Clos,Eup,Of,A,Woman,Wand,Touching,River,Water,In

Scientists have long mapped separate brain areas for sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Yet new research reveals that when we focus sharply on any of those senses, signals converge on the same two structures buried deep in the brain - the midbrain reticular formation and the central thalamus.



This finding highlights a shared neural pathway that sustains <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-stops-paying-attention-to-repeated-distractions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">attention</a> and wakefulness and could inspire therapies for coma, epilepsy, and attention-deficit disorders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-senses-in-a-single-brain-region">Senses in a single brain region</h2>



Research over the past century has shown that visual scenes activate the occipital cortex, melodies light up the temporal lobes, and so forth.



“We were expecting to find activity on shared networks, but when we saw all the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-sense-of-smell-and-different-odors-can-influence-how-we-see-colors/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">senses</a> light up the same central brain regions while a test subject was focusing, it was really astonishing,” said Aya Khalaf, a postdoctoral associate in neurology at <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yale School of Medicine</a> and lead author of the study.



Those two regions - the reticular formation, a mesh of neurons in the upper brainstem, and the intralaminar and mediodorsal nuclei of the thalamus - form part of the so-called subcortical arousal system, a set of circuits long suspected to regulate alertness and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/consciousness-may-stem-from-unseen-dimensions-beyond-our-reality/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consciousness</a>.



Previous work had linked these hubs to vigilance by studying patients emerging from coma or experiencing absence seizures. But most of those experiments examined responses to a single type of stimulus, for example flashing lights or chirping sounds.



Khalaf and colleagues asked the broader question: do different senses share the same arousal circuitry when people deliberately pay attention?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-massive-data-mine">A massive data mine</h2>



To answer that, the team turned to the publicly available <a href="https://www.humanconnectome.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Human Connectome Project</a> and other repositories, assembling functional MRI scans from 1,561 healthy adults.



Across 11 tasks, participants viewed moving shapes, listened to spoken stories, sampled liquid tastants, or felt puffs of air on their fingertips. Each task included abrupt cues that forced subjects to switch attention - for instance, a sudden change in picture orientation or a surprise tone embedded in white noise.



The investigators processed more than 500 hours of scan data through a pipeline that removed head motion and physiological noise, then aligned brain volumes to a common atlas.



In every sensory domain, when a cue demanded rapid attentional re-orientation, blood-oxygen signals spiked in the reticular formation and the central thalamus. The effect was absent or minimal during passive stimulation, underscoring the importance of active engagement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-consciousness-in-the-brain">Consciousness in the brain</h2>



Why would a taste test and a vision task end up at the same neural address? The authors propose that the midbrain reticular formation integrates sudden sensory changes and broadcasts a “wake-up” volley to the thalamus, which relays it to widespread cortical areas.



That burst synchronizes cortical rhythms, priming the brain to process incoming information. The scheme dovetails with classical animal studies showing that electrical stimulation of the reticular formation induces cortical desynchronization and behavioral arousal, while lesions produce stupor.



“It tells us how important this brain region is and what it could mean in efforts to restore consciousness,” Khalaf said.



“This has also given us insights into how things work normally in the brain. It’s really a step forward in our understanding of awareness and consciousness,” said senior author Hal Blumenfeld, a neurologist at Yale.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-awakening-senses-in-the-brain">Awakening senses in the brain</h2>



Because the same deep-brain hubs fire regardless of which sense is active, treatments aimed at modulating those hubs could benefit diverse conditions.



Drugs that enhance thalamic neurotransmission, for instance, might improve focus in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/autism-and-adhd-disorders-directly-linked-amount-of-time-kids-spend-on-screens/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">attention deficit hyperactivity disorder</a>. Conversely, overactivity in the arousal circuit has been implicated in insomnia; dampening the circuitry could help induce sleep.



The results also support ongoing trials that deliver low-intensity ultrasound or deep-brain electrodes to the central thalamus in patients with disorders of consciousness. 



If attention triggers the thalamus to “switch on” the cortex, stimulating it directly might help rouse patients who are minimally conscious.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-sensory-rehabilitation"><a></a>Rethinking sensory rehabilitation</h2>



The discovery challenges sensory-specific training programs that ignore subcortical commonalities. 



For example, visual rehabilitation for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stroke-risk-is-elevated-by-air-pollution-and-traffic-noise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stroke</a> survivors may benefit from pairing attentional cues with tactile or auditory tasks to engage the shared arousal pathway.



Likewise, virtual-reality therapies that bombard users with multi-sensory surprises might more effectively sharpen attentional control.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



The Yale team plans to refine the timeline of activation using magnetoencephalography, which offers millisecond resolution. They also hope to dissect the frequency bands that link the thalamus to frontal and parietal cortices during attentional jumps. 



Such work could reveal whether gamma-band bursts or alpha-band suppression carry the critical “wake-up” message.



