The Chinese strategist Zhuge Liang, better known as Kongming, once tricked an enemy fleet into launching a barrage of arrows at empty boats padded with straw. After the volley, his soldiers collected the arrows and fired them back, winning the day with weapons supplied by the opposition. 



Twenty-one centuries later, microbiologists have uncovered a molecular echo of that famous ploy inside common gut bacteria that can defeat viruses.



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Copenhagen</a> and <a href="https://en.hzau.edu.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Huazhong Agricultural University</a> have found that E. coli carries a previously unknown antiviral system they have named “Kongming.” Like its namesake, the defense hijacks a viral enzyme to launch a counterstrike that ultimately destroys the virus.



Their work reveals a completely new immune signaling pathway in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-gut-bacteria-behave-like-vampires-to-target-human-blood/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bacteria</a>. It also widens the catalog of phage-resistance strategies and hints at applications ranging from cancer diagnostics to next-generation antibiotic alternatives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turning-viruses-against-themselves">Turning viruses against themselves</h2>



Every virus that infects bacteria, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteriophages-use-selfish-genetic-elements-as-weapons/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phage</a>, must replicate its genetic material at breakneck speed to outpace cellular defenses. Many phages therefore inject specialized nucleotide kinases, enzymes that churn out the building blocks of DNA and RNA.



The Kongming system detects that very enzyme and forces it to synthesize a different molecule altogether: a distinctive nucleotide signal known as dITP. Once made, dITP activates a protein complex, triggering a cascade that leads the bacterial cell to self-destruct.



“We’ve discovered a new antiviral signaling pathway in bacteria that, ironically, relies on a viral enzyme to produce the alarm signal that triggers defense - just like the historical Kongming, who used the production of enemy’s own arrows against them,” said Professor Rafael Pinilla-Redondo, co-author of the study.



In short, the phage hands the bacterium the very biochemical arrow that brings about its demise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bacteria-die-to-defeat-viruses">Bacteria die to defeat viruses</h2>



Suicide might sound like an odd way to survive infection, but in bacterial colonies it can be remarkably effective. 



“The bacterium sacrifices itself to stop the virus - which may sound dramatic, but it’s an incredibly effective strategy. By dying, it takes the virus down with it, preventing the infection from spreading to other bacteria in the population. It’s a bit like blowing up a bridge to stop an advancing enemy,” Pinilla-Redondo said.



Because phages must complete their replication cycles inside living hosts, the premature death of a single cell prevents the release of hundreds of viral progeny. A few sacrificial cells can protect the community - much like programmed cell death in the human immune system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-viruses-can-launch-counter-attacks">Viruses can launch counter attacks</h2>



Phages are not passive targets. The scientists observed that some viruses carry auxiliary enzymes able to degrade dITP before it reaches lethal levels, effectively cutting the alarm wires. 



“Some viruses have figured out how to get around Kongming,” noted first-author Ruiliang Zhao, a doctoral candidate in Pinilla-Redondo’s lab. “They carry special enzymes that break down the molecules needed to trigger the system. It’s their way of cutting off the cables of the alarm before it goes off.”



Such counterintelligence highlights the ongoing evolutionary arms race between microbes and their viral predators, a contest that has spawned <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crispr-gene-editing-gets-a-revolutionary-upgrade-with-new-tool/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CRISPR</a>, toxin–antitoxin modules, and now the Kongming pathway.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kongming-beyond-the-gut">Kongming beyond the gut</h2>



Although initially characterized in E. coli, genetic sleuthing revealed dozens of Kongming-like operons in soil and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/23-new-marine-bacteria-species-discovered-that-influence-global-ocean-cycles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine bacteria</a> across the globe. This suggests that the mechanism is not a niche curiosity but a broadly distributed archetype for bacteria to defeat viruses.



By mapping its genetic hallmarks, scientists can begin to predict which environmental microbes harbor similar systems. This information is critical for biogeochemical modeling and for developing phage therapies that must bypass native immunity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-therapy-blocked-by-bacteria">Therapy blocked by bacteria</h2>



The rise of antibiotic resistance has rekindled interest in treating infections with phages tailored to kill specific pathogens. Yet a therapeutic phage will fail if its target bacterium possesses a potent defense like Kongming.



“To develop effective phage therapies, we need to understand the natural immune systems bacteria use to resist viral attacks,” noted Pinilla-Redondo.



Detailed knowledge of Kongming and its viral countermeasures can guide the selection, or engineering of phages that slip past bacterial alarms, improving clinical success rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biotech-uses-for-kongming">Biotech uses for Kongming</h2>



The study’s significance is not limited to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-infectious-disease-landscape-is-changing-and-we-must-prepare/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">infectious disease</a> control. Because the Kongming effector complex responds exclusively to dITP, a non-canonical nucleotide implicated in genomic instability and certain cancers, it could serve as a molecular sensor for diagnostic assays.



“Since the Kongming immune effector complex specifically responds to dITP, it could be used to detect this non-canonical nucleotide - opening the door to interesting biotechnological applications,” Zhao said. 



