Scientists have proposed a new explanation for dark matter and how the elusive substance that anchors galaxies might have taken shape in the newborn universe.



The scenario begins with weightless particles zipping through the cosmic furnace and ends with a chill population of massive pairs that could still be drifting through space today.



The work - carried out by physicists at <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dartmouth College</a> - offers predictions that astronomers can check against existing observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background, the after-glow of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/if-the-big-bang-theory-is-correct-what-exactly-happened/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Big Bang</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-particles-after-the-big-bang">Particles after the Big Bang </h2>



“Dark matter <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/existence-of-dark-matter-confirmed-by-new-study/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">started its life</a> as near-massless relativistic particles, almost like light,” said Robert Caldwell, senior author of the study. “That’s totally antithetical to what dark matter is thought to be - it is cold lumps that give galaxies their mass.”



In the model designed by Caldwell and undergraduate researcher Guanming Liang, countless high-energy quanta filled the universe just after the Big Bang. These particles, similar to the photons that carry light, hurtled about at near-light speed.



Under certain conditions, two such quanta could lock together because their spins pointed in opposite directions, rather like the attraction between the north and south poles of tiny magnets. 



The moment they bonded, the new entity’s energy plummeted and its inertia skyrocketed. Within a flash it went from a racing ray to a hefty relic.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-sudden-drop-in-energy"><a></a>A sudden drop in energy</h2>



“The most unexpected part of our mathematical model was the energy plummet that bridges the high-density energy and the lumpy low energy,” Liang explained.



The researchers liken the transformation to steam condensing into water - a hot, diffuse gas suddenly collapses into a cooler, denser phase.



“At that stage, it's like these pairs were getting ready to become dark matter,” Caldwell said. “This phase transition helps explain the abundance of dark matter we can detect today. It sprang from the high-density cluster of extremely energetic particles that was the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-planets-formed-in-the-harsh-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">early universe</a>.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cooper-pairs-as-a-clue"><a></a>Cooper pairs as a clue</h2>



The paper introduces a brand-new particle to trigger the shift, yet the authors argue that nature already provides a parallel. In certain superconducting metals, two <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massless-dirac-electrons-seen-moving-in-four-dimensions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">electrons</a> with opposite spins form so-called Cooper pairs that glide without electrical resistance.



“We looked toward superconductivity for clues as to whether a certain interaction could cause energy to drop so suddenly,” Caldwell noted. “Cooper pairs prove that the mechanism exists.”



If the analogy holds, the relic pairs born in the cosmic dawn would have cooled into a nearly pressure-free state - a key hallmark of the unseen matter whose <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/theory-gravity-exists-without-mass-so-dark-matter-does-not-exist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gravity</a> sculpts galaxies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-simple-model-for-dark-matter">A simple model for dark matter</h2>



Dark matter accounts for roughly eighty-five percent of all mass, yet the universe’s overall energy density has fallen dramatically since its first moments.



Liang points out that the new theory addresses both facts at once: “Structures get their mass due to the density of cold dark matter, but there also has to be a mechanism wherein energy density drops to close to what we see today.”



The abrupt condensation of massless quanta into massive pairs drains energy from the radiation budget while boosting the matter budget, squaring theory with observation.



“The mathematical model of our theory is really beautiful because it's rather simplistic - you don't need to build a lot of things into the system for it to work,” said Liang. “It builds on concepts and timelines we know exist.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-signature-written-in-ancient-light">A signature written in ancient light</h2>



Because the transition would have left the paired particles almost motionless, the team predicts a distinctive imprint on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-more-complicated-less-clumpy-than-it-should-be-cosmic-microwave-background-cmb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmic microwave background</a>.



The CMB has already been mapped by satellites and ground-based projects, and more precise surveys are under way at the Simons Observatory in Chile and in planned CMB Stage-4 experiments.



“It's exciting,” Caldwell said. “We're presenting a new approach to thinking about and possibly identifying dark matter.”



The researchers emphasize that their proposal is testable: if future CMB data reveal the subtle pattern predicted by their equations, the case for heavy pairs born from light-like quanta will strengthen. If not, the idea will need revision or replacement - exactly how science should proceed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-dark-matter-research">Future of dark matter research</h2>



For now the paper stakes out a middle ground between theoretical elegance and observational reach. 



