Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features active wildfires and scorched landscapes in New Mexico, where the Trout and Buck fires continue to burn across the Gila National Forest and nearby counties.



“As extreme <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-drought-has-caused-crisis-levels-of-food-and-water-scarcity/">drought</a> gripped parts of New Mexico in June 2025, firefighters battled large wildland fires in the southwestern part of the state,” noted <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154454/new-mexico-battles-wildfires">NASA</a>.



“The two largest were the Buck and Trout fires, which, as of June 18, had together burned more than 80,000 acres since igniting on June 11 and 12, respectively. High winds, low humidity, and dry tinder - grass, brush, and timber - have fueled their rapid spread.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fires-captured-from-space">Fires captured from space</h2>



The image was captured on June 14, 2025 by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8. It is a false-color image, which shows shortwave infrared, near-infrared, and visible light.



According to NASA, this band combination makes it easier to identify unburned vegetated areas (green) and the recently burned landscape (brown).&nbsp;



“Bright orange indicates the infrared signature of actively burning fires,” noted NASA.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-progression-of-new-mexico-s-fires">Progression of New Mexico's fires</h2>



NASA’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-seasons-are-now-overlapping-worldwide/">fire monitoring</a> tools revealed that the Trout Fire expanded rapidly in the days following the Landsat satellite imagery.&nbsp;



By June 18, the blaze had reached the edge of Lake Roberts and was threatening communities along Sapillo Creek. News reports indicated that evacuation orders had been issued for around 2,000 homes in the affected zones.&nbsp;



In contrast, the Buck Fire showed less growth and was reported to be 25 percent contained as of June 18.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emergency-fire-declaration-in-new-mexico">Emergency fire declaration in New Mexico</h2>



“On June 17, New Mexico's governor issued an emergency declaration in response to the Trout fire, which allowed emergency responders to request additional support from federal or other entities,” said NASA.



“More than 875 firefighting personnel were responding to the fire on June 18, including hotshot crews, hand crews, dozers, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft, according to InciWeb.”&nbsp;



“As of that date, the blaze was zero percent contained, though no infrastructure had been reported as damaged or destroyed. Several communities downwind of the Trout fire faced hazardous air quality.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-extreme-drought-in-new-mexico-nbsp">Extreme drought in New Mexico&nbsp;</h2>



New Mexico is facing an exceptionally severe drought in 2025 that is ranked among the worst in recent decades.&nbsp;



According to the U.S. Drought Monitor in mid-May, roughly 84 percent of the state was experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, with southern and central New Mexico hit the hardest.



This drought has the fingerprints of a warm, dry spring. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-driven-climate-change-is-to-blame-for-sharp-snowpack-declines-since-1980/">Snowpacks</a> melted early and fast across mountain basins, pushing streamflows and reservoir levels far below average.&nbsp;



For instance, the Elephant Butte Reservoir sank to just 13 percent of its capacity, while many key watersheds recorded only 25 to 50 percent of median snow water equivalent.&nbsp;



Forecasts warn that flows in southern New Mexico river systems could fall to less than 25 percent of normal through the summer



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-elevated-fire-risks-and-other-hazards-nbsp">Elevated fire risks and other hazards&nbsp;</h2>



The repercussions are widespread: from parched reservoir and stream networks to stressed agricultural and ranching sectors.&nbsp;



Farms and livestock operations now face growing water shortages, and ranchers are already being urged to ration water and reduce herd sizes.



The dry, warm conditions have also created tinderbox-like environments. This year’s drought is fueling an elevated wildfire risk with active burn restrictions and existing large fires already stressing firefighting resources.



Meteorologists warn these drought conditions are unlikely to ease before the summer monsoon arrives (typically July), so residents and local authorities are bracing for months of heightened water scarcity and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fast-wildfires-are-gaining-even-more-speed/">fire danger</a>.



The Hermits Peak–Calf Canyon Fire of 2022 remains New Mexico’s largest recorded wildfire. The devastating fire, which burned from April into late June 2022, scorched approximately 341,000 acres, destroyed over 900 structures, and ranked as the most destructive fire in the state's history.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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Fires spread in New Mexico amid extreme drought

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features active wildfires and scorched landscapes in New Mexico, where the Trout and Buck fires continue to burn across the Gila National Forest and nearby counties. “As extreme drought gripped parts of New Mexico in June 2025, firefighters battled large wildland fires in the southwestern part of the state,” noted NASA. “The two largest were the Buck and Trout fires, which, as of June 18, had together burned more than 80,000 acres since igniting...

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features Abell S1063, a massive galaxy cluster located about 4.5 billion light-years from Earth. The galaxy cluster was captured by the Webb telescope in stunning detail.



According to <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/05/Webb_glimpses_the_distant_past" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>, the image is what’s known as a deep field - a long exposure of a single area of the sky, collecting as much light as possible to draw out the most faint and distant galaxies that don’t appear in ordinary images.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-galaxies-of-the-early-universe">Galaxies of the early universe </h2>



Composed of nine separate snapshots taken at different near-infrared wavelengths over roughly 120 hours, this image represents Webb’s most detailed and deepest view of a single target so far.&nbsp;



Thanks to the gravitational lensing effect of Abell S1063, astronomers can peer deeper into the past than ever before - possibly viewing some of the universe’s very <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-galaxies-formed-from-the-earliest-elements-in-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first galaxies</a>.



