The,Human,Eye,With,The,Image,Of,The,Brain,In

Working memory plays a pivotal role in our day-to-day functions. It's an essential brain skill that helps us manage and process information while engaging in activities, without losing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-the-brain-focus-with-so-many-distractions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">focus</a>. 



For instance, working memory allows us to remember to buy more dishwasher soap while we're busy loading the dishwasher and to keep track of other future necessities.



Researchers have long understood the significant variability in working memory across individuals but have struggled to pinpoint the reasons behind these differences. 



Taking an innovative approach to studying this dilemma, researchers at the <a href="https://www.uta.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Texas at Arlington</a>, including Matthew Robinson and Lauren Garner, conducted an experiment that examined whether pupil dilation could be a reliable indicator of working memory capacity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-pupil-dilation-and-working-memory">Understanding pupil dilation and working memory</h2>



In a recent study, it was discovered that pupil size could tell us more than just how much light is entering the eye. 



Typically, pupils dilate in low-light conditions to improve vision. However, this study revealed that pupils also dilate in response to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cognitive-stimulation-at-work-helps-prevent-memory-problems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cognitive</a> tasks requiring concentration.



The study involved 179 undergraduate students who underwent a series of working memory tests. While they attempted these tasks, an eye-tracker, similar to devices used during routine eye exams, continuously measured their pupil dilation. The findings were quite revealing. 



"We found that people who more intensely and consistently paid attention, as evidenced by greater <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/traumatic-experiences-can-be-detected-in-the-eyes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pupil dilation</a>, performed better on memory tasks," explained Robinson.



"The highest-performing participants not only had larger overall pupil dilations but were also more discerning about the information they needed to remember," he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-pupil-dilation-correlates-to-performance">How pupil dilation correlates to performance</h2>



The correlation between pupil size and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/understanding-how-students-learn-is-key-to-helping-them-succeed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">task performance</a> could have broader implications. 



For instance, Matthew Robison noted that, "The lowest performers on the tasks showed less pupil dilation. For the highest-performing participants, their pupil dilations were both larger overall and the individuals were more discerning about the information they were asked to recall."



This research highlights a fascinating aspect of how our bodies respond to mental exertion and could lead to more personalized approaches in educational and professional settings to enhance <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-smaller-brain-size/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cognitive performance</a>.



The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Attention, Perception &amp; Psychophysics, provides valuable insights into the physiological underpinnings of working memory. 



"This is exciting research because it adds another valuable piece of the puzzle to our understanding of why working <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daily-multivitamins-slow-cognitive-aging-and-improve-memory/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">memory</a> varies between individuals," Robison concluded.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Exploring the intricacies of working memory</h2>



Working memory enables us to hold and manipulate information in our minds for short periods, allowing us to perform complex tasks, solve problems, and make decisions. Without working memory, we would struggle to navigate the world around us effectively.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Components</h3>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-phonological-loop">The phonological loop</h4>



This component handles auditory information, such as speech and sound.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-visuospatial-sketchpad">The visuospatial sketchpad</h4>



This component processes visual and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blinking-plays-crucial-role-vision-human-perception/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spatial information</a>, such as images and locations.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-central-executive">The central executive</h4>



This component acts as a control center, allocating attention and coordinating the activities of the other components.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-episodic-buffer">The episodic buffer</h4>



This component integrates information from the other components and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wasabi-linked-to-substantial-boost-in-memory/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">long-term memory</a>, creating a unified representation.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Capacity</h3>



Working memory has a limited capacity, typically allowing us to hold and manipulate between three and seven items at a time. This capacity varies among individuals and can be influenced by factors such as age, training, and cognitive impairments. 