Upcoming missions will either expose the predicted CMB trace or tighten the limits on how dark matter could have formed. Either outcome will refine our view of the invisible framework that holds the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-than-one-big-bang-may-explain-cosmic-expansion-without-dark-matter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmos</a> together.



Should the ancient sky bear the scar of those primordial pairings, physicists might finally glimpse how ghostly matter traded light speed for lasting weight - and reshaped the universe in the process.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.191004" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Physical Review Letters</a>.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA and M. Montes (University of New South Wales)



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Where did dark matter come from? The answer may be surprisingly simple

Scientists have proposed a new explanation for dark matter and how the elusive substance that anchors galaxies might have taken shape in the newborn universe. The scenario begins with weightless particles zipping through the cosmic furnace and ends with a chill population of massive pairs that could still be drifting through space today. The work - carried out by physicists at Dartmouth College - offers predictions that astronomers can check against existing observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background, the after-glow of the Big Bang. Particles after the...

A new study has identified connections between cold <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-climate-change-affect-extreme-weather-events/">weather</a> and deaths from heart disease, particularly in poor neighborhoods. Hot weather was also linked with excess deaths from heart disease and stroke in patients with heart conditions.



“Climate change is leading to a rise in the average global temperature but also extreme cold in some regions. More than 70,000 excess deaths occurred across Europe during the summer of 2003 due to intense heatwaves," said Professor Stefan Agewall of the University of Oslo, Norway.



"Cold weather also accounts for excess deaths and hospital admissions. Previously studies on the cardiovascular effects of heat and cold mainly used aggregated data, such as daily deaths in a city. The EXHAUSTION project used individual data, enabling us to identify vulnerable subgroups for protective interventions, thereby increasing resilience for future weather events.”



The analysis included 2.28 million adults from five cohort studies conducted in Italy, Germany, the UK, Norway, and Sweden between 1994 and 2010. Participants with and without cardiovascular disease were included.&nbsp;



The relationships between temperature and cardiovascular conditions and death were analyzed for all participants.&nbsp;



The researchers compared the temperature on the day of the week an adverse event occurred (e.g. Monday) with the temperature on the same day without an adverse event (e.g. all remaining Mondays) within the same month.



In particular, the experts found increased risks of death from cardiovascular disease and heart disease associated with cold weather.&nbsp;



With a temperature drop of 10°C, from 5°C to -5°C, there was a 19 percent greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 22 percent elevated likelihood of death from heart disease.&nbsp;



The relationship between cold temperature and death was pronounced in men and people living in poor neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the relationship between cold and new-onset heart disease was stronger among women and those older than 65.



Interestingly, heat was not related to detrimental effects in the overall study population. However, temperature rises from 15°C to 24°C were associated with 25 to 30 percent elevated risks of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke in people with heart disease.



“Clinicians can use this information to provide tailored advice to those most at risk of adverse health outcomes during hot and cold days," said Professor Agewall.



"Patients with heart conditions should stay hydrated in hot weather and adhere to advice from their cardiologist on medication use. We can all check the news for extreme heat and cold alerts and follow safety tips from local authorities.”



The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.escardio.org/">European Society of Cardiology</a>, ESC Congress 2022.



---



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

Extreme weather heightens risk of death from heart disease

A new study has identified connections between cold weather and...

Planting vegetation between roads and playgrounds can reduce the air pollution that reaches school <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breakfast-lowers-the-risk-of-behavioral-problems-in-children/">children</a>. Roadside vegetation can be designed and maintained to achieve rapid, significant and cost-effective improvement of air quality.



Exposure to traffic-related air pollution has been linked to health risks including cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological health. These risks are likely to be exacerbated in young children attending primary schools next to busy roads.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Exposure to fine particulate matter in air pollution is reportedly the largest environmental risk factor contributing to cardiovascular deaths and disease globally, and is linked to six to nine million premature deaths each year.



A team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> installed "tredges" (trees managed as a head-high hedge) at three Manchester primary schools during the summer school holidays of 2019.



One school had an ivy screen installed, another had western red cedar and the third school had a mixture of western red cedar, Swedish birch and an inner juniper hedge. A fourth school, with no planting, was used as a control.



The school with the ivy screen saw a reduction in playground particulate matter concentrations, but an increase in black carbon.&nbsp;



The school with western red cedar saw the biggest overall reductions. Almost half (49%) of black carbon and around 46% and 26% of the fine particulates emitted by passing traffic were captured by the western red cedar tredges.



