When humans burst into laughter together, moods lift almost automatically. New research shows that a similar boost happens in our closest cousins.



An international team led by <a href="https://bloomington.iu.edu/">Indiana University</a> scientists has discovered that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-group-cohesion-common-enemy-effect-do-not-kill-inside-their-species/">bonobos</a> become more upbeat after hearing the giggles of their companions. This finding pushes the evolutionary history of positive emotions back millions of years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-laughter-changed-ape-choices">Laughter changed ape choices</h2>



To explore laughter’s influence, the researchers designed a cognitive-bias test often used in animal psychology to gauge optimism or pessimism.



First, they trained bonobos at the <a href="https://www.apeinitiative.org/">Ape Initiative</a> in Des Moines, Iowa, to recognize two kinds of boxes: black ones that always contained a delicious snack and white ones that were always empty.



Once the apes consistently chose black and ignored white, the experimenters introduced a third, ambiguous gray box. They then played one of two sounds: recorded bonobo laughter or a neutral control noise.



“We know that other apes, like chimpanzees, have contagious laughter during play," said lead author Sasha Winkler, a primatologist at <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a>. "We were wondering if that behavior could be explained by positive emotions produced from the sound itself.” 



If the bonobos felt a surge of good feeling after hearing laughter, the team expected them to treat the uncertain gray box as if it were the rewarding black one.



That is exactly what happened. “Think of it like the rose-colored glasses effect,” Winkler said. “The bonobos were much more likely to approach the gray boxes after hearing laughter, treating them like the rewarded boxes, and indicating a more optimistic expectation of finding a treat.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-optimism-to-our-ancestors">Tracing optimism to our ancestors</h2>



This study is the first experimental proof that great-ape laughter can shift mood and cognition the way human laughter does.



“The tendency to behave more optimistically after hearing laughter suggests that the sound alone induced a positive emotional state in bonobos,” said senior author Erica Cartmill, the director of Indiana University’s Cognitive Science Program.



“This is the first study of which we're aware to measure a positive affect shift in nonhuman primates from a brief experimental intervention.”



Great apes -&nbsp; bonobos, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-wild-chimpanzees-can-teach-us-about-parenting/">chimpanzees</a>, gorillas, orangutans - all emit play calls that acoustically resemble human chuckles. Earlier work tied those sounds to a common evolutionary origin. The new findings add a cognitive twist.



“Our results suggest that laughter in other apes shares not only phylogenetic and behavioral similarities with human laughter but also perhaps some of the same cognitive-emotional underpinnings,” Winkler noted.



“This emotional contagion appears to have been present in the primate lineage long before the evolution of language.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-laughter-empathy-and-apes">Laughter, empathy, and apes</h2>



Emotional contagion is often described as a foundational element of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/little-benjamina-the-oldest-evidence-of-social-empathy-in-humans/">empathy</a> - the capacity to share another’s feelings. As Winkler put it, “studies like ours can help to untangle the evolutionary building blocks of empathy, communication, and cooperation in humans.”



By revealing that a simple vocal cue can brighten outlooks in bonobos, the research suggests that the mechanisms linking social sound to positive mood were already in place in a common ancestor millions of years ago.



Cartmill added that the work answers a long-standing bias in emotion research. “Our emotions influence many aspects of cognition, including memory, attention, and decision-making, but research has historically focused on negative emotions with clear behavioral correlates, like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-pathway-discovered-that-suppresses-fear/">fear</a> and aggression.”



“We wanted to better understand the relationship between positive affect and cognition in our closest living relatives.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kanzi-and-the-future-of-empathy">Kanzi and the future of empathy</h2>



The experiments involved four bonobos, including the celebrated language-using ape Kanzi, who recently passed away.



“I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Kanzi while he was still alive,” Winkler said. 



“We hope this brings greater public awareness of the remarkable similarities between us and bonobos, who are an endangered species. We have so much to learn from these incredible animals.”



Future studies will test whether laughter exerts similar cognitive effects in chimpanzees and other primates. They will also explore how social context - for example, hearing laughs from friends versus strangers - modulates optimism.



