How did life on Earth begin? People have been asking that for ages. The answers remain scattered across rocks, oceans, and ancient landscapes. One clue hides in an essential ingredient for life - phosphorus.



Phosphorus is everywhere in living things. It holds together DNA and RNA. It forms the framework of cell membranes. No life can grow or function without it. 



Yet, phosphorus mostly stays trapped in rocks. It hides inside phosphate minerals, which barely dissolve in water. That raises an old and puzzling question: how did early Earth get enough phosphorus to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-one-simple-rule-that-explains-all-life-on-earth-bioregions/">spark</a> life?



Yuya Tsukamoto and Takeshi Kakegawa from <a href="https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tohoku University</a> took that question seriously. They decided to look where most people wouldn’t - deep under the sea, in rocks that are billions of years old.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-element-for-life-on-earth">Key element for life on Earth</h2>



The researchers focused on the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia, which holds some of the oldest known seafloor rocks. 



The rocks are an astonishing 3.455 billion years old. The team's discovery wasn’t subtle. It jumped out from the data.



"We analyzed 3.455-billion-year-old basaltic seafloor rocks in drill core samples recovered from the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, discovering that P was significantly leached from the hydrothermally altered rocks compared to the least altered rocks," explained Tsukamoto.



He noted that further mineralogical analyses indicated that phosphate minerals had undergone dissolution in rocks where P was depleted. 



Simply put, hot fluids moved through these rocks and pulled phosphorus out. That phosphorus didn’t just disappear. It entered the surrounding seawater, turning parts of the ocean into phosphorus-rich zones.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-the-source-of-phosphorus">Tracking the source of phosphorus </h2>



The rocks alone didn’t tell the whole story. The team wanted to understand what made this phosphorus release possible. They uncovered two kinds of hydrothermal fluids that shaped this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/third-state-of-existence-beyond-life-and-death-confirmed-by-scientists/">process</a>.



One type was hot, rich in sulfur, and capable of breaking down minerals quickly. The other was more surprising - mildly acidic to alkaline fluids at lower temperatures. 



These fluids were common in the Archean era because Earth’s atmosphere back then was filled with carbon dioxide. That unique atmosphere made these fluids react in unexpected ways with the rocks.



The result? Massive amounts of dissolved phosphate in the water. The numbers were shocking. These fluids could carry up to 2 millimolar phosphate - nearly 1,000 times higher than what’s found in modern seawater.



Suddenly, early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/luca-last-universal-common-ancestor-progenitor-all-life-on-earth/">Earth</a> wasn’t a barren place. Its oceans were filled with phosphorus.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-oceans-held-elements-for-life">Earth’s oceans held elements for life</h2>



This wasn’t just a chemistry experiment. The results changed how scientists think about early Earth. The researchers calculated how much phosphorus these underwater systems could release. 



The findings were stunning. The amount of phosphorus released into the oceans by these hydrothermal systems could match, or even exceed, the amount entering modern oceans through rivers and weathering of land rocks.



"Importantly, this study provides direct evidence that submarine hydrothermal activity leached P from seafloor basaltic rocks and quantifies the potential P flux from these hydrothermal systems to the early ocean," adds Tsukamoto.



Imagine ancient oceans filled with nutrients. These phosphorus-rich waters may have supported some of Earth’s earliest microbial life. 



The ancient communities didn’t need a vast, lush <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rocks-reveal-the-turning-point-when-oxygen-changed-earth-forever/">planet</a>. It only needed these hidden underwater environments to get started.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hot-springs-and-hidden-worlds-on-land">Hot springs and hidden worlds on land</h2>



The study also pointed to something beyond the oceans - hot springs on land. Hydrothermal systems aren’t just found under the sea. They exist on land too, in places like hot springs.



These environments might have also released phosphorus on early Earth. That means life’s building blocks weren’t limited to deep-sea vents. They could have existed in steaming pools on land.



