Did you know that the gender of your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/doctors-are-stressed-at-work-and-at-home-during-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">doctor</a> could influence your health outcomes? That's right, a new study has uncovered some fascinating – and potentially life-altering – differences between how male and female physicians practice medicine.



This intriguing finding opens up a conversation about the subtle differences in how male and female doctors practice medicine and their impact on patient care



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-female-doctors-and-patient-health">Female doctors and patient health</h2>



Researchers at <a href="https://www.ucla.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UCLA</a> meticulously analyzed a massive collection of medical records – over 770,000 in total. This extensive dataset allowed them to spot trends and patterns that might not be visible in a smaller study. They honed in specifically on patients who had been hospitalized, as that's a critical point in the healthcare journey.



The study revealed that patients of both genders had slightly better survival chances within the 30-day period following their hospital stay if their attending physician was a woman. Importantly, this positive effect was even stronger when the patient was female.



Another key finding was that patients, regardless of gender, were less likely to need readmission to the hospital within 30 days of discharge when treated by a female physician.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-does-this-mean-female-doctors-are-better">Does this mean female doctors are better?</h2>



The situation isn't as straightforward as simply saying one gender makes a better <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/doctors-are-using-emoji-to-diagnose-patients-in-clinics-and-hospitals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">doctor</a>. It's tempting to jump to conclusions, but this research doesn't support the idea that male doctors are inherently less skilled. 



The research underscores a key insight: male and female physicians often differ subtly in their patient care approaches. These nuanced, perhaps subconscious, differences in doctor-patient interactions and decision-making can significantly affect a patient's health and recovery.



Studies suggest that biases might sometimes creep in. Male doctors, though well-intentioned, might underestimate the severity of symptoms reported by female patients. This misjudgment could lead to less aggressive or delayed treatment, impacting the patient's outcome.



Some experts observe that female physicians might have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-people-lying-doctor/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">communication</a> styles better suited to building trust and rapport with female patients. 



Stronger doctor-patient communication could lead to more complete information sharing, better diagnoses, and more effective treatment plans.



Female patients may feel more at ease discussing sensitive or potentially embarrassing health issues with a female doctor. This increased comfort level could make them more likely to share vital details, allowing for better-informed medical decisions and positively influencing their health journey.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-critical-role-of-female-physicians">Critical role of female physicians</h2>



This study opens a fascinating door, but it doesn't give us all the answers. We need to dig deeper to pinpoint the exact reasons why patients, particularly female patients, seem to have slightly better outcomes when treated by female physicians. 



Is it communication style? Implicit bias? A mix of factors? More research is crucial to answer these questions fully.



Sadly, even with their proven skills and contributions, female <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/future-doctors-and-nurses-need-more-training-in-disaster-medicine/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">doctors</a> often earn less than their male counterparts for the same work. This study is yet another reminder of the incredible value they bring to the healthcare system. 



Closing the pay gap isn't just about fairness; it's about recognizing the critical role female physicians play in improving health outcomes for everyone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-significance">Study significance</h2>



The deeper we understand the factors behind these findings, the better we can design training and systems to improve patient care across the board. This benefits everyone, regardless of the gender of their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/doctors-work-cut-fake-news-online-misinformation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">doctor</a>.



When everyone is compensated fairly, it attracts the best and brightest to the medical field. Ensuring pay equity could mean an even stronger healthcare system for everyone.



“What our findings indicate is that female and male physicians practice medicine differently, and these differences have a meaningful impact on patients' health outcomes,” said Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa. He is the associate professor-in-residence of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study’s senior author. 



“Further research on the underlying mechanisms linking physician gender with patient outcomes, and why the benefit of receiving the treatment from female physicians is larger for female patients, has the potential to improve patient outcomes across the board," Tsugawa concluded.



While your doctor's gender shouldn't be the only factor in your decision-making, this study reminds us that it might carry more weight than we previously thought. If you're searching for a doctor, it's definitely worth considering whether a female physician might be a better fit based on your personal needs.



The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-3163" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annals of Internal Medicine</a>.



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Female doctors show significantly better patient health outcomes

Did you know that the gender of your doctor could influence your health outcomes? That's right, a new study has uncovered some fascinating – and potentially life-altering – differences between how male and female physicians practice medicine. This intriguing finding opens up a conversation about the subtle differences in how male and female doctors practice medicine and their impact on patient care Female doctors and patient health Researchers at UCLA meticulously analyzed a massive collection of medical records – over 770,000 in total. This extensive dataset allowed...

Humans are living longer than ever these days thanks to improved quality of life, better access to health care, and advancements in medicine and technology. 

It’s estimated that there are as many as half a million centenarians, people 100 years of age or older, around the world. 

Humans have some of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-evolved-live-longer/">longest life spans</a>, especially compared to other primate species. Although humans and apes evolved from a common ancestor millions of years ago, the evolution of homo-sapiens ensured that our species could live well over 100 years, whereas primates live only half as long. 

