The James Webb Space Telescope has delivered the clearest, deepest images yet of the Bullet Cluster, unveiling thousands of faint, distant galaxies and offering the most precise map of dark matter in this iconic colliding galaxy cluster.



“With <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-galaxies-revealed-in-a-single-webb-image/">Webb</a>’s observations, we carefully measured the mass of the Bullet Cluster with the largest lensing dataset to date, from the galaxy clusters’ cores all the way out to their outskirts,” said lead author Sangjun Cha, a PhD student at <a href="https://www.yonsei.ac.kr/en_sc/index.do">Yonsei University</a> in Seoul. 



Previous studies relied on less lensing data, leading to less precise estimates of the system’s mass.



“Webb’s images dramatically improve what we can measure in this scene -&nbsp; including pinpointing the position of invisible particles known as dark matter,” said co-author Kyle Finner, an assistant scientist at <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/">Caltech</a>. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-light-shows-the-dark">How light shows the dark</h2>



The Bullet Cluster is made of two massive galaxy clusters bound by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/desi-gravity-study-new-discovery-proves-einstein-right-again/">gravity</a>. It acts as a natural gravitational lens that magnifies background galaxies.



James Jee, a professor at Yonsei University and research associate at UC Davis, is a co-author of the study. “Gravitational lensing allows us to infer the distribution of dark matter,” he said.



To visualize this effect, Jee compares it to ripples on a pond. You can't see the clear water unless there are ripples that distort the shapes of the pebbles below - just as dark matter distorts the light from galaxies behind it.



By measuring thousands of galaxies, the scientists used Webb’s images to weigh visible and invisible mass in the cluster. 



The team also mapped the faint glow of intracluster stars - those not bound to any single galaxy. These drifting stars may closely trace dark matter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-webb-s-dark-matter-reveal">Webb’s dark matter reveal</h2>



Webb’s observations produced a layered view, combining near-infrared data with X-ray imagery from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission/chandra-x-ray-observatory/">NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory</a>, revealing hot gas in pink, the bullet shape in the cluster, and the newly refined dark matter distribution in blue.



“We confirmed the intracluster light can be a reliable tracer of dark matter, even in a highly dynamic environment like the Bullet Cluster,” Cha said. 



This strengthens the case that these unbound stars closely trace dark matter’s invisible scaffolding.



The new map reveals detailed structure, including an asymmetric mass region on the left side of the larger cluster. This feature indicates prior collisions that have left behind signatures in the distribution of matter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mysterious-nature-of-dark-matter">Mysterious nature of dark matter </h2>



Dark matter does not emit, reflect, or absorb light, making it notoriously difficult to study. Yet the Bullet Cluster offers a rare laboratory, showing dark matter separated from hot gas during a cosmic collision while still aligning with the galaxies.



“As the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/titanic-galaxy-cluster-collision-defies-all-current-understanding-of-the-universe/">galaxy clusters</a> collided, their gas was dragged out and left behind, which the X-rays confirm,” Finner explained. “Webb’s observations show that dark matter still lines up with the galaxies - and was not dragged away.”



The results set tighter constraints on the possibility of dark matter particles interacting with each other. They support theories that dark matter passes through itself without friction, consistent with its mysterious and ghostly nature.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-to-a-chaotic-past"><a></a>Clues to a chaotic past</h2>



The elongated mass and clumps in the new map hint at a more complex history for the Bullet Cluster, suggesting multiple collisions over billions of years.



“A more complicated scenario would lead to a huge asymmetric elongation like we see on the left,” Jee said.



The Bullet Cluster, located in the Carina <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/super-jupiter-discovered-in-the-great-bear-constellation/">constellation</a> 3.8 billion light-years from Earth, is so massive that even Webb’s powerful NIRCam could only capture part of it.



“It’s like looking at the head of a giant,” Jee explained. “Webb’s initial images allow us to extrapolate how heavy the whole 'giant' is, but we’ll need future observations of the giant’s whole 'body' for precise measurements.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-missions-deeper-maps">Future missions, deeper maps</h2>



NASA’s upcoming <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasas-roman-space-telescope-hopes-to-solve-the-dark-matter-mystery/">Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope</a>, launching by May 2027, will complement Webb’s discoveries with wide-field near-infrared imaging. 



The Roman telescope will enable complete mass estimates of the Bullet Cluster and allow scientists to simulate its ancient collision in detail.



“With Roman, we will have complete mass estimates of the entire Bullet Cluster, which would allow us to recreate the actual collision on computers,” Finner said.



Through these detailed observations, Webb is enriching our understanding of dark matter. It’s also advancing knowledge of how massive structures form and evolve, offering a clearer view of the hidden forces shaping the cosmos.



The study is published in the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/add2f0">Astrophysical Journal Letters</a>.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, CXC



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Webb telescope uncovers secrets of dark matter in cosmic collision zone

The James Webb Space Telescope has delivered the clearest, deepest images yet of the Bullet Cluster, unveiling thousands of faint, distant galaxies and offering the most precise map of dark matter in this iconic colliding galaxy cluster. “With Webb’s observations, we carefully measured the mass of the Bullet Cluster with the largest lensing dataset to date, from the galaxy clusters’ cores all the way out to their outskirts,” said lead author Sangjun Cha, a PhD student at Yonsei University in Seoul. Previous studies relied on less lensing...

