Food allergies have become increasingly common, affecting roughly one in 13 children, as reported by Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE). With such a rise, scientists continue to explore how maternal diets might influence allergy risk in infants. 



Recent research in Finland sheds light on a surprising connection between avocado consumption during pregnancy and reduced food allergy risk in infants.



A study involving 2,272 mother-child pairs, conducted over nearly a decade, uncovered a striking finding. Infants whose mothers consumed avocados during pregnancy had a 43.6% lower chance of developing food allergies by 12 months. 



The study accounted for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-omega-3-deficiency-is-rising-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">variables</a> such as maternal age, smoking status, and education - yet the link remained consistent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-avocados-lower-allergy-risk">Avocados lower allergy risk</h2>



For years, researchers have explored how specific dietary patterns during pregnancy might influence infant allergy risk. However, individual foods like avocados have not received the same level of scrutiny. 



The Finnish study aimed to fill that gap. The team utilized an online food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess maternal avocado intake during the first and third trimesters. 



Participants who reported any avocado <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-production-more-difficult-climate-change-plant-pollinators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consumption</a> were classified as consumers, while those who did not became non-consumers.



The analysis revealed a significant contrast. Among non-consumers, 4.2% of infants developed food allergies. In comparison, only 2.4% of infants whose mothers consumed avocados experienced the same outcome.



The reduction in allergy risk remained significant even after adjusting for various maternal health factors .



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-avocado-research-offers-hope">Avocado research offers hope</h2>



“As a caregiver, the growing prevalence of food allergy feels very scary and out of my control,” said Sari Hantunen, senior lecturer at the <a href="https://www.uef.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Eastern Finland</a>.



“There is no cure for food allergy, but promising prevention and therapeutic strategies are in development as well as emerging research such as this."



”Based on these findings, it’s encouraging to know that eating avocados may provide even more value to maternal and children’s health, beyond the benefits that have already been established through scientific research.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-avocado-and-allergy">Tracking avocado and allergy</h2>



The Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo) provided a rich dataset for analysis. Researchers recruited pregnant women during routine first-trimester appointments at <a href="https://pshyvinvointialue.fi/web/en/kuopio-university-hospital" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kuopio University Hospital</a>. Data collection continued until November 2022, capturing dietary intake throughout the first and third trimesters.



Mothers completed FFQs that detailed food consumption over the past three months. The FFQ specifically assessed avocado intake, classifying participants as consumers or non-consumers.



After birth, researchers tracked infants to assess allergic outcomes, including <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-therapy-may-help-reduce-peanut-allergies-in-children/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">food</a> allergies, eczema, rhinitis, and wheezing. Even after adjusting for variables like maternal age, smoking, and breastfeeding duration, the data maintained its significance. 



Infants of non-consumers showed a 4.2% allergy rate, while those of avocado consumers showed a 2.4% rate .



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-choose-avocados">Who choose avocados?</h2>



Avocado consumers shared common traits that distinguished them from non-consumers. They tended to be older and more educated. They also reported longer breastfeeding durations and higher diet quality scores.



These women generally had lower BMI levels in the first trimester and were less likely to undergo caesarean deliveries. Researchers noted that these trends might reflect broader health-conscious behaviors rather than avocado <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-is-transforming-pollen-science-and-health-planning/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consumption</a> alone .



Avocados pack essential nutrients that may benefit both maternal and infant health. Each serving provides 9.25 grams of dietary fiber, supporting gut health and potentially influencing immune responses.



Additionally, avocados contain 2.6 mg of vitamin E, an antioxidant linked to immune function, and 0.93 mg of zinc, which plays a role in immune development. Lutein, a carotenoid crucial for eye health, also features prominently in avocados.



The nutrient profile aligns well with dietary patterns like the Mediterranean diet, previously associated with lower allergy risks in offspring. While the study focused solely on avocados, researchers suggest that other nutrient-dense foods may offer similar protective effects .



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-consuming-avocados-for-allergy-prevention">Consuming avocados for allergy prevention</h2>



The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that pregnant women consume 2 ½ to 3 ½ cups of vegetables daily. Avocados, with their nutrient density, count as a full cup per serving.



For toddlers aged 12-23 months, the guidelines suggest 2/3 to 1 cup of vegetables each day. With its rich nutrient profile, a single avocado serves as a practical choice to meet these recommendations without the need for supplements.



