For many, the idea of biting into a sour lemon brings about a strong urge to rid oneself of the overwhelming tartness of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/taste-buds-wired-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sour</a> flavors. However, recent research reveals a fascinating twist in taste preferences among adults: approximately 12% actually revel in these intense sour sensations.



The study, conducted by researchers at <a href="https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/?cid=CPC39866&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw88yxBhBWEiwA7cm6pSYRIMr0bd1ruy2w1icHuOymsFT79la4b7YsJa8RYleKr0ZKHExBpRoCHo0QAvD_BwE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Penn State</a> in collaboration with Italian scientists, marks a significant advancement in understanding the complexity of taste. The research has shed new light on adult taste preferences, challenging the prevailing notion that sour flavors are universally disliked.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unraveling-the-sour-puzzle">Unraveling the sour puzzle</h2>



Historically, it has been understood that children may have a fondness for intense sour flavors - a preference evident in about one-third of the young population. Yet, until now, the persistence of this preference into adulthood had not been directly examined. 



"This is the first time it's been convincingly shown that there is a segment of adults who likes strongly sour things," explained Professor John Hayes, director of the Sensory Evaluation Center at Penn State.



The researchers embarked on an international exploration to debunk the myth that adults grow out of their sour inclinations. 



By analyzing the responses of adult participants from two distinct cultural backgrounds - the United States and Italy - they were able to observe how sourness was perceived across different demographics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preferences-for-sour-flavors">Preferences for sour flavors </h2>



The study meticulously gauged the reactions of 143 American adults and 350 Italian adults to varying degrees of sourness in beverages - citric acid in water and pear juice spiked with citric acid, respectively. 



Participants, predominantly white and of similar age and gender demographics, were recruited from a metropolitan area in Tuscany and from State College, Pennsylvania. The individuals were asked to rate the intensity of sourness and their liking of them. 



The findings were revealing: the majority exhibited a strong dislike for increased sourness, but a notable minority of about 11 to 12 percent showed an increase in liking as the sour flavors intensified.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cultural-consistency-in-sour-flavor-preferences">Cultural consistency in sour flavor preferences</h2>



"Italian <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saliva-influence-foods-eat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">food</a> culture and American food culture are so wildly different. And yet we end up with almost identical percentages, which suggests to us this is not an effect of prior exposure. It's probably something innately different about those people," noted Sara Spinelli, a researcher from the University of Florence and first author on the paper.



This uniformity across cultures underscores the existence of a "sour liker" demographic that transcends cultural boundaries, particularly in their preference for sour flavors. 



The discovery of this consistent taste preference segment opens new avenues for food manufacturers to cater to this unique group. 



Professor Hayes suggests that recognizing these differences can lead to the development of tailored <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-products-need-environmental-impact-labels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">food products</a> that might encourage healthier eating habits, particularly in alternatives that are less sweet yet still palatable to the sour-enjoying populace.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-embracing-the-diversity-of-taste">Embracing the diversity of taste</h2>



The study not only illuminates the persistence of sour flavor enjoyment into adulthood but also highlights the importance of considering individual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-have-trained-an-ai-algorithm-to-taste-wine/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">taste</a> preferences in food science and product development. 



"This could ultimately serve to promote the consumption of healthier foods and beverages that are lower in sweetness but still acceptable to consumers," said Professor Hayes.



The research underscores the diversity of our palates, particularly in flavor preferences. It serves as a reminder that appreciating this diversity can lead to enhanced consumer satisfaction and healthier <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mindfulness-improves-health-by-helping-people-make-smart-dietary-choices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dietary choices</a>. 



Understanding the varied responses to sour flavors across different cultures highlights the potential for more tailored food products that cater to specific taste profiles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-foods-with-sour-flavors">Foods with sour flavors</h2>



Foods with sour flavors are quite diverse and often highly appreciated for their vibrant, tangy qualities. Sourness in foods can come from various sources like citrus fruits including lemons, limes, and oranges, which are naturally rich in citric acid. 



Vinegar, used in dressings and marinades, also imparts a sharp sour taste due to acetic acid. Fermented products like yogurt, sour cream, and kefir have a distinctive tang due to lactic acid produced during fermentation. 