A new study, conducted by researchers from the<a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/evolutionary-biology"> Institute of Evolutionary Biology</a>, examined the genetic mutations that make the long lifespan of humans possible. 

The results, published in the journal Molecular Biology &amp; Evolution, show that humans evolved a unique set of genetic mutations that help with blood coagulation, wound healing and cardiovascular functions. 

The researchers developed a new method that allowed them to identify 25 genes that may help explain why humans live so much longer than other primates. 

Genomes from seventeen primate species were analyzed for the study, according to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6134943/Experts-identify-25-genetic-mutations-help-explain-humans-evolved-live-long.html">Daily Mail</a> which reported on the findings. 

The reason the researchers focused on primates is that there is a such a major gap in life spans between humans and the common ancestor that primates evolved from. 

After comparing the genomes, the researchers identified 25 unique mutations in humans that help with health and longevity including those that aid in wound repair. 

According to the study’s leader, the results provide strong evidence that the secret to human longevity and aging is all thanks to our genetic evolution. 

“The results are meaningful, because a flexible and adaptable control of coagulation mechanisms are required in species that live longer,” Gerard Muntané, the study's leading author, told the Daily Mail. 

The research could aid in anti-aging research and could help with the development of new treatments for age-related diseases according to researchers. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Humans are able to to live so long thanks to genetic mutations

Humans are living longer than ever these days thanks to...

India took a major step today in protecting the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lgbq-adolescents-risk-suicide/">rights and lives of its LGBTQ community</a> when the country’s supreme court made a landmark ruling that decriminalized homosexuality. 

So far, 17 Commonwealth nations (India now included) have overturned the archaic colonial-era laws that have largely contributed the marginalization, oppression, and anti-gay sentiments that pervade in countries once controlled by British rule today. 

In July of last year, it was reported that 72 countries in the world <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/27/gay-relationships-still-criminalised-countries-report">criminalize same-sex relationships</a> and in 8 of those countries, homosexuality can result in the death penalty. 

The ruling comes after years of petitioning by LGBTQ rights activists. The law was once overturned by the high court in New Delhi in 2009 thanks to the Naz Foundation which is committed to raising awareness of HIV/AIDS. 

<a href="http://time.com/5388231/india-decriminalizes-homosexuality-section-377/?utm_source=time.com&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=social-button-sharing">Time</a> reported that even though the law was overturned in 2009, an uproar from religious groups led to the Supreme Court later re-criminalizing same-sex relationships in 2012. 

New petitions were filed in 2016, and today, the 1861 law that criminalized homosexuality, Section 377, was successfully overturned again hopefully for the last time.

It was argued that Section 377 both contributed to anti-gay stigmas and prevented people who contracted HIV/AIDs from seeking treatment due to fear of being ostracized or penalized in India. 

“Even after a person’s infection is identified, they are reluctant to go to government hospitals to take the confirmation test,” Rohit Sarkar, Senior Program Officer at India HIV/AIDS Alliance, told Time. “Because there was not only societal discrimination but also discrimination by the law.”

Anurag Kalia, one of the recent petitioners to the Supreme Court, told Time that the ruling will make it easier for members of the LGBTQ community to report harassment or assault to the police.

Many are in favor of the new ruling but there is expected backlash again from religious groups and organizations. 

Time reports that LGBTQ activists in India are now working towards marriage equality and property rights and making sure that today’s ruling is not, once again, reversed. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

India overturns colonial law that criminalized homosexuality

India took a major step today in protecting the rights...

The Earth experienced an extreme episode of global warming around 56 million years ago, which is known as the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Max (PETM). Over the course of just 10,000 to 20,000 years, the average temperature spiked by 5 to 8 degrees without returning to its original level until a few hundred thousand years later. 

Based on the analysis of sediments from the southern slope of the Pyrenees, researchers at the <a href="https://www.unige.ch/en/university/">University of Geneva</a> (UNIGE) measured the impact of this global warming event on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/summer-weather-wildfires-flooding/">river floods</a> and the surrounding landscapes. They found that the intensity of floods increased by a factor of eight, and sometimes even by a factor of 14. 

Study lead author Sébastien Castelltort is a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the UNIGE Faculty of Sciences.

“The method we relied on to analyze this global warming is directly inspired by cell signaling in systems biology, where researchers analyse the response of cells to external stimuli and the ensuing signal transmission,” explained Professor Castelltort.

“We are interested in how a system, in this case the hydrologic cycle through the behavior of rivers, reacts to an external signal, here the global warming.” 

Overall, the research shows that the consequences of global warming may be much greater than predicted by current climate models. For example, during the PETM, vegetation would have been replaced by pebbly plants. Rivers constantly changed course and often widened dramatically - from 15 to 160 meters wide in the most extreme case. 

