For years, bacteria dominated gut health research. Now, the gut virome is gaining attention as a major player in health and disease. Bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-think-they-found-two-key-bacteria-that-cause-multiple-sclerosis/">bacteria</a>, make up around 90% of the gut virome.



Though small in biomass, they outnumber bacteria by up to tenfold. These tiny viruses shape microbial communities, influence immunity, and affect gut health.



A landmark review published recently in Precision Clinical Medicine reveals how the gut virome links to diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/inflammatory-bowel-disease/about/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IBD</a>), <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/colonoscopy-vs-stool-tests-doctors-found-out-which-is-better-at-detecting-cancer/">colorectal cancer</a>, and Clostridium difficile infection (<a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15548-c-diff-infection" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CDI</a>).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gut-s-virome-changes-across-life-stages">Gut's virome changes across life stages</h2>



The gut virome changes constantly throughout life. Infants show high <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-that-eat-forever-chemicals-discovered-in-contaminated-soil/">diversity</a> in gut bacteriophages (also called phages), which is shaped by birth method, diet, and antibiotic exposure.



As individuals grow, diet and hormones refine the virome. In adults, phages and bacteria form a stable, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-021-00536-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">balanced community</a>.



However, aging shifts this balance. Older adults show more lysogenic phages, which integrate into bacterial genomes and potentially alter metabolism and immune interactions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diet-and-environment-shape-the-virome">Diet and environment shape the virome</h2>



Diet greatly <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9455721/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">influences</a> the virome. High-fiber diets support beneficial phages by encouraging helpful bacteria. Western diets, rich in fat and sugar, promote harmful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-bacteria-breathe-by-creating-electricity/">phages</a>.



Urbanization reduces exposure to natural viruses. Studies show that rural diets which are rich in fiber boost gut virome diversity.



Host genetics and immunity also play roles. Genetic variants can affect viral detection and clearance. Immune defenses, like <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/interferons" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interferons</a> and <a href="https://www.immunology.org/public-information/bitesized-immunology/receptors-molecules/immunoglobulin-iga" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IgA</a>, keep the virome balanced.



However, immune dysfunction can trigger viral imbalances, worsening conditions like HIV and gut inflammation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-viruses-and-bacteria-interacting">Viruses and bacteria interacting</h2>



Viruses, including phages, along with bacteria and fungi form a complex and dynamic ecosystem in the gut. The components interact in positive and negative ways, thus affecting host metabolism, immune regulation and resistance to disease. 



The gut virome plays a crucial regulatory role in these intricate interactions. Phages interact with bacteria through lytic, lysogenic, and budding cycles, which regulate bacterial populations and gene flow. 



In a form of microbial arms race, the bacteria defend against phages using <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crispr-used-to-remove-extra-chromosomes-in-down-syndrome-and-restore-cell-function/">CRISPR systems</a> and the phages evolve escape mechanisms.



Some phages even boost bacterial metabolism and biofilm formation, affecting disease risk. For instance, phages can transfer genes that enhance bacterial survival in acidic conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-virome-s-influence-on-immunity">Virome’s influence on immunity</h2>



The virome affects gut immunity deeply. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-bacteria-get-hungry-they-turn-on-each-other/">Phages</a> can anchor to gut mucus and form a protective barrier. They also shape our own <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459471/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">T and B cell</a> activity and regulate macrophages. In addition, viruses that infect eukaryotic cells affect immune pathways and maintain gut balance.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/virome_microbiome_human-gut_graphic_credit-PCM_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/virome_microbiome_human-gut_graphic_credit-PCM_1s.webp" alt="This infographic illustrates four major therapeutic approaches—fecal microbial transplantation (FMT), phage therapy, dietary interventions, and probiotics/prebiotics—that aim to restore gut health by modulating the microbiome and virome. Each strategy offers unique methods, benefits, and challenges in managing gastrointestinal disorders such as IBD, CRC, and CDI, highlighting the growing potential of virome-informed precision medicine. Credit: Precision Clinical Medicine" class="wp-image-1976450"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This infographic illustrates four major therapeutic approaches—fecal microbial transplantation (FMT), phage therapy, dietary interventions, and probiotics/prebiotics—that aim to restore gut health by modulating the microbiome and virome. Each strategy offers unique methods, benefits, and challenges in managing gastrointestinal disorders such as IBD, CRC, and CDI, highlighting the growing potential of virome-informed precision medicine. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Precision Clinical Medicine</figcaption></figure>



However, infections and antibiotics can disrupt this harmony and lead to inflammation. Phages can trigger TLR9 pathways, causing excessive immune responses such as those linked to IBD.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-virome-s-role-in-disease">Virome’s role in disease</h2>



Imbalances in the gut virome have been linked to several gut diseases. In IBD, specific phages become abundant and worsen inflammation.