This opens the door for more discoveries. Scientists now plan to study how phosphate behaves in rocks across different periods of Earth’s history. By tracing phosphorus through time, they hope to unlock new chapters of Earth’s story.



The message is clear: Life’s ingredients may have come from places on Earth we’ve only just begun to explore. Deep beneath the waves, within rocks touched by ancient fluids, the story of life may have quietly begun.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016703725003266?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta</a>.



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Earth may have always held the key ingredients for life

How did life on Earth begin? People have been asking that for ages. The answers remain scattered across rocks, oceans, and ancient landscapes. One clue hides in an essential ingredient for life - phosphorus. Phosphorus is everywhere in living things. It holds together DNA and RNA. It forms the framework of cell membranes. No life can grow or function without it. Yet, phosphorus mostly stays trapped in rocks. It hides inside phosphate minerals, which barely dissolve in water. That raises an old and puzzling question: how did...

Microscopic fossilized remains recovered from a rock in Western Australia are now being confirmed as the earliest evidence of life on Earth ever discovered. Researchers at <a href="http://www.ucla.edu/">UCLA</a> and the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> have analyzed the fossils, which were recovered from a rock that dates back almost 3.5 billion years.

"People are really interested in when life on Earth first emerged," said study co-lead author John W. Valley. "This study was 10 times more time-consuming and more difficult than I first imagined, but it came to fruition because of many dedicated people who have been excited about this since day one ... I think a lot more microfossil analyses will be made on samples of Earth and possibly from other planetary bodies."

The researchers managed to describe 11 microbial specimens from five separate taxa, linking their structures to chemical signatures that are characteristic of life. Some of the specimens represent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/disease-ridden-flies/">bacteria</a> and microbes which are now extinct, while others are similar to microbial species found today. 

The microfossils were described by J. William Schopf and his team in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a> in 1993, when the researchers first documented evidence of their biological identities. The concept was met with criticism by scientists who argued that the fossils are just odd minerals that happen to resemble biological specimens.

Schopf says that the findings of the current study demonstrate that the microfossils are, in fact, biological.

Using a specialized tool called a secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS), the research team was able to separate the carbon contained in each fossil into its constituent isotopes and measure their ratios. Different organic substances, including rocks and animals, contain specific ratios of stable carbon isotopes.

"The differences in carbon isotope ratios correlate with their shapes," explained Valley. "If they're not biological there is no reason for such a correlation. Their C-13-to-C-12 ratios are characteristic of biology and metabolic function."

Based on the carbon isotope ratios, the researchers were able to assign identities and likely physiological behaviors to the fossils. Schopf says that the results show that "these are a primitive, but diverse group of organisms.”

Schopf also explains that the findings of this study suggest that life could be common throughout the universe. As for Earth, the fact that several different types of microbes have been shown to exist 3.5 billion years ago demonstrates that "life had to have begun substantially earlier - nobody knows how much earlier - and confirms it is not difficult for primitive life to form and to evolve into more advanced microorganisms.”

Previous studies by Valley’s team have suggested that oceans existed on Earth as early as 4.3 billion years ago, which was just 250 million years after the Earth formed.

"We have no direct evidence that life existed 4.3 billion years ago but there is no reason why it couldn't have," said Valley. “This is something we all would like to find out."

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fossils prove life existed on Earth nearly 3.5 billion years ago

Microscopic fossilized remains recovered from a rock in Western Australia...

Energy drinks and junk food may be particularly harmful to teenagers during the later stages of brain development. Dr. Christine Curran of <a href="https://www.nku.edu/">Northern Kentucky University</a> explains that energy drinks can negatively influence neurological function, while Dr. Amy Reichelt of the <a href="http://www.unimelb.edu.au/">University of Melbourne</a> reports that junk food also has detrimental effects on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-older-people-forget/">brain</a> during formative teenage years.

According to Dr. Curran, the spike in the consumption of energy drinks by teenagers is made even more alarming by studies in animals that reveal the impacts of energy drinks on brain development.

