Rare earth elements are everywhere - in your smartphone screen, in the MRI machine at the hospital, in the battery of an electric vehicle, and even in oil and gas refining. They are a key ingredient of modern life.



As global tensions rise, so does the competition for access to these minerals. Recent headlines show the stakes: China has halted rare earth exports to the United States, and a deal was just signed to secure U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources.



Despite their name, rare earth elements aren’t actually scarce; what’s rare is finding them in high enough concentrations to mine economically. These deposits are scattered unevenly across the globe and often buried deep underground, shaping who controls their production and the global supply chain.



Scientists at <a href="https://www.tufts.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tufts University</a> are trying to better understand how and why rare earth minerals ended up where they did. Their research reveals how the movement of continents over billions of years helped form - and hide - these valuable deposits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-supercontinents-shaped-rare-deposits">Supercontinents shaped rare deposits</h2>



To explain how this mineral drama began, we need to go back in time. Way back. Earth's surface is always on the move. Over millions of years, massive landmasses shift, collide, and break apart, reshaping the planet in the process.



"Most of us are familiar with <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/supercontinents-101-pannotia-gondwana-and-pangea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pangea</a> - the supercontinent that formed about 300 million years ago and that the current seven continents broke off from to form their present-day arrangement," said Jill VanTongeren, professor and chair of the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences.



"But Pangea is only the most recent supercontinent. Throughout Earth history, there have been at least five major <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/australia-north-america-supercontinent/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">supercontinent</a> cycles - periods when continents all come together and then spread back out again into different pieces. We think this process happens roughly every 500 million years."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-minerals-begin">Where minerals begin</h2>



As these continents drifted apart, they created rifts - places where the Earth's tectonic plates pulled away from each other. These rifting zones became birthplaces for rare earth element-rich magmas.



"As the rocks are pushed apart, they decompress, causing melting. It's kind of like taking the lid off a soda bottle, and the bubbles rise to the surface," said VanTongeren.



"Those early magmas contain the highest abundance of rare earth and other incompatible elements that then enter the crust, either erupting in volcanic centers or solidifying at depth."



Some of these mineral-rich magmas cooled and stayed near the surface. Others got dragged back down into the mantle or remain buried too deep to mine with today’s technology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-race-for-control-resources">A race for control resources</h2>



Today, the number of economically viable rare earth deposits is limited. China dominates the market, with nearly 70% of global production coming from its Bayan Obo mine. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crucial-rare-earth-elements-discovered-coal-mines-united-states/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S.</a> has a smaller operation at Mountain Pass in California, and a few other countries have scattered deposits.



In the late 1990s and early 2000s, China flooded the market with rare earth minerals, driving down prices and shutting down other global producers. That move reshaped global dependence.



In response, the U.S. government took steps to re-establish a domestic supply. Recent investments from the 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Act and the Department of Defense aim to restart full operations at the Mountain Pass mine, though it could take up to a decade.



There’s also hope that Ukraine's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-is-on-a-mission-to-map-americas-mineral-wealth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mineral deposits</a> could help diversify supply. But for now, their potential remains unclear.



"Political boundaries and the desire to obtain access to mineral resources have been the source of economic and military conflicts throughout human history," said VanTongeren. "This is likely to continue as the world shifts toward green energy and a greater dependence on rare earth elements in the future."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hunting-for-mineral-deposits">Hunting for mineral deposits</h2>



VanTongeren’s work tracks these mineral stories from source to surface. Her fieldwork has taken her from a ship near Antarctica to platinum mines in South Africa, Morocco’s mountains, and even a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/huge-lithium-deposit-from-volanic-ash-found-in-pennsylvania/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lithium</a> discovery in Maine.



"It's a fascinating area of study partly because it lies at the intersection of science, economics, and politics," she said. Back on the Tufts campus, this intersection takes a more visual form.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tufts-secret-mineral-vault">Tufts' secret mineral vault</h2>



Tucked into the basement of Lane Hall, the P.T. Barnum Mineral Collection offers a glimpse into the Earth’s treasures. It includes thousands of mineral specimens, some collected by Barnum himself. He was an early supporter of Tufts and a major collector of natural history in the 1800s.



