We hear about minerals all the time. Lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and rare earth elements appear in the news almost every week.



These minerals power phones, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dirty-power-the-hidden-climate-cost-of-electric-vehicles/">electric cars</a>, and military equipment. Countries want them, companies want them, and the competition for the minerals keeps growing.



While leaders plan and companies race, some scientists study a different part of the story. They ask questions about where these minerals come from and how they move underground.



Geologist Zachary Burton works on these questions. He studies natural processes instead of using drills or machines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rare-earth-elements-are-hard-to-find">Rare earth elements are hard to find</h2>



"Rare earth elements aren't technically rare - they are somewhat ubiquitous at very low concentrations - but highly concentrated, economically attractive deposits are indeed rare and hard to find," Burton explained.



In the Department of Earth Sciences at <a href="https://www.montana.edu/">Montana State University</a>, Burton has been studying these elements for almost 15 years.



The problem is simple. Scientists do not fully understand how these minerals move or gather in one place.



"That's in large part because we don't even know many fundamental scientific processes of why they concentrate in certain areas and how they're moving around," Burton said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-desert-deep-in-antarctica">A desert deep in Antarctica</h2>



Burton recently studied these minerals in a very cold place: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctica-is-experiencing-rapid-plant-growth-concerning-scientists/">Antarctica</a>'s McMurdo Dry Valleys. This part of Antarctica is dry, windy, and extremely cold. It has unusual landscapes that look similar to other planets.



Burton’s team investigated how rare earth minerals move in this polar desert. They focused on salt ponds in the area, including Don Juan Pond, VXE-6 Pond, and Brine Pond Number 1.



The team found something intriguing. In Don Juan Pond, mineral levels were low in the center - likely because chemicals had washed them away.



However, minerals had gathered underground in two specific spots: one about 10 to 12 centimeters deep (roughly 4 to 5 inches) west of Don Juan Pond, and another about 4 to 7 centimeters deep (around 1.5 to 2.75 inches) beneath VXE-6 Pond.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-freezing-and-melting-moves-minerals">Freezing and melting moves minerals</h2>



The places with more minerals had another feature. The soil there contained clay-like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-meteorites-provide-a-window-into-the-early-solar-system/">materials</a>. These formed through chemical changes.



The reason for this process was clear. Water froze and melted many times. The ponds also changed in size. These actions moved the minerals.



Water carried the minerals. When the water froze, the minerals stayed behind in the soil. This cycle repeated many times. Over the years, minerals gathered just below the surface.



Burton explained that similar things can happen in other cold areas. He pointed to Greenland and Ukraine, two places that are often in the news for their mineral resources.



"Rare earths are an area that's been relatively neglected these past decades in terms of scientific research, but now - with these critical minerals constantly making headlines - there's a whole lot to be learned in terms of where deposits are," he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-antarctica-to-other-planets">From Antarctica to other planets</h2>



Burton’s research is not only about Earth. It also connects to space. The Dry Valleys in Antarctica are similar to places on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-plan-terraform-mars-nanoparticles-would-make-it-habitable-for-humans/">Mars</a>. That makes them a good place to study processes that might also happen on other planets. 



Space agencies, such as NASA, need to find resources beyond Earth. Burton’s work may help them plan future missions.



The study also included diagrams that showed how minerals move underground. Water flows below the surface, freezes, and leaves minerals behind. These findings may guide future work in space.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rare-mineral-movement-in-hot-deserts">Rare mineral movement in hot deserts</h2>



Burton’s projects also focus on dry areas in the United States. He studies how minerals move in places like Nevada, Utah, and California’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/desert-lichen-may-offer-clues-to-life-beyond-earth/">Mojave Desert</a>. 



These regions are hot, dry, and full of desert basins. The goal is to understand how rare earth elements and lithium move and collect in such places.



Burton described the work as difficult but exciting. "It's a challenge and a scramble, but also very exciting, because there's a lot more for the world to learn in these areas."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-frontier-for-geology">A new frontier for geology</h2>



Montana State University is now focusing more on this type of research. Alison Harmon, vice president for research and economic development at the university, said these studies matter.



"This will be an area where MSU can make an important contribution to national security and economic development in Montana and beyond," said Harmon.