“The eye is first drawn, in this new NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month, to the central mega-monster that is galaxy cluster Abell S1063. This behemoth collection of galaxies, lying 4.5 billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Grus (the Crane), dominates the scene,” noted ESA.



“Looking more closely, this dense collection of heavy galaxies is surrounded by glowing streaks of light, and these warped arcs are the true object of scientists’ interest: faint galaxies from the universe’s distant past.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-a-galaxy-cluster">What is a galaxy cluster?</h2>



Galaxy clusters are the largest known gravitationally bound systems and include not just galaxies, but also vast amounts of hot, X-ray-emitting gas and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-true-nature-of-dark-matter-may-be-revealed-in-a-supernova/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark matter</a>.&nbsp;



The galaxies within a cluster move through this hot intracluster medium, and their interactions can lead to phenomena like galaxy mergers or the stripping of gas from galaxies.&nbsp;



Galaxy clusters are important for studying the large-scale structure of the universe, the behavior of dark matter, and the evolution of galaxies over cosmic time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hundreds-of-galaxies-bound-together-nbsp">Hundreds of galaxies bound together&nbsp;</h2>



As one of the most densely populated clusters known, Abell S1063 contains hundreds of galaxies bound together by gravity.&nbsp;



Its immense mass makes it an excellent example of a gravitational lens - a cosmic phenomenon where the cluster’s gravity bends and magnifies the light from galaxies far behind it.&nbsp;



This effect allows astronomers to observe incredibly faint and distant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-way-like-galaxies-were-present-in-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> that would otherwise be beyond our detection limits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-galaxy-evolution">Studying galaxy evolution</h2>



The cluster has been the focus of several major observational campaigns. It was prominently featured in the Hubble Space Telescope’s Frontier Fields program, which used its gravitational lensing power to study the early universe.&nbsp;



“The new imagery from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) takes this quest even further back in time,” said ESA.



“This image showcases an incredible forest of lensing arcs around Abell S1063, which reveal distorted background galaxies at a range of cosmic distances, along with a multitude of faint galaxies and previously unseen features.”



These observations are helping scientists probe the Cosmic Dawn era - the period shortly after the Big Bang.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-the-cosmic-dawn-nbsp">Exploring the Cosmic Dawn&nbsp;</h2>



The Cosmic Dawn refers to a time in the history of the universe when the first stars and galaxies began to form and shine. This pivotal era occurred roughly between 100 million and 1 billion years after the Big Bang.&nbsp;



During the Dark Ages, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fastest-feeding-black-hole-found-in-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">universe</a> had cooled enough for neutral hydrogen to form, but no luminous objects yet existed to light it up.&nbsp;



The birth of the first stars - often massive and short-lived - marked the beginning of the Cosmic Dawn. These stars emitted intense ultraviolet radiation, which gradually ionized the surrounding hydrogen gas in a process known as reionization.&nbsp;



This transformed the universe from a cold, opaque environment into one that was transparent to light, enabling the large-scale structure of the cosmos to take shape.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-constellation-grus">The constellation Grus</h2>



Grus is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/super-jupiter-discovered-in-the-great-bear-constellation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">constellation</a> in the southern sky, its name derived from the Latin word for "crane," a type of large, graceful bird.&nbsp;



It was introduced in the late 16th century by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, during an era of celestial charting tied to European exploration of the southern hemisphere.&nbsp;



Grus is part of a group of constellations known as the "Southern Birds," which also includes Phoenix, Tucana, and Pavo.



This constellation lies near the celestial south pole and is best seen from the Southern Hemisphere during the months of August through October.&nbsp;



Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA &amp; CSA, H. Atek, M. Zamani



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Hundreds of galaxies illuminate the early universe 

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency...

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> shows a glacial lake in the Himalayas that has nearly doubled in size over the last 30 years.

As mountain glaciers melt, lakes form and expand over time. This particular lake lies at the foot of the Kokthang Glacier, which is located on the south side of the world’s third tallest mountain - the Kanchenjunga Massif.

According to Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College, the lake grew from 2,600 feet in length in 1988 to 5,200 feet by 2017.


“This lake growth is not unusual at all in recent decades in the area,” said Pelto. “Just in that little tiny region, there have been a dozens of new lakes filling formerly glacier filled valleys and fed from melting glaciers.”

The false-color image was captured in November of 2018 by Landsat 8.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

&nbsp;

Glacial lakes continue to expand

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory shows...

Wildfires are burning in 18 Mexican states Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> shows a large wildfire burning in a forest located west of Cienega de Escobar in Durango, Mexico.

The photo was captured on April 17, 2019 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite two days after it was detected. 

According to news reports, the fire is one of 95 wildfires burning in 18 Mexican states. Wildfires are burning in 18 Mexican states.

Mexico (Spanish: México [ˈmexiko] (listen); Nahuatl languages: Mēxihco), officially the United Mexican States (UMS; Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos, EUM [esˈtaðos uˈniðoz mexiˈkanos] (listen), lit. Mexican United States), is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico.

