Life began small, but even the tiniest cells need a way to copy their instructions. A new laboratory system shows that a simple set of RNA building blocks can get most of the way there, pushing experimental biologists closer to watching life’s opening act unfold in a test tube.



“This was the molecule that ran biology,” said James Attwater of <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a>, who led the study. 



The work centers on an artificial <a href="https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/What-are-Ribozymes.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ribozyme</a> that joins three‑letter chunks of RNA while cycling between hot, cold, acidic, and alkaline conditions. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rna-played-a-key-role-in-early-life">RNA played a key role in early life</h2>



The idea that one molecule once carried both genetic information and catalytic power, dubbed the RNA <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/319618a0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world</a>, was first laid out almost 40 years ago. 



Modern cells still hint at that past because ribosomes, spliceosomes, and many regulatory switches all rely on RNA to keep <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-detailed-map-of-human-genetic-mutations-unveiled/">genes</a> working.



Short RNA strands can fold into active shapes, cut other RNAs, and even build peptides, making them plausible ancestors of today’s enzymes. Researchers have spent decades trying to show that RNA can also copy itself fast enough to allow Darwinian evolution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-solving-the-rna-copying-problem">Solving the RNA copying problem</h2>



Copying RNA sounds easy until you meet the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30383375/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">strand separation problem</a>. Freshly made daughter strands cling so tightly to their templates that the double helix cannot unwind in time for another round of replication.



Some groups have used heat, acid, crowding agents, or helper oligonucleotides to pry the strands apart, but each fix either damages RNA or stalls the copying chemistry. Freeze-thaw <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2116429119" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> showed that ice concentrates reactants without cooking them, hinting at a gentler route.



Attwater’s team discovered that short trinucleotide triphosphates bind single <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-genes-may-predict-infertility-and-disease-by-flipping-like-a-light-switch/">strands</a> strongly enough to stop them from re‑zipping while also doubling as substrates for extension. Three bases form a sweet spot: long enough to grip, yet short enough to avoid frequent errors.



Under pH swings that first melt duplexes at 176 °F, then freeze them at 19 °F, the ribozyme weaves the triplets into fresh complementary strands. So far the enzyme can copy thirty of its 180 letters before running out of steam, but the researchers see clear paths to speedup.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-short-pieces-help-rna-make-copies">Short pieces help RNA make copies</h2>



During each cold phase, the remaining liquid between ice crystals becomes a concentrated <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/eutectic-phase" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eutectic phase</a> where magnesium ions, the ribozyme, and triplets are corralled together. 



In that micro‑brine the polymerase connects the triplets, then waits for the next heat pulse to start another <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gene-regulation-controlling-cells-to-improve-medical-treatments/">cycle</a>.



“There might be a relationship between how biology used to copy its RNA and how biology uses RNA today,” noted Attwater. 



The group watched exponential gains when they put the system through repeated hot-cold swings, confirming that templates made in one cycle feed the next. 



“RNA nucleotide triplets serve very specific informatic functions in translation in all cells,” noted Zachary Adam, a geochemist at the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Wisconsin‑Madison</a> who was not involved in the study. 



The binding preference of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7575393/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GC‑rich triplets</a> echoes the stability pattern of codons that still anchor the genetic code.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hints-of-the-genetic-code">Hints of the genetic code</h2>



The experts found that the triplets most able to keep strands apart match those believed to seed the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15214800/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">earliest triplet code</a>. This overlap suggests that replication chemistry could have nudged evolution toward the codon system long before proteins appeared.



Models of primordial ponds often invoke hot springs that swing between acidic jets and freezing spray, conditions seen in Iceland today. 



Such locales supply the freshwater and rapid pH shifts that the triplet mechanism needs, making the scenario geologically plausible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-signs-of-life-copying-itself">Early signs of life copying itself</h2>



The system didn't just copy preexisting templates. It also generated new RNA sequences from random starting material and then amplified those fragments through multiple rounds.



Some of the strongest amplification came from strands resembling parts of the ribozyme itself, suggesting early self-copying behavior that could foreshadow how functional sequences emerged billions of years ago.



To cross the finish line, the ribozyme must copy its entire 180‑letter body and then repeat the feat indefinitely. Attwater’s team is engineering faster variants and trimming unnecessary folds to lighten the enzymatic load.