"Our review indicates that we don't know enough about the effects of high consumption of energy drinks and the ingredients found in them at this critical time in mammalian brain development," said Dr. Curran. "Our recent findings in adolescent and young adult mice exposed to high taurine levels indicate there can be adverse effects on learning and memory and increased alcohol consumption in females."

Dr. Reichelt explains that key systems in the brain responsible for inhibition and reward signaling are still developing in teenagers. Because of this, “existing primarily on junk food could negatively affect decision making, increase reward-seeking behavior and influence poor eating habits throughout adulthood.”

The studies are published in a new issue of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2472-1727">Birth Defects Research: The Teenage Brain</a>, published by the <a href="https://www.teratology.org/">Teratology Society</a> with John Wiley &amp; Sons. Dr. Michiko Watanabe is the co-editor of the journal's special issue.

"One piece of good news is that exercise might be the answer to steer teens away from certain exposures," said Dr. Watanabe.

The researchers found that exercise may be able to reverse the dangerous effects that junk food and energy drinks have on teenagers.

Dr. Watanabe added, "The long list of exercise benefits could motivate teens to get off the sofa.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bad diet and energy drinks hurt brain development in teens

Energy drinks and junk food may be particularly harmful to...

A team of scientists have found 3.5 million-year-old fossils of an ancient bear, and its teeth showed it loved sweets.

The fossils include the skull, teeth and partial skeletal remains of two individual bears from the species Protarctos abstrusus, previously known only from a fossilized tooth discovered in Idaho. Scientists from the <a href="https://nhm.org/">Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County</a> and the <a href="https://nature.ca/en/home">Canadian Museum of Nature</a> studied the new fossils, and made an interesting discovery: cavities in the teeth.

The ancient bear was a close relative to the ancestor of modern bears, the researchers also discovered.

"This is evidence of the most northerly record for primitive bears, and provides an idea of what the ancestor of modern bears may have looked like," said Dr. Xiaoming Wang of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the study’s lead author

P. abstrusus was slightly smaller than today’s black bears, with a flatter head and different dental profile, the researchers said.

However, one characteristic is similar to many modern bears. The ancient bear ate a high-calorie, sugary diet – possibly to prepare for winter hibernation.

“This is the first and earliest documented occurrence of high-calorie diet in basal bears, likely related to fat storage in preparation for the harsh Arctic winters,” Wang said.

The bones were discovered at a fossil site called the Beaver Pond, part of a rich prehistoric site on Ellesmere Island in Canada’s Nunavut province. Peat deposits at the site have helped scientists reconstruct life 3.5 million years ago, with fossils including fish, beaver, three-toed horse ancestors, deerlets and small carnivores. 

Plant fossils have revealed the region as a boreal-type wetland forest that would have seen about six months of snowy winter each year. Fossil berries might have been the same sugary plants that gave the bears their cavities, the researchers said.

“The Ellesmere bear is important because it suggests that the capacity to exploit the harshest, most northern forests on the planet is not an innovation of modern grizzlies and black bears, but may have characterized the ursine lineage from its beginning,” Wang said.

The researchers looked at fossils of other ancient bear species to identify the Canadian skeletal remains and place them in an evolutionary context.

The researchers have published their findings in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17657-8">Scientific Reports</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Art by Mauricio Antón based on this paper; with input on plants from Alice Telka

Ancient bear had a sweet tooth, researchers say

A team of scientists have found 3.5 million-year-old fossils of...

While we <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genes-body-stays-sleep/">sleep</a>, our brain waves must harmonize hundreds of times a night in order to lock in new memories. A new study from the <a href="http://berkeley.edu/">University of California Berkeley</a> reveals that these brain rhythms are not as perfectly timed in older adults, which causes forgetfulness.

In order to create new memories, slow brain waves produced during non-rapid eye movement sleep must sync up with rapid bursts of brainwave activity known as sleep spindles. These brain rhythms are precisely timed in young adults, but the new research shows that this changes with age.

