Coffee is prized for its taste and mental boost. A new study shows that caffeine may also fine‑tune the internal clock that makes cells grow old.



Researchers observed that yeast aged more slowly when caffeine altered the same energy pathways that help human cells <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/organ-aging-can-predict-diseases-decades-in-advance/">survive</a> under stress.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-caffeine-slows-aging-in-yeast-cells">Caffeine slows aging in yeast cells</h2>



Dr. Charalampos (Babis) Rallis of <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a> focused on the yeast species Schizosaccharomyces pombe because its DNA repair and growth controls echo our own. 



The team logged changes in <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9139625/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chronological lifespan</a>, the length of time that non‑dividing cells stay viable, then mapped the molecular traffic that caffeine set in motion.



“This is our most exciting find to date,” said Dr. Rallis. The results point to a fuel‑sensing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/healthy-aging-how-some-people-live-past-100-years/">pathway</a> that kicks in when nutrients dip, mirroring how people burn stored energy between meals.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yeast-helps-us-understand-aging">Yeast helps us understand aging</h2>



Fission yeast may seem worlds apart from humans, but it shares many core <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4772020/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">regulatory pathways</a> found in our cells. Systems like <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2779044/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AMPK</a> and <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3241408/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TOR</a> have been conserved over hundreds of millions of years because they work so well.



This makes yeast an ideal testing ground for decoding how compounds like caffeine affect <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-are-experimenting-with-new-approach-to-fight-and-stop-human-aging-necrosis/">lifespan</a> and stress response. What happens in a petri dish often sparks questions that ripple out to animal models and eventually to people.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-caffeine-may-slow-aging">How caffeine may slow aging</h2>



The key player is AMPK, an enzyme that "notices" when the cell’s ATP (energy) balance tilts toward empty and then shifts metabolism to survival mode. 



“Caffeine helps flip that switch,” said <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=913OCBIAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. John‑Patrick Alao</a>, the postdoctoral scientist who ran the experiments.



Earlier <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23551936/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> suggested caffeine blocked <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23551936/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TOR</a>, a growth promoter, but new data reveal the compound reaches TOR indirectly by first waking up AMPK. 



Cells then slow growth, patch damaged DNA, and boost antioxidant defenses, the very responses that lengthen life in many lab organisms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-caffeine-and-metformin-use-same-pathway">Caffeine and metformin use same pathway</h2>



<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6779524/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metformin</a>, the common diabetes drug, also charges AMPK and is being tested as a geroprotector in humans. The overlap hints that coffee’s benefits may parallel those seen in metformin cohorts, though dosage and metabolism differ widely.



Both agents dial back inflammation, clear out faulty proteins through autophagy, and keep insulin signaling from running too hot. 



If future trials confirm safety, researchers may combine low‑dose caffeine with metformin analogs to see whether their effects stack without side effects.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-caffeine-helps-manage-cell-stress">Caffeine helps manage cell stress</h2>



The AMPK pathway doesn’t just manage fuel, it also guides how cells respond to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/medgen/222489" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genotoxic stress</a>, such as radiation or chemicals that harm DNA. 



The yeast data showed caffeine increased sensitivity to DNA damage in some mutants, revealing AMPK's role in damage response.



This dual role, energy control and DNA repair, suggests that caffeine tunes both survival and quality control systems. 



It’s part of a wider stress adaptation strategy that has been conserved across <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-a-protein-that-reverses-cellular-aging/">evolution</a>, and is now offering new angles for anti-aging research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-people-who-drink-coffee-may-live-longer">People who drink coffee may live longer</h2>



Observational work involving hundreds of thousands of adults links two to four cups of coffee daily with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31055709/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lower all‑cause mortality</a>. 



Separate <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34468722/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analyses</a> in Asian populations find similar protection against heart disease and several cancers.



Because these studies track behavior, not biology, confounding factors like diet, exercise, and income can cloud cause and effect. 



The yeast data now give those population numbers a plausible mechanism anchored in cell chemistry, without the noise of other factors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-on-caffeine-and-aging">Future research on caffeine and aging</h2>



Yeast tolerate caffeine levels far above a latte, so dose matters when translating findings to people. 