Covering almost 2,000,000 square kilometers (770,000 sq mi), the nation is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent state in the world. With an estimated population of over 129 million people, Mexico is the tenth most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world, while being the second most populous nation in Latin America after Brazil. Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states plus Mexico City (CDMX), which is the capital city and its most populous city. Other metropolises in the country include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, and León. Wildfires are burning in 18 Mexican states and causing a horrible disaster.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Wildfires are burning in 18 Mexican states

Wildfires are burning in 18 Mexican states Today's Image of...

iss059e019955

Today’s Image of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> features a spectacular view of the moon in its first quarter phase positioned at the edge of the Earth’s horizon.

The photograph was captured on April 11, 2019 by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station as it passed 255 miles above the Pacific Ocean just south of Hawaii. The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits Earth as its only natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System, and by far[13] the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits (its primary). The Moon is, after Jupiter's satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are known.
The Moon is thought to have formed about 4.51 billion years ago, not long after Earth. The most widely accepted explanation is that the Moon formed from the debris left over after a giant impact between Earth and a hypothetical Mars-sized body called Theia. New research of Moon rocks, although not rejecting the Theia hypothesis, suggests that the Moon may be older than previously thought.
The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, and thus always shows the same side to Earth, the near side. Because of libration, slightly more than half (about 59%) of the total lunar surface can be viewed from Earth. The near side is marked by dark volcanic maria that fill the spaces between the bright ancient crustal highlands and the prominent impact craters. After the Sun, the Moon is the second-brightest regularly visible celestial object in Earth's sky.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA

&nbsp;

The moon hovers at the edge of the Earth's horizon

Today’s Image of the Day from NASA features a spectacular...

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features a “bomb cyclone” that struck the upper midwestern United States in April.

The storm hit several states with more than 12 inches of snow, and wind gusts that were in excess of 50 miles per hour. 

According to news reports, whiteout conditions caused tens of thousands of homes to lose power and grounded hundreds of flights.

With more than 24 inches of snow falling across much of the state, South Dakota was one of the hardest hit.

This image was captured on April 13, 2019 by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Bomb cyclone strikes the Upper Midwest

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features...

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> shows Alaska, where temperatures were unusually hot in March of 2019.

According to the Alaska Climate Research Center, March began with an unsettled weather pattern that brought warm, wet storms to the state. By halfway through the month, a high-pressure ridge developed with clear skies and very warm temperatures. Unusually warm weather in Alaska

The event was just part of a warming trend that has been ongoing across the region in recent years. 

This image was captured on March 30, 2019 with MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite.

Alaska  Inupiaq: Alaasikaq; Alutiiq: Alas'kaaq; Tlingit: Anáaski; Russian: Аляска, romanized: Alyaska) is a U.S. state in the northwest extremity of the United States West Coast, just across the Bering Strait from Asia. The Canadian province of British Columbia and territory of Yukon border the state to the east and southeast. Its most extreme western part is Attu Island, and it has a maritime border with Russia (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) to the west across the Bering Strait. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas—southern parts of the Arctic Ocean. The Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. It is the largest U.S. state by area and the seventh largest subnational division in the world. In addition, it is the 3rd least populous and the most sparsely populated of the 50 United States; nevertheless, it is by far the most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel in North America: its population—estimated at 738,432 by the United States Census Bureau in 2015—is more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. Approximately half of Alaska's residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska's economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, and oil industries, resources which it has in abundance. United States armed forces bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy. --

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Unusually warm weather in Alaska

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> is a mosaic of solar images that were captured by three different telescopes on April 29, 2015. Extreme ultraviolet light combined with solar X-rays

High-energy X-rays from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) are shown in blue, while low-energy X-rays from Japan's Hinode spacecraft appear in green. In addition, extreme ultraviolet light from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is yellow and red. Extreme ultraviolet light combined with solar X-rays

NuSTAR is typically used to look deeper into space to observe X-rays from supernovas and black holes, but it can also look safely at the sun and capture images of its high-energy X-rays.One of the first people to offer a scientific or philosophical explanation for the Sun was the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras. He reasoned that it was not the chariot of Helios, but instead a giant flaming ball of metal even larger than the land of the Peloponnesus and that the Moon reflected the light of the Sun.[158] For teaching this heresy, he was imprisoned by the authorities and sentenced to death, though he was later released through the intervention of Pericles. Eratosthenes estimated the distance between Earth and the Sun in the 3rd century BC as "of stadia myriads 400 and 80000", the translation of which is ambiguous, implying either 4,080,000 stadia (755,000 km) or 804,000,000 stadia (148 to 153 million kilometers or 0.99 to 1.02 AU); the latter value is correct to within a few percent. In the 1st century AD, Ptolemy estimated the distance as 1,210 times the radius of Earth, approximately 7.71 million kilometers (0.0515 AU).
The theory that the Sun is the center around which the planets orbit was first proposed by the ancient Greek Aristarchus of Samos in the 3rd century BC, and later adopted by Seleucus of Seleucia (see Heliocentrism). This view was developed in a more detailed mathematical model of a heliocentric system in the 16th century by Nicolaus Copernicus.
Observations of sunspots were recorded during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) by Chinese astronomers, who maintained records of these observations for centuries. Averroes also provided a description of sunspots in the 12th century. The invention of the telescope in the early 17th century permitted detailed observations of sunspots by Thomas Harriot, Galileo Galilei and other astronomers. Galileo posited that sunspots were on the surface of the Sun rather than small objects passing between Earth and the Sun

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA

Extreme ultraviolet light combined with solar X-rays

Today's Image of the Day from NASA is a mosaic...