Researchers have developed various tests and tasks to measure working memory capacity, such as the n-back task and the complex span task.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Importance in everyday life</h3>



Working memory plays a vital role in numerous everyday activities, such as:



<ul>
<li>Following instructions and directions </li>



<li>Engaging in conversations and maintaining the flow of dialogue </li>



<li>Reading comprehension and language processing </li>



<li>Performing mental calculations and problem-solving </li>



<li>Multitasking and switching between different tasks</li>
</ul>



Deficits in working memory can lead to difficulties in these areas, impacting an individual's academic performance, work efficiency, and social interactions.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Enhancement strategies</h3>



While working memory capacity is largely determined by genetic factors, research suggests that certain strategies and interventions can help improve its efficiency:



<ul>
<li>Chunking: Grouping information into meaningful units to reduce the number of items to be remembered.</li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>Rehearsal: Repeating information mentally or aloud to maintain it in working memory.</li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>Visualization: Creating mental images or diagrams to represent information visually.</li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>Mindfulness and meditation: Practicing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mindfulness-protects-against-work-stress-burnout/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mindfulness</a> and meditation techniques to improve focus and attention.</li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>Cognitive training: Engaging in targeted exercises and activities designed to challenge and strengthen working memory</li>
</ul>



By understanding the intricacies of working memory and employing these strategies, individuals can optimize their cognitive performance and enhance their ability to navigate the demands of daily life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pupil-dilation-working-memory-and-future-implications">Pupil dilation, working memory, and future implications</h2>



In summary, this study has revealed a fascinating connection between pupil dilation and working memory performance. By measuring participants' pupils during cognitive tasks, the researchers discovered that individuals with greater pupil dilation and sensitivity consistently outperformed those with less dilation. 



This finding enhances our understanding of the factors influencing working memory variation and paves the way for future research into the neural mechanisms underlying this critical cognitive skill. 



As scientists continue to explore the complexities of the brain's executive functions, studies like this one bring us closer to developing targeted interventions and strategies to support individuals struggling with working memory, ultimately unlocking the full potential of the human mind.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13414-024-02853-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Attention Perception &amp; Psychophysics</a>



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Pupils enlarge when the brain's working memory is focused on a task

Working memory plays a pivotal role in our day-to-day functions. It's an essential brain skill that helps us manage and process information while engaging in activities, without losing focus. For instance, working memory allows us to remember to buy more dishwasher soap while we're busy loading the dishwasher and to keep track of other future necessities. Researchers have long understood the significant variability in working memory across individuals but have struggled to pinpoint the reasons behind these differences. Taking an innovative approach to studying this dilemma, researchers...

New research shows Chicxulub, the meteoroid that smashed into the Yucatán and led to the extinction of the dinosaurs approximately 65 million years ago, hit in the springtime. To reach this conclusion, an international team of paleontologists from the Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, Uppsala University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility studied fish that died after the impact. 



X-rays and analysis of carbon isotope records show that the fish died within 60 minutes after the meteoroid hit the Earth. The fish skeletons were immaculately preserved, with their bones showing very little geochemical alterations. Bones hold information about seasonal growth like tree rings do, so the team started by analyzing the bones. 



“The retrieved growth rings not only captured the life histories of the fishes but also recorded the latest Cretaceous seasonality and thus the season in which the catastrophic extinction occurred,” said study senior author Jeroen van der Lubbe.



Bone cell size, shape and distribution also vary depending on the season, and these features provided further evidence.



&nbsp;“In all studied fishes, bone cell density and volumes can be traced over multiple years. These were on the rise but had not yet peaked during the year of death,” said Dennis Voeten of <a href="https://www.uu.se/en">Uppsala University</a>.



A paddlefish that was part of the study was also analyzed for evidence of its diet. This fish prefers to feed upon zooplankton, which naturally fluctuate throughout the year depending on the season. The evidence shows that the zooplankton population was rising towards the summer climax when the fish died.   



“This temporary increase of ingested zooplankton enriched the skeleton of its predator with the heavier 13C carbon isotope relative to the lighter 12C carbon isotope,” explained Suzan Verdegaal-Warmerdam. 



“The carbon isotope signal across the growth record of this unfortunate paddlefish confirms that the feeding season had not yet climaxed – death came in spring,” said study lead author Melanie During.



The scientists hope their study will not only increase our understanding of the dinosaur extinction, but also help to explain why the ancestors of modern birds and mammals survived the extinction event.    



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.&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

The dinosaurs died in the springtime

New research shows Chicxulub, the meteoroid that smashed into the...

