Life expectancy in the United States reveals a deeply fractured landscape. Yale School of Public Health researchers examined records of 179 million deaths between 1969 and 2020, and traced how generational health patterns diverged across regions.



The team chose an unconventional approach - analyzing life expectancy by birth cohort instead of by year - to uncover hidden <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unhealthy-habits-can-make-your-heart-age-faster/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disparities</a> missed by standard mortality reports.



The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, tell a compelling story of a nation where regional policies, economic conditions, and public health initiatives shape life trajectories in dramatically different ways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-expectancy-gains-in-some-states">Life expectancy gains in some states </h2>



California and New York surged ahead in terms of extending lifespans significantly. In contrast, many Southern states struggled to keep pace. This result indicates that the U.S. is a country where the place of birth remains a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/girls-diets-strongly-influence-when-they-begin-puberty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">potent predictor</a> of lifespan.



“For females born in some Southern states, life expectancy increased by less than three years from 1900 to 2000,” said Theodore R. Holford, lead author and professor emeritus at <a href="https://www.yale.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yale</a>.



“That’s a staggering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/medical-oddity-human-skin-heals-three-times-slower-than-our-primate-relatives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">contrast</a> when you consider that in states like New York and California, life expectancy rose by more than 20 years over the same period.”



Washington, D.C., a region once synonymous with low life expectancy, now exemplifies transformative progress. Between 1900 and 2000, the life expectancy of women in the capital increased by almost 30 years, while the life expectancy of men leapt by 38 years. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-fueled-such-a-stark-contrast">What fueled such a stark contrast?</h2>



Public health policies, economic revitalization, and aggressive tobacco control campaigns reshaped the region. 



California, banned workplace smoking in 1995, slashed smoking rates among workers and teens, and lowered smoking-related deaths. Kentucky, by contrast, chose a different path by resisting tobacco control efforts and continuing to grapple with high <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rats-are-spreading-a-deadly-disease-across-cities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mortality</a> rates from smoking.



“These trends in mortality and life expectancy reflect not only each state’s policy environment but also their underlying demographics as well,” said Jamie Tam, assistant professor at Yale. 



“It’s not surprising that states with fewer improvements to life expectancy also have higher rates of poverty, for example.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-expectancy-trends-by-generation">Life expectancy trends by generation</h2>



The study’s approach of using an age-period-cohort model allowed the researchers to isolate the impact of generational experiences. 



Instead of year-by-year comparisons, the team followed birth cohorts from 1900 to 2000, revealing how early-life conditions like disease exposure, sanitation, and vaccine access shaped lifespans.



“Looking at mortality trends by cohort gives us a more accurate reflection of the lived experiences of populations,” noted Holford.



“It shows the long-term impact of policies and social conditions affecting the life course of populations, that might otherwise be invisible in year-by-year comparisons of mortality rates from different generations.”



A child born in Mississippi in 1900 faced vastly different health risks than one born in California in 1950. The study’s cohort analysis illuminated how those risks compounded over time, creating distinct health outcomes across states.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aging-rapidly-or-aging-well">Aging rapidly or aging well</h2>



States varied not only in life expectancy gains but also in how quickly health declined after age 35. Oklahoma and Iowa showed rapid rises in mortality risk, with mortality doubling in less than eight years. 



New York and Florida, in contrast, experienced slower rates of increase, suggesting healthier <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/20-year-study-of-1000-adults-reveals-how-marijuana-alters-dna/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aging</a> populations.



Among women, the slowest mortality increase occurred in New York, where it took 9.39 years for mortality risk to double. 



For men, Florida recorded the longest doubling time at 11.47 years. Oklahoma’s women faced the fastest decline, with mortality risk doubling in just 7.96 years - a rate that suggests rapid health deterioration.



“The disparities we see today are the result of decades of cumulative effects on smoking rates, health care access, environmental exposures, and public health investments,” Holford emphasized. “Without conscious policy changes, these gaps will likely persist or even widen.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reinvention-in-washington-d-c">Reinvention in Washington, D.C.</h2>



Washington, D.C., a region once plagued by poor health outcomes, now serves as a case study in urban transformation. 



At the dawn of the 20th century, women in the capital could expect to live just 63.9 years. By 2000, life expectancy had soared to 93 years - the highest gain recorded nationwide. Male life expectancy jumped from 48.7 years to 86.5 years over the same period.



What drove this metamorphosis? Improved healthcare infrastructure, urban policy changes, and robust public health initiatives fueled the gains. 



