For a long time, people believed the brain stops making new neurons after childhood. Scientists repeated this idea in books and lectures for years. They thought the brain had a deadline for growth, but they were wrong.



A new study has flipped this idea. Researchers from <a href="https://ki.se/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Karolinska Institutet</a> in Sweden found clear proof that the brain keeps making neurons well into old age.



This discovery changes everything. It suggests the brain stays flexible for much longer than we thought. And it brings hope for new treatments for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-the-brain-decides-what-to-focus-on-and-what-to-ignore/">brain</a> disorders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-adults-grow-new-neurons">Adults grow new neurons</h2>



The story begins with the hippocampus. This brain region helps you learn, remember, and handle emotions. It is always busy.



In 2013, Jonas Frisén and his team showed something surprising. Adults can grow new neurons in their hippocampus. They proved it by measuring carbon-14 in DNA from brain tissue.



This method showed exactly when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-your-brain-makes-a-decision-before-you-know-it/">neurons</a> were born. Suddenly, the old belief about brain growth began to crumble.



Still, many scientists remained doubtful. They asked whether the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-brain-literally-changes-based-on-daily-activities-and-lifestyle/">brain</a> really keeps growing neurons throughout life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-origin-of-new-neurons-in-the-brain">Origin of new neurons in the brain</h2>



The biggest question focused on neural progenitor cells. These early cells later become neurons. Do they still exist and divide in adult brains? This new study answered that clearly.



“We have now been able to identify these cells of origin, which confirms that there is an ongoing formation of neurons in the hippocampus of the adult brain,” said Jonas Frisén. That was the missing piece.



The experts looked at brain tissue from people of all ages. They studied <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brains-learn-new-skills-much-faster-than-expected/">brains</a> from newborns to people in their late seventies.



The researchers used a tool called single-nucleus RNA sequencing. This allowed them to read gene activity inside each brain cell nucleus. They also used flow cytometry, which looks at the properties of cells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-neurons-keep-growing-in-adult-brains">Neurons keep growing in adult brains</h2>



With help from machine learning, the experts connected the dots. They traced the full process of neuron growth, starting with stem cells and ending with young neurons. Many of these cells were still dividing.



By mapping the process, the team revealed the full journey of neuron growth in the brain. They watched cells change step by step, from stem cells to fresh neurons.



The results left no doubt. Neurons do not just grow in childhood. The brain keeps producing them far into adulthood.



Some adults had many cells ready to become neurons, while others had fewer. The differences were clear.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-birthplace-of-new-neurons">Birthplace of new neurons</h2>



The researchers wanted to see where the new neurons were forming. They used RNAscope and Xenium to find out. These tools showed exactly where genes switched on during neuron growth.



The new neurons appeared inside a brain region called the dentate gyrus. This area sits inside the hippocampus. It plays a key role in memory, learning, and flexible thinking.



This finding shows the adult brain still has hidden pockets of growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humans-and-animals-show-similar-neuron-growth">Humans and animals show similar neuron growth</h2>



The study also found some interesting connections. Neuron-making cells in humans look quite similar to those in mice, pigs, and monkeys.



But they are not exactly the same. Some genes behave differently in humans. This shows humans have their own special brain features.



The team also noticed something else. Some people had many neural progenitor cells, while others had very few.



“This gives us an important piece of the puzzle in understanding how the human brain works and changes during life,” explains Jonas Frisén.



He adds, “Our research may also have implications for the development of regenerative treatments that stimulate neurogenesis in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-this-means-for-the-future">What this means for the future</h2>



This discovery opens a new chapter in brain science. It proves the brain is not as fixed as we once believed.



New neurons keep forming throughout life. The process does not stop after childhood. Now we know exactly where this happens and which cells drive it.



This knowledge could lead to treatments for memory loss and mental health conditions. It might even help repair brain injuries.



The human brain, with its billions of neurons, is more surprising and powerful than anyone imagined. And it still has secrets left to share.



Frisén collaborated with Ionut Dumitru, Marta Paterlini, and others at <a href="https://ki.se/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Karolinska Institutet</a>. Researchers from <a href="https://www.chalmers.se/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chalmers University of Technology</a> in Sweden also contributed.



