Gel manicures have turned into a tiny luxury that fits between lunch breaks and school runs. The ultraviolet or near‑ultraviolet lamps that harden glossy manicure coatings do the job in about four minutes, so the routine feels harmless.



The dryers bathe fingertips in swift pulses of light, but until recently few people asked what those pulses do to the skin that holds the nails. A new laboratory study brings unsettling answers.



The new work was led by photochemist <a href="https://bicyt.conicet.gov.ar/fichas/p/en/maria-laura-dantola" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. María Laura Dántola</a> at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physical‑Chemical Research <a href="https://www.inifta.unlp.edu.ar/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(INIFTA</a>), part of Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council <a href="https://www.conicet.gov.ar/?lan=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(CONICET</a>).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-manicure-lamps">Studying manicure lamps</h2>



Serrano’s team placed common skin molecules, including tyrosinase, inside a chamber that mimicked a salon lamp and zapped them for the same four‑minute cycle used in most gel services. 



All targets, from amino acids to lipids, emerged chemically altered and less able to perform their jobs.



“These devices are used without any controls or regulations requiring manufacturers to report on the potential risks of frequent exposure,” cautioned Dántola and colleagues. 



One of the starkest changes hit tyrosinase, the enzyme that drives production of melanin, a pigment that shields DNA from solar radiation.



The researchers also measured how fast the altered molecules sparked <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/oxidative-stress" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oxidative stress</a> reactions that can shred cell membranes. Reaction rates jumped within seconds, confirming that harm starts long before a hand is removed from the booth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-photosensitization-matters">Why photosensitization matters</h2>



Photosensitization happens when a molecule absorbs light then transfers that energy to oxygen, creating reactive species. Those species slice through DNA, proteins, and lipids with no regard for cell repair cycles.



Because tyrosinase sits at the start of melanin synthesis, even small interruptions amplify downstream damage. Losing melanin’s natural sunscreen effect makes every future dose of sunlight or lamp light more hazardous.



Many over‑the‑counter skincare ingredients, including retinoids and some antibiotics, can enhance photosensitization. 



People who use them may face higher risks because their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vitamin-c-promotes-skin-renewal-and-anti-aging-at-the-genetic-level-dna-demethylation/">skin</a> already carries extra light‑reactive compounds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tyrosinase-melanin-and-lost-defense">Tyrosinase, melanin and lost defense</h2>



Tyrosinase flips the chemical switches that turn the amino acid tyrosine into melanin granules. When the lamp’s photons broke those switches, the team saw melanin output stall.



Without melanin the skin compensates poorly for incoming ultraviolet, so photo‑aging and cancer risk rise. The altered enzyme also disrupts color balance, explaining reports of blotchy pigmentation after frequent gel sessions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-manicure-lamps-are-very-bright">Manicure lamps are very bright</h2>



Bench measurements showed the lamp delivered a dose of <a href="https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/what-s-the-difference-between-uva-and-uvb-rays-.h15-1592991.html">UVA radiation</a> around 368–400 nanometers, the same band blamed for tanning and wrinkles. 



A separate American <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-35876-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> in 2023 reported that a 20‑minute session killed up to 70 percent of cultured human skin cells and stamped permanent mutations on the survivors.



Sensor data from the Argentine team indicate the lamp’s irradiance peaks at 7 milliwatts per square centimeter, nearly matching the noon sun in Buenos Aires during spring. 



Weekly visits translate into roughly three and a half hours under that intensity each year, more than many people spend sunbathing.



A systematic <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38557455/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> in 2024 concluded that while the absolute cancer risk appears low, the evidence remains weak and long‑term users should be told the data gaps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-short-bursts-long-shadows">Short bursts, long shadows</h2>



Gel clients often repeat the service every two to three weeks, layering dose upon dose across years. Cumulative exposure matters because photochemical injuries add rather than heal, especially when they trigger oxidative stress and DNA breaks.



A 2023 <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-49814-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">test</a> on human keratinocytes showed sunscreen with SPF 50 cut cell death by more than one‑third during the same four‑minute irradiation used in salons. 



Protective gloves that leave only the nail plate visible can block over 90 percent of the rays, yet they remain optional accessories.



“These are processes that, in one way or another, result in cell death,” added Dántola and colleagues after monitoring the altered enzyme profiles. 



