Seen through an orbiter’s camera, the flanks of Martian volcanoes and crater walls often look as if thick syrup once oozed down them and then became crusted with rouge‑colored dust. For years, scientists believed those viscous tongues formed from piles of rocky rubble lightly cemented by ice.



But analyses during the past two decades shifted that view, revealing that at least some debris‑mantled <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-glaciers-are-reshaping-landscapes-and-national-borders-around-the-world/">glaciers</a> hold far more frozen water than stone.



Now, a new radar survey argues that purity is the rule rather than the exception: glaciers across both hemispheres are more than 80 percent ice.



The findings suggest that much of Mars once endured sustained glaciation and that vast, readily accessible reservoirs of water await future explorers.



Lead author Yuval Steinberg completed the work as a graduate student at Israel’s <a href="https://www.weizmann.ac.il/pages/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Weizmann Institute of Science</a>. 



Steinberg's mentors and co‑authors, Oded Aharonson and Isaac Smith, are affiliated with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, as well as with Weizmann and <a href="https://www.yorku.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">York University</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chaos-in-martian-ice-records">Chaos in Martian ice records</h2>



When Steinberg began combing through earlier literature, one pattern stood out - there was no pattern. Researchers had sampled different glaciers with different radar techniques and reported results in unmatched units.



“Different techniques had been applied by researchers to various sites, and the results could not be easily compared,” noted Smith. Some landmarks had never been probed, while others sported only partial analyses.



“One of the sites in our study had never been studied, and at two of the five sites we used, only partial analysis had been completed,” he said.



The team decided to impose order. They chose five debris‑covered glaciers scattered across the planet, including one fresh target, and processed all datasets the same way.



Key to their approach was <a href="https://sharad.psi.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SHARAD</a>, the Shallow Radar instrument aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It beams 20 MHz radio pulses into the crust.



By measuring each glacier’s dielectric constant - how fast the radar wave travels through a material - and the loss tangent - how much energy the wave loses en route - they gathered key physical data. These values allowed them to infer the glacier’s subsurface composition.



Visual inspection alone reveals nothing because all debris‑laden glaciers look like drab pieces of soil.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-ice-is-nearly-pure-everywhere"><a></a>The ice is nearly pure, everywhere</h2>



The surprise came when the radar math finished crunching. Whether perched near the equator or edging the mid‑latitudes, each glacier offered almost the same electrical signature.



That sameness implies a similar makeup: at least four-fifths ice by volume, capped by a veneer of rubble only a few meters thick that insulates the ice against thin, dry air.



“This is important because it tells us that the formation and preservation mechanisms are probably the same everywhere,” Smith said. 



The uniformity hints either at one planet‑wide glaciation or at multiple ice ages that occurred under nearly identical conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-snowfall-once-shaped-mars">Snowfall once shaped Mars</h2>



Mars today is so arid that water ice can survive near the surface only where temperatures remain low and the atmosphere’s pressure prevents sublimation.



If the new study is correct, the planet must have repeatedly produced enough snow or frost to build thick glaciers, later burying them in dust that has kept them intact for hundreds of millions of years.



Knowing the minimum purity of those glaciers lets climate modelers refine how much water circulated through the past atmosphere. It also helps them track how snowfall patterns shifted with the planet’s tilt and how global dust storms may have armored the ice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-water-for-future-crews">Water for future crews</h2>



Purity also matters for future crews who may mine ice for drinking water, oxygen, and rocket fuel. Extracting liquid from dirty ice takes energy and filtration gear; chopping blocks of almost pure ice simplifies the job.



The five glaciers studied lie in diverse terrains, suggesting many candidate sites for human outposts. 



“We can conclude that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-captured-in-true-color-like-youve-never-seen-the-red-planet-before/">Mars</a> experienced either one widespread glaciation or multiple glaciations that had similar properties,” Smith said. 



“By bringing together these sites and techniques for the first time, we were able to unify our understanding of these types of glaciers.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-more-hidden-ice-on-mars">Mapping more hidden ice on Mars</h2>



The researchers plan to extend their standardized survey to additional radar tracks. Each glacier tested refines global data and may reveal microclimates or local volcanic heating.



The method could even guide the <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024EGUGA..2610754A/abstract" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars Ice Mapper mission concept</a>, which would fly more advanced radar optimized for detecting shallow ice sheets.



The team revealed a planetary frozen archive beneath the dusty veneer - what first appeared to be sluggish, rock-rich flows. It records climate rhythms and beckons as a water source for the next great adventure in human exploration.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103525002647?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Icarus</a>.