The project received support from several organizations including the <a href="https://www.vr.se/english.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Swedish Research Council</a> and the <a href="https://kaw.wallenberg.org/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu9575" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



-----



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Our brain keeps making new neurons - even in old age

For a long time, people believed the brain stops making new neurons after childhood. Scientists repeated this idea in books and lectures for years. They thought the brain had a deadline for growth, but they were wrong. A new study has flipped this idea. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found clear proof that the brain keeps making neurons well into old age. This discovery changes everything. It suggests the brain stays flexible for much longer than we thought. And it brings hope for new treatments for...

Vegetarian diet serves up a host of health benefits, research shows.  Bad news for meat lovers who want to eat healthier meals. A vegetarian diet – especially one that relies on high-quality foods – is linked to a host of health benefits, new research shows.

A collection of reports on the perks of a plant-based diet will be presented at Nutrition 2018, the first flagship meeting for the <a href="https://nutrition.org/">American Society for Nutrition</a>, held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston from June 9 to 12. 

Among the posters, papers and presentations:
<ul>
 	<li>Getting protein from plants rather than animals is linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease. A study of 6,000 people in the Netherlands over 13 years found that those who are more plant protein and avoided animal-derived protein had a lower risk of heart disease. Kim V.E. Braun of <a href="https://www.erasmusmc.nl/?lang=en">Erasmus University Medical Center</a> will share a poster presenting the study’s findings from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday in the convention center auditorium. Vegetarian diet serves up a host of health benefits, research shows</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
 	<li>Choosing better-quality, plant-based foods is associated with a lower risk of death. Fang Fang Zheng of <a href="https://www.tufts.edu/">Tufts University</a> will present a study of nearly 30,000 U.S. adults that found the quality of the food people eat may affect the lifespan. Those who chose higher quality plant-based foods saw a 30-percent lower mortality rate, while quality of animal-derived food didn’t seem to affect mortality, the study found. The presentation will be held from 8 to 8:15 a.m. Monday in Room 311 of the convention center.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
 	<li>Eating a healthy, vegetarian diet is linked to healthy weight. A study of more than 125,000 adults over four years found that eating a plant-based diet made up of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts was associated with less weight gain, according to Ambika Satija of the <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health</a>. Unhealthy plant-based foods, like fries and refined grains, were connected to weight gain, the study found. It will be presented from 4:45 to 5 p.m. Sunday in Room 209 of the convention center.</li>
</ul>
Other posters and presentations will share how a plant-based diet appeared to reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes among South Asians living in the U.S., how vegetarian diets are associated with a lower risk of plaque in the arteries in a Brazilian study, and more.

The findings are preliminary, and the abstracts selected didn’t go through the same peer-review process that most scientific journals provide, the organizers noted. Still, the new research backs up dozens of similar studies in recent years. Over the past few months, studies have found vegetarian diets to be <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vegetarian-diet-most-affordable/">healthy and affordable</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/organic-diet-beneficial-environment/">better for the environment</a> – at least, when diners choose organic and whole foods rather than sweets and processed food items.

Founded in 1928, the American Society for Nutrition publishes four peer-reviewed journals each year, brings together nutritional researchers, medical professionals and other leaders, and provides education and professional development opportunities.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Vegetarian diet serves up a host of health benefits, research shows

Vegetarian diet serves up a host of health benefits, research...

MIT engineers are recycling fresh water from power plants.  Engineers at the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) have developed a method that may be used to capture water as it evaporates from the cooling towers of power plants. The new system could lead to low-cost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cape-town-water-crisis/">water sources</a> in some regions that need them the most.

The cooling processes of electric power plants monopolize around 40 percent of all the freshwater from rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the United States, and a lot of this water is lost as a vapor. The new technology from MIT has the potential to conserve some of this water and may even become an important source of clean drinking water for coastal regions that cool power plants with seawater.

By stimulating dense, foggy air with a beam of electrically charged particles, or ions, the water droplets also become electrically charged and can be controlled and collected.