The comment echoes warnings from dermatology societies that link chronic UVA to premature aging and certain skin cancers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-nails-and-skin-safe">Keeping nails and skin safe</h2>



Dermatologists at the <a href="https://www.aad.org/media/news-releases/gel-manicures-dermatologists-share-tips-to-keep-nails-healthy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Academy of Dermatology</a> urge customers to apply a broad‑spectrum SPF 30 or higher on their hands before every gel manicure and to choose LED lamps that cure polish faster and with lower UV output.



Salons can switch to newer hybrid lacquers that air‑dry or set under visible blue light, trimming exposure further. At home, limiting sessions and spacing them at least a month apart reduces cumulative dose.



For clients unwilling to give up the chip‑free finish, simple habits help: wear fingertip‑less UPF gloves, time the lamp cycles carefully, and keep moisturizer handy because dry <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/teen-skin-bacteria-could-hold-the-secret-to-acne-prevention/">skin</a> amplifies light penetration.



Regulators have yet to issue binding standards for consumer nail lamps, so the burden falls on users and technicians. 



Serrano’s group believes clear warning labels and pre‑packed barrier gloves would let people enjoy the beauty trend while understanding the trade‑offs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-manicure-lamps-speed-vs-safety">Manicure lamps: Speed vs. safety</h2>



The beauty business around gel nails is sizable. Analysts <a href="https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/uv-nail-gel-market" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">estimate</a> the global UV gel polish segment alone was worth almost six billion dollars in 2024 and could double within a decade.



Social media trends and influencer tutorials push fans to redo manicures every week rather than once a month, increasing exposure well beyond the study’s four‑minute baseline. Convenience encourages at‑home kits, yet those kits often ship without detailed safety instructions.



Dántola stresses that the project sits in basic science, aimed at mapping chemical events rather than legislating behavior. 



Still, sharing data allows dermatologists, engineers, and regulators to design larger trials that measure real <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-carry-toxic-chemicals-that-are-easily-absorbed-by-skin/">skin</a> after repeated consumer‑level doses.



Applied research may soon test glove fabrics, lamp filters, or polish formulas that polymerize under visible light. Until such options become standard, informed choice remains the safest tool on the manicure table.



The study is published in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39763051/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chemical Research in Toxicology</a>.



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Manicure lamps can seriously damage skin and cause premature aging

Gel manicures have turned into a tiny luxury that fits between lunch breaks and school runs. The ultraviolet or near‑ultraviolet lamps that harden glossy manicure coatings do the job in about four minutes, so the routine feels harmless. The dryers bathe fingertips in swift pulses of light, but until recently few people asked what those pulses do to the skin that holds the nails. A new laboratory study brings unsettling answers. The new work was led by photochemist Dr. María Laura Dántola at the Institute of Theoretical...

Latest breakthrough could offer new insight into modern human evolution. In a groundbreaking new study, scientists have extracted genetic information from a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/harvesting-eggs-northern-white-rhinos/">rhino</a> tooth that dates back 1.7 million years. The team identified an almost complete set of proteins in the tooth enamel, which is the largest and oldest genetic data to ever be recorded.

The discovery will help scientists to reconstruct animal evolution farther back in time than ever before. Prior to this study, the oldest DNA sequence was from a horse that was 700,000 years old, but the new data exceed this fossil record by one million years.

Study lead author Eske Willerslev is an evolutionary geneticist at <a href="https://www.sjc.edu/">St. John's College</a> and the University of Cambridge.

"This research is a game-changer that opens up a lot of options for further evolutionary study in terms of humans as well as mammals. It will revolutionize the methods of investigating evolution based on molecular markers and it will open a complete new field of ancient biomolecular studies," said Willerslev.

The DNA record of human evolution only covers the last 400,000 years, yet the ancestral lineages of modern humans and chimpanzees split about six to seven million years ago. This means that scientists are lacking genetic information for more than 90 percent of the evolutionary transition which gave rise to modern humans.

According to the researchers, the genetic links between modern humans and extinct species such as Homo erectus are also unclear because our current knowledge is based primarily on anatomical information instead of genetic data.

"For 20 years ancient DNA has been used to address questions about the evolution of extinct species, adaptation and human migration but it has limitations. Now for the first time we have retrieved ancient genetic information which allows us to reconstruct molecular evolution way beyond the usual time limit of DNA preservation," said study first author Professor Enrico Cappellini. "This new analysis of ancient proteins from dental enamel will start an exciting new chapter in the study of molecular evolution."

For their investigation, the researchers took samples of dental enamel from the tooth of a 1.77-million-year-old extinct rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia during the Pleistocene called Stephanorhinus. The team used mass spectrometry to sequence the ancient protein and retrieve genetic information.

