Recent research using the James Webb Space Telescope (<a href="https://webb.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JWST</a>) has provided new insights into the early stages of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-holes-shaped-the-universe-before-galaxies-existed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxy</a> formation, suggesting that galaxies evolved significantly faster and were less chaotic than previously believed. 



This discovery challenges long-standing theories about the early Universe, which was thought to be tumultuous with frequent collisions and unformed stars.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-through-the-cosmic-lens-jwst-s-revolutionary-observations">Through the cosmic lens: JWST's revolutionary observations</h2>



The JWST, a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and the largest and most powerful space telescope ever constructed, allowed astronomers to observe galaxies as they existed between eight to 11.5 billion years ago. 



Remarkably, this period is just a couple of billion years after the formation of the Universe, which is estimated to be 13.7 billion years old.



An international team of astronomers, including researchers from <a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Durham University</a> in the UK, utilized the advanced capabilities of the JWST to detect bar formations in these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-galaxy-jwst-er1g-dark-matter-einstein-ring-mystery-solved/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ancient galaxies</a>. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-galaxy-evolution">Understanding galaxy evolution </h2>



Bars, which are elongated strips of stars within disc or spiral galaxies, play a crucial role in the maturation of galaxies by directing gas towards the central regions and fostering star formation.



"The presence of a stellar bar in a disc galaxy indicates that the galaxy hosts in its main part a dynamically settled disc and that bar-driven processes are taking place in shaping its evolution," wrote the researchers.



"Studying the cosmic evolution of the bar fraction in disc galaxies is therefore essential to understand galaxy evolution in general." 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-galactic-maturity">Surprising galactic maturity</h2>



The team's observations revealed that almost 20 percent of the 368 disc galaxies studied exhibited bars - double the proportion observed in previous studies using the Hubble Space Telescope. 



Zoe Le Conte, the lead author and a PhD researcher at Durham University’s Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, expressed surprise at the findings. She stated: "Galaxies in the early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ceers-2112-ancient-galaxy-looks-strikingly-similar-to-ours/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Universe</a> are maturing much faster than we thought. This is a real surprise because you would expect the Universe at that stage to be very turbulent."



"We find that many more bars were present in the early Universe than previously found in Hubble studies, implying that bar-driven galaxy evolution has been happening for much longer than previously thought," noted study co-author Dr. Dimitri Gadotti. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-galaxy-evolution-theories">Implications for galaxy evolution theories</h2>



These findings necessitate a reevaluation of existing models of galaxy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-galactic-explosion-provides-clues-about-galaxy-evolution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evolution</a>. The presence of bars in such a high percentage of early galaxies indicates a more settled phase in their development, contrary to the previously held belief of a chaotic early Universe. 



"The fact that there are a lot more bars is what’s very exciting," said Dr. Gadotti. Moreover, the research team plans to delve deeper into the cosmic timeline, aiming to explore bar formation in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/galaxies-like-our-own-milky-way-are-not-unique/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> even further back in time, up to 12.2 billion years ago. 



This could provide further clues about the mechanisms behind bar growth and its impact on galaxy evolution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beyond-the-horizon-future-galactic-explorations">Beyond the horizon: Future galactic explorations</h2>



Durham University has played a significant role in the scientific development of the JWST, particularly through its contributions to the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and the optics for the Near Infrared Spectrograph's Integral Field Unit. These instruments are pivotal in probing the mysteries of galaxies and black holes.



As researchers continue to harness the JWST's unprecedented capabilities, our understanding of the Universe's earliest days is set to expand, potentially rewriting the cosmic rulebook on galaxy formation and evolution. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-about-galaxy-evolution">More about galaxy evolution</h2>



Galaxy evolution is like a cosmic dance, where galaxies, vast collections of stars, gas, and dust, change and morph over billions of years. It's a grand narrative of birth, growth, and sometimes even destruction. 



