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...

Mass shooters are more likely to be given sympathetic treatment by the media if they are white, according to a new study. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> analyzed coverage of 219 mass shootings and found that white shooters were more likely to be described as “mentally ill” than black shooters. 

Not only that, but media coverage on white shooters was much more sympathetic and forgiving, referencing their “good character” and how surprising or out of character the shooting was. 

“There's a big difference in how black and white mass shooters are covered in the media,” said Scott Duxbury, the lead author of the study. “Much of the media coverage of white shooters framed them as sympathetic characters who were suffering from extreme life circumstances. But black shooters were usually made to seem dangerous and a menace to society.”

The study was published online in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 

433 media articles and transcripts about 219 randomly selected mass shootings taking place in the United States from 2013 to 2015 were reviewed by the researchers. 

A <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/school-shootings-deaths-increasing/">mass shooting</a>, in the case of the study, was defined as a shooting in which four or more victims were shot in a single event, not including the perpetrator. 

Certain controlling factors that might influence the kind of coverage reported were taken into consideration including the number of victims, where the shooting took place, if the shooting was framed as gang violence, and who the victims were and their relation to the shooter. 

After reviewing and analyzing the coverage, the researchers found that white shooters were 95 percent more likely to be described as mentally ill. The majority of white attackers were also described as victims of society compared to only 17 percent of black perpetrators. 

If the shooter committed suicide, they was much more likely to be labeled as mentally ill and in 46 percent of the articles, the shooter was labeled as a “victim of society” who was under stress or suffered abuse. 

Some of the articles included testimony to the shooter’s good character, but these were almost exclusively about the white shooters. 

“Black shooters who were described as mentally ill never receive testament to their good character and the media never describe the shootings as out of character,” said Duxbury. “And only white shooters were ever talked about as coming from a good environment.”

One prominent example of racial bias in the media was found in the comparison between David Ray Conley, a black man, and Josh Boren, a white man. 

“The comparison between Conley and Boren is striking. Both shooters were adult men who murdered their families.” the researchers explained in their study.  “Both had a history of domestic violence and drug abuse and both had received treatment for mental illness. However, whereas the media described Josh Boren as a quiet, gentle man - a teddy bear - coverage of Conley described him as perpetually violent, controlling and dangerous.” 

Gang-affiliated shootings were also reported differently by the media compared to those with white shooters. 

Media coverage of shootings attributed to gang violence discussed the criminal history of the perpetrators and the problems of the community. 

“When the media frame a mass shooting as stemming from gang violence, they talk about the perpetrators as being perpetually violent and a menace to society,” said Duxbury. “But when a shooting is attributed to mental illness, the media treat it as an isolated incident, or the result of the pressures on the perpetrator.”

The results show how historical depictions of violent black men, often demonized and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5004736/">characterized as brutish</a>, still prevail in society and lead to racial bias in media coverage. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study: Media gives white mass shooters more sympathetic treatment

Mass shooters are more likely to be given sympathetic treatment...

Each year, over 300 million people travel to national parks in the United States to take in the natural beauty of our country. Visitors are looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of urban areas, along with the noise and air pollution associated with the city – but their efforts might be in vain. 

A new study published in <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a> has found that poor air quality in national parks could be negatively affecting visitation.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.iastate.edu/">Iowa State University</a> and <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> studied ozone levels in 33 of the country’s largest national parks. Results showed that from 1990 to 2014, the average ozone concentrations in national parks were basically indistinguishable from ozone levels in the 20 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. 

“The U.S. has spent billions of dollars over the last three decades to improve air quality,” says David Keiser, an assistant professor of economics at Iowa State. “Given the popularity of national parks, as well as the fact that people go to parks to be outside, we believed it was worth better understanding air quality trends in these areas and whether people, through their actions, respond to changes in air quality in parks.”

The study determined that ozone levels in metropolitan areas had begun to improve beginning in 1990, but improvements within national parks have only been occurring since the early 2000s. This finding connects to the passage of the Regional Haze Rule, a 1999 EPA regulation that bolstered air quality protections for national parks and wilderness areas. Data also showed that, since 1990, national parks have only seen a minor reduction in days where ozone concentrations exceeded 70 parts per billion – which is deemed an unhealthy ozone level by the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wheeler-environmental-injustice-epa/">EPA</a>.

By matching this pollution data to monthly park visitation data for the 30+ national parks, the researchers found that visitation correlates most directly to ozone during months with poor air quality. This response is most significant in the summer and fall, when park visitation is at its peak.

