Falling asleep and waking up refreshed is something most of us crave. Yet some people appear to thrive on fewer hours, leaving everyone else wondering how they manage it. A new study involving a healthy older adult suggests that a rare gene mutation might be a key to needing fewer hours of sleep.



The research was led by Dr. Hao Chen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), whose team investigated a "natural short sleeper" <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-night-of-lost-sleep-can-trigger-hidden-health-issues/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trait</a> linked to a genetic variant in the SIK3 gene.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-genetics-influence-sleep-duration">How genetics influence sleep duration</h2>



Scientists who explore patterns of rest have long recognized that people’s genetic makeup can influence how much <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-prepares-the-brain-for-the-future-while-protecting-memories-of-the-past/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a> they need. This latest finding highlights how even a slight genetic tweak might reduce the time required for the brain and body to recover.



Those who qualify as short sleepers function at a normal or high level despite clocking fewer hours in bed. Researchers classify them separately from individuals suffering from insomnia, because these short sleepers typically wake up rested and show no health problems tied to exhaustion.



One older participant reported sleeping around 6.3 hours per night yet displayed sharp cognition and good health. Her genetic profile pointed to a single mutation as the possible reason for her efficient slumber.



These individuals, referred to as natural short sleepers, seem wired to operate on less rest. Specialists are intrigued by how they sail through daily life with no visible drawbacks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gene-mutation-and-sleep-patterns">Gene mutation and sleep patterns</h2>



The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/protein-kinases" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">kinase protein</a> produced by the SIK3 gene relays signals that influence various cellular processes. Scientists suspect that changes in kinase function might play a role in controlling how much time the body devotes to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-can-boost-memory-in-a-surprising-way/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a>.



When Dr. Chen’s team transferred this mutation to lab mice, the animals spent slightly less time resting each day. This observation hinted at a biological mechanism that could be significant across different species.



“Studying human sleep genes not only expands our knowledge regarding the sleep regulatory network, but also may bring the basic research from mouse models to clinical relevance,” noted the researchers.



Brain scans in the test mice revealed that their <a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/protein-biology/protein-biology-learning-center/protein-biology-resource-library/pierce-protein-methods/phosphorylation.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phosphorylation</a> patterns changed, especially around the areas that oversee rest and wake cycles. This shift aligns with the idea that sleep is coordinated by a web of signals in the brain that might be influenced by tiny chemical tweaks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-mutations-in-short-sleepers">Genetic mutations in short sleepers</h2>



Scientists have now identified at least five distinct genetic mutations linked to the natural short sleep trait. Each one affects different proteins involved in the brain’s signaling and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-quality-could-be-the-key-to-better-metabolic-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a>-wake rhythms, hinting at multiple pathways that might influence rest duration.



The SIK3 variant joins others such as <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1801693115" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DEC2</a>, <a href="https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-rare-gene-mutation-is-associated-with-requiring-less-sleep-researchers-say" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ADRB1</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/387129" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NPSR1</a>, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/14816" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GRM1</a>, each contributing a piece to the sleep efficiency puzzle. Researchers believe that mapping these variants could eventually lead to a full blueprint of how the body regulates its need for sleep.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-treatments-for-sleep-disorders">Treatments for sleep disorders</h2>



Researchers think there could be important applications for people who struggle with sleep disorders. Adjusting the pathways linked to this genetic variant might shorten the time needed to feel rested, although practical therapies will likely take time to refine.



Still, scientists caution that these insights do not give an excuse to slash nightly rest. They emphasize that ordinary individuals without the mutation may not reap any benefits from copying a short sleeper’s schedule.



Experts see promise in pursuing treatments that enhance the body’s own efficiency. They hope new knowledge of genetic influences will guide strategies to help those who find it difficult to get restorative rest.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-on-short-sleep-genes">Future research on short-sleep genes </h2>



Short-sleep genes have captured the imagination of specialists for years. There is strong interest in mapping out exactly how the human brain resets itself, and why some people get the same benefits in a compressed timeframe.



“These [NSS] people, all these functions our bodies are doing while we are sleeping, they can just perform at a higher level than we can,” said neuroscientist and geneticist Ying-Hui Fu, from the University of California, San Francisco (<a href="https://www.ucsf.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UCSF</a>). 



