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Dark, finger‑like marks slide down countless Martian cliffs each year. These stripes have prompted decades of speculation about water still trickling across the Red Planet.



A new analysis of 500,000 of these features shows that they form through avalanches of dry dust, report <a href="https://www.csh.unibe.ch/about_us/people/csh__bernoulli_fellows/dr_bickel_valentin/index_eng.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Valentin Tertius Bickel</a> of the <a href="https://www.unibe.ch/index_eng.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bern</a> and <a href="https://deeps.brown.edu/people/postdocs-researchers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adomas Valantinas</a> of <a href="https://www.brown.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brown University</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-martian-stripes-matter">Why the Martian stripes matter</h2>



For almost 50 years, scientists have puzzled over the dusky streaks that run hundreds to thousands of feet down Martian slopes before slowly fading. 



Their shorter‑lived cousins, <a href="https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~shane/publications/mcewen_etal_natgeo_2014.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recurring slope lineae (RSL)</a>, appear seasonally and were once thought to be briny trickles that might shelter microbes.



If <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wave-ripples-discovered-mars-surface-indicate-liquid-water-present-4-billion-years-ago/">liquid water</a> were involved, these sites would demand strict planetary‑protection rules and might even hint at present‑day habitability. 



Proving the absence of water, therefore, reshapes exploration priorities and eases contamination worries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-map-of-dust-based-stripes">Building a map of dust‑based stripes</h2>



Bickel and Valantinas trained a deep‑learning model on images from the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter</a> and scanned 86,000 photographs, thus assembling the first global catalog of half a million Martian stripes. 



The map shows that streaks cover less than 0.1 percent of Mars’ surface, yet shuffle enough dust each Martian year to rival several planet‑wide storms.



Most stripes cluster between 40 degrees north and 20 degrees south, in the dustiest lowlands where reflectance is high and grain size is tiny. 



Bright, older streaks outnumber fresh dark ones by roughly 37 to 1, revealing a surface that is still reworked long after volcanic and fluvial eras ended.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wind-impacts-and-avalanches">Wind, impacts, and avalanches</h2>



The study found no link between Martian stripes and humidity, <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-is-locating-ice-on-mars-with-this-new-map/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subsurface ice</a>, or temperatures that ever rise above the freezing point. 



Instead, stripe density rises sharply in areas with above‑average wind speeds and fresh impact craters, suggesting that blasts and gusts dislodge blankets of ultra‑fine dust.



“Once we had this global map, we could compare it to databases of temperature, wind speed, and rock‑slide activity. Then we could look for correlations over hundreds of thousands of cases,” said Bickel.



High‑resolution images catch some streaks cascading minutes after nearby meteorites land, while others follow seasonal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-storms-can-engulf-the-entire-planet-of-mars-but-how/">dust deposition</a> peaks tracked by orbital weather <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103524001210" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">models</a>. 



Laboratory experiments with micron‑scale grains show that such powders can flow like a liquid under Mars’ weak gravity, giving the stripes smooth outlines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-investigations-of-martian-stripes">Future investigations of Martian stripes </h2>



Because the streaks are dry, rovers and landers can safely approach them without risking forward contamination of a hidden oasis. 



The dusty gullies also provide natural “core samples” of surface coatings, which offer clues to recent climate cycles without the need for drilling.



Planetary‑protection officers may reroute planned missions away from suspected wet spots and toward subsurface ice, where astrobiological potential remains stronger. 



For human explorers, the result underscores that liquid water is still locked in ice or vapor, simplifying landing‑site selection but highlighting the need for in‑situ resource extraction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dust-stripes-and-climate-dynamics">Dust stripes and climate dynamics</h2>



The dust shifted by Martian stripes isn’t just a cosmetic feature, it’s part of a much larger atmospheric loop. 



Each Martian year, flowing stripes displace enough <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-could-threaten-the-health-of-future-astronauts-on-mars/">dust</a> to rival multiple global dust storms, suggesting that they play a bigger role in regulating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-ridges-on-mars-hint-at-an-unexpected-past/">Mars</a>’ thin, dusty air than previously thought.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59395-w/figures/1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/martian-stripes_slope-streaks_global-distribution-map_Nature_1s.webp" alt="Global distribution of slope streaks and RSL on Mars. Credit: Nature" class="wp-image-1977771"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Global distribution of slope streaks and RSL on Mars. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Nature</figcaption></figure>



This ongoing redistribution could influence seasonal temperature patterns, surface reflectivity, and even the strength of regional wind systems. 



Researchers haven’t yet observed the dust entering the atmosphere during a stripe’s formation, but models suggest this movement contributes significantly to the surface-atmosphere dust exchange budget.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-martian-dust-stripes-flows-like-a-fluid">Martian dust stripes flows like a fluid</h2>



The motion of Martian slope stripes mimics the behavior of liquids, even though they consist of dry dust. 



Laboratory studies on granular materials show that fine particles can flow downhill in dense, smooth waves, especially in low-gravity environments like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/detecting-life-on-mars-a-breakthrough-in-space-research/">Mars</a>.



On Earth, this kind of granular flow is seen in slow-moving avalanches or the collapse of powdery hills. 



On Mars, it may explain why slope stripes form without leaving behind visible dust clouds. The dust might move in tightly packed sheets, held together by electrostatic forces and grain-to-grain interactions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-unanswered-questions">The unanswered questions</h2>



Researchers still debate why <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016JE005012" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RSL</a> favor sun‑facing southern highlands while most Martian stripes sit in northern lowlands. They question whether this is related to different grain sizes or bedrock textures. 



Dust‑devil tracks often skirt stripe fields but rarely overlap, raising puzzles about the effects of localized wind turbulence and static charging.