"Mass spectrometry-based protein sequencing will enable us to retrieve reliable and rich genetic information from mammal fossils that are millions of years old, rather than just thousands of years old. It is the only technology able to provide the robustness and accuracy needed to sequence tiny amounts of protein this old," said study co-author Professor Jesper V. Olsen.

Professor Cappellini noted that dental enamel is abundant and also incredibly durable, which is why a high proportion of fossil records are teeth.

"We have been able to find a way to retrieve genetic information that is more informative and older than any other source before, and it's from a source that is abundant in the fossil records so the potential of the application of this approach is extensive," said Professor Cappellini.

The new technique may ultimately enable experts to build a more elaborate and accurate picture of the evolution of hundreds of species, including modern humans.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://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: Mirian Kiladze, Georgian National Museum

Latest breakthrough could offer new insight into modern human evolution

Latest breakthrough could offer new insight into modern human evolution....

Artists that paint with their feet possess highly organized “toe maps” which connect each toe to an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/music-flows-brain/">activated area in the brain</a>, a new study has revealed.

Hand maps have been well established in the brain, with each finger activating a different, closely connected, region. Each part of the body has a corresponding brain region laid out in a kind of body map, but this is the first study to identify toe maps in people.  

The study, conducted by researchers at the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/icn/">Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London</a>, sheds light on how the limbs are represented in the brain and how the brain adapts to limblessness.  

“We are interested in the brain area known as the somatosensory cortex because it has incredible organization,” said Harriett Dempsey-Jones, the first author of the study. “Within this brain region, each part of the body is laid out in an organization that roughly approximates what it looks like in the actual human body to form a body map.” 

Recent fMRI data has shown that the brain-body map is not as organized as previously thought when it comes to certain body parts like the feet. 

The researchers of the study regularly work with amputee and congenital limbless support groups and two artists, Tomy Yendell and Peter Longstaff, were recruited for the study.

[caption id="attachment_1877666" align="aligncenter" width="538"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/paint-feet.jpeg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1877666" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/paint-feet.jpeg" alt="" width="538" height="546" /></a> How complex toe behavior supports organized, hand-like activity in the foot artists' foot. Image Credit: Dempsey-Jones et al./Cell Reports[/caption]

Yendell and Longstaff are prominent and talented artists in the UK, and both were born without arms. The two men learned to use their feet to perform most of their daily tasks, resulting in extreme foot dexterity. 

Handed people do not have toe maps in the brain, but non-human primates do, and the researchers wondered if limblessness had any effect on the brain’s body map or whether foot dexterity was represented differently in the brain. 

To help understand these questions, the researchers conducted fMRI tests with Yendell, Longstaff, and nine limbed volunteers. 

When the limbed participants were in the fMRI machine, a researcher touched one finger or toe and looked to see what part of the brain was activated. Each finger activated spots that were close in proximity to each other, but the limbed and handed individuals did not have any toe maps in the brain. 

“It turns out that even though we have individual digits on our feet - toes - when we touch each toe in order we do not see a nice organized pattern,” said Dempsey-Jones. 

For Yendell and Longstaff, the fMRI images showed activated regions of the brain corresponding to the toes similar to handed individuals with hand maps. 

The study creates more questions than answers, and there are many possible explanations as to why some individuals have toe maps while others do not.  

It may be that all primates are born with toe maps, but as humans don’t use their toes, this map fades over time. Another possibility is that humans don’t have toe maps, but if an individual starts to use their feet and toes more, they may develop one.  

“We know there is a critical period of plasticity early in life when the brain seems particularly capable of change,” said Daan Wesselink, a co-author of the study. “It could be that our artists were learning to use their toes when they were children during this time of maximal brain plasticity. We know the adult brain is more fixed once the critical period of plasticity closes. It may be that once that happens you can’t really change the brain in a major way, such as this.”

The researchers will continue studying how the brain represents different body parts and see if prosthetics can be incorporated into the brain’s body map. 

“Mapping out finger and toe activity in the brain can help advance brain-machine interface technology where the brain learns how to control each digit of a prosthetic,” said Dempsey-Jones.  

The researchers published their findings in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(19)31061-7">Cell Reports.</a> 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/hedgehog94

Artists who paint with their feet have maps of their toes in the brain

Artists that paint with their feet possess highly organized “toe...

Homo sapiens <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sophisticated-tools-ancestors-found/">first arose in Africa</a> around 300,000 years ago, but researchers are still working to piece together the origin and evolution of our species. 

