Using ancient DNA recovered from prehistoric bones and teeth, scientists have built a 37,000‑year timeline of human infections, stretching from the icy mammoth camps of Siberia to medieval graveyards in Denmark. 



The new <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09192-8">genetic map</a> shows how early microbes began shaping human history. The scientists sequenced remains from 1,313 individuals and found genetic traces of 214 different pathogens. These range from hepatitis B viruses to the bacterium that causes plague.



The scale of the study provides an opportunity for researchers to test ideas about how culture, climate, and migration changed disease pressure over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-skeletons-hold-disease-secrets">Skeletons hold disease secrets</h2>



The study was led by evolutionary geneticist Eske Willerslev of the <a href="https://globe.ku.dk/">University of Copenhagen</a> and the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>.



“We’ve long suspected the transition to farming and animal husbandry opened the door to a new era of disease," Willerslev said. "Now DNA shows us it happened at least 6,500 years ago.” 



His team sifted through more than 400 billion sequencing reads and used chemical damage patterns to confirm which fragments truly came from ancient microbes. 



The analysis uncovered infections in roughly three‑quarters of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-decipher-the-genetic-history-of-400-medieval-skeletons/">skeletons</a>, indicating that illness was a constant companion rather than a rare ordeal. The oldest sample, dating back about 37,000 years, contained mostly oral bacteria still common today. 



The results revealed that blood-borne infections didn’t show up until people began settling down, storing grain, and living closely with sheep, goats, and cattle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farming-sparked-new-infections">Farming sparked new infections</h2>



Livestock pens and crowded villages arrived in Eurasia around 8,000 years ago, and the genomic record registers an immediate uptick in disease. 



A clear inflection point appears at 6,500 years ago, the moment when <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7563794/">zoonotic pathogens</a>, the kind that jump from animals to humans, first show up consistently.



One notorious example is <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(15)01322-7">Yersinia pestis</a>, the plague bacterium, whose oldest genetic trace dates back to about 5,500 years ago in western Russia. 



This pushes the timeline of plague back two millennia and shows the microbe shadowing early farmers long before recorded pandemics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-waves-of-new-infections">Waves of new infections</h2>



A second surge of infection follows the migration of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14507">steppe pastoralist</a> groups roughly 5,000 years ago, when horse‑drawn wagons carried people, livestock, and microbes across the continent.



Skeletons from that period revealed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stone-age-farming-population-decimated-by-plague-dna-skull/">plague</a>, relapsing‑fever spirochetes, and the parasites that cause vivax malaria.



Such waves of infection probably devastated local communities, clearing ecological space for newcomers and turning pathogens into unlikely allies of conquest.



Ancient immune‑gene data hint at strong selection beginning in the Bronze Age - a genetic fingerprint of relentless pressure from emerging pathogens.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-infections-from-animals">Human infections from animals</h2>



The catalog reveals that cowpox relatives, leptospirosis bacteria, and meat-borne yersiniosis showed up soon after pigs, sheep, and goats were domesticated. 



This finding aligns with estimates that around 60 percent of emerging infections come from animals. Close contact clearly reshaped the disease landscape.



The researchers also found skeletons that harbored two or more bugs at once, and these co-infections can worsen outcomes. An ancient Viking‑Age skull carried both hepatitis B and plague DNA, demonstrating how mixed infections may have driven sudden mortality spikes.



Curiously, no clear evidence of tuberculosis surfaced, probably because its bacteria rarely circulate in high numbers in healthy blood. But as the team notes, absence of proof doesn’t mean ancient lungs were safe - only that some microbes leave fewer traces in the molecular record.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-ancient-infections-teach-doctors">What ancient infections teach doctors</h2>



“Mutations that were successful in the past are likely to reappear,” said lead author Martin Sikora. She noted that the ancient genomes can help scientists anticipate future mutations.&nbsp;



Vaccine makers already test candidate antigens against panels of modern strains - a practice encouraged by the <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/health-product-policy-and-standards/standards-and-specifications/norms-and-standards/vaccine-standardization/regulation-and-quality-control-of-vaccines">World Health Organization</a> - and prehistoric DNA provides a deeper benchmark. Comparing lineages over millennia highlights which protein targets stay stable and which drift.



Old plague sequences, for instance, are missing the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8547695/">ymt gene</a> that helps modern strains survive in fleas. This points to the key step that turned a local infection into a global pandemic threat. 



Similar evolutionary tipping points could lurk in viruses still endemic in bats or rodents. Public‑health planners can combine the new database with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-tipping-points-how-close-are-we-to-irreversible-change/">climate</a> and land‑use models to gauge spillover risk. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pathogens-rewrote-human-genes">Pathogens rewrote human genes</h2>



The skeletal archive captures natural selection in action. It shows that human alleles linked to inflammatory responses became more common after farming took hold. 



