In the arid, fossil-rich landscape of Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, a team of paleontologists stumbled across something unexpected. The experts found the fossilized jawbone of a pterosaur that may be the oldest ever found in North America.



The discovery came from a remote site that revealed not just one remarkable creature, but a whole ecosystem preserved in stone.



The study was led by scientists from the Smithsonian’s <a href="https://www.si.edu/museums/natural-history-museum">National Museum of Natural History</a> and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Petrified Forest National Park</a>. The research introduces a new pterosaur species alongside more than 1,000 other fossils.



Some of these include one of the world’s oldest turtle specimens. Together, the fossils paint a vivid picture of life just before one of Earth’s biggest mass extinctions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-before-mass-extinction">Life before mass extinction</h2>



The pterosaur fossils come from rock layers that date back to the Late <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-did-not-impact-dinosaur-abundance-in-the-triassic/">Triassic</a> period. During this time, ancient amphibians and crocodile-like reptiles lived side by side with animals that would go on to shape the future of the planet, including early turtles, frogs, and flying reptiles.



“The site captures the transition to more modern terrestrial vertebrate communities, where we start seeing groups that thrive later in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-were-not-the-only-animals-that-grew-fast-during-the-mesozoic/">Mesozoic</a> living alongside these older animals that don’t make it past the Triassic,” said study lead author Ben Kligman.



This glimpse into prehistoric life is especially valuable because it dates to just before the end-Triassic extinction - about 201.5 million years ago - when massive volcanic eruptions dramatically altered Earth’s climate. 



The event wiped out roughly 75% of all species, paving the way for dinosaurs to rise to dominance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-hidden-by-ash">Fossils hidden by ash</h2>



Direct fossil evidence from just before this extinction is hard to come by. Few fossil-rich outcrops from this time exist, but Petrified Forest National Park is one of the rare exceptions. 



Known for its colorful layers of petrified wood and Triassic fossils, the park has long been a treasure trove for paleontologists.



One rock layer, called the Owl Rock Member, has proven especially important. It’s full of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fire-and-ice-volcanic-ash-plays-a-surprising-role-in-cloud-formation/">volcanic ash</a>, which helped scientists date it precisely to around 209 million years ago. These are some of the park’s youngest rocks - but also among its least explored.



Study co-author William Parker explained that the Owl Rock exposures are tucked away in extremely remote areas. Few teams have been able to study them in detail.



In 2011, a research group led by Kay Behrensmeyer decided to take on the challenge. Braving the rugged terrain - complete with rattlesnakes and wild horses - they went in search of mammal-like fossils. 



What they found instead was a densely packed bonebed, full of life from a vanished world.



“That’s the fun thing about paleontology: you go looking for one thing, and then you find something else that’s incredible that you weren’t expecting,” said Kligman, who started working at the site during his PhD studies in 2018.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-life-buried-by-floods">Ancient life buried by floods</h2>



Back in the Triassic, this part of Arizona was located near the equator and sat in the center of the supercontinent <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/supercontinents-101-pannotia-gondwana-and-pangea/">Pangaea</a>. 



The land was semi-arid, with winding river channels and a seasonal flood cycle. One of those floods likely buried the animals that are now preserved in the bonebed.



The fossil layer was so dense with tiny remains that collecting them onsite was impossible. Instead, researchers carved out large blocks of sediment, wrapped them in plaster, and brought them back to the lab.



Many of these blocks were sent to the Smithsonian’s FossiLab, where volunteers spent thousands of hours carefully exposing the bones. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-fossils-major-clues">Small fossils, major clues</h2>



The rivers teemed with fish like coelacanths and freshwater sharks. Giant amphibians - some stretching over six feet long - swam through the streams. On land, armored herbivores and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-crocodile-like-beast-was-a-terrifying-predator/">crocodile-like predators</a> ruled.



At the same time, smaller creatures were starting to make their mark. The team identified early frogs, relatives of today’s tuataras, and a turtle with spike-like armor that could fit in a shoebox. 



The remains of a small pterosaur were also hidden among the layers - just one part of a fossil record that shows how quickly new groups were emerging and spreading across Pangaea.



