Music can make a sleepy train ride feel romantic or turn a routine workout into an emotional burst of energy. 



Scientists have long wondered how a string of notes pushes the brain from one emotional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-doesnt-just-hear-music-it-becomes-the-rhythm/">feeling</a> to the next, and why the experience changes when the previous feeling was different. <a href="https://psychology.columbia.edu/content/matthew-sachs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matthew Sachs</a> of Columbia University and colleagues set out to <a href="https://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2025/06/19/ENEURO.0184-24.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">answer</a> that puzzle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-wordless-path-to-emotion">A wordless path to emotion</h2>



Music reliably raises specific <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32898679/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emotions</a> across cultures, making it a useful tool for lab work. Because melodies lack words, researchers can study pure feeling without the baggage of stories or language.



In recent <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1910704117" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">surveys</a>, listeners reported at least thirteen distinct emotional colors from songs, ranging from awe to tenderness. Those varied reactions let scientists choreograph controlled “emotional journeys” by arranging passages that lean happy, tense, calm, or sad.



The brain also treats music as a social signal, recruiting regions tied to empathy and perspective‑taking. That overlap makes findings with music relevant to understanding everyday interactions. 



Music’s precise timing helps investigators lock brain activity to exact seconds in a tune. Such temporal precision is important when studying transitions, which can unfold in a blink.



Finally, unlike pictures or movies, songs can be replayed in multiple orders without breaking logic. That flexibility allowed the team to test how a given passage feels when it follows joy versus when it follows anxiety.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music-changes-emotion-fast">Music changes emotion fast</h2>



Sachs’s group asked professional composers to craft two fifteen‑minute pieces split into thirty‑two “emotion events,” each one lasting about 30‑70 seconds. The passages covered calm, joy, sadness, anxiety, and a mixed nostalgic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/live-music-connects-people-emotionally-and-physically/">feeling</a>.



Two versions of each piece shuffled the same events so that a joyful segment might follow calm in one version but chase sadness in the other. 



This context swap let the researchers isolate the effect of prior mood. Thirty‑nine volunteers lay in an <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/25034-functional-mri-fmri" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fMRI scanner</a>, a technique that tracks blood flow as a stand‑in for neural activity. The scanner’s pulses were timed to the beat so listeners heard smooth audio through special headphones.



After scanning, the volunteers replayed short clips of music online and rated how strongly each clip made them feel the target emotion. Those ratings confirmed that the music hit its emotional marks at the intended moments.



To align brains that never look identical, the team used a <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/slp3/A.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hidden Markov model</a>, a statistical tool that spots stable patterns and the moments they shift. The model does not assume equal event lengths, matching how real feelings vary.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music-mapped-onto-brain-activity">Music mapped onto brain activity</h2>



Activity patterns in auditory cortex and the adjoining superior temporal gyrus stayed steady within an event but flipped sharply at composer‑defined boundaries. Those flips still appeared after factoring out pitch, volume, and harmony, meaning the brain was tracking emotion rather than mere <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/music-and-repeated-sounds-reorganize-your-brain-networks-in-real-time/">acoustics</a>.



The same temporal‑parietal strip has been linked to social meaning in speech and laughter. Current <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627317305937" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">findings</a> add music‑evoked emotion dynamics to its résumé. 



Elsewhere, frontal regions associated with self‑reflection lit up when feelings changed. That response supports prior work showing prefrontal roles in labeling and regulating emotion.



Importantly, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2768874/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subcortical reward hubs</a> showed general arousal but did not map fine‑grained transitions. Those areas may mark intensity rather than shifts in category. 



Together the data sketch a layered system: auditory regions sense change, temporal‑parietal regions label the new state, and frontal areas integrate the experience. That hierarchy resembles proposed models for narrative comprehension.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-past-emotions-change-how-you-hear-music">Past emotions change how you hear music</h2>



When a happy passage followed another positive passage, listeners’ brains switched to the new state about six seconds sooner than when the same passage followed a tense one. The volunteers also pressed the “happy” button nine seconds earlier in the same‑valence condition.