According to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (<a href="https://www.unep.org/">UNEP</a>) and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.grida.no/">GRID-Arendal</a>, climate change and land-use change will cause more frequent and intense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fires-are-intensifying-with-an-increase-in-flammable-nights/">wildfires</a>, with a global increase of severe fires of up to 14 percent by 2030, 30 percent by 2050, and 50 percent by the end of the century.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Wildfires disproportionately affect the world’s poorest nations, which most of the times cannot afford to rebuild the areas struck by fire. These fires significantly affect people’s respiratory and cardiovascular health, damage watersheds, lead to soil erosion causing more problems for waterways, and leave highly contaminated waste behind. Moreover, wildlife and its natural habitats are not spared either: many animal species are pushed on the bring of extinction by severe and prolonged fires.



Wildfires and climate change are mutually exacerbating. Through rises in temperatures, increased frequency and duration of droughts, low relative humidity, lightning storms, and strong winds, climate change leads to hotter, drier, and longer fire seasons. At the same time, by ravaging carbon-rich ecosystems such as rainforests and peatlands, wildfires contribute to climate change.



Currently, direct responses to wildfires receive over half of related expenditures, while prevention and planning receive less than one percent. The new report calls on governments to adopt a “Fire Ready Formula,” with two thirds of funds devoted to planning, preparedness, prevention, and recovery, and only one third left for response.&nbsp;



“Current government responses to wildfires are often putting money in the wrong place. Those emergency service workers and firefighters on the frontlines who are risking their lives to fight forest wildfires need to be supported,” said Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of UNEP. “We have to minimize the risk of extreme wildfires by being better prepared: invest more in fire risk reduction, work with local communities, and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change.”



The restoration of ecosystems is highly important for mitigating the risk of wildfires before they occur and repairing what has been destroyed in their aftermath. Some of the essential investments into prevention, preparedness, and recovery should include wetlands and peatlands restoration, building at a distance from vegetation, and preserving open space buffers.



The report concludes with a call for stronger international standards for the safety and health of firefighters, including raising awareness of the risks of smoke inhalation, providing access to adequate hydration, nutrition, rest, and recovery, and minimizing the risks of life-threatening entrapments.



The full UNEP report is available for download <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/spreading-wildfire-rising-threat-extraordinary-landscape-fires">here</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

Wildfires will increase by 50 percent by the end of the century

According to a new report by the UN Environment Programme...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ants-show-signs-of-cognitive-sophistication/">Ants</a> live in large groups organized according to a highly specific division of tasks – a phenomenon called by biologists “eusociality.” There are three “casts,” each having a different role: the queen lays eggs, the males fertilize them, and the workers look after the offspring, forage for food, and build nests. 



The complexity of ants’ social organization can be seen not only in their behavior, but also in their morphology. For instance, winged females take on the role of the queen, while wingless, infertile ones perform the tasks of the workers. But when exactly in their evolutionary history did this unique form of teamwork emerge?



By examining four fossils enclosed in amber (three adult female wingless ants and one incompletely developed pupa), a new study led by the <a href="https://www.uni-jena.de/">University of Jena</a> in Germany has found that this cooperative way of life most probably emerged in the early Cretaceous period (145 to 100.5 million years ago).&nbsp;



“With the help of micro-computed tomography images, we were able to determine that the soft tissues of the insects have been exceptionally well-preserved,” explained study lead author Dr. Brendon E. Boudinot, an expert in Entomology and Phylogenetics at the University of Jena. “This enabled us to examine the precise structure of the brain and the transverse muscle fibers, for example, and thus compare the four specimens with each other in fine detail.”



The researchers established that two of the adult insects belonged to a previously unknown species of the extinct ant genus Gerontoformica, while the third ant and the pupa were both of the same species, Gerontoformica gracilis.



“As ant pupae are not mobile, it can be inferred that the adult insect carried it,” said Dr. Boudinot. “This brood transport, as it’s called, is a unique feature of ant coexistence based on their division of labor. The fossil therefore provides the first material evidence of cooperative behavior from the Cretaceous period: these ants looked after their young together, went in search of food together, and had different queen and worker castes.”



Thus, these fossil representatives are an important “missing link” between today’s ants and their ancient relatives, confirming that the highly complex and specialized social system of ants evolved sometimes in the Early Cretaceous, during the time of the dinosaurs.



The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab097/6523228">Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society</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

Division of labor in ants emerged over 100 million years ago

Ants live in large groups organized according to a highly...

