Before heading to one of the most intriguing moons in our solar system, NASA’s Europa Clipper took a quick detour - and a few snapshots - during its recent flyby of Mars.



The mission used the opportunity to test one of its most important tools: an infrared camera that will later scan Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, for heat and hidden activity beneath its frozen shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-europa-clipper-s-eyes-on-mars">Testing Europa Clipper’s eyes on Mars</h2>



The spacecraft passed just 550 miles (885 kilometers) above the Martian surface on March 1. This close approach wasn’t just for sightseeing. The team needed Mars's gravity to give Europa Clipper a boost on its long journey to Jupiter.



But it also allowed researchers to put the spacecraft's thermal imaging system to work, capturing over 1,000 grayscale images of the Red Planet. 



These images, later colorized to represent warmer and cooler regions, will help scientists verify the instrument’s accuracy.



“We wanted no surprises in these new images,” said <a href="https://www.asu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arizona State University</a>’s Phil Christensen, principal investigator of Europa Clipper’s infrared camera, called the Europa Thermal Imaging System (E-THEMIS). 



“The goal was to capture imagery of a planetary body we know extraordinarily well and make sure the dataset looks exactly the way it should, based on 20 years of instruments documenting Mars.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thermal-imaging-for-europa-clipper">Thermal imaging for Europa Clipper</h2>



Europa Clipper’s real target is the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/europa-clipper-will-search-for-signs-of-life-on-jupiters-icy-moon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">icy moon of Jupiter</a> - a world that may hide a global ocean beneath its crust. Scientists believe this ocean could be one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for signs of life.



Thermal imaging will play a crucial role in that search. When the spacecraft begins a series of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/europa-clipper-mission-set-to-search-for-life-on-jupiters-ocean-moon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">49 flybys of Europa</a>, starting in 2030, its infrared camera will map the moon’s surface temperatures. 



These temperature maps can reveal where the ice is unusually warmer, which may indicate recent geological activity or spots where the ocean lies close beneath the surface.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mars_thermal-image_Europa-Clipper_NASA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mars_thermal-image_Europa-Clipper_NASA_1s.webp" alt="This picture of Mars is a colorized composite of several images captured by Europa Clipper’s thermal imager. Warm colors represent relatively warm temperatures; red areas are about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius), and purple regions are about minus 190 F (minus 125 C). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU" class="wp-image-1969748"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This picture of Mars is a colorized composite of several images captured by Europa Clipper’s thermal imager. Warm colors represent relatively warm temperatures; red areas are about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius), and purple regions are about minus 190 F (minus 125 C). Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU</figcaption></figure>



“We want to measure the temperature of those features,” Christensen explained. “If Europa is a really active place, those fractures will be warmer than the surrounding ice where the ocean comes close to the surface. Or if water erupted onto the surface hundreds to thousands of years ago, then those surfaces could still be relatively warm.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-e-themis-with-mars-data">Testing E-THEMIS with Mars data</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/europa-clipper-gets-a-boost-from-mars-on-its-way-to-jupiter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars</a> made an ideal test subject. Its surface has been studied for decades, making it easy to compare new images from E-THEMIS with past thermal data from other missions.



To be thorough, NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter - which carries a sibling instrument called THEMIS - collected its own images of Mars before, during, and after the Europa Clipper flyby. Comparing these datasets helps the team confirm that E-THEMIS is functioning as intended.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-radar-and-gravity-tests-along-the-way">Radar and gravity tests along the way</h2>



Besides testing the thermal imaging system, the flyby gave the team a chance to check out the spacecraft’s radar components. 



This was the first time engineers operated all the radar parts together in space. These antennas, which use long wavelengths, are too large to test fully in ground-based clean rooms.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mars_infrared_Europa-Clipper-photo_NASA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mars_infrared_Europa-Clipper-photo_NASA_1s.webp" alt="This picture of Mars is a composite of several images captured by Europa Clipper’s thermal imager on March 1. Bright regions are relatively warm, with temperatures of about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). Darker areas are colder. The darkest region at the top is the northern polar cap and is about minus 190 F (minus 125 C). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU" class="wp-image-1969746"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This picture of Mars is a composite of several images captured by Europa Clipper’s thermal imager on March 1. Bright regions are relatively warm, with temperatures of about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). Darker areas are colder. The darkest region at the top is the northern polar cap and is about minus 190 F (minus 125 C). Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU</figcaption></figure>



Preliminary telemetry data from the radar systems looks promising, though more analysis is still underway.