The research team set out to develop highly efficient water recovery systems by capturing water droplets from both natural fog and the plumes of industrial cooling towers. 

In the plumes produced by power plant cooling towers, the stream of water vapor is much more concentrated than any naturally-occurring fog, which makes the system even more reliable. 

Furthermore, the process of capturing evaporated water is a form of distillation, so the resulting water is clean even if the cooling water is contaminated.

Study co-author Kripa Varanasi is an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT.

“It's distilled water, which is of higher quality, that's now just wasted,” said Professor Varanasi. “That's what we're trying to capture.”

According to the researchers, the recycled water could be used in processes that require pure water, such as in a power plant's boilers, or could be piped to a city's drinking water system.

Professor Varanasi explained that a typical 600-megawatt power plant could capture 150 million gallons of water a year. This represents not only millions of dollars in value, but also about 20 to 30 percent of the fresh water lost from cooling towers.

“This can be a great solution to address the global water crisis,” said Professor Varanasi. “It could offset the need for about 70 percent of new desalination plant installations in the next decade.”

Currently, the team is building a full-scale system to be tested on the cooling tower of MIT's Central Utility Plant, a natural-gas cogeneration power plant that provides electricity to most of the campus.

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

MIT engineers are recycling fresh water from power plants

MIT engineers are recycling fresh water from power plants.  Engineers...

Scientists find a way to extract drinkable water from desert air.  In October of 2017, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California Berkeley</a> successfully extracted drinking water from the air using only solar power in the desert of Arizona. 

The experts have now applied their water extraction method on a larger scale with a next-generation harvester. The results of the recent investigation have revealed that the team's groundbreaking technique can be used in very low humidity conditions and at a low cost.


“There is nothing like this,” said Omar Yaghi, who invented the technology to develop the harvester. “It operates at ambient temperature with ambient sunlight, and with no additional energy input you can collect water in the desert. This laboratory-to-desert journey allowed us to really turn water harvesting from an interesting phenomenon into a science.”


The porous material that absorbs water is called a metal-organic framework, or MOF, and the researchers explained that the harvester can be easily scaled up by simply adding more MOF. 

But now, Yaghi has revealed that he has created a new MOF based on aluminum, called MOF-303, that is at least 150 times cheaper and captures twice as much water in lab tests. According to Yaghi, MOF-303 will enable a new generation of harvesters to produce over three cups of water per day from a single kilogram of MOF.

“There has been tremendous interest in commercializing this, and there are several startups already engaged in developing a commercial water-harvesting device,” said Yaghi. “The aluminum MOF is making this practical for water production, because it is cheap.”

Yaghi is working with King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, and its president, Prince Dr. Turki Saud Mohammad Al Saud, on the technology as part of their joint research <a href="https://globalscience.berkeley.edu/centers/KACST">Center of Excellence for Nanomaterials and Clean Energy</a>.

In the latest study by the UC Berkeley team, the researchers collected and measured the water and tested the latest-generation harvester under different humidity, temperature, and solar intensity conditions.

In their first experiment, the experts had predicted the harvester would be capable of working in low humidity conditions, and the findings of the new investigation have confirmed this theory.

“The key development here is that it operates at low humidity, because that is what it is in arid regions of the world,” said Yaghi. 

The harvester was found to collect water even at sub-zero dew points, making the water harvester ideal for people living in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/end-great-american-desert/">dry regions</a> of the world that have little access to water.

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists find a way to extract drinkable water from desert air

Scientists find a way to extract drinkable water from desert...

On Thursday, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> announced that the Mars Curiosity rover, which has been collecting data on Mars since 2012, discovered 3-billion-year-old organic matter. This discovery means that not only are the “building blocks” of life present on Mars, but it’s clear that organic material can be preserved for billions of years on the planet’s surface.

