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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Music rewires the brain to quickly navigate emotion

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

It could be argued that overall, Chinese law is rather ambivalent to environmental destruction, making compromises between conservation when convenient and destruction when profitable, not unlike US law.  So it makes sense that along with China’s less than stellar record when it comes to the trade in endangered species, the large nation would also have a national park system. 

<a href="https://www.biographic.com/posts/sto/green-glove-iron-fist?mpweb=1018-7418-1251639">Biographic</a> has reported on the opening of new parks in China.  With more of China’s tigers in captivity than in the wild and less than 2,000 pandas left in the wild, the stakes of conservation efforts in China are extremely high.  

Forest cover has been slowly increasing in China since commercial logging was banned in state owned forests two years ago.  Air pollution in China’s cities has been decreasing, largely due to efforts by the federal government. However, cattle grazing even in protected areas threaten pandas.  <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/decline-giant-salamander/">Giant salamander</a> numbers are in fast decline in China, where the amphibian is endangered, perhaps partially by misguided government policies meant to protect them.  

What happens in China’s environment is important to the rest of the world simply because of scale.  China is the world’s second largest nation in terms of land mass after Russia, taking up 6.303% of the world’s land mass.  China is also the world’s most populated country with a population of 1.42 billion people, according to <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/11/world-population-day/">Pew Research</a>.  This means that China alone holds approximately <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/china-population/">18.54%</a> of the world’s entire human population.  The land size and number of people means that China is in a special position to promote its own global agenda, especially when it comes to the environment.  

Much of Asia and Africa has been depleted of specific wildlife species to meet a largely Chinese demand for animal parts for superstitious ‘remedies’.  China is also pushing to become a world leader in clean technology and climate change mitigation, especially since the US has pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement.  China is also home to an authoritarian government which at its whim can mean good or bad things for the environment. When changes come in Chinese political decisions, they can be acted upon immediately.  This is all to say that when China announces the start of a national park system, it’s potentially big news.

<a href="https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/10152-China-overhauls-its-national-parks-">Chinadialogue</a> reports that the Chinese government has <a href="https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1807032">issued plans</a> for a trial of 10 national parks which will be officially kicked off in 2020.  So far, China has roughly <a href="https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/9436-China-s-pilot-national-park-a-land-of-golden-opportunity-">10,000 protected areas</a>, but they’re all managed by different government agencies.  The new move by the Chinese government will not only draw new boundaries and create new parks but take a step towards centralizing management of parks under a specific national park system.  The plans lack many concrete details, but it’s clear that they call for many big changes and seems to be modelled on the US system of national parks. The plans call the national parks part of China’s ‘ecological civilization’.  Several of the new national parks announced are well situated to protect a few of China’s most iconic wildlife species.

<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/chinas-first-national-park-an-experiment-in-living-with-snow-leopards/">Mongabay</a> reports that one of the new national parks, Sanjiangyuan National Park, is situated on the Tibetan Plateau, in Qinghai province.  The area was once part of an independent Tibet, now controlled by China, and it’s also home to the snow leopard (Panthera uncia).  The snow leopard is an extremely rare and endangered cat that still manages to often come into conflict with humans by preying on livestock.  The new national park is planned to protect the water and wildlife of the region, including the iconic snow leopard. 

The amount of water originating within what will be the boundaries of the park is impressive, as 15% of the Mekong’s water discharge, 25% of the Yangtze’s, and 49% of the Yellow River’s start there.  

But <a href="https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/9436-China-s-pilot-national-park-a-land-of-golden-opportunity-">Chinadialogue</a> raises doubts about the national park plans.  The Chinese news source points out that the newly formed national park service exists only on paper and that the officials running still maintain their old posts in the government.  Other protected areas in China have failed to live up to their promise, capitalizing on tourism rather than protecting ecology. Tibetan Buddhist traditions in the area have long promoted harmony between humans and the natural world but those traditions are eroding as the Chinese government promotes tourism development.  Cultural taboos that have protected wildlife and water sources are less often recognized. Nomadic herders are also leaving their rural homelands and moving into urban areas where it’s easier to make a living. 