When an 87-year-old hospital patient with severe health problems developed epilepsy, the doctors used continuous electroencephalography (EEG) to detect the seizures and provide prompt treatment. During the recording, the patient had an unexpected <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-air-pollution-can-prevent-heart-attacks/">heart attack</a> and died, allowing scientists to record the activity of a dying human brain for the first time in history. 



The findings, recently published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.813531/full">Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience</a>, suggest that the brain may remain active and coordinated during and after the transition to death, and could even have a fundamental role in orchestrating the whole ordeal.



“We measured 900 seconds of brain activity around the time of death and set a specific focus to investigate what happened in the 30 seconds before and after the heart stopped beating,” said study senior author Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the <a href="https://louisville.edu/">University of Louisville</a>. “Just before and after the heart stopped working, we saw changes in a specific band of neural oscillations, so-called gamma oscillations, but also in others such as delta, theta, alpha, and beta oscillations.”&nbsp;



These brain oscillations, or brain waves, are patterns of rhythmic brain activity normally present in living human beings, and are involved in high-cognitive functions including concentrating, conscious perception, information processing, dreaming, meditation, and memory retrieval.



“Through generating oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die, similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences,” Dr. Zemmar speculated. “These findings challenge our understanding of when exactly life ends and generate important subsequent questions, such as those related to the timing of organ donation.”&nbsp;



Although this study is the first to measure brain activity during the process of dying in humans, similar changes in gamma oscillations have previously been found in rats kept in controlled environments. This could suggest that, during death, the brain organizes and executes a biological response which may be conserved across species.



Since the current study has investigated the brain patterns of a single dying patient who had previously suffered injuries, seizures, and swelling, scientists should be cautious in generalizing these findings. Further observations of more case studies are necessary before drawing any clear, scientific conclusions regarding what happens when we die.&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

What happens in our brain when we die?

When an 87-year-old hospital patient with severe health problems developed...

Climate change has increased temperatures across the world, affecting the most ecologically important regions such as the Amazon <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-congo-forest-does-not-behave-like-other-rainforests/">rainforest</a>.&nbsp;



The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, highlights increasing concerns for the Amazonian forests. If greenhouse gasses (GHG) and CO2 emissions double by 2050, maximum temperatures in the Amazon will likely exceed 35 degrees Celsius at least 150 days a year by the end of the century.



A recent study published in the journal Nature Communications led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a> elaborates on how climate change impacts these ecosystems.&nbsp;



The study used measurements from terrestrial scanning LiDAR which allowed researchers to track how different layers of the forest are affected by the changing environmental conditions caused by climate and fragmentation.&nbsp;



Tall trees in Central Amazonia are impacted by maximum temperatures of the understory (the underlying layer of vegetation in a forest or wooded area)&nbsp; above 35 degrees. This is because the canopies of old-growth forests provide shade and buffer high temperatures.&nbsp;



When the temperatures in underlying layers reach 35 degrees, some trees are impacted by water stress, which reduces leaf development. As a result, the tall trees start to shed their leaves and branches. While 35 degrees (95 degrees fahrenheit) may seem like a reasonable climate for the Amazon, only the months of August and September usually reach that level of heat in normal conditions.



“If the number of days registering these very high temperatures inside the forests also increases, we might see that the tall trees will suffer considerably," explained study lead author Matheus Nunes.



The risks to the Amazon rainforest aren't limited to climate change, but are further exacerbated by deforestation. The study also revealed a feedback loop between deforestation and warming temperatures.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Reduced tree cover allows more light to penetrate the forest, leading to hotter temperatures in the understory. The hotter temperatures add further pressure on the tall trees, causing trees to shed their leaves and branches for a prolonged time.&nbsp;



More research is needed to better understand how tropical ecosystems respond to climate change. There remain uncertainties between&nbsp; the timing and causes of seasonal events, such as leaf shedding and burst.&nbsp;



Despite these uncertainties, the study demonstrates the complexity of climate variations on taller trees and highlights the effects of climate and human disturbance on the Amazonian rainforest. If deforestation continues and forests become more fragmented, severe consequences will follow, and we can expect to see a large-scale shift in the way tropical ecosystems breathe.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tall trees in the Amazon face an uncertain future

Climate change has increased temperatures across the world, affecting the...