Despite the promising findings, the study did not identify any significant links between avocado consumption and other allergic conditions like rhinitis, eczema, or wheezing. 



The focus on food allergies yielded notable results, but the other conditions showed no significant differences between consumers and non-consumers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expanding-the-research">Expanding the research</h2>



The researchers caution against overgeneralizing the findings. While avocados may contribute to reduced food allergy risk, the mechanisms remain unclear. 



Further studies could clarify whether specific nutrients within avocados influence immune development and whether similar effects extend to other foods .



The study opens doors for future research that could extend beyond infancy. Tracking infants beyond the first year of life may provide insights into how early dietary exposures shape allergy risk throughout childhood.



Additionally, examining other nutrient-dense foods with similar profiles, such as nuts, seeds, or leafy greens, could help determine whether the observed effects result from specific nutrients or broader dietary patterns. 



Understanding these connections could refine dietary recommendations for pregnant women, offering clearer guidance on foods that may reduce allergy risk in infants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-nutritional-choice-with-potential">A nutritional choice with potential</h2>



As food allergies continue to rise, identifying preventive strategies during pregnancy remains a critical focus. This Finnish study suggests that avocados, with their nutrient-rich profile, may play a role in reducing food allergy risk in infants.



While the study does not establish causality, it highlights the potential impact of nutrient-dense foods during pregnancy - a time when maternal diet can leave lasting imprints on infant health. 



Further research will clarify whether these findings hold across diverse populations and whether other foods offer similar benefits.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-025-03968-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pediatric Research</a>.



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Eating avocados during pregnancy reduces baby's allergy risk

Food allergies have become increasingly common, affecting roughly one in 13 children, as reported by Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE). With such a rise, scientists continue to explore how maternal diets might influence allergy risk in infants. Recent research in Finland sheds light on a surprising connection between avocado consumption during pregnancy and reduced food allergy risk in infants. A study involving 2,272 mother-child pairs, conducted over nearly a decade, uncovered a striking finding. Infants whose mothers consumed avocados during pregnancy had a 43.6% lower chance...

Firefighting is a high-stakes profession. It requires individuals to confront dangerous situations and make decisions that put them in harm’s way for the sake of helping others. These decisions may involve helping the general public, or putting themselves in a dangerous situation to help out another firefighter. But how are firefighters able to decide at a moment’s notice to take a dangerous action for the sake of someone else – a “leap of faith,” if you will? A new study of firefighters in the United States sheds light on what goes into this decision-making for people who work in high-risk occupations.

In a study published in the journal <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/home/asq">Administrative Science Quarterly</a>, researchers report that leaps of faith are initiated and perpetuated through two sets of dynamics: supporting and sustaining. They determined this through studying over 60 firefighters in the U.S, using interviews, observations, and surveys to assess individual firefighters and learn how trust was earned and viewed at the site of a fire. The researchers asked firefighters to describe colleagues they trusted, along with those they didn’t, and asked what information they used to make these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/decisions-less-informed-age/">decisions</a>. 

Only about four percent of calls to a fire station are fire-related, so some firefighters might be heading to a fire call with a colleague that they had never even seen fight a fire. 

“We found that firefighters take a leap of faith to move from weak evidence derived from mundane tasks and behaviors at the fire station to trust in terms of entering a burning building with other firefighters,” the authors explain.

Reputation is a big part of the trust factor. The dynamics of support start with knowing who is or isn’t a good firefighter. This knowledge makes its way through a firehouse from one individual to the next, generally through stories that indicate a certain firefighter’s trustworthiness. The authors found that cues at the firehouse – such as how people look, act, and talk – are a part of determining how another firefighter will act in a fire.

Firefighters also use sustaining dynamics that eliminate or diminish new information and keep their original judgements stable. This means that firefighters who have already been labeled as untrustworthy do not have many opportunities to change how they are viewed. 

The authors believe that similar trust dynamics can most likely be found in occupations where there is not much direct information about people’s coworkers – such as bodyguards or nuclear power plant emergency operators. But because work relationships can be complex, you might never have all the information you need to correctly judge a colleague. This means that even in less hazardous jobs, we’re all taking leaps of faith when it comes to trusting our coworkers. Let’s just hope that the colleague you’re not so sure about isn’t the one standing next to you when a fire breaks out.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How do firefighters brave danger and take big leaps of faith?