For now, the discovery that bonobo giggles brighten expectations highlights a shared emotional heritage and hints that a simple laugh has been boosting group spirits since long before humans walked the Earth.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-02594-8">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Laughter lifts bonobo moods, offering clues to human emotion

When humans burst into laughter together, moods lift almost automatically. New research shows that a similar boost happens in our closest cousins. An international team led by Indiana University scientists has discovered that bonobos become more upbeat after hearing the giggles of their companions. This finding pushes the evolutionary history of positive emotions back millions of years. Laughter changed ape choices To explore laughter’s influence, the researchers designed a cognitive-bias test often used in animal psychology to gauge optimism or pessimism. First, they trained bonobos at the...

A restaurant in the Midwest has become the first to use gene-edited food in the United States. According to <a href="http://www.calyxt.com/">Calyxt</a>, a company making cooking oil from gene-edited soybeans, their oil is currently being distributed and used by a midwestern restaurant chain. 

While Calyxt cannot reveal the name of the restaurant, the Minnesota-based company is hoping the news will spark interest in the oil, which contains no trans fat and has a longer shelf life than other cooking oils. 

Last Friday, regulators made moves to allow <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/genetically-modified-salmon/">genetically modified salmon</a> to grow about twice as fast as normal. The fish will be the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption in the country.

Although officials say genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are safe, critics have pushed for transparency, and soon companies will have to disclose when products have ingredients that have been altered using engineering techniques.

Calyxt explained that its cooking oil does not qualify as a GMO. It is made from soybeans with two inactivated genes to produce more heart-healthy fats and no trans fats. The company is also working on other gene-edited crops, which are faster to develop than conventional GMOs that require regulatory research. 

Tom Adams is the CEO of the biotech company Pairwise. He said that oversight of gene-edited foods could soon become stricter, depending on the public.

“You should never think of regulation as settled,” said Adams.

The <a href="https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/nosb">National Organic Standards Board</a> determined that foods made with gene editing do not qualify as organic. In addition, Europe’s highest court announced last July that gene-edited crops are genetically modified organisms and should be regulated the same way as GMOs.

Some additional gene-edited crops that are currently being explored include mushrooms that do not turn brown, wheat with more fiber, improved tomatoes, and rice that does not absorb pollution from the soil during growth.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Restaurant in the midwest is first in the US to use gene-edited food

A restaurant in the Midwest has become the first to...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.mcmaster.ca/">McMaster University</a> have found that actors lose their sense of self while portraying a character. Brain imaging techniques revealed significant changes in activity after individuals took on the roles of other people.

“Portraying a character through acting seems to be a deactivation-driven process, perhaps representing a ‘loss of self,’” wrote the study authors.

The study was focused on 15 theater students and actors as they adopted the roles of characters including Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The participants were asked to respond to certain scenarios as either Romeo, Juliet, a friend, as themselves, or in a different language. 

After the individuals performed the various exercises, they underwent MRI brain scans so the researchers could analyze any changes that may have taken place. 

When the actors had performed as someone else, there was a notable drop in brain activity in the prefrontal cortex. This drop may represent the “loss of self.” In particular, the brain scans showed changes in two areas of the brain that are linked to a person’s sense of self. 

Thinking from another person's perspective altered activity in the cerebral cortex. Damage to this region of the brain is known to cause personality changes. When the participant spoke in another language, a similar response was observed in this region of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/brain-chips-superintelligence/">brain</a>.

A second part of the brain that is strongly interconnected with the prefrontal cortex was affected as well, but only when the actor was in character as Romeo or Juliet. These performances led to changes in the precuneus, which is associated with perception and mental imagery.

Study lead author Dr. Steven Brown is the director of the NeuroArts Lab in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour at McMaster University.

“It looks like when you are acting, you are suppressing yourself; almost like the character is possessing you,” said Dr. Brown.

The study published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Actors lose their sense of self while playing someone else

Researchers at McMaster University have found that actors lose their...

A report from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> is describing the nature and resolution of so-called “mathematics anxiety” among young students. The review suggests that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/children-inherit-conscientiousness-parents/">parents</a> and teachers may unknowingly play a role in the development of the condition, and that girls are more prone to this type of anxiety than boys.

“While every child's maths anxiety may be different, with unique origins and triggers, we found several common issues among both the primary and secondary school students that we interviewed,” said study lead author Dr. Denes Szucs.

Research focused on 1,000 Italian students found that girls had higher levels of both general anxiety and maths anxiety. A separate analysis in the UK demonstrated that children generally expected math to be difficult, leading to a loss of confidence. 

When students discussed the role that their teachers and parents played in their maths anxiety, primary-aged children often said they were confused by different teaching methods. Many secondary students implied that a difficult transition from primary school made the work seem harder and contributed to their maths anxiety. This group also referred to poor interpersonal relations. 

