Quantum entanglement is a mind-boggling phenomenon in quantum mechanics that intrigues both scientists and the public alike.



Unlike the predictable nature of classical physics, quantum mechanics thrives on unpredictability, often challenging our everyday perceptions. This is particularly evident in the behavior of entangled particles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-quantum-entanglement">Understanding quantum entanglement</h2>



In quantum mechanics, particles can exist in multiple states simultaneously, a concept known as superposition. Entanglement elevates this idea: when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-entanglement-laws-thermodynamics-follow-entropy-rule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">particles become entangled</a>, their states are interlinked.



A change in one particle's state instantly influences the other, regardless of distance—imagine two distant light bulbs flickering in sync across the cosmos.



Entanglement suggests that information can be shared instantaneously between particles, defying the notion that nothing travels faster than light.



This "<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-entanglement-spooky-action-at-a-distance-persists-between-top-quarks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spooky action at a distance</a>," as Albert Einstein famously termed it, prompts profound questions about the nature of space and time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-of-measurement">Challenges of measurement</h2>



Measurement in quantum mechanics presents unique challenges. Observing one particle in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-dance-entangled-photons-wave-functions-captured-real-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an entangled pair</a> determines the states of both, leading to critical inquiries: What constitutes a 'measurement,' and how does it influence our understanding of reality?



The complex mathematics underpinning quantum mechanics -- incorporating concepts like Hilbert spaces, wave functions, and operators -- can be intimidating, rendering entanglement less accessible to many.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fascinating-puzzle">Fascinating puzzle</h2>



Simply put, quantum entanglement is just too complicated for most people to fully understand. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-tunneling-allow-particles-break-light-speed-barrier/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">It defies classical intuitions</a>, involves sophisticated mathematics, and urges us to reevaluate our understanding of reality.



That is, until now. 



Enter Professor Carl Kocher, a pioneer of the study of quantum entanglement. He is currently a member of the <a href="https://quantumfoundry.ucsb.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Quantum Foundry</a> at University of California Santa Barbara and Professor Emeritus at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oregon State University</a>.



Professor Kocher is the author of a new article in Frontiers in Quantum Science and Technology, explaining his groundbreaking 1964-67 experiments in quantum entanglement and discussing the 'paradox' of quantum entanglement.



In the following guest editorial, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carl-Kocher" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Kocher</a> helps us stretch our minds to understand this apparently paradoxical phenomenon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-quantum-entanglement-0">Understanding quantum entanglement</h2>



My new article, ‘<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/quantum-science-and-technology/articles/10.3389/frqst.2024.1451239/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Quantum Entanglement of Optical Photons: The First Experiment, 1964-67</a>’, is intended to convey the spirit of a small research project that reaches into uncharted territory. 



The article breaks with tradition, as it offers a first-person account of the strategy and challenges for the experiment, as well as an interpretation of the final result and its significance. 



In this guest editorial, I will introduce the subject and also attempt to illuminate the question ‘What is a paradox?’



Let’s begin with the gyroscope that I bought when I was eight, from a store that sold novelties and magic tricks. The spinning disk, supported at one end of its shaft, did not fall, but moved slowly around in a horizontal plane. 



This behavior seems mysterious or paradoxical in the context of common experience that excludes gyroscopes, but makes complete sense in the context of Newtonian mechanics, which resolves the paradox by predicting precisely how gyroscopes will behave.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-of-quantum-theory">Evolution of quantum theory</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/radical-new-theory-finally-unites-gravity-spacetime-and-the-quantum-realm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Quantum theory</a>, conceived in the mid-1920s, has been impressively successful in accounting for the properties and interactions of atoms and molecules. 



In 1935, Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen stirred controversy with a thought experiment in which two particles of common origin move apart, noting that quantum theory predicts correlations in subsequent measurements of their spins.



The correlation may seem quite puzzling, as a measurement on one of the particles appears to influence a subsequent measurement on the other, even if the particles do not interact.



In current terminology, these correlations are an example of entanglement, and the correlation phenomenon is known as the EPR paradox.



The puzzle has become a subject for much discussion and analysis, especially because there was (and is) no known mechanism for measurements to communicate with each other.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disentangling-quantum-entanglement">Disentangling quantum entanglement</h2>



In 1964 I was intrigued by this unfamiliar effect and began to think of a way to actually perform the EPR experiment -- or at least a version of it -- for observing the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-entanglement-discovery-is-a-revolutionary-step-forward/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">correlation and entanglement</a>. It would be a low-energy experiment that could be set up in a small laboratory.



For the experiment outlined here, the particles of interest are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-entanglement-photons-used-to-measure-earth-rotation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">visible-light photons</a>, which are noninteracting, emitted by excited calcium atoms in a two-stage spontaneous emission process. The polarization states of the photons, which are related to their spins, can be measured simply, with ordinary linear polarizers. 



Photomultiplier detectors count the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-dance-entangled-photons-wave-functions-captured-real-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">individual photons</a>, #1 (green) and #2 (violet), and timing circuits enable the identification of photon pairs from the same atom. A rotatable linear polarizer is mounted in front of each detector.