The tredges also significantly reduced the magnitude and frequency of acute ‘spikes’ in air pollution reaching the playgrounds.



“Our findings show that we can protect school playgrounds, with carefully chosen and managed tredges, which capture air pollution particulates on their leaves. This helps to prevent at least some of the health hazards imposed on young children at schools next to busy roads where the localised air quality is damagingly poor, and it can be done quickly and cost-effectively,” said study co-author Professor Barbara Maher.



The western red cedar performed best because its leaves act as a filter, capturing particulate pollution. “This takes them out of the local atmosphere and therefore reduces the exposure to these traffic-sourced air pollution particulates of the children and staff in the playground.” said Professor Maher.



The researchers believe ivy was not as effective because of the smooth, waxy surface of its leaves, making it less effective at capturing and removing pollution from the air.&nbsp;



These benefits are not just limited to schools, carefully selected and managed tredges could be used in urban areas to reduce the damaging health impacts of exposure to traffic pollution.&nbsp;



The study was supported with funding from Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester, and Groundwork Greater Manchester which installed the tredges and ran ‘citizen science’ workshops.&nbsp;



"We were keen to be part of this study as Manchester seeks to embrace innovation in our efforts to become a greener city with cleaner air and tackle climate change," said Councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Environment for Manchester City Council.



"We note these positive findings with interest and will consider how we can use the lessons from this project to make further targeted use of green infrastructure in the city."



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18509-w">Scientific Reports</a>



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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

Plants on playgrounds help protect children from air pollution

Planting vegetation between roads and playgrounds can reduce the air...

Each year on August 26, <a href="https://www.nationaldogday.com/">National Dog Day</a> (NDD) is recognized worldwide as a time to raise awareness about adopting dogs who are currently in shelters.&nbsp;



The holiday was first established in 2004 by pet advocate Colleen Paige. August 26th is a significant date - when Colleen's family adopted her first dog "Sheltie" from the local animal shelter.



A recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-09140-w">study</a> from <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en">Utrecht University</a> revealed that shelter dogs have elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol.&nbsp;



"Dogs can suffer from chronic stress in environments that are sub-optimal to their needs, such as in many kennel environments," wrote the study authors. "Chronic stress may exceed the animals’ adaptive capacity and thus, threaten its welfare state."



"Chronic stress may even elicit medical and behavioral problems in the long term. Therefore, to improve canine welfare, reliable and feasible non-invasive indicators of long-term stress levels need to be evaluated."



According to lead researcher Janneke Van der Laan, even if a shelter is organized in the best possible way, there are still stress factors, such as crowds of other dogs and not being able to go outside as often as usual.



Fortunately, the researchers found that when dogs were adopted into new homes, their cortisol and stress levels rapidly returned to normal.&nbsp;



"National Dog Day celebrates all dogs, mixed breed and pure. Our mission is to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year and acknowledges family dogs and dogs that work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort," says NDD.



"Dogs put their lives on the line every day - for personal protection, for law enforcement, for the disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and pulling victims of tragedy from wreckage, now they're detecting cancer and seizures - things even humans cannot do."



National Dog Day is against laws that either regulate or ban certain dog breeds. "Dogs should not have to lose their lives because of the atrocities they have been forced to endure at the hands of man", says Colleen Paige.



If you would like to join the National Dog Day family and become a rescue partner, you can find more information <a href="https://www.nationaldogday.com/rescuemembership">here</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

National Dog Day: All dogs should live a safe, happy life

Each year on August 26, National Dog Day (NDD) is...

New Zealand’s Māui dolphin is the world’s most endangered marine dolphin. New research shows that the species changed its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-can-adjust-to-new-diets-very-quickly/">diet</a> during the past 30 years.&nbsp;



For the study, scientists checked tiny skin samples collected between 1993 and 2020 to analyze microchemical markers that are associated with diet.



The results showed the dolphins’ meals became less diverse from 2008. During this time, a marine sanctuary restricted fishing in their habitat, which stretches along 40 kilometres of Tamaki Makaurau’s west coast.



The Marine Mammal Sanctuary was established on the west coast of the North Island in 2008, and expanded in 2020.



“We think that the sanctuary increased the amount of food available to the dolphins,” said study lead author Courtney Ogilvy, a PhD student at Waipapa Taumata Rau, <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.html">University of Auckland</a>. “That meant they were able to get more of their preferred prey, and not work so hard to get many different types of food.”