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features a “superbloom” of poppies and wildflowers across Antelope Valley in Southern California. 

The poppy season in this desert region depends entirely on precipitation. After a very rainy winter season, the brilliantly colored flowers have exploded this year. 

The image was captured on April 2, 2019 by NASA Armstrong aerial photographer Jim Ross from from a T-34 airplane. There are three main deserts in California: the Mojave Desert, the Colorado Desert, and the Great Basin Desert.:408 The Mojave Desert is bounded by the Tehachapi Mountains on the northwest, the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains on the south, and extends eastward to California's borders with Arizona and Nevada; it also forms portions of northwest Arizona. The Colorado Desert lies in the southeastern corner of the state, between the Colorado River and the Transverse Ranges, and continues into Mexico and Arizona to the south and east, (as the named Sonoran Desert). The Great Basin desert lies immediately to the east of the Sierra Nevada cordillera and extends eastward into the state of Nevada.
The deserts encompass all of Imperial County, the southern and eastern portion of Inyo County, the Eastern portions of Mono County, Los Angeles County, Kern County, San Diego County, and Riverside County, and most of northern and eastern San Bernardino County. The major urban populations of western San Diego County, Orange County, the Inland Empire, and Greater Los Angeles are over the high mountains toward the Pacific Ocean. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Poppy superbloom in the California desert

Cold-based glacier is moving at an unbelievable pace Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features the Vavilov Ice Cap located in the Russian High Arctic.

This ice sheet is categorized as a cold-based glacier, which means that it is generally stable and rarely moves more than a few meters per year. However, in 2013, the outlet glacier of the Vavilov Ice Cap began sliding at an unbelievable pace.

“The fact that an apparently stable, cold-based glacier suddenly went from moving 20 meters per year to 20 meters per day was extremely unusual, perhaps unprecedented,” said University of Colorado Boulder glaciologist Michael Willis. “The numbers here are simply nuts. Before this happened, as far as I knew, cold-based glaciers simply didn’t do that...couldn’t do that.” Cold-based glacier is moving at an unbelievable pace

By 2018, the glacier’s ice shelf had more than doubled and the ice had substantially thinned on land, particularly around the edges.

“This event has forced us to rethink how cold-based glaciers work,” said Willis. “It may be that they can respond more quickly to warming climate or changes at their bases than we have thought.”

 --

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer


Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Cold-based glacier is moving at an unbelievable pace

Cold-based glacier is moving at an unbelievable pace Today's Image...

Preschool can change more than just how kids learn to read. A long-term study shows that a focused preschool program can help students better handle emotional and behavioral challenges even in high school.



The REDI program, short for Research-based, Developmentally Informed, was designed to improve social-emotional skills and language abilities in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/todays-children-will-face-more-climate-extremes-than-ever-before/">children</a> from low-income families. This intervention has now shown benefits that span over a decade.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preschool-program-taught-emotions">Preschool program taught emotions</h2>



REDI was integrated into 22 Head Start classrooms across three counties in Pennsylvania. Teachers received weekly support and training.



The curriculum was based on Preschool PATHS, which targeted emotion understanding, impulse control, and social interaction.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/children-have-the-brainpower-to-navigate-maps-at-a-very-young-age/">Lessons</a> were reinforced through interactive reading, sound games, and print activities. Parents also got handouts and DVDs to continue the learning at home.



“We wanted to work with Head Start and look at whether there were ways to strengthen the programming by incorporating more up-to-date research on what we knew about social-emotional development,” said Karen Bierman, the lead researcher from <a href="https://www.psu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Pennsylvania State University</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preschool-kids-behaved-better">Preschool kids behaved better</h2>



In preschool, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mobile-addiction-harms-kids-mental-health-more-than-screen-time/">children</a> who received REDI showed higher emotion knowledge and social competence. These early gains prepared them to navigate relationships and school challenges more effectively in later years.



Teachers noted better cooperation and emotional regulation by the time students reached elementary school.



REDI students showed fewer behavior problems in high school with an effect size of 0.27 and fewer emotional symptoms with an effect size of 0.41, based on teacher, parent, and self-reports. These effects appeared more than ten years after the intervention ended.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-lasting-emotional-skills">Building lasting emotional skills</h2>



Academic skills acquired in preschool often fade if not supported. But social-emotional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-heat-is-now-the-reality-for-nearly-half-a-billion-children/">skills</a> can persist. They help children form strong relationships, manage feelings, and stay focused. This improves school experiences year after year.



“The preschool intervention had built a protective capacity for kids to better manage the social pressures and emotional demands of adolescence,” Bierman said.



The REDI study followed participants from age 4 to 18. It showed how early emotional learning helped children stay steady through the transitions of school and adolescence.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emotional-gains-linked-to-school-success">Emotional gains linked to school success</h2>



The preschool program did not directly raise grades or on-time graduation rates. But it helped in indirect ways. Students with better emotional control did well in school and graduated on time. These gains began with behavior and adjustment in grade school.



The study revealed six clear paths that linked REDI to better GPA and another six to graduation on time. These involved improvements in emotion knowledge, social competence, parent involvement, and behavior management.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-role-of-parents-and-teachers">Role of parents and teachers</h2>



Parent involvement played a central role. One major path to fewer emotional symptoms in teens began with parents engaging more with school. REDI supported this through weekly take-home tools and DVDs for families.



