It’s no secret that missing sleep can leave you feeling sluggish. But even just a few nights of poor rest may be silently working against your heart. 



A new study shows that limited sleep triggers changes at the molecular level, and that these are linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.



Scientists from <a href="https://www.uu.se/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Uppsala University</a> conducted the study in a carefully controlled laboratory environment. The goal was to uncover how sleep deprivation impacts specific proteins in the blood that are associated with inflammation and heart problems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-closer-look-at-sleep-and-heart-health">A closer look at sleep and heart health</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-twenties-can-make-or-break-your-heart-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heart health</a> depends on many things - diet, exercise, stress, and sleep. While large studies have linked chronic sleep loss to heart attacks and strokes, it’s been harder to pin down exactly what happens inside the body when sleep is lacking.



The research team worked with 16 healthy young men, all of whom had a normal body weight and no known <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-problems-linked-to-higher-risk-of-stroke/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep problems</a>.



Over two sessions in a lab, participants were monitored under tightly controlled conditions. They ate identical meals, followed the same activity levels, and completed 30 minutes of intense exercise each session. 



The only difference was that one session included three nights of full sleep. The other allowed just four hours of sleep per night.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-body-s-reaction-to-sleep-loss">The body's reaction to sleep loss</h2>



By analyzing morning and evening blood samples, the team examined the levels of around 90 different proteins. What they found was striking.



The levels of many inflammatory proteins increased after <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-deprivation-increases-the-risk-of-stroke-by-70-percent/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep deprivation</a>. These same proteins have already been linked to heart conditions such as coronary artery disease and heart failure.



“Unfortunately, nearly half of all Swedes regularly experience disturbed sleep, and this is particularly common among shift workers," said Jonathan Cedernaes, a physician at Uppsala University who led the study.



"That is why we wanted to try to identify mechanisms that affect how lack of sleep can increase the risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-century-of-progress-in-the-fight-against-cardiovascular-disease/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cardiovascular disease</a>. Ultimately, the purpose was to identify opportunities to address these problems."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sleep-deprivation-and-heart-health">Sleep deprivation and heart health</h2>



The fact that these changes were found in young, otherwise healthy men after just a few nights of short sleep makes the finding even more significant.



Much of the research previously conducted on sleep deprivation and its impact on cardiovascular health has focused on older individuals who already have an increased risk. 



According to Cedernaese, this is why it was important to study levels of these proteins in younger individuals.



"It was interesting that the levels of these proteins increased in the same way in younger and previously perfectly healthy individuals after only a few nights of sleep deprivation," said Cedernaes.



"This means that it’s important to emphasise the importance of sleep for cardiovascular health even early in life."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-about-exercise">What about exercise?</h2>



The study also examined how physical activity affects the body under different rest conditions. Several proteins tied to the benefits of exercise increased regardless of rest levels. Still, the body's overall response to exercise showed some variation when rest was limited.



The researchers had already observed that working out without proper rest may place extra stress on heart muscle cells.



“With this study, we have improved our understanding of what role the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seven-hours-is-the-ideal-amount-of-sleep-from-middle-age-on/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amount of sleep</a> we get plays in cardiovascular health," said Cedernaes. 



"It’s important to point out that studies have also shown that physical exercise can offset at least some of the negative effects that poor sleep can cause. But it's also important to note that exercise cannot replace the essential functions of sleep." 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



While this study was focused on young men, many questions remain. Could the same changes happen in women, older adults, or people with existing health issues?



“Further research is needed to investigate how these effects might differ in women, older individuals, patients with heart disease, or those with different sleep patterns," said Cedernaes.



"Our ongoing research will hopefully help to develop better guidelines on how sleep, exercise and other lifestyle factors can be harnessed to better prevent cardiovascular diseases.” 



In the meantime, the message is clear: getting enough sleep is not just about feeling well-rested - it could be one of the simplest ways to take care of your heart.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://biomarkerres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40364-025-00776-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biomarker Research</a>.