“With global warming, the landscape changed completely. The channel-forming floods, which occur on average every 2 to 3 years and whose flow we have been able to measure, went up to 14 times greater than before when climate was cooler,” explained Professor Castelltort. 

“Our study shows that there are thresholds, non-linear evolutions that go beyond this ratio. With a ratio of 14 for flood magnitude, we face effects that we do not understand, which can perhaps be explained by local factors, but also by global factors that are not yet incorporated into current climate models. Our study proves that the risks associated with global warming may be far greater than we generally think.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Flood risks linked to global warming have been underestimated

The Earth experienced an extreme episode of global warming around...

A new study by developmental psychologists at <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a> has found that groups such as climate change deniers are more likely to rely on feedback, as opposed to evidence, when taking in new information and developing their opinions of right from wrong.

The researchers discovered that an individual's beliefs are more likely to be reinforced by the positive or negative reactions they receive than by logic, reasoning, or <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">scientific data</a>.

The research provides new insight into how people handle information that challenges their outlook. The study findings highlight specific learning habits that can be intellectually crippling.

“If you think you know a lot about something, even though you don’t, you’re less likely to be curious enough to explore the topic further, and will fail to learn how little you know,” said study lead author and PhD student Louis Marti.

This dynamic can be applied to many aspects of our real and virtual lives, including exposure to social media and cable-news echo chambers.

Study senior author Celeste Kidd is an assistant professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley.

“If you use a crazy theory to make a correct prediction a couple of times, you can get stuck in that belief and may not be as interested in gathering more information.”

The investigation was focused on over 500 participants as they examined various combinations of colored shapes on their computer screens. The individuals were asked to identify which colored shapes qualified as a make-believe object that the researchers created and named a “Daxxy.”

The participants made blind guesses about which of 24 items may constitute the unknown shape, and they were given feedback on whether the guesses were right or wrong. After each guess, the individuals reported on whether or not they were certain of their answer.


The study revealed that participants consistently based their certainty on whether they had correctly identified a “Daxxy” during the last few guesses.

“What we found interesting is that they could get the first 19 guesses in a row wrong, but if they got the last five right, they felt very confident,” said Marti. “It’s not that they weren’t paying attention, they were learning what a Daxxy was, but they weren’t using most of what they learned to inform their certainty.”


“If your goal is to arrive at the truth, the strategy of using your most recent feedback, rather than all of the data you’ve accumulated, is not a great tactic.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://open-mind.net/">Open Mind</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

People’s brains often base their beliefs on feedback not facts

A new study by developmental psychologists at UC Berkeley has...

A <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/08/01/382697.full.pdf">new study</a> from the <a href="https://ufrj.br/">Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro</a> has illuminated the actions of the protein component of fire ant venom on envenomated mice. 

Unusually for hymenopterans, the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), also referred to as RIFA, produces venom that is largely composed of alkaloids, which are more frequently found in plants. More than 95% of the venom is made up of these alkaloids, known as solenopsins. Proteins make up less than 1%. Solenopsins are cytotoxic and are responsible for the formation of the distinctive pseudo-pustules left by fire ant stings. These painful welts look like pimples and appear soon after the ant stings. 

Solenopsins also appear to have fungicidal, herbicidal, bactericidal, and insecticidal properties. In addition to aiding in prey capture and defense, they are used in nest maintenance, presumably to eliminate undesirable organisms from the ant colony. Interestingly, though they also have neurotoxic effects and are responsible for the release of histamines by affected cells, solenopsins appear to have no role in the allergic response to fire ant stings. 

The allergic response is instead caused by the 46 proteins known from the venom, four of which are well-described. Determining the pathways by which this happens has until recently been challenging due to the difficulty in extracting and isolating these proteins. 

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/how-just-a-few-drops-of-viper-venom-call-kill-you/">Venom</a> amounts to some .1% of the body weight of a fire ant and only a small proportion of that amount constitutes proteins. However, a <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82571129.pdf">recent procedure</a> developed for extracting venom and purifying the protein components allowed the study’s authors to test their effects in vivo on mice without the complicating factor of the solenopsins. 

Upon entering the body for the first time, the venom proteins are enveloped by dendritic cells and transported to lymph nodes. The dendritic cells present the peptide antigens generated by the proteins, coupled to a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/major-histocompatibility-complex">major histocompatibility class II molecule</a> spanning the cell membrane, to naive T lymphocytes. T lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell key in regulating the immune system. Once activated by exposure to the antigens, they clone themselves. The lymphocytes then trigger a cascade of further activity, including the release of immunoglobin E (IgE) antibodies, which then bind to mast cells, a type of white blood cell that is know as the “master regulator” of the immune system. Upon a second exposure, antigens from the venom signal the mast cells to release histamines in amounts disproportionate to the actual effects of the antigens. This is responsible for the inflammatory response typical of an allergic reaction. Adding to the inflammation is the activation of eosiniphils, another type of white blood, which are stimulated to release harmful proteins in an effort to destroy the antigen. These substances also cause tissue damage. 

