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...

Wild pigs are often considered to be sweet and intelligent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-in-the-mediterranean-are-moving-to-deeper-water-to-survive/">animals</a>, but the unfortunate reality is they contribute to $1.5 billion of property and crop damage in the U.S. each year. It is becoming increasingly difficult to quantify the pig population and their movements due to the massive population of around 9 million animals in the U.S, and therefore mitigation efforts are complicated.



New research from the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> is aiming to help resolve this issue by tracking wild pigs across the 310-square-mile area of the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The tracking aims to provide insights into how pigs move and choose habitats, with most areas being chosen due to habitat preferences and air temperature.&nbsp;



“The idea was to provide knowledge of wild pig movements at a temporal scale, at which most management practices and decisions occur,” said study first author Lindsay Clontz. “The variables we incorporated were intended to be universal (i.e., habitat quality, weather, landscape characteristics), making it practical for landowners and managers to make informed management decisions on a week-by-week basis.”&nbsp;



The research team temporarily captured 49 wild pigs through baited traps in order to fit radio collars to track their movements over a year, and the resulting data confirmed that pigs generally choose bottomland hardwood swamps as their habitat. This is due to the availability of forage and water, allowing the pigs to regulate their body temperature within the hot climate.



The experts also discovered that female pigs stay closer to their desired habitats than males on average. “In most mammals, females are more tied to resources than males,” said Beasley. “Males often move around more throughout the landscape to gain access to females - especially pigs, which can breed year-round.”&nbsp;



Furthermore, the study revealed that reductions in air pressure resulted in less pig movement. “You’ve probably heard people talk about pets or animals responding before a storm,” said Beasley. “That’s exactly what we see with pigs: When these bad weather events hit, pigs tend to concentrate their movements, probably in areas of cover to stay out of the elements. That has a direct application in how we implement trapping or other control programs and deciding where and when to concentrate efforts.”&nbsp;



While the core aim of this study was to reduce crop and property damage, the researchers are hoping that it could have more important applications in the future. An example of this would be to track the movements of pigs to mitigate the spreading of diseases such as African Swine Flu, a situation that can pose a huge threat to the meat industry.



“From the domestic standpoint, anytime there’s a detection of an outbreak like that, they often have to go in and slaughter millions of pigs and dispose of them and shut down exports,” Beasley said. “So it’s a major economic and ecological issue.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15264998">Pest Management Science</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tracking study on wild pigs reveals when they move and why

Wild pigs are often considered to be sweet and intelligent...

With a wingspan of almost 40 feet, the giant pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus is the largest known flying animal. However, since only a few fossilized bones were discovered in West Texas in 1971, how such a massive creature managed to fly has remained a mystery. A new research <a href="https://utexas.box.com/s/xuynecqota9hs9ft7o2kaxajk3j0uflr">collection</a> published by the <a href="https://vertpaleo.org/">Society of Vertebrate Paleontology</a> provides the most comprehensive study of this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/two-new-predatory-dinosaurs-found-on-the-isle-of-wight/">dinosaur</a> species yet, shedding new light on its habitat, morphology, and behavior.



“This is the first time that we have had any kind of comprehensive study,” said co-editor of the collection Matthew Brown, the director of the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a>’s <a href="https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/vpl/">Vertebrate Paleontology Collections</a>. “Even though&nbsp;Quetzalcoatlus&nbsp;has been known for 50 years, it has been poorly known.”&nbsp;



The in-depth study of all confirmed and suspected&nbsp;Quetzalcoatlus&nbsp;bones led to the identification of two new pterosaur species, including a smaller one, with an 18-to-20-foot wingspan, which was named Quetzalcoatlus&nbsp;lawsoni, in the honor of Douglas Lawson, the geologist who discovered the bones in 1971.