Few fossils less than 500,000 years old have been discovered in Africa, there are gaps in the fossil record before Homo sapiens came onto the scene. 

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="http://www.cnrs.fr/">Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique</a> in France and <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">Cambridge University</a> used virtual modeling to create a 3D skull of Homo sapiens’ oldest ancestor. 

By creating virtual 3D skull models, the researchers were able to expand the fossil pool and fill in the gaps of humanity’s evolutionary history. 

The researchers first measured 26 skulls of hominins from 29 different populations and identified links between cranial dimensions and each population’s location on the phylogenetic tree.

Once this relationship was established, the researchers were able to predict the skull dimensions of the ancestor of all Homo sapiens groups and create a corresponding virtual model dating back to roughly 300,000 years ago. 

[caption id="attachment_1877663" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/homo-sapien-skull.png"><img class="wp-image-1877663" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/homo-sapien-skull.png" alt="" width="650" height="173" /></a> Image © Aurélien Mounier / CNRS-MNHN[/caption]

Surprisingly, the ancient skull had modern features including a round cranium, high forehead, and similar morphology to skulls dating back to 100,000 years. 

After the model was created, the researchers compared the 3D rendering to five African fossils which date back to 130,000 to 350,000 years ago, corresponding with the first appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa. 

The researchers theorize from the skull dimensions and comparisons that Homo sapiens arose through interbreeding between populations in South and East Africa. North African populations, though, are believed to have interbred with Neanderthals as early humans spread into Europe. 

The study supports the idea that a second migration out of Africa led to the successful spread of Homo sapiens into Europe, Asia, and later the Americas.

The researchers published their findings in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11213-w">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/Masarik

What the skull of our oldest Homo sapien ancestor looked like

Homo sapiens first arose in Africa around 300,000 years ago,...

Huge collection of Neanderthal footprints offer clues about their social behavior. The largest known collection of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/early-neanderthals-europe/">Neanderthal</a> tracks is giving scientists new insight into the size and composition of social groups 80,000 years ago. Hundreds of Neanderthal footprints were discovered in an archaeological site in Normandy across what is now a coastal creek bed.

A team of experts led by Jérémy Duveau of the <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187147-d189241-Reviews-National_Museum_of_Natural_History-Paris_Ile_de_France.html">National Museum of Natural History</a> in Paris has meticulously analyzed the set of 257 fossilized footprints, finding that the tracks were preserved in dunes after they were rapidly covered up by sand. 

The conservation of this many footprints "requires sort of a miracle," said Duveau. Before this, he explained, only nine Neanderthal footprints were known from four different sites.

The tracks represent one of the only sites to reveal specific information about Neanderthal social groups. The size of the footprints, as well as eight handprints, indicate that most of them were left behind by children and adolescents. The youngest child was likely around two years old.

"By applying a morphometric method to a sample of fossil footprints made during a single brief occupation event, our analysis shows that they represent a small group with a majority of children and thus provides direct evidence of the composition of a Neandertal group," wrote the study authors.

The researchers noted that the size and shape of the ancient hominin prints are all consistent with those that would have been left behind by Neanderthals. The experts added that the tracks date back to a time in history when Neanderthals would have been the only hominin group in western Europe.

Stone tools that were uncovered at the site in northern France, known as Le Rozel, were similar to those found at other Neanderthal sites across Europe from around the same time. 

While no skeletal remains were found, Duveau said that the footprints "represent a unique snapshot of hominin life," providing a glimpse into past behavior that cannot usually be derived from body fossils or stone tools.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1901789116">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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: Dominique Cliquet

Huge collection of Neanderthal footprints offer clues about their social behavior

Huge collection of Neanderthal footprints offer clues about their social...

Investigation opened to see if NOAA violated policy by backing Trump on Dorian. Hurricane Dorian left a devastating path of destruction in the Bahamas, with 45 people now dead and thousands left homeless and seeking refuge. 

There is no doubt that Dorian hit the Bahamas the hardest, but Alabama, a state that the President had warned may be impacted by the storm, was left unscathed. 

Now, the acting chief scientist of the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration </a>(NOAA) announced on Sunday in an email that he is investigating the agency’s response to President Trump’s claims about Dorian and Alabama. 

On September 1st, the President tweeted that Alabama would be “hit much harder than anticipated.” The claim was surprising because forecasts at the time showed minimal risk of Dorian impacting Alabama at all and the <a href="https://www.weather.gov/">National Weather Service’s</a> projections showed that the state was not in the forecasted path of the Hurricane. 

