Close-up,Of,Antarctic,Moss,At,Fort,Point,,Antarctica

Hidden beneath East Antarctica’s thick ice lie secrets from a warmer, ancient world. For decades, scientists have speculated about what lies under this frozen continent.&nbsp;



Researchers have uncovered remnants of vast prehistoric river landscapes buried beneath East Antarctica. These hidden features could help refine predictions about the future of our planet’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-sea-ice-extremes-disrupt-global-climate-systems/">ice</a> and oceans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plains-found-under-east-antarctica-s-ice">Plains found under East Antarctica’s ice</h2>



A team led by researchers from <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Durham University</a> studied radar data across a 3,500 km (2,175 mile) stretch of Antarctica, from Princess Elizabeth Land to George V Land. 



They discovered 31 flat surfaces beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). These surfaces, preserved under ice as thick as 2,500 meters (8,200 feet), appear as coherent, low-relief plains. 



The study showed that they were once part of a single fluvial landscape that formed after East Antarctica separated from Australia.



The researchers used data from four major airborne surveys. Their detailed analysis revealed gently sloping surfaces with consistent elevations, now separated by deep glacial troughs. 



These plains dip coastward and cluster around 200 to 450 meters (656 to 1,476 feet) above present sea level, once adjusted for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-sea-ice-collapse-linked-to-a-sudden-surge-in-ocean-salt/">ice</a> unloading.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-origins-in-ancient-river-systems">Origins in ancient river systems</h2>



The scientists interpret the surfaces as remnants of ancient river plains. After the continents split, rivers eroded the land to a base level, creating a vast, seaward-sloping plain. 



These features closely resemble those along the Australian coast, which formed through similar processes.



According to the team, the plains likely developed between 80 and 34 million years ago, after the breakup and before widespread glaciation.



“Information such as the shape and geology of the newly mapped surfaces will help improve our understanding of how ice flows at the edge of East <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-lies-beneath-16000-feet-of-antarctic-ice-a-world-never-before-seen-by-humans/">Antarctica</a>,” said Dr. Guy Paxman.



“This, in turn, will help make it easier to predict how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-ice-sheet-past-present-and-future/">East Antarctic Ice Sheet</a> could affect sea levels under different levels of climate warming in the future.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surfaces-in-east-antarctica-survived-ice">Surfaces in East Antarctica survived ice</h2>



Remarkably, these river-carved surfaces have survived beneath the ice for over 30 million years. 



They were not destroyed by glacial erosion. Instead, fast-moving ice carved deep troughs between them, leaving the flat surfaces mostly intact. These areas likely remained frozen at the base, which reduced erosion.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/antarctic-ice-sheet_underneath_topography_credit-S-Ink_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/antarctic-ice-sheet_underneath_topography_credit-S-Ink_1s.webp" alt="The topography beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Credit: Open-access s-ink.org repository" class="wp-image-1978129"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The topography beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Open-access s-ink.org repository</figcaption></figure>



Research shows that today's fast-flowing glaciers, such as Totten and Denman, move through these deeper troughs. 



Meanwhile, the ice above the flat surfaces is slow-moving and cold-based, further preserving the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarcticas-waters-are-getting-saltier-and-it-could-transform-earths-climate/">landscape</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bedrock-confirms-river-not-ice-origins">Bedrock confirms river, not ice origins</h2>



The researchers found that the surfaces cross different geological provinces, including crystalline gneisses and sedimentary rocks. 



This confirms that the surfaces did not form due to rock boundaries. They formed from river erosion, not through ice or marine processes. Their consistency in elevation and slope supports this.



Some of these surfaces now align with exposed regions like the Bunger and Vestfold Hills. These exposed features show signs of glacial scouring, but not enough to erase the original fluvial structure. 



The research suggests limited modification by ice, mostly during the Oligocene or early Miocene periods.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-influence-on-future-ice-sheet-retreat">Influence on future ice sheet retreat</h2>



These buried plains are not just ancient relics. They still shape the modern flow of the EAIS. Ice moves fastest through the troughs, not over the flat surfaces. 



The researchers argue that these plains could anchor ice during future warming events, potentially forming grounded ice rises.