While the larger species is known from only around a dozen bones, hundreds of fossils from the smaller species were discovered. This offered the scientists the possibility to reconstruct an almost complete skeleton and study the ways in which it moved and flew. Later on, they applied their insights to its larger cousin too.&nbsp;



“Pterosaurs have huge breast bones, which is where the flight muscles attach, so there is no doubt that they were terrific flyers," said collection co-editor Kevin Padian, an emeritus professor and emeritus curator at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a>.&nbsp;



Although scientists previously assumed that the pterosaur rocked forward on its wingtips like a vampire bat, or built up speed by running and flapping like an albatross, these new analyses suggest that it may have initially jumped at least eight feet into the air before lifting off by flipping its wings.



The researchers also found more details about these dinosaurs’ possible habitats and behaviors. While the larger&nbsp;Quetzalcoatlus&nbsp;might have lived like today’s herons, hunting alone in rivers and streams, the smaller species appeared to flock together in lakes with at least 30 individuals found at a single fossil site.



“Never before has so much detailed information on azhdarchids (the pterosaur family that includes&nbsp;Quetzalcoatlus) been gathered in the same place, this meaning that the work will serve as the standard go-to study of this group for years – probably decades – to come,” concluded vertebrate paleontologist Darren Naish.



Image Credit: James Kuether



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

The world’s largest flying dinosaur jumped before takeoff

With a wingspan of almost 40 feet, the giant pterosaur...

While bumblebees fly from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunflowers-face-east-to-get-more-attention-from-bees/">flower</a> to flower, they probably don’t waste much time learning the details of each one, but rather focus on the basic color of the landing area. This is one of the findings of new research, led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>.



The researchers trained bees to forage on artificial flowers consisting of circles of blue or yellow, or half and half, with sugar solution in the center. The flowers were positioned upright, meaning that as bees flew in to land, they saw mostly the bottom half of the colored circle. The team then tested the bees’ approach behavior when they were presented with new and different flower options on their flight paths.



During these tests, no sugar solution was provided in the artificial flowers. The bumblebees were therefore not attracted to the flowers by the presence of sugar. Instead, they flew around in front of the flowers, making choices about where to land. This allowed the researchers see which color they were drawn to.



The results showed that, when faced with an artificial flower that had a different arrangement of the two colors from the one used in training, bees paid most attention to whatever color was found on the lower half of the flower they had been trained on and were used to. This suggests that they learned only this basic attribute of the flower, rather than inspecting and memorizing details of the whole flower before landing.&nbsp;



"We know bees have the cognitive capacity to learn a lot of information about a flower," said&nbsp;<a href="https://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/staff/profile/index.php?web_id=Natalie_Hempel_de_Ibarra">Professor Natalie Hempel de Ibarra</a>, Associate Professor at Exeter's Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour. "However, our study suggests a simple, low-effort form of learning is good enough in some situations.”



“The bees in our experiments extracted just the information they needed, rather than learning everything that was available to them," said study first author Dr Keri Langridge. "Like humans, most animals like easy forms of learning. Why learn a hidden route to the top of the hill when one could simply follow a trail with a big color sign?”



Some bumblebees were trained with a circle split into two uneven color parts – either mostly yellow or mostly blue, which changed their flight patterns. The test results in this case were more complex than after learning on circles that were split 50/50. This suggests that the bees had paid some attention to contrast edges as well as to color during training flights.



Professor Hempel de Ibarra said the study findings may provide insights about the evolution of colorful patterns in flowers, particularly those that can help pollinators such as bees to land quickly and safely.



The results of the study are published today in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology">Frontiers in Physiology</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

Bumblebees don’t waste time on the details

While bumblebees fly from flower to flower, they probably don’t...