The organic molecules were found in Gale Crater, which is believed to have once contained a shallow lake. Samples taken from two different drill sites on the lake bed have been found to contain complex organic molecules that look very similar to the fossilized building blocks of oil and gas on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/moon-longer-days-earth/">Earth</a>. At this point, researchers are unable to determine whether this discovery come from life on Mars or from a less exciting geological process. However, “we’re in a really good position to move forward looking for signs of life,” says Jennifer Eigenbrode, NASA biogeochemist and lead author of the study published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

The Curiosity Rover is a $2.5 billion mobile chemistry lab that is powered by a nuclear battery and is roughly the size of a car. The rover has a 7-foot-long arm and contains 10 science instruments, 17 cameras, and a laser to “vaporize” rocks. Over the last six years, Curiosity has analyzed samples of soil and rocks for signs of organic matter, which is characterized by complex carbon chains that form the building blocks of life here on Earth.

The rover has also discovered traces of methane in Mars’ atmosphere, which researchers reported in an additional paper in Science. On Earth, most methane comes from biological sources, so this could be a significant finding as well.

“The detection of organic molecules and methane on Mar has far-ranging implications in light of potential past life on Mars,” explains Inge Loes ten Kate, a scientist at <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en">Utrecht University</a>. “Curiosity has shown that Gale Crater was habitable around 3.5 billion years ago, with conditions comparable to those on early Earth, where life evolved around that time.”

These findings are quite significant for us humans, as it brings us one step closer to knowing whether or not life has existed elsewhere in the universe. NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen says, “with these new findings, Mars is telling us to stay the course and keep searching for evidence of life. I’m confident that our ongoing and planned missions will unlock even more breathtaking discoveries on the Red Planet.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

NASA finds the building blocks of life on Mars

On Thursday, NASA announced that the Mars Curiosity rover, which...

Bee brains can understand the concept of zero.  Basic bee brains can comprehend the concept of zero, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Australia and France.

The results, published in the journal Science, show that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bees-high-nectar-special-neurons/">bees</a> understand that nothing belongs at the lower end of the spectrum and could help with teaching Artificial Intelligence new tasks. 

Human brains have 86,000 million neurons but bees have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bees-high-nectar-special-neurons/">fewer than one million</a>.

It was thought that only humans, or species with similarly complex brains, could understand zero, which according to the researchers, is the backbone of modern mathematical and technological advancements. 

“Zero is a difficult concept to understand and a mathematical skill that doesn't come easily - it takes children a few years to learn,” said Adrian Dyer, a member of the research team. “We've long believed only humans had the intelligence to get the concept, but recent research has shown monkeys and birds have the brains for it as well. What we haven't known - until now - is whether insects can also understand zero.”

For the study, bees were presented with a series of images that contained different quantities of things. The bees were given a reward if they gravitated toward the image with the lowest number of elements. 

The bees would choose the image with two elements versus three and so on, and were given a sugar solution treat in return. 

Occasionally the researchers would show the bees a blank image, and even though they had not been trained to respond to an empty page or the concept of zero, the bees gravitated toward the picture with nothing. 

The fact that the bees went to the blank image shows that bees understood that nothing was lower than the other quantities shown, and the researchers say this provides a new understanding of how different brains grasp abstract concepts. 

“How does a brain represent nothing? Could bees and other animals that collect lots of food items, have evolved special neural mechanisms to enable the perception of zero?” Asked Dyer. “If bees can learn such a seemingly advanced maths skill that we don't even find in some ancient human cultures, perhaps this opens the door to considering the mechanism that allows animals and ourselves to understand the concept of nothing.”

The researchers are most excited about the implications the results could have for Artificial Intelligence and teaching relatively basic robots to operate in complex environments. 
--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Bee brains can understand the concept of zero

Bee brains can understand the concept of zero.  Basic bee...

Engineers are pulling carbon out of the air to make gas and fuels. In the future, gasoline may originate from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-capture-profitable-business/">carbon dioxide</a> pulled straight out of the sky rather than from oil pumped out of the ground. In fact, engineers at a facility in British Columbia are already successfully capturing carbon and turning it into fuel.

<a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> Professor David Keith is the founder and chief scientist of <a href="http://carbonengineering.com/">Carbon Engineering</a>, a Canadian CO2-capture and clean fuels enterprise.

“The carbon dioxide generated via direct air capture can be combined with sequestration for carbon removal, or it can enable the production of carbon-neutral hydrocarbons, which is a way to take low-cost carbon-free power sources like solar or wind and channel them into fuels that can be used to decarbonize the transportation sector,” explained Professor Keith.

