In many places, men face a higher risk of disease but receive less timely care. These observations come from a broad international effort examining hypertension, diabetes, and HIV and aids.



Angela Chang from the <a href="https://www.sdu.dk/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southern Denmark</a> led a team that gathered worldwide information on who falls ill and who actually receives help. The analysis pointed to important differences by sex, affecting disease rates and overall health <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/organ-aging-can-predict-diseases-decades-in-advance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outcomes</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sex-differences-affect-health-outcomes">Sex differences affect health outcomes</h2>



Males have higher rates of smoking in most nations according to the <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/343287" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Health Organization</a>. Smoking is a known factor for high blood pressure, making it a key contributor to heart problems. Females tend to lead in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2161831322010249" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">obesity</a> numbers in many regions, which can contribute to diabetes.



These diseases are not just about risk factors. The study shows that males often end up with higher mortality rates once they develop these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rats-are-spreading-a-deadly-disease-across-cities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conditions</a>. 



Many men <a href="https://menandhiv.org/publication/the-mens-health-gap-men-must-be-included-in-the-global-health-equity-agenda/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fail to visit clinics</a> or hospitals as regularly as women, which could mean they don’t get diagnosed or treated when they need it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disease-risks-and-care-gaps">Disease risks and care gaps </h2>



<a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4314-hypertension-high-blood-pressure" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hypertension</a>, commonly called high blood pressure, is often undetected. Men skip checkups more frequently, so signs that might be obvious in a routine exam can slip under the radar. If left unaddressed, this condition can lead to complications like stroke and heart failure.



Diabetes also showed worrying trends. In around half of surveyed countries, men were more likely to die from this disease than women. In a few areas, women had a greater <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-remains-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disease</a> burden, but men were still less likely to receive consistent care in those spots.



HIV and aids <a href="https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/2020_global-aids-report_en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> revealed that in most places where statistics were available, men’s prevalence and death rates outpaced those of women. The research suggested that men often lagged behind in testing, treatment, and adherence to medication schedules.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-care-disparities-by-sex">Care disparities by sex</h2>



“Without sex-disaggregated cascade data, we’re flying blind - unable to detect who is falling through the cracks in prevention, diagnosis, and care,” said Angela Chang, senior author of the study.



The team emphasized that many health policies and programs do not consider these persistent differences in how men and women seek health support.



The researchers pointed out that risk factors aren’t only rooted in biology. Gender norms and expectations can increase or lower the likelihood that a person will smoke, receive checkups, or follow a treatment plan.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-men-avoid-health-care">Why men avoid health care </h2>



Many men report that they avoid medical care unless absolutely necessary. In <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263198588_Men_and_primary_care_Improving_access_and_outcomes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">surveys</a> across different countries, common reasons include fear of diagnosis, lack of time, or the belief that symptoms will go away on their own.



Some researchers suggest that social norms around masculinity encourage toughness and discourage vulnerability. This can stop men from seeking care early, which delays diagnosis and worsens outcomes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-men-s-health-care-disparities">Men’s health care disparities</h2>



“We have long advocated the benefits of publishing sex disaggregated data. Such data can reveal where the health journeys of men and women diverge, be it in relation to the risk factors they are exposed to, their health care seeking behaviors or their experiences in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fungal-diseases-that-infect-humans-are-becoming-more-common-in-warming-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">health</a> care systems,” said Professors Kent Buse at Global 50/50. 



The experts emphasize that social constructs shape health as much as biology, suggesting that efforts to tackle these disparities should address cultural and systemic factors. The findings highlight the need for balanced health policies. 



Certain measures might need to target men more aggressively, aiming to increase early screening, boost clinic attendance, and raise awareness around symptoms that men are less likely to act on promptly.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gaps-in-men-s-health-care">Gaps in men's health care</h2>



Policymakers and health professionals may look at these gaps and explore fresh approaches to reach men. From workplace screening programs to flexible clinic hours, there are strategies that address the common reasons men often give for not seeking help.



Experts agree that looking at sex-disaggregated data is the first step toward making sure no one gets left behind. The focus is on gathering stronger, more detailed information. That way, actions can be tailored and effective, ensuring better health for all.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-problem-with-missing-data">The problem with missing data</h2>



A major issue researchers faced was the lack of complete data for many countries. While the team found data on risk and death rates for over 200 countries, full care cascade data, especially broken down by sex, was often missing, particularly for diabetes and hiv and aids.