Neuroscientists control signal transmissions and reception in an attempt at better understanding the function of the brain. Neurotransmitters released by vesicles through exocytosis mediate communication between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-does-the-resting-brain-consume-so-much-energy/">neurons</a> and glial cells. Because of this, it may be possible to control brain circuits by regulating exocytosis and thus gain a deeper understanding of brain function.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Despite the potential, actually controlling brain function in practice has been challenging for scientists. An indirect approach is controlling the membrane potential of cells. Unfortunately, controlling the membrane potential necessitates changing the acidity of the surrounding environment or possibly causing neurons to misfire. This method is also not useful for cells which don’t respond to membrane potential changes, including glial cells.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



To overcome this problem, a team of South Korean scientists led by C. Justin Lee, director of the Center for Cognition and Sociality within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), and Professor Heo Won Do at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed Opto-vTrap. The technology uses a system controlled by light to inhibit and trap vesicles from being released from brain cells.&nbsp;



The system can be used for differing types of brain cells, including those that are not sensitive to membrane potential changes, such as glial cells. Most importantly of all, the inhibition caused by the system is temporary, which is very important for neuroscience research.



"Since Opto-vTrap can be used in various cell types, it is expected to be helpful in various fields of brain science research," said Professor Heo. "We plan to conduct a study to figure out the spatiotemporal brain functions in various brain cell types in a specific environment using Opto-vTrap technology.”



Lee explained how this research may be used to improve human lives and research medical disorders.



“The usability of Opto-vTrap can extend not only to neuroscience but also to our lives. Opto-vTrap will contribute not only to elucidate brain circuit mapping but also epilepsy treatment, muscle spasm treatment, and skin tissue expansion technologies.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/neuron/home">Neuron</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

Can scientists control the brain with light?

Neuroscientists control signal transmissions and reception in an attempt at...

Climate change is making life more challenging for the Antarctic fur seal, including a limited supply of krill during the summer months. As a result, female Antarctic fur seals have less reproductive success.



Furthermore, leopard seals have become a bigger threat to fur seal pups in areas where there is a lower abundance of penguins, which are their main prey.&nbsp;



Despite these challenges for Antarctic fur seals in the summer months, little is known about how climate change may impact them in the winter. A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.ub.edu/web/portal/en/">University of Barcelona</a> set out to investigate.



The Antarctic fur seal is found exclusively in the Southern Ocean, and feeds mainly on krill. The team conducted the research during the austral summer season of 2019 in the Antarctic research station Gabriel de Castilla on Deception Island within the Southern Shetland Islands.&nbsp;



"Little is known about the winter habitat of male Antarctic fur seals and no habitat suitability model has been developed for them. The Antarctic fur seal is often qualified as ice-tolerant, but not ice-dependent, and some authors have characterized adult males as ice-free oceanic foragers," wrote the study authors.



"Antarctic fur seals are highly sexually dimorphic, and differences between sexes in winter habitat use could be related to differences in body mass, which in turn is a major determinant of their thermoregulatory skills and diving performance."&nbsp;



"The study of juvenile and immature males, whose body mass is in between that of adult females and adult males, can be particularly useful to improve our understanding of habitat use by male Antarctic fur seals in winter."



The researchers used satellite tracking to monitor juvenile and immature males, which represent more than the 80 percent of the seals that remain in Antarctic waters during winter.&nbsp;



Females leave Antarctica during this period when the breeding season is over. They move to warmer areas near South America, while the male seals stay behind in Antarctica.



"Males spend most of the winter time in the Antarctic Ocean, without going to the mainland, and they preferentially select areas of less than 1,000 meters deep, located about 200 kilometers from the ice borders and with high levels of chlorophyll and a surface temperature below 2ºC," explained study co-author Lluís Cardona, director of the Antarctic research project Flexseal.



"This coincides with the favorite habitat of the Antarctic krill, the main prey of these otariids. Due to the seasonal dynamics of ice, the krill-friendly habitat moves north during winter and so do the fur seals. As winter progresses, krill migrate deeper into the water and males dive deeper to eat, sometimes up to 180 meters deep."



According to the researchers, the differences in habitats during the austral winter may explain the sexual dimorphism of the species. Adult females weigh about 44 to 110 pounds, and adult males weigh up to 300 pounds. Even the juvenile males are larger than females. 



"An increased body mass involves more capacity to store oxygen, which allows adult males to dive deeper when searching for food," said Cardona.



