Falling asleep and waking up refreshed is something most of us crave. Yet some people appear to thrive on fewer hours, leaving everyone else wondering how they manage it. A new study involving a healthy older adult suggests that a rare gene mutation might be a key to needing fewer hours of sleep.



The research was led by Dr. Hao Chen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), whose team investigated a "natural short sleeper" <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-night-of-lost-sleep-can-trigger-hidden-health-issues/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trait</a> linked to a genetic variant in the SIK3 gene.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-genetics-influence-sleep-duration">How genetics influence sleep duration</h2>



Scientists who explore patterns of rest have long recognized that people’s genetic makeup can influence how much <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-prepares-the-brain-for-the-future-while-protecting-memories-of-the-past/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a> they need. This latest finding highlights how even a slight genetic tweak might reduce the time required for the brain and body to recover.



Those who qualify as short sleepers function at a normal or high level despite clocking fewer hours in bed. Researchers classify them separately from individuals suffering from insomnia, because these short sleepers typically wake up rested and show no health problems tied to exhaustion.



One older participant reported sleeping around 6.3 hours per night yet displayed sharp cognition and good health. Her genetic profile pointed to a single mutation as the possible reason for her efficient slumber.



These individuals, referred to as natural short sleepers, seem wired to operate on less rest. Specialists are intrigued by how they sail through daily life with no visible drawbacks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gene-mutation-and-sleep-patterns">Gene mutation and sleep patterns</h2>



The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/protein-kinases" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">kinase protein</a> produced by the SIK3 gene relays signals that influence various cellular processes. Scientists suspect that changes in kinase function might play a role in controlling how much time the body devotes to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-can-boost-memory-in-a-surprising-way/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a>.



When Dr. Chen’s team transferred this mutation to lab mice, the animals spent slightly less time resting each day. This observation hinted at a biological mechanism that could be significant across different species.



“Studying human sleep genes not only expands our knowledge regarding the sleep regulatory network, but also may bring the basic research from mouse models to clinical relevance,” noted the researchers.



Brain scans in the test mice revealed that their <a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/protein-biology/protein-biology-learning-center/protein-biology-resource-library/pierce-protein-methods/phosphorylation.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phosphorylation</a> patterns changed, especially around the areas that oversee rest and wake cycles. This shift aligns with the idea that sleep is coordinated by a web of signals in the brain that might be influenced by tiny chemical tweaks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-mutations-in-short-sleepers">Genetic mutations in short sleepers</h2>



Scientists have now identified at least five distinct genetic mutations linked to the natural short sleep trait. Each one affects different proteins involved in the brain’s signaling and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-quality-could-be-the-key-to-better-metabolic-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a>-wake rhythms, hinting at multiple pathways that might influence rest duration.



The SIK3 variant joins others such as <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1801693115" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DEC2</a>, <a href="https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-rare-gene-mutation-is-associated-with-requiring-less-sleep-researchers-say" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ADRB1</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/387129" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NPSR1</a>, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/14816" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GRM1</a>, each contributing a piece to the sleep efficiency puzzle. Researchers believe that mapping these variants could eventually lead to a full blueprint of how the body regulates its need for sleep.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-treatments-for-sleep-disorders">Treatments for sleep disorders</h2>



Researchers think there could be important applications for people who struggle with sleep disorders. Adjusting the pathways linked to this genetic variant might shorten the time needed to feel rested, although practical therapies will likely take time to refine.



Still, scientists caution that these insights do not give an excuse to slash nightly rest. They emphasize that ordinary individuals without the mutation may not reap any benefits from copying a short sleeper’s schedule.



Experts see promise in pursuing treatments that enhance the body’s own efficiency. They hope new knowledge of genetic influences will guide strategies to help those who find it difficult to get restorative rest.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-on-short-sleep-genes">Future research on short-sleep genes </h2>



Short-sleep genes have captured the imagination of specialists for years. There is strong interest in mapping out exactly how the human brain resets itself, and why some people get the same benefits in a compressed timeframe.