Burton’s research shows that minerals do not stay in one spot forever. Water, ice, and time keep moving them around. By studying how this happens, researchers can learn more about Earth’s resources and even about resources on other worlds.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165232X25001661?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cold Regions Science and Technology</a>.



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Water and ice may reveal where rare earth elements are hiding

We hear about minerals all the time. Lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and rare earth elements appear in the news almost every week. These minerals power phones, electric cars, and military equipment. Countries want them, companies want them, and the competition for the minerals keeps growing. While leaders plan and companies race, some scientists study a different part of the story. They ask questions about where these minerals come from and how they move underground. Geologist Zachary Burton works on these questions. He studies natural processes instead of...

Ever wrap up a spin class or beat your personal best leg day record and go to grab a healthy post-workout snack – only to end up with a couple cookies instead?

Whether you stick to a healthy choice or add back on some of those calories you just burned can come down to when you choose your snack, a new study has discovered.

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.unl.edu/">University of Nebraska-Lincoln</a> wanted to learn more about exercise participants’ post-workout snack choices. 

"We found that there was very little research on this very tangible thing that I think everyone can relate to," said Dr. Karston Koehler, an assistant professor of nutrition and health at the university. 

Led by Koehler and Dr. Christopher Gustafson, the team split study participants into two groups. Both groups were told that they would be exercising to help calibrate some equipment. One group was told they could choose a post-workout snack before their exercise session, with the options being an apple and a brownie. The second group was not offered the choice until after their workout.

About 74 percent of the people from the group that chose before their workout picked out an apple. Around 55 percent of the post-workout group went for the healthy snack. And while 14 percent of the pre-workout group picked a brownie, that bumped up to 20 percent for the post-workout group.

"If your goal is to lose weight, then I would say our findings support that you're better off making the choice ... not when you're hungry after your workout, but instead before you go to the gym,” Koehler said. 

The study aligns with research that shows meal planners tend to indulge less in junk food in general – not just during their post-workout snack.

"Our study conformed very closely to the ideas in behavioral economics about this present-biased preference (for unhealthier options)," said Gustafson, an assistant professor in agricultural economics. "Using solely that model, I would've predicted that people would be more likely to choose the healthy snack when choosing before they exercise."

The study also found evidence of both compensatory eating – cravings for more calorie-dense foods after exercising – and exercise-induced anorexia. The number of participants who chose the brownie rose in the post-exercise group, but so did the number of people who didn’t want a snack at all.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu10121941">Nutrients</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Craig Chandler, <a href="https://www.unl.edu/">University of Nebraska-Lincoln</a>

Why you should choose your post-workout snack early

Ever wrap up a spin class or beat your personal...

A set of clay tablets written 2,700 years ago has given archaeologists a look into the world of Mesopotamia’s ancient doctors.

The tablets were found in modern Iraq decades ago. Now, new analysis has revealed that they were written by a young doctor named Kisir-Aššur. Writing in the Sumerian script known as cuneiform, Kisir-Aššur recorded information about his work, the training he received, a number of medical procedures – and magic rituals.

“The sources give a unique insight into how an Assyrian doctor was trained in the art of diagnosing and treating illnesses, and their causes,” Dr. Troels Pank Arbøll from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> told <a href="http://sciencenordic.com/">ScienceNordic</a>. “It's an insight into some of the earliest examples of what we can describe as science.”

The tablets, which Kisir-Aššur wrote in chronological order, is allowing researchers to work out the timeline of the training received by ancient doctors.

They also give a glimpse of a field moving away from the mystical and into the scientific. While magical cures were likely still common at the time, researchers said, plant-based medicines, poultices and bandages are also described on the tablets. 

Kisir-Aššur also wrote about observing patients with animal bites and stings.

“It is possible that he studied the effects of venom from scorpions and snakes on the human body and that he perhaps tried to draw conclusions based on his observations,” Arbøll said.

Many of the ideas Kisir-Aššur outlined were similar to those developed by Hippocrates, widely considered the father of modern medicine, hundreds of years later.