Māui dolphins typically eat fish smaller than 10 centimetres in length, dining on species such as ahuru, red cod and sprats. A temporary change in diet also occurred during the El Niño weather event in 2015 and 2016.



“Dramatic climate events like El Niño can change water temperatures and currents, meaning that fish from different regions can move into the dolphins’ habitat,” explained study co-author Professor Rochelle Constantine. “As you really are what you eat, this change is reflected in the microchemical markers in the dolphin’s skin.”



The researchers consider these findings good news for the Māui dolphin as they adapt to changing conditions and are able to find preferred prey. In the future, the researchers plan to investigate how climate change will alter the dolphins’ habitat.



“We know they are likely to be at their maximum thermal limit, so increasing ocean temperatures may eventually shift the distribution of the dolphins and their preferred prey,” said Professor Constantine.&nbsp;



Located only in Aotearoa, the number of Māui dolphins aged a year or older may be as few as 54, according to the latest estimate.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos">Royal Society Open Science</a>.



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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

Marine sanctuary helps Māui dolphins access food

New Zealand’s Māui dolphin is the world’s most endangered marine...

Tree rings are one of the best natural archives of past growing conditions because trees are sensitive to local climate factors, such as precipitation and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bushfires-linked-to-temperature-spikes-in-the-stratosphere/">temperature</a>. In warm, wet years, tree growth rings are usually wider while they are narrower in cold, dry years. Trees growing in subpolar regions are usually the most sensitive to temperature changes and if a good statistical match exists between recent tree growth and temperature records then the ring widths of ancient trees can be used to estimate past temperatures. 



Scientists from the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Science (RAS), and the <a href="https://urfu.ru/en/">Ural Federal University</a> (UrFU), have been making expeditions to the region of the Yamal Peninsula, north-western Siberia, for the past 40 years, collecting subfossil wood for analysis. Stepan Shiyatov, a pioneer of dendrochronology in Russia, was the first to recognize the value of the ancient trees found in this region, and to begin collecting samples systematically.&nbsp;



Since then, more than two dozen expeditions have been carried out and more than 5,000 samples of ancient tree trunks have been collected by researchers from the RAS. Dendrochronologists from the RAS have measured and analyzed the rings and, with support from colleagues at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, and from the University of Geneva, they have been able to reconstruct and characterize the summer temperatures over the past 7,638 years.&nbsp;



Approximately 2,000 samples of larch and spruce subfossils have also been dated using with the cross-dating method, which has allowed the researchers to assign, with absolute accuracy, the exact year of formation to each annual ring over the last 8,800 years. This exceptional sample of tree rings from the Yamal region, which is archived at the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology at the RAS, is now the longest existing tree-ring chronology of the Polar Regions.



The results of the analysis, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32629-x">Nature Communications</a>, show that northwestern Siberia is currently experiencing its warmest summers in the past 7,000 years. While for several millennia the temperature of the region followed a pattern of general cooling, in the 19th century there was an abrupt change and temperatures began to rise rapidly.&nbsp;



“Due to changes in the Earth's orbit we would have expected a continuous, slow and gradual decrease of incoming summer solar energy, and thus temperature, at the subpolar latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during last 8–9 millennia. However, [as] recorded by the trees growing in Yamal, this cooling trend has been interrupted in the middle of the 19th century, when temperature began to rise very quickly and reached the highest values in recent decades,” says Rashit Hantemirov, leading researcher of the Laboratories of Dendrochronology of the Ural Branch of the RAS and Natural Science Methods in the Humanities of UrFU.



Independently of the period length considered (from 30 to 170 years), the most recent period has been the warmest in the time period covered by the tree ring record. Not only has the temperature reached unprecedented levels of warmth, but also the rate of temperature increase is greater currently than it has been since the middle of the 19th century.



“The exceptionality of the modern warming is corroborated by observations that the last century was characterized by a total lack of cold extremes contrasted by the occurrence of 27 extreme warm years, 19 of which have fallen in the last 40 years,” specifies Hantemirov.



The authors of this research are confident that human activities have not only influenced climate change, but have become its major determinant, at least for north-western Siberia. They plan to continue research on tree-ring based climate reconstruction in this region as the remains of even older trees, perhaps dating back a further 2,000 years, are still present on the Yamal Peninsula. They state that the remains of such trees that lived thousands of years ago, provide an understanding of the past, which is the best foundation to assess the future.



