Being cool can feel elusive and almost mythic - something we “know when we see it,” yet struggle to define.



A sweeping new investigation led by marketing scholars Todd Pezzuti of <a href="https://www.uai.cl/">Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez</a> and Caleb Warren of the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> argues that the concept is far less mysterious than it seems.



Across twelve nations, nearly 6,000 participants independently picked out the same constellation of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/personality-type-can-accurately-predict-your-relationship-status/">personality</a> traits when describing a cool person. 



The findings reveal not only what separates “cool” from “good” but also why cool people tend to become catalysts of social change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-cool-across-12-nations">Mapping cool across 12 nations</h2>



Between 2018 and 2022, the research team collected online responses from adults in the United States, Australia, Chile, mainland China, Hong Kong, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey.



Participants first confirmed that they understood the slang meaning of the word “cool,” then spent a few minutes imagining someone who embodied one of four labels: cool, uncool, good, or not good.



Afterward, volunteers evaluated that imagined person on a battery of personality dimensions drawn from psychology’s “Big Five” model and Schwartz’s theory of universal values.



Because all responses came from internet users in relatively urban settings, the sample leans toward technologically connected citizens. 



Still, it is one of the most culturally diverse datasets ever assembled to study reputational judgments. The result is a uniquely global snapshot of how people assign social prestige.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-cool-and-good-part-ways"><a></a>Where cool and good part ways</h2>



When the investigators compared ratings, they found considerable overlap: both cool and good people scored high on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-with-many-facial-expressions-seem-more-social-and-likeable/">likability</a>. Yet important divergences emerged.



In all the places they studied, people consistently perceived cool individuals as more extraverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open, and autonomous. 



Good people, by contrast, ranked as conforming, traditional, secure, warm, agreeable, universalistic, conscientious, and calm.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cool-people-aren-t-always-good">Cool people aren't always "good"</h2>



In Pezzuti’s view, the cool profile evokes a kind of charismatic boundary-pusher: energetic, novelty seeking, and unapologetically self-directed.



That explains why cool individuals can inspire fashion trends or launch creative movements - roles that sometimes require bending social rules rather than following them.



“To be seen as cool, someone usually needs to be somewhat likable or admirable, which makes them similar to good people," said Warren. "However, cool people often have other traits that aren’t necessarily considered ‘good’ in a moral sense, like being hedonistic and powerful.”



The cool persona therefore straddles acceptance and transgression: admired enough to influence peers, rebellious enough to feel fresh.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cool-traits-go-global">Cool traits go global</h2>



In the mid-20th century, “cool” circulated in small countercultures - from Black jazz clubs to Beatnik cafés. Over the decades, fashion labels, record companies and Hollywood studios harnessed the aura of cool, broadcasting certain looks and attitudes to a worldwide audience.



The new study suggests that process may have standardized the meaning of the term. Even participants who live 10,000 miles apart now recognize the same signature <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/personality-traits-linked-to-willingness-to-volunteer-or-donate/">traits</a>. As the authors note, the meaning of cool has crystallized on a similar set of traits and values around the world.



Pezzuti does not see commercialization as a death knell. “Coolness has definitely evolved over time, but I don’t think it has lost its edge. It’s just become more functional,” he said.



“The concept of coolness started in small, rebellious sub-cultures, including Black jazz musicians in the 1940s and the beatniks in the 1950s. As society moves faster and puts more value on creativity and change, cool people are more essential than ever.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-coolness-matters">Why coolness matters</h2>



Because cool people display power and autonomy while earning admiration, the researchers argue that coolness helps establish informal hierarchies. Instead of relying solely on wealth or institutional authority, communities also elevate figures who embody daring and originality.



These individuals, in turn, shape cultural norms by modeling alternative ways to dress, speak, or live. As Pezzuti puts it, “everyone wants to be cool, or at least avoid the stigma of being uncool, and society needs cool people because they challenge norms, inspire change, and advance culture.”



That dual role - both aspirational and disruptive - makes the cool persona uniquely influential. Marketers know this instinctively when they cast charismatic musicians in sneaker ads. Activists harness it when they infuse protest art with edgy style.



The study provides empirical backing for those intuitions: people from Lagos to Los Angeles consistently associate coolness with adventurous independence.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coolness-in-the-digital-age">Coolness in the digital age</h2>



The team notes their study excludes rural and offline groups, whose ideas of cool may differ significantly. They also restricted the study to cultures already familiar with the English slang term, potentially narrowing linguistic nuance.



Future projects could test whether the six-trait profile - extraverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open, and autonomous - holds in additional societies or emerges in other languages.



Researchers are likewise curious about how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-media-pressure-is-straining-teen-friendships/">social media</a> platforms, which accelerate the spread of trends, might further synchronize or fragment global standards of cool. Does TikTok broaden identity through niche subcultures or reinforce the six-trait mold by favoring charismatic risk-takers?