Yet, for rural Southern states, the story remained grim. In Kentucky and Alabama, policymakers resisted public health reforms, leaving residents trapped in cycles of poverty and poor health outcomes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-poverty-s-impact-on-life-expectancy">Poverty's impact on life expectancy</h2>



While Washington, D.C., and California leveraged economic growth to implement effective health policies, states like Mississippi and Kentucky remained mired in economic hardship. 



Poverty compounded existing health risks, leaving residents more vulnerable to chronic diseases and less likely to access preventive care.



California’s tobacco control measures slashed smoking rates, particularly among younger cohorts. In Kentucky, however, the absence of similar policies allowed smoking rates to persist, resulting in higher smoking-related death rates. 



The data illustrate a stark divide: states with strong economies and progressive health policies saw life expectancy gains, while poorer states stagnated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-interventions-to-bridge-the-gap">Interventions to bridge the gap</h2>



Targeted public health interventions offer a path forward. Researchers recommend that states with lower cohort life expectancy consider comprehensive tobacco regulations, expanded healthcare access, and environmental health initiatives.



“This research highlights the importance of viewing health through a generational lens,” Tam said. “The benefits of health interventions ripple across lifetimes.”



For Southern states, reversing the stagnation will require targeted investments in public health infrastructure, disease prevention, and health education. 



Without such efforts, the study warns, the gap between states with high and low life expectancy will only widen, locking future generations into predetermined health outcomes.



“Where you are born shouldn’t determine how long you live,” Holford concluded. “But in America, it still does.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2833159" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JAMA Network Open</a>.



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Life expectancy in America depends on where you are born  

Life expectancy in the United States reveals a deeply fractured landscape. Yale School of Public Health researchers examined records of 179 million deaths between 1969 and 2020, and traced how generational health patterns diverged across regions. The team chose an unconventional approach - analyzing life expectancy by birth cohort instead of by year - to uncover hidden disparities missed by standard mortality reports. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, tell a compelling story of a nation where regional policies, economic conditions, and public health initiatives shape...

It’s a common misconception that you’re more likely to get sick on an <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/airplane-contrails-florida-georgia/">airplane</a> because of the cramped quarters full of germs and being in such close proximity with others for long periods of time. 

However, a new study conducted by researchers from<a href="http://www.gatech.edu/"> Georgia Tech</a> and <a href="http://www.emory.edu/home/index.html">Emory University</a> found that airplanes contain the same kinds of microbiomes, or communities of bacteria, that are found in homes and offices. 

“Airline passengers should not be frightened by sensational stories about germs on a plane,” Vicki Stover Hertzberg, a co-author of the study, told<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5818375/Airplane-germs-like-founds-homes-offices-researchers-find.html"> the Daily Mail</a>. “They should recognize that microbes are everywhere and that an airplane is no better and no worse than an office building, a subway car, home or a classroom. These environments all have microbiomes that look like places occupied by people.”

Samples of bacteria were collected from tray tables, seat-belt buckles, and bathroom doors before and after ten transcontinental flights for the study. The researchers also tested the air in the rear of the cabin during the flights. 

Once the samples were collected, advanced sequencing technology was used to study the bacteria and what kind of microbiomes were contained within airplane cabins. 

“What we found was bacterial communities that were mostly derived from human skin, the human mouth – and some environmental bacteria,” Howard Weiss, the study's corresponding author, told the Daily Mail. 

The bacteria present varied from flight to flight and each plane had its own unique community of bacteria, but the number of bacteria or kinds of bacteria was no different than other environments where people are present. 

“The finding that airplanes have their own unique microbiome should not be totally surprising since we have been exploring the unique microbiome of everything from humans to spacecraft to salt ponds in Australia,” said Christopher Dupont, a fellow co-author of the study. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Airplanes don’t carry more germs as our homes and offices

It’s a common misconception that you’re more likely to get...

Loneliness is literally bad for the heart, doubles mortality risk.  New research from the <a href="https://www.escardio.org/">European Society Of Cardiology</a> has found that loneliness is bad for the heart and overall well-being. Feelings of loneliness were found to be a stronger predictor of premature death than living alone in both men and women.

Study co-author Anne Vinggaard Christensen is a PhD student at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_University_Hospital">Copenhagen University Hospital</a> in Denmark.

