomen. This condition has also been documented in sauropod dinosaurs and turtles, and is known to occur in modern birds as a result of stress.

[caption id="attachment_1870008" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/bird.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870008" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/bird.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="937" /></a> Holotype of Avimaia schweitzerae. Image Credit: Barbara Marrs[/caption]

The egg shell was also found to be extremely paper thin and did not show the correct proportions of healthy eggs. These abnormalities suggest that the preserved egg may have caused the death of the bird. An egg that gets stuck inside of the body becomes lethal, and small birds under stress commonly encounter this problem. 

When female birds are about to lay eggs, they deposit a unique bone tissue that can be found inside the empty spaces of their skeleton to provide calcium for the developing egg shell. The experts analyzed a fragment of leg bone from Avimaia and discovered the presence of medullary bone. 

According to the researchers, this the only Mesozoic fossil in which there is additional evidence to support the identification of medullary bone. The new specimen has provided scientists with more reproductive information than any other fossil bird from the Mesozoic era.

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

Main Image Credit: Michael Rothman

Fossilized bird is providing insight into avian reproduction

A team of experts led by the Chinese Academy of...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a> has uncovered a mechanism that helps sperm achieve their mission of fertilizing an egg. The researchers discovered an outer layer that reinforces the tails of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/older-sperm-healthier-offspring/">human sperm</a>, which gives them the strength they need to break through the protective barrier of the cervix.

Only about 15 out of 55 million sperm manage to break through the cervical mucus, which is 100 times thicker than water. Sperm tails are incredibly complex for their tiny size. The researchers used a virtual sperm model to compare the tails of sperm from humans to other mammals with the sperm of sea urchins.

“Using virtual sperm we were able to see how mammalian sperm is specially adapted to swim through thicker fluids. We don't know which adaptation came first - the stronger sperm or the cervical mucus, or whether they co-evolved - but nothing in nature is by chance and precisely what is required for species to reproduce has been added due to evolutionary pressure over millions of years,” said study co-author Dr. Hermes Gadêlha.

The tails of sea urchin and human sperm were found to share the same bendy inner core, but the tails of sperm in mammals appear to have evolved a reinforcing outer layer to give them the strength and stability that is required to survive the cervical mucus barrier.

The researchers tested the ability of virtual sea urchin sperm to swim through liquid as viscous as cervical mucus and found that their tails could not endure the pressure and they were unable to keep moving. Human sperm, however, struggled in the low-viscosity liquid and thrived in the thicker liquids. The findings could lead to better sperm-selection methods in IVF clinics.

“We still don't fully understand how, but a sperm's ability to swim could be associated with genetic integrity. Cervical mucus forms part of the process in the female body of ensuring only the best swimmers make it to the egg,” said Dr. Gadêlha.

“During the sperm selection process, IVF clinics don't currently use a highly viscous liquid to test for the best sperm as until now it was not entirely clear whether this is important. Our study suggests that more clinical tests and research are needed to explore the impact of this element of the natural environment when selecting sperm for IVF treatments.”


Sperm have no central nervous system to make decisions about how or when to move, and what regulates this movement remains a mystery. 

“We know that, just like in our arms and legs, sperm have tiny muscles which allow their tails to bend - but nobody knows how this is orchestrated inside the tail, at the nanometric scale,” explained Dr. Gadêlha. “Sperm are an archetype of self-organization - movement seems to be happening automatically, perhaps because of a complex combination of many mechanisms at play.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsif">Royal Society Interface</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sperm evolved reinforced tails for swimming strength and stability

A new study led by the University of York has...

Machine learning is most often associated with big business and military projects. Headlines regularly describe how these techniques are used for self-driving cars, surveillance, and advertising. However, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/algorithm-locate-solar-panel/">machine learning</a> is proving useful in more places than you might imagine, and many conservation biologists are taking advantage of these powerful tools.
<h2>The explosion of machine learning</h2>
Machine learning refers to a group of techniques that allow computers to learn from data. These techniques have been around since the 1980s, but they were still being developed and were also limited by the availability of powerful computers and large datasets. 