The flyby also allowed the team to run communication tests. By transmitting signals through Mars’s gravitational field, they simulated the kind of gravity science experiments they hope to conduct at Europa. The results suggest those future experiments will work just fine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-charting-the-course-to-jupiter">Charting the course to Jupiter</h2>



The spacecraft began its journey on October 14, 2024, launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The 1.8 billion-mile (2.9 billion-kilometer) trip to Jupiter includes a few gravity assists - the Mars flyby being the first. The next assist will come from Earth in 2026.



Once it reaches the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-is-our-trip-to-jupiter-taking-so-long/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jupiter</a> system in 2030, Europa Clipper will orbit the planet and begin detailed observations of Europa.



The mission’s goals are to determine the thickness of Europa’s ice shell, examine how the surface interacts with the subsurface ocean, analyze the moon’s composition, and study its geology. By doing so, scientists hope to understand better whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alien-life-on-europa-co2-discovery-by-webb-increases-the-odds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Europa could support life</a>.



Europa Clipper is led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Arizona State University leads the development of the E-THEMIS instrument, which is essential for detecting thermal variations across Europa’s icy terrain.



Information for this article was obtained from a JPL <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/missions/europa-clipper/nasas-europa-clipper-captures-mars-in-infrared/">press release</a>.



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Europa Clipper captured Mars in thermal and infrared photos on its way to Jupiter's moon

Before heading to one of the most intriguing moons in our solar system, NASA’s Europa Clipper took a quick detour - and a few snapshots - during its recent flyby of Mars. The mission used the opportunity to test one of its most important tools: an infrared camera that will later scan Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, for heat and hidden activity beneath its frozen shell. Testing Europa Clipper’s eyes on Mars The spacecraft passed just 550 miles (885 kilometers) above the Martian surface on March 1. This...

People feel an emotional connection with their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pet-ownership-has-mental-health-benefits/">pets</a> and this bond is known to have a variety of potential health benefits for the owners, such as reduction in stress and lowering of blood pressure. This connection also extends beyond actual ownership, such that pet owners respond to images of dogs and cats, and feel the emotional bond and connection, even if it doesn’t involve their own pet. Marketing professionals know this, and often use animals in their advertisements in order to convey a message about a product and influence consumer behavior.&nbsp;



A new study, published recently in the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/home/jmx">Journal of Marketing</a>, compares the consumer-related decisions made by dog owners and cat owners, in response to marketing adverts in which pets are shown as mascots, characters or “spokespersons.” The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the University of South Carolina, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and is authored by Lei&nbsp;Jia, Xiaojing&nbsp;Yang, and Yuwei&nbsp;Jiang.



Pets have assumed increasing importance in households during the COVID-19 pandemic and pet adoptions in the U.S. have risen; about one in five households has acquired a dog or cat since the start of the pandemic. Currently, 68 percent of U.S. households (84.6 million homes) own a pet. Of these, 48 percent (60 million homes) own at least a dog and 37 percent (47 million homes) own at least a cat.



Pets frequently appear in mass media and marketing communications, even in cases where the product advertised is not related to pets or pet ownership. For example, Target chose a dog as its brand mascot, Microsoft featured dogs in its 2020 holiday commercial to inspire people to find joy, and Wells Fargo used a cat in its commercial to advertise its suspicious card activity alert services.&nbsp;



The findings of the study show that exposure to dogs and cats, in the form of recalling experience interacting with these animals, or viewing ads featuring a dog or a cat as the spokesperson, had different effects on consumers’ subsequent judgments and decisions. In each case, adverts reminded consumers of the stereotypical temperaments and behaviors of the pet species, and these attributes activated different mindsets in the pet owners. Dogs stereotypically symbolize loyalty, human interaction and family, whereas cats are seen as inquisitive, aloof and smart.&nbsp;



In the study, exposure to dogs made consumers more promotion-focused, meaning that they were more eager in pursuing a goal and more risk-seeking when making decisions. By contrast, exposure to cats made consumers prevention-focused, which meant they were more cautious in pursuing goals and more risk-averse when making decisions. Jia explains that “These effects occur because pet exposure experiences remind consumers of the stereotypical temperaments and behaviors of the pet species.”



The results&nbsp;were supported&nbsp;across multiple product and service contexts. For example, exposure to dogs led research participants to choose the riskier stock investment option, while exposure to cats led participants to choose the mutual fund investment option, which was less risky. Exposure to dogs was also associated with willingness to risk monetary compensation for a chance to win an even bigger payment. In addition, exposure to dogs led participants to prefer ad messages that&nbsp;are framed&nbsp;with a promotion focus, or messages that appeal to eagerness. Exposure to cats had the opposite effect, leading participants to prefer ad messages with a prevention focus or messages appealing to vigilance.&nbsp;



These effects of pet exposure on consumers were only seen to the extent that the marketing material reminded them of the stereotypical traits and behaviors of the pet species.&nbsp;The results offer some important insights into how marketers could best incorporate pets into advertisements or use them to get the message across. For products or services mainly perceived as promotion-focused (e.g., stock investments, sports cars), featuring dogs in the ad is likely to increase the ad’s persuasiveness. On the other hand, for products or services that are prevention-focused (e.g., mutual fund investment, insurance), featuring cats may increase the ad’s appeal.&nbsp;



“Marketers should ensure that stereotypical pet temperaments are made salient in the message. For example, the eagerness aspect of the dog or the cautiousness aspect of the cat should be highlighted. Otherwise, the intended effects of featuring pets in the ad&nbsp;may not be achieved," said Jiang.