Firefighting is a high-stakes profession. It requires individuals to confront...

Researchers at <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a> are creating industrial packaging with a goal of cutting back on food waste. Vegetable oil is used to make the new packaging slick so that sticky foods like ketchup will dispense more easily without leaving behind <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americans-waste-pound-food/">waste</a>.

Not only is it annoying when food sticks to plastic packaging, but it also contributes to the millions of pounds of edible food that gets tossed out every year in America.

The new technique developed by the team involves the integration of chemically compatible vegetable oils and commonly extruded plastics. This is the first time that such a method has been executed using inexpensive and widely available plastics, such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

Study lead author Ranit Mukherjee is a doctoral student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics within the College of Engineering.

“Previous SLIPS, or slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces, have been made using silicon- or fluorine-based polymers, which are very expensive,” said Mukherjee. “But we can make our SLIPS out of these hydrocarbon-based polymers, which are widely applicable to everyday packaged products.”

SLIPS, which were first created by <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> researchers in 2011, are porous surfaces or absorbent polymers that can hold a chemically compatible oil within their surfaces through the process of wicking. These slick surfaces are also self-cleaning, self-healing, and more durable than traditional superhydrophobic surfaces.

Study co-author Jonathan Boreyko is an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics.

"We had two big breakthroughs," said Professor Boreyko. “Not only are we using these hydrocarbon-based polymers that are cheap and in high demand, but we don't have to add any surface roughness, either. We actually found oils that are naturally compatible with the plastics, so these oils are wicking into the plastic itself, not into a roughness we have to apply.”


Professor Boreyko pointed out several other benefits to the improved design beyond minimizing food waste, including consumer safety and comfort.

“We're not adding any mystery nanoparticles to the surfaces of these plastics that could make people uncomfortable. We use natural oils like cottonseed oil, so there are no health concerns whatsoever. There's no fancy recipe required.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</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: <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a>

New packaging could help cut back on food waste in a big way

Researchers at Virginia Tech are creating industrial packaging with a...

The deportation of undocumented <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/immigration-policies-stress-latino/">immigrants</a> – specifically those from Mexico – has been a major topic of debate. In the last 30 years, changes in U.S. immigration policy have resulted in a major increase in deportation, and with the current Trump administration, the spotlight has been focused on the trauma that these policies can cause.

In this vein, a new study published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15732770">American Journal of Community Psychology</a> has found that the deportation and forced separation of immigrants has negative effects that reach beyond the families affected and can impact entire communities.

A division of the <a href="http://www.apa.org/">American Psychological Association</a> (APA) reviewed the effects of three decades of U.S. immigration policy, and are now calling for policy changes based off what they found. Their policy statement lays out the psychosocial and economic impacts of deportation on children and families, as well as the effects it has on surrounding communities.

“This policy brief is a thorough examination of the research,” says Regina Langhout, a professor of psychology at the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>, and lead author of the brief by the APA's Society for Community Research and Action. “U.S. immigration and deportation policies have negative effects for everybody – not just in immigrant communities, but for everybody. When families are torn apart without their consent, it has very negative outcomes for everyone.”

The mental hardship and psychological trauma experienced by U.S.-born children of immigrants were both significant and widespread. Studies showed that children who lose a parent to forced deportation experience anger, aggression, anxiety, withdrawal, and an increased sense of fear, as well as sleeping disturbances, isolation, depression, and trauma. These children also experience housing instability, academic withdrawal, and family dissolution.

They also found that immigration raids and deportations are a major source of fear and mistrust, which can have ripple effects within communities. Community members become afraid of being targeted themselves, and are less likely to participate in churches, schools, health clinics, cultural activities, and social services. 

“As a scholar and social psychologist, my job is to figure out what creates healthy, strong, vibrant communities, and to share research findings in an attempt to influence public policy,” says Langhout. “We can be a barometer of this, because we know the research.”

Because of the severity of their findings, Langhout and her colleagues also came up with a number of national and local-level policy recommendations to alleviate suffering among U.S.-born children. These “child-first” recommendations include: no forcible separation of families, modification of laws to allow extended family caregivers – such as grandparents – to qualify for exemption from deportation, and creating a human rights framework in U.S. immigration policy. They encourage schools, places of worship, and community organizations to get involved and build supportive social networks that help create a sense of belonging among families that are dealing with the effects of deportation.