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Sleep deprivation has a bigger impact on heart health than expected

It’s no secret that missing sleep can leave you feeling sluggish. But even just a few nights of poor rest may be silently working against your heart. A new study shows that limited sleep triggers changes at the molecular level, and that these are linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Scientists from Uppsala University conducted the study in a carefully controlled laboratory environment. The goal was to uncover how sleep deprivation impacts specific proteins in the blood that are associated with inflammation and heart problems....

With the rising trend of standing desks, more and more people are realizing the negative impact that sitting all day can have on their health.

Even though studies on the actual health benefits of standing desks themselves <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-truth-behind-standing-desks-2016092310264">are few and far between</a>, it’s assumed that standing is a healthier alternative with long-lasting results. 

Getting up and walking periodically throughout the day, stretching, and exercising during your lunch break are all suggestions meant to offset the harmful risks of sitting for extended periods. 

While the studies on standing desks are limited, there has been extensive research examining how sitting affects your health. Sitting for long periods of time is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and premature death. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.ucla.edu/">University of California-Los Angeles</a> set out to see how sitting influenced the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/older-adults-brain-cells/">brain</a> and cognitive functioning. 

The results, published in the journal PLOS ONE, show that sitting may contribute to thinning in the brain. 

For the study, the researchers asked 35 people ages 35 to 75 about physical activity levels and the average number of hours per day spent sitting over the previous week. 

The participants also underwent MRI scans which allowed the researchers to closely examine changes in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), a region of the brain that is crucial for forming new memories. 

After analyzing the brain scans, the researchers found that sitting and sedentary behavior has a major impact on thinning of the MTL. What’s worse, even physical activity does not combat these harmful effects. 

Thinning of the MTL is an indicator of cognitive decline and even dementia in older adults, and the results could help create preventive strategies for reducing sedentary behavior. 

The researchers are careful to state that sitting does not directly cause thinning in the brain, only that sedentary behavior and extended periods of sitting is linked to thinning of the MLT. 

Next, the researchers plan to conduct a longer study on the effects of sitting to see what role gender, race, and weight might have when it comes it brain health. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sitting for extended periods could increase the risk of dementia

With the rising trend of standing desks, more and more...

Researchers are reporting that the 100th meridian west, the longitude that forms an invisible boundary between the humid eastern United States and the arid western plains, is gradually shifting eastward due to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/political-split-climate-change/">climate change.</a>

According to two recent studies, the dry climate of the West is expanding into the Midwest and will impact the future of farming and other pursuits. The experts have also established that this divide across North America is actually very real, with distinctive populations and agriculture on each side.

American geologist and explorer John Wesley Powell identified the 100th meridian in 1878. While the location of this longitudinal line is exact, the boundary that it represents is much more gradual.

In 1890, Powell wrote: “Passing from east to west across this belt a wonderful transformation is observed. On the east a luxuriant growth of grass is seen, and the gaudy flowers of the order Compositae make the prairie landscape beautiful.”

“Passing westward, species after species of luxuriant grass and brilliant flowering plants disappear; the ground gradually becomes naked, with bunch grasses her and there; now and then a thorny cactus is seen, and the yucca plant thrusts out its sharp bayonets.” 

Richard Seager is a climate scientist at Columbia University's <a href="http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/">Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory</a> and the lead author of both studies.

“Powell talked eloquently about the 100th meridian, and this concept of a boundary line has stayed with us down to the current day,” said Seager. “We wanted to ask whether there really is such a divide, and whether it's influenced human settlement." 

Global-scale wind patterns cause rainfall to sharply decline to the west of the divide, while rainfall significantly increases east of the line. Powell explained that the drier conditions of the western plains are primarily due to the proximity of the Rocky Mountains, which block the majority of the moisture coming in from the Pacific Ocean.

Seager's team has now identified two other contributing factors to the arid climate in the West. In the wintertime, Atlantic storms transfer an abundance of moisture into the eastern plains and into the Southeast, but this moisture does not travel far enough to reach the western plains. In addition, moisture from the Gulf of Mexico moves northward in the summer but then moves eastward.

According to the researchers, global warming appears to be shifting the 100th meridian west to the east. While rainfall has not changed much in the northern plains, temperatures are rising and increasing the evaporation process. Meanwhile, less rain is falling further south.