Future high‑cadence imaging could reveal exactly how fast each stripe forms, whether seconds or hours, and whether Marsquakes ever help kick‑start an avalanche. 



For now, the Red Planet’s famous stripes turn out to be the work of wind and impacts, not water, deepening our understanding of a world that remains strikingly dry.



The full study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59395-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>. 



Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.



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New analysis offers alternative theories on the mysterious 'Martian stripes'

Dark, finger‑like marks slide down countless Martian cliffs each year. These stripes have prompted decades of speculation about water still trickling across the Red Planet. A new analysis of 500,000 of these features shows that they form through avalanches of dry dust, report Valentin Tertius Bickel of the University of Bern and Adomas Valantinas of Brown University. Why the Martian stripes matter For almost 50 years, scientists have puzzled over the dusky streaks that run hundreds to thousands of feet down Martian slopes before slowly fading. Their...

A tide of dead fish has washed ashore on Nova Scotia over the past six weeks, but there’s no need for concern yet, according to one Canadian scientist.

Since late November, thousands of dead herring have turned up on more than 60 miles of the peninsula’s southwestern coastline. That would be weird enough on its own, but scores of lobsters, clams, starfish, and other marine creatures have joined them in the weeks since.

A week ago, a decaying humpback whale carcass washed up on the shore.

Even so, tests of the area’s waters have shown no cause for alarm, Dr. Kent Smedbol, the <a href="http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/index-eng.htm">Department of Fisheries and Oceans</a> manager of population ecology.

Scientists tested conditions in the Bay of Fundy and found nothing out of the ordinary, Smedbol said. Temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen tests all came back normal. A camera took a look at the seafloor and found plenty of live lobsters.

Examination of the dead fish showed no signs of disease, parasites, or toxins, Smedbol said. Even so, the <a href="http://www.inspection.gc.ca/">Canadian Food Inspection Agency</a> and the DFO have warned residents not to pick up or eat any of the fish washed ashore, in case of contamination.

An environmental cause likely would have caused a larger die-off, and animals on the ocean floor would likely have died in larger numbers, he said.

One working theory is that some of the deaths may have been caused by a holiday storm system. One storm over the holidays caused a sudden temperature drop and rough surf in shallow waters near Digby, which may have killed some of the fish, Smedbol said.

Still, it will take more investigating to solve this mystery, he said.

Scientists will continue to examine the dead creatures to try and determine a cause, officials said. They will also examine the humpback whale to see if it is connected to the die-off. It appears to be very decomposed, Smedbol noted.

DFO scientists have also contacted the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> and environmental officials in the United Kingdom. Recent fish kills off the coast of Long Island in New York and on the coast of Cornwall in the UK are probably not connected to the Nova Scotia event, officials said, but working together might help all three groups figure out the puzzle.

The most common cause of fish kills is a lack of oxygen in the water, which can be caused by massive algae blooms, major temperature changes, drought, and overpopulation. Toxins and disease can also lead to fish die-offs.

Scientists stumped as thousands of dead fish wash up on Nova Scotia

A tide of dead fish has washed ashore on Nova...

If your New Year’s Resolution is to travel more, you might be looking at resorts and world-class cities. How about adding a few natural wonders to your list?

It seems like the world moves at a faster pace every year. As cities grow and technology surges, it’s easy to become removed from nature. Unplug, take a break, and connect with our planet at these five wild places.
<h3>1. See breathtaking glaciers and volcanic landscapes in Iceland.</h3>
Iceland likes to describe itself as “a place where fire and ice coexist.” It doesn’t matter if you go during the darkness of winter – sometimes lit by the stunning Aurora Borealis – or the long, bright summer months.

The incredible glaciers, volcanoes oozing lava, and luxurious geothermal spas make Iceland an adventure year-round. The rugged landscape throughout the country offers hiking, snorkeling, and whitewater rafting in the warm months, or snowboarding and skiing in the winter.

The <a href="http://inspired.visiticeland.com/academy/">Iceland Academy</a> at Visit Iceland offers a chance to learn about everything the country has to offer – and to win a spectacular trip for two.
<h3>2. Visit the world’s tallest waterfall in Venezuela.</h3>
[caption id="attachment_128152" align="aligncenter" width="750"]<img class="wp-image-128152" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Making-travel-plans-for-2017-Check-out-these-5-natural-wonders-Venezuela.jpg" alt="Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall on Earth." width="750" height="500" /> Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall on Earth.[/caption]

In English, it’s <a href="http://salto-angel.com/">Angel Falls</a>. In Spanish, it’s Salto Angel, and in the local Pemon language, it’s Kerepakupai Meru or Parakupá Vená. No matter what it’s called, Angel Falls is the world’s tallest uninterrupted waterfall.

Located deep in the jungle, a visit to the falls requires a stay at Canaima, the camp where all of the river trips begin. Most of the trips are led by Pemon guides and run from June to December, when the most water is available. Surrounding Canaima National Park is more than 7.4 million acres of wild land, the second largest protected area in Venezuela.

The camp on the shores of Canaima Lagoon offers stunning views of several waterfalls and amazing tepui mesas. Adventures last anywhere from a helicopter ride over the falls to a week-long canoe trip through the park’s natural wonders. Who needs a city?
<h3>3. Spend time with the giraffes in Namibia.</h3>
[caption id="attachment_128155" align="aligncenter" width="750"]<img class="wp-image-128155" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Making-travel-plans-for-2017-Check-out-these-5-natural-wonders-Namibia.jpg" alt="Giraffes and elephants share a watering hole at Namibia's Etosha National Park." width="750" height="421" /> Giraffes and elephants share a watering hole at Namibia's Etosha National Park.[/caption]

While giraffe populations have fallen in recent decades, landing them on the endangered species list in 2016, their numbers have been going up in southern Africa. Conservation efforts by the country of Namibia are part of the reason.