“This study brings the jigsaw pieces of data together, to reveal the big picture: how these ancient surfaces formed, their role in determining the present-day flow of the ice, and their possible influence on how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-ice-sheet-patterns-point-to-rapid-melting-risks/">East Antarctic Ice Sheet</a> will evolve in a warming world,” noted Professor Neil Ross.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-slowing-east-antarctica-s-ice-loss">Slowing East Antarctica’s ice loss</h2>



The presence of these elevated plains buried under the ice could slow the retreat of grounding lines.



If ice shelves collapse during warming, some grounded ice might remain over these surfaces. This would reduce ice loss into the ocean. In regions like Law Dome, some surfaces already host ice rises, which help anchor and stabilize the inland ice.



However, current large-scale ice sheet models often overlook these features. Their resolution is too low to capture how these plains affect grounding-line behavior. 



The authors urge more drilling and high-resolution modeling to better understand the role of these features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-this-could-change-sea-level-predictions">This could change sea level predictions</h2>



East Antarctica holds about 90 percent of Antarctica’s ice. If this ice sheet melted, it would raise sea levels by 52 meters (171 feet). Improving how we model its behavior is essential. 



These hidden landscapes offer a new constraint on where ice will likely remain stable.



The study's detailed data on elevation, slope, and bedrock composition provide critical insights. They help scientists to project more accurately the responses of the EAIS to future climate change.



The findings highlight the value of geophysical surveys in revealing what lies beneath the ice and how it might shape our future.



The research appears in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01734-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Geoscience</a> and is supported by institutions in the U.K., Germany, China, and Australia. 



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Vast river landscapes discovered beneath Antarctica's thick ice sheet

Hidden beneath East Antarctica’s thick ice lie secrets from a warmer, ancient world. For decades, scientists have speculated about what lies under this frozen continent.&nbsp; Researchers have uncovered remnants of vast prehistoric river landscapes buried beneath East Antarctica. These hidden features could help refine predictions about the future of our planet’s ice and oceans. Plains found under East Antarctica’s ice A team led by researchers from Durham University studied radar data across a 3,500 km (2,175 mile) stretch of Antarctica, from Princess Elizabeth Land to George V...

Cassiopea is an ancient jellyfish that has no brain or spine and basically spends its entire existence upside down on the ocean floor. But researchers from the <a href="http://www.caltech.edu/">California Institute of Technology</a> were surprised to discover that Cassiopea actually sleeps, indicating that sleep is a primitive behavior that has survived thousands of years of evolution.

"It may not seem surprising that jellyfish sleep--after all, mammals sleep, and other invertebrates such as worms and fruit flies sleep," said co-author Ravi Nath. "But jellyfish are the most evolutionarily ancient animals known to sleep. This finding opens up many more questions: Is sleep the property of neurons? And perhaps a more far-fetched question: Do plants sleep?"

There are three conditions that constitute “sleeping.” First, sleep is marked by a state of inactivity and tranquility, also known as quiescence. While in the quiescent state, the organism must show a decreased response to stimuli. Also, the organism must show that it is more and more sleepy when deprived of sleep. In order to prove that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/suez-canal-blamed-jellyfish/">jellyfish</a> sleep, the research team needed to demonstrate that they meet all three sleep criteria. 

To show quiescence, the researchers set up cameras to monitor the jellyfish. They found that the jellyfish go through periods of inactivity at night. During this tranquil stage, the jellyfish pulsed around 39 times per minute as opposed to 58 pulses per minute during the day.

Next, the team needed to test if the jellyfish were less responsive to stimuli during this state of decreased activity. They placed a jellyfish on a platform and pulled the platform out from underneath the animal once it had gone into a quiescent state. Instead of swimming to the bottom of the tank right away, the jellyfish floated in the water for up to five seconds before becoming alert.

In order to demonstrate the jellyfish had an increased sleep drive when deprived of sleep, researchers pulsed water at the animals for 20 minutes to keep them awake. As a result, the jellyfish were more likely to fall into the quiescent state during daytime hours when they would normally be active.

While the study proves that jellyfish exhibit sleep behavior, the underlying sleep mechanisms remain a mystery. The study is published in the online journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Even jellyfish sleep, proving it is a primitive ancient behavior

Cassiopea is an ancient jellyfish that has no brain or...

A study from the <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/">Pew Research Center</a> reveals that most Americans only get science news a few times a month, and even then they stumble upon the information instead of seeking it out. 36 percent of Americans say they get science news more than a few times per week. 30 percent of those individuals report intentionally seeking it out, while only 17 percent of Americans report actively seeking out and consuming science news.