Data collected since 1980 indicates that the statistical divide between the humid and arid areas of the continent has now shifted closer to the 98th meridian, which is 140 miles east of the 100th meridian. 

Seager acknowledged that there are year-to-year variations, but he said that aridity will likely continue to move eastward over the course of this century and ultimately lead to large-scale changes. 

Farms in the East will have to consolidate, and farmers will need to find more suitable crops for the drier climate. Large regions of cropland will fail, and water shortages could become an issue for urban areas.

The studies are both published in the journal <a href="http://www.earthinteractions.org/">Earth Interactions</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: Modified from Seager et al. Earth Interactions, 2018

Global warming may be shifting U.S. climate boundaries

Researchers are reporting that the 100th meridian west, the longitude...

According to a new study, people who tend to stay up late have a 10 percent higher risk of dying sooner than people who naturally go to bed early, who are referred to as “larks.” 

The analysis involved nearly half a million participants from the UK Biobank Study. The researchers found that 50,000 of these individuals who were classified as night owls were more likely to die younger than those who were not.

Study co-lead author Kristen Knutson is an associate professor of Neurology at <a href="http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine</a>.

“Night owls trying to live in a morning lark world may have health consequences for their bodies,” said Knutson.

While previous research has been focused on the higher rates of metabolic dysfunction and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/football-players-cardiovascular-problems/">cardiovascular disease</a> found in people who go to sleep in later hours, this study is the first to examine mortality risk.

“This is a public health issue that can no longer be ignored,” said study co-author Malcolm von Schantz.

“We should discuss allowing evening types to start and finish work later, where practical. And we need more research about how we can help evening types cope with the higher effort of keeping their body clock in synchrony with sun time.”

Professor Knutson explained some of the possible underlying causes of the link between night owls and premature death.

“It could be that people who are up late have an internal biological clock that doesn't match their external environment,” said Knutson. 

“It could be psychological stress, eating at the wrong time for their body, not exercising enough, not sleeping enough, being awake at night by yourself, maybe drug or alcohol use. There are a whole variety of unhealthy behaviors related to being up late in the dark by yourself.”

It is also harder for late-night individuals to adjust to daylight savings time.

“There are already reports of higher incidence of heart attacks following the switch to summer time,” says von Schantz. “And we have to remember that even a small additional risk is multiplied by more than 1.3 billion people who experience this shift every year. I think we need to seriously consider whether the suggested benefits outweigh these risks.”

Researchers have previously reported that genetics and environment play essentially equal roles in whether people are night owls or early birds.

“You're not doomed,” said Professor Knutson. “Part of it you don't have any control over and part of it you might.”

She explained that there are ways that people can transition away from staying up late, such as adopting a more regimented sleep schedule. Professor Knutson also recommended getting exposure to light early in the morning, but not at nighttime.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/icbi20">Chronobiology International</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Being a night owl increases your risk of premature death

According to a new study, people who tend to stay...

A man-made oyster reef near Coffee Island in Mobile Bay, Alabama, a site of oyster reef restoration led by The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy’s Gulf of Mexico Program is a partnership among our five Gulf State Chapters to accomplish conserva

As <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/map-impact-climate-change/">climate change</a> increases the risk of flooding along the Gulf Coast of the United States, researchers have found that oyster reef and marsh restoration projects could cost effectively reduce this risk. The study revealed that these solutions could save over $50 billion in flood damages across the region.

Oyster reefs, coastal wetlands, barrier islands, and beach dunes provide coastal protection by weakening wave energy, trapping sediments, and reducing the force of storm surge.

The experts analyzed the cost effectiveness of nature-based and artificial solutions for flood reduction across the Gulf of Mexico. They established wetland and reef restoration could generate benefit-to-cost ratios greater than seven to one. In other words, the projects would produce more than $7 in flood-reduction benefits for every $1 spent on restoration.

Some of the other artificial solutions investigated, such home elevation or levees, have benefit-to-cost ratios near or below one-to-one. While these types of solutions can be very beneficial, they are expensive to implement.