Scientists aim to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37398097/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">uncover</a> the precise factors that grant this group their resilience. Many research teams intend to investigate how broader networks of genes might interact to influence rest. 



The SIK3 discovery raises big questions about what else might affect daily energy levels and long-term health.



Fascination with short sleepers is unlikely to fade soon. Unlocking the secrets of their genetics could reshape how we view rest, opening a path to solutions for chronic sleep troubles.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500356122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PNAS</a>.



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Rare gene explains why some people can thrive on less sleep

Falling asleep and waking up refreshed is something most of us crave. Yet some people appear to thrive on fewer hours, leaving everyone else wondering how they manage it. A new study involving a healthy older adult suggests that a rare gene mutation might be a key to needing fewer hours of sleep. The research was led by Dr. Hao Chen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), whose team investigated a "natural short sleeper" trait linked to a genetic variant in the SIK3 gene. How genetics...

Because of the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States, many fast-food restaurants have committed to offering healthier options for kids’ meals. But despite this commitment, a new study of parents’ fast food restaurant purchases has found that 74 percent of kids still get unhealthy drinks and/or side items with their kids’ meals at the four largest restaurant chains: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Subway.

This new report from the <a href="http://www.uconnruddcenter.org/">Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity</a> at the University of Connecticut has found that parents continue to give their <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/kids-moms-marijuana/">kids</a> unhealthy options, as many restaurants still provide sugary sodas and French fries with their kids’ meals. Researchers also found that these places widely promote unhealthy options inside the restaurants on menu boards and sides, while heathier sides and drinks are barely promoted. 

“While most fast-food restaurants do have healthier kids’ meal drinks and sides available, many do little to make parents aware of the healthier options or to encourage parents to choose the healthier options instead of unhealthy ones,” says Jennifer Harris, Director of Marketing Initiatives for the UConn Rudd Center, and lead author of the report. “If restaurants are serious about children’s health, they will make the healthiest choice the easiest choice for parents and the most appealing choice for children.”

The comprehensive study surveyed roughly 800 parents in 2010, 2013, and 2016 – asking what they ordered for their 2- to 11-year-old children in the past week from one of the top four fast food restaurants. Since 2010, these chains have pledged to offer healthier drinks and side options for kids’ meals, and not list sugary soda as a kids’ meal option on menu boards. A prior study from the same institution done in 2016 found a significant variation in how well some restaurant locations implemented these changes. 

Equally concerning, the study also reports that children are eating fast food more often. In 2016, over 90 percent of parents reported purchasing lunch or dinner for their child in the past week at one of the four largest chains – an increase of almost 80 percent since 2010. 

“We know that fast food offers parents a convenient, affordable option for feeding their families. But restaurants have a responsibility to make these affordable, convenient foods healthier,” suggests Harris. “Most fast-food meals – even kids’ meals – have more fat, sugar, and sodium than children need, and eating this kind of unhealthy food can have negative health consequences over time, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health issues.”

The authors suggest that restaurants should automatically provide healthy drinks and sides as default choices with kids’ meals, and indicate that there is a need for regulations that would mandate these policies. 

“Fast-food restaurants have said they want to be part of the solution to childhood obesity,” Harris says. “They can start by making the healthier drinks and sides the default options in kids’ meals and introducing healthier kids’ meal main dishes, which remain high in fat, sodium, and calories.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fast-food restaurants serve unhealthy options despite promises

Because of the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United...

One of the biggest hassles for drivers is the headache-inducing traffic jams that clog up commute times on the road, bringing cars to a slow crawl down freeways and backing up major intersections. 

Many studies have examined ways to reduce traffic jams and make commutes more efficient, as there are many benefits beyond just helping drivers get where they need to go quicker. <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/autonomous-vehicles-reduce-traffic/">Improving traffic flow</a> could reduce emissions and make the roads safer for all drivers. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/">Carnegie Mellon University</a> (CMU) are working on a solution that could potentially do away with traditional stop lights and reduce commute times by 40 percent. 

By replacing traffic light with virtual ones, the researchers say that it could help make driving much more efficient and drivers would have personalized traffic lights on their dashboard which would reduce wait times at lights. 

“With this technology, traffic lights will be created on demand when [two cars] are trying to cross this intersection, and they will be turned down as soon as we don't need it,” Ozan Tonguz, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who helped develop the technology, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/01/14/tech/virtual-traffic-lights-windshield/index.html">told CNN</a>. 