“If we're going to have neighborhoods and towns and schools and places where people of all different backgrounds interact, it's imperative for public health that everybody feels a sense of belonging and connection, a sense of attachment,” says Langhout.

-

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Study: Deportation has ripple effects that spread beyond family

The deportation of undocumented immigrants – specifically those from Mexico...

It’s been the plot of many a disaster movie: A deadly epidemic sweeps across the Earth killing thousands, leaving scientists mystified and body counts rising. 

A new simulation created by researchers from <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">John Hopkins University</a> shows just how unprepared we are to deal with a fast-spreading, highly contagious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/will-dogs-be-the-source-of-the-next-global-flu-outbreak/">flu virus</a> if it were to begin infecting people tomorrow. 

One of deadliest pandemics in recent history was the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/basics/past-pandemics.html">1918 flu pandemic</a>, also known as the Spanish flu, that is reported to have killed an estimated 50 million people with about 675,000 deaths occurring the United States, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control</a> (CDC). 

During the Middle Ages, the infamous Bubonic Plague effectively wiped out 60 percent of the European population. 

We’d like to think today that because of advancements in scientific technology, our understanding of how disease spreads, and our ability to create vaccines that deadly pandemics are a thing of the past. 

However, the John Hopkins simulation found that even with top policymakers, experts, and scientists working to contain a pandemic, almost a billion people could die of a flu virus in the future. 

For the simulation, researchers created a fake virus called Clade X which was modeled to be as infectious as SARS. 

According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pandemic-virus-simulation-johns-hopkins-shows-vulnerability-2018-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">Business Insider</a>, Clade X was a cross between a parainfluenza virus and the Nipah virus which can kill people within days. 

In the researchers' simulation, Clade X was released through an act of bioterrorism and several experts including Julie Gerberding, the former director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were asked to assess Clade X and try and prevent it from spreading. 

A month after the virus first appeared in the simulation killing 50 people in the United States, politicians met with the president. 

In other parts of the world like Germany, the virus was contained but in a simulated 20-month time frame, no vaccine was able to be produced resulting in the deaths of 150 million people. The infection spread too quickly to stop. 

The creator of the simulation said that if a virus like Clade X were to spread around the world, it could potentially wipe out 900 million people. 

What’s more concerning is that the researchers behind the simulation say that it’s only a matter of time before a virus like Clade X starts a global pandemic and one that we are ill-equipped for. 

“We don’t have the ability to produce vaccines to a novel pathogen within months rather than decades and we don’t have the global public health capabilities that would allow us to rapidly identify and control an outbreak before it becomes a pandemic,” Eric Toner, the simulation’s developer, told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pandemic-virus-simulation-johns-hopkins-shows-vulnerability-2018-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">Business Insider</a>. “It will happen, but I don’t know when,” Toner said. Whenever it does, we have to hope that we’ll be more prepared than we are now.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Simulation says a global pandemic could kill 900 million people

It’s been the plot of many a disaster movie: A...

The largest study to ever investigate the possible association between mobile phones and brain cancer has found no evidence to support the theory. 

Research led by the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">Barcelona Institute for Global Health</a> (ISGlobal) was focused on data from over 9,000 participations in a study called INTERPHONE, which compared primary brain cancer risk against the high-frequency electromagnetic radiation (EMF) generated by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smartphones-classroom-hindering-learning/">mobile phone</a> use.

The safety of EMF waves has been the subject of much debate. These electromagnetic fields cannot be seen yet surround us in everyday life, originating in common sources such as televisions, computers, and microwaves.

In 2011, after a review of existing research, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that there was enough reason to classify radiofrequency EMF as a possible carcinogen.


Despite well-documented concerns, however, the new analysis from ISGlobal suggests that EMF waves do not increase the risk of developing brain tumors.

On the other hand, the study authors acknowledged that only about one in ten of the individuals evaluated had been exposed high levels of EMF, and only one in a hundred had been exposed to intermediate frequencies. This means that the risk could still be greatly underestimated. 


In addition, the study results showed that brain tumors occurred more often among individuals that had been exposed to EMF in the last decade. 