<a href="http://www.etoshanationalpark.org/">Etosha National Park</a> is one of the best places to spot the long-necked mammals, and visitors can spot elephants, lions, and cheetahs, too. Giraffes also live in the barren, windswept Skeleton Coast National Park. Known for its beaches dotted with shipwrecks, Skeleton Coast was recently trending after a segment of <a href="http://www.bbcchannels.com/earth/planetearth2">Planet Earth II</a> where a lion stalked a giraffe in the park.

Namibia is home to plenty of other national parks, some of which have hot springs, rock paintings, and other attractions. Beyond the safaris, check out catamaran tours, dolphin cruises, hiking, camping, stargazing, and other natural wonders.
<h3>4. Explore caves, coral reefs, and wildlife sanctuaries in the Philippines.</h3>
[caption id="attachment_128156" align="aligncenter" width="750"]<img class="wp-image-128156" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Making-travel-plans-for-2017-Check-out-these-5-natural-wonders-Philippines.jpg" alt="Visitors prepare to head underground at Puerta Princesa Subterranean River in the Philippines." width="750" height="496" /> Visitors prepare to head underground at Puerta Princesa Subterranean River in Palawan.[/caption]

The island of Palawan is known as the Philippines’ “last frontier,” and it’s packed with stunning natural beauty.

For just under five miles, the <a href="http://www.visitpalawan.info/index.php/features/underground-river">Puerta Princesa Subterranean River</a> winds through caves underneath the island of Palawan in the Philippines. While most of the cave system is closed to the public, visitors can – with a permit – explore just under a mile of the underground river. The caves are home to bats and marine creatures, as well as beautiful rock formations.

<a href="http://www.visitpalawan.info/index.php/features/calauit-wildlife-sanctuary">Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary</a> is home to animals native to southeast Asia, as well as visitors from Africa such as giraffes. Scuba divers will want to visit the coral formations and tropical fish in Tubbataha Reef. Kayangan Lake is the stunning reward to a beautiful hike, a clear, blue lake set amid the mountains. <a href="http://www.visitpalawan.info/index.php/features/el-nido">El Nido Marine Reserve</a> is home to six lagoons full of life.

And the Tabon Cave Complex offers caves for nature lovers to explore and a museum where history fans can learn about some the Philippines’ earliest residents from the artifacts they left in the caverns.
<h3>5. Trek through sweeping canyons in Utah.</h3>
[caption id="attachment_128154" align="aligncenter" width="750"]<img class="wp-image-128154" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Making-travel-plans-for-2017-Check-out-these-5-natural-wonders-Utah.jpg" alt="The contrast between red cliffs and green vegetation make Utah's Zion Canyon breathtakingly beautiful." width="750" height="500" /> The contrast between red cliffs and green vegetation make Utah's Zion Canyon breathtakingly beautiful.[/caption]

The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm">Grand Canyon</a> gets all the attention. It may be one of the largest canyon systems in the world, but it’s best known for its stunning vistas. The layered appearance of the canyon’s walls, caused by millennia of sedimentation, paint an incredible picture.

But the Grand Canyon is also a tourist draw, and it’s hard to plan a visit where you’ll be the only humans in sight.

<a href="https://www.nps.gov/zion/">Zion National Park</a> in nearby Utah may be a better choice if you’re looking for solitude in the wild. With steep, red cliffs, the 229-square-mile park offers as many photo opportunities as its cousin to the south. Pine and juniper trees offer contrast to the red dirt, and spires rise out of the ground in the canyon, making it one of the most striking natural wonders in the U.S.

It's also a place to see plenty of wildlife. Hundreds of animal species, from mountain lions to tree frogs to rattlesnakes, call the canyon home.

Making travel plans for 2017? Check out these 5 natural wonders

If your New Year’s Resolution is to travel more, you...

A new timber innovation could be the key to revitalizing the industry, which has struggled in the U.S. since the housing bubble burst.

Cross-laminated timber, also called CLT, has been used in Europe and even Canada for years.

A new, 12-story “plyscraper” in Portland, Oregon’s hipster Pearl District will be the first large building the the U.S. to use the new wood technology, though.

CLT is assembled by layering two-by-fours perpendicular to one another to form lightweight panels. The wood is glued together and laminated like an extremely tough sandwich.

Because the beams are at right angles to one another, the resulting panels are strong enough to build with – at least, according to fans of the timber innovation – and less energy intensive than steel or concrete.

Visually unappealing wood that normally gets thrown out when making furniture or other items can be used in the core, where it can’t be seen. So can “low-value” hardwood trees.

Supporters have embraced CLT. They believe it will fuel new growth in timber and reduce the carbon footprint of the building industry. They also point out that wood is a renewable resource.

Skeptics, however, say not enough testing has been done to determine that large buildings made with CLT will be structurally sound, especially in earthquakes and fires. Currently, the building codes throughout most of the U.S. place height restrictions on all-wood buildings.

CLT would need to be extensively tested and studied before those codes are changed, a prospect that could be extremely expensive.

In Bergen, Norway, there’s a 14-story skyscraper built using CLT, but it’s not in a seismic zone. An 18-story “plyscraper” in British Columbia, Canada is built around a concrete core.

The Portland building will be a test case for the U.S. and the world. It will be the tallest all-wood building in the United States, and the tallest all-wood building in an earthquake-prone area anywhere.

Still, supporters aren’t worried. Oregon’s building code required intensive testing of CLT before the skyscraper’s plans were approved.