“Thanks to international cooperation it will also be possible to use other tree-ring parameters to further precise the climate reconstructions. With colleagues from Switzerland, we are working on the analysis of the tree rings cellular structures, and together with the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, we intend to perform a climate reconstruction based on the analysis of the oxygen-18 isotope in the annual rings,” adds Hantemirov.



---



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

Global warming is the strongest in 7,000 years

Tree rings are one of the best natural archives of...

Although we are familiar with the association between smoking and lung cancer, a new study that investigates the effect of smoking on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loneliness-is-an-underestimated-threat-to-heart-health/">heart</a> structure and function is to be presented at the <a href="https://www.escardio.org/Congresses-&amp;-Events/ESC-Congress">European Society of Cardiology Congress 2022</a>. The Congress takes place between 26 and 29 August, 2022, in Barcelona, Spain. The study finds that smokers have weaker hearts than non-smokers, and that the more a person smokes, the worse his or her heart function becomes.&nbsp;



“It is well known that smoking causes blocked arteries, leading to coronary heart disease and stroke,” said study author Dr. Eva Holt of Herlev and Gentofte Hospital. “Our study shows that smoking also leads to thicker, weaker hearts. It means that smokers have a smaller volume of blood in the left heart chamber and less power to pump it out to the rest of the body. The more you smoke, the worse your heart function becomes. The heart can recuperate to some degree with smoking cessation, so it is never too late to quit.”



Tobacco kills more than eight million people each year, according to the World Health Organization. Cigarettes are responsible for 50 percent of all avoidable deaths in smokers, with half of these due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke.&nbsp;



Studies have also shown that smoking is associated with a higher risk of heart failure, and that this is often caused by a weakened heart muscle that does not pump blood around the body adequately. Where a weakened heart does not pump as much blood as it should, the cells of the body will not receive the oxygen, glucose or other nutrients they need in order to function. However, the link between smoking and heart structure and function has not yet been fully examined.



In the current study, the researchers explored whether smoking was related to changes in the structure and function of the heart in people without cardiovascular disease, as well as investigating the effect of changing smoking habits. Data from the 5th Copenhagen City Heart Study was used; this study investigated cardiovascular risk factors and diseases in the general population. A total of 3,874 participants who had no heart disease were enrolled in the study and they were categorized as current smokers, former smokers or never smokers.&nbsp;



The participants, who were aged between 20 and 99 years, were required to complete a self-administered questionnaire that asked for details of smoking history, and to estimate their pack-years, which is a measure of the number of cigarettes smoked throughout life. One pack-year is defined as 20 cigarettes smoked every day for one year.



Participants also underwent an ultrasound examination of the heart, called echocardiography, which gave information about its structure and how well it was working. The researchers compared the echocardiography measures of current smokers to those who had never smoked, while taking into account the participants’ age, gender, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diabetes status and lung function.



The average age of participants was 56 years and 43 percent of them were women. Nearly one in five participants (18.6 percent) currently smoked, while 40.9 percent were former smokers and 40.5 percent had never smoked. Compared to never smokers, current smokers had thicker, weaker and heavier hearts. In addition, less blood was pumped by the hearts of people who had high values for pack-years.



“We found that current smoking and accumulated pack-years were associated with worsening of the structure and function of the left heart chamber – the most important part of the heart," explained Dr. Holt.&nbsp;



"Furthermore, we found that over a 10-year period, those who continued smoking developed thicker, heavier and weaker hearts that were less able to pump blood, compared to never smokers and those who quit during that time.”



"Our study indicates that smoking not only damages the blood vessels but also directly harms the heart. The good news is that some of the damage is reversible by giving up.”



---



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

Smokers have weaker hearts that pump less blood

Although we are familiar with the association between smoking and...

An international team of scientists from the United States, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Spain has employed state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to provide the most complex picture yet of the reverberating consequences of land <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/north-americas-largest-mammals-were-a-casualty-of-climate-change/">mammal</a> declines on food webs over the past 130,000 years.



“While about six percent of land mammals have gone extinct in that time, we estimate that more than 50 percent of mammal food web links have disappeared,” said study lead author&nbsp;Evan Fricke, who conducted the study during a faculty fellowship at <a href="https://www.rice.edu/">Rice University</a>, and is now a research scientist at the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT). “And the mammals most likely to decline, both in the past and now, are key for mammal food web complexity.”



