Young,Female,Tourist,In,Friendly,Contact,With,Cow,Met,In

City dwellers in the Netherlands have a curious way of clearing their heads. Rather than see a psychologist or seek therapy through other means, they hop on a train, ramble into the green lowlands, and hug a cow.



The practice, known as “koeknuffelen,” sounds quirky until you try it; within minutes most visitors feel their shoulders drop and their pulse slow.



Scientists have long suspected that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-some-cats-make-excellent-therapy-animals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animal-assisted therapy</a> works in part because soft noses, steady heartbeats, and wordless company nudge our nervous system toward calm. 



Until now, almost every formal study has focused on dogs, cats, or the occasional rabbit. Cows, though, linger on the fringes - huge, sweet, and largely untested.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cuddling-cows-as-therapy">Cuddling cows as therapy</h2>



Two researchers - Dr. Katherine Compitus of <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York University</a> and Dr. Sonya Bierbower of the United States Military Academy at <a href="https://www.westpoint.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">West Point</a> - set out to change that. 



Their paper, “Cow Cuddling: Cognitive Considerations in Bovine-Assisted Therapy,” appears in the journal Human-Animal Interactions and may tip the field toward larger pasture-mates. 



Conducted at <a href="https://www.shsanctuary.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Surrey Hills Sanctuary</a> in New York State, the pilot project paired 11 volunteers, ages 13 to 79, with two mellow steers named Magnus and Callum.



The work used the 24-item <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312371308_HAIS_The_Human-Animal_Interaction_Scale_Manual" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Human-Animal Interaction Scale</a>, a survey that captures how often people stroke, lean on, or otherwise connect with an animal and records the animal’s own moves in return. Each session lasted 45 minutes to prevent fatigue on either side of the fence.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-cows-and-people-respond">How cows and people respond</h2>



Magnus and Callum greeted their guests with slow sniffs, accepted hay pellets from open palms, and even settled onto the grass for a shared lounge. 



When interested, they licked sleeves - a bovine version of social grooming - and, when finished, they simply rose and wandered off. Unfriendly gestures were scarce. 



One teenager admitted she had expected headbutts but, instead, “fell in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grass-scarcity-alters-cow-feed-and-dairy-products/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">love with cows</a>” before the session ended.



The steers’ preferences turned out to be surprisingly specific. 



“We have discovered in the current study that bovine-assisted therapy may not only be an effective treatment model that benefits human participants but appears to be enriching to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-heat-makes-dairy-cows-produce-less-milk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cattle participants</a> as well, as shown by their proximity to and continuous interactions with humans,” Dr. Compitus said. 



The data also revealed a gender twist: the animals spent more time beside women than men, and the women, in turn, reported stronger feelings of attachment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-calm-signals-from-cow-therapy">Measuring calm signals from cow therapy</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-a-pill-stop-cows-from-burping-methane/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stress in cattle</a> shows up as loud calls, quick tail flicks, or rigid backs. None spiked during these cuddle sessions. Instead, the animals’ easy breathing and willingness to lie down suggested comfort. 



“Two of the gaps in the research we address in this study are the inclusion of cattle in AAT and an examination of the cognitive processes of animals involved in AAT,” Dr. Bierbower noted. 



For a field that often views animals as passive tools, tracking the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farmers-want-to-talk-to-their-cows-so-ai-is-helping-them-interpret-moos-and-burps/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cow’s point of view</a> marks an important shift.



Therapists already use dogs to ease anxiety during dental visits and miniature horses to coax speech from children on the autism spectrum. Cattle bring a different scale. 



A mature steer may top 1,500 pounds, yet these gentle giants lower their heads for scratches much like a Labrador does. That contrast - immense size, peaceful manner - can amplify the sense of safety that therapy animals provide.



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



Touch triggers a release of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oxytocin-holds-the-keys-to-both-your-heart-and-your-memory/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oxytocin</a>, sometimes called the “bonding hormone,” in both humans and many mammals. The hormone slows heart rate, reduces cortisol, and boosts feelings of trust. 