A survey of 4,024 U.S. adults shows that 54 percent of Americans rely on general news outlets for their science news. Despite this fact, Americans admit that specialty sources such as museums, science magazines and websites (like <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>!), and science documentaries are more likely to be accurate. In fact, nearly half of U.S. adults say that specialty sources have reliable science news most of the time, while only 28 percent believe general news sources get the science facts right most of the time.

With science information being increasingly at the center of public and political issues, it is surprising that more Americans are not actively pursuing it. The 17 percent minority of Americans who seek out science news and consume it most often are more engaged with science information in their personal lives and on social media. They are also more likely to have visited a park or museum in the last year and to have a science-related hobby.


The study reveals that only around 26 percent of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-media-helping-communities-manage-fires/">social media</a> users follow science accounts. 44 percent of individuals who use social media report seeing science news on these outlets that they have not seen elsewhere. 52 percent say that they mostly distrust the accuracy of the science posts, while 26 percent say they mostly trust science posts on social media.

The research also finds that Republicans and Democrats are equally likely to be active science news consumers and show similar levels of interest in science news. There is a notable difference, however, in opinions about how the media covers science. 64 percent of Democrats say that news media outlets do a good job of covering science compared with 50 percent of Republicans.

"Despite wide political divides in views about some science-related issues, such as climate change and energy, U.S. adults from both sides of the aisle are quite similar in their levels of interest, consumption, and tendency to get science news from general news outlets," explains researcher Amy Mitchell.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Poll: Science sites are more accurate than general news outlets

A study from the Pew Research Center reveals that most...

During the Eocene epoch in the Paleogene period, an asteroid collided with Earth that caused the highest temperatures ever felt on the planet.

According to new research, the event caused cubic zirconia to form, meaning temperatures must have reached 2,370 degrees Celsius or higher. 

The collision formed the Mistastin Lake crater in Canada, which measures over 17 miles in diameter. This study was a revolutionary one as it used the presence of zirconia and rock melt in the Mistastin Lake crater in Canada to measure temperatures at the time of the impact. 

“Nobody has even considered using zirconia as a recorder of temperatures of impact melts before. This is the first time that we have an indication that real rocks can get that hot,” Dr. Nicholas Timms, lead author of the research, told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23531433-600-found-the-hottest-place-ever-found-on-earths-surface/">New Scientist</a>. 

Researchers from <a href="http://www.curtin.edu.au/">Curtin University</a> in Australia and <a href="https://www.westernu.edu/">Western University</a> in Ontario conducted the study that examined how the Earth’s crust was shaped and changed after collisions with rocks from space.

Calculating exact temperatures during early <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/spot-asteroids-earth/">asteroid</a> strikes was difficult, as many rocks and minerals evaporate in extreme heat. But the formation of zirconia and its presence in the crater sheds new light on what conditions were like billions of years ago. 

The new study will help geologists and scientists gain a better understanding of what Earth was like during its early periods, and sheds new light on the impact of asteroid strikes. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Asteroid strike caused highest temperatures ever felt on Earth

During the Eocene epoch in the Paleogene period, an asteroid...

Using genetic evidence as a defense in criminal testimony is becoming more common. However, new research shows that pleading on behalf of your genes doesn’t make you appear any less responsible to the judge and jury.

A defense strategy may employ behavioral genetic evidence that links gene variants or gene DNA to establish a root cause for a crime or any violent tendencies/behaviors that may have motivated a crime.

Research has found links to genetic makeup and criminal behavior, but these relationships are still largely unexplored. This is why the use of behavioral genetics in court in most cases doesn’t aid the defendant.

A new report by Dr. Paula Appelbaum from <a href="http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/">Columbia University Medical Center</a> and Nicholas Scurich from the <a href="https://uci.edu/">University of California, Irvine</a>, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, discusses why juries are likely to be unsympathetic to arguments founded around genetics.

The authors noted that even if a jury is sympathetic to behavioral traits, there still won’t be a ruling in the defendant's favor because of the possibility of future offenses.

“A judge and jury may find defendants are less responsible because of a genetic factor, but also feel that they are more likely to re-offend because they can't control themselves due to the genetic effect,” said Appelbaum.