The researchers also assessed two possible causes for this connection: air quality warnings issued by parks and poor visibility. Interestingly, they determined that visitation response is most significantly correlated with potential health warnings, and has less association with visibility. 

Clearly, there is a definitive need to improve air quality throughout the country – not just at national parks. But if we can’t attain clean air in the places we go to seek it most, it spells trouble for a future with exploding populations and increased urbanization.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Air pollution is reaching national parks and deterring visitors

Each year, over 300 million people travel to national parks...

Researchers have previously demonstrated that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cancer-patients-medicinal-marijuana/">cannabinoids</a> can help to relieve many side effects of anti-cancer therapies, including nausea, vomiting, pain, anxiety and loss of appetite. Experts are now exploring the potential for cannabinoids to directly treat cancer.

According to the <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/">National Institute of Cancer</a>, one in every three individuals will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in life, and there will be a 60-percent increase in the number of deaths from cancer by the year 2030.

Phytocannabinoids, which occur naturally in the marijuana plant, are the most recognizable type of cannabinoid. Studies have shown that cannabinoids may stop cancer cells from dividing and invading normal tissue, and that they may also block the blood supply to tumors.

Additional research has suggested that cannabinoids may boost the body's immune response against the growth and spread of tumors.

Dr. David Meiri works in the Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Cannabinoid Research at the <a href="https://www.technion.ac.il/en/technion-israel-institute-of-technology/">Israeli Institute of Technology</a>. His team has studied the impact of 50 varieties of cannabis on 200 different cancer cells.

“There is a large body of scientific data which indicates that cannabinoids specifically inhibit cancer cell growth and promote cancer cell death,” said Dr. Meiri.

Professor Burkhard Hinz of <a href="https://www.med.uni-rostock.de/en/?no_cache=1">Rostock University Medical Center</a> is a co-author of the current study.

“There is still a need for additional anti-cancer drugs. In this context accumulating data from preclinical models suggest that cannabinoids elicit anti-cancer effects on several levels of cancer progression," said Professor Hinz.

“Clinical studies are now urgently needed to investigate the impact of cannabinoids on cancer growth and progression in patients.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14765381">British Journal of Pharmacology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cannabinoids may fight cancer, not just treatment side effects

Researchers have previously demonstrated that cannabinoids can help to relieve...

Eating fish may lead to a longer life, study reveals. Experts have linked the consumption of fish to a number of incredible health benefits, such as protecting our brains from age-related deterioration and reducing the risk of diabetes. Researchers have now found that a diet rich in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-fish-good-heart/">fish</a> and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids can also lead to a lower risk of premature death.

The investigation was focused on 240,729 men and 180,580 women who were followed for 16 years. During the study period, 54,230 men and 30,882 women died. A very strong association was identified between fish and omega-3 fatty acid intake and lower mortality.

When the researchers compared men who ate fish often with those who rarely or never ate fish, they found that men with fish in their diets had a nine-percent lower mortality rate overall and a 37-percent lower risk of dying from chronic liver disease.

In addition, males who reported that they regularly ate fish had a ten-percent lower risk of fatal cardiovascular disease, a six-percent lower risk of death from cancer, and a 20-percent lower chance of death from respiratory disease. Eating fish may lead to a longer life, study reveals

Among females who ate more fish, the team found an 8-percent lower overall mortality risk, a 10-percent lower risk of fatal cardiovascular disease, and a 38-percent reduced risk of death from Alzheimer's disease.


While the consumption of fried fish was not found to influence mortality in men, the consumption of fried fish was linked to an increased risk of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease in women. 

The study also revealed that long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake reduced the incidence of fatal cardiovascular disease among men by 15 percent and by 18 percent among women.

The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652796">Journal of Internal Medicine</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Eating fish may lead to a longer life, study reveals

Eating fish may lead to a longer life, study reveals....

Just the scent of coffee can improve your analytical thinking. A new study from the <a href="https://www.stevens.edu/">Stevens Institute of Technology</a> has revealed that the smell of coffee can improve our ability to think logically. The scent of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-drinkers-lower-risk-death/">coffee</a> was found to boost performance on the analytical part of a test known as the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT).