Teachers observed that REDI children adjusted better and built stronger classroom relationships. These qualities helped them avoid negative peer influence and handle stress throughout school.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preschool-programs-after-the-pandemic">Preschool programs after the pandemic</h2>



After the pandemic, many children face wider gaps in education and emotional well-being. Programs like REDI offer a model for support that starts early and continues to matter later. The program cost only $191 per child, making it a cost-effective approach.



These results suggest that early efforts in emotional development have lasting impact. They shape school behavior and support success in life.



“Our findings suggest that when you boost early social-emotional skills, the big payoff is going to be sustained improvements in social-emotional and behavioral adjustment,” said Bierman.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-follows-kids-into-adulthood">Study follows kids into adulthood</h2>



Researchers continue to follow students from the preschool program into their twenties. They are studying how early learning affects college, work, and personal life. 



The goal is to see how the preschool program shapes success in adulthood. Many families have remained in the study for over 14 years. 



"They’ve been really willing to hang in there with us,” said Bierman. The commitment of these families could help build stronger programs for future generations.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.14235" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Child Development</a>.



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Early preschool program helps teens behave better in high school

Preschool can change more than just how kids learn to...

For years, thin plastic bags have been one of the most visible symbols of pollution - blowing through streets, choking marine wildlife, and breaking down into microplastics that contaminate ecosystems.



Now, a new study led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware</a> and <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a> offers the clearest evidence yet that bag bans and fees do make a difference.



By analyzing data from tens of thousands of beach cleanups across the United States, the researchers found that jurisdictions with plastic bag laws saw a significant drop - between 25% and 47% - in plastic bags as a share of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-bag-bans-have-drastically-reduced-ocean-pollution/">shoreline litter</a>.



The study is the first large-scale analysis to connect local policy with direct environmental outcomes, rather than relying on consumer checkout data alone.



“A lot of the previous economics literature on plastic bag policies has used checkout data at the store level,” said lead author Anna Papp, an environmental economist at Columbia. “We were excited to add to that a direct measurement of plastic litter on these shorelines.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-volunteers-help-map-plastic-waste">Volunteers help map plastic waste</h2>



The idea for the study began when co-author Kimberly Oremus, a marine policy expert at the University of Delaware, noticed that volunteers at Delaware beach cleanups were using an app called Clean Swell to track the litter they picked up.



The app feeds into the <a href="https://www.coastalcleanupdata.org/about">Ocean Conservancy’s TIDES database</a>, which collects crowdsourced data from thousands of cleanups around the world.



“When we found the database that had information on different shoreline cleanups, we realized we could look at the composition of litter before and after a policy to see what effect it had,” Oremus said. “And then we could compare that to places that never got a plastic bag policy.”



With no federal ban on plastic bags in the United States, the researchers had a rich dataset of hundreds of local and state-level laws to compare. 



Between 2007 and 2023, they compiled over 600 distinct policies, allowing them to assess a wide range of regulations and their impacts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bans-and-fees-differ-greatly">Bans and fees differ greatly</h2>



While it might seem obvious that banning or taxing plastic bags would reduce litter, the magnitude of the effect surprised the team.



“There are so many pathways a bag can take from the checkout line at the store,” Oremus said. “It’s great to see a policy that works in such a clearly measurable way.”



Interestingly, the research also showed that some types of policies work better than others. State-level laws tended to have a stronger impact than city or county ordinances, and fees - perhaps counterintuitively - were more effective at reducing litter than outright bans.



Papp noted that this could be because fees encourage people to bring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/large-retailers-are-replacing-plastic-bags-with-eco-friendly-paper-bags/">reusable bags</a>, while bans may be more easily circumvented with loopholes or substitutions.



The researchers also observed that the policies had the biggest impact in areas that started with higher levels of plastic bag pollution, suggesting that public buy-in and visible local problems may help drive compliance and effectiveness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plastic-decline-slows-not-stops">Plastic decline slows, not stops</h2>



Despite the success of bag policies in reducing local litter, the overall share of plastic bags among shoreline trash is still increasing - just not as quickly in areas with bans or fees.



“We’re still getting more plastic bags on shorelines as a percentage of all the cleanup items over time,” noted Oremus. “It’s not eliminating the problem, it’s just making it grow more slowly.”



This sobering trend highlights the limitations of local policies when facing a global problem. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-production-increases-create-identical-plastic-pollution-increase/">Plastic production</a> and consumption continue to rise, and single-use items remain deeply embedded in supply chains and consumer habits.



“Ours is the first large-scale study to use hundreds of policies and tens of thousands of cleanups to look at their effects,” Papp said. “But it is important to keep in mind that this is a relative decrease in affected areas compared to areas without policies.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bags-are-just-the-start">Bags are just the start</h2>



With the <a href="https://www.unep.org/">United Nations Environment Program</a> preparing for its next round of negotiations on an international <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-treaty-is-a-historic-opportunity-to-stop-a-human-health-crisis/">plastic treaty</a> in August 2025, the study offers timely evidence that policy can make a tangible difference.



“Overall, our findings do show that plastic bag policies are broadly effective in limiting litter along shorelines,” Papp said. Yet, plastic bags remain just one piece of the puzzle.



