Astronomers caught a star system at the moment when solid grains began to form planets. This snapshot reveals how planets first start to form, just as Earth once did.



The infant star HOPS-315 sits about 1,300 light-years, roughly 7.6 quadrillion miles, away in the constellation Orion. Around it whirls a disc of gas and dust where heat is high enough to bake rock yet cool enough for those rocks to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-giant-planets-form/">re-form</a>.



<a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/melissa-mcclure#tab-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Melissa McClure</a> of Leiden University led the international team that pieced together these first moments of planetary assembly. Their finding gives researchers a live laboratory that mirrors the opening chapter of the Solar System’s own story.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-planets-form-from-early-solids">How planets form from early solids</h2>



In primitive meteorites, tiny calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions tell us that the Solar System’s clock started ticking <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1226919" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">4.567 billion</a> years ago. Those inclusions condensed from a searing vapor and seeded every terrestrial planet we know.



Because the clock starts with condensation, catching that step beyond the Sun has been an astronomer’s white whale. 



The new observation marks the first time any telescope has seen <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/cp/d2cp02188a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gas-phase silicon monoxide</a> (SiO) alongside freshly crystallizing silicates in the same patch of a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/protoplanetary-disk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protoplanetary disc</a>.



McClure’s team spotted the minerals within an orbit comparable to our asteroid belt. That match matters, for it pins early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-planets-form-its-much-more-complicated-than-we-thought/">chemistry</a> to a region that later fed Earth with water and metals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crystals-forming-around-hops-315">Crystals forming around HOPS-315</h2>



The James Webb Space Telescope (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JWST</a>) collects infrared light that pierces the dust cocoon shrouding HOPS-315, revealing the distinct fingerprint of hot SiO molecules. Those molecules glow at about 2,200°F, a temperature that vaporizes most common rocks.



<a href="https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ALMA</a>, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, then measured the same region at millimeter wavelengths and mapped where the glow comes from. 



By combining the two views, scientists confirmed that both gas and solid forms of silicon occupy a ring no farther than 2 astronomical units from the star.



Handling these observations is tricky because HOPS-315 also drives a jet rich in SiO. The team disentangled the jet’s signal from the disc’s by checking velocities, the jet gas races outward, whereas disc material <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/july-2025-skywatching-bright-planets-and-a-summer-constellation/">orbits</a> sedately.



A final check involved comparing the brightness of different SiO lines. The ratio matched laboratory predictions for vapor that is actively condensing, adding yet another layer of confidence to the result.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planets-forming-from-gas-and-crystals">Planets forming from gas and crystals</h2>



Crystalline silicates appear where cooling vapor meets a sharp fall in temperature. The presence of both phases at one location means condensation is happening right now, not long ago nor far away in another part of the disc.



“This process has never been seen before in a protoplanetary disc, or anywhere outside our Solar System,” said <a href="https://lsa.umich.edu/astro/people/core-faculty/ebergin.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Edwin Bergin</a> of the <a href="https://lsa.umich.edu/astro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Michigan</a>, a co-author on the study. 



He adds that the minerals are the same kind locked inside 4.5-billion-year-old meteorites on Earth’s shelves.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://cdn.eso.org/images/wallpaper5/eso2512a.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/solar-system-forming_HOPS-315_ESO_1s.webp" alt="This is HOPS-315, a baby star where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation. Together with data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), these observations show that hot minerals are beginning to solidify. In orange we see the distribution of carbon monoxide, blowing away from the star in a butterfly-shaped wind. In blue we see a narrow jet of silicon monoxide, also beaming away from the star. These gaseous winds and jets are common around baby stars like HOPS-315. Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al." class="wp-image-1978595"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This is HOPS-315, a baby star where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation. Together with data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), these observations show that hot minerals are beginning to solidify. In orange we see the distribution of carbon monoxide, blowing away from the star in a butterfly-shaped wind. In blue we see a narrow jet of silicon monoxide, also beaming away from the star. These gaseous winds and jets are common around baby stars like HOPS-315. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.</figcaption></figure>



“We’re really seeing these minerals at the same location in this extrasolar system as where we see them in asteroids in the Solar System,” said co-author, Logan Francis from the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (<a href="https://affoa.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AFFOA</a>). 