A Tibetan monk was quoted in the Chinadialogue article:

“I do not know what our national park will be like in the future. One thing is certain as far as I am concerned: if there is no monastery and monks any more in the region, and once the herders are also moved out, the valley will be dead, despite the increasing number of brown bears and snow leopards…”

Another park in Sichuan province is set to be twice the size of Yosemite and provide vital habitat for panda bears, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/08/chinese-bank-giant-panda-conservation-park">The Guardian</a>.  <a href="https://www.biographic.com/posts/sto/green-glove-iron-fist?mpweb=1018-7418-1251639">Biographic</a> reports the area where this park is planned to occupy has long been recovering, due to local and NGO efforts.  Poaching, logging and overfishing have been in decline, partly due to the local economy turning to honey instead of these more destructive means.  Locals supported by an NGO also patrol the forest for poachers. 

Despite these improvements, the Panda National Park is set to evict 170,000 people from the area.  This follows the pattern of US parks that evicted natives from within their boundaries, probably the darkest part of the National Park legacy.  Undoubtedly however the specific plans end up, tourism will cash in on the last of the pandas left in the wild. 

<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/china-national-park-amur-leopard-tiger_us_58bfca5fe4b0ed7182682c7b">Huffington Post</a> reports that another park China plans to create will protect Siberian Tigers and the Amur Leopard.  This park is set to be one of the largest sanctuaries for large cats in the world. Considering China’s overall ambivalence over tigers during international <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nepals-tigers-double-population/">summits</a>, this is more than ironic.  The main question is can we trust the Chinese government to do the right thing or is the new national park system just a piece of propaganda to prop up a totalitarian government and for tourism profit at the cost of rural farmers?                                  

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer             

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

China plans new national parks amid skepticism

It could be argued that overall, Chinese law is rather...

A little healthy competition is good for you, isn’t it?  While <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/men-winners-testosterone-confidence/">competition</a> may help people get ahead and drive some to succeed, a new study has found that our need to outdo our peers makes us less logical. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> and <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University </a>recently conducted a study comparing how chimpanzees and young children apply logic and reasoning to different tasks. 

The results of the study show that older children and adults are less logical than chimps and children and it all has to do with competition and social comparison. 

“Human evolutionary success is often argued to be rooted in specialized social skills and motivations that result in more prosocial, rational and cooperative decisions,” the researchers wrote in their <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.2228">study</a>. “One manifestation of human ultra-sociality is the tendency to engage in social comparison.” 

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

For the study, 96 children between the ages of five and ten were given the same task as 15 chimpanzees. 

Two children were asked to sit opposite each other at a small table and on the table were two trays of treats. One tray had three and the other nine snacks, but the trays were sorted so that each child had a certain number of treats directly in front of them. 

The children had to choose then which tray they wanted to get the treats. If one of the children chose the tray with three, they would get two snacks and their partner only one. 

If the other tray were chosen, one child would get three and the other six. 

Both chimpanzees and the children under the age of six chose the latter option because it resulted in more treats for everyone involved. Three is better than two, even if the opposite child gets six. 

Older children, however, chose the first option because it gave them an advantage over their peer. In other words, children in the older group saw the task as a competition. 

“While even children as young as 9 and 10 years of age showed a willingness to reduce their own and their partner’s payoff simply in order to come out on top, chimpanzees' decisions—in terms of their outcome—maximized both their own and their partner's payoffs, dispelling the notion that more sociality is always associated with more prosociality,” the researchers wrote in their study. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Does competition make us irrational? A new study says yes

A little healthy competition is good for you, isn’t it?...

When you hear about bubonic plague, your mind probably automatically takes you back to medieval Europe, where one-third the population died of the disease between 1347 and 1350.

You might also think that it was rats that spread the “Black Death,” but recent research has come to light proving that it wasn’t rats, but fleas and ticks spread by humans that caused such widespread fatalities. 


A new study conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.uio.no/english/">Oslo University</a> has found that flea and ticks feeding on humans were behind the 35 cases of bubonic plague in Glasgow, Scotland in 1900, of which 40 percent died. 

An <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fleas-rats-black-death/">earlier study</a> by the same team had reached a similar conclusion, but this recent research focused specifically on the 20th-century outbreak.

By studying rare cases of bubonic plague in more recent times, like that of the 20th-century pandemic, researchers can get a better understanding of how the plague spreads because the its impacts were recorded in detail.

The researchers analyzed each of the 35 cases in Glasgow and tried to reconstruct the path that the infection took to spread from one person to another.