Yang describes the novel implications of these findings to marketers. “First, marketers should consider&nbsp;crafting&nbsp;their advertising messages differently or recommending different products and services when they target consumers depending on their pet exposure situations. For example, to enhance the effectiveness of advertising appeals or communication messages, marketers should emphasize promotion-focused goals such as gains and&nbsp;non-gains&nbsp;if they are targeting dog owners or after consumers are exposed to dogs or dog-featuring stimuli,&nbsp;such as in an advertisement."



"Conversely, they should focus on prevention-focused goals such as losses and&nbsp;non-losses&nbsp;if they are pursuing cat owners or after consumers are exposed to cats or cat-featuring stimuli. Importantly, our findings show that this advice holds even when the advertised product or service has nothing to do with pets or pet products,” said Yang.



Another aspect of the research found that people in U.S. states with a higher percentage of dog ownership were more likely to get COVID-19 during the pandemic. This implied higher transmission rates between dog owners and, according to the authors, could help develop policies related to the prevention of COVID-19 and potentially other infectious diseases. For example, policymakers in states with more dog owners could design customized educational programs and materials related to the diseases. Alternatively, when designing ads to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, cats&nbsp;could be incorporated&nbsp;as a spokesperson and/or the cat temperament could be referenced in the message to enhance the effectiveness of the ad.



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

Consumer choices are influenced by ads with cats and dogs

People feel an emotional connection with their pets and this...

A new study led by Bird Ecology and Conservation Ontario (<a href="https://www.beco-birds.org/">BECO</a>) - a non-profit organization that uses ecological research to advance the conservation of birds – has found that 47 percent of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fight-or-flight-birds-are-not-equipped-for-both/">bird</a> species with currently unknown population trends are declining. Globally, the top predictor associated with bird declines was a severely fragmented population, with non-migratory birds in South American and Southeast Asian tropical and subtropical forests being the most vulnerable.



“Birds are crucial for the functioning of Earth’s ecosystems but bird population declines have been documented worldwide in recent decades. A global assessment of potential causes of population declines is needed,” wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



“Our goal here was to combine the power of big data and machine learning to identify predictors correlated with bird population declines and to predict population declines for species with unknown population trends on the IUCN Red List.”



Initially, in order to train and test the machine learning model that they had constructed, the researchers gathered detailed species-level data for 10,964 bird species from all around the globe with known population trends. Then, they used this artificial intelligence model to analyze 801 bird species with previously unknown population trends. The model estimated that almost half (47 percent) of these species are currently declining.



According to the researchers, the main causes of decline are habitat loss and fragmentation. “Populations experiencing habitat fragmentation are subject to greater demographic, environmental and genetic stochasticity, and hence higher extinction risk,” wrote the study authors.



“Previous studies have suggested that habitat loss and fragmentation are major drivers of bird population declines. Our results support this hypothesis, as severely fragmented populations emerged as the top predictor explaining bird population declines worldwide,” wrote the study authors.”



Since birds play important ecological roles such as pollination, seed dispersal, and nutrient cycling, their marked decline could have severe cascading impacts on a variety of ecosystems worldwide, and needs immediate attention from conservationists and policy makers.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ibi.13045">Ibis</a>.



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

Bird populations are declining worldwide

A new study led by Bird Ecology and Conservation Ontario...

With the world’s population continuing to increase exponentially, efficient food production will become more and more important. Past modernization of farming <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/groundbreaking-new-technology-helps-paraplegics-move-again/">technology</a> has achieved huge successes, but has come with certain unwelcome costs.&nbsp;



Looking to the future, widespread deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture is both expected and potentially very valuable, but scientists warn that we need to learn from past experiences in order to minimize risks when turning to agricultural expert systems and intelligent machines.&nbsp;



Although it is possible to imagine fields of crops being farmed to feed masses of people, with all the decisions relating to tilling planting, watering, fertilizing and harvesting being made by machines programmed with artificial intelligence, the inherent risks are enormous. Imagine the potential for hacking into systems and disrupting the production of vital food supplies.&nbsp;



A new risk analysis, published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/natmachintell/">Nature Machine Intelligence</a>,&nbsp;warns that the future use of artificial intelligence in food production comes with substantial risks for farms, farmers and food security that are poorly understood and under-appreciated.