A study published in 2018 showed that 77 percent of children with high maths anxiety are normal to high achievers on maths tests.

“Because these children perform well at tests, their maths anxiety is at high risk of going unnoticed by their teachers and parents, who may only look at performance but not at emotional factors,” said study first author Dr. Amy Devine. “But their anxiety may keep these students away from STEM fields for life when in fact they would be perfectly able to perform well in these fields.”

The researchers at Cambridge have included a number of recommendations in the report. For example, they recommend that teachers become more aware of maths anxiety and its effect on individual performance.

“Teachers, parents, brothers and sisters and classmates can all play a role in shaping a child's maths anxiety,” said study co-author Dr. Ros McLellan. “Parents and teachers should also be mindful of how they may unwittingly contribute to a child's maths anxiety. Tackling their own anxieties and belief systems in maths might be the first step to helping their children or students.”

According to the experts, maths anxiety is often present at a young age but also may develop as the child grows.

“Our findings should be of real concern for educators. We should be tackling the problem of maths anxiety now to enable these young people to stop feeling anxious about learning mathematics and give them the opportunity to flourish,” said Dr. Szucs. “If we can improve a student's experience within their maths lessons, we can help lessen their maths anxiety, and in turn this may increase their overall maths performance.”

The report was funded by the <a href="http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/">Nuffield Foundation</a> and the <a href="https://www.jsmf.org/">James S. McDonnell Foundation</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Math anxiety is real.. and parents and teachers don’t always help

A report from the University of Cambridge is describing the...

A new study has revealed how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ice-mummys-last-meal/">changes in the human diet</a> led to the development of new consonant sounds in language and speech.

It was long thought that the wide range of diverse consonants and vowel sounds that make up human languages across the world evolved as homo-sapiens first emerged 300,000 years ago.

However, researchers from the <a href="https://www.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute</a>, the <a href="https://www.universite-lyon.fr/version-anglaise/the-universite-de-lyon-is-a-world-class-academic-site-of-excellence-6709.kjsp">University of Lyon</a> and <a href="https://www.ntu.edu.sg/Pages/home.aspx">Nanyang Technological University Singapore</a> theorize that some language sounds are relatively newer and only emerged due changes in the human diet.

The study was published in the journal Science, and the results help enhance our understanding of evolutionary linguistics.

The researchers built on the 1985 observations of linguist Charles Hockett who first noticed languages that use labiodental sounds, or sounds that require the lower lip and teeth to touch, are more prevalent in societies that eat softer foods.

The researchers analyzed years of biological anthropology, phonetic, and historical linguistic data for the study. 

If you think about the letter “f,” the sound is only possible because of the natural overbite that humans have. But in the early years of human evolution, teeth used to meet in an edge-to-edge bite to help sustain the tough diet of the time.

As the human diet changed to include softer foods and food processing gave rise to whole new food technologies, milling, and menus, the overbite came to prominence. The once juvenile overbite that humans would outgrow in adulthood thousands of years ago became the norm.

With this new bite and new diet came new sounds, according to the study. 

“Our results shed light on complex causal links between cultural practices, human biology, and language,” said Balthasar Bickel, the leader of the study. “They also challenge the common assumption that, when it comes to language, the past sounds just like the present.”

The study opens up a whole new range of linguistic puzzles to solve when it comes to how languages sounded before these changes to the human bite became permanent. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Changes in human diet led to the inclusion of 'f' and 'v' sounds

A new study has revealed how changes in the human...

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has a bold plan to protect Manhattan against rising sea levels and weather extremes due to climate change. 

The mayor’s ten billion dollar plan involves extending lower Manhattan shoreline, essentially making the island bigger. The raised shoreline would be extended by 500 feet in some places and act as a barrier against rising flood waters. 

Climate change projections estimate that sea levels around New York City coastlines could increase 18 to 50 inches by 2100, according to the state’s <a href="https://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/45202.html">Department of Environmental Conservation</a>. 

With <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-rise-expect/">rising sea levels</a>, flood-prone areas will increase as will damage to infrastructure, threatening the wellbeing and livelihoods of many New York City residents. 

In many respects, Hurricane Sandy was a wake-up call for New York City,  after thousands of properties were destroyed in the 2012 storm. 

Storms, hurricanes, and dangerous waves only expected to become more frequent and severe in the coming years. 