<a href="http://leverarchitecture.com/">Lever Architecture</a>, the Portland firm building the skyscraper, has worked with scientists at both Portland State University and Oregon State University on trials to determine the best way to construct each panel. The researchers submitted panels of CLT to hundreds of pounds of pressure and other tests to make sure they could withstand a quake.

Lever has promised to make results of all of the structural tests available to other design firms.

The architectural firm won $1.5 million in a wood building competition hosted by the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">U.S. Department of Agriculture</a> and the timber industry. It has put those winnings toward the testing and the new building in Portland.

And for the <a href="http://www.drjlumber.com/">D.R. Johnson Lumber Co.</a> in Riddle, Oregon, the new material has already paid off. The 125-employee company makes the CLT panels that will be used in the Portland building, set to break ground this spring.

Visitors from around the country have come to the lumber company – which, along with Montana’s <a href="http://smartlam.com/">SmartLam</a> is the only place producing CLT panels in the U.S. so far – to get a first look at the timber innovation.

Timber innovation offers hope for struggling industry

A new timber innovation could be the key to revitalizing...

Language barriers are causing critical scientific findings to go unnoticed, and that's not a good thing, according to a new study.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> have determined that more than a third of scientific studies and papers are published in a language other than English.

English is a sort of "lingua franca" among the scientific community, and many of the major scientific journals publish in English. But because theirs is the dominant language, native English speakers often overlook the fact that some scientific findings are published in other languages, said Dr. Tatsuya Amano, the study's lead author and a zoologist at Cambridge.

That means the international community may be missing out on key scientific findings.

"Language barriers continue to impede the global compilation and application of scientific knowledge," Amano said in a <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/languages-still-a-major-barrier-to-global-science-new-research-finds">press release</a>.

The researchers studied how language barriers affect conservation science in two ways: they reviewed the languages used in available papers and studies, and they surveyed conservationists in charge of managing protected habitats in Spain.

The survey of papers and studies focused on Google Scholar, a web platform that indexes academic papers across all fields of study. A search was conducted in English for all biodiversity conservation publications from 2014 in a total of 16 languages.

More than 75,000 documents were produced, and a full 35.6 percent were not in English. The majority of non-English papers and studies were published in Spanish, Chinese, French, and Portuguese. The researchers also found publications in German, Japanese, Italian, Korean, and Swedish.

Random sampling showed that approximately 13,000 papers on conservation science published in 2014 were unsearchable using English keywords. Only about half of the total non-English papers offered English translations of their titles or abstracts.

This can lead to scientists missing vital data when conducting systematic reviews of existing research, in which they gather and examine most or all of the existing studies on a narrow topic to spot patterns or holes in research methods. It can also lead to over-representation of results from studies published in English, which may not match up with studies conducted in non-English-speaking countries.

Amano and his colleagues also surveyed conservationists in Spain, and found that more than half of those surveyed found language to be an obstacle when it came to keeping on top of the latest information about habitat management.

In other words, not only are English-speaking scientists missing out on vital research in other languages, those who don't speak English struggle to keep up with the English-speaking majority of the scientific community.

"I believe the scientific community needs to start seriously tackling this issue," Amano said.

The study authors are urging scientists and journal publishers to be sure to include speakers of the most common languages other than English – Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and French at least, they said – when developing databases of scientific knowledge of conducting reviews of literature.

"Journals, funders, authors and institutions should be encouraged to supply translations of a summary of a scientific publication – regardless of the language it is originally published in," Amano said.

To that end, Amano and his colleagues at Cambridge have developed the website <a href="http://conservationevidence.com/">Conservation Evidence</a>. The site serves as a repository of advances in conservation science. An international panel has been formed to begin extracting the best and most important non-English papers to be translated, at least partially, into English.

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2000933">PLOS Biology</a>.

Language barriers are holding back global scientific research, study finds

Language barriers are causing critical scientific findings to go unnoticed,...

When you’re making your New Year’s Resolutions, it’s easy to reflect on the past year and see only regrets. You’re looking at things to change and improve, after all, not the good things.

But you should take the time to celebrate the positives, too – all the progress made and the happy events. Here are eight good things that happened for the Earth in 2016. Let them inspire you as you make plans for the new year.
<h3>1. More people are getting involved as citizen scientists.</h3>
Citizen science – when everyday people work with trained scientists to collect data or study a problem – used to be seen as a hobby for wealthy dabblers.

Now, it allows involved citizens to get involved in the good things scientists are doing, helping them gather the massive amounts of vital, necessary data they need to do their jobs. In exchange, they get an inside look at science from the other side.

This year, citizen scientists helped <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/citizen-scientists-conserve-penguins/">NASA conserve penguins</a>, aided in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/meadow-restoration-california/">study of Sierra Nevada meadows</a> and carbon storage, joined the Audubon Society to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/audubon-society-christmas-bird-count/">count birds around the world</a>, downloaded an app to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/quake-app-records-tremors/">measure earthquake activity</a> for the University of California, and more.

Want to join them? One group of trained scientists created a <a href="http://scistarter.com/blog/2016/11/projects-we-are-thankful-for/#sthash.l0GWvsae.dpbs">list of the citizen science projects</a> they’re most thankful for this past Thanksgiving.
<h3>2. Animals embark on comeback tours.</h3>
Every year brings new animals to the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/">Red List</a> of endangered species maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and unfortunately, 2016 was no exception. But on the plus side, 2016 also showed that the Red List and other initiatives to save endangered animals work.

In September, the giant panda was <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/group-the-giant-panda-is-no-longer-endangered/">taken off of the endangered list</a> by the IUCN, though it is still vulnerable. Wildlife biologists gave credit to China’s anti-poaching efforts and work to maintain panda habitats.