“This suggests that turtles rapidly dispersed across Pangaea, which is surprising for an animal that is not very large and is likely walking at a slow pace,” said Kligman.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pterosaur-that-perched-like-a-bird">Pterosaur that perched like a bird</h2>



One of the most exciting finds was a jawbone with teeth still in place. It belonged to a small pterosaur, one of the first vertebrates capable of powered flight. This early flier could have perched on a person’s shoulder.



The pterosaur fossil was uncovered by Suzanne McIntire, a volunteer who spent 18 years working in the FossiLab.



“What was exciting about uncovering this specimen was that the teeth were still in the bone, so I knew the animal would be much easier to identify,” McIntire said.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pterosaur_Eotephradactylus-mcintireae_Arizona_illustration_credit-Brian-Engh_1big.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pterosaur_Eotephradactylus-mcintireae_Arizona_illustration_credit-Brian-Engh_1s.webp" alt="An artist's reconstruction of the fossilized landscape, plants and animals found preserved in a remote bonebed in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. The newly described pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintireae is seen eating an ancient ray-finned fish alongside an early species of turtle and an early frog species, with the skeleton of an armored crocodile relative lying on the ground and a palm-like plant growing in the background. Credit: Brian Engh" class="wp-image-1977432"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An artist's reconstruction of the fossilized landscape, plants and animals found preserved in a remote bonebed in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. The newly described pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintireae is seen eating an ancient ray-finned fish alongside an early species of turtle and an early frog species, with the skeleton of an armored crocodile relative lying on the ground and a palm-like plant growing in the background. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Brian Engh</figcaption></figure>



The wear on the teeth gave scientists a clue about the pterosaur’s diet. It likely fed on armored fish that were common in the area. 



The new species was named Eotephradactylus mcintireae, which translates to “ash-winged dawn goddess." This title honors McIntire, who retired last year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-exactly-is-a-pterosaur">What exactly is a pterosaur?</h2>



Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that existed during the time of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-did-dinosaurs-come-from-missing-fossils-hold-the-secret/">dinosaurs</a>. They were the first animals with backbones to evolve powered flight, well before birds or bats came on the scene.



Powered by skin stretched across an extended fourth finger, they ranged in size and shape from something no larger than a crow to giants with wings up to 30 feet or more.



Pterosaurs were not dinosaurs. They formed their own group of reptiles and possessed special adaptations for flight. Some flew above coastlines, while others preyed on fish or small land animals inland.



The new fossil contributes to what is known about those early birds and how they expanded around the globe.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2505513122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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North America's oldest known pterosaur discovered in a petrified forest

In the arid, fossil-rich landscape of Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, a team of paleontologists stumbled across something unexpected. The experts found the fossilized jawbone of a pterosaur that may be the oldest ever found in North America. The discovery came from a remote site that revealed not just one remarkable creature, but a whole ecosystem preserved in stone. The study was led by scientists from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and Petrified Forest National Park. The research introduces a new pterosaur species alongside more...

The moon is covered in craters, and most of those were formed during a period called the “late accretion” or the late heavy bombardment. This era refers to the time just after the moon was first formed, when early Earth was pelted with debris. 

Scientists theorized that the late heavy bombardment is when the Earth received the last of its mass, meaning the debris that struck was either integrated or accreted into the new planet. 

Accretion is the process of growing by gradual accumulation. For example, think about the gravitational force that brings enough debris together to form a planet. 

Integration, on the other hand, would have occurred if the debris were assimilated into the Earth’s mantle.

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.swri.org/">Southwest Research Institute</a> has revealed that the late bombardment delivered more mass to the Earth than was thought. 

“We modeled the massive collisions and how metals and silicates were integrated into Earth during this 'late accretion stage,' which lasted for hundreds of millions of years after the Moon formed,” said Dr. Simone Marchi, the lead author of the study. “Based on our simulations, the late accretion mass delivered to Earth may be significantly greater than previously thought, with important consequences for the earliest evolution of our planet.” 

It was previously thought that early planet debris integrated into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-zealand-fault-line/">Earth</a> during its final stage of formation accounted for only a half percent of the Earth’s mass. 