Certain groups of phages (such as Caudovirales) amplify immune responses, while norovirus and rotavirus can damage the gut lining. Viral imbalances are also common in IBS and CDI.



In colorectal cancer, phages and eukaryotic viruses like HPV and JC virus (polyomavirus) appear more often. They may promote tumor growth by altering bacterial communities and gene expression.



Studies suggest that some phages directly influence cancer risk by promoting biofilms and transferring harmful genes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-virus-based-treatments">Virus-based treatments</h2>



Several therapies now explore the virome’s potential to treat certain diseases or conditions. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) restores gut balance and reduces inflammation in IBD and CDI.



FMT works not only by shifting bacteria but also by transferring beneficial phages. Studies show that donor phages often align quickly with recipients and promote recovery.



Phage therapy, which uses viruses to kill specific bacteria, is another approach that is gaining traction. It can reduce harmful microbes while preserving beneficial ones.



Researchers have created phage cocktails that target specific gut pathogens like E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and this approach has had promising results in animal models.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diet-as-a-tool-to-reshape-the-virome">Diet as a tool to reshape the virome</h2>



Dietary strategies also reshape the virome. High-fiber diets boost beneficial phages and support bacterial diversity.



Whey protein has shown potential in managing Crohn’s disease by improving phage-bacteria interactions.



Other interventions, such as exclusive enteral nutrition and low-FODMAP diets, also show benefits in gut diseases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-probiotics-prebiotics-and-phages">Probiotics, prebiotics, and phages</h2>



Probiotics introduce beneficial bacteria, while prebiotics feed them. Combining them, known as symbiotics, shows promise for restoring and maintaining gut health.



Recent research suggests that adding phages can enhance these effects. Phage-based products, such as PreforPro, have already shown benefits in clinical trials.



These products can reduce populations of harmful bacteria and improve probiotic performance, thereby creating a more stable gut environment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-using-gut-viruses-to-detect-diseases-early">Using gut viruses to detect diseases early</h2>



The gut virome is now being studied as a diagnostic tool. Viral patterns are more stable than bacterial ones, making them reliable biomarkers.



Distinct virome signatures can predict IBD and colorectal cancer. Machine learning models already use virome data to detect these diseases early.



Virome profiling may also track treatment responses, such as FMT success in IBD and CDI.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-and-future-prospects">Challenges and future prospects</h2>



Despite the excitement over potential new treatments, many hurdles remain. Current methods struggle to capture the full virome due to technical limits.



Many phages are still unculturable, and their roles remain unclear. Researchers are working to improve viral databases and develop targeted therapies. Once these gaps close, virome-based therapies could change how we treat gut diseases.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pcm/article/8/2/pbaf010/8152264" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Precision Clinical Medicine</a>.



-----



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



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



-----

Move over microbiome, it's time for the human gut's "virome" to shine

For years, bacteria dominated gut health research. Now, the gut virome is gaining attention as a major player in health and disease. Bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect bacteria, make up around 90% of the gut virome. Though small in biomass, they outnumber bacteria by up to tenfold. These tiny viruses shape microbial communities, influence immunity, and affect gut health. A landmark review published recently in Precision Clinical Medicine reveals how the gut virome links to diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colorectal cancer, and Clostridium difficile infection (CDI)....

A new report from the <a href="http://nuffieldbioethics.org/">Nuffield Council on Bioethics</a> is emphasizing the ethical issues that often arise when patients opt for experimental medical treatments. From <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/human-stem-cell-science/">stem cell therapies</a> to expensive fertility treatments, experimental procedures are controversial and risky. 

Recent headlines on the topic have exposed stem cell-engineered transplants that proved fatal, as well as stories about couples who felt ripped off after paying for expensive fertility treatment “add-ons.” 

Success stories have also emerged, however, including the miraculous recovery of a one-year-old girl who had leukemia. The baby was cured by the use of a new gene editing technique that modifies immune cells, and she remains cancer free.

Experts at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics have set out to inform the public of how experimental treatments are regulated, how they may be accessed, and some of the ethical issues that healthcare professionals and patients must recognize. The briefing is focused on gene and stem cell therapies, surgery, and fertility treatment.

According to the Council, there is often a lack of evidence or research to guarantee the safety of an experimental procedure. Challenges also arise regarding consent, particularly when a child is receiving the treatment. The report also points to the ethical issues of deceptive online marketing and the motivation of healthcare providers.

“Often, experimental medical treatments are considered as a last hope, when all other options have been exhausted,” explained Council Director Hugh Whittall. “It is completely understandable that people in this position might be willing to try anything and everything they can, despite uncertainties about the efficacy or safety of the treatment, and the likelihood of there being significant costs involved.” 