Human AMPK is embedded in tissues that react differently, so benefits in muscle may come at a cost elsewhere if DNA repair stalls during caffeine peaks.



High caffeine can raise blood pressure, trigger anxiety, and interfere with sleep - processes that can speed cell aging if left unchecked. 



Clinical trials that track AMPK activation, cardiovascular markers, and cognitive scores together will be needed before doctors advise specific amounts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-diet-and-exercise">The role of diet and exercise </h2>



Exercise is one of the most well-known ways to activate AMPK in humans. When muscles burn through energy during physical activity, this pathway turns on to help cells adapt and recover.



Certain foods, including those high in polyphenols like berries and green tea, may also give AMPK a nudge. 



Understanding how diet and lifestyle naturally influence this system could lead to everyday habits that support healthy aging.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-healthy-lifestyle-matters">A healthy lifestyle matters</h2>



For now, moderate coffee remains a safe pleasure that lines up with epidemiology and basic science. Sleepless nights and energy drinks loaded with sugar still pose risks that no enzyme tweak can erase.



Nutrient‑sensing pathways such as AMPK give researchers a roadmap for therapies, yet lifestyle, steady sleep, balanced diet, and movement, keep the road free of potholes. 



The next wave of studies may explore caffeine analogs that lock onto AMPK with precision, separating the perks from the jitters.



The study is published in <a href="https://microbialcell.com/researcharticles/2025a-alao-microbial-cell/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microbial Cell</a>.



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Scientists learn that caffeine could slow cellular aging under the right conditions

Coffee is prized for its taste and mental boost. A new study shows that caffeine may also fine‑tune the internal clock that makes cells grow old. Researchers observed that yeast aged more slowly when caffeine altered the same energy pathways that help human cells survive under stress. Caffeine slows aging in yeast cells Dr. Charalampos (Babis) Rallis of Queen Mary University of London focused on the yeast species Schizosaccharomyces pombe because its DNA repair and growth controls echo our own. The team logged changes in chronological lifespan,...

There are certain risk factors that can contribute to a person’s struggle with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabidiol-marijuana-treat-addiction/">addiction</a>, including genetic predispositions, environmental influences, poor coping methods, and behavioral issues.

Understanding the many facets of how the brain registers and processes rewards is also further complicated by the fact that reward-based learning studies in humans don’t fully show how people develop addictions and preferences through the brain’s reward system over time. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University of College London</a> and <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> conducted a study of reward-based learning in humans with short sessions spaced out over time, more compatible with similar animal studies, rather than just one quick single session. 

The results, published in the journal J Neurosci, could help mood disorder and addiction research. 

Over the course of the short sessions, the researchers found that both men and women were better at remembering associations between pictures and monetary gains compared to the information obtained from a single session. 

The results suggest that the link between stimuli and reward is strengthened over time, similar to how the associations between drug and reward are gradually learned. 

The research provides a better way to study reward learning in humans, mimicking animal research methods and spacing out learning sessions over time rather than one learning test. 

The study also shows that studying learning over time could better aid addiction and mood disorder research. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Addiction builds in the brain over time, new research shows

There are certain risk factors that can contribute to a...

A period of global warming jump-started the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-age-earths-history/">Holocene period</a> around 11,000 years ago which allowed for human expansion, agriculture, and a stable climate.

As temperatures warmed, glaciers retreated, humans could spread out over a larger landscape, and the higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere made permanent settlement possible. 

The climate during the Holocene was unusually stable with atmospheric carbon levels increasing from 260 parts per millions (ppm) to 280 parts per million. 

While the warming over the past 11,000 years has been well documented, the explanation for the sudden warming trend remained unknown. 

An international collaboration of researchers led by <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> and the <a href="https://www.mpg.de/153030/chemie">Max Planck Institute for Chemistry</a> conducted a study examining Southern Ocean upwelling as the possible explanation for the Holocene’s warming. 

Activity in the Southern Ocean weakens the oceans’ abilities to store carbon and the study proposes that this is what caused the warming starting 11,000 years ago. 

The world’s oceans contain huge stores of CO2 and there is concern that warming temperatures will release these carbon stores back into the atmosphere, driving further climate change. 