The same alleles, still common today, now raise the risk of autoimmune disorders in industrialized nations.



Immunologists argue that this trade‑off is the cost of survival: genes that helped ancestors fight livestock‑borne bugs can misfire in cleaner modern environments. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oldest-human-dna-ever-found-tells-story-of-lost-branch-on-human-neanderthal-family-tree/">Ancient DNA</a> provides the infection history that scientists need to test that idea.



"Infectious diseases have left lasting impressions on human genomes, as selective pressures from pathogens have continuously shaped human genetic variation," wrote the researchers.



"Where and when different human pathogens first emerged, how and why they spread, and how they affected human populations are important but largely unresolved questions."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09192-8">Nature</a>.



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Ancient DNA reveals 37,000 years of hidden human infections

Using ancient DNA recovered from prehistoric bones and teeth, scientists have built a 37,000‑year timeline of human infections, stretching from the icy mammoth camps of Siberia to medieval graveyards in Denmark. The new genetic map shows how early microbes began shaping human history. The scientists sequenced remains from 1,313 individuals and found genetic traces of 214 different pathogens. These range from hepatitis B viruses to the bacterium that causes plague. The scale of the study provides an opportunity for researchers to test ideas about how culture, climate,...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> has found that there is a significant lack of awareness among both U.S. and UK populations regarding the possibility and effects of a “nuclear winter” – the potential for long-term environmental and public health consequences from any exchange of nuclear weapons.



According to the experts, detonations from nuclear exchanges would throw vast amounts of debris into the stratosphere, blocking out much of the sun for over a decade, and thus causing global drops in temperature, mass crop failure, and widespread famine. Combined with radiation fall-out, such consequences would lead to the death of millions of people in the wake of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/canada-wildfire-smoke-nuclear-war/">nuclear war</a>, including many far outside of any blast zone.



To assess their awareness of such a scenario, the researchers asked 3,000 participants in an online survey (half from the U.S. and half from the UK) to self-report on a sliding scale how much they felt they knew about a nuclear winter, and if they heard about such a possibility from contemporary media/culture, recent academic studies, or Cold War era beliefs and memories.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that only 3.2 and 7.5 percent of the participants (from UK and US, respectively) were familiar with such a phenomenon from media or culture, 1.6 percent (UK) and 5.2 percent (U.S.) from academic studies, and 5.4 percent (UK) and 9 percent (U.S.) from Cold War memories. In the event of a hypothetical Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine, fewer than one in five participants from both countries supported in-kind retaliation, with men more likely than women to back nuclear reprisal - 20.7 percent (U.S.) and 24.4 percent (UK) of men compared to 14.1 percent (US) and 16.1 percent (UK) of women.



“In 2023 we find ourselves facing a risk of nuclear conflict greater than we’ve seen since the early eighties. Yet there is little in the way of public knowledge or debate of the unimaginably dire long-term consequences of nuclear war for the planet and global populations,” said study lead author Paul Ingram, a senior research associate at University of Cambridge’s <a href="https://www.cser.ac.uk/">Center for the Study of Existential Risk</a> (CSER).



“Ideas of nuclear winter are predominantly a lingering cultural memory, as if it is the stuff of history, rather than a horribly contemporary risk. Of course, it is distressing to consider large-scale catastrophes, but decisions need to account for all potential consequences, to minimize the risk. Any stability within nuclear deterrence is undermined if it is based on decisions that are ignorant of the worst consequences of using nuclear weapons.”&nbsp;



“There is an urgent need for public education within all nuclear-armed states that is informed by the latest research. We need to collectively reduce the temptation that leaders of nuclear-armed states might have to threaten or even use such weapons in support of military operations,” he concluded.



The findings are published in a report on CSER’s <a href="https://www.cser.ac.uk/news/opinion-poll-survey-public-awareness-nuclear-winte/">website</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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Risk of nuclear winter underestimated by most people

A new study led by the University of Cambridge has...

While coastal populations all over the world are already bracing for rising sea levels, planning for measures to mitigate flooding and other possible damages has been quite difficult. This is because the latest climate projections disagree on how rapidly the world’s largest ice sheets will respond to global warming.&nbsp;



Now, a study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36051-9">Nature Communications</a> argues that an irreversible loss of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, along with a rapid acceleration of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-rise-will-cause-widespread-impacts-sooner-than-expected/">sea level rise</a>, will be imminent if global temperatures rise more than 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels.