If full self‑replication emerges, chemists can finally watch mutation and natural selection operate in a test tube filled with nothing but RNA and simple salts. 



The achievement would turn a long‑standing hypothesis into an observable process, offering the clearest window yet on life’s origin.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-025-01830-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Chemistry</a>.



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Life copying itself: Scientists create a self-replicating RNA system

Life began small, but even the tiniest cells need a way to copy their instructions. A new laboratory system shows that a simple set of RNA building blocks can get most of the way there, pushing experimental biologists closer to watching life’s opening act unfold in a test tube. “This was the molecule that ran biology,” said James Attwater of University College London, who led the study. The work centers on an artificial ribozyme that joins three‑letter chunks of RNA while cycling between hot, cold, acidic, and...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthals-first-cave-art/">Neanderthals</a> are often portrayed as brutish, dimwitted and focused only on survival. Some even suggested that their scientific name should be Homo stupidus, or stupid human. 

However, recent research has suggested that Neanderthals may have been much more caring than previously thought. 

One human origin expert, Penny Spikins from the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a>, has spent many years studying Neanderthals and she suggests that they were a society ruled by compassion. 

Spikins’ most recent study, published in the journal World Archaeology, focuses on the concept of primitive healthcare evident in fossil remains and the theory that Neanderthals willingly nursed each other back to health without looking for something in return. 

“Our findings suggest Neanderthals didn't think regarding whether others might repay their efforts, they just responded to their feelings about seeing their loved ones suffering,” said Spikins.

The study looks at the social context of healthcare evidenced by repaired trauma or injury in fossil remains as well as the lifespan of those individuals who had some form of impairment. 

According to Spikins, previous arguments have stated that Neanderthal healthcare only shows that our early relatives were either extremely self-sufficient or that healthcare was a response to necessity based on an individual's value to society. 

To counter these claims, Spikins discusses the fossil remains of one Neanderthal found in the Shanidar Cave in Iraq called Shanidar 1. 

According to the <a href="http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils/shanidar-1">Smithsonian Museum of Natural History</a>, Shanidar 1 dates back 45,000 to 35,000 years and was reportedly around 35 to 45 years old when he died. 

What makes Shanidar 1 so noteworthy is the severe extent of injuries and maladies that he suffered from. 

He was blind or partially blind with a withered right arm that had fractured, and several deformities in the leg and foot which would have resulted in a limp. 

These injuries were not the cause of his death, and he lived quite long considering. After examining the skeleton of Shanidar 1, scientists even found evidence of healing. 

The circumstances surrounding Shanidar 1 and other Neanderthals with apparent maladies and injuries leads Spikins and other experts to believe that Neanderthals on the whole cared for the wounded and sick as a social group. 

The research gives compelling evidence that Neanderthals were compassionate and actively engaged in healthcare as a response to the suffering of others without an ulterior motive, similar to the role modern healthcare plays in our current society today. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Evidence of healthcare suggests Neanderthals were compassionate

Neanderthals are often portrayed as brutish, dimwitted and focused only...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a>, have found a way to enable certain proteins to function and stay active outside of the cell. The groundbreaking study may be the first step toward harnessing the power of proteins in synthetic systems to capture chemical pollution.

Scientists have tried for many years to stabilize proteins outside of their native environments, but there has been little success in merging proteins and synthetic components without compromising protein activity. 

The study was led by the lab of co-author Ting Xu, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemistry at Berkeley.

“We think we've cracked the code for interfacing natural and synthetic systems,” said Xu. 

Proteins do not hold up very well once they are removed from their natural domain. Proteins must maintain a specific folded structure to function properly, and this structure is often supported with the help of other proteins. 

In Xu’s lab, the researchers set out to develop a synthetic polymer that could provide a protein with everything it needs to keep its structure.


“Proteins have a very well-defined statistical pattern, so if you can mimic that pattern, then you can marry the synthetic and natural systems, which allows us to make these materials,” said Xu.


The team created random heteropolymers, which they refer to as RHPs. These heteropolymers are made up of four types of monomer subunits, each with chemical properties designed to interact with chemical patches on the surface of proteins.

The RHPs mimicked unstructured proteins, which are commonly found in cells. The experts found that RHPs increased protein folding in water, which means they supported the structure of the protein, and preserved protein activity in organic solvents.