Galaxies come in different shapes and sizes, from majestic spirals to more amorphous ellipticals, each with its own story to tell. Gravity plays a starring role, pulling galaxies together into groups and clusters, fostering mergers and collisions that can dramatically reshape their structures. 



Through these encounters, galaxies exchange material, triggering bursts of star formation or feeding supermassive black holes lurking at their centers. 



Over time, galaxies age and evolve, their populations of stars changing as old stars fade away and new ones are born. Yet, amidst this dynamism, there's a certain elegance to the cosmic ballet, as galaxies continue their journey through the vast expanse of the universe, leaving behind clues to their histories for astronomers to decipher.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/530/2/1984/7653430" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society</a>.



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Early galaxy formation occurred much faster than we thought

Recent research using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided new insights into the early stages of galaxy formation, suggesting that galaxies evolved significantly faster and were less chaotic than previously believed. This discovery challenges long-standing theories about the early Universe, which was thought to be tumultuous with frequent collisions and unformed stars. Through the cosmic lens: JWST's revolutionary observations The JWST, a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and the largest and most powerful space telescope ever constructed, allowed astronomers to observe galaxies as they...

In Batesian mimicry, a harmless animal species imitates a more dangerous one in an evolutionary “ruse” that affords protection from potential predators. A research team led by the <a href="http://www.unina.it/">University of Naples Federico II</a> in Italy has now discovered the first case of acoustic Batesian mimicry in mammals: greater mouse-eared <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bats-play-an-active-role-in-plant-pollination/">bats</a> imitate the buzzing sound of hornets – a species of large, stinging wasps – in order to discourage predatory owls from eating them.



“In Batesian mimicry, a non-armed species imitates an armed one to deter predators,” said study senior author Danilo Russo, a professor of Ecology at the University of Naples. “Imagine a bat that has been seized but not killed by the predator. Buzzing might deceive the predator for a fraction of a second - enough to fly away.”



Professor Russo made this striking discovery while conducting field research in which he frequently trapped bats in mist-netting operations. “When we handled the bats to take them out of the net or process them, they invariably buzzed like wasps,” he said.



At the beginning, Professor Russo and his colleagues considered the buzzing as a type of unusual distress call, potentially aiming to send alert signals to conspecifics or to deter predators. A few years later, they designed a careful experiment to better understand the functionality of these peculiar sounds.&nbsp;



First, they looked at the acoustic similarity between the buzzing sounds of bats and those of stinging social hymenopteran insects. Next, they played these sounds on a speaker to captive owls to observe their reactions. The owls reacted in different ways, which is likely due to their previous experiences, yet most of them consistently reacted to insect and bat buzzes by moving away from the speaker.



Interestingly, the analyses of the sounds revealed that the similarity between the buzzes emitted by bats and hornets was most evident when acoustic parameters that owls are incapable of hearing were removed from the analysis. Thus, the buzzing sounds were even more similar when heard the ways owls hear them.



While there is a possibility that owls might simply avoid the buzzing sounds just because they have been stung by hornets before, there is not enough data to prove this hypothesis. Stronger evidence shows that birds avoid such potentially harmful insects in general, due to evolutionary reasons. For instance, if hornets move into tree cavities or nest boxes, birds will not explore these places and will definitely not nest there.&nbsp;



Since bats, owls, and hornets share many spaces, such as caves, rock crevices, or buildings, there are plenty of opportunities for them to interact. Even so, such an intricate example of Batesian mimicry among distantly related species is highly intriguing.



“It is somewhat surprising that owls represent the evolutionary pressure shaping acoustic behavior in bats in response to unpleasant experiences owls have with stinging insects. It is just one of the endless examples of the beauty of evolutionary processes!” Professor Russo concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00486-9?utm_source=EA">Current Biology</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Some bats buzz like hornets to deter predators

In Batesian mimicry, a harmless animal species imitates a more...