Although melting ice sheets are likely the largest contributor to sea level rise, their behavior has been hardest to predict since the physics governing their temperature-related changes is highly complex.&nbsp;



“Moreover, computer models that simulate the dynamics of the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica often do not account for the fact that ice sheet melting will affect ocean processes, which, in turn, can feed back onto the ice sheet and the atmosphere,”&nbsp;said study lead author Jun Young Park, a doctoral student in Climate Sciences at the <a href="https://ibsclimate.org/">IBS Center for Climate Physics</a> and the <a href="https://www.pusan.ac.kr/eng/Main.do">Pusan National University</a> in South Korea.



By using a groundbreaking computer model that captures the complex relations among ice sheets, icebergs, ocean, and atmosphere, the scientists discovered that a rapid acceleration of ice sheet melting and sea level rise could only be prevented if the world reaches net zero emissions by 2060.



“If we miss this emission goal, the ice sheets will disintegrate and melt at an accelerated pace, according to our calculations. If we don’t take any action, retreating ice sheets would continue to increase sea level by at least 100 cm within the next 130 years. This would be on top of other contributions, such as the thermal expansion of ocean water,” explained study co-author Axel Timmermann, the director of the IBS Center.



While in previous studies scientists have mainly stressed the importance of subsurface ocean melting, sea ice and atmospheric circulation changes around Antarctica also play major roles in controlling the amount of ice sheet melting and subsequent sea level rise. Thus, more complex earth system models that can capture the interactions between different climate components are urgently needed, along with new observational programs.



“One of the key challenges in simulating ice sheets is that even small-scale processes can play a crucial role in the large-scale response of an ice sheet and for the corresponding sea-level projections. Not only do we have to include the coupling of all components, as we did in our current study, but we also need to simulate the dynamics at the highest possible spatial resolution using some of the fastest supercomputers,”&nbsp;Timmermann 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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Rapid acceleration of sea level rise may be unavoidable

While coastal populations all over the world are already bracing...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.shh.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History</a> has found that dogs and humans who have the strongest relationships have similar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-select-their-dogs-according-to-their-own-personality/">personalities</a>, matching on features such as levels of warmth, enjoyment of spending time outdoors, and selflessness with their possessions. However, according to the experts, owners who are overly attached to their pups may give rise to dysfunctional human-animal relationships.



The scientists reviewed 29 published articles on dog-owner relationships to clarify what personality traits lead to positive interspecies connections.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that canine personality traits associated with functional and fulfilling dog-owner relationships included energy, affection, openness, intelligence, agreeableness, and responsiveness to training. By contrast, antisocial, territorial, and destructive dogs were linked to problematic relationships with their owners.



“Openness and agreeableness of the dog could represent traits which enable them to facilitate these social interactions especially well.&nbsp;Particularly in cases where the owners do not possess these traits, they might benefit greatly from their presence in their dogs,” the authors explained.



Moreover, the researchers discovered that functional dog-owner relationships tend to be “complementary” – with both humans and animals being similarly friendly, but opposite in dominance/submissiveness traits. However, the combination of a dominant dog and a submissive owner was found to be challenging in practical ownership.



Finally, the investigation provided evidence that highly attached owners characterized by a “humanistic orientation towards the dog” could often give rise to mental issues in their pet, such as increased separation anxiety.&nbsp;



“That highly attached owners often owned dogs with separation related problems might be because the owners themselves are very worried about the imminent spatial separation, which in turn creates a negative feeling in the dogs,” the authors wrote.



“While many studies have reported that cuteness and general appearance are among the most important purchase motives of owners, this review suggests that future owners should focus more on personality and attachment aspects in the acquisition process instead. Compatibility between owners and their dogs may help unfold advantages of dog ownership, and prevent canine behavioral problems and their adverse consequences,” they concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2023.105857">Applied Animal Behavior 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



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Dogs and their humans often share similar personalities

A new study led by the Max Planck Institute for...

The oldest European hedgehog that ever lived has been identified in Denmark. The hedgehog was alive until the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-gives-animals-a-survival-advantage-but-only-to-a-point/">age</a> of 16, which is seven years longer than the previous record holder.



Since the year 2000, hedgehog populations across the UK countryside have declined by at least 50 percent, according to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.&nbsp;



Various projects have been launched to monitor the state of wild populations, including “The Danish Hedgehog Project" led by Dr. Sophie Lund Rasmussen of the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a>. For the 2016 project, citizen scientists were asked to collect any dead hedgehogs they could find.



The goal of the research was to investigate the typical life expectancy of hedgehogs in Denmark. Overall, 697 specimens were collected by more than 400 volunteers.&nbsp;



A subsequent analysis revealed that the oldest hedgehog in the sample was 16 years old - the oldest scientifically documented European hedgehog ever found. In addition, two individuals were found to have lived for 11 and 13 years.&nbsp;



By contrast, the average age of the hedgehogs was only around two years. The researchers determined that 56 percent of the hedgehogs had been killed when crossing roads, 22 percent died at a rehabilitation center, and 22 percent died of natural causes.&nbsp;



"Although we saw a high proportion of individuals dying at the age of one year, our data also showed that if the individuals survived this life stage, they could potentially live to become 16 years old and produce offspring for several years," said Dr. Rasmussen.