According to the law, inherited traits are not enough to deter blame for one's actions. In order to plead insanity, for example, or exhibit reduced behavioral control, there has to sufficient proof that the defendant was not in control of their actions.

In order for genetic data to continue to be used as a defense in the criminal courts, more studies will need to be conducted to show plausible links between criminal behavior and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/edit-genes-human-embryos/">genes</a>.

“Until that evidence is forthcoming, the use of behavioral genetic data in the criminal justice system is likely to diminish. For the time being, at least, not relying on genetic evidence in criminal courts may result in fairer outcomes at every level,” said Applebaum.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandett@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Can genetics be used as a defense in criminal court?

Using genetic evidence as a defense in criminal testimony is...

Using a technique known as gene knockout, researchers altered the genetic code in the DNA of seven species of butterflies. This led to a breakthrough discovery that a single gene, the WntA gene, is responsible for the incredible diversity of butterfly wing patterns.

Owen McMillan is a staff scientist at the <a href="http://www.stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a> and co-author of the study.

"Butterfly wing patterns are amazing: a true evolutionary novelty, highly diverse and strongly shaped by natural and sexual selection,” said McMillan. “By genetically engineering individuals from different species, we are quickly coming to grips with how this diversity is generated. Surprisingly, a single gene, and one that is used repeatedly throughout development, can have huge effects." 

The WntA gene is part of a small family of genes that influence body plans and other patterns during insect development. WntA is a protein molecule that seems to act as a morphogen, a chemical agent that is capable of causing the development of morphological characteristics. 

"Imagine a paint-by-number image of a butterfly," said McMillan "The instructions for coloring the wing are written in the genetic code. By deleting some of the instructions, we can infer which part says 'paint the number two's red' or 'paint the number one's black. Of course, it is a lot more complicated than this because what is actually changing are networks of genes that have a cascading effect on pattern and color."

According to researcher Carolina Concha, the team injected <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/storm-monarch-butterfly-colonies/">butterfly</a> eggs with an RNA probe that attached to the WntA gene, which they suspected played some role in the expression of color.

"After knocking out the gene, we let the butterflies grow up and compared the wing patterns of the knockout mutants with the original wing patterns," said co-author Richard Wallbank.

The scientists repeated this same procedure in seven different butterfly species. The results of the study revealed that the WntA gene influences wing pattern in ways that the researchers had not expected.

"Going back to the paint-by-number analogy, 'Number one' can move around the wing in different butterflies species, and even in different color pattern variants of the same species,” said McMillan. “In Monarchs, for example, the gene is expressed with fine precision along the wing veins. In contrast, in Heliconius, a group known for vivid wing patterns, the gene is expressed in bold brush strokes from essentially the tip to the base of the wing.” 

McMillan added, “And it gets even crazier, because the color of 'Number one' can change depending on context, shifting between different colored pigments and even changing how light is reflected. In butterflies, color is a function of both pigment and the structural properties of the scales cells that cover the wing.”

The research is published in the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> early online edition.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists can now alter butterfly wing patterns

Using a technique known as gene knockout, researchers altered the...

For the first time ever, scientists from the <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a>, Australia have successfully transferred digital information carried in light waves to sound waves inside a microchip.

Data carried as light waves has many advantages, as it can travel long distances quickly, passing between continents through fiber-optic cables so that more information can be collected. But developing a microchip that transfers the data from optical to acoustic makes the information much more manageable. 

Information traveling at the speed of light has to be slowed down in some way to be of any use. 

The researchers developed an integrated circuit or photonic microchip that works as a storage place for data carried in light waves. The information is transferred into the acoustic domain and can then be managed more efficiently. 

The data, once transferred into acoustic waves, travels at speeds vastly slower than light waves. 

“Building an acoustic buffer inside a chip improves our ability to control information by several orders of magnitude,” said Moritz Merklein, a University of Sydney doctoral candidate

The microchip, developed at the <a href="https://physics.anu.edu.au/laser/">Australian National University’s Laser Physics Centre</a>, will be monumental for future telecommunications.

Previously, storing large amounts of data was problematic, as traditional storage methods were susceptible to overheating and interference. 