But over the last decade, machine learning has become widespread. This has been enabled by the availability of relatively cheap, powerful computers and big data. These are both needed for effective machine learning. 
<h3>Why machine learning is used in conservation.</h3>
Machine learning allows researchers to automate tasks that would otherwise be done by hand. This saves massive amounts of time and money, and in the underfunded world of conservation biology, this is essential. 

Machine learning can decrease the time it takes to answer key questions. Faster answers help save species before they disappear.

Machine learning also helps to discover hidden trends. These techniques can be used to help determine what species or areas are at the greatest risk. This helps researchers decide how to allocate limited resources.

A number of factors are contributing to the increase of machine learning in conservation. 
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">The internet has enabled the exchange of data. </li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Massive publicly available databases are becoming more common. </li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">More data can be collected due to cheaper remote sensors.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Computing power is becoming more cost-effective.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">The availability of open source tools.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Real-World Projects</h2>
There are many conservation biologists who are applying machine learning to their research. These tools continue to be applied to more projects every day. Below are a few examples of how machine learning is being applied to conservation today.
<h3>Counting Species and Individuals</h3>
<h4>In Images</h4>
Remote cameras are often used for detection and counting of animal species. These camera traps detect movement to snap pictures of animals. Once these images are collected, the number and species of animal must be identified. 

This can be tedious work requiring a human to annotate images. There are already large online databases of camera trap images such as <a href="https://emammal.si.edu/">eMammal</a>. <a href="https://www.amnh.org/our-research/center-for-biodiversity-conservation/research-and-conservation/machine-learning-for-conservation">Various</a> <a href="https://www.wildlabs.net">researchers</a> <a href="https://www.zsl.org/conservation/conservation-initiatives/conservation-technology/machine-learning">are working</a> to develop tools for automated identification of these images. Other researchers are working to help <a href="http://biodiversityinformatics.amnh.org/ml4conservation/animal-detection-network/species-identification-localization/">these projects compare results</a>.
<h4>And Audio</h4>
Another type of remote sensor is called an <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/conservationtechnology/acoustic.html">acoustic monitor</a>. These are microphones that can be used to record bird calls, bees wings and more. Traditionally researchers had to sift through hundreds of hours of audio. Machine learning can help greatly expedite this process.

Conservation biologist Marc Travers of the <a href="https://www.hawaii.edu/">University of Hawaii</a> is using these sensors in an interesting way. He realized that a unique noise is produced when birds collide with power lines. 

Travers is using acoustic monitors to measure just how frequently this happens. He is analyzing <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00746-1">75,000 hours of audio a year to track this problem</a>. Machine learning allows this massive amount of audio to be processed.
<h3>Finding at-risk species</h3>
Another important task in conservation is knowing which species are at risk. The <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN) classifies species based on their risk of extinction. Many plant species have not been evaluated yet. Researchers at the University of Maryland and Radford University wanted to estimate the risks for these species. They <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/machine-learning-threatened-species/">used machine learning to identify which species have a high risk of extinction</a>. 
<h3>Summarizing our knowledge</h3>
It is important to understand and analyze what we already about conservation. Most topics have many articles written about them, but <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.13117">researchers are using machine learning</a> to find relevant articles and summarize data.
<h3>Data mining social media</h3>
Another exciting application of machine learning finds data in an unexpected place. The images and text on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are full of information. Researchers can collect data from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/detect-illegal-wildlife-trade/">social media to identify illegal wildlife trading</a>, while others are using <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40585495/the-worlds-animals-are-getting-their-very-own-facebook">data from social media to track individual animals</a>.
<h3>Modeling climate change</h3>
The climate is extremely complex. This makes it difficult to study and prepare for the effects of climate change. Machine learning is being used to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-tool-cloud-responses-climate/">predict the response of clouds to climate change</a>. This is an important part of creating more accurate climate change models.
<h2>Limitations</h2>
Though machine learning can save massive amounts of time, humans are still essential. The results of these models still need to be validated by humans.
<h2>The future of machine learning in conservation</h2>
The trends that have caused machine learning to grow are continuing. As the amount of available data grows, so will the applications of machine learning. 