That’s why it’s important to understand what was behind the stable interglacial warming of the Holocene as it could help better predict climate models and show the effect that an increase in fossil fuels will have on ocean circulation and atmospheric CO2 levels in the future. 

The results were published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

“We think we may have found the answer,” said Daniel Sigman, a member of the research team. “Increased circulation in the Southern Ocean allowed carbon dioxide to leak into the atmosphere, working to warm the planet.”

Sigman and the researchers theorized that a leak in the Southern Ocean, venting carbon from phytoplankton populations deep below the Ocean’s surface, was responsible for the Holocene warming. 

To study this possibility, the researchers collected and analyzed diatoms, foraminifers, and deep-sea coral fossils from different areas of the Southern Ocean. 

Diatoms and foraminifera are shelled microorganisms and researchers can measure the nitrogen isotope ratios trapped within the fossils to model the nutrient levels of the Southern Ocean at the time the fossils were alive. This can help show temperatures, oxygen levels, and the climate during that time as well. 

After analyzing the isotope ratios, the measurements indicated that during the early years of the Holocene, the Southern Ocean saw an increase in nutrients and carbon dioxide and this weakened the ocean’s ability to contain its carbon stores and CO2 leaked into the atmosphere.

This could explain the 20 parts per millions rise in atmospheric carbon. The researchers say the same processes responsible for warming the Holocene are happening now, made worse by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic activities. 

“This process is allowing some of that deeply stored carbon dioxide to invade back to the atmosphere,” said Sigman. “We're essentially punching holes in the membrane of the biological pump. If the findings from the Holocene can be used to predict how Southern Ocean upwelling will change in the future, it will improve our ability to forecast changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and thus in global climate.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How a warming Earth encouraged human settlement and expansion

A period of global warming jump-started the Holocene period around...

According to a team of scientists at the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, climate change could cause Western Europe and New Zealand to relapse to the hot tropical climate of the early Paleogene, the first period of the Cenozoic Era which took place 56-48 million years ago.

Currently, a heat wave across Europe is affecting health, drying out land, and triggering wildfires.

The early Paleogene is particularly significant to climate scientists because <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-dioxide-record-broken/">carbon dioxide</a> levels at that time were similar to those predicted for the end of this century.

Dr. David Naafs from the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences is the lead author of the study.

“We know that the early Paleogene was characterized by a greenhouse climate with elevated carbon dioxide levels,” said Dr. Naafs.

“Most of the existing estimates of temperatures from this period are from the ocean, not the land - what this study attempts to answer is exactly how warm it got on land during this period.”


By analyzing the molecular fossils of microorganisms preserved in ancient peat, the team was able to estimate the land temperature 50 million years ago. 

The scientists found that average temperatures in Western Europe and New Zealand were between 23 and 29 degrees Celsius, which is at least 10 degrees higher than current temperatures across these regions.

The findings suggest that the scorching temperatures of the current heat wave will become the new norm by the end of this century if atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise.

“Our work adds to the evidence for a very hot climate under potential end-of-century carbon dioxide levels,” said study co-author Professor Rich Pancost. “Importantly, we also study how the Earth system responded to that warmth. For example, this and other hot time periods were associated with evidence for arid conditions and extreme rainfall events.”

The researchers will now investigate how hot land temperatures became in lower latitudes during the early Paleogene.

“Did the tropics, for example, become ecological dead zones because temperatures in excess of 40 °C were too high for most form of life to survive? Some climate models suggest this, but we currently lack critical data,” said Dr. Naafs.

“Our results hint at the possibility that the tropics, like the mid-latitudes, were hotter than present, but more work is needed to quantify temperatures from these regions.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/">Nature Geoscience</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scorching heat may become the norm by the end of the century

According to a team of scientists at the University of...

Plastic straws have been the focus of many recent campaigns that are addressing the worldwide issue of plastic pollution. According to the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/">National Park Service</a>, Americans use 500 million drinking straws every day. 

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/starbucks-plastic-straws/">Plastic straws</a> cannot be easily recycled, and they never fully degrade. According to the <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/">Ocean Conservancy</a>’s TIDES system, plastic  straws and stirrers are the 11th most common type of trash found in ocean cleanups.