Another frontier involves patients. Investigators will compare responses in healthy volunteers with those in people who have attention deficits or who are emerging from anaesthesia. 



Identifying a lost or delayed thalamic spike could serve as a biomarker for impaired consciousness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-regions-and-the-senses">Brain regions and the senses</h2>



For now, the study establishes the midbrain reticular formation and central thalamus as the universal relay through which sight, sound, taste, and touch gain conscious entry - at least when our minds snap to attention.



By showing that “all the senses light up the same central brain regions,” it confirms that consciousness depends not only on specialized cortical maps but also on a common deep-brain gatekeeper. 



Therapies that target this gatekeeper may eventually help restore awareness where it has dimmed and sharpen it where it wanders.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811925002277?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NeuroImage</a>.



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Scientists discover a brain region that connects all the senses

Scientists have long mapped separate brain areas for sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Yet new research reveals that when we focus sharply on any of those senses, signals converge on the same two structures buried deep in the brain - the midbrain reticular formation and the central thalamus. This finding highlights a shared neural pathway that sustains attention and wakefulness and could inspire therapies for coma, epilepsy, and attention-deficit disorders. Senses in a single brain region Research over the past century has shown that visual scenes...

Close,Up,Blue,Columbine,Wildflower,Blooms,In,Mountain,Aspen,Forest

Charles Darwin’s view of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supertramp-birds-provide-insight-into-how-evolution-works/">evolution</a> by natural selection envisioned one species changing gradually into another by means of many, small genetic mutations over a very long time. As Darwin wrote in his seminal work, On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection, “We see nothing of these slow changes in progress, until the hand of time has marked the long lapse of ages.”



Not all evolutionary biologists agree with this view of genetic change, however. Although it may explain the way in which species adapt to changing conditions over time, there are many instances where sudden, large morphological alterations occur within relatively short geologic timespans. Such changes are thought to be due to instances of significant genetic mutation, rather than to micro-mutations that accumulate over time. In this case, biologists would view evolution as involving sudden punctuations, or steps, during which genetic changes give rise to radical new morphologies.&nbsp;



Professor Scott Hodges in the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">UC Santa Barbara</a> Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, along with doctoral student Zachary Cabin and their colleagues, have just identified an example of a sudden evolutionary change. They have found a population of mutant Colorado blue columbine plants (Aquilegia coerulea) that produce flowers with no petals. Columbine flowers usually have small, white petals, each with an elongated spur that contains nectar and attracts pollinating insects. The mutants have lost their petals and nectar-filled spurs entirely, and these have been replaced by an extra set of sepals.



It seems that this type of mutation in A. coerulea has been seen before; in 1897, a mutant where the petals were replaced by sepals was described in the Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences.&nbsp; And a 100 years later, mutant plants were found to be abundant in an area about 24 km south of the original locality in central Colorado. This implies that the mutation involving petal loss was not a disadvantage to the plants – they have continued to survive and reproduce without being able to attract pollinators to their nectar-filled spurs.



The plants are usually pollinated bumblebees and hawkmoths, that would normally be attracted to the petals with spurs because of the nectar reward they contain. It is highly unusual to find that a mutation persists in a population when this makes the plant less attractive to its pollinating agents.



This is why Hodges and the team decided to investigate this population (in Reynolds Park Open Space) more closely. Over the span of three flowering seasons (between 2014 and 2016), they mapped the position of every flowering plant in one portion of Reynolds Park and recorded the morphology, number of flowers produced, signs of herbivory on the flowers, and whether the fruits matured. They also made extensive video recordings of the insect pollinators that visited flowers, and collected tissue samples for genetic analysis.



The researchers found that at least 25 percent of the plants in the area were of the mutant variety and had no petals or spurs. When they searched the DNA for the source of this unexpected change in morphology, they found the culprit to be a mutation in a single gene, APETALA3-3, which is known to affect spur development. This type of gene is a homeotic gene because it controls the development of an entire organ. It codes for a transcription factor that influences many other genes involved in building the whole organ.&nbsp;



“The gene is either on or off, so it’s about as simple of a change you can get,” said lead author&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eemb.ucsb.edu/people/students/cabin">Zachary Cabin</a>. “But that simple difference causes a radical change in morphology.” The finding adds weight to the idea that adaptation can occur in large jumps, rather than by merely plodding along over extended timespans.



Geneticists who have managed to introduce experimental mutations in the homeotic genes of fruit flies, have produced flies with entire organs in the wrong place in the body. For example, antennae grow out of the abdomen of the fly, or legs grow where there should be wings. These extreme changes are likely to affect survival in most instances.



“Most of the mutations of this nature are going to be like that, just awful,” Hodges said. “The animal won’t have any chance of surviving.”