Context even changed the spatial pattern of activity during an event. Pairs of participants who heard a clip in the same order showed more similar neural signatures than pairs who heard it in opposite orders.



Such carry‑over echoes psychological <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31628982/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">findings</a> that earlier feelings bias how we perceive later stimuli. The study quantifies that bias down to single‑second resolution. 



Researchers call the stickiness of mood <a href="https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1027/0269-8803.23.1.7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">valence</a> persistence, and extreme persistence can tip into emotional rigidity. Depression is often marked by this rigidity, trapping individuals in negative states.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-treating-emotion-with-playlists">Treating emotion with playlists</h2>



“We know that people who suffer from mood disorders or depression often demonstrate emotional rigidity, where they basically get stuck in an emotional state" said Sachs. 



"Maybe we could take someone with depression, for instance, and use the approach we developed to identify neural markers for the emotional rigidity that keeps them in a very negative state.”



His comment matches growing interest in music‑based interventions. Unlike medications, playlists can be tailored rapidly and have few side effects. 



If clinicians can spot delayed transition signatures in vulnerable patients, they might train quicker shifts through neurofeedback. Past <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19646532/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> shows that people can learn to nudge targeted brain regions with real‑time feedback.



Therapists already use mood‑tracking apps; adding objective brain markers could improve accuracy. Personalized “emotion workouts” might teach flexible switching, similar to cognitive training for attention.



 Beyond clinics, the findings could improve soundtracks in virtual reality or adaptive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/video-games-can-rewind-the-clock-on-cognitive-performance/">games</a>. Systems might adjust musical cues to help users linger in, or exit from, certain feelings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-science-hasn-t-tested-yet">What science hasn’t tested yet</h2>



The study focused on adults in a scanner; children, musicians, or people with disorders may show different timelines. Future projects could compare those groups directly.&nbsp;



Only five emotion labels were used. Real life holds many blended states such as awe or envy that might map differently. Subcortical areas did not show clear transition patterns here, but that may reflect scanner noise or event length.&nbsp;



Higher‑resolution recordings could reveal subtler dynamics. Music is just one trigger; spoken stories, movement, or smell might drive other networks. 



Combining modalities could pinpoint common versus unique pathways. Finally, the team manipulated valence but not arousal. Experiments that cross calm‑excited levels might tease apart the role of energy versus positivity.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2025/06/19/ENEURO.0184-24.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eNeuro</a>.



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Music rewires the brain to quickly navigate emotion

Music can make a sleepy train ride feel romantic or turn a routine workout into an emotional burst of energy. Scientists have long wondered how a string of notes pushes the brain from one emotional feeling to the next, and why the experience changes when the previous feeling was different. Matthew Sachs of Columbia University and colleagues set out to answer that puzzle. A wordless path to emotion Music reliably raises specific emotions across cultures, making it a useful tool for lab work. Because melodies lack words,...

Chemicals in everyday products may be increasing the risk of obesity. According to a new study from the <a href="http://www.uns.ac.rs/index.php/en/">University of Novi Sad</a> in Serbia, exposure to common chemicals called phthalates may contribute to the development of metabolic disorders. The researchers have discovered a link between levels of phthalate exposure and markers of impaired liver function, which indicate an increased risk of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/obesity-rising-rural-areas/">obesity</a>, diabetes, and heart disease. 

Phthalates are additives that are often used in the production of plastics, with detectable traces found in everyday items including milk, bottled water, instant coffee, perfume, toys, shampoo, and food packaging. Chemicals in everyday products may be increasing the risk of obesity 

Previous studies have found that endocrine-disrupting chemicals can cause an increased risk of obesity, as well as serious damage to fertility and development. The current study is the first of its kind to investigate how phthalate exposure affects obesity and metabolism.

A team led by Professor Milica Medic-Stojanoska compared the levels of phthalate absorbed by people with their body weight, type 2 diabetes incidence, and markers of impaired liver and metabolic function. 

The study revealed that higher exposure to phthalates was associated with increased markers of liver damage, insulin resistance, and cholesterol in people with obesity and diabetes. The research indicates that more action is needed to reduce the public's exposure to these potentially harmful chemicals.