While a purring cat can spark that reaction, leaning against a broad cow magnifies the tactile cue: more surface area, deeper vibrations, and a steadier baseline heart rhythm.



Researchers in earlier dog-based trials found that even brief petting lowers blood pressure. The current cattle study hints the same benefit may hold when the animal outweighs the participant by a ton. 



Because <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cattle-gallstones-insanely-valuable-are-the-new-must-have-item-in-global-smuggling-rings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cows live in herds</a> and often groom one another, they may already possess social wiring that lets them extend calm to another species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-all-of-this-mean">What does all of this mean?</h2>



Dr. Compitus reaffirmed that the therapy appeared enriching for the steers, citing their close proximity and continuous interactions with humans. 



Yet she also cautioned, “It is unclear without further testing whether the animals sought out the attention of women in general or if the women were more likely to initiate the actions when compared to the men participants.”



Future work will need larger herds, more diverse volunteers, and perhaps heart-rate monitors on both sides of the cuddle. It will also need to check whether cattle enjoy the work long-term or simply tolerate it for snacks. 



Ethical guidelines already require therapy dogs to rest between client visits; similar safeguards for bovine partners will be crucial.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-for-cow-cuddle-therapy">What's next for cow cuddle therapy?</h2>



Animal-assisted therapy grew from a fringe idea in the 1960s to a mainstream adjunct in hospitals and schools today. 



Adding cows may seem like a pastoral gimmick, yet the early numbers suggest genuine promise. Eleven participants is small, but every study starts somewhere, and Magnus and Callum appear to have opened the gate.



As Dr. Bierbower and Dr. Compitus refine their protocols, mental-health clinics might soon book time at local farms, giving stressed-out teens and weary adults a chance to swap city noise for the slow beat of a cud-chewing companion. 



If larger trials confirm the soothing power of a 1,500-pound hug, the phrase “therapy animal” could soon conjure more than wagging tails - it might also bring to mind a soft-eyed steer waiting beneath an open sky.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/hai.2024.0016" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Human-Animal Interactions</a>.



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Cows who are 'cuddled' as therapy animals strongly prefer women over men

City dwellers in the Netherlands have a curious way of clearing their heads. Rather than see a psychologist or seek therapy through other means, they hop on a train, ramble into the green lowlands, and hug a cow. The practice, known as “koeknuffelen,” sounds quirky until you try it; within minutes most visitors feel their shoulders drop and their pulse slow. Scientists have long suspected that animal-assisted therapy works in part because soft noses, steady heartbeats, and wordless company nudge our nervous system toward calm. Until now,...

A recent <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/romaine-lettuce-not-safe/">E. coli</a> outbreak caused by contaminated romaine lettuce was declared by federal investigators to be over, as there had been no cases of illness caused by the bacteria known as O157:H7 for over a month. 

However, the investigators who announced the end to this outbreak have let on that the investigation did not go as they had hoped. They were unable to confirm the source of the bacteria that led to over 90 people becoming ill. This is now the third failed investigation into romaine lettuce E. coli outbreaks in the last year.

Due to this inability to pinpoint the causes of these outbreaks, there hasn’t been a concentrated effort to make any changes that can prevent future issues – and there may be a reason behind the inability to solve contamination issues with lettuce. According to a report from <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/can-lettuce-survive-climate-change/">WIRED</a>, there is a growing concern within the industry that extreme weather events are making crops more vulnerable to contamination. If this is true, the effects of climate change are likely only to make things worse in the future.

After a major E. coli outbreak occurred in bagged raw spinach back in 2006 (resulting in 199 illnesses and three deaths), the industry passed major reforms in California and Arizona – the two main lettuce-growing states. Ensuing outbreaks have been smaller, but in the past year there has been a resurgence of outbreaks.

The proximate cause of the 2018 outbreaks was E. coli found in water used on farms, potentially due to the proximity of the water sources to livestock (although this was not supported by tests done on the suspected cows). As a solution, buffer zones where lettuce cannot be grown on farms near livestock operations were tripled in size, and open water sources have begun to be disinfected. But the extreme weather hypothesis held amongst some growers and investigators would not be addressed by those changes.