He notes that the condensation zone sits at almost the same orbital radius as our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroids-found-in-the-main-belt-are-the-smallest-ever-detected/">asteroid belt</a>. 



The mineral grains measure less than a micrometer across, yet they mark the first step toward kilometer-scale planetesimals. Electrostatic forces will make them clump for thousands of years until <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-announce-evidence-suggesting-that-our-solar-system-has-nine-planets-again/">gravity</a> takes over.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hops-315-mirrors-earth-s-origins">HOPS-315 mirrors Earth’s origins</h2>



Laboratory studies show that minerals rich in silicon and oxygen condense first, followed quickly by iron-nickel alloys and then more volatile compounds. 



Seeing hot SiO vapor around HOPS-315 hints that a similar chemical parade is marching there.



By estimating the star’s luminosity and the disc’s temperature gradient, McClure’s group concludes that crystalline silicates could mass about a tenth of the Moon. That is plenty to seed multiple rocky planets if subsequent growth is efficient, as models suggest.



Isotopic <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.02631" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> on chondrules indicates that the earliest building blocks in our own <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jupiters-past-how-the-young-gas-giant-shaped-our-solar-system/">Solar System</a> formed within the first million years, a timescale now testable in real time with HOPS-315.



Matching astronomical data to isotope chronometers promises a much sharper picture of planet formation than meteoritic studies alone.



The discovery may also shed light on why Earth contains less carbon than nebular models predict. If early minerals trap oxygen and silicon immediately, carbon may remain gaseous longer and get pushed outward before it can join newborn worlds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-in-watching-planets-form">What’s next in watching planets form</h2>



Over the next year, ALMA will return to HOPS-315 to look for water ice farther out in the disc. 



If water lines up beyond the silicate ring, astronomers can test whether rocky seeds migrate inward before they acquire ice mantles, a step that may explain why Earth ended up with oceans.



JWST will track how the SiO signature evolves. A steady decline would show vapor freezing out, whereas a surge could hint at heating bursts from magnetic flares or spiral shocks.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/0j-MH6_QlBA?si=3P8FgBE0O2TTWsnM
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Witnessing the dawn of a new solar system. Credit: ESO</figcaption></figure>



Beyond the specifics of HOPS-315, the result boosts confidence that rocky planets are common. If condensation begins so early, many stars may launch planet formation well before their gas discs disperse, leaving time for worlds to migrate, collide, and settle into stable orbits.



Astronomer Elizabeth Humphreys at ESO, who was not involved in the study, said she was “really impressed” that the team could pinpoint the first solids. 



She argues that the synergy of Webb and ALMA is revealing a Universe “in which the steps toward life-bearing planets start earlier than we dared hope.”



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09163-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Astronomers capture the birth of a new solar system for the first time ever

Astronomers caught a star system at the moment when solid grains began to form planets. This snapshot reveals how planets first start to form, just as Earth once did. The infant star HOPS-315 sits about 1,300 light-years, roughly 7.6 quadrillion miles, away in the constellation Orion. Around it whirls a disc of gas and dust where heat is high enough to bake rock yet cool enough for those rocks to re-form. Melissa McClure of Leiden University led the international team that pieced together these first moments of...

5 out of 16 extinct species of ducks could not fly, according to a study that used a new mathematical model to analyze fossils.

It can be difficult to determine from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insect-fossils-indian-amber/">fossils</a> alone whether or not an extinct bird could fly.

Junya Watanabe of <a href="http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en">Kyoto University</a> developed a mathematical model that was able to separate flightless and flying species based on their wing and leg bones. The math confirmed that flightless species have relatively small wings and relatively large legs.

Watanabe applied the model to fossil specimens from 16 extinct species of a bird family called  anatids that includes ducks and geese. He identified 5 of the species as flightless, ranging from a land-dwelling duck from New Zealand to a South American duck that propelled itself underwater with its feet.