The virtual traffic lights (VTL) would appear when needed on the driver's windshield or dashboard as a green or red signal. 

The driver would be prompted to stop or go based on who else is driving on the road, and it would essentially be the cars that would manage major intersections by talking to each other and sharing GPS, map, and speed data. 

“When the driver is looking through the windshield, they'll see that going straight is a green light, and turning right is a red light,” Virtual Traffic Lights (VTL), a firm created by the Carnegie Mellon researchers, told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6207203/First-tests-dashboard-virtual-traffic-light-lets-cars-talk-slashes-commute.html">Daily Mail</a>. “It's a seamless process, the driver does not get involved in this decision making. The virtual traffic light will turn off once the driver proceeds through the intersection.”

The virtual traffic light system was tested near the CMU campus with positive results. There were two vehicles that were approaching an intersection and one was “lead car”. The lead car had a red virtual light which gave the other car the go ahead. 

The researchers tested the virtual traffic light system at over 20 junctions. 

“Preliminary results of the field tests conducted in Pittsburgh with vehicles using VTL equipment indicate that VTL is capable of coordinating traffic at intersections and reducing the commute time of people,” the researchers wrote in the study which was published in the Journal Arxiv. 

The virtual traffic lights reduced commutes, helped ease congestion and the researchers say that it could also help reduce carbon emissions and traffic accidents. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cars equipped with virtual stop lights could slash commute times

One of the biggest hassles for drivers is the headache-inducing...

According to the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> (ESA), the intense drought that persisted across some regions of Europe this year had a major impact on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/europe-unsustainable-future-agriculture/">agriculture</a>. The combination of high temperatures and low rainfall greatly affected the agrofood industry, including the production of potatoes.


More potatoes are consumed in Europe than anywhere else in the world, and this is largely due to the fact that the continent is the second largest potato producer in the world. While the price of potatoes fluctuates, the crop has currently hit its highest value in years.


But now, ESA’s new EOPLUG-IN service will allow high resolution data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites, as well as from other missions, to be sent directly to farmers and industry leaders. This novel approach will empower the members of the agrofood industry to protect potatoes and other crops from disease, save money, and maintain better prices.

The EOPLUG-IN, which was recently launched through ESA’s new Earth observation innovation hub, will provide fast and simple access to continuous business intelligence data streams. The ESA pointed out that the system could eventually be expanded to different industry sectors. 


[caption id="attachment_1801782" align="aligncenter" width="496"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/europe-potatoes.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1801782 size-full" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/europe-potatoes.jpg" alt="" width="496" height="530" /></a> Image Credit: Copernicus Sentinel data (2018), processed by ESA/GeoVille[/caption]

Janny Peltjes, the managing director of <a href="https://laboratorium.nl/bedrijven/hlb-b-v/">HLB BV</a>, said that “the novel satellite-based system will be able to spatially detect crop diseases, thereby providing means to efficiently target affected areas, saving pesticide application and safeguarding production.”


“This system will provide the means to integrate Earth observation data and other information streams directly within existing industry workflows in a business-friendly format,” the ESA stated. “This will inform the agrofood industry, for example, about the impact of ongoing droughts, crop failures and diseases, helping users to save money, get better prices, and as a result, also support European consumers.”
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Satellites can help stabilize the European potato industry

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the intense drought...

Asbestos, the leading cause of occupational cancer in the world that is banned in over 60 countries, may begin to be used more widely in the United States again due to a recent change in EPA rules. 

The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) made this change through a Significant New Use Rule which allows manufacturers to make new products that contain <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/asbestos-exposure-serious-threat/">asbestos</a> and then petition the federal government for approval. The EPA under the Trump administration has simultaneously narrowed the way it evaluates potentially dangerous chemicals, opening the door for more and more asbestos containing products to enter the market and consequently be used in the businesses and homes of Americans. 

“The Trump administration rewrote the rules to be dramatically less protective of human health … experts who have looked at [the new rule] have said that in the end, it pretty much gives EPA discretion to do whatever it wants,” Bill Walsh told <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/">Fast Company</a>. Walsh is the board president of the <a href="https://healthybuilding.net/">Healthy Building Network</a>, which he founded 18 years ago to bring increased transparency to the building products industry. 