Synthetic biologists may also harness the pathway to build programmable cell-death switches or precision gene-editing safeguards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-bacterial-immunity-revealed">New bacterial immunity revealed</h2>



Over the past decade, comparative genomics has uncovered an astonishing diversity of bacterial antiviral systems, yet many remain poorly understood. Kongming demonstrates how a fresh look can rewrite assumptions. 



Until now, hijacking a viral enzyme to synthesize an immune signal was a trick known only in certain viruses themselves.



The discovery shows that bacteria use viral “enemy arrows” to fight viruses, highlighting a richer immune toolkit in nature than once believed.



By turning a pathogen’s own resource into an executioner, the Kongming system offers an elegant illustration of molecular jiu-jitsu - one that not only deepens our understanding of microbial warfare but also points the way toward innovative therapies and diagnostic technologies.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads6055" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Bacteria recreate an ancient war trick to defeat viruses

The Chinese strategist Zhuge Liang, better known as Kongming, once tricked an enemy fleet into launching a barrage of arrows at empty boats padded with straw. After the volley, his soldiers collected the arrows and fired them back, winning the day with weapons supplied by the opposition. Twenty-one centuries later, microbiologists have uncovered a molecular echo of that famous ploy inside common gut bacteria that can defeat viruses. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Huazhong Agricultural University have found that E. coli carries a previously unknown...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a> in Canada has found that, contrary to popular beliefs, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-risk-linked-to-specific-environmental-pollutants/">Covid-19</a> pandemic has taken a relatively limited roll on the mental health of people around the world, suggesting that human resilience is stronger than usually thought.&nbsp;



The experts reviewed data from 137 studies in various countries involving 134 cohorts of individuals from all over the world (75 percent adults and 25 percent children and adolescents). Since most of these studies were conducted in high- or middle-income countries, further research is needed to assess Covid-19’s impact on mental health in lower-income nations.



Surprisingly, the analysis revealed that, regardless of the dramatic stories circulating in the media and other outlets, changes in mental health caused by the pandemic were minimal – a finding that held true whether the studies covered the mental health of the population as a whole or that of specific groups, such as people of particular ages, gender, or with other pre-existent health conditions.



“Mental health in Covid-19 is much more nuanced than people have made it out to be,” said study senior author Brett Thombs, a professor of Psychiatry at McGill. “Claims that the mental health of most people has deteriorated significantly during the pandemic have been based primarily on individual studies that are ‘snapshots’ of a particular situation, in a particular place, at a particular time. They typically don’t involve any long-term comparison with what had existed before or came after.”



“This is by far the most comprehensive study on Covid-19 mental health in the world, and it shows that, in general, people have been much more resilient than many have assumed,” added lead author Ying Sun, a research coordinator at the <a href="https://www.ladydavis.ca/">Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research</a> of the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.



While anxiety and suicide rates did not seem to increase in the general population during the pandemic, depression symptoms worsened by minimal to small amounts in older adults, university students, or people belonging to sexual or gender minority groups. Moreover, women often tended to experience a worsening of mental health symptoms, possibly due to multiple family responsibilities, working in health care or elder care, or, in some cases, family violence.



“This is concerning and suggests that some women, as well as some people in other groups, have experienced changes for the worse in their mental health and will need ongoing access to mental health support,” said co-author Danielle Rice, an assistant professor of Psychiatry at <a href="https://www.mcmaster.ca/">McMaster University</a>. “The Canadian federal and provincial governments along with governments elsewhere in the world have worked to increase access to mental health services during the pandemic, and should ensure that these services continue to be available.”



Further research is needed to examine mental health across different time periods in the pandemic, and to clarify what governments and health agencies can do to ensure that scientists have better-quality and more timely mental health data as the pandemic continues to affect many parts of the world.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-074224">BMJ</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



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What was the mental health toll of the pandemic?

A new study led by McGill University in Canada has...

Little,Girl,Playing,At,The,Woods.

Since anxiety and depression among school-aged children and teenagers in the United States are currently at an all-time high, in 2021 child and adolescent mental health was declared a national emergency. Although many possible causes are thought to contribute to this worrisome situation, a new study published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.02.004">Journal of Pediatrics</a> has argued that a decades-long decline in opportunities for children and teens to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/children-who-play-team-sports-have-fewer-mental-health-problems/">play</a>, roam, and engage in various activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults may have been a critical factor in the current mental health crisis, leading to record levels of anxiety, depression, and even suicide among young people.



“Parents today are regularly subject to messages about the dangers that might befall unsupervised children and the value of high achievement in school,” said study co-author David Bjorklund, a professor of Psychology at the <a href="https://www.fau.edu/">Florida Atlantic University</a> (FAU).&nbsp;



“But they hear little of the countervailing messages that if children are to grow up well-adjusted, they need ever-increasing opportunities for independent activity, including self-directed play and meaningful contributions to family and community life, which are signs that they are trusted, responsible, and capable. They need to feel they can deal effectively with the real world, not just the world of school.”