“One of the most exciting things was to find interesting fossils that were previously unidentified in museum drawers," says Watanabe. "What is interesting in fossil flightless anatids is their great diversity; they inhabited remote islands and continental margins, some of them were specialized for underwater diving and others for grazing, and some were rather gigantic while others were diminutive."

Watanabe developed a valuable statistical tool for evaluating whether a bird was capable of powered flight or not, said Helen James, Curator of Birds at the Smithsonian Institution's <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/">National Museum of Natural History</a>.

“Other researchers will appreciate that he offers a way to assess limb proportions even in fossil species where the bones of individual birds have become disassociated from each other,” James said. “Disassociation of skeletons in fossil sites has been a persistent barrier to these types of sophisticated statistical analyses, and Dr. Watanabe has taken an important step towards overcoming that problem.”

The study is published in the journal The Auk: Ornithological Advances.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/aos-publications">American Ornithological Society Publications Office</a>

New model determines whether extinct ducks could fly

5 out of 16 extinct species of ducks could not...

Even moderate alcohol drinking can cause a decline in mental skills, according to a new study.

Heavy alcohol consumption is known to be associated with poor <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-brain-processes-love/">brain</a> health, but few studies have examined the effects of moderate drinking on the brain.

A team of researchers based at the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> and <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a>  investigated whether moderate alcohol consumption has a beneficial or harmful association -- or no association at all -- with brain structure and function.

They used data on weekly alcohol intake and cognitive performance measured repeatedly over 30 years. From 1985 through 2015, 550 healthy men and women took part in an evaluation of the long term health of 10,000 British adults.

The researchers found that higher alcohol consumption over the 30 year study period was associated with increased risk of hippocampal atrophy - a form of brain damage that affects memory and spatial navigation.

While heavy drinkers, those who consume more than 30 units a week, were at higher risk of brain damage than abstainers, even those drinking moderately (14 to 21 units per week) were three times more likely to have hippocampal atrophy compared with abstainers.

Higher consumption was also associated with poorer white matter integrity (critical for efficient cognitive functioning) and faster decline in language fluency (how many words beginning with a specific letter can be generated in one minute).

But the study, published in the <a href="http://www.bmj.com/">British Medical Journal</a>, did not find a link between drinking and  semantic fluency (how many words in a specific category can be named in one minute) or word recall, the study said.

The findings have important potential public health implications for a large sector of the population, the authors said.

"Our findings support the recent reduction in UK safe limits and call into question the current US guidelines, which suggest that up to 24.5 units a week is safe for men, as we found increased odds of hippocampal atrophy at just 14-21 units a week, and we found no support for a protective effect of light consumption on brain structure," the authors wrote.

In an editorial linked to the study, Killian Welch, consultant neuropsychiatrist at the <a href="http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/GoingToHospital/Locations/REH/Pages/default.aspx">Royal Edinburgh Hospital</a>, said the findings "strengthen the argument that drinking habits many regard as normal have adverse consequences for health."

With publication of the paper, “justification of ‘moderate’ drinking on the grounds of brain health becomes a little harder," Welch wrote.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.bmj.com/">British Medical Journal</a>

Study: Even light drinking damages the brain

Even moderate alcohol drinking can cause a decline in mental skills,...

Researchers have identified the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-strain-flavors/">genes</a> that caused three lineages of turtles to lose their shells.

The genes are part of the mitochondrial respiratory complex in soft shelled turtles. The study was performed by Tibisay Escalona and Agostinho Antunes from the <a href="http://www.ciimar.up.pt/">CIIMAR</a> research institute in Portugal, and Cameron Weadick from <a href="http://www.sussex.ac.uk/">Sussex University</a> the United Kingdom.

About 250 million years ago, terrestrial-bound turtles began to explore aquatic environments. They lost their hard shells and developed “breathable skin” that allowed them to maintain aerobic respiration for longer periods of time, and sustain deeper dives, the study said.

The researchers investigated patterns of evolution in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) protein coding genes across 53 Cryptodiran turtle species. They tested for adaptive or divergent patterns of mtDNA evolution associated with the evolution of soft-shells.