In simplest terms, the experiment involves counting the rate at which photon pairs are detected, as a function of the orientation of the polarizers. A photon pair detected from the same atom is recorded as a “coincidence count.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-theory-and-experiment-agree">Theory and experiment agree</h2>



Quantum theory makes the following predictions:



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-computer-photons-create-vortex-when-they-collide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Each photon</a>, taken separately, has a 50% chance of being transmitted by its polarizer, regardless of its angle of orientation. </li>



<li>If the polarizer axes are parallel, both photons from the same atom can pass through their polarizers and be counted. Coincidence counts will be observed. </li>



<li>If the polarizer axes are perpendicular, it never happens that both photons pass through their polarizers. Therefore, no coincidence counts will be observed.</li>
</ol>



Predictions #1 and #2 are not surprising, as the green and violet beams of light are unpolarized.



Prediction #3, discussed further in my article, is a quantum entanglement effect with no analog in classical (non-quantum) physics. It is especially interesting because it can be tested experimentally. I designed the experiment specifically for this purpose.



The results of the experiment, after nearly three years of effort in the laboratory, clearly demonstrate that coincidence counts are recorded if the polarizer axes are parallel, and that no coincidences are recorded if the polarizers are perpendicular. The agreement between theory and experiment is unequivocal and striking.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-so-is-there-a-paradox">So is there a paradox?</h2>



In our brief discussion of the gyroscope, no paradox was acknowledged because Newton’s theory (classical dynamics) fully explains how a gyroscope moves. 



Furthermore, both the theory and the observed gyroscopic behavior are compatible with our life experience and intuitive ability to grasp natural processes in the classical realm.



In the entanglement case, quantum theory accounts for the observed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/super-photons-fascinating-behavior-in-quantum-realm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">correlation of the photon polarizations</a>. But even when a theory predicts experimental results, a paradox may remain if the intuition cannot reach out to connect with it.



Take another look at predictions #1 and #3 above. If we draw on our experience of life in a non-quantum world, we may notice something very strange when the polarizers are “crossed” at 90 degrees. 



If each photon has a 50% chance of transmission through its polarizer, why don’t we get coincidences 25% of the time? Instead, we observe none at all. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stretching-the-mind-to-resolve-the-paradox">Stretching the mind to resolve the paradox</h2>



At first consideration, this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/impossibility-paradox-calculating-incalculable-quantum-realm-particles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">does seem to qualify as a paradox</a>. One possible explanation could involve a missing component of quantum theory - perhaps a causal mechanism that could allow one photon, or one measurement, to communicate with the other. 



However, despite extensive research, no evidence has been found for such a mechanism.



As we do not live in an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-quantum-revolution-will-impact-all-aspects-of-society/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">overtly quantum world</a>, classical phenomena may influence our thought processes - even when we venture into the quantum realm. It may therefore remain a challenge to assimilate entanglement into the intuition.



I believe that the paradox can be at least partially resolved when further thought and experience, such as the experiment considered here, ‘stretch the mind’ to more fully embrace entanglement and other quantum phenomena.



I have come to view these aspects of nature as ‘strangely wonderful’.



The full paper and study can we read at <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/quantum-science-and-technology/articles/10.3389/frqst.2024.1451239/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Quantum Science and Technology</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

Quantum entanglement: A simple way to fully grasp this 'impossible' concept

Quantum entanglement is a mind-boggling phenomenon in quantum mechanics that intrigues both scientists and the public alike. Unlike the predictable nature of classical physics, quantum mechanics thrives on unpredictability, often challenging our everyday perceptions. This is particularly evident in the behavior of entangled particles. Understanding quantum entanglement In quantum mechanics, particles can exist in multiple states simultaneously, a concept known as superposition. Entanglement elevates this idea: when particles become entangled, their states are interlinked. A change in one particle's state instantly influences the other, regardless of distance—imagine...

Interest in climate, or eco-anxiety – characterized as the chronic fear of environmental doom emerging from observing the impacts of climate change – has increased over the past years, and is particularly prevalent among young people. A recent study led by the&nbsp;<a href="https://cast.ac.uk/">Center for Climate Change and Social Transformations</a> at the University of Bath has now found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pandemic-stress-is-compounded-by-climate-anxiety/">climate anxiety</a> might be an important trigger for climate action, by helping eco-anxious people adapt their high-carbon lifestyles to become more environmentally friendly.&nbsp;



The scientists investigated the views of 1,338 UK adults over two time points, in 2020 and 2022, to assess the prevalence of eco-anxiety, identify the factors that predict it, and find out whether it could lead to behavioral changes and climate action. Although over three-quarters of the UK populations claim to be worried about climate change, the analysis revealed that only 4.6 percent reported experiencing climate anxiety in 2022 (a small increase from four percent in 2020). Younger individuals and those with higher generalized anxiety were more likely to experience eco-anxiety.



According to the scientists, this phenomenon should not be seen as a purely negative one. Instead, for many people it could be a motivating force for taking actions to reduce greenhouse emissions, such as saving energy, buying second-hand, borrowing, renting, or repurposing various items.



Interestingly, the researchers discovered that media exposure - for instance, TV images of raging storms and other extreme weather events - seemed to have a stronger influence on climate anxiety than direct, personal experience of climate impacts.