Moreover, children’s freedom to engage in activities that involve a certain degree of risk and personal responsibility (such as climbing trees), which can help protect children from developing phobias and reduces future anxiety by boosting self-confidence in dealing with possible emergencies, has also declined over the past few decades, contributing to the ongoing mental health problems today’s children face.



According to the experts, the increased school time and pressure to achieve may have impacted children’s mental health not only by detracting from time and opportunities to engage in independent activities, but also due to fear of insufficient achievement and academic failure.



To address these issues, adults’ concern for children’s safety has to be tempered by recognizing that, as children grow, they need increasing opportunities to manage their own activities independently.



“Unlike other crises, such as the COVID epidemic, this decline in independent activity, and hence, mental wellbeing in children has crept up on us gradually, over decades, so many have barely noticed it. Moreover, unlike other health crises, this one is not the result of a highly contagious virus, but rather the result of good intentions carried too far – intentions to protect children and provide what many believed to be better (interpreted as more) schooling, both in and out of actual schools,” Bjorklund concluded.



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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



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Independent play is good for children’s mental health

Since anxiety and depression among school-aged children and teenagers in...

The southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), also known as the California sea otter, is a threatened subspecies of marine predator that inhabits the coastal waters of central California. Before legal protection of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-bird-species-are-less-competitive/">species</a> was introduced, sea otters were hunted for their fur and their populations plummeted. It is estimated that only 50 individuals of this subspecies remained 1n 1911, when hunting was first prohibited. Since then, their numbers have increased slowly, although they remain endangered.



Sea otters are ecologically important because they prey on marine species that graze algae and kelp. Otter foraging keeps the kelp forests in balance and prevents them from being overgrazed. In the absence of sea otters, sea urchins and other herbivorous invertebrates graze kelp forests to the ground, leaving barren and depauperate ecosystems. The small size of the sea otter population (around 3,000 individuals) means that the subspecies is still threatened and needs all the help it can get.



The <a href="https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/">Monterey Bay Aquarium</a> has a sea otter surrogacy program that helps pair stranded pups with non-releasable female otters, with the aim of preparing the pups to be reintroduced into the wild. In a study published in the journal Biological Conservation, Aquarium researchers have evaluated the success of the program’s methods to help identify approaches that maximize the chances of successful release of young otters and contribute to the recovery of the species.



“These findings describe everyday, life-threatening challenges experienced by sea otter pups, and help us identify optimal conditions for returning orphaned otters to the wild, where they may benefit population and ecosystem recovery,” said lead author Teri Nicholson, Senior Research Biologist for Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Program. “Because of our surrogate females’ strong nurturing behavior, three-quarters of the orphaned pups in our program reacclimate to the wild after release. What we are learning from this study will increase this success.”



The Program makes use of the fact that female sea otters demonstrate a natural tendency to behave maternally towards orphaned young otters, even when in captivity. These pups learn to groom, socialize, avoid humans, and forage on a variety of hard-shelled invertebrates (including mussels, clams, crabs, and urchins), skills that are essential for surviving in the wild. Over 20 years, the Program has released 64 pups, with a survival rate comparable to that of wild populations.&nbsp;



Along the way, the researchers have learned which approaches maximize the rate of success. In the current study, Nicholson and her colleagues examine 34 key rehabilitation components that make up the five phases of a stranded pup’s journey to release: stranding, stabilization, surrogacy, pre-release and release. The researchers determine the modifications that would contribute most to improving successful outcomes in the wild. These results will inform decisions about when and where to release sea otters within the species’ historical range, in order to maximize their chances for survival.



The results also form a foundation for other aquariums that may wish to start a similar program. For example, the Aquarium of the Pacific joined the surrogacy program in 2020 and has been building a specialized area for pairing stranded sea otter pups with surrogate mothers.



“By sharing more details about sea otters within our program, and our common challenges, we hope to inspire stronger connections with these wildlife populations and stewardship of our shared ocean environment,” Nicholson said.



The study highlights the following key conclusions:



<ul><li>Surrogacy draws from the natural behavior and adaptability of sea otters, resulting in 75 percent success reacclimating orphans to the wild, regardless of their stranding age, origin, early development, surrogate mother idiosyncrasies, weaning age, and pre-release conditioning.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Release conditions – such as favorable seas and mild weather – represented the strongest modeled drivers of success.</li><li>Low daily swimming distances by released individuals, and less competitive local population dynamics were additional factors that contributed to success.</li><li>Comparable success rates among a variety of sites and habitats, such as estuary seagrass meadows and open-coast kelp forests, demonstrate the potential for broader application of these methods throughout California, where release conditions are favorable.</li></ul>



Successful surrogacy methods can give orphaned pups another chance at survival in the wild, which helps benefit wild populations and restore coastal ecosystems. For this reason it is important to evaluate the outcomes to develop the most successful strategies for rearing and releasing the young otters.&nbsp;



The results of this study may also be applied to the recovery of other threatened or endangered species, and may provide a blueprint for nature-based solutions that strengthen ecosystem resilience in the face of increasing impacts from climate change.