Asbestos is responsible for a slew of diseases from more benign diseases like asbestosis, pleuritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which inhibit patients ability to breathe to terminal illnesses such as lung cancer, pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. The disease most often diagnosed is mesothelioma which sadly also has some of the shortest prognoses for patients - life span averaging one year after diagnosis. Roughly 3,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed each year and on average, about 2,500 mesothelioma-related deaths occur, according to <a href="https://www.mesothelioma.com/">Mesothelioma.com</a>. 

However, the disease disproportionately affects men in their 60s or older and mortality is 2-4 times higher in port cities and parts of “Rust Belt” states. The concentration of mesothelioma in this demographic is due to occupational exposure - men in these areas historically staffed more jobs in mining, manufacturing, construction, firefighting, shipbuilding, and heavy industry which are very likely to include asbestos exposure over decades. Secondhand exposure also put families of these workers at risk when they brought clothing and tools home covered in asbestos contaminated dust. Today, those with the highest risk of exposure are workers tasked with replacing asbestos-filled materials in old buildings. 

With federal regulators turning a blind eye to the risks of asbestos, the responsibility will fall into the hands of local and state governments who can also enact stricter regulations. Companies and informed consumers also need to make educated and informed decisions when choosing materials to build with. 

“Architects really sets the pace of design, in terms of aesthetics and materials that we like,” Walsh told Fast Company. “If they start to incorporate health-based criteria into their palette, it could really have an influence on what the manufacturers produce.” Consumer awareness around asbestos related risks could help push change up the supply chain and hopefully regulatory agencies. 

Take today, Mesothelioma Awareness Day, as an opportunity to help spread the word on the hazards of asbestos exposure. Visit the <a href="https://www.mesothelioma.com/">Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance</a> website for more information. 

--

By <a href="mailto:bianca@earth.com">Bianca Vierra</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Asbestos is trying to make a comeback due to loosened EPA rules

Asbestos, the leading cause of occupational cancer in the world...

Altruism, or the selfless concern for others, is an important part of the human experience. From a young age, we’re taught to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-heartbeat-generous/">share and help others in need</a>, and these philanthropic and altruistic characteristics are often considered some of the best traits for a person to possess. 

However, altruistic tendencies vary widely from person to person, ranging from completely selfless with no thought to personal gain to those who are selfishly motivated or antisocial. 

What drives the development of altruism and what makes someone more or less prosocial than another? 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.virginia.edu/">University of Virginia</a> tackled these questions in a new study published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2005281">PLOS Biology</a>.

The research expands on the theory that being more sensitive to a fearful expression correlates with having higher prosocial tendencies. 

For the study, the researchers wondered if altruism could be predicted based on how an infant or toddler responds to someone in distress. 

The researchers tracked eye movements and measured brain activity of infants at 7 months of age as they responded to different emotional facial expressions like happy, fearful, and angry. 

Seven months later, when the infants had reached toddler age, the researchers compared altruistic behavior to the earlier responses to facial expressions and discovered that focusing on fearful faces predicted altruistic behavior later on. 

The results show that altruism is linked to our response to seeing someone in distress or fear and how we focus on those emotions in others, particularly at a young age. 

“Our results are in line with the notion that a caring continuum exists, along which individuals differ in their tendency to display sensitive responses to others' distress that motivate prosocial action,” said Tobias Grossmann, the leader of the research. “This study provides new insights into the nature of human altruism by uncovering its developmental and brain origins.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What makes a person altruistic and selfless?

Altruism, or the selfless concern for others, is an important...

Monitoring your exposure to UV radiation is important for a number of reasons beyond just <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunscreen-protectio/">avoiding getting sunburned. </a>

For some people, Vitamin D deficiency can weaken the immune system and cause depression, so monitoring sun exposure can help balance Vitamin D levels.

For other people, just limiting sun exposure isn’t enough to combat harmful UV radiation, because not all UV wavelengths impact the skin equally, and current sensors don’t differentiate between the three types of UV radiation, UVA, UVB, and UVC. 

Excessive UV radiation/sun exposure can also lead to skin cancer, blindness, sunburn and causes the skin to age prematurely. 