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Previously believed to be mostly rock, Mars' glaciers shown to be 80% pure ice

Seen through an orbiter’s camera, the flanks of Martian volcanoes and crater walls often look as if thick syrup once oozed down them and then became crusted with rouge‑colored dust. For years, scientists believed those viscous tongues formed from piles of rocky rubble lightly cemented by ice. But analyses during the past two decades shifted that view, revealing that at least some debris‑mantled glaciers hold far more frozen water than stone. Now, a new radar survey argues that purity is the rule rather than the exception: glaciers...

The report of the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/working-group/wg3/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)</a> was released on April 4, 2022, and it suggests that, while some countries are on track to meet their carbon emission commitments, the world is not on track to limit <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agriculture-could-play-a-key-role-in-limiting-global-warming/">global warming</a> to the 1.5oC level. Jacobo Arango, an environmental biologist at the Tropical Forages Program at the Alliance of Bioversity and <a href="https://ciat.cgiar.org/">CIAT</a>, was one of the authors of the report’s chapter on climate change mitigation and he feels there is a lot of scope for agricultural practices to enhance the removal of carbon from the atmosphere in future.



“The agriculture and land-use sector (which includes forestry) has a really invigorating role with this IPCC report,” he said. “It’s not enough only to lower emissions, we also need to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere.”



Although the use of carbon capture technology is an option that will help remove carbon from the atmosphere, or from factory emissions before they are released into the atmosphere, this approach is only being used currently in a total of 18 large-scale units in six countries. These carbon capture and storage (CCU) facilities currently remove 32 million tons of CO2&nbsp;per year, a far cry from the 100 billion tons required in order to keep the Earth’s temperature increase to below 2oC.&nbsp;&nbsp;



While many people envisage carbon storage in terms of depositing captured CO2 into depleted oil or natural gas fields, or disused underground mines, Arango says that another approach could involve using deep-rooted plants, including those used in livestock grazing, to store carbon 2–3 meters underground in the form of organic matter in the soil (soil carbon).&nbsp;



“If you use the right plants, with a long root system, they can transfer the carbon from the atmosphere into the deep soil layers,” he explained. “Instead of big fancy machines taking carbon out of the atmosphere and injecting it into rock formations, agriculture does that naturally with plants, along with higher food production and other environmental benefits, such as water and biodiversity conservation.”



It is usually understood that plants add carbon into shallow layers of soil (the top 30 centimeters), in the form of dead organic matter, or humus. This carbon is, however, readily returned back to the atmosphere through the process of respiration by bacteria and other soil organisms. Carbon deposited deeper down by plants with long roots has a better chance of being stored for much longer.



Ngonidzashe Chirinda, an assistant professor of Sustainable Tropical Agriculture at Morocco's Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, and former IPCC author, says the 30-centimeter depth used in the IPCC greenhouse gas inventory guidelines underestimates carbon uptake linked to tropical forages that develop roots to over 1 meter in depth.



“Few countries currently report soil carbon's climate change mitigation contribution in their national greenhouse gas inventories and the lack of accounting means a vital carbon sink is missed,” Chirinda said, adding that countries need to give accurate account of the carbon added to the soil through mitigation actions such as adopting deep-rooted tropical forages (grasses and other plants grown as food for livestock).&nbsp;



Arango has studied tropical forages, some of which have long roots that deposit carbon deeper down in the soil. In one study in&nbsp;<a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/116231">Colombia’s Orinoquía basin</a>, his team was able to sample soil carbon down much deeper than 30 centimeters and establish that it was accumulating at that depth.&nbsp;Based on these findings, the authors of that study hypothesized that the introduction of the tropical pasture grass Brachiaria humidicola, would increase soil carbon accumulation and soil quality through its abundant root system and rapid turnover. &nbsp;



It would also be possible to breed future varieties of tropical forages with deep roots, while still maintaining yields, says Arango. The key to this process would be to use the genetic diversity stored in the brand-new&nbsp;<a href="https://alliancebioversityciat.org/future-seeds">Future Seeds</a>&nbsp;genebank at CIAT’s headquarters outside Palmira, Colombia. This facility is home to about 68,000 accessions of common beans, tropical forages, and cassava, crops that are a vital source of nourishment and income for millions of smallholder farmers across the globe.&nbsp;



“We’re researching varieties with those long roots that play a role in getting carbon down to those deep soil layers, which can still maintain production for farmers,” Arango said, adding that if farmers in Colombia and other parts of the world can be provided with better forages, they would be able to offset the carbon produced by their cattle.&nbsp;



“If we find alternatives to establish livestock production systems that are net-zero or even negative in emissions, they could even sell carbon credits, opening up a new income source for these farmers by participating in the global carbon market.”