These conclusions come from the number of elements in the Earth's mantle, such as gold and platinum. This means that during the late bombardment, the elements were “tacked onto”  the planet after the core was formed. 

However, for this new study, the researchers created new high-resolution impact simulations that told a different story. 

Instead of only accreting into the mantle, some of the elements in their metallic core form could have assimilated into the Earth’s core, making up much more of the Earth’s mass than thought. 

This study could help researchers better understand how the Earth and moon were formed, and the importance of the late accretion to the Earth and moon’s geological makeup. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Debris from the moon’s formation reshaped the Earth

The moon is covered in craters, and most of those...

The abstract concepts of space and time are something that we know we as humans are able to perceive, even without using tools such as a watch or a measuring stick. We have this ability due to the parietal cortex region of our brain, which is a combination of part of the cerebral cortex and the outermost layer of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-risky-decision-making/">brain</a>. Primates also use this region in order to comprehend space and time, and now new research points to another species that has the ability to discriminate the concepts of space and time – you guessed it, pigeons!

One interesting part of this research is that pigeons do not have a parietal cortex region of their brain. The researchers were curious what area of the pigeon’s brain is used to discriminate between space and time. 

Their study involved putting pigeons through a series of tasks called the “common magnitude” test. This consisted of the birds being shown a computer screen with a horizontal line of either 6 cm or 24 cm for either 2 seconds or 8 seconds. They could peck one of four visual symbols to “report” the length of duration of the line, and if they did so correctly they would receive food.

To progress the tests, the researchers introduced additional line lengths, adding increased variability in judging whether a line was short or long. They also showed the line to the birds for either a shorter or longer duration. “The task now forces pigeons to process time and space simultaneously because they cannot know on which dimension they’re going to be tested,” says Edward Wasserman, professor of experimental psychology at the <a href="https://uiowa.edu/">University of Iowa</a>.

The results showed that the length of line affected the pigeons’ discrimination of line duration, and the duration of the line affected their discrimination of the line length. These findings parallel research done with humans and primates, although the lack of parietal cortex in the pigeon brain shows that it’s not necessary for comprehending space and time. “The cortex is not unique to judging space and time,” says Benjamin De Corte, a graduate student at the <a href="https://uiowa.edu/">University of Iowa</a> and first author on the paper. “The pigeons have other brain systems that allow them to perceive these dimensions.”

These findings are additional evidence in the growing argument that lower-order animal species – like birds, fish, and reptiles – are actually capable of upper-level thinking and abstract decision-making. “Indeed, the cognitive prowess of birds is now deemed to be ever closer to that of both human and nonhuman primates,” says Wasserman, who has also studied intelligence in pigeons, crows, baboons, and other animals for over 40 years. “Those avian nervous systems are capable of far greater achievements than the pejorative term ‘bird brain’ would suggest.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pigeons are smarter than you think and can sense space and time

The abstract concepts of space and time are something that...

Deep below New England, an enormous mass of warm rock has been slowly rising up, according to new research. This steady trend could indicate a major volcanic eruption, although researchers say that probably won’t occur for millions of years. 

The new study conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> and <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> provides new insight into how the Earth’s continental crust behaves right under our feet. 

“Our study challenges the established notion of how the continents on which we live behave,” said Vadim Levin, a geophysicist, and the lead author. “It challenges the textbook concepts taught in introductory geology classes.”

For the study, the researchers collected data from the National Science Foundation’s <a href="http://www.earthscope.org/">EarthScope</a> program. 

EarthScope has installed thousands of seismic and other geophysical instruments across the continental United States. The devices, which were spaced 46.6 miles apart, collected and recorded seismic data for two years. 

EarthScope's mission is to “study the structure and evolution of the North American continent and the processes that cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.”

The Rutgers University study focused primarily on data coming from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-england-forests-threat/">New England</a>. Previously, researchers had recorded a pocket in the Earth’s upper mantle in that area that was hundreds of degrees Celsius warmer than other neighboring areas. 

Levin noted that this warm pocket was an upwelling or a mass of rising rock. 