The experts noted that the most important reproductive population of the Antarctic fur seal is in the South Georgia islands, where the greatest abundance of krill has been available in the summer over the last two decades.&nbsp;



"When this food source decreases, fur seals increase their fish intake but the reproductive success decreases. Therefore, the species can survive without krill but the population of the Antarctic fur seal is less abundant, like in the Kerguelen Islands."



The climate crisis will continue to alter the ecosystems of the Antarctic peninsula and the Southern Ocean. Both male and female fur seals will be increasingly exposed to these environmental changes.&nbsp;



"To adapt to the external changes, the colonies of the Antarctic fur seal should move south across the Antarctic peninsula, but this is an extremely slow process," said Cardona.



"In the future, we will need to manage properly the krill fishing activities in these areas, and this will require to consider not only the female consumption during summer but also the consumption associated with males of all ages during the four seasons of the year," concludes the researcher.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</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

Antarctic fur seals are struggling in a warmer climate

Climate change is making life more challenging for the Antarctic...

A daily dose of yogurt can help lower blood pressure, particularly among individuals with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/long-term-pollution-exposure-linked-to-hypertension/">hypertension</a>, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a>. 



More than one billion people suffer from hypertension, or high blood pressure. These individuals have a greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases, which are the leading cause of death worldwide. Every 36 seconds, someone in the United States dies from cardiovascular disease.



Yogurt is known to improve digestive health, boost the immune system, and help with weight management. The current study explores the health benefits of yogurt specifically for individuals at a high risk of cardiovascular disease.



"Associations between fermented dairy products and blood pressure are unclear. The current study therefore examined the association between yogurt and blood pressure in hypertensive and non-hypertensive individuals," explained the study authors.&nbsp;



In collaboration with experts at the University of Maine, the researchers investigated the relationship between yogurt intake, blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors. They found that for individuals with hypertension, yogurt is associated with lower blood pressure.



Study co-author Dr. Alexandra Wade said the research provides new evidence that connects yogurt with positive blood pressure outcomes for hypertensive people.



“High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, so it’s important that we continue to find ways to reduce and regulate it,” explained Dr. Wade.



“Dairy foods, especially yogurt, may be capable of reducing blood pressure. This is because dairy foods contain a range of micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium and potassium, all of which are involved in the regulation of blood pressure."



“Yogurt is especially interesting because it also contains bacteria that promote the release of proteins which lowers blood pressure."



“This study showed for people with elevated blood pressure, even small amounts of yogurt were associated with lower blood pressure."



“And for those who consumed yogurt regularly, the results were even stronger, with blood pressure readings nearly seven points lower than those who did not consume yogurt.”



According to the researchers, future observational and intervention studies should continue to focus on at-risk individuals to examine the potential benefits of yogurt.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/international-dairy-journal">International Dairy Journal</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

Yogurt is a powerful weapon against high blood pressure

A daily dose of yogurt can help lower blood pressure,...

In recent decades, scientists have extensively explored the negative effects of stress on human health and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solitude-increased-well-being-during-the-pandemic/" data-type="news" data-id="1897716">well-being</a>. Prolonged stress increases the risk of heart disease, mood disorders, diabetes, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, it disrupts our ability to think clearly and regulate our emotions. 



Now, a study led by <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> has found that stress can also influence the aging process by interacting with our “epigenetic clock,” or the changes in DNA that occur at different times in different people as they grow older.&nbsp;



In order to investigate the relationship between chronic stress and aging, the scientists enrolled 444 people between the ages of 19 and 50. The individuals provided blood samples that were used to evaluate the age-related chemical changes captured by a tool called “GrimAge” (which was built to assess the state of particular individuals’ life’s clocks). The participants also answered questions regarding their stress levels and psychological resilience.



The researchers found that, even after accounting for behavioral and demographic factors such as body mass index, diets, smoking, race, or income levels, participants who scored higher on measures related to prolonged stress showed accelerated aging markers and physiological changes such as increased insulin resistance.