“Although we did not find a positive association, the fact that we observed indication of an increased risk in the group with most recent radiofrequency exposure deserves further investigation,” explained study first author Javier Vila.


As for future research, more advanced tools must be developed to gain more accurate insight into the potential risks involved with EMF, as well as the roles of different chemical reactions to the radiation.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international">Environment International</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cell phones do not cause brain cancer, largest study yet finds

The largest study to ever investigate the possible association between...

An experimental study from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> has found that people tend to become paranoid around those who do not share the same political beliefs or social status. The researchers found that this paranoia may cause the actions of others to be misinterpreted.

Paranoia is characterized by an inclination toward fearful thoughts of being harmed. This mental condition can also induce anxiety over the motivations of others, and the research team has found that this tendency spikes during interactions with people of a higher social status or opposing political beliefs.

“Being alert to social danger is key to our survival, but our results suggest social difference alone encourages us to think that the other person wants to harm us,” said study senior author Professor Nichola Raihani.

“Intense paranoia is also a symptom of mental ill health, and is more common among people who perceive themselves to have low social rank. We believe our findings could shed light on why paranoia is more common in those who are struggling on the social ladder and excluded by society.”

The investigation was focused on over 2,000 volunteers as they engaged in an online experiment where they were designated a partner and a specific sum of money. 


Prior to the experiment, the participants had filled out a questionnaire that could be used to assess their normal levels of paranoia. The survey was also designed to measure the social status and political affiliations of the individuals.

The participants were partnered with someone from a higher, lower, or similar social status, or with someone who had similar or opposing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/political-parties-fake-news/">political beliefs</a>.

One person out of each pair was assigned to decide whether to split the money in half or to keep it all for themselves. The other person was then asked to rate how much they thought the decision was motivated by self-interest, and how much the decision was likely motivated by perceived harmful intent, or the desire to deprive their counterpart of any prize. In a second round of the game, the roles were reversed with a new sum of money.

People who were paired with someone of a higher social status or with different political beliefs more frequently assumed their partner's decision had been motivated by harmful intent. On the other hand, social differences did not affect how often participants attributed their partner’s decision to self-interest.


Interestingly, the study also revealed that the unrealistic perception of harmful intent occurred at the same rate, regardless of whether participants had heightened levels of paranoid thinking before the experiment.

“Our findings suggest that people who struggle with high levels of paranoia are equally well-tuned to social difference despite sometimes seeming that they misperceive the social world,” said study co-author Dr. Vaughan Bell. “This research may help us understand how exclusion and disadvantage fuel some of the most severe mental health problems.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Differences in social status and politics found to spark paranoia

An experimental study from University College London has found that...

A new report from the <a href="https://www.bmc.org/">Boston Medical Center</a> (BMC) warns that photo-editing technology is setting unrealistic beauty standards. According to the researchers, frequent exposure to filtered images and selfies can affect a person's self-esteem and can even lead to body dysmorphic disorder.

The polished images that were once limited to beauty and celebrity magazines are now smeared all over <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/taking-pictures-miss-moment/">social media</a> due to the use of applications such as Snapchat and Facetune. The experts say that these modified pictures are shifting the world's definition and perception of beauty, and that the results can be dangerous. 

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder that affects around two percent of the population and causes an individual to become fixated on a perceived flaw in his or her appearance. People who have BDD often take drastic measures such as plastic surgery to conceal or hide the aspect of their appearance that they are obsessed over.

The experts referenced studies which found that teen girls who manipulate their photos are more concerned with their body appearance, and those with dysmorphic body image seek out social media as a means of validation. 

Previous research has also revealed that 55 percent of plastic surgeons report having patients who inquired about procedures to improve their appearance in selfies.

Dr. Neelam Vashi is the director of the Ethnic Skin Center at BMC.

“A new phenomenon called ‘Snapchat dysmorphia’ has popped up, where patients are seeking out surgery to help them appear like the filtered versions of themselves,” said Dr. Vashi.


The researchers caution that surgery is not the best solution because it will not accomplish what patients have envisioned and may worsen underlying BDD. Instead, they recommend psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy.

“Filtered selfies can make people lose touch with reality, creating the expectation that we are supposed to look perfectly primped all the time,” said Dr. Vashi. 