Additionally, pickled vegetables, sauerkraut, and kimchi offer a unique sour flavor from the fermentation process. Tamarind, a popular ingredient in Asian and Latin American cuisines, provides a deep, puckering sourness to dishes. These ingredients not only enhance the taste of food but also can contribute to the complexity of a dish’s flavor profile, often balancing sweetness and spice.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0950329324000545?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Food Quality and Preference</a>.



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A surprising amount of adults like intensely sour flavors

For many, the idea of biting into a sour lemon brings about a strong urge to rid oneself of the overwhelming tartness of sour flavors. However, recent research reveals a fascinating twist in taste preferences among adults: approximately 12% actually revel in these intense sour sensations. The study, conducted by researchers at Penn State in collaboration with Italian scientists, marks a significant advancement in understanding the complexity of taste. The research has shed new light on adult taste preferences, challenging the prevailing notion that sour flavors are...

A new mice study from the <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/charles-perkins-centre/">University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre</a>, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/home">Cell Reports</a>, has discovered that low-protein high-carbohydrate diets promote longevity, healthy brain aging, and improvement of memory and learning skills.

Lead author and PhD candidate Devin Wahl said, "There are currently no effective pharmaceutical treatments for dementia — we can slow these diseases, but we can't stop them — so it's exciting that we are starting to identify diets that are impacting how the brain ages.”

To come to their conclusion, Wahl and his team fed mice complex carbohydrates derived from starch, and casein protein, found in cheese and milk. They then studied the mice’s hippocampus, the area of the brain that controls <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/stress-affecting-memory/">memory</a> and learning.

Senior author David Le Couteur, Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Sydney, said, "The hippocampus is usually the first part of the brain to deteriorate with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. However, the low-protein high-carbohydrate diet appeared to promote hippocampus health and biology in the mice, on some measures to an even greater degree than those on the low-calorie diet.”

Researchers compared the positive brain health benefits of a low-protein high-carb diet to those of a calorie-restricted diet, which is not sustainable in humans. Calorie restriction has been proven to be one of the most effective treatments in improving brain health and delaying the onset of neurodegenerative disease in rodents. However, the diet proves to be difficult for humans to stick to.

“It shows a lot of promise that we have been able to replicate the same kind of gene changes in the part of the brain responsible for memory that we also see when we severely restrict calories," Wahl said regarding low-protein high-carb diets.

Perhaps by simply eating the right foods — minimal proteins derived from lean fish, soy, plants, and good carbohydrates like sweet potatoes — we can help our brains age healthily and better protect ourselves from neurodegenerative disease.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Low-protein, high-carb diets promote healthy brain aging

A new mice study from the University of Sydney’s Charles...

For the millions of children who have peanut allergies, a new technique could literally be a life-saver. Researchers have demonstrated that it is possible for some people with a peanut allergy to build up a tolerance to protect themselves from a fatal allergic reaction.

The study was focused on 551 individuals between 4 and 55 years old, while the majority were <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/good-nutrition-stress-damage/">children</a> between the ages of 4 and 17. 

As a control, 25 percent of the participants were given a placebo. The remaining patients were given small amounts of peanut protein powder. The doses started out at just half a milligram a day and gradually increased to 300 milligrams, which is the equivalent of eating one peanut per day.

After a year of treatment, two-thirds of participants who consumed the powder were able to tolerate the equivalent of two peanuts per day. Furthermore, 50 percent of those exposed to the powder were able to tolerate the equivalent of four peanuts per day. 

Among those in the control group, however,  only 4 percent were able to consume the equivalent of two peanuts without an allergic reaction. 

Study co-author Dr. Jay Lieberman is the vice chair of the <a href="https://acaai.org/">American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology</a> Food Allergy Committee.

“This is not a quick fix, and it doesn't mean people with peanut allergy will be able to eat peanuts whenever they want,” said Dr. Lieberman. “But it is definitely a breakthrough.”

In recent years, food allergies have dramatically increased in the United States. According to the <a href="https://www.foodallergy.org/">Food Allergy Research and Education</a> (FARE), the prevalence of nut allergies more than tripled among American children between 1997 and 2008.

Study senior author Daniel C. Adelman told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/">The New York Times</a> that the company plans to apply for FDA approval by the end of the year.