Complex food webs – containing all the links between predator and prey in a specific geographical area – are crucial for regulating populations in ways that allow more species to coexist, thus supporting biodiversity and stability. However, declines in animal populations has a strong impact on food webs, undermining ecosystem resilience. Although land mammal declines have been thoroughly studied in the context of the current biodiversity crisis, it is less clear how those losses have degraded the world’s food webs.



By using data on current predator-prey interactions, the scientists trained a machine learning algorithm to recognize how the traits of species influenced that one species would prey upon another. “This approach can tell us who eats whom today with 90 percent accuracy,” said study senior author&nbsp;Lydia Beaudrot, an assistant professor of Biosciences at Rice. “That is better than previous approaches have been able to do, and it enabled us to model predator-prey interactions for extinct species.”



This method offers a comprehensive global view into the food webs that linked ice age mammals, as well as on what food webs would look today if creatures such as saber-tooth cats, marsupial lions, giant ground sloths, or wooly rhinos still coexisted with surviving mammals. “Although fossils can tell us where and when certain species lived, this modeling gives us a richer picture of how those species interacted with each other,” Professor Beaudrot added.



By charting food webs changes over a long period of time, the analysis showed that food webs worldwide are collapsing due to declines in animal populations. “The modeling showed that land mammal food webs have degraded much more than would be expected if random species had gone extinct,” Dr. Fricke said. “Rather than resilience under extinction pressure, these results show a slow-motion food web collapse caused by selective loss of species with central food web roles.”



However, since many declines stem from contractions in the geographical ranges of various species, restoring those species to their historic ranges has a significant potential to reverse the declines.



“When an animal disappears from an ecosystem, its loss reverberates across the web of connections that link all species in that ecosystem. Our work presents new tools for measuring what’s been lost, what more we stand to lose if endangered species go extinct and the ecological complexity we can restore through species recovery,” Dr. Fricke concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn4012">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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Land mammal declines are unraveling food webs

An international team of scientists from the United States, Denmark,...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1343">Wildlife Society</a> has called attention to a small number of grizzly bears in southeastern British Columbia who are missing toes on their front paws due to accidental amputations caused by body-gripping traps used to catch a variety of smaller animals such as martens or weasels. While the number of bears with missing toes is not large, it is sufficient to raise concerns and call for changes in fur trapping practices.



Losing their front paw toes can cause significant problems for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-grizzly-bears-endangered/">grizzlies</a>, making it harder to dig for food or defend themselves. By discussing the issue with trappers, Indigenous communities, conservation officers, wildlife managers, and scientists, as well as comparing data from other areas close to British Columbia, the researchers identified a pattern to bear toe loss and even confirmed reports of grizzly bears that were killed with small mammal body-gripping traps still on their feet.



To test their theory, they set up four traps – rigged so they could trigger but not fully close – and monitored them with remote cameras for two weeks. The observations revealed that grizzly bears visited all four traps, and sprung two of them. 



“Even with the small sample, it was clear that baited traps attracted bears and that bears set off the traps to get the food. We have pictures and videos showing the bears investigating the traps and manipulating the boxes with their paws,” said study lead author Clayton Lamb, a wildlife scientist at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a>.&nbsp;



According to the scientists, it is not the initial snap of the trap that causes bears to lose their toes, but the prolonged duration of the trap stuck on their foot, which leads to infection and ultimately necrosis.



To avoid as much as possible such incidents, Dr. Lamb and his colleagues suggest an official delay of the beginning of the marten and weasel trapping season from November to December to buy the bears time to fully hibernate. 



“Shifting the start of most trapping that coincides with the active bear season would eliminate the overlap, and trappers should generally be able to avoid accidentally catching bears,” Lamb explained. “This not only reduces the risk to the bears, but also prevents the traps from being destroyed by the bears.”



“The most viable solution to the amputated toe issue requires that bears’ feet do not enter these traps at all,” he added. “The solutions we present have various pros and cons, and we hope this work can help policy-makers choose a solution that will resolve the amputated toe issue while ensuring trappers continue to have the important opportunity to trap furbearers.”



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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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Changes in fur trapping needed to protect grizzly bears

A new study published in the journal Wildlife Society has...

While ultra-processed foods are convenient, low cost, and ready-to-eat, these processed substances (oils, fats, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/woodpeckers-and-other-birds-can-taste-sugar-but-how/">sugars</a>, starch, protein isolates) contain little or no whole food. The products are a result of extensive "physical, biological, and chemical processes" that include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers and other cosmetic additives.