In this study, the authors injected purified RIFA venom into the hind footpad of a previously unexposed mouse. Fourteen days later, they administered a second injection, either in another footpad or into the peritoneal cavity, the space between the lining of the abdominal wall and the abdominal cavity itself. The second footpad injection resulted in marked swelling. Fluid drained from the peritoneum following exposure revealed elevated levels of eosinophils, suggesting an allergic response. Additionally, dissected lymph nodes from sensitized mice revealed hyperplasia, or enlargement, suggesting a strong immune response to the venom proteins.

This development is important due to the ubiquity of the red imported fire ant and its negative interactions with humans. Some 14 million people in the U.S. alone are thought to suffer stings each year and up to 100,000 seek medical attention. Originally from South America, the ant has been transported around the world by shipping and is now established in China, Vietnam, and Australia, among other locales. Knowledge of the actions of fire ant venom proteins is likely to assist in treating allergic individuals. 

This study is forthcoming in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</a> (Nature).

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: Credits to Eduardo G P Fox and Roberto Eizemberg

Venom proteins cause allergic response to fire ant stings

A new study from the Universidade Federal do Rio de...

A new study from <a href="http://www.stmichaelshospital.com/">St. Michael's Hospital</a> has found that foods high in unsaturated fats, such as <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dark-chocolate-cardiovascular-health/">olive oil</a>, may protect against cardiovascular disease.

Levels of the plasma protein Apolipoprotein A-IV (ApoA-IV) increase after the digestion of foods, particularly foods high in unsaturated fats. In addition, elevated blood levels of ApoA-IV are associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease.

Experts at the <a href="http://stmichaelshospitalresearch.ca/about/keenan-about/">Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science</a> (KRCBS) of St. Michael's Hospital have demonstrated that ApoA-IV helps to inhibit platelets that promote multiple diseases.

The findings indicate that ApoA-IV is a blocker of platelet surface glycoproteins GPIIbIIIa, platelet receptors that are necessary for platelet aggregation, a process where platelets to clump together in the blood. This condition can cause vessel occlusion that blocks blood flow and leads to thrombosis, which is the most common cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide.

Dr. Heyu Ni is the Platform Director for Hematology, Cancer, and Immunological Diseases at the KRCBS and the study's principal investigator.

“Platelet aggregation can save lives, because it can stop bleeding in damaged vessels,” said Dr. Ni. “But we usually don't want platelets to block blood flow in the vessels. This is thrombosis, and if vessel occlusion occurs in the heart or brain, it can cause heart attack, stroke or death.”

The research team has shown that ApoA-IV can block fibrinogen binding, decreasing platelet aggregation in a vessel. The ApoA-IV protein can also change its shape to accommodate increased blood flow, and become more effective to protect vessels from complete blockage.

“This is the first study to link ApoA-IV with platelets and thrombosis,” said Dr. Ni. “With this work, we have also explained why higher levels of ApoA-IV can slow down plaque build-up in blood vessels, known as atherosclerosis, because this process is also related to platelet function.”

Dr. Ni explained that the new findings have many potential applications, particularly in the development of therapies targeted at cardiovascular disease and other diseases that arise from platelet activation and aggregation.

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

Why foods with unsaturated fats protect against cardiovascular disease

A new study from St. Michael's Hospital has found that...

A new study by Dr. Grant Lipman, a clinical associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/">Stanford School of Medicine</a>, has found that drought is a good predictor of fewer snakebites.

Dr. Lipman, who routinely treats patients with venomous snakebites, said: “I wondered if there are more snake bites during droughts.” 

To investigate, he developed a study with a team of researchers including co-lead author Dr. Caleb Phillips, an adjunct assistant professor of Computer Science at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado-Boulder</a>.


“We set out to prove that, yes, there are more snakebites during high drought time especially since that's what we were taught,” said Dr. Lipman.

The experts were surprised to find that the number of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/how-just-a-few-drops-of-viper-venom-call-kill-you/">snakebites</a> actually decreases after a drought, but increases after periods of rainy weather. 

The study also revealed that an increase in weather extremes caused by climate change has a direct influence on snakebite incidence in California. According to the study authors, this could be useful to help guide public health measures, such as determining the best distribution of antivenom supplies.

The analysis was focused on 20 years of snakebite data from every phone call made to the California Poison Control System from 1997 to 2017. 

A total of 5,365 snake bites were reported, all of which were from rattlesnakes. The average age of patients was found to be 37, and the researchers also determined that five deaths occurred over the study period. Most of the fatalities involved male victims who were at home in the backyard when they were bitten.