The team identified positively selected sites that occurred in the mitochondrial-encoded proteins of the oxidative phosphorylation system by using various models. They then mapped the mutations onto the three-dimensional structures of the proteins and predicted the severity of these structural changes on respiratory function. 

The findings show that subtle amino acid changes can have large functional effects, and the largest changes affect complex one, the first and the largest domain of the OXPHOS pathway. Complex I is responsible for an estimated 40 percent of the proton current that drives ATP synthase.

"Our data supports the notion that the adoption of highly aquatic lifestyles in soft-shelled turtles was associated with altered patterns of selection on mitochondrial function,” the authors said. “Our analyses thus revealed that positive selection strongly affected mtDNA evolution along two (Trionychidae and Carettochelyidae) of the three lineages associated with the evolution of soft-shells, and that positive selection targeted multiple mtDNA genes in both cases." 

Mitochondria are passed along solely from mothers to offspring, are known as the powerhouses of the cell responsible for aerobic respiration.

"It's reasonable to hypothesize that turtle mitochondrial DNA-encoded proteins may have undergone adaptive evolutionary changes associated with the loss of shell scutes and the invasion of highly aquatic eco-physiological niches," said the authors.

The researchers did not see the same adaptation in leatherback sea turtles.

"This suggests that the evolution of a soft-shell in leatherbacks may have been linked to thermoregulation, not respiration, enabling the species to regulate heat gain and loss," said the authors.

Their findings highlight the valuable role of mitochondria in the larger context of mitochondrial protein biochemistry, human diseases, and turtle ecology, the authors said.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe">Molecular Biology and Evolution</a>

Scientists discover the genes behind softshell turtles

Researchers have identified the genes that caused three lineages of turtles...

Cook pine trees, native to New Caledonia but now living across the globe, grow toward the equator, and have double the tilt of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a> reported. 

Matt Ritter of <a href="http://www.calpoly.edu/">California Polytechnic State University</a> and his colleagues studied 256 Cook pine trees scattered across five different continents. The team estimated that the trees tilt by 8.55 degrees on average and an effort to capture more sunlight.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urban-trees-increase-ozone/">Trees</a> normally correct asymmetry in their growth, but for some unknown reason the Cook pine is unable to do so, Ritter told New Scientist.

“We could be just dealing with an artifact of its genetics that we are seeing now when we have spread it all over the world,” Ritter said. “Alternatively, it could be an adaptation to catch more sunlight at higher latitudes.”

Ritter was writing a description of the Cook pine for a book on urban trees in California when he noticed that the trees always leaned south. He called a colleague in Australia, south of the equator, who said the trees there always lean north.

“We got holy-smoked that there’s possibly a tree that’s leaning toward the equator wherever it grows,” Ritter said.

The trees also slant more the further they are from the equator in both hemispheres.

“It’s a shockingly distinct pattern,” says Ritter. One tree in South Australia slants at 40 degrees, he said.

Tilting is not unusual, said Steven Warren of the <a href="https://www.fs.fed.us/">U.S. Forest Service</a> in Utah, who reported in 2016 that the yucca palm always point south, making it easier to transport nutrients to its flowers. Additionally, some cacti lean toward the sun.

“This is the first time I have heard of a tree doing this,” Warren said.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a>

These pine trees always grow toward the equator

Cook pine trees, native to New Caledonia but now living...

When choosing between what actions to take, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-blame-lead-pollution/">humans</a> perform a risk analysis. The brain also has a technique to determine how much effort is put into any given action. Researchers from the <a href="http://www.dpz.eu/en/home.html">German Primate Center</a> set out to observe the various aspects of human movement and the amount of effort put into their execution.

A team of scientists led by Dr. Pierre Morel analyzed arm motions to establish what characteristics of the movements produced more effort. 

Participants in the study were asked to choose between arm movements which required varying amounts of amplitude, duration, and power. The individuals exerted more effort when the opposing force was stronger. In fact, effort was found to be directly proportionate to the strength needed to execute the motion. 