However, subjects who scored high on two psychological resilience measures (emotion regulation and self-control) appeared to be more resilient to the effects of stress on aging and insulin resistance.



“These results support the popular notion that stress makes us age faster, but they also suggest a promising way to possibly minimize these adverse consequences of stress through strengthening emotion regulation and self-control,” said study lead author Zachary Harvanek, a resident in the Yale Medical School’s <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/psychiatry/">Department of Psychiatry</a>.



Thus, the more psychologically resilient a person is, the more chances they have to live a longer and healthier life. “We all like to feel like we have some agency over our fate,” said study senior author Rajita Sinha, a professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Yale. “So it is a cool thing to reinforce in people’s minds that we should make an investment in our psychological health.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01735-7">Transactional Psychiatry</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

Stress makes life’s clock tick faster

In recent decades, scientists have extensively explored the negative effects...

Beautiful,Landscape,With,Rocky,Mountains,And,Famous,Moraine,Lake,In

A new study published in Nature Communications has found that retreating glaciers in the Pacific mountains of North America could potentially create approximately 6,150 kilometers of new Pacific salmon <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-pandas-have-the-perfect-camouflage-for-their-natural-habitat/" data-type="news" data-id="1897600">habitat</a> by the end of the century.



By modelling glacier retreat under different climate change scenarios, a research team led by <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/">Simon Fraser University</a>, Canada and <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a>, UK, discovered that, under a moderate temperature increase, the glacier retreat could create low-gradient streams (with no more than a 10 percent incline) connected to the ocean, which would be perfect habitats for salmon.&nbsp;



“We predict that most of the emerging salmon habitat will occur in Alaska and the transboundary region, at the British Columbia‒Alaska border, where large coastal glaciers still exist. The Gulf of Alaska sub-region is predicted to see the most gains—a 27 percent increase in salmon-accessible habitat by 2100,” said study lead author Dr. Kara Pitman, a spatial analyst at Simon Fraser University.



“Once conditions stabilize in the newly-formed streams, salmon can colonize these areas quite quickly. It’s a common misconception that all salmon return home to the streams they were born in. Most do, but some individuals will stray - migrating into new streams to spawn and, if conditions are favorable, the population can increase rapidly.”



According to study co-author Alexander Milner, a professor of River Ecosystems at the University of Birmingham who studied glacial retreat and salmon populations in southeast Alaska for over 30 years, after glacial retreat creates favorable spawning habitats, colonization by salmon can occur relatively quickly.



“For example, Stonefly Creek was colonized within 10 years by pink salmon that grew rapidly to more than 5,000 spawners,” he said. “Other species also colonized, including&nbsp;Coho and Sockeye&nbsp;salmon, especially where a lake is associated with the stream.”



While these newly created habitats are a positive development for salmon in some locations, the scientists warn that, through warming rivers, changes in stream flows, and poor ocean conditions, climate change still poses significant dangers for many salmon populations.



“Climate change means we increasingly need to look to the future. We can’t just protect current-day habitat for species but need to consider what habitats they might rely on in the future,” Dr. Pitman 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

Melting glaciers will create large habitats for Pacific salmon

A new study published in Nature Communications has found that...

North,American,Porcupine,Erethizon,Dorsatum,In,Water,In,Teslin,,Yukon,

Levee failure and the ensuing flooding threatens both lives as well as economic livelihoods. Stopping such levee breaches is a goal of hydraulic engineering and research.&nbsp;A new study published in the AGU journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19447973">Water Resources Research</a> has found that the presence of burrowing animals can increase the risk of levee failure.&nbsp;



“River flooding is a natural phenomenon with no adverse effects when controlled, but when a levee breach occurs it becomes especially threatening because we have concentrated outflows from the river to populated floodplains,” said study lead author Matteo Balisrocchi, a hydraulic engineer at the University of Modena.