The outbreak in the spring of 2018 (210 illnesses and five deaths) was traced back to farms in Yuma, Arizona. While the suspected contaminated lettuce was still on the field, there was an extreme weather occurrence involving unusual frost followed by strong winds. It’s hypothesized that the freeze blistered the leaves, then the winds blasted bacteria into these blisters and allowed the pathogens to work their way into the vascular channels of the leaves where they could not be washed away.

According to <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/can-lettuce-survive-climate-change/">WIRED</a>, weather is not solely responsible for contamination. Rather, it can be thought of as “an amplifier,” according to Trevor Suslow, a plant pathologist and president of food safety for the Produce Marketing Association. He told <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/can-lettuce-survive-climate-change/">WIRED</a> that weather is ““something that shifts either the plant’s level of exposure or the conditions under which the E. coli can multiply.” According to Suslow, grows may have to monitor the air and water on their farms more closely, keeping an eye out for pathogens that could be transported onto their farms. They should also be watching the weather to be able to protect plants from damage. 

Given these recent outbreaks, the focus needs to be on protecting the consumer from deadly bacteria, rather than attempting to salvage the produce that’s left behind.

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Is extreme weather behind the recent E. coli outbreaks?

A recent E. coli outbreak caused by contaminated romaine lettuce...

When it comes to relationships, communication and compatibility are key. But while healthy communication is something that can be learned with time, compatibility isn’t something you can easily acquire. 

Dating apps thrive on the search for compatibility, and many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dating-digital-age-perfect-match/">dating websites advertise special algorithms</a> guaranteed to match you with only the most compatible people. Emotional, sexual, and even <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/texting-styles-relationship/">texting compatibility</a> can make or break a new relationship, but what about genetic compatibility? 

In a new installment of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-genes-could-affect-the-quality-of-your-marriage-109647">The Conversation</a>, Richard Mattson, an Associate Professor in Psychology at <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/">Binghamton University</a>, discussed the potential of using genetics to predict marriage quality.

Since genetics underlie many traits that are said to key to a healthy relationship like empathy, Mattson and a team of researchers conducted a study to see if there was any scientific basis to using genetics to assess compatibility between partners. 

Mattson focused on the OXTR gene for the study because it’s the receptor for oxytocin, sometimes called the “love hormone.” 

Oxytocin is a hormone critical for bonding. Nursing releases the hormone in new mothers and sex can also cause the release of high levels of oxytocin which helps couples form an intimate attachment. 

Beyond attachment, oxytocin has also been linked to trust, social skills and even empathy, all of which are important in relationships. 

Mattson explained that since oxytocin is so crucial to compatibility, it would make sense to start with the OXTR gene to study genetic compatibility. 

For the study, 79 different-sex married couples were asked to identify a personal, non-marriage related problem and discuss it with their spouse for ten minutes. 

The discussions were recorded, and the researchers also collected saliva samples from each participant. The researchers analyzed the discussions and measured how supportive each spouse had been when listening to their partner. 

The results showed that genetic variation of OXTR in both husbands and wives impacted how supported each spouse felt. Males with different variations of the OXTR gene had trouble interpreting their spouse’s support even when their wives had strong support skills. 

Couples with specific genetic pairings were less satisfied compared to other couples the researchers found. 

While the results certainly make a case for genetic compatibility when it comes to the OXTR gene, Mattson would not recommend screening future partners for optimal gene combinations. 

“More to the point, assuming that a single gene can make or break a marriage underestimates the complexity of genetics and marriage,” Mattson wrote. “It is possible that certain genes may be more or less detrimental depending on the rest of a partner’s genetic profile. However, there is currently no published data on which to rest any type of proposed match.”

The study could help screen for other risks in people like susceptibility to stress and the inability to cope well with stress or certain social situations
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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Are genetics a reliable measure of relationship compatibility?