“Although a small association study, these findings suggest that not only do phthalates alter metabolism to increase the risk of obesity and diabetes but that they are also causing toxic damage to the liver,” said Professor Medic-Stojanoska.

“We need to inform people about the potential adverse effects of endocrine disruptors on their health and look at ways to minimise our contact with these harmful chemicals.”

The research will be presented at the <a href="https://www.ese-hormones.org/">European Society of Endocrinology</a> annual meeting, ECE 2019.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chemicals in everyday products may be increasing the risk of obesity

Chemicals in everyday products may be increasing the risk of...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a> (USC) have found that there are roughly 20 percent fewer new asthma cases among children in the Los Angeles region as a result of improved air quality.

“This is encouraging news as it shows the number of new cases of asthma in children can be reduced through improvements in air quality,” said study co-author Professor Kiros Berhane. “This is very likely a direct result of the science-based environmental policies that have been put in place.”

The research expands on the Children's Health Study, a long-term investigation which previously found that children's lungs became stronger and rates of bronchitic symptoms decreased as <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/children-develop-asthma-air-pollution/">pollution</a> declined across Los Angeles over the last two decades.

While Los Angeles remains the most polluted area of the country, the city managed to reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution by 22 percent and fine particulate matter by 36 percent between 1993 and 2006.

The researchers analyzed air pollution data collected from monitoring stations in nine California communities during 1993-2001, 1996-2004, and 2006-2014. Based on data from 4,140 children, the study revealed that the nitrogen dioxide reductions led to a 20 percent lower rate of asthma, while fine particulate matter reduction led to a 19 percent lower rate of asthma.

The findings add to a growing collection of evidence that air pollution is a major contributor to the development of asthma, which is the most common chronic disease in children.

“While the findings show a clear benefit of lower air pollution levels, there must be continued efforts to reduce pollution in our region,” said study first author Erika Garcia. “We're not in a place where we can stop and say, ‘Hey, we've arrived.’”

The study is published in the <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama">Journal of the American Medical Association</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Air quality improvements in Los Angeles have reduced new asthma cases

Experts at the University of Southern California (USC) have found...

A new study from the <a href="https://icahn.mssm.edu/">Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai</a> indicates that cannabidiol (CBD) can make it easier for people to overcome addiction. Among individuals with a history of heroin or opioid abuse, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cannabidiol-antipsychotic-treatment/">CBD</a> reduced anxiety and cue-induced craving. 

The use of heroin and prescription opioid medications in the United States has resulted in more than 300,000 deaths over the last decade. Despite this unprecedented epidemic, however, there are limited treatment options. 

Two of the non-opioid medications that are currently available, methadone and buprenorphine, are designed to work on the same opioid receptors as heroin. However, these medications are not only potentially addictive, but are also tightly regulated by the government. This means that the treatments are unavailable to many people diagnosed with opioid use disorder.

“To address the critical need for new treatment options for the millions of people and families who are being devastated by this epidemic, we initiated a study to assess the potential of a non-intoxicating cannabinoid on craving and anxiety in heroin-addicted individuals,” said study first author Dr. Yasmin Hurd.

“The specific effects of CBD on cue-induced drug craving and anxiety are particularly important in the development of addiction therapeutics because environmental cues are one of the strongest triggers for relapse and continued drug use.”

For the study, 42 drug-abstinent men and women were randomly assigned to receive 400 mg of CBD, 800 mg of CBD, or a matching placebo. The participants were exposed to neutral and drug-related cues immediately following administration, 24 hours later, and seven days after the third and final daily CBD or placebo administration. 

Neutral cues were three-minute videos of relaxing nature scenes, while drug-related cues were videos that showed intravenous or intranasal drug use and heroin-related paraphernalia. At different times throughout the sessions, measurements of opioid craving, anxiety, positive and negative affect, and vital signs were obtained.

The study revealed that CBD significantly reduced both the craving and anxiety induced by drug cues compared with the placebo. The positive effects of CBD persisted seven days after exposure, which suggests that the benefits of CBD as a treatment are long-lasting, even when the cannabinoid would not be expected to be present in the body.