On one tablet, Kisir-Aššur described an enema used by ancient doctors to treat jaundice: “If a man is ill with bile, ahhazu-jaundice, or amurriqaanu-jaundice, to cure him: kukuru-plant, burashu-juniper, ballukku-plant, suadu-plant, 'sweet reed', urnû-plant, ataʾishu-plant, 'fox-wine', leek(?), 'stink'-plant, tarmush-plant, 'heals-a-thousand'-plant, 'heals-twenty'-plant, (and) colocynth,” the researchers translated. “You weigh out these 14 plants equally (and) boil (them) in premium beer. You leave (the blend) outside overnight by the star(s). You sieve it (and) add plant oil and honey into it.”

The researchers believe that Mesopotamia’s ancient doctors learned their craft on animals and practiced on infants before treating adults. 

“Kiṣir-Aššur copied and recorded mostly pre-existing treatments and you can see that he catalogues knowledge and collects it with a specific goal,” Arbøll said.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

In Mesopotamia, ancient doctors mixed medicine, magic

A set of clay tablets written 2,700 years ago has...

Many studies have proven the link between sleep and memory consolidation, showing that sleep helps strengthen newly formed memories. 

Researchers continue to unravel the mysteries of sleep and why we do it, but one of the bigger questions that comes from this research is whether or not we can <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/learn-new-information-sleep/">learn new things during deep sleep</a>. 

Sleep is considered unproductive time, and it has been thought that the brain is detached from the physical world during deep sleep. But a new study conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.unibe.ch/index_eng.html">University of Bern</a> in Switzerland challenges this long-held notion. 

In a new study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers were able to show for the first time that while asleep, the brain can learn foreign words and associate their translations with associations stored into wakefulness.

This means that the brain may be capable of storing and processing new information during certain stages of deep sleep. 

The new study is part of an interdisciplinary research project called Decoding Sleep, the aim of which is to understand sleep and cognition. Previous studies have proven that sleep can help strengthen newly learned information and this information is re-played during different sleep stages. 

Knowing this, the Bern researchers felt it only made sense that the brain should be able to process new information during sleep as well. 

To test this hypothesis, the researchers played recordings of a word from an artificial language and its translation in German during the “Up-state” stage of deep sleep of a sleeping participant. 

During deep sleep, the brain cells are active for a brief period called the “Up-state” which is followed by a short period of inactiveness called “Down-state.” Our brain alternates between the two states every half second during deep sleep. 

The researchers played a word pair (the fake word and its translation) during the different states and found that if a pair was played two to four times during the Up-state of deep sleep, participants were later able to recall the word association of newly learned terms while awake. 

For example, if a sleeping participant heard the word “guga” and its translation “elephant” over and over again while asleep, when awake, the participant was accurately able to associate the word guga with something large. 

“It was interesting that language areas of the brain and the hippocampus - the brain's essential memory hub - were activated during the wake retrieval of sleep-learned vocabulary because these brain structures normally mediate wake learning of new vocabulary,” said Marc Züst, the co-first-author of the new study. “These brain structures appear to mediate memory formation independently of the prevailing state of consciousness - unconscious during deep sleep, conscious during wakefulness.” 

Playing the words in the Up-state stage of deep sleep was key, and the researchers say their results challenge the theory that we can’t learn in our sleep. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study shows that we actually can learn language while in deep sleep

Many studies have proven the link between sleep and memory...

Gene editing could help eliminate a deadly banana virus called streak virus that can devastate entire plantations. 

Most bananas in Africa have the virus, which integrates into the banana’s genome where it stays dormant until heat stress or drought prompts the virus to emerge, spread, and kill its hosts. 

But according to a report published in <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2192461-virus-lurking-inside-banana-genome-has-been-destroyed-with-crispr/">New Scientist</a>, there may be hope for African banana plantations with genome editing. 

Leena Tripathi from the <a href="http://www.iita.org/">International Institute of Tropical Agriculture</a> in Kenya found a way to use CRISPR to target the streak virus inside the DNA of its host banana.

With a breed of streak virus resistant bananas, Tripathi hopes to grow entire banana crops that are free of the virus and resistant to future infection. 

In recent years, there have been many advances in gene editing and CRISPR-Cas9, particular with crop resistance to drought and disease. CRISPR allows researchers to cut DNA strands with incredible precision. 

However, genetic modification is still largely contested, and many fear the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/harmful-effects-crispr-gene-editing/">unknown ramifications</a> of this relatively new scientific achievement.  