“The upwelling we detected is like a hot air balloon, and we infer that something is rising up through the deeper part of our planet under New England,” said Levin. “It is not Yellowstone (National Park)-like, but it's a distant relative in the sense that something relatively small - no more than a couple hundred miles across - is happening.” 

The discovery is unprecedented as the researchers note that the crust and plates beneath most of the United States are relatively fixed in their location. But this upwelling shows that there are major changes happening deep below the Earth’s surface. 

Levin says the next steps are to focus on what is causing the upwelling and if there are other parts of the world experiencing similar activity. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A huge mass of warm rock is rising under New England

Deep below New England, an enormous mass of warm rock...

Timing is critical for navigating and balancing life, but how does our internal clock keep track of it all? Researchers from the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> have now discovered how the brain keeps track of time. 

The clock accumulator model was one of the earliest models of timing control in the brain. This model suggested that the brain has an internal clock that keeps time for the rest of the brain. But now, the researchers at MIT have found that earlier models are inaccurate.

"What we found is that it's a very active process. The brain is not passively waiting for a clock to reach a particular point," said senior study author Mehrdad Jazayeri.

Evidence for a centralized clock has never been presented, and the research team proposed that parts of the brain that control behaviors which require precise timing might perform the timing function themselves. 

"People now question why would the brain want to spend the time and energy to generate a clock when it's not always needed,” explained Jazayeri. “For certain behaviors you need to do timing, so perhaps the parts of the brain that subserve these functions can also do timing.”

To test their theory, the researchers recorded neuron activity from three brain regions in animals as they performed a task at two different time intervals. During the varying time intervals, 850 milliseconds and 1,500 milliseconds, the experts found a complex pattern of neural activity. 

Some neurons fired faster, while some neurons fired slower. The most significant finding was that no matter the neural response, the rate at which the neurons adjusted their activity depended on the time interval required.

A set of neurons remains in a particular neural state, which changes as each individual neuron alters its activity in a different way. To execute a particular behavior, the complete collection of neurons must reach a defined end state. 

The study revealed that the neurons always traveled the same route to reach this end state, no matter the time interval. The only thing that changed was the rate at which the neurons traveled this path.

When the time interval required was longer, the route taken by the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/addiction-smartphones-imbalances-brain/">neurons</a> was stretched, meaning that the neurons took more time to evolve to the final state. When the time interval required for the activity was shorter, the trajectory was compressed.

"What we found is that the brain doesn't change the trajectory when the interval changes, it just changes the speed with which it goes from the initial internal state to the final state," said Jazayeri.

Jazayeri plans to investigate further in order to determine how the brain generates the neural patterns seen during varying time intervals, and also how our expectations influence our ability to produce different intervals.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/neuro">Nature Neuroscience</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How our internal clock works to keep track of time

Timing is critical for navigating and balancing life, but how...

Even though most volcanoes erupt beneath the ocean, scientists do not know much about underwater volcanic activity. Gabrielle Tepp of the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Survey</a> (USGS) says that improved monitoring could help provide insight into submarine eruptions. 

"It's very difficult to study underwater volcanoes because it's hard to put instruments in the water, especially long-term," said Tepp.

Depending on the immensity of an underwater eruption, gas and ash may break through the surface of the ocean with the potential to interfere with air travel. 

"The ocean is a big place so it's pretty unlikely that you're going to have a situation where a ship haphazardly wanders over an eruption, but there are a few that have come close," said Tepp. 

Submarine eruptions can also create a floating blanket of rocks, called a pumice raft, which can damage boats and obstruct harbors.

Furthermore, submarine volcanoes change the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-noise-pollution-fish/">soundscape</a> of the ocean. Observations of two separate underwater eruptions revealed that they made very different sounds. This indicated to researchers that different processes took place during the eruptions.

The two eruptions were recorded on distant seismometers, which measure waves passing through the ground to record earthquakes. When volcanoes erupt directly into the water, the sounds can travel for thousands of miles.

"Eruptions that create a loud enough sound, in the right location, can travel pretty far, even from one ocean to another," Tepp said. "It makes you wonder, how many of these signals have we seen on distant instruments where nobody knew what they were, and it's a submarine volcano from halfway around the world?"