“Our system is not limited to a narrow bandwidth. So unlike previous systems this allows us to store and retrieve information at multiple wavelengths simultaneously, vastly increasing the efficiency of the device,” said Dr. Birgit Stiller, the supervisor of the project

This exciting first could drastically improve the way data is stored and delivered, cutting down on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/countries-2050-renewable-energy/">energy</a> and hindering electromagnetic interference. 

 “This is an important step forward in the field of optical information processing as this concept fulfills all requirements for current and future generation optical communication systems,” said co-author  Professor Benjamin Eggleton. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Scientists successfully transfer light waves into sound waves

For the first time ever, scientists from the University of...

Plants and insects have an ancient defense against viruses coded into their DNA. But according to scientists, humans and other vertebrates don’t have this genetic defense – at least, not anymore.

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.kuleuven.be/english">University of Leuven</a> in Belgium have found that vertebrates may have once had a genetic defense against viral illnesses like other organisms, but it was lost during the process of evolution.

The difference is a mechanism called RNA interference, which can suppress the expression of certain genes. Insects and plants use RNAI to protect themselves against certain viruses. Scientists have even found that bugs and plants can be made resistant to some diseases using the same mechanism – hence the rise of genetically modified crops.

But scientists hoping to protect humans against diseases in the same way have run into a roadblock: we don’t have the same genetic defense that plants and insects do. 

The key lies with three different types of the Argonautes protein. By looking at 40 varied organisms, including humans, the Belgian scientists discovered the problem.

"Two out of these three types [of Argonautes] are especially important for our research: AGO1 and AGO2. The AGO1 family plays a role in regulating its own gene expression. These proteins help to determine which characteristics encoded in the DNA are actually expressed,” Dr. Niels Wynant of the University of Leuven said in a press release. “The AGO2 family takes care of the defense against viruses. However, we didn't find these AGO2 proteins in vertebrates."

So the researchers started working backward, taking a look at jellyfish and sponges, both ancient animal species that share a common ancestor with humans and other vertebrates – albeit, very far back. Like insects and plants, they had the AGO2 proteins.

"In invertebrates, we noticed that AGO2 proteins indeed evolved much faster than their AGO1 counterparts. We didn't see this rapidly evolving group in the vertebrates,” Wynant said.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-08043-5">Scientific Reports</a>. 

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Humans have lost an ancient genetic defense against viruses

Plants and insects have an ancient defense against viruses coded...

Do you trust your school to protect children with chronic health issues? More parents of children with physical or mental health conditions are answering “no,” according to a new report.

Only 38 percent of parents are “very confident” that schools can help a child with a mental disorder or illness, according to the new poll conducted by the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a>. Parents also worry about schools’ ability to respond to chronic health issues like asthma attacks, the poll found.

"Parents feel schools can handle basic first aid, but are less sure about urgent health situations such as an asthma attack, epileptic seizure, or serious allergic reaction," Sarah Clark, co-director of the poll, said.

The university’s <a href="http://mottnpch.org/">C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health</a> conducts several surveys each year and collects the results in an annual report to measure public opinion on children’s health. 

Parents have the least amount of confidence in schools’ ability to identify and help students with mental health issues like depression, anxiety or learning disorders, the poll found. 

"One of the challenges of addressing mental health is that there are so many facets," Clark said. "At the elementary level, this might include prolonged sadness, anger management problems, or undiagnosed ADHD. For older students, it may be anxiety about college entrance tests, a problem with drug use, or suicidal thoughts."

In higher grades, school counselors are often seen as the best line of defense for students dealing with learning disorders or mental illness, Clark said. However, at many schools, counselors have varying degrees of training and overwhelming workloads, making it less likely they’ll spot problems.

More than 75 percent of respondents were confident in school nurses’ ability to deal with minor first aid issues like cuts and bruises – but even then, their confidence may be misplaced, the poll found.

Most parents who said schools could handle first aid crises believe school nurses are on-site five days a week. However, less than half of schools in the United States have a full-time, on-site nurse.

Parents who have children with chronic health issues – whether mental or physical – should work with their child’s teachers and school administration to make sure their child is being cared for while at school, the researchers said.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Parents worry schools can't cope with chronic health issues

Do you trust your school to protect children with chronic...

One of the main issues with targeted weight loss is that it essentially doesn’t exist. You can’t force your body to burn fat in specific areas through diet and exercise – in other words, crunches won’t burn belly fat.