The researchers hope their work will help policymakers think beyond local or single-product solutions and push for more comprehensive strategies. 



Plastic bag <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmental-policies-like-plastic-bag-bans-can-often-backfire/">bans</a> aren’t a silver bullet, but they’re one of the tools that clearly work - and that gives scientists something to build on.



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Plastic bag bans help - but aren't enough to stop pollution

For years, thin plastic bags have been one of the...

Viruses have no life of their own. They survive only by entering living cells and stealing what they need. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is no different. 



Known mostly for causing cold sores, this virus is silent in most people. But inside of our cells, the herpes virus does something extraordinary to DNA.



A new study published in the journal Nature Communications shows that HSV-1 does more than hijack the host’s machinery. It reshapes the 3D layout of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-entire-human-genome-is-stored-on-this-disk-could-aliens-build-a-human-with-this-data-if-they-found-it/">human genome</a>. This gives the virus access to specific human genes useful for its own replication.



“HSV-1 is an opportunistic interior designer, reshaping the human genome with great precision and choosing which bits it comes into contact with,” explained Dr. Esther González Almela.



This reshaping is not a side effect; it is intentional. The virus rewires DNA contacts within hours of infection. These changes let HSV-1 build the perfect space to multiply.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-herpes-virus-controls-dna">How the herpes virus controls DNA</h2>



Within one hour of entering the cell, HSV-1 hijacks the host’s RNA polymerase II (RNAP II). This enzyme normally makes RNA from human DNA. The virus redirects it to copy its own genes.



Topoisomerase I (TOP1), which snips DNA to relieve strain, joins the viral effort. Cohesin, which helps fold DNA, also moves toward the viral genome. Together, these enzymes help HSV-1 build viral replication compartments (VRCs).



In these compartments, human transcription slows dramatically. RNAP II and TOP1 abandon host DNA. As a result, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gene-regulation-controlling-cells-to-improve-medical-treatments/">chromatin</a> - the tightly packed form of DNA - collapses into a shell just 30% of its normal volume.



VRCs grow quickly. Host DNA is pushed to the edges of the nucleus. Human gene activity plummets. Viral RNA floods the cell within a few hours.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-turns-in-genome-folding">Surprising turns in genome folding</h2>



Cohesin partially joins the virus party and forms short loops near <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/preparing-for-the-next-pandemic-lessons-about-viral-transmission/">viral</a> DNA. But much of its usual function is lost. Some host DNA loops vanish, while others stay intact. The virus rewires specific loops to boost genes it benefits from.



Despite this damage, parts of the human genome resist. A/B compartments - large regions of active or inactive DNA - stay largely intact. This shows that chromatin can keep its broad structure, even under viral attack.



Another twist: HSV-1 does not rely on altering chemical markers like H3K27me3 or H3K9me3. It leaves these epigenetic marks unchanged. Instead, it changes the physical shape and positioning of DNA.



“We always thought dense chromatin shut genes down but here we see the opposite: stop enough transcription first and the DNA compacts afterwards. The relationship between activity and structure might be a two-way street,” noted Dr. Álvaro Castells García from <a href="http://portal.smu.edu.cn/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southern Medical University</a> in Guangzhou, China.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-enzyme-blocks-the-virus">One enzyme blocks the virus</h2>



The researchers found a key weakness in the viral plan. Blocking just one host enzyme, TOP1, completely halted HSV-1’s genome reshaping. Without this enzyme, VRCs failed to form. The virus could not make a single new particle.



“In cell culture, inhibiting this enzyme stopped the infection before the virus could make a single new particle,” noted Professor Pia Cosma.



TOP1 is now a potential target for new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/computer-model-can-identify-tumor-fighting-immune-cells/">therapies</a>. Since nearly two-thirds of people under 50 carry HSV-1, a treatment like this could have a huge impact.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-herpes-virus-rewires-dna">The herpes virus rewires DNA</h2>



The researchers used advanced tools to uncover HSV-1’s tactics. Super-resolution microscopy let them see features just 20 nanometers wide. Hi-C showed which parts of DNA were in contact.



The virus genome tends to associate with active, gene-rich regions in human DNA. These contacts likely help the virus turn on the genes it needs.



Throughout infection, HSV-1 genome clusters remain stable in size. RNAP II binds closely to them. Cohesin binds loosely. This balance supports ongoing replication.



The findings show that HSV-1 does not just invade. It rewires and reorganizes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-cells-communicate-with-each-other-through-rna/">human cells</a> with precision. Right now, there is no cure for HSV-1. People can treat symptoms, but the virus stays in the body for life. This study shows a new way to fight it.



If we stop the virus from reshaping human DNA early in the infection, we might stop it from spreading which could lead to new treatments.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60534-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Herpes virus reshapes human DNA within one hour of infection

Viruses have no life of their own. They survive only...

People who live in the Rocky Mountains and across the high deserts of the West often think the water gushing from roadside springs started its journey only months earlier in the snowfields above. 



Fresh data say otherwise, showing that a big share of the clear, cold flow first seeped into the ground more than a decade ago.



Paul Brooks and colleagues at the <a href="https://www.utah.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Utah</a> traced that hidden journey using <a href="https://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclide-basics-tritium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tritium</a>, a rare form of hydrogen whose slow radioactive decay works like a stopwatch for groundwater. 