“A key challenge is balancing the interests of patients with ensuring they are protected from harm, particularly if treatments are offered outside of UK regulation. It is important that patients and their families have access to impartial and accurate information, and are made aware of uncertainties about possible outcomes when making a decision about trying an experimental treatment.”

“We will be raising these issues with Government and working with regulators, and we are following up this piece of work with a new project exploring how disagreements can develop about the care of critically ill children, and how those disagreements are being resolved.”


The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is an independent body that has been advising policy makers on ethical issues in bioscience and medicine for more than 25 years. The current report is the fourth in a new series of bioethics briefing notes published by the Council.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Experimental medical treatments raise a number of ethical issues

A new report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics is...

Research recently published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/home">Cell Reports</a> reveals that a certain mysterious gene may be responsible for heart regeneration. Scientists are currently studying the Mexican cavefish, a translucent, blind, guppy-sized species living within the cave systems in northern Mexico, to better understand why some fish and mammals can regenerate their <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/weight-lifting-heart-health-benefits/">hearts</a> whereas others simply scar.

Co-senior author Mathilda Mommersteeg, developmental scientist at the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a>, explained that these cavefish are descendents of river surface fish, who, millions of years ago, were trapped in the caves when the rivers flooded. Here, they lost their eyesight and pigment in order to adapt to life within the cave.

“We have discovered that, like zebrafish, the river surface fish regenerate their heart, while some cavefish cannot and form a permanent scar,” Mommersteeg continued. “We introduce the Mexican cavefish as a new model for heart regeneration research."

Mommersteeg and her team bred both surface and cavefish species in their lab and removed parts of each fish species’ hearts to document regeneration. They found that surface fish slowly regenerate heart tissue, however the cavefish just develop scarring. When crossbred, surface and cavefish hybrid species could regenerate, showing that the regeneration gene is heritable.

After testing Irrc10, a mysterious heart muscle-related gene found in fish, mice, and humans, the team believes it, along with three DNA segments, may be responsible for the surface fish’s ability to regenerate heart tissue.

“Quantitative trait locus analysis is a method that has allowed us to find out what part of all the surface fish DNA is most crucial for heart regeneration," co-senior author Yoshiyuki Yamamoto, developmental biologist at <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a>, said. "We have identified three regions in the DNA that contain genes that make the difference between regeneration or scarring after heart injury.”

The next discovery the team hopes to make is to understand why the cavefish did not inherit this regenerative ability during their adaptation.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Colin Beesley

Mexican cavefish offer clues of how to repair damaged hearts

Research recently published in the journal Cell Reports reveals that...

For the millions of children who have peanut allergies, a new technique could literally be a life-saver. Researchers have demonstrated that it is possible for some people with a peanut allergy to build up a tolerance to protect themselves from a fatal allergic reaction.

The study was focused on 551 individuals between 4 and 55 years old, while the majority were <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/good-nutrition-stress-damage/">children</a> between the ages of 4 and 17. 

As a control, 25 percent of the participants were given a placebo. The remaining patients were given small amounts of peanut protein powder. The doses started out at just half a milligram a day and gradually increased to 300 milligrams, which is the equivalent of eating one peanut per day.

After a year of treatment, two-thirds of participants who consumed the powder were able to tolerate the equivalent of two peanuts per day. Furthermore, 50 percent of those exposed to the powder were able to tolerate the equivalent of four peanuts per day. 

Among those in the control group, however,  only 4 percent were able to consume the equivalent of two peanuts without an allergic reaction. 

Study co-author Dr. Jay Lieberman is the vice chair of the <a href="https://acaai.org/">American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology</a> Food Allergy Committee.

“This is not a quick fix, and it doesn't mean people with peanut allergy will be able to eat peanuts whenever they want,” said Dr. Lieberman. “But it is definitely a breakthrough.”

In recent years, food allergies have dramatically increased in the United States. According to the <a href="https://www.foodallergy.org/">Food Allergy Research and Education</a> (FARE), the prevalence of nut allergies more than tripled among American children between 1997 and 2008.

Study senior author Daniel C. Adelman told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/">The New York Times</a> that the company plans to apply for FDA approval by the end of the year.

If approved, this would be the first available treatment to reduce the severity of a peanut allergy. Just as the clinical trial demonstrated, however, the treatment would not be effective for everyone.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.nejm.org/">New England Journal of Medicine</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New treatment for peanut allergies could save lives

For the millions of children who have peanut allergies, a...

A team of researchers has been investigating the way that some marine animals manage to launch their bodies above the surface of water. The experts designed a robotic system that mimics the fluid dynamics used by frogs and tiny crustaceans as they jump out of the water. 

Sunghwan Jung is an associate professor of Biology and Environmental Engineering at <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a>, who is conducting the research with his student Brian Chang.