The President’s tweet was quickly refuted by a tweet issued by the <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSBirmingham/status/1168179647667814400">National Weather Service </a>stating that Alabama would not see any impacts from the storm. 

The uncertainty didn’t end there as headlines soon reported a seemingly doctored Dorrian forecast with a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/09/04/president-trump-shows-doctored-hurricane-chart-was-it-cover-up-alabama-twitter-flub/">sharpie</a> extending the Hurricane’s path into Alabama, despite the danger to the state being null at the time. 

This set off a chain reaction of uncertainty and confusion, muddled even more by a statement issued by the NOAA on Friday that reportedly backed the President in his claims that Dorian was a threat to Alabama at the time of the tweet. 

The NOAA reprimanded the National Weather Service in the statement. 

“The Birmingham National Weather Service’s Sunday morning tweet spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time,” the NOAA wrote in the statement. Investigation opened to see if NOAA violated policy by backing Trump on Dorian

Now, Craig McLean, the NOAA acting chief scientist has questions about that statement and why it was even issued in the first place. 

According to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/09/09/noaas-chief-scientist-will-investigate-why-agency-backed-trump-over-its-experts-dorian-email-shows/">Washington Post</a>, which obtained the email sent to NOAA staff by McLean, the chief scientists said that the rebuttal to the National Weather Service was “political” and jeopardized the public. 

“The NWS Forecaster(s) corrected any public misunderstanding in an expert and timely way, as they should,” McLean wrote in the email. “There followed, last Friday, an unsigned news release from ‘NOAA’ that inappropriately and incorrectly contradicted the NWS forecaster. My understanding is that this intervention to contradict the forecaster was not based on science but on external factors including reputation and appearance, or simply put, political.”

The fact that there were contradictory weather forecasts is a problem because the NOAA and the NWS are considered extremely reliable and accurate sources for weather predictions and if the agencies are placing politics over science, it puts the public’s trust and safety at risk. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/lavizzara

Investigation opened to see if NOAA violated policy by backing Trump on Dorian

Investigation opened to see if NOAA violated policy by backing...

New research from the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> is the first of its kind to link the consumption of poultry to an increased risk of blood cancer, as well as prostate cancer among men. In the study, thousands of cancer cases were associated with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/age-chicken/">chicken</a> intake.

"Poultry intake was positively associated with risk for malignant melanoma, prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," wrote the researchers.

The investigation was focused on 475,000 British residents who were tracked for a period of eight years from 2006 to 2014. The diets of the individuals were analyzed in comparison to their health conditions, particularly any illnesses that were suffered.

Over the study period, 23,000 new cancer cases were confirmed among the participants. Higher rates of chicken consumption were found to correspond with malignant melanoma, lymphoma, and prostate cancer.

Because the researchers only looked for associations between chicken intake and certain types of cancer, the underlying mechanisms were not identified. However, a number of factors were noted that may contribute to this link. 

For example, chicken meat itself may contain a carcinogen, or cancer risk may be elevated depending on how the chicken is cooked.

Previous studies have found that red meat can increase the risk of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer due to how the blood from the meat product is digested. 

Prior to the current study, chicken was widely considered to be a healthy alternative to red meat. In addition, research conducted in the United States earlier this year found that women who switched to poultry from beef, lamb, or pork were almost 30 percent less likely to get breast tumors.

The Oxford researchers concluded that the positive associations of poultry intake with prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma require further investigation.

The study is published in the <a href="https://jech.bmj.com/">Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health</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: Shutterstock/vaivirga

Poultry consumption linked to prostate cancer and lymphoma

New research from the University of Oxford is the first...

Even if you’re good at math, you won’t get very far without <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/math-anxiety-students/">confidence in your numerical skills, </a>new research has found. 

Financial success and ability to deal with complicated health problems are both linked to being good at math, but only if those skills are paired with assuredness and confidence. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University </a>conducted two studies that found that lack of confidence is detrimental and essentially nullifies the advantages that come with being good at math. 

In one example, the researchers found that people who scored 100 percent on a math test and had high confidence in their abilities earned $94,000 more in annual income. 

“If you have low numeric confidence, all the math skills in the world appear not to help much,” said Ellen Peters, an author of the research. “We think that those who lack confidence don’t persist with the numbers when the going gets tough or tedious. As a result, their skills aren’t used.” 

Both studies used an objective test to assess math skills, and participants were given a questionnaire meant to measure confidence and self-assuredness in numerical ability. 