Chirinda explained there are many other examples of agricultural practices that either increase carbon uptake or reduce its loss.&nbsp;“There’s agroforestry (growing crops and trees on the same land), silvopastoral systems (including trees in grasslands), reduced or no soil tillage (avoiding soil disturbance), and having soil covered most of the year through practices such as relay and cover cropping,” he said.&nbsp;



All of these practices would be beneficial in terms of capturing and storing carbon that would otherwise be causing harm in the atmosphere.



Image Credit: CIAT / Georgina Smith



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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

Tropical plants with long roots may help store carbon underground

The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)...

During the first three months of 2022, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-in-the-amazon-rainforest-hits-new-records/">deforestation</a> in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has increased by 64 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a new report published by the National Institute for Space Research (<a href="https://www.gov.br/inpe/pt-br">INPE</a>). The report revealed that 941.34 square kilometers (363 square miles - equivalent to an area larger than the city of Dallas) of rainforest were cleared between January and March this year – the largest amount since INPE started recording deforestation rates seven years ago. This new record is particularly worrisome since Brazil is currently in its rainy season when logging and clearing the land with fires are less common.



“The fact that we are already at a record high and actually [seeing] numbers that are usually to be expected mid-year – when it’s drier and it’s actually easier to access the forest and do some damage – is indeed worrying,” confirmed Raoni Rajao, a professor of Environmental Management at the <a href="https://www.ufmg.br/english/conheca/index.shtml">Federal University of Minas Gerais</a>.&nbsp;



Since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019 and weakened environmental protection actions and policies, the destruction of the world’s largest rainforest has surged. According to United Nations’ estimates, deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, the current situation in Brazil is placing an increasing burden on the climate, significantly exacerbating global warming.



“Brazil is an example of what the UN climate report is saying when referring to governments not taking the necessary actions,” said Cristiane Mazzetti, a forest campaigner in Brazil for <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/">Greenpeace</a>. “We have a government that goes deliberately against the necessary steps to limit climate change.”



Scientists predict that deforestation rates in Brazil will continue to rise ahead the October presidential elections, as they had before the previous three elections. According to Carlos Souza Jr., a researcher at <a href="https://imazon.org.br/en/">Imazon</a> – a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving the Amazon rainforest – environmental enforcement usually weakens in election years, with many criminals rushing to deforest vast areas ahead of changes in political governance.&nbsp;



Urgent actions are needed to stop and reverse the massive amount of deforestation in the Amazon in order to protect a multitude of vital ecosystems that have functioned smoothy for millennia in that region, and to help avoid an almost imminent climate catastrophe.&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

Deforestation in the Amazon hits a new record

During the first three months of 2022, deforestation in Brazil’s...

Although renewable energy prices have fallen by over 70 percent in the last decade, driving more people to replace fossil fuels with greener, less polluting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/electricity-may-be-the-cheapest-energy-source-by-2050/">energy sources</a>, the future probability of large swings in the availability of solar and wind power should be taken into account by grid operators and consumers, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>.



“Designers of renewable energy systems will need to pay attention to changing wind and solar patterns over weeks, months, and years, the way water managers do,” said study senior author Upmanu Lall, a professor of Engineering at Columbia. “You won’t be able to manage variability like this with batteries. You’ll need more capacity.”



Drawing on 70 years of historic wind and solar-power data, Professor Lall and his research team built an Artificial Intelligence model to predict the probabilities of network-scale “energy droughts,” when daily production of renewables fall below a target threshold. Since solar and wind potential, like rainfall, is highly variable - based on the time of the year and the place where solar panels and wind turbines are located - renewable energy droughts will most probably be a recurrent problem in the near future.



By focusing on Texas – the leading state generating electricity from wind power and the fifth-largest solar producer – the scientists estimated that, even if solar and wind generators were spread across the entire state, Texas may soon face persistent energy droughts that could last as long as a year. In the case of other states with less sun and wind available, such shortages will probably be even longer.



“These findings suggest that energy planners will have to consider alternate ways of storing or generating electricity, or dramatically increasing the capacity of their renewable systems,” said Professor Lall.&nbsp;“In a fully renewable world, we would need to develop nuclear fuel or hydrogen fuel, or carbon recycling, or add much more capacity for generating renewables, if we want to avoid burning fossil fuels.”



While in times of low rainfall, water managers use reserves stored in municipal reservoirs or underground aquifers, solar and wind energy systems have no equivalent backup. The batteries used to store excess solar and wind power will only be able to hold the charge for at most a few days, and not even hydropower plants will be fully capable to carry the system through an extended dry spell of intermittent sun and wind.



“We won’t solve the problem by building a larger network. Electric grid operators have a target of 99.99 percent reliability while water managers strive for 90 percent reliability. You can see what a challenging game this will be for the energy industry, and just how valuable seasonal and longer forecasts could be,” concluded Professor Lall.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2022.100454">Patterns</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

Swings in wind and solar power may cause "energy droughts”

Although renewable energy prices have fallen by over 70 percent...