Direct air capture technology uses giant fans to bring air into contact with an aqueous solution that strains out and traps carbon dioxide. Through heating and several chemical reactions, the filtered carbon dioxide is re-extracted and ready for further use, such as making valuable chemicals like fuels.


Professor Keith and his colleagues have implemented one of the first scalable and cost-effective working systems for direct air capture. 

The team has estimated that using their system on an impactful scale will cost roughly $94 to $232 per ton of carbon dioxide captured, which is drastically less than previous estimates of the cost of direct air capture that have ranged up to $1,000 per ton. 

“Electricity from solar and wind is intermittent; we can take this energy straight from big solar or wind installations at great sites where it's cheap and apply it to reclaim and recycle carbon dioxide into new fuel,” said Professor Keith. “Making fuels that are easy to store and transport eases the challenge of integrating renewables into the energy system.”


Hundreds of years of carbon emissions from human activities can provide an essentially unlimited stock of CO2 to be transformed into new fuels, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

“We are not going to run out of air anytime soon,” said Carbon Engineering CEO Steve Oldham. “We can keep collecting carbon dioxide with direct air capture, keep adding hydrogen generation and fuel synthesis, and keep reducing emissions through this <a href="http://carbonengineering.com/about-a2f/">AIR TO FUELSTM</a> pathway.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/joule/home">Joule</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Carbon Engineering

Engineers are pulling carbon out of the air to make gas and fuels

Engineers are pulling carbon out of the air to make...

&nbsp;

New way to estimate how fast magma is building under Yellowstone.  The Yellowstone supervolcano has been the focus of news stories, conversation, and speculation, as according to several experts, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption/">it's overdue for the next mega-eruption.</a>

The big question then is, when will Yellowstone erupt? 

Unfortunately, geologists and volcanologists are not yet able to pinpoint exactly when the volcano will erupt, but a new study has provided a technique for measuring how quickly magma is building up beneath of the supervolcano. 

The study was conducted by researchers from <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> and helps provide a better foundation for understanding the inner workings of one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes. 

Magma building up in chambers beneath a volcano, a process called recharging, is a key part of an eruption and could lead to accurate predictions for Yellowstone. 

“It is the coal in the furnace that's heating things up,” said Peter Larson, the study’s co-author. “It's heating up the boiler. The boiler is what explodes. This tells us what is heating the boiler.”

Once Yellowstone’s magma chambers have refilled, an eruption could be imminent so it's important to understand how quickly the volcano is recharging. 

For the study, the researchers focused on rhyolite, the volcanic rock that causes such explosive eruptions. 

The rate that rhyolite is being heated from magma plumes below the supervolcano can give researchers a better understanding of how much magma is recharging according to Larsen. 

Larsen and his colleagues placed the stable radioactive isotope deuterium into hot springs in Yellowstone that were linked to hydrothermal vents. 

The researchers then recorded temperatures of the springs and calculated how much water was leaving the springs. 

Much more water than had been previously thought is flowing through Yellowstone's hot springs as the calculations showed, and the researchers were able to estimate how much magma was involved in the recharging process. 

 If Yellowstone’s supervolcano erupts, it could cause untold devastation with long-lasting impacts worldwide, which is why so many researchers are working to understand its driving mechanisms  and predict its next potential eruption. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New way to estimate how fast magma is building under Yellowstone

&nbsp; New way to estimate how fast magma is building...

Oldest animal fossil footprint on record discovered in China. Researchers may have uncovered the oldest fossil footprints on record, dating back to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-animals-grew-large/">Ediacaran Period</a> 600 million years ago, in China. 

Fossils and footprints can reveal a great deal about what life was like millions of years before humans walked the Earth. 

The Cambrian Period marks the time in the fossil record when most major groups of animals <a href="http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/cambrian/cambrian.php">first appeared</a>. This abundance of life is known as the Cambrian Explosion and some of the oldest fossils ever discovered come from this period. 

