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...

2017.12.12-Figure3

Europeans were making cheese as far back as 7,000 years ago.  Excavations of two Neolithic villages along the Dalmatian coast in the Mediterranean uncovered the earliest known evidence of cheese production and storage in the region. 

Access to milk and cheese is thought to be largely responsible for the spread of agriculture across Europe 9,000 years ago. However, previous archeological research has only produced evidence of cheese making dating back 5,000 years ago during the Bronze Age. Europeans were making cheese as far back as 7,000 years ago

Now, researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> have discovered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pottery-developed-fishing/">pottery remnants that once contained fish</a>, meat, and cheese as far back as 5,200 BCE. 

The findings were published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0202807">PLOS ONE. </a>

The researchers analyzed carbon isotopes of fatty acids preserved on potsherds (broken ceramic pieces) that were found in the sites of the Neolithic villages Pokrovnik and Danilo Bitinj. 

The villages were occupied from 6,000 to 4,800 BCE and excavations in the area have yielded many different types of pottery that was used at the time for food storage and production. 

Milk, fish and meat residue was discovered on the potsherds and the researchers theorize that cheese production in the Neolithic area was common 7,2000 years ago and cheese provided an important source of nutrition for early farmers. 

“We suggest that milk and cheese production among Europe's early farmers reduced infant mortality and helped stimulate demographic shifts that propelled farming communities to expand to northern latitudes,” the authors wrote in the study’s abstract. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: McClure et al., 2018

Europeans were making cheese as far back as 7,000 years ago

Europeans were making cheese as far back as 7,000 years...

A new study found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-treats-migraines-better/">cannabinoid in marijuana</a> that is known for producing a high, may help alleviate chronic nerve pain. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.tasmc.org.il/sites/en/Imaging/Pages/FMRI.aspx">Sagol Brain Institute at the Tel Aviv Medical Center</a> in Israel discovered that THC reduces brain activity between the areas of the brain that process emotions and sensory signals, which in turn could help provide pain relief. 

The results of the study were published online in the journal Neurology. 

“Pain is a complex experience that involves both the senses and emotions,” said Haggai Sharon, an author of the study. “Our study results link pain relief from THC with a reduction in the connections between areas of the brain otherwise heavily connected, suggesting that THC may alleviate pain by disrupting signals between these pain processing pathways.”

The researchers focused on radicular pain, which radiates from the spine down through the legs. Sciatica, for example, is an extremely common form of radicular pain. 

According to the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sciatica/symptoms-causes/syc-20377435">Mayo Clinic</a>, more than 3 million cases of sciatica are diagnosed each year and it can cause severe pain, numbness, and tingling. 

15 men with chronic radicular nerve pain with an average age of 33 participated in the study and all the men reported having pain for more than six months. 

The researchers asked the participants to rate their pain levels and conducted MRI brain scans of the participants to understand the different pathways and connections in the brain associated with pain processing. 

Next, the researchers split the participants into two groups, nine of which received 15 milligrams of THC oil and six were given a placebo. 

An hour after consuming the THC oil, the participants were asked again about their pain levels and then underwent another brain scan. 

A week later, the participants were given the THC oil again, but this time the participants that been given the THC were given the placebo and those who had received the placebo were given the THC. 

Those who had the THC treatment reported that their pain had decreased.

From zero to 100, the participants reported an average pain level of 53 before taking the THC and 35 after the treatment. 

Pain relief was influenced by the connections between the regions of the brain responsible for processing pain. 

“Interestingly, our results also show that the more connected the areas of the brain that process emotion and sensory prior to treatment, the greater the pain relief experienced when taking THC,” said Sharon. “Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings.”

The small sample size of the study and the fact that women did not participate are limiting factors, and the researchers say that further studies are needed to better understand how other cannabinoids impact nerve pain. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a>, Staff Writer

Medical marijuana can help alleviate chronic nerve pain

A new study found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the cannabinoid in...

Being active is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, especially as you age. And while running, weightlifting and playing sports are all beneficial to your health, just the simple act of walking can also provide numerous benefits. One of these benefits has just been discovered in a new study published in the <a href="http://heartfailure.onlinejacc.org/">Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure</a>, which found for the first time that walking can significantly lower the risk of heart failure in older women.