“The idea of intelligent machines running farms is not science fiction. Large companies are already pioneering the next generation of autonomous ag-bots and decision support systems that will replace humans in the field,” said study first author Dr. Asaf Tzachor of the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>.



“But so far no-one seems to have asked the question ‘are there any risks associated with a rapid deployment of agricultural AI?’” he added.



In the past, modernization of farming technology has introduced new risks, such as loss of employment opportunities, introduction of new pests, degradation of biodiversity and increasing pollution. The introduction of extensive expert systems and autonomous machines could improve the working conditions of farmers, relieving them of manual, routine tasks, but they would need to be implemented in a responsible and sensitive manner, bearing in mind the local conditions.&nbsp;



For example, the widespread use of AI is likely to raise concerns around the potential effects on farmers’ work, identity, agency and ownership rights. There are also risks that large and small farmers would profit unequally, or would have unequal access to the technology. According to the authors of the risk analysis, small-scale farmers, who cultivate 475 million of approximately 570 million farms worldwide and feed large swaths of the so-called Global South,&nbsp;are particularly likely to be excluded from AI-related benefits.&nbsp;



There are already many examples of advanced and intelligent machines being used in large-scale agriculture. For example, ag-bots such as drones and sensors are used to gather information on crops and support farmers’ decision-making. They can detect the presence of diseases or insufficient irrigation. And self-driving combine harvesters can bring in a crop without the need for a human operator. This minimizes labor costs and can lead to increasing profit for farmers.&nbsp;



In their research, the authors have discussed a catalogue of risks that must be considered and dealt with if AI is to be responsibly developed for use in agriculture. They raise the alarm about cyber-attackers potentially causing disruption to commercial farms using AI, by poisoning datasets or by shutting down sprayers, autonomous drones, and robotic harvesters. To guard against this, they suggest that ‘white hat hackers’ help companies uncover any security failings during the developmental phase, so that systems can be safeguarded against real hackers.



They also warn against the inherent consequences of pursuing maximum crop yield at all costs. For example, an AI system programmed only to deliver the best crop yield in the short term might overuse fertilizers and ignore the environmental impact, or apply too much pesticide that would pollute soils and affect food chains.&nbsp; The authors suggest involving applied ecologists in the technology design process to ensure these scenarios are avoided.



With an estimated two billion people afflicted by food insecurity, including some 690 million malnourished and 340 million children suffering micronutrient deficiencies, artificial intelligence technologies and precision agriculture promise substantial benefits for food and nutritional security in the face of climate change and a growing global population. However, a balanced approach towards the use of these innovations must be practiced, risks must be assessed and there needs to be responsible research and development in order to mitigate against the potentially devastating risks.



“AI is being hailed as the way to revolutionize agriculture," said study co-author Dr. Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Executive Director of CSER. "As we deploy this technology on a large scale, we should closely consider potential risks, and aim to mitigate those early on in the technology design,”&nbsp;



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

Could artificially intelligent machines take over food production?

With the world’s population continuing to increase exponentially, efficient food...

New research reveals that pet ownership may have some benefits to mental health benefits. The results of the study suggest that owning a cat, dog or other animal may slow <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/colorful-foods-can-prevent-cognitive-decline/">cognitive decline</a> in older adults.



“Prior studies have suggested that the human-animal bond may have health benefits like decreasing blood pressure and stress,” said study author Dr. Tiffany Braley of the University of Michigan Medical Center. “Our results suggest pet ownership may also be protective against cognitive decline.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The researchers collected cognitive data from 1,369 adults with an average age of 65 and normal cognitive abilities at the start of the study. Overall, 53 percent of the participants had pets and 32 percent of the whole group were long term pet owners.&nbsp;



Long term pet ownership was defined as owning a pet for five or more years. Cognitive tests were obtained through the Health and Retirement Study, a large study of medicare beneficiaries was used.&nbsp;



The cognitive test included a composite of simple tests including basic mathematics and language skills. Each participant was given a cognitive score from zero to 27. The association between cognitive score and pet ownership was then estimated by the scientists.&nbsp;



Over six years, cognitive test scores declined at slower rates among pet owners compared to those without pets. This benefit was most pronounced for long term pet owners. Taking other factors into account, the study showed that long term pet owners were still scoring an average of 1.2 points higher on cognitive function after six years.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“As stress can negatively affect cognitive function, the potential stress-buffering effects of pet ownership could provide a plausible reason for our findings,” said Dr. Braley. “A companion animal can also increase physical activity, which could benefit cognitive health. That said, more research is needed to confirm our results and identify underlying mechanisms for this association.”