“With increasing media coverage of climate impacts, such as droughts and fires in the UK and devastating flooding in Pakistan, climate anxiety may well increase,” said study lead author Lorraine Whitmarsh, an environmental psychologist at the University of Bath. “Our findings suggest this can spur some people to take action to help tackle the issue – but we also know there are barriers to behavior change that need to be addressed through more government action.”



The experts highlight the importance of media as a motivating force for the lifestyle changes that are needed to mitigate climate change. “Our results suggest that the media could play an important role in creating positive pro-environmental behavior change, but only if they carefully communicate the reality of climate change without inducing a sense of hopelessness,” concluded co-author Lois Player, a graduate student in Psychology at Bath.&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101866">Journal of Environmental Psychology</a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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;

Climate anxiety can lead to climate action

Interest in climate, or eco-anxiety – characterized as the chronic...

Avocado <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pheromones-could-help-get-deadly-palm-weevils-under-control/">weevils</a> are small beetles with long snouts that drill through fruit to lay their eggs, with their grubs or larvae boring into avocado seeds to feed, and rendering these fruits inedible. Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a> (UCR) has set to find ways of preventing the “evil” weevils from destroying California’s supply of avocadoes.&nbsp;



“They’re extremely hard to control because they spend most of their time deep inside the fruit, where they’re very well protected from insecticides and natural enemies,” said UCR entomologist Mark Hoddle.



Since these insects are highly reclusive, they are rather understudied, with information about them hard to come by. “All books on avocado pest management will tell you these weevils are bad. They’re well recognized, serious pests of avocados, but we know practically nothing about them,” Hoddle explained.



While a common strategy of controlling weevils is to introduce other insects that feed on them, it will most likely fail to work in this case, since the natural enemies of these pests are extremely rare in areas where weevils are native, such as Mexico. Thus, to combat avocado weevils in Mexico and to prevent them from being introduced into California, Hoddle and his colleagues set to identify these creatures’ specific pheromones – chemicals insects produce and release into the environment to be “smelled” by their conspecifics in order to guide their foraging or mating behaviors.



“We could flood avocado orchards with so much pheromone that males and females can’t find each other, and therefore can’t reproduce,” Hoddle said. “This would reduce damage to fruit and enable growers to use less insecticides.”&nbsp;



Other pheromone-directed control strategies could include mass trappings, using the pheromones as a lure, or an “attract-and-kill” approach, where the pheromones attract the weevils to small but lethal sources of insecticide.



In an initial phase of this project, the scientists collected weevil pheromones from an area in Mexico with large weevil populations, and attempted to synthesize them in the laboratory. “Weevil pheromones have complicated structures. When they’re made in a lab, they can have left- or right-handed forms,” said Hoddle.&nbsp;



Until now, the team made a mixture of both forms to see if the blend would work as an attractant. However, weevils did not seem to be particularly attracted to it, suggesting that one of the forms in the blend could be antagonizing the response to the other. In a next step, the researchers aim to synthesize the individual forms of the chemicals and test the weevil’s response to each in Mexican avocado orchards.&nbsp;



---



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;

Weevil pheromones could save California’s avocado orchards

Avocado weevils are small beetles with long snouts that drill...

A second attempt to launch the Artemis moon rocket was canceled today after the the massive spacecraft sprang a new fuel leak. According to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/astronomy-space-launches-exploration-science-9a89bb77af17be3e3b5891a0b224ac69">Associated Press</a>,  a two-week launch blackout period kicks in after Tuesday. This means that the rocket may be hauled off the pad and back into its hangar, which could push the flight into October.



Before <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> can send astronauts back to the moon, they need a successful test light of the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html">Space Launch System</a> (SLS), a giant rocket measuring 322 feet in height and weighing 5.5 million pounds when filled with propellants. If weather conditions allow, this massive rocket will start its journey to the moon – this time with no astronauts on board - on Monday, August 29, 2022 at 8:33 a.m. Eastern time, in a space mission called Artemis I. 



SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA constructed since Saturn V took astronauts to the moon in the historical missions from the 1960s and 1970s. After lift-off, several events will occur in fast succession. Two minutes after leaving the ground, the two thinner side boosters attached to the rocket’s massive core stage will exhaust their solid rocket fuel and fall into the Atlantic Ocean, while eight minutes into flight, the four engines of the core stage will shut down, the stage will drop away, leaving the rocket’s second stage and the Orion capsule – which will carry astronauts in the future – to start their trek through outer space.&nbsp;



Approximately two hours after take-off, in a phenomenon called a “trans-lunar injection,” the second stage will fire again for about 18 minutes and will push Orion on a course to the moon, separating it from the second stage. On the sixth day, Orion will begin its orbit of the moon, and on the 24th day it will start its return trip to Earth.



“We’re going to stress it and test it. We’re going to make it do things that we would never do with a crew on it in order to try to make it as safe as possible,”&nbsp;said NASA administrator and former space shuttle astronaut Bill Nelson. If everything goes well, a second mission is scheduled for May 2024, carrying a team of four astronauts to the moon and back – the first such event since Apollo 17 reached the moon in December 1972.



“This is now the Artemis generation. We were in the Apollo generation. This is a new generation. This is a new type of astronaut,” Nelson added. &nbsp;“To all of us who gaze up at the moon, dreaming of the day humankind returns to the lunar surface … folks, we’re here.”