It started with two cases in tenement living quarters in Glasgow, a grandmother and her granddaughter who became sick on August 3rd and both died six days later. 

People who had visited the two women also got sick, and so authorities took measures to quarantine people to prevent the disease from spreading. 

Because rat infestations were common in slum neighborhoods during the early 20th century, public health officials also trapped and tested rats to see if any were carrying the Yersinia pestis bacteria, which is the bacteria behind the bubonic plague. 

Surprisingly none of the rodents had the bacteria, which meant that it wasn’t rats that caused the spread of the disease. 

“Despite their efforts, they found no evidence of plague in the rat population at any time during the outbreak, leading them to conclude that plague may have spread directly between humans through clothing among other means, and possibly by ‘the suctorial parasites of mankind,’” the researchers wrote in <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/06/08/340547">their study</a>.

The team used this information to prove that it wasn’t rats but fleas and ticks spreading from person to person in tightly packed family quarters that led to the spread of the disease in the early 20th century. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Growing evidence shows that rats didn’t spread the plague in Europe

When you hear about bubonic plague, your mind probably automatically...

<a href="https://ciliopathyalliance.org/cilia">Cilia</a> are hairlike structures that sprout from the surface of different cells in the body, and can be found throughout the body in the brain, kidneys, and lungs.

In cavities in the brain, cilia play a crucial role in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-directs-body-developing/">brain development</a> and health, but it had not been well understood just how cilia impact brain activity. 

Cilia dysfunction and defective cilia have been linked to scoliosis and hydrocephalus which is when water builds up in the cavities of the brain. 

In the hopes of understanding cilia and their function in the brain’s cavities, researchers from the <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/kavli">Yaksi group at Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)</a> examined cilia and cerebrospinal fluid movement in zebrafish larvae. 

A study detailing the research was published in the journal Current Biology, and the results show how cilia function in the brain. 

Zebrafish were used for the study because they are an excellent model for humans. The fish are vertebrates and transparent in their larval stage which allowed the researchers a rare inside look at brain activity and development in the growing fish. 

“We could even investigate each individual cell and cilia,” said Christa Ringers, a co-author of the study. 
The human brain has cavities called ventricles that are filled with cerebrospinal fluid which is always moving and the researchers found that cilia are particularly important to the flow of fluid in the ventricles. 

“Several theories exist, but for many years this circulation of fluid has been recognized as supplying nutrients to the brain, while also removing waste products,” said Nathalie Jurisch-Yaksi, the senior researcher for the study. 

Cilia are grouped into different zones in the ventricles, and these groupings help with direction and flow of ventricle fluid. 

The ventricles in the brain are all connected, and cilia in each ventricle seem to be interconnected to the other ventricles, and a steady flow of fluid is important to keeping the ducts between the ventricles open. 

“If we stop the cilia's motion, the ducts close,” said Jurisch-Yaksi.

Activity and heartbeat also influence this movement, according to the study. 

“We found surprisingly little exchange of fluid between the ventricles as long as the fish were at rest, even though the heartbeat pulsations caused some flow between them,” said Emilie Willoch Olstad, the first author of the study. 

The researchers noted that cilia in the ventricles are different from cilia in the lungs and other moving cilia in the body. Overall, the team found that cilia are crucial for directing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and this, in turn, drive healthy neural development.  

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Yaksi Group

Forget body hair, the most important hairs are inside your brain

Cilia are hairlike structures that sprout from the surface of...

According to a new study from <a href="https://www.duke.edu/">Duke University</a>, young people who harm themselves are three times more likely to be “dual harmers,” which means they also commit violent crimes. In addition, the researchers found that dual harmers are more likely to have a major of a history of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/childhood-trauma-psychotic-experiences/">childhood maltreatment</a> and lower self-control than those who only self-harm.

The findings suggest that programs designed to address childhood maltreatment or self-control among self-harmers could help to prevent violent crime.


Adolescents are particularly prone to deliberately harming themselves, often by cutting or burning. The rates of self-harm have greatly increased in recent years among youths in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Each year in the U.S., around one in four teenage girls try to harm themselves, along with one in 10 teenage boys. Across the UK, self-injury among teenage girls has risen by nearly 70 percent in three years.

“We know that some individuals who self-harm also inflict harm on others,” said study lead author Leah Richmond-Rakerd. “What has not been clear is whether there are early-life characteristics or experiences that increase the risk of violent offending among individuals who self-harm. Identifying these risk factors could guide interventions that prevent and reduce interpersonal violence.”