But every once in a very long while, a macromutation can be neutral, or even confer an advantage to an individual in a particular environment. This individual could, according to Richard Goldschmidt – a prominent US geneticist – be seen as a ‘hopeful monster’. Such an individual would be the product of a fortuitous radical genetic mutation that would enable it to adopt a new mode of life.&nbsp;



Hopeful monsters are not usually found in the fossil record because changes take place rapidly, but if biologists could spot a hopeful monster in the early stages of its evolution, it would show that evolution can indeed proceed in single, large jumps.



Could it be that this recent research study on columbines, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>, has unearthed a hopeful monster?



“We did not have a good example of a hopeful monster due to a single genetic change,” said Hodges, “until now.” Researchers have to catch these abrupt changes as they’re happening, otherwise they disappear into an organism’s genome. The fact that it is actively happening in the Colorado blue columbine enabled the team to confirm this plant’s status as a hopeful monster.



“There’s definitely some luck involved with us being around at the right time to capture this,” Cabin said.



The team discovered five versions, or alleles, of&nbsp;APETALA3-3, only one of which codes for a petal with a functional nectar spur. The other four were ‘broken’, as Hodges put it. They also determined that spurlessness is a recessive trait. The flower will develop normally as long as the plant has one copy of the functional allele. But any two of the mutant alleles together will prevent this.&nbsp;



Since about a quarter of Colorado blue columbines in the study area displayed the recessive trait of spurlessness, it appeared that this mutation was advantageous to the plants in some way.&nbsp;



“To get that many of this mutant type really suggests that there’s selection favoring it somehow,” Hodges said, which proved perplexing as the spurs produce nectar that attracts the plant’s pollinators. “So, how the heck can you lose your spurs and still be favored?” he asked.



Analyzing the data that they had collected in the field, the researchers&nbsp;identified that flowers with spurs attracted more herbivores in the form of aphids and deer. These animals seemed to prefer eating the flowers with the nectar-filled spurs, and it was this pressure that was likely driving the selection for flowers with no spurs.



“The first time we really realized the pattern was at the airport on the way home,” Cabin recalled. He was reading off data as Hodges entered it into the computer. “Scott could see the pattern developing, because he had all the data in front of him, and was getting more and more excited.”



Shifts in floral morphology are usually driven by pollinators, but spurlessness seems to be driven by herbivory. “Natural selection can come from very surprising sources,” Hodges said. “It’s not always what you’d expect it to be.”



The researchers now want to track how spurlessness is spreading through the columbine population. They also suspect that, thanks to this genetic mutation, the Colorado blue columbine may be diverging into separate species. “That splitting process would be slow,” Cabin said, “but there is evidence that it could be on its way.”



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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

Colorado blue columbines show punctuated evolution in action

Charles Darwin’s view of evolution by natural selection envisioned one...

In a new report from the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a>, experts warn that whales are facing a growing number of dangers along their migration routes. Based on satellite tracking data from 845 animals over the past 30 years, a team of marine scientists has created the first map of ocean "superhighways" used by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-whales-are-killed-by-ship-strikes-each-year/">whales</a>.



The researchers investigated the conditions along the migration routes of humpbacks, fin whales, and blue whales from their breeding grounds to their feeding grounds. The study revealed that these critical habitats, along with the routes used to reach them, are increasingly threatened by human activity.



According to the report, the most significant threat to whale and dolphin populations is entanglement in fishing gear and ghost nets (which are discarded or abandoned by fishermen). These dangers are linked to the deaths of an estimated 300,000 whales a year.



The experts also outlined additional threats to whales along their migration routes, including ship traffic, noise and chemical pollution, overfishing, and offshore drilling.&nbsp;



Chris Johnson, who leads the WWF protecting whales and dolphins initiative, said the cumulative impacts from these types of human activities are creating a "hazardous and sometimes fatal obstacle course."



WWF is calling for the international community to work together to deliver comprehensive marine protected areas (MPAs) that overlap national and international whale migration routes, also referred to as "blue corridors."



World Wildlife Fund says delivering protected blue corridors will benefit more than just the whales, who store significant amounts of carbon over their lifetime and whose waste fertilizes the ocean, helping maintain populations of other species including commercial fish.



“Gentle giants like fin and humpback whales can be frequent visitors to UK seas, but - as is the case right around the world - our waters are fraught with risk, from fishing gear entanglement to ship strikes to impacts from noise pollution," said Dr. Simon Walmsley, chief marine adviser at WWF UK.



“As a newly independent coastal state and a shipping superpower, the UK can show international leadership and support ocean recovery by expanding and strengthening marine protected areas in UK seas.”



The WWF says the international community can help protect the world’s blue corridors by supporting the UN’s High Seas Treaty, which is set for final negotiations in March.



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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

Whales face increasing dangers along their migration routes

In a new report from the World Wildlife Fund, experts...