“Loneliness is more common today than ever before, and more people live alone,” said Vinggaard Christensen. “Previous research has shown that loneliness and social isolation are linked with coronary heart disease and stroke, but this has not been investigated in patients with different types of cardiovascular disease.” Loneliness is literally bad for the heart, doubles mortality risk

The investigation was focused on 13,463 patients with ischaemic heart disease, arrhythmia, heart failure, or heart valve disease.

The researchers analyzed social support using data from the DenHeart survey, which was conducted as patients were discharged from heart centers in Denmark. The individuals reported on topics such as whether or not they lived alone, felt lonesome, or had someone to talk to when needed.

“It was important to collect information on both, since people may live alone but not feel lonely while others cohabit but do feel lonely,” explained Vinggaard Christensen.


Regardless of factors including body mass index, smoking, alcohol intake, age, and type of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/egg-heart-disease/">heart disease</a>, loneliness correlated with poor health outcomes in all patients.

Overall, loneliness doubled mortality risk in women and nearly doubled mortality risk in men. Patients who felt lonely were three times more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, and had a significantly lower quality of life than those who did not feel lonely.

“Loneliness is a strong predictor of premature death, worse mental health, and lower quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease, and a much stronger predictor than living alone, in both men and women,” said Vinggaard Christensen.

She also noted that people with poor social support may be more prone to health complications because they are less compliant with treatment, more affected by stressful events, and their lifestyles are less healthy.

“We adjusted for lifestyle behaviors and many other factors in our analysis, and still found that loneliness is bad for health,” said Vinggaard Christensen.

“We live in a time when loneliness is more present and health providers should take this into account when assessing risk. Our study shows that asking two questions about social support provides a lot of information about the likelihood of having poor health outcomes.”

The research was presented at <a href="https://www.escardio.org/Congresses-%26-Events/EuroHeartCare">EuroHeartCare 2018</a>, the European Society of Cardiology's annual nursing congress.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Loneliness is literally bad for the heart, doubles mortality risk

Loneliness is literally bad for the heart, doubles mortality risk. ...

A team from the <a href="https://www.ku.edu/">University of Kansas</a> (KU) has investigated the "Speech-to-Song Illusion,” which is when a spoken phrase is repeated so many times that it begins to sound as if it were being sung.

Study lead author Professor Michael Vitevitch conducted the study with student researchers in the KU Department of Psychology's Spoken Language Laboratory.

“There's this neat auditory illusion called the Speech-to-Song Illusion that musicians in the '60s knew about and used to artistic effect - but scientists didn't start investigating it until the '90s,” said Professor Vitevitch. “The illusion occurs when a spoken phrase is repeated, but after it's repeated several times it begins to sound like it's being sung instead of spoken."

Professor Vitevitch explained that researchers have previously looked at different characteristics of phrases that may contribute to the misinterpretation, and have analyzed the illusion in speakers of English, German, and Mandarin.

Further studies have demonstrated that brain regions involved in speech processing are active when a phrase is perceived as speech, while brain regions involved in processing music become active when the phrase is heard as a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/music-influences-social-connections/">song</a>.

“But nobody had a good explanation about how this illusion was coming about in the first place,” said Professor Vitevitch. “A lot of the researchers who looked at this were music-perception scientists, but there weren't a lot of people coming at it from the speech-and-language side. I'm one of the few speech people that started looking at this. I brought some of these models of how language processing works to see if that might explain what's going on with this illusion.”

The research team designed six studies to test if a model of language processing known as Node Structure Theory might also be responsible for the Speech-to-Song Illusion. Under this theory, word nodes and syllable nodes act as “detectors” when people hear syllables, words, and phrases.

“You've got word detectors and syllable detectors and, like with lots of things in life, as you use them they're going to get worn out - like your muscles. As you use them, they get tired,” said Professor Vitevitch. “Like with muscles, you have a type of muscle for short bursts of sprinting and also muscles for endurance, like running a marathon. Word nodes are like sprinting muscles, and syllable nodes are like endurance muscles.”

The results of the six trials suggest word detectors are initially activated, leading to the perception of speech, but they eventually tire out as the phrase is repeated.Syllable detectors, which do not fatigue as quickly, remain activated during the continued presentation of the phrase. 

Because syllables carry the rhythmic information of language, the continued stimulation of the syllable detectors - without the stimulation of the word detectors - shifts perception to a songlike state.

Professor Vivevitch said the phenomenon has the potential to greatly increase our fundamental understanding of speech and music perception.

“All scientists are trying to look inside of a black box to understand what's going on inside. We're all trying to understand the universe or the brain or how atoms work. So, any opportunity to get a crack in the black box where you can look inside, you need to take.” 