“This can be especially harmful for teens and those with BDD, and it is important for providers to understand the implications of social media on body image to better treat and counsel our patients.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamafacialplasticsurgery">JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Filtered social media images setting unrealistic beauty standards

A new report from the Boston Medical Center (BMC) warns...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> set out to investigate if the modern pygmies of Indonesia’s Flores Island are genetically linked to a pygmy population that previously existed on the island tens of thousands of years ago. 

Scientists have never been able to recover <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/secret-success-dna/">DNA</a> from the fossils of Homo floresiensis, also known as the “hobbit,” so the experts had to develop a tool for finding the ancient genetic sequences using modern DNA. The team created a new technique in the lab of Joshua Akey, a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton.

“In your genome - and in mine - there are genes that we inherited from Neanderthals," said study first author Serena Tucci. “Some modern humans inherited genes from Denisovans (another extinct species of humans), which we can check for because we have genetic information from Denisovans.”

“But if you want to look for another species, like Floresiensis, we have nothing to compare, so we had to develop another method: We ‘paint’ chunks of the genome based on the source. We scan the genome and look for chunks that come from different species - Neanderthal, Denisovans, or something unknown.”


This approach was used to analyze the genomes of 32 modern Flores pygmies living in a village near the Liang Bua cave, where fossilized remains of H. floresiensis had been discovered in 2004.

“They definitely have a lot of Neanderthal,” said Tucci. “They have a little bit of Denisovan. We expected that, because we knew there was some migration that went from Oceania to Flores, so there was some shared ancestry of these populations.”


However, no chromosomal regions were found that had unknown origins.

Study co-author Richard “Ed” Green is an associate professor of Biomolecular Engineering at the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California-Santa Cruz</a> (UCSC).

“If there was any chance to know the hobbit genetically from the genomes of extant humans, this would have been it,” said Professor Green. “But we don't see it. There is no indication of gene flow from the hobbit into people living today.”

The researchers did manage to identify evolutionary changes associated with diet as well as a high frequency of genetic variants associated with short stature.

“It sounds like a boring result, but it's actually quite meaningful,” said Professor Green. “It means that these gene variants were present in a common ancestor of Europeans and the Flores pygmies. They became short by selection acting on this standing variation already present in the population, so there's little need for genes from an archaic hominin to explain their small stature.”

Fossil evidence indicates that H. floresiensis was significantly smaller than the Flores pygmies, standing about 3.5 feet tall, which is 15 inches shorter than the average modern pygmy. Floresiensis also had different wrists and feet, which Tucci explained was likely due to the need to climb trees to evade Komodo dragons.


“Islands are very special places for evolution,” said Tucci. “This process, insular dwarfism, resulted in smaller mammals, like hippopotamus and elephants, and smaller humans.”

The study indicates that insular dwarfism evolved independently at least twice on Flores Island - first in H. floresiensis and again in the modern pygmies.

“This is really intriguing, because it means that evolutionarily, we are not that special. Humans are like other mammals; we are subject to the same processes.”


The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</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: Illustration by Matilda Luk, Office of Communications, <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a>

Are modern pygmies on Flores Island related to hobbits?

Researchers at Princeton University set out to investigate if the...

A new study led by the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> may help to unravel the mystery about who is buried at Stonehenge and how they got there. The research indicates that many of those buried at the site had likely transported the bluestones that were used in the earliest stages of the monument's construction.

The investigation was focused on the strontium isotopes of cremated skull bones from 25 individuals buried at the monument. In the 1920s, these remains were recovered from a network of 56 pits and placed around the inner circumference and ditch of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stonehenge-created-glaciers/">Stonehenge</a>, known as “Aubrey Holes.”

The small fragments of cremated bone dated back to an early phase of the site's history around 3,000 B.C., when this location was mainly used as a cemetery. The analysis of these remains showed that at least 10 of the 25 people did not live near Stonehenge prior to their death. 

The highest strontium isotope ratios in the bones were consistent with living in a region of Britain that includes west Wales, which is the known origin of Stonehenge's bluestones. Beyond the Welsh connection to the stones, the study revealed that people were also moving between west Wales and Wessex in the Late Neolithic, and that some of their remains were buried at Stonehenge. 