If approved, this would be the first available treatment to reduce the severity of a peanut allergy. Just as the clinical trial demonstrated, however, the treatment would not be effective for everyone.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.nejm.org/">New England Journal of Medicine</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New treatment for peanut allergies could save lives

For the millions of children who have peanut allergies, a...

Cheating partners are three times more likely to cheat again. A new study from the <a href="https://www.du.edu/">University of Denver</a> (DU) has found that partners who cheat are much more likely to cheat again in other relationships. The analysis, which was focused on hundreds of unmarried individuals, also concluded that people who get <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/factors-predict-cheating-marriage/">cheated</a> on have a higher risk of getting cheated on in the future.   

Study co-author and PhD student Kayla Knopp reviewed five years of data collected by DU research professors. The participants had reported on topics such as whether they had cheated on their current partners. 

The investigation revealed that individuals who cheated in one relationship were three times more likely to cheat on their partner in the next relationship. The study also showed that those who had been cheated on were between two and four times more likely to be cheated on again. 


“The past matters for relationships,” Knopp told DU news writer Lorne Fultonberg. “What we do at every step along the way in our romantic histories ends up influencing what comes next - whether that’s infidelity or cohabitation or a bunch of other relationship behaviors. That history tends to come with them.”

Knopp determined that men and women are equally likely to cheat or to be cheated on. She also found a complex combination of factors, such as the availability of partners, that influence the likelihood that a person will cheat. 

“Regardless of whether you are the perpetrator of the infidelity or whether your partner was, those experiences are substantially more likely to repeat themselves,” said Knopp. “However, there are lots of people who break those patterns.”

“I don't want to suggest that it’s someone’s fault that someone is cheating on them, but I think it’s important to acknowledge that we all play a role in our relationships. For people that find themselves having that experience, it may be worth taking a look at whether they could do something to prevent that from happening again.”

Knopp said that identifying risk factors may help by giving people a little more control to avoid unwanted outcomes in the future. 

“Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater? Serial Infidelity Across Subsequent Relationships” is published by <a href="https://www.springer.com/">Springer</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cheating partners are three times more likely to cheat again

Cheating partners are three times more likely to cheat again....

A new study has revealed that good nutrition in early life may prevent stress-induced changes in brain. The researchers found evidence that a nutrient-rich diet reduced the development of learning and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/stress-affecting-memory/">memory</a> issues among young mice exposed to early life stress.

In both humans and animals, adversity in early life is associated with long-lasting effects on brain function, which can lead to cognitive problems in later life. 

In addition, the time frame just after birth is critical for brain development. Nutritional deprivation during this period can have a lasting impact on brain function, such as learning ability. 

The body’s processes for stress and metabolism are closely linked, yet the potential association between stress-related cognitive problems and good nutrition has not been thoroughly investigated. 

Dr. Aniko Korosi and colleagues from the <a href="https://www.uva.nl/en/home">University of Amsterdam</a> set out to examine the effects of essential nutrients on brain function among mice exposed to early-life stress. 

To induce stress in newborn pups, the experts greatly reduced the amount of maternal care and attention that was given to them within two weeks of birth.  

The neglected mice showed several impairments by the age of four months, including higher levels of body fat, high stress hormone levels, and poor performance on learning and memory tasks. However, mice that were fed nutrients such as B vitamins and essential fatty acids for just one week performed better at the same learning and memory tasks.

“Our findings indicate that good nutrition during exposure to stress in early life could be protective of brain function, and may even help children cope better in later life,” said Dr. Korosi. “However, much more research is needed to establish whether the mouse data is transferable to humans.”

Next, Dr Korosi's team plans to investigate whether a nutrient-rich diet later in life could help to reverse the consequences of early-life stress.


“An ever growing body of research, in animals and humans, indicates that experiences in early childhood can have very long-lasting effects on our health and wellbeing in the future,” explained Dr. Korosi. “This work is a step towards understanding some of these processes and suggests that we should carefully consider the quality and consequences of our diet and lifestyle much earlier in life.”

The research was presented at the <a href="https://www.endocrinology.org/events/sfe-bes-conference/sfe-bes-2018/">Society for Endocrinology Annual Conference</a> in Glasgow.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Good nutrition may help prevent stress-induced damage in kids

A new study has revealed that good nutrition in early...