<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg">NASA Television</a>’s online coverage of the Artemis I launch is set to begin at midnight as the process of filling the rocket’s propellant tanks starts, while the agency’s full coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Monday.



Image Credit: NASA



---



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;

Artemis rocket launch called off due to fuel leak

 A second attempt to launch the Artemis moon rocket was...

Amber is formed when plant resin fossilizes, and sometimes this process preserves evidence of small animals that were trapped in the sticky substance as it oozed out of the plant, millions of years ago. In the past, most ants captured in amber have come from the northern hemisphere, giving rise to the assumption that ants evolved originally in North America or South Asia. But now scientists have analyzed and described an extinct ant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eight-new-species-of-gecko-discovered-in-madagascar/">species</a> that is new to science and that was trapped in amber of African origin.



The amber that was found in northwest Ethiopia is estimated to date from the early Miocene, and is between 16 and 23 million years old. &nbsp;Among the organisms trapped inside are 13 ants of a previously unknown extinct species. Using the X-ray light source PETRA III at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg, researchers led by <a href="https://www.uni-jena.de/">Friedrich Schiller University Jena</a> examined these fossil remains and have now named and described the insect, which represents a brand new genus and species.&nbsp;



The name given to the new species and genus is †Desyopone hereon gen. et sp. nov. With this name, the scientists honor the two research institutions involved – DESY and Hereon – that contributed significantly to this find with the help of modern imaging techniques. Ultimately, it was only possible to identify the new species and genus through the combination of extensive phenotype data from scans, and recent findings from genome analyses of living ants.



Initially, the anatomical structures of the preserved ants led the scientists to place them in the subfamily known as Aneuretinae. This group currently consists mostly of extinct ants known only from fossils, although there is one living species that is found in Sri Lanka. However, after detailed and high-resolution images were obtained using synchrotron micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning, the researchers revised their identification and decided the new species was more appropriately placed in the ant subfamily Ponerinae.&nbsp;



“The complex waist segment and the large but rudimentary mandibles – the mouthparts – are more familiar to us from the Ponerinae, a dominant group of predatory ants,” said Brendon Boudinot, who is currently working at the University of Jena on a Humboldt Research Fellowship. “For this reason, we’ve assigned the new species and genus to this subfamily, even though it has a unique appearance, as the long waist and otherwise unconstricted abdomen are more reminiscent of the Aneuretinae.”



According to the research report, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects13090796">Insects</a>, this piece of amber is exceptional in several ways. “The piece with these ants is from the only amber deposit in Africa, so far, that has featured fossil organisms in inclusions. Altogether, there are only a few fossil insects from this continent,” explained Vincent Perrichot from the University of Rennes. “Although amber has long been used as jewelry by locals in the region, its scientific significance has only become clear to researchers in the last 10 years or so.”



It was a complicated process to date the amber, and thereby the fossils enclosed within. Initial dating techniques gave an age of 95 million years, but this was revised to between 16 and 23 million years by determining the age of the fossil pollen and spores captured in the amber alongside the ants. According to Perrichot, “The specimen therefore offers what is currently a unique insight into an ancient forest ecosystem in Africa.”&nbsp;



The present research results also contribute to putting male ants more under the spotlight of evolutionary research. “Because they have such a different body shape compared to the worker ants, all of whom are female, research has neglected them for a long time. This is because males are simply too often overlooked because they cannot be properly classified,” said Boudinot.



“Our results not only update the literature on identifying male ants, but also show that by understanding male-specific features, such as the sex-specific shape of the mandible, we can learn more about the evolutionary patterns of female ants.” This is because in the present study, the researchers have identified a fundamental pattern that occurs in all ants, namely that male and female mandibles follow the same developmental pattern in most species, even if they look very different.



The analysis of these extinct and ancient ants was only possible with the use of state-of-the-art technology. Images of the external and internal anatomy of the ants were obtained using high-resolution imaging techniques, such as micro-CT, in which X-rays are used to look through all layers of the preserved ant bodies. This was particularly important as the genetic material of the ants could not be analyzed due to the fact that their bodies were embedded in rock-hard amber.&nbsp;



“Since the ants enclosed in amber that are to be examined are very small and only show a very weak contrast in classical CT, we carried out the CT at our measuring station, which specializes in such micro-tomography,” explained Jörg Hammel from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon. “This provided the researchers with a stack of images that basically showed the sample that was being studied, slice by slice.”



Put together, these layered images produced detailed three-dimensional images of the internal structure of the animals, which the researchers could use to reconstruct the anatomy with precision. In this way, modern technology helped the researchers to look back into the distant past and identify the details that ultimately led to the identification of the new species and its genus.&nbsp;



&nbsp;---



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

New ant species discovered in ancient amber

Amber is formed when plant resin fossilizes, and sometimes this...

Hydroquinine is an organic compound, closely related to quinine, that has proven anti-malarial and anti-arrhythmia properties. It occurs naturally in the bark of some tree species and has been the focus of attention by researchers recently because they thought it may have the potential to fight against antibiotic resistant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-can-jump-between-healthy-pets-and-owners/">bacteria</a>. The phenomenon of multi-drug resistant microbes has become a global health burden in the past few decades, and there is a pressing need for the development of new antimicrobial drugs to combat infections.