A research team led by the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California, San Diego</a> (UCSD) has employed an unprecedented technique to discover that levels of helium are rising in the atmosphere at a very small but, for the first time, clearly measurable rate. This increase in the 4-helium (4He) isotope is caused by the burning and extraction of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-fuels-lower-energy-return/">fossil fuels</a>. Although the 4He isotope does not contribute to global warming, measuring its atmospheric levels could serve as an indirect marker of fossil fuel use.



“The main motivation was to resolve a longstanding controversy in the science community about atmospheric helium concentrations,” said study lead author Benni Birner, a postdoctoral researcher in Geoscience at UCSD. While no reliable method for measuring atmospheric helium levels has previously existed, Dr. Birner and his colleagues have now developed a precise technique to compare the 4He isotope to levels of the common atmospheric gas nitrogen. Since atmospheric nitrogen levels are fairly constant, an increase in He/N2 is indicative of the rate of 4He buildup in the atmosphere.



The isotope 4He is produced by radioactive decay in the Earth’s crust, and accumulates in similar reservoirs as fossil fuels, especially those of natural gas. During the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, the helium isotope is coincidentally released. Thus, measuring its atmospheric concentrations is an important step forward in better assessing the scale of (harmful) industrial activity.



This study also provides a foundation for scientists to understand more about the highly valuable 3-helium (3He) isotope, which is very useful for nuclear fusion or cryogenics. Since the 4He isotope seems to exist in the atmosphere in an unvarying ratio with the 3He one, the rises in 4He atmospheric levels detected by the researchers imply that the 3He isotope must be increasing at a comparable rate.



“We don't know for sure, but I wonder if there is more 3He coming out of the Earth than we previously thought, which could perhaps be harvested and fuel our nuclear fusion reactors in the future,” said Dr. Birner.



“The study lays in starker relief a controversy surrounding the rare helium isotope 3He,” added study co-author Ralph Keeling, a geochemist at UCSD. “The implications are far from clear, but it begs additional work.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00932-3">Nature Geoscience</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fossil fuels linked to rise in atmospheric helium levels

A research team led by the University of California, San...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11593-y">Nature Scientific Reports</a> has found that long-duration <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extended-spaceflight-can-affect-the-human-brain/">spaceflight</a> alters fluid-filled spaces along the veins and arteries of the brain - the so-called “perivascular spaces” that are an integral part of the glymphatic system, a brain-wide network which clears metabolic proteins that would otherwise build up in the brain and possibly lead to various disorders, including dementia.



The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the perivascular space in the brains of 15 astronauts before and after they traveled to the International Space Station. They also took fMRI measurements of the space travelers’ brains at one, three, and six months after they returned on Earth. These images were then compared to those of the brains of 16 Earth-bound subjects from a control group.&nbsp;



By comparing before and after images, the scientists found an increase in the perivascular spaces in the brains of astronauts who traveled for the first time in space, but no difference among astronauts who previously served on the International Space Station. “Experienced astronauts may have reached some kind of homeostasis,” explained study senior author Juan Piantino, an assistant professor of Neurology at the <a href="https://www.ohsu.edu/">Oregon Health &amp; State University</a> (OHSU). &nbsp;



In all cases, the researchers did not find any problems with balance or visual memory which might suggest neurological deficits, regardless of the differences measured in the perivascular spaces.&nbsp;



According to Professor Piantino and his team, these modifications in brain physiology are caused by the lack of gravity astronauts experience during spaceflight. Since human physiology is based on the fact that life evolved over millions of years while tethered to our planet’s gravitational pull, the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain is altered in space.&nbsp;



“We all adapted to use gravity in our favor,” Professor Piantino said. “Nature didn’t put our brains in our feet - it put them high up. Once you remove gravity from the equation, what does that do to human physiology?”



Besides better understanding how space travel affects the brain, this study could also be valuable in helping to diagnose and treat Earth-bound disorders caused by changes in the glymphatic system, such as hydrocephalus.