“Our surrogacy program is effective, and results from this study build our confidence that we’ll be able to increase the number of animals we can return to the wild through key partnerships,” said Jess Fujii, the sea otter program manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. “The study also provides valuable insights for when and where we can release rescued otters with the best chance of success.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Strong maternal drive helps sea otters survive

The southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), also known as...

By using data collected in the context of INTERSTROKE – a global study of 26,877 adults with an average age of 62, spanning 32 countries and aiming to clarify the risk factors for stroke in different regions of the world - a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.universityofgalway.ie/">University of Galway</a> in Ireland has found that people with symptoms of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-media-causes-depression-in-adults-too/">depression</a> were more likely to suffer an acute stroke and have a worse recovery afterwards.



“Depression affects people around the world and can have a wide range of impacts across a person’s life,” said lead author Robert Murphy, a consultant Stroke Physician and researcher at the College of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences at Galway.



“Our study provides a broad picture of depression and its link to risk of stroke by looking at a number of factors including participants’ symptoms, life choices, and antidepressant use. Our results show depressive symptoms were linked to increased stroke risk and the risk was similar across different age groups and around the world.”



After adjusting for other risk factors, including age, sex, education, physical activity, and various lifestyle factors, the experts found that people with depressive symptoms before stroke had a 46 percent increased risk of stroke compared to those with no symptoms, with the risk of stroke increasing proportionally with how many depressive symptoms participants had. For instance, participants who reported three to four symptoms and those who reported one or two symptoms had 58 and 35 percent higher risk, respectively, in comparison to those with no such symptoms. In addition, although participants with symptoms of depression did not seem more likely to have more severe strokes, they were more likely to experience worse functional outcomes one month after the stroke than those without symptoms.



“The goal of INTERSTROKE is to better understand the importance of risk factors for stroke in different regions of the world and impact of stroke. In the INTERSTROKE study we have previously examined the roles of hypertension, alcohol, lipids, and psychosocial stress as global determinants of stroke risk,” said senior author Martin O’Donnell, a professor of Neurovascular Medicine at Galway.



“The current analysis provides deeper insights into the association of depressive symptoms with stroke risk, reporting an increased risk. These analyses suggest that effective identification and management of depression may also be associated with reduced stroke risk, although the observational nature of the study does not permit definitive conclusions.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000207093">Neurology</a>.



—



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



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Depression increases the risk of stroke

By using data collected in the context of INTERSTROKE –...

A,Volunteer,Collects,Garbage,On,A,Muddy,Beach.,Close-up.,The

According to an increasing number of studies, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-making-the-ocean-more-acidic/">plastic pollution</a> is one of the main threats the world’s oceans and their ecosystems are currently facing. While previous research has focused primarily on Northern Hemisphere oceans and areas near the most industrialized nations, a recent global dataset of ocean plastic pollution between 1979 and 2019 has revealed a fast and unprecedented worldwide increase in ocean plastics since 2005. Better understanding plastic accumulation in oceans across the globe could provide a critical baseline to help address this major form of pollution.



The experts examined data on ocean-surface-level plastic pollution collected between 1979 and 2019 from 11,777 stations across six marine regions (North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Mediterranean, and Indian). While a relative lack of data from 1979 to 1990 prevented reliable trend analysis during this period, and between 1990 and 2004 plastic levels showed fluctuations with no precise trend, from 2005 to 2019 ocean plastic abundance and distribution significantly and rapidly increased worldwide, with an estimated 85 to 358 trillion plastic particles, weighing between 1.1 and 4.9 million tons, polluting the world’s oceans in 2019.&nbsp;



Although these findings are biased towards trends in the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans, where the majority of data was collected, the rapid increase in plastic pollution since 2005 suggests a sustained, global growth of plastic production, as well as possible changes in waste generation and management. According to the researchers, without widespread policy changes, the rate at which plastics enter our oceans may increase by 2.6 times by 2040. To prevent this, a legally binding international policy intervention to minimize the ecological, economic, and social damage of marine plastic pollution is urgently needed.



“We’ve found an alarming trend of exponential growth of microplastics in the global ocean since the millennium,&nbsp;reaching over 170 trillion plastic particles. This is a stark warning that we must act now at a global scale.&nbsp;We need a strong, legally binding UN Global Treaty on plastic pollution that stops the problem at the source,” concluded lead author Marcus Eriksen, the research director and co-founder of the <a href="https://www.5gyres.org/">5 Gyres Institute</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281596">PLoS ONE</a>.



—



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



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Unprecedented increase in global ocean plastic pollution since 2005

According to an increasing number of studies, plastic pollution is...

By using the <a href="http://almaobservatory.org/en/home/">Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array</a> (ALMA) – an array of radio telescopes in northern Chile – an international team of astronomers has detected gaseous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-water-older-sun/">water</a> in the planet-forming disc around the star V883 Orionis, located about 1,300 light-years away from Earth. This water carries a chemical signature which helps scientists explain the journey of water from star-forming gas clouds to planets, supporting the hypothesis that water on Earth is even older than our Sun.