"This may be because individual hedgehogs gradually gain more experience as they grow older. If they manage to survive to reach the age of two years or more, they would have likely learned to avoid dangers such as cars and predators."



‘The tendency for males to outlive females is likely caused by the fact that it is simply easier being a male hedgehog. Hedgehogs are not territorial, which means that the males rarely fight. And the females raise their offspring alone."



The researchers tested tissue samples to examine whether inbreeding had a negative impact on the life expectancy of the hedgehogs. The team was surprised to find that this was not the case.&nbsp;



"Sadly, many species of wildlife are in decline, which often results in increased inbreeding, as the decline limits the selection of suitable mates. This study is one of the first thorough investigations of the effect of inbreeding on longevity," said Dr. Rasmussen.



"Our research indicates that if the hedgehogs manage to survive into adulthood, despite their high degree of inbreeding, which may cause several potentially lethal, hereditary conditions, the inbreeding does not reduce their longevity. That is a rather groundbreaking discovery, and very positive news from a conservation perspective."



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13040626">Animals</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



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World’s oldest European hedgehog lived in Denmark

The oldest European hedgehog that ever lived has been identified...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucla.edu/">University of California, Los Angeles</a> (UCLA) has found that global atmospheric <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-asteroid-ice-age/">dust</a> (microscopic airborne particles from desert dust storms) has a small, yet significant cooling effect on our planet, which has hidden the full amount of warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. According to the experts, the amount of desert dust has grown by 55 percent since the mid-19th century, thus increasing its cooling effect.



While some of the effects of atmospheric dust contribute to global warming, others counteract it - for instance, by scattering sunlight back into space and dissipating high clouds that warm the planet. Overall, the researchers estimate that dust has a cooling effect.



“We show desert dust has increased, and most likely slightly counteracted greenhouse warming, which is missing from current climate models,” said study lead author Jasper Kok, an atmospheric physicist at UCLA. “The increased dust hasn’t caused a whole lot of cooling - the climate models are still close - but our findings imply that greenhouses gases alone could cause even more climate warming than models currently predict.”



Besides its atmospheric interactions with sunlight and cloud cover, when dust falls back on the Earth’s surface, it can darken snow and ice, making them absorb more heat. In addition, dust also cools the planet by depositing nutrients such as phosphorous or iron into the oceans, which support the growth of phytoplankton that absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, thereby causing a net cooling effect.



“We want climate projections to be as accurate as possible, and this dust increase could have masked up to eight percent of the greenhouse warming,” Kok explained. “By adding the increase in desert dust, which accounts for over half of the atmosphere’s mass of particulate matter, we can increase the accuracy of climate model predictions. This is of tremendous importance because better predictions can inform better decisions of how to mitigate or adapt to climate change.”



Although atmospheric desert dust levels have increased since the pre-industrial period, this trend has not been steady, and, since there are so many natural and human-caused variables which can cause dust levels to increase or decline, scientists cannot accurately project how the amount of dust will change during the following decades. Moreover, while the increase in atmospheric dust has somewhat masked the full potential of greenhouse gases to warm the climate, the findings do not show that existing climate models are wrong.



“The climate models are very useful in predicting future climate change, and this finding could further improve their usefulness,” Kok concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-022-00379-5">Nature Reviews Earth &amp; Environment</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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Atmospheric dust has been masking greenhouse warming

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

Scientists have been naming newly discovered creatures after fantasy concepts for decades, including the dracula parrot, dementor wasp and the goblin shark. However, no fantasy author has enjoyed as much scientific success as J. R. R. Tolkien, with over 70 real-life species discoveries being named after the author's legendarium spanning books such as “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” Now, another newly discovered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/u-s-biodiversity-crisis-more-than-a-third-of-species-are-threatened/">species</a> has been named after Tolkien’s work - the Hyloscirtus tolkieni.



Hyloscirtus tolkieni was discovered through a study on stream frogs that live in the Río Negro-Sopladora National Park in southeastern Ecuador. Stream frogs can be found in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela. These habitats provide the creatures with the pure rivers, streams, riparian vegetation, and tadpole development spots in the rocky breaks of the Andes river flows needed for survival. The discovery of H. tolkieni was a product of expeditions in unstudied forest areas of Ecuador that have been running since 2020.&nbsp;



“For weeks, we explored different areas of the Río Negro-Sopladora National Park, walking from paramo grasslands at 3,100 meters elevation to forests at 1,000 meters," said study co-author Juan Carlos Sánchez Nivicela. “We found a single individual of this new species of frog, which we found impressive due to its coloration and large size."