However, new research has discovered a way to burn areas of unwanted fat – and treat metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity – in mice. This treatment comes in the form of a centimeter-square medicated skin patch containing dozens of microscopic needles. When the patch is applied to skin, the needles painlessly pierce the skin and release a drug from nanoparticles into the underlying tissue.

The drugs work by turning energy-storing white fat into energy-burning brown fat locally, while also raising the body’s overall metabolism. White fat stores excess energy in large triglyceride droplets, while brown fat has smaller droplets and a higher number of mitochondria which burn fat in order to produce heat. Back when humans were living out in the elements, a larger concentration of brown fat was essential to survival.

The process of “browning,” or turning white fat into brown fat, has been studied for years in the scientific community. This process can occur naturally when the body is exposed to cold temperatures, but scientists struggled find ways to sufficiently recreate this in the lab. 

“There are several clinically available drugs that promote browning, but all must be given as pills or injections,” says study co-leader Li Qiang, assistant professor of pathology and cell biology at <a href="http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/">Colombia University Medical Center</a>. “This exposes the whole body to the drugs, which can lead to side effects such as stomach upset, weight gain, and bone fractures. Our skin patch appears to alleviate these complications by delivering most drugs directly to fat tissue.”

Researchers tested this treatment in obese mice by loading nanoparticles on the patches with one of two compounds known to promote browning: rosiglitazone (Avandia) or beta-adrenergic receptor agonist (CL 316243) – which works in mice, but not in humans. Each mouse was applied with two patches on the lower abdomen, one with a drug and one without.

They found that mice treated with either of the two drugs had a 20 percent reduction in fat on the treated side, compared to the untreated side. Furthermore, compared to control mice, the treated mice had significantly lower fasting blood glucose levels. Genetic analyses also revealed that the treated side contained more genes for brown fat than the untreated side.

When tested in normal, lean mice, the results showed that both of the two drugs increased oxygen consumption – which is a measure of overall metabolic activity – by about 20 percent compared to untreated controls. 

“Many people will no doubt be excited to learn that we may be able to offer a noninvasive alternative to liposuction for reducing love handles,” says Qiang. “What’s much more important is that our patch may provide a safe and effective means of treating obesity and related metabolic disorders such as diabetes.”

While this is an important discovery, the patch has yet to be tested in humans. Future research will further determine which drugs, or combination of drugs, will be most effective to promote localization of browning and an increase in overall <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/boost-tolerance-cold-weather/">metabolism</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Breakthrough skin patch dissolves targeted fat in mice

One of the main issues with targeted weight loss is...

Researchers from Germany and France have determined that particles from tattoo ink can travel inside the body and reach the lymph nodes. The study, published in <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, provides the first evidence that various pigments and toxic element impurities are transported through tattooed tissues.

Scientists at the <a href="http://www.esrf.eu/">European Synchrotron Radiation Facility</a> (ESRF) also discovered in-depth characterization of the pigments in the tissues. Hiram Castillo is a scientist at the ESRF and one of the authors of the study.

"When someone wants to get a tattoo, they are often very careful in choosing a parlor where they use sterile needles that haven’t been used previously,” explained Castillo. “No one checks the chemical composition of the colors, but our study shows that maybe they should.”

Little is known about the potential impurities in the color mixture applied to the skin. Most <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/tattoos-stay-body/">tattoo</a> inks contain organic pigments, but also contain contaminants like nickel, chromium, manganese, or cobalt. 

Other than carbon black, the most common ingredient used in tattoo inks is titanium dioxide (TiO2). This white pigment, also commonly used in food additives and paints, is used to create specific shades when mixed with colors. TiO2 tattoos often cause delayed healing, skin elevation, and itching.

Until now, potential health hazards from tattoos had only been investigated by chemical analysis of the inks. Two particular beamlines used in the current study allowed a team of scientists to clearly view titanium dioxide located inside of the tissue. 

Overall, the scientists found strong evidence for both migration and long-term deposition of toxic elements and tattoo pigments in the skin and the lymphatic environment. A broad range of particles - up to several micrometers in size - were located in human skin, but only nanoparticles had traveled to the lymph nodes. The scientists warn that these particles could lead to chronic enlargement of the lymph node and lifelong exposure.