The Duke team collaborated with experts at <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">King's College London</a> to compare young people who self-harm to those who engage in “dual-harm” behavior.

The investigation was focused on 2,232 twins born in 1994 and 1995 who were part of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, which followed the twins over 20 years. Self-harm in adolescence was assessed through interviews at age 18, while violent offenses were assessed through a computer questionnaire at age 18 and police records through age 22.

“By comparing twins who grew up in the same family, we were able to test whether self-harm and violent crime go together merely because they come from the same genetic or family risk factors,” said Terrie E. Moffitt of Duke University, who is the founder of the E-Risk Study. “They did not. This means that young people who self-harm may see violence as a way of solving problems and begin to use it against others as well as themselves.”

The results also showed that dual harmers were more likely to have experienced victimization in adolescence, experience psychotic symptoms, or to abuse drugs and alcohol. 

“Our study suggests that dual-harming adolescents have experienced self-control difficulties and been victims of violence from a young age,” said Richmond-Rakerd. “A treatment-oriented rather than punishment-oriented approach is indicated to meet these individuals' needs.”

The study is published in <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/">The American Journal of Psychiatry</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

&nbsp;

Teens who self-harm are 3 times more likely to commit violent crimes

According to a new study from Duke University, young people...

Non-sugar sweeteners may seem like a healthier alternative to regular sugar, but a new comprehensive analysis shows that there are few health benefits to using them.

Many people use <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-sweeteners-insecticide/">sweeteners</a> like xylitol, stevia, and sucralose to help with weight loss, blood sugar, and sugar cravings. 

While there are several high-intensity sweeteners (non-sugar sweeteners) approved by the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm397716.htm">US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)</a>, little is understood about the benefits or negative side-effects that come with daily consumption of these food additives. 

Non-sugar sweeteners are appealing because of their low caloric value and the fact that they won’t raise blood sugar, according to the FDA. 

A team of European researchers from institutions in Germany, Francy, and Hungary conducted a comprehensive analysis of 56 studies to better understand the health benefits of high-intensity sweeteners. 

The studies compared low intake to high intake of non-sugar sweeteners in healthy adults and children. Weight, blood sugar levels, oral health, cardiovascular disease, and mood were all used as measurements of health in the studies. 

After analyzing the 56 studies, the researchers found little evidence showing that non-sugar sweeteners were a healthier alternative to free sugars. 

Most of the outcomes of the studies had no statistic or relevant differences between participants who consumed non-sugar sweeteners and those who didn't. 

Only a few of the studies showed associations between reduced BMI (body mass index score) and improvements in blood glucose (blood sugar) levels and non-sugar sweeteners. A slight increase in BMI correlated with non-sugar sweeteners compared to free sugars in children. 

Very little evidence indicated that non-sugar sweeteners helped with weight loss for overweight and obese adults. 

This new study and analysis, which was published in the journal BMJ, emphasizes the information gap between our understanding of non-sugar sweeteners and their widespread use a sugar substitute. 

The researchers say that more in-depth studies are needed to assess the long-term benefits of non-sugar sweeteners as a sugar substitute and food additive. 

“Policies and recommendations will need updating regularly, as more evidence emerges to ensure that the best available data is used to inform the important public health debate on sugar and its alternatives,” said Vasanti Malik from the <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a> in an editorial about the new research.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Non-sugar sweeteners have few health benefits, research finds

Non-sugar sweeteners may seem like a healthier alternative to regular...

A new study shared by the <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> reveals that <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/1/eaau7292?__utma=109413082.1910296782.1546523456.1546523456.1546523456.1&amp;__utmb=109413082.2.10.1546523456&amp;__utmc=109413082&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=109413082.1546523456.1.1.utmcsr=google%7Cutmccn=(organic)%7Cutmcmd=organic%7Cutmctr=(not%20provided)&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=41205538">a quarter of all Holocaust murders</a> occurred within a single three-month period during the murder campaign, Operation Reinhard. These findings prove that the damage done by Operation Reinhard has been greatly underestimated up until this point. 

This new troubling information also shows how effective Nazi death camps were at fulfilling the Nazi-German want to eradicate the Jewish population in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/europeans-making-cheese-7000-years/">Europe</a>.