“These findings have important implications as we continue space exploration. It also forces you to think about some basic fundamental questions of science and how life evolved here on Earth,” concluded Professor Piantino.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Space travel alters the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain

A new study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports...

Many studies have shown that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pesticides-have-become-increasingly-toxic-to-insects/">pesticides</a> affect the health of agricultural soils and waterways. However, how living organisms in our ecosystems react to reduced pesticides use is not yet clearly understood. A research team at the <a href="https://inrs.ca/en/">Institut national de la recherche scientifique</a> (INRS) has now received a $1.3&nbsp;million&nbsp;grant to investigate this issue.



“This knowledge, which up to now has been incomplete or lacking for pesticide mixtures, is key to supporting and justifying the transition to sustainable, environmentally friendly farming,”&nbsp;explained project leader Valérie Langlois, an expert in Ecotoxicogenomics at INRS.  “We need to clearly show that reducing pesticide use has significant benefits for an ecosystem’s soil and water and a limited effect on agricultural yield.”



Professor Langlois and her team will travel to partner producers who are transitioning to organic farming to study ecosystem diversity and the amounts of pesticides in soils and a variety of organisms. They will also visit agricultural waterways to sample microscopic algae and invertebrates in order to assess the health of aquatic environments and measure the accumulation of pesticides in organisms living there.&nbsp;



Experiments will also be conducted in the laboratory and in mesocosms (outdoor experimental systems simulating natural environments) to test how organisms respond to various pesticide-reduction scenarios. By monitoring a variety of biological indicators, the scientists aim to measure how reducing the use of pesticides will affect terrestrial and aquatic organisms.



“These controlled experiments will help us better understand the toxicity of pesticides and their mixtures to organisms and estimate their response to a change in agricultural practices,” explained project-member Isabelle Lavoie, an expert in the biomonitoring of freshwater ecosystems at INRS. “It will also help us target the pesticides or mixtures of greatest concern so better decisions can be made regarding their use.”&nbsp;



This project’s results will help agronomists and farmers better manage their fields by offering them clear guidelines for choosing the best types and amounts of pesticides. Moreover, they will also be used to develop conservation criteria for natural environments and the organisms that inhabit them. Finally, the knowledge gained through this research will likely foster improved environmental monitoring using highly efficient toxicity tests to better assess the effects of pesticides on a diversity of ecosystems.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How will organisms respond to reduced pesticide use?

Many studies have shown that pesticides affect the health of...

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has just released a <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-09556.pdf">plan</a> to eliminate two wild horse management areas and shrink the third significantly. Overall, this would remove an approximate one million acres of wild horse <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nature-needs-half-but-natural-habitats-are-vanishing/">habitat</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The agency's plan is focused on an area near Rock Springs, Wyoming, that is known as the Checkerboard. The wild horse areas set to be “zeroed out” are the Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin management areas.&nbsp;



The BLM will effectively eliminate over 50 percent of the wild horse habitat in Wyoming. The plan has been strongly criticized by the <a href="https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/">American Wild Horse Campaign</a> (AWHC).



"The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has just approved the largest ever eradication of federally-protected wild horses from western public lands. It will destroy what the BLM itself calls ‘some of the most breathtaking wild horses and habitat in the country,'” said Suzanne Roy, executive director of the AWHC.&nbsp;



“This unjustifiable action is being dictated solely by private ranching interests and is at odds with the wishes of<a href="https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/media/3-out-4-americans-oppose-inhumane-helicopter-roundups-wild-horses"> 88 percent of Americans</a> who want wild horses protected in the wild where they belong.”



Originally, the BLM planned to manage a nearby herd in the White Mountain HMA, including the Pilot Butte Scenic Wild Horse Viewing Loop, as a non-producing herd. Under this plan, the animals would be sterilized. However, the agency changed its plan under the objections of locals, including Rock Springs City Councilman Tim Savage.