“Our findings indicate that CBD holds significant promise for treating individuals with heroin use disorder,” said Dr. Hurd. “A successful non-opioid medication would add significantly to the existing addiction medication toolbox to help reduce the growing death toll, enormous health care costs, and treatment limitations imposed by stringent government regulations amid this persistent opioid epidemic.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/">American Journal of Psychiatry</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

CBD may be an effective treatment for opioid and heroin addiction

A new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at...

Many archeologists and anthropologists have framed the major human shift from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prehistoric-hunter-gatherers-farmers/">hunter-gathering to farming</a> as one symbolizing progress. 

However, researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> who observed modern-day hunter-gatherers in the Philippines found that farming actually leads to less leisure time and unfairly impacts women. 

A team of anthropologists lived with and observed the Agta, a group of hunter-gatherers spending more and more time cultivating and farming in the Northern Philippines. Over two years, they documented how 359 members of the Agta split across ten communities spent their time.

The researchers made a note of how the Agta split their time between leisure, childcare, domestic chores, farming, and hunting-gathering. 

A study detailing their observations was published in the journal Nature Human Behavior. 

“For a long time, the transition from foraging to farming was assumed to represent progress, allowing people to escape an arduous and precarious way of life,” said Dr. Mark Dyble, the first author of the study. “But as soon as anthropologists started working with hunter-gatherers they began questioning this narrative, finding that foragers actually enjoy quite a lot of leisure time.”

The communities that started to spend more time farming had less leisure time than the communities that dedicated their time to hunting and gathering. Farming communities spent 30 hours working while foraging and hunting communities worked 20 hours a week on average.  

It was the women of the farming communities that were most impacted by the shift and had to spend more time working, the researchers found. 

Agta adults spent around 24 hours a week foraging, farming or hunting, while 30 hours were dedicated to leisure time, and 20 hours were spent on chores. 

In the hunter-gathering communities, women spent more time in camp, but in the communities that adopted farming, the women were expected to spend more time farming. 

“This might be because agricultural work is more easily shared between the sexes than hunting or fishing,” said Dyble. “Or there may be other reasons why men aren’t prepared or able to spend more time working out-of-camp. This needs further examination.”

The study calls into question thousands of years of progress as humans formed permanent settlements anchored by agriculture. But the researchers urge caution when comparing the Agta to prehistoric settlements because of the myriad of factors influencing modern hunter-gatherers and past societies. 

“We have to be really cautious when extrapolating from contemporary hunter-gatherers to different societies in pre-history,” said Dr. Abigail Page, a co-author of the study. “But if the first farmers really did work harder than foragers then this begs an important question - why did humans adopt agriculture?”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Mark Dyble

New study reveals that farmers have less free time than hunter-gatherers

Many archeologists and anthropologists have framed the major human shift...

The trillions of microorganisms that thrive in our gastrointestinal tract are essential to our health and immune system. Our bodies are teeming with bacteria, and a healthy gut needs these good microorganisms to help fend off harmful bacteria, break down food, and produce vitamins.

There has been a growing interest in the role gut flora play in mental health with studies suggesting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-health-depression/">depression and gut health are linked</a> through the “gut-brain axis.”

Some research has suggested that regulating gut bacteria could help improve mental disorders like anxiety, one of the most common mental illnesses in the US, but so far there has been little conclusive evidence to back these claims. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.smhc.org.cn/index_en.aspx">Shanghai Mental Health Center</a> at <a href="http://en.sjtu.edu.cn/">Shanghai Jiao Tong</a> reviewed 21 studies that assessed the impacts of probiotics and non-probiotic lifestyle changes on gut health and anxiety. 

In all, the 21 studies followed 1,5013 participants and 14 of the studies involved using probiotics while the other seven examined non-probiotic treatments like changing diet. 

Some of the studies using probiotics tried two or three kinds of probiotics while some only used one probiotic. 

Eleven out of 21 studies had positive results showing that regulating gut flora helped reduce anxiety symptoms. 