A recent article published by <a href="https://www.wired.com/">WIRED</a> magazine explains how easily straws make their way into the environment.

Sherry Lippiatt is the regional coordinator for NOAA's marine debris program in California.

“I think the fact that straws are small and used on-the-go lends itself to the fact that they can easily leak into the environment,” Lippiatt told WIRED. “Any moment when trash is being transferred from one mode to another, some fraction of it is lost.”

Straws are small and lightweight, which makes it inevitable that many are lost during the waste management process. Plastic straws and stirrers are not only ending up in the ocean, but are also getting washed away into lakes, rivers, and streams where they can do a lot of damage to marine life.

Many states have pending legislation to ban plastic straws including regions of California, Washington, Florida, New Jersey, and New York. In addition, large companies such as Starbucks, Hyatt, and American Airlines have pledged to ditch plastic straws.

However, there is some debate over whether banning straws will effectively lead to more measurable actions.

Kara Lavender Law is a research professor of Oceanography at the <a href="https://www.sea.edu/">Sea Education Association</a>. Law told WIRED magazine: “I’m not sure that straws are exceptional in terms of their impact to an ecosystem.”

“I think the reason straws have been singled out is because they are a low-hanging fruit. They are something that most of us, though not all, for example some disabled people, children, can easily do without, and by doing so we reduce the amount of plastic trash that is generated and therefore needs to be managed somehow.”

While straws may not be the biggest contributor to the plastic pollution crisis, banning them is still a good start for companies to reduce their plastic footprints.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Americans use 500 million plastic straws per day

Plastic straws have been the focus of many recent campaigns...

According to a new report published by the <a href="http://heart.org/">American Heart Association</a>, extra weight in young adults can cause <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/egg-heart-disease/">heart disease</a> later in life by raising blood pressure and thickening heart muscle.

This study is the first to investigate the impacts that higher body mass index (BMI) can have on the cardiovascular system of young adults. Using three different types of genetic analysis, the researchers found evidence that BMI causes specific differences in cardiovascular measurements.


Study lead author Dr. Kaitlin H. Wade is a research associate at the Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/medical-school/">University of Bristol Medical School</a>.

“Our results support efforts to reduce body mass index to within a normal, healthy range from a young age to prevent later heart disease,” said Dr. Wade.


The experts used data that involved thousands of healthy 17- and 21-year-olds who are participants in the ongoing Children of the 90s study in the Bristol area of the United Kingdom.


The study linked higher BMI with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure and with enlargement of the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber.


“Thickening of vessel walls is widely considered to be the first sign of atherosclerosis, a disease in which fatty plaques build up within the arteries and lead to heart disease,” said Dr. Wade. “However, our findings suggest that higher BMIs cause changes in the heart structure of the young that may precede changes in blood vessels.”

Two of the analyses used in the research took advantage of the properties of genetic variation.

“At a population level, this provides a natural experiment analogous to a randomized trial where we can compare differences in an outcome (such as heart structure and function) with differences in BMI, without the relationship being skewed by other lifestyle and behavioral factors,” explained Dr. Wade.

The team now plans to investigate the relationship between higher BMI and other disease mechanisms, such as the microbial content of the gut.

The research is published in <a href="http://circ.ahajournals.org/">Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Being overweight when you’re young increases heart disease risk

According to a new report published by the American Heart...

Sucking up to your boss may be an effective strategy to get ahead in your career, but new research has found that it can be costly to your wellbeing and work relationships. 

Researchers from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> conducted a study examining the work lives of professionals to see if time spent getting in the boss's good graces impacted performance or interactions with other employees. 

The results were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. 

75 mid-level managers in a large software company located in China participated in the study and the researchers observed the employees for two weeks while they went about their jobs. 

The participants were also asked to record their daily workplace experiences and were given a survey that measured their political skill (social abilities) at work and influence over others, according to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5995941/People-suck-boss-likely-unkind-others.html">Daily Mail</a> which reported on the study. 

Researchers focused on how the participants interacted with their superiors, looking to see what tactics were used to impress management. 

Ingratiation is a common tactic where an employee will suck up in an effort to get ahead and maintain their position in the workplace. 

Self-promotion is another tactic that the researchers noticed the participants used.