The current plan is the result of a lawsuit filed against the BLM by the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA). The lawsuit demanded the removal of horses from the Checkerboard area, in favor of private ranching on public land with ridiculously low cost leases as well as on private land. In 2013, the lawsuit was settled by the BLM with a consent decree. Under the decree, it was agreed that the BLM would change their management plan to remove horses from the area.&nbsp;



Findings in lawsuits filed by AWHC have concluded that the BLM does not have an obligation to remove the horses simply because they exceed arbitrary population limits. However, they can remove the horses from public land while removing them from private land without undergoing review under the National Environmental Policy Act.&nbsp;



The BLM plan to remove horses to pens comes as some of their off range corrals are already being afflicted by an outbreak of a contagious disease known as strangles.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

US agency to remove one million acres of wild horse habitat

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has just released a...

A social media break could significantly improve overall well-being and reduce symptoms of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/physical-exercise-reduces-chronic-anxiety-better-than-drugs/">anxiety</a> and depression, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.bath.ac.uk/">University of Bath</a>.



The researchers examined the mental health effects of stepping away from social media for one week. For some participants, the break freed up about nine hours that they would have normally spent on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.



"Social media (SM) has revolutionized how we communicate with each other, allowing users to interact with friends and family and meet others based on shared interests by creating virtual public profiles," wrote the study authors. "In the United Kingdom, the number of adults using SM has increased from 45 percent in 2011 to 71 percent in 2021."



The researchers noted that previous studies have found negative relationships between social media use and various mental health indices. For example, a study of US adults showed that participants who used social media the most frequently had much greater odds of suffering from depression.



To investigate the benefits of a social media break, the researchers focused on people between the ages of 18 and 72 who used social media every day. The individuals were randomly assigned to either stop using social media platforms altogether for seven days or to continue their social media engagement as usual.&nbsp;



At the beginning of the study, the participants had reported spending an average of eight hours per week on social media. Those who took a break showed significant improvements in well-being, depression, and anxiety.



“Scrolling social media is so ubiquitous that many of us do it almost without thinking from the moment we wake up to when we close our eyes at night," said lead researcher Dr. Jeff Lambert.



"We know that social media usage is huge and that there are increasing concerns about its mental health effects, so with this study, we wanted to see whether simply asking people to take a week’s break could yield mental health benefits."



“Many of our participants reported positive effects from being off social media with improved mood and less anxiety overall. This suggests that even just a small break can have an impact."



“Of course, social media is a part of life and for many people, it’s an indispensable part of who they are and how they interact with others. But if you are spending hours each week scrolling and you feel it is negatively impacting you, it could be worth cutting down on your usage to see if it helps.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://home.liebertpub.com/publications/cyberpsychology-behavior-and-social-networking/10/overview">Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking</a>.



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

Social media break can significantly improve mental health

A social media break could significantly improve overall well-being and...

Although tiger sharks are globally threatened by a variety of factors, including <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-is-a-major-threat-to-coral-reef-fish/">overfishing</a>, habitat loss, pollution, or climate change, scientists have long thought that they do not display local population structure, and were thus expected to have low vulnerability towards local depletion.&nbsp;



However, by using genomic data retrieved from historical tiger shark jaws, an international group of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english">Technical University of Denmark</a> (DTU) has found evidence of a specific, local southeastern Australian population of tiger sharks that is currently threatened by direct exploitation and shark control programs.



“Our study shows that tiger sharks can have local and genetically isolated populations at a restricted geographical scale - such as the south Eastern Australian coast - and that these local populations are vulnerable to direct exploitation and shark control programs,” said study senior author Einar Eg Nielsen, a professor of Marine Ecology at DTU.



Since sharks are top predators and control the abundance of a variety of other marine animals, they ensure species diversity and are thus highly important for maintaining ecosystem balance. Better understanding the distribution and migration of shark populations, as well as their responses to human activities, is crucial for designing proper management plans and actions at the appropriate geographical scale.