The researchers found that the 14 studies that tested probiotics were 36 percent effective in total at reducing anxiety, but 6 out of 7 of the non-probiotic studies were effective in reducing anxiety.

In all the studies reviewed, there was an overall trend of the non-probiotic dietary changes being more effective than probiotics, especially when participants in a study tried both simultaneously. 

According to the researchers, this is because changing a diet has a much more dramatic impact on improving and regulating the gut microbiota. 

The results suggest that there is an essential connection between gut health and mental health, but more research is needed to understand this link. 

Regulating gut bacteria could help reduce anxiety, but the researchers note that the study is observational with many limitations. 

The researchers detailed their findings in a study published in the journal <a href="http://gut.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/gpsych-2019-100056">General Psychiatry</a>. 

“There are two kinds of interventions (probiotic and non-probiotic interventions) to regulate intestinal microbiota, and it should be highlighted that the non-probiotic interventions were more effective than the probiotic interventions,” the researchers said. “More studies are needed to clarify this conclusion since we still cannot run meta-analysis so far.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Regulating gut bacteria could be key to alleviating anxiety

The trillions of microorganisms that thrive in our gastrointestinal tract...

People recycle more when they know what the material will become. Even though we now have the capacity to recycle plastic, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/recycling-carbon-emissions/">carbon</a>, and other materials to <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/most-plastic-bottles-are-recycled-into-clothes/">create new products</a> like cell phone cases, shoes, and paper products, the United States is still generating far more trash.

In 2015, the US produced 262 million tons of trash, of which 137.7 million tons ended up in landfills, and only 25.8 percent of waste that was recycled, according to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-03/documents/infographic_full-060513_v4.pdf">Environmental Protection Agency</a>. 

How do we motivate people to recycle more, especially when there are so many advancements being made in recycling and recycled products? 

In a new report published in the Journal of Marketing, researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State University</a> and <a href="https://www.bc.edu/">Boston College</a> may have found a solution.

The team learned that consumers are more keen to recycle if they know more about the process and where their waste will end up. 

Six different studies were devised to examine the relationship between recycling and consumers and to test how promoting products made from recycled material impacts the decision to recycle. 

The first study asked participants to throw away a piece of scratch paper after reading a recycling advertisement. The messages detailed how recyclables were being used to make paper, a guitar, a different product, or just promoted recycling without any mention of new products. 

If a participant read about materials being made into different products, they were more likely to recycle their scratch paper versus the participants who read the generic recycling campaign.

In the second study, participants were shown advertisements for products made from recycled plastic or a product manufactured by a company that is committed to recycling. The participants were 87.7 more likely to recycle if they saw the advertisement for a specific product made from recycled materials. 

When advertisements focused on transformation, not even explicitly mentioning a product, people were more likely to recycle. People recycle more when they know what the material will become 

In one of the last studies, the researchers monitored two college residence halls, one that had recycling signage promoting products made from recyclables and the other had generic recycling ads. 

Less recyclable waste ended up in the landfill when the residence hall used signage promoting products and transformation. 

“These studies provide compelling evidence that when consumers consider that recyclables are transformed into something new, they recycle more,” said Karen Page Winterich, the first author of the study. “Increased recycling offers not only societal and environmental benefits, but also provides the source materials companies need for sustainable production of goods in a circular economy.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

People recycle more when they know what the material will become

People recycle more when they know what the material will...

According to a new study published by the <a href="https://www.apa.org/">American Psychological Association</a>, people in a higher social class often have an exaggerated belief that they are better than others. This inflated ego may be misinterpreted and can influence important interactions, including job interviews. 

“Advantages beget advantages. Those who are born in upper-class echelons are likely to remain in the upper class, and high-earning entrepreneurs disproportionately originate from highly educated, well-to-do families,” said study lead author Dr. Peter Belmi, PhD, of the University of Virginia. “Our research suggests that social class shapes the attitudes that people hold about their abilities and that, in turn, has important implications for how class hierarchies perpetuate from one generation to the next.”