An extensive series of simulations confirmed that RHP could favorably interact with protein surfaces, promoting protein folding and stability in a non-native environment.

The researchers then tested whether they can use an RHP to create protein-based materials for capturing toxic chemicals. The researchers mixed RHP with a protein called organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH), which degrades the toxic organophosphates found in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bed-bugs-increasingly-resistant/">insecticides</a> and in chemical warfare agents.

The RHP/OPH material was used to make fiber mats. Once the mats were submerged in a common insecticide, they degraded an amount of insecticide that weighed about one-tenth of the mat in just a few minutes. The fiber mats could potentially be scaled up to capture a larger amount of toxic chemicals.

“Our study indicated that the approach should be applicable to other enzymes,” said Xu. “This may make it possible to have a portable chemistry lab in different materials.”

The study will be published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a> on March 16.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists design protein mat that can soak up pollution

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have found a...

The caffeine in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-production-good-birds/">coffee</a> is a mind- and mood-altering substance, and may carry an interesting connection to another “altering” substance that has been dominating the news recently. The legalization of medical and recreational cannabis in states across the U.S. has this plant on the forefront of discussions ranging from recreational drugs to healthcare to taxes. Now, new research reveals an interesting connection between the coffee you can find across the street, and the cannabis that may be on your corner (legally) in no time.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.nm.org/">Northwestern Medicine</a> have published a study in the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2796">Journal of Internal Medicine</a> that shows how coffee changes many more metabolites in the blood than previously known, including neurotransmitters typically linked to cannabis. Metabolites are chemicals in the blood that change after we eat or drink, or for a variety of other reasons. The neurotransmitters linked to the endocannabinoid system decreased after an individual drank four to eight cups of coffee per day. However, this is the opposite of what occurred after an individual used cannabis. Endocannabinoids are naturally produced by the body, and mimic the activity of cannabinoids, which are the chemicals that give the cannabis plant its unique properties. 

The study also revealed that certain metabolites related to the androsteroid system increased after individuals drank four to eight cups of coffee in one day, suggesting that coffee might facilitate the elimination or excretion of steroids. Since the steroid pathway is a focus for certain diseases – including cancers – coffee could have an effect on these diseases.

“These are entirely new pathways by which coffee might affect health,” Marilyn Cornelis, assistant professor of preventive medicine at <a href="http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine</a> and says lead author of the study. “Now we want to delve deeper and study how these changes affect the body.”

For their study, the researchers had 47 participants abstain from coffee for one month, then consumed four cups a day for the second month and eight cups a day for the third month. They then used advanced profiling techniques to analyze more than 800 metabolites in the blood collected after each stage of the study. The results showed that blood metabolites of the endocannabinoid system decreased during the periods of coffee consumption – especially with eight cups consumed per day.

The endocannabinoid metabolic pathway is a major regulator of stress response, and some endocannabinoids decrease in the presence of chronic stress. “The increased coffee consumption over the two-month span of the trial may have created enough stress to trigger a decrease in metabolites in this system,” Cornelis explains. “It could be our bodies’ adaptation to try to get stress levels back to equilibrium.” It also regulates a variety of other functions, such as cognition, blood pressure, immunity, addiction, sleep, appetite, energy, and glucose metabolism. 

Coffee has been shown to aid in weight management and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. 

“This is often thought to be due to caffeine’s ability to boost fat metabolism or the glucose-regulating effects of polyphenols (plant-derived chemicals),” says Cornelis. “Our new findings linking coffee to endocannabinoids offer alternative explanations worthy of further study.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How coffee and cannabis impact your brain and health

The caffeine in coffee is a mind- and mood-altering substance,...

New research is underway examining the potential costs and benefits of climate geoengineering to combat global warming.

Geoengineering is certainly a controversial issue, as it requires the purposeful manipulation of climate to mitigate the effects of climate change, which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificially-cooling-planet-devastating/">some argue</a> could have devastating side effects.

But according to one <a href="https://www.popsci.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-geoengineering">Popular Science</a> piece, it’s a way to “press pause” on the worsening impacts of global warming. 

One of the more probable methods of climate hacking involves using aerosols sprayed into the stratosphere to create a sort of cloud cover that reflects harmful UV rays back to the sun and, in, turn, cools the planet. 