“These [NSS] people, all these functions our bodies are doing while we are sleeping, they can just perform at a higher level than we can,” said neuroscientist and geneticist Ying-Hui Fu, from the University of California, San Francisco (<a href="https://www.ucsf.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UCSF</a>). 



Scientists aim to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37398097/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">uncover</a> the precise factors that grant this group their resilience. Many research teams intend to investigate how broader networks of genes might interact to influence rest. 



The SIK3 discovery raises big questions about what else might affect daily energy levels and long-term health.



Fascination with short sleepers is unlikely to fade soon. Unlocking the secrets of their genetics could reshape how we view rest, opening a path to solutions for chronic sleep troubles.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500356122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PNAS</a>.



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Rare gene explains why some people can thrive on less sleep

Falling asleep and waking up refreshed is something most of us crave. Yet some people appear to thrive on fewer hours, leaving everyone else wondering how they manage it. A new study involving a healthy older adult suggests that a rare gene mutation might be a key to needing fewer hours of sleep. The research was led by Dr. Hao Chen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), whose team investigated a "natural short sleeper" trait linked to a genetic variant in the SIK3 gene. How genetics...

Jellyfish are considered a delicacy in Asian cuisine and have been a staple for centuries. 

Unlike other marine species, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-nettle-jellyfish-species/">jellyfish</a> have been thriving despite the effects of climate change, and because of their rich nutrients, are being considered as a possible viable food source for the global population. 

Though they are certainly less common and even considered an oddity in western cuisine, many people might be surprised to find that jellyfish have a crunchy, crispy texture despite their notoriously slimy exterior.

This is because the bell of the fish is cured in a solution of sodium chloride and alum for a month, which turns the soft, gelatinous body into something more akin to a pickled cucumber. 

Danish researcher Mathias Clausen from the<a href="https://www.sdu.dk/en/"> University of Southern Denmark </a>was curious about the molecular processes that created the crunchy texture when the original texture is so different. 

“Tasting jellyfish myself, I wanted to understand the transformation from a soft gel to this crunchy thing you eat,” Clausen said.

In a new study, he and his colleagues created a jellyfish “chip” of their own in order to gain a better understanding of how food preparation altered the jellyfish starting at a molecular level. 

Their work could spur a whole new field of science and gastronomy that revolves around the biophysics and chemistry behind food preparation. 

The research team first devised a method using ethanol that created a similar crunchy texture of jellyfish soaked in the briny mixture of sodium chloride and alum, but it only took a few days. 

"Using ethanol, we have created jellyfish chips that have a crispy texture and could be of potential gastronomic interest," Clausen said.

The researchers examined how the long fibrous filaments in the bell were altered during the ethanol process in an attempt to discover how the new textures were created. 

“Little is known about the molecular anatomy of the jellyfish,” Clausen said. “We are still not completely sure which structures we are visualizing.” 

Clausen and his colleagues are excited about the promising implication their study could have on gastronomy and the biophysics of food. The research team also hopes to continue their jellyfish studies to see if there are different ways the bell can be consumed and how it would taste and feel.

“As this is pioneering work, I think using tools available to us to tackle the science of good eating can open peoples' eyes for a completely new scientific field,” Clausen said

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Image Credit: Mie T. Pedersen

Could jellyfish chips be a crunchy new snack?

Jellyfish are considered a delicacy in Asian cuisine and have...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.unige.ch/en/university/">University of Geneva</a> have found that economic vulnerability in childhood can have a detrimental effect on health later in life. The findings of the study indicate that chronic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-sick-allergies/">stress</a> in childhood can cause physiological changes to the body that make it less capable of maintaining good health over time.

The research team analyzed data from a 12-year population survey conducted by the European Union that documents the health and social status of older people. The experts selected over 24,000 people aged 50 to 96 living in 14 European countries for their investigation.

The study revealed that individuals who were socio-economically disadvantaged in childhood had a greater risk of low muscle strength at an older age, which is a good indicator of one's health status.