“The most common comment I usually hear from snakebite victims in the emergency room is: ‘I was just minding my own business,’” said Dr. Lipman “Usually, though, it's the snakes that were minding their own business, having a nice nap. It's people who tend to disturb them.”

The experts determined that snakebite incidence decreased by 10 percent following a drought, and increased by 10 percent following high levels of precipitation. The researchers theorize that an increase in rainfall results in accelerated shrub growth, which boosts the presence of rodents - the primary food source of snakes. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ictx20">Clinical Toxicology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A decrease in rainfall is actually linked to fewer snakebites

A new study by Dr. Grant Lipman, a clinical associate...

2017.12.12-Figure3

Europeans were making cheese as far back as 7,000 years ago.  Excavations of two Neolithic villages along the Dalmatian coast in the Mediterranean uncovered the earliest known evidence of cheese production and storage in the region. 

Access to milk and cheese is thought to be largely responsible for the spread of agriculture across Europe 9,000 years ago. However, previous archeological research has only produced evidence of cheese making dating back 5,000 years ago during the Bronze Age. Europeans were making cheese as far back as 7,000 years ago

Now, researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> have discovered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pottery-developed-fishing/">pottery remnants that once contained fish</a>, meat, and cheese as far back as 5,200 BCE. 

The findings were published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0202807">PLOS ONE. </a>

The researchers analyzed carbon isotopes of fatty acids preserved on potsherds (broken ceramic pieces) that were found in the sites of the Neolithic villages Pokrovnik and Danilo Bitinj. 

The villages were occupied from 6,000 to 4,800 BCE and excavations in the area have yielded many different types of pottery that was used at the time for food storage and production. 

Milk, fish and meat residue was discovered on the potsherds and the researchers theorize that cheese production in the Neolithic area was common 7,2000 years ago and cheese provided an important source of nutrition for early farmers. 

“We suggest that milk and cheese production among Europe's early farmers reduced infant mortality and helped stimulate demographic shifts that propelled farming communities to expand to northern latitudes,” the authors wrote in the study’s abstract. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: McClure et al., 2018

Europeans were making cheese as far back as 7,000 years ago

Europeans were making cheese as far back as 7,000 years...

A new study found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-treats-migraines-better/">cannabinoid in marijuana</a> that is known for producing a high, may help alleviate chronic nerve pain. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.tasmc.org.il/sites/en/Imaging/Pages/FMRI.aspx">Sagol Brain Institute at the Tel Aviv Medical Center</a> in Israel discovered that THC reduces brain activity between the areas of the brain that process emotions and sensory signals, which in turn could help provide pain relief. 

The results of the study were published online in the journal Neurology. 

“Pain is a complex experience that involves both the senses and emotions,” said Haggai Sharon, an author of the study. “Our study results link pain relief from THC with a reduction in the connections between areas of the brain otherwise heavily connected, suggesting that THC may alleviate pain by disrupting signals between these pain processing pathways.”

The researchers focused on radicular pain, which radiates from the spine down through the legs. Sciatica, for example, is an extremely common form of radicular pain. 

According to the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sciatica/symptoms-causes/syc-20377435">Mayo Clinic</a>, more than 3 million cases of sciatica are diagnosed each year and it can cause severe pain, numbness, and tingling. 

15 men with chronic radicular nerve pain with an average age of 33 participated in the study and all the men reported having pain for more than six months. 

The researchers asked the participants to rate their pain levels and conducted MRI brain scans of the participants to understand the different pathways and connections in the brain associated with pain processing. 

Next, the researchers split the participants into two groups, nine of which received 15 milligrams of THC oil and six were given a placebo. 

An hour after consuming the THC oil, the participants were asked again about their pain levels and then underwent another brain scan. 

A week later, the participants were given the THC oil again, but this time the participants that been given the THC were given the placebo and those who had received the placebo were given the THC. 

Those who had the THC treatment reported that their pain had decreased.

From zero to 100, the participants reported an average pain level of 53 before taking the THC and 35 after the treatment. 

Pain relief was influenced by the connections between the regions of the brain responsible for processing pain. 

“Interestingly, our results also show that the more connected the areas of the brain that process emotion and sensory prior to treatment, the greater the pain relief experienced when taking THC,” said Sharon. “Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings.”

The small sample size of the study and the fact that women did not participate are limiting factors, and the researchers say that further studies are needed to better understand how other cannabinoids impact nerve pain. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a>, Staff Writer

Medical marijuana can help alleviate chronic nerve pain

A new study found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the cannabinoid in...

Being active is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, especially as you age. And while running, weightlifting and playing sports are all beneficial to your health, just the simple act of walking can also provide numerous benefits. One of these benefits has just been discovered in a new study published in the <a href="http://heartfailure.onlinejacc.org/">Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure</a>, which found for the first time that walking can significantly lower the risk of heart failure in older women.