“Things like illusions are often dismissed, but they're unique opportunities to get another angle on what's going on. Yes, they're kind of fun and interesting and goofy and they get attention - but really they're another opportunity to see what's going on inside the black box.”

The study 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

Why repeating a phrase can make it sound like singing

A team from the University of Kansas (KU) has investigated...

Knowing someone is into you increases their attractiveness, study finds.  New research has shown that knowing someone is into you makes them more attractive to you, while uncertainty may make them seem less attractive. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.rochester.edu/">University of Rochester</a> and the <a href="https://www.idc.ac.il/en/pages/home.aspx">Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya</a> in Israel conducted a series of six studies to assess how certainty about a partner’s romantic feelings impacts attraction. 

The research showed that the more certain you are that someone likes you, the more attractive that potential partner is.Knowing someone is into you increases their attractiveness, study finds 

A possible explanation could be that people are protecting themselves from rejection when they are uncertain of a partner’s feelings by perceiving them as less attractive. 

“People may protect themselves from the possibility of a painful rejection by distancing themselves from potentially rejecting partners,” said Harry Reis, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. “People experience higher levels of sexual desire when they feel confident about a partner's interest and acceptance.” 

For one study, 51 women and 50 men ages 19 to 31 were asked to participate in an online instant messenger chat with an unknown participant in another room. 

Next, the researchers showed the participants a picture of the person they were supposedly chatting with when it was actually a member of the research team. 

The picture was a generic photo of an individual of the opposite sex. 

At the end of the chat, the researchers told the participants they could send one more message and some had replies already waiting for them while some didn’t before they were asked to send one last message. 

This helped illustrate how “uncertainty” influenced romantic attraction, and the after the chat was over, participants rated the sexual desirability of their potential partner, the person they had been messaging, on a scale of one to five. 

The more certain a person was that their chat partner was interested, the more sexually attractive those chat partners were perceived to be even though all participants were shown the same pictures. 

Sexual attraction was also influenced by certainty in long-term relationships as well, and the researchers found that knowing your partner was interested facilitated a greater desire for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tinder-dating-apps-sex-partners/">sex</a> with those partners in both men and women. 

The research shows how much uncertainty can impact our interactions with potential partners and even in long-term relationships when attraction is supposedly already established. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Knowing someone is into you increases their attractiveness, study finds

Knowing someone is into you increases their attractiveness, study finds. ...

Giraffe death calls into question zoo conditions and regulations. Zoos allow people to stand some mere feet away from wild animals they likely would have never encountered otherwise. While zoos can provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience for visitors, they can be harmful and potentially fatal for the animals they showcase.

Just last month, a giraffe died at the Lisbon Zoo while trying to reach for food from a visitor. The giraffe fell into a moat in its enclosure that was meant to separate the animals from the visitors. The 11-year-old female giraffe had made headlines last year after giving birth at the zoo.

Now the giraffe is in the news again, illustrating the risks of allowing humans and wildlife to interact so closely. Although there was a “Do Not Feed the Animals” sign next to the giraffe’s exhibit, the visitor still enticed the giraffe towards the moat with food.Giraffe death calls into question zoo conditions and regulations

In a statement, the zoo stated that the visitor who tried to feed the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giraffes-long-necks/">giraffe</a> has been identified by area police who are looking into the case.

A necropsy revealed that the giraffe died from cardio-respiratory failure as a result of its fall into the moat.

The giraffe’s baby will require additional care from the zoo staff to ensure its survival. Baby giraffes are dependent on their mothers, especially babies like the one at the Lisbon Zoo who are less than one year old.

According to<a href="http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/giraffe-birth-live/frequently-asked-questions/"> Animal Planet</a>, giraffe’s nurse from their mothers for 9 to 12 months and stay with their mother for a few months after they are done weaning. Female giraffes will live in the same herd as their mother throughout adulthood.

This is not the first case of visitors causing the death of a wild animal. In May 2016, the story of a boy falling into a gorilla’s enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo made national headlines. Zookeepers shot and killed the gorilla to protect the boy, who survived the incident.

In 2007, a Siberian tiger killed a teenage boy and injured two others after leaping from its cage at the San Francisco Zoo. Police officers shot and killed the tiger. Federal investigators believe the teenagers agitated and provoked the tiger, leading to the attack.

In a draft report for the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">United States Department of Agriculture’s</a> Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, tiger expert Laurie Gage wrote, “With my knowledge of tiger behavior I cannot imagine a tiger trying to jump out of its enclosure unless it was provoked.”