"In the late 1800s, it was considered fashionable for many prominent individuals to accumulate their own natural history collections," noted VanTongeren.



"P.T. Barnum was one of the biggest collectors of the time. His collection of animals, plants, and minerals was among the first gifts to Tufts University and part of an endowment to establish Tufts as one of the major natural history museums in the country."



After a fire destroyed the Barnum Museum in 1975, the mineral collection moved to Lane Hall. Now, it’s about to move again - this time to Bacon Hall, the new home for the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-hunt-for-rare-earth-elements">Global hunt for rare earth elements</h2>



VanTongeren hopes this new home will be more than just a storage site. She wants it to become a space that encourages curiosity and exploration, not just for scientists, but for everyone.



"My pie-in-the-sky vision is to set up a mineral gallery with both a permanent exhibit as well as pop-up exhibitions every semester highlighting minerals important for technology, related to other research at the university, or to global events," said VanTongeren.



"I'd like to help bring back Barnum's vision of bringing the beauty of, and an appreciation for, the natural world to campus."



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Global hunt for rare earth elements is underway

Rare earth elements are everywhere - in your smartphone screen, in the MRI machine at the hospital, in the battery of an electric vehicle, and even in oil and gas refining. They are a key ingredient of modern life. As global tensions rise, so does the competition for access to these minerals. Recent headlines show the stakes: China has halted rare earth exports to the United States, and a deal was just signed to secure U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources. Despite their name, rare earth elements...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-air-pollution-boosts-brain-development-in-children/">Children</a> are making unhealthy food choices based on their emotions, and this is particularly the case on weekends, according to a new study published by <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/">Elsevier</a>. The research is the latest in a growing collection of studies that have linked negative emotions to excessive calorie intake and poor diet quality.



"Children are more likely to consume unhealthy foods on weekends when meals and snacks are less structured and supervised than on school days," said study lead author Christine Hotaru Naya of the University of Southern California. "We also focused on snack choices where children often make their own decisions."



The analysis was focused on nearly 200 children in third through sixth grades. The children used a mobile app to respond to questions seven times per day. They were asked if they were feeling sad, stressed, or mad.&nbsp;



The participants were also asked to report whether they had made any unhealthy eating choices from among fried foods, sweets, and sugary beverages over the previous two hours. Out of all of the food types examined, sweet food consumption was reported the most often - followed by chips, fries, and sugary beverages.



The experts identified three negative mood patterns among the children - stable low; early increasing and late decreasing; and early decreasing and late increasing.&nbsp;



"We found fried food consumption to be higher on days with more variable emotional patterns than days with consistent low negative mood," said Naya. "These results align with other studies that have found the negative mood to positively predict children's fatty food intake." Sweet food and soda consumption did not follow the same patterns in this study.



According to study co-author Daniel Chu, the research has several strengths, including that the results can be widely applied and tested in the family home. The results indicate that mornings and evenings are vulnerable periods when the change in negative emotions could influence food choices.



"More studies are needed for us to understand the relationship between a child's emotions and their food choices, but this is a good start on that path to recognizing how to approach food choices with a person's mood and emotions in mind," said Naya.&nbsp;



"We could improve our current interventions to be individually tailored to the environmental, social, emotional, and cognitive contexts in which unhealthy eating occurs."



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.jneb.org/">Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior</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

Children make unhealthy food choices based on their emotions

Children are making unhealthy food choices based on their emotions,...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-will-completely-change-how-we-view-the-universe/">James Webb</a> Space Telescope has already provided us with the oldest view of our known universe, and the spacecraft was just recently launched in December. The telescope also captured this stunning image of the Carina Nebula, which is a huge cloud of gas and stars that are exploding into existence.&nbsp;



The photo reveals hundreds of new stars and numerous galaxies in the background of the nebula, as well as areas of star birth that were previously invisible. It is difficult to capture this stage of early star formation because it only lasts about 50,000 to 100,000 years for each star.&nbsp;



"What looks much like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula," reports ESA.



"Called the Cosmic Cliffs, the region is actually the edge of a gigantic, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, roughly 7,600 light-years away. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image. The high-energy radiation from these stars is sculpting the nebula’s wall by slowly eroding it away."



The image was captured in infrared light by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope. ESA described several prominent features that can be found in the photo.



<ul><li>The “steam” that appears to rise from the celestial “mountains” is actually hot, ionized gas and hot dust streaming away from the nebula due to intense, ultraviolet radiation.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Dramatic pillars rise above the glowing wall of gas, resisting the blistering ultraviolet radiation from the young stars.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Bubbles and cavities are being blown by the intense radiation and stellar winds of newborn stars.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Protostellar jets and outflows, which appear in gold, shoot from dust-enshrouded, nascent stars.</li></ul>



<ul><li>A “blow-out” erupts at the top-centre of the ridge, spewing gas and dust into the interstellar medium.</li></ul>



<ul><li>An unusual “arch” appears, looking like a bent-over cylinder.</li></ul>



Located approximately 7,600 light-years from Earth, the Carina Nebula is visible from the Southern Hemisphere and can be found in the constellation Carina. The region is home to the unstable supergiant star known as Eta Carinae, which is famous for its unusual and bright outbursts.



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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

The Carina Nebula like we've never seen it before

The James Webb Space Telescope has already provided us with...

A new population of blue whales known as "Chagos" pygmy blue whales was discovered in the Indian Ocean last year. They were found incidentally while monitoring nuclear bomb tests.&nbsp;



Researchers from UNSW Sydney analyzed 18 years of recordings and found that Chango whale song frequency has increased over the years. The experts hope that this indicates the species is rebounding after near <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-likely-contributed-to-earths-largest-mass-extinction/">extinction</a> due to hunting.&nbsp;



“We discovered different seasonal patterns of the whales on the west and east side of the island. We found that first of all, the amount of whale songs is increasing over the study period at both sites," said study lead author Lyra Huang.



"Secondly, they are mainly on the south-eastern side from September to November, and they then migrate to the north-western side and stay until February.”



“Our analysis shows that these movements are related to environmental factors such as sea surface temperature and food availability.”



The researchers also discovered that Chagos migrate from the south-eastern side to the north-western side of Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean. Corresponding author,&nbsp; <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/tracey-rogers">Professor Tracey Rogers</a>, explains their migration,



“<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-88062-5">Our earlier research</a> picked up these same whale songs up as far as Sri Lanka and across as far as the Western Australian coastline. This means these whales migrate across the Indian Ocean, which is really unusual for blue whales as they generally move north and south to and from Antarctica, but these guys are going east to west, and back again.”&nbsp;



“We see high concentrations of chlorohpyll-a [an indicator of krill] on the south-eastern side of the island which corresponds with times when there are more whale songs recorded there, but no correlation at the north-western side.”&nbsp;



“This tells us that the whales are most likely feeding on that south-eastern side and then migrating past the western side of the island.”



Currently, Chago whale populations are doing well, and the researchers are interested in how climate change will affect them.&nbsp;



“Oceanic conditions in the Indian Ocean are predicted to change under future climate scenarios," said Rogers. “So, it’d be really interesting to see how this newly discovered population is going to fare into the future – is that going to be better for them or will it be not as good? But at the moment, things seem to be going really well for them.”



This study has been published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.843875/full">Frontiers in Marine 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

Shifting ocean conditions influence Chago whale migrations

A new population of blue whales known as "Chagos" pygmy...

Planet,Earth,Globe,View,From,Space,Showing,Realistic,Earth,Surface

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a> has found that the amount and location of land on a planet’s surface can have a significant impact on its habitability. By applying three-dimensional climate models to simulated Earth-like planets, the experts have identified substantial differences in surface temperature, sea-ice, and water vapor across these planets’ surfaces for different types of land configurations.



Many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-discovery-of-young-earth-like-planets-is-a-real-possibility/">planets</a> are tidally locked to their stars so that one side of the planet is always facing away – just like the “dark side of the Moon” always faces away from the Earth. This phenomenon creates permanent day- and nightsides on such planets, with all the energy received from the star directed towards the planets’ daysides. However, in order for a planet to support life, the climate must be at least to a certain extent regulated across its surface. Thus, the planet’s atmosphere and oceans need to redistribute part of the energy received from the star to the planet’s nightside.



The scientists have applied a three-dimensional climate model (<a href="https://github.com/alphaparrot/ExoPlaSim">ExoPlaSim</a>) to simulated Earth-like planets with two different dayside configurations: a circular continent in the middle of the dayside surrounded by ocean, and a circular ocean in the middle of the dayside surrounded by land everywhere else. In both cases, the size of the circle was varied in order to assess how the planet’s climate depends on the amount of land for each of the two configurations.



The results suggest that the amount of land, as well as its configuration have major effects on the surface conditions of the planet. For instance, for models with similar dayside land fractions but opposed configurations, the average surface temperature can change by up to 20 degrees Celsius. Thus, the amount of water vapor in a planet’s atmosphere – which is crucial for the planet’s habitability – strongly depends on the area of ice-free ocean on its surface. Moreover, planets with large patches of land have hotter and drier daysides with clouds and precipitation mostly confined to small central areas.&nbsp;



“Finding out whether life&nbsp;exists elsewhere in the universe&nbsp;is a key challenge of astronomy and science as a whole,” said study lead author Evelyn Macdonald, a graduate student in Planetary Physics at the University of Toronto.&nbsp;



“Our work demonstrates that the distribution of land on an Earth-like planet has a big impact on its climate, and should help astronomers looking at planets with instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope to better interpret what they're seeing,” she concluded.



The study was presented on Monday, July 11 at the <a href="https://nam2022.org/">National Astronomy Meeting</a> (NAM22) in Warwick.&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&nbsp;&nbsp;

The habitability of a planet is affected by the location of its land

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

Hawk moths, with a wingspan of over four inches, are among the largest night fliers in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-may-be-able-to-experience-pain/">insect</a> world. Three new species from the Bahamas are breaking new records for size - but not for being large. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/">Florida Museum of Natural History</a> discovered the smallest-ever hawk moths that are about the size of a vitamin pill.&nbsp;



“By comparison, we have a few other small hawk moths like the hummingbird moth, but of all of them these new species are the smallest,” said Deborah Matthews, a biological scientist at the museum’s McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity.&nbsp;



There are 1,700 diverse hawk moth species worldwide. They have incredibly long proboscises, the straw-like tongues used to siphon nectar. The variation in tongue length is used to predict what local flowers the moths feed on. This method was first applied by Charles Darwin, who predicted the long proboscis after observing an orchid with unusually long nectar spurs.



The study began when Matthews and Jacqueline Miller reviewed the Florida Museum’s hawk moth collection to identify Bahamas specimens and sort survey material island by island. To differentiate closely related moths, researchers must study their anatomy. For Matthews and Miller, that meant making a detailed examination of the moths’ genitalia.



“You just can't always make out distinctive wing patterns, whereas with genitalia you can cross-compare structures,” said Matthews.



The genitalia were dissected and observed under a microscope, and the differences were striking. This led to suspicions that they had discovered three new species.&nbsp;



“In terms of moths, the giant silk moths and hawk moths are very popular and well-studied, kind of like the butterflies of the moth world. So, for us to find three new hawk moth species, that’s a really big deal,” said Matthews.



The Bahamas, with their proximity to diversity hotspots like Cuba and mainland areas of Mexico and the U.S., makes it easier for plants and animals to spread there, evolving into new species due to their isolation.



Island ecosystems are famous for organisms that far outsize their mainland relatives, like the giant tortoises on the Galapagos Islands and the Komodo dragons in Indonesia. However in The Bahamas species tend to be smaller, contradicting that giganticism trend.



Experts suspect that harsh weather could be the cause, as islands in the Bahamas archipelago are affected by Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms. Heavy rain and windfall pose a threat to wildlife. It is likely that butterflies and moths with smaller wings are equipped to survive the intense winds.&nbsp;



The research team believes that their work to identify these three new species will likely lead to more discoveries going forward.



The research was partially funded by the National Geographic Society. The <a href="https://centerforsystematicentomology.org/insectamundi/0937_Miller_etal_2022-reduced.pdf">study</a> is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.flvc.org/mundi">Insecta Mundi</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

Hawk moths in the Bahamas are the smallest ever found

Hawk moths, with a wingspan of over four inches, are...

In recent years, there has been an increased scientific interest in investigating canine sleep. Since dogs are a domesticated species adapted to the human environment, better understanding their sleeping patterns can shed more light on human sleep too, which could have been evolutionarily shaped by living in protected environments. Thus, similar changes might be expected in the sleeping patterns of other species adapted to such environments. For instance, dogs appear to sleep more superficially in unfamiliar environments, just as humans do. 



Now, a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a> (ELTE) in Hungary has measured for the first time the sleeping patterns of the dog’s wild counterpart, the wolf. In order to better understand the effects of domestication and cohabitation with humans on sleep physiology and phenotypes, comparing dogs to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wolves-may-not-be-heroes-but-theyre-not-villains-either/">wolves</a> offers a unique opportunity.



“Although dog-wolf comparative studies have already been conducted in several areas of research, including behavioral and genetic studies, the neural processes of wolves remain a largely unexplored field,” said&nbsp;study co-author Anna Bálint, a comparative ethologist at ELTE. “We measured the sleep EEG of seven hand raised, extensively socialized wolves, using the same methodology as has been applied in family dogs.&nbsp;We successfully measured all sleep stages (drowsiness, deep sleep, and REM) that were previously observed in dogs as well.”



During the experiments, the wolves have been surrounded by familiar people who petted and caressed them until they calmed down, became drowsy, and eventually fell asleep. Whenever they became aroused again, the caretaker and experimenter calmed the wolves by cuddling them until they fell back to sleep.



“While young dogs and wolves showed a pretty similar distribution of sleep stages, the time spent in REM seemed to be less in dogs than in wolves, and this difference is even more apparent in the senior animals,” reported study lead author Vivien Reicher, a doctoral student in Ethology at ELTE. “This finding is especially intriguing since the amount of REM sleep has been linked to various different effects including neurodevelopment, stress, domestication, but also memory consolidation.”



According to study senior author Márta Gácsi, an expert in Comparative Ethology at ELTE, although the sample size was rather low and the age distribution of the wolves was too skewed to draw comparative conclusions, these experiments can be considered important first steps in collecting an adequate amount of data to properly describe the wolf’s sleeping patterns.



“Thus, we suggest that using our reliable, easily applicable methodology in different labs may form the basis of an international, multi-site collection of similar samples, allowing for generalizable scientific conclusions,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13643-x">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.&nbsp;



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

Do wolves have similar sleeping patterns as dogs?

In recent years, there has been an increased scientific interest...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.00504-22">Applied and Environmental Microbiology</a> has found that SARS-CoV-2 surrogate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-viruses-make-people-smell-more-enticing-to-mosquitos/">viruses</a> can survive on meat products in the refrigerator or the freezer for up to a month. These findings highlight the need for rigorous and sustained food sanitation and hygiene during the processes of harvesting, transporting, processing, and distributing these foods.



The experiments were conducted using chicken, pork, beef, and salmon that were exposed to surrogate viruses with spikes similar to those of SARS-CoV-2 – one RNA virus with a lipid envelope (Phi 6), and two animal coronaviruses (the murine hepatitis virus and the transmissible gastroenteritis virus). The meat products were then stored at both refrigeration (4oC) and freezer temperatures (-20oC). This investigation was sparked by the fact that certain Covid-19 outbreaks in Southeast Asia seemed to occur without prior community transmission, suggesting that packaged meat products produced in areas with high <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wastewater-provides-early-detection-of-covid-19-surges/">coronavirus</a> community transmission could have been the source of the outbreaks.



The analysis revealed that these viral surrogates could survive for extended periods of time at high concentrations at both refrigerated and frozen temperatures. “The ability of SARS-CoV-2 viral surrogates like Phi 6 and animal coronaviruses to survive for varying extents on some meat and fish products when stored refrigerated or frozen is a significant and concerning finding,” wrote the study authors.



“Continued efforts are needed to prevent contamination of foods and food processing surfaces, worker hands, and food processing utensils such as knives, and there is a need to better address the lack of or inadequate disinfection of these foods prior to meat packaging.”



A limitation of the study is that researchers used surrogate coronaviruses instead of SARS-CoV-2 itself. Although these viruses have been found in previous studies to be reliable models for the survival of SARS coronaviruses under different environmental conditions, the differences in virus survival among the surrogates that were observed during the study suggest that one indicator virus may not always be predictive of the behavior of SARS-CoV-2.



“Further studies of this type that included SARS-CoV-2 are needed, especially studies that better characterize and quantify the effects of physical, chemical, and biological factors, including temperature, water activity, relative humidity, pH, surface electrical potential, hydrophobicity, chemical activities such as enzymes and surfactants, and microbiological activities such as from other microbes on and in foods," said the study authors.&nbsp;



"As reports continue to emerge about the potential spread of SARS-CoV-2 through contaminated food products and the continued emergence of variants of concern, a greater understanding of the survival of these viruses at low temperatures on meat and fish products as well as other foods is needed and should be encouraged."



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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;

SARS-CoV-2 can survive on frozen meat for up to a month

A new study published in the journal Applied and Environmental...

An international team of researchers recently published a paper in the journal eLife which provides a deeper insight into the animal brain and nervous systems. The group gained a better understanding of lungfish evolution by virtually reconstructing brain models, analyzing the skulls of six Paleozoic lungfish (Dipnoi) fossils, and comparing them to extant land vertebrates.&nbsp;



Study senior author Dr. Tom Challands explained why lungfish are the most useful types of animals for this study, "Lungfish have persisted for more than 400 million years from the Devonian Period to present day and provide unique insights into the condition of the earliest tetrapods as well as their own evolutionary history."



Dr. Challands also described the advantages of using virtual models."This paper effectively doubles the number of lungfish endocasts known, as their preservation quality is often damaged by a fossil being crushed or broken, and the brain itself has very poor preservation potential and is not currently known in any fossil lungfish."



The information gathered from this study can help us determine which senses, such as vision or smell, were more important to the earliest tetrapods (four-legged animals).



"Our discovery shows that the brains of lungfish have been evolving constantly throughout their 400-million-year history, but it suggests they have likely always relied on their sense of smell rather than vision to navigate their environments. This is quite unlike other fish which use sight much more powerfully," said study lead author Dr. Alice Clement.



According to the researchers, lungfish may be the missing link in the evolution of land-living tetrapods.&nbsp;



"Studying our 'fishy cousins' lungfish continues to help us understand how fish first left the water some 350 million years ago and started to become land animals (tetrapods) and later humans," said Dr. Clement. "Perhaps some of their nervous system traits remain in us still."&nbsp;



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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

Lungfish provide deeper insight into brain evolution

An international team of researchers recently published a paper in...

Earlier today at the White House, President Joe Biden unveiled the first image to ever be released from the James Webb Telescope. The stunning photograph, known as Webb’s First Deep Field, reveals thousands of galaxies in the cluster SMACS 0723. Incredibly, the image shows this galaxy cluster as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago.



According to NASA, the patch of sky covered in the image is so small that it is comparable to the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.



A report from NASA notes that Webb’s sharp near-infrared view brought out faint structures in extremely distant galaxies, offering the most detailed view of the early universe to date



"NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is overflowing with detail."



"Thousands of galaxies - including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared - have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time," says NASA.



The photograph is a composite of images captured at various wavelengths by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).&nbsp;



"The combined mass of this galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying much more distant galaxies behind it. Webb’s NIRCam has brought those distant galaxies into sharp focus – they have tiny, faint structures that have never been seen before, including star clusters and diffuse features," says NASA.



"Researchers will soon begin to learn more about the galaxies’ masses, ages, histories, and compositions, as Webb seeks the earliest galaxies in the universe."



This amazing composite photo is among the telescope’s first-full color images. NASA and its partners will release the full series of Webb’s first full-color images and data on Tuesday, July 12 during a live <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv">NASA TV</a> broadcast.



Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI



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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

A galaxy cluster as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago

Earlier today at the White House, President Joe Biden unveiled...

In a new study from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) and Columbia University, researchers set out to explain how dinosaurs lived through the Triassic extinction event, which killed many other animals. The results of the study suggest that feathers played a major role in helping the dinosaurs survive by giving them the insulation they needed to endure freezing temperatures. 



Approximately 202 million years ago, the Triassic-Jurassic Extinction wiped out the large reptiles that ruled the planet. During the same time period, dinosaurs not only survived, but thrived and rose to dominance. The experts report that dinosaurs were well-adapted to the cold in a way that other species were not.&nbsp;



“Dinosaurs were there during the Triassic under the radar all the time. The key to their eventual dominance&nbsp; was very simple. They were fundamentally cold-adapted animals. When it got cold everywhere, they were ready, and other animals weren’t," explained Paul Olsen, a geologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.&nbsp;



The researchers found physical evidence of dinosaur footprints from the Junggar Basin in northwestern China. This region was located well above the Arctic Circle. The footprints indicated that dinosaurs were present along the shoreline.



In addition, the analysis of deep lake deposits produced a large number of pebbles up to about 1.5 centimeters in diameter which turned out to be ice-rafted debris (IRD). This type of debris is created when ice abuts a coastal landmass and incorporates bits of underlying rock as it freezes.&nbsp;



The researchers said the pebbles were likely picked up during winter, when lake waters froze along pebbly shorelines. In warmer weather, chunks of ice carried the pebbles offshore and eventually dropped them.&nbsp;



The discovery of IRD confirmed the theory that dinosaurs were capable of living in freezing conditions. "This shows that these areas froze regularly and the dinosaurs did just fine," said study co-author Dennis Kent.



Using a "phylogenetic bracket analysis," the experts concluded that dinosaurs were primitively insulated with feathers. The insulation from these feathers allowed the creatures to adapt to cold polar conditions.



After the Triassic extinction event, dinosaurs rapidly increased in size, expanded their range, and nearly doubled their overall population. They were the most dominant animals in Earth for the next 135 million years.&nbsp;



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

Feathers were the secret of dinosaur success

In a new study from the Chinese Academy of Sciences...

According to a new report by the <a href="http://www.ipbes.net/">Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services&nbsp;</a>(IPBES), billions of people globally – most of them living in developing countries - depend on over 50,000 wild species for food, materials, medicine, energy, and many other vital contributions to human well-being that these animals, plants, fungi, and algae provide. However, the accelerating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-biodiversity-crisis-will-take-millions-of-years-to-recover-from/">biodiversity crisis&nbsp;</a>could soon push many of these species toward extinction, thus threatening the people who rely on them too. In order to avoid this situation, a large international team of experts has offered insights and tools for establishing more sustainable use of wild species around the world.



“With about 50,000 wild species used through different practices, including more than 10,000&nbsp;wild species harvested directly for human food, rural people in developing countries are most at risk from unsustainable use, with lack of complementary alternatives often forcing them to further exploit wild species already at risk,” said Dr. Jean-Marc Fromentin, a researcher at IPBES who co-chaired the Assessment Report.&nbsp;



“70 precent of the world’s poor are directly dependent on wild species,” added Dr. Marla Emery, another co-chair of the report and research geographer at the <a href="https://www.nina.no/english/home">Norwegian Institute for Nature Research</a>. “One in five people rely on wild plants, algae and fungi for their food and income; 2.4 billion rely on fuel wood for cooking; and about 90 percent of the 120 million people working in capture fisheries are supported by small-scale fishing. But the regular use of wild species is extremely important not only in the Global South. From the fish that we eat, to medicines, cosmetics, decoration and recreation, wild species’ use is much more prevalent than most people realize.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to the scientists, drivers of biodiversity loss include land- and seascape changes, pollution, invasive species, climate change, and increases in illegal use and trade. In order to protect these vital species, the experts propose a variety of actions for the five categories of “practices” in the use of wild species that they identified (fishing, logging, gathering, terrestrial animal harvesting, and non-extractive practices).&nbsp;



In the case of fishing, for example, such actions would include reducing illegal and unregulated fishing, supporting small-scale fisheries, adapting to changes in oceanic productivity due to climate change, proactively creating transboundary institutions, suppressing harmful financial subsidies, and fixing current inefficiencies. In logging practices, sustainable actions such as the management and certification of forests for multiple uses, technological innovations to reduce waste in manufacturing wood products, and political initiatives to recognize the rights of local communities are all essential for safeguarding the world’s forests.



The experts argued that, in most future scenarios that enable the sustainable use of wild species, transformative changes share several characteristics, such as the integration of plural value systems, changes in social values and cultural norms, equitable distribution of costs and benefits, and effective institutions and systems of governance.



“The sustainable use of wild species is vital for all people, in all communities – and this Report will help decision-makers around the world choose policies and actions that better support people and nature,” concluded Dr. Anne Lariguaderie, the Executive Secretary of IPBES.



A detailed summary for policymakers of the Assessment Report can be found <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/6810036#.YsxIqb1BzIU">here</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Billions of people depend on wild plant and animal species

According to a new report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform...

By investigating a cache of fossils containing the brain and nervous system of a 500-million-year-old <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-marine-predator-could-float-motionless-in-the-water/">marine predator</a> from the Burgess Shale (a fossil deposit in the Canadian Rocky Mountains) called Stanleycaris, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.rom.on.ca/en">Royal Ontario Museum</a> (ROM) has managed to shed more light on the evolution of the arthropod brain, vision, and head structure.



Stanleycaris belongs to an ancient, extinct offshoot of the arthropod evolutionary tree called Radiodonta, which was distantly related to modern insects and spiders. With large compound eyes, a fierce circular mouth lined with teeth, frontal claws with an impressive array of spines, and a flexible, segmented body with several swimming flaps along its sides, Stanleycaris was most likely a feared marine predator that fed upon a large variety of sea-bottom dwellers.



The fossils discovered in the Burgess Shale contained extremely well-preserved remains of this prehistoric animal’s brain and nervous system. “While fossilized brains from the Cambrian Period aren’t new, this discovery stands out for the astonishing quality of preservation and the large number of specimens,” said study lead author Joseph Moysiuk, a doctoral student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a>. “We can even make out fine details such as visual processing centers serving the large eyes and traces of nerves entering the appendages. The details are so clear it’s as if we were looking at an animal that died yesterday.”



The fossils revealed that the brain of Stanleycaris consisted of two segments, the protocerebrum and the deutocerebrum, which were connected with the eyes and frontal claws, respectively. “We conclude that a two-segmented head and brain has deep roots in the arthropod lineage and that its evolution likely preceded the three-segmented brain that characterizes all living members of this diverse animal phylum,”&nbsp;Moysiuk explained.



In modern arthropods such as insects, the brain consists of three segments - the protocerebrum, the deutocerebrum, and the tritocerebrum. While the absence of one of these segments in Stanleycaris may not seem a fundamental game-changer, this discovery has in fact radical scientific implications. Since repeated copies of many arthropod organs can be found in their segmented bodies, clarifying how segments line up among different species is fundamental to understanding how these structures diversified during evolution. “These fossils are like a Rosetta Stone, helping to link traits in radiodonts and other early fossil arthropods with their counterparts in surviving groups,” said Moysiuk.



Moreover, the fact that this animal possessed a huge third eye&nbsp;at the front of its head shows that the earliest arthropods had already evolved a variety of complex visual systems like many of their modern counterparts, according to study senior author Jean-Bernard Caron, a curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at ROM. “Since most radiodonts are only known from scattered bits and pieces, this discovery is a crucial jump forward in understanding what they looked like and how they lived,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.027">Current Biology</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Marine fossil sheds light on arthropod evolution

By investigating a cache of fossils containing the brain and...

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[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"

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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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