"It's not just that the coffee-like scent helped people perform better on analytical tasks, which was already interesting,” said study lead author Professor Adriana Madzharov. “But they also thought they would do better, and we demonstrated that this expectation was at least partly responsible for their improved performance.” Just the scent of coffee can improve your analytical thinking

The aroma of decaffeinated coffee was found to produce effects similar to drinking caffeinated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-tea-and-coffee-lower-the-risk-of-fatal-cardiovascular-events/">coffee</a>, suggesting that the scent of coffee acts like a placebo.


The investigation was focused on around 100 undergraduate business students, who were divided into two groups. The participants were tasked with completing a 10-question GMAT algebra test in a computer lab.


One group of students took the test in a lab that was filled with a coffee-like scent, while a control group took the same test in an unscented lab. The study revealed that the group in the scented room scored significantly higher on the test.


Professor Madzharov and her team designed a follow-up survey to explore whether the results could be explained by an expectation that smelling coffee would lead to increased alertness and improved performance.

This phase of the research was focused on 200 different individuals, who reported on their perception of how various scents may influence performance.

The participants believed that they would feel more energetic and alert in the presence of a coffee scent. The individuals also reported that exposure to the smell of coffee would enhance their ability to complete mental tasks.

“Olfaction is one of our most powerful senses,” said Professor Madzharov. “Employers, architects, building developers, retail space managers and others, can use subtle scents to help shape employees' or occupants' experience with their environment. It's an area of great interest and potential.”

The study established in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-environmental-psychology/">Journal of Environmental Psychology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Just the scent of coffee can improve your analytical thinking

Just the scent of coffee can improve your analytical thinking....

Nitrates used to cure processed meats like beef jerky may cause mania even in people without psychological disorders. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/">John Hopkins Medicine</a> found that people who were hospitalized for a manic episode were more than three times as likely to have previously eaten nitrate-cured meats than people without a history of a serious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/magic-mushrooms-psychiatric-therapies/">psychiatric disorders. </a>

The study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, included a review of health, demographic, and dietary data on a little over 1,000 people ages 18-65 and experiments with rats who were fed nitrate cured jerky. 

There is a wide range of underlying genetic risk factors that are linked to manic episodes, however researchers have been also been looking to environmental factors to see how diet or lifestyle habits affect certain psychiatric conditions. 

This recent research supports previous theories that diets and different gut bacteria can increase the risk of mania. 

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/risk-bipolar-disorder-faster-aging/">Bipolar</a> disorder affects around 1 to 3 percent of the United States population, and according to one study creates a heavy economic toll costing an estimated 25 billion dollars a year in health care costs. 

Identifying risk factors like diet could go a long way in reducing the risk of manic episodes for people diagnosed with bipolar and other mania associated disorders. 

“Future work on this association could lead to dietary interventions to help reduce the risk of manic episodes in those who have bipolar disorder or who are otherwise vulnerable to mania,” said Robert Yolken, the lead author of the study.  

Yolken and his colleagues first examined data from 1,101 people, some of who had psychiatric disorders from 2007 to 2017. 

After reviewing and analyzing the data, the researchers found that eating nitrate cured meats correlated with an increased risk of hospitalization for mania. 

The researchers then conducted a series of experiments on rats to better explain the association between nitrates and mania. 

Rats were divided into two groups and one group was given normal food while the other was fed normal rat chow along with nitrate prepared beef jerky every other day. The rats that ate the jerky soon exhibited irregular sleeping patterns and hyperactivity. 

The researchers then worked with a beef jerky company to create nitrate free dried beef and again a group of rats was split into two groups. One group ate the store bought nitrate beef jerky and the other ate the nitrate free version. 

Those rats that ate the nitrate free jerky showed no abnormal symptoms or signs of mania but the group that ate the store-bought kind did. 

The researchers also tested the gut bacteria of the different groups of rats and those who had consumed the nitrate jerky had different gut bacteria than the other groups of rats. There were also differences in the molecular pathways of the brain in the rats that ate store-bought beef jerky. 

The results show that nitrate cured meats may be linked to manic episodes however the researchers caution against any such direct correlations. 

Rather the study calls for further research to explore how diet can impact psychiatric disorders. 

 “There's growing evidence that germs in the intestines can influence the brain,” said Yolken. “And this work on nitrates opens the door for future studies on how that may be happening.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Beef jerky and processed meats linked to manic episodes

Nitrates used to cure processed meats like beef jerky may...

Most reasonable people would agree that being a teacher is a tough job. You spend an entire day helping kids learn, when most of them would rather be outside running around than be stuck inside a classroom. That is why it is imperative teachers be given all the tools they need to teach properly and effectively, including being taught themselves how to best educate our youth.