The study involved over 137,000 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79, making it the largest and most comprehensive to date that has assessed physical activity within the context of heart failure prevention. Results showed that, along with reducing overall heart failure by 25 percent, increased physical activity improved two heart failure subtypes that are defined by cardiac function. These subtypes are reduced ejection fraction, which usually has a worse prognosis, and preserved ejection fraction, which is more common in older adults – particularly women and racial-ethnic minorities. 

Reduced ejection fraction heart failure usually occurs in individuals who have suffered a heart attack. It causes the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/litte-sleep-harmful-heart-health/">heart</a> to become a less efficient pump, which leads to other complications, including the failure of other organs and the need for a heart transplant, as well as sudden cardiac death. Preserved ejection fraction typically occurs in people who haven’t had a heart attack, but do have high blood pressure or diabetes. 

“The heart muscle more or less wears out and becomes an inefficient pump, although not to the extreme seen with reduced ejection fraction,” explains Michael LaMonte, PhD, research associate professor of epidemiology in the <a href="https://sphhp.buffalo.edu/">University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health</a> Professions and lead author of the study.

“This is the first study to report physical activity levels are related to a lower risk of developing heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in older adults, particularly in women,” LaMonte says. “This is pretty important from a public health standpoint, given the poor prognosis this type of heart failure has once it’s present.”

LaMonte and colleagues analyzed self-reported physical activity information from participants in the Women’s Health Initiative. They found that the cumulative incidence of overall heart failure was lower with increasing physical activity when compared to women who reported no physical activity at baseline. An additional 30 to 45 minutes per day of activity was linked with a risk reduction of 9 percent for overall heart failure, 8 percent for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and 10 percent for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. 

The data also showed that physical activity and walking were inversely associated with the development of heart failure, while intensity-specific (mild, moderate, intense) physical activity was not. This may indicate that it’s the amount and not the intensity of physical activity performed that can potentially prevent heart failure.

“The finding that walking showed a protective association with heart failure and its subtypes is particularly important in a public health context,” says LaMonte. “This is especially relevant given that walking is by far the most commonly reported physical activity in older adults.”

With the population of people 60 and older expected to double in the U.S. by 2035, these findings may be especially important. “Because heart failure is much more common after age 60, and because its treatment is very challenging and costly, the possibility of preventing its development by promoting increased physical activity levels, and specifically walking, in later life could have an important impact on the overall burden of this disease in an aging society,” LaMonte concludes. 

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Walking regularly shown to reduce heart failure risk as we age

Being active is an important part of maintaining a healthy...

You can see it in places like Santa Fe, New Mexico, Moab, Utah, Telluride, Colorado, even in Hill City, South Dakota.  Slowly it seems, the wealthy are buying up the rugged west and costs for enjoying public lands climb lockstep with the alteration of that landscape for increased recreation.

I recently had dinner with a friend of mine who decades ago spent his summers during college living out of a van and working at a rock shop in Moab, Utah.  My friend tells me Moab has changed so much and not for the better, to the degree he can’t visit the town anymore; it’s too sad. Moab is the poster child for a type of change that threatens to engulf the entire western US.  Once a small, quirky town full of working class people and outdoor bums, Moab has become a destination, a tourism mecca. The sad irony is that people like John Muir or Ed Abbey, promoting the natural beauty of places they loved have drawn in tourists that have overrun once lonely places.  As my friend told me, eventually people stop coming to a place because they love it and people start coming simply because it’s the place to be.

In his book, The Man Who Quit Money, Mark Sundeen nicely summarizes the historic feel of Moab, Utah and a way of living that has attracted many to the western US over the years:

“In 1897 – the same year builders broke ground on that icon of modernity, the Eiffel Tower – Moab still had no road or railway service, and the only way to cross the Colorado River into town was by ferry…A graded road and river bridge did not arrive until 1912…Moab has always had a reflexively anti-authoritarian bent.  People came here to do whatever the Hell they wanted. When in 1878 a settler named Arthur Barney crossed the Colorado where Moab now sits, he and his men found a sign on the bank reading NO CAMPING ALLOWED. In excellent Moab form, they threw the sign in the river and crossed.” 

Things in Moab and throughout the west are changing though.  Ranching, mining, logging and other extraction industries in the western US are slowly being replaced by outdoor recreation and service industries, a shift fraught with unintentional consequences.  

On Patagonia’s blog <a href="https://www.patagonia.com/blog/2017/01/the-outdoor-industry-loves-utah-does-utah-love-the-outdoor-industry/">The Cleanest Line</a>, the company states that outdoor recreation annually drives $12 billion in spending and supports 122,000 jobs in Utah alone (as of January 2017).  According to an article in <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/business/2017/07/28/outdoor-recreation-meant-12b-to-utahs-economy-last-year/">The Salt Lake Tribune</a>, the outdoor industry supported 110,000 jobs in 2016, more than double the 32,000 mining jobs or 18,000 energy jobs.  According to a Utah Department of Agriculture and Food report for 2017, agriculture production and processing employed 79,000 people that year.  In 2017, <a href="https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865679687/Report-Utah-tourism-growing-at-record-levels.html">Deseret News</a> reported that tourism in Utah grew 12% from 2011 to 2015.   These numbers are striking when considering a western state like Utah that has traditionally been defined by ‘natural resources’ and hardworking blue collar types.