“The recent discovery that some biological information survives the high temperatures reached during cremation (up to 1000 degrees Celsius) offered us the exciting possibility to finally study the origin of those buried at Stonehenge,” said study co-author Christophe Snoeck.

The research highlights the importance of the movement of both materials and people across different regions in the construction and use of Stonehenge. The study also provides rare insight into exchanges in the Neolithic, as early as 5,000 years ago.

Study co-author John Pouncett of Oxford's School of Archaeology said: “The powerful combination of stable isotopes and spatial technology gives us a new insight into the communities who built Stonehenge.” 

“The cremated remains from the enigmatic Aubrey Holes and updated mapping of the biosphere suggest that people from the Preseli Mountains not only supplied the bluestones used to build the stone circle, but moved with the stones and were buried there too.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</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

Cremated remains provide clues into who built Stonehenge

A new study led by the University of Oxford may...

For years, Americans were in love with plastic, unaware of its harmful effects on our environment and oceans. Today, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/starbucks-plastic-straws/">plastic straws</a> are rapidly being rejected by companies, people are opting out of single-use plastics, and microplastic is becoming a household word of concern. Microfibers have largely been left out of this conversation, despite the fact that we are shedding them into our waterways every time we wash our clothes.

According to the<a href="https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/"> Marine Debris Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>, microfibers are “also a type of microplastic. They include small fibers that enter the water from washing clothing made of synthetic materials, like polyester or nylon.”

These tiny fibers can become dislodged from clothing while in the washing machine. Their small size often allows them the make it through filters at sewage treatment plants where they can enter our waterways. Unfortunately, spandex did not die in the 80s, and many clothing items available today are made with synthetic materials.

A<a href="https://brenmicroplastics.weebly.com/project-findings.html"> study</a> by a research team at the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California Santa Barbara</a> Bren School of Environmental Science &amp; Management found that when a synthetic jacket is washed, an average of 1,174 milligrams of microfibers are released from the washing machine.

Since washing clothing is such a common occurrence throughout many homes, the potential damage are huge.<a href="http://www.adventurescientists.org/microplastics.html"> The Microplastics Initiative of Adventure Scientists</a> conducted what is believed to be the most extensive documentation of microplastic pollution in the world. They found that “across studies, microfibers, as opposed to other types of microplastics, were dominant: microfibers composed 91% of marine particles, 92% of freshwater particles, and 80% of Gallatin particles.”

Once in our oceans, marine animals can accidentally ingest the microfibers where they can cause starvation and reproductive issues.

A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X12005668">study</a> published in Marine Pollution Bulletin examining microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract of fish from the English Channel found rayon was the most common material with 57.8% of the plastic pieces found being rayon.

After being ingested, microfibers can travel up the food chain. Humans and predator species are at risk of ingesting microfibers through eating affected animals. The effects of microfibers on humans is still unknown.

Microfibers are clearly a pressing issue but the solution is less clear. While people can invest in biodegradable clothing materials such as cotton and wool, synthetic fibers are hard to avoid completely.

People can take small steps such as washing synthetic fabrics less often and using a colder wash setting.

Industry and non-profit groups are working towards researching potential solutions. In 2017, Ocean Conservancy and the Bren School of Environmental Science &amp; Management held a microfiber summit which featured stakeholders in the apparel, outdoor recreation, scientific and government sectors.

Outdoor apparel company Patagonia is currently investigating ways to minimize fiber shedding from their clothes and is supporting scientific research on the ecological and public health impacts of microfibers.

While a solution may not be on the horizon, public education and awareness can help shed some light on this issue.

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By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Microfibers shed from your clothing are polluting our oceans

For years, Americans were in love with plastic, unaware of...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/">British Heart Foundation</a> (BHF) has revealed that exposure to low levels of air pollution can cause major structural changes to the heart that are similar to those associated with the early stages of heart failure.

A team of scientists at <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a> analyzed data from around 4,000 individuals in the UK Biobank study. For this research, participants had reported on their lifestyles, health, and where they lived. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure the size, weight, and function of the participants' hearts at fixed times.

Furthermore, the researchers eliminated all participants who had moved during the study or had underlying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-the-weather-gets-colder-heart-attacks-get-more-lethal/">heart problems</a>.