Interestingly, the study showed that pet ownership was more beneficial to black adults, those who were college educated and men. The study also had the weakness of questioning the study participants about pet ownership only at one point. More research is needed to address this weakness and also to explain why some groups benefit more from pet ownership than others.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.aan.com/">American Academy of Neurology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pet ownership has mental health benefits

New research reveals that pet ownership may have some benefits...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/health-risks-to-children-rise-due-to-climate-change/">Children</a> living in areas with more PM2.5 particulate air pollution and little access to green space are 62 percent more likely to develop ADHD, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">Barcelona Institute for Global Health</a> (ISGlobal). The research found that children in areas with less pollution and more green space are 50 percent less likely to develop ADHD. &nbsp; &nbsp;



“We observed that children living in greener neighborhoods with low air pollution had a substantially decreased risk of ADHD. This is an environmental inequality where, in turn, those children living in areas with higher pollution and less greenness face a disproportionally greater risk," said study lead author Matilda van den Bosch.&nbsp;



“These associations are particularly relevant because exposures take place in early life, a crucial period for brain development where children are especially vulnerable. Importantly, these exposures are modifiable, meaning that the findings should be taken into account for healthier urban planning."



The researchers investigated connections between noise, pollution, early exposure to green spaces, and development of ADHD later in childhood. ADHD is one of the more common neurodevelopmental disorders which impacts up to ten percent of children and adolescents.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The scientists analyzed administrative birth data in the Vancouver area from 2000 to 2001 and medical data on ADHD cases. Green space in the area was estimated using satellite imagery and exposure models were used to estimate pollution levels. Overall, four percent of the study population was found to have been diagnosed with ADHD.&nbsp;



The study showed that a 12 percent increase in vegetation corresponded with a 10 percent reduction in risk for ADHD. As for air pollution, a 2.1 µg increase in the levels of PM2.5 meant an 11 percent increase in the risk of ADHD.



“Our findings also show that the associations between PM2.5 and ADHD were attenuated by residential green space and vice versa, as if the beneficial effects of vegetation and the harmful effects of PM2.5 neutralized each other," said study first author Weiran Yuchi.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international">Environment International</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lack of green space linked to ADHD in children

Children living in areas with more PM2.5 particulate air pollution...

According to preliminary data from the <a href="https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/charctic-interactive-sea-ice-graph/">National Snow and Ice Data Center</a> (NSIDC), Antarctica has set an alarming new record this year for the lowest sea ice extent in the past four decades since measurements began. The previous minimum of 810,000 square miles, set in March 2017, was recently surpassed, after sea ice extent dropped to 765,000 square miles on Wednesday, February 23, 2022. 



Scientists estimate that Antarctic sea ice is currently dwindling three times faster than in the 1990s, contributing to global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-study-pinpoints-the-causes-of-sea-level-rise/">sea-level rise</a>.



“What’s going on in the Antarctic is an extreme event,” said Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a> and lead scientist at the NSIDC. “There’s a link between what's going on in Antarctica and the general warming trend around the rest of the world, but it’s different from what we see in mountain glaciers and what we see in the Arctic.”



While the rate of sea ice loss is rapidly increasing in the Arctic, the situation in Antarctica has been more variable, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-antarctic-sea-ice-has-fluctuated-over-the-past-century/">fluctuating</a> widely from record highs to record lows. Satellite data stretching back to 1978 shows that Antarctica was still producing record-high sea ice extent as recently as 2014 and 2015. After plunging in 2016 though, it remained consistently lower-than-average.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The trends have rearranged a little bit because fundamentally over the last four decades, Antarctica has just been pushed around by the changes in ocean temperature and wind,” said Scambos. “The thing about Antarctica and sea ice is it is very unconstrained, sort of at the mercy of wind patterns, storms, snowfall, and ocean temperatures - all these things have an impact.”



According to scientists, the increasing warming trends in the polar regions amplify the consequences of climate change globally. “Polar regions really have a way of making these small changes a bigger deal, either through sea-level rise, which is the main cause for concern from Antarctica, or through warmer climate generally, because the Arctic is sort of the air conditioner for the places where most of us live in the Northern Hemisphere.”



Although it may take another decade of a persistent downward trend in order to link the dwindling sea ice in the Antarctic with climate change, some alarming effects are already clearly visible on the continent. For instance, the critical ice shelf holding back the Thwaites&nbsp;glacier (also known as the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-doomsday-glacier-is-heading-for-dramatic-change/">Doomsday glacier</a>) could shatter within the next three to five years, leading to devastating sea-level rise.



In order to stop the downward spiral in which climate change has thrown Antarctica and most other places on the globe, it is absolutely necessary to urgently curb the greenhouse emissions that are at the root of global warming.