In the next 30 years, 37 percent of lower Manhattan properties will be at risk from flooding, and by 2100 that number will increase to 50 percent, which is why it is imperative that the city take quick measures to mitigate future flood risks.

The mayor’s coastline project, which was announced on Thursday, would protect against six feet of sea level rise.

[caption id="attachment_1869774" align="aligncenter" width="642"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/deblasio-plan.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1869774" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/deblasio-plan.jpg" alt="" width="642" height="436" /></a> Image Credit: nyc.gov[/caption]

“Hurricane Sandy showed us how vulnerable areas like Lower Manhattan are to climate change,” said Mayor de Blasio. “That’s why we not only have to reduce emissions to prevent the most cataclysmic potential effects of global warming, we have to prepare for the ones that are already inevitable.” 

Because of the high projected costs of the plan, the city will either need federal funding or, if that fails, the scheme will have to be funded privately.  

“Our actions will protect Lower Manhattan into the next century. We need the federal government to stand behind cities like New York to meet this crisis head on,” Mayor de Blasio said. 

--

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>

NYC mayor unveils $10 billion plan to protect city from climate change

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has a bold...

Students from thousands of schools across over 100 countries are expected to take part in today’s <a href="https://www.youthclimatestrikeus.org/">Youth Climate Strike</a>. 

Protests have been in the works for some time, and students are planning to skip school in an effort to draw attention to the threat of climate change and urge the passing of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-new-deal/">Green New Deal</a>.

Record-breaking temperatures, sea ice retreat, climate extremes, wildfires, and rapid decreases in biodiversity are increasing public concern about climate change and emissions.

The catalyst for the strike can be traced back to Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old activist who skipped school to protest outside of Swedish Parliament for weeks last year.

Thunberg also gave a powerful speech at the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/our-house-is-on-fire-16-year-old-greta-thunberg-speaks-truth-to-power/">World Economic Forum</a> and as James Workman, a World Economic Forum writer who reported on Thunberg’s speech noted, the Swedish activist is not one to mince words. 

“Our house is on fire,” Thunberg said. “At Davos, people like to talk about success, but financial success has come with a price tag, and on the climate, we have failed. And unless we recognize the failures of our system, there will be unspoken suffering.”

More and more young people across the world are tired of government leaders failing to act on climate change. 

When <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/climate/feinstein-sunrise-green-new-deal.html">Senator Dianne Feinstein</a> made headlines after lecturing a group of young people about the impossibility of the Green New Deal passing, she was chastised for her harsh, if realistic comments. 

For Feinstein, though, and many other Democrats and Republicans, the consequences of climate change are muddied by the complexities of policy and government. 

For the members of the Youth Climate Strike though, the time for action is now, the clock is running out and the only generation on the line who will bear the brunt of today’s inaction are the very people leading the strike.

“Because you're not really listening to us now, so this is the radical stuff that we need to do to get your attention,” Haven Coleman, the co-founder, and co-director of the organization planning the first school strikes in the US, told <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/03/14/703461293/skipping-school-to-protest-climate-change">NPR</a>. 

--

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>

Students worldwide skipping school to protest climate change inaction

Students from thousands of schools across over 100 countries are...

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide no specific recommended limits for the amount of cholesterol or <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/whole-eggs-egg-whites/">eggs</a> that individuals should consume. However, the results of a new study suggest that people who eat more eggs and dietary cholesterol have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality from any cause. 

Study co-author Norrina Allen is an associate professor of Preventive Medicine at the <a href="https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine</a>.

“The take-home message is really about cholesterol, which happens to be high in eggs and specifically yolks,” said Professor Allen. “As part of a healthy diet, people need to consume lower amounts of cholesterol. People who consume less cholesterol have a lower risk of heart disease.”


Among the most commonly consumed foods, egg yolks have one of the highest concentrations of dietary cholesterol. According to study lead author Wenze Zhong, other animal products such as red meat, processed meat, and high-fat dairy products also have high cholesterol content.

The average American consumes 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day, which is more than the recommended daily limit that was in place before 2015. The average adult in the United States also eats three to four eggs per week, and this has typically been viewed as part of a healthy diet.

“Our study showed if two people had exact same diet and the only difference in diet was eggs, then you could directly measure the effect of the egg consumption on heart disease,” said Professor Allen. “We found cholesterol, regardless of the source, was associated with an increased risk of heart disease.”