For now, the evidence is striking: when people across five continents imagine someone undeniably cool, they picture remarkably similar qualities. 



Coolness, it turns out, may be one of the few cross-cultural constants - an unwritten code that transcends borders even as it keeps pushing boundaries.



The study is published in the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fxge0001799">Journal of Experimental Psychology: General</a>.



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What makes people cool? Scientists tracked down the traits

Being cool can feel elusive and almost mythic - something we “know when we see it,” yet struggle to define. A sweeping new investigation led by marketing scholars Todd Pezzuti of Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and Caleb Warren of the University of Arizona argues that the concept is far less mysterious than it seems. Across twelve nations, nearly 6,000 participants independently picked out the same constellation of personality traits when describing a cool person. The findings reveal not only what separates “cool” from “good” but also why cool...

Professors at the <a href="http://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware</a> are tackling the issue of bullying based on stigma, which is when a person is targeted based solely on characteristics such as race or sexual orientation. 

The experts are looking into methods to prevent this type of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bullying-mental-health-overcome/">bullying</a> and are also investigating the directions needed for future interventions.

Study lead author Valerie Earnshaw is a professor of Human Development and Family Sciences.

“I became interested in this because we're realizing that being bullied due to a stigmatized characteristic or identity is really harmful,” said Earnshaw. “I started wondering what people are doing about it, and whether they are doing the right things about it.”


The researchers found that, even though there has been an increase in stigma-based bullying interventions, these interventions are not always effective.

“Stigma-based bullying has always been around, but I think that there have been some recent societal shifts that have led people to pay more attention to it,” said Earnshaw.

Earnshaw said that strategies which directly address stigma, such as reducing stereotypes and prejudice, may be necessary to prevent stigma-based bullying. She pointed out that, even though an association between gun violence and stigma-based bullying in schools has not been established, there are some signs of a strong link.

Earnshaw said that the shooter at a school in Parkland, Florida, was found to have connections with a white supremacy group. Many other perpetrators of gun violence were found to have engaged in gender-based violence or harassment.

“Perhaps intervening early on these stigma-related factors could have downstream effects on preventing gun violence,” said Earnshaw.

The professor explained that stigma-based bullying interventions should be thoroughly examined to see how and why these strategies work.


“Overall, stigma-based bullying is a complex phenomenon that takes an 'all hands on deck' approach to address,” said Earnshaw. “Students, teachers, parents, healthcare providers, coaches, religious leaders, and policymakers all have a role to play in ending it and improving the wellbeing of youth who are affected by it.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/developmental-review">Developmental Review</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study: Bullying over race or sexual orientation is extra damaging

Professors at the University of Delaware are tackling the issue...

A new study has found that the root of insomnia may actually be in your genes, and that chronic insomnia can increase the risk of diabetes and depression. 

Researchers led by Murray Stein from the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California San Diego</a> conducted several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of soldiers participating the in <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention/suicide-prevention-studies/army-study-to-assess-risk-and-resilience-in-servicemembers-army-starrs-a-partnership-between-nimh-and-the-us-army.shtml">Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers</a> (STARRS). 

STARRS was chosen for the new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insomnia-biological-psychological/">insomnia</a> study because it’s estimated that 50 percent of veterans and those in the military have problems with sleeping disorders.

The study was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. 

Previous research has found that insomnia is a heritable trait, and Stein’s team wanted to find the specific gene variants that were associated with insomnia to further explore the gene-sleep disorder connection. 

Stein also notes that gaining a better understanding of the gene variants involved with insomnia will help with new treatments down the line. 

For the GWAS studies, blood samples were taken from over 33,000 STARRS participants, and the data from the soldiers was categorized according to heritage. This way the researchers would be able to determine the genetic risks of different ancestral backgrounds. 

The soldiers were also asked questions about their sleep habits, and if their insomnia caused physical distress such as nausea or diarrhea. 

The results showed that insomnia was inheritable through your genes and that the sleep disorder was specifically linked to variations on chromosome 7. For people of European descent, variants on chromosome 9 were also connected to insomnia. 

The researchers found a strong genetic link between insomnia and both type 2 diabetes and depression. 

“The genetic correlation between insomnia disorder and other psychiatric disorders, such as major depression, and physical disorders such as type 2 diabetes suggests a shared genetic diathesis for these commonly co-occurring phenotypes,” said Stein. 

Stein’s work sheds insight on the connection between genetics and detrimental sleep disorders like insomnia. The results of the study may help further research and the development of new insomnia treatments. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Insomnia and depression may be genetic, study finds

A new study has found that the root of insomnia...

Goodyear Oxygene concept

Tire titan Goodyear has announced the company’s new eco-friendly concept tire “Oxygene” at the <a href="https://www.gims.swiss/en/">Geneva International Motor Show</a> in Switzerland. 

Oxygene is a tire with moss embedded in the inside of an open tread outer rubber casing. The open tread will allow the tire to absorb water from the road which will water the moss on the inside of the tire. The moss will