More than <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/07/492976575/most-humpback-whales-taken-off-endangered-species-list">half of humpback whale populations</a> were also taken off the list. Other rebounding species include the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/pacific-fisher-weasel-back/">Pacific fisher</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/08/11/these-adorable-foxes-once-nearly-extinct-have-made-a-record-breaking-comeback/">Channel Island foxes</a>, and the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/black-footed-ferrets-make-home-colorado/">black-footed ferret</a>. <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/11/world-tiger-count-rises-for-first-time-in-100-years/">World tiger numbers</a> are up for the first time in a century. 
<h3>3. China took steps to shut down its ivory black market.</h3>
With African elephant numbers dwindling due to illegal poaching, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/china-ivory-trade-ban/">China made a bold move</a> at the end of the year. It announced that it would shut down its legal ivory industry in hopes of destroying China’s ivory black market. 

Despite government regulations on legal ivory, poachers have managed to slip illegally gotten elephant tusks into the Chinese market for years. Chinese citizens who work in the ivory industry will be shifted to other trades, China said.

China has taken other steps to do good things for wildlife this year. Along with several other countries, they began taking steps to crack down on the illegal trade of pangolins, too.
<h3>4. International partnerships formed to protect the world’s oceans.</h3>
In October, a number of countries – including the U.S., Russia, China and the European Union – signed a deal to turn Antarctica’s Ross Sea into the world’s largest marine reserve. About 16,000 species call the “Last Ocean” home. 

As the Ross Sea is so remote, it has been largely untouched by fishing and other industries. The nations that joined the agreement hope to keep it that way. The protections will go into effect on Dec. 1, 2017. 

In the same month, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Peru promised to increase their collaboration in protecting seven World Heritage Sites in the Eastern Tropical Pacific that include the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1">Galapagos Islands</a>, <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1138">Coiba National Park</a>, <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/820">Cocos Island National Park</a>, and the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1216">Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary</a>, among others. The sites face many similar challenges, such as illegal fishing and threats to vulnerable species like leatherback turtles. 
<h3>5. Renewable energy investments seem to be crushing fossil fuels.</h3>
In 2015, construction of renewable energy plants outstripped traditional fossil fuel plants for the first time, the <a href="https://www.iea.org/">International Energy Agency</a> announced in the spring of 2016. 

It’s a trend that appears to have continued, with global investments in wind and solar power nearly double the investments in fossil fuel plants in 2016. Falling prices for coal and oil triggered downsizing in those industries, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-06/wind-and-solar-are-crushing-fossil-fuels">Bloomberg reported</a>. 
<h3>6. The U.S. declared nine new national monuments.</h3>
Nine new national monuments were declared in 2016, including wild natural landscapes like <a href="https://www.nps.gov/kaww/index.htm">Katahdin Woods and Waters</a> in Maine, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/camo/index.htm">Castle Mountains</a> in California, and Gold Butte in Nevada. These newly protected areas can be visited by hikers, photographers, and nature lovers, and may someday be considered for national park sites.
<h3>7. Fish have more room to swim.</h3>
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation announced the launch of its <a href="http://www.hewlett.org/openriversfund/">Open Rivers Fund</a>. The fund, launched with a $50 million grant, will help communities around the U.S. safely dismantle obsolete dams and restore rivers and fish habitat. The first three projects will be the Matilija Dam in California, the Nelson Dam in Washington, and several dams and obstructions on the Rogue River in Oregon.

The fund’s inspiration was a series of studies that found dams in the West have altered 70 percent of the region’s rivers and nearly destroyed several fish populations. Dam removals on the Penobscot and Elwha rivers in the Pacific Northwest have been good things for fish populations in the region. 
<h3>8. Chernobyl becomes a home for wildlife.</h3>
An explosion of a nuclear reactor turned Chernobyl into a radioactive wasteland three decades ago. The disaster caused the humans living in nearby Pripyat, Ukraine to flee – and the wild reclaimed the region.

In 2016, the <a href="http://tree.ceh.ac.uk/">TREE Project</a> planted motion-sensitive cameras throughout the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and captured photos of boars, wild horses, wolves, bears, foxes, owls, and other animals living among the ruins of the town and in the wilds around it.

While the photos give little indication of how the radiation is affecting and changing the animals that live in the disaster zone, they did capture young as well as unbranded adult Przewalski’s horses. Since the horses released into the exclusion zone were branded, at least some of the offspring seem to be surviving, the scientists said.

Some of the scientists studying the area believe that as the wildlife take over, it will <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/060418-chernobyl-wildlife-thirty-year-anniversary-science/">return to the bogland</a> it was before humans carved out a niche – especially as the beavers begin gnawing down trees.

2016 in review: 8 good things that happened for the Earth

When you’re making your New Year’s Resolutions, it’s easy to...

Shifting regional weather patterns are changing flood risks across the U.S., according to a new study.

Engineers from the <a href="https://uiowa.edu/">University of Iowa</a> found that the threat of flooding has grown in the northern half of the country, while the southern half of the U.S., along with the West and Southwest regions, are seeing lower risk.

The researchers came to that conclusion after studying rivers of data from the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Survey</a> and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a>.

Dr. Louise G. Slater and Dr. Gabriele Villarini waded through water-height data collected by the USGS between 1985 and 2015, which came from a little more than 2,000 stream gauges operated by the agency. That information was compared to even more data from NASA’s <a href="http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/">Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment</a>, also known as GRACE, which showed the amount of water stored in the ground.