“We collected data about aquatic animals of different sizes - from about 1 millimeter to tens of meters - jumping out of water, and were able to reveal how their maximum jumping heights are related to their body size,” said Professor Jung.


Aquatic animals move in and out of water for different reasons, such as evading <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/deep-ocean-predators-thrived/">predators</a> or catching prey.

“But since water is 1,000 times denser than air, entering or exiting water requires a lot of effort, so aquatic animals face mechanical challenges.”

As an animal jumps through water, mass is added to it. This extra force, referred to as “entrained water mass,” limits the height to which the animals can jump.  

“We're trying to understand how biological systems are able to smartly figure out and overcome these challenges to maximize their performance, which might also shed light on engineering systems to enter or exit air-water interfaces,” said Professor Jung.

Most marine animals are streamlined and water just slides off their bodies, limiting the effect of entrained water mass.

“That's why they're such good jumpers. But when we made and tested a robotic system similar to jumping animals, it didn't jump as much as animals. Why? Our robot isn't as streamlined and carries a lot of water with it. Imagine getting out of a swimming pool with a wet coat - you might not be able to walk due to the water weight.”

Professor Jung explained that the system may ultimately be used for surveillance near water basins.

The research was presented at the <a href="https://www.aps.org/">American Physical Society</a> (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New robotic system mimics how frogs jump out of water

A team of researchers has been investigating the way that...

Ok, I’ll admit it, living in a world where you could conceivably go to a zoo and check out a woolly mammoth like it’s a hippo is awesome.

The giant behemoths of the ancient world have always held a special fascination for us, whether it’s the woolly mammoth, the saber-tooth tiger, or even megalodon, the largest shark ever to swim the world’s oceans. 

Just look at Jurassic Park, a novel and film franchise centered around one main theme: Man likes dinosaurs, man brings dinosaurs back from extinction, dinosaurs wreak all havoc on man. 

As we make more and more scientific advances in gene mapping and uncover more species in the fossil record, de-extinction has quickly been jettisoned from the realm of science fiction into the realm of possibility. 

Already there are projects in the works involving bringing back the woolly mammoth, the critically endangered northern white rhinoceros, and even the passenger pigeon. 

Right now in eastern Siberia, Russian scientists are working on bringing back the ice age… well, within a 50 square mile nature reserve that is. Pleistocene Park is the brainchild of father-son duo, Sergey and Nikita Zimov. 

While resurrecting woolly mammoths is part of the plan for the park, the directors of the park are quick to point out that the project is actually designed to help solve the problems of climate change. 

“It will be cute to have mammoths running around here,” Nikita told <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/04/pleistocene-park/517779/">The Atlantic</a> in an interview. “But I’m not doing this for them, or for any other animals. I’m not one of these crazy scientists that just wants to make the world green. I am trying to solve the larger problem of climate change. I’m doing this for humans. I’ve got three daughters. I’m doing it for them.”

However, as scientists race to make the seemingly impossible possible, it’s worthwhile to stop and take a minute to consider the ramifications of de-extinction and if it will actually be as beneficial as de-extinction experts propose. 

Several alarming studies have shown that we’re well on our way to a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/10/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-event-already-underway-scientists-warn">sixth mass extinction</a> as species are dying off at a rapid rate. An average of two vertebrate species have gone extinct per year over the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warning-imminent-mass-extinction/">last 100 years</a>. 

Animal populations are shrinking due to climate change, habitat loss, and human activities like fishing, hunting, and tourism. Given the rate that Earth is losing its precious biodiversity, is it really worth spending countless resources, energy and time resurrecting an ancient species? 

Wouldn’t that time be better spent on conservation measures that could slow down species decline? 

The researchers working on bringing back northern white rhinos using <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/researchers-create-first-ever-in-vitro-rhino-embryos-to-save-species/">hybrid embryos</a> are somewhat exempt from this question because the animals they are trying to save are still found on Earth, even if there are just two individual northern white rhinos left. 

But take, for example, the passenger pigeon. This year, in a historic win for de-extinction, 13 pigeons became the first pigeons to contain the Cas9 gene in their reproductive systems. 

In a bid to bring back the passenger pigeon, which went extinct in 1914 thanks to overhunting and habitat declines, scientist Ben Novak plans to breed the pigeons and eventually edit the DNA of the pigeon's offspring to create a passenger pigeon-like hybrid.

As truly novel and revolutionary as Novak’s work is, there are concerns that hybrid passenger pigeons will meet the same fate as their long-since extinct ancestors. 

“The habitat the passenger pigeons need to survive is also extinct,” Beth Shapiro, a researcher whose work on sequencing the passenger pigeon genome has been a central part of Novak’s work, told the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-the-scientists-bringing-extinct-species-back-from-the-dead-1539093600">Wall Street Journal</a>.