A new study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add3726">Science Advances</a> has found that extreme <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-activities-are-fueling-more-extreme-heatwaves/">heatwaves</a> caused by anthropogenic global warming have already caused the world economy trillions of dollars since the 1990s. The experts report that the globe’s poorest - and lowest carbon-emitting nations - have suffered the most.



A team of scientists from <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a> combined recently available, in-depth economic data for various regions worldwide with the average temperature for the hottest five-day period (a widely used measurement of heat intensity) for each region in each year. The analysis revealed that, from 1992 to 2013, heatwaves statistically coincided with variations in economic growth, and that approximately $16 trillion was lost due to the effects of high temperatures on human health, productivity, and agricultural output.



These findings stress the urgent need for policies and technologies to protect people during the hottest days of the year, especially in the world’s warmest and most economically vulnerable nations.&nbsp;



“Accelerating adaptation measures within the hottest period of each year would deliver economic benefits now,” said study lead author&nbsp;Christopher Callahan, a doctoral student in Geography at Dartmouth. “The amount of money spent on adaptation measures should not be assessed just on the price tag of those measures, but relative to the cost of doing nothing. Our research identifies a substantial price tag to not doing anything.”



“Our work shows that no place is well adapted to our current climate,” added study senior author Justin Mankin, an assistant professor of Geography at the same university. “The regions with the lowest incomes globally are the ones that suffer most from these extreme heat events. As climate change increases the magnitude of extreme heat, it’s a fair expectation that those costs will continue to accumulate.”



Thus, the economic costs of extreme heat, along with the expenses of adaption to such temperatures, have been and will be disproportionately borne by the world’s poorest nations in the tropics and the global South. Ironically, most of these countries have contributed the least to global warming. For instance, the scientists found that, while economic losses due to extreme heatwaves averaged 1.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for the world’s wealthiest nations, low-income regions suffered a loss of 6.7 percent of GDP per capita.



“We have a situation where the people causing global warming and changes in extreme heat have more resources to be resilient to those changes, and, in some rare cases, could benefit from it. It’s a massive international wealth transfer from the poorest countries in the world to the richest countries in the world through climate change - and that transfer needs to be reversed,” Mankin concluded.&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

Extreme heatwaves have cost the global economy trillions

A new study published in the journal Science Advances has...

The ozone hole is an area in the stratosphere over the North Pole, where the thickness of the ozone layer is reduced for part of each year due to the presence of ozone-depleting substances. Since this layer effectively protects life on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-has-pushed-earth-to-code-red/">Earth</a> from excessive exposure to harmful UV-B radiation from the sun, it is important to keep track of the size of the hole on a regular basis. It is monitored by satellites and scientists from NASA in Maryland, as well as from NOAA, the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In the latest report from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, statistics indicate that this hole has continued on its overall path to becoming smaller during 2022.



Ozone is a colorless gas with the molecular formula O3. It is very active chemically and forms bonds with many other substances. Near the Earth’s surface, those reactions cause rubber to crack, hurt plant life, and damage people’s lung tissues. However, ozone in the stratosphere absorbs UV-B radiation, thus protecting the living things below from its harmful effects.&nbsp;



Each year, active forms of chlorine and bromine from man-made chemical compounds accumulate and attach to the high-altitude polar clouds during the southern Hemisphere winter. As soon as the sun rises at the start of Antarctica’s spring, the chlorine and bromine undergo chemical reactions that break down ozone. Thus, satellites measure the extent and thickness of the ozone layer during the spring months between July and October each year, in order to assess the extent to which these chemical reactions have negatively affected the ozone layer.&nbsp;



This year,&nbsp;instruments aboard the<a href="https://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/">&nbsp;Aura</a>,<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/mission_overview/index.html">&nbsp;Suomi NPP</a>,&nbsp;and<a href="https://www.jpss.noaa.gov/mission_and_instruments.html">&nbsp;NOAA-20</a>&nbsp;satellites recorded that the maximum size of the ozone hole (present on Oct. 5, 2022) was 10.2 million square miles (26.4 million square kilometers), which was slightly larger than last year, but smaller than was recorded in 2015.&nbsp;



In addition, scientists from NOAA used a <a href="https://gml.noaa.gov/ozwv/dobson/">&nbsp;Dobson Spectrophotometer</a>, an optical instrument that records the total amount of ozone between Earth’s surface and the edge of space. The global average column ozone is around 300 Dobson units, and this year the lowest value was recorded on Oct. 3, when only 101 Dobson units were present over the South Pole. At that time, ozone was almost completely absent at altitudes between 8 and 13 miles (14 and 21 kilometers) – a pattern very similar to what was recorded last year.&nbsp;



Some scientists had been concerned about potential stratospheric impacts from the January 2022 eruption of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/tonga-eruption-blasted-unprecedented-amount-of-water-into-stratosphere">Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcan</a>o in the South Pacific Ocean. The&nbsp;<a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Volcano#:~:text=When%20Mount%20Pinatubo%20erupted%20in,and%20loss%20of%20human%20life.">1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption</a>&nbsp;released substantial amounts of sulfur dioxide that amplified ozone layer depletion. However, no direct impacts from Hunga Tonga have been detected in the Antarctic stratospheric data for the current year.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The Montreal Protocol, an international treaty signed in 1987, aims to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the use of reactive chlorine and bromine compounds in refrigerants and manufacturing processes. It was ratified by 198 nations and territories and has been in force since 1989. Since then, the atmospheric concentrations of the most important chlorofluorocarbons and related chlorinated hydrocarbons have either leveled off or decreased, and the ozone hole has slowly become smaller.&nbsp;