The researchers conducted four experiments to investigate the connection between <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/environmentally-responsible-foods-class/">social class</a> and overconfidence and how this dynamic may influence perceptions of an individual's competence. 

The largest trial was focused on more than 150,000 small business owners in Mexico who were applying for loans. To measure social class, the researchers examined the applicants' income, education level, and self-reported position in society.

The applicants were also required to complete a psychological assessment that would be used to assess their credit worthiness, and then asked to evaluate their own performance on a scale of one to 100.

When the researchers compared the actual scores with applicants' predictions, they found that individuals with higher education, more income, and a higher perceived social class had an exaggerated belief that they performed better than others.

Three additional experiments confirmed that people from a higher social class tended to be overconfident. The researchers also discovered that this overconfidence was misinterpreted by others as greater competence.

“Individuals with relatively high social class were more overconfident, which in turn was associated with being perceived as more competent and ultimately more hirable, even though, on average, they were no better at the trivia test than their lower-class counterparts,” said Dr. Belmi.

He pointed out that the overconfidence effect may be partially due to differences in values between the middle and working classes.

"In the middle class, people are socialized to differentiate themselves from others, to express what they think and feel and to confidently express their ideas and opinions, even when they lack accurate knowledge. By contrast, working-class people are socialized to embrace the values of humility, authenticity and knowing your place in the hierarchy," he said. "These findings challenge the widely held belief that everybody thinks they are better than the average. Our results suggest that this type of thinking might be more prevalent among the middle and upper classes."

According to Dr. Belmi, the study adds to a growing collection of research on why class-based hierarchies continue to persist generation after generation.

“Our results suggest that finding solutions to mitigate class inequalities may require a focus on subtle and seemingly harmless human tendencies. Although people may be well meaning, these inequalities will continue to perpetuate if people do not correct for their natural human tendency to conflate impressions of confidence with evidence of ability.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_of_Personality_and_Social_Psychology">Journal of Personality and Social Psychology</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>

People in a higher social class often have overconfidence that serves them

According to a new study published by the American Psychological...

A team of economists led by <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a> has determined that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/philadelphia-sugary-drink-sales-tax/">soda taxes</a> serve as a “net good” based on an evaluation of consumer behavior and health benefits. According to the study, a nationwide soda tax would yield $7 billion in net benefits to society each year.

“The research is clear that sugary drinks are bad for our health,” wrote the researchers. “Our study takes a next step to evaluate the overall economic rationale as to whether we should impose a tax. Using an economic framework, we show that taxing soda generates net benefits to society--taking into account the health effects, the enjoyment that people get from drinking the drinks they enjoy, the value of the tax revenues, and other factors.”

“We estimate that soda taxes benefit both low- and high-income people. While low-income people drink more sugary drinks and thus pay more in soda taxes, their health also benefits more from drinking less.”

The experts found evidence to suggest that state-level taxes would be even more effective than city-level taxes, such as those already enforced in Philadelphia and other cities in the United States. 

“Soda taxes would yield more benefit at the state level than they would at the city level, both because they cover more people and because buying tax-free soda just outside the city, which some people do, dilutes the benefits of a tax.”

The consumption of sugary drinks increases the risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, and the medical bills are often paid by taxpayers. The researchers calculated that drinking a 12-ounce can of Coke will impose about 10 cents of health care costs on others.

More than half of Americans admit they drink sugary beverages more often than they should, which suggests that soda taxes can help people reduce consumption to the level they desire.  

The study shows that the standard 1-cent-per-ounce tax rate may be too low to yield health and economic benefits on a state level, yet may be too high for a city-level tax in places with substantial cross-border shopping. “Because these estimates involve a number of assumptions, we need more research on this issue,” wrote the researchers.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=2002">Quarterly Journal of Economics and the Journal of Economic Perspectives</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>

Study: Nationwide soda tax could create billions of dollars in benefits

A team of economists led by New York University has...

Excessive blue light exposure at bedtime negatively affects sleep quality, mood, and concentration among adolescents. A new study has revealed that these problems can be reversed after just one week of limiting <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/screen-time-doubled-children/">screen use</a> in the evening. 