Now, a new study has revealed the focusing on positive behavior rather than jumping to small disruptions improves the conduct of students.

The study, led by the <a href="https://medicine.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter Medical School</a> has been published in <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine">Psychological Medicine</a>, analyzed the success of a training program called the Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management Programme. This program is based around building a strong social relationship between teachers and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-abuse-animals-abused/">children</a>, encouraging teachers to focus on relationship building, age appropriate motivation, proactive management of bad behavior, and acknowledgement of good behavior.

The outcomes of this project were measured using a combination of questionnaires completed by teachers, parents, and children. The children’s academic attainment and use of NHS and social services were also assessed. Furthermore, independent observers sat in on lessons in some of the schools that participated, without knowing whether or not the teachers had undergone this training. 

Results showed that teachers found the training to be useful, and led to improvements in students’ mental health, behavior, and concentration. Observers in the classroom noted that it changed students’ behavior and improved compliance. 

“Our findings suggest that this training potentially improves all children’s mental health but it’s particularly exciting to see the larger benefit on the children who were initially struggling,” says Tamsin Ford, a professor at the University of Exeter Medical School. “These effects might be larger were this training offered to all teachers and teaching assistants. Let’s remember that training one teacher potentially benefits every child that they subsequently teach. Our study offers evidence that we should explore this training further as a whole school approach.”

The most common and persistent mental health condition within schools is severe behavior problems amongst children. A child with “conduct disorder” is at risk of mental health conditions as an adult, along with poor educational and social outcomes.

“This training helped us to use techniques to raise the profile of positive behavior and diminish the emphasis placed on low level disruptive behavior,” explains Kate Holden, a teacher at Ipplepen Primary School. “Consistent clear rewards and sanctions highlighted expectations in a manageable and positive framework and preserved the high-quality relationships which underpin the whole ethos. This is far from woolly or accepting of poor behavior. it is actually proactive and highly effective when used correctly in conjunction with a model to support behavior across the whole school.”

Improving education through programs such as this, and studies that test their effectiveness, can only help to better serve our children and the teachers who educate them. Refining the way teachers run the classroom may take some time on a larger scale, but these initial results are encouraging. 

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Focusing on positive behavior found to improve student conduct

Most reasonable people would agree that being a teacher is...

How old is your earliest memory? Current research shows that people can’t form memories until 3 or 3.5 years of age and even then, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/memory-developed-teenage-years/">memory isn’t fully developed</a> until adolescence. Still, many people claim to have memories from their infancy. 

A new study conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.city.ac.uk/">City, University of London</a>, the <a href="https://www.bradford.ac.uk/">University of Bradford</a> and <a href="https://www.ntu.ac.uk/">Nottingham Trent University</a> found that many of our earliest memories are actually fake. 

This is because people over time come to create a false memory around snippets of information, such as being told a story about being a baby or looking at an old photograph. 

The researchers found that this was so common that 40 percent of people have a fictional first memory. 

The study was the largest survey of first memories ever conducted and the results were published in the journal Psychological Science. 

6,641 people were asked to recall their first memory and what their age was at the time for the study. 

“In our study we asked people to recall the very first memory that they actually remembered, asking them to be sure that it wasn't related to a family story or photograph,” said Martin Conway, a co-author of the research. “When we looked through the responses from participants we found that a lot of these first 'memories' were frequently related to infancy, and a typical example would be a memory based around a pram.”

38.6 percent of the participants said their first memory was from age two or younger and 893 people claimed to have memories from one or younger. 

Middle-aged and older adults were more likely to report first memories from these younger ages than other survey responders. 

No matter how sure the participants were that their first memory was from such a young age, the fact of the matter is memory simply can't be formed at those ages according to current studies. 

This led the researchers to explore what underlying factors were causing the false memories. 

One possibility is that the memories are actually based on remembered fragments of early experiences, photographs, and family stories that are pieced together to form a mental representation that morphs into a memory through the years. 

“We suggest that what a rememberer has in mind when recalling fictional improbably early memories is an episodic-memory-like mental representation consisting of remembered fragments of early experience and some facts or knowledge about their own infancy/childhood,” said Shazia Akhtar, the first author of the study. “Such episodic-memory-like mental representations come, over time, to be recollectively experienced when they come to mind and so for the individual they quite simply are 'memories' which particularly point to infancy.”