Without this information, it’s hard to see where and why people are dropping off the care pathway. This makes it more difficult to design effective solutions or understand how patterns differ across age, income, and region.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004592" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS Medicine</a>.



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Men die more from preventable health issues but seek less care

In many places, men face a higher risk of disease but receive less timely care. These observations come from a broad international effort examining hypertension, diabetes, and HIV and aids. Angela Chang from the University of Southern Denmark led a team that gathered worldwide information on who falls ill and who actually receives help. The analysis pointed to important differences by sex, affecting disease rates and overall health outcomes. Sex differences affect health outcomes Males have higher rates of smoking in most nations according to the World...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-high-transmissibility-and-chance-for-reinfection/">Omicron</a> variant of the coronavirus was first identified in South Africa on November 26, 2021. It has already spread to <a href="https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/epidemiological-update-omicron-data-10-december">62 countries</a> all over the world, and may <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/omicron-dominant-europe-covid/2021/12/10/7ec14c42-59df-11ec-8396-5552bef55c3c_story.html">become the dominant variant</a> in some European countries by as early as next week.&nbsp;



Omicron does not seem to cause more severe illness. In fact, its symptoms appear to be <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/12/11/early-data-on-omicron-show-surging-cases-but-milder-symptoms">milder</a> than those of previous variants. However, its high transmissibility makes experts claim that Omicron will soon become dominant globally, giving rise to enormous waves of infections in most of the world’s countries.



In one of the first peer-reviewed studies about this variant (published in&nbsp;the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/22221751.2021.2017757">Emerging Microbes &amp; Infection</a>), a research team led by China’s <a href="http://english.nmpa.gov.cn/2019-07/19/c_389166.htm">National Institutes for Food and Drug Control</a> (NIFDC) has tested 28 serum samples from COVID-19 convalescent patients infected with the original strain of the coronavirus that emerged from Wuhan against in vitro Omicron samples (as well as other variants of concern and interest).&nbsp;



The experts discovered that the neutralization potential of these sera against Omicron decreased 8.4 fold. This reinforces previous <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.11.21266068v2.full.pdf">findings</a> that argued that Omicron is capable of dodging immunity gained from previous infections.



“We found the large number of mutations of the Omicron variant did cause significant changes of neutralization sensitivity against people who had already had COVID,” said study senior author Youchun Wang, a researcher at NIFDC. “However, the average ED50 (protection level) against Omicron is still higher than the baseline, which indicated there is still some protection effect that can be observed.”



Wang and his colleagues predict that Omicron may be able to evade to a certain degree also vaccine-induced immunity, particularly since real-world data has already shown that the protection from vaccines diminishes significantly four to six months after the second dose.&nbsp;



Pfizer and BioNTech have also <a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-provide-update-omicron-variant">reported</a> earlier this week that sera from individuals who received two doses of their vaccine exhibit more than a 25-fold reduction in neutralization titers against the Omicron variant compared to the wild-type virus, and strongly suggested people to get a booster shot.



“Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine,” said&nbsp;Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two dose series and a booster remains the best course of action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”



However, future real-world studies are essential for clarifying Omicron’s ability to evade previously acquired immunity and thus establish the potential global impact of this new variant.&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

Omicron: Partial immune evasion after vaccination

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus was first identified in...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.idc.ac.il/en/schools/psychology/research/pages/developmental-social-neuroscience.aspx">Center of Developmental Neuroscience</a> at Reichman University, Israel, has found that chemical signals in mothers’ body odor may have a significant role in supporting the development of infants’ social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-isolation-damages-our-brains/">brains</a> and make them capable of interacting with strangers from an early age.



While maternal body odors serve as important safety-promoting and social recognition signals, their role in human brain maturation has been largely unknown. A research team led by Yaara Endevelt-Shapira, a postdoctoral research associate at the Center for Developmental Neuroscience, has recently investigated in more detail the complex role of chemical signals in enhancing infant-adult brain-to-brain synchrony.



The scientists gave 62 mothers a cotton t-shirt each and asked them to use it as a pajama for two consecutive nights before the experiment. In a first stage of the empirical study, the mothers and their infants had electrodes placed on their heads and were seated initially back-to-back, then face-to-face. When they were facing each other, mothers and infants shown higher neural synchrony.