When it comes to relationships, communication and compatibility are key....

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/zebrafish-spinal-cord-injuries/">spinal cord</a> is “smarter” than previously realized, as a new study recently found that the nerves that run down the spinal column can control complex motor functions in humans.

The brainstem connects the brain to the spinal cord, a long column of nerve fibers that runs down the spine and sends signals from the rest of the body to the brain and vice versa.

The nerve circuits in the spinal cord control very basic reflexes like the pain reflex, but researchers from <a href="https://www.uwo.ca/">Western University</a> discovered that the spinal cords neural circuitry has been largely underestimated.

In a new study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, it was discovered that the spinal cord can control other reflexes and motor functions.

“This research has shown that a least one important function is being done at the level of the spinal cord and it opens up a whole new area of investigation to say, ‘what else is done at the spinal level and what else have we potentially missed in this domain?’” said Andrew Pruszynski, the senior researcher for the study.

Motor function control requires sensory input from different joints. For the hand, motor function control comes from sensory input of the elbow and wrist, and previously it was thought that signals from these joints were processed in the cerebral cortex in the brain.

To test this, the researchers asked participants to keep their hand in a target position and wait for a specially programmed robot to swat or bump their hand away.

The researchers measured the time it took for signals from the muscles in the elbow and joint of each participant to respond to the robot’s bump. After analyzing the time it took for the participants to physically react, the researchers were able to discover which area was responsible for motor control in the hand. 

“We found that these responses happen so quickly that the only place that they could be generated from is the spinal circuits themselves,” said Jeff Weiler, a lead researcher for the study. “What we see is that these spinal circuits don't really care about what's happening at the individual joints, they care about where the hand is in the external world and generate a response that tries to put the hand back to where it came from.”

The results show that the spinal cord’s reflexes, which were previously thought to be very limited, have more control over complicated motor functions than previously thought.

“We are showing they can actually do something much more complicated - control the hand in space,” said Pruszynski.

The researchers say the study opens up new avenues for neuroscience research and could help create new methods to repair and rehabilitate spinal cord injuries.

“A fundamental understanding of the neurocircuits is critical for making any kind of progress on rehabilitation front," said Pruszynski. “Here we can see how this knowledge could lead to different kinds of training regimens that focus on the spinal circuitry.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Your spinal cord can control complex motor functions

The spinal cord is “smarter” than previously realized, as a...

Greenland’s ice sheet, the second largest body of ice on Earth after Antarctica’s ice sheet, is melting... and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-ice-loss-2003/">melting fast</a>.

The region is particularly susceptible to climate change, and warmer temperatures are driving glacial retreat and iceberg calving events. 

But now, a new study has found that the increase in sediment deposits caused by melting glaciers in Greenland could provide a profitable economic opportunity and would be an unexpected benefit of climate change. 

Right now, Greenland has about a ten percent unemployment rate and the region greatly depends on commercial fisheries, a livelihood threatened by climate change. 

The region is trying to branch out into other economic ventures such as tourism and mining, but major progress has yet to be made. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a>, the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>, <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> and the <a href="https://www.risd.edu/">Rhode Island School of Design</a> conducted a study examining the large deposits of sediment left in the wake of Greenland’s melting glaciers to see if there were any potential economic uses for this steady buildup of sand.

The study was published in the journal Nature Sustainibility. 

“The melting Greenland Ice Sheet delivers an enormous amount of sediments to the coast,” said Mette Bendixen, the first author of the study. “Eight percent of the annual sediment contribution delivered to the global oceans comes from the Greenland Ice Sheet, and with continued global warming, this number is expected to increase.”

Sand and gravel are increasingly in demand across the globe. The researchers say that global sand reserves are declining because of widespread development, infrastructure, and urbanization. 

If Greenland were to export its abundance of sand, it could provide the island with billions of dollars of revenue. 

The amount of sand currently deposited on the coast of Greenland has a market value equal to more than half of what Greenland’s gross domestic product was in 2015. 