Effort was also affected by the limits and capabilities of the muscles utilized. Physical exertion increased when the movements demanded use of weaker muscles - even when little strength was required to complete the movement. 

In addition, the team established that the distance covered by the movements had no correlation with the amount of effort. However, there was a noticeable correspondence between duration and energy exertion, as actions that lasted longer felt more strenuous to the subjects than shorter actions. 

"Our results allow us to estimate action-related costs in decision-making, showing they cannot easily be predicted from energetic expense", explained Morel. "More than that, the results also give weight to the idea that action selection in decision-making and in movement execution have common properties and hence might be based on shared mechanisms." 

Despite the fact that there is more than one way to execute an arm movement, people tend to utilize the same motions when repeatedly pursuing the same target. Further research on this subject may help researchers gain a better understanding of the human decision-making process.

The study, published today in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a>, was led by Alexander Gail.

"We conclude that previously described optimization principles during movement execution seem to also serve as guiding principles during economically motivated conscious choice before movement execution,” said Gail.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a>

Scientists explain why body movement feels strenuous

When choosing between what actions to take, humans perform a risk...

The human microbiome is a vast collection of microorganisms that reside inside the body. These microbes are responsible for everything from fighting germs to absorbing nutrients from digested food. An emerging study analyzes the health value of white bread versus wheat bread, and the effect these types of bread have on the microbiome. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.weizmann.ac.il/">Weizmann Institute</a> enlisted the help of 20 healthy volunteers for the study. The experts initially saw little change in the participants after processing bread, so they developed a formula to see how different individuals reacted to different bread in their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/beak-shape-determined-diet/">diets</a>.

Many aspects of the participants’ health were monitored before and during the study, including fat and cholesterol levels and glucose levels. Kidney and liver enzymes were also measured, as well as the microbiomes of the individuals.

The researchers established that the average amount of bread consumed by the volunteers accounted for 10% of their calorie intake. The individuals were asked to incorporate 15% more bread into their daily diets. Half of the participants were instructed to eat white bread, and the others were to eat whole wheat bread. After one week, the volunteers took a two-week break from bread, and then their roles were reversed. 

Eran Segal is a computational biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science and one of the study's senior authors.

"The initial finding, and this was very much contrary to our expectation, was that there were no clinically significant differences between the effects of these two types of bread on any of the parameters that we measured," explained Segal. 


However, a meticulous look into the study revealed that the individuals had different glycemic responses to the same bread. About half the people had a better response to the white bread, and the others had a better glycemic response to the whole wheat sourdough. 

Eran Elinav is a researcher in the Department of Immunology at the Weizmann Institute and a senior author of the study.


"The findings for this study are not only fascinating but potentially very important, because they point toward a new paradigm: different people react differently, even to the same foods," said Elinav. "To date, the nutritional values assigned to food have been based on minimal science, and one-size-fits-all diets have failed miserably. These findings could lead to a more rational approach for telling people which foods are a better fit for them, based on their microbiomes."

The study, published today in Cell Metabolism, will lead to further analysis by the research team on the effects of white and wheat bread on the human microbiome. 
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.weizmann.ac.il/">Weizmann Institute</a>

Image Credit: Korem et al./Cell Metabolism 2017

Is white bread as healthy as wheat? It depends who’s eating it

The human microbiome is a vast collection of microorganisms that...

Climate change is causing extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent, and capable of unprecedented destruction and loss of life. The Paris Climate Agreement brought leaders together to create a plan to reduce carbon emissions on a global scale, and to begin the process of healing the Earth's atmosphere. 

It is difficult to place an exact value on the environmental and economic benefits of curbing carbon emissions. However, scientists across the globe have begun estimating how costly it is to continue pumping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the current rate. 

A <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/04/climate-change-will-blow-a-25tn-hole-in-global-financial-assets-study-warns">study</a> conducted in 2016 by the London School of Economics revealed that climate change has the potential to reduce the world's financial assets by 2.5 trillion dollars. The worst case scenarios modeled by the team led to losses as great as 24 trillion dollars, which would devastate the global economy. According to the researchers, this massive depletion of the planet's resources would be a direct result of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wmo-list-deadliest-weather-events/">extreme weather</a> events, loss of income, and other complications of global warming. 