A new study by researchers at <a href="https://www.indiana.edu/">Indiana University</a> has revealed that an excessive amount of false information was spread by Twitter bots during the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/2016-election-ptsd-symptoms/">2016 U.S. presidential election</a>. These automated accounts were found to play a major role in promoting “low-credibility” content just before it went viral.

The experts analyzed 14 million messages and 400,000 articles shared on Twitter between May 2016 and March 2017. This particular time period covers the end of the 2016 presidential primaries until after the presidential inauguration in January.

Among the Twitter accounts that were identified as bots, just six percent of them were responsible for a great deal of misinformation. This small number of automated accounts triggered the spread 31 percent of the low-credibility information on the network. The same accounts were also responsible for 34 percent of all the articles shared from untrustworthy sources.

One of the biggest challenges in countering the spread of misinformation online is that the automated generation of a story occurs only 2 to 10 seconds before it goes viral.


“This study finds that bots significantly contribute to the spread of misinformation online - as well as shows how quickly these messages can spread,” said study lead author Professor Filippo Menczer.

The researchers also discovered that bots increase the visibility of a message, making it much more likely to be shared on a large scale. 


Study co-author Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia explained, “People tend to put greater trust in messages that appear to originate from many people. Bots prey upon this trust by making messages seem so popular that real people are tricked into spreading their messages for them.”


According to Professor Menczer, the study findings suggest that the amount of misinformation on social networks could be greatly reduced by the elimination of bots.

“As people across the globe increasingly turn to social networks as their primary source of news and information, the fight against misinformation requires a grounded assessment of the relative impact of the different ways in which it spreads,” said Professor Menczer. “This work confirms that bots play a role in the problem - and suggests their reduction might improve the situation.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study: Twitter bots spread misinformation during the 2016 election

A new study by researchers at Indiana University has revealed...

Currently in the United States, roughly 115 people die each day of an opioid overdose, and over 50 percent of drug overdose deaths in 2016 involved an opioid, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/index.html">Centers for Disease Control</a>. 

There are many risk factors involved with opioid dependence, but a new study found that sexual orientation plays a major role in opioid misuse. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://med.nyu.edu/education">NYU School of Medicine</a> discovered that people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual are more likely to abuse opioids compared to those who identify as heterosexual.

The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 

Previous research has found that members of the LGBTQ community are more at risk for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4872607/">addiction</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/groups-people-still-smoking/">drug use</a> as well as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2040383/">suicide ideation and suicide attempts</a>. 

The NYU researchers were able to examine sexual orientation and drug use by reviewing and analyzing data from the<a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015.pdf"> 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health</a>. 

42,802 people were included in the study, and the survey asked questions about opioid misuse and sexual orientation. Survey participants were also asked about drug use in the past year and past month. 

The researchers estimate that 5 percent of adults who identify as heterosexual misused opioids in the past year compared to 9 percent of individuals who identify as gay or lesbian. 

People who identify as bisexual, particularly women who identify as bisexual have the highest risk of opioid misuse. 

The researchers theorize that bisexual women turn to opioids as a coping mechanism due to the stigmas they face within both the heterosexual and lesbian and gay communities. 

“Our study highlights that adults of sexual minority status -- particularly women identifying as bisexual -- are at increased risk for opioid misuse,” said Joseph J. Palamar, the senior author of the study. “With the opioid crisis escalating nationwide, it is important to focus on preventing misuse among groups at highest risk.”

The stigmas that continue to surround sexual and gender minorities leave the most vulnerable members of society isolated and neglected.“Primary care providers, educators, and even parents should consider sexual orientation when assessing those at risk of opioid misuse,” said Dustin T. Duncan, the lead author of the study. “Not only do we need to consider sexual orientation as a risk factor, but we also need to monitor these groups more closely once they've been identified.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sexual orientation linked to a higher risk of opioid misuse

Currently in the United States, roughly 115 people die each...

It’s been said that cooking is an art, while baking is a science. However, researchers from the<a href="https://www.gatech.edu/"> Georgia Institute of Technology</a> would disagree. 

In a new study, researchers David Hu and Hungtang Ko, used the <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/cook-tastiest-pasta/">science of cooking</a> to take a closer look at the tossing techniques used for fried rice and stir-fry.  

Hu and Ko noticed that there were few studies involving the physics behind Chinese cuisine, and so the two set out to identify the underlying mechanisms of stir-frying, which has been a part of Chinese Culinary tradition since at least 600 A.D. 