“With this work, we present a rare example of economic opportunity brought to life by climate change,” said Irina Overeem, a co-author of the study. 

The researchers caution that before any ventures are put into operation, the environmental impact of exporting sand must be carefully examined so as to ensure that it won’t harm the environment or Greenland’s citizens. 

“If Greenland is to benefit from sand extraction, we must raise awareness about the resource both locally and globally,” said Minik Rosing, a fellow co-author of the study. “The Greenlandic people must be part of this. Greenland has rigorous resource legislation, and authorities and industry must collaborate to minimize potential negative impacts of extraction on the environment.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Nicolaj Kroeg Larsen

Glacial melting offers a surprise economic opportunity for Greenland

Greenland’s ice sheet, the second largest body of ice on...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.hku.hk/">University of Hong Kong</a> (HKU) have found that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sleep-deprivation-public-health-crisis/">sleep deprivation</a> may cause irreparable damage to DNA and increase the risk of cancer. The study also revealed that a chronic lack of sleep can limit the ability of DNA to repair itself, which increases an individual's susceptibility to genetic diseases. 

Previous studies have found that sleep deprivation is responsible for a wide range of negative health impacts. A lack of sleep not only weakens the immune system, but also makes it more difficult for the body to recover from illness. Long-term sleep deprivation has been linked to a higher risk of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.

According to the HKU researchers, their study is the first of its kind to examine how a lack of sleep may affect genes in young adults. The investigation was focused on doctors who had inconsistent sleep patterns due to their work schedule. 

Out of 49 doctors, 24 were required to stay at the hospital for on-call shifts overnight. During the study period, the doctors averaged about six calls that resulted in a shift which lasted from late afternoon to early morning the next day. During these calls, the participants managed to get between two and four hours of sleep, compared to the recommended seven hours.

The researchers collected blood samples from all of the doctors after three nights of healthy sleep. Blood samples were also obtained the morning after an overnight shift.


The analysis revealed that doctors who worked overnight shifts had 30 percent more breaks in their DNA compared to those who did not. In addition, this damage was found to be even 25 percent worse after a night with little sleep. Furthermore, the DNA of sleep-deprived doctors had lost some of the ability to repair itself, which can cause cell death.

“DNA damage is a change in the basic structure of DNA that is not repaired when the DNA is replicated,” wrote the study authors. “Double‐strand breaks are particularly hazardous, as repair failure causes genomic instability and cell death, whereas disrepair can lead to inappropriate end‐joining events that commonly underlie oncogenic transformation (cancer formation).”

“Sleep deprivation in shift workers is associated with adverse health consequences. Increased DNA damage has been linked to the development of chronic disease. This study demonstrates that disrupted sleep is associated with DNA damage.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652044">Anaesthesia</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sleep deprivation damages DNA and increases the risk of cancer

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have found...

After an extensive <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/civil-penalties-for-polluters-dropped-dramatically-in-trumps-first-two-years-analysis-shows/2019/01/24/7384d168-1a82-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.html?utm_term=.e0f3b2fe897a">Washington Post</a> report found that the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) issued fewer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/epa-fewer-penalties-polluters/">fines and penalties</a> under the current administration compared to previous years, a new report by the agency shows that there was also a significant drop in inspections and evaluations in 2018. 

According to recent EPA data, the release of which was postponed due to the government shutdown, there were just 10,600 inspections and evaluations in 2018. Civil cases were at a 10-year low, and civil penalties were the lowest they have been in 25 years. 

The trending declines are a cause for concern because the EPA’s mission since it was <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/epa-protect-environment/">established in 1970</a> has been to monitor, regulate and enforce environmental protection. Inspections and evaluations are key to upholding this mission. 

“You have to have inspections and evaluations in order to support civil enforcement,” Matthew Thurlow, a partner of a law firm that took on environmental enforcement cases at the Justice Department, told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/02/08/under-trump-epa-inspections-fall-year-low/?utm_term=.fda0229dc5c9">Washington Post</a> in an interview.  “Since you’re doing fewer inspections and evaluations, there are less violations that you’re finding, and less cases being brought.”