In a second stage of the experiment, 51 of the infants were seated face-to-face with a stranger – a woman with a similar age as their mothers who lived in a nearby area and had an infant of about the same age. While the infants interacted with this woman, they were exposed to either a clean t-shirt or the t-shirt that their mother used.



Infants who were exposed to a clean t-shirt showed a significantly lower inter-brain neural synchrony with the stranger than with their mother. By contrast, those exposed to the t-shirt with their mother’s body odor showed the same degree of neural synchrony with the stranger as with their mother.&nbsp;



These findings suggest that scent preserves a chemical signal of the mother’s presence even in her absence, increasing the infants’ social capabilities and helping them survive in a constantly changing social environment.



“Human mothers use interbrain mechanisms to tune the infant’s social brain, and chemosignals may sustain the transfer of infant sociality from the mother-infant bond to life within social groups,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abg6867">Science Advances</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

Maternal chemical signals help infants bond with strangers

A new study led by the Center of Developmental Neuroscience...

Scientists estimate that globally two out of five plant species are threatened with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-dragonfly-species-at-risk-of-extinction/">extinction</a>. Despite this clear trend, there is still much debate over whether species richness is also declining locally. This phenomenon is referred to as the “biodiversity conservation paradox."



An international team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.idiv.de/en/about-idiv.html">iDiv</a> has now taken a closer look at the displacement of rare plants by analyzing a shift in species composition across three habitats. Plant species were examined in mountain summits, woodland understories, and meadows and pastures.&nbsp;



The results show that widely distributed plants which prefer nutrient rich soils are becoming more common, while plants with small ranges requiring low nutrient soils are in decline.&nbsp;



Across the mountain habitats, species numbers are still increasing. However, according to study first author Dr. Ingmar Staude, this may not always be the case. He said that in the long term, species displacement may be expected here too.



The plant species composition analysis was derived from research at 141 study areas spread across 19 countries. The data goes back as far as the 1940s.&nbsp;



The researchers found that the major culprit of species displacement is an increase in soil nutrients such as nitrogen, which is associated with agriculture. Combustion and an increase in soil temperatures are also contributing factors. These additional factors cause the phenomena to be far outside of normal agricultural areas.&nbsp;



“We are witnessing these dynamics unfolding in near-natural habitats, places we’d expect to provide safe havens for specialized species and those of high conservation value," said Dr. Ingmar. "This suggests that the Anthropocene is not stopping at the doors of the few remaining wild areas that we consider protected.”



“The results of the study are not just be seen as an ‘early warning signal,' said study co-author Professor Harold Pauli. "Particularly concerning is that the species change has proceeded in the same direction across strongly differing ecosystems. We, therefore, expect that we are dealing here with a pervasive, large-scale phenomenon.”



Overall, the research highlights the issue of intense agriculture driving local extinction of rare plants. Unfortunately, this problem will only get worse with a growing population that will demand even more agriculture.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14610248">Ecology Letters</a>.



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

Rare plants are displaced by more common species

Scientists estimate that globally two out of five plant species...

Scientists from the <a href="https://www.mbari.org/">Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute</a> (MBARI) have recently spotted off the Californian coast a very rarely seen giant phantom jellyfish with 32 feet long tentacles. This elusive deep-sea creature was first officially documented in 1899. It has only been spotted 110 times in over 120 years, and has been captured on camera just nine times.&nbsp;



The giant phantom jellyfish (Stygiomedusa gigantea) is one of then largest invertebrate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-predators-have-outsmarted-monarch-butterflies/">predators</a> in the deep-sea ecosystem. It has an umbrella-shaped bell which can be up to 3.3ft wide, and four “paddle-like” arms that can reach a length of 32ft and are used to trap prey. 



This purple-colored creature lives in the depths of the oceans, in regions up to 21,900ft deep. Although it has been spotted only off the coast of the Pacific, in the Gulf of Mexico, and near Japan, scientists believe it resides in all oceans, besides the Arctic. According to the sparse knowledge gathered so far, the giant phantom jellyfish feeds mostly on plankton and a variety of small fish that live deep underwater. However, more than a century after its discovery, not much is known about this strange animal.