Tepp and fellow researchers at the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration </a>and the USGS recently deployed a number of hydrophones in the Northern Mariana Islands. The data, which will be collected next summer, may help the experts to determine where and how often local volcanoes erupt to see if the area needs better hazard monitoring.

Tepp will present a discussion on the challenges and benefits of remote monitoring and what it can teach us about submarine eruptions at the 174th Meeting of the <a href="http://acousticalsociety.org/">Acoustical Society of America</a> in New Orleans this week.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Photo Credit: Dave Withrow (NOAA/Fisheries)

Underwater volcanoes can disrupt travel and the ocean soundscape

Even though most volcanoes erupt beneath the ocean, scientists do...

Scientists have determined that humans likely descended from sponges that lived in early oceans 750 million years ago. According to the researchers, these creatures are the eldest ancestors of all animals.

This new discovery challenges the previous belief that comb jellies are the oldest members of the animal kingdom. Researchers from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> used a new method to statistically test evolutionary models for accuracy. They found that the more precise evolutionary models indicated that <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/dragon-blood-sponges-crabs-save-life/">sponges</a> are at the root our lineal descent.

Professor Davide Pisani is the lead author of the study.

“Phylogenomics, the use of genomic data in phylogenetics, is a relatively new science,” explained Professor Pisani. “Evidence for comb jellies as the earliest branching animal lineage first emerged in 2008, a decade ago, in the first, large-scale, phylogenomic analysis of the animal phyla. We have now better analytical tools and data and this study seriously challenges the accepted status quo.”

Professor Pisani pointed out that sponges and comb jellies represent completely different evolutionary backgrounds of animal organ systems such as the digestive and nervous systems. “Therefore, knowing the correct branching order at the root of the animal tree is fundamental to understanding our own evolution, and the origin of key features of the animal anatomy,” he explained.

The prehistoric sponge was a filter feeder with no complex organs. While it is not clear what the first-ever animals looked like, Professor Pisani said it was most likely a lot simpler than modern sponges and possibly resembled a blob.

“I found it pretty exciting to find that something as simple as a sponge might have kick-started modern ecosystems,” said Professor Pisani.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/current-biology/">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The earliest known relative of humans is… a sponge?

Scientists have determined that humans likely descended from sponges that...

Because dreams are involuntary and sometimes vivid or recurring, they often make us question what they could mean. But the practice of dream interpretation becomes particularly tricky because of the erratic and messy nature of dreams. 

If you have a recurring dream about your teeth falling out, one expert may claim you are unhappy with your appearance, but another might suggest that you are worried about being embarrassed in your daily life. 

One thing that is irrefutable is that recurring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-works-dreaming/">dreams</a> can be somewhat traumatic when they involve frightening or negative scenarios. 

But now, new research has found that recurring negative dreams are indeed related to problems in our daily lives, specifically if our psychological needs are not being met. 

Two studies conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/">Cardiff University</a> explored how dreams relate to unmet needs to see if dreams are a way of processing our negative emotions. 

For one study, the researchers asked a group of 200 participants to discuss their most common recurring dreams, and the second study involved a group of 110 participants that had written in dream diaries over the course of several days. 

The researchers analyzed responses from the two studies to see how unmet psychological needs influence dreams and cause an increase in nightmares. 

The popular recurring dreams that the participants reported having were ones of being chased, trapped, falling, or attacked. 

“We found that people whose recurring dreams were felt to have more negative emotions in them also felt more incompetent, isolated, or pressured by others in their daily life,” Dr. Netta Weinstein, an expert in dream studies, told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5132669/How-bad-dreams-reflect-daily-frustrations.html">Daily Mail</a>. 

The researchers discussed each type of recurring dream and linked it to certain difficult situations in someone’s life that could be causing the dreams. 

For example, if someone was frustrated, it was likely they would experience dreams where failure was a common theme. 

If the person felt trapped in their job or relationship, they might have recurring dreams where they are physically trapped or unable to move. 