Burrowing animals often find good substrates for their homes in the disturbed dirt surfaces of levees, creating a risk to the structure itself. Until recently, little was known about the amount of damage the burrows caused to levees.&nbsp;



“While there is considerable concern about these types impacts from burrowing animals, there is a lack of quantitative information and evidence," said Gemma Harvey, a physical geographer at Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved in the study.&nbsp;



"(This research) provides a new modeling approach and quantitative data on levee failure probability that helps us to understand the importance of these impacts.”



The research showed that burrows or dens in the middle of a levee are more of a threat than those at the bottom of the levee, near the water’s surface. With an increase in the burrows elevation, so increases the width of area in the levee that’s impacted.&nbsp;



This means that in Northern Italy, where the research was carried out, crested porcupine and badger burrows are more of a threat to levee stability than river nutria burrows.&nbsp;



It must be noted however, that wildlife deserves protection and is afforded such under Italian law. Crested porcupines for one are protected in Italy. Despite the potential damage, they are allowed to burrow in levees.&nbsp;



“The burrowing activities of animals make many positive contributions to landscapes and ecosystems, including contributions to nutrient cycling and pollution remediation," said Harvey.&nbsp;



"But in certain cases, such as invasive species present in high numbers, or in this case where burrowing interacts directly with flood defense infrastructure such as riverbanks, levees and flood walls, burrowing can create or contribute to environmental hazards.”



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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

Burrowing animals increase the risk of levee failure

Levee failure and the ensuing flooding threatens both lives as...

Redpolls are a type of winter <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-finches-can-afford-to-be-picky-when-selecting-a-mate/">finch</a> living in the northernmost regions of the globe and flying south only sporadically. Although all of them share a characteristic red marking on their heads, some redpolls are white with small bills, while others are larger and have whiter bills. Due to these differences, scientists initially thought that there were three different species of Redpoll: the Common Redpoll, the Hoary Redpoll, and the Lesser Redpoll.&nbsp;



However, new genetic research led by the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a> (CU Boulder) has found that these apparently different species are in fact the same, but have a “supergene” that controls differences in morphology and plumage color, making them look different.



“Redpolls have been taxonomically confusing for a long time, and we only get to see them every once in a while in the winter,” said study co-author Scott Taylor, an assistant professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU Boulder. “They aren’t a bird you’re guaranteed to see at your feeder, so when it happens, people get excited, and they want to know what they’re looking at.”



By examining the full genome of 73 birds from all the different subtypes, Taylor and his colleagues found that despite the differences in appearance, the birds are almost identical genetically, having a “supergene” which controls the different traits making them look different.&nbsp;



“Often times we assume that a lot of traits can act independently, meaning that different traits can be inherited separately from one another, but this particular result shows that sometimes these traits are actually tightly linked together. At least for these birds, they’re inheriting a whole group of traits together as one,” explained study lead author Erik Funk, a graduate student at CU Boulder.



“I think, solidly now, the new paper shows that there is widespread gene flow across the (Redpoll) genome, except for this one region, and it just so happens this one region influences the way they look,” added Professor Taylor.



Redpolls are not the only ones having such supergenes. Many species, from various birds to certain types of mice, are now known to have them. “It seems to be less common, but I think one of the things that we are learning as we have access to more sequence data now is that maybe they’re not as uncommon as we once thought,” Funk concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27173-z">Nature Communications</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

Why Redpolls look different, despite being the same species

Redpolls are a type of winter finch living in the...

The trade in traditional “medicines” has severely hurt the population of wild tigers. Meanwhile, there has been a boom in the demand for tiger farms.&nbsp;



At these farms, the striped cats are raised as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-discovered-in-the-blood-of-livestock/">livestock</a> to be sold and cooked in high pressure cookers to dissolve their skeletons and create “tiger bone glue.” In 2017, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) identified over 200 tiger farms, mainly in Vietnam, China and Thailand.