For the first study, which focused on financial success and math ability, self-reported financial outcomes from 4,572 Americans were reviewed and analyzed by the researchers. 

Financial outcomes included credit card debt, payday loans, and investments. The researchers found that numeric confidence and math ability were reliable predictors of financial success. 

In the second study, 91 patients who were in the middle of treatment for lupus, a chronic disease, were recruited for the research. 

The different medications given to lupus patients require a math-mindset as many have to be taken at specific times, and math skills can also help with finding insurance providers and sticking to healthy habits. 

The researchers found that for the 91 participants, there was a link between math skills, confidence, and disease activity like rashes. 

The patients that were both confident and objectively good at math were less likely to develop new disease activity compared to people who were not confident in their skills. 

Surprisingly, it was the participants that were highly confident in their math skills yet lacked the objective numerical ability that fared the worst in the studies. 

High confidence, low ability patients had a 44 percent chance of developing a rash or having seizures.  

“If you have low ability and high confidence, you may end up making mistakes that you don’t recognize. You’re not asking for help because you think you don’t need it, so you end up in worse shape,” said Peters. 

The study emphasizes a mismatch in math skills and confidence, and this gap can be harmful, both to health and financial security. 

In both studies combined, 18 to 20 of the participants showed high numerical ability, but low confidence and 12 to 13 percent were terrible at math but had high confidence.

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/baranq

Why good math skills can be hindered by lack of confidence

Even if you’re good at math, you won’t get very...

Kids of anxious mothers are more likely to be hyperactive teens. A new study from researchers in the United Kingdom shows that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/environmental-exposures-blood-pressure/">children</a> of mothers who are anxious during pregnancy and during the first five years of their child’s life are twice a likely to express hyperactive symptoms at the age of 16.

The researchers studied more than 3,000 children involved in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), which is a long-term project allowing scientists to track how children’s health changes as they grow up. 

Although maternal anxiety, which can present itself as sweating, trembling, dizziness, and insomnia, can cause hyperactivity in adolescent children, it is only slightly linked to ADHD symptoms, such as inattention.

"This is the first time that a study has shown that anxiety is linked to a child's hyperactivity in later life but that inattention is not linked,” said study leader Dr. Blanca Bolea from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, who is now Assistant Professor at the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a>. “One interpretation is that some symptoms of ADHD are associated with the mother's anxiety, but not all of them. More broadly, it shows that the stresses a mother experiences can show up in her child nearly a generation later; it is worth noting that all the mothers reported an increase in anxiety during pregnancy.”

Over 8,700 mothers displayed anxiety symptoms throughout early pregnancy and their child’s first five years of life during the study period. Researchers were able to classify their anxiety levels into “high,” “medium,” and “low,” depending on how often mothers reported signs of physical anxiety.

When children of anxious mothers reached 8 years old, researchers analyzed how children performed attention tests and found that there was no difference between children in attention, no matter how anxious their mothers had been. But when a larger group of 3,199 children were tested at age 16, the researchers found a significant difference in hyperactivity symptoms depending on how anxious a mother had been during pregnancy and beyond.

Mothers who experienced medium to high levels of anxiety had children who were twice as likely to show symptoms of hyperactivity at age 16 than children from mothers with low anxiety.

“Around 28% of the women we tested showed medium or high anxiety,” Dr. Bolea said. “We controlled for hyperactivity in 3199 children in total, and found that 224 children showed signs of hyperactivity, with the rate of hyperactivity being more than doubled if the mother had suffered from medium or high anxiety.”

“This is an association, so we can't 100% say that anxiety symptoms in pregnancy and early life causes later hyperactivity, other genetic, biological or environmental effects may be at play,” she continued. “However, this idea is supported by studies in animals. We're not sure why this might happen. It could be that the children are responding to perceived anxiety in the mother, or it could be that there is some biological effect which causes this, for example stress hormones in the placenta having an effect on a developing brain.”

This work will be presented at the <a href="https://www.ecnp.eu/">European College of Neuropsychopharmacology</a> Congress in Copenhagen.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Antonio Guillem

Kids of anxious mothers are more likely to be hyperactive teens

Kids of anxious mothers are more likely to be hyperactive...

In a new study published by the <a href="https://www.srcd.org/">Society for Research in Child Development</a>, experts have found that children are taking notice of how adults face challenges and the amount of effort they are willing to put into reaching their goals. 

The research suggests that these actions, along with the words of encouragement adults may use, have a significant effect on persistence among <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/academic-skills-preschool-children/">children</a>. 