A group of international astronomers has just made a momentous discovery. The study, published in the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0004-637X">Astrophysical Journal</a>, describes the sighting of the most distant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-object-detected-in-our-galactic-backyard/">object</a> ever, some 13.5 billion light years away. An accompanying article in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters, speculated what the object, a galaxy, may be like.&nbsp;



Naming the galaxy HD-1, the scientists proposed two hypotheses. First, the galaxy could be creating stars at breakneck speed, possibly even Population III stars, the universe’s first stars. Secondly, the scientists suggest that HD-1 could be a massive blackhole, roughly 100 million times the mass of the sun.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Fabio Pacucci is the lead author of the MNRAS study, co-author in the discovery paper on ApJ, and an astronomer at the <a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/">Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics</a>.



“Answering questions about the nature of a source so far away can be challenging,” said Fabio Pacucci. “It’s like guessing the nationality of a ship from the flag it flies, while being faraway ashore, with the vessel in the middle of a gale and dense fog. One can maybe see some colors and shapes of the flag, but not in their entirety. It’s ultimately a long game of analysis and exclusion of implausible scenarios.”



The amount of ultraviolet light means that “some energetic processes are occurring there or, better yet, did occur some billions of years ago,” explained Pacucci.



Initially, the scientists suspected that HD-1 was a normal starburst galaxy, which creates stars at a fast pace. However, the sheer number of stars being created - 100 every year, is 10 times higher than the normal rate. This suggests something more primeval.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The very first population of stars that formed in the universe were more massive, more luminous and hotter than modern stars,” said Pacucci. “If we assume the stars produced in HD1 are these first, or Population III, stars, then its properties could be explained more easily. In fact, Population III stars are capable of producing more UV light than normal stars, which could clarify the extreme ultraviolet luminosity of HD1.”&nbsp;



The supermassive blackhole also fits the evidence, even as a blackhole sucks in even light, photons are emitted around the blackhole itself. Further research is needed for the scientists to confirm exactly what’s going on.&nbsp;&nbsp;



&nbsp;---



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

A galaxy far, far away: scientists observe the most distant object ever

A group of international astronomers has just made a momentous...

A new study is shedding light on how sunlight can improve the health of endangered green sea turtles prone to a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/avocados-substantially-reduce-the-risk-of-heart-disease/">disease</a> called fibropapillomatosis. This disease affects 60 percent of sea turtles and is mostly found in juveniles. The disease causes the growth of large debilitating tumors on the skin, eyes and shell.



Current treatment for turtles with fibropapillomatosis includes surgical removal of tumors at rehabilitation centers. Sadly, this method of treatment is ineffective as many turtle patients do not survive, or the tumors regrow.



A new discovery of how to cure sick sea turtles points to sunlight. Rays from sun exposure provide vitamin D, an essential nutrient for the health of all living things. This is most important for sea turtles with fibropapillomatosis, as studies have shown the disease is associated with very low vitamin D levels.



For the study, researchers at <a href="https://www.fau.edu/">Florida Atlantic University</a> compared vitamin D levels in healthy and sick green sea turtles to determine if exposure to sunlight would influence overall health. The experts also examined the differences between turtles in rehabilitation facilities and healthy wild-caught green turtles.



The researchers investigated whether higher levels of sun exposure could increase vitamin D levels in sea turtles undergoing treatment. The turtles were kept in tanks where they could be exposed to varying levels of sunlight for up to six months, and then compared to turtles receiving less ultraviolet light. In particular, the team examined the correlation between sun exposure, vitamin D, and tumor regrowth.



The results showed that when the turtles were exposed to greater sunlight, their vitamin D levels increased and supported successful recovery.&nbsp;



<ul><li>For the turtles in rehabilitation facilities, vitamin D levels increased over time, with the most significant increases seen when the turtles were exposed to higher levels of UV light and for longer times.</li><li>For the turtles kept in the sun tanks, tumors were less likely to return compared to those exposed to low UV light conditions.&nbsp;</li></ul>



The results suggest that increasing sunlight exposure could enhance health and recovery in green sea turtles with fibropapillomatosis.



“Data from our study suggest that one potential method to better the outcome of sea turtles with this disease is to increase their exposure to UV light during rehabilitation,” said study senior author Dr. Sarah L. Milton.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Although a cure for this disease has yet to be discovered, we have shown that exposure to higher UV light increases vitamin D in turtles, as it does in other animals including humans. Increased plasma vitamin D levels are then in turn correlated with lower rates of disease. This potential to boost health could therefore contribute to improved recovery.”



The research team is interested in conducting future studies to better understand the impacts of vitamin D levels and overall health and immune function.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/animals">Animals</a>.