The experts also determined that this risk is not curbed by an improvement in socioeconomic status as adults, demonstrating how critical the first years of life are to overall health.

“The results showed that people who faced poor socio-economic circumstances in childhood had on average less muscular strength than those who were better off in their early years,” explained study co-author Boris Cheval. 

“Even when adjusted to take into account socioeconomic factors and health behaviours (physical activity, tobacco, alcohol, nutrition) in adulthood, associations remained very significant, especially among women, who were often less susceptible to benefit from social mobility.”

Cheval said that the research “suggests a direct, biological and lasting effect of a poor start in life.” This and other studies show that difficult circumstances in childhood can lead to detrimental physiological responses.

The team will expand upon this analysis to determine the role that socio-economic systems play in the correlation between underprivileged childhood and poor health in old age.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ageing">Age and Ageing</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: © All rights reserved

Underprivileged kids more prone to health issues in the long run

Researchers at the University of Geneva have found that economic...

The role that older siblings play as teachers and caretakers has a positive influence on the development of empathy in their younger siblings. A new study has found that this influence is mutual, and younger siblings can also make a positive contribution as their older brothers and sisters develop the capacity to feel care and sympathy.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-healthy-self-esteem/">Children</a> who have warm and kind older siblings are more empathic than children who do not have the same support. A team of researchers at the <a href="http://www.ucalgary.ca/">University of Calgary</a> wanted to find out if this effect is reciprocal.

The study was focused on 452 Canadian pairs of siblings and their mothers who were part of the Kids, Families, and Places project. The families chosen for the research were ethnically diverse and from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.

The experts set out to investigate whether levels of empathy in young siblings could be used to predict empathy levels a year and a half later.

“Although it's assumed that older siblings and parents are the primary socializing influences on younger siblings' development (but not vice versa), we found that both younger and older siblings positively contributed to each other's empathy over time,” explained lead author Marc Jambon.

“These findings stayed the same, even after taking into consideration each child's earlier levels of empathy and factors that siblings in a family share - such as parenting practices or the family's socioeconomic status - that could explain similarities between them.”

The researchers looked into any differences in the development of empathy among siblings with gender or age gaps.

“The effects stayed the same for all children in the study with one exception: Younger brothers didn't contribute to significant changes in older sisters' empathy,” said Jambon.

The study also revealed that the impact from older brothers and sisters was stronger when the age difference between the siblings was greater, which indicates that they were more influential as teachers and role models.

“Our findings emphasize the importance of considering how all members of the family, not just parents and older siblings, contribute to children's development,” said study co-author Sheri Madigan. 

“The influence of younger siblings has been found during adolescence, but our study indicates that this process may begin much earlier than previously thought.”

The study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/index.html">Child Development</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Having younger siblings helps a child develop empathy

The role that older siblings play as teachers and caretakers...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a> have investigated how the brain responds to injustice. The findings of the study suggest that the punishment of a criminal is more rewarding to the brain than supporting a victim.

The experts measured the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-new-information-brain/">brain</a> activity of young males while they participated in a “justice game.” Two players, which were referred to as a “taker" and a “partner,” were given 200 chips to start the game. The taker had an opportunity to steal up to 100 of the partner’s chips, and then the partner was given an opportunity to retaliate.

The study participants took part in the game as either a partner or an “observer.” The observer had to decide whether he wanted to punish the taker or support the partner by helping him increase his stash of chips.

The researchers found that participants were more likely to punish the taker when they had experienced the injustice directly as a partner. They were less willing to impose a punishment when they had experienced the injustice as an observer.


When the participants made the decision to punish a taker, neural activity took place in a brain region involved in reward processing known as the ventral striatum. The researchers found that the brain activity corresponded with the severity of the punishment.

Before starting the games, all of the participants had received nasal spray. Some of the individuals were randomly assigned receive the hormone oxytocin in the spray. Previous research has linked this hormone to the act of punishing. 