This is what inspired Vipul Bansal, a professor at <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/">RMIT University </a>in Melbourne, Australia to develop a wearable, color changing sensor that tracks vitamin absorption and UV radiation exposure to the skin.  

What’s more, the sensors come in six variations to meet the needs of different skin types from fair to dark. 

The sensors can provide people with an accurate measure of how much UV their skin has been exposed to throughout the day. 

Monitoring UV exposure is no small feat because everyone’s personal needs are so different and what’s healthy for one skin type may not be enough for another. 

Bansal's sensor measures UV exposure for the six skin types from Type 1 (fair skin) to Type VI (dark skin).

This aspect is crucial because Type 1 can only tolerate one-fifth of the UV exposure that Type VI can before incurring skin damage.  The sensors will be able to tell an individual when they’ve had too much UV exposure or if they need more sun to help with Vitamin D levels. 

“We are excited that our UV sensor technology allows the production of personalized sensors that can be matched to the specific needs of a particular individual,” said Bansal. “The low cost and child-friendly design of these UV sensors will facilitate their use as educational materials to increase awareness around sun safety. We can print our ink on any paper-like surface to produce cheap wearable sensors in the form of wristbands, headbands or stickers for example.” 

Bansal and his research team also note that the sensors can be used for other purposes besides monitoring skin exposure such as helping improve the lifetime of industrial and consumer products that wear down in the sun. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: RMIT University

Wearable UV sensors could help reduce sun damage to the skin

Monitoring your exposure to UV radiation is important for a...

A new study has found that planting trees outside low-achieving and disadvantaged schools may help improve academic performance for the students. 

Access to green spaces has been found to have many benefits for both physical and mental <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neighborhood-greenspace-may-reduce-adolescent-aggressive-behavior/">health and wellbeing</a>. As we reported recently, nearby green areas have been shown to improve children’s <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/green-spaces-childrens-respiratory/">respiratory health</a> and drastically <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quality-life-megacities-trees/">improve quality of life</a> in large cities.

Researchers from the <a href="https://aces.illinois.edu/">University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences</a> conducted a study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology to examine any potential links between greenness and academic achievement for schools with predominantly low income students. 318 public elementary schools in Chicago were included in the study. 

“The goal was to see if the greenness-academic achievement relationship holds for poor, urban schools because that's where it matters,” said Ming Kuo, the leader of the research. “That's where educators and policymakers are desperately trying to find ways to help kids reach their potential.”

High-resolution aerial imagery was used to quantify tree and grass cover for each school. The researchers then compared greenness to the academic performance for the schools using standardized test scores for math and reading. 

The researchers found that tree cover was a reliable predictor of academic performance, both for reading and math. If there were more trees, the better the standardized test scores were. 

Other factors like the number of students in each classroom, gender ratios, and the number of bilingual students had no impact on test scores or academic performance.

The results showed that having trees outside of a school impacted academic performance and the schools considered the most disadvantaged had half the number of trees as the least disadvantaged schools. 

While the study does not prove any cause and effect between tree cover and academic performance, it does suggest that simply planting more trees in schoolyards across disadvantaged districts,may improve academic performance. 

“Early math skills are one of the best predictors of later success, not just in math, but in school in general,” said Kuo. “So what we have here is a very exciting clue that maybe simply greening--planting trees in schoolyards--could potentially have a significant impact in math achievement and school success down the line for these kids. And you don't have to plaster the schoolyard with trees - just bringing schools up to average looks like it could have a substantial effect.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Melissa Oquendo

Planting trees at disadvantaged schools can improve performance

A new study has found that planting trees outside low-achieving...

This year marked a historic first that many in the west haven’t taken much notice of.  On August 10, 2018, Hanifa Yousoufi became the first Afghani woman to climb Noshaq, Afghanistan’s highest peak at an elevation of 24,580 feet above sea level.  

71 years ago on June 1947, Barbara Washburn became the first woman to summit Mt. Denali, which at 20,310 feet elevation is the highest in North America.  Ironically, in a long career of exploration, science and geography, Barbara didn’t even realize she was the first woman to climb Denali. Barbara went on to have quite an adventurous life of climbing mountains in Alaska with her husband, who she met at the New England Museum of Natural History that he directed.  It wasn’t lost on Barbara how her life defied the expectations for women of the day, she told <a href="http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web14f/wfeature-barbara-washburn-obituary">Alpinist</a>:

“Like most women of my generation, I'd been raised to believe that my place was in the home…Yet in the end, the places where I would make that home wouldn't always be in warm Massachusetts suburban houses, surrounded by the bright voices of our children. Sometimes that home would be in an igloo, at 12,000 feet, sharing Tang-flavored fig pudding with my husband; or as the lightest climber going first to test the cornices on a narrow exposed ridge; or staring out at summit views that no one else had seen.” 