Shapiro has taught a class on de-extinction and says that there isn’t a good reason to justify de-extinctions. 

“What’s the point of bringing something back if we don’t know why it went extinct?” Shapiro asked, “or if we do know why it went extinct but haven’t fixed the problem?”

Shapiro makes a valid point. Before we can bring a species back, researchers need to first fully understand what led to the species’ extinction in the first place and make sure these problems are fully addressed before attempting to resurrect the species. 

Douglas McCauley, an ecologist from the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California-Santa Barbara</a>, came up with a rather apt metaphor that emphasizes one of the biggest problems with de-extinction. 

How can we expect species from ages past to thrive in today’s world, especially one with such an uncertain future due to the projected impacts of climate change? 

“What some are proposing to do with de-extinction will be like manufacturing a part from the engine of a Model T and trying to shove it into a Tesla,” McCauley said in a UCSB statement offering smart solutions for de-extinction. “You just can’t take apart and put it into a brand new system and expect it to work without considering how its ecological context has changed.”

But what if a de-extinction expert finds a way around this, or picks a species that will seamlessly fit into Earth’s modern eco-system? 

That brings us to another glaring problem with de-extinction. What’s the point, what purpose will it serve, how will the de-extinct species benefit the natural world, and are there unforeseen consequences not being accounted for? 

It’s argued that the woolly mammoth will help transform the Arctic tundra into grasslands, a helpful defense in preventing the release of carbon from the Arctic permafrost.

[caption id="attachment_1862056" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/wooly.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1862056" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/wooly-1024x731.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="500" /></a> Woolly mammoth illustration, Image Credit: Shutterstock/AuntSpray[/caption]

Woolly Mammoths will knock down trees and spread grass seeds, just as large ice age herbivores did thousands of years ago maintaining an ice age-like biome. 

The question still remains, is there a way to do this without bringing back woolly mammoth hybrids? Can you transform Pleistocene Park into grasslands, incorporating native herbivores into the landscape to do the job the woolly mammoths would do? 

Even if a de-extinct species was able to adapt to its new environment, it’s important to consider it’s purpose, ecologically speaking. For Pleistocene park, the woolly mammoth’s purpose could help combat climate change by maintaining grasslands. 

Every species has an important ecological function, some of the species once lost, irrevocably change local food webs and it can start a downward spiral of other species declines. 

When considering de-extinction, researchers should first look at the animal they want to bring back, and it’s original ecological function. 

Douglas McCauley and his colleagues at the UCSB stated that only animals that are irreplaceable should be considered for resurrection when coming up with a set of guidelines for de-extinction. 

Another issue with de-extinction is the matter of population or numbers. 

Resurrecting a species takes time because the researchers are actually piecing as much original DNA as possible and transferring it to a close relative in order to create hybrid embryos and later hybrid de-extinct species. 

“You need to have enough individuals to perform their function well enough to affect the ecosystem,” UCSB graduate student Molly Hardesty-Moore said in a statement. “One wolf hunting and killing has minimal impact, but hundreds of wolves performing that function will change the ecosystem.”

It will be interesting to see what new achievements are made with de-extinction, and if Pleistocene Park will be a reality or if there will be flocks of hybrid Passenger Pigeons re-shaping North American forest land in the future. 

However far de-extinction goes, I would hope that researchers and conservationists at least reserve as much time and energy protecting the threatened species that currently call our world home.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Resurrecting ancient animals: The ramifications of de-extinction

Ok, I’ll admit it, living in a world where you...

It’s been said that cooking is an art, while baking is a science. However, researchers from the<a href="https://www.gatech.edu/"> Georgia Institute of Technology</a> would disagree. 

In a new study, researchers David Hu and Hungtang Ko, used the <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/cook-tastiest-pasta/">science of cooking</a> to take a closer look at the tossing techniques used for fried rice and stir-fry.  

Hu and Ko noticed that there were few studies involving the physics behind Chinese cuisine, and so the two set out to identify the underlying mechanisms of stir-frying, which has been a part of Chinese Culinary tradition since at least 600 A.D. 

First, the researchers observed and recorded chefs in Taiwan making fried rice in a wok.  

Next, the team used the video recordings to track the wok movements. Overall, the cooking process for the fried rice was about two minutes, and Hu and Ko were able to break the process down to a system of repeated cycles and phases. 

Each cycle lasted about one-third of a second, and the cycles were then broken down into four phases where the chefs would either tilt the wok or move the wok forward and backward. 

The researchers categorized the motions as translational and rotational, and both are required for stir-frying. 

An essential part of making fried rice is continuously tossing or juggling the rice so that no portion of rice touches the hot wok for too long. 

By moving the wok forward, backward and tilting it side to side, the ingredients are constantly mixing, cooking, and cooling so that the rice is not burned. 