While the participants in the oxytocin group chose to give out punishments more frequently, the punishments were significantly less intense. This indicates that exposure to the hormone encouraged the participants to punish takers to simply maintain the fairness of the game.

The research is published in the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Punishing injustice and crime found to be rewarding to the brain

Researchers at the Society for Neuroscience have investigated how the...

Growing up gay or lesbian can add stresses like bullying and homophobia to a young person’s life, but romantic relationships may provide a buffer that other types of support can’t, a new study shows.

However, for bisexual teens – who face some unique challenges – romance could actually add stress, researchers found.

The joint study by scientists from <a href="https://www.nm.org/">Northwestern Medicine</a> and the <a href="http://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a> found that support from parents and friends, while also important, didn’t provide the same level of psychological protection for gay and lesbian youths. 

"Your romantic partner can be the first person you reach out to when you have good news to celebrate or for a shoulder to cry on when you have bad news,” co-author Dr. Brian Mustanski of Northwestern Medicine said in a press release. “Having a partner then can amplify the good things in life and provide critical support during tough times."

Gay and lesbian teens reported 17 percent less distress when in a relationship than when single, the study found.

He and his colleagues sought to fill gaps in research about romantic relationships. Most research into romance and mental health centers around adult relationships, and research is also lacking into how such relationships affect the mental health of sexual minorities. 

However, the study did find a surprising result: while gay and lesbian youths found support and a buffer from stress in their romantic relationships, for bisexual teens they often simply added another source of stress.

They saw a 19 percent rise in their stress, the study showed. This could be because opposite-gender relationships often mean navigating stereotypes with a romantic partner rather than receiving support. 

Still, the findings show there could be value in setting up events such as LGBT+ proms that allow teens to meet one another. 

Participants were from <a href="http://www.impactprogram.org/research/past-research-projects/project-q2/">Project Q2</a>, a sampling of LGBT+ young people from a wide range of diverse backgrounds in the Chicago area.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Romantic relationships help gay and lesbian – but not bisexual – youths

Growing up gay or lesbian can add stresses like bullying...

As social media has risen in prominence, so have concerns that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are replacing real human interaction.

A new study by <a href="https://www.ku.edu/">University of Kansas</a> researchers is helping to dispel some of those fears.

The study found that there’s no evidence social media is crowding out or replacing face-to-face interaction with close friends or family members, co-author Dr. Jeffrey Hall said in a press release.

"That's not to say overuse of social media is good, but it's not bad in the way people think it is,” he said.

The researchers based their conclusions on a pair of studies looking at “social displacement” – the hypothesis that overuse of websites like Facebook replaces real human contact in a negative way.

The first study analyzed data sets from the 2009 and 2011 <a href="http://www.lsay.org/">Longitudinal Studies of American Youth</a>. The goal was to determine if young people in the U.S. were seeing a decrease in interpersonal human contact, and if they were, whether that correlated with an increase of social media use.

That study found no such correlation. 

"What was interesting was that, during a time of really rapid adoption of social media, and really powerful changes in use, you didn't see sudden declines in people's direct social contact," Hall said. "If the social-displacement theory is correct, people should get out less and make fewer of those phone calls, and that just wasn't the case."

The researchers’ second study was conducted in 2015. They recruited 116 young people, and texted them regularly over five days to ask about their social media use. 

Once again, they found no decrease in social interaction that could be correlated to increasing use of sites like Facebook or Twitter.

"What we found was that people's use of social media had no relationship to who they were talking to later that day and what medium they were using to talk to people later that day," Hall said. "Social media users were not experiencing social displacement.”

The researchers suspect that people who frequently use social media may use it to replace activities like reading the newspaper or watching television, he said – but determining whether that’s the case would require further research.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1430162">Information, Communication &amp; Society</a>. 

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Social media hasn't replaced human contact, study says

As social media has risen in prominence, so have concerns...