A <a href="https://www.epa.gov/cira/climate-action-benefits-key-findings">report</a> released by the EPA in 2015 provided a breakdown of the potential cost of climate change across 20 regions in America. The study projected the economic impact of global warming through the year 2100, and then estimated how those costs would be cut by controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Most significantly, 57,000 lives could be saved by a lack of air pollution, and up to 12,000 less people would die from extreme hot or cold temperatures. 

The EPA’s evaluation also determined the costs associated with storm surge and rising sea levels may be lessened by 3.1 billion dollars by the year 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. There would be 40%-59% less severe drought, with a savings of as much as 3.1 billion dollars. Up to 11 billion dollars would be preserved with less agricultural damages, and between 6.0 - 7.9 million acres could be spared from forest fires.

A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/24/world/europe/extreme-weather-disasters-united-nations-paris.html">report</a> by the United Nations in 2015 revealed that 600,000 people have lost their lives to natural disasters in the last two decades. Storms killed the most people, including a cyclone that hit Myanmar in 2008 and claimed 138,000 lives. 148,000 people died as a result of heat waves, while floods impacted 2.3 billion people. The report, created in preparation for the climate meeting in Paris, said that weather-related disasters doubled compared to the previous decade, at an estimated expense of 1.9 trillion dollars. 

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has worked extensively to keep climate change at the forefront of the global agenda. 

“Climate change has happened because of human behavior, therefore it’s only natural it should be us, human beings, to address this issue. It may not be too late if we take decisive actions today,” said Ki-Moon.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Sources: <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/04/climate-change-will-blow-a-25tn-hole-in-global-financial-assets-study-warns">London School of Economics</a>, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/cira/climate-action-benefits-key-findings">EPA</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/24/world/europe/extreme-weather-disasters-united-nations-paris.html">New York Times</a>

Earth.com Feature: Calculating the cost of climate change

Climate change is causing extreme weather events that are becoming...

The Hawaiian island of Kauai is known as “the Garden Isle” due to its lush tropical rainforest and the species that inhabit the island. But some of its animals may actually be in peril, a new study reveals.

A recent study published in <a href="http://www.americanornithologypubs.org/loi/cond?code=coop-site">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a> assessed two decades of radar data for two endangered seabirds that call the island home; the Hawaiian Petrel and the Newell’s Shearwater. This new analysis gives reason to be worried about the population sizes of both species.

Due to the nocturnal nature of the birds – along with their penchant for nesting in hard to reach areas – scientists have had to monitor their movements using radar. In order to determine the population trends and overall distribution of the birds in recent years, André Raine of the Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project and his team analyzed past and present radar surveys. They also assessed data showing the numbers of shearwater fledglings that have been rescued after being drawn to artificial lights.

The results are not good. Their data shows that both species have seen significant population declines over the last two decades. Hawaiian Petrels have declined 78% based off radar detections, while Newell’s Shearwaters have fallen by 94%. This decline in shearwater radar detections is corroborated by the decreasing numbers of rescued fledglings over the same time period.

Researchers aren’t shocked by the decline in shearwater population, as it is consistent with previously published work. However, past assessments of radar data for petrels seemed to show their population as stable, maybe even increasing. Raine and his colleagues believe this difference may be due to the fact that for their study, they purposefully standardized their data based on sunset times, which meant that their chosen time periods – and thus bird movement periods – were constant during the survey period.

The scientists believe that these drastic declines may have been influenced by the damage done by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. This natural disaster caused significant ecological changes, such as the opening of new routes for invasion by exotic plants and predators, as well as numerous other infrastructure changes on Kauai.

“Conservation effort needs to be focused on reducing power line collisions, fall-out related to artificial lights, the control of introduced predators, and the overall protection of their breeding habitats,” says Raine. “Many of these efforts are now underway on Kauai, and I am hopeful that these will continue and expand over the next few years.”