“Even now, scientists still know very little about this animal,” the researchers from MBARI said.&nbsp;“The challenges of accessing its deep-water habitat contribute to the relative scarcity of sightings for such a large and broadly distributed species.” The most recent recording was done at a depth of 3,200ft in the Monterey Bay, with the help of an underwater robot.



Before underwater robots, or “remotely operated vehicles” (ROVs), were invented, experts used trawling nets to study creatures such as the giant phantom jellyfish. However, when such animals are captured and brought to the surface, their usually silky-looking frames turn to “gelatinous goo.” Thus, underwater robots remain the best tool to observe this mesmerizing creature in its natural habitat.



A recording of the recent sighting of the giant phantom jellyfish can be found <a href="https://youtu.be/9bzQYKm3xTA">here</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

Giant phantom jellyfish spotted in Monterey Bay

Scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have...

Cocoa, used in the production of dark chocolate, is rich in iron, fibers, and phytochemicals – powerful chemical compounds found in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-can-slow-global-warming-but-they-cannot-stop-it/">plants</a>, which boost immunity and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dementia, arthritis, and stroke. Now, researchers have found that a moderate daily intake of dark chocolate can improve the mood too.



A study led by the Seoul National University in South Korea has demonstrated that healthy adults who ate 30 grams of 85 percent dark chocolate per day (about a third of a normal 100 grams bar of chocolate that supermarkets usually sell) were happier compared to those who ate chocolate with less <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cocoa-can-help-people-live-longer-healthier-lives/">cocoa</a> in it, or no chocolate at all.



“Dark chocolate has long been recognized for its mood-altering properties,” the study authors wrote. “However, the evidence regarding the emotional effects of daily dark chocolate intake is limited. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that provides evidence that dark chocolate consumption in everyday life influences physiological and psychological states.”



In order to test this hypothesis, the scientists enrolled 46 participants, and asked them to consume either 30g of 85 percent dark chocolate, or 30g of 70 percent cocoa chocolate, or no chocolate at all each day for three weeks. The participants’ moods were assessed by using the self-report questionnaire “<a href="https://ogg.osu.edu/media/documents/MB%20Stream/PANAS.pdf">The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule</a>” (PANAS).&nbsp;



Moreover, in order to assess the possible associations between the mood-altering effects of dark chocolate and gut microbiota, the researchers also analyzed participants’ fecal samples.



The scientists found that consumption of 85 percent dark chocolate significantly reduced negative mood states and increased gut microbial diversity. Participants who ate this type of chocolate had particularly high levels of Blautia, a type of gut bacteria known to be associated with positive mood changes.



According to the researchers, the mood-altering properties of 85 percent dark chocolate are probably “mediated by changes in the diversity and abundance of intestinal bacteria.”



“These findings indicate that dark chocolate exerts&nbsp;prebiotic&nbsp;effects, as evidenced by its ability to restructure the diversity and abundance of intestinal bacteria; thus, it may improve negative emotional states via the gut-brain axis,” they concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955286321002746?via%3Dihub">Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Dark chocolate triggers mood-boosting changes in the gut

Cocoa, used in the production of dark chocolate, is rich...

Forest animals often benefit from the sloppy eating behavior of monkeys, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>. The researchers found that animals eavesdrop on monkeys while they are eating in hopes of snatching up discarded <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ants-swap-spit-to-share-food-and-special-fluids/">food</a>.



"Monkeys are messy eaters. After just a few bites of a fruit, they let it fall to the ground. Other species benefit from this habit. But to do so most effectively, they need to know where and when the monkeys are eating. Here, our study demonstrates that mammals use eavesdropping," said study lead author, Linnea W. Havmøller.



The team spent nine months in a rainforest in Panama studying how various types of fruit-eating animals, including coatis and agoutis, listen to capuchin and spider monkeys as they eat in the trees.&nbsp;



When the half-eaten fruit often falls to forest floor below, the researchers discovered that animals are ready to pounce the moment they hear the food hit the ground.



"It is clear that, when terrestrial animals hear monkeys in a tree, they head towards that tree. It’s as if their ears are telescoped, which lets them hear the lunch bell from wherever it’s ringing. This gives them access to food that would otherwise be inaccessible at the time," explained Rasmus W. Havmøller, a postdoctoral researcher at the Natural History Museum of Denmark.