A new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Centre_for_Integrative_Biodiversity_Research_(iDiv)">iDiV</a> study has revealed that insect groups do not share the same population trends, even if they share a habitat. The experts found that the state of one group of insects does not reflect the state of other insects, regardless of where they live .



The investigation was based on long-term data from insects across more than 900 sites worldwide. The results show that different insect groups may exhibit similar trends in one place, but dissimilar trends in other places.



"Insects are not a homogeneous group of organisms, all showing dramatic declines across the world, as some headlines would have us believe,” said study senior author Professor Jonathan Chase.



In 2017, scientists reported that three-quarters of flying insects had been lost from western German nature reserves over 30 years. Following this alarming report, a large collection of studies from all over the world confirmed insect declines.&nbsp;



The iDiv team, led by Dr. Roel van Klink, has been building and analyzing a database of these studies since 2018 to monitor insect abundance over multiple years.



“The fact that such declines happened right under our noses, but no one saw that this phenomenon is occurring in many places, is quite alarming,” said Dr. van Klink. “It shows just how important it is to monitor our environment.”&nbsp;



Due to their small size and high diversity, it is challenging to monitor insect populations. There are 30,000 species of insects in Germany alone.&nbsp;



"Most monitoring programs only study one insect group, but no one has investigated whether the status of the group under study tells us anything about the well-being of other insects," said study second author Dr. Diana Bowler.



The researchers set out to investigate whether changes in one type of insect,&nbsp; such as grasshoppers, could predict changes in other kinds of insects, such as flies. Overall, the team found that abundances of different groups of insects showed different trends. There was little evidence where an indicator species could be used to predict population trends in another species.&nbsp;



“Trends of beetles and butterflies were the most similar, often increasing or decreasing together, but even their relationship was quite poor,” said Dr. van Klink. “But grasshoppers are just out there doing their own thing, with their abundances through time unrelated to those of other groups of species."



The research highlights the importance of monitoring multiple species simultaneously to provide guidelines for conservation policies.



“Nature just isn’t as simple as we would like it to be," said Dr. van Klink. “No doubt humans are having unprecedented impacts on the natural world around us, and it's our job to find out exactly how, why and where these changes occur, and to which kinds of insects.”&nbsp;



“We cannot simply monitor one group of insects and assume all the others do the same,“ said Dr. Bowler. “We need to care about the whole diversity of insects.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl">Biology Letters</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

Insect groups do not share the same fate, even when they share a habitat

A new iDiV study has revealed that insect groups do...

Twice as much plastic waste is now produced compared to 20 years ago, and only nine percent of it is recycled, according to the recently published <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/global-plastics-outlook_de747aef-en">Global Plastics Outlook</a> from OECD. The majority of plastic waste ends up in a landfill, incinerated, or leaking into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unep-report-identifies-the-biggest-emerging-environmental-threats/">environment</a>.&nbsp;



Almost half of all plastic waste is produced in OECD member countries, some of which include the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Japan, France, and Germany. The Outlook notes that international cooperation on reducing plastic pollution should include supporting lower-income countries in developing better waste management infrastructure to reduce their plastic leakage.



"Reducing pollution from plastics will require action, and international cooperation, to reduce plastic production, including through innovation, better product design and developing environmentally friendly alternatives, as well as efforts to improve waste management and increase recycling."



While restrictions on single-use plastics exist in more than 120 countries, these actions are not doing enough to reduce overall pollution. The experts note that most regulations are limited to items like plastic bags, which make up a tiny share of plastic waste.



The report states that "as rising populations and incomes drive a relentless increase in the amount of plastic being used and thrown away, policies to curb its leakage into the environment are falling short."