For wild animals, living in close proximity to human visitors can be stressful, even without the public directly interacting with the animals.

Research shows that the mere presence, sounds and smells of people can elicit a stress response in captive animals which can depreciate their overall welfare.

A 1988<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/zoo.1430070407"> study</a> published in Zoo Biology showed that the presence of visitors made primates less social, more aggressive and more likely to display stereotypical behavior- repetitive movements usually associated with boredom or stress. Researchers were able to reduce the changes by 50% simply by making the visitors lower their height.

A more recent 2017<a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/4/4/161017"> study</a> published in Royal Society Open Science examined fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGC) in captive meerkats to assess the effect visitors had on the animals’ stress levels.

Glucocorticoids are often used to measure stress in zoo animals. The researchers state, “The main characteristic of the physiological stress response in vertebrates is the release of glucocorticoids (cortisol, corticosterone) from the adrenal gland in response to a stressor. Glucocorticoids play an essential role in general homeostasis, and their presence at elevated concentrations can also indicate a stress response, as one of their functions is to trigger the mobilization of energy stores to allow the animal to respond to the current threat.”

The researchers found that fGC levels increased the day after a large number of people visited the meerkat exhibit. Meerkats who were visited by a low number of individuals did not have similar spikes in their fGC levels.

While not all human-wildlife interactions at zoos result in the death of an animal, it is still important to note the potential adverse effects of captivity.

Zoos can take steps to make life for these animals less stressful. For example, the researchers found that meerkats had lower levels of stress when they were housed in larger groups. Additionally, visitors should always use caution when interacting with and observing wild animals. Keeping in mind the welfare of captive animals can help prevent harmful interactions.

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Giraffe death calls into question zoo conditions and regulations

Giraffe death calls into question zoo conditions and regulations. Zoos...

More and more countries are investing in solar and wind power as a means to keep up with energy demands while reducing emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. 

Solar and wind power jobs are projected to be some of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/renewable-energy-creating-jobs/">fastest growing in the United States</a>, and in the United Kingdom, 15 percent of its power was supplied by wind turbines last year. 

But what happens when calm weather and wind shortages cause wind turbines to come to a standstill? 

This was the case recently in the UK, according to a report from the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5812811/Wind-turbines-standstill-wind-disappears-thew-UK.html">Daily Mail </a>, and it’s causing a steep drop in the amount of power supplied by renewables. 

A longer than usual “wind drought” due to high-pressure systems over the UK has drastically reduced the amount of power that wind turbines in the country currently supply. 

Over the course of the last week, low winds have resulted in wind turbines generating less than two percent of the country’s power this month, the lowest amount of power supplied through wind energy in more than two years. 

Unfortunately, the winds are not projected to pick up until later in June, the Daily Mail reports, and the low energy production calls into question the reliability of dependence on renewables. 

This past weekend, only 1 to 2 percent of the UK’s power was supplied by wind turbines, however, when wind conditions were favorable earlier in March, that number jumped to over 30 percent. 

If the UK were completely dependent on renewables, a wind drought could cause major power shortages. 

“The renewable energy family continues to perform well, powering over 30 percent of Britain's commercial and domestic needs over the last year,” Frank Gordon from the <a href="https://www.r-e-a.net/">Renewable Energy Association</a> told the Daily Mail. “Advances in energy storage technologies ensure energy stability to the grid, storing excess energy produced by renewables such as wind and solar for periods when we experience less wind or sun.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What happens to wind power when there’s no wind?

More and more countries are investing in solar and wind...

The Magic Pill doc explores benefits of the Ketogenic diet. Producer and celebrity chef Pete Evans, alongside director Rob Tate, explore diet, disease, and what they deem <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80238655">The Magic Pill</a> in their latest Netflix documentary. The film broaches the question on why the diseases killing humans today are generally preventable and not infectious like in the past. The culprit? The Industrial Revolution’s effect on how food is mass produced which led to the abundance of processed foods in contemporary diets. The film delves into this topic by following different families and individuals with “civilization diseases” such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, autism, etc. A team of dieticians begin with assessing the current diets of these families which are unsurprisingly filled with junk and replace them with whole foods to comprise a low carb/high fat diet. The film follows these people for ten weeks to discover just how much of an impact this ketogenic diet can have on their health. 