The experts found a clear association between individuals who were exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and the development of larger right and left ventricles in the heart. Although the participants were healthy and showed no symptoms, the same restructuring of the heart is seen in the early stages of heart failure.

In addition, exposure to higher levels of the pollutants was linked to more extreme changes in the heart. For example, the heart was found to be enlarged by an additional one percent for every 1 extra μg per cubic meter of PM2.5 and for every 10 extra μg per cubic meter of NO2.

“Although our study was observational and hasn't yet shown a causal link, we saw significant changes in the heart, even at relatively low levels of air pollution exposure,” said study lead author Dr. Nay Aung.

Air pollution has become the biggest environmental risk factor linked to deaths across England. In addition, coronary heart disease and stroke account for 58 percent of deaths related to outdoor air pollution globally.

Professor Jeremy Pearson is an associate medical director at the BHF.


“We can't expect people to move home to avoid air pollution - Governments and public bodies must be acting right now to make all areas safe and protect the population from these harms.”

“What is particularly worrying is that the levels of air pollution, particularly PM2.5, at which this study saw people with heart remodelling are not even deemed particularly high by the UK Government - this is why we are calling for the WHO guidelines to be adopted. They are less than half of UK legal limits and while we know there are no safe limits for some forms of air pollution, we believe this is a crucial step in protecting the nation's heart health.”


Dr. Aung said: “Our future studies will include data from those living in inner cities like Central Manchester and London, using more in-depth measurements of heart function, and we would expect the findings to be even more pronounced and clinically important.”

"Air pollution should be seen as a modifiable risk factor. Doctors and the general public all need to be aware of the their exposure when they think about their heart health, just like they think about their blood pressure, their cholesterol and their weight."


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/circ">Circulation</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Air pollution causes major changes in the heart’s structure

A new study from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has...

A new study using locusts could help provide insight into sensory experiences and how the brain processes smells and recognizes them later on. 

Tackling sensory experience with science is not new, but previous studies do not account for the variability that we experience in our everyday lives.

For example, we know what a rose <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-that-people-can-be-blind-to-smells-when-distracted/">smells like</a> in a rose garden, on its own, in a flower shop and on a busy street. Simply studying a person’s neural activity while smelling a single rose doesn’t explain how we can recognize the scent of a rose amidst other sensory distractions. 

To better understand this, researchers from the <a href="https://engineering.wustl.edu/">School of Engineering &amp; Applied Science and Washington University</a> in St. Louis conducted a study that examined how locusts responded to sensory input in a dynamic environment with other scents. 

The results were published in the journal Nature Communications. 

First, the researchers had to condition locusts to respond to a certain scent and they did this using the popular Pavlov's dog model. The locusts were exposed to a puff of hexanol followed by grass to eat. 

Eventually, the locusts learned to associate the scent with eating. When they smelled hexanol the locusts would open up their palps, organs outside of their mouths that functions like lips because they knew that they would soon get to eat grass. 

After the locusts were trained, the researchers performed a series of tests where the locusts were exposed to the hexanol either on its own or after a “distractor” scent. 

When the locusts were exposed to the hexanol on its own, the researchers saw no change in the locusts’ neural activity. However, when the locusts smelled a distractor smell first, different combinations of neurons fired off after smelling the hexanol. 

This explains the variability of sensory experience based on what’s happening in the current environment, but this also doesn’t realistically mirror how we experience smells on a day to day basis. 

The researchers compared variability to smelling a chocolate chip cookie at a coffee shop and a tea shop.

If we were to process sensory input based on context alone, then the coffee shop cookie and tea shop cookie would have two very different smells, even though they are the same food with the same ingredients. 

The locusts were able to recognize the hexanol in a range of settings which suggests that there is more than variability and context to sensory experience. 

The researchers discovered through further analysis that the locusts used something called the “An OR-of-ANDs” logical operation to recognize the hexanol.  

The “An OR-of-ANDs” logical operation explains how we can generalize and classify things based on certain traits and features.

There were some similarities in the locusts’ brain activity when smelling the hexanol on its own and when presented with a distractor scent first which shows that there are certain fixed patterns in regards to different sensory input even amongst other distractions.

The researchers next hope to test their findings with locusts and sensory experience on fruit flies to see if brain activity across the different insect species is the same. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Locusts help reveal how the brain processes different smells

A new study using locusts could help provide insight into...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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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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