"Our work shows that young children pay attention to the successes and failures of the adults around them and, reasonably, don't persist long at tasks that adults themselves fail to achieve," said study lead author Julia A. Leonard of the University of Pennsylvania. "However, we found that when adults could complete a task successfully, speaking about the value of the effort and letting children see the hard work that went into achieving the goal, it encouraged persistence in children who were watching."

The investigation was focused on 520 children between the ages of four and five years old from a range of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. The researchers wanted to examine how their level of persistence may be affected by their observations of adults' actions, such as how much effort they put into a task and whether they succeeded or failed. 

The study authors also analyzed how persistence was affected by the words of adults. For example, before a child attempted a task, an adult may have said "This will be hard," or "You can do this." Adults may have also offered value statements, such as "Trying hard is important."

Persistence was measured based on how hard a child chose to work at the same task attempted by the adults, which was a task that was difficult and new to the children. The different scenarios presented to the children included: they heard adults' comments without seeing the tasks being executed, they observed an adult demonstrating either high or low effort at the task, or they watched as an adult succeeded or failed.

The study revealed that children worked harder at a task after they saw adults succeed compared to when they saw adults fail. In fact, an adult's efforts only affected a child's persistence when the task was successfully completed. Overall, the persistence of the children was found to be highest when adults exerted effort at their task, succeeded, and talked about the value of making that effort.

According to the study authors, the findings show that young children are attentively watching the adults around them and actively learning from their words, efforts, and outcomes to determine how hard they themselves should try at tasks. In order to encourage persistence in a child, adults should demonstrate how hard work leads to success through both actions and value statements. 

"Our study suggests that children are rational learners - they pay attention first and foremost to whether adults succeed at their goals," said study co-author Professor Laura Schulz. "But when adults succeed, children are also watching how hard adults try and what adults say about the value of effort."

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/index.html">Child Development</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: Shutterstock/antoniodiaz

Children put more effort into reaching goals when adults set a good example

In a new study published by the Society for Research...

Staring down at your smartphone all day could cause neck and jaw pain, and women are especially at risk, according to a new study. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uark.edu/">University of Arkansas</a> found that because of the way women point their chin down to look at their devices, they may be likely to suffer neck pain. 

Men, who are taller than women on average, bend their neck in a different way which is better for the neck and joints. 

We spend around <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americans-half-day-screen/">half our day looking at screens</a>, including laptops, phones, and tablets. Research has found that our addiction to screens can negatively impact <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/technoference-smartphones-sleep-productivity/">health and wellbeing,</a> and personal electronic devices are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smartphone-manufacturing-brutal-environment/">draining natural resources</a>. 

One recent study even found that looking down at smartphones could be causing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/looking-down-phone-skull/">spikey bony growths </a>to grow from the back of our skulls. 

For this research, ten men and twelve women took part in the study and were X-rayed while holding a tablet in five positions. On average, the women in the study were around six inches shorter than the men and had to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/long-necked-reptiles-tanystropheus-were-easily-decapitated-by-dinosaur-predators/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bend their necks</a> in more awkward positions. 

[caption id="attachment_1877585" align="aligncenter" width="631"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Ashley-N-Romero.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1877585" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Ashley-N-Romero.jpg" alt="" width="631" height="640" /></a> Image Credit: Ashley N Romero[/caption]

When looking straight ahead at the tablet or phone, there were no differences in posture between men and women, but the X-rays told a different story. 

The researchers identified differences between men and women in six vertebrae in the neck and 46 stress points in the jaw and face. These differences were apparent when the participants were sitting up straight, bent forward, or reclined back at 15 or 30 degrees. 

The women looked straight down at their devices, a position that could increase the risk of neck problems and jaw pain. 

Whether this position is just a natural reflex or dictated by height remains to be understood, and the researchers say that taller female participants may have led to different results. 

“Our advice to people in general would probably be to try to avoid spending hours looking down at a tablet or a mobile phone,” said Dr. Claire Terhune, a senior author of the study, “But the advice to women would be to be aware of their posture and try to put themselves in a better position if they are using a device.”

The researchers published their findings in the journal Clinical Anatomy.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/JKstock

Looking down at your phone can cause neck and jaw pain

Staring down at your smartphone all day could cause neck...

Antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs can alter gut contents. In a new study on rats, scientists found that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/antidepressants-waterways-marine-life/">antidepressants</a> and other psychiatric drugs can change the composition and quantity of gut bacteria. 