Before the present study, scientists believed that tiger sharks do not display local population structure, since genetic differences were only found at a basin-wide scale, such as between tiger sharks in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Thus, conservation programs have largely been focused on large geographical scales. However, the scientists’ analyses revealed genetic differences at a smaller scale, by identifying an endangered sub-species of tiger shark native to southeastern Australia.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“From our samples alone, it appears that the historical local population has been extirpated or significantly reduced. This means that management of the species also has to focus on regional processes and exploitation patterns in order to protect local populations and biodiversity of the species as a whole,” said Professor Nielsen.



These results suggest that genetic research can help localize the proper biological units (genetic populations) that should be the target for fisheries management, conservation, and biodiversity protection.&nbsp;



“We need to shift tiger shark management conceptually from an exclusive species view to also include the local population aspect. That is, saving global populations has to go through protection and proper management of local populations,” Professor Nielsen concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10529-w">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Human activities threaten Australian tiger sharks

Although tiger sharks are globally threatened by a variety of...

California's $58 billion wine industry is increasingly threatened by the glassy-winged sharpshooter – a half-inch-long <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-insects-will-kill-more-than-a-million-street-trees-by-2050/">insect</a> that feeds on grapevines and transmits bacteria causing Pierce’s Disease. Once it develops this disease, a grapevine is likely to die within three years. Until now, such infections could only be controlled through quarantines and increasingly less effective chemical sprays that the bacteria became highly resistant too.&nbsp;



Now, a research team from the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a> (UCR) has used CRISPR gene-editing technology to make permanent physical changes in the sharpshooter that could be passed down to three or more generations of insects. In a series of experiments, the scientists used this technology to knock out genes controlling the sharpshooter’s eye color (turning them white in one experiment, and cinnabar in another), and discovered that these changes were permanent and were passed along to the offspring of the modified parents.



Interestingly, sharpshooter eye color genes were found to be located on non-sexual, or autosomal, chromosomes. “Knowing that white and cinnabar genes are on autosomal chromosomes demonstrates that the inheritance of these genes is not related to the gender of the insect,” said study lead author Inaiara de Souza Pacheco, an entomologist at UCR. “This is important for developing control strategies.”



For instance, in mosquitoes, only females transmit viruses to humans. Thus, identifying genes on sex chromosomes that favor mosquito females is crucial for mosquito-control strategies. Conversely, it is also important to know which essential genes are located on autosomal chromosomes.



In order to protect grapevines from Pierce’s Disease, the researchers are now attempting to use gene-editing technology to modify the mouth parts of the sharpshooter, so they cannot pick up the bacteria that causes this disease. Given the efficiency with which they managed to change the genes controlling sharpshooters’ eye color, there is a high likelihood that the scientists will also succeed in modifying their mouths.



“It’s absolutely amazing because the success rate in other organisms is often 30 percent or lower,” said study co-author Linda Walling, a plant biologist at UCR. “The high rate of gene editing success in glassy-winged sharpshooters bodes well for our ability to develop new methods of insect control, as well as understanding the basic biology of this devastating pest.”



By using this groundbreaking technology, scientists hope that, in the near future, they will manage to create insects that are not infectious. “Before CRISPR, generating specific mutations with such ease at such high frequencies was virtually impossible,” said study senior author Peter Atkinson, a professor of Biology at UCR. “Now we are confident we can come up with ways to create insects unable to transmit this disease,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503083111.htm">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Grapevine killer controlled through gene editing strategy

California's $58 billion wine industry is increasingly threatened by the...

In many European countries, sewage sludge is commonly used in agriculture as a sustainable and renewable source of fertilizer, due to European Union directives promoting the diverting of sewage sludge away from landfill or incineration and towards agriculture and energy production. However, a new study led by <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/">Cardiff University</a> has found that sewage sludge contains a significant amount of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-found-in-the-human-blood-for-the-first-time/">microplastics</a> which end up in agricultural soils and are eventually transported back into the natural watercourse through surface water run-off or infiltration to groundwater.