Even through Tripathi’s work could save banana plantations in Africa, New Scientist reports that the legality of the gene-edited fruit is up for debate. 

 “I think right now they are in discussions about whether it requires legislation,” Tripathi told New Scientist.

Streak virus is not the only threat facing banana farmers, and a popular banana called the Cavendish banana is highly susceptible to a fungal strain called Tropical Race 4. 

Plantations worldwide are dealing with Tropical Race 4 and scientists are working on using gene editing to make the plants resistant to the disease. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Can gene editing save bananas from devastating virus outbreak?

Gene editing could help eliminate a deadly banana virus called...

New research published February 1st in <a href="https://aem.asm.org/">Applied and Environmental Microbiology</a> reveals that the longer a coffee bean ferments, the better it tastes, thanks to lactic acid bacteria and perhaps various other species of microbes.

“A cup of coffee is the final product of a complex chain of operations: farming, post-harvest processing, roasting, and brewing," said Luc De Vuyst, M.Sc., Ph.D., Professor of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology at Belgium’s <a href="https://www.vub.ac.be/en/">Vrije Universiteit Brussel</a>, and the study’s principal investigator. "There are several variants of post-harvest processing, among which wet processing [the process of fermentation] and dry processing are the most common.”

Dr. De Vuyst and his team carried out a series of experiments on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wild-coffee-species-disappear/">coffee beans</a> at an Ecuadorian farm. These experiments revolved around microbiological, metabolomics, and sensory analysis.

They found that during extended fermentation of the coffee beans, leuconostocs — a genus of lactic acid found in the fermentation process of cabbage to sauerkraut and in sourdough starters — declined in number while lactobacilli proliferated.

Researchers could not, however, draw a link between microbiota and the volatile compounds in the beans, those being compounds that contribute to the coffee’s smell. This is because many of these compounds could be of microbial, endogenous bean metabolism, or chemical origin.

“However, we did see an impact of the microbial communities, in particular the lactic acid bacteria," Dr. De Vuyst said. He noted that they yielded fruity notes, and may have "had a protective effect toward coffee quality during fermentation because of their acidification of the fermenting mass, providing a stable microbial environment and hence preventing growth of undesirable micro-organisms that often lead to off-flavors.”

“Furthermore, there is a build-up of the fermentation-related metabolites onto the coffee beans, which affects the quality of the green coffee beans and hence the sensory quality of the coffees brewed therefrom,” he added.

Despite knowing this information, Dr. De Vuyst said that much is still unknown about how most bacteria — like “enterobacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, acetic acid bacteria, bacilli, and filamentous fungi” — affects the taste of coffee and influences the fermentation process.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How lactic acid helps to brew the perfect cup of coffee

New research published February 1st in Applied and Environmental Microbiology...

Researchers have discovered that Neanderthals and Denisovans likely co-existed in a cave in Siberia. The experts have been examining stone tools and other artifacts from the Denisova Cave, trying to establish a timeline for when both human species lived there. 

The results of two separate studies suggest that the Denisovans occupied the cave as far back as 287,000 years ago, and may have been there when the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/neanderthal-dna-protect-viruses/">Neanderthals</a> arrived 193,000 years ago. This research could completely change what we know about our ancient human ancestors. 

Little is known about the Denisovans, and their occupation of the cave has only been studied through teeth and bone fragments. To conduct a more thorough analysis of sediments from the Denisova Cave, researchers at the <a href="https://www.uow.edu.au/index.html">University of Wollongong</a> used a technique known as optically stimulated luminescence dating. This enabled the team to create a timeline for the artifacts and fossils by estimating when certain mineral grains were last exposed to sunlight.

[caption id="attachment_1866932" align="aligncenter" width="630"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/neanderthals.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-1866932" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/neanderthals.png" alt="" width="630" height="507" /></a> Image Credit: Katerina Douka[/caption]

The researchers determined that the site was occupied from around 300,000 years ago to 20,000 years ago. They estimated that the Denisovans lived there from around 287,000 years ago up until 55,000 years ago. Neanderthals showed up in the records from around 193,000 years ago until 97,000 years ago.