“Over time, steady progress is being made, and the hole is getting smaller,” said Paul Newman, chief scientist for Earth sciences at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center</a>. “We see some wavering as weather changes and other factors make the numbers wiggle slightly from day to day and week to week. But overall, we see it decreasing through the past two decades. The elimination of ozone-depleting substances through the Montreal Protocol is shrinking the hole.”



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens



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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

Ozone hole has been slowly shrinking over two decades

The ozone hole is an area in the stratosphere over...

Honey,Bee,Collecting,Pollen,On,Purple,Flower.,Bumblebee,On,A

We are all familiar with the engaging antics of young mammals and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-are-crossbreeding-in-human-altered-landscapes/">birds</a> as they play. They undertake activities with no apparent immediate purpose, other than to bring enjoyment. But is it possible that insects may also have a sense of playfulness?&nbsp;



In previous research on bumble bees, scientists found that they could train bees to roll small wooden balls along in exchange for a sugary reward, but they also observed that the same bees went out of their way to visit the balls and roll them around, even when there was no reward involved. This led the researchers to wonder whether these bees were actually engaging in play.



According to behaviorists, play can be defined according to five criteria. It is activity that has no immediate adaptive outcome, is voluntary and spontaneous, is different from usual functional behavior, is often repeated but not stereotyped, and is initiated when an animal is in a relaxed, unstressed state. With these criteria in mind, a research team led by <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University</a> set out to test whether the bumble bee behavior of rolling balls around fulfilled the definition of play.&nbsp;



Their initial experiment followed 45 novice bumble bees as they made their way from a nest to a feeding area where ‘nectar’ and pollen were available. On the way there, the bees could choose a direct path or could deviate into areas where either mobile or immobile wooden balls were available on the floor. The balls were all 15 mm in diameter and were either painted yellow or purple, or left the natural wood color. The experiment ran for 3 hours each day, over 18 days, and video recordings were made of all the bee movements.



The study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.08.013">Animal Behaviour</a>, reported a total of 910 ball-rolling actions by the 45 bumble bees. Individual bees rolled balls between 1 and 44 times on an experimental day, and between 1 and 117 times across the whole duration of the experiment. In addition, individual ball-rolling actions lasted between 0.4 and 31&nbsp;s, and for distances between 2 and 601&nbsp;mm. Statistical analysis showed that, after a bee’s first ball-rolling experience, it was more likely to enter the area of mobile balls than the area of fixed balls. As no food reward was associated with visits to the balls, the researchers concluded that the bees were choosing to visit the balls for reasons not related to foraging or any other functional purpose.&nbsp;



The study also found that younger bees (less than 7 days since emergence) rolled more balls than older bees, mirroring the more playful behavior of young humans and other juvenile mammals and birds. Furthermore, although male and female bees rolled comparable numbers of balls, male bees rolled them for longer time periods than their female counterparts.&nbsp;For female bees the ball-rolling behavior peaked at the age of 3 days while for males it peaked at the age of 5 days.&nbsp;



In a subsequent experiment, the researchers first gave 42 bumble bees access to two chambers, each of a different color. One chamber always contained movable balls and the other had no objects inside it. Once the bees were accustomed to finding balls in a chamber of a particular color, they were tested and given a choice between the two chambers, this time though, neither one contained any balls. The bees showed a striking preference for the color of the chamber previously associated with the wooden balls. These results again suggest that bumble bees find ball rolling rewarding and seek to repeat the experience.



The set-up of the experiments removed any notion that the bees were moving the balls for any greater purpose other than play. Rolling balls did not contribute to survival strategies, such as gaining food, clearing clutter, or mating and was done under stress-free conditions.&nbsp;The researchers concluded that the seemingly functionless ball-rolling activity is analogous to object play in mammals, and fulfils all the criteria of play behavior.&nbsp;



“It is certainly mind-blowing, at times amusing, to watch bumble bees show something like play. They approach and manipulate these ‘toys’ again and again," said study first author Samadi Galpayage. "It goes to show, once more, that despite their little size and tiny brains, they are more than small robotic beings. They may actually experience some kind of positive emotional states, even if rudimentary, like other larger fluffy, or not so fluffy, animals do. This sort of finding has implications for our understanding of sentience and welfare of insects and will, hopefully, encourage us to respect and protect life on Earth ever more.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This research provides a strong indication that insect minds are far more sophisticated than we might imagine. There are lots of animals that play just for the purposes of enjoyment, but most examples come from young mammals and birds," said Professor Lars Chittka, author of the recent book The Mind of a Bee. “We are producing ever-increasing amounts of evidence backing up the need to do all we can to protect insects, that are a million miles from the mindless, unfeeling creatures they are traditionally believed to be."