The researchers determined that the higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death associated with dietary cholesterol was the same regardless of exercise, overall diet quality, or the amount and type of fat in the diet.

The research was focused on nearly 30,000 racially and ethnically diverse adults in the United States who participated in studies that followed up for as many as 31 years.

The investigation revealed that eating 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day was associated with a 17- percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease and an 18-percent higher risk of all-cause deaths. The analysis also showed that eating three to four eggs per week was associated with a 6-percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease and an 8-percent higher risk of any cause of death.

Zhong explained that we should not completely eliminate eggs and other cholesterol-rich foods from meals because eggs and red meat are good sources of important nutrients such as essential amino acids, iron, and choline.

“We want to remind people there is cholesterol in eggs, specifically yolks, and this has a harmful effect,” said Professor Allen. “Eat them in moderation.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/">JAMA</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Egg consumption linked to higher risk of cardiovascular disease

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide no specific recommended...

Kids are spending more time at home compared to the beginning of the 2000s, but a new study shows that this extra time is being spent alone on smartphones and not engaging with parents.

The study, conducted by researchers from the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> and the <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/">University of Warwick</a>, is the first of its kind to measure the impacts of smartphone use on family time. 

“Our study is the first to measure the rapid spread of mobile devices across family life, revealing that children and parents will spend time on devices such as smartphones and tablets even while watching TV or eating together,” said Dr. Stella Chatzitheochari, a co-author of the study. 

While time spent together and the activities that families share like mealtimes and watching TV remained unchanged from 2000 to 2015, the results show that children are still spending an extra 30 minutes at home.

For the study, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, the researchers reviewed data from 5,000 daily diaries from 2,500 children and their parents to see how family time changed over the years. 

The children in the study were between 8 and 16 years old when they started their daily diaries. 

By 2015, the researchers found that smartphones and mobile devices were used during all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smartphones-mealtimes-weight-gain/">aspects of family time</a>. 

“The research shows that device use is now embedded into family life. While we did not find any significant changes in the time family members spend interacting and doing things together, it is certainly possible that mobile devices distract people's attention during family activities, leading to feelings that the quality of family relationships is under threat,” said Chatzitheochari.

Mobile devices were most heavily used during what the researchers called “alone-together time,” when children are home but not engaged with their parents. 

Alone-together time made up the entirety of the extra time that children spent at home and by 2015, and the researchers found that alone-together time increased by 30 minutes. 

In 2000, parents and their children spent 347 minutes together, but only 84 minutes were spent doing shared activities. In 2015, the time spent together between families increased to 379 minutes, but 95 minutes were spent alone-together. 

Mobile devices did not impact the 84 minutes that families spent on shared activities, but older children spent less time than their younger siblings with their parents overall.

The researchers say that although smartphone use is now so heavily enmeshed among families, mobile devices might be benefiting social skills and enhancing time spent together. 

“Given this large increase in alone-together time, it is perhaps reassuring that we also found no decline in the amount of time families spent in shared activities between 2000 and 2015,” said Dr. Killian Mullan, the first author of the study. “This suggests that parents still value key aspects of traditional family life, such as family meals or shared hobbies, and seek to prioritise them in the face of pressure from technological change.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Kids spending more time at home, but it’s time spent on smartphones

Kids are spending more time at home compared to the...

A new study led by <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/">Stanford Medicine</a> has proposed that the best way to measure the role of democracy in public health is to examine the causes of adult mortality, such as noncommunicable diseases, HIV, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/unstable-income-cardiovascular-disease/">cardiovascular disease</a>, and transportation injuries. The research suggests that these four causes of mortality are the most improved by democracy. 

“The results of this study suggest that elections and the health of the people are increasingly inseparable,” wrote the study authors. “Democratic institutions and processes, and particularly free and fair elections, can be an important catalyst for improving population health, with the largest health gains possible for cardiovascular and other noncommunicable diseases.”

Study co-lead author Tara Templin said the study sheds new light on how governance and health inform global health policy debates, especially as global health funding declines.

“As more cases of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancers occur in low- and middle-income countries, there will be a need for greater health care infrastructure and resources to provide chronic care that weren't as critical in providing childhood vaccines or acute care,” said Templin.

Noncommunicable diseases, HIV, cardiovascular disease, and transportation injuries were responsible for 25 percent of total death and disability in people younger than 70 in low- and middle-income countries in 2016. Cardiovascular diseases accounted for 14 million deaths across those countries, and 42 percent of the fatalities occurred in individuals under the age of 70.