Afghanistan is a world away from Alaska.  Mt. Noshaq is incredibly lonely compared to Denali, replete with veritable tent cities on its popular routes.  Between 2007 and 2010, there were only four people to summit, Noshaq, the second highest mountain in the Hindu Kush range.  For reference, there were 768 climbers to summit Denali in 2017 and 421 international climbers, according to the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/ams2017.htm">National Park Service annual report</a>.  When considering the instability, violence and infrastructure in Afghanistan, it’s not hard to understand why so few climbers attempt Noshaq at all.        

Mountaineering in Afghanistan also has hazards for women rare elsewhere.  Mt Everest, the world’s highest mountain located on the boundary between Tibet and Nepal, was first climbed in 1975 by Phanthog, a Tibetan woman, and in 1993 by Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the first Nepalese woman.  In Afghanistan compared to Tibet or Nepal even, women have far less opportunity to participate in male dominated arenas like mountaineering. Money and other support are much harder to come by for women climbers in Afghanistan.  

In Afghanistan, people go to the mountains for something hard to explain, for a ragged and hard reality, for a freedom no one can give but must be taken.  Mountaineering can represent freedom in that it requires individual strength of a level that requires training and lots of experience to do well. It’s hard to imagine a greater contrast than between the daily realities of oppression endured by Afghani women and the icy, clear freedom experienced by a few in the mountains.  Afghanistan, a country long known for its mountains, a nexus between the east and west has long been a destination for climbers and mountaineers. 

An article in <a href="http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web18s/wfeature-a61-dreaming-of-afghan-mountains">Alpinist</a> highlights the hardships of women in Afghanistan in recent years, as 2,640 civilians were killed in armed conflicts in the first ¾ of 2017, 5,379 were injured in that same time period.  The first six months of 2016 had 3,700 cases of violence against women recorded by the Afghan Judiciary. Strict and stifling interpretations of Muslim law have become the norm in many areas.  Climbing is dangerous enough but in Afghanistan, climbing for a woman can also mean threats of violence and death against her person.

<a href="https://www.ascendathletics.org/">Ascend Athletics</a>, a non-profit founded by American mountaineer Marina LeGree in 2014, was the support behind Hanifa and other women in her mountaineering team.  Since 2015, Ascend Athletics has been training women in Afghanistan to climb mountains. Hanifa Yousoufi trained with Ascend for two years at the start of which Ascend’s press release said, she couldn’t even do sit ups.  Ascend Athletics goes beyond mountaineering skills and grueling physical training. The endeavor behind the group is to create female leaders in Afghanistan and hopefully create lasting, positive social change. Classroom and team building work is a part of the holistic approach taken by Ascend Athletics.       

<a href="http://www.cpr.org/news/story/with-sights-on-afghanistans-highest-peak-ridgway-mountaineer-continues-teaching-afghan">Colorado Public Radio</a> reported in 2017 that Ascend Athletics was already making history.  Two years earlier, a team of women in Afghanistan were the first to summit an un-named peak reaching almost 17,000 feet in elevation.  Even then, there were plans to climb Mt. Noshaq, plans that were temporarily delayed because of threats from the Taliban.                     

Because of a long history of violence and Taliban rule, Mt. Noshaq itself was closed to climbing for almost three decades, only opening up again in 2009.  Only three Afghans have summited before Hanifa, making her the fourth Afghan to climb the mountain and the only Afghan woman. The first ascent made by Afghan men of Noshaq wasn’t until 2009 and itself was the theme of an empowering <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/afghanistan-mountain-expedition-film-doesn-t-tell-all-1.709179">documentary</a>.  The documentary tried to capture the beauty and resilience of a place, a culture, a nation that is more than just violence.  The first screening of the documentary in Kabul came two days after a suicide bomber killed the head of a peace council reaching out to insurgents.  