The researchers estimated the flood risks to both people and property for the entire Gulf Coast under current and future climate scenarios and economic growth projections. They determined that future flood risks from coastal hazards will increase, and that coastal development is a major driver of risk along the Gulf of Mexico. As more people and property are exposed to coastal hazards, the flood risk grows.

The research team also found that events causing $100 billion dollars in damage could become three times as frequent in the coming decades.

Study lead author Michael Beck is a research professor at <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California Santa Cruz</a> and the lead marine scientist at the Nature Conservancy.

“We show that nature-based measures for flood reduction can be considered right alongside artificial or gray measures such as seawalls in industry-based benefit-cost models,” said Beck. “This removes a major impediment for engineers, insurers, and risk management agencies for building coastal resilience more naturally.”

According to the study, nature-based solutions alone could help prevent more than 45 percent of the climate risk over the course of twenty years with a savings of over $50 billion in flood damages.

The research team has developed software  that includes interactive maps showing the cost effectiveness of nature-based solutions under future climate and development scenarios. The open-source software is available at <a href="http://coastalresilience.org/">coastalresilience.org</a>.

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

Image Credit: The Nature Conservancy

Gulf coast restoration could avert $50 billion in flood damages

As climate change increases the risk of flooding along the...

The idea of ‘Clean Meat’ is simple.  Instead of raising a cow and taking a life for meat, you grow it in a lab.  Lab grown meat is said to be humane, as strings of muscle (and in the future, fat) tissue cultured without a nervous system have no way to suffer, so it’s even questionable whether the tissue is alive in any real sense.

<a href="http://www.hsi.org/">Humane Society International</a> and <a href="http://www.ccmb.res.in/">Centre for Cellular &amp; Molecular Biology</a> are pushing quick development of lab cultured meat on an industrial level.  Already in 2013, a burger was made from cultured meat and sold for $330,000, reports <a href="https://gizmodo.com/">Gizmodo</a>.  The burger being made of cultured muscle fibers without fat was said to be palatable but not delicious.  Researchers are working on developing lab cultured fat to increase the flavor of clean meat. 

<a href="http://vegnews.com/">Vegnews.com</a> reports that cultured meat is set to hit stores in India by 2025.  According to the <a href="http://www.fao.org/about/en/">Food and Agriculture Organization</a> of the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a>, 42 percent of households in India report as being vegetarian.  In the context of the FAO survey, vegetarian means that the households didn’t consume any type of meat or eggs, a higher standard than most U.S. vegetarians.

In <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/india-cannon-air-pollution/">India</a>, vegetarianism is often connected to religious or spiritual ideals, including the ideal of treating other animals with compassion.  It would make sense that meat cultured without any taint of animal mistreatment or even death may go over well in India.

It seems that cultured meat may also make more sense for environmentalists.  Still in its early stages, it’s hard to estimate the environmental impact of large scale industrial production of cultured meat.  Initial studies seem to indicate that lab cultured meat will likely have less impact than traditional meat. 

A study quoted on <a href="https://gizmodo.com/">Gizmodo</a> calculated that 1000 kg cultured meat will produce 1900 to 2240 Kg of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.  Another study from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/">Science Direct</a> calculates one ton of packaged chicken meat (~907 Kg) creates 2931.91 Kg of CO2 equivalent.  The study also shows that the main source of greenhouse gas emissions in chicken production come from production and transportation of chicken food and on farm emissions.  In fact, transportation alone is 13 percent of energy consumption in chicken meat production, a cost that will remain with cultured meat. 

Several businesses are already clambering to develop their own version of cruelty free, lab cultured meat.  It seems likely that when processes of production are patented, cultured meat will be expensive, especially initially.  The first $330,000 cultured burger is a good indication of the startup cost. 

A report in the Journal of Hunger &amp; Environmental Nutrition reports that vegetarians save an average of $750 per year on groceries compared to meat eaters.  This statistic is no surprise to me as a vegetarian myself for years. One must wonder who is set to benefit from the introduction of cultured meat to India, a country with a long history of widespread vegetarianism as well as widespread poverty. 