Study co-author Bernhard Hesse is a visiting scientist at the ESRF. He explained, "We already knew that pigments from tattoos would travel to the lymph nodes because of visual evidence: the lymph nodes become tinted with the color of the tattoo. It is the response of the body to clean the site of entrance of the tattoo. What we didn't know is that they do it in a nano form, which implies that they may not have the same behavior as the particles at a micro level. And that is the problem: we don't know how nanoparticles react.”

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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

Particles from your tattoo can get into your lymph nodes

Researchers from Germany and France have determined that particles from...

In a new breakthrough, Japanese scientists successfully changed the color of a morning glory using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool. By isolating one single gene in the plant’s DNA, scientists were able to change the flower’s purple hue to white. 

With the new technology, the team was able to do almost instantaneously what took nature 850 years to perfect. CRISPR has been used to successfully “edit” human embryos, but this is the first time that scientists targeted the color of plants. 

Conducted by researchers from <a href="http://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/">University of Tsukuba</a>, <a href="http://www.yokohama-cu.ac.jp/en/">Yokohama City University</a>, and the <a href="http://www.naro.affrc.go.jp/english/">National Agriculture and Food Research Organization </a>(NARO), the study used the Japanese morning glory as part of the <a href="https://shigen.nig.ac.jp/c.elegans/">National BioResource Project </a>in Japan. 

The researchers isolated a single gene, dihydroflavonol-4-reductase-B (DFR-B), which is responsible for the plant’s color. They then encoded the gene to deactivate enzyme production, which, in turn, changed the colors of the flower from purple to white. 

All in all, the study recorded the successful transformation of 75% (24 out of 32) of the morning glorys used for the experiment.

CRISPR works by removing and replacing gene mutations, allowing the DNA strand to repair itself sans the original mutation effectively.

CRISPR has been the subject of some <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/edit-genes-human-embryos/">controversy</a>, with the US intelligence community going so far as to call it a possible weapon of mass destruction. Other scientists and policy makers are hesitant to embrace CRISPR technology because of the ethical ramifications associated with it. 

Because CRISPR essentially acts as a gene “photoshop” kit that cuts away undesired gene mutations, isolating and targeting single genes and changing them, there is a concern that it could be used to create “designer babies.”

However, CRISPR could also create revolutionary gene therapies, eradicate many inherited diseases, and cure certain diseases like cancer by removing genetic mutations.

As experiments using CRISPR continue and its promising applications in curing disease are further evidenced, scientists, ethicists, and policy makers will need to work together to ensure the safety and success of gene editing without causing ethical issues.

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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

Gene editing tool can change the color of plants

In a new breakthrough, Japanese scientists successfully changed the color...

Until now, identifying the exact age of a cell, or its stage in the lifecycle, was only possible after the cell had died. But new research has discovered an internal clock that can gauge a cell's lifespan and exact age in real time. 

Mapping the cell cycle and age of cells is important to scientists because it can help shed light on certain diseases and, in some cases, can contribute to increasing the longevity of cells. 

“With this discovery, which shows that the nucleus exhibits rapid fluctuations that decrease during the life cycle of the cell, we can enhance our knowledge of both healthy and diseased human cells,” said Alexandra Zidovska, senior author of the research and an assistant professor of physics at <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a> (NYU). 

Zidovska conducted the study alongside Fang-Yi Chu, an NYU doctoral candidate, and Shannon Haley, an undergraduate at NYU. 

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), documents the researchers’ efforts to understand the cell nucleus and cell cycle better. 

Throughout a cell’s life cycle, the nucleus goes through drastic changes to its shape and size, but Zidovska’s study was able to capture these changes in real time and see how quickly the nucleus transformed in short periods. 

The researchers used a fluorescent microscope that allowed them to map the minute and rapid changes of the cell nucleus in <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/3d-laser-reveals-plant-cells/">living cells</a>. 

The team found that the nuclear envelope flickers over a few seconds, and the rapidity of these fluctuations decreases as the cell nears the ends of its cycle. This motion is the first physical feature that changes with the cell cycle, hence the term “internal clock.”

“Therefore, this process can serve as an internal clock of the cell, telling you at what stage in the cell cycle the cell is,” said Zidovska.

This research could also help document the development of certain disorders and developmental problems like muscular dystrophy, cancer, and cardiomyopathy by specifically focusing on the cell’s nucleus.

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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

Researchers pinpoint internal clock in living human cells

Until now, identifying the exact age of a cell, or...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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