Scientists have long known that, when a cloud of gas and dust collapses, it forms a star at its center, while material from the cloud also forms a disc around the star. Over a few million of years, the matter in the disc clumps together to form asteroids, comets, and eventually planets. Although the journey of water from clouds to young stars – and later on from comets to planets – has previously been observed, the link between the young stars and comets remained a mystery.



“V883 Orionis is the missing link in this case. The composition of the water in the disc is very similar to that of comets in our own Solar System. This is confirmation of the idea that the water in planetary systems formed billions of years ago, before the Sun, in interstellar space, and has been inherited by both comets and Earth, relatively unchanged,” explained study lead author John Tobin, an astronomer at the <a href="https://public.nrao.edu/">National Radio Astronomy Observatory</a>.



Although water usually consists of two hydrogen atoms linked to one oxygen atom, the water examined in this study was a slightly heavier version, in which one hydrogen atom is replaced with deuterium (a heavy isotope of hydrogen). Since simple and heavy water form under different conditions, their ratio can be used to find out when and where the water was formed. For example, in some comets from our Solar System, this ratio is similar to that in water on Earth, suggesting that comets may have delivered water on our planet.



However, since most of the water in planet-forming discs is frozen, observing it from Earth is challenging. While gaseous water can be easily detected due to the radiation emitted by molecules as they spin and vibrate, this is more complicated when the water is frozen and the movement of molecules is more constrained. Although gaseous water can usually be found toward the center of the discs, closer to the star where it is warmer, these regions are often hidden by the dust disc itself, and they are also too small to be reliably observed with telescopes.



Fortunately, since the V883 Orionis disc is unusually hot, it contains vast amounts of gaseous water – at least 1,200 times the amount of water in all the Earth’s oceans - that scientists managed to detect, examine its composition, and map its distribution within the disc. In future studies, by employing even more performant technology, the researchers hope to provide a clearer picture of how water travels all the way from star-forming clouds to solar systems.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05676-z">Nature</a>.



—



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



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How does water travel through our solar system?

By using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) – an...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-geese-adapt-by-finding-a-new-migratory-route/">Arctic</a> is warming faster than the global average and scientists have been measuring the effects. While most research has focused on melting permafrost, retreating glaciers and shrinking sea ice, it is likely that the rivers are also changing. The Arctic is home to many large rivers that carry water from the seasonal melting of glaciers and ice, so it is likely that they will be affected by atmospheric temperature changes.&nbsp;



An international team of researchers has now conducted an investigation into the impact of climate change on large rivers in Arctic Canada and Alaska. The experts analyzed a collection of time-lapsed satellite images of river courses stretching back 50 years and compared the changes. The images covered more than a thousand kilometers of riverbanks along the edges of 10 large Arctic rivers in the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada, as well as in Alaska. These watercourses included the Mackenzie, Porcupine, Slave, Stewart and Yukon.



Study lead author Dr.&nbsp;<a href="https://eegs.ok.ubc.ca/about/contact/alessandro-ielpi/">Alessandro Ielpi</a> is an assistant professor with the University of British Colombia Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. The research was conducted with Dr. Mathieu Lapôtre at Stanford University, Dr. Alvise Finotello at the University of Padua in Italy, and Université Laval’s Dr. Pascale Roy-Léveillée.



The researchers, who aimed to understand how atmospheric warming is affecting Arctic rivers that flow through the permafrost, were somewhat surprised by the results they obtained.&nbsp;



“The western Arctic is one of the areas in the world experiencing the sharpest atmospheric warming due to climate change,” said Dr. Ielpi. “Many northern scientists predicted the rivers would be destabilized by atmospheric warming. The understanding was that as permafrost thaws, riverbanks are weakened, and therefore northern rivers are less stable and expected to shift their channel positions at a faster pace.”



Although this assumption of faster channel migration due to climate change has dominated the scientific community for decades, it has never been tested in the field. Dr. Ielpi and his colleagues designed their research to identify exactly how the river courses have changed over the past five decades.



“We tested the hypothesis that large sinuous rivers in permafrost terrain are moving faster under a warming climate and we found exactly the opposite,” he said. “Yes, permafrost is degrading, but the influence of other environmental changes, such as greening of the Arctic, counteracts its effects. Higher temperatures and more moisture in the Arctic mean the region is greening up. Shrubs are expanding, growing thicker and taller on areas that were previously only sparsely vegetated.”



The increased river bank vegetation, or shrubification, has had the effect of stabilizing the banks and reducing the rate at which they shift, even though the frozen ground around the river banks is slowly melting.&nbsp;



“The dynamics of these rivers reflect the extent and impact of global climate change on sediment erosion and deposition in Arctic watersheds,” wrote the study authors. “Understanding the behavior of these rivers in response to environmental changes is paramount to understanding and working with the impact of climate warming on Arctic regions.”