A team of researchers at <a href="https://www.fau.edu/">Florida Atlantic University</a>’s <a href="http://med.fau.edu/">Schmidt College of Medicine</a> set out to investigate whether individuals who consume high amounts of ultra-processed foods experience adverse mental health symptoms including depression, anxious days, and mentally unhealthy days. The team measured the frequency of these symptoms in 10,359 adults who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.



The experts used the NOVA food classification system, which was recently adopted by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. NOVA considers the nature, extent and purpose of food processing in order to categorize foods and beverages into four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods and ultra-processed foods.



The results showed that individuals who consumed the most ultra-processed foods had statistically significant increases in adverse mental health symptoms associated with depression. These individuals also experienced more “mentally unhealthy" and “anxious” days.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, these findings can be applied to the entire United States, as well as to other Western countries with similar ultra-processed food intakes.



“The ultra-processing of food depletes its nutritional value and also increases the number of calories, as ultra-processed foods tend to be high in added sugar, saturated fat and salt, while low in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals,” said study co-author Dr. Eric Hecht.



“More than 70 percent of prepresent about 60 percent of all calories consumed by Americans. Given the magnitude of packaged foods in the U.S. are classified as ultra-processed food and exposure to and effects of ultra-processed food consumption, our study has significant clinical and public health implications.”



According to the <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/">National Institute of Mental Health</a>, nearly one in five adults live with a mental illness. Mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety, are leading causes of morbidity, disability and mortality.



This research was funded in part by the Bertarelli Foundation. It is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition">Public Health Nutrition</a>.



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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

Ultra-processed foods can make you feel mentally unwell

While ultra-processed foods are convenient, low cost, and ready-to-eat, these...

Only four species of manatees, or “sea cows,” remain on Earth - all of which are vulnerable to extinction. Fossil evidence suggests that many different kinds of sea cows lived in the past, located along the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-temperatures-are-transforming-arctic-coasts/">coasts</a> of every continent but Antarctica. A new paper offers the most complete story yet of these unique creatures’ ancestry.



“The earliest known fossil sea cows are about 47 million years old, and those animals lived along the coasts of northern Africa in the proto-Mediterranean Sea,” said study co-author Steven Heritage of the <a href="https://lemur.duke.edu/discover/dlcmnh/">Duke Lemur Center Museum of Natural History</a>.



“Our analysis found that this first appearance was about 11 million years after the sea cow lineage diverged from their closest living relatives, the elephants.”



While modern manatees have no hind limbs and are strictly aquatic, the oldest known fossil sea cows had four limbs and could walk on land.



The study assembled the largest dataset of living and fossil species, combining genetics, anatomy, geography, and geologic ages. The team analyzed models for the ancestry of sea cows and biogeography that identify the ages and directions of their migrations.



“Our models suggest that the direct ancestors of manatees evolved within continental South America” said study co-author Erik Seiffert.



The migration of manatees into the Caribbean and&nbsp; North America was a relatively recent event. “In a sense, manatees are newcomers to these West Atlantic ecosystems,” said Seiffert.



This migration corresponds with the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, a time of plummeting global sea levels, a rapidly cooling climate, and extinctions of numerous animal species.



The ancestral sea cows later faced a steep decline and eventually disappeared. But the Western lineage from the Oligocene gave rise to many species that have persisted for tens of millions of years, sometimes living in communities of multiple species.



The analysis also found that at least three Caribbean sea cow lineages migrated into the Pacific Ocean during the Miocene epoch, between 23 and 5 million years ago, before Central and South America were connected.



One descendant was the gigantic Steller’s Sea Cow, a cold-adapted species that measured up to 33 feet. European naturalists who explored the Bering Sea during the mid-1700s observed a living Steller’s Sea Cows, which was hunted to extinction shortly thereafter.



The highest diversity of sea cow lineages occurred around 22 and 16 million years ago. Over the past nine million years, this number has dropped precipitously resulting in the few species that remain today.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/13886/">PeerJ</a>.



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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

Tracking manatee evolution over 47 million years

Only four species of manatees, or “sea cows,” remain on...