“Negative dream emotions may directly result from distressing dream events, and might represent the psyche's attempt to process and make sense of particularly psychologically challenging waking experiences,” Dr. Weinstein told the Daily Mail. 

The studies show that it’s important to pay attention to your dreams, and if your recurring dreams are negative and nightmarish, your brain might be trying to process or highlight the stresses of your daily life. 

The results of the two studies could help future dream analysis and make more sense of the chaotic nature of dreams. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Recurring dreams mirror our daily problems

Because dreams are involuntary and sometimes vivid or recurring, they...

A new dinosaur covered in bony armor may have used its shoulder spikes not just for self-defense but to attract a mate, according to new research.

The rhino-sized Borealopelta markmitchelli fossil was discovered by miners in Alberta, Canada in March 2011, but was not unveiled as a new species until earlier this year, when excavation of the specimen was completed. 

The fossil is incredibly well-preserved, according to scientists. The fossilization included soft tissues like skin, which is rare.

A team from the <a href="http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/">Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology</a>, which has the specimen on display, believe that the armor on the new dinosaur may have served a few different purposes, particularly the imposing, exaggerated spikes found on the specimen’s neck and shoulders.

“For most of these elaborate structures in living animals – tail feathers in birds, coloration in lizards, horns in mammals – the driving [evolutionary] force is generally sexual selection,” Dr. Caleb Brown, who is one of the researchers studying the fossil, told <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/nodosaur-borealopelta-armor-social-sexual-defense-science/">National Geographic</a>. “That doesn’t preclude its function in defense or species recognition.”

The <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/">National Geographic Society</a> is supporting the new research on the fossil.

B. markmitchelli, also called the nodosaur, wouldn’t be the only species to use bodily structures for both defense and to attract a mate. Many animals use antlers, horns, tusks or other structures for both fighting and flirting. 

“Dinosaurs, particularly Ornithischia, bear a startling array of ‘extreme’ and ‘exaggerated’ structures ... that have sparked interest both in the public and amongst paleontologists,” Brown wrote in his paper. “Many of these structures are superficially similar, and perhaps functionally analogous, to those of animals alive today; such as the horns and frill of ceratopsians and those of chameleons and bovids.”

Some of those functions are sexual in nature, he added

The new dinosaur was a plant-eater, and likely lived in what is now western Canada, which would have been warm and humid at the time. Flooding may have led to the species’ demise, scientists said. 

The specimen discovered in March 2011 was likely swept into a prehistoric sea – now Alberta’s oil sands – where it drowned, but was preserved until the present day. 

Brown’s new research on the armored dinosaur was published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/4066/">PeerJ</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Machairo, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nodosaur.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>

New dinosaur had armor for protection – and attraction

A new dinosaur covered in bony armor may have used...

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When a supermoon rises in the night sky tonight, it’ll be the first – and last – of 2017. The full moon will be closer to the Earth today than it has been at any other time this year, making it appear much bigger and brighter than usual.

A supermoon is classified as a full moon during the period when the moon’s orbit is closest to Earth, a point called the perigee. At its closest point to the Earth on Sunday, the moon will be only 222,135 miles away from Earth. Normally, the moon is about 238,900 miles from our planet.

“Full moons can occur at any point along the moon’s elliptical path, but when a full moon occurs at or near the perigee, it looks slightly larger and brighter than a typical full moon,” <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> educational tech specialist Lyle Tavernier told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>.

At around 3:45 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast, the moon will be closer to our planet than it’s been since November 2016. 

However, the best time to see the heavenly show will be just after sunset, thanks to a phenomenon known as the “moon illusion.” When the moon is closer to the horizon, it looks larger to the naked eye – if not to cameras. 

To catch the full effect of the supermoon on film (or a memory card), NASA suggests <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/shoot-the-supermoon-like-a-pro">using a telephoto lens</a> and adjusting settings for low light. And, of course, getting away from ambient light sources can help, so for the best photo opportunities head out of cities or towns to rural areas.

The supermoon will begin rising just before 5:30 p.m. on the East Coast, and just before 4:30 p.m. on the West Coast. 