A new species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flesh-eating-theropods-were-extremely-fast/">dinosaur</a>, named Guemesia ochoai, has recently been discovered in the Los Blanquitos Formation near Amblayo, in the north of Argentina. It is a species of abelisaurid theropods, a clade of carnivorous dinosaurs that lived 70 million years ago and roamed what is now South America, Africa, and India. As most abelisaurids, this dinosaur had very short front limbs, a feature which probably made it rely on its extremely powerful head and jaws to capture and devour prey.



Abelisaurids were a group of top predatory dinosaurs that may have fed on larger dinosaurs such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/enormous-titanosaur-discovered-in-the-pyrenees/">titanosaurs</a>. While they resembled in general appearance more famous species such as Tyrannosaurus rex, they had even shorter front limbs than T. rex, as well as unusually short, deep skulls that often bore crests, bumps, and horns.



Argentina is well known for its abelisaurid fossils, with 35 species already discovered on its territory. However, most of the fossils have been found in Patagonia, in the south of the country. Guemesia ochoai - named after General Martin Miguel de Güemes, a hero of the Argentine War of Independence, and Javier Ochoa, a museum technician who discovered the fossils –&nbsp;shows marked differences from other species of abelisaurids discovered in Argentina, adding new evidence that north-western Argentina had a unique set of prehistoric creatures, unlike those found in other parts of the world in the Late Cretaceous.



“This new dinosaur is quite unusual for its kind. It has several key characteristics that suggest that is a new species, providing important new information about an area of the world which we don't know a lot about,” said study senior author Anjali Goswami, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a> in London.&nbsp;



“It shows that the dinosaurs that live in this region were quite different from those in other parts of Argentina, supporting the idea of distinct provinces in the Cretaceous of South America. It also shows us that there is lot more to be discovered in these areas that get less attention than some of the more famous fossil sites.”



One unique feature of this specimen are the rows of small holes in the front of its skull called “foramina,” which scientists believe that may have played an important role in allowing the animal to cool down, with blood being pumped into the thin skin from the front of the skull to release heat. Moreover, its cranium is about 70 percent smaller than any of its relatives, and, unlike most other abelisaurid skulls, it lacks horns. These differences suggest that this new species is near the bottom of the family tree of abelisaurids or closely related to ancestors of this group.



A detailed description of G.ochoai is published in the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.2002348?journalCode=ujvp20">Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</a>.&nbsp;



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

Dinosaur discovered in Argentina was armless but fierce

A new species of dinosaur, named Guemesia ochoai, has recently...

A new report from the <a href="https://www.unep.org/">UN Environmental Program</a> (UNEP) has named three major environmental threats. First is the increasing threat of wildfires, which are becoming more frequent and severe as a result of climate change. Next, the report describes the growing threat of noise pollution and the problems that come with it. Lastly, the experts highlight the issue of phenological mismatches, or the disruption of timing in natural systems and life cycles.



“The Frontiers Report identifies and offers solutions to three environmental issues that merit attention and action from governments and the public at large,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Urban noise pollution, wildfires and phenological shifts – the three topics of this Frontiers report – are issues that highlight the urgent need to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.”



Fires burned up an average of 423 million hectares of land between 2002 and 2016. Approximately 67 percent of the area consumed by all types of fires was in Africa. Wildfires, despite being natural, are on the rise due to climate change. Smoke from fires causes health problems for humans and other animals. Fires also release carbon, making them a contributor to climate change in a sort of positive feedback loop.&nbsp;



"The report calls for greater investment in reducing the risks of wildfires; development of prevention and response management approaches that include vulnerable, rural, traditional and indigenous communities; and further refinements in remote sensing capabilities, such as satellites, radar and lightning detection," said UNEP.



Noise pollution is often overlooked as an environmental threat. Prolonged noise can harm human health and well-being and disrupt other animals as well. Unwanted human noises can disrupt communications between insects, amphibians, birds and other animals. It is estimated that noise pollution already leads to 12,000 premature human deaths every year in the EU alone. Natural sounds have a positive impact on human health, however, and it is recommended that urban planners focus on prioritizing natural sounds over unwanted human disturbances.&nbsp;



Climate change is also disrupting the natural life cycle changes in animals and plants. Critical processes such as reproduction, migration, and hibernation are all impacted by climate change. The problem arises when there is a mismatch in the timing among plant and animal species that are dependent on each other.&nbsp;



"Phenology is the timing of recurring life cycle stages, driven by environmental forces, and how, within an ecosystem, interacting species respond to the changing conditions," wrote the experts.&nbsp;



"Phenological shifts occur when species shift the timing of life cycle stages in response to changing environmental conditions altered by climate change. The concern is that interacting species in an ecosystem do not always shift the timing in the same direction or at the same rate.



These phenological shifts are increasingly disturbed by climate change, pushing plants and animals out of sync with their natural rhythms and leading to mismatches, such as when plants shift life cycle stages faster than herbivores."



"Long-distance migrants are particularly vulnerable to phenological change. Local climatic cues that normally trigger migration may no longer accurately predict conditions at their destination and resting sites along the route."