During World War II, Operation Reinhard lasted from 1942 to 1943, but unfortunately, little has been known about its impact due to the fact that documentation and detailed records of Operation Reinhard murders were destroyed by the Nazis. 

However, Israeli historian Yitzhak Arad, who specializes in Holocaust research, compiled data from the Deutsche Reichsbahn train, the German National Railway used to transport millions of Jews to death camps. This data consisted of 480 train deportation records detailing trips between 393 Polish towns and ghettos to the Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka death camps.

Using this data, Arad was able to estimate the number of Operation Reinhard victims on each trip. Then, Lewi Stone, professor in the Mathematical Sciences department at <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/contact/staff-contacts/academic-staff/s/stone-professor-lewi">RMIT in Melbourne, Australia</a>, estimated the rate at which the Nazis murdered their Jewish victims during Operation Reinhard, thus proving that most of the killings took place between August and October of 1942.

Stone estimates that of the 1.7 million victims of Operation Reinhard as a whole, 1.32 million, or 78%, were murdered during this three-month period. This means that 25% of Jews killed at death camps during the Holocaust in its entirety were killed during Operation Reinhard between August and October of 1942. 

Furthermore, Stone calculates that a staggering 15,000 murders occurred each day during those three months. 

With this information, Stone places the Operation Reinhard murder rate at 83% higher than that of the 1994 Rwandan genocide murder rate, previously thought to be the most intense genocide of the 20th century. Stone concludes that, if there had been more victims to kill, Operation Reinhard would have continued at the same pace. However, by November of 1942, the Nazis involved with Operation Reinhard sickeningly ended up with no one left to murder.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A quarter of Holocaust victims were killed within a 3-month period

A new study shared by the American Association for the...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/">Mayo Clinic</a> have demonstrated in mice that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/poor-sleep-habits-obesity/">obesity</a> increases the number of senescent cells in the brain, and that those cells are, in turn, linked to anxiety. When drugs were used to eliminate the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-have-identified-anti-aging-drugs-using-ai-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">senescent cells</a>, the symptoms of anxiety disappeared among the mice.

Senescent cells, also known as “zombie cells,” are older, dormant cells that have lost the ability to divide. As these cells linger in a given area of the body, they impair other functions. 

Previous studies have shown that cell senescence contributes to many aspects of the aging process, including osteoporosis and diabetes. The current investigation was focused on understanding how obesity is related to increased anxiety in both humans and mice. 

Through an experiment with both genetically modified mice and normal mice, the researchers determined that the obese mice developed more fat cells in the brain region that controls anxiety. In addition, the mice had a noticeable increase in the number of senescent cells in the same region. 

After the cells were cleared with senolytic drugs, the anxious behavior ended, lipid cells in the brain disappeared, and normal neurological cell growth resumed. 

The study authors wrote: “Our data demonstrating a link between obesity, senescence, and anxiety like behavior provide critical support for the potential feasibility of administering senolytics to treat obesity-associated anxiety like behavior, provided that clinical trials validate this approach.”

The experts said that preclinical research is needed to determine which type of senescent cells are involved and also to define the underlying mechanism in greater detail.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/home">Cell Metabolism</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

Zombie cells in the brain linked to obesity-related anxiety

Experts at the Mayo Clinic have demonstrated in mice that...

It's the beginning of a new year, and many people will carry with them a laundry list of resolutions and unreasonably high expectations into 2019. However, if we just listen to the experts, this could be the year that we set realistic goals and actually follow through with them. 

According to research from the <a href="https://www.scranton.edu/">University of Scranton</a>, around 40 percent of Americans make New Year's resolutions, but only around 8 or 9 percent of them will reach their goals. 

Many experts agree that the biggest reason that resolutions fail is because the goals we are setting are not very specific. For example, making a resolution to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/standing-lose-weight/">lose weight</a> is too general and does not include a plan of action or a way to track your progress. 

“A resolution to lose some weight is not that easy to follow,” says social psychologist Roy Baumeister. “It is much easier to follow a plan that says no potato chips, fries, or ice cream for six weeks.”

Beyond setting goals that are too broad, people are often setting too many goals. In an article for <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/">Entrepreneur</a>, Biztuition CEO Julie Christopher explains why New Year's resolutions often do not work and can actually make matters worse.