“Once we came up with a mathematical model for fried rice cooking. we realized it could lend itself rather easily to a robotic design,” said Ko. 

Attempts have been made to create a stir-frying robot because the process is so labor intensive, but Hu explained that none of the robots could throw the rice. 

Now with this new study, researchers have a better foundation to create an automated stir-frying machine and the results shed light on the complex cooking processes involved in different culinary cuisine. 

The researchers presented their work at the <a href="https://www.aps.org/units/dfd/">American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The science behind cooking perfectly fried rice

It’s been said that cooking is an art, while baking...

An international team of experts led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> has found that advanced stone tools were used in East Asia much earlier than previously realized. The researchers conducted a new analysis of artifacts from South China and discovered that carved stone tools, also known as Levallois cores, were used in Asia 80,000 to 170,000 years ago.

Even though levallois cores were developed in Africa and Western Europe as far back as 300,000 years ago, they were not thought to have appeared in East Asia until 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. The current study provides evidence that the technology was developed independently in Asia.


“It used to be thought that Levallois cores came to China relatively recently with modern humans,” said study co-author Ben Marwick. “Our work reveals the complexity and adaptability of people there that is equivalent to elsewhere in the world. It shows the diversity of the human experience.”

Marwick explained that levallois-shaped cores, the “Swiss Army knife of prehistoric tools,” were very efficient and durable. These qualities were critical to hunter-gatherers at a time when a broken spear point could mean certain death by a predator. The tools were also exceptionally versatile, and could be used for spearing, slicing, scraping, or digging,

The Levallois artifacts analyzed in this study were recovered from Guanyindong Cave in Guizhou Province in the 1960s and 1970s. The experts used used optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) on the sediments surrounding the artifacts to gain a more accurate understanding of when the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tools-animal-bone/">artifacts</a> originated.

Sorry co-author Bo Li is an associate professor of Archaeology at the <a href="https://www.uow.edu.au/index.html">University of Wollongong</a> in Australia.


“Dating for this site was challenging because it had been excavated 40 years ago, and the sediment profile was exposed to air and without protection. So trees, plants, animals, insects could disturb the stratigraphy, which may affect the dating results if conventional methods were used for dating,” said Professor Li.

“To solve this problem we used a new single-grain dating technique recently developed in our OSL lab at the University of Wollongong to date individual mineral grains in the sediment. Luckily we found residual sediment left over by the previous excavations, so that allowed us to take samples for dating.”

Out of more than 2,200 artifacts found at Guanyindong Cave, the number of Levallois-style stone cores and flakes was narrowed down to 45. The team established that those in the older age range - 130,000 to 180,000 years old - had been used in an open woodland on a rocky landscape.

The independent emergence of the Levallois technique at different times is not unique as far as prehistoric innovations go. For example, pyramid construction appeared in at least three separate societies: the Egyptians, the Aztecs, and the Mayans.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://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 

Image Credit: Marwick et al.

Impressive ‘Swiss Army knife of prehistoric tools’ unearthed in Asia

An international team of experts led by the University of...

There are some animals that have a remarkable sense of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/desert-ants-remember-food-smells/">smell</a>, with a level of sensitivity that allows them to explore and understand the world around them. Scientists at the <a href="https://www.gatech.edu/">Georgia Institute of Technology</a> are analyzing the exceptional smelling ability of animals to develop a chemical sensor that could be applied to critical tasks ranging from food safety to national security.

Thomas Spencer is a doctoral candidate in the lab of David Hu, an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biology at Georgia Tech.

“We turned to animals to understand what nature has already figured out,” said Spencer. “We are applying the underlying principles that we learned about these mechanisms to design a better sensor.”

The research was initiated by a competition to develop a sensor that could identify different varieties of cheese. The team had traveled to the Atlanta Zoo to compare the ways that different animals sniff, from mice to elephants.

“We wanted to measure the sniffing frequency of animals when they are trying to identify a new source of food or something that interests them,” explained Spencer.

The researchers found that an animal's sniffing speed decreases as its body size increases. For example, mice sniff faster than elephants. Based on these findings, the team designed a customized pump that oscillates back and forth at the same frequency that animals sniff.

“These findings are important because it gives us insight into the physics of sniffing," said Professor Hu. “This information will affect how we scale up sniffing machines.”

Wind tunnel experiments and computer simulations gave the experts an opportunity to analyze how the odor particles moved through the air. In addition, they were able to collect sensor information in real time to observe how the chemical compounds vary throughout the air in space and time.

While the device was initially designed to distinguish between different varieties of cheese, the fundamental principles involved could be used for many important applications.

“This is still a fairly new study,” said Spencer. “Our hope is to get a snippet of that ability and replicate it for ourselves.”