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

Sunlight helps green sea turtles with tumors recover

A new study is shedding light on how sunlight can...

How many pollinators are needed to pollinate all the species in a given community of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-activate-immune-defenses-against-pathogens-in-rain/">plants</a>? This question is the focus of a study by a team of researchers including <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a> entomologist Michael Roswell.&nbsp;



Previous research on pollinator bees has over-emphasized the contribution of the most common bees, especially since only two percent of bee species provide 80 percent of pollination. The new study helped to demonstrate that less common bees are much more important for ecosystem health than previously documented.



The answer: Many bees are needed to pollinate a meadow of flowers - far more than just the honeybees and bumblebees that most people are familiar with.



The research shows that when there are more plant species, more bee species are needed for pollination. It was found that less common bees visited specific plants that other bees didn’t.&nbsp;



“Our work shows that things that are rare in general, like infrequent visitors to a meadow, can still serve really important functions, like pollinating plants no one else pollinates,” said Roswell.&nbsp; “And that’s a really good argument for why biodiversity matters.”



The researchers surveyed 10 plots that included wild meadows over one year. They observed bees from over 180 species making nearly 22,000 visits to over 130 different plant species. These visits were used to estimate the pollination services each type of bee provided to each plant. This is because a plant’s most frequent visitors are typically its most important pollinators.



The findings showed that an entire meadow community relied on 2 ½ to 7 ½ times more bee species for pollination than a single typical plant species does. The study also found that locally rare species accounted for up to 25 percent of pollinator species. This was greatest in meadows with the most plant diversity. When these findings are applied to an entire ecosystem, the number of locally rare species important for pollination is even greater.



“We were looking at meadows that might be a few acres in size,” said Roswell, “but a typical bee flies over a couple of square miles, which is a really large and complicated landscape filled with lots of different kinds of plants that flower at different times and are visited by different insects. At that scale, even more diversity of pollinators is likely to be important.”



The research sheds new light on the role of rare species in ecosystems that must be protected. Rare species are most at risk of extinction from habitat loss, pollution, climate change and other factors.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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

It takes all kinds: the underestimated role of rare pollinators

How many pollinators are needed to pollinate all the species...

Most research studies that investigate the potential effects of climate change on animal and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-industry-is-not-threatened-by-plant-based-alternatives/">plant</a> species do this by considering one species at a time. The ecological needs of a species, and how these will be met as the climate changes, give important information about what we might expect in terms of biodiversity in the future. Few studies, however, consider how food web interactions will affect the pace of change.



A new study, published today in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>, investigated how trophic relationships (the feeding of one species on another) will be affected by the poleward shift in distribution of marine species. As the ocean warms, species are expected to move in search of more suitable conditions, and this will affect not only their distributions, but also the dynamics of entire food webs. This will be particularly important for large species and commercially important fisheries on which people depend for food and a livelihood.&nbsp;



Using sophisticated computer models, the researchers determined that predator-prey interactions cause many marine species, especially large predators,&nbsp;to shift their ranges more slowly than the climate changes would suggest. They developed a “spatially explicit food-web model” that included parameters such as metabolism, body size and optimal temperature ranges for species, and this model revealed that dynamic trophic interactions limit a species’ ability to react quickly to warming temperatures.&nbsp;



For example, larger-bodied top predators stay longer than smaller prey in their tried and trusted habitats, partly because new sources of prey arrive in the predators’ historical ranges and this leads to the establishment of new food webs. One of the results of climate change in the ocean will therefore be a mixing and reshuffling of marine biodiversity.&nbsp;



“The model suggests that over the next 200 years of warming, species are going to continually reshuffle and be in the process of shifting their ranges,” said lead author&nbsp;<a href="https://ewtekwa.weebly.com/">E. W. Tekwa</a>, a former Rutgers postdoctoral student who is now at the University of British Columbia. “Even after 200 years, marine species will still be lagging behind temperature shifts, and this is particularly true for those at the top of the food web.”



This scenario has implications for commercial fishermen and fisheries all over the world. The researchers suggest that, while commercially harvested fish species will probably still occur in their usual ranges to some extent, their density is likely to be significantly reduced as many individuals will have moved to different regions.&nbsp;



Not only will large species and commercially important fisheries shift out of their historical ranges as climate warms, but they will likely not be as abundant even in their new geographic ranges. For instance, a cod fisherman in the Atlantic might still find fish 200 years from now but in significantly lower numbers.



“What that suggests from a fisheries perspective is that while the species we fish today will be there tomorrow, they will not be there in the same abundance. In such a context, overfishing becomes easier because the population growth rates are low,” said study co-author&nbsp;<a href="https://pinsky.marine.rutgers.edu/people/malin-pinsky/">Malin Pinsky</a>, an associate professor in Rutgers’ Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources. “Warming, coupled with food-web dynamics, will be like putting marine biodiversity in a blender.”