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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

Bumble bees can "play" with objects for fun

We are all familiar with the engaging antics of young...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a> has found that hybrids of two common North American <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-have-some-impressive-cognitive-skills/">songbirds</a> – the black-capped and mountain chickadee – are more likely to be found in areas where humans have altered the landscape in some ways. This is the first study to positively correlate hybridization in any animal species with anthropogenic landscape changes and to examine this relationship across the entire range of a species – in this case, almost all of western North America. 



The findings also contradict the widespread assumption that these two bird species rarely hybridize. In fact, black-capped and mountain chickadee hybrids seem to occur frequently across the U.S. and Canada.



“These are common birds. If you go anywhere in North America, you’ll find a chickadee,” said study lead author Kathryn Grabenstein, a postdoctoral fellow in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU Boulder. “And what we’re finding now is that if you see a chickadee in a place where both black-capped and mountain chickadees live, they’re probably at least a little bit of a hybrid chickadee.”



Scientists have long known that climate change, for instance, shifts the range of various species, bring them into contact with other species they would not usually interact with, and thus leading to hybridization. In this study, the researchers explored another important phenomenon: how human “disturbances” – such as building cities, clearing land, planting trees, or creating noise pollution – can affect the interactions between two related species whose ranges already overlap.



“What are the consequences of the ways we modify the landscape? We think about it mostly in terms of habitat loss, not necessarily in terms of species interaction modifications,” said study co-author Scott Taylor, an associate professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU Boulder. “This paper changes our understanding of this system incredibly.”&nbsp;



By comparing observational data from <a href="https://ebird.org/home">eBird</a> (an online database of bird observations) and DNA samples from 196 black-capped and 213 mountain chickadees at 81 sites in North America, the scientists discovered a positive, significant correlation between hybrids of these two species and regions where humans have disturbed their habitats.



“It’s hard to say whether this hybridization is good or bad, but it’s happening, and we will only understand the impacts through continued study. It is certainly something to consider when thinking about the future of some of these birds that we’re really familiar with in our backyards,” Taylor concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16476">Global Change Biology</a>.



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

Songbirds are crossbreeding in human-altered landscapes

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder...

Animal-based products constitute a major portion of an average American’s diet, and, as food systems in the U.S. become increasingly more complex and interconnected, these products often impact the environment in previously unknown ways. For instance, <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/scientists-cannot-fully-explain-the-behavior-of-water/">water</a> is heavily needed throughout the entire food supply. Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.pitt.edu/">University of Pittsburgh</a> has designed a model to assess the beef industry’s impact on virtual water flows (the hidden movement of water in food production) by tracing beef supply chains from calf production to beef consumption at the county level.



“Understanding beef demands and the spatial distribution of both feed and cattle production are key for evaluating the environmental sustainability of food systems and developing improvement strategies,” said study senior author Vikas Khanna, an associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.



According to the experts, all animal production requires large quantities of water, with the vast majority being used to produce feed. Since the irrigation process for feed requires “blue water” – water found in surface and ground reservoirs – it can lead to major environmental concerns such as water depletion, water logging, salinization, and soil degradation.



“To irrigate feed crops for each ton of boneless beef eaten in the U.S., we found that approximately 3.5 cubic meters of blue water is needed,”&nbsp;said study lead author Anaís Ostroski, a PhD student at Pittsburgh.&nbsp;“That’s equivalent to more than 900 gallons of water.”&nbsp;



By using an optimization-based framework, together with publicly available datasets on supply and demand, the researchers discovered that there is a large disconnect between consumption and production counties, with more than 22 billion cubic meters of virtual blue water being transferred in 2017 alone (more than the volume of the Great Salt Lake).



“Typically, real-world networks have a highly skewed degree of distributions with few highly connected intersections,” explained Khanna. “We observed this in our network, as the majority of counties have very few connections, while a small number of counties have a large amount of connections.”&nbsp;



In future research, the scientists aim to apply the framework they developed to clarify the environmental impact of other animal-based production practices and identify improvement opportunities.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c03986">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</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

What is the water impact of the U.S. beef industry?

Animal-based products constitute a major portion of an average American’s...

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> has recently released a set of topography maps providing new evidence for an ancient northern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-rainfall-in-eastern-china-linked-to-ocean-warming/">ocean</a> on Mars. This is the strongest case yet that the red planet once experienced sea-level rise caused by a prolonged warm and wet climate, starkly different from the harsh, frozen landscape of today’s Mars.



“What immediately comes to mind as one the most significant points here is that the existence of an ocean of this size means a higher potential for life,” said study lead author Benjamin Cardenas, an assistant professor of Geosciences at Penn State. “It also tells us about the ancient climate and its evolution. Based on these findings, we know there had to have been a period when it was warm enough and the atmosphere was thick enough to support this much liquid water at one time.”



By using topography data, the researchers were able to show definitive evidence of a 3.5-billion-year-old shoreline with substantial sedimentary accumulation, at least 900 meters thick, and covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometers.



“The big, novel thing that we did in this paper was think about Mars in terms of its stratigraphy and its sedimentary record,” Cardenas explained. “On Earth, we chart the history of waterways by looking at sediment that is deposited over time. We call that stratigraphy, the idea that water transports sediment and you can measure the changes on Earth by understanding the way that sediment piles up. That’s what we’ve done here — but it’s Mars.”