This impressive coloration includes the frog’s grayish-green back, yellow spots, black specks, and pink and black iris. The frog has a black-spotted golden yellow pattern on its throat, flank and belly, as well as black bars, spots and stripes on its fingers and toes. Due to its majestic colors and fantasy-like surroundings, researchers named the frog Hyloscirtus Tolkieni after their favorite fantasy author, J. R. R. Tolkien. 



“The new species of frog has amazing colors, and it would seem that it lives in a universe of fantasies, like those created by Tolkien," explained study co-author Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia. “The truth is that the tropical Andes are magical ecosystems where some of the most wonderful species of flora, funga, and fauna in the world are present."



Despite the exciting new discovery, only one individual frog was identified from a single locality, so more information will be needed to assess extinction risks and conservation status. The authors agreed that further study and monitoring is urgent to learn more about the species’ ecology, population size and dynamics.&nbsp;



The researchers also noted that unexplored sites should be analyzed for additional populations, emphasizing the necessity to assess their long-term conservation status and whether it is being threatened by human actions.&nbsp;



“Unfortunately, few areas are well protected from the negative impacts caused by humans," said Cisneros-Heredia. "Deforestation, unsustainable agricultural expansion, mining, invasive species, and climate changes are seriously affecting Andean biodiversity."



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1141.90290">ZooKeys</a>.



Image Credit: Juan Carlos Sánchez-Nivicela / Archive Museo de Zoología, Universidad San Francisco de Quito



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By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Majestic frog named after fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien

Scientists have been naming newly discovered creatures after fantasy concepts...

One of the most perplexing aspects of the COVID-19 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nature-increased-well-being-during-the-pandemic/">pandemic</a> was why some people got really ill and ended up needing hospitalization while others only got a mild case of the sniffles. In fact, while more than 6.5 million people died of this disease, some people didn’t even get infected, despite being exposed to the virus on a daily basis.&nbsp;



A lot of research has been devoted to finding reasons for this apparent unpredictability in severity, and many factors have been considered, including age, diet, vitamin deficiency, co-morbidities, living conditions, previous exposure to respiratory viruses, and balance of macrophages in the immune system.



A fascinating new study has now investigated the levels of certain environmental pollutants in the blood of a population of 154 residents of the city of Barcelona. These blood samples were taken back in 2016 for purposes other than studying COVID-19 susceptibility, and were part of the Barcelona Health Survey. Other data were collected from each participant at the time, such as information on chronic disorders (e.g., chronic bronchitis, anemia), mental health, life styles, uses of health services and preventive practices.&nbsp;



The blood samples were analyzed for levels of various organic pollutants (including persistent organic pollutants – POPs) and inorganic minerals, and participants were invited back between late 2020 and mid-2021, to be interviewed again. The researchers were interested in identifying any links between the presence in the blood of 112 different compounds, including 20 rare earth elements, and the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease severity experienced by the participants.&nbsp;



The findings, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.115419">Environmental Research</a>, reveal that people with higher blood levels of certain pollutants had a higher risk of becoming infected and of developing the disease. The risk of developing COVID-19 was associated with levels DDD and DDE (derivatives of the pesticide DDT), as well as lead, thallium, ruthenium, tantalum, benzofluoranthene and manganese. High levels of thallium, ruthenium, lead and gold, were associated with a higher risk of infection, while high levels of iron and selenium were protective.



“What our study shows is that individual levels of certain environmental pollutants increase the risk of infection and the risk of developing the disease,” explained Miquel Porta, a physician at IMIM-Hospital de Mar and one of the main authors of the study. Other factors that influence the risk of developing COVID-19 are co-morbidities (i.e., whether the person already suffers from other diseases), smoking, age, education level, density of people in the home, or exposure to the virus on public transport or at work.



Interestingly, of the 112 different chemical substances tested, an average of 32 was detected in each individual participant. Reassuringly, concentrations of several historically prevalent POPs, as well as the minerals arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and zinc, were not associated with COVID-19 symptom severity, nor with SARS-CoV-2 infection.&nbsp;The researchers decided to analyze the impact of the substances when combined in groups of five, since there is scientific evidence that mixtures of pollutants may be more toxic than the individual components on their own.



“An important finding of the study is that it identifies mixtures of up to five substances, from different chemical groups, each of which increases the risk of infection and disease,” said Gemma Moncunill, researcher at <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">ISGlobal</a> and last author of the article.



The authors consider these results to be of&nbsp;“considerable scientific and social relevance,” as they provide the first prospective and population-based evidence of a possible link between individual blood levels of certain pollutants and SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity.