Less than five millimeters in size, microplastics pose significant threats to wildlife and humans, since they are easily ingested and contain toxic chemicals, dangerous pathogens, and other contaminants. By analyzing samples from the Nash Wastewater Treatment Plant in Newport, South Wales, the scientists found that each gram of sewage sludge contained up to 24 microplastic particles (roughly one percent of its weight).&nbsp;



From these findings, the experts estimated that between 31,000 and 42,000 tons of microplastics (or 86 to 710 trillion microplastic particles) are applied to European soils annually, mirroring the concentration of microplastics from ocean surface waters. The United Kingdom was shown to have the highest amount of microplastics contamination in its agricultural soils - with 500 to 1000 microplastic particles per square meter of agricultural land applied each year – followed by Spain, Portugal, and Germany.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Our results highlight the magnitude of the problem across European soils and suggest that the practice of spreading sludge on agricultural land could potentially make them one of the largest global reservoirs of microplastic pollution,” said study lead author James Lofty, a doctoral student at Cardiff University’s School of Engineering.



“At present, there is currently no European legislation that limits or controls microplastic input into recycled sewage sludge based on the loads and toxicity of microplastic exposure. Efforts should be made to increase standardized monitoring of microplastic concentrations in sewage sludge and agricultural soils, which would provide a more accurate picture of contamination levels in soils across Europe,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749122004122">Environmental Pollution</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

European farmland is a huge reservoir of microplastics

In many European countries, sewage sludge is commonly used in...

Many studies have found that restricting calorie intake extends the lifespan of animals ranging from worms and flies to mice and primates, by improving glucose regulation, lowering blood pressure, and reducing weight and inflammation. A new longitudinal study that followed hundreds of mice over their entire lifespans has found that, besides consuming less calories, eating only during their most active time of day substantially extended the lifespan of mice on reduced-calorie <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diet-is-the-most-powerful-weapon-against-aging/">diets</a>.&nbsp;



To unravel the effects of calorie intake, fasting, and circadian rhythms on longevity, researchers from the <a href="https://www.hhmi.org/">Howard Hughes Medical Institute</a> (HHMI) undertook an extensive four-year experiment. Hundreds of mice were provided food through automatic feeders, which allowed the scientists to control when and how much each mouse ate for its entire lifespan. While some of the mice were allowed to eat as much as they wanted, others had their calorie intake restricted by 30 to 40 percent. Moreover, those on calorie-restricted diets ate on different schedules.&nbsp;



The experts found that the mice fed the low-calorie diet at night, over either a two-hour or 12-hour period, lived the longest. Combining a reduced-calorie diet with a nighttime eating-schedule added, on average, an additional nine months to the animals’ typical two-year lifespan. While a reduced-calorie diet alone extended the animals’ lives by 10 percent, feeding mice this diet only at nighttime, when they were most active, extended their lifespan by 35 percent.



As animals age, genes linked to inflammation tend to become more active, while genes that help regulate the metabolism become less active. The study results suggest that calorie restriction, particularly when timed to the mice’s active period at night, helped offset these genetic changes as mice aged.



According to Rafael de Cabo, a Gerontology researcher at the <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/">National Institute of Aging</a> in Baltimore, this study “is a very elegant demonstration that even if you are restricting your calories but you are not [eating at the right times], you do not get the full benefits of caloric restriction.”&nbsp;



Scientists hope that better understanding how calorie restriction affects the body’s internal clocks as we age will help find new ways of extending the lifespan of humans too. This could happen through either calorie-restricted diets, or drugs that mimic those diets’ effects.