The study involved over 137,000 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79, making it the largest and most comprehensive to date that has assessed physical activity within the context of heart failure prevention. Results showed that, along with reducing overall heart failure by 25 percent, increased physical activity improved two heart failure subtypes that are defined by cardiac function. These subtypes are reduced ejection fraction, which usually has a worse prognosis, and preserved ejection fraction, which is more common in older adults – particularly women and racial-ethnic minorities. 

Reduced ejection fraction heart failure usually occurs in individuals who have suffered a heart attack. It causes the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/litte-sleep-harmful-heart-health/">heart</a> to become a less efficient pump, which leads to other complications, including the failure of other organs and the need for a heart transplant, as well as sudden cardiac death. Preserved ejection fraction typically occurs in people who haven’t had a heart attack, but do have high blood pressure or diabetes. 

“The heart muscle more or less wears out and becomes an inefficient pump, although not to the extreme seen with reduced ejection fraction,” explains Michael LaMonte, PhD, research associate professor of epidemiology in the <a href="https://sphhp.buffalo.edu/">University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health</a> Professions and lead author of the study.

“This is the first study to report physical activity levels are related to a lower risk of developing heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in older adults, particularly in women,” LaMonte says. “This is pretty important from a public health standpoint, given the poor prognosis this type of heart failure has once it’s present.”

LaMonte and colleagues analyzed self-reported physical activity information from participants in the Women’s Health Initiative. They found that the cumulative incidence of overall heart failure was lower with increasing physical activity when compared to women who reported no physical activity at baseline. An additional 30 to 45 minutes per day of activity was linked with a risk reduction of 9 percent for overall heart failure, 8 percent for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and 10 percent for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. 

The data also showed that physical activity and walking were inversely associated with the development of heart failure, while intensity-specific (mild, moderate, intense) physical activity was not. This may indicate that it’s the amount and not the intensity of physical activity performed that can potentially prevent heart failure.

“The finding that walking showed a protective association with heart failure and its subtypes is particularly important in a public health context,” says LaMonte. “This is especially relevant given that walking is by far the most commonly reported physical activity in older adults.”

With the population of people 60 and older expected to double in the U.S. by 2035, these findings may be especially important. “Because heart failure is much more common after age 60, and because its treatment is very challenging and costly, the possibility of preventing its development by promoting increased physical activity levels, and specifically walking, in later life could have an important impact on the overall burden of this disease in an aging society,” LaMonte concludes. 

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Walking regularly shown to reduce heart failure risk as we age

Being active is an important part of maintaining a healthy...

You can see it in places like Santa Fe, New Mexico, Moab, Utah, Telluride, Colorado, even in Hill City, South Dakota.  Slowly it seems, the wealthy are buying up the rugged west and costs for enjoying public lands climb lockstep with the alteration of that landscape for increased recreation.

I recently had dinner with a friend of mine who decades ago spent his summers during college living out of a van and working at a rock shop in Moab, Utah.  My friend tells me Moab has changed so much and not for the better, to the degree he can’t visit the town anymore; it’s too sad. Moab is the poster child for a type of change that threatens to engulf the entire western US.  Once a small, quirky town full of working class people and outdoor bums, Moab has become a destination, a tourism mecca. The sad irony is that people like John Muir or Ed Abbey, promoting the natural beauty of places they loved have drawn in tourists that have overrun once lonely places.  As my friend told me, eventually people stop coming to a place because they love it and people start coming simply because it’s the place to be.

In his book, The Man Who Quit Money, Mark Sundeen nicely summarizes the historic feel of Moab, Utah and a way of living that has attracted many to the western US over the years:

“In 1897 – the same year builders broke ground on that icon of modernity, the Eiffel Tower – Moab still had no road or railway service, and the only way to cross the Colorado River into town was by ferry…A graded road and river bridge did not arrive until 1912…Moab has always had a reflexively anti-authoritarian bent.  People came here to do whatever the Hell they wanted. When in 1878 a settler named Arthur Barney crossed the Colorado where Moab now sits, he and his men found a sign on the bank reading NO CAMPING ALLOWED. In excellent Moab form, they threw the sign in the river and crossed.” 