The experts state that their results open numerous research avenues to study the pathways and mechanisms whereby these various substances act on the immune system. These pollutants enter our bodies through multiple routes, from exposure to electronic devices to the feed used in intensive animal farming. Therefore, say the authors, if the associations&nbsp;are confirmed to be causal, policies to control the risks are available.



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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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COVID risk linked to specific environmental pollutants

One of the most perplexing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic...

Ghosting is the act of ending a relationship by cutting off all communication and simply “disappearing” without explanation. This behavior is associated particularly with the relationships we foster using social media, and can pertain to the end of a romantic relationship or to a friendship. Messages sent, or calls made, are simply not answered and this leaves the sender confused, insecure and hurt.&nbsp;



A new study by researchers from the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a>, Athens, and the University of Mississippi, has found that nearly two-thirds of participants interviewed have ghosted and been ghosted as part of a relationship breakup. The researchers were particularly interested in whether people with a stronger need for closure are more affected by being ghosted, and whether they are more or less likely to use ghosting as a means to get out of their own personal relationships.&nbsp;



“Ghosting is becoming a common strategy, and it creates an ambiguous situation where one party doesn’t really know what’s going on,” said Leckfor, a doctoral student in the UGA Department of Psychology. “We were interested in what individual differences or personal characteristics might influence a person’s intentions to use ghosting. We also wanted to know if people with a high need for closure were less likely to use ghosting, or if they would hurt more after being ghosted.”



Studies have shown that social rejection of any kind activates the same pain pathways in the brain as physical pain, meaning there’s a biological link between rejection and pain. This implies that rejection without an understanding of what went wrong, can leave people feeling very hurt and insecure about themselves and what actually happened. Humans have evolved to stay connected to others and this makes ghosting all the more cruel on the recipient.&nbsp;



In the current study, participants were asked to reflect on a past relationship, either a time they were ghosted or a time they were directly rejected. They then answered questions about their psychological needs satisfaction – feelings of belonging, self-esteem, control and meaningful existence – after their relationship ended. Ghosted participants had some of the lowest needs satisfaction, meaning they were hit hardest by the rejection, and those who wanted closure reported even lower needs satisfaction.



“For recipients, desire for closure has this magnifying effect. When someone with a high need for closure recalled a time where they were ghosted or directly rejected, it hurt more than if they had a low need for closure,” Leckfor said. “But they also felt more positive after recalling times when they were acknowledged by their partner.”



In contrast, when someone considered initiating a breakup, the connection between closure and ghosting was less clear-cut.



“We actually found that people who had a higher need for closure were slightly more likely to intend to use ghosting to end a relationship,” Leckfor said. “Even though things may be ambiguous on the recipient side, the person who is ghosting sees it as a distinct end to the relationship. Those results weren’t definitive in our study, but they pose an interesting avenue for future research.”



So why do people ghost others as a way of ending a relationship? Disappearing off the face of the social media world may well present a way to avoid awkward confrontations and taking responsibility for the hurt caused. It also spares the ghoster from the hard work of empathizing with the rejected individual and dealing with their own uncomfortable emotions. And, in our fast-paced and busy world, cutting off all contact is often simply more convenient.&nbsp;



Technology may also contribute to the tendency to ghost as the many dating apps give us the idea that there are lots more “fish in the sea” and each individual is disposable. Just keep scrolling through the photos. Furthermore, if people believe that there is one true love for them out there, a soulmate as such, then they will be more keen to move on from a relationship that is proving to be different from their expectations.&nbsp;



Despite these potential explanations for why ghosting appears to be gaining in popularity as a neat and no-hassle way of moving on to other options, it remains that leaving a relationship in this way causes a type of ostracism that threatens a person’s basic psychological needs for belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence and control.&nbsp;



The researchers report, in their publication in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02654075221149955">Journal of Social and Personal Relationships</a>, that their results indicate participants with a higher need for closure are sometimes more likely to use ghosting to end their relationships because they feel this brings an abrupt end and a distinct close. However, these same participants reported lower needs satisfaction when ghosted by their partners than when directly rejected. The researchers report that “… the need for closure is less influential when deciding how to end a relationship, but it appears to play an important role in amplifying both positive and negative experiences within a relationship.”



“The individuals who were ghosted by a friend reported feeling just as bad about the relationship as those who wrote about a time when they were ghosted by a romantic partner,” Leckfor said. “In psychology in general, a lot of literature regarding adult relationships focuses on romantic relationships. This [research] shows that friendships are really important to study as well.”



It also relates back to the role of technology in our relationships. There have been several studies on how people initiate, maintain and end relationships without technology, but as more human connectivity moves to social media, dating apps, texting or Zoom, those relationships can change. And individual traits, such as a need for closure, will factor into how we use those technologies.