But if you’re not looking skyward when the supermoon rises tonight, don’t worry. Two more are coming in the first month of 2018. Not only will the supermoon on January 31 be a rare “blue” moon – the second full moon within a month – but western North America and Eastern Asia will be treated to a total lunar eclipse the same night, according to NASA.

“The lunar eclipse on Jan. 31 will be visible during moonset, NASA research scientist Noah Petro told <a href="https://www.space.com/38969-supermoon-trilogy-kicks-off-dec-3.html">Space.com</a>. “Folks in the eastern United States, where the eclipse will be partial, will have to get up in the morning to see it.”

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Video Credit: <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/sciencecasts/a-supermoon-trilogy">NASA</a>

Keep an eye on the skies: 2017's only supermoon rises tonight

When a supermoon rises in the night sky tonight, it’ll...

One simple trick can help to keep new information fresh in your mind, according to a new study: reading aloud to yourself.

Reading aloud is a better memory trick than hearing it from someone else or reading silently, according to the study, led by Dr. Colin MacLeod of the <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/">University of Waterloo</a> in Ontario, Canada.

The technique, dubbed the production effect, seems to work because reading aloud and hearing oneself at the same time are more personal than reading silently or hearing information from someone else, the scientists wrote in an abstract of the study.

In the experiment, the scientists included sessions in which volunteers listened to information shared by someone else, and recordings of themselves reading the new information, a first in studies of the production effect’s influence on memory. They also included the typical exercises of reading aloud and reading silently.

“There was a gradient of memory across these four conditions, with hearing oneself lying between speaking and hearing someone else speak,” the researchers wrote. 

Reading silently was the least effective way to remember new information, according to the study.

The study lines up with past research by the same team that shows writing or typing information also improves recall. 

“This study confirms that learning and memory benefit from active involvement,” McLeod told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>. “When we add an active measure or a production element to a word, that word becomes more distinct in long-term memory and hence more memorable.”

The findings can help educators seeking to better teach their students and doctors offering elderly patients with new exercises to boost their memory skills. It also helps to explain why crossword puzzles and other brain teasers are linked to better cognitive skills later in life.

“This study suggests that the idea of action or activity also improves memory,” MacLeod told the Daily Mail. “And we know that regular exercise and movement are also strong building blocks for a good memory.”

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2017.1383434">Memory</a>. It received funding from the <a href="http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/index_eng.asp">Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Want to boost your memory? Try reading aloud

One simple trick can help to keep new information fresh...

Dinosaur fossils have been around for a long time.  More precisely humans have been aware of dinosaur fossils for a long time.  Temples in China once held fossil dinosaur bones as precious dragon bones.  The myth of the Griffin may have arisen from fossils of Protoceratops; a creature with a beak, four legs and the shoulder blades of a bird.  Native Americans identified masses of pterosaur fossils as the bones of thunderbirds.  

In the more standard history of things, Dinosaurs were discovered in 1841 when English scientist Richard Owen came to the conclusion that fossils that kept popping up were distinct from extant animals.  Owen came up with the name ‘Dinosauria’ and the rest as they say is history.  But our view of dinosaurs has changed drastically over time.  

The 19th century when dinosaurs were ‘discovered’ was a strange and exciting time for science.  The Origin of the Species was published, pasteurization was invented, and explorers wandered the Amazon.  Europeans had only recently first seen the Platypus.  Amidst discovery and invention, there were also huge mistakes.  Craniometry was invented to measure skulls and brain sizes of different human races and assign a hierarchy of intelligence.  Eventually the Nazis used Craniometry to determine a person’s race.  

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scales-feathers-birds-dinosaurs/">Dinosaurs</a> in the early years of research were pitiful things.  Rock-hard tendons that held dinosaur tails as rigid balance poles in life were broken to show drooping tails drug through the mud.  Paintings show drab beasts of violence.  Dinosaurs were said to be slow, dumb.  People even ignored facts and posited the self-serving hypothesis that dinosaurs were killed off by our rodent-like ancestors.  Dinosaur just couldn’t compete with those quick and quick-witted mammals it was said.  