“Unfortunately, most of us create too much resistance by injecting too many resolutions and goals into our minds,” says Christopher. “This process results in setting too many expectations and creating unrealistic goals. We end up with a long list of trying to do everything at once, relying on our emotions to keep us motivated until we achieve them.”

“Change just one of your habits that creates the most change. I discovered that making just one small change in your daily repetitive routine is a crucial step to alleviate the resistance that comes with change.”

Another important thing to consider when making resolutions is to make sure that the goals are achievable and not too big. The <a href="http://www.apa.org/">American Psychological Association</a> (APA) stresses that forming new habits should be approached carefully and that the changes should be slow and steady. 

Psychologist Lynn Bufka wrote on the APA’s website, “Setting small, attainable goals throughout the year, instead of a singular, overwhelming goal on Jan. 1 can help you reach whatever it is you strive for.”

“Remember, it is not the extent of the change that matters, but rather the act of recognizing that lifestyle change is important and working toward it, one step at a time.”

Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, author of “Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days,” pointed out that many of us have a tendency to make New Year's resolutions that are influenced by the expectations of others and do not reflect what we actually want.

“Goals need to be made for the individual,” Alpert told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/">Business Insider</a>. “So often, people seem to be influenced by their friends, their family, what they see in society. I think it's important for people to set goals that are for themselves and unique to themselves.”

Dr. Karen Lawson is the director of the Integrative Health Coaching program at the University of Minnesota’s <a href="https://www.csh.umn.edu/">Center for Spirituality &amp; Healing</a>.

“Many people don’t make their own resolutions out of what’s most meaningful and desirable for them but they set it out of what other people told them they need to do out of fear or guilt,” Dr. Lawson told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/">CBS News</a>. “So the motivation doesn’t come from within but comes from the outside and that doesn’t tend to lead to success.”

She also emphasizes the importance of being compassionate with ourselves and celebrating our successes along the way. Dr. Lawson says that it is best to simply acknowledge when we have a setback and move on.

“People on the whole tend to be harder on themselves than they are with other people. They tend to beat themselves up,” said Dr. Lawson. “So when we have a day when we fall down on the diet, instead of telling yourself that you’re weak or bad, tell yourself that you had a bad day and that tomorrow’s a new day to start over.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why is it so hard to follow through with New Year’s Resolutions?

It's the beginning of a new year, and many people...

The purpose of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ecotourism-new-west/">ecotourism</a> is to give the public a glimpse into the everyday behaviors of wildlife and grow one’s appreciation for nature. However, a recent study published in <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/">Nature Conservation</a> proves that ecotourism in Australia may be causing more chaos among the seal population than intended.

An Australian-based research team comprised of Julia Back and Professor John Arnould of <a href="http://www.deakin.edu.au/">Deakin University</a>, Dr. Andrew Hoskins of <a href="https://www.csiro.au/">CSIRO</a>, and Dr. Roger Kirkwood of <a href="https://www.penguins.org.au/">Phillip Island Nature Park</a>, studied the response of a colony of Kanowna Island fur seals to approaching boats, like those used in the ecotourism industry. They found that, unable to differentiate a boat from an approaching predator, the seals often rush into the ocean, thus increasing the risk of death via stampede or predator once in the water.

The team found that the seals first change their posture when a threat is detected, and did so when the research boat appeared 75 meters away from the colony. As the boat drifted closer and ended up about 25 meters away from the colony, seals began to dive into the water — a defensive reaction that can be particularly dangerous for the seals’ young as pups can easily be trampled by bigger seals.

“While the infrequency of these events suggests they are unlikely to have population-level effects, such disturbance impacts are in violation of state and federal regulations protecting marine mammals,” the authors write, citing the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a>.

[caption id="attachment_1864625" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/seals-fleeing.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1864625" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/seals-fleeing.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="513" /></a> Seals flee into the waters off Kanowna Island Image Credit: Julia Back[/caption]

In response to the study, guidelines were updated and ecotourism boats are now restricted to viewing seal colonies from 100 meters away at Kanowna Island from March through October, which is pup-rearing season. And during breeding season, boats must remain 200 meters away.

The authors note that their findings are only relevant to the seal colonies of Kanowna Island, and therefore may not apply to seal colonies elsewhere. 

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Julia Back

Ecotourism may be doing more harm than good for Australian seals

The purpose of ecotourism is to give the public a...