A growing collection of research has found that the blue light emitted from smartphones and tablets can interfere with the body's internal clock and the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. As a result, the length and quality of sleep is disrupted.

Sleep deprivation not only causes short-term symptoms such as fatigue and lack of concentration, but also increases the risk of serious long-term health issues including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. 

Researchers from the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience, the Amsterdam UMC, and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment teamed up to investigate the effects of blue light exposure on adolescents. 

The study showed that teenagers who logged more than four hours of screen time per day fell asleep an average of 30 minutes later compared to those who logged less than one hour per day of screen time. More screen time also coincided with an increase in symptoms of sleep deprivation. 

The team conducted a random trial to evaluate how blue light blocking glasses and the elimination of evening screen time may influence the sleep pattern of 25 frequent users. After just one week, both the glasses and the restricted screen time resulted in earlier sleep onset by 20 minutes and a reduction in reported symptoms of sleep deprivation.

“Adolescents increasingly spend more time on devices with screens and sleep complaints are frequent in this age group,” said study co-author Dr. Dirk Jan Stenvers. “Here we show very simply that these sleep complaints can be easily reversed by minimising evening screen use or exposure to blue light. Based on our data, it is likely that adolescent sleep complaints and delayed sleep onset are at least partly mediated by blue light from screens.”

The researchers now plan to explore how long the effects of reduced screen time may last, and whether the same effects can be found in adults.

“Sleep disturbances start with minor symptoms of tiredness and poor concentration but in the long-term we know that sleep loss is associated with increased risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease,” said Dr. Stenvers. “If we can introduce simple measures now to tackle this issue, we can avoid greater health problems in years to come.”

The research will be presented at the <a href="https://www.ese-hormones.org/">European Society of Endocrinology</a> annual meeting, ECE 2019.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Limiting screen time can quickly reverse sleep problems in teens

Excessive blue light exposure at bedtime negatively affects sleep quality,...

Environmental pollutants don’t just affect living people who encounter them. They can also affect the fertility of future generations, according to new research.

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.uliege.be/cms/c_8699436/en/uliege-portal">University of Liege</a> studies how endocrine-disrupting chemicals – common pollutants already in our environment from plastic, pesticides and medications – affected pregnant rats and their offspring. 

When the pregnant rats were given doses equivalent to those many human communities are exposed to, they showed impairments in their maternal behavior that were passed down to future generations. Their offspring and later generations also showed impaired sexual development.

"Our results raise real concerns about the effects of these pollutants in our environment,” said Dr. Anne-Simone Parent, who worked with graduate student David Lopez Rodriguez on the study. “We found effects of EDCs in generations of animals that had not been directly exposed to the chemicals. We exposed the parent generation only and found long-term effects on fertility.”

Other studies have already linked environmental pollutants to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/home-chemical-pollutants-harm-fertility/">infertility</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bpa-exposure-premature-birth/">premature birth</a> in humans and other animals.

The researchers were especially concerned because in their study, only the pregnant rats were exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. In real life, humans and other animals are exposed to EDCs and other environmental pollutants on a regular basis for generations.

"These findings raise questions about the legacy we are leaving future generations,” Rodriguez said. “Current European legislation on EDCs does not consider how mixtures of low dose pollutants in our environment could be causing harm and affecting our children and wildlife in future generations, our data suggest an urgent need to follow the precautionary principle."

The team will present their findings at the <a href="https://www.ese-hormones.org/">European Society of Endocrinology</a> annual meeting, <a href="https://www.ese-hormones.org/events-deadlines/european-congress-of-endocrinology/ece-2019/">ECE 2019</a>.

They plan to continue studying the rats, to determine whether the impaired maternal behavior linked to environmental pollutants or the pollutant exposure itself contributes to future generations’ difficulties. 

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Environmental pollutants affect sexual development for generations

Environmental pollutants don’t just affect living people who encounter them....

For 20 years, life expectancy at birth has been growing rapidly in Australia. Now, the country’s rate of growth is falling behind most other high-income countries around the world, mainly due to slowing declines in deaths linked to cancer and heart disease.