Dr. Ielpi stresses the importance of monitoring riverbank erosion and channel migration around the globe, not only in the Arctic. This method can be used to understand the effect of climate change on rivers everywhere. As part of the current research, a dataset of rivers found in non-permafrost regions and representative of warmer climates in the Americas, Africa and Oceania was also analyzed. Those rivers migrated at rates consistent with what was reported in previous studies, unlike the rivers studied in the Arctic.



“We found that large sinuous rivers with various degrees of permafrost distribution in their floodplains and catchments, display instead a peculiar range in migration rates,” said Dr. Ielpi. “Surprisingly, these rivers migrate at slower rates under warming temperatures.”



The time-lapse analysis showed that the sideways migration of large, sinuous Arctic rivers has decreased by about 20 percent over the last half-century.



“The migration deceleration of about 20 percent of the documented Arctic watercourses in the last half century is an important continent-scale signal. And our methodology tells us that 20 percent may very well be a conservative measure,” explained Dr. Ielpi. “We’re confident it can be linked to processes such as shrubification and permafrost thaw, which are in turn related to atmospheric warming."



“Scientific thinking often evolves through incremental discoveries, although great value lies in disruptive ideas that force us to look at an old problem with new eyes. We sincerely hope our study will encourage landscape and climate scientists elsewhere to re-evaluate other core assumptions that, upon testing, may reveal fascinating and exciting facets of our ever-changing planet.”



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01620-9">Nature Climate Change</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff WriterCheck us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Climate change is transforming Arctic rivers in unexpected ways

The Arctic is warming faster than the global average and...

Changing environmental conditions could make it difficult for marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solitary-mammals-live-shorter-lives-than-social-species/">mammals</a> to find prey, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.14193">Ecology Letters</a>. The research shows how gradual reductions in prey could have profound implications for animal populations.



For female elephant seals, reproductive success depends on the ability to find prey and gain weight. Researchers at <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz</a> studied the relationships between elephant seal behavioral strategies in the open ocean, weight gain, and lifetime success at producing pups.



The findings reveal a relationship between mass gain and pup production, suggesting a tipping point at which insufficient mass gain leads to reproductive failure.



“We found that diving deeper during foraging allowed the females to gain more mass, and gaining more mass led to a marginal increase in their chances of survival and a massive increase in the number of pups they produced in a lifetime,” said Professor Roxanne Beltran.



The team used 25 years of data to investigate the influence of behavioral strategies and foraging success on survival and reproduction in female northern elephant seals. Migration activities were recorded, including where the seals went and the depth of their dives. Data collected on the beach at Año Nuevo told researchers which animals survived, how much weight they gained, and how many pups they had.



“Conceptually it makes sense that an individual would have to gain enough energy to survive and reproduce, but we were able to demonstrate how entwined these are and suggest when survival may be prioritized over reproduction,” said study co-first author Keith Hernandez.



Female elephant seals give birth to a single pup in winter. They spend four weeks on the beach nursing their pup, relying on stored energy until they can return to the ocean to feed. After the winter breeding season, they head out to sea for two months before returning to the colony to molt. Then they leave on a long migration across the North Pacific Ocean over seven to eight months.



During foraging trips, seals pursue their own strategies such as traveling different distances from the coast, diving to different depths, and targeting different prey. The researchers found that deeper diving seals migrated farther and had more energy-rich diets than shallower diving seals.



Mass gain was found to directly affect female seal reproduction. The threshold is around 205 kilograms (450 pounds): animals that gained less rarely had a pup, while those gaining more than 260 kilograms (573 pounds) almost always reproduced.



<a href="https://news.ucsc.edu/2019/09/supermoms.html">Previous research</a> has shown that a relatively small number of long-lived female elephant seals produce most pups in the colony. These “supermoms” may live as long as 23 years and produce more than 15 pups in their lifetime. The strategies that allow these moms to be so successful, however, have long been a mystery.



“We discovered that an additional 5 percent of foraging success led to a 300 percent increase in lifetime pup production due to the effects of mass gain on both survival and giving birth and raising a pup each year,” said Professor Beltran. “These findings tell us which strategies allow these long-lived mammals to succeed at their most important job, which is to stay alive and contribute to the next generation.”



After being hunted to near extinction during the 19th century, the northern elephant seal population has recently increased by about four percent each year. They do, however, face new threats. Climate change is impacting ocean environments and the fishing industry is exploring areas where elephant seals find most of their prey.&nbsp;



“Elephant seals are incredibly successful now, but that could change as their environment shifts in the coming years.” said Professor Beltran.



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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



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.

Elephant seals prioritize survival over reproduction

Changing environmental conditions could make it difficult for marine mammals...

As nearly 200 countries agreed to sign a treaty to protect the world’s oceans after a two-decade process, an international team of scientists are now calling for a similar, legally-binding treaty to assure that the Earth’s orbit will not be irreparably harmed by the future expansion of the global space industry.