Your circadian rhythm guides your body through 24 hours, telling you when you feel most awake and most asleep. Most life forms on Earth – including bacteria, plants and animals – have a circadian clock guiding them through each day and night.

But what makes them tick?

Dr. Andy LiWang of the <a href="https://www.ucmerced.edu/">University of California, Merced</a> has been studying circadian rhythm – specifically, the circadian clock of blue-green colored cyanobacteria. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, he and his lab have studied certain proteins in the cyanobacteria move hour by hour, and seem to regulate the bacteria’s circadian rhythm.

"And now it's becoming clear that the same is true for [animal] clocks," LiWang said in a press release.

Dubbed circadian clock proteins, the proteins from cyanobacteria are unique because they can be studied in a test tube without live cells. With the help of adenosine triphosphate, the scientists were able to create a circadian clock that ran for weeks, giving them an extensive look on how circadian rhythm works.

"We also examine how the proteins wiggle, flex, and shape-shift, because these motions ... are also critical to their biological function," LiWang said.

His lab also worked with X-ray crystallographer Dr. Carrie Partch at the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a> to produce high-resolution images of the microscopic proteins. 

"A big surprise for us was the extent to which internal motions of circadian clock proteins dictate ... their function," LiWang said. "Static X-ray crystal structures of individual proteins, mostly solved by other labs, were invaluable to our work but told only part of the story."

While the cyanobacteria’s circadian clock proteins have offered a new glimpse into how circadian rhythm works, more research is needed, LiWang said. They’re not identical to the clock proteins of plants, animals or humans, but they should share some similarities, he said.

"Because clock proteins need to keep time, there should be some basic principles of biological timekeeping shared between all clocks regardless of whether the proteins are the same or not," he said.

<a href="https://plan.core-apps.com/bpsam2018/abstract/598979c882021290aae09439cc42e19d">His lab’s work</a> will be presented at the <a href="https://www.biophysics.org/2018meeting/">62nd Biophysical Society Annual Meeting</a>, held this week in San Francisco. 

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Tiny proteins offer huge insight into how circadian clock ticks

Your circadian rhythm guides your body through 24 hours, telling...

For many years, scientists have debated why <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/poor-sleep-quality-obesity/">sleep</a> is so essential to our health. A team of psychiatrists has found evidence that supports the theory that sleep is how our brains create space for learning new things.

Chiara Cirelli and Giulio Tononi of the <a href="http://centerforsleepandconsciousness.med.wisc.edu/">Wisconsin Center for Sleep and Consciousness</a> proposed this idea in 2003, and referred to the concept as the “synaptic homeostasis hypothesis” (SHY). 

The experts conducted a a four-year study to find direct evidence to support their hypothesis. As a result, they have now achieved visual proof of SHY.

Electron-microscope images from inside the brains of mice provide a glimpse into what likely happens inside of human brains as well. 

Every day, our synapses grow strong and large during the daytime and then shrink by nearly 20 percent while we are asleep. This process creates space for additional growth and learning the following day.

The researchers dissected the brains of mice to analyze two areas of the cerebral cortex. They reconstructed almost 7,000 synapses and measured their size.

The study revealed that a few hours of sleep led to an 18 percent decrease in the size of the synapses. The transformation occurred in both areas of the cerebral cortex and the changes were proportionate to the size of the synapses.

A companion study from John Hopkins University that was focused on brain proteins also confirmed that SHY is accurate in that the purpose of sleep is to make room for new information by scaling back the synapses.

Cirelli’s lab is now expanding upon the research by looking at new brain areas. The team is also investigating the role that sleep plays in brain development. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sleep makes room for new information in the brain

For many years, scientists have debated why sleep is so...

Researchers at <a href="http://drexel.edu/">Drexel University</a> have found that social media is making it easier for people to discuss painful experiences. The experts say that a recent shift in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/teens-sleep-social-media/">social media</a> behavior is actually helping people to heal.

“While many use Facebook to largely talk about happy and light topics and believe that to be the expected norm on this platform, some people make complicated decisions to talk about things that are not all that happy,” said lead author Nazanin Andalibi.