According to the researchers, the increase in democratic experience over the past 20 years has reduced mortality in these countries from cardiovascular disease, other noncommunicable diseases, and tuberculosis by between 8 and 10 percent.

“Free and fair elections appear important for improving adult health and noncommunicable disease outcomes, most likely by increasing government accountability and responsiveness.”

The study was focused on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study, and Financing Global Health databases, which included information from 170 countries between 1970 and 2015. The analysis revealed that democracy is associated with better noncommunicable disease outcomes. The researchers theorize that democracies may give higher priority to health care investments.

“Democratic government has not been a driving force in global health,” wrote the researchers. “Many of the countries that have had the greatest improvements in life expectancy and child mortality over the past 15 years are electoral autocracies that achieved their health successes with the heavy contribution of foreign aid.”

The experts noted that Ethiopia, Myanmar, Rwanda and Uganda all extended their life expectancy by 10 years or more between 1996 and 2016. While these particular nations are among the least democratic in the world, they were among the top recipients of foreign assistance for health.

“This study suggests that democratic governance and its promotion, along with other government accountability measures, might further enhance efforts to improve population health,” wrote the study authors. “Pretending otherwise is akin to believing that the solution to a nation's crumbling roads and infrastructure is just a technical schematic and cheaper materials.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/">The Lancet</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>

Democracy linked to better health outcomes in less wealthy nations

A new study led by Stanford Medicine has proposed that...

Stress can negatively impact <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-sick-allergies/">health and wellbeing</a> and cause people to become overwhelmed and feel that they have no control over their daily lives. 

Now, a new study has found that older adults feel more youthful when they have control over their daily lives, even if stress levels are high.

Finding ways to improve self-control is important and can help boost wellbeing. But the study, conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a>, found that different age groups place different levels of importance and value on self-control. 

“We recently found that there are things older adults can do to improve their feelings of control in their everyday lives,” said Shevaun Neupert, a co-author of the study. “Now this study highlights how those feelings of control influence perceptions of age. The more control older adults think they have, the younger they feel.”

The study showed that self-control made older adults feel younger despite stress or health concerns, but for younger age groups, stress and health impacted how youthful each individual felt. 

The researchers surveyed 116 adults aged 60 to 90 and 107 younger adults aged 18 to 36 for eight consecutive days. The participants were given questionnaires about daily stressors, physical health, and self-control and how old they felt. 

“Everyone's sense of control fluctuates from day to day, or even over the course of a day - that's normal,” Neupert says. “We found that when older adults felt more in control, they also felt younger. That was true even when accounting for stress and physical health.”

For the 18 to 36-year-olds though, feelings of self-control did little to impact feelings of youthfulness. 

The study shows that as people age, their sense of autonomy may impact their well-being and ensuring that older adults have self-control over their lives could help guard against daily stressors. 

The study was published in the journal Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Older adults feel younger when they’re in control

Stress can negatively impact health and wellbeing and cause people...

After tobacco companies bought food and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-soda-influences-obesity-research/">drink beverage companies</a> in the early 1960s, some of the biggest names in tobacco employed their marketing and advertising techniques to sell sugary, high-calorie drinks like Kool-Aid and Tang to children.

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California-San Francisco</a> reviewed documents from the tobacco industry that had previously been kept secret, but detailed the brand acquisitions and marketing campaigns of R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris, two leading tobacco companies. 

It’s hard to imagine that the makers of Marlboro and Virginia Slims created the Kool-Aid Man, but the researchers found that as tobacco companies began to face scrutiny from health officials, executives quickly shifted gears and branded some of their products to appeal to younger demographics. 

The study was published in the journal The BMJ and researchers link these early brand acquisitions and marketing to the high consumption of sugary beverages among children in the US today. 

“Executives in the two largest U.S.-based tobacco companies had developed colors and flavors as additives for cigarettes and used them to build major children's beverage product lines, including Hawaiian Punch, Kool-Aid, Tang and Capri Sun,” said Laura Schmidt, the senior author of the study. “Even after the tobacco companies sold these brands to food and beverage corporations, many of the product lines and marketing techniques designed to attract kids are still in use today.”

Both kids and adults consume large amounts of sugary beverages, and on average young people drink 143 calories of sugary drinks each day. 