One of the most compelling stories in the film is that of the Native Aboriginals in Australia as they tell us about causes of death seen in their community over time: currently diabetes, previously infectious diseases, and historically of old age. We hear how the community has moved away from their traditional methods of catching and preparing food and replaced them with food brands like Coca Cola. Processed foods have had a rather dramatic impact on the Aboriginals since they lack access to health information, they were unaware of the sugar content in foods and drinks like soda and think it was a good diet choice. A handful of people in the community are selected to do a retreat with Hope For Health and rediscover the traditional Aboriginal diet. 

We then meet women and families in America who suffer from a long list of ailments and are on an even longer list of prescription medications to address symptoms from their various conditions. A little girl, Abigail, is introduced who has severe autism and epilepsy. She displays serious symptoms and her parents recount how difficult it has been to improve her condition even with the heavy medications prescribed to their daughter by doctors. Abigail’s story really gets to the core of the film: why is healthcare addressing symptoms and outputs of disease instead of looking at what people are eating and fueling their bodies with? 

As we see these families desperate to reverse the decline of their health, healthcare professionals recount the history of how the government promoted a diet high in carbs and low in fats. According to the film, the public during the 1950s was fixated on preventing heart disease and it became a massive issue. Dr. Ancel Keys believed the cause came from eating a diet high in saturated fats and was able to insert his ideas into the American Heart Association. This led to the food pyramid most children learn in school and the massive body of advice that encourages a diet high in whole grains, lean proteins, and very low in fats. However, the only study to support this notion was the Seven Countries Study which related high cholesterol from animal fats to heart disease. Unfortunately for all this health advice, the film debunks the study also done by Keys as tainted by his handpicking of countries and data to support his already formed ideas. The Magic Pill doc explores benefits of the Ketogenic diet 

On the other end of the spectrum of dietary advice author and neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter, explains why the reverse diet is actually the best option and explains the term ketogenic; “There’s no question that the brain can burn glucose, what powers the brain far more efficiently in terms of its energy producing components, called the mitochondria, is fat. Our brains thrive in a fat burning environment, now technically we call this a state of ketosis, to get into a state of ketosis one assumes a ketogenic diet which basically means a diet that is low in carbs and higher in fats. Being in a mild state of ketosis is really the place to be.” 

The Ketogenic diet brings hope to the families struggling with health issues as we see it improve wellbeing and symptoms in everyone the film introduces. Cancer is cured, Autistic symptoms subside to reveal vibrant children, weight is lost, medications thrown out, and the list goes on of positive impacts caused by this diet. Ready to give The Magic Pill a try yourself? A wholesome, natural diet, rich in fats and low in carbohydrates is a good place to start. 

To learn more, watch The Magic Pill on Netflix. 

--

By <a href="mailto:bianca@earth.com">Bianca Vierra</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The Magic Pill doc explores benefits of the Ketogenic diet

The Magic Pill doc explores benefits of the Ketogenic diet....

The magic number of people needed for social change to catch on. Researchers have identified the tipping point that is needed for large-scale social change, such as major changes in the workplace. The experts have determined that around 25 percent of people must agree on a social norm before it can be modified.

Acceptable social norms are constantly shifting on issues like gay marriage, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stricter-gun-laws-firearm-injuries/">gun laws</a>, or race and gender equality. On social media, ideas are also constantly changing about what is or is not acceptable to post.

In the last few decades, there have been many studies focused on finding the critical number needed for a social tipping point, but these investigations were based solely on observation. Yet, social dynamics are complicated, and cannot be predicted simply based on history or observation. 

In the past, researchers collectively concluded that social tipping points can range anywhere between 10 and 40 percent of a population.

Dr. Damon Centola is an associate professor at the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a>'s Annenberg School for Communication and the lead author of the current study.

“What we were able to do in this study was to develop a theoretical model that would predict the size of the critical mass needed to shift group norms, and then test it experimentally,” said Dr. Centola.

For the investigation, 10 groups of study participants were given financial incentive to agree on a linguistic norm. Once a norm had been established, a separate group of “confederates” pushed for a change to the norm.

When the percentage of the overall group pushing for change was below 25 percent, the efforts failed. However, when the group committed to change reached 25 percent, there was an abrupt shift in the group dynamic, and the majority of the population quickly adopted the new norm. In one trial, a single person accounted for the difference between success and failure.

“When a community is close to a tipping point to cause large-scale social change, there's no way they would know this,” said Dr. Centola. “And if they're just below a tipping point, their efforts will fail. But remarkably, just by adding one more person, and getting above the 25% tipping point, their efforts can have rapid success in changing the entire population's opinion.”