When bacteria are exposed to an antibiotic multiple times, new strains of the bacteria evolve that are resistant to the drug. This means that the resistant bacteria are no longer controlled or killed by the antibiotics. In fact, they survive and are even able to multiply in the presence of an antibiotic to which they have developed resistance. As a consequence of this, the treatment of bacterial infections has become more complex and less effective. Researchers are constantly searching for new types of antimicrobial drugs to take the place of those that no longer work against the resistant strains.



Scientists from the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a> and the Naresuan and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat Universities in Thailand have now investigated whether hydroquinine is effective at inhibiting the growth or reproduction of eight different strains of bacteria, including Streptococcus aureus,&nbsp;Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae. These pathogens are commonly resistant to multiple drugs and cause infections in patients with burn wounds, cystic fibrosis, skin lesions and pneumonia, both in hospital settings and in communities. Although hydroquinine is a tried and tested remedy against malaria, its antibacterial properties have not yet been determined.



In the findings of this research, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7080156">Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease</a>, the scientists show that hydroquinine inhibited all the strains of bacteria tested, and even killed them if the concentration of the compound was high enough. &nbsp;



“Using bacterial killing experiments, we found that hydroquinine was able to kill several microorganisms, including the common multidrug-resistant pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa," said <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/persons/robbie-baldock">Dr. Robert Baldock</a>&nbsp;from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/structure-and-governance/organisational-structure/our-academic-structure/faculty-of-science-and-health/school-of-pharmacy-and-biomedical-sciences">School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences</a>&nbsp;at the University of Portsmouth.



"Characteristically, we also discovered that one of the main mechanisms used by these bacteria to escape killing activity of the drug was upregulated with treatment – indicating a robust response from the bacteria.”



“By studying this compound further, our hope is that it may in future offer another line of treatment in combatting bacterial infections,” he added.&nbsp;



Drug-resistant bacteria occur in more than 2.8 million infections and are responsible for 35,000 deaths per year. Common antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” cause diseases including sepsis, urinary tract infections, and pneumonia. Statistics show bloodstream infections by the bacterium P. aeruginosa can be associated with high mortality rates of between 30 and 50 percent.&nbsp;



The experts conclude that hydroquinine has antibacterial properties and can inhibit and kill several strains of clinically important bacteria. However, the researchers emphasize that further research is necessary in order to understand the mechanism by which the compound acts in order to have the observed effect on the pathogens. They also recommend that future studies address the potential side effects of using hydroquinine.&nbsp;



Dr Jirapas Jongjitwimol from the Department of Medical Technology at Naresuan University added: “Our future research aims to uncover the molecular target of hydroquinine. This would help our understanding of how the compound works against pathogenic bacteria and how it could potentially be used in a clinical setting.”



---



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

Tree compound can kill drug-resistant bacteria

Hydroquinine is an organic compound, closely related to quinine, that...

A research team led by scientists at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a> has made a discovery that contests the long-held belief that changes in DNA sequences which occur in non-reproductive cells cannot be passed to offspring. For the first time, the researchers have determined that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dental-scanning-equipment-helps-monitor-young-corals/">corals</a> can pass mutations acquired during their lifetimes to their offspring,



"For a trait, such as growth rate, to evolve, the genetic basis of that trait must be passed from generation to generation. For most animals, a new genetic mutation can only contribute to evolutionary change if it occurs in a germline or reproductive cell, for example in an egg or sperm cell. Mutations that occur in the rest of the body, in the somatic cells, were thought to be evolutionarily irrelevant because they do not get passed on to offspring. However, corals appear to have a way around this barrier that seems to allow them to break this evolutionary rule," explained Professor Iliana Baums, who led the research.



Study co-author Kate Vasquez Kuntz explained how this might be possible: "In most animals, reproductive cells are segregated from body cells early in development. So only genetic mutations that occur in the reproductive cells have the potential to contribute to the evolution of the species. However, for some organisms, like corals, the segregation of reproductive cells from all other cells may occur later in development or may never occur at all, allowing a path for genetic mutations to travel from a parent's body to its offspring."



Because corals can reproduce asexually via budding and colony fragmentation, they were the ideal organisms for the study.



"This single-parent reproduction allowed us to more easily search for potential somatic mutations from the parent coral and track them into the offspring by simplifying the total number of genetic possibilities that could occur in the offspring." said study co-author Sheila Kitchen.



The researchers hope that with the ability of parent corals to pass on potentially advantageous mutations, their offspring will have a better chance of survival.&nbsp;



"If these mutations can then be passed on to offspring – as we have now demonstrated – it means that corals have an additional tool that might be able to speed up their adaptation to climate change," said Professor Baums.



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



---



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

Corals boost their own genetic diversity by passing on mutations

A research team led by scientists at Penn State has...

An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.uni-halle.de/?lang=en">Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg</a> (MLU) has&nbsp;recently conducted an analysis of worldwide patterns of plant species richness, based on the largest collection of global vegetation-plot data ever compiled. The results have been published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32063-z">Nature Communications</a>&nbsp;and could be used to focus conservation efforts in areas where the diversity of plant species is the highest.&nbsp;



The experts analyzed species richness of vascular plants counted in around 170,000 vegetation plots from all of the Earth’s climate zones. The data included information on all of the vascular plant species found at a location and the coordinates of the respective area under study. The data was taken from the globally unique vegetation database called “sPlot,” which is located at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Centre_for_Integrative_Biodiversity_Research_(iDiv)">iDiv</a>, and species richness in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/past-variability-may-help-forests-cope-with-climate-change/">forests</a> and non-forests were considered separately. 