Some forms of life are suspected to have evolved before the Cambrian Explosion, for example, bilaterian animals with paired appendages, and now researchers can confirm that this is true. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://english.nigpas.cas.cn/">Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology</a> of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University</a> examined trackways and burrows in sediment dating back to the Ediacaran Period. 

The burrows were found in the Ediacaran Shibantan Member of the Dengying Formation (551 to 541 million years ago) in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China, and the trackway patterns suggested that they were left by species with paired appendages. 

The trackways were also connected to the burrows which just strengthened the hypothesis that they were left by animals who dug burrows in the sediment for food. 

These are thought to be the earliest fossil footprints ever discovered and the find extends the fossil record of animals with appendages from the early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-seek-solve-mystery-cambrian-oxygen-spike/">Cambrian</a> to the late Ediacaran Period. 

A paper detailing the new fossil footprints was published in the journal Science Advances. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NIGP

Oldest animal fossil footprint on record discovered in China

Oldest animal fossil footprint on record discovered in China. Researchers...

Brain structure determines whether you make healthy food choices.  An old phrase that is now commonly used in reference to adopting a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mediterranean-diet-air-pollution/">healthier diet</a> or lifestyle is “mind over matter,” which is the theory that willpower can help us to overcome physical obstacles. A new study from the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a> has revealed exactly why this strategy may be more successful for some individuals than others. 

A team of experts led by Liane Schmidt has discovered that differences in the structure of the brain's prefrontal cortex influence the ability to make healthier food choices. The study findings suggest that our anatomy plays a role in critical decisions that have long-term effects on our health and well-being.

In order to maintain a healthy diet, healthy foods must be consistently chosen over more tempting foods. Individuals vary in their ability to exercise control over dietary choices, and disability has been linked to differences in real-time brain activity.

The current investigation was focused on 78 healthy women and 45 healthy men who were given MRI scans, in an effort to determine whether differences in the anatomy of the brain could account for variations in self-control.

The team also analyzed three previous studies that took different approaches to examining the relationship between food choices and self-control. 

In one approach, participants made the dietary choice between appealing or healthy foods, or made food selections based on the way they normally would. In another trial, participants were instructed to stay away from high-calorie foods that they craved.

The researchers discovered that individuals who had greater volume in the dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex demonstrated more self-control and selected healthier foods.

According to the study authors, considering that brain structure and connectivity can change over time in response to lifestyle, the brain regions identified in this research represent key targets for the development of interventions that promote healthy choices. 

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Brain structure determines whether you make healthy food choices

Brain structure determines whether you make healthy food choices.  An...

Researchers are reporting that the vast majority of Americans believe the United States should take the lead in space exploration. Even as private companies are emerging in the industry, NASA remains an absolutely necessary source of space discovery, according to study participants.

The research is focused on a national survey from the <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/">Pew Research Center</a> of over 2,500 American adults. Around 80 percent of adults in the United States feel that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/international-space-station-work/">International Space Station</a> has been a good investment, and strong public support for NASA is shared across political, generational, and gender groups.

Space exploration has changed drastically in the decades following the first landing on the moon by United States astronauts. Other countries have made major advancements in exploration technologies and private companies are investing more in the observation of outer space as well.


Around 65 percent of Americans believe that NASA's role in space exploration is essential, while 33 percent say that private companies could make sufficient progress without NASA's involvement.


Across nine specific NASA missions, the majority of participants believe the priority should be monitoring key parts of the Earth's climate system or monitoring asteroids and other objects that could hit Earth.

When given the choice of humans or robots in future NASA space expeditions, 58 percent of American adults believe that human astronauts are essential, while 41 percent say that humans are not essential to these types of missions.

Around half of Americans share the opinion that people will travel routinely to space as tourists over the next 50 years. However, 58 percent say they have no interest in taking this trip themselves, stating that the trip would either be “too expensive,” “too scary,” or that their age or health would not allow it.

The full report from the Pew Research Center can be found <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/06/06/majority-of-americans-believe-it-is-essential-that-the-u-s-remain-a-global-leader-in-space">here</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Most Americans want the US to remain leader in space exploration

Researchers are reporting that the vast majority of Americans believe...