I am suspicious of a solution that seems to allow you to have your cow and eat your burger too.  The difference between a cultured burger and simply being vegetarian seems to me the difference between riding a cable car up and down the Grand Canyon and hiking it yourself.  The solution to the environmental, health and financial cost of meat is already there: going vegetarian. Letting people get away with less willpower doesn’t seem like a good place to start in an endeavor.  In my opinion, cultured meat is a cheap trick and one that in the long run will cost us in ways it’s hard to fathom now. 

Introducing a guilt free way of consuming meat to India is likely to have health implications.  It may also squelch the growth of more vegetarian options in the U.S. and elsewhere, from more wholly vegetarian restaurants to veggie burgers now found in Burger King.

According to <a href="https://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/">HealthKnowledge UK</a>, dramatic increases in prevalence of type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease has been shown in South East Asians in other parts of the world, such as the UK, as opposed to their home countries.  The point is that people from places like India eat like people from the UK (or the US), they get sicker. More Indians eating meat, cultured or not, seems likely to benefit tech food companies more than Indians themselves.  

When it comes to health and a healthy world, we should ask ourselves: are we willing to pay the cost or are we going to try to use technology to barter for a lower price tag?        

--

By <a href="mailto: zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Clean meat: Can you have your cow and eat your burger, too?

The idea of ‘Clean Meat’ is simple.  Instead of raising...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.fsu.edu/">Florida State University</a> are reporting that urban areas throughout the Florida peninsula are experiencing shorter yet increasingly intense wet seasons compared to rural areas.

The study is shedding new light on how seasonal climate conditions are being impacted by land development.

The researchers mapped the correlation between the length of the wet season and land development using a system that measured urban land cover on a scale of one to four.

“What we found is a trend of decreasing wet-season length in Florida's urban areas compared to its rural areas,” said lead author Vasu Misra.

The investigation revealed that land cover changes in the past four to six decades has led to a shorter wet season by 3.5 hours per year in most of the urban areas examined in the study. On the other hand, seasonal rainfall accumulation patterns did not significantly change in these regions during the same time frame.

“In other words, the urban areas experience the same amount of rainfall as the rural areas but in a shorter amount of time,” said Misra. “Therefore, the hourly rain rate is stronger in urban regions. This suggests that urban areas are receiving the rainfall in shorter, more intense bursts - particularly during the summer months.”

The findings of this study are consistent with a growing collection of research which has found that rapid urbanization can directly affect local weather systems. 

“The strong relationship between land cover and these trends in rainfall seems to suggest that land cover has everything to do with changing wet seasons,” said Misra. “I think this has some very strong implications for urban planning in Florida as well as for Florida's hydroclimate.”


The exact cause of more intense and shorter wet seasons in urban areas has not yet been established.

“We have theories, but whether those theories are actually representative of what's happening in nature has not been investigated intensively in the context of what we are observing in Florida. We don't have enough data available at our disposal,” explained Misra.

Regardless, the research suggests that the trend will continue as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flamingos-comeback-florida/">Florida's</a> metropolitan areas continue to grow.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/npjclimatsci">npj Climate and Atmospheric Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Urban development has caused more intense wet seasons in Florida

Researchers at Florida State University are reporting that urban areas...

Wildfire smoke is extra dangerous for seniors. The <a href="http://heart.org/">American Heart Association</a> is warning that smoke from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smoke-toxic-gases-wildfires/">wildfires</a> has been linked to heart and stroke-related issues, particularly in older adults. While it has been previously established that wildfire smoke worsens respiratory conditions, its effect on other aspects of health has been unclear.

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California San Francisco</a>, the California Department of Public Health, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency collaborated for one of the largest studies on the health impacts of wildfires in California to date.

The experts analyzed over one million emergency room visits in northern and central California during intense wildfires in the summer of 2015. They investigated the relative risk of visits for complications of the heart, brain, and blood vessels on days with light, medium, or dense smoke and compared this data to days with no wildfire smoke.

The study revealed that smoke exposure is linked to increased rates of emergency room visits for respiratory problems, ischemic heart disease, irregular heart rhythm, heart failure, pulmonary embolism, and stroke. 

Adults aged 65 and older were found to be the most at risk. Within 24 hours of dense wildfire smoke, rates of emergency room visits among senior adults increased by 42 percent for heart attacks and by 22 percent for ischemic heart disease.