Dr. Centola believes that social environments can be designed to push people in prosocial directions, particularly in the workplace, where people's personal rewards are tied directly to their ability to behave in ways that their peers find acceptable. 

The professor has now developed an online method to test how large-scale social dynamics can be changed, based on over 10 years of experimental work.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The magic number of people needed for social change to catch on

The magic number of people needed for social change to...

We all know that getting enough <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-loss-countrys-economy/">sleep</a> each night is important for feeling healthy and alert the next morning, and that inadequate sleep can lead to health issues further down the road. But a new study has found that the amount of sleep people get may affect their mortality rate and risk of developing cognitive disorders like dementia – and lots of sleep isn’t always good.

A team of researchers from <a href="http://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/">Kyushu University</a> in Japan led a study that involved over 1,500 elderly people without dementia in a Japanese community. All individuals were prospectively screened for dementia for a ten-year period, and were asked to report how they slept. The participants were categorized into five groups: those who slept less than five hours; between five and 6.9; seven to 7.9; eight to 9.9; and more than 10.

By the end of the ten-year period, 294 of the 1,517 participants had developed dementia, and 282 had died. The results showed that those who slept fewer than five hours or more than 10 hours had a significantly greater risk of dementia and early mortality than those who slept between 5 and 6.9 hours. It was also determined that individuals who used sleeping pills had a higher risk of death or dementia than participants in the five to 6.9 hour group who didn’t.

However, the researchers found that the risk was lower for individuals who were physically active – which was defined as “engaging in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity at work or regular exercise.” This led the authors to suggest that not only is getting a good amount of sleep important, but also exercising “may be an effective strategy for preventing dementia and premature death in elderly adults.”

Despite these findings, a new study last month involving 500 adults with dementia found that moderate- to high-intensity exercise does not reduce the symptoms of dementia on its own. Sarah Lamb, the lead author of this study published in <a href="https://www.bmj.com/">The British Medical Journal</a>, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us">The Guardian</a> that she was “disappointed” by these findings, but not surprised, as dementia is a “difficult problem to fix.”

“We don’t want to alarm members of the public with dementia and their families,” says Lamb. “We used a very specialized exercise program. We know that gentle exercise is good for you. We don’t want people to stop what they are doing.”

Overall, this research shows that there could be a number of factors at play for reducing one’s risk of dementia. Sleep is obviously a key component of health, so future research could look into the importance of the quality of sleep, as well as determine if there are an optimum number of hours we should be sleeping each night.

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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

Dementia risk increases if you get too much or too little sleep

We all know that getting enough sleep each night is...

Fishing on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/commercial-industrial-fishing-oceans/">high seas</a>, which covers 64 percent of the ocean’s surface, is unprofitable if not for government subsidies, according to a new extensive report covering the economics of fishing. 

At its current rate, profits from the high seas fishing industry range between a loss of $364 million and a profit of $1.4 billion USD. 

This is in stark contrast to operating costs ranging from $6.2 billion and $8 billion. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/">National Geographic Society</a>, the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California, Santa Barbara</a>, the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a>, and the <a href="https://www.uwa.edu.au/">University of Western Australia</a> set out to examine the profits of high seas fishing, something that previously was difficult to accurately measure. 

A high-level of secrecy around distant water fishing left many estimates open-ended. 

Now, thanks to satellite data and projects like the <a href="http://globalfishingwatch.org/">Global Fishing Watch</a> program and the <a href="http://www.seaaroundus.org/">Sea Around Us</a>, high seas fishing is more transparent which can aid in improving both fishing and ocean conservation. 

The results were published in the journal Science Advances. 

“The reason most fleets continue to operate in the high seas is that they receive government subsidies. Without subsidies and the forced labor, some of them are known for, fishing would be unprofitable in over half of the high seas fishing grounds,” said Enric Sala, the lead author of the study.

For the study, the researchers used Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) and Vessel Monitoring Systems to track 3,620 vessels and collected data on fishing activity, estimated how much fish were harvested and what the average profits were for each vessel. 

Approximately 10 million hours every year are spent fishing 13 million square kilometers of the high seas and around 4.4 million tons of catch are fished annually. 

It’s also possible that fishers are reporting less than they catch in order to keep receiving high subsidies but still turn a profit. 

What keeps many of these fishing operations underway are government subsidies and poor compensation for labor as the researchers found that overall high seas fishing is unprofitable. 