With the help of state-of-the-art software developed by the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">United States Geological Survey</a>, the experts discovered over 6,500 kilometers of fluvial ridges that are likely eroded river deltas or submarine-channel belts – the remnants of an ancient Martian shoreline. Elements of rock formation – including ridge-system thickness, elevations, locations, and possible sedimentary flow directions – helped the scientists understand the evolution of the region’s paleogeography.&nbsp;



“The rocks in Aeolis Dorsa [the area that was once an ocean] capture some fascinating information about what the ocean was like,” he said. “It was dynamic. The sea level rose significantly. Rocks were being deposited along its basins at a fast rate. There was a lot of change happening here.”



Since, on Earth, the ancient sedimentary basins contain the stratigraphic records of evolving climate and life, if scientists want to find a record of life on Mars, an ocean as big as that once covering Aeolis Dorsa would be the logical place to start.



“A major goal for the Mars Curiosity rover missions is to look for signs of life. It’s always been looking for water, for traces of habitable life. This is the biggest one yet. It’s a giant body of water, fed by sediments coming from the highlands, presumably carrying nutrients. If there were tides on ancient Mars, they would have been here, gently bringing in and out water. This is exactly the type of place where ancient Martian life could have evolved,” Cardenas concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007390">Journal of Geophysical Research Planets</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

Traces of an ancient ocean found on Mars

A team of researchers from the Pennsylvania State University has...

A new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mystery-fossil-found-to-be-an-early-relative-of-pterosaurs/">fossil</a> specimen of a long-extinct lizard, discovered on the Isle of Skye, has given paleontologists insight into the earliest origins of this reptile group. The tiny vertebrate, Bellairsia gracilis, is only 6 cm long and dates from the Middle Jurassic, around 166 million years ago. It was found in 2016 by a team led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> and National Museums Scotland, and is one of several new fossil discoveries from the island that cast light on the early evolution of vertebrate groups, including amphibians, reptiles and mammals.&nbsp;



Details of the exceptional new fossil, which comprises the most complete skeleton of a fossil lizard anywhere in the world, have been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05332-6">Nature</a>. The research represents a joint project between scientists from the universities of Warsaw, Oxford and UCL, and it reports on the mixture of ancestral and modern features present in this early representative of the group known as the squamata – the largest group of living reptiles that includes lizards, chameleons and snakes.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This little fossil lets us see evolution in action. In paleontology you rarely have the opportunity to work with such complete, well-preserved fossils coming from a time about which we know so little. Bellairsia&nbsp;has some modern lizard features, like traits related to cranial kinesis – that’s the movement of the skull bones in relation to one another. This is an important functional feature of many living squamates," explained study first author Dr. Mateusz Tałanda.



"It was one of the first fossils I found when I began working on Skye. The little black skull was poking out from the pale limestone, but it was so small I was lucky to spot it. Looking closer I saw the tiny teeth, and realized I’d found something important, but we had no idea until later that almost the whole skeleton was in there," said study co-author <a href="https://palaeobiology.web.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-elsa-panciroli">Dr. Elsa Panciroli</a>.



As a group, the squamates show numerous specialized features of the skull and skeleton today, but fossil evidence of the origins of these features is rare. Although we know the earliest representatives were present some 240 million years ago, the lack of fossil evidence from the Triassic and Jurassic Periods has made it difficult to map out the evolution of their anatomy. Comparing the new fossil to other examples of living and extinct squamates confirms that Bellairsia&nbsp;belongs to the "stem" of the squamate family tree. This means that it split from other lizards just before the origin of modern groups.&nbsp;



The researchers used X-ray computed tomography (CT) to study the details of the Bellairsia fossil, in much the same way that medical CT methods produce 3D images of a human body without needing to enter within. The researchers were able to obtain images of the entire fossil without removing it from the rock in which it formed all those millions of years ago. Whereas medical scanners work at the millimeter scale, the Oxford University CT scanner revealed details of the little lizard’s skeletal anatomy down to a few tens of micrometers.



Parts of the skeleton were then imaged in even greater detail, including the skull, hindlimbs and pelvis, at the European Synchrotron (ESRF, Grenoble, France). The intensity of the synchrotron beam permits a resolution of 4 micrometers, revealing details of the very smallest bones in the skeleton.



“Fossils like this&nbsp;Bellairsia&nbsp;specimen have huge value in filling gaps in our understanding of evolution and the history of life on Earth," said study co-author <a href="https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/people/roger-benson/">Professor Roger Benson</a>. "It used to be almost impossible to study such tiny fossils like this, but this study shows the power of new techniques, including CT scanning, to image these non-destructively and in great detail.”



Study co-author Professor Susan Evans (UCL) first described and named&nbsp;Bellairsia&nbsp;from a few jaw and skull bones from Oxfordshire 25 years ago. “It is wonderful to have a complete specimen of this tantalizing little lizard, and to see where it fits in the evolutionary tree," said Professor Evans. "Through fossils like&nbsp;Bellairsia&nbsp;we are gaining a better understanding of early lizard anatomy. Angus Bellairs, the lizard embryologist after [whom]&nbsp;Bellairsia&nbsp;was originally named, would have been delighted.”



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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

Scottish fossil sheds light on early lizard anatomy

A new fossil specimen of a long-extinct lizard, discovered on...