While these tactics may help cement your place at the top of the office food chain, the researchers also found that there were some costly ramifications. 

The employees who used self-promoting tactics were more likely to be rude to their co-workers and their day to day work performance suffered as well, most likley because sucking up to the boss <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/american-workplace-exhausting-physically/">takes a good deal of energy</a>.

“When your energy is depleted, it may nudge you into slack-off territory,” Anthony Klotz, the lead author of the paper, told the Daily Mail. 

If a participant had scored higher on the political skill tests, the researchers noticed that ingratiation was not as draining. 

The results show the mental toll that can come with sucking up although tactics to find favor with a boss or supervisor can be advantageous in the long run. 

“It's also important to note that the depleting effects of ingratiation are immediate, but the workplace benefits of those acts tend to build over the long term,” Lawrence Houston III, a co-author of the study, told the Daily Mail. 

Employers should also be mindful of their employee’s ingratiation efforts and respond with positive reinforcement to help limit costly energy depletion which will improve the work environment overall. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Kissing up to the boss can get you ahead, but comes with a cost

Sucking up to your boss may be an effective strategy...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunscreen-protectio/">sun</a> is bad for your health – well… at least it is in some ways. Although vitamin D is a beneficial addition to the warmth that sunlight brings, too much time in the sun can increase your risk of skin cancer. That’s why many skin tanning sprays, ointments, creams, foams, and lotions are advertising their ability to tan skin without increasing your risk of skin cancer. But researchers at the <a href="https://www.med.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota Medical School</a> and <a href="https://www.mhealth.org/">University of Minnesota Health</a> wanted to see if people who use these products actually avoid outdoor sunbathing or indoor tanning.

Matthew Mansh, MD, a resident in the Department of Dermatology at University of Minnesota Medical School wanted to determine whether or not he should be recommending sunless tanners to his patients. That is why he and his colleagues sought to investigate the demographic characteristics of skin cancer risk behaviors of adult sunless tanners in the U.S. 

In a study published in <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology">JAMA Dermatology</a>, they assessed whether adults who used sunless tanning products were able to reduce risky behaviors such as indoor and outdoor tanning. 

With over 27,000 adults participating in this study, only about 6.4 percent reported sunless tanning. This behavior was most common among young, white college-educated females and gay and bisexual men. Additional factors linked to sunless tanning included living in the Western United States and having a family history of skin cancer.

The results showed that adults who use these products still continue to engage in risky tanning behaviors. They were actually more likely to use indoor tanning beds and report a recent sunburn, and were less likely to wear protective clothing or seek shade when outdoors. It appears that most people use sunless tanning products to supplement their risky tanning behaviors, rather than replace them.

“Most evidence supports that sunless tanning products are safe to use and do not cause skin cancer,” says Mansh. “However, these products can only be effective at reducing skin cancer rates if they are able to help people disengage in risky behaviors such as indoor tanning or outdoor sunbathing. Our study casts doubt on whether that assumption is true and suggests that sunless tanning products could inadvertently reinforce desires to achieve tanned skin.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Many still combine sunless tanning with risky sun behaviors

The sun is bad for your health – well… at...

One of the biggest challenges for teachers these days seems to be finding ways to stop kids from using their cell phones during class.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/addiction-smartphones-imbalances-brain/">Smartphones</a> and tablets today are littered with endless entertainment, games, and distractions, which can make concentrating on lectures, meetings, notes, and studying extra difficult. 

In a new study, researchers from <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> discovered that allowed access to an electronic device in class jeopardizes grades and also damages the group learning environment.

The results, published in the journal Educational Psychology, showed that students who used their smartphones for non-academic purposes had poorer grades on final exams than students who didn’t have any distractions.

Even students who didn’t use a device but were part of classroom environments where devices were permitted performed worse on the exams, showing that smartphones in class aren’t just distracting the user but those in close proximity as well. 

The researchers conducted an in-class experiment over the course of one term with 118 cognitive psychology student participants. During half of the lectures, laptops, phones, and tablets were banned, but during the other half of the term, electronics were allowed. 

Students in lectures where phones and tablets were allowed were asked to record if the devices were used for non-academic purposes. 