It was long assumed that the unusual lack of seismic activity in East Antarctica was because of all of the weight of <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/operation-icebridge-returns-to-antartica/">Antarctica's thick ice</a>. 

But new research has revealed that East Antarctica's “silence” was simply due to the fact that no seismic instruments were installed there or capable of detecting tectonic activity.

There have just been eight recorded seismic events since the first ever earthquake in East Antarctica was detected in 1982, but everything changed when a team set up an array of instruments that recorded seismic activity in 2009. 

That year, 27 earthquakes were recorded, tripling the total number of reported earthquakes detected in East Antarctica. 

“Ultimately, the lack of recorded seismicity wasn't due to a lack of events but a lack of instruments close enough to record the events,” said Amanda Lough of <a href="http://www.drexel.edu/">Drexel University</a>, who was part of the East Antarctic expedition and lead author of a study discussing seismicity in the region. 

The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience. 

Lough’s team wasn’t the first to emphasize the necessity of properly monitoring seismic activity in Antarctica, but the harsh and remote conditions prevented any serious attempts. 

The researchers had to fly from point to point across Antarctica and sometimes had to dig out their own runways in order to install seismic recording equipment. 

It was an expedition that took considerable effort, but once the instruments recorded 27 earthquakes in just one year with magnitudes ranging from 2.1 to 3.9, those efforts greatly paid off. 

The majority of the activity occurred near Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains which may be part of an ancient continental rift system. 

“There is a study we cite in the paper that shows that more than 52 percent of seismic events in continental areas occur in rifted crust, so it's not unexpected that we see the correlation here,” said Lough. “The rifts provide zones of weakness that enable faulting to occur more easily, and it may be that the situation here is such that activity is occurring preferentially along these areas of preexisting weakness.” 

The researchers only have one year of data to go off of, but already the recorded activity shows that area’s seismicity is worth investigating and provides more insight about the Earth’s tectonic plates. 

“Antarctica is the least-instrumented continent, but other areas of the globe also lack sufficient instrumentation,” said Lough. “There are some obvious holes in coverage in the Global Seismic Network. For example, the ocean covers 71 percent of the planet, but it is expensive and very difficult to get instruments there. We need to think about improving coverage and then improving the density of it.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

East Antarctica found to be surprisingly seismically active

It was long assumed that the unusual lack of seismic...

The United States has led the world in scientific research for a century, but experts are warning that the nation is losing the upper hand in this field. As President Trump makes moves toward major budget cuts for scientific and medical research, other countries are showing much more support for science.

According to the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/">National Science Board</a>, China is now the second highest investor in research and development (R&amp;D), and the country's financial support for innovation is growing faster than that of any other nation. At the current rate, China is set to overshadow the United States by the end of this year.

The advancement of science relies heavily on investment from the government, and the United States spends around half a trillion dollars on R&amp;D each year. However, a 2015 review from the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> (NSF) found that nine other countries spent a higher percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP) on science.


Over a year after taking office, President Trump has yet to name a top science advisor. Critical decisions and policies are being made, such as that to leave the Paris Agreement, without anyone to fill the role of top-ranking science official. The responsibility currently falls on Michael Kratsios, who was brought into the White House to advise on tech issues.

According to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>, “many U.S. researchers say their work has been devalued, threatened by budget cuts and hampered by stricter immigration policies that could deter international collaborations and the influx of talent that has long fueled American innovation.”

Meanwhile, China is charging forward, recently announcing plans to become the world leader in the development of artificial intelligence, with a target of growing the field to a $150 billion industry by 2030.

China is also aggressively pursuing scientists who have graduated from prestigious schools in the United States and other countries, promising substantial sign-on bonuses and guaranteed research funding. 

The Washington Post reported that a program launched by China in 2008 called Thousand Talents has been very successful, recruiting over 7,000 scientists and entrepreneurs to the country.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-china-us-economy/">China</a> has also steadily increased its published work in scientific journals, outnumbering the United States in the number of publications for the first time in 2016.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The U.S. is losing its rank as the world leader of science

The United States has led the world in scientific research...

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

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

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

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[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

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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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