Spencer will present the group's latest design for an electronic nose at the <a href="https://www.aps.org/">American Physical Society</a>'s Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 
Image Credit: Thomas Spencer

Scientists create electronic nose to be used as a chemical sensor

There are some animals that have a remarkable sense of...

Professor Konrad Rykaczewski of <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> (ASU) studies wettability, or how water interacts with solids, to develop surfaces for industrial applications. After relocating to the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cacti-birds-sonoran-desert/">Sonora Desert</a> six years ago, Professor Rykaczewski sprayed the plants in his front yard with water to investigate how they interacted with the droplets.

“It was the first time I'd lived in a desert, and I was fascinated by the flora and fauna,” said Professor Rykaczewski. “What I noticed about prickly pear cacti is that the new pads are superhydrophobic, but the ones a season older right below them are superhydrophilic. I wondered why.”

With a seed grant from ASU's Biomimicry Center, Professor Rykaczewski and a team of students began experimenting in the lab to characterize the microscopic 3D epidermal structure of prickly pears at dry and wet times of the year.

The study revealed that new cactus pads have a continuous waxy, hydrophobic surface, while the older pads are covered with a network of microcracks. Kenneth Manning, a doctoral student on the project who led the experimental work, explained that these microscopic cracks “go down all the way through the wax to the cell wall,” which is hydrophilic.

Using high-speed video, the researchers observed the water droplets bouncing off of the young cactus pads. Among the older pads, however, the microcracks exposed the inner hydrophilic surface which caused water droplets to hit and stick. “The skin is acting as a smart membrane,” said Manning. “As cacti dry out the cracks close, helping to preserve water.”

The findings of the study are now being used to inform Manning's latest research project in which he is developing a smart material for hazmat suits. The pores of the material will close in the presence of dangerous chemicals. Otherwise, the pores will remain open to allow for vapor and heat transfer out of the hazmat suit, which is a limitation of hazmat suits that are currently in use.

The suits will mimic the smart skins of prickly pear cactuses. “It's the same sort of change in the surface morphology,” said Manning.

The research will be presented at the <a href="https://www.aps.org/">American Physical Society</a>'s Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Prickly pear cactus “smart” skin can improve hazmat suits

Professor Konrad Rykaczewski of Arizona State University (ASU) studies wettability,...

Researchers have made an astonishing discovery in the soil at the <a href="https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/">Harvard Forest</a> in Petersham, Massachusetts. The team found giant viruses that were up to hundreds of times larger than other viruses. 

Viruses are typically thought to be tiny infectious agents that are smaller than <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/body-protects-bacteria-inhale/">bacteria</a> and human cells. But now, researchers including biologist Jeff Blanchard and Ph.D. student Lauren Alteio at the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/">University of Massachusetts Amherst</a> are reporting otherwise. 

“We were not looking for giant viruses,” said Blanchard. “Our goal was to isolate bacteria directly from the environment to understand how microbial communities are changing in response to soil warming.”

According to Blanchard, the work involved suspending microbial cells from the soil in a mild detergent solution, adding a non-toxic DNA-binding dye, and then using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to isolate individual cells. He explained that giant viruses, which have extremely large genomes, are captured by this method because of their similarity in size to bacteria.

Tanja Woyke is a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) <a href="https://jgi.doe.gov/">Joint Genome Institute</a> (JGI) who also collaborated in the study. Woyke suggested that the team use mini-metagenomics, a new strategy which places cells into small pools before genome sequencing.

As a result of this approach, the researchers acquired DNA sequences from over 2,000 individual cells and particles. They discovered 16 new giant viruses within the pools, which Blanchard said was “a wonderful surprise and very exciting new science.”

Frederik Schulz, a bioinformatics expert at JGI and co-first author of the study, said: “The fact that we found all these giant virus genomes in soil was especially intriguing, as most of the previously described giant viruses were discovered in aquatic habitats. The metagenomic data generated here from a single sampling site contained far more new giant virus genomes than any other data set I have seen to date.”

Schulz added: “We recovered 16 distinct giant virus genomes in this study, but we are merely scratching the surface. If we sample more at the same site this number would easily double, triple or even quadruple.” 

The giant virus discovery is part of a series of soil-warming experiments that have been carried out for many years at the research forest, which is located about 28 miles northeast of the UMass Amherst campus.

“Not only did we just discover many new giant viruses, but we did it using a thimbleful of soil,” said Blanchard. “It would be nice to characterize these viruses one at a time, there's a lot of skill and art in that. But it would be a years-long project. Finding 16 at once is kind of overwhelming, and none of them are the same. If you think of all the soil in the world, if there are 10,000 species of bacteria in a gram of soil, about a teaspoon, imagine how many new giant viruses are out there.”

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

Scientists discover rare, giant viruses in forest soil

Researchers have made an astonishing discovery in the soil at...