Using an electronic device didn’t affect comprehension during the lectures, but the researchers did find that it lowered scores of end-of-term exams by half a grade or more. 

The study is the first ever conducted in a real-world classroom environment that shows how distracting electronic devices affects learning and long-term retention. 

“These findings should alert the many dedicated students and instructors that dividing attention is having an insidious effect that is impairing their exam performance and final grade,” said Professor Arnold Glass, the study’s lead author. “To help manage the use of devices in the classroom, teachers should explain to students the damaging effect of distractions on retention - not only for themselves but for the whole class.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Smartphones in the classroom are hindering learning, study finds

One of the biggest challenges for teachers these days seems...

This week, the new head of Trump’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA), Andrew Wheeler, told <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/07/26/trump-epa-freeze-obama-era-fuel-standards-cars-light-trucks/840816002/">USA Today</a> that the agency intends to roll back Obama-era fuel efficiency standards.

During Obama’s two-term presidency, his EPA implemented fuel standards to increase fuel efficiency, identified climate change as a national security issue, and developed several plans to reduce emissions and fossil fuel use. 

President Donald Trump has made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that climate change is far from a priority and has already begun to undo <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/28/the-obama-environmental-regulations-trump-wants-scrap/99729650/">several key environmental protection policies</a> and orders of the Obama Administration. 

Now, Andrew Wheeler told USA Today that the agency is working with the Trump Administration to undo Obama era fuel-economy standards and will announce more formal plans next week.

In 2012, car manufacturers were given till 2016 to increase vehicle mileage to 34.5 miles per gallon with standards expected to rise by 2025 to 54.5 miles per gallon. 

Wheeler aims to revisit those later restriction rises, but the new plans will not affect current increases in fuel efficiency in new car models. 

“They jumped the gun,” Wheeler told USA Today. “It was a political attempt to try to move up the process and what we're doing is taking the deliberative process of looking at the midyear review the way it was originally intended to be done.”

Potential fuel efficiency freezes would be good news for car manufacturers, as it's been argued by automakers that Americans don’t want high-mileage cars and being forced to produce them would be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/business/energy-environment/automakers-pruitt-mileage-rules.html">costly, limit consumer options, decrease profits</a>, and impact the entire industry. 

However, not all car companies stand by those statements. 

A spokesperson for Ford told USA Today that the company supports “increasing clean car standards through 2025 and are not asking for a rollback.” 

The state of California, a leader in state-run environmental regulations, is also committed to keeping with the former president's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/california-electric-cars/">goals for fuel efficiency</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Trump’s EPA to freeze Obama-era fuel efficiency standards

This week, the new head of Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency...

A detailed analysis of human land use and fire management in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/taller-older-rainforests-drought/">Amazon</a> has revealed that farming techniques used by ancient communities thousands of years ago have had a lasting impact on the rainforest. 

“The work of early farmers in the Amazon has left an enduring legacy,” said study co-author Professor Jose Iriarte. “The way indigenous communities managed the land thousands of years ago still shapes modern forest ecosystems.” 

“This is important to remember as modern deforestation and agricultural plantations expand across the Amazon Basin, coupled with the intensification of drought severity driven by warming global temperatures.”


Early farmers had a profound effect on parts of the Amazon which were previously thought to have been untouched. According to the study, the ancient farmers introduced crops to new areas, increased the number of edible tree species, and used fire to improve the nutrient content of soil.


The study was conducted by an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists, paleontologists, botanists, and ecologists. The research shows how early farmers intensively cultivated the land and expanded crops without the need to continuously clear new areas of the forest when soil nutrients became depleted.


By analyzing charcoal, pollen, and plant remains from the soil in archaeological sites and lake sediments, the research team was able to trace the history of vegetation and fire in eastern Brazil. The experts uncovered evidence that maize, sweet potato, manioc, and squash were farmed as early as 4,500 years ago in this part of the Amazon. 

The farmers adjusted the soil by adding manure and food waste or through the use of fire to increase the crop yields. The findings explain why forests around archaeological sites in the Amazon have an abundance of edible plants.

“People thousands of years ago developed a nutrient rich soil called Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs),” said study lead author Dr. Yoshi Maezumi. “They farmed in a way which involved continuous enrichment and reusing of the soil, rather than expanding the amount of land they clear cut for farming. This was a much more sustainable way of farming.”