The researchers know that protecting these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/endangered-species-location-data-risk/">endangered</a> seabird populations also means protecting the ecosystem as a whole. The loss of just one species could have far-ranging effects in any habitat, especially one as diminutive and isolated as Kauai.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/auk-ornithological-advances">American Ornithological Society Publications Office</a>

Image Credit: A. Raine

Drastic decline in endangered seabird populations on Kauai

The Hawaiian island of Kauai is known as “the Garden...

Creating highly protected marine reserves can help mitigate against the impacts of climate change, a new study found.

Reserves can help marine ecosystems and people adapt to ocean acidification, sea-level rise, increased intensity of storms, shifts in species distribution, and decreased productivity and oxygen availability, according to the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York </a>study.

Reserves also can promote uptake and long-term storage of carbon from greenhouse gas emissions, especially in coastal wetlands, which helps reduce the rate of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/costly-heat-island-cities/">climate change</a>, the researchers said.

The study, published in the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, evaluated existing peer-reviewed studies on the impact of marine reserves around the world.

Currently, only 3.5 per cent of the ocean has been set aside for protection, with just 1.6 per cent fully protected from exploitation.

International groups are working to raise the total to 10 per cent by 2020, while delegates to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's 2016 World Conservation Congress agreed that at least 30 per cent should be protected by 2030.

 Many studies show that well-managed marine reserves can protect wildlife and support productive fisheries, but we wanted to explore this body of research through the lens of climate change to see whether these benefits could help ameliorate or slow its impacts,” said the study’s lead author, York professor Callum Roberts.

Marine reserves can promote rapid recovery of exploited species and degraded habitats while safeguarding intact ecosystems, the study said.

The benefits are greater in large, long-established, well-managed reserves that have full protection from activities such as fishing, oil and mineral extraction. Relative isolation from damaging human activities adds further conservation benefits, the researchers found.

The ability of protected areas to offer strong climate change resilience benefits is likely to be contingent on these characteristics, according to the study.

Protecting more of the ocean will also improve the outlook for environmental recovery after greenhouse gas emissions have been brought under control, the researchers found. 

This strengthens the case that the United Nations ocean protection target be raised from 10 per cent to 30 per cent coverage of MPAs, which will require many more large-scale MPAs and protected areas beyond national jurisdiction, the study said.

"This study should be proof positive to decision makers that creating effectively managed marine reserves can deliver a multitude of benefits,” said Matt Rand, director of the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project, which supported part of the research. “Marine reserves are climate reserves." 

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York </a>

How marine reserves can help fight climate change

Creating highly protected marine reserves can help mitigate against the...

Low doses of THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, can reduce stress, but even slightly higher amounts can increase anxiety, a new study found.

Very few published studies have examined the effects of THC on stress, said Emma Childs, associate Professor of Psychiatry at the <a href="http://www.uic.edu/">University of Illinois Chicago</a> and corresponding author on the study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/drug-and-alcohol-dependence">Drug and Alcohol Dependence</a>.

Childs and her colleagues recruited 42 volunteers, 18 to 40 years old, who had some experience with marijuana use but were not daily users.

They divided participants randomly into three groups: The low-dose group received a capsule containing 7.5 milligrams of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-slow-memory-loss/">THC</a>; the moderate-dose group received a capsule containing 12.5 milligrams of THC; and a placebo group received a capsule containing none. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was in each group.

“The doses used in the study produce effects that are equivalent to only a few puffs of a cannabis cigarette,”  Childs said. “We didn’t want to include a much larger dose, because we wanted to avoid potential adverse effects or cardiovascular effects that can result from higher doses of THC.”

Two hours after taking the capsules, participants were asked to perform psychological tasks such as mock job interviews and talking with lab assistants about their favorite books or movies.

Researchers measured blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol, a key stress hormone, at intervals.


The participants who received 7.5 milligrams of THC reported less stress after the psychosocial test than those given a placebo, and their stress levels dissipated faster after the test.