Violence continues to be a part of life in <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/heavy-cloud-of-dust-across-afghanistan/">Afghanistan</a>.  The Ascend Athletics climb was almost cancelled itself when fighting in a neighboring district shut down the air strip.  In the end the climb was pulled off, and a statement of empowerment for women in Afghanistan as well people everywhere was made that can’t easily be silenced.  

Led by Emily Drinkwater, an accomplished American climber and IFMGA-certified mountain guide, and cheered on by the other women in her team at base camp, Hanifa Yousoufi did something she knew she could, made history and finally stood on the top of her country’s highest mountain.  In a press release Yousoufi said, “I did this for every single girl…The girls of Afghanistan are strong and will continue to be strong.”

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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: Louis Meunier - Creative Commons

History is made with the first Afghan woman to summit Noshaq

This year marked a historic first that many in the...

A new study published by the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a> has demonstrated that some of the patterns generated by the brain's electrical activity during <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sleep-increases-car-crash-risk/">sleep</a> are driven by genetics, while others are shaped by our environment.

Identifying how an individual's biology or personal experience contributes to sleep neurophysiology could ultimately be used to develop new therapies for psychiatric disorders which notably alter the brain's activity while the body is at rest.

The study was designed to allow the researchers to distinguish between the influence of genetic and environmental factors during the most crucial phases of sleep. 

A research team led by Leila Tarokh used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the brain activity of 11- to 14-year-old pairs of identical and fraternal twins throughout two consecutive nights of sleep at home. 

During stage 2 of light sleep, sudden bursts of brain activity occur that are referred to as sleep spindles because of how they look when printed out on an EEG reading. Stage 2 sleep, which usually lasts about 20 minutes, is characterized by a decrease in heart rate and in temperature as the body prepares itself for deep sleep.

The next phase of sleep is known as slow-wave sleep (SWS), the deepest phase of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Phase 3 sleep is considered to be important for memory consolidation, and is characterized by delta waves on an EEG reading. 

The experts discovered that both hereditary and environmental factors influenced slow waves and spindles among the study participants. The extent of the impact of genes or the environment on electrical activity depended on the brain region being monitored. Frontal regions were found to be under strong environmental influence, while regions toward the back of the brain were strongly influenced by genetics. 

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Brain activity during sleep is affected by experiences, genetics

A new study published by the Society for Neuroscience has...

A new study has demonstrated a link between sedentary behavior and major cardiovascular events. According to the research, which is part of a series of papers that will focus on different risk factors for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wood-coal-cooking-cardiovascular/">cardiovascular disease</a>, physical activity is critically important to help control the growing global issue of heart disease and stroke.

A sedentary lifestyle is one of the leading preventable risk factors for heart disease, in addition to high cholesterol and smoking status. A previous study revealed that physical inactivity is responsible for nine percent of premature deaths worldwide. Sedentary behavior was found to significantly contribute to the incidence of coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and breast and colon cancer.

For the current investigation, the authors analyzed data from 25 published studies which were focused on the personal and environmental variables related to physical activity or inactivity. The goal was to determine how health care professionals can empower patients to maintain a heart-healthy lifestyle.


Study lead author Dr. Gerald Fletcher is a professor of Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease at <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide/florida">Mayo Clinic Florida</a>.“Proper physical activity should be a lifelong commitment," said Dr. Fletcher.  “The benefits of being physically active exist regardless of sex, ethnicity or age. The most active individuals have an approximate 40 percent lower risk of developing heart disease than those who do not exercise at all.”

The experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise every week. Aerobic exercise can significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure among hypertensive patients and can reduce the risk of stroke.

The average person engages in sedentary behavior, such as sitting in front of a computer or a television screen, for about eight hours a day. According to the researchers, replacing just one hour of inactivity with an equal amount of activity can effectively lower all-cause mortality.


The researchers suggest that individuals should incorporate more physical activities into their daily routine, such as yard work, household chores, or walking to and from work. Using stand-up desks or taking the stairs instead of an elevator can also help to promote a more active lifestyle. 

“Just like medication, the right form of physical activity has to be specialized for each patient. Physical activity is no different from smoking cessation or eating a heart-healthy diet,” said Dr. Fletcher. “It is up to health care professionals to set an example for their patients in all aspects of life.”