The ADEs allowed for the expansion of corn and other crops to be farmed in areas beyond the nutrient-rich shores of lakes and rivers, increasing the amount of food available for growing Amazon communities.

“Ancient communities likely did clear some understory trees and weeds for farming, but they maintained a closed canopy forest, enriched in edible plants which could bring them food,” said Dr. Maezumi. 

“This is a very different use of the land to that of today, where large areas of land in the Amazon is cleared and planted for industrial scale grain, soya bean farming and cattle grazing. We hope modern conservationists can learn lessons from indigenous land use in the Amazon to inform management decisions about how to safeguard modern forests.”


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nplants">Nature Plants</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: Dr Yoshi Maezumi

Ancient Amazon communities used sustainable farming techniques

A detailed analysis of human land use and fire management...

Scotland is the birthplace of golf… and also the birthplace of Donald Trump’s mother.  Trump has been on record saying that golf is his main form of exercise, and so it’s no surprise at all that he owns a swanky golf resort in Scotland.  What may surprise many, is that Trump’s golf resort, the Turnberry resort seems to be losing money. 

“Although Mr. Trump has claimed to have spent at least 200 million pounds, about $264 million, on Turnberry to buy and renovate it since 2014 — a figure that has not been verified independently — the course has yet to turn a profit," the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/europe/uk-trump-scotland-golf.html">New York Times</a> reported.      

The New York Times goes on to question the ethics of Trump’s promotion of his failing resort in Scotland, noting that he brought up Turnberry during a NATO summit meeting.  The piece argues that what Trump is doing in his visiting and promotion of Trump properties amounts to so much advertisement paid for by US taxes.  

On the matter of Brexit, The New York Times quoted Trump in 2016, “When the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly.”

The main purpose of Trump’s visit to the UK was to discuss trade policy and shore up the special relationship between the UK and the US.  Surrounding the official agenda and golfing was an atmosphere of activism and resistance among the Scottish population. In London, of course there was the now famous baby Trump float.  No Scottish government officials met with Trump during his visit. Rallies were planned all over the country. 

One of the most spectacular acts of defiance in my eyes, was a paraglider who broke the law by entering restricted airspace.  The motorized paraglider circled Trump’s Turnberry resort with a banner, making the president break into a trot, apparently to escape.  The paraglider chute was bright yellow and emblazoned with “Greenpeace” in green letters. The banner flying below the paraglider read, ‘Trump: Well Below Par #resist’ The golf pun took me a second to notice but the cheekiness of the act is apparent.  

Scotland now reports they have a man has been charged in the paragliding incident. The only information Scotland has released is the man’s age: 55 years old.  I reached out to <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/">Greenpeace</a> for comment; they initially responded quickly but didn’t get back to answer my questions.    

This isn’t the first time <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/">Greenpeace</a> has been involved in similar demonstrations.  Fresh from his election, the first time Trump visited New York City as president, Greenpeace was there.  In the Hudson, a river so polluted that fish from it are not suggested for eating, is anchored USS Intrepid.  The USS Intrepid is an aircraft carrier built during World War II, now permanently in the Hudson River. It was on the Intrepid that Trump made his entrance into New York by helicopter.  Protestors stood on the banks of the river, chanting. Greenpeace activists took banners and boarded small boats, getting as close to the USS Intrepid as possible. The banners read, ‘Resist’ and ‘Resiste’.  

<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/greenpeace-activists-arrested-trump-tower-donald-trump-climate-change-policies-banner-a7831486.html">Independent</a> reported in July 2017 that a group of Greenpeace protestors at Trump Tower in Chicago, lowered a banner with a picture of the planet and the words, ‘Resist, Defend and Greenpeace’.  The activists were charged with reckless conduct, property damage and trespassing. <a href="https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/greenpeace-activists-charged-trump-tower-chicago-protest-433457343.html">NBC Chicago</a> quoted Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi as saying:

"Given that the banner was picked up by the wind and caused some property damage, it could have been a large public safety hazard."

Greenpeace protestors also attempted but failed to take a banner to the 25th floor of the Trump building on 5th avenue in New York City.  