Participants who received 12.5 milligrams of THC before the two tasks reported greater negative mood before and throughout the task, and were more likely to rate the psychosocial task as “challenging” and “threatening” beforehand.

“Our findings provide some support for the common claim that cannabis is used to reduce stress and relieve tension and anxiety,” Childs said. “At the same time, our finding that participants in the higher THC group reported small but significant increases in anxiety and negative mood throughout the test supports the idea that THC can also produce the opposite effect.”

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.uic.edu/">University of Illinois Chicago</a>

Marijuana: low doses relieve stress, high doses cause anxiety

Low doses of THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana,...

Of the over 6,000 species of fish that live on coral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reefs-hope-adapt-climate-change/">reefs</a>, only 128 are known to feed on corals – that’s only about 2% of the inhabiting species. With coral being so plentiful for these fish, why wouldn’t they use them as a food source? 

Well, corals are a notoriously tough snack – mainly due to its thin, mucus-covered skin that is full of stinging cells known as nematocysts. But researchers have recently discovered the difference that allows the tubelip wrasse (Labropsis australis) to be one of the few species that dine on coral. 

The lips of the tubelip wrasse are fleshy and protrude from their face – kind of like a tube. Their anatomy is remarkably dissimilar from the lips of other wrasse species, which are generally thin and smooth. But even more importantly, the lips of the tubelip wrasse contain many thin membranes that spread outward from the center, like the membranes of a mushroom cap.

The mouth surface of this wrasse contains many folds that are full of high-secreting mucus glands, giving them a slimy coating to their mouths. Researchers believe that this mucus allows for suction that protects from the corals’ stinging cells.

They were able to analyze these anatomical features closely using a scanning electron microscope, which gave them extremely high-quality images. High-speed video of tubelip wrasses feeding also showed that they feed by quickly touching their lips to the coral and sucking the flesh off, effectively eating through suction feeding.

This new evidence suggests that tubelip wrasses survive through feeding mainly on coral mucus. The researchers believe the next step in their work is to discover the “magic of the mucus.

More information on this study can be found in the journal Current Biology.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.cell.com/">Cell Press</a>

Photo Credit: Victor Huertas and David Bellwood

Using mucus to survive, these fish dine on stinging corals

Of the over 6,000 species of fish that live on...

One source of clean energy that shows immense promise is splitting carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, then mixing that with hydrogen to create hydrocarbon fuels.

However, until now there has not been a cost-effective way to split carbon dioxide.

Scientists from the <a href="https://www.epfl.ch/">Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne</a> have developed a new technique that could make it a lot more affordable to split the greenhouse gas into carbon monoxide and oxygen.

The scientists have created a new catalyst that deposits tin oxide on copper oxide nanowires – both abundant elements on Earth and easily obtainable. 

By using these abundant materials, the scientists say they can cut the costs associated with splitting carbon dioxide. They’ve also been able to make the process more efficient, they said.

"This is the first time that such a bi-functional and low-cost catalyst is demonstrated," said Marcel Schreier, a doctoral candidate at EPFL and one of the researchers who developed the process. "Very few catalysts – except expensive ones, like gold and silver – can selectively transform CO2 to CO in water, which is crucial for industrial applications."

Splitting carbon dioxide has been a hot topic in recent years. It potentially provides a plentiful source of fuels. It also helps to remove carbon dioxide from the air – provided it’s split using a process that isn’t powered by carbon-based fuels.

Like other recent attempts to develop a cost-effective system for splitting carbon dioxide, the electrocatalysis process developed by the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne team relies on solar power.

"The work sets a new benchmark for solar-driven [carbon dioxide] reduction," said Dr. Jingshan Luo, a postdoctoral researcher at EPFL who worked with Schreier on the project.

The study will be published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/nenergy/">Nature Energy</a>. It was funded by <a href="https://www.siemens.com/us/en/home.html">Siemens AG</a> and a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/">Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Credit: <a href="https://www.epfl.ch/">Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne</a>

Splitting carbon dioxide may have just gotten a lot cheaper

One source of clean energy that shows immense promise is...

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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

News coming your way