“Our research looks at why and how people decide to use social media to share their traumatic experiences that often have a social stigma attached to them."


The experts focused their study on women who disclosed pregnancy loss on Facebook in order to examine how and why people use social media to share sensitive information. 

“Pregnancy loss is a stigmatized reproductive health complication, associated with negative well being effects such as depression and PTSD, changes people's sense of identity, impacts their relationships, and it often elicits negative or unsupportive responses when disclosed,” explained Andalibi.

“The potential for improved well-being through access to social support makes pregnancy loss a productive context for research on designing social computing systems for safe disclosures and support seeking.”


The team interviewed 27 female social media users who had recently experienced a pregnancy loss. Using this data, they developed a framework for understanding why people are posting painful stories, including the 12 million who recently shared their experiences of sexual assault using the hashtag #MeToo. 

The researchers believe that one of the main reasons that people are sharing their feelings of distress on social media is because these platforms have now become part of the healing process.


“People often need to share stigmatized life events and emotions associated with them. However, many do not, and sometimes they suffer as a result of this inhibition due to the psychological distress associated with keeping a secret,” wrote the study authors.

According to the study, another reason for turning to social media is the benefit of sharing with a large network of people. Many of the women interviewed said that it was much easier to tell everyone their news at one time instead of repeating the same painful story in many individual conversations.

"Taken together, awareness campaigns, the efficiency of one-to-many disclosures, and opportunities for anonymous lower-risk disclosures elsewhere contribute to women's decisions to disclose pregnancy loss experiences on identified social network systems, which, through the mechanism of network-level reciprocation, creates an increasingly disclosure-friendly context for those who come after," the authors wrote.

The study will be published in the Proceedings of the 2018 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Social media can help people heal after painful experiences

Researchers at Drexel University have found that social media is...

Coffee production is actually good for the birds, too. A team of scientists set out to determine which type of coffee bean farms are the most beneficial to forest wildlife. The researchers investigated the relationship between bird diversity and the two primary coffee types, Arabica and Robusta.

<a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a> Associate Conservation Scientist Dr. Krithi Karanth teamed up with experts at <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> and the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> to investigate bird diversity on coffee plantations in the Western Ghats mountain region of India. 

Previous studies have shown that shade-grown <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-nuts-heart-health/">coffee</a>, which is typically Arabica, promotes significant levels of biodiversity.Now that coffee production is globally shifting toward Robusta, experts are concerned this may be detrimental to wildlife because this coffee requires a more intensive cultivation process with direct sunlight.

The study revealed that Arabica bird populations were more species rich, but the researchers were surprised to find that Robusta also provided substantial biodiversity benefits. In addition, Robusta was found to support large populations of several sensitive bird species.


The study authors identified a total of 79 forest-dependent species living in the coffee plantations they surveyed, including three threatened species. These farms also promote mammal, amphibian, and tree diversity.

“Coffee farms already play a complementary role to protected areas in a country like India where less than four percent of land is formally protected,” said Dr. Karanth. 

“Therefore, building partnerships with largely private individual and corporate land holders will provide much needed safe-passage and additional habitats for birds and other species.”
Indian Robusta receives relatively high flavor ratings by coffee experts and commands a price premium. Furthermore, farmers use less pesticides in the Robusta farmlands, which are more disease-resistant.

“An encouraging result of the study is that coffee production in the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot, can be a win-win for birds and farmers,” said lead author Charlotte Chang.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Manish Kumar

Coffee production is actually good for the birds, too

Coffee production is actually good for the birds, too. A...

The results of the 2017 State of American Well-Being Index show that it was not a good year for many in the United States. 

The Index is part of a poll by <a href="http://www.well-beingindex.com/">Gallup-Sharecare</a> and measures happiness and contentment based on five essential categories of well-being: purpose (goals), social (friendships), financial (money), community (where you live), and physical (health and body). 