According to the experts, the full impacts of these looming environmental threats require further research. With proper planning, it is possible that we can get a handle on many aspects of these issues before it is too late.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The latest edition of the <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/deadly-wildfires-noise-pollution-and-disruptive-timing-life-cycles">Frontiers Report</a> has been released days before the resumed fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA).



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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

UNEP report identifies the biggest emerging environmental threats

A new report from the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) has...

Scientists from the <a href="https://www.riken.jp/en/research/labs/r-ih/guard_robo_proj/">RIKEN Guardian Robot Project</a> have recently built an android child named Nikola that can successfully convey six basic emotions – happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust – by changes in facial expression. In a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.800657/full">Frontiers in Psychology</a>, the researchers tested how well people could identify the six facial expressions and found that the recognition accuracy was quite impressive.



Nikola’s face is animated by 29 pneumatic actuators which control the movements of artificial muscles, and other six actuators in charge of head and eyeball movements. To find the proper location for the actuators in the android’s face, the scientists followed the <a href="https://www.paulekman.com/facial-action-coding-system/">Facial Action Coding System</a> (FACS), a comprehensive, anatomically-based system which has been used extensively to study and describe all visually discernible facial movements. Since the actuators are controlled by air pressure, the movements are silent and smooth.



In order to test whether Nikola’s facial expressions were understandable, the researchers first enrolled a person certified in FACS scoring. This person was able to identify each facial action unit, indicating that Nikola’s facial movements accurately mimicked those of a real human.



In a second step, the scientists enrolled a group of non-specialist, “naïve” participants, who were asked to identify the emotions expressed by the android’s face. While the recognition accuracy of all emotions was significantly higher than chance level, participants had trouble identifying emotions like disgust, since Nikola’s silicone skin was less elastic than real human skin and could not properly form wrinkles, such as the nose wrinkles characteristic for the facial expression of disgust.



“In the short term, androids like Nikola can be important research tools for social psychology or even social neuroscience,” said study lead author Wataru Sato, a neuroscientist at RIKEN. “Compared with human confederates,&nbsp;androids are good at controlling behaviors and can facilitate rigorous empirical investigation of human social interactions.”



Although Nikola still lacks a body, the ultimate goal of the Guardian Robot Project is to build androids that could help people, particularly those who live alone and are in need of physical assistance. “Androids that can emotionally communicate with us will be useful in a wide range of real-life situations, such as caring for older people, and can promote human wellbeing,”&nbsp;Dr. Sato concluded.



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

Android kid "Nikola" can express basic emotions

Scientists from the RIKEN Guardian Robot Project have recently built...

The immune system is a complex network of cells and proteins that are found all throughout the body. While it is well known that the immune system helps to defend the body against <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-can-increase-the-severity-of-covid-19-infection/">infection</a>, a new study reveals that immune cells are also hard at work when the body is perfectly healthy.&nbsp;



Study co-lead author Anne Loft is a postdoc at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the <a href="https://www.sdu.dk/en">University of Southern Denmark</a>.



"Until recently, it was believed that the immune system was mostly dormant unless the body was under attack in connection with infections. However, it now turns out that the immune system most likely also plays an important role for perfectly healthy people and can affect the body’s production of vital energy sources," said Loft.



The experts found that in a healthy body, the immune system causes the liver to produce an energy source called ketone bodies during the metabolism of fats.&nbsp;



"When we’re fasting – that is, we haven’t eaten anything for maybe half a day or a full day – we start drawing on our fat deposits, but not all of our body cells are capable of burning fat. This applies, among other things, to the brain, which instead depends on the production of ketone bodies, which the liver forms by metabolizing fats," explained study co-lead author Søren Fisker Schmidt. "The ketone bodies thereby energize the body, allowing us to function even if we don’t eat anything."



Ketone bodies are the focus of many popular weight loss strategies that aim to cut out carbohydrates. In the absence of carbs (and glucose), the body begins to burn stored fat. Beyond promoting weight loss, ketone bodies have been linked to improve levels heart health and blood sugar levels.&nbsp;



"We now believe that the immune system affects the production of ketone bodies in fit and healthy individuals and given the beneficial effects of ketone bodies in various common metabolic disorders, this knowledge can hopefully also be applied to understand how the immune system is trying to keep the body in equilibrium when we’re sick," said Loft.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/home">Cell Metabolism</a>.&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

The immune system supports healthy bodies, too

The immune system is a complex network of cells and...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-linger-in-riverbeds-for-years/">Microplastics</a> in the marine environment absorb pollutants and increase their toxicity by a factor of 10, according to a new study from <a href="https://english.tau.ac.il/">Tel Aviv University</a>. This increased toxicity could be a threat to human health, potentially causing severe damage to the digestive system.