This method could potentially be a quick and efficient way to get climate change under control, but it could also cause catastrophic effects if the system were to fail or immediately and permanently shut down, causing many to question whether it’s a suitable option to even consider. 

If the system were to shut down, experts have said it would cause extreme warming at wild rates, known as “termination shock.”

Two researchers from the <a href="https://www.iass-potsdam.de/en">Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies </a>in Potsdam, Germany and the<a href="https://www.seas.harvard.edu/"> John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences</a> at <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University </a>examined this worst case scenario to prove that the chances of termination shock are unlikely and simple measures could prevent it. 

The results were published in the journal Earth's Future. 

“Most studies so far have focused on the extremes, like in a large-scale deployment that’s ended instantly and permanently,” said Peter Irvine, one of the co-authors of the study in a <a href="https://vimeo.com/253864686">video </a>explaining the research.  

The two researchers examined all the different necessary factors that would cause termination shock. 

The team investigated several hypotheticals, including how long the system could be shut down before termination shock and how large the cooling effect would have to be to cause substantial extreme warming in the event of failure. 

The results showed that termination shock is unlikely and easily avoided with a few simple, safe holds in place. According to Irvine, it would be easy to implement given the cost of creating the aerosol system and the consequences that would happen if it failed. 

“Overall, our analysis suggests that the risk of a termination shock is much less likely than it superficially appears,” concludes Irvine. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate geoengineering: Is cooling the planet worth the risk?

New research is underway examining the potential costs and benefits...

Male birds may be better known for their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-teach-children-duets/">singing</a>, but female birds perform their own songs as well. Researchers are calling for more widespread documentation of the female birdsong, arguing that a better understanding of these vocalizations could lead to a better understanding of bird biology.

Karan Odom from Cornell<a href="https://www.cornell.edu/"> University</a> and Lauryn Benedict from the <a href="http://www.unco.edu/">University of Northern Colorado</a> have both independently studied female bird songs.

“I started studying California towhees 17 years ago, and I was fascinated by the duet vocalization given by females and males,” said Benedict. 

“That led me to start looking for female song in other North American bird species, and I was surprised to learn that it was much more common than I expected. The reports of female song are buried in odd corners of the literature, but when you put them all together, you start to see some interesting patterns.”


The ancestors of modern birds most likely had many more females that sang. According to the experts, today's female songs are not represented very well in collections of birdsong recordings and are also understudied. 

The researchers believe that additional documentation of the female birdsong with more detailed descriptions of song structure and output could improve our understanding of birds on many levels, including their comparative physiology, neurobiology, behavioral ecology, evolution, and even conservation. 

Endangered birds are frequently identified by their songs during surveys, but assumptions that all singing birds are male could misinform wildlife managers about the state of populations.

Odom and Benedict are asking both ornithologists and amateur bird lovers to share any resources they may have regarding the female birdsong. They have created a website where any birdwatcher can upload their observations. 

“If you hear a bird singing, do not assume it's a male,” said Odom. “If you observe a female bird singing, document it by uploading field notes, audio, or video to the collections on our website, <a href="http://femalebirdsong.org/">femalebirdsong.org</a>. Make sure to indicate how you recognized the bird was female.”

Zoology expert Katharina Riebel from <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en">Leiden University</a> formerly collaborated with Odom.

“Odom and Benedict have written an excellent appeal to document and record more female bird song,” said Riebel. 

“They rightly point out that the extent of female bird song has been starkly underestimated, as almost by default we assume that a singing bird must be the male of the species. As a consequence, we might have missed out many aspects and the dynamics of male and female vocal signaling in songbirds--clearly, there is still lots to discover! I am confident that ornithologists in the field can make substantial contributions toward these questions by sharing their observations and recordings, as I very much hope this article will encourage them to do.”

The study is published in in <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/auk-ornithological-advances">The Auk: Ornithological Advances</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: K. Thomas

Female bird songs have been underappreciated, study finds

Male birds may be better known for their singing, but...

For many people, March 14 will seem just like any other spring day – or in the case of the northeast, a winter day. But to those of us who may be more math inclined, March 14 marks “Pi Day,” a celebration of the very useful number known as pi. Pi (also shown as the symbol π) is often abbreviated as 3.14, hence why Pi Day is celebrated on 3/14. 