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

Antarctic sea ice levels are at their lowest on record

According to preliminary data from the National Snow and Ice...

Grieving behavior has been reported in a variety of animals, including elephants, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-tend-to-each-others-wounds/">chimpanzees</a> and birds, but it has remained unclear whether domestic dogs grieve after the death of another dog in the family. Studies have remained inconclusive as it is difficult to identify the exact cause of behavior considered to indicate mourning.



A new survey of 426 dog owners in Italy has found that dogs show behavioral and emotional changes after the death of a conspecific in the household, indicating that they may experience grief. The survey included adults whose pet dog had died while there remained at least one other dog in the family.&nbsp;



The participants, 66 percent of whom had lost their dog over one year before the study, were asked about the ways in which the surviving dog’s behavior changed in the time immediately following the death. They were also asked to assess their own levels of distress after the bereavement.



Negative changes in the behavior of the surviving dog were reported by 86 percent of the dog owners in the survey. These changes were reported to last between two and six months in 32 percent of the cases, and for more than six months in 25 percent of the cases.



Owners reported that, after the death of a pet, the surviving dog sought attention more frequently (67 percent of cases), played less (57 percent), and became less active (46 percent). Thirty-five percent of owners noted that their remaining dog slept more and became more fearful after losing a canine companion. In 32 percent of cases, bereaved dogs ate less, while 30 percent of owners reported more frequent whining or barking in the surviving dog.&nbsp;



The findings, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, showed that 93 percent of dog owners in the survey responded that their dogs had lived together for longer than one year at the time of the death. Sixty-nine percent of dog owners stated that their dogs had a friendly relationship with each other before the time that one of them died.&nbsp;



The analysis showed that, while the length of time that the dogs had lived together did not influence the surviving dog’s behavior, having a friendly relationship with the deceased dog did. In addition, the grief of the owner had an influence on the extent of negative behavior and fearfulness in the remaining dog.



According to the researchers, the negative behavioral and emotional changes observed in the surviving dogs after their conspecific passed on could be seen as both a grief-like reaction and a response by the surviving dog to the grieving behavior of the owner. The authors conclude that grief-like responses among dogs are potentially a major pet welfare issue that has been overlooked.



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

Dogs can grieve when they lose a canine buddy

Grieving behavior has been reported in a variety of animals,...

New research led by <a href="https://nau.edu/">Northern Arizona University</a> has found that global warming is causing the Earth’s coldest forests to shift northward. This phenomenon raises concerns about biodiversity, increased risks of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-will-increase-by-50-percent-by-the-end-of-the-century/">wildfires</a>, and mounting impacts of climate change on northern communities.&nbsp;



The boreal forest is a belt of cold-tolerant conifer trees stretching nearly 9,000 miles across North America and Eurasia. It accounts for almost a quarter of our planet’s forest area and is the coldest forest biome.



In order to assess climate change’s impact on the boreal forest, researchers used 40 years of moderately fine resolution satellite observations and a variety of geospatial climate-related datasets of this forest. They found that vegetation became greener across most of the cold northern margins of the boreal forest, and browner along parts of the warm southern margins of this biome due to hotter and drier conditions which increased tree stress and death.



“There is emerging evidence that climate change is causing boreal trees and shrubs to expand into arctic and alpine tundra, while at the same time causing trees to become more stressed and die along the warm southern margins of the boreal forest,” said study lead author Logan Berner, an assistant professor of Forest Ecology and Ecoinformatics at the Northern Arizona University. 



“These dynamics could lead to a gradual northward shift in the geographic extent of the boreal forest biome, but the extent to which such changes are already underway has remained unclear.”



Intriguingly, vegetation seems more likely to become greener in regions with high soil nitrogen, suggesting that soil nutrient availability is an important constraint on the response of boreal vegetation to global warming.



These changes could affect local plant and animal biodiversity, especially species such as caribou and moose that have highly specific foraging preferences (deciduous shrubs and trees), as well as impact wildfire regimes, most likely increasing the risks of more frequent and severe fires. Moreover, changes in vegetation will affect carbon-rich permafrost soils and the absorption of solar energy by the land surface in ways that can accelerate global warming.



&nbsp;“To minimize adverse impacts of climate change, efforts are needed to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially related to fossil fuel consumption and deforestation. Furthermore, northern communities need to plan for potential changes in vegetation that could impact resource availability (e.g. wildlife, timber) and wildfire risk,” Professor Berger concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16121">Global Change Biology</a>.