These drinks, although sweet and addictive, do not fulfill many nutritional needs and high consumption of sugary beverages has been linked to an increased risk of childhood obesity and metabolic problems. 

Not all sugary drinks have roots in the tobacco industry, but the researchers found that R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris once owned several of the most popular brands of fruity and sweet drinks.

In 1963, R.J. Reynolds purchased Hawaiian Punch from the Pacific Hawaiian Products Company and wanted to highlight the beverage’s mascot Punchy as a counterpart to Joe Camel. Punchy was featured on coloring books, comics, toys, and clothing. 

Similar to Punchy, Phillip Morris hit advertising gold when it created the Kool-Aid Man after acquiring Kool-Aid from General Foods in 1985. 

The Kool-Aid Man not only helped sell the wide array of Kool-Aid flavors offered by the company but also merchandise with the Wacky Wild Kool-Aid style campaign. 

“The Wacky Wild Kool-Aid style campaign had tremendous reach and impact,” said Kim Nguyen, the first author of the study. “Lots of kids in the '80s dreamed of getting swag from the Wacky Warehouse. What is really 'wacky' is that the Kool-Aid kid program was modeled after a tobacco marketing strategy designed to build allegiance with smokers.”

Now, as sugary drinks are being linked to health problems and obesity, many sweetened beverage manufacturers say they limit marketing to children and make sure children are less exposed to commercials for unhealthy foods. 

“The industry claims that these tobacco-inspired marketing strategies are not actually targeting children and should be excluded from these industry-led agreements," said Schmidt. “But the evidence cited in our research shows that these product lines and marketing techniques were specifically designed for and tested on children.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Tobacco execs used the same strategies to sell sugary drinks to kids

After tobacco companies bought food and drink beverage companies in...

A new study has found that the diversity and genetic mixture amongst hunter-gatherers living thousands of years ago was much more complex than once thought. 

This research, published in <a href="http://www.cellpress.com/">Current Biology</a>, reports new genomic evidence pointing towards a more diverse genetic lineage for these hunter-gatherers, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe – what we now know as Portugal and Spain – where they survived the Last Glacial Maximum (18,000-24,000 years ago).

“We can confirm the survival of an additional Paleolithic lineage that dates back to the Late Ice Age in Iberia,” says Wolfgang Haak of the <a href="https://www.shh.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History</a>. “This confirms the role of the Iberian Peninsula as a refuge during the Last Glacial Maximum, not only for fauna and flora but also for human populations.”

Past studies have found that western and central Europe were largely populated by ancestry linked to an ~14,000-year-old individual found in Villabruna, Italy. The ancestry of this individual replaced evidence of earlier ancestry more closely represented by 19,000-15,000-year-old individuals associated with what’s known as the Magdalenian cultural complex. However, little has been known about the genetic diversity of hunter-gatherers in southern Europe at this time… until now.

Haak and his colleagues have now reported new genome-wide data from 11 hunter-gatherers from Balmá Guilanyá in Spain. Their findings implicate dual ancestry of these individuals from both Villabruna and the Magdalenian-related individuals. This discovery indicates an early connection between these two areas, leading to a genetic ancestry that carried through to later Iberian hunter-gatherers.

“The hunter-gatherers from the Iberian Peninsula carry a mix of two older types of genetic ancestry: one that dates back to the Last Glacial Maximum and was once maximized in individuals attributed to Magdalenian culture and another one that is found everywhere in western and central Europe and had replaced the Magdalenian lineage during the Early Holocene, with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula,” explains Haak. 

These findings were surprising to archaeologists, as they had previously described distinct cultural changes occurring with the Holocene hunter-gatherers. But this new genetic evidence paints a different picture, as it portrays an almost stable blend of two ancient source populations.

“At the same time, we can show that this genetic ancestry is also present in Early European farmers who expanded during the Neolithic period across Europe," explains Vanessa Villalba, a PhD student who co-authored the study with Haak. “The fact that we can trace both hunter-gatherer lineages tells us that the newbies picked up this ancestry by mixing with the locals in Iberia. The signs of mixing between local hunter-gatherers and newly arriving farmers is fantastic to witness, even though we have virtually no overlap in the radiocarbon record in many areas of Iberia,” she says. “It just shows how much of the past we are still missing.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Museo de Huesca

Early hunter-gatherers were surprisingly diverse, research shows

A new study has found that the diversity and genetic...

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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

News coming your way