Pi is used to derive characteristics of a sphere or circle, like the surface area or circumference. In fact, scientists and engineers at NASA use pi constantly to learn about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-theory-formation-moon/">moons</a>, planets, and stars, as well as to track the orbits of satellites and spacecraft. 

This is why <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) is celebrating Pi Day with the fifth annual “Pi in the Sky” illustrated math challenge, which features pi-related space problems that you can solve at home. These math problems illustrate how pi can be used to learn about many different features of the universe, such as earthquakes on Mars, helium rain on Jupiter, and planets orbiting other stars.

“All of the problems in the ‘Pi in the Sky’ challenge are real problems that JPL scientists and engineers solve using pi,” says Ota Lutz, a senior education specialist at JPL who helped create the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/nasapidaychallenge/">Pi Day Challenge</a>.

These math problems are geared towards students in grades 5 through 12, and JPL offers additional resources for teachers and educators who plan on using the problem sets in the classroom. But that doesn’t mean that adults can’t try their hand at these problems as well. The new problem sets were posted online on March 9, and the solutions will be posted on March 15. Challenge problems from the previous years can be found online as well. 

“The Pi in the Sky problems give people a little glimpse into what goes on at JPL,” explains Lutz. “And that's empowering, because it shows people that they can understand some of the magic that goes into space exploration.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Celebrate Pi Day with puzzles from space

For many people, March 14 will seem just like any...

There has been much speculation about what triggered the world's largest mass extinction at the end of the Permian period nearly 252 million years ago. A recent analysis of rock samples in Utah indicates that the event was primarily caused by widespread coal burning and the rapid climate change that followed.

Scientists have previously linked the catastrophe to many potential causes, including an asteroid impact and ozone shield failure.

The Great Permian Extinction completely wiped out around 70 percent of the planet’s terrestrial species and up to 97 percent of marine species. Scientists estimate that it took as long as 10 million years for life on Earth to rebound.

Dr. Benjamin Burger is an assistant professor of Geology at the Uintah Basin Regional Campus of <a href="https://www.usu.edu/">Utah State University</a> and lead author of the current study.

The research is based on rock samples collected from a newly discovered Permian-Triassic boundary in an area of Utah that was once the western coastline of the supercontinent Pangea. Dr. Burger described this finding as a “phosphorus-rich rock layer of carbonate rocks that represent a tropical coastline of a once more biologically rich reef complex.”

Analysis of the rock samples did not reveal evidence of the rare metals that would be present if an asteroid impact had corresponded with the Permian Extinction. The experts did, however, detect high levels of mercury and lead, which are linked to the burning of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/major-coal-company-climate/">coal</a>.

Dr. Burger's theory is that 300,000 years of volcanic activity in the Siberian Traps ultimately led to the release of massive amounts of magma underground, which ignited the coal. 

The emissions generated from large amounts of coal burning would have rapidly warmed the planet and acidified the oceans, wiping out almost all aquatic life. Toxic gases produced from the dead marine animals killed species on land, and the methane released from rising ocean temperatures exacerbated global warming.

“Things went from bad to worse, and you can now begin to understand how life nearly died out,” Dr. Burger told the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/">Guardian</a>. “Global warming, acid oceans, anoxia, not to mention a toxic atmosphere. We are lucky to be alive at all!”

Dr. Burger has published a preprint of his research <a href="https://eartharxiv.org/khd9y">here</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Earth’s largest mass extinction may have been due to coal burning

There has been much speculation about what triggered the world's...

<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> may soon create a spacecraft specifically designed to send a nuclear bomb into the path of future <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroid-submarine-volcanoes/">asteroids</a> headed for Earth. 

A new study conducted by scientists from NASA and the <a href="https://nnsa.energy.gov/">National Nuclear Security Administration</a> outlined two possible methods for handling Near Earth Objects (NEOs) on route to collide with Earth. 

The study was published in the journal Acta Astronautica and the researchers have dubbed their new plan the Hypervelocity Asteroid Mitigation Mission for Emergency Response (HAMMER).

HAMMER involves two possible options. One is a spaceship armed with a nuclear explosive that will detonate and destroy the asteroid, and the other is using the spacecraft as a kinetic impactor which will force the asteroid to change course. 

The method chosen to eliminate the risk of collision with an NEO depends on several factors, according to the research team. 