"The mistiming prevents older people from being able to effectively hit the save button on new memories, leading to overnight forgetting rather than remembering," said study senior author Matthew Walker. "As the brain ages, it cannot precisely coordinate these two deep-sleep brain waves. Like a tennis player who is off their game, they're swiping and missing."

Study lead author Randolph Helfrich explained that, when it comes to this overnight brainwave synchronization, “timing is everything.”

“Only when the slow waves and spindles come together in a very narrow opportunity time window (approximately one-tenth of a second), can the brain effectively place new memories into its long-term storage,” said Helfrich.

The researchers found that the older brain’s lack of coordination is likely due to degeneration of the medial frontal cortex, a key region of the brain that generates deep, restorative sleep.

"The worse the atrophy in this brain region of older adults, the more uncoordinated and poorly timed are their deep-sleep brain waves," said Walker. "But there is a silver lining: Sleep is now a new target for potential therapeutic intervention."

In future experiments, the research team plans to apply electrical stimulation to the frontal lobe in order to accelerate the pace of the slower brain waves to catch up with the spindles.

"By electrically boosting these nighttime brainwaves, we hope to restore some degree of healthy deep sleep in the elderly and those with dementia, and in doing so, salvage aspects of their learning and memory," said Walker.

The findings of the study are published in the journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/neuron/home">Neuron</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Disrupted brain rhythms cause older people to forget

While we sleep, our brain waves must harmonize hundreds of...

Songbirds can create some complex melodies – but somehow, when they manage to make their duets sound great. A new study has found that songbirds dance to signal their songs to one another.

A group of scientists, led by Dr. Paweł Ręk of <a href="https://international.amu.edu.pl/">Adam Mickiewicz University</a> in Poland, used robotic birds to study how pairs of Australian magpie-larks coordinate their songs.

The researchers used taxidermic skins on the robots to make them look as realistic as possible. Then they used the robotic birds to produce song with and without wing movements.

When the fake magpie-larks moved while they sang, both male and female magpie-larks responded. The scientists used the number of songs and flying toward the robots to measure the response. 

"Multimodality of signals can be beneficial for the signaller as well as for the receiver because there are many ways through which one signal component can improve the efficacy of the other,” Ręk said. 

Each test was conducted with 12 pairs of birds, with two tests per day, and then four days before the next set of tests.

The researchers found that both male and female magpie-larks start singing more often and sing more duets when the fake songbirds dance.

"The problem appears when signal components are not aligned in time because the mismatch creates illusions and conflicts from the perspective of the receiver,”  Ręk said. 

However, the researchers found that, when the song and movements were coordinated in the fake birds, the real magpie-larks did not see the interlopers as threats.

“Multimodal coordination within individuals has been studied for many years but it concerned signals with mechanistically constrained components,”  Ręk said. “This study shows that it is also important in cooperatively signalling species, in which coordination is not an effect of a physical constraint but motivation and experience of partners."

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco">Behavioral Ecology</a>. Funding was provided by the <a href="https://ncn.gov.pl/?language=en">National Science Centre Poland</a> and the <a href="http://biology.anu.edu.au/">Research School of Biology at the Australian National University</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Songbirds dance to coordinate their music

Songbirds can create some complex melodies – but somehow, when...

While marijuana has has a reputation as a trigger of psychosis, a cannabis compound may help ease symptoms of the condition, a British study found.

The study, led by researchers from <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">King’s College London</a>, adds to a growing list of illnesses and symptoms that may be treated with cannabidiol. The cannabis compound known as CBD has also been shown to have therapeutic possibilities for multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, peripheral neuropathy, arthritis, chronic pain and other conditions.

“Although it is still unclear exactly how CBD works, it acts in a different way to anti-psychotic medication, and thus could represent a new class of treatment,” study lead author Dr. Philip McGuire told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>. 

CBD does not rely on dopamine receptor antagonism, unlike current treatments for schizophrenia. 

The Kings College scientists worked with 88 study participants to look at how the cannabis compound affected psychosis symptoms like visual and audio hallucinations. During the six-week study, some of the patients received CBD while others got a placebo. All of the study participants continued to take their regular medication. 