It was previously thought that beavers living an amphibious life first evolved in Eurasia. A new discovery in Montana refutes this idea, suggesting a North American origin. The research also shows that amphibious beavers date back much further than what was previously thought.&nbsp;



In a recent study, <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State</a> evolutionary biologist Jonathan Calede described the ankle bone of a 30 million-year-old beaver he named Microtheriomys articulaquaticus. This makes this aquatic beaver seven million years older than the previous oldest from France.&nbsp;



Calede explained that a lot can be learned about mammal evolution from rodents. “Look at the diversity of life around us today, and you see gliding rodents like flying squirrels, rodents that hop like the kangaroo rat, aquatic species like muskrats, and burrowing animals like pocket gophers. There is an incredible diversity of shapes and ecologies. When that diversity arose is an important question."



“Rodents are the most diverse group of mammals on Earth, and about 4 in 10 species of mammals are rodents. If we want to understand how we get incredible biodiversity, rodents are a great system to study," said Calede.



It was immediately apparent when the scientists uncovered the bones that they were from a beaver. The ankle bone was key to determining the animal’s lifestyle, and 15 measurements were taken of the bone.&nbsp;



The measurements were compared to those of 343 modern specimens from burrowing, gliding, swimming, and jumping mammals as well as other ancient beavers.



After running computer analyses, Calede determined that beavers evolved their aquatic lifestyle through exaptation, which means co-opting one structure for a new purpose.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“In this case, the adaptations to burrowing were co-opted to transition to a semi-aquatic locomotion,” said Calede. “The ancestor of all beavers that have ever existed was most likely a burrower, and the semi-aquatic behavior of modern beavers evolved from a burrowing ecology. Beavers went from digging burrows to swimming in water.”



Analysis of the beaver lineage shows that the animals in the lineage increased in size, to the point that a beaver the size of a black bear lived 12,000 years ago. Now what was once a diverse group of rodents is reduced to two species - one in North America and one in Eurasia.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos">Royal Society Open Science</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Earliest amphibious beaver lived 30 million years ago

It was previously thought that beavers living an amphibious life...

As dogs age, their brains undergo decline, just as happens with humans. This can lead to the condition known as canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD), which is characterized by changes in awareness and behaviour, and a gradual loss in the ability to remember or learn new things. It is a common disorder among senior dogs, with around one out of every three dogs over the age of 11 showing at least one clinical sign of the condition. By the age of 16, almost all dogs suffer from aspects of this doggy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/watching-tv-increases-risk-of-dementia-in-seniors/">dementia</a>.



Sadly, a great number of owners fail to discuss behavior changes in their geriatric dog with a veterinarian because they assume that these problems are a natural and untreatable aspect of aging. However, the neurodegenerative changes that occur in an older dog’s brain are progressive in nature, meaning that the sooner they are detected, the more effectively they can be corrected or, at least, slowed down.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Sarah Yarborough from the University of Washington, and colleagues, have now conducted new research into the prevalence of CCD in a large sample of companion dogs. The owners were all participants in the Dog Aging Project, a longitudinal study of aging in pet dogs in the USA. A total of 15,019 dogs were included in the sample and they were categorized according to their positions along their lifespans. A total of 20 percent of the dogs were in the last quartile of their life, 24 percent were in the third quartile, and 27 and 29 percent were in the second and first quartiles respectively.



Between December 2019 and 2020, the pet owners completed two surveys called the Health and Life Experience Survey (with information about health status and physical activity), and the Canine Social and Learned Behavior survey, which included questions to test for the presence of CCD symptoms, such as whether the dog failed to recognize familiar people or showed loss of memory. The data from these surveys indicated that 1.4 percent of dogs were classified as having CCD.



Published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, the study revealed that when considering age alone, the&nbsp;odds of a dog being diagnosed with CCD increase by 68 percent for each additional year they live beyond the age of ten. When other factors such as health problems, sterilization, activity levels, and breed type were taken into account, the odds of developing CCD increased by 52 percent for each additional year of life over the age of ten.



The researchers also noted that for dogs of the same breed, age, and health and sterilization status, the odds of CCD were 6.5 times higher in dogs that were reported by their owners as being inactive, in comparison with dogs that were reported to be active. However, the experts caution that their study does not show a causal relationship between inactivity and CCD due to its cross-sectional nature, and cognitive decline may be the factor leading to reduced activity.&nbsp;



The researchers suggest that lifespan estimates could help inform veterinarians whether to screen dogs for CCD when they are brought in for other health checks. They also conclude that further research is needed to understand CCD better.



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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

Dementia will affect most dogs if they live long enough

As dogs age, their brains undergo decline, just as happens...

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

[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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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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

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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

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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

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