California has become the first state to ban the sale of puppies, cats, and rabbits in retail stores and now only animals from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-owners-extend-life/">rescue organizations</a> will be able to be sold in pet stores. 

The ban is part of the <a href="https://www.caps-web.org/news-releases/item/1322-california-ab-485">AB-485 Bill,</a> which was signed in October of 2017 by California Governor Jerry Brown and put into effect January 1, 2019. California bans pet stores from selling dogs, cats, and rabbits

In the hopes of cracking down on puppy mills and stopping neglectful and inhumane breeding programs, the bill now only allows stores to sell animals from the humane society, or rescue organizations partnered with a public or private shelter, according to <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/California-Becomes-First-State-to-Ban-Retail-Sale-of-Dogs-Cats-and-Rabbits-503644401.html">NBC Los Angeles</a>. 

According to the <a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/puppy-mill-research">Humane Society</a>, there are at least 10,000 puppy mills in the US, and less than three thousand of them are regulated by the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">US Department of Agriculture</a>. 

Breeders may falsify health and age information in order to sell their dogs, and since the pet stores themselves also want to turn a profit, a sick dog can end up sold to an unsuspecting family. 

Puppies born in puppy mills, so called because the goal is to sell as many puppies as possible, can also suffer severe emotional trauma along with a lack of physical care, according to the <a href="https://www.aspca.org/barred-from-love/puppy-mills-101/how-cruel-breeding-hurts-dogs">American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals</a>. 

“I think it’s better to rescue these animals instead of having like a puppy mill or something like that where these animals are raised super inhumanely,” Suna Kentdotson told NBC Los Angeles when interviewed about the ban. 

Suna, along with Mitch Kentodtosone, were in the process of adopting a new kitten when they were asked about AB 485. 

“It takes the emphasis off the profit of animals and puts the emphasis back on caring for and getting these cats and dogs a good home,” Mitch Kentdotson said.

Organizations like the <a href="https://www.sdhumane.org/">San Diego Humane Society </a>will be monitoring retail pet stores to ensure that they adhere to the new ban.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

California bans pet stores from selling dogs, cats, and rabbits

California has become the first state to ban the sale...

Pacific Gas and Electric, one of the nation's largest utility companies, may be ordered to pay billions of dollars in damages if found responsible for deadly California wildfires. In a document obtained by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/">CNBC</a> last month, PG&amp;E acknowledged that its equipment may have sparked the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/california-fire-evacuations/">Camp Fire</a> on November 8, 2017.

PG&amp;E could also face murder charges if the company is found to be liable for the fire, according to a brief filed in Northern California’s federal district court. The state is investigating whether the company properly managed the operation and maintenance of its equipment.

Prosecutors said the investigation will examine PG&amp;E’s safety practices to see if it committed a crime “with the requisite mental intent.”

The <a href="http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2277">Camp Fire</a> was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state of California, claiming at least 88 lives. High winds fueled the fire, which consumed the town of Paradise in less than 24 hours.

Some victims of the Camp Fire have already sued PG&amp;E over negligence and health and safety code violations. These lawsuits follow dozens of others against the utility that are related to previous fires in 2017.

In a statement, PG&amp;E  said that its “most important responsibility is public and workforce safety. Our focus continues to be on assessing our infrastructure to further enhance safety and helping our customers continue to recover and rebuild.”

“Throughout our service area, we are committed to doing everything we can to help further reduce the risk of wildfire.”

According to prosecutors, PG&amp;E could be charged with additional felony charges if the utility is found to have acted recklessly. If the company did not properly clear vegetation around its power lines and poles, lesser charges will be sought including involuntary manslaughter.

PG&amp;E believes that global warming is to blame for the increase in the frequency and intensity of wildfires in California, stating that “drought, extreme heat, and 129 million dead trees” are making it more likely for fires to spark.

On October 1, PG&amp;E wrote to federal officials: “California is now experiencing the devastating impact of extreme weather and climate-driven natural disasters, including the massive wildfires that occurred in Northern and Southern California in 2017, and the largest wildfires in California’s history during 2018. Extreme weather is no longer a theoretical issue, it has become the new normal.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: NASA (Joshua Stevens) - NASA Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager

PG&E faces murder charges, billions in damages for deadly wildfires

Pacific Gas and Electric, one of the nation's largest utility...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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