Furthermore, emergency room visits for all cardiovascular and cerebrovascular causes were found to be elevated across days with any level of smoke exposure. As expected, the number of patients with respiratory conditions also increased.

Study co-author Wayne E. Cascio believes that the research “will have a significant impact on how clinicians and public health officials view future wildfire events and the smoke that's generated from them.”

First author Zachary S. Wettstein pointed out that, as wildfires are expected to become more intense and frequent in North America, more research is needed to understand the wide range of health impacts from smoke exposure. 


“We need to study effective interventions that might decrease exposure to smoke and the associated health impacts,” said Wettstein. “These findings urge us to study these impacts over longer periods of time and within susceptible populations.”

The study is published in the <a href="http://jaha.ahajournals.org/">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

Wildfire smoke is extra dangerous for seniors

Wildfire smoke is extra dangerous for seniors. The American Heart...

Apple announced this week that the company has achieved its goal of using 100 percent renewable energy for all global facilities. Now that the organization has reached this ambitious target, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/apple-rated-eco-friendly/">Apple</a> product suppliers are being encouraged to transition to clean power as well.

“We’re committed to leaving the world better than we found it,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

“After years of hard work we’re proud to have reached this significant milestone. We’re going to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the materials in our products, the way we recycle them, our facilities and our work with suppliers to establish new creative and forward-looking sources of renewable energy because we know the future depends on it.”

Apple sells tens of millions of electronic devices every year, and the corporation previously reported that 77 percent of its carbon emissions are generated from the manufacturing of these products.

For this reason, Apple launched a green energy plan in 2015 with a goal of converting all energy usage in China to clean power. The corporation has now exceeded this target by using renewable energy in its facilities worldwide after launching wind and solar projects across parts of China, Japan, and the United States. Most recently, 25 new projects have added up to 625 megawatts of generation capacity.

Lisa Jackson is Apple's Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. She explained in an interview that the renewable energy projects are not costing the company any more than they would have already been spending.

“We're seeing the benefits of an increasingly competitive clean energy market,” said Jackson.

Back in 2015, the company developed the Clean Energy Portal, which offers regional guidance and tools to help suppliers transition to clean power sources. So far, 23 of Apple's suppliers have committed to making the switch.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Apple is now 100 percent powered by clean energy

Apple announced this week that the company has achieved its...

Some of archaeology's biggest mysteries involve the famous Nazca lines in <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/yaguas-river-northeast-peru/">Peru</a>. Thousands of these ancient shapes, or geoglyphs, are scattered across the desert in the Nazca province in Peru. 

Created by the Nazca people who date back from 200 to 700 BCE, the shapes are the result of meticulously arranged red pebbles. 

The designs are so expansive that some are only fully observable from the air while others were created on the sides of hills so villages below would be able to see them.

This may be why Peruvian archaeologists recently discovered over fifty new Nazca lines thanks to drone technology.

The new lines mostly depict warriors and animals and some are hundreds of years older than previously studied Nazca lines, leading the researchers to believe that they were created by older communities like the Paracas and Topará cultures between 500 B.C to 200 A.D.

Some shapes are so worn and faded they were only confirmed as Nazca lines with 3-d scans captured by drones.

[caption id="attachment_1200618" align="aligncenter" width="996"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Nazca-lines-1.png"><img class="size-large wp-image-1200618" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Nazca-lines-1-1024x552.png" alt="" width="996" height="537" /></a> Image Credit: National Geographic[/caption]

“This means that it is a tradition of over a thousand years that precedes the famous geoglyphs of the Nazca culture, which opens the door to new hypotheses about its function and meaning,” Johny Isla, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture archaeologist and chief restorer and protector of the Nazca lines, told <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic</a>.

The new discoveries may have gone long undetected had it not been for a new program that uses drones and satellites to monitor important archaeological sites in order to prevent looting.

According to <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/04/new-nasca-nazca-lines-discovery-peru-archaeology/?beta=true">National Geographic</a>, volunteers looking at satellite photos of Peru flagged certain potential problem areas where looting may have occurred.