In the second study, researchers used radiocarbon dating to examine the Denisovan fossils. As a result, they established 50 new dates and discovered three previously unknown Denisovan fossils.

Robin Dennell, an archaeologist at the University of Sheffield, wrote in <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/articles?type=news-and-views">News &amp; Views</a>: “Although there might still be some uncertainty about the detailed ages of the remains - given the nature and complexity of the deposits and the dating methods used - the general picture is now clear.”

The studies are both published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Neanderthals and Denisovans may have co-existed in Siberia

Researchers have discovered that Neanderthals and Denisovans likely co-existed in...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/catalyst-coal-carbon-capture/">Carbon capture technology</a> has been gaining traction in recent years as researchers and engineers work to mitigate carbon emissions, but the execution of many new carbon capture methods is costly and requires a great deal of energy. 

But now, researchers from the <a href="https://www.ornl.gov/">Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)</a> have developed a new, simpler method for scrubbing CO2 from coal power plants that requires 24% less energy compared to traditional methods. 

The inspiration for the new process came from scuba diving rebreathers. Scuba divers inhale air through a regulator that is attached to a tank of oxygen, but with every inhale, the exhale is released through the regulator into the water. However, rebreathers work a little differently and are the preferred choice for longer dives. 

With rebreathers, instead of exhaled air escaping into the water, air is recycled, CO2 is filtered out, and divers essentially keep breathing their same air over and over again.  

Scuba rebreathers use soda lime, a mixture of calcium and sodium, to scrub CO2 from the cycled oxygen. This ensures that the diver isn’t inhaling dangerous amounts of CO2 and the soda lime acts as a sorbent and collects CO2 molecules. 

The ORNL researchers found a way to copy this soda lime scuba system for carbon capture of CO2 flue gas from power plants. 

The researchers detailed their findings and new method in a study published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/chem/fulltext/S2451-9294(18)30588-6">Chem</a>. 

First, the team stumbled upon a class of organic compounds called bis-iminoguanidines (BIGs) which can bind and separate negatively charged ions. 

The researchers were able to create a CO2 scrubbing method using a solution of the BIG compounds that causes CO2 molecules from carbon emissions to stick to the solution and crystalize, similar to the rebreather.

Later, this solid can be heated up and stored, and the solution can be reused indefinitely. 

“The main advantage of our ‘organic soda lime’ is that it can be regenerated at much lower temperatures and with significantly less energy consumption compared to inorganic scrubbers,” said Radu Custelcean, a senior author of the study. “The lower energy required for regeneration is expected to significantly reduce the cost of carbon capture, which is critical considering that billions of tons of CO2 need to be captured every year to make a measurable impact on the climate.”

It may take some time before the new technology can be applied in the real world over a large scale because the process has a limited capacity for CO2 absorption, but the researchers are working to overcome these limitations. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New CO2 scrubbing technology inspired by scuba gear

Carbon capture technology has been gaining traction in recent years as...

Step aside <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/20-years-after-deep-blue-how-ai-has-advanced-since-conquering-chess/#googDisableSync">Deep Blue,</a> the first supercomputer to beat a reigning chess champion, as <a href="http://www.mit.edu/">MIT</a> engineers have developed a robot to play Jenga using tactile learning. 

While many robots can be trained to learn using <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/robots-interpret-identify-objects/">visual cues</a>, programming a robot to learn using physical touch is much harder. 

A new report published in the journal Science Robotics details how MIT engineers designed the robot with an external camera and a force sensing wrist cuff which helps the robot learn the best way to carry out a task

In this case, the task is to remove a block from a Jenga tower or move on to a different block. 

Teaching the robot to play Jenga was an excellent way to incorporate tactile learning into the robot’s programming, as mastery of Jenga requires an ability to test different blocks to ensure that removing them won’t cause the tower to fall. 

For the game, 54 blocks are stacked in layers of three, eighteen layers high. Each player has to remove a block and place it at the top of the tower and the first player to remove a block that collapses the tower loses.

The robot was trained to carefully test the blocks, pushing against different blocks to assess the stability of the tower and consider the outcome if the block is removed. The robot used both visual cues and physical touch to carry out the required tasks. 