“Most studies on global biodiversity are conducted on a relatively large scale, for example at a state or provincial scale. We wanted to find out how much results differ when smaller areas are examined,” explained Professor Helge Bruelheide from MLU. The team used artificial intelligence to investigate, among other things, the relationship between the number of plant species and the size of the area under study.&nbsp;They considered species richness in plots of 400m2, 1,000m2, and 1ha (10,000m2) in area, with the aim of identifying areas where species richness is consistently high at all these scales, and areas where species richness varies depending on the scale of sampling.&nbsp;



The results showed that some forest areas - such as in Borneo, New Guinea, Madagascar, eastern South Africa and the Andean-Amazonian foothills - are hotspots for plant biodiversity irrespective of the size of the sample plots. Conversely, the researchers observed high plant diversity when plot size was small, but low plant diversity when plot size was large, in many temperate regions including the Eastern European forest-steppe belt, East Asia and southeastern Australia.



The researchers state that there are areas on Earth where focusing on large study plots only provides a limited understanding of the distribution of biodiversity: sometimes small areas can have a relatively high biodiversity, for example in the steppes of Eastern Europe, in Siberia and in the Alpine countries of Europe. At fine spatial scales, the large difference in biodiversity between the tropics, like the Amazon, and the temperate climate zones nearly disappears.&nbsp;



The same applies to the African tropics, which were previously considered an exception in the tropical plant world. “The tropics have always been among the most biodiverse areas in the world. We wondered why this shouldn’t also apply to Western Africa,” explained Dr. Francesco Maria Sabatini who led the study while at MLU and is now an assistant professor at the University of Bologna. In fact, the distribution of plant species varies greatly in the African tropics, noted Dr. Sabatini. These species are distributed over very large distances, so that they are not always recorded when a small sampling area is examined. “To correctly recognize the high biodiversity in Western Africa many small areas are required."



The current research also enabled the scientists to identify which environmental and biogeographic factors drive species diversity of vascular plants. Interestingly enough, although ecoregion, annual mean temperature, and temperature of the warmest and wettest quarters of the year explained some of the variation in species richness patterns globally, the factor with the largest influence in shaping diversity patterns was the size of the sample plot.&nbsp;



Although the study was based on a very large collection of global vegetation-plot data, there are still many biogeographical regions where vegetation data is not available. Most of the data points were in Europe and other countries with a strong tradition of vegetation surveys, while the coverage of tropical areas, especially the Amazon and equatorial Africa, was poor.



Despite these limitations, the researchers feel that their analysis provides important insights and is a step forward in mapping global plant diversity. The results are also important when it comes to protecting species. “Ecosystems whose high biodiversity is spread out over a large area cannot be protected through the traditional patchwork of nature reserves. In contrast, ecosystems that have a high biodiversity within a small area could benefit well from several distinct protected zones,” concluded Bruelheide. &nbsp;



---



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

Plant biodiversity hotspots can be found on small scales

An international team of researchers led by the Martin Luther...

Phytoplankton are the foundation of life on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-production-affects-earths-natural-processes/">Earth</a>. Understanding how these organisms react to the ocean environment can improve our knowledge of the rest of the food web. The day/night light cycle - “diel cycle” - is critical for photosynthesis among the ocean’s primary producers. 



Biologists at the <a href="https://beta.nsf.gov/now-leaving-c9e063aa404fcf03c6aabc558e?external_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mbl.edu%2Fnews%2Fnew-model-sheds-light-daynight-cycle-global-ocean&amp;back_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.nsf.gov%2Fnews%2Fnew-model-sheds-light-daynight-cycle-global-ocean%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgovdelivery">Marine Biological Laboratory</a> in Massachusetts incorporated the diel cycle into a new global ocean model to investigate its effects on phytoplankton. The study is the first to investigate how the day/night cycle affects the biogeography and diversity of these primary producers.&nbsp;



The new model applied natural light and dark cycles over the global ocean to 15 simulated phytoplankton types. These simulations were compared to a control simulation to see how diel light cycles affected productivity and nutrient concentration dynamics.



The simulated phytoplankton were separated into two groups: "gleaners," or simulated smaller cells with high nutrient affinity (capturing nutrients out of the water column even if those nutrients were in low quantities) but slow growth; and "opportunists," or simulated larger cells with higher growth rates but low nutrient affinity (meaning they did better in nutrient-rich water).&nbsp;



The researchers found that the diel cycle did matter to the simulated phytoplankton. Diel cycles were associated with higher concentrations of limited nutrients.&nbsp; At lower latitudes, the simulated opportunists were more abundant than the gleaners. This became less important at higher latitudes, where the effects of the seasonal light cycle were stronger than the day/night cycles.



If scientists cannot understand how phytoplankton get their energy as primary producers, it's hard to understand the rest of the ocean food web -&nbsp; all the way up to humans.



By gaining insight into how the ocean works, experts can better predict how global warming will further affect our planet. Scientists make better ocean models to investigate possible solutions to climate change, while minimizing unintended consequences.