Things in Moab and throughout the west are changing though.  Ranching, mining, logging and other extraction industries in the western US are slowly being replaced by outdoor recreation and service industries, a shift fraught with unintentional consequences.  

On Patagonia’s blog <a href="https://www.patagonia.com/blog/2017/01/the-outdoor-industry-loves-utah-does-utah-love-the-outdoor-industry/">The Cleanest Line</a>, the company states that outdoor recreation annually drives $12 billion in spending and supports 122,000 jobs in Utah alone (as of January 2017).  According to an article in <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/business/2017/07/28/outdoor-recreation-meant-12b-to-utahs-economy-last-year/">The Salt Lake Tribune</a>, the outdoor industry supported 110,000 jobs in 2016, more than double the 32,000 mining jobs or 18,000 energy jobs.  According to a Utah Department of Agriculture and Food report for 2017, agriculture production and processing employed 79,000 people that year.  In 2017, <a href="https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865679687/Report-Utah-tourism-growing-at-record-levels.html">Deseret News</a> reported that tourism in Utah grew 12% from 2011 to 2015.   These numbers are striking when considering a western state like Utah that has traditionally been defined by ‘natural resources’ and hardworking blue collar types.

According to <a href="https://utahbusiness.com/build-population-growth-will-reshape-utahs-housing-landscape/">Utah Business</a>, Utah is projected to double its population by 2065.  Tourism seems to be a new major player in the economics of the west, one that’s here to stay.  <a href="https://newwest.net/city/article/what_is_a_new_west_vs_old_west_economy/C396/L396/">New West</a> says: 

“Vibrant local new economies are emerging. A 2005 government study finds that rural counties specializing in recreation and tourism enjoyed higher employment growth rates, higher percentages of working age residents, and lower local poverty rates.”

The economic and population growth in Utah is affecting national parks and other ‘natural’ areas as well.  <a href="https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2018/02/28/zion-national-park-ranks-3rd-u-s-number-visitors/380897002/">The Spectrum</a> reported earlier this year that Zion National Park in Southern Utah is now the third most visited National Park in the US.  Only Great Smoky National Park and Grand Canyon National Park had more visitors than Zion in 2017. 

Zion isn’t alone either; visiting Arches National Park on an average day makes it clear that much of what Ed Abbey feared in visitation has come to pass.  The master plan is complete. Roads are paved and packed with SUVs. On one hike, my fiance Erin and I were baffled to watch a tourist offer a chipmunk scurrying across slick rock water and proclaim, “Stupid chipmunk” when the small mammal didn’t drink.  Small puddles were already nearby. 

It seems from my perspective that the majority of visitors to Arches or Zion aren’t making a real connection to the land.  A ranger in the Grand Canyon once told me about rescuing a woman who walked for miles into the canyon in high heeled shoes.  What brings a person like that to the Grand Canyon? Perhaps clever marketing. 

In Utah, the Office of Tourism seems to have focused its marketing on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-national-parks/">national parks</a>.  The focus on the outdoors makes sense for Utah, it’s the main attraction on hand for tourism.  The Mighty Five ad campaign is one I remember seeing on TV a couple years ago, it’s an a campaign focusing on Utah’s five national parks.  Beyond the Mighty Five, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/ut/list.htm">Utah</a> has six National Monuments, some of which are absolutely as spectacular as the National Parks.  There are also four National Historic Trails passing through Utah and there is one National Historic Site and one National Recreation area.  

Utah is fairly typical of western states, where the majority of federal land is located.  <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/co/list.htm">Colorado</a> has five National Monuments, four National Parks, two National Historic sites and one National Recreation area.  <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/az/list.htm">Arizona</a> follows much the same pattern with only three National Parks but with a whopping 13 National Monuments plus historic sites, recreational sites and historic trails that pass through the state.  It isn’t just the four corners region or desert areas either; <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/or/list.htm">Oregon</a> has five National Parks.  <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/wa/list.htm">Washington</a> State has 15 National Parks and the park service claims, 8,371,753 visitors to those parks annually. 