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

Climate change is shifting the Earth’s coldest forest northward

New research led by Northern Arizona University has found that...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/">University of Massachusetts Amherst</a> has found a negative link between flight-worthiness and fight-worthiness in birds. According to the scientists, evolutionary pressures demanded that birds could either fly well or arm themselves with bony spurs on their legs – but usually not both. Moreover, developing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/owl-wings-inspire-noise-reduction-in-wind-turbines-and-aircraft/">wings</a> instead of bony spurs seems to be caused by both natural and sexual selection.



“It’s kind of puzzling. Birds have such spectacular songs, plumage and dances, but they mostly don’t have specialized weapons. It’s strange because dancing, singing, fancy feathers, and fighting are all ways of successfully obtaining a mate, and often go together,” said study lead author&nbsp;João C. T. Menezes, a PhD student in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at UMass Amherst.



By estimating how many species of birds do in fact carry weapons and assessing how much and how well different species fly, the researchers found that, although the vast majority of birds are unarmed, 1.7 percent pack weapons in the form of bony spurs on their legs. However, these species seem to be less proficient in flying than their weapon-less counterparts. According to Menezez, “the best fliers tend to lack spurs, and the most heavily armed fighters tend to struggle in the air.”



To explain this strange phenomenon, the scientists ran a number of simulations and models, which showed that bony spurs may impose heavy evolutionary costs. Although weapons such as plumage, dancing, and the ability to sing helps attracting mates and are thus an advantage in sexual selection, the bony spurs make flying a more energy-intensive activity, decreasing birds’ ability to takeoff easily, and fly fast and far.&nbsp;



Thus, spurs might make birds more likely to get eaten by predators or require more food to meet their energy requirements. By contrast, their unspurred counterparts can escape easier from predators, eat less, and live to breed again.



“This helps explain why birds have an amazing range of plumage, song and dance, while almost totally lacking in the weaponry department,” Menezes concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.13964">Ecology Letters</a>.



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

Fight or flight: birds are not equipped for both

A new study led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst...

Fears of snakes and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-reveal-spiders-web-making-secrets/">spiders</a> are widespread. Scientists think they may have arisen long ago during our evolutionary history, and had a role of protecting us against these dangerous animals that people were meeting far more often than now. However, while these fears can protect us, if they turn into phobias – extreme or irrational fears – they can cause significant distress and interfere with our daily lives, as we struggle to avoid all confrontation with the phobic stimuli.



A new study of over a thousand participants in Hungary has found that people who feel more connected to nature are less likely to be affected by fears or phobias of snakes and spiders.&nbsp;



“Analysis of our data showed one clear picture: the more you like nature and feel a part of it, the less you are at risk of developing a snake or spider phobia, an anxiety disorders which can significantly lower your quality of life,” said study co-author Dr. Jakub Polák, a postdoctoral researcher in Psychology at <a href="https://cuni.cz/uken-1.html">Charles University</a>, Czech Republic.



Dr. Polák and his colleagues assessed participants’ connection to nature using the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00813/full">Nature Relatedness Scale</a>, and rated their fears and phobia through established questionnaires that are used in clinical screenings for these afflictions. They found that people who scored highly in their self-perceived connection to nature – particularly a longing to be close to nature and engagement to protect it – were less likely to score highly in measures of snake and spider phobias. Older age and living in less urbanized environments were also associated with reduced fear of these animals.



According to the scientists, the association found in this study can go both ways. “A connection to nature may cause people to experience less fear of snakes and spiders. However, it is also possible that people with lower fear of snakes and spiders are consequently more interested in nature and feel a stronger connection with the natural environment,” explained study co-author Dr. Carlos Coelho, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.up.pt/">University of Porto</a>, Portugal.



Regardless of the direction of causality, these findings add to the growing evidence of the positive effects of spending time in nature and feeling connected to it, such as better health, reduced stress, and enhanced mood.



“Connectedness to nature, can have a wide range of positive effects. In our study we find that it may prevent the development of animal phobias or could facilitate coping with such fear if they already exist. It’s also been shown that being connected to nature carries health benefits and can result in more knowledge and a more positive attitude towards animals, along with greater environmental responsibility,” concluded study lead author Dr András Norbert Zsido, an assistant professor of Psychology at the<a href="https://international.pte.hu/"> University of Pécs</a>, Hungary.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10303">People and Nature</a>.



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

Feeling connected to nature reduces fear of spiders

Fears of snakes and spiders are widespread. Scientists think they...

You’ve likely watched a flock of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hummingbirds-are-experts-at-regulating-body-temperature/" data-type="news" data-id="1903233">birds</a> heading south in awe and wondered, how do they know which direction to go? And how do they stay on course for thousands of kilometers?&nbsp; This winter, neuroscientists and ecologists from <a href="https://www.doshisha.ac.jp/en/">Doshisha University</a> and Nagoya University conducted a study to answer this curiosity.