Their sampling campaign covered 42 headwater catchments from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_Range" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Front Range of Colorado</a> to the Sierra Nevada, providing the tightest age map yet for water emerging during both mid‑winter base flow and the dramatic pulse of spring melt.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-the-groundwater-clock">Tracing the groundwater clock</h2>



Tritium has a <a href="https://www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/eng/resources/fact-sheets/tritium/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">half‑life</a> of about 12.3 years, so every atom lost helps scientists calculate how long water has been out of touch with the atmosphere. 



By counting those atoms, the team found that the typical snowflake spends 5.7 years underground before re‑appearing in a creek, and in some sandy basins the delay stretches past 15 years.



“This means most of the runoff we see each April is actually old <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-giant-underground-sponge-capable-of-supplying-water-to-rivers-and-cities/">water</a>,” said Brooks. 



That surprise upends long‑standing water‑supply models that assumed only a thin soil layer stored snowmelt before it slipped downslope.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mountains-hiding-a-giant-reserve">Mountains hiding a giant reserve</h2>



Hydrologists once pictured mountain bedrock as a tight lid, yet the new isotope evidence says otherwise. 



Sedimentary and clastic layers act like vast sponges, holding volumes of water equal to eight times a year’s worth of precipitation, while hard granite or shale offers barely one‑third of that capacity.



Because the slower, thicker reservoirs damp swings in wet and dry years, they also mask early signals of drought. <a href="https://profiles.faculty.utah.edu/u1322101" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sara Warix</a>, a co‑author on the project, warned that “inputs to our systems are changing,” and managers who ignore subsurface stores risk big forecasting errors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geology-and-groundwater-connection">Geology and groundwater connection</h2>



In porous formations, older groundwater mixes smoothly with fresh snowmelt, yielding streams that keep flowing long after anemic winters. 



<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11041790/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hard‑rock catchments</a>, by contrast, shed water quickly, making them more vulnerable to multi‑year dry spells and stressing forests that rely on deep moisture during late‑summer heat waves.



The age gap shows up in chemistry as well: deeper flow paths leach minerals, giving creeks a distinct signature that simple rain‑runoff formulas miss. 



That chemical flag has already helped ecologists explain why some alpine trees survive back‑to‑back droughts while others wilt.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-western-water-forecasts">Rethinking western water forecasts</h2>



For decades, agencies leaned on the <a href="https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/reports/UpdateReport.html;jsessionid=zTUDPbIC6bodX5Zeo2iqL0lpgGfZh1fEMfD6jHAq.nrcsprd0382?report=Oregon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SNOTEL snowpack network</a> to predict reservoir inflows. 



When those gauges lost skill after 2000, modelers blamed warmer air and shifting storms, but Brooks’s isotope record points to an overlooked culprit - multi‑year groundwater storage that smears the link between today’s snow and next summer’s streams 



By adding a twice‑yearly tritium test, once in deep winter and again at peak melt, managers could watch subsurface stores refill or drain in near real time. 



Such early warnings would have flagged 2022, a year when average mountain snow hid record‑low groundwater and produced shockingly weak runoff.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



Urban water utilities that rely on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alaskas-groundwater-releases-a-huge-amount-of-carbon-into-the-ocean/">surface runoff</a> need to revisit how they plan for storage and drought response. 



With a large share of streamflow made up of years-old groundwater, short-term snowpack levels alone don’t predict what will flow into treatment plants and reservoirs.



Agricultural users may also need to adjust irrigation planning. Fields downstream from sedimentary basins might keep receiving steady water even during light winters, while farms near hard rock zones could face sharp shortages unless deeper reserves are considered.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-living-with-a-time-shifted-tap">Living with a time‑shifted tap</h2>



The discovery does not mean less water is available, but it does change when that water shows up. Communities that bank on quick melt pulses might need to rethink reservoir rules to account for the slower, older flow that will keep coming even after a lean snow season.



It also suggests that restoring beaver ponds or protecting meadow wetlands could lengthen underground residence times further, adding natural “interest” to the regional water budget. 



Conversely, clear‑cut logging or high‑intensity wildfires on hard‑rock slopes may speed the clock, flushing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saltwater-intrusion-threatens-coastal-groundwater-supplies-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">precious stores</a> before they can be sequestered for dry years.



Brooks sees opportunity in the new numbers, not just warnings. “By tracking groundwater age, we can cut forecast uncertainty in half months before the first shoots of grass appear,” he said.



Western water law, rooted in 19th‑century concepts of surface flow, rarely accounts for decades‑old groundwater that still fuels rivers. 



Updating those statutes will be contentious, yet the isotope record now makes the invisible reservoir impossible to ignore.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02303-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Communications Earth &amp; Environment</a>.



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Water flowing from springs and rivers is much older than believed

People who live in the Rocky Mountains and across the...

Cancer doesn’t just attack the body - it can erode joy, purpose, and the will to keep going. But a new study offers a powerful glimmer of hope.



Researchers have found that a one-time 25‑milligram capsule of psilocybin, when paired with <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/types-of-talking-therapies/">talk therapy</a>, can significantly ease the emotional burden that often accompanies cancer.



This finding comes from a <a href="https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.35889">phase 2</a> study led by Dr. Manish Agrawal of <a href="https://www.sunstonetherapies.com/">Sunstone Therapies</a>, which indicates the benefits may last for years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-depression-needs-better-treatment">Cancer depression needs better treatment</h2>



Roughly one in four U.S. adults with cancer meets the criteria for clinical depression. That rate is several times higher than what's seen in the general public, according to a 2024 <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11000226/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meta‑analysis</a> of 24 studies.