The research was conducted by Dr. Ines Zucker of the TAU Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, in collaboration with Ph.D. student Andrey Eitan Rubin.&nbsp;



Dr. Zucker said the study shows that even very low concentrations of environmental pollutants, which are non-toxic to humans, significantly increase in toxicity once they have been absorbed by microplastic. "This is because microplastics are a kind of 'magnet' for environmental pollutants, concentrating them on its surfaces, 'ferrying' them through our digestive tract, and releasing them in a concentrated form in certain areas – thus causing increased toxicity."



The study authors explained that since plastic is not a natural material, it decomposes very slowly in nature, in a process that sometimes endures for thousands of years and, as part of this process, the same microplastics are formed.



The researchers examined the entire life cycle of microplastic, including the interactions that plastic particles have with environmental pollutants, as well as the release of these pollutants. The results suggest that by the time the pollutants are released, they are much more toxic, and pose a threat to humans who consume contaminated food or drinks.



"For the first time we are presenting a complete 'life cycle' of microplastics: from the moment of their release into the environment, through the adsorption of environmental pollutants and up to their joint toxicity in humans," said Rubin.



"The amount of waste dumped into the ocean every year is enormous - the best known example is the plastic island in the Pacific Ocean, which has an area 80 times larger than the State of Israel. But this is not just a remote problem - from our preliminary monitoring data show that Israel's shores are among the most polluted with microplastic waste."&nbsp;



"Each of the microplastic particles secreted in these areas has tremendous potential for harm as they serve as an effective and stable platform for any pollutant that they may encounter on their way to the human body."&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We have found that the adsorption capacity of an oxidized microplastic particle (the configuration of the microplastic after undergoing environmental weathering) is significantly higher than a non-oxidized particle," said Dr. Zucker.



"After the environmental pollutants adsorb to the microplastic, the pre-loaded particle may reach the digestive tract through the ingestion of contaminated food and water where it releases the toxins in close proximity to the cells of the digestive tract, thus increasing the toxicity of these substances. This is another painful reminder of the dire consequences of polluting the marine and terrestrial environment with hazardous industrial waste, which has unfortunately been saturated with plastic in recent decades."



"The dangers are not theoretical but are more tangible than ever. Although there is a great deal of awareness of this problem, the preventive measures in the field are still far from imprinting a significant mark."



The study is published in the prestigious journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/chemosphere">Chemosphere</a>.



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

Microplastics strengthen the toxicity of pollutants

Microplastics in the marine environment absorb pollutants and increase their...

Bornean,Orangutan,In,The,Wild,Nature.,Central,Bornean,Orangutan,(

The use of stone tools by early hominins is considered a milestone in human evolution that led to changes in dentition, hand morphology and brain size. But despite the obvious ecological significance of making and using early stone tools, it remains unclear how the necessary skills first emerged in naïve individuals.



A new study involving five captive orangutans aimed to shed some light on this question. The study, conducted by Alba Motes-Rodrigo from the <a href="https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/">University of Tübingen</a> and colleagues, tested the spontaneous tool making and using capabilities of two male orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) at Kristiansand Zoo in Norway, and three female orangutans at Twycross Zoo in the UK. None of the orangutans had been trained or previously exposed to any of the behaviors of interest to the researchers.&nbsp;



Previous research had proposed that the simplest scenario in which the use of stones as tools could have arisen may have been when an individual picked up a stone and used it to crush a hard object, such as a nut, against another hard surface, in order to access the contents. This is termed lithic percussion technology and involves mostly the use of rocks in a hammer-and-anvil manner.



The use of stone tools by orangutans in the wild has never been documented in the scientific literature. Although these apes are avid tool users, their tools usually consist of branches, sticks or other pieces of vegetation. Orangutans spend most of their time in the canopy where stones are not available. Therefore, orangutans can be considered naïve in terms of exposure to the use of stones as tools.



In the first part of the current study, the two male orangutans were given a concrete hammer, a prepared stone core from which flakes could be struck, and two puzzle boxes requiring the apes to cut through a rope or a silicon skin in order to access a food reward. Both orangutans spontaneously hit the hammer against the walls and floor of their enclosure, but neither directed strikes towards the stone core.&nbsp;



In the next part of the study, the orangutans were also given a human-made sharp flint flake, which one orangutan used to cut the silicon skin, thereby opening the puzzle box. According to the researchers, this is the first demonstration of cutting behavior in untrained, unenculturated orangutans.&nbsp;



The three female orangutans from Twycross Zoo had also never been exposed to the production or use of stone flakes before. They were given demonstrations by the researchers on how to strike a core in order to create a flint flake. In this way, the researchers assessed whether the apes could learn this skill by observing others. After the demonstrations, one female went on to use the hammer to hit the core, directing the blows towards the edge as had been demonstrated.