According to <a href="https://utahbusiness.com/build-population-growth-will-reshape-utahs-housing-landscape/">Utah Business</a>, Utah is projected to double its population by 2065.  Tourism seems to be a new major player in the economics of the west, one that’s here to stay.  <a href="https://newwest.net/city/article/what_is_a_new_west_vs_old_west_economy/C396/L396/">New West</a> says: 

“Vibrant local new economies are emerging. A 2005 government study finds that rural counties specializing in recreation and tourism enjoyed higher employment growth rates, higher percentages of working age residents, and lower local poverty rates.”

The economic and population growth in Utah is affecting national parks and other ‘natural’ areas as well.  <a href="https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2018/02/28/zion-national-park-ranks-3rd-u-s-number-visitors/380897002/">The Spectrum</a> reported earlier this year that Zion National Park in Southern Utah is now the third most visited National Park in the US.  Only Great Smoky National Park and Grand Canyon National Park had more visitors than Zion in 2017. 

Zion isn’t alone either; visiting Arches National Park on an average day makes it clear that much of what Ed Abbey feared in visitation has come to pass.  The master plan is complete. Roads are paved and packed with SUVs. On one hike, my fiance Erin and I were baffled to watch a tourist offer a chipmunk scurrying across slick rock water and proclaim, “Stupid chipmunk” when the small mammal didn’t drink.  Small puddles were already nearby. 

It seems from my perspective that the majority of visitors to Arches or Zion aren’t making a real connection to the land.  A ranger in the Grand Canyon once told me about rescuing a woman who walked for miles into the canyon in high heeled shoes.  What brings a person like that to the Grand Canyon? Perhaps clever marketing. 

In Utah, the Office of Tourism seems to have focused its marketing on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-national-parks/">national parks</a>.  The focus on the outdoors makes sense for Utah, it’s the main attraction on hand for tourism.  The Mighty Five ad campaign is one I remember seeing on TV a couple years ago, it’s an a campaign focusing on Utah’s five national parks.  Beyond the Mighty Five, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/ut/list.htm">Utah</a> has six National Monuments, some of which are absolutely as spectacular as the National Parks.  There are also four National Historic Trails passing through Utah and there is one National Historic Site and one National Recreation area.  

Utah is fairly typical of western states, where the majority of federal land is located.  <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/co/list.htm">Colorado</a> has five National Monuments, four National Parks, two National Historic sites and one National Recreation area.  <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/az/list.htm">Arizona</a> follows much the same pattern with only three National Parks but with a whopping 13 National Monuments plus historic sites, recreational sites and historic trails that pass through the state.  It isn’t just the four corners region or desert areas either; <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/or/list.htm">Oregon</a> has five National Parks.  <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/wa/list.htm">Washington</a> State has 15 National Parks and the park service claims, 8,371,753 visitors to those parks annually. 

The eastern US is much less dominated by federal land than the west.  Take <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/vt/index.htm">Vermont</a> for instance, the state only has one National Historical Park and one National Scenic Trail passing through it.  The National Park Service claims 48,945 visitors to Vermont’s park. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/me/index.htm">Maine</a> has a bit more public land with a National Park, a National Monument, an International Park and an International Historic Site.  Compared to Arizona though, Maine attracts less than one quarter of the visitors to its parks and less than half that of Washington state with 3,430,164 visitors.

The land of the eastern US was quickly developed and much was already lost when parks, monuments and national forests started popping up across the US.  Preservation has naturally favored places where a good amount of unspoiled land was left; places like Utah, Montana or Alaska. According to a 2016 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/upshot/why-the-government-owns-so-much-land-in-the-west.html">New York Times</a> report, the federal government owns 47% of western land.  According to <a href="https://www.summitpost.org/public-and-private-land-percentages-by-us-states/186111">summitpost.org</a>, 95.8% of Alaska is public land but not all of that land is Federal.  Listed in order of highest to lowest percentage of public lands, the first twelve states are all western, with New York ranking as number 13 with 37.1% of its land being public.  In the case of New York, a large portion of its public land is state land. Only 0.3% of New York is federal land according to <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Federal_land_ownership_by_state">ballotopedia.org</a>.  

It’s clear that federal public lands, including national parks and national forests, are part of what defines western landscape and culture, making it different than the eastern US.  What isn’t clear is what this will mean going forward. The reason why so many national parks and forests were able to be created in the western US is largely due to an accident in demographics.  The US was colonized by Europeans and other settlers starting on the east coast going west. The movement from east to west meant a less densely populated western US when parks and forests started to get set aside, meaning there was more undeveloped land to create parks with in the west.