While budget cuts over the past few years can explain some of these declines and the push for self-regulation for companies started under former President Obama, these trends have only accelerated under the Trump administration. 

In 2018, EPA officials reported that criminal charges were brought against 105 defendants which amounted in 73 total years in prison for the sentences. This number is half what sentences were in 2017. 

The EPA is quick to counter claims of going easy on enforcement, stating that the declines are the result of cooperating with companies to prevent pollution rather than fining polluters after the fact.

In 2018, the EPA reported that it secured commitments to reduce 268 million pounds of pollution equaling $268 million worth of environmental benefits, but this number is about one-fifth of what was achieved in 2013. 

“EPA is trying to convince media and the public that EPA is still doing its job on enforcement, despite all of the reports showing that isn’t the case,” Cynthia Giles, a top enforcement official under President Obama, said in an email to Washington Post. “Not only are the Trump EPA’s enforcement numbers at historic lows, they are on track to get worse.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Report shows a dramatic drop in EPA inspections under Trump

After an extensive Washington Post report found that the Environmental...

A study from the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a> has revealed the point in life when individuals develop the ability to pay attention to a single speaker in a noisy environment, which is a phenomenon known as the “cocktail party effect.” The findings of the study may inform new strategies to help <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/time-parents-kids-academic-success/">children</a> overcome the challenges of growing and learning under noisy conditions.

The cocktail party effect refers to the ability of our brain to direct its attention to one particular stimulus while blocking out a variety of other stimuli, like when we manage to focus on a single conversation at a noisy cocktail party.

Study co-author Marc Vander Ghinst from the <a href="http://www.ulb.ac.be/">Université libre de Bruxelles</a> in Belgium teamed up with colleagues to investigate the cocktail party effect among children between the ages of six and nine. 

The team used magnetoencephalography to measure the brain activity of both children and adults as they attempted to listen to a recorded story while the narrator’s voice was mixed with background conversations. 

The study revealed that the children's brains struggled to focus on the intended speaker's voice with increasing background noise levels. Compared to adults, the children's brains also had trouble following the syllable rate, regardless of the noise in the background.

According to the researchers, the results of the study indicate that the ability to selectively focus is still developing in late childhood and may not fully mature until the teenage years. The findings also help to explain why children have difficulty understanding speech in noisy backgrounds.

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.

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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

Kids have a harder time blocking out background noise to focus

A study from the Society for Neuroscience has revealed the...

The findings of a new study from the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a> suggest that rare musical ability is not necessarily learned, but instead has strong genetic ties. The researchers describe key <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/brain-patterns-indicate-conscious/">brain features</a> that are shared by legendary musicians including Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven.

According to the experts, the brain structure they have identified enables individuals with perfect pitch, also known as absolute pitch (AP), to precisely identify musical notes.

Absolute pitch allows individuals to determined the musical pitch or frequency of a note with no external reference. Previous studies have found that only one in 10,000 people have AP, although individuals with no musical training may never discover they have this talent.

Study co-author Professor Keith Schneider is the director of the Center for Biomedical and Brain Imaging at the <a href="https://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware</a>. He collaborated with colleagues to compare the structure and activity of the auditory cortex among 60 study participants. The individuals were split into three groups: AP musicians, non-AP musicians of similar musical expertise, and a control group of individuals with limited musical training. 

The study revealed that AP musicians had a significantly larger auditory cortex, which was capable of representing distinct tones without a reference note.

Even among expert musicians, absolute pitch is rare. Experts have long debated how much of this ability is inherited and how much can be attributed to experience. 

The research provides compelling new evidence that AP may be much more strongly influenced by genetics than what was previously thought. For example, the experts found that nearly 25 percent of the AP musicians had received no musical training prior to adolescence, indicating that experience was not the main contributing factor.

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.

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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

Rare musical ability may be linked to differences in brain structure

The findings of a new study from the Society for...