The study is the first to report spontaneous stone tool use without close direction in orangutans that have not been enculturated by humans. The authors say their findings suggest that the last common ancestor between orangutans and humans probably had the cognitive and physical skills to engage in lithic percussive behavior, as demonstrated by the captive orangutans in this study.&nbsp;



In addition, the fact that these orangutans spontaneously struck with stone hammers and recognized sharp stones as cutting tools shows that two major prerequisites for the emergence of early stone tool use are present in these apes, and may have existed in our last common ancestor with orangutans, 13 million years ago.



“Our study is the first to report that untrained orangutans can spontaneously use sharp stones as cutting tools," said the researchers. "We also found that they readily engage in lithic percussion and that this activity occasionally leads to the detachment of sharp stone pieces.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.



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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

Orangutans have the cognitive ability to make and use stone tools

The use of stone tools by early hominins is considered...

Human activities are putting an enormous amount of strain on marine ecosystems. The major stressors like pollution, climate change, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-is-a-major-threat-to-coral-reef-fish/">overfishing</a> are only getting worse, along with the negative impacts to marine species.&nbsp;



An international team of experts has now developed a framework for identifying the most vulnerable marine species. The goal of the research project is to boost global conservation and policy efforts against human-induced climate change.



By reviewing existing literature, the team has categorized a wide range of threats that are faced by more than 45,000 species. While developing the list, the researchers considered five trait groups that influence the susceptibility of marine species to anthropogenic stressors, including movement, reproduction, specialization, spatial scale metrics, and biophysical traits.



According to study lead author Dr. Nathalie Butt of the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a>, the research has revealed the marine species which are the most endangered from all anthropogenic threats.



“Molluscs, corals, and echinoderms – hard or spiny creatures such sea urchins – are truly feeling the impacts in our oceans, facing a diverse range of threats,” said Dr. Butt. “They’re affected by fishing and bycatch, pollution and climate change."



“Flowerpot corals – an incredibly fragile but stunning form of coral found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Persian Sea – is one group of species that is especially affected by climate change-related stressors, such as ocean acidification."



“We also discovered that starfish, sea snails and flying fish are increasingly vulnerable to climate change-related stressors, all of which can be found in oceans around the world."



“Roughy fishes are quite vulnerable to the effects of pollution, including organic, inorganic, and nutrient pollution, which was quite a surprise, as they live at a range of depths, including deep sea, which demonstrates how far the effects of pollution are spreading.”



Dr. Butt said the accelerating rate of environmental change was a motivating factor for the development of the framework.



“The environment is changing so quickly because of human actions, and we need to use all information available to help us assess which animals are at risk and why, and to help develop the most appropriate ways to protect and manage them - that’s where this framework comes in."



“This framework is unique as it uses biological characteristics or traits of marine species to assess their vulnerability to specific stressors or threats with the greatest potential impact, such as pollution, fishing, and of course, climate change.”



Professor Carissa Klein noted that the framework will allow users to make more informed decisions about how to allocate and prioritise their resources to protect the world’s most vulnerable species.



“Conservationists can use the framework to prioritize resources for their protection and determine which management actions would best protect particular species or groups of species and where,” said Dr. Klein. “We assessed all species and all threats that we know about now across the planet."



“The exciting thing is that we built the framework so that we could accommodate new information, whether that be about new species or information about threatening processes."



“This means that the work can also be applied in particular places to protect the ocean, using more detailed information about the species, and their threats, in that place.”



The project was jointly researched with the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21508925">Ecosphere</a>.



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

More than 45,000 marine species are endangered by human impacts

Human activities are putting an enormous amount of strain on...

Although in the past few decades the Arctic has warmed much faster than the rest of the world, with Iceland’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-worlds-glaciers-contain-less-ice-than-previously-thought/">glaciers</a> losing an average of 11 gigatons of ice per year from 1995 to 2010, starting from 2010 the speed of Iceland’s melting has significantly slowed, resulting in about half as much annual ice loss. This trend has not been seen in nearby, larger glaciers across Greenland or Svalbard.



According to a new study led by <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en">Utrecht University</a> in the Netherlands, a region of cooling water in the North Atlantic Ocean near Iceland, colloquially called the “Blue Blob,” has likely slowed the melting of this island’s glaciers since 2011. Cooler waters are linked to lower air temperatures over Iceland’s glaciers and coincide with the significant slowdown of glacial melting observed after 2011.&nbsp;



This cold patch was most prominent during the winter of 2014-2015, when the sea surface temperature was approximately 1.4 degrees Celsius colder than normal, even as the ocean temperatures around this region increased due to climate change. While the origin and cause of the Blue Blob are still being investigated, some scientists argue that it is part of the normal sea surface temperature variability in the Arctic&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; caused by the complex circulation of deep currents in the ocean.



The scientists predict that this chilly seawater patch may persist in the North Atlantic, sparing Iceland’s glaciers until about 2050. However, between 2050 and 2100, ocean and air temperatures are predicted to increase substantially, leading to accelerated melting that will probably cause the loss of a third of this region’s glacial ice by the end of the century. By 2300, Iceland’s 3,400 cubic kilometers of ice will likely melt completely.