“We show that these patterns are dependent on the overall wetness and potential water storage, with fundamental implications for water resources management, agriculture, insurance, navigation, ecology, and populations living in flood-affected areas,” Slater and Villarini <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/2016GL071199/abstract">wrote in their study</a>. 

The pair found that the amount of groundwater in the northern U.S. has increased over time. That means the region is at increased risk of both minor and moderate flooding, according to the categories used by the <a href="http://www.weather.gov/">National Weather Service</a>, the researchers said.

In contrast, the South, West, and Southwest have all shown decreased levels of stored water over time, pointing to a lower threat of flooding, they said.

The findings in the Southwest and West are not surprising, because both regions have been gripped by years-long patterns of drought, Slater and Villarini pointed out. The southeastern U.S. has also suffered from drought in recent months.

The changing flood risks in the northern half of the country can also be explained by long-term shifts in rainfall patterns, the researchers said. The Midwest has seen heavy rain more frequently over the past few decades, Villarini and graduate research assistant Iman Mallakpour found in a <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v5/n3/abs/nclimate2516.html">2015 study</a> of floods in that region.

The cause of the rainfall shifts in the U.S. aren’t clear, the researchers said. It could be that regional climate change is redistributing rain, they said.

Villarini and Slater hope that their research – especially their decision to cast threats in terms of how they affect people and places, and to use the everyday language of the National Weather Service – will help citizens better understand why flooding happens and their changing flood risks.

“Our findings may assist in a better communication of changing flood patterns to a wider audience compared with the more traditional approach of stating trends in terms of discharge magnitudes and frequencies,” the pair wrote.

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1944-8007/">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.

New weather patterns are changing flood risks in the United States

Shifting regional weather patterns are changing flood risks across the...

Some early birds are taking the warmer climate as a sign it’s time to migrate, and they’re missing out on food because of it, a new study has found.

Biologists and bird experts from the <a href="http://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a> have been checking the travel itineraries of hundreds of migrating bird species across five continents. After hearing reports in the birding world of earlier migrations, they began collecting and analyzing data to determine if and how migration patterns are changing. 

“On average, avian spring migration times have advanced over time and as spring has become warmer,” <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.12612/abstract">the study found</a>.

As the average surface temperature of the planet rises, the birds begin migrating earlier, the researchers discovered. When the mean temperature in a region rises one degree, the birds arrive at their summer breeding grounds a day earlier on average.

However, the feeding conditions at the birds’ summer homes are not changing along with their flight schedules. Even arriving just a couple of days early can mean that birds miss out on the best nesting spots – because they’re not yet available – and the prime wild buffets.

On the flip side, birds that migrate much longer distances are less affected by the temperature changes, the researchers found. That means they now arrive behind everyone else – and get crowded out of nesting locations and breeding sites.

That now-late arrival can cut their hatchlings’ chances of survival, as resources are depleted.

Another finding: larger-bodied birds travel earlier than their smaller-bodied cousins. Those early birds may already be large and in charge by the time smaller ones reach the best summer breeding and nesting sites.

While some of the migration changes may be natural fluctuations, the scientists studied data over several years to get a better picture of long-term patterns. They also looked at changes in the birds’ diets and the habitat of their winter roosting locations, but found no changes that corresponded to the earlier migration starts.

The study was published in <a href="http://www.journalofanimalecology.org/">Journal of Animal Ecology</a>. It was supported by the <a href="http://www.nerc.ac.uk/">Natural Environment Research Council</a>.

Early birds don't get the worm: warmer weather has birds migrating too soon

Some early birds are taking the warmer climate as a...

The key to nourishing a system of sustainable resource management could be social cooperation, a new study has found.

Scientists at the <a href="https://umaine.edu/">University of Maine</a> looked at various tools for creating and encouraging a culture of sustainability among communities. Their goal, they said, was to develop a theory of what works when it comes to encouraging social groups to adopt better conservation and eco-friendly practices, and what doesn’t.

What they found was that spreading sustainability goals out over smaller units of people works better than everyone working as one large group to achieve them.

“Usually, we assume that everyone has to cooperate to save environmental resources but what we found was that sustainable resource use was more likely to emerge when societies were broken up into multiple groups, like states in the United States, or countries in Europe,” said <a href="http://umaine.edu/mitchellcenter/news/news-2/cooperation-dynamics-key-to-sustaining-natural-resources/">Dr. Timothy Waring</a>. Waring is the study’s lead author and an associate professor of economics at the university’s Center for Sustainability Solutions.

Waring and his colleagues believe that small groups are more willing to test and discard strategies until they find one that works. Small groups can learn from each other and improve on each other’s ideas, they said. 

Waring offered the example of climate change agreements. At the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, the United Nations took a top-down approach to instituting climate goals, he said. That’s what led the summit to fail, he believed.

Last year’s Paris Agreement is already beginning to show results, and Waring believes that’s because it took a more grassroots, country-by-country approach that relied on social cooperation.

“Cooperation is easier in small groups, easier with familiar people, and with similar people. And, cooperation is more durable when it is supported by social and institutional factors as well,” he said.

He and his co-authors, Dr. Sandra Goff of <a href="http://www.skidmore.edu/">Skidmore College</a> and Dr. Paul Smaldino of the <a href="http://www.ucmerced.edu/">University of California</a>, Merced, developed a model to study the effectiveness of sustainability strategies as developed by several small groups versus one large group.

They found that three factors seem to influence how successful a resource management project will be in terms of social cooperation: the impact of the resource dilemma on the group, how the group learns from failure, and what it is able to learn from other groups.

For example, a number of Portland restaurants wanted to buy food ingredients locally, but found it difficult to do so alone. When they formed small buying clubs, they were able to support local farmers and food producers, Waring said.