The changes in trophic relationships and food webs in marine systems will lead to different communities of animals and plants interacting with each other. The model predicts that, as temperatures warm, predator-prey interactions will prevent species from following environmental conditions that would be most suitable to them because they will be hanging back “at home,” attempting to feed on the newly arriving prey species instead of following their traditional prey as they become established in new and more suitable geographical locations.&nbsp;



“These dynamics will not only be in one place but globally,” Pinsky said. “That does not bode well for marine life, and this is not an effect that has been widely recognized.”



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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

Climate change restructures marine food webs in unexpected ways

Most research studies that investigate the potential effects of climate...

Archerfish – a small group of fishes that live in Southeast Asia, Australia, and many regions in between - are famous for their amazing ability to shoot down land-based <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-insects-will-kill-more-than-a-million-street-trees-by-2050/">insects</a> with highly accurate streams of water that they project from their mouths. Until recently though, not much has been known about these peculiar aquatic creatures.&nbsp;



Questions regarding the number of archerfish species, how they are related to one another, and what is their evolutionary history have remained shrouded in mystery. However, a recent study led by the <a href="https://biodiversity.ku.edu/">University of Kansas (KU) Biodiversity Institute &amp; Natural History Museum</a> has now provided the most thorough examination of the evolutionary history and anatomical variation of archerfishes.



“There are other fish that eat insects and some that will jump out of water, but I would say there’s nothing really like this,” said study co-author Dr. Leo Smith, an evolutionary biologist and associate curator at KU’s Biodiversity Institute &amp; Natural History Museum. “There’s a potentially apocryphal story, which is that back in the mid-1800s in India, archerfishes would shoot out the colonizers’ cigarettes, just like if there was like a lightning bug. They would shoot them out and drive people crazy.”



In order to understand how this amazing behavior evolved, the researchers collected tissue samples and specimens of archerfish from various institutions and museums around the world, and analyzed their structures and genetic features. Their analyses revealed that, although the oral structures of archerfishes support a blowpipe mechanism that is common in many fish species, several unique soft-tissue oral structures may also play a fundamental role in shooting, distinguishing them from related types of fishes.



“Just because other fish can move water, it’s not anything like this,” Dr. Smith explained. “I equate it to, 'I could put a trumpet in my mouth, and I suppose I could make noise come out of it, but not like Miles Davis.' It’s like a fundamentally different thing, too, a really remarkable specialization for catching insects.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to Dr. Smith and his colleagues, archerfishes have a closely related “sister group” of fishes – the beach salmon – which have similar oral structures used to shoot water towards prey, suggesting that this capacity could be what evolutionary biologists call a co-opted or exapted trait.



“We think of adaptations like, for example, a sailfish that has this really beautiful sail on their dorsal fin - but a lot of fishes have dorsal fins and what they’ve done is kind of modify that dorsal fin to fit some other need,” said study lead author Matthew Girard, a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/">National Museum of Natural History</a>.



“If we look at the group that’s most closely related to archerfish, it’s already eating hard-body things. So, archerfish must have had all the structures that would allow that to happen, and all they had to do was kind of modify those to be able to shoot. So that’s what that co-option is - it’s really a nuance saying that the necessary parts were already there and all they did was modify a few things to allow this to happen.”



An in-depth description of archerfish and their evolutionary history is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/iob/advance-article/doi/10.1093/iob/obac013/6551314?login=false">Integrative Organismal Biology</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

How did the fascinating behavior of archerfish evolve?

Archerfish – a small group of fishes that live in...

Oceans serve as a carbon sink by absorbing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-emissions-hit-a-new-record-in-2021/">emissions</a> from the atmosphere. A potential ripple effect in atmospheric emissions could lead to severe impacts throughout the ocean ecosystem. For example, absorbing carbon causes ocean water to become more acidic, and leads to a process called ocean acidification.



A new, experimental study has found that an important forage fish called sand lance is very sensitive to ocean acidification and this could lead to widespread ecosystem impacts by 2100.&nbsp;



Sand lance spawn in offshore environments that tend to have stable, low levels of CO2 during the winter, explains lead author Hannes Baumann.



The study took an interdisciplinary approach by combining model forecasts and frequent experimentation. This approach found that sand lance embryos are very sensitive to increased CO2 levels and fewer embryos hatched under future oceanic CO2 conditions. As a result, the research team agrees that the sand lace are one of the most CO2-sensitive fish species.