The study authors explained that the eavesdropping strategy is not just a convenient way to get a little extra food for themselves – it can play a vital role for animals. There is a season each year when food becomes very scarce in Panama, and many species must depend on almond trees for the majority of their food, including the groups observed for the study.&nbsp;



"During this season, there is incredibly little to eat in the forest – other than the prodigious quantities of fruit from this one type of tree. However, terrestrial animals can’t access these fruits unless monkeys drop them. For these animals, the eavesdropping method means that they gain access to food in greater quantities and far sooner than the long time it would take if the fruits were left to fall on their own. And during some periods, it is crucial for their food gathering," said Linnea W. Havmøller.



Ramus W. Havmøller said that in the bigger picture, this means that in areas where monkeys have been removed from the local environment, there can be a negative cascading effect. "Not only will the species of mammals which depend on the fruit being dropped by monkeys suffer – there can be an impact on the entire rainforest ecosystem because terrestrial fruit-eating animals help disperse the seeds that allow the forest to reproduce."



For the investigation, the researchers collected data using GPS collars, cameras, speakers playing monkey sounds, and traps that collected fallen fruit. The analysis revealed that over 90 percent of the fruit which landed in the traps had bite marks and was half-eaten by monkeys. The fruit that fell outside of the traps was eaten almost immediately.



“I think we've underestimated how much mammals interact with each other and how many ways they're actually connected," said Rasmus Havmøller. "Eavesdropping between species is a new chapter in the behavioral biology of mammals, which provides us with important knowledge about how much the disappearance of one species can impact an entire ecosystem."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17447429">Biotropica</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

Animals benefit from the sloppy eating behavior of monkeys

Forest animals often benefit from the sloppy eating behavior of...

Through an analysis of fossil footprint tracks, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.unirioja.es/">University of La Rioja</a> has found that, about 100 million years ago in what is now La Rioja province in northern Spain, two bipedal meat-eating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/two-new-predatory-dinosaurs-found-on-the-isle-of-wight/">theropods</a> reached running speeds of almost 45 kilometers per hour.



About 35 years ago, researchers discovered a few three-toed dinosaur footprints in La Rioja. Recently, further excavations at the site revealed more prints forming two short trails. The analysis of the footprints suggest that they were made by two medium-sized dinosaurs, each about four to five meters long and two meters tall, belonging to either the spinosaur or the carcharodontosaur family of predatory therapods.&nbsp;



By analyzing the distance between consecutive footprints (the stride length), a research team from the University of La Rioja has found that the two dinosaurs were incredibly fast, reaching speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour. Moreover, abrupt changes in speed suggested that the creatures switched directions as they ran.



“High-velocity trackways are very scarce around the world,” said study senior author <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Angelica-Torices">Angélica Torices</a>, a paleontologist at the University of La Rioja. According to her, speed helped these dinosaurs not only in hunting, but also in fleeing danger such as "bigger theropods that could see them as their prey."



"Their capacity to run very quickly and their maneuvering abilities surely allowed them to chase prey very efficiently. And of course I wouldn't like to be caught by this guy on a riverbank," added study lead author Pablo Navarro-Lorbes, a doctoral student at the same university.



"There are several factors that dictate the running ability of a dinosaur," Navarro-Lorbes explained. "One of them is size. Some paleontologists think that theropods with sizes between 100 and 1,000 kilograms (220-2,200 pounds) could have been some of the best dinosaur runners because of the relationship between their weight and muscular performance.” Another factor is the dinosaurs’ elongated legs, which was of crucial importance for allowing them reach such speeds.



Further research is needed to clarify the precise mechanics characterizing these theropods’ movements, as well as their relations with other animal species with which they shared their environment.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02557-9">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

Flesh-eating theropods were extremely fast

Through an analysis of fossil footprint tracks, a new study...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-and-infants-recognize-words-using-similar-brain-regions/">Infants</a> may seem to have weak and vulnerable immune systems, but researchers have now demonstrated that this is simply not the case. A new study from <a href="https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/">Columbia University Irving Medical Center</a> reveals that when it comes to new viruses, babies have stronger immune systems than adults. 



According to the experts, the infant immune system beats the adult immune system at fighting off new pathogens. The research may explain why infants are less affected by COVID-19.