First, the researchers observed and recorded chefs in Taiwan making fried rice in a wok.  

Next, the team used the video recordings to track the wok movements. Overall, the cooking process for the fried rice was about two minutes, and Hu and Ko were able to break the process down to a system of repeated cycles and phases. 

Each cycle lasted about one-third of a second, and the cycles were then broken down into four phases where the chefs would either tilt the wok or move the wok forward and backward. 

The researchers categorized the motions as translational and rotational, and both are required for stir-frying. 

An essential part of making fried rice is continuously tossing or juggling the rice so that no portion of rice touches the hot wok for too long. 

By moving the wok forward, backward and tilting it side to side, the ingredients are constantly mixing, cooking, and cooling so that the rice is not burned. 

“Once we came up with a mathematical model for fried rice cooking. we realized it could lend itself rather easily to a robotic design,” said Ko. 

Attempts have been made to create a stir-frying robot because the process is so labor intensive, but Hu explained that none of the robots could throw the rice. 

Now with this new study, researchers have a better foundation to create an automated stir-frying machine and the results shed light on the complex cooking processes involved in different culinary cuisine. 

The researchers presented their work at the <a href="https://www.aps.org/units/dfd/">American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The science behind cooking perfectly fried rice

It’s been said that cooking is an art, while baking...

New evidence published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a> reveals that the threats of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a> on society are greater than what previous studies have suggested. This latest study is the most comprehensive evaluation of how humanity is being impacted by the multiple climate change factors being bolstered by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

The team, which hails from the <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/">University of Hawaii at Manoa</a>, peer reviewed scientific papers that enlightened them to 467 ways human health, food, water, economy, infrastructure, and security have already been impacted by climate changes like drought, floods, wildfires, heat waves, storms, sea level rise, and changes in ocean chemistry.

Before this study, climate change hazards were studied individually. However, doing this has masked the impacts of such hazards on other climate change factors and vice versa. Therefore, the true impact of climate change on humanity has been underscored until now.

Lead author Camilo Mora, associate professor of geography in the <a href="http://www.socialsciences.hawaii.edu/departments/index.cfm">College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa</a>, said, "Greenhouse gas emissions pose a broad threat to humanity by simultaneously intensifying many hazards that have proven harmful in the past. Further, we predict that by 2100 the number of hazards occurring concurrently will increase, making it even more difficult for people to cope."

The study outlines in great detail how society has already been impacted by climate change hazards including, but not limited to, death and disease, food supply from animals, quantity and quality of fresh water, infrastructure, and economy. <a href="https://maps.esri.com/MoraLab/CumulativeChange/index.html">These results can be viewed via interactive map here</a>. One can also explore what these hazards will look like in future years to come if nothing is done to ease their impacts.

“This new research provides rigorous, quantitative support for a point we have emphasized for some time: the costs of inaction greatly outweigh the costs of taking action on climate change,” said Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State University</a>, who was not involved in the study. “It also provides robust support for another key point: we can still reduce future damage and suffering if we act quickly and dramatically to reduce carbon emissions."

Mora continued, “The collision of cumulative climate hazards is not something on the horizon, it is already here.” And if we continue to stand still and not act on these hazards, humanity will be in more trouble than we already are within the next few decades.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Study: Greenhouse gases to trigger chain reaction threat to humanity

New evidence published in the journal Nature Climate Change reveals...

An international team of experts led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> has found that advanced stone tools were used in East Asia much earlier than previously realized. The researchers conducted a new analysis of artifacts from South China and discovered that carved stone tools, also known as Levallois cores, were used in Asia 80,000 to 170,000 years ago.

Even though levallois cores were developed in Africa and Western Europe as far back as 300,000 years ago, they were not thought to have appeared in East Asia until 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. The current study provides evidence that the technology was developed independently in Asia.


“It used to be thought that Levallois cores came to China relatively recently with modern humans,” said study co-author Ben Marwick. “Our work reveals the complexity and adaptability of people there that is equivalent to elsewhere in the world. It shows the diversity of the human experience.”