When it comes to national forests, the pattern of east to west development and private land ownership becomes even more obvious.  54% of land inside eastern National Forest boundaries is actually national forest land, according to <a href="http://www.andykerr.net/kerr-public-lands-blog/2017/1/7/national-forests-in-the-eastern-united-states-an-incomplete-legacy">Andy Kerr’s Public Land Blog</a>.  Much of this privately owned land was already owned by private logging companies in the east, while a much smaller percentage was owned in western states.  

Although the preservation of much of the west is predicated on smaller western populations, there has been a growing trend to promote tourism to parks, forests, deserts, landscapes that need continued protection.  Undoubtedly seeing parks makes you care about them more but not all park experiences are equal. 

Infrastructure in parks is starting to crumble. <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/">Yes Magazine</a>, stating an oft recognized problem, writes that National Park’s transportation expenses require about $970 million annually, but in 2016 only received $240 million.  The backlog on infrastructure repairs remains today as well, a big reason parks have started to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-parks-trump-ghost-teddy-roosevelt/">raise fees</a>.  

The popularity of parks is directly contributing to the infrastructure problem and people who drive over roads in large RVs are causing the problem more than backpackers in relatively light cars but probably won’t shoulder more of the burden.  By encouraging more visitation, we’ve caused more problems in parks, problems of congestion, of degradation of both natural environment and infrastructure. With infrastructure also comes of course, less of what people go to parks to see; more asphalt and less grass, rock, trees.

Outside of parks, western cities become more crowded as well.  I’ve driven through mountain towns that now have special routes for people driving ATVs through towns.  Dirt roads are more crowded with ATVs, dirt bikes and SUVs as well, places where mountain bikes were once common are now too dusty to easily ride.  Land prices climb in the most beautiful areas of the west. It becomes increasingly unclear whether the tough working classes who built communities in the west or the Native Americans who’ve often been forced onto marginal lands have a future here.  Campgrounds that were once free are now charging and visits to grocery stores in many tourism driven western towns can induce sticker shock to most. 

With the changing western landscape, environmentalists, especially those in the west should start asking if they’ve made a mistake.  By asking people to visit the west have we simply traded the problems of the extraction industry for new problems caused by industrial tourism?  By focusing on financial benefits of parks are businesses like Patagonia selling out the environment? 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer                            

Image Credit: Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/wa2l5tW5ISE?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Mitch Nielsen</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Ecotourism and the rapidly changing New West

You can see it in places like Santa Fe, New...

An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> has investigated the roles of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/women-migraines/">women</a> in science and beyond. The experts have identified specific barriers that may prevent success, and have also highlighted some simple changes that can be made to draw more women into innovative industries.

The researchers are part of a committee for the international network<a href="http://womenincoastal.org/"> Women in Coastal Geoscience and Engineering</a> (WICGE), which spans Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Spain. 

The study revealed that women only represent around 20 percent of the CGE’s most prestigious roles, even though females makes up a third of the CGE community. 

Co-author Professor Ana Vila-Concejo is the deputy director of the One Tree Island Research Station on Australia's Great Barrier Reef and a co-leader of the University of Sydney's Geocoastal Research Group. 

“Our findings are important not only for our field of research but also for other fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics - and beyond," said Professor Vila-Concejo.

“Reading the survey responses was harder than we had anticipated; I could not read all responses in one go as I was in tears.”

“We found flagrant examples of inequality that included dramatic decisions such as an early career researcher deciding to undergo an abortion out of fear of jeopardising her chances of securing an academic position.”
The researchers analyzed the gender of leaders on the boards and committees of nine societies, 25 journals, and 10 conferences. They also conducted a global survey and collected responses from 314 people.

The study revealed that gender stereotyping was among the most common drivers of inequality in the CGE. The stereotyping of women in STEM as being incompetent and not being taken seriously was found to be a common problem. 


One survey participant responded: “During a job interview, the lead engineer (male) was explaining how they have the ‘boys club’ here at the office. They did offer me the job, but I didn't want to work in that type of environment.”


The researchers found that women being overlooked and ignored in favor of male colleagues was also a key issue. 


Some solutions recommended by the study authors include advocating for more women in prestige roles, promoting high-achieving females, creating awareness of gender bias, and speaking up. Other steps to success include getting better support for return-to-work, redefining success, and encouraging more women to enter the discipline at a young age.

Study co-author Shari Gallop from Macquarie University explained, “The first four steps we recommend can be successfully implemented immediately, while others need institutional engagement and represent major societal overhauls.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/">Palgrave Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Research reveals the primary obstacles professional women face

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

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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

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> 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?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" 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 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

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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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



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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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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

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