The report summarizes the full life cycle of plastics globally, including production, consumption, waste, recycling, and disposal. The following are some key findings from the Outlook:



<ul><li>Plastic consumption has quadrupled over the past 30 years, driven by growth in emerging markets. Global plastics production doubled from 2000 to 2019 to reach 460 million tons. Plastics account for 3.4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Global plastic waste generation more than doubled from 2000 to 2019 to 353 million tons. Nearly two-thirds of plastic waste comes from plastics with lifetimes of under five years, with 40% coming from packaging, 12% from consumer goods and 11% from clothing and textiles.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Only 9% of plastic waste is recycled (15% is collected for recycling but 40% of that is disposed of as residues). Another 19% is incinerated, 50% ends up in landfill and 22% evades waste management systems and goes into uncontrolled dumpsites, is burned in open pits or ends up in terrestrial or aquatic environments, especially in poorer countries.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<ul><li>In 2019, 6.1 million tons (Mt) of plastic waste leaked into aquatic environments and 1.7 Mt flowed into oceans. There is now an estimated 30 Mt of plastic waste in seas and oceans, and a further 109 Mt has accumulated in rivers. The build-up of plastics in rivers implies that leakage into the ocean will continue for decades to come, even if mismanaged plastic waste could be significantly reduced.</li></ul>



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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

Plastic waste grows "relentlessly" as recycling falls short

Twice as much plastic waste is now produced compared to...

In a new study led by <a href="https://www.byu.edu/">Brigham Young University</a>, researchers have analyzed the impact and value of school field trips. The experts report that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/video-games-linked-to-unhealthy-habits-among-male-college-students/">students</a> who participate in multiple field trips throughout the school year have better academic performance, higher test scores, and increased cultural conscientiousness.



“Field trips have been non-existent for the last two years, and many cultural institutions like museums and science centers were closed. Schools want to make up learning loss from the pandemic and might feel pressure to sacrifice a well-rounded education for increased seat-time,” said study lead author Professor Heidi Holmes Erickson.



“Field trips might be the first thing to go. Addressing student learning loss is crucial, but schools should be thoughtful in their approach.”



For the investigation, fourth- and fifth-grade students from 15 elementary schools were randomly assigned to participate in three culturally enriching outings during a school year. The students visited an art museum and attended a play and a symphony concert.



The study revealed that students who attended all three field trips scored higher on final exams, received better course grades, and had fewer absences.



“We anticipated that field trips wouldn’t harm test scores. However, we started seeing academic improvements and realized that students who participated in these field trips were doing better in class,” said Professor Erickson.&nbsp;



“One potential reason for this is that field trips expand students’ world concept and expose them to new ideas. Similarly, students might be more engaged in school thanks to field trips. Students find school more exciting and want to try harder in class.”



According to the researchers, the study provides more evidence that field trips are beneficial not only for academic success but for individual character development as well.



“Parents are very interested in the academic quality of their child’s school, but they’re also interested in the social skills and social engagement habits they develop. Cultural field trips are easy ways to help facilitate both.”



Professor Erickson hopes that this study will be a resource for policymakers and school principals who are interested in improving children’s growth during the children’s school experience.&nbsp;



“Contrary to practice where schools, facing accountability pressures, trade extracurriculars for increased seat time, we found that there’s no harm to academics by taking time out of the classroom,” said Professor Erickson. “It’s possible to expose students to a broader world and have culturally enriching curriculum without sacrificing academic outcomes, and it may actually improve academic outcomes.”



The study is published in the <a href="http://jhr.uwpress.org/">Journal of Human Resources</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

School field trips linked to better student performance

In a new study led by Brigham Young University, researchers...

A massive solar eruption, which took place on February 15, 2022 and extended for millions of miles into space, has been caught on camera by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter">Solar Orbiter</a> probe, a spacecraft loaded with ten highly proficient telescopes and direct sensing instruments. According to ESA, this is the largest solar prominence eruption ever observed in a single image with the full solar disc in shot.



Solar prominences are large structures of tangled magnetic field lines which maintain dense concentrations of solar plasma suspended above the Sun’s surface, sometimes taking the shape of arching loops. They are often associated with coronal mass ejections or bursts of radiation which, if directed towards the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supermountains-were-essential-for-the-evolution-of-life-on-earth/">Earth</a>, can significantly interfere with our technological devices and daily lives. Fortunately, this time the radiation burst was not directed towards our planet, since it erupted from the opposite side of the Sun.&nbsp;



The eruption was filmed by state-of-the-art cameras located on ESA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft. According to ESA, the “Solar Orbiter is the most complex scientific laboratory ever to have been sent to the Sun.” It was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida in February 2020 in order to capture images of the Sun from closer than any spacecraft before. By flying within 26 million miles of the Sun’s surface, the Solar Orbiter is an invaluable tool for inspecting the star’s poles and for recording and investigating the Sun’s more violent outbursts, such as this latest eruption.&nbsp;



“Although our life-giving star has been an object of scientific interest for centuries, its behavior still presents a puzzle for scientists,” the ESA wrote.