Marwick explained that levallois-shaped cores, the “Swiss Army knife of prehistoric tools,” were very efficient and durable. These qualities were critical to hunter-gatherers at a time when a broken spear point could mean certain death by a predator. The tools were also exceptionally versatile, and could be used for spearing, slicing, scraping, or digging,

The Levallois artifacts analyzed in this study were recovered from Guanyindong Cave in Guizhou Province in the 1960s and 1970s. The experts used used optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) on the sediments surrounding the artifacts to gain a more accurate understanding of when the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tools-animal-bone/">artifacts</a> originated.

Sorry co-author Bo Li is an associate professor of Archaeology at the <a href="https://www.uow.edu.au/index.html">University of Wollongong</a> in Australia.


“Dating for this site was challenging because it had been excavated 40 years ago, and the sediment profile was exposed to air and without protection. So trees, plants, animals, insects could disturb the stratigraphy, which may affect the dating results if conventional methods were used for dating,” said Professor Li.

“To solve this problem we used a new single-grain dating technique recently developed in our OSL lab at the University of Wollongong to date individual mineral grains in the sediment. Luckily we found residual sediment left over by the previous excavations, so that allowed us to take samples for dating.”

Out of more than 2,200 artifacts found at Guanyindong Cave, the number of Levallois-style stone cores and flakes was narrowed down to 45. The team established that those in the older age range - 130,000 to 180,000 years old - had been used in an open woodland on a rocky landscape.

The independent emergence of the Levallois technique at different times is not unique as far as prehistoric innovations go. For example, pyramid construction appeared in at least three separate societies: the Egyptians, the Aztecs, and the Mayans.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Marwick et al.

Impressive ‘Swiss Army knife of prehistoric tools’ unearthed in Asia

An international team of experts led by the University of...

With <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-early-human-evolution/">human evolution</a>, we have this habit of thinking in the past tense. The way we talk about evolution conveys the idea that we’ve reached the finish line and have evolved as much as we ever will.

But it’s important to realize that evolution is a process that occurs across many different generations before there are any noticeable, lasting changes in a species. 

As far as humans go, we’re likely still evolving, and two recent studies have found evidence of DNA changes that occurred in the last few thousand years which helps highlight how lifestyle changes can influence evolution. 

In both studies, researchers looked for evidence of selection in humans, the process where evolution picks specific DNA sequences over others, according to <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24032042-500-modern-lifestyles-shaped-our-evolution-only-a-few-thousand-years-ago/">New Scientist</a>.

“During a short time, human genomes have changed a lot,” Irina Morozova, an author of one of the studies told New Scientist. “We think these changes are driven by human civilisation.”

One of the studies examined biological markers of evolution in modern Europeans by comparing modern Europeans to their Neolithic/Bronze Age ancestors. 

The study was published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution and conducted by Morozova and a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a>. 

The researchers reviewed and analyzed the genomes of 150 Europeans dating back as far as 5,500 years and compared them to 305 modern Europeans. 

By looking at such close ancestry over a few thousand years, the researchers were able to identify which changes evolution favored over time. 

The researchers did find changes in the biological pathways of the two groups of genomes that point to evolution. Modern Europeans evolved different metabolisms, sensory perception, and immune responses, according to the research. 

The changes in metabolism were likely driven by dietary changes as humans became more dependent on agriculture and farming as opposed to hunting and gathering. 

There were also DNA markers and processes that hadn’t changed over time. 

The second study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> in Denmark and published in the journal bioRxiv.

The Copenhagen researchers created a method for detecting changes in modern genomes and found a gene variant that could explain why some populations evolved lighter skin tones, a relatively recent evolutionary trait. 

Once an evolutionary change has been identified, researchers can try and find an explanation for what factors influenced those changes. 

But what about future evolution, what will the human genome look like thousands of years from now? 

“The question is, what are the selective pressures that are driving the evolution? They’re probably very different from the selective pressures we were experiencing 5000 to 10,000 years ago,” Fernando Racimo, an author of the second study told New Scientist.

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Human evolution is ongoing and influenced by lifestyle

With human evolution, we have this habit of thinking in...

Noise pollution is a rising problem in hospitals, and it could be affecting patients’ care, according to a new editorial published in the journal <a href="https://www.bmj.com/">BMJ</a>.