“Unlike in more purely cognitive tasks or games such as chess or Go, playing the game of Jenga also requires mastery of physical skills such as probing, pushing, pulling, placing, and aligning pieces. It requires interactive perception and manipulation, where you have to go and touch the tower to learn how and when to move blocks," said Alberto Rodriguez, one of the robot’s developers.

To train the robot, the researchers had to find a more efficient machine learning method rather than programming the robot to understand every possible scenario with every possible block move. The researchers instead trained the robot on 300 rounds of removing different blocks from a Jenga tower. 

With each attempt, a computer recorded the force the robot exerted and whether or not the attempts were successful. These measurements were then clustered together based on similar outcomes. 

“The robot builds clusters and then learns models for each of these clusters, instead of learning a model that captures absolutely everything that could happen,” said Nima Fazeli, the lead author of the paper.

After testing their cluster approach against other machine learning algorithms, the researchers were able to gain a better understanding of how the robot would learn in the real world. 

The team also tested their machine learning program against human players, and the researchers found that the robot was able to mostly keep up with the human players. 

However, it will be some time before the new robot is prepared to play against humans competitively like Deep Blue. 

The researchers say their robot and cluster method has many applications in other industries.  

“In a cell phone assembly line, in almost every single step, the feeling of a snap-fit, or a threaded screw, is coming from force and touch rather than vision,” said Rodriguez. “Learning models for those actions is prime real-estate for this kind of technology.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Jenga-playing robot uses tactile learning to accomplish tasks

Step aside Deep Blue, the first supercomputer to beat a...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham UK</a> have pinpointed exactly how sperm move their tails to swim, according to a report from <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a>. The discovery could help explain why some men struggle with fertility issues and may ultimately lead to improved testing for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/heat-waves-male-fertility/">infertility</a>. 

Sperm wiggle their long tails to propel forward, and the journey from the vagina through the womb to an egg takes several hours. When sperm become hyperactivated, they use a high amplitude, asymmetrical beating pattern that makes them swim faster and more erratically. 

Sperm were thought to only hyperactivate after they zeroed in on an egg, using the extra force to successfully burrow through the egg’s outer wall. But now, a research team led by sperm physiology expert Dr. Stephen Publicover has discovered that sperm continuously alternate between normal swimming and hyperactivity.

“Rather than starting off in one stroke and ending up in another, they’re switching back and forwards all the time,” said the researchers.

The experts captured videos of individual sperm in a dish for three minutes at a time. Their observations revealed that most of the sperm abruptly shifted between motility styles about every ten seconds. 

According to Dr. Publicover, this indicates that hyperactivation is not just used for pushing into the wall of an egg. However, it is not yet clear what other purpose this behavior may serve.

Susan Suarez of Cornell University told New Scientist that hyperactivated sperm in mice seem to move better in the fallopian tube. “We have never understood well how human sperm travel through the reproductive tract. It’s crazy we don’t understand exactly how they get to the egg yet,” said Suarez.

The research was presented at The Fertility 2019 Conference in Birmingham in the UK earlier this month.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New discovery in how sperm swim could explain some infertility cases

Researchers at the University of Birmingham UK have pinpointed exactly...

A new study led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.rochester.edu/">University of Rochester</a> has found that the Earth's magnetic field was “on the verge of collapse” around 565 million years ago. This would have allowed solar wind to diminish the atmosphere and expose the planet to harmful radiation. 

The researchers discovered that the planet's core solidified just in time to recharge the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-field-shifting/">Earth's magnetic field</a>. The study sheds new light on the formation of the inner core and confirms the theory that it is relatively young. 

“An enduring mystery about Earth has been the age of its solid inner core,” wrote the study authors. Scientists have speculated that it solidified anywhere from 500 million to 2.5 billion years ago.

The research team, which was led by palaeomagnetism researcher Richard Bono, analyzed individual crystals of plagioclase and clinopyroxene that formed 565 million years ago in what is now Quebec. 

When the experts reconstructed the timeline of the Earth's solidification, they discovered that there was a large amount of magnetic reversals occurring at the same time, leading to record low geomagnetic field intensities.

In an article for <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/articles?type=news-and-views">News &amp; Views</a>, Peter Driscoll explained that “the nucleation of the inner core may have occurred right in the nick of time to recharge the geodynamo and save Earth's magnetic shield.”