The eastern US is much less dominated by federal land than the west.  Take <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/vt/index.htm">Vermont</a> for instance, the state only has one National Historical Park and one National Scenic Trail passing through it.  The National Park Service claims 48,945 visitors to Vermont’s park. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/state/me/index.htm">Maine</a> has a bit more public land with a National Park, a National Monument, an International Park and an International Historic Site.  Compared to Arizona though, Maine attracts less than one quarter of the visitors to its parks and less than half that of Washington state with 3,430,164 visitors.

The land of the eastern US was quickly developed and much was already lost when parks, monuments and national forests started popping up across the US.  Preservation has naturally favored places where a good amount of unspoiled land was left; places like Utah, Montana or Alaska. According to a 2016 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/upshot/why-the-government-owns-so-much-land-in-the-west.html">New York Times</a> report, the federal government owns 47% of western land.  According to <a href="https://www.summitpost.org/public-and-private-land-percentages-by-us-states/186111">summitpost.org</a>, 95.8% of Alaska is public land but not all of that land is Federal.  Listed in order of highest to lowest percentage of public lands, the first twelve states are all western, with New York ranking as number 13 with 37.1% of its land being public.  In the case of New York, a large portion of its public land is state land. Only 0.3% of New York is federal land according to <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Federal_land_ownership_by_state">ballotopedia.org</a>.  

It’s clear that federal public lands, including national parks and national forests, are part of what defines western landscape and culture, making it different than the eastern US.  What isn’t clear is what this will mean going forward. The reason why so many national parks and forests were able to be created in the western US is largely due to an accident in demographics.  The US was colonized by Europeans and other settlers starting on the east coast going west. The movement from east to west meant a less densely populated western US when parks and forests started to get set aside, meaning there was more undeveloped land to create parks with in the west.

When it comes to national forests, the pattern of east to west development and private land ownership becomes even more obvious.  54% of land inside eastern National Forest boundaries is actually national forest land, according to <a href="http://www.andykerr.net/kerr-public-lands-blog/2017/1/7/national-forests-in-the-eastern-united-states-an-incomplete-legacy">Andy Kerr’s Public Land Blog</a>.  Much of this privately owned land was already owned by private logging companies in the east, while a much smaller percentage was owned in western states.  

Although the preservation of much of the west is predicated on smaller western populations, there has been a growing trend to promote tourism to parks, forests, deserts, landscapes that need continued protection.  Undoubtedly seeing parks makes you care about them more but not all park experiences are equal. 

Infrastructure in parks is starting to crumble. <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/">Yes Magazine</a>, stating an oft recognized problem, writes that National Park’s transportation expenses require about $970 million annually, but in 2016 only received $240 million.  The backlog on infrastructure repairs remains today as well, a big reason parks have started to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-parks-trump-ghost-teddy-roosevelt/">raise fees</a>.  

The popularity of parks is directly contributing to the infrastructure problem and people who drive over roads in large RVs are causing the problem more than backpackers in relatively light cars but probably won’t shoulder more of the burden.  By encouraging more visitation, we’ve caused more problems in parks, problems of congestion, of degradation of both natural environment and infrastructure. With infrastructure also comes of course, less of what people go to parks to see; more asphalt and less grass, rock, trees.

Outside of parks, western cities become more crowded as well.  I’ve driven through mountain towns that now have special routes for people driving ATVs through towns.  Dirt roads are more crowded with ATVs, dirt bikes and SUVs as well, places where mountain bikes were once common are now too dusty to easily ride.  Land prices climb in the most beautiful areas of the west. It becomes increasingly unclear whether the tough working classes who built communities in the west or the Native Americans who’ve often been forced onto marginal lands have a future here.  Campgrounds that were once free are now charging and visits to grocery stores in many tourism driven western towns can induce sticker shock to most. 

With the changing western landscape, environmentalists, especially those in the west should start asking if they’ve made a mistake.  By asking people to visit the west have we simply traded the problems of the extraction industry for new problems caused by industrial tourism?  By focusing on financial benefits of parks are businesses like Patagonia selling out the environment? 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer                            

Image Credit: Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/wa2l5tW5ISE?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Mitch Nielsen</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Ecotourism and the rapidly changing New West

You can see it in places like Santa Fe, New...