The coordinated protests, the one in Chicago and the failed attempt in NYC were set to protest Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-decision-paris-climate-agreement/">Paris Climate Agreement</a>.  Greenpeace activists also lowered a banner on a bridge in Hamburg Germany when Trump attended the G20 summit.

<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/greenpeace-resist-crane-white-house/index.html">CNN</a> in Washington reported that in January 2017, just days after the Women’s March on Washington, activists climbed a construction crane near the White House.  The Activists from Greenpeace lowered a 70 foot by 30 foot banner with the word, ‘Resist’ emblazoned on it. Greenpeace activist Cassady Craighill told CNN:

"The purpose for this action today was to really send a message to everybody in this country, similar to the millions that showed up to the women's march, that are feeling discouraged this week after we've seen Donald Trump take steps to advance the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines, issuing gag orders on the press and the EPA and the department of agriculture." 

<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-poland-protests-idUSKBN19R15J">Reuters</a> reported in July 2017 that Greenpeace protestors projected the words, ‘No Trump Yes Paris’ on a building in Warsaw Poland in green light when the US president visited there.  This message coming shortly after Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement. 

Nothing seemed to come of the protest near the Intrepid.  The Greenpeace protestor at Turnberry has been arrested. Many others have been arrested or simply ignored.  Some media attention is garnered by stunts like these but the media quickly moves on. What does it mean to protest and be ignored?

Are these merely publicity stunts or are they protests that are also part of a thoughtful discussion that can move the world toward a better path?  I for one admire the courage and subversive quality of these protests. 

At least there are others out there who feel a little less alone because of actions from activists like those with Greenpeace.  <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/greenpeace-white-house-protest-shia-labeouf-trump/">Globalcitizen.org</a> also highlighted parallels between the Greenpeace protests, and others, including actor Shia LaBeouf who has lead a livestream of protest online for the remainder of Trump’s presidency.  The point Global Citizen is trying to make is that it’s easy to forget that despite Trump’s ascendency, there are plenty who are protesting, resisting and in disapproval of his policies on behalf of planet Earth.       

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer               

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Greenpeace versus Donald Trump: A brief history

Scotland is the birthplace of golf… and also the birthplace...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/">London School of Hygiene &amp; Tropical Medicine</a> (LSHTM) has found that boys may be more cliquey than girls when it comes to social networks in school. The researchers found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-connections-slow-brain-aging/">social groups</a> are influenced by factors such as timetable and location, and that boys tend to form the tightest-knit groups.

Mathematical models of infectious disease often play an important role in public health planning, such as determining effective vaccination strategies. The social mixing patterns of children are recognized as being particularly important to these models because they represent a group that is at a higher risk for the transmission of diseases. This means it is critical to understand how children socialize and interact at school, where they typically socialize the most.

The investigation, which also involved researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>, was focused on the features and structure of children's social networks within different schools. The team surveyed the self-reported contacts of 460 seventh graders across four schools in the UK over a five month period.


Over 1,200 surveys were completed, and students reported who they spent the most time with, among other contact information. In most of the schools, children were found to have well-defined patterns of interaction. In one particular school, however, the children interacted more widely.

Over the course of five months, there were only small differences reported regarding individual contacts and social networks. This finding suggests that children who are well-connected and children who are not tend to stay this way. The study also revealed that males had a bigger tendency to cluster together in all of the unisex schools surveyed.

“Previous studies have typically looked at social interactions over a single day, so there has been limited information available on how much variation there might be in social mixing patterns over time in schools,” said study lead author Dr. Adam Kucharski. 

“Showing boys are potentially more cliquey than girls, perhaps going against gender stereotypes, and that popular children remain popular over time, is an interesting social insight but for mathematical modellers this type of information is also extremely valuable.”

“Understanding age-specific social mixing patterns is vital for studying outbreaks of infectious diseases like flu and measles which can spread rapidly, particularly among children. It's useful to find that mixing patterns are fairly consistent, as this suggests it will be easier to analyse social interactions among children than was previously thought. It also shows the value of working directly with schools to study these questions.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Boys may actually be more cliquey than girls, study finds

A new study led by the London School of Hygiene...

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;



---



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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