“It's crucial to have an idea of the possible feedbacks in the Arctic because it's a region that is changing so fast. It's important to know what we can expect in a future warmer climate,” said study lead author Brice Noël, a climate modeler specializing in polar ice sheets and glaciers at Utrecht University.



“In the end, the message is still clear. The Arctic is warming fast. If we wish to see glaciers in Iceland, then we have to curb the warming,” he concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL095697">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



&nbsp;---



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

“Blue Blob” near Iceland is slowing down glacial melting

Although in the past few decades the Arctic has warmed...

The way some <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seafood-watch-may-red-list-fisheries-to-protect-right-whales/">fish</a> respond to stress seems to run in the family, according to new research from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>. The scientists observed Trinidadian guppies under stress and measured their hormone levels. The research shows that when a fish produces more cortisol, the individual is more likely to flee. On the other hand, when a fish produces less cortisol, the animal is likely to freeze in place.&nbsp;



"In the wild, an instinct to flee can help a fish escape from danger, and a rush of cortisol helps them cope with that stress," said lead author Dr. Tom Houslay of the <a href="http://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/cec/">Centre for Ecology and Conservation</a> (CEC) on Exeter’s Penryn Campus. "But in captivity, this reaction is unhelpful - a chronic, high-cortisol stress response is harmful to health and welfare.”



The scientists hope their research may ultimately be useful in breeding more stress-free fish for farms and other captive situations such as aquariums.&nbsp;



"Our finding of a genetic link between the hormonal (cortisol) and behavioral (freeze or flee) reactions suggests fish could be selected for breeding based on their freeze or flee response," said Dr. Houslay. "By selecting fish that tend to freeze in a stressful situation, you create a genetic stock with a lower cortisol stress response."



This is similar to methods already in use for fish breeding that rely on blood sampling to select desired traits. This technique relies on the diversity of fish behavior, which is something most people don’t consider when looking at fish behavior. This works because fish are actually unique individuals with some heritable behavior.&nbsp;



"We need to stop thinking of fish as being all the same," said <a href="https://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/staff/profile/index.php?web_id=Alastair_Wilson">Professor Alastair Wilson</a>, also from the CEC at the University of Exeter. "Individuals and groups of close genetic relatives vary, and by taking account of this we can selectively breed captive fish with lower stress and better health."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/">eLife</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

Fish have a stress response that runs in the family

The way some fish respond to stress seems to run...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/record-breaking-wildfire-years-are-just-getting-started/">Wildfires</a> have often been a significant environmental problem, particularly in areas with drier and hotter climates such as the western United States. However, four decades ago, cool, moist nights regularly provided relief for firefighters, and so-called “flammable nights” were an extremely rare event. 



Now, due to climate change, the nights are warming even faster than days. According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a> (CU Boulder), there are 11 more flammable nights in the U.S. West every year – a 45 percent increase since 1979.



“People tend to pay more attention to conditions during the daytime: when fires are most active,” said study co-author Adam Mahood, a postdoctoral associate in CU Boulder’s <a href="https://earthlab.colorado.edu/">Earth Lab</a>. “But there’s not enough attention put on nighttime: when cooler conditions tend to slow fires down or even extinguish them completely.”&nbsp;



“Night is the critical time for slowing a speeding fire - and wildfire’s night brakes are failing,”&nbsp;added study lead author Jennifer Balch, the director of the Earth Lab.



The scientists analyzed satellite observations and hourly climate data for 81,000 global wildfires, and identified variations in the Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) – a key measurement of the “thirst of the atmosphere,” signaling the level of atmospheric heat and dryness – in order to determine the VPD tipping points when the air became hot and dry enough to allow wildfires to burn unabated during nighttime too. The results revealed a seven-days increase in flammable nights per year in a fifth of burnable lands around the globe, and an 11-days rise in the U.S. West over the past four decades (1979-2020).



By using a novel remote sensing and modeling technique to evaluate fire progression hourly for a large number of wildfires, the researchers also found that, globally, the night fires have become 7.2 percent more intense from 2003 to 2020, with a staggering 28 percent increase in intensity in the U.S. West. Moreover, the results shown a 36 percent increase of flammable nighttime hours during this period, compared to a 27 percent increase of daytime flammable hours. The most affected ecosystems were evergreen and broadleaf forests, shrublands, and grasslands.



“With continued nighttime warming, we expect to see more runaway wildfires that are more intense, faster, and larger. That means firefighters don’t get the breaks at night they used to get - they have to battle flames 24/7,” concluded Professor Balch.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04325-1">Nature</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

Fires are intensifying with an increase in "flammable nights"

Wildfires have often been a significant environmental problem, particularly 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.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" 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 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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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