“Because our findings are backed up by repeated independent evidence, they are more robust than many published ocean acidification studies to date.” Bauman says.&nbsp;



A second negative response was discovered - higher CO2 levels appear to make it harder for sand lace embryos to hatch. This is because lowered pH in the ocean water reduces enzymes that are needed for successful hatching, leaving the embryos unable to break through their eggshell to hatch.



The results show that by 2100, ocean acidification will reduce sand lace hatching success to 71 percent of today’s levels. These fish are a critical component of the food web; a reduced number of sand lace would have profound impacts throughout the ecosystem.



“Sand lances are surely one of the most important forage fish here on the Northwest Atlantic shelf,” said Baumann. “Their range spans from the Mid Atlantic Bight all the way to Greenland."&nbsp;



"Where we studied them, on Stellwagen Bank, they are called the backbone of the ecosystem. The humpback whales, sharks, tuna, cod, shearwaters, terns - you name it - they are all relying on sand lance, and if sand lance productivity goes down, we will see ripple effects to all these higher trophic animals. Even though we humans don’t fish for sand lance, we need to take care of the species because it has such a huge effect on everything else.”



As a result of ocean acidification, sand lace and food webs will likely be impacted very soon, and the researchers stress that we must act now.



“We need strategic thinking about what species we are testing next, because we cannot test every marine fish species, that’s an impossible task," said Baumann.



"We should concentrate on fish species that are likely the most vulnerable, and therefore the ones that are probably being affected first and this research makes a compelling argument that those are the fish species at higher latitudes and in more offshore than nearshore environments.”



The team’s findings are published in the journal <a href="https://www.int-res.com/prepress/m14010.html">Marine Ecology Progress Series</a>.



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

Ocean acidification reduces the hatching success of a keystone fish species

Oceans serve as a carbon sink by absorbing emissions from...

These days, plant-based alternatives to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-industry-is-not-threatened-by-plant-based-alternatives/">meat</a> can be found on supermarket shelves and freezers, and in restaurants in many places in the world. Vegan burgers, sausages, nuggets, mince and a variety of other food types are common-place and modern biotechnology, food technology, and process engineering makes these products look, taste and smell remarkably similar to their animal counterparts.&nbsp;



However, it remains that proteins from animal muscle are very different from plant proteins and this inevitably impacts the chemical interactions between ingredients as well as some of the physical and mechanical properties once the plant protein enters the mouth.



In&nbsp;research published today by the <a href="https://www.aip.org/">American Institute of Physics</a>, scientists from Germany – where consumers can choose from more than 1,200 different types of sausage – investigate the molecular function and effects of vegetable proteins of different origins to identify what makes plant-based meat substitutes different once they are being chewed.&nbsp;



“We use direct comparisons of meat-based, vegetarian with egg white, and pure vegan versions to show the differences in bite, chewing, mouthfeel, bolus formation, and associated enjoyment characteristics of the sausages,” said co-author Thomas A. Vilgis, from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research.



In particular, the researchers considered differences in tensile strength between the types of sausages. They say that muscle proteins emulsify fats and oils in a very different way to plant proteins and this makes plant-based sausages feel different when we bite and chew them.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The ‘crunch’ or ‘crack’ of meat sausages is inevitably different than that of vegan sausages, simply because the molecular properties of the proteins are markedly different,” said Vilgis.



In addition, the researchers also tested the sausages in terms of their rheology (flow of matter), and tribology (friction) while in the mouth. This allowed greater insight into the differences between the three types of sausage than is gained from sensory comparisons alone.&nbsp;



“We're looking much deeper than what is usually done in food technology, by taking into account the molecular properties of ingredients as much as possible,” Vilgis said.



“We are taking a closer look at the proteins as well as the sequence of amino acids, which we understand as a ‘code’ from which we can read certain properties to better understand the behavior of the sausages in the mouth when they are consumed. Thus, fundamental differences in the molecular structure and mouthfeel become immediately apparent.”



Building on the authors’ previous research of soft matter theory and theoretical polymer physics, the study represents an entirely new approach to experimental food science.



“We're working directly at the interface between basic science and technological application,” said Vilgis. “With these methods, it is possible to make predictions in how the physical properties of an alternative sausage can be improved – and make targeted developments.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/journal/phf">Physics of Fluids</a>.&nbsp;



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

Who says there’s no difference between meat and plant-based sausages?

These days, plant-based alternatives to meat can be found on...