Driscoll said the weak magnetic field 565 million years ago was previously misinterpreted as being the result of “rapid tectonic motion, hyper-frequent polarity reversals, and even an equatorial dipole.”

“A young inner core is consistent with thermal history models of the Earth that predict a large transfer of heat from the core to the mantle due, indirectly, to upward revisions to the thermal conductivity of the core.”

The study findings may improve the search for alien life by giving astronomers a new glimpse into how planets form that can sustain life.


The research is published in the journal in <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo">Nature Geoscience</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Earth’s magnetic field nearly collapsed 565 million years ago

A new study led by researchers at the University of...

Astronauts may have found a piece of the Earth among moon rocks that were carried back during the Apollo 14 mission. According to <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a>, the rock could be the first evidence of granite breaking off of our planet and landing elsewhere. 

William Bottke is a planetary scientist who specializes in asteroids at the <a href="https://www.swri.org/">Southwest Research Institute</a> in Colorado. 

Bottke told New Scientist: “Earth’s been hit by a lot of very big things, and it’s conceivable that some of those impacts have ejected material far enough away that it’s been able to escape the clutches of Earth and make it to the moon.”

The tiny piece of granite, which is one of the oldest Earth rocks ever found, was discovered in the moon rock by a team at the <a href="http://www.nrm.se/en/16.html">Swedish Museum of Natural History</a>.

The experts chemically analyzed the physical properties of zircon crystals inside of the granite to investigate how they formed. The analysis revealed that the crystals formed in conditions that were more oxygen-rich than those found on the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/china-cotton-seeds-moon/">moon</a>. 

The crystals also developed at unusually low temperatures and high pressures that are not characteristic of lunar rocks. The researchers said that “such conditions have not been observed for any other lunar clasts, are not known to exist on the Moon, and are broadly similar to those found in terrestrial magmas.”

Based on this similarity to rocks that form in magma on our planet, study lead author Jeremy Bellucci said the simplest explanation is that the granite originated on Earth.

Bottke, on the other hand, feels that further research is needed.  He explained to New Scientist: “What they’ve pointed out is an interesting inconsistency and they’ve pointed out a possible hypothesis, and now we get to figure out whether it holds water or not.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/earth-and-planetary-science-letters">Earth and Planetary Science Letters</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA

Astronauts may have found a chunk of Earth on the Moon

Astronauts may have found a piece of the Earth among...

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/roslin">University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute</a>, the same institute responsible for <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/dolly-cloned-sheep-anniversary/">Dolly the cloned sheep</a>, have genetically modified chickens to produce eggs that contain human proteins in the hopes of developing new, cost-effective cancer treatments. 

Protein-based drugs are commonly used for cancer treatment and are designed to bind and target cancer cells, preventing the spread of the disease. 

Researchers have found that genetically modified goats and rabbits can produce certain protein therapies in their milk, but using chicken eggs is more efficient, according to their new study published in the journal BMC Biotechnology. 

The Roslin Institute genetically modified chickens to produce high-quality cancer drugs in the whites of their eggs which can later be recovered without harming the chickens. The proteins are encoded as part of the chicken’s DNA. 

Currently, proteins extracted from chicken eggs could be valuable for cancer research and later could be used to develop successful treatments for cancer patients. 

“We are not yet producing medicines for people, but this study shows that chickens are commercially viable for producing proteins suitable for drug discovery studies and other applications in biotechnology,” said Helen Sang, a professor at the Roslin Institute. 

The researchers modified chickens to produce two proteins, both of which play a key role in the immune system. The first is a protein called IFNalpha2a, known for its antiviral properties, while the second is a protein called macrophage-CSF, which helps encourage tissue repair. 

Three eggs were all that was needed to extract enough of the proteins to create a clinical dose of a potential drug. Because chickens lay so many eggs every year, this new approach is not only cost-effective but also beats current methods being used to produce similar treatments. 

“These recent findings provide a promising proof of concept for future drug discovery and potential for developing more economical protein-based drugs,” said Ceri Lyn-Adams, the Head of Science Strategy, Bioscience for Health with the <a href="https://bbsrc.ukri.org/">Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Genetically modified chickens can help create cancer therapies

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, the same...

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

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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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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