Experts estimate that there are already over 100 trillion untracked pieces of old satellites currently circling our planet. Since the number of satellites is expected to increase from today’s 9,000 to over 60,000 by the end of this decade, space <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-of-pieces-of-debris-threaten-the-space-economy/">debris</a> could make large parts of Earth’s orbit unusable. While satellite technology provides a variety of social and environmental benefits, minimizing the pollution of the lower Earth orbit is urgently needed to allow further space exploration and the growth of space technology.



“The issue of plastic pollution, and many of the other challenges facing our ocean, is now attracting global attention. However, there has been limited collaborative action and implementation has been slow,” said lead author Imogen Napper, a postdoctoral research fellow investigating the sources of environmental plastic pollution at the <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">University of Plymouth</a>.&nbsp;



“Now we are in a similar situation with the accumulation of space debris. Taking into consideration what we have learnt from the high seas, we can avoid making the same mistakes and work collectively to prevent a tragedy of the commons in space. Without a global agreement we could find ourselves on a similar path.”



According to the experts, any agreement should include measures to implement producer and user responsibility for satellites and debris, and commercial costs should be taken carefully considered in order to incentivize accountability. Although several industries and countries have already began focusing on satellite sustainability, this should be enforced to include all nations planning to use the Earth’s orbit. Unless action is taken immediately, large parts of our planet’s surroundings would risk the same fate as the world’s oceans, where faulty governance has led to overfishing, habitat destruction, deep-sea mining exploration, and plastic pollution.



“Satellites are vital to the health of our people, economies, security, and Earth itself. However, using space to benefit people and our planet is at risk. By comparing how we have treated our seas, we can be proactive before we damage the use of space for future generations. Humanity needs to take responsibility for our behaviors in space now, not later. I encourage all leaders to take note, to recognize the significance of this next step and to become jointly accountable,” concluded Melissa Quinn, the head of <a href="https://spaceportcornwall.com/">Spaceport Cornwall</a>.



The call for an international treaty to address space pollution is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adg8989">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



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.

Treaty needed to protect Earth from space debris

As nearly 200 countries agreed to sign a treaty to...

Honey bees are famous for their “waggle dance," the behavior they use to tell hive mates that they have found a good source of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-people-think-insects-will-become-a-sustainable-food-source/">food</a>. The dance has several different components that indicate the distance to the food, the direction to fly and the richness of the find.&nbsp;



Although the bees combine these elements to communicate useful and quite complex information to other foragers in the hive, scientists have stopped short of calling this a “language.” After all, language is always learned, but bees are born knowing this behavior and do not have to learn it. Well, that was the thinking until the publication of a new study by researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, and UC San Diego.



The experts observed how a successful foraging bee returns to the hive and performs a waggle dance to communicate that it has located a good source of pollen, nectar or water, and provides information about the presence, quality, identity, direction and distance of the source so that nest mates can find and use it. The other foraging bees gather round the recently returned individual and watch its behavior, sometimes following in its tracks as it dances, in order to learn the details of the resource.&nbsp;



This type of learning is known as social learning, when one individual learns by observing or interacting with another. It has been shown that bees learn about details of a resource by observing the waggle dance and interacting with the dancer. However, it is not known whether young and inexperienced bees are also perhaps learning how to dance by watching the dancing individual.&nbsp;



In the new study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.ade1702">Science</a>, the researchers set out to test whether bees can use the waggle dance effectively without ever having seen it performed before by others.&nbsp;



The experts populated five experimental hives with a cohort of one-day-old bees. In some of the hives there were other foraging bees that performed waggle dances, and in others there were no waggle-dancing bees. The researchers monitored the introduced cohort until they began to show their own waggle-dance behavior and then assessed the effectiveness of this behavior.&nbsp;



“As these bees aged, we monitored the colonies until we observed the first waggle dances and then observed the same dancers 20 days later when they had more foraging and dancing experience,” said Dr. DONG Shihao, first author of the study.



The team found that young bees that had witnessed others doing waggle-dances before were better at performing the behavior themselves. Those that did not have the opportunity to follow any dances before their own first dance display produced significantly more disordered dances with larger errors in waggle angle and incorrectly encoded distance.



“When the same bees were older and had experience of dance following and dancing, they significantly reduced divergence angle errors and produced more orderly dances. However, they were never able to produce normal distance encoding,” said Dr. DONG.



The results indicate that waggle-dance behavior is not completely genetically pre-programmed. Although bees are born with the innate knowledge of how to perform the components of the dance, they refine their skills and become more proficient by learning from others. This is important because this complex communication can save foraging bees time and energy by allowing them to fly directly to a resource, rather than having to search around for it in the environment.&nbsp;



But why should honey bees use social learning to improve their waggle dancing, rather than being born with a fully programmed instinctive ability?



“Learning is a useful way to refine behaviors for local conditions. We suggest that the unique topologies of each colony’s dance floor make it advantageous for novice dancers to learn from more experienced ones. Another possibility is that experienced dancers may transmit distance encodings based on local optic flow to nest mates,” said TAN Ken of XTBG.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Honey bees refine their dancing skills by watching others

Honey bees are famous for their “waggle dance," the behavior...