A new study published by the <a href="http://www.apa.org/">American Psychological Association</a> suggests that feeling shame over a secret can be a heavy psychological burden. The researchers found that people who feel ashamed of a secret, as opposed to feeling <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/people-feeling-guilty-trustworthy/">guilty</a> over it, are more likely to be consumed by it. 

“Almost everyone keeps secrets, and they may be harmful to our well-being, our relationships and our health,” said study lead author Professor Michael L. Slepian of <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>. “How secrecy brings such harm, however, is highly understudied.”

The investigation was focused on a survey in which 1,000 participants were asked a series of questions about secrets they were keeping. The questions were designed to measure how much shame and guilt were associated with those secrets. The individuals also reported the number of times they thought about their secret each day during the previous month.

“We examined shame and guilt, the two most highly studied self-conscious emotions,” said Professor Slepian. “Unlike basic emotions, such as anger and fear, which refer to something outside of oneself, shame and guilt center on the self.”

People who reported feeling shame thought about their secrets significantly more often than people who reported feeling guilty. The experts also found that the concealment of secrets could not be predicted by guilt or shame.

“Hiding a secret is largely driven by how often a person is having a conversation related to the secret with the person whom he or she is hiding it from, not how he or she feels about the secret,” said Professor Slepian.

Shame was found to be associated with feeling small, worthless, or powerless, while guilt was linked to feelings of remorse, tension, or regret. According to Professor Slepian, feeling regret did not cause a person to dwell on a secret the same way that feeling powerless did.

The researchers concluded that people are being too hard on themselves when thinking about their secrets.

“If the secret feels burdensome, try not to take it personally but recognize instead that it reflects on your behavior, and you can change that,” said Professor Slepian. “Guilt focuses people on what to do next and so shifting away from shame toward guilt should help people better cope with their secrets and move forward.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/emo/">Emotion</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Shame is more of a burden than guilt, new study finds

A new study published by the American Psychological Association suggests...

A new study published by the <a href="https://www.cancer.org/">American Cancer Society</a> has revealed that hundreds of thousands of women's lives have been saved through the use of mammography and advances in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/traffic-fumes-breast-cancer/">breast cancer</a> treatment.

“Recent reviews of mammography screening have focused media attention on some of the risks of mammography screening, such as call-backs for additional imaging and breast biopsies, downplaying the most important aspect of screening - that finding and treating breast cancer early saves women's lives,” said study co-author Dr. Edward Hendrick of the <a href="http://medschool.ucdenver.edu/">University of Colorado School of Medicine</a>.

“Our study provides evidence of just how effective the combination of early detection and modern breast cancer treatment have been in averting breast cancer deaths.”

The researchers set out to estimate the number of deaths that have been prevented since 1989, after mammograms had become widely available and therapies had improved. They did this by analyzing population and breast cancer mortality data from over the past 30 years for women between 40 and 84 years old.

From 1990 to 2018, the total number of breast cancer deaths averted ranged from 384,000 to 614,500, depending on different background mortality assumptions. An estimated 27,083 to 45,726 breast cancer deaths were averted in the year 2018 alone. The researchers estimated that mammography and improved breast cancer treatment decreased the expected mortality rate by 45.3 to 58.3 percent in 2018.

Dr. Hendrick noted that currently, only about half of women over the age of 40 receive regular breast cancer screening in the United States. 

“The best possible long-term effect of our findings would be to help women recognize that early detection and modern, personalized breast cancer treatment saves lives and to encourage more women to get screened annually starting at age 40,” said Dr. Hendrick.

According to study co-author Dr. Mark Helvie, additional benefits will likely be discovered with future research.

“While we anticipate new scientific advances that will further reduce breast cancer deaths and morbidity, it is important that women continue to comply with existing screening and treatment recommendations.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10970142">CANCER</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Half a million breast cancer deaths have been prevented over 30 years

A new study published by the American Cancer Society has...

No one is a stranger to awkward conversations – the ones that leave you feeling anxious and uncertain about what the other person thinks. 

Now, social and personality psychologists have released a new study into why anxiety-inducing conversations are such a universal experience.