"This model contributes to advancing our understanding of how the ocean works," said Vallino. "Being able to predict how the distribution of phytoplankton will change has repercussions higher up the food web. If you can't get that base change right, you can't get anything that's connected to that above it right."



---



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

New insights into the day/night cycle of the global ocean

Phytoplankton are the foundation of life on Earth. Understanding how...

The rate at which <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/the-terrifying-biology-of-zoonotic-diseases/">zoonotic diseases</a> infect humans has steadily risen over the last three decades. Emerging diseases, such as Covid-19 and monkeypox, have heightened the need to develop disease ecology tools to forecast when and where outbreaks are most likely to occur. Now, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.usf.edu/">University of South Florida</a> (USF) has developed a new methodology that could predict disease transmission from wildlife to humans, as well as from one wildlife species to another, and determine who is at risk of infection.



This innovative methodology is based on a machine-learning algorithm which identifies the influence of several variables, such as geographical location or climate, on known pathogens. By using only small amounts of information, this system is able to identify community hotspots at risk of infection on both local and global scales.



“Our main goal is to develop this tool for preventive measures,” said co-principal investigator Diego Santiago-Alarcon, an assistant professor of Integrative Biology at USF. “It’s difficult to have an all-purpose methodology that can be used to predict infections across all the diverse parasite systems, but with this research, we contribute to achieving that goal.”



In order to test the reliability and accuracy of the models generated by this technique, the scientists examined three host-pathogen systems – avian malaria, birds with West Nile virus, and bats with coronavirus. Surprisingly, in all three cases, the species most frequently infected were not necessarily the ones most susceptible to the disease. Identifying relevant factors such as climate and evolutionary relationships appeared crucial to pinpoint hosts with higher risks of infection.



By integrating evolutionary, geographic, and environmental factors, the experts identified host species which have previously not been known to be infected by the pathogen under study, thus providing a reliable method to spot susceptible species, and ultimately mitigate infection risks by directing infectious diseases surveillance and field efforts. This cost-effective strategy would likely help medical authorities and governmental agencies to decide where to invest limited disease resources.



“We feel confident that the methodology is successful, and it can be applied widely to many host-pathogen systems,” Professor Santiago-Alarcon said. “We now enter into a phase of improvement and refinement.”



“Humanity, and indeed biodiversity in general, are experiencing more and more infectious disease challenges as a result of our incursion and destruction of the natural order worldwide through things like deforestation, global trade, and climate change,” added study co-author Andrés Lira-Noriega, a research fellow at the <a href="https://www.ecologia.unam.mx/web2/">Institute of Ecology</a> in Mexico. “This imposes the need of having tools like the one we are publishing to help us predict where new threats in terms of new pathogens and their reservoirs may occur or arise.”



In future research, the team will test the methodology on additional host-pathogen systems and extend the study of diseases transmission to predict future outbreaks. By the end of 2022, the scientists aim to make their tool easily accessible to the scientific community through a user-friendly app.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2122851119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



---



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;

Predicting disease transmission between wildlife and humans

The rate at which zoonotic diseases infect humans has steadily...

The social cost of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-sequestration-method-co2-rock/">carbon</a> is a crucial metric for climate policy analysis measuring the economic damages that result from the emission of one additional ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. After years of robust modeling and analysis, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.rff.org/">Resources for the Future</a> (RFF) institute and the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> (UC Berkeley) has found that each additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere costs society $185 dollars – far higher than the current federal estimate of $51 per ton.



“Our estimate, which draws on recent advances in the scientific and economic literature, shows that we are vastly underestimating the harm of each additional ton of carbon dioxide that we release into the atmosphere,” said study co-author Richard G. Newell, the RFF President and CEO. “The implication is that the benefits of government policies and other actions that reduce global warming pollution are greater than has been assumed.”



To more accurately measure the social cost of carbon, the scientists took into consideration the probability of different socioeconomic and emissions trajectories far into the future, and incorporated a modern representation of the climate system, together with state-of-the-art scientific methodologies for assessing the effects of climate change on agriculture, temperature-related deaths, energy expenditures, and sea-level rises.&nbsp;



“We hope that our research helps inform the anticipated updated social cost of carbon from the government’s interagency working group,” said study co-author Brian C. Prest, the director of RFF’s Social Cost of Carbon Initiative. “Decisions are only as strong as the science behind them. And our study finds that carbon dioxide emissions are more costly to society than many people likely realize.”



A major output of the study is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rff.org/topics/data-and-decision-tools/rff-berkeley-greenhouse-gas-impact-value-estimator-give-model/">Greenhouse Gas Impact Value Estimator (GIVE) model</a>, an open-source software platform allowing users to replicate the researchers’ methodology to compute their own social cost of carbon estimates, as well as a new data tool - the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rff.org/publications/data-tools/">Social Cost of Carbon Explorer</a> – that shows the working mechanics of the GIVE model and offers users the opportunity to explore the data in detail.



“Our hope is that the freely available, open-source GIVE model we’re introducing today forms the foundation for continuous improvement of the estimates by an expanded community of scientists worldwide,” said study lead author and RFF fellow Kevin Rennert. “A completely transparent methodology has been a guiding principle for our work, which is also directly relevant to other greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxides.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05224-9">Nature</a>.