“In many parts of the high seas, subsidies are propping up fishing activity to levels far beyond what would otherwise be economically rational,” said Christopher Costello, a member of the research team. “This implies that through targeted subsidy reforms, we could save taxpayers money, rebuild fish stocks, and eventually lead to higher value, lower volume fisheries.” 

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By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

High seas fishing is unprofitable without government subsidies

Fishing on the high seas, which covers 64 percent of...

The bond between a dog and their owner is a strong one, but how exactly does this connection form so cohesively and how does it impact human brain chemistry? 

Dog expert and author Meg Olmert spoke in-depth about just how exactly dogs affect our brain chemistry, and how a relationship between canines and humans that started 45,000 years ago has become such an integral part of our lives today.

It all boils down to hormones, particularly the pleasure hormones like dopamine and oxytocin.

Olmert told <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-having-dog-affects-your-body-brain-pet-oxytocin-animal-baby-2018-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">Business Insider</a> that seeing and petting your dog releases oxytocin in the brain. 

Oxytocin is a central hormone for bonding between mothers and their children and it promotes breast milk production in mammals. 

The fact that oxytocin strengthens mother and child bonds  helps explain why the connection with a pet can be so strong.

Spending time with your pet also alleviates stress as a result of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-loves-smile/">mood-boosting hormones released</a> after interacting with your four-legged friend.

“You release oxytocin, the opioids, adrenaline, and serotonin. So, all of these great reward chemicals and anti-stress chemicals can be released in both you and the pet,” Olmert told Business Insider.

Not all dogs produce this response according to Olmert. When people are faced with any dog off the street, or even different breeds, the brain reacts in different ways.

Some breeds that are perceived as more aggressive like pit bulls or rottweilers will increase heart rate and anxiety, even triggering the fight or flight response.

“Dogs perceived as being fierce will trigger a different hormonal profile (increased cortisol, adrenaline, etc). They may not be an actual threat to illicit this defensive response,” Olmert told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5807069/Dogs-trigger-release-dopamine-oxytocin-way-children.html">Daily Mail</a>.

On the other hand, dogs from breeds that are considered more social and loyal like golden retrievers will trigger more of the pleasure response and oxytocin.

Having a pet can be a greatly rewarding experience as studies have shown that owning a dog comes with many health benefits, and Olmert’s work helps explain why the bond between pets and humans are so strong and long-lasting.

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How your bond with your dog changes your brain

The bond between a dog and their owner is a...

When the weather gets colder, heart attacks get more lethal. A <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-tea-prevent-heart-attack/">heart attack</a> is one of the most common causes of death in the world, and can seemingly strike at any time. But according to new research, it’s actually more likely to kill you in the winter than in the summer.

Cardiologists at <a href="http://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/patients-visitors/our-hospitals/leeds-general-infirmary/">Leeds General Infirmary</a> analyzed information from over 4,000 people who received treatment for a heart attack across four separate years. The results showed that the most severe heart attacks were at their deadliest in the coldest six months of the year. Although the overall number of heart attacks was about the same in the coldest half of the year compared to the warmest, the risk of dying within 30 days of a severe heart attack was almost 50% higher in the six coldest months.

Not everyone who has a heart attack has cardiac arrest. However, heart attacks can lead to cardiac arrest – when the heart stops pumping blood – and cardiogenic shock, which is when the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. In the United Kingdom, about 30% of the people who go to the hospital for a heart attack end up surviving. Safe to say, in the winter months the chance of survival likely goes down. When the weather gets colder, heart attacks get more lethal

"There is no physical reason why a heart attack, even the most severe, should be more deadly in winter than in summer so we must do further research to find the cause of this difference and remedy it,” says Dr. Arvin Krishnamurthy, the lead researcher from Leeds General Infirmary. “The next step is to find out if this trend is seen nationwide.”

Possibly explanations for this phenomenon could be the longer time to treatment, extended hospitalization and delays to discharge, as well as the increased prevalence of infections in the winter.

“You obviously can’t choose when you have a major heart attack, but it shouldn’t have such an impact on your chances of surviving,” says Metin Avkiran, the Associate Medical Director at the <a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/">British Heart Foundation</a>. “It’s vital we carry out more research to find out why there are these differences, as well as continuing to do all we can to stop people having heart attacks in the first place. Although we’ve made huge strides in the last 50 years, we must urgently fund more research to continue to drive down the number of heart attacks and ensure more people can live full lives even after a heart attack.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

When the weather gets colder, heart attacks get more lethal

When the weather gets colder, heart attacks get more lethal....

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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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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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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