[caption id="attachment_1200620" align="aligncenter" width="996"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Nazca-lines-2.png"><img class="size-large wp-image-1200620" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Nazca-lines-2-1024x554.png" alt="" width="996" height="539" /></a> Image Credit: National Geographic[/caption]

This was part of an initiative called GlobalXplorer created by Sarah Parcak, an explorer for <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic</a>.

The goal of GlobalXplorer is to train “citizen scientists” to review satellite imagery and notice signs of looting.

When Peruvian archaeologists went to photograph the sites with drones, they found the new designs.

What’s notable about the finds is what they can tell archaeologists about life during the time the lines were created.

According to Isla, the discovery only adds to the body of knowledge surrounding these puzzling shapes and which is all the more reason to protect and manage sites of similar historical significance.

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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

Image Credit: <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/04/new-nasca-nazca-lines-discovery-peru-archaeology/?beta=true">National Geographic</a>

Drones reveal undiscovered Nazca lines in Peruvian desert

Some of archaeology's biggest mysteries involve the famous Nazca lines...

Imagine if combating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-insecurity-climate-change/">climate change</a> also meant recycling harmful carbon emissions into products we use every day?

It’s a solution that could bolster global markets, aid in infrastructure and create new, innovative technologies without doing further harm to the environment.

For ten finalists in the <a href="https://carbon.xprize.org/">NRG COSIA Carbon XPrize</a> competition, it’s a goal worth reaching for.

The Carbon XPrize competition is a 20-million-dollar contest that gives carbon cyclers a chance to test innovative technologies that transport CO2 emissions from power plants into everything from plastics, fuel, to shoes and concrete.

At this point in the competition, the ten teams that were picked as finalists will get to test their ideas at real power plants in the US and Canada.

There is more carbon dioxide in the planet’s atmosphere <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/24/graphic-the-relentless-rise-of-carbon-dioxide/">than ever before in recorded history</a>, and finding a way to prevent CO2 from reaching the atmosphere would be a big step in reducing the impacts of climate change.

“The point is to try to move the needle on climate and energy,” said Marcius Extavour, the XPrize Senior Director of Energy and Resources told<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5587933/20M-XPrize-selects-finalists-competition-transform-carbon-emissions-useful-products.html"> Daily Mail</a>. “Recycling CO2 emissions alone is not going to solve the climate problem, but it could be a really important part of the mix.”

38 teams of competitors first entered the contest and were judged by how much CO2 their technologies could convert and the overall value of the products in question. 

The ten finalists include Breathe (based in India), Carbon Capture Machine (from Scotland), Canada-based CarbonCure, Carbon Upcycling UCLA (based in Los Angeles), and Canada- based Carbicrete and Carbon Upcycling Technologies.

Of these, five teams over the course of the next two years will work at a coal-fired power plant in Wyoming and the other five will work at a natural gas-powered plant in Alberta, Canada.

While they work at the two sites, the teams will collect data in order to gain a better scope of what their carbon footprint is in comparison to the amount to CO2 they are able to recycle.

Carbon is not traditionally thought of as an ingredient but this competition sheds light on how much carbon is used in everyday things.

The problem is that in making these products, more emissions are created, so these technologies are a way to create a cyclical process where emissions are harvested, used, and emitted and harvested again.

“We take carbon out of the ground, we use it, we dump it,” Extavour told Daily Mail. “But we can wrap this chain around itself. Instead of using more fossil fuels like carbon, coal, oil and gas, we can use CO2 emissions as a base for many materials.” 

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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

Recycling carbon emissions into concrete, shoes and plastic

Imagine if combating climate change also meant recycling harmful carbon...

According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_sodium.htm">Centers for Disease Control</a> (CDC), Americans have a salt problem and consume far more sodium than we need. 

Around 90 percent of Americans over the age of two consume more 3,400 milligrams of sodium every day. The recommended daily intake of sodium is less than 2,300 mg. 

These high-salt diets increase the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and gastric cancers, and more than 1.5 million CVD deaths every year can be linked to a high sodium levels. 