Those who were treated with cannabidiol reported fewer psychotic symptoms than those who took the placebo. 

It’s not the first study to show CBD’s abilities to ease psychosis symptoms. A review of existing studies showing cannabidiol could have anti-psychotic properties was published in <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X13003325">European Neuropsychology</a> in 2014.

The drug may also offer fewer side effects than traditional anti-psychotic medications, the researchers said.

But with cannabis also linked to triggering psychosis, scientists are stressing caution. 

While cases of marijuana triggering psychosis are relatively rare, Dr. Ian Hamilton of <a href="http://www.yorku.ca/">York University</a> found in a different study, strains with high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have been found to raise the risk of a psychotic episode. THC is the chemical that causes a high.

A previous study led by Dr. Sir Robin Murray, also of Kings College London, found that regular use of stronger strains of marijuana which contain more THC is associated with a higher risk of psychosis.

However, cannabidiol, which doesn’t cause a high, doesn’t appear to have the same negative effects, scientists said. 

The Kings College study has been published in <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17030325">The American Journal of Psychiatry</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Study: Cannabis compound may ease psychosis

While marijuana has has a reputation as a trigger of...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sierra-nevada-mountains-taller/">Droughts</a> are common in the western United States, with parts of California in a seemingly perpetual state of drought. Megadroughts, however, occur when a drought lasts 30 years or more, and have happened only a handful of times in the past 1200 years. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell</a> set out to determine if megadroughts are random natural occurrence, or if climate change could cause an increase in their frequency.

The researchers created a “robust null hypothesis,” or a hypothesis that rejects or nullifies other commonly held hypothesi dealing with drought. 

“We're establishing a baseline. We're looking for the normal pulse of a megadrought. How often do they occur? Do they happen more in periods of climate change?” asked Toby Ault, the lead researcher. 

The study could help with future drought predictions and aid with planning and conservation efforts should a megadrought occur. 

A megadrought in the southwestern United States would put a strain on resources, agriculture, and the ecosystem. In order to calculate the statistical likelihood of megadrought, data has to be collected on megadroughts as far back in recorded climate history as possible. 

“We're examining things happening over the last 1,200 years - including the period known as the 'Medieval Climate Anomaly' from about 800 to 1300 A.D. - and we're applying that understanding to see what could happen in the next 100 years,” said Ault. 

For the study, the researchers analyzed tree rings and identified five instances of megadrought from 800 to 1300 AD. 

The main question for the researchers then becomes, was a warming climate, similar to what we face today the cause of those droughts? 

The researchers concluded that even if megadroughts are natural variability, it is very likely that external forces play a role in the development of megadrought. Only time will tell if the unmitigated impact of climate change could trigger the next devastating megadrought.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Could climate change trigger a megadrought in the United States?

Droughts are common in the western United States, with parts...

Bioluminescence is the chemical reaction that occurs in fireflies and a variety of marine organisms that causes them to glow in the dark. It is most commonly found in organisms living in ocean ecosystems, especially at lower depths. 

But soon, bioluminescent trees may illuminate city streets thanks to a recent breakthrough from researchers at the<a href="http://web.mit.edu/"> Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a>. 

New research resulted in watercress plants glowing almost bright enough to serve as a desk light for three and a half hours and is just the first step, according to the team of scientists.

To create bioluminescence in the watercress plants, the researchers injected nanoparticles composed of special enzymes that are necessary for producing the chemical reaction that causes the glowing effect. 

The enzymes, luciferase and Co-enzyme A, were put in different nanoparticle carriers and injected into a watercress plant. 

Luciferase, which acts on a molecule called luciferin, is the heart of all bioluminescence. 

After carefully treating the plant with nanoparticles, the watercress was successfully bioluminescent. Thought it was not quite bright enough to serve as a desk lamp, the researchers could read partial book passages with it. 

At first, the plant’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/glowing-aurora-north-america/">glow</a> time was around 45 minutes, but this was soon extended to almost four hours.