"We're all fascinated by the fact that conversations are ubiquitous and important, but also widely feared," said Dr. Gus Cooney of <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a>. "We've all had to ease into new neighborhoods, or build new friendships, or try to impress new colleagues, and to do these things, we need to know what other people think of us."

Cooney is a social psychologist and organizer of the session <a href="https://event.crowdcompass.com/spsp2019/activity/WxR8ojYpdm">Why Conversations Go Better Than We Think</a> at the <a href="http://www.spsp.org/">Society for Personality and Social Psychology 20th Annual Convention</a>.

When given a list of 20 everyday activities and asked to rank them, conversation often falls at or close to the bottom of the list, according to research by Dr. Erica Boothy of <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a>. The same people tend to believe others are better than they are at casual conversation.

So why do so many people fear awkward conversations?

Boothby and her colleagues ran a series of studies to see how nearly 700 participants reacted to actual and possible conversations. 

"We not only find that people report feeling under confident in their ability to engage in casual conversations, they also tend to attribute the worst moments of the conversations – awkward pauses, conversational missteps – to themselves as opposed to their conversation partner," Boothby said.

They also found that people seem to be very forgiving of others when it comes to awkward conversations.

Researchers also found that people tend to enjoy conversations with strangers more than they expect. 

"A huge part of our happiness comes from our social relationships," Dr. Gillian Sandstrom of <a href="https://www.essex.ac.uk/">University of Essex</a> said. "It's important that we feel able to connect with new people because today's strangers are tomorrow's friends."

A series of studies showed that people went into conversations with strangers full of worry, but few of their worries came to pass.

But that enjoyment can be uneven. Dr. Adam Mastroianni of Harvard University found that when strangers were put in a room and encouraged to talk, one partner often wanted to end the conversation long before the other – though only 15 percent actually did.

"The study confirms that our fears that we don't know when to end a conversation are well founded," Mastroianni said. "However, people think this is a catastrophe, when in reality it appears to be a normal part of two humans talking to each other, and neither person has any idea how uncoordinated they really are."

The bottom line: Awkward conversations are a part of life – but they’re not the end of the world.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Awkward conversations may go better than we think

No one is a stranger to awkward conversations – the...

Helicopter parenting – where parents are super-involved in their children’s lives and activities – may have gotten a bad rap for nothing.

The parenting style has had its share of critics in recent years, but a new study shows that helicopter parenting may actually give children a better chance at success.

“My parents expected us to show up for meals, go to school and be home before dark, but other than that, we had a lot of freedom,” said Dr. Matthias Doepke of <a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University</a>. “The reality is that I am now a much more intensive parent who spends a lot of time on parenting, just like most other American parents today.”

Critics of helicopter parenting say that parents who micromanage their children’s lives leave kids unprepared for the real world. Stories abound of the parents who attempt to accompany their children on job interviews or call college professors about poor grades.

But Doepke and his colleague Dr. Fabrizio Zilibotti of <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> say the pushy parenting style can help students earn higher grades opening up new opportunities.

The pair looked at academic tests submitted by 15-year-olds around the world. They found that in countries with stark economic inequality, including the United States, helicopter parenting was connected with higher academic achievement.

It’s an economic symptom, the pair said. 

Parents want to give their students a shot at success, the pair theorized. That may be what leads helicopter parents to push their children to work harder – and to push the rest of the world to give them more opportunities.

“We argue that parents respond to the environment they face, and depending on what that environment is, there can be outcomes that are socially problematic even if most parents do the best they can,” Doepke said. “In the U.S. today, the biggest concern is inequality in parenting, or what we refer to as the 'parenting gap' between social classes.”

Doepke and Zilibotti share their research in the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Love-Money-Parenting-Economics-Explains-ebook/dp/B07GBHJXQX">Love, Money, and Parenting: How Economics Explains the Way We Raise Our Kids</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Helicopter parenting might not be so bad after all

Helicopter parenting – where parents are super-involved in their children’s...

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[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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