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.onlinejacc.org/">Journal of the American College of Cardiology</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

Sedentary behavior linked to major cardiovascular trouble

A new study has demonstrated a link between sedentary behavior...

Most fossil fuel economic research has focused on how higher income countries generally benefit from use of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/carbon-bubble-fossil-fuels/">fossil fuels</a> while developing countries bear the brunt of the negative environmental impacts.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucsd.edu/">University of California San Diego</a>, the <a href="http://eiee.eu/en/home/">European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE)</a> and the <a href="https://carnegiescience.edu/">Carnegie Institution for Science</a> created the first quantifiable data set on the social cost of carbon (SCC) for most of the countries on Earth. 

The research is the first of its kind to measure the economic harm from carbon emissions for different countries, and results show that the most affluent countries on Earth will suffer the greatest economic impact from CO2 emissions. 

The United States, Saudi Arabia, and India make up the top three countries that could incur the greatest losses from C02 emissions. 

A study, detailing the data set and the researchers’ findings, was published in the journal Nature Climate Change. 

“We all know carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels affects people and ecosystems around the world, today and in the future; however these impacts are not included in market prices, creating an environmental externality whereby consumers of fossil fuel energy do not pay for and are unaware of the true costs of their consumption," said Kate Ricke, the lead author of the study. 

Currently, the most-trusted estimates of the SCC come from the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)</a>, according to the study. 

The EPA’s latest SCC calculations say that carbon emissions could cost the globe $12 to $62 per metric ton of CO2 by 2020. 

However, the new University of California San Diego study found that this is a major underestimate. 

The researchers combined data from climate and carbon cycle modeling experiments to estimate country-level contributions to SCC. 

This allowed the researchers to measure SCC under different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios factoring in the carbon cycle and the environmental impact of CO2 emissions. 

What the researchers discovered was that the SCC could be anywhere between $180 and $800 per metric ton of carbon emissions. 

The SCC for the US is around $50 per ton more than what previous EPA estimates have calculated, and according to the researchers, annual CO2 emissions are costing the US economy 250 billion dollars. 

“Our analysis demonstrates that the argument that the primary beneficiaries of reductions in carbon dioxide emissions would be other countries is a total myth,” said Ricke. “We consistently find, through hundreds of uncertainty scenarios, that the U.S. always has one of the highest country-level SCCs.”

The study could help better inform climate policy where information is lacking in countries that have yet to recognize the risks of climate change, and the researchers say that the results call for more action on behalf of the US and other high-income countries. 

--

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="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a>

CO2 emissions could cost US economy billions of dollars

Most fossil fuel economic research has focused on how higher...

An international team of neuroscientists led by the <a href="https://www.dpz.eu/en/home.html">German Primate Center</a> has conducted studies on epilepsy patients to determine where and how the brain stores a memory that keeps everything from going dark when we blink our eyes. The experts have identified a region of the brain that is very important for the process of perceptual memory. 

Somehow, we manage to maintain a stable, uninterrupted picture of our environment throughout the process of blinking or moving our head and eyes. 

The researchers theorized that a specific <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/brain-lazy-conserve-energy/">brain</a> region known as the medial prefrontal cortex, which plays an important role in short-term memory and decision-making, may be critical to our visual perception. 

The investigation was focused on this region of the brain in patients with epilepsy. The neural activity in the prefrontal cortex was recorded as the participants observed two separate dot lattices on a screen and were asked to indicate their perception of the orientation of each, such as horizontal or vertical. 

If both orientations were reported as being the same, this was an indication that the subjects used the information from the first round to perceive the second round of dots. A section of the superior frontal gyrus had been previously removed due to illness in one of the participants, and the team discovered that she was unable to store the visual information.

“Our research shows that the medial prefrontal cortex calibrates current visual information with previously obtained information and thus enables us to perceive the world with more stability, even when we briefly close our eyes to blink,” explained study first author Caspar Schwiedrzik.

“Even when we see a facial expression, this information influences the perception of the expression on the next face that we look at.”


Schwiedrzik said that the research demonstrates the important role of the prefrontal cortex in perception and in context-dependent behavior. Next, the researchers want to investigate the role that confidence in one's own perception plays in perceptual memory.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why blinking doesn’t interrupt the stability of our vision

An international team of neuroscientists led by the German Primate...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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