For the poll, 160,000 interviews were conducted across all 50 states from January 2nd, 2017 to December 30th. 

The poll found that for many states, 2017 brought a decrease in happiness, and for the first time no state had an increase in well-being. 

The United State’s Gallup Index score fell from 62.1 out of 100 in 2016 to 61.5, and 21 states, the largest number since 2009, showed declines in well-being compared to 2016. 

Some of the unhappy states with the lowest scores were Arkansas and Louisiana. Many states in the southern and western United States also saw declines. 

These declines, according to a <a href="http://news.gallup.com/poll/226517/record-states-decline-2017.aspx?utm_source=alert&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=morelink&amp;utm_campaign=syndication">statement released by Gallup-Sharecare</a>, were driven by lower scores in measurements of well-being, the same metrics that make up the basis for the Index. 

The lowered scores were connected to an increase in cases of diagnosed depression, people reporting an increase in feeling worried, an increase in reports of daily pain, fewer people reported that they reached their goals, and an overall reduced feeling of satisfaction with living standards. 

The poll also had another first as South Dakota and Vermont beat out Hawaii, the usual frontrunner, with the highest well-being scores. For 2017, South Dakota had the highest score (64.1), and Hawaii ranked third. 

The reason for the South Dakota and Vermont’s scores has to do with having the most sense of purpose and for Vermont, the best community. 

If you ask most people, they would agree that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2017-second-hottest-year-2/">2017</a> was a tough year, and Gallup’s Index provides evidence.

Gallup notes that the results are important and that policy leaders and business owners should take particular notice of the declining trends. 

Sharecare research has shown that people with a higher sense of wellbeing are less likely to quit and change jobs, call off work, and are better prepared to deal with stressful events.

“State leaders should monitor their well-being score and develop specific strategies to improve it,” said Dan Witters, a Research Director of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. “State and community leaders can study and adopt best practices from states with consistently high well-being scores, such as Hawaii, South Dakota and Vermont, in order to maximize the chances that their own constituents are best able to lead a life well lived,” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New poll shows happiness in the U.S. dropped in 2017

The results of the 2017 State of American Well-Being Index...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> set out to investigate how people would respond if <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-earth-earlier/">life</a> was discovered outside of our planet. The team found that most people would have a positive reaction to news of extraterrestrial life.

“If we came face to face with life outside of Earth, we would actually be pretty upbeat about it,” said lead author Michael Varnum. “So far, there's been a lot of speculation about how we might respond to this kind of news, but until now, almost no systematic empirical research.”

In a preliminary experiment, the researchers analyzed the language used in newspaper articles describing potential evidence of extraterrestrial life, including the 1996 discovery of possibly fossilized extraterrestrial Martian microbes. 

Using a software program to decipher the feelings behind the written text, the team found the emotions to be significantly more positive than negative.

The researchers conducted a separate study with 500 participants who were instructed to write about how they would feel and how others may react to an announcement that extraterrestrial microbial life had been discovered. 

The feelings expressed by the respondents were much more positive than negative. One participant wrote: “I would have some excitement about the news. It would be exciting even if it was a primitive form.”

The experts focused an additional study on 500 different individuals who were presented with past news stories and asked to write their reactions down on paper. 

The participants were divided into one group that read an article describing possible evidence of life on Mars and a second group that read an article describing the creation of synthetic human life in a lab.

Once again, the team found significantly more positive than negative emotions in the responses, and the effect was much stronger in response to the article about extraterrestrial life.

One participant said: “This discovery shows that other planets have the ability to have life on them. It's a very interesting and exciting finding that could be only the beginning.”


Varnum said that the studies suggest that, “if we find out we're not alone, we'll take the news rather well.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology">Frontiers in Psychology</a>. Varnum will also present the study findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Austin, Texas.

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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

People may respond positively to news of alien life, study finds

Researchers at Arizona State University set out to investigate how...

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



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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



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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



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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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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



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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

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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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

[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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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

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://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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