“Now, almost everybody uses these technologies to communicate and maintain these different types of relationships,” Leckfor said. “Knowing when these technologies can be helpful to build social connections or maintain your personal well-being, versus knowing when they might be harmful, is the end goal of what I hope my work in this area conveys to the public.”



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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.

Ghosting is harder on people with a high need for closure

Ghosting is the act of ending a relationship by cutting...

An international team of researchers has recently unearthed fossil bones in New Zealand from two newly described <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/children-discover-a-new-species-of-giant-penguins/">penguin</a> species (Kumimanu fordycei and Petradyptes stonehousei). According to the experts, the former is the largest penguin that ever lived, weighing over 150 kilograms (more than three times the size of the largest living penguins).



The fossils were discovered between 2016 and 2017 in 57-million-year-old beach boulders in North Otago, on New Zealand’s South Island. Analyses revealed the fossils as being between 59.5 and 55.5 million years old, thus dating about five to ten million years after the mass extinction that wiped out all the non-avian dinosaurs.



By using lasers to create digital models of these penguins’ bones and comparing them to other fossil species, modern penguins, and birds such as auks, the researchers estimated that K. fordycei was most likely an enormous bird, weighing up to 154 kilograms (in comparison, emperor penguins – the largest living species of penguins – weigh between 22 and 45 kilograms). The other species discovered, named by the scientists Petradyptes stonehousei, weighted about 50 kilograms.



“Fossils provide us with evidence of the history of life, and sometimes that evidence is truly surprising,” said study co-author Daniel Field, an expert in Earth Sciences at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>. “Many early fossil penguins attained enormous sizes, easily dwarfing the largest penguins alive today. Our new species, Kumimanu fordycei, is the largest fossil penguin ever discovered - at approximately 350 pounds, it would have weighed more than [basketball player] Shaquille O’Neal at the peak of his dominance!”



According to the scientists, these penguins grew to such titanic proportions because it made them more efficient in the water. “Size conveys many advantages. A bigger penguin could capture larger prey, and more importantly it would have been better at conserving body temperature in cold waters. It is possible breaking the 100 lb size barrier allowed the earliest penguins to spread from New Zealand to other parts of the world,” explained study lead author Daniel Ksepka, an Ornithology curator at the <a href="https://brucemuseum.org/">Bruce Museum</a>.



“When we start thinking of these finds not as isolated bones but as parts of a whole living animal then a picture begins to form,” added co-author Daniel Thomas, a senior lecturer in Zoology and Ecology at <a href="https://www.massey.ac.nz/">Massey University of New Zealand</a>. “Large, warm-blooded marine animals living today can dive to great depths. This raises questions about whether Kumimanu fordycei had an ecology that penguins today don’t have, by being able to reach deeper waters and find food that isn’t accessible to living penguins.”



“Kumimanu fordycei would have been an utterly astonishing sight on the beaches of New Zealand 57 million years ago, and the combination of its sheer size and the incomplete nature of its fossil remains makes it one of the most intriguing fossil birds ever found. Hopefully future fossil discoveries will shed more light on the biology of this amazing early penguin,” Field concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2022.88">Journal of Paleontology</a>.&nbsp;



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



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Largest penguin that ever lived weighed 350 pounds

An international team of researchers has recently unearthed fossil bones...

Many studies have shown that exposure to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/citizen-scientists-gain-a-stronger-connection-with-nature/">nature</a> has beneficial effects on mental health and well-being. Now, a team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> has explored what kind of nature experiences were associated with a greater sense of well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their findings suggest that spending time in nature close to home was linked to a greater sense of well-being compared to longer, more intense nature excursions, or with nature experienced “second-hand” through media.



“I think the thing that really calls to me from this work is the importance of just being able to have a bit of nature that’s close by and that you can access even for a short time,” said study lead author Tina Phillips, an expert in Citizen Science at Cornell.



The scientists surveyed over 3,200 U.S. residents in October 2020, when many Covid-related lockdowns were still in place. Participants were asked to rate their levels of loneliness, recurrent negative thoughts, mental well-being, and how the pandemic affected them emotionally. Their answers were analyzed together with the frequency with which the respondents participated in three types of nature engagement: nearby nature (including activities close to home, such as gardening, birdwatching, taking short walks, or watching natural landscapes through a window); nature excursions (more intense experiences that required planning and travel, including fishing or hunting trips, backpacking, or kayaking); and nature media (indirect exposure to nature through watching documentaries and clips from wildlife cameras, or reading).



“I think the biggest surprise was that nature excursions were not correlated with better well-being. Loneliness was worse for people who did more of those activities, the emotional impact of the pandemic was worse, and reported mental health was worse. The other thing which surprised me was that, across the board, age was the number one predictor of positive well-being outcomes from exposure to nature,” Phillips said.