If the researchers continue their efforts, bioluminescent street lamps and indoor lighting may very soon be a reality and would be an eco-friendly and energy efficient alternative to electricity. 

“The light is ultimately powered by the energy metabolism of the plant itself,” said Michael Strano, the senior author of the study. “Our work very seriously opens up the doorway to streetlamps that are nothing but treated trees, and to indirect lighting around homes.” 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Image Credit: Seon-Yeong Kwak/ MIT

Glow in the dark trees could soon replace street lamps

Bioluminescence is the chemical reaction that occurs in fireflies and...

In the next couple of decades, the United States is expected to have more days with extreme heat, more frequent and persistent heat waves, and longer growing seasons. The demand for resources such as water and energy will rise substantially. Researchers at the <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a> have developed high-resolution climate models to help local officials anticipate these increasing needs.

The scientists set out to demonstrate how modeling that uses increased resolution gives more accurate future climate projections. Models that rely on spatial resolution are acceptable when looking hundreds of years into the future, but they are unable to account for local atmospheric events.

"Our new models work at a spatial resolution of 12 km, allowing us to examine localized changes in the climate system across the continental U.S.," said study co-author Donald Wuebbles. "It is the difference between being able to resolve something as small as Champaign County versus the entire state of Illinois - it's a big improvement."


For their investigation, the researchers considered two future <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenhouse-gas-thawing-permafrost/">greenhouse gas emissions</a> scenarios. One condition represented the current rate of emissions, while the other showed fossil fuel consumption that is significantly reduced by the end of the century.

The team generated future data for both scenarios over the next two decades and compared it with historical data from 1995 to 2004.

"One of the most alarming findings in our business-as-usual projection shows that by late-century the southeastern U.S. will experience maximum summer temperatures every other day that used to occur only once every 20 days," said co-author Zach Zobel.

The study revealed that other regions of the country will experience significant changes in temperature as well, yet not as severe.

"The Midwest could see large unusual heat events, like the 1995 Chicago heat wave, which killed more than 800 people, become more common and perhaps even occur as many as five times per year by the end of the century," said Wuebbles. "Heat waves increase the mortality rate within the Midwest and the Northeast because people in these densely populated regions are not accustomed to coping with that kind of heat that frequently."

The researchers explained that the extreme temperatures are likely to cause significant changes in crops and in the ecosystem.

"The concept of global climate change can be somewhat abstract, and people want to know how these projected changes are going to affect them, in their community," said Wuebbles. "Our models are helping answer those questions, and that is what separates our work from the larger, global-scale studies."

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2328-4277/">Earth's Future</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New models show extreme weather conditions for the U.S.

In the next couple of decades, the United States is...

A newly unearthed skeleton is bringing unexpected information to light about marine reptiles known as plesiosaurs. Scientists have been examining what is thought to be the oldest known plesiosaur fossil, and have determined that these ancient reptiles may have emerged 50 million years earlier than previously realized. 

Experts believe that the earliest plesiosaurs had advanced limbs that took to the water like wings in the air. Over 200 million years ago, the reptiles foraged in the open seas using “underwater flight" similar to that of sea turtles.

The remains provide the very first evidence that plesiosaurs existed in the Triassic period, dating back around 201 million years. The fossil was discovered by paleontologists from the <a href="https://www.uni-bonn.de/the-university">University of Bonn</a> in a clay pit outside of Bonenburg, Germany.

Study co-author Professor Martin Sander told <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html">MailOnline</a>, “The beds from which the skeleton came from was dated by fossil shells and by a chemical signal as latest Triassic. I could not believe that there was a plesiosaur from the Triassic, given that these animals had been studied by paleontologist for nearly 300 years, and never was there one older than Jurassic.”


The new species was named Rhaeticosaurus mertensi by the research team. Plesiosaurs had smaller bodies with four pointed flippers and tiny heads on long necks. The new specimen was 7 feet 7 inches long, and growth marks in its bones suggested it was warm-blooded and young.