An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> has investigated the roles of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/women-migraines/">women</a> in science and beyond. The experts have identified specific barriers that may prevent success, and have also highlighted some simple changes that can be made to draw more women into innovative industries.

The researchers are part of a committee for the international network<a href="http://womenincoastal.org/"> Women in Coastal Geoscience and Engineering</a> (WICGE), which spans Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Spain. 

The study revealed that women only represent around 20 percent of the CGE’s most prestigious roles, even though females makes up a third of the CGE community. 

Co-author Professor Ana Vila-Concejo is the deputy director of the One Tree Island Research Station on Australia's Great Barrier Reef and a co-leader of the University of Sydney's Geocoastal Research Group. 

“Our findings are important not only for our field of research but also for other fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics - and beyond," said Professor Vila-Concejo.

“Reading the survey responses was harder than we had anticipated; I could not read all responses in one go as I was in tears.”

“We found flagrant examples of inequality that included dramatic decisions such as an early career researcher deciding to undergo an abortion out of fear of jeopardising her chances of securing an academic position.”
The researchers analyzed the gender of leaders on the boards and committees of nine societies, 25 journals, and 10 conferences. They also conducted a global survey and collected responses from 314 people.

The study revealed that gender stereotyping was among the most common drivers of inequality in the CGE. The stereotyping of women in STEM as being incompetent and not being taken seriously was found to be a common problem. 


One survey participant responded: “During a job interview, the lead engineer (male) was explaining how they have the ‘boys club’ here at the office. They did offer me the job, but I didn't want to work in that type of environment.”


The researchers found that women being overlooked and ignored in favor of male colleagues was also a key issue. 


Some solutions recommended by the study authors include advocating for more women in prestige roles, promoting high-achieving females, creating awareness of gender bias, and speaking up. Other steps to success include getting better support for return-to-work, redefining success, and encouraging more women to enter the discipline at a young age.

Study co-author Shari Gallop from Macquarie University explained, “The first four steps we recommend can be successfully implemented immediately, while others need institutional engagement and represent major societal overhauls.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/">Palgrave Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Research reveals the primary obstacles professional women face

An international team of researchers led by the University of...

Step aside electric cars, hybrids, Teslas and gas-saving self-driving vehicles, the future of green automotives may soon lie in plastic.

Researchers from <a href="http://www.swansea.ac.uk/">Swansea University</a> have successfully converted plastic waste into hydrogen, paving the way for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles powered by plastic. 

As the world struggles to cope with a major plastic pollution crisis, millions of tons of plastic are entering the ocean each year and little sign of improvement.

Many researchers, conservation groups, and concerned citizens are scrambling to find ways to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pac-man-system-plastic-pollution/">clean up and recycle the plastic waste</a> created each day, and this new research may provide a new innovative solution. 

Plastic waste, even the plastic that can’t be recycled because it’s contaminated by food waste, can theoretically be used to make hydrogen using the new system created by the Swansea researchers. 

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, less common than electric cars and hybrids, use hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity that powers the car. 

It’s an incredibly clean and quiet way to power a car, and using plastic for fuel could be even a better alternative than trying to recycle the world’s plastic. 

“There's a lot of plastic used every year – billions of tonnes – and only a fraction of it is being recycled. We are trying to find a use for what is not being recycled,” said Moritz Kuehnel of Swansea University's chemistry department. “The beauty of this process is that it's not very picky. It can degrade all sorts of waste.”

The plastic is converted to hydrogen using an alkaline solution that is exposed to sunlight. 

The researchers say that plastic powered cars are quite a ways off, but many automotive manufacturers are already investing hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Could plastic waste one day fuel your car?

Step aside electric cars, hybrids, Teslas and gas-saving self-driving vehicles,...

The symptoms of cognitive decline, whether a result of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/twice-americans-alzheimers-2060/">Alzheimer's disease</a> or not, increase during winter and spring, according to a new study. 