“By combining observations from Solar Orbiter’s six remote-sensing instruments&nbsp;and four sets of in situ instruments, scientists hope to find answers to some profound questions: What drives the Sun’s 11-year cycle of rising and subsiding magnetic activity? What heats up the upper layer of its atmosphere, the corona, to millions of degrees Celsius? What drives the generation of the solar wind? What accelerates the solar wind to speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second? And how does it all affect our planet?”



The Solar Orbiter will work closely with NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/parker-solar-probe">Parker Solar Probe</a> – which was launched in August 2018 and is also studying the Sun’s corona – to reveal what triggers solar storms, in order to manage to better predict them in the future. While the latest solar eruption didn’t send a burst of deadly radiation towards the Earth, it is an important reminder of the unpredictable nature of the Sun and the importance of understanding and monitoring its behavior.



Image Credit: ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter team



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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

Massive solar eruption caught on camera

A massive solar eruption, which took place on February 15,...

Experts at <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">UC San Diego</a> have demonstrated that there are major differences in the psychological effects of listening to audio through headphones or speakers. According to the researchers, headphones have a much more powerful influence on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/expectations-change-perception-reality/">perception</a> and behavior of the listener. 



The average American spends about four hours per day listening to audio. Understanding which mediums are the most effective in delivering content could be very useful for advertising campaigns or remote work and training programs.



“We find that headphones produce a phenomenon called in-head localization, which makes the speaker sound as if they’re inside your head,” said study co-author Professor On Amir.



“Consequently, listeners perceive the communicators as closer - both physically and socially. As a result, listeners perceive the communicator as warmer, they feel and behave more empathically toward them and they are more easily persuaded by them.”



A new research paper combines the findings of five different studies from UC San Diego’s Rady School, UCLA and UC Berkeley. The studies involved fieldwork and online surveys with more than 4,000 participants. The collective results show that headphones make listeners feel closer to the speaker, induce feelings of empathy, and have an overall more persuasive effect that promotes action.&nbsp;



“If the aim is to have listeners feel close to the communicator, or be particularly persuaded by their message, such as in a public service announcement, managers should consider placing their advertisement or message on a program often consumed via headphones, like a podcast,” said UCLA Professor Alicea Lieberman.



“On the other hand, if a message does not require listeners to experience any feelings of closeness to the communicator, then where the message is placed (e.g., podcast vs. talk radio) would be less essential.”



In one experiment, listeners were presented with a tragic example of the dangers of texting while driving. After the presentation, participants who used headphones expressed that texting while driving was more dangerous and caused more deaths than those who listened to the same message through speakers.



In another experiment, participants were randomly assigned to listen to audio either on headphones or on speakers as a mother and daughter described what it is like to be homeless. Headphone listeners expressed more empathy toward the speakers, and felt that the mother and daughter came across as more genuine compared to people who listened to the story on speakers.



In a field study conducted on the UC San Diego campus, researchers set out to examine how headphones and speakers may influence behavior. Random people were presented with a segment of a podcast, and then were given the opportunity to write a letter in support of nominating the speaker for an award. Those who listened to the podcast via headphones were much more likely to write an award nomination letter.



“Organizations may consider this research when designing their trainings or webinars,” said Professor Juliana Schroeder of UC Berkeley. “For example, managers might encourage employees to listen to safety trainings or webinars using headphones, which may more effectively change their attitudes and behaviors, compared to listening via speakers.”



According to Professor Amir, companies could send employees headphones to encourage their use in phone conversations, as the medium could increase collaboration, especially in the era of remote work.



“Clearly, our research suggests that influencers, bloggers and podcasters want to try to make sure that people listen by headphones because that creates that attachment,” said Professor Amir. “Our research proposes that it is not only what or whom people hear that influences their judgments, decisions and behaviors, but also how they hear the message.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/organizational-behavior-and-human-decision-processes">Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes</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

Headphones have a powerfully persuasive effect on listeners

Experts at UC San Diego have demonstrated that there are...