In June 2021, the Pacific Northwest experienced one of its worst <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-caused-the-record-2021-heatwave-in-north-america/">heatwaves</a> in history, with Canada and the states of Washington and Oregon setting historical records of extremely high temperatures. To better understand what factors made it so severe, a team of climate scientists from the <a href="https://www.pdx.edu/">Portland State University</a> (PSU) has provided a detailed meteorological analysis of the progression of this heatwave, and compared the atmospheric conditions associated with the 2021 event with other similar historical events.



“It’s like taking the symptoms and diagnosing what it was that happened to cause something so severe to happen to the system,” said study lead author Paul Loikith, an associate professor of Geography and director of&nbsp;<a href="https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/portland-state-climate-science/home">PSU's Climate Science Lab</a>. “We looked into a bunch of different factors that have been known to drive heat waves in the region to see if they were there with this heatwave. Were they normal but way more severe, or did something unique happen that we haven’t seen before?”



The analysis revealed that, although this heatwave largely shared the same meteorological features and processes as other heatwaves in the Pacific Northwest, each aspect of it was stronger. Its main driver was a large ridge of high pressure – known as a heat dome – in which air sinks under areas of high pressure, preventing clouds from forming and maximizing solar heating during the day. One of the reasons this ridge was so strong was that a storm with an atmospheric river (a long, narrow band of water vapor which releases massive amounts of moisture) moved into Alaska a week before. Then, water vapor condensed, releasing heat that accumulated in the atmosphere and caused the ridge to further intensify.



“This was more like a wintertime ridge in its physical structure and characteristics, which are bigger than summertime ridges, but occurring just after the summer solstice, we had maximum solar heating and the ability for the air to get really, really hot,” Loikith explained.



After reaching peak strength over southern British Columbia when it was 10,000 to 15,000 feet above the surface, the ridge warmed at a rate of 10 degrees Celsius per kilometer while descending to Seattle, Portland, and Pendleton. Although the air aloft was cool by human standards, it was quite hot for that altitude, and, when it was brought down to the surface, it turned extremely hot. In addition, stronger offshore winds blowing from the land to the coast further increased the air temperatures. Interestingly, the heatwave ended abruptly when a surge of ocean air displaced the heat and moved the system eastward.



Better understanding the complexity of factors coming together to cause such extreme phenomena could help forecast similar – or even more severe - future events. “These features coming together in this way will continue to be really rare, but in the future as the climate continues to warm, you will not need as strong of a weather system to make it extremely hot by historical standards,” Loikith concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-22-0284.1">Monthly Weather Review</a>.



—



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



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.

What caused the massive Pacific Northwest heatwave?

In June 2021, the Pacific Northwest experienced one of its...

A new study from <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis</a> reveals that animals in the Brazilian Amazon are threatened by climate change and the gradual transition of the tropical rainforest into savanna, also known as savannization.&nbsp;



"Climate change will affect species persistence and distribution, particularly in high-diversity ecosystems like the Amazon. Studies predict that as temperature and deforestation increase and precipitation patterns change in the Amazon, areas along its southern and eastern borders will suffer large-scale savannization, the conversion of tropical forest to degraded savannah-like vegetation," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"Here, we aim to identify the terrestrial mammal species potentially most at risk from savannization by studying their use of natural forest and savannah habitats within four protected areas, using camera-trap surveys and community occupancy models."



The experts determined that most land-based mammals in the Brazilian Amazon, from jaguars to capybara, will struggle for survival once they lose their forest habitat. In addition, the researchers found that even animals that use both forest and savanna habitats - like pumas - are vulnerable to savannization.



“We’re losing Amazon forest as we speak,” said study lead author Daniel Rocha. “The Amazon’s biodiversity is very susceptible to climate change effects. It’s not just local; it’s a global phenomenon. We cannot stop this just by law enforcement, for example. These species are more susceptible than we realized, and even protected areas can’t protect them as much as we thought.”



While monkeys and other animals that live in trees will certainly be impacted by savannization, the UC Davis team wanted to investigate how this transition will affect land-based mammals.



The experts used camera traps to conduct surveys of 31 land-based mammal species in the southern Brazilian Amazon, which consists of both rainforest and savanna. Based on community occupancy models, the analysis revealed that only a few species preferred the savanna habitat.



Rocha pointed out that the savanna used in the modeling study is pristine - not degraded - so the negative effects of savannization among animals will likely be even stronger.



“Unfortunately, there are more losers than winners,” said Rocha, who is currently an assistant professor at Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma. “Most Amazon species, when they can choose between good forests and good savanna, they choose the forest. That’s true even for species considered ‘generalists,’ which use both habitats.&nbsp; As we lose forests, they suffer, too.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/acv.12853">Animal Conservation</a>.



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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.

Amazon animals will suffer as the rainforest turns into savanna

A new study from UC Davis reveals that animals in...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features 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

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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?

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features 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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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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

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

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

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"

[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...

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