The EIA found that across all of the tiger farms, there were somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 tigers, more than twice the estimated wild population. Tiger glue producers buy cubs from farms, raising the cats until they’re large enough to be killed and their bones cooked down. The tiger bone glue is then sold for as much as $15,000 per kilogram.&nbsp;



Because of the illicit nature of the business, little has been known about the buyers of tiger bone glue. Dang Vu Hoai Nam, a PhD Fellow at the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>, has used networking and hard work to track down some of the buyers.&nbsp;



"Among other things, we gained access to the tennis and golf clubs where many of these buyers spend time. These people are from Vietnam’s most affluent class, typically senior citizens who earn about 15 times as much as the average Vietnamese person," said Hoai Nam.



Together with a research assistant, Hoai Nam tracked down 228 buyers and tiger bone glue users. Because many of these users prefer tiger bone glue from wild animals, it seems unlikely that legalizing tiger farms will take pressure off of wild populations.&nbsp;



"Most of the buyers we interviewed prefer tiger bone glue from wild tigers over farmed ones because they believe wild bones are more potent, and thus provide better treatment for a host of musculoskeletal diseases. At the same time, buyers seek the highest possible tiger bone content in their mixture," said Hoai Nam.



Instead of legalization, Dang Vu Hoai Nam suggests tougher enforcement and more monitoring of tiger habitat as well as information campaigns explaining that tiger bone remedies are ineffective.&nbsp;



"Even with legalization, demand for wild tigers will remain strong. A third of our respondents are still willing to buy tigers poached in the wild, which will simply sustain the black market."



"Vulnerable countries should increase their investments in natural tiger habitats, the strengthening of police and park ranger forces, and information campaigns aimed at consumers that point them towards treatment alternatives which are more sustainable than tiger bones."



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138121001357">Journal for Nature Conservation</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

More tigers are in farms than in the wild

The trade in traditional “medicines” has severely hurt the population...

Being only a fraction of the size of the massive, cannibalistic female, the tiny male orb-weaving spider is facing significant challenges when searching for a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/albatrosses-are-divorcing-more-due-to-climate-change/">mate</a>. He must carefully enter her web and approach silently if he wants to escape being captured and eaten by his desired mate. Moreover, he is also forced to compete with other male spiders on the delicate arena of the web, where every wrong step could turn to be fatal.



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior</a> and the <a href="https://www.weizmann.ac.il/pages/">Weizmann Institute of Science</a> has struggled for almost a decade to understand the spatiotemporal dynamics characterizing these intricate mating strategies.



“Our initial concept was to explore the idea that these spiders moving on the web behave like electrons orbiting a nucleus, or planets orbiting a star,”&nbsp;said study co-author Alex Jordan, an evolutionary biologist at Max Planck. Although the precise physics explaining spiders’ movements ultimately diverged from atomic or cosmic parallels, these metaphors proved very useful.&nbsp;



“Imagine electrons orbiting a nucleus, or a massive star in space, so large that it generates its own gravitational field pulling in objects around it—the giant, cannibalistic female can be thought of in the same way,” explained Jordan. “Now imagine smaller planets, satellites, or comets coming near this attractive force—these are our tiny, brave males.”&nbsp;



Like a cosmic collision that vaporizes a small planet caught in the force field of a large star, male spiders that approach the female too rapidly, or from a wrong angle, run the risk of turning into prey.&nbsp;



“Working in the rainforests of Panama, I’ve seen over-zealous males fall victim to the cannibalistic females many times, especially when they take the wrong path, or approach the female too fast,” said study co-author Sylvia Garza, a Master’s student at Max Planck.



The relationship between competing males can also be explained through cosmic metaphors. Just as the smaller planets have their own gravitational pulls, the males initially approach and attract each other, but as they come closer and closer, the attraction turns into repellence, and they will end up crashing into open fighting.



All this fascinating choreography does not require advanced intelligence. Instead, the surface of the web acts as a conduit for the physical vibrations spiders use to communicate and to balance risk and reward. The effective physical forces that males and females experience on the elastic surface of the web can help them solve intricate tasks that would otherwise require a much more complex cognitive machinery.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/49/e2106269118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Science</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

Scientists explain spiders’ complex mating choreography

Being only a fraction of the size of the massive,...

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

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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

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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

[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

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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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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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