Dr. Donna Farber, a professor of Microbiology &amp; Immunology, explained that while babies are more prone to respiratory illnesses compared to adults, the difference is that babies are seeing these viruses for the first time.&nbsp;



“Adults don’t get sick as often because we’ve recorded memories of these viruses that protect us, whereas everything the baby encounters is new to them," said Dr. Farber.



For the investigation, the researchers tested the immune system’s ability to respond to a new pathogen. They collected naïve T cells, which are immune cells that have never encountered a pathogen, from both infant and adult mice. These cells were administered to an adult mouse infected with a virus.



When the cells competed to eradicate the virus, the infant T cells won by a landslide. The experts report that naïve T cells from infant mice detected the virus earlier (at lower levels), proliferated faster, and traveled in greater numbers to the site of infection - rapidly building a strong defense against the virus.&nbsp;



In a lab experiment, the T cells of human infants performed just as well against adult T cells. “We were looking at naïve T cells that have never been activated, so it was a surprise that they behaved differently based on age,” said Dr. Farber.



"What this is saying is that the infant’s immune system is robust, it's efficient, and it can get rid of pathogens in early life. In some ways, it may be even better than the adult immune system, since it’s designed to respond to a multitude of new pathogens.”



"SARS-CoV-2 is new to absolutely everybody, so we’re now seeing a natural, side-by-side comparison of the adult and infant immune system. And the kids are doing much better."



"Adults faced with a novel pathogen are slower to react. That gives the virus a chance to replicate more, and that’s when you get sick.”



The study results also help to clarify why vaccines are more effective in childhood, when T cells are very robust. “That is the time to get vaccines and you shouldn't worry about getting multiple vaccines in that window,” said Dr. Farber. “Any child living in the world, particularly before we started wearing masks, is exposed to a huge number of new antigens every day. They’re already handling multiple exposures.”



“Most vaccine formulations and doses are the same for all ages, but understanding the distinct immune responses in childhood suggests we can use lower doses for children and could help us design vaccines that are more effective for this age group."



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

Infants have surprisingly strong immune systems

Infants may seem to have weak and vulnerable immune systems,...

Have you ever wondered why adults talk differently to babies than they do to other adults, or even <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/toddlers-chimps-share-gestures/">toddlers</a>? They use a higher pitch than normal, speak more slowly, emphasize or exaggerate certain words and use a different vocabulary. This “baby talk” is not only cute and engaging, but may also be helping infants learn how to produce speech.&nbsp;



New research from the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> suggests that baby talk, apart from being very effective at getting a baby’s attention, can also have another, previously unknown benefit: it helps babies learn to produce their own sounds and words. The researchers think that using baby talk guides infants in how their own words should sound.



"It seems to stimulate motor production of speech, not just the perception of speech. It's not just goo-goo ga-ga," said Dr. Matthew Masapollo, director of the UF Laboratory for the Study of Cognition, Action, and Perception of Speech.



In the study, the researchers changed the frequency of conversational sounds to mimic either an infant or adult vocal tract. When they tested how infants reacted to each sound tract, they found that six- to eight-month-old babies “displayed a robust and distinct preference for speech with resonances specifying a vocal tract that is similar in size and length to their own.”&nbsp;



By contrast, younger babies of four to six months in age didn’t have that preference. It seems that older babies have already developed some control over their voices and their ability to make “babble words” and this makes the sounds of an adult’s baby talk more interesting and appealing to them.&nbsp;&nbsp;



It is tempting to think of baby talk as a simple form of communication, but that is not necessarily true. For example, words like “choo-choo-train” and “kitty-cat” are actually more complex than their adult language counterparts. Using baby talk clearly has other important functions as well.&nbsp;



Though baby talk may sound simple, it's accomplishing a lot, said study co-author Dr. Linda Polka McGill University.&nbsp;



"We're trying to engage with the infant to show them something about speech production," she said. "We're priming them to process their own voice."



While parents are sometimes discouraged from engaging in baby talk, the new research shows the patterns associated with that speaking style - which scientists call “infant-directed speech” - could be a key component in helping babies make their own words.



The results of the research were published today in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/yslh20/current">Speech, Language and Hearing</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

“Baby talk” sets the stage for speech production in infants

Have you ever wondered why adults talk differently to babies...