There had been some research on the correlation between seasons and cognitive abilities in older adults, but a collaborative team from the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a> and the <a href="https://sunnybrook.ca/">Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre</a> have now found enough evidence to confirm a seasonal pattern that merits further study. 

The results which were published in the journal PLOS Medicine show that adults with or without Alzheimer's have better cognition skills during the late summer and early fall. 

Data from 3,353 people enrolled in three different cohort studies in the US, Canada, and France were analyzed by the researchers. Some of the data included neuropsychological tests, protein levels and genetic analysis in regards to Alzheimer's disease. 

The researchers found that cognitive abilities were higher in the summer and fall, the equivalent to 4.8 years of age-related decline, than in winter and spring. 

Patients in the different studies were more likely to meet the criteria for cognitive impairment or dementia in winter and spring than fall or summer. 

Even when the researchers controlled for factors like depression, physical activity, or amounts of sleep in the different study participants, the results held true with summer and fall correlating with better cognition. 

There were also fluctuations in Alzheimer's protein levels in the brain based on seasonal changes. 


“There may be value in increasing dementia-related clinical resources in the winter and early spring when symptoms are likely to be most pronounced,” the authors conclude. “By shedding light on the mechanisms underlying the seasonal improvement in cognition in the summer and early fall, these findings also open the door to new avenues of treatment for Alzheimer's disease.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Dementia in older adults is more apparent in winter and spring

The symptoms of cognitive decline, whether a result of Alzheimer's...

<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/eye-movement-desensitization-and-reprocessing-therapy">Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy</a> (EMDR), is a common and yet controversial form of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coping-skills-alleviate-anxiety/">psychotherapy</a> for patients who have experienced trauma. 

It was developed by <a href="http://www.emdr.com/history-of-emdr/">Francine Shapiro</a> in 1987 when the psychologist was taking a walk in the woods. Shapiro realized that EMDR could help lessen the negative feelings and emotions associated with past memories and disturbing thoughts. 

The central concepts behind EDMR involve using both rapid side to side eye movement and talk therapy to help process traumatic events and decrease the emotions and fear surrounding said event. 

Even though there exists evidence that EDMR is effective, there is still uncertainty as to whether the eye movement itself actually helps or if the talk therapy alone could achieve the same result. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ru.nl/english/">Radboud University</a> in the Netherlands and <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">Cambridge University </a>conducted two experiments that put EDMR to the test with the aim of investigating the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that make the therapy so effective. 

The results, published in the journal JNeurosci, show that EDMR suppressed activity in the amygdala, the region of the brain responsible for fear learning. 

When activity in the amygdala lessoned, it allowed participants to reduce the associations between certain stimulus (remembering a traumatic experience, for example) and a fear response. 

This is called extinction learning and it’s a critical part of decreasing the fear response. 

“This study contributes to the understanding of a widely used treatment for traumatic symptoms by providing a parsimonious account for how working memory tasks and goal-directed eye movements can enhance extinction-based psychotherapy, namely through neural circuits similar to those that support cognitive control of emotion,” the authors conclude in the study’s abstract. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How eye movement therapy helps soften traumatic memories

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR), is a common...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.mtu.edu/">Michigan Technological University</a> have found that changing the type of silicon used in solar cells can reduce production costs by more than 10 percent.

Joshua Pearce is a professor of Material Sciences and Electrical Engineering and a co-author of the study. He explained that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/harnessing-solar-power/">solar energy</a> is the fastest growing energy source and that costs are already comparable to conventional forms of electricity. An additional ten-percent drop could drive this progression even more. 

“Improving cost per unit power at the cell level can have massive effects downstream,” said Professor Pearce.

Silicon is the standard material used in solar photovoltaic (PV) cells to capture light, and comes in two main forms. Perfect silicon crystals cost more and produce higher efficiencies, while multicrystalline silicon costs less but produces lower efficiencies.

Prior research demonstrated that nano-texturing silicon with dry etching makes black silicon (black-Si) that is more efficient at capturing light than standard etching treatments. 

“Those needles grab the light and don't let it get away. It's like looking into the eyes of Darth Vader,” said Professor Pearce.