---



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

Social costs of carbon are much higher than expected

The social cost of carbon is a crucial metric for...

A widespread stereotype of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-use-is-up-by-20-percent-in-states-where-its-legal/">cannabis</a> users – possibly emerging from a variety of movies and TV series - is that they are generally lazy, apathetic, and largely unable to enjoy life. However, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> and <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">King’s College London</a> has found that adult and adolescent users are no more likely than non-users to lack motivation or experience pleasure, suggesting that there is no scientific basis for the stereotype often portrayed in the media.



The scientists recruited 274 adult and adolescent who had used cannabis at least weekly over the past three months (with an average of four times per week) and compared them with a cohort of non-users of the same age and gender to test whether users show higher levels of apathy (loss of motivation) and anhedonia (loss of interest in or pleasure from rewards). While users scored slightly lower on anhedonia, there was no difference when it came to apathy.



“We were surprised to see that there was really very little difference between cannabis users and non-users when it came to lack of motivation or lack of enjoyment, even among those who used cannabis every day. This is contrary to the stereotypical portrayal we see on TV and in movies,” said study lead author Martine Skumlien, a doctoral student in Psychiatry at Cambridge.



Although adolescents tended to score higher than adults on anhedonia and apathy in both cannabis user and non-user groups, cannabis did not seem to significantly augment this this difference.&nbsp;



“There’s been a lot of concern that cannabis use in adolescence might lead to worse outcomes than cannabis use during adulthood. But our study, one of the first to directly compare adolescents and adults who use cannabis, suggests that adolescents are no more vulnerable than adults to the harmful effects of cannabis on motivation, the experience of pleasure, or the brain’s response to reward,” explained study co-author Will Lawn, an expert in addiction at King’s College.



“In fact, it seems cannabis may have no link – or at most only weak associations – with these outcomes in general. However, we need studies that look for these associations over a long period of time to confirm these findings.”



This confirms the results of a previous <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-022-01316-2">study</a> that used functional magnetic resonance imagery (fMRI) to assess cannabis’ impact on the brain’s reward processing centers, and found no relationship between activity in this brain region and cannabis use.



“We’re so used to seeing ‘lazy stoners’ on our screens that we don’t stop to ask whether they’re an accurate representation of cannabis users. Our work implies that this is in itself a lazy stereotype, and that people who use cannabis are no more likely to lack motivation or be lazier than people who don’t. Unfair assumptions can be stigmatizing and could get in the way of messages around harm reduction. We need to be honest and frank about what are and are not the harmful consequences of drug use,” Dr. Skumlien concluded.



The study is published in the International Journal of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyac056">Neuropsychopharmacology</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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;

Cannabis users do not lack motivation or enjoyment

A widespread stereotype of cannabis users – possibly emerging from...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uniovi.es/en">University of Oviedo</a> in Spain has unlocked the genetic code of the “immortal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jellyfish-eyes-catch-a-glimpse-of-evolutionary-history/">jellyfish</a>,” an animal capable of repeatedly reverting into a juvenile state after sexual reproduction. The experts hope that better understanding the factors leading to this creature’s unique longevity could offer new perspectives on human aging.&nbsp;



Although many species of jellyfish have some capacity to reverse aging and revert to a larval state, most of them lose this ability once they reach sexual maturity. However, Turritopsis dohrnii appears to be the only known species able to repeatedly revert back into a larval stage even after sexual reproduction. According to the experts, the immortal jellyfish uses this “superpower” to avoid predators, allowing it to revert to a cyst which turns into a polyp attached to the seafloor when threaten by other animals. Once the threat is gone, the creature starts to mature once again.



To better understand what makes T. dohrnii special, the scientists sequenced its genome and compared it to that of Turritopsis rubra, a close genetic relative which lacks the capacity to rejuvenate after reaching sexual maturity. The analysis revealed that T. dohrnii had twice as many copies of the genes associated with DNA repair and protection, which helps producing greater amounts of protective and repairing proteins. Moreover, this jellyfish also had unique mutations which stunted cell division and prevented telomeres (chromosomes’ protective “caps”) from deteriorating.



“Our results suggest that gene amplification and point variants unique of&nbsp;T. dohrnii&nbsp;could affect its replicative efficiency, as well as DNA repair and telomere maintenance activity, which may be pivotal processes for cell rejuvenation and proliferation,” the study authors explained.&nbsp;



“In addition, expansions and sequence variations of genes associated with DNA repair, mitochondrial dysfunction and intercellular communication could increase its capacity to maintain redox environment and reduce cellular damage during stress events.”



These findings could inspire developments in regenerative medicine and provide insights into age-related diseases such as cancer or neurodegeneration. However, as Monty Graham, a jellyfish expert and director of the <a href="https://www.fio.usf.edu/">Florida Institute of Oceanography</a> put it, “we can’t look at it as, hey, we are going to harvest these jellyfish and turn them into a skin cream.” Instead, exploring such gene variants in T. dhornii and other animals - including humans – could shed more light on the nature of aging, and help scientists slowly build an arsenal to combat its most unwanted effects.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118763119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



---



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;

Can the immortal jellyfish teach us how to reverse aging?

A new study led by the University of Oviedo in...

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



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



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

News coming your way