Waring is now looking at real-world examples of small group sustainability in Maine. He and his colleagues are looking at how politics, sustainability, and social factors have affected lobsters and blueberries.

The researchers published their findings in the journal <a href="http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-economics/">Ecological Economics</a>.

Social cooperation could be the key to a healthier environment, study finds

The key to nourishing a system of sustainable resource management...

The last minute of 2016 will be 61 seconds long, not 60. The <a href="https://www.iers.org/">International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service</a> (IERS) is adding a leap second to 2016 to counter the Earth’s slowing rotation, scientists said.

In the United States, the second will be added after 6:59:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, or 3:59:59 p.m. Pacific. 

That’s based on <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/time/aboututc.html">Coordinated Universal Time</a>, which will add the second after 23:59:59 (or 11:59:59 p.m.) in Greenwich, England, which is located at approximately 0 degrees longitude. UTC was once known as Greenwich Mean Time. The U.S. adjusts that to the equivalent time zone.

Countries falling within the time zone that surrounds the 0-degree longitudinal line, including the UK, Iceland, Ireland, and several West African nations, will add the second just before midnight as well, according to the UK’s <a href="http://www.npl.co.uk/">National Physical Laboratory</a>.

“This extra second, or leap second, makes it possible to align astronomical time, which is irregular and determined by Earth’s rotation,” the <a href="https://www.obspm.fr/?lang=en">Paris Observatory</a> said in a statement. The observatory is the home of the IERS, which sets the world’s time.

This year marks the 27th time a leap second has been added to the clock since 1972. The extra second is sometimes needed because of unpredictable changes in the speed at which the Earth turns on its axis.

About 50 years ago, scientists stopped basing the length of a year on astronomy. Instead, they based the length of a second on the vibration of a cesium atom. 

The problem is that the Earth’s rotation slows by about two milliseconds each year. That requires a leap second to be added about every 500 days so that the world’s atomic clocks still match up with the Earth’s rotation.

The slowing of the Earth's rotation is caused by the Moon's pull and ocean tides, according to the <a href="http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO">U.S. Naval Observatory</a>.

So what does that mean to everyday people?

Leap seconds can occasionally throw a wrench in the workings of computer networks. The extra second has to be programmed in, which means some networks will show the 6:59:59 twice, some will show 6:59:60, and some may need manual adjustments.

In 2012, some computer networks saw problems arose when the time change caused confusion and hyperactivity on certain servers. Companies such as <a href="https://www.reddit.com/">Reddit</a>, <a href="https://www.yelp.com/">Yelp</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/">LinkedIn</a> reported crashes.

Google, on the other hand, created a system of “smeared time” to handle the extra second. Instead of confusing its servers and computers, <a href="https://developers.google.com/time/">Google's Network Time Protocol</a> runs its clocks 0.0014 percent slower for 10 hours before and 10 hours after the leap second, “smearing” the extra second across 20 hours.

However, aside from the possibility of brief computing problems, most people won’t notice the extra second – unless you’re one of those desperate for 2016 to end, of course.

Ready for 2016 to be over? Wait just a leap second

The last minute of 2016 will be 61 seconds long,...

Shrinking polar ice is a growing problem on planet Earth. 

In 2016, polar ice loss hit record levels, and that’s not a good thing, scientists said. Combined, the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets have lost about 1.48 million square miles, about the size of India, according to scientists from the <a href="https://nsidc.org/">National Snow &amp; Ice Data Center</a>. That’s compared to levels from 1981 to 2010 for this time of year.

In November and December of this year, both Arctic and Antarctic ice were at record lows, the scientists said.

And 2016 has brought a new blip: Antarctica has lost ice. 

The glaciers that make up the West Antarctic have been in retreat since at least the 1940s, scientists said, pointing to evidence mined from satellite imagery and observations by scientists with the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a>.

But for years, the ice in the eastern regions of the South Pole continent has expanded, bolstering arguments by climate change skeptics. 

This year, however, ice is lower than average on both sides of the continent, the NSIDC reported. Several large areas of open water have been discovered in the ice sheet on the eastern Weddell Sea, as well as in western Antarctic waters.

Scientists also found that glaciers in the west were continuing to melt at a record pace.

As the Southern Hemisphere entered summer, Antarctic ice began melting and glaciers began retreating in the end of August, much earlier than usual, according to the NSIDC.

In the Antarctic, where there is a land mass below the ice, the focus is on glaciers. In the Arctic, it’s on sea ice. 

In 2016, seven out of the 12 months saw record lows for average amount of sea ice in the Arctic, according to scientists. 

Some climate scientists have connected the loss of sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere to an <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/polar-vortex-linked-loss-arctic-sea-ice/">unstable polar vortex</a>. That instability has brought harsh blasts of frigid air to North America already this year, though the vortex is usually not active until January. 

Climate scientists have pointed to a number of possible explanations for 2016’s shrinking polar ice.

One theory, of course, is climate change. <a href="http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/">A majority of climate scientists</a> believe carbon emissions – such as from greenhouse gases created by human activity – have led to average warmer temperatures worldwide. 

As we enter a new year, 2016 is on track to be the hottest year ever recorded, according to the <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>.

Other influences on the Earth’s shrinking polar ice may have included the El Niño cycle that warmed Pacific Ocean temperatures, as well as some freak natural phenomena like unusual global wind patterns, scientists said.

The shrinking polar ice has had a few positive effects. Researchers have developed new technology to track ice loss, and they have used the data to create new models to predict future climate change. Additionally everyday citizens are more aware of the trends, scientists said.

Shrinking polar ice caught world's attention in 2016

Shrinking polar ice is a growing problem on planet Earth....