In addition, scientists at <a href="http://www.aalto.fi/en/">Aalto University</a> discovered in a previous study that when black-Si is treated with an appropriate atomic layer deposition (ALD) coating, the surface defects that could hurt electrical performance are mitigated. 

It has been commonly assumed that the cost of black-Si cells from dry etching and ALD are too expensive for practical use.  Professor Pearce said that, in this industry, “margins are extremely tight” and there is a push for the lowest costs possible. 

The results of the current study, however, came as a surprise. While the production of individual black-Si passive emitter rear cells (PERC) were found to be between 15.8 and 25.1 percent more expensive compared to the production of conventional cells, the efficiency gains combined with the use of the less-expensive multicrystalline silicon actually outweighed those extra costs. Overall, the cost per unit power dropped by 10.8 percent.

“For the people that think coal technology is going to be able to compete with solar, they should know solar costs are still coming down,” said Professor Pearce. “Most coal companies are already, or near, bankrupt now. There's no way coal's going to be able to compete with solar in the future.”

“This study points to where the future is going to go in PV manufacturing and what countries might want to do to give themselves a competitive advantage.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies">Energies</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Sarah Bird, Michigan Tech

Solar energy use is on the rise as costs continue to drop

Researchers at Michigan Technological University have found that changing the...

A recent study has revealed that there is even less social mobility among Americans than previously thought. The research has found that the occupational status of workers in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-western-united-states/">United States</a> is strongly influenced by that of their parents, and that this association is a major contributor to the lack of social mobility across generations. 


Study author Michael Hout is a professor of Sociology at <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University.</a>

“A lot of Americans think the U.S. has more social mobility than other western industrialized countries,” explained Professor Hout. “This makes it abundantly clear that we have less.”

While previous studies have showed a strong association between parental occupation and intergenerational income persistence, these investigations understated the effect of the parents' jobs on the status of their children.

The new study has revealed a more powerful link by accounting for the pay and education of those in a given occupation. The investigation was focused on General Social Survey (GSS) data from 1994 through 2016.

The GSS participants provided detailed descriptions of their current occupation and their parents’ occupations when they were growing up. The responses were classified under 539 occupational categories and then given a socioeconomic score. For example, a score of 9 would be assigned to a shoe shiner, while a 93 would be assigned to a surgeon.

“The underlying idea is that some occupations are desirable and others less so,” explained Professor Hout.

The study revealed that the sons and daughters of high-status parents have more advantages in the labor force than what has been estimated. Half of the participants who had parents in the top tier of occupations now work in occupations that score 76 or higher. On the other hand, half of the individuals with parents in the bottom tier now work in occupations that score 28 or less on the scale.

“Your circumstances at birth - specifically, what your parents do for a living - are an even bigger factor in how far you get in life than we had previously realized,” said Professor Hout. “Generations of Americans considered the United States to be a land of opportunity. This research raises some sobering questions about that image.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proceedings_of_the_National_Academy_of_Sciences_of_the_United_States_of_America">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New study reveals surprisingly limited social mobility in the US

A recent study has revealed that there is even less...

A new study has found that political anonymity may be the best way to foster the spread of accurate information, encourage productive interactions, and reduce polarization on social media

It’s no secret that social media played a large role in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/battling-climate-change-misinformation/">the spread of misinformation</a> which influenced the 2016 presidential election. 

Now, new research shows that there may be a way to use social media to be beneficial and productive, provided you keep party affiliation out of the equation. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a> conducted a study asking both Democrats and Republicans to interpret Arctic sea ice data and graph released by the<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/"> National Aeronautics and Space Administration </a>(NASA) in 2013. 

“NASA found, to its dismay, that a lot of people were misinterpreting the graph to say that there would actually be more Arctic sea ice in the future rather than less,” said Douglas Guilbeault, a member of the research team. “Conservatives, in particular, were susceptible to this misinterpretation.”

The researchers wondered to what extent social media might influence an individual’s interpretation particularly given how politically charged social media is today. 

The results were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

“New scientific information does not change people's minds. They can always interpret it to match their beliefs,” said Damon Centola, the leader of the study. “But, if you allow people to interact with each other in egalitarian social networks, in which no individual is more powerful than another, we find remarkably strong effects of bipartisan social learning on eliminating polarization.”