A new study has found that following voluntary sodium reduction goals proposed by the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/">United States Food and Drug Administration</a> (FDA) would reduce health risks and deaths attributed to high sodium and CVD. 

The FDA’s reduction goals are aimed at processed and commercially prepared foods, and the researchers set out to calculate the potential economic and health benefits if these goals were met. 

The study was conducted by researchers at the<a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/"> University of Liverpool</a>, <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London </a>and the <a href="https://nutrition.tufts.edu/">Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts</a>. 

Published in the journal PLOS Medicine, the study details the high-costs of excess <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salt-dangerous-healthy-diet/">salt</a> consumption, and not just limited to health risks. 

Potential health and economic impacts were calculated in three different scenarios where various targets of the FDA’s sodium goals were met over a 20 year period. 

The three scenarios were an optimal scenario with 100 percent compliance across the United States, a modest scenario with 50 percent compliance, and a pessimistic scenario wherein targets were met with 100 percent compliance but only for 2 years. 

The optimal scenario could prevent around 450,000 CVD cases and save an estimated $40 billion over the 20 year period. 

The modest scenario, which cuts the optimal scenario in half would produce economic and health benefits that are half as great as the optimal scenario. 

All three scenarios, even the pessimistic one, would have cost-saving benefits and reduce health risks. 

“Our study suggests that full industry compliance with the FDA voluntary sodium reformulation targets, would result in very substantial decreases in CVD incidence and mortality whilst also offering impressive cost savings to the health payers and the wider economy,” said Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, an author of the study. 

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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

Americans could benefit from cutting down on salt, study shows

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Americans have...

The most extensive state-by-state health assessment ever conducted in the U.S. has found “dangerous disparities” among states when it comes the risk of premature death.

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.healthdata.org/">Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation</a> conducted the study and found that 21 states have higher rates of premature death among same age residents. 

West Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama are the states with the highest risk of premature mortality while Minnesota, California, and New York have the lowest probabilities. 

The study was published in the Journal JAMA and emphasizes the major gaps in our national health-care system.

“We are seeing dangerous disparities among states,” said Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). “Unless and until leaders of our healthcare system work together to mitigate risks, such as tobacco, alcohol, and diet, more Americans will die prematurely, and in many cases, unnecessarily.”

For the study, the researchers collected and analyzed data from 1990 to 2016 as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD). 

The goal of the GBD was to conduct an international health assessment that covers 333 diseases and 84 risk factors. 

The IHME researchers found that in 2016 the key factors behind the increased risk of premature death in some states were substance abuse, suicide, and alcohol-related conditions. 

With the current scope and magnitude of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/opioid-deaths-chronic-pain/">opioid epidemic</a> in America today, it’s not surprising that the study also found that opioid addiction rose from the 11th leading case of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 1990 to the 7th leading cause in 2016.

<a href="http://www.healthdata.org/gbd/faq">DALYs</a> is an important metric for measuring the burden of disease. Accounting for years with a disability, researchers can calculate the number of healthy years lost due to disease, drug abuse, and other risk factors. 

The study also found that mental health disorders are increasing. For example, major depression disorders rose 27 percent nationwide between 1990 and 2016 and anxiety disorder accounted for 1.7 million disability-adjusted life years in 2016. 

“These findings serve as compelling evidence of the need to increase mental health care and screening, as well as programs seeking to prevent mental disorders and to promote mental health,” said Murray. 

Other risk factors that account for the wide disparity among states include a high BMI and high fasting plasma glucose, which is linked to diabetes. Smoking also was a major health risk in 2016. 

According to the researchers, higher BMIs are increasing health-care costs and reducing the number of healthy years for many Americans. 

That there is a such a wide gap between certain states is a major cause for concern. Understanding the risk factors and assessing probabilities of premature mortality is just the first step, and the researchers state that more attention needs to be directed at bettering our health-care system. 

“Primary care is our health system's front line of defense, detection, and treatment,” said Ali Mokdad, a co-author of the study. “Local, state, and federal dollars need to be targeted more effectively for primary care, especially for those millions of Americans not on Medicare.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Risk of early death varies greatly from state to state

The most extensive state-by-state health assessment ever conducted in the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

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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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