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are iconic Arctic marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-fight-over-scarce-resources-in-brutal-environments/">mammals</a> that show seasonal migrations in response to the presence of ice. They spend their summers in ice-free coastal waters around Arctic Greenland, Canada and Russia, and move to deeper waters that are 95 percent covered in ice for the winter. They need to time their fall migration to coincide with the formation of ice floes so that they do not become stuck in the fast ice. As the climate has changed, ice has formed later each year and melted earlier in the spring, and researchers have wondered what impacts these environmental changes are having on narwhal seasonal movements.&nbsp;



The small whales, also known as ‘unicorns of the sea,’ are creatures of habit, following relatively inflexible migratory paths and patterns each year. And, since they are long-lived – most survive until they are at least 50, and some until they are 100 – it has always been thought that they would be more susceptible to the impacts of climate change. Animal species with long lifespans produce offspring relatively slowly and take longer to manifest genetic change or evolution than animals with shorter lifespans.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In a new study, published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121092119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, researchers from universities in Canada and Denmark have used satellite telemetry to track the seasonal movements of 40 narwhals between 1997 and 2018. They have focused particularly on the timing of the animals’ movements and compared them with data on local and regional changes in temperature and ice formation.&nbsp;



The results of the long-term study show that, over the 21 years, narwhals have delayed the timing of their fall departure by around 10 days per decade. They leave their summer grounds later and later each year, and also take an average of about four days extra in the earliest phase of their transit. Currently, the pod of narwhals leaves its summer grounds 17 days later than it did in 1997.



“We looked at satellite tracking data spanning 21 years from the Canadian Arctic, and found significant delays in the timing of narwhal autumn migrations, where narwhals were remaining longer in their summer areas at a rate of 10 days per decade,” said Dr. Courtney Shuert, lead author and post-doctoral fellow in the Statistical Ecology Research Group in the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). “There were also sex-specific differences in departures, with the male narwhals starting the migration out of the summering areas, while females, potentially with dependent young, departed later by almost a week.”



Narwhals have a preference for cold water, and their space use is largely tempered by ice cover and the availability of open water regions. As a result, they may be residing in coastal waters within the larger summering areas, until ice formation in the autumn, and an increasing risk of entrapment, forces them to move off to deeper waters in the wintering areas in central Baffin Bay.&nbsp;Other research has shown that ocean freeze-over in this area is shifting to occur, on average, around five days later per decade, thus matching the pattern of narwhal movement changes.



“There’s this general trend [towards delaying migration], but there’s also a lot of inter-annual flexibility, which highlights that they’re having this strategic approach to when they’re leaving and they’re tracking these broad-scale climate trends,” Shuert said.



These findings raise hope that narwhals in particular, and long-lived species in general, may be able to survive global warming despite their slower genetic evolution. Changing behavior patterns may be one of the only adaptive strategies available for species that exhibit high site fidelity and strong ties with migration routes, and that are faced with climate change.&nbsp;



Prior research has shown that many&nbsp;<a href="https://phys.org/tags/land+animals/">land animals</a>&nbsp;and birds have been able to alter their migration patterns as the planet has grown warmer. But, as the researchers involved in the current study note, little research has been done to find out if marine species are doing the same. “The rate of change that we’re seeing now in the Arctic is a huge concern for a lot of animals because it could exceed how quickly the animals can adapt through evolution,” said Shuert. “But [these findings] really show this idea of behavioral flexibility and how important it can be to bolster these populations against change.”



Does this change in behavior mean that narwhals will be able to adapt to climate change successfully? “Unfortunately, departing later is not necessarily good news for the narwhal,” said Dr. Marie Auger-Méthé, senior author and an associate professor in the IOF. “Because staying in the summering grounds could result in further exposure to shipping traffic associated with the new iron mine, it may not be beneficial to the narwhals in the long term. We know they are sensitive to shipping disturbance, and that their stress levels have been rising over the past 20 years.”



“In addition, staying in their summering grounds longer could increase the chance of narwhals being caught in quickly freezing ice. Such ice entrapments can kill hundreds of narwhals.” The narwhals may also increase their exposure to predators, such as Orcas, by staying back in summering grounds or leaving the wintering grounds too early.



Climate change and loss of sea ice is creating stressors for these animals, and they are adapting to a new life in the Arctic. “Natural resource exploitation, ice breaking, and tourism are also impacting narwhal migratory patterns, “Auger-Méthé said. “Climate change and increased human exposure are creating additional stress for these whales, and with it, comes consequences for human activity as well.”



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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

Narwhals are modifying their behavior due to climate change

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are iconic Arctic marine mammals that show...

The cognitive and memory decline observed in <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/alzheimers-risk-elevated-by-exposure-to-ddt/">Alzheimer’s</a> disease (AD) is caused by the accumulation of β-amyloid protein (Aβ), which leads to neural impairment. Previous studies have shown that oxytocin – a peptide hormone responsible for parturition, bonding, and lactation – could also regulate cognitive performance and behavior in the central nervous system of rodents. 



However, while research suggests that oxytocin could play an important role in reversing memory loss caused by cognitive disorders such as AD, until recently this hormone could only be efficiently delivered to the brain through intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration – an invasive technique that is impractical to implement clinically. 



Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/">Tokyo University of Science</a> has explored the possibility of delivering oxytocin to the central nervous system via intranasal (IN) administration, a considerably less invasive method. The experts devised a technique to increase the efficiency of peptide delivery to the brain by introducing cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) and a penetration accelerating sequence (PAS) through structural modifications, and leveraged this approach to prepare an oxytocin derivative, PAS-CPPs-oxytocin.



“We have previously shown that oxytocin reverses amyloid&nbsp;𝛽&nbsp;peptide (25-35) (A𝛽25-35)-induced impairment of synaptic plasticity in rodents. We wanted to see if&nbsp;PAS-CPPs-oxytocin&nbsp;could be delivered more efficiently to the mouse brain for clinical application, and if it improved cognitive functional behavior in mice,”&nbsp;reported study senior author Jun-ichiro Oka, an expert in Neuropharmacology at Tokyo University.



After developing an A𝛽25-35 peptide-induced amnesia model by supplying A𝛽25-35 to the mouse brain via ICV delivery, the scientists assessed the spatial working and spatial reference memories of mice by using the Y-maze and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. After confirming that memory was affected in A𝛽25-35-impaired mice, the researchers administered PAS-CPPs-oxytocin and native oxytocin via an IN and an ICV route, respectively, in order to clarify whether learning and memory improved in the treated mice. Finally, they profiled the distribution of the IN-administered derivative in brain tissues by imaging of a fluorescent-tagged oxytocin derivative.



The tagged PAS-CPPs-oxytocin showed efficient distribution throughout the brain after its IN administration, and, while the ICV administration of native oxytocin improved test outcomes in both the Y-maze and MWM tests, the IN administration of PAS-CPPs-oxytocin led to better outcomes in the Y-maze test.&nbsp;



“My team is the first to show that the oxytocin derivative can improve the A𝛽25-35-induced memory impairment in mice. This suggests that oxytocin may help reduce the cognitive decline we see in Alzheimer's disease. The oxytocin derivative enters the brain more efficiently. Furthermore, since IN delivery is a non-invasive procedure, this modified version of the hormone could potentially be a clinically viable treatment for Alzheimer's disease,” Professor Oka concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/npr2.12292">Neuropsychopharmacology Reports</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

The love hormone oxytocin may improve cognitive decline

The cognitive and memory decline observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)...

Scruffy yards are usually frowned upon and, especially in fall, people go to great trouble to collect up leaves and ‘tidy’ their gardens. Queues of trailers packed with garden waste are a familiar sight at recycling centers, as home owners work to keep control of their green space. But what if we saw garden waste differently – what if it had value left right there, in our back yards. According to Professor Per Gundersen of the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>, we would be making a useful contribution to both the climate and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vanilla-cultivation-can-boost-biodiversity-in-madagascar/">biodiversity</a> crisis if we simply left our garden waste where it falls.&nbsp;



Each year, Danes shuttle nearly a million tons of waste from their gardens to recycling depots, calculates Gundersen, who is a professor of forest ecology at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management. This consists mostly of leaves, twigs and branches, and it is all sorted and processed by municipal waste management systems. The largest branches and trunks are burned for bioenergy, while small branches, leaves and grass clippings are composted.&nbsp;



According to a simple modelling exercise carried out by Gundersen, leaving this waste to decompose in our gardens represents an opportunity to store large quantities of carbon, rather than delivering it back into the atmosphere as CO2 when the waste is burned.&nbsp;



“When garden waste is burned or composted by municipal waste schemes, CO2 is returned to the atmosphere very quickly. By keeping waste in the garden, the decomposition process is significantly slower, sometimes taking several years. In practice, this means that one builds up a larger and larger storage of CO2 in the garden in the form of twigs, dead branches and leaves that are left to decompose,” says Gundersen. “If everyone went all-in and learned how to manage their garden’s branches and twigs, for example, my calculations suggest that we could store about 600,000 tons of CO2 annually.”&nbsp;



In fact, when Gundersen deducts the utility that branches and trunks used for bioenergy in the current system provide, the CO2 storage potential of garden waste could meet about half of one percent of Denmark’s 70 percent reduction target for 2030. Additionally, leaves and twigs are a boon for backyard biodiversity as they provide a food source and diverse microhabitats for animals to inhabit.&nbsp;



“Leaves help nourish the garden as they feed an entire ecosystem of decomposers. From fungi, bacteria and tiny, invisible soil creatures to earthworms and roly-poly bugs, which help break down and metabolize organic material so that nutrients are released into the soil. These decomposers then act as important food for larger animals, like hedgehogs and birds,” explains Gundersen.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



As microorganisms, worms and other decomposers use the leaves for food, they will convert the biomass into energy and release CO2 slowly as a consequence of respiration. It will take several years for the CO2 to be released into the atmosphere, in contrast to the rapid release due to burning. A portion of the gnawed leaves will also become soil humus, a common name for the organic material that enriches soil and is important for plant health.&nbsp;



“A high humus content in topsoil makes for a dark soil that has a good structure and retains water and nutrients well, which is important if you want garden plants to thrive,” explains Gundersen.