Interestingly, the person remembering doesn’t realize the memory is fake and the researchers found that when participants were told their first memory was false they didn’t believe it, showing just how deeply ingrained mental representations of early events are. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Many of our earliest memories are actually fake, study finds

How old is your earliest memory? Current research shows that...

When presented with two numbers, your first instinct, whether told to or not, might be to add them. 

This sort of subconscious correlation is called an action set, and new research shows that sets may have more of an influence over our thought processes than previously realized. 

A new study conducted by researchers from <a href="http://www.sfsu.edu/">San Francisco State University</a> shows that thoughts can subconsciously trigger actions in our brains and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thoughts-emotions-human-consciousness/">control what or how we think about things</a>. 

You can decide to focus or think about something, but learned activities like counting that are deeply embedded in the brain can trigger other thoughts. These learned activities are called “sets”.

For the study, the researchers conducted two experiments with students from the university. In the first experiment, 35 students were told specifically not to count the objects that would be presented to them. 

The students in 90 percent of the trials with this set up involuntarily counted the objects. 

For the second experiment, the students were shown differently colored shapes and were asked either to name the colors (an example of a set) or counting the shapes (another set). 

No matter which option each student chose, 40 percent of the participants thought about both counting and colors. 

“The data support the view that, when one is performing a desired action, conscious thoughts about alternative plans still occupy the mind, often insuppressibly,” said Ezequiel Morsella, an author of the study. 

Morsella’s work provides new insight on the way we absorb information and how information enters our consciousness, something that has long puzzled psychologists. The results show that after the activation of sets, thoughts enter our consciousness through external stimuli. 

People tend to look at the brain, particularly the conscious mind and thoughts, as protected from the outside world. However, this study shows that our brain is in fact easily penetrable. Our thoughts are instead controlled mostly by outside stimuli, according to Morsella. 

“The research shows that stimuli in the environment are very important in determining what we end up thinking about and that once an action plan is strongly activated its many effects can be difficult to override,” said Morsella.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How information enters the brain and influences our thoughts

When presented with two numbers, your first instinct, whether told...

The digital age has gifted the world with life-changing technological advancements, allowing connectivity and communication on a global scale like never before. 

However, as much as our lives revolve around our online activity, a new study has found that being constantly “plugged in” to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/teens-phones-less-happy/">digital media</a> increases the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in teenagers. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a> (USC) examined the mental health consequences of using social media, music and movie streaming, gaming, and other entertainment-related apps. 

The results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and show that heavy digital media users are twice as likely to develop ADHD than teenagers who spend less time on their phones and tablets. 

Previous related research focused on TV or video games, and the researchers discovered that there was a lack of current studies that looked at digital media use. 

“What's new is that previous studies on this topic were done many years ago, when social media, mobile phones, tablets and mobile apps didn't exist,” said Adam Leventhal, an author of the study. “New, mobile technologies can provide fast, high-intensity stimulation accessible all day, which has increased digital media exposure far beyond what's been studied before.” 

4,100 students from 10 public high schools in Los Angeles County ages 15 and 16 were asked to participate in the study. Adolescents were chosen for the research because those are the ages that correspond both with the appearance of ADHD symptoms and more access to digital media. 

The researchers then removed those students who had been diagnosed with ADHD leaving 2,857 who were followed for a period of two years. 

The participants were asked how frequently they used 14 popular digital media platforms and the researchers sorted the students into no use, medium use, and high-use categories. 

After that, the researchers checked back with the students every six months between 2014 and 2016, specifically looking for developing ADHD symptoms. 

When the two years were up, the results showed that high users were more likely to develop ADHD. 

“We can't confirm causation from the study, but this was a statistically significant association,” said Leventhal. “We can say with confidence that teens who were exposed to higher levels of digital media were significantly more likely to develop ADHD symptoms in the future.”

According to a recent survey, teens spend almost nine hours a day online and the concerning results show that increased media use increases the risk of ADHD, a disorder that can impede development and ability to focus. 

“This study raises concern whether the proliferation of high-performance digital media technologies may be putting a new generation of youth at risk for ADHD,” said Leventhal. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a><a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Digital media use may increase risk of ADHD in teens

The digital age has gifted the world with life-changing technological...

In 2017, only 5.4 percent of Fortune 500 companies had female CEOs. Obviously, that is a disproportionately low number, but it also happens to be an all-time high in the United States. Now, a new study from <a href="https://www.fsu.edu/">Florida State University</a> has also found that women CEOs in America are paid less, have shorter tenures, and their companies are discriminated against in the stock market – even when the company is as profitable as those run by men. 