The researchers tested HAMMER using simulations with an NEO that was modeled after the  101955 Bennu, a well documented NEO that is the destination of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. 

The danger of an Earth collision with Bennu is slim, but there is a small chance it could happen in the next century. 

The study's abstract outlines the several deciding factors that will determine which option is necessary for mitigating the risk of collision. The decision would depend on the size and mass of the NEO and how much time is available before impact. 

If the NEO is small enough and there’s an ample amount of time, the researchers say the kinetic impactor is the best option. 

The kinetic impactor works by forcing the asteroid to change course, the gravitational field of the NEO would work with the kinetic impactor, and the NEO would be repelled and diverted away from Earth. 

However, the response time and specific factors required for the kinetic impactor make a limited option. 

“Whenever practical, the kinetic impactor is the preferred approach, but various factors, such as large uncertainties or short available response time, reduce the kinetic impactor's suitability and, ultimately, eliminate its sufficiency,” the researchers wrote.

If the NEO cannot be deflected away from Earth, then the researchers suggest using a nuclear explosive device to eliminate the risk. 

“The impactor is not as flexible as the nuclear option when we really want to change the speed of the body in a hurry,” David Dearborn from the <a href="https://www.llnl.gov/">Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory</a> told <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/danvergano/nuclear-asteroid-deflection-nasa?utm_term=.hvLjr4LbG#.akoRpWMPZ">BuzzFeed News</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

NASA unveils new plan to deflect asteroids away from Earth

NASA may soon create a spacecraft specifically designed to send...

An expedition currently underway off the coast of New Zealand could provide important information for understanding certain types of earthquakes and tsunamis as well as aid in early detection. 

The mission’s goal is to study plate movements in the Hikurangi subduction zone, which is located by New Zealand’s North Island in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-stuck-pacific-ocean/">Pacific Ocean</a>. 

Scientists from <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> and <a href="https://www.gns.cri.nz/">GNS Science</a> are leading the expedition which was funded by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> (NSF).

Two sub-seafloor observatories with equipment will be lowered 1,641 feet below the seafloor into the subduction zone thanks to the scientific drillship JOIDES Resolution. 

The equipment will monitor movements, temperatures, and record any changes that occur in the subduction zone for five to ten years. 

“This expedition will yield information that's key to understanding why destructive tsunamis happen after shallow earthquakes and after underwater landslides,” said James Allan, a program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences. 

The reason the Hikurangi subduction zone was chosen is the potential to study the little-understood phenomenon of slow-slip earthquakes which happen in the area every 12-24 months at shallow depths. 

Slow-slip earthquakes occur as a result of movement among tectonic plates over a long period, but they have the same impact and effect that typical earthquakes do and can cause major tsunamis. 

The <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=244653&amp;WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&amp;WT.mc_ev=click">National Science Foundation</a> noted that the subduction zone is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and could be capable of creating earthquakes greater than magnitude eight. 

“We don't yet understand the slow-slip processes that cause faults to behave in this way, and we don't know very much about their relationship to large subduction zone earthquakes,” said Demian Saffer, the co-leader of the expedition. 

Studying slow-slip earthquakes could help with early earthquake detection, and according to the NSF, better understanding this type of earthquakes is the missing puzzle piece to understanding how the world’s faults work.

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Monitoring seabed earthquakes could aid in early detection

An expedition currently underway off the coast of New Zealand...

A new study has found that the root of insomnia may actually be in your genes, and that chronic insomnia can increase the risk of diabetes and depression. 

Researchers led by Murray Stein from the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California San Diego</a> conducted several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of soldiers participating the in <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention/suicide-prevention-studies/army-study-to-assess-risk-and-resilience-in-servicemembers-army-starrs-a-partnership-between-nimh-and-the-us-army.shtml">Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers</a> (STARRS). 

STARRS was chosen for the new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insomnia-biological-psychological/">insomnia</a> study because it’s estimated that 50 percent of veterans and those in the military have problems with sleeping disorders.

The study was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. 

Previous research has found that insomnia is a heritable trait, and Stein’s team wanted to find the specific gene variants that were associated with insomnia to further explore the gene-sleep disorder connection. 

Stein also notes that gaining a better understanding of the gene variants involved with insomnia will help with new treatments down the line. 