"Even in intensive care units, which cater for the most vulnerable patients, noise levels over 100 [decibels] have been measured, the equivalent of loud music through headphones," lead author Dr. Andreas Xyrichis of <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">King’s College London</a> said in a press release. He was joined by colleagues at King’s College and the <a href="https://www.arts.ac.uk/">University of the Arts London</a> in writing the editorial.

Noise levels frequently go over international recommendations, the authors wrote. The noise pollution affects the ability of staff members and doctors to communicate with each other. It also causes annoyance, fatigue and irritation, the authors argue.

This doesn’t affect just doctors, nurses and other hospital staff members, the authors point out. It also interrupts patients’ rest, and affects their ability to recover and heal. In some cases, it can lead to stress and even intensive care unit-induced psychosis, they said.

Noise pollution has previously been <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/noise-pollution-heart-disease/">linked to heart disease</a>. The editorial noted it also seemed linked to high blood pressure in patients.

"We know hospital noise has disruptive consequences for sleep – machine sounds in particular have a greater negative effect on arousal than human voices. Post-hospitalization recovery is also compromised," Xyrichis said. “For example, coronary care patients treated during noisy periods were found to have a higher incidence of re-hospitalization compared to those treated during quieter periods.”

Patients often report negative effects of noise pollution in hospitals on their health. Some even request early discharge due to noise, which puts their health and recovery at risk.

The researchers suggest three prongs of attack. First, hospitals should focus not just on reducing loud sounds, but also softer, repetitive sounds like dripping water, which can also be stressful. 

Second, hospitals should survey patients to see which sounds they find stressful and intrusive, like alarms, and which ones are welcoming, like the sound of a drink or meal cart in the hallway.

Third, hospitals should brief patients and their families on noise pollution levels before admission, so they can bring earplugs or headphones.

"Guides about potential ward sounds could also enhance patients' understanding of their surroundings and increase relaxation,” the editorial wrote. “Sound masking – the addition of background, broadband sound optimized for particular environments to reduce noise-induced disturbance – has also been used widely in open-plan offices for many years and has recently shown promise for improving sleep in hospitals."

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By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Noise pollution in hospitals is affecting patients' health

Noise pollution is a rising problem in hospitals, and it...

The secret to throwing a blistering fastball is all in the twist, according to a new study on the Magnus effect.

Dr. Barton Smith of <a href="http://www.usu.edu/">Utah State University</a> – a mechanical and aerospace engineer who has long been a fan of America’s pastime – joined with doctoral student Nazmus Sakib in studying the fluid dynamics of baseball. 

The pair found that a fastball with an unexpected twist can make or break a game for a team. They also found that the way some pitches are explained are “flat-out wrong,” Smith said in a press release.

The key is a combination of a baseball’s asymmetry and something called the Magnus effect. Baseballs are not symmetrical due to the stitching that holds them together. The Magnus effect – the force on the spinning ball as it moves through the air – determines how it will move.

Together, the two variables mean that the spin a pitcher puts on a fastball can make it even harder to hit. A ball with a topspin will drop faster, while a ball with a backspin will gain a little lift, slowing but not stopping its fall, Smith and Sakib said. 

The two engineers set out to find out just how much of an effect the Magnus effect has on baseball. They also wanted to find out why the knuckleball – with barely any spin – and the two-seam fastball don’t seem to behave as they should due to the Magnus effect.

They set up a pitching machine to deliver fastball after fastball through smoke. Laser sensors controlled a series of automatic photographs to capture images of both ball and smoke. Then, using particle image velocimetry, Smith and Sakib computed the field of velocity around each ball along with its rotation at several different moments. They also calculated something they called the “boundary separation layer” to find the portion of the ball’s surface where the air had separated to form its wake.

They found that a two-seam fastball has a tilted spin axis, due to one finger leaving the surface later than the other. This can cause the ball to move sideways. With a knuckleball, the point of air separation can change unexpectedly, altering the ball’s movement.

The pair hope pitchers can use what they’ve learned about the Magnus effect to up their games.

Smith and Sakib are presenting their findings at the American Physical Society's <a href="https://www.aps.org/meetings/meeting.cfm?name=DFD18">Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting</a>, which begins today in Atlanta, Georgia and runs through Tuesday.

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By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Magnus effect study offers key to winning fastballs

The secret to throwing a blistering fastball is all in...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&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> Staff Writer 



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.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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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.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video 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 history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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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.

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&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 capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...