With <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-early-human-evolution/">human evolution</a>, we have this habit of thinking in the past tense. The way we talk about evolution conveys the idea that we’ve reached the finish line and have evolved as much as we ever will.

But it’s important to realize that evolution is a process that occurs across many different generations before there are any noticeable, lasting changes in a species. 

As far as humans go, we’re likely still evolving, and two recent studies have found evidence of DNA changes that occurred in the last few thousand years which helps highlight how lifestyle changes can influence evolution. 

In both studies, researchers looked for evidence of selection in humans, the process where evolution picks specific DNA sequences over others, according to <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24032042-500-modern-lifestyles-shaped-our-evolution-only-a-few-thousand-years-ago/">New Scientist</a>.

“During a short time, human genomes have changed a lot,” Irina Morozova, an author of one of the studies told New Scientist. “We think these changes are driven by human civilisation.”

One of the studies examined biological markers of evolution in modern Europeans by comparing modern Europeans to their Neolithic/Bronze Age ancestors. 

The study was published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution and conducted by Morozova and a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a>. 

The researchers reviewed and analyzed the genomes of 150 Europeans dating back as far as 5,500 years and compared them to 305 modern Europeans. 

By looking at such close ancestry over a few thousand years, the researchers were able to identify which changes evolution favored over time. 

The researchers did find changes in the biological pathways of the two groups of genomes that point to evolution. Modern Europeans evolved different metabolisms, sensory perception, and immune responses, according to the research. 

The changes in metabolism were likely driven by dietary changes as humans became more dependent on agriculture and farming as opposed to hunting and gathering. 

There were also DNA markers and processes that hadn’t changed over time. 

The second study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> in Denmark and published in the journal bioRxiv.

The Copenhagen researchers created a method for detecting changes in modern genomes and found a gene variant that could explain why some populations evolved lighter skin tones, a relatively recent evolutionary trait. 

Once an evolutionary change has been identified, researchers can try and find an explanation for what factors influenced those changes. 

But what about future evolution, what will the human genome look like thousands of years from now? 

“The question is, what are the selective pressures that are driving the evolution? They’re probably very different from the selective pressures we were experiencing 5000 to 10,000 years ago,” Fernando Racimo, an author of the second study told New Scientist.

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Human evolution is ongoing and influenced by lifestyle

With human evolution, we have this habit of thinking in...

Noise pollution is a rising problem in hospitals, and it could be affecting patients’ care, according to a new editorial published in the journal <a href="https://www.bmj.com/">BMJ</a>.

"Even in intensive care units, which cater for the most vulnerable patients, noise levels over 100 [decibels] have been measured, the equivalent of loud music through headphones," lead author Dr. Andreas Xyrichis of <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">King’s College London</a> said in a press release. He was joined by colleagues at King’s College and the <a href="https://www.arts.ac.uk/">University of the Arts London</a> in writing the editorial.

Noise levels frequently go over international recommendations, the authors wrote. The noise pollution affects the ability of staff members and doctors to communicate with each other. It also causes annoyance, fatigue and irritation, the authors argue.

This doesn’t affect just doctors, nurses and other hospital staff members, the authors point out. It also interrupts patients’ rest, and affects their ability to recover and heal. In some cases, it can lead to stress and even intensive care unit-induced psychosis, they said.

Noise pollution has previously been <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/noise-pollution-heart-disease/">linked to heart disease</a>. The editorial noted it also seemed linked to high blood pressure in patients.

"We know hospital noise has disruptive consequences for sleep – machine sounds in particular have a greater negative effect on arousal than human voices. Post-hospitalization recovery is also compromised," Xyrichis said. “For example, coronary care patients treated during noisy periods were found to have a higher incidence of re-hospitalization compared to those treated during quieter periods.”

Patients often report negative effects of noise pollution in hospitals on their health. Some even request early discharge due to noise, which puts their health and recovery at risk.

The researchers suggest three prongs of attack. First, hospitals should focus not just on reducing loud sounds, but also softer, repetitive sounds like dripping water, which can also be stressful. 

Second, hospitals should survey patients to see which sounds they find stressful and intrusive, like alarms, and which ones are welcoming, like the sound of a drink or meal cart in the hallway.

Third, hospitals should brief patients and their families on noise pollution levels before admission, so they can bring earplugs or headphones.

"Guides about potential ward sounds could also enhance patients' understanding of their surroundings and increase relaxation,” the editorial wrote. “Sound masking – the addition of background, broadband sound optimized for particular environments to reduce noise-induced disturbance – has also been used widely in open-plan offices for many years and has recently shown promise for improving sleep in hospitals."

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Noise pollution in hospitals is affecting patients' health

Noise pollution is a rising problem in hospitals, and it...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



---



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



---



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



---



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



---



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



---



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



---



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



---



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

News coming your way