Don’t worry, 2016 hasn’t been all bad. As all of the celebrity deaths, dirty politics, and creepy clowns stole our attention, researchers were working quietly behind the scenes, studying our planet. And it paid off – they’ve discovered 133 new species of plants and animals this year. 

The new species were discovered on five continents and in three oceans, and range from blood-sucking ants, to a new bird virus, to the most beautiful fish one scientist had ever seen. 

“Biodiversity scientists estimate that we have discovered less than 10 percent of the species on our planet,” Dr. Shannon Bennett said in a press release from the <a href="https://www.calacademy.org/">California Academy of Sciences</a>.

The Academy publicized the 133 finds, which were discovered by Academy-associated scientists. Bennett is the Academy’s chief of science.

“Each of these species – known and as-yet-unknown – is a wonder unto itself, but may also hold the key to ground-breaking innovations in science, technology, or society,” Bennett said of the discoveries. “Species live together in rich networks that thrive on complexity whether we can see it or not.”

Among the finds: 

Dracula ants

A stunning 43 new species of ants were discovered this year, including several species of creepy, crawly “Dracula ants,” or Stigmatomma. Many of the new ant species, including Stigmatomma, were discovered in Madagascar.

Dracula ants build tiny colonies underground, where they feed off of their own larvae. They wound the young ants to drink their hemolymph – a blood-like substance in larval insects. They live most of their lives underground or in rotten eggs, and also prey on centipedes and beetles.

Thorny grandfather

Another new species of insect spotted in Madagascar is Thevenetimyia spinosavus, which means “thorny grandfather.” The insect looks like a bee, but it isn’t. It’s a bee fly, which are known for imitating other insects such as bees (like their name indicates), wasps, and even spiders.

What makes this particular bee fly unique, however, is that it is long, slender, and covered in grey bristles. It also has spikes on its thorax. The other bee flies in Madagascar are shorter and chubbier, and the new discovered doesn’t seem to be closely related genetically. In fact, it’s more similar to bee flies in northern Africa, showing the species likely has a wide range.

Bee flies, including the new discovery, do pollinate plants like their true bee doppelgangers. However, their larvae are fierce, and often attack and eat the larvae of other species.

A ‘twilight zone’ fish

The Grammatonotus brianne is the deepest new fish discovery made by human hands, according to the Academy. It’s a stunning pink and yellow species of groppo discovered by deep-diving scientists in a “twilight zone” reef off the coast of the Philippines.

“This groppo is the most beautiful fish I’ve ever seen,” said Dr. Luiz Rocha, who spotted the new species along with <a href="http://www.bishopmuseum.org/">Bishop Museum</a> research associate Brian Greene. The groppo shows how little humans know about the ocean’s deep reefs, he said.

It was one of 24 new fish species described in 2016.

A frightening new avian virus

Bird flu may be what worries humans, but the newly discovered Poecivirus may cause a lot more trouble for birds. The virus has been linked to a disease that has harmed birds and stumped scientists for years – it may even be the cause, or one of them. 

Scientists have studied Avian Keratin Disorder for more than a decade, but learned little about the disease. It causes birds’ beaks to grow out of control, making it difficult for them to eat or preen their feathers. All birds, but especially water birds, use preening to spread waterproof oils on their feathers, which keep the birds warm and dry. Birds with overgrown, deformed beaks from AKD often suffer from cold and hunger, eventually dying.

The new virus was discovered among DNA fragments from bird populations in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. It appears to be from the picornavirus family, which also includes human illnesses like polio and the common cold. The researchers will need to continue studying the disease to determine if it is the cause of AKD. 

Other new discoveries include a species of armored lizard with unique defensive habits from Angola, a new species of coral off the coast of California, seven brightly colored new sea slug species, a new pink flower in Mexico, and 36 new types of ground beetles – most of them from a single national park in Madagascar. Scientists also discovered fossil remains of previously unknown ancient sea urchin and sand dollar species.

California Academy of Sciences reveals 133 new species discovered in 2016

Don’t worry, 2016 hasn’t been all bad. As all of...

New research identifies a "gray zone" of speciation, during which time two species that seemed to have evolved too far from each other to mate can continue to exchange genes.

The study, which was published this week in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2000234">PLOS Biology</a>, highlights a new system for measuring genetic divergence.

The authors of the analysis, a French team of biologists, modeled the altering effects of the different patterns of variation seen in animal genomes. These patterns, including natural selection and drift and migration rates, affect different parts of the animal genome in their own ways.

By disentangling the effects of such known patterns of variations, researchers succeeded in detecting new patterns of variance, and identified those that related to species divergence.

The study uncovered a genomic gray zone focused on molecular divergence between 0.5 and 2 percent difference, within which populations in the process of divergence can continue to exchange genes.

It was previously believed the transitionary phase called speciation marked the end of interbreeding between two species. Some genes continue to be freely exchanged between populations while others remain isolated within the gray zone, supporting both speciation and genetic diversity.

The same genomic gray zone applied to 61 population pairs including mussels, gorillas, trumpet worms, earthworms, butterflies and mosquitoes. This proved that speciation is potentially limited among all animal species.

"Our report of a strong and general relationship between molecular divergence and genetic isolation across a wide diversity of animals suggests that, at the genome level, speciation operates in a more or less similar fashion in distinct taxa, irrespective of biological and ecological particularities," researchers concluded.

---

Credit: Earth.com author Chrissy Sexton

Scientists find a gray zone of speciation among animals

New research identifies a "gray zone" of speciation, during which...

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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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
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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



---



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



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" 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.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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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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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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" 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 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



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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" 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.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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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



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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



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How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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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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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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