Depression amplifies pain, erodes treatment adherence, and shortens survival; tackling it is therefore as critical as shrinking tumors.



<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559078/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Major depressive disorder</a>, or MDD, is diagnosed when low mood, loss of pleasure, sleep disruption, and other symptoms persist most days for at least two weeks and cause clear <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/walking-each-day-at-any-speed-lowers-the-risk-of-cancer/">distress</a>. 



Standard antidepressants can take six weeks to work, interact with chemotherapy, and help only about one‑third of patients.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psilocybin-eased-cancer-depression">Psilocybin eased cancer depression </h2>



The new trial enrolled 28 adults who had both cancer and major depressive disorder (MDD). Each participant completed several preparatory therapy sessions before receiving a single 25-milligram psilocybin capsule in a closely monitored room.



Interviewers who were blind to baseline scores found that 15 participants - 53.6 percent - still showed a clinically meaningful reduction in depression two years later. Half of all participants had achieved full remission by that time.



“One dose of psilocybin with psychological support to treat depression has a long‑term positive impact on relieving depression for as much as 2 years for a substantial portion of patients,” said Agrawal at the end of the follow‑up visit. 



Anxiety also eased for 12 people, or 42.9 percent, suggesting overlapping benefits for cancer‑related worry.



Animal imaging <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7830000/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> hints that the psychedelic increases synaptic‑vesicle protein 2A, a proxy for new neural connections, within hours. 



The drug activates the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1853/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">serotonin 5‑HT2A receptor</a>, temporarily loosening rigid thought loops and allowing therapy to reshape outlook.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-giving-cancer-patients-peace-and-clarity">Giving cancer patients peace and clarity</h2>



Participants often described their psilocybin sessions as emotionally intense, but many said it helped them reframe their diagnosis and feel more connected to loved ones and life itself. 



Some reported a sense of peace or release that persisted long after the psychedelic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-is-the-next-frontier-in-cancer-treatment/">effects</a> wore off.



These effects weren’t just passive. Guided therapy helped patients process their experience and integrate insights into daily life. 



Researchers emphasize that the medicine and the therapeutic environment work together to produce change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-path-for-emotional-care">A new path for emotional care</h2>



Many clinicians are cautiously optimistic. Some oncologists say it could transform end-of-life mental health care without adding a new daily medication.



Therapists report that the emotional clarity some patients experience can accelerate grief processing, spiritual reflection, and personal growth. These areas are often underserved in traditional cancer treatment plans.



A 2024 systematic <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00048674241289024" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> of 25 trials found that serious adverse events were rare when psilocybin was given with trained guides and preparatory counseling. 



Participants lay on a couch with eyeshades and music, supported by two therapists - an approach now considered best practice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-bigger-research-picture">The bigger research picture</h2>



“The most interesting finding is that a single dose of psilocybin, which lasts four to six hours, produced enduring decreases in depression and anxiety symptoms,” said Dr. Roland Griffiths, professor of behavioral biology at Johns Hopkins.



Back in 2016 Johns Hopkins scientists <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0269881116675513" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> that about 80 percent of 51 cancer patients kept mood gains six months after a single dose.&nbsp;



A 2023 umbrella <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10811389/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> covering 23 clinical studies concluded that psilocybin consistently outperformed placebo for depressive symptoms with few side effects. 



Together these data sets are shifting expert opinion on how aggressively psychedelic‑assisted therapy should be pursued for hard‑to‑treat mood disorders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-psilocybin-different">What makes psilocybin different</h2>



Unlike daily antidepressants, psilocybin works in a single session and doesn’t require long-term use or ongoing dose adjustments. 



That appeals to many patients already managing complex cancer regimens with multiple medications.



Its effects also seem to emerge quickly. In earlier studies, mood improvement began within one day of dosing, far faster than typical selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/medicines-and-psychiatry/ssri-antidepressants/overview/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SSRIs</a>), which can take weeks to build up in the body.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ongoing-psilocybin-and-cancer-trials">Ongoing psilocybin and cancer trials </h2>



Agrawal’s team is now running a double-blind study testing up to two active doses versus placebo to improve remission rates.



Separately, the <a href="https://med.uth.edu/psychiatry/2024/06/03/fda-grants-breakthrough-therapy-designation-to-cyb003-a-deuterated-psilocybin-analog-being-investigated-as-an-adjunctive-treatment-for-major-depressive-disorder-mdd/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Food and Drug Administration</a> granted Breakthrough Therapy status in 2024 to CYB003, a deuterated psilocybin analogue, accelerating regulatory review for major depression.



If positive findings continue, cancer centers may eventually offer a brief psilocybin session instead of months of pills, saving both time and side‑effect burden. 



Insurance coverage and legal scheduling remain major hurdles. Still, advocates argue that with proper screening, skilled guides, and careful follow-up, the treatment may usher in a new era of mental health care for people facing life-threatening illness.



The study is <a href="https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.35889">published</a> in the journal Cancer.



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Single psilocybin dose helps cancer patients beat depression

Cancer doesn’t just attack the body - it can erode...

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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" 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.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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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