Although medical advances are causing an increase in average life expectancy, the human brain begins to perform worse with age. At the neuronal level, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-can-reverse-the-aging-process-in-middle-aged-mice/">aging</a> manifests itself through anatomical changes in the grey and white matter in specific brain regions, while at the cognitive level, short- and long-term memory deteriorates, information-processing speed decreases, and control over linguistic, visuospatial, and executive skills declines.&nbsp;



However, the speed of aging varies, depending upon a person’s cognitive reserve – the brain’s ability to maintain optimal performance while coping with age-related changes. This reserve is built up over the course of life, as the brain strengthens various neural networks in response to different stimuli.&nbsp;



According to previous studies, the more complex these neural networks are, the greater a person’s cognitive reserve and thus capacity to cope with aging. While it is already well-known that cognitive reserve is influenced by various factors, such as physical activity, nutrition, level of education, career path, or socio-economic status, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.hse.ru/en/">HSE University</a> in Russia and <a href="https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/">Northumbria University</a> in the UK has found for the first time that bilingualism is another strongly beneficial factor for cognitive reserve, and could help slow down and mitigate the course of age-related changes in the brain.



By conducting an experiment that measured the speed of cognitive functioning of 63 healthy older adults (aged 60 or above), the scientists found that the more fluent the participants were in a second language, the faster they were in solving the tasks they were presented with.



“Unlike other factors that shape cognitive reserve, bilingualism is unique in that it is constantly present in our lives. We can take up and give up physical exercise, go on one diet or another, or change jobs, but language remains with us all the time. We communicate, watch movies, and read books, and the language centers are constantly working in our mind,” explained study lead author Federico Gallo, a Junior Research Fellow at HSE.&nbsp;



“We witnessed an interesting phenomenon in this experiment: with a high level of language proficiency, the correlation between successful conflict resolution and other components of cognitive reserve disappeared. This suggests that bilingualism’s benefits on cognitive reserve might be stronger than those of other known factors.”



According to Dr. Gallo and his colleagues, proficiency in two or more languages improves brain functioning not only in healthy people, but also in those with various neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, bilingualism seems to improve not only the executive functioning of the brain, but also episodic, working, and semantic memory, together with overall intelligence.



“There are no really effective drugs available today to prevent or slow down brain ageing. It takes enormous financial resources to develop pharmaceutical treatments. Therefore, finding and researching alternative, non-drug ways to slow down cognitive ageing should become a priority in science. In the long term, we plan to study how the benefits of bilingualism on ageing may vary with different language pairs,” Dr. Gallo concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.780261/full#B42">Frontiers in Psychology</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

Speaking multiple languages slows down brain aging

Although medical advances are causing an increase in average life...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aepp.13232">Applied Economic Perspectives and Policies</a> has found that, although the sales and market share of new plant-based meat alternatives have grown in recent years, these gains did not translate into reduced consumer spending on animal meat products. These findings suggest that plant-based meats are mostly an add-on to pork and beef, tending to serve as a substitute for chicken, turkey, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farmed-seafood-supply-is-at-risk-due-to-climate-change/">fish</a>.



“We thought plant-based meat alternatives would be a potential replacement for red meat, but they’re not. It’s more of a complement,” said study co-author&nbsp;Wuyang Hu, a professor of&nbsp;Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics at the <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a>. “People buy pork and beef, and at the same time they also buy plant-based meats.”



“This new generation of plant-based meat, by mimicking the taste and sensory experience of eating real meat, appeals to consumers who are not only vegetarian but also people who are curious about plant-based meat and even meat eaters,” added study lead author&nbsp;Shuoli Zhao, an assistant professor of&nbsp;Agricultural Economics at the <a href="https://www.uky.edu/">University of Kentucky</a>.



By investigating data on fresh meat expenditures – including plant-based meat products - at various types of stores across the United States between January 2017 and July 2020, the researchers found that plant-based meat alternatives accounted for only 0.1 percent of average total expenditures on fresh meat during this period (although during the study period the market share increased four-fold, to 0.4 percent). Beef topped the fresh meat sales (46 percent) and was followed by chicken (23 percent), pork, fish (12 percent each), and turkey and other meats (less than five percent).



Purchases of plant-based alternatives tended to increase when the products were on sale or during promotions. According to Professor Hu, this suggests that such alternatives are “more of an impulse buy and not a weekly purchase. We concluded it’s novelty-seeking. Consumers are pack followers. When they see a trend they say, ‘I should try this’ and form similar preferences.”



“We hypothesized that from a plant-based meat alternative company perspective, what they are trying to do is replace people’s diet of beef and pork. We actually found the opposite is the case,” added Professor Zhao. “Consumers are buying plant-based meat alternatives on top of planned expenditures on fresh meat, or are triggered by a promotion or the layout of the retail environment – which is an indication this is not currently a real threat to the fresh meat industry.



“Our findings suggest that besides marketing, plant-based protein companies should focus their R&amp;D on providing products that meet consumers’ expectations – and then people will make their own choices about whether meat alternatives will become a staple in their diet,” he 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

Meat industry is not threatened by plant-based alternatives

A new study published in the journal Applied Economic Perspectives...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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