For the GWAS studies, blood samples were taken from over 33,000 STARRS participants, and the data from the soldiers was categorized according to heritage. This way the researchers would be able to determine the genetic risks of different ancestral backgrounds. 

The soldiers were also asked questions about their sleep habits, and if their insomnia caused physical distress such as nausea or diarrhea. 

The results showed that insomnia was inheritable through your genes and that the sleep disorder was specifically linked to variations on chromosome 7. For people of European descent, variants on chromosome 9 were also connected to insomnia. 

The researchers found a strong genetic link between insomnia and both type 2 diabetes and depression. 

“The genetic correlation between insomnia disorder and other psychiatric disorders, such as major depression, and physical disorders such as type 2 diabetes suggests a shared genetic diathesis for these commonly co-occurring phenotypes,” said Stein. 

Stein’s work sheds insight on the connection between genetics and detrimental sleep disorders like insomnia. The results of the study may help further research and the development of new insomnia treatments. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Insomnia and depression may be genetic, study finds

A new study has found that the root of insomnia...

Researchers are reporting that farm manure could be a feasible source of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/renewable-energy-creating-jobs/">renewable energy</a>. The experts are creating the technology to produce natural gas from manure that could be used to heat homes or to power large industries. 

This would not only cut back on harmful greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, but would also eliminate harmful gases that are released by manure as it decomposes.

Study co-author David Simakov is a professor of Chemical Engineering at the <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/">University of Waterloo</a>.

“There are multiple ways we can benefit from this single approach,” said Simakov. “The potential is huge.”

Simakov said that the technology could be adapted for use with several kinds of manure, particularly cow and pig manure. Renewable natural gas could also substitute for diesel fuel, which is a huge source of harmful emissions.

The researchers constructed a computer model based on a real 2,000-head dairy farm in Ontario that collects manure and converts it into biogas in anaerobic digesters. Some of this biogas is already being burned in generators to produce electricity.

The team wants to expand on this concept by converting the biogas into renewable natural gas. They will achieve this by mixing the biogas with hydrogen and then using a catalytic converter to produce methane in a process known as methanation.

The electricity needed to produce hydrogen could be generated by wind or solar power, or taken from the electrical grid at times of low demand. The researchers believe that their method will produce a renewable natural gas that efficiently stores electricity and uses nearly all of the energy potential of manure, while significantly lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

“This is how we can make the transition from fossil-based energy to renewable energy using existing infrastructure, which is a tremendous advantage,” said Simakov.

The study is published in the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-114X">International Journal of Energy Research</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Farm manure may soon be used as a source of renewable energy

Researchers are reporting that farm manure could be a feasible...

Goodyear Oxygene concept

Tire titan Goodyear has announced the company’s new eco-friendly concept tire “Oxygene” at the <a href="https://www.gims.swiss/en/">Geneva International Motor Show</a> in Switzerland. 

Oxygene is a tire with moss embedded in the inside of an open tread outer rubber casing. The open tread will allow the tire to absorb water from the road which will water the moss on the inside of the tire. The moss will then be able to convert <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/co2-emissions-energy-costs/">CO2</a> into oxygen using photosynthesis. 

Goodyear claims that in a city the size of Paris with 2.5 million cars, the new moss tires could remove more than 4,0000 tons of carbon dioxide and produce 3,000 tons of oxygen each year. 

Besides being eco-friendly, Goodyear says the rubber tread casing will have better wear and tear than other tire models on the market today, and the open design will provide better traction on slippery roads. 

The Oxygene tire will also be puncture proof. Other features include electronic sensors powered by photosynthesis that communicate with other cars on the road at the speed of light. The cars and tires would also have smart capabilities. 

Goodyear, like many other companies, is working to find innovative ways to stay ahead of the race to mitigate climate change and combat emissions. 

“Smarter, greener infrastructure and transport will be crucial in addressing the most pressing challenges of urban mobility and development,” said Chris Delaney, the president of Goodyear Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

It may be some time before Oxygene becomes commercially available or even goes into production, but Goodyear’s new tire could motivate other companies to create similar solutions to the world’s emissions and transportation problems. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: PRNewsfoto/Goodyear

Goodyear reveals eco-friendly tires that absorb carbon dioxide

Tire titan Goodyear has announced the company’s new eco-friendly concept...

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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