"Together with the high prevalence of obesity, this suggests that future life expectancy increases will be smaller than in other high-income countries," Dr. Alan Lopez of the <a href="https://www.unimelb.edu.au/">University of Melbourne</a> said in a press release.

Australia has also fallen behind in the battle against tobacco use, his co-author Dr. Tim Adair said. 

While life expectancy is still on the rise in Australia, gains have slowed compared to most of western Europe. 

Lopez and Adair found that between 1981 and 2003, lifespans increased rapidly, both in general and in comparison to other high-income nations. The main contributor was lower rates of heart disease caused by narrowing arteries.

"Compared with the United States, mortality from ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and transport-related injuries was lower," Lopez said.

Since 2003, increases in life expectancy have slowed. 

"Life expectancy in Australia is among the highest in the world, a testament to boldly progressive public health interventions over several decades," Adair said. "However, there are several major barriers to marked increases, including the notably higher mortality of more recent birth cohorts and the comparative failure of efforts to reduce levels of overweight and obesity.”

In recent years, researchers have uncovered a number of hints about what behaviors and habits affect life expectancy. Receiving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/education-impact-expectancy/">an education</a>, regular exercise and even just <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fast-walkers-live-longer/">walking quickly</a> can lengthen lifespans; <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-years-life/">alcohol</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/healthy-habits-life-expectancy/">tobacco use</a> can shorten them.

"Other high-income countries have greater scope for reducing the prevalence of smoking,” Adair said. “As a result, our high global ranking with regard to life expectancy at birth is unlikely to be maintained unless new strategies for reducing mortality associated with specific behaviors are developed and deployed effectively."

The study has been published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.5694/mja2.50144">The Medical Journal of Australia</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Life expectancy in Australia still rising, but slower

For 20 years, life expectancy at birth has been growing...

If you want to improve your diet but you have your doubts about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthal-tooth-ancient-diet/">paleo trend</a>, a new option could be on the table: the peasant diet.

According to new research, medieval English peasants ate a lot of meat stews, leafy greens and cheese – and their diet was healthier than the modern one.

“The medieval peasant had a healthy diet and wasn't lacking in anything major!” Dr. Julie Dunne of the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html">Daily Mail</a>. “It is certainly much healthier than the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/processed-food-weight-gain/">diet of processed foods</a> many of us eat today.”

Dunne and her team analyzed the residue in medieval cooking pots near Raunds to find out what people in the inland East Midlands region were eating in medieval times. By looking at the residues of fats, oils, waxes and lipids in the cooking equipment, archaeologists and chemists can piece together an idea of what people in a specific time and place ate regularly.

They discovered that the peasant diet was pretty well-rounded: they found evidence of stews made with beef and mutton, leafy vegetables including cabbage, spinach and leeks, bread and cereals such as oats and barley, butter, and green cheeses. 

Foods such as fish were a luxury item in the inland region, though peasants along the coast may have eaten more seafood.

The butter and cheeses were especially important to the peasant diet. Sometimes called the “white meat” of the poor, it would have provided protein, fat and important nutrients, the researchers told the Mail.

“There was also a bakehouse on the site [at Raunds] and we also found plant remains of oats and barley – these would have provided carbohydrate,” Dunne said. “The barley was probably used to make bread and oats may have been added to stews to make ‘pottages’ and ‘bulk’ them out.”

Historical documents, when they’ve mentioned the peasant diet at all, indicated that working families in medieval England ate meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and dairy products, but this is the first study to confirm that. Most historical records focus on the diet of wealthy members of society or royals.

All too often in history the detail, for example food and clothing, of the everyday life of ordinary people is unknown.

“Traditionally, we focus on the important historical figures as these are the people discussed in ancient documents,” Dunne said. “Much is known of the medieval dietary practices of the nobility and ecclesiastical institutions, but less about what foods the medieval peasantry consumed.”

Cracking the peasant diet offers important insight into how everyday people lived in the past, not just the elite.

The study has been published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440319300342#!">Journal of Archaeological Science</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Forget paleo – give the peasant diet a try

If you want to improve your diet but you have...

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

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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