FSU professors Michael Holmes and Gang Wang – both business management experts – put together a massive study, spanning over two years, to assess the influence of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gender-bias-lawyers-courtroom/">gender</a> on CEOs’ careers. They conducted a meta-analysis to examine the entire body of research on this topic over the last few decades, including 158 previous studies analyzing gender, companies’ hiring choices, and the impact of those decisions. 

The research project, published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/organizational-behavior-and-human-decision-processes">Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes</a>, identifies a variety of factors that hinder female CEOs and CEO candidates among corporate boards, managers, stock market investors, and across American culture. The study’s authors grouped these factors into two basic marketplace forces: demand-side and supply-side influences that combine to detract from a woman’s ability to land a CEO job.

Demand-side factors reduce demand for female CEOs by limiting the willingness of companies to hire women for the job. The hiring process for CEOs can be influenced by gender-role stereotypes, as the perceived traits of a good leader – like aggressiveness and risk-taking – are often seen as masculine traits. “Because of that bias, men have advantages obtaining and succeeding in leadership positions, while women leaders are more likely to be disliked and viewed as socially inept, due to the perceived role incongruity,” the authors note.

On the supply side, more women choose to leave the workplace for a number of reasons, including family changes, lack of career advancement, or even outright discrimination. The study also reports a bigger societal influence on hiring CEOs, where males are taught from childhood to display traits associated with leadership that are usually less common for women. “Females are more likely socialized to care for the home or be nurturing,” says Holmes. “Men start to develop characteristics that might help them become a CEO early in childhood, whereas fewer women do. That reduces the supply of female candidates for CEO jobs.”

The researchers also found a significant bias in the stock market against women CEOs. Using accounting metrics to compare companies with similar financial results, they found that firms run by women CEOs had worse stock performance than those run by men. 

“Women have come a long way in the workforce in terms of their overall numbers and acceptance, but when it comes to stock market investors evaluating a CEO and a company that they don’t know, I think investors may subconsciously discount that firm because the leader is female versus male,” Holmes says. “It seems when investors take an overall look at firms, biases creep in, and people may not even be aware of them.”

With these findings, the researchers believe the next step is for studies to find ways to reduce biases from both demand and supply-side influences. They currently suggest that young women pursue promotions early and often, as research shows that women who become CEOs are usually younger with fewer years of experience than men. 

“These women have earned their place at the top,” says Holmes. “But the data shows things are different for women – the workforce does not offer a level playing field. I hope when people read the research, they have some ‘aha’ moments with the findings, as well as the explanations. By showing these firms perform the same as companies led by male CEOs, let’s get beyond the idea that women can’t be good leaders. Clearly, they are good leaders. They often just aren’t rewarded equally.”

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study reveals significant bias against women in business

In 2017, only 5.4 percent of Fortune 500 companies had...

A new study has found that older children who abuse animals are much more likely to have been abused in early childhood. The researchers determined that this behavior is far less common among girls, and is a stronger indicator of child abuse compared to boys.

“Reports of girls abusing animals are less prevalent than boys, and there is some suggestion that girls who do report that they abuse animals are more likely to be part of a wider abuse,” wrote the researchers.

As many as 44 percent of children abuse animals at some point during their childhood, and the study authors explained that this may be a low estimate considering a lot of this abuse is not acknowledged or reported.

Animal abuse among younger children can often be a way of exploring their surroundings, but abuse by children over the age of ten is much more concerning because it may be the result of abuse within the family.

Previous studies have found that children are three times as likely to have been physically abused themselves when they are physically aggressive at five years old, while abusive behavior among 12-year-olds is linked to five times the likelihood of a history of abuse.

According to the study, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-behavioral-issues-parents/">children</a> who witness violence between their parents are around three times as likely to abuse animals.

The study authors pointed out that the term “animal abuse” is associated with a wide variety of motivations and behaviors.

“Differences of opinion exist on what constitutes abuse to an animal, and which animals should be included inside the definition,” they wrote. “For example, should it be restricted to just large vertebrate companion animals, such as dogs and cats, or include smaller animals, such as rodents or birds, or even insects.”

The experts concluded that additional research is needed to identify which types of animal abuse are more indicative of abuse within the family.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://adc.bmj.com/pages/">Archives of Disease in Childhood</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Kids who abuse animals are likely to have been abused themselves

A new study has found that older children who abuse...

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

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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