Professor Sander explained to MailOnline how the unique species of plesiosaurs may have dodged <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-species-persist/">extinction</a> at the end of the Triassic period.

“Plesiosaurs evolved warm-bloodedness, enabling them to live in the open ocean, removed from the bad environmental conditions that made life difficult in shallow, coastal waters at the end of the Triassic,” he said.

The study 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

&nbsp;

New species of Plesiosaurs survived mass extinction event

A newly unearthed skeleton is bringing unexpected information to light...

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">University of New South Wales</a> believe that recent advances in high-intensity lasers will make it possible to generate energy using fusion reactions. The experts have developed a new technique using hydrogen-boron fusion that may be more achievable than other techniques.

The researchers explained that the process they are testing may one day, in the not-so-distant future, produce an “absolutely clean power reactor” that generates energy at low costs.

The method would fuse hydrogen to boron using bursts of lasers so intense that they can create temperatures which are 200 times the heat of the sun’s core. The researchers explained that the fusion would be achieved by firing two lasers in rapid bursts, creating a ponderomotive force.

Study lead author Heinrich Hora thinks that this new strategy puts her team's fusion technique “ahead of all other fusion energy technologies.”

“It is a most exciting thing to see these reactions confirmed in recent experiments and simulations,” said Hora. “Not just because it proves some of my earlier theoretical work, but they have also measured the laser-initiated chain reaction to create one billion-fold higher energy output than predicted under thermal equilibrium conditions.’ 

This approach to fusion energy would be capable of producing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/buildings-energy-climate-goals/">energy</a> powerful enough to eliminate the need for radioactive fuel. While other sources of power production like coal depend on heating liquids to create high-pressure steam to spin turbines, the energy that results from hydrogen-boron fusion converts straight into electricity.

The concept of hydrogen-boron fusion may be made into reality faster than related concepts, such as the the deuterium-tritium technique, which is currently being tested at the U.S. National Ignition Facility (NIF).

Warren McKenzie is the managing director of HB11, the firm which holds the patent for the research team's groundbreaking technique.

“If the next few years of research don’t uncover any major engineering hurdles, we could have a prototype reactor within a decade,” said McKenzie. “From an engineering perspective, our approach will be a much simpler project because the fuels and waste are safe, the reactor won’t need a heat exchange and steam turbine generator, and the lasers we need can be bought off the shelf.”

The study is published in the scientific journal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/laser-and-particle-beams">Laser and Particle Beams</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

Laser breakthrough could help the world switch to clean energy

Researchers from the University of New South Wales believe that...

According to new research, people have sharper memories when thinking about having a baby or raising their kids.

A new study conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/">Bingham University, the State University of New York</a> found that our ability to memorize information is influenced by evolutionary patterns set in motion thousands of years ago. 

Because procreation was a means of survival for our ancient ancestors, it makes sense that when motivated by the idea of evolutionary success, certain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-recognize-familiar-faces/">brain</a> functions would perform at higher levels. 

“Our ability to think and memorize information arises from our nervous systems," said Ralph Miller, a member of the research team. “As our nervous systems are a product of evolution and past experiences, one can reasonably expect that how well we memorize information today is influenced by natural selection that occurred amongst our ancestors long ago.” 

For the study, researchers asked participants to rate words in regards to different hypothetical scenarios. Some of the scenarios dealt with survival, some with raising a child, and a few of the scenarios were unrelated to either.  

After rating the words in the scenarios, the researchers asked the participants to remember as many of the words as they could. 

The researchers found that words relating to survival scenarios were recalled more frequently than the words that did not. The subjects also remembered more words when the scenario involved raising children. 

According to the researchers this shows that genetics plays a strong role in our thought processes. 

“What is evident is that the specific functioning of our brains, like our height and hair color, is strongly influenced by genes that were selected for among our ancestors,” said Miller. 

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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

Our memory is sharper when it comes to survival and our kids

According to new research, people have sharper memories when thinking...

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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

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"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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