Meanwhile human skulls were measured with extreme prejudice.  Scientists already knowing the race of the skull being measured used sloppy work to confirm their pre-existing bias.  Asian brains were larger than Caucasian brains and Caucasian brains were larger than any of the other races it was found.  When a few scientists measured brain capacity without knowing the race in advance, it was found brains were similar in size.  The idea of a difference of brain size in races and the assumed difference in intelligence persisted.

A model of Iguanodon, a dinosaur with its thumb spike mounted on its nose was constructed at the Crystal Palace in London.  Scientists dined on New Year’s Eve 1853 inside the hollowed out model dinosaur.  A little less than a decade later, the US Civil War broke out in 1861.  These events are seemingly completely unrelated but they are important for how we see the world.  

Religion for centuries set humanity’s place in the world.  Man was said to be the master of other animals and even over women.  Religions even justified slavery, which Jesus seems to condone in the New Testament.  With the rise of the importance of science as an explanatory force in the world, religion became less important.  Nothing was more challenging to religion than Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.  When the American Museum of Natural History was first founded, there was a small debate as to whether dinosaurs should be included in the new museum.  Those who were against dinosaurs on display even said they could be used as evolutionist propaganda.  

With the shift in worldviews in full swing, people scrambled to maintain their prejudices at all cost.  Since Europeans assumed themselves superior to other races, they worked extra hard to get high brain mass measurements for their own skulls.  Since humans were superior to dinosaurs, since we were destined to rule the earth, we broke ossified tendons to show a sluggish monster.

Eventually the evidence always shines through.  There are new dinosaurs now, running, nuzzling their young, brightly patterned and feathered.  Tails are held erect and straight in reputable museums.  Humans are coming closer to accepting their place as one species among many in one instant of geologic history.  There has now been a president of the US who wasn’t white.  There are black scientists and writers, there are women politicians and professors and business leaders.  Men, white men (which I am one) are slowly coming closer to grasping the truth that we are equals with the rest of humanity.                    

--

By <a href="zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner, </a><a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Nazis and Dinosaurs: A brief history of bad science

Dinosaur fossils have been around for a long time.  More...

Puffin colonies are a popular wildlife attraction, perhaps due to their unique, colorful look. Places like Iceland and Maine, where the Atlantic puffin resides, even offer puffin watching tours. 

But despite their popularity, puffins now face population declines and many puffin species are now threatened. 

Now, a new study has found that puffins who travel further distances during the winter are at a disadvantage for breeding the following spring. 

The study was conducted by an international team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology</a> who examined puffin migration across a wide range of puffin colonies. 

The study, published in the journal Current Biology, is the first of its kind to take such an expansive look at multiple seabird colonies in order to understand puffin migrations. 

According to the lead author of the study, Dr. Annette Fayet, previous research focused on individual colonies and all but ignored puffin colonies in Norway or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-iceland-sells-risky-seismic-activity-tourist-attraction/">Iceland</a>, which is why this study is so monumental. 

The researchers observed seasonal behaviors in multiple puffin colonies over a span of eight years.

The researchers collected data on 270 individual birds in total and were able to identify the motivations behind those behaviors. 

Some puffin colonies in the United States travel shorter distances during the winter, but other puffins, like the Irish puffin, migrate much further, traveling across the Atlantic Ocean. 

“Our large dataset also allowed us to tackle the big question of what drives avian migration - something we could not have achieved with a smaller sample,” said Dr. Fayet. 

The researchers found that larger colonies or habitats that have scarce resources in the winter are the major motivators for migrating further distances. 

Even though these further migrations may aid the puffins in surviving the winter, it takes a great toll on the bird’s energy. The puffins that travel further have a greater risk of unsuccessful breeding the following year. 

The results of this study could apply to many other migratory species, and understanding how migration affects the health and survival of a species could help with conservation efforts. 

“If we as conservationists want to help these species to survive we need to look at what we can do to support them during the winter season as well as the summer months,” said Dr. Fayet. “With this in mind, it may be a good idea to implement protected areas in seabird winter hotspots such as the area south of Iceland and Greenland.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Puffins who have to migrate farther often struggle with breeding

Puffin colonies are a popular wildlife attraction, perhaps due to...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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

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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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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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