A research team led by the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) has recently identified a population of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neurons-in-the-spinal-cord-coordinate-walking/">neurons</a> in the human brain that activates when we hear singing, but not when we hear regular speech or instrumental music. This song-specific hotspot is located in the auditory cortex, at the top of the temporal lobe, close to regions that are selective for language and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soft-music-linked-with-better-sleep-quality/">music</a>.



“The work provides evidence for relatively fine-grained segregation of function within the auditory cortex, in a way that aligns with an intuitive distinction within music,” said study lead author Sam Norman-Haignere, an assistant professor of Neuroscience at the <a href="https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/">University of Rochester Medical Center</a> and former postdoctoral fellow at MIT.



This work builds on a 2015 <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2015/neural-population-music-brain-1216">study</a> in which Dr. Norman-Haignere and his colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify a group of neurons that responded specifically to music. By analyzing the fMRI brain scans of participants as they listened to a collection of 165 different sounds, including various types of speech and music, and everyday sounds such as fingers tapping or a dog barking, the scientists managed to identify six neural populations with different response patterns, including speech- and music-selective groups of neurons.



In the new study, in order to obtain higher-resolution data, the scientists used a technique called electrocorticography (ECoG) that allows electrical activity to be recorded by electrodes placed inside the skull. This offered a much more precise map of the brain than the fMRI method, helping the researchers identify a neural response pattern that only responded to singing.



“There's one population of neurons that responds to singing, and then very nearby is another population of neurons that responds broadly to lots of music. At the scale of fMRI, they're so close that you can't disentangle them, but with intracranial recordings, we get additional resolution, and that's what we believe allowed us to pick them apart,” explained Dr. Norman-Haignere.&nbsp;



This song-specific neural population had very weak responses to either speech or instrumental music, and is thus different from the music- and speech-selective populations identified in 2015. The fact that these neurons are located at the top of the temporal lobe suggests that they may be responding to features such as the perceived pitch, or the interaction between words and perceived pitch.



The scientists are now investigating whether infants have music-selective brain areas, hoping to learn more about when and how these brain regions emerge and develop.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.069">Current Biology</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

Some neurons respond to singing, but not instrumental music

A research team led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...

Humans have always admired the grace and skill exhibited by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seafood-watch-may-red-list-fisheries-to-protect-right-whales/">fish</a> as they move through their viscous environment, and engineers have looked to them for inspiration when designing watercraft. Fish can be especially useful in developing underwater vehicles. Now, a new study published in the journal <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/journal/phf">Physics of Fluids</a> takes a closer look at fish propulsion.



Scientists at Harbin Engineering University in China have demonstrated that fish, using tightly controlled body fluctuations, create a pair of moveable vortices or high and low pressures, which allow them to move. The research lays the groundwork for the design of a new propeller.&nbsp;



"Fish need to evade predators, catch prey, and move through complex environments, and their motion advantage is unmatched by any man-made machinery. As such, many outstanding questions about the relationship between form and function in fish are biomechanically driven," wrote the researchers.



"The study of motion law, corresponding mechanical characteristics, and revelation of the hydrodynamic basis of the fish swimming process have significant implications for the optimal design of underwater vehicle propulsion methods."



Using high speed cameras and particle image velocimetry, the researchers analyzed zebra fish swimming in a tank. A fish speeds up as it bends its caudal fin to the side and then returns to a neutral position by straightening the whole body. This single tail swing, the researchers discovered, creates two vortices spinning in opposite directions.&nbsp;



On opposite sides of the body, one vortex is high pressure, while the other is low pressure. The low pressure pulls the fish, while the high pressure pushes the fish from the other direction, thus providing the zebrafish with propulsion.&nbsp;



When the fish was in a “J shaped” position with its tail bent, the high pressure area moved to the rear of the caudal fin and the low pressure area moved to the front of the caudal fin. This process repeats itself, allowing the fish to move continuously.&nbsp;



"The entire zebrafish in the swimming process is regarded as a body wave," said study co-author Yang Han. "Whether they accelerated forward or changed directions, the fish maintained a wavelike motion at all points of the body from the start of movement."



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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

Fish create moving vortices to power their propulsion

Humans have always admired the grace and skill exhibited by...

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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



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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



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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



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

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

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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[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...