2,400 Republicans and Democrats were first asked to interpret the graph on their own. After this, 40 percent of Republicans and 26 percent of Democrats misinterpreted the data and thought that the graph showed Arctic sea-ice levels increasing over the next few years. 

Next, the researchers gave some study participants the opportunity to interact on an experimental social media platform specifically created by the research team. 

To test how much political polarization influences an individual’s ability to subjectively look at climate change research, the researchers split the participants into three groups on the social media platform. 

One group knew the political affiliation of each of their social media contacts on the platform. Another group did not know who they were interacting with, only the political affiliation assigned via a donkey or republican symbol at the bottom of the screen. The third group was non-political and anonymous.

When political affiliation was kept anonymous and the participants were simply sharing their opinions on the data, 88 percent of Republicans and 86 percent of Democrats figured out the sea-ice levels were dropping. 

Some of the participants were not allowed to interact on the social media platform and their final responses stayed true to the earlier survey answers with many still misinterpreting the graph. 

“We all expected polarization when Republicans and Democrats were isolated,” said Centola. “But we were amazed to see how dramatically bipartisan networks could improve participants' judgments. But the biggest surprise--and perhaps our biggest lesson--came from how fragile it all was. The improvements vanished completely with the mere suggestion of political party.”

The results show how influential political party affiliation is in our society. However, the researchers say that the study shows promise and that people are more open-minded when politics are kept out of the picture in terms of understanding climate change research. 

“Most of us are biased in one way or another,” said Centola. “It's often unavoidable. But, if you eliminate the symbols that drive people into their political camps and let them talk to each other, people have a natural instinct to learn from one another. And that can go a long way toward lessening partisan conflict.

--

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>

Social media can help reduce polarization on climate change

A new study has found that political anonymity may be...

Having a diverse group of people on a board of directors is not only in keeping with growing expectations for companies to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-benefit-diversity-schools/">be more inclusive</a>, but it can also be both better for the environment and save millions of dollars in potential lawsuits. 

A new study has found that companies that have a good balance of men and women on their board of directors are less likely to be sued for environmental law violations. 

The reason behind this has to do with both gender socialization and diversity theories, along with the idea that problem solving is more effective between a group of people with a broad and diverse mindset.  

The research was conducted by Chelsea Liu, a senior lecturer at <a href="https://business.adelaide.edu.au/">Adelaide Business School</a> and published in the Journal of Corporate Finance. 

Liu reviewed 1,893 lawsuits against 1,500 firms of the finance company <a href="https://www.standardandpoors.com/">Standard and Poor’s </a>from 2000 to 2015.

After sorting through the different companies and the lawsuits raised regarding environmental concerns, Liu noticed that the companies with more gender-diverse boards had fewer lawsuits. 

To break it down, Liu found that for every female board of director added to a company, there was a 1.5 decrease in lawsuit exposure which translates to around 3.1 million dollars in savings. 

“This can be attributed to 'diversity theory', which says that a group of people from more diverse backgrounds - gender, race etc. - tend to make better collective decisions, because they canvas a wider range of perspectives,” said Liu of her findings. “Having a range of perspectives can result in improved corporate environmental policy, which in turn can reduce exposure to environmental lawsuits.” 

Having a more gender diverse board or hiring more female CEOs also has a positive impact on the environment because studies have shown that women are more likely to seek outside advice and care about protecting and managing the environment. 

“Gender socialization and ethics theories suggest that girls are brought up to be more caring towards others which can enhance environmental decision-making in the boardroom,” said Liu.

The study shows that companies should continue to invest in and hire more diverse employees from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. 

Liu also notes that the results may help persuade countries currently debating whether to implement mandatory boardroom gender quotas to pass those mandates. 

“With corporate environmental responsibility becoming a more important social issue, these findings can have significant implications for policymakers, investors, and managers,” said Liu. “Environmental violations not only have a significant impact on societies, but they can also cause devastating losses of shareholder value.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Gender diverse boards make for greener companies

Having a diverse group of people on a board of...

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



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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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