A,Shaggy,Woolly,Mammoth,Stands,In,The,Long,Grass,Of

By investigating ancient DNA found in soil samples pulled from the Klondike region of the central Yukon territory’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/permafrost-melting-may-release-nuclear-waste-into-the-atmosphere/">permafrost</a>, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.mcmaster.ca/">McMaster University</a> in Canada has found that ancestral species such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammoths-were-wiped-out-by-climate-change-not-humans/">mammoths</a> or wild horses survived thousands of years longer than initially estimated.



The scientists used DNA capture-enrichment technology to isolate and rebuild in great detail the fluctuating animal and plant communities at different time points during the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, an unstable climatic period 11,000 to 14,000 years ago when various species such as mammoths, mastodons, or sabre-toothed cats went extinct.



By analyzing tiny soil samples collected from Canada’s permafrost and containing billions of microscopic genomic sequences from animal and plant species, the researchers managed to shed more light on the status of ancient ecosystems at different historical periods.&nbsp;



They found that although mammoths and horses were already in steep decline before the period of climatic instability marking the passage from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, they did not immediately disappear due to human overhunting as it was initially believed. In fact, the DNA evidence shows that the wooly mammoth and the North American wild horse persisted until about 5,000 years ago – well into the mid-Holocene period.



“The rich data provides a unique window into the population dynamics of megafuana and nuances the discussion around their extinction through more subtle reconstructions of past ecosystems,” said study lead author Hendrik Poinar, an evolutionary geneticist and director of the <a href="https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-ancient-dna-centre">McMaster Ancient DNA Centre</a>.



The genetic analyses that the research team performed have also shown a strong continuity between the genomic structures of ancient and contemporary horses. “Although mammoths are gone forever, horses are not,” said study co-author Ross MacPhee, a senior curator at the <a href="https://www.amnh.org/">American Museum of Natural History</a>.&nbsp;



“The horse that lived in the Yukon 5,000 years ago is directly related to the horse species we have today,&nbsp;Equus caballus. Biologically, this makes the horse a native North American mammal, and it should be treated as such.”



The researchers stress the need to collect and archive more permafrost samples, which are at risk of being lost forever due to global warming.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Ancient mammoths survived longer than initially thought

By investigating ancient DNA found in soil samples pulled from...

Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) have one of the longest periods of maternal care in the animal kingdom. Offspring are only weaned at between six and nine years of age, and spend all their time prior to weaning in constant, close contact with their mothers. Since they will be solitary as adults, young orangutans have to acquire all their feeding skills before they are weaned.&nbsp;



In order to become independent, immature orangutans must learn to locate, identify and process more than 200 different potential food items, many of which require specific skills in order to process and consume. During this time, mother orangutans are the role models, although the exact extent to which they actively teach their offspring these skills has not been established. 



An immature orangutan learns its foraging skills from its mother in two main ways. It ‘peers’ at its mother while she feeds, observing her every movement from a close range. Offspring tend to peer more intently and for longer when the mother is dealing with more complex food items.&nbsp;



Secondly, an offspring also solicits, or begs, food items from its mother, after which she may share the food or keep it to herself. In both of these orangutan social learning pathways the mother serves as the primary role model but appears to take no active part in teaching the offspring.



In a new study, however, a team of scientists uncovered the first evidence yet of active involvement by orangutan mothers in their offspring’s acquisition of feeding skills. The researchers analyzed the behavior and interactions between 21 immature Sumatran orangutans and their mothers, collected over 13 years, in the Suaq Balimbing forest in Sumatra, Indonesia. They observed 1390 instances of food solicitation and were able to examine the degree to which these interactions represented active teaching by the mother.



“It was puzzling that mothers always seemed so passive during these feeding interactions,” said Caroline Schuppli from the <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior</a>, who led the study. “Mothers have so much time with their offspring, and maintain such a close connection, but they never appeared to be actively involved in the skill acquisition of their young.” The mystery was compounded by a lack of data. “Past studies had always examined skill learning from the point of view of the offspring, so we didn’t know the role of the role model.”



For the study, Schuppli teamed up with researchers from the University of Zurich in Switzerland, the Universitas Nasional in Indonesia, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany to investigate the role of food solicitation in the acquisition of foraging skills by immature orangutans. Field researchers recorded each solicitation event and noted whether the mother let the immature take the food from her or not. They then correlated this behavior with information on the offspring’s age and the properties of the food items.