Studies have proven that migratory birds have magnetically sensitive proteins in their eyes and the magneto-receptive cells in their brain that allow them to perceive geomagnetic fields of the earth. This helps migratory birds navigate through new terrains, or travel over the ocean without the help of any landmarks.&nbsp;



To understand how birds know which direction to follow during long-distance flight, Professor Susumu Takahashi hypothesized that the directional and the magnetoreception senses in birds may share a few common neural players.



For the investigation, the team selected the streaked shearwater bird - a seabird that breeds on islands in Japan, Korea, and China and migrates to warmer regions such as Philippines, Indonesia, and northern Australia in the winter.&nbsp;



“Interestingly, during their first migratory flight, juvenile birds do not follow the easier detours along the coastline taken by their parents. Instead, they fly directly towards the destination through difficult mountain ranges. This suggests that the juvenile birds rely heavily on the orientation of their in-built compass, rather than the environmental cues followed by the adult ones,” said Professor Takahashi.



The researchers used a device that wirelessly records the electrophysiological activity of the brain. First, they housed chicks in light-shielding cages. Then, they used the device to record the electrophysiological activity from the medial pallium region of the brain. Next, they let the baby birds walk freely in a room&nbsp; in which the sun’s direction was not visible. The birds also were brought to walk around a sea-facing cliff, a far distance from where they were found.



This experiment revealed that head direction (HD) cells act as an internal compass to help the birds navigate during their initial migratory flight.



This was determined as 20 percent of the HD cells in the medial pallium region fired electrical pulses with higher frequency when the birds faced north. And when birds faced other directions, the cells became less active. The birds had a preference for the north, regardless of what study location they were placed in.&nbsp; This suggests that the location-independent geomagnetic field was used as a cue for head orientation.&nbsp;



The researchers are hopeful that these findings will open new doors in future studies. “Our findings suggest that the avian internal compass can be utilized to gain insights into the neuronal underpinning of animal migration patterns," said Professor Takahashi.



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



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

Birds rely on an inner compass to guide long migrations

You’ve likely watched a flock of birds heading south in...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/workplace-exposure-to-pesticides-linked-to-greater-copd-risk/">Pesticides</a> are often used to control the spread of mosquito-transmitted diseases, such as malaria or Dengue fever. However, pesticide-resistance among mosquitoes has significantly increased in recent decades, making scientists worry that some of the most successful ways of controlling many severe infectious diseases may stop functioning in the near future.&nbsp;



According to a new study led by Frédéric Tripet, the director of the Center for Applied Entomology and Parasitology (<a href="https://www.keele.ac.uk/caep/">CAEP</a>) at <a href="https://www.keele.ac.uk/">Keele University</a> in the United Kingdom, female mosquitoes are able to learn to avoid pesticides after a single exposure.



Professor Tripet and his colleagues exposed female Aedes&nbsp;aegypti&nbsp;and Culex quinquefasciastus mosquitoes (which transmit severe illnesses such as Dengue, Zika, or West Nile fevers) to non-lethal doses of some of the most frequently used anti-mosquito pesticides, including malathion, propoxur, deltamethrin, permethrin, and lambda-cyhalothrin. Afterward, they tested whether subsequent exposures of these mosquitoes to the same pesticides deterred them from feeding and resting in the proximity of these substances.



The scientists discovered that mosquitoes which were pre-exposed to these pesticides avoided passing through a net treated with the same pesticide in order to reach food sources. Only 15.4 percent of&nbsp;A. aegypti&nbsp;and 12.1 percent of&nbsp;C. quinquefasciastus which were pre-exposed passed through the net in search of food, compared to 57.7 percent of A. aegypti&nbsp;and 54.4 percent of&nbsp;C. quinquefasciastus from a control group. Subsequently, the survival rate of pre-exposed mosquitoes was more than double that of mosquitoes in the control group.



The researchers also found that pre-exposed mosquitoes were more likely to rest in a container that smelt of a different substance, rather than in one that smelt of the pesticide to which they have been exposed, with 75.7 percent of&nbsp;A. aegypti&nbsp;and 83.1 percent of&nbsp;C. quinquefasciastus&nbsp;choosing to rest in the pesticide-free container (compared to 50.2 percent of&nbsp;A. aegypti&nbsp;and 50.4 percent of&nbsp;C. quinquefasciastus&nbsp;from the control group).



These findings suggest that mosquitoes that have been already exposed to non-lethal doses of pesticides learn to avoid such substances in the future – a behavior which increases their survival and reproduction rates, and makes them even more dangerous vectors of disease.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-05754-2">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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

Mosquitoes learn to avoid pesticides after single exposure

Pesticides are often used to control the spread of mosquito-transmitted...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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