Moreover, the findings also highlighted the ongoing social justice issues around access to nature. “The pandemic laid bare a host of societal issues and inequities,”&nbsp;explained study co-author Nancy Wells, a professor of Human Ecology at Cornell. “It is often those with the greatest need who have the least access to nearby nature. Everyone should be able to access the natural environment within a short distance from home.&nbsp;We can make this a reality by protecting natural lands, creating parks, and implementing policies and programs to ensure access for all.”



Finally, the scientists found that reaping the emotional and mental benefits from nature does not have to take a lot of time, with participants reporting increased well-being from spending as little as ten minutes outdoors.



“We hope that we all can carry the lessons from the pandemic – and from this study – into the future, making time in nature a regular part of our routine,” Wells concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10433">People &amp; 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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Nature increased well-being during the pandemic

Many studies have shown that exposure to nature has beneficial...

While city trees contribute to a variety of important ecosystem services, such as lowering local temperatures and purifying the air, they are also home to large populations of birds and insects. To better understand how different types of trees affect birdlife, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> in Sweden has monitored 400 nest boxes in five parks in the Swedish city of Malmö&nbsp;during a period of seven years.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that native trees – defined as species that have been in the ecosystem for at least seven centuries – offer more resources and are generally preferred by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/city-birds-lay-larger-eggs/">city birds</a>.



“Non-native trees, also known as introduced, exotic or alien species, lack an evolutionary history with the local ecosystem. We have previously shown that non-native tree species have substantially fewer insects than native trees, so the effect we are now seeing is probably a result of a shortage of food for insectivorous birds, such as the great tit,” said study lead author Johan Kjellberg Jensen, a PhD student in Urban Ecology at Lund.



Introduced tree species are increasingly common in urban planning all over the world. For instance, in the city parks of Malmö, approximately one in four trees are non-native. Although the introduction of such trees is advocated by some scientists since they are more tolerant to the harsh conditions of cities, it is crucial to understand the consequences of their presence for local ecosystems.



“If you want to hear more birdsong in spring, I think the choice of urban trees is an important factor. If you increase the number of native trees in city parks and green spaces, our local birds are more likely to thrive,”&nbsp;Jensen explained.



These findings confirm the results of previous studies focused on the effects of tree origin in North America and highlight the importance of maintaining native trees in urban parks. “I hope that city planners and other stakeholders take note of this research and that we together can develop strategies to ensure a functioning ecosystem in our cities,”&nbsp;Jensen concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05319-8">Oecologia</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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City birds prefer native trees

While city trees contribute to a variety of important ecosystem...

The most common type of hearing loss is sensorineural loss, which is caused by damage to cochlear hair cells. This condition is progressive because in humans and other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solitary-mammals-live-shorter-lives-than-social-species/">mammals</a>, the cochlear hair cells cannot regenerate once they are lost or damaged.



People who are frequently exposed to loud noises, such as musicians and construction workers, have the greatest risk of sensorineural hearing loss, but it can affect anyone over time. 



In a new study from the <a href="https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/del-monte-neuroscience.aspx">University of Rochester Medical Center</a>, researchers are working to identify the mechanisms which may promote cochlear hair cell regeneration.



“We know from our previous work that expression of an active growth gene, called ERBB2, was able to activate the growth of new hair cells (in mammals), but we didn’t fully understand why,” said Dr. Patricia White. That particular <a href="https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/study-points-to-possible-new-therapy-for-hearing-loss">study</a>, led by Dr. Jingyuan Zhang, revealed that activating the growth gene ERBB2 pathway triggered a cascading series of cellular events through which cochlear support cells began to multiply and activate the creation of new sensory hair cells.&nbsp;



“This new study tells us how that activation is happening - a significant advance toward the ultimate goal of generating new cochlear hair cells in mammals,” said Dr. White.



The team used single-cell RNA sequencing in mice to analyze cells with an overactive growth gene (ERBB2 signaling). The results showed that ERBB2 promoted cell development by triggering the expression of multiple proteins and promoted "mitosis" - the process by which one cell divides into two cells. 



“When we checked this process in adult mice, we were able to show that ERBB2 expression drove the protein expression of SPP1 that is necessary to activate CD44 and grow new hair cells,” said study first author Dr. Dorota Piekna-Przybylska. “This discovery has made it clear that regeneration is not only restricted to the early stages of development. We believe we can use these findings to drive regeneration in adults.”



“We plan to further investigation of this phenomenon from a mechanistic perspective to determine whether it can improve auditory function after damage in mammals. That is the ultimate goal,” said Dr. White.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2022.1096872">Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience</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.

Can hearing loss be reversed in humans?

The most common type of hearing loss is sensorineural loss,...

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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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How 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

[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

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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"

[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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