Open source data and tools are essential. Researchers are starting to share more raw data, which provides training data for new models and also allows researchers to compare their results and find the best model.

--

By <a href="mailto:casey.hofford@gmail.com">Casey Hofford</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Machine learning can play an important role in conservation

Machine learning is most often associated with big business and...

Scientists have come to understand that many individual traits are determined by nature, or <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sleep-deprivation-damages-dna-cancer/">DNA</a>, while other traits are shaped by the home environment. Beyond nature and nurture, there is also a third system called epigenetics that has a profound influence on our biology. 

Epigenetics refers to how genes are either expressed or suppressed in response to environmental and lifestyle factors. A growing collection of research suggests that epigenetic marks can be chemically transferred to the DNA of offspring across multiple generations.

Despite direct evidence of this phenomenon, which is known as transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, the topic remains controversial because the science behind it is so unclear. 

But now, a new study from <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz</a> may help to identify the mysterious mechanisms that make transgenerational epigenetic inheritance possible. The researchers have demonstrated that epigenetic information carried by parental sperm chromosomes can alter gene expression and development in the offspring. 

DNA is wrapped tight around clusters of proteins called histones, which act as molecular packaging spools. Epigenetic marks are chemical tags that do not actually change the DNA or their sequences, but simply change the way the DNA is packaged around the histones. These chemical modifications either condense or decondense the histone packaging to reveal certain genes and obscure others, along with the genes’ instructions that tell a cell how to behave. 

The UC Santa Cruz study was focused on the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and was conducted in the lab of Professor Susan Strome. She explained that the research addressed a central question in the field of epigenetics. 

“It's a very direct question: Does inheriting sperm chromosomes with altered histone packaging of the DNA affect gene expression in the offspring? And the answer is yes,” said Professor Strome.

Study lead author and graduate student Kiyomi Kaneshiro explained that C. elegans is a good model for studying this question because histone packaging is fully retained in the worm's sperm chromosomes. Histone packaging is only partially retained in the sperm of humans and other mammals.

“There is debate over how much histone packaging is retained in humans, but we know it is retained in some developmentally important regions of the genome,” said Kaneshiro.

[caption id="attachment_1869983" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/epigenetic.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869983" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/epigenetic.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="584" /></a> Distinguishing between egg- and sperm-inherited chromosomes allowed researchers to track the effects of epigenetic marks carried by the sperm chromosomes. Image Credit: K. Kaneshiro[/caption]

For the study, a specific histone mark was selectively removed from sperm chromosomes and the modified sperm were used to fertilize eggs. The team used sperm and eggs from two different strains of C. elegans in order to determine which chromosomes were inherited from the sperm and which were inherited from the egg. The worm strains, which were from Britain and Hawaii, had evolved separately for long enough to develop genetic differences.

“The dads were British and the moms were Hawaiian, and there are enough differences between them that we could distinguish between the two parental genomes in the cells of their offspring,” said Kaneshiro. “Through this hybrid system, we were able to see differences in gene expression that were a direct result of the changes in histone marks on the sperm chromosomes.”

The changes in gene expression were found to cause developmental changes as well. When the histone marks were removed, a signal that suppresses certain genes was turned off. As a result, the offspring's germline cells turned on neuronal genes and began developing into neurons.

Because the study involved artificially changing the marks on the sperm chromosomes, it is still not understood how the environment could alter epigenetic marks in the germline cells of an adult organism.

“Our findings raise the possibility that histone marks are carriers for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance,” said Kaneshiro. “We know that the environment an organism experiences can change gene expression patterns in somatic cells (non-germline body cells). If it changes gene expression patterns in the germline, we expect that those changes can be inherited, but we haven't shown that yet."

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

Epigenetic changes can be passed along to future generations

Scientists have come to understand that many individual traits are...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features 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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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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



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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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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