The study is published in the journal<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk0297"> Science</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What you eat, and when, may extend your lifespan

Many studies have found that restricting calorie intake extends the...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a> has found that native species in California’s estuaries are predicted to experience greater decline, due to an interaction of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-species-can-hitchhike-on-ocean-plastic/">invasive species</a> with climate change. According to the experts, such declines are expected not only because of climate-related stressors, but also due to the increasing impact of new invasive predator species that are occurring much farther up the estuaries.



“Our study found that climate change and biological invasions can interact in coastal estuaries in unpredictable ways,” said study lead author Benjamin Rubinoff, a doctoral student in Environmental Science at UC Davis. “This increased risk of predation makes it difficult for native species that are already dealing with increasingly stressful environmental conditions.”



In estuaries, shifts in water temperature and salinity levels strongly influence the distribution of a large variety of invertebrate species, such as mussels, crabs, or sea squirts. For these organisms, high temperatures and low salinity – which typically increase as you move inland from the ocean – create highly stressful conditions that also lead native predators to consume fewer prey.



However, the scientists found that many non-native, invasive predators, can tolerate such climate-induced stressors much better than native ones, increasingly endangering native prey species such as the sessile invertebrates that this study has focused on (animals without backbones that attach to reefs or seagrasses, such as ascidians and bryozoans).



“The stress gradients typical of West Coast estuaries are being rapidly altered by climate change,” said study co-author Edwin Grosholz, an expert in Invasion Biology at UC Davis. “These changing gradients are scrambling the historical predator-prey landscape, creating novel matchups and putting native prey at much higher risk from invaders.”&nbsp;



Since such changes are difficult to predict, further experimental and observational studies are needed to disentangle the interacting effects of climate change and invasion on already struggling native species.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.3695">Ecology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Invasive species are transforming coastal estuaries

A new study led by the University of California, Davis...

The fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus produce a poisonous substance called aflatoxin, which can infect peanuts, tree nuts, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/increase-productivity-resilience-corn/">corn</a>. Besides degrading corn quality, this substance can also cause significant health problems for humans and animals, depending on the amount and length of time it is ingested.&nbsp;



While aflatoxin contamination occurs each year in the southern U.S. due to its hot and dry climate, it has rarely been a serious problem in the Corn Belt region - an area in the midwestern U.S. covering western Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, eastern Kansas, and eastern Nebraska.



However, a new study led by <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a> (MSU) has found that, as climate change continues to alter weather patterns all over the world, including in the Midwest, aflatoxin will become a significant problem in this area too.&nbsp;



“When we ran our near-term climate model scenarios, we found that between 2031-2040, aflatoxin is going to become more of a problem in the U.S. Corn Belt in the Midwest,” said study senior author Felicia Wu, a professor of Food Safety, Toxicology, and Risk Assessment at MSU. “The last time there was a serious problem was in 2012 when we had an unusually hot and dry summer throughout the Midwest, particularly in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.”



The researchers noted that since hot and dry conditions encourage fungi spores to be airborne and increase their chances of contaminating crops, keeping crops irrigated and storing harvests in cool, dry conditions could reduce the risks of aflatoxin contamination.&nbsp;



In addition, the use of biotechnological and conventional breeding techniques to develop hybrid crops that could withstand droughts, fungal infections, and insect damage could be an essential tool in creating more resilient and healthy crops. Finally, shifting crop production further north or south where the climate is cooler or wetter can also reduce aflatoxin risk.



For consumers concerned about eating field corn that may be contaminated with aflatoxin, Professor Wu suggests several alternatives. “Green leafy vegetables are good for your overall health,” she said. “Chlorophyll has a sandwich molecular structure that traps aflatoxin molecules so that humans excrete them before the toxin can enter our bloodstream.” Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale, or cauliflower, and allium vegetables like garlic, onions, or leeks could also help detoxifying our organism and guarding it against contaminants such as aflatoxin.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac6435">Environmental Research Letters</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change increases the risk of aflatoxin contamination

The fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus produce a poisonous...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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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.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...