Some food items are easy for orangutans to eat, such as leaves and flowers that require no processing. Others, such as bark, require several steps before consumption – it must be loosened from the tree and have the pith scraped with the teeth to remove the nutritional parts. The most difficult foods require tools, such as sticks that are converted into brushes for excavating honey from bee hives.



The results showed that orangutan mothers do not always respond positively to their offspring’s food solicitation. Mothers adjust their responses depending on the age of the offspring and the skills required for processing the food item. 



Mothers are most likely to transfer food when the offspring is younger and at the age during which food recognition and food processing skills are being acquired. The older the offspring, the less likely it is that its begging will be successful. By doing this, mothers encourage their offspring to find and process their own food, as their competence levels increase.&nbsp;



In addition, orangutan mothers were most likely to transfer food items that were difficult to process, and they continued to do this for the longest time. For items that require tool use, for example, the mothers showed the highest tolerance for begging and remained tolerant throughout the dependency period of their offspring. 



On the other hand, for leaves, which can just be picked and ingested whole, they showed much lower levels of tolerance to begging and stop sharing these food items when the offspring reached a certain age.



These findings, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, show that mother orangutans adjust their behavior as their offspring become more skilled at finding and processing their own food.



"Our findings suggest that orangutan mothers are actively involved in their offspring’s skill learning," said Schuppli. "However, they do this in a reactive, rather than proactive way. Interestingly, there were very few incidents of active food sharing only. This means that orangutan immatures need to take the initiative during learning. This is very different from humans, where active teaching plays an important role and role models are much more proactive. It is also different from chimpanzees, where mothers seem to be more proactive.”



Whether or not these behavioral adjustments by orangutan mothers classify as functional teaching is still unknown. While the study’s results fulfil some criteria of the teaching definition, other criteria cannot be tested with the data set.&nbsp;



“These findings give us a special insight into the factors that lead to the evolution of teaching,” said Schuppli. “While teaching is quite rare in the animal kingdom, it occurs in widely separated species. Our study shows that these orangutans have at least some, and perhaps all, of the cognitive, ecological, and social conditions to support teaching ability.”



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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

Orangutan mothers are actively involved in helping offspring learn

Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) have one of the longest periods...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2021/10/28/WNL.0000000000013031">Neurology</a> has found that air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/even-low-level-air-pollution-is-dangerous-for-health/">pollution</a> significantly reduces the benefits that outdoor physical activities such as jogging, cycling, or playing competitive sports usually have on the brain. 



By investigating markers of brain disease like gray matter volumes and white matter hyperintensities, researchers led by the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> discovered that exercising in highly polluted areas can negatively impact brain health.



The scientists examined a cohort of 8,600 people with an average age of 56 from the <a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/">UK Biobank</a> and estimated their exposure to air pollution with <a href="http://www.integrated-assessment.eu/eu/guidebook/land_use_regression.html">land use regression</a>, an algorithm measuring pollution levels, particularly in densely populated areas. Moreover, each person’s physical activity was measured for one week with a movement-detecting device called an accelerometer.



Participants who got the greatest amounts of vigorous physical activity each week had 800 cm3&nbsp;gray matter volume, compared to an average of 790 cm3&nbsp;gray matter volume in people who did not get any vigorous exercise, which shows an improved level of brain health. While pollution did not seem to alter the effects of exercise on gray matter volume, it nevertheless significantly increased white matter hyperintensity volumes, which is a marker of brain health decline.



"Vigorous exercise may increase exposure to air pollution and prior studies have shown adverse effects of air pollution on the brain," said study lead author Melissa Furlong, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Arizona. "We did show that physical activity is associated with improved markers of brain health in areas with lower air pollution. However, some beneficial effects essentially disappeared for vigorous physical activity in areas with the highest levels of air pollution.”



According to the scientists, public policy should take into account these findings in order to address people’s exposure to air pollution during exercise. For instance, since a significant amount of air pollution comes from traffic, promoting jogging or cycling along paths far from heavy traffic may prove beneficial.



“That's not to say people should avoid exercise,” Furlong added. “Overall, the effect of air pollution on brain health was modest - roughly equivalent to half the effect of one year of aging, while the effects of vigorous activity on brain health were much larger - approximately equivalent to being three years younger."&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

Brain benefits of exercise are compromised by air pollution

A new study published in the journal Neurology has found...

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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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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

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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

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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

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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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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