Now, the research team is carrying out a large-scale human observational study which will hopefully help them understand the specificity of psychoactive drug action and whether or not psychiatrists need to consider the effects of these drugs on the body before prescribing.

Within the first rat-based study, the researchers gave seven groups of eight rats normal or slightly raised levels of psychopharmaceuticals, including Lithium, valproate, Prozac (fluoxetine), and escitalopram. Then, after four weeks, the scientists studied the gut bacteria — the microbiome — to see if and how the drugs affected it.

"We found that certain drugs, including the mood stabiliser lithium and the antidepressant fluoxetine, influenced the composition and richness of the gut microbiota. Although some psychotropic drugs have been previously investigated in in vitro settings, this is the first evidence in an animal model,” said lead researcher Sofia Cussotto of the <a href="https://www.ucc.ie/en/">University College, Cork</a>.

The team saw that some drugs, like lithium and valproate, increased the number of certain bacteria in the gut, whereas other drugs, like escitalopram and fluoxetine, inhibited growth of bacterial isolated strains such as E.coli.

“Some studies have shown that depressed or schizophrenic patients can have altered microbiota composition, therefore psychotropic drugs might work on intestinal microbes as part of their mechanisms of action,” Cussotto said. “Of course, this has to be proved. Given that antidepressants, for example work on some people but not others, making an allowance for microbiome may change an individual's response to antidepressants.”

“On the other hand,” she continued, “microbiome-targeting effects might be responsible for the side effects associated with these medications. All these hypotheses have to be tested in preclinical models and in humans, and this is our next step.”

"These early data are intriguing, and worthy of further investigation,” added Professor Serguei Fetissov from <a href="https://rouenuniversity.univ-rouen.fr/">Rouen University, France</a>, who did not take part in the study. “At the moment it would be premature to ascribe a direct role of gut bacteria in the action of antidepressant drugs until this work can be reproduced in humans, which is what the authors now hope to do.” 

“The composition of gut microbiota is very sensitive to the metabolic processes of the body and can change naturally, through drug-induced metabolic shifts in the brain and other organs,” he continued. “Some of the changes reported here, for example increased Christensenella, can be indeed beneficial, but overall significance of drug-induced changes of bacterial composition on the metabolic and mental health needs further research.”

This work will be presented at the <a href="https://www.ecnp.eu/">European College of Neuropsychopharmacology</a> Conference in Copenhagen.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/fizkes

Antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs can alter gut contents

Antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs can alter gut contents. In...

If a driver is suspected of operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a quick breathalyzer test can measure blood alcohol concentration. But when it comes to driving under the influence of marijuana, testing for THC, a psychoactive compound in cannabis, is much more complicated.  

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.chem.pitt.edu/">University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Chemistry</a> and the <a href="https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/">Swanson School of Engineering</a> have developed a breathalyzer device that can accurately measure marijuana influence.  

If further testing and research prove successful, the device could aid law enforcement officials and help states come up with better laws for driving while under the influence of marijuana. 

Currently, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marijuana-use-increased/">recreational marijuana is legal</a> in eleven states and Washington DC, while medical marijuana is legal in 33 states. 

It is possible to test for marijuana with current drug testing methods using blood, urine, or hair, but these tests can’t be used by police officers in the field. 

The researchers used machine learning and carbon nanotubes which are 100,000 times smaller than a strand of human hair to create a breathalyzer device that measures THC levels in the breath. 

 When a person under the influence of marijuana breathes into the device, THC molecules bind to the surface of the nanotubes and sensors then detect and measure the levels of THC. 

“The semiconductor carbon nanotubes that we are using weren’t available even a few years ago,” said Sean Hwang, lead author on a paper about the research. “We used machine learning to ‘teach’ the breathalyzer to recognize the presence of THC based on the electrical currents recovery time, even when there are other substances, like alcohol, present in the breath.”

The device looks like a typical breathalyzer that measures alcohol with a mouthpiece for and a digital display. 

The researchers tested the device in a lab setting, and the breathalyzer successfully measured THC levels when mixed with other breath components like CO2, water, and methanol. 

“Creating a prototype that would work in the field was a crucial step in making this technology applicable,” said Dr. Ervin Sejdic, a collaborator on the project. “It took a cross-disciplinary team to turn this idea into a usable device that’s vital for keeping the roads safe.” 

The researchers published their findings in the journal ACS Sensors and patented the device.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Craig F Scott

Developing a breathalyzer that can detect marijuana influence

If a driver is suspected of operating a vehicle while...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features 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

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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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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