He suggests raking the fallen leaves into planting beds where vegetables are grown, or over to areas where you want to prevent the establishment of weeds. They can also be gathered in a part of the garden that you are willing to keep wild and allow to manage itself. By spring, a large portion of the leaves will have already disintegrated and returned into the invisible garden cycle. Leaves from linden and ash trees disappear quickly from gardens, while oak and fruit tree leaves are slower to break down, making them ideal for soil insulation around bulbous plants or vegetables, for example.



“Our gardens can contribute to both the climate and biodiversity crisis by harnessing more garden waste. I also think that it will lead to a little less gardening in the long run. And then it’s more fun, because there will be a greater abundance of life around the garden. We just need to dare to let go of control and make more room for nature by allowing for twigs and a few dead branches, for example,” concludes Gundersen.



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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

Garden waste could store 600,000 tons of CO2  annually

Scruffy yards are usually frowned upon and, especially in fall,...

Over the past two centuries, human activities have led to global warming, a massive carbon imbalance, and biodiversity loss. However, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/">University of Sheffield</a>, there are certain cases where human stewardship appears to help remediate these damages. By examining tropical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diverse-forests-are-more-resilient-and-productive/">forests</a> from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, the experts found that those located on protected Indigenous lands were the healthiest, highest functioning, most ecologically resilient, and most diverse.&nbsp;



“I’m looking at Indigenous lands to see how conservation outcomes on these lands are, instead of only focusing on protected areas, which are often state run, so that conservation policies might be designed to be more effective and equitable,” said study lead author Jocelyne Sze, an ecologist at the University of Sheffield.



To evaluate forest health, the scientists examined four types of lands: non-protected lands, Indigenous lands, protected areas that overlap Indigenous lands, and protected forests outside of Indigenous lands.



“We used a metric called forest integrity to measure the quality of the forest pertaining to its structure, its composition, and its function—it refers to how resilient and healthy a forest is. Our previous research found that across the tropics, deforestation and degradation rates were lower in Indigenous lands compared to non-protected areas, but deforestation and degradation rates are quite simple measures, so we wanted to look at forest integrity,” Sze explained.



The analysis revealed that forests in areas where protected and Indigenous lands overlapped had the highest integrity, with the Americas having the most land falling into this category, and Africa the least.&nbsp;



However, some of the findings surprised the scientists. “It was actually really interesting that it wasn’t all positive. We found that, in Asia and the Americas, within spaces that are only Indigenous lands - so outside of protected areas - the effect on integrity was actually worse than non-protected areas,” Sze reported.



This surprising feature may be explained by the fact that, in many parts of Asia, for instance, Indigenous lands and Indigenous rights were not recognized. Thus, although an area may be characterized as traditionally Indigenous, Indigenous people may actually have little control over their lands. Moreover, since many minerals, oil, and gas deposits are often found within Indigenous lands, these lands are often highly exploited.



In future studies, the researchers hope to clarify how Indigenous land rights and management fit into current conservation policies. “My research is very much inspired by what decolonial climate movements are trying to achieve, in trying to have Indigenous communities and local communities have more autonomy over these spaces,” Sze concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.040">Current Biology</a>.



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

Forests in protected Indigenous lands are healthy and resilient

Over the past two centuries, human activities have led to...

On Tuesday, October 26, 2022, the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> listed Antarctica’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emperor-penguins-may-not-survive-climate-change/">emperor penguin</a> (Aptenodytes forsteri) as an endangered species. Although this species is highly resilient and can endure strong winds and freezing temperature in order to breed and protect their eggs and offspring, melting sea ice is currently upending the habitat they need to breed, feed, and protect themselves from predators, possibly bringing them on the brink of extinction by the end of the century.



“This listing reflects the growing extinction crisis,” said Martha Williams, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Climate change is having a profound impact on species around the world.”



Although the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/">Center for Biological Diversity</a> already petitioned Fish and Wildlife to add the emperor penguin on their Endangered Species Act in 2011, no actions have been undertaken for more than a decade, thus further increasing the risks this species is exposed to. As previous <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15806">studies</a> have argued, while sea ice around Antarctica has proven more durable than that at the North Pole, almost all emperor penguin colonies in the southern continent could be pushed to extinction by the end of 21st century, unless urgent actions to dramatically decrease global greenhouse gas emissions are taken.&nbsp;



“That body of science really helped to make this decision really clear,” said Shaye Wolf, the Center for Biological Diversity’s climate science director. “That the penguin is endangered by climate change and needs all the protection it can get.”&nbsp;



Although the emperor penguin populations appear to be stable at the moment – with 625,000 to 650,000 birds shuffling around Antarctica – there are already ominous signs of what the future may hold for this iconic bird. For instance, in recent years, the breaking of sea ice before the chicks were ready to swim at Cape Crozier or Halley Bay led to breeding failures.



Scientists and conservationists hope that the listing of this species as endangered will lead to stricter limits on fishing for krill – the penguin’s main food source - around Antarctica, as well as compel United States officials to consider the climate implications of various federal projects before approving them.



“If we manage to take action, and especially action now, we can still avoid the extinction,” concluded Stephanie Jenouvrier, a scientist at the <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> who studied the current situation of Antarctica’s emperor penguins.



The official document listing the penguins as endangered can be accessed <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-23164.pdf">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

Antarctica’s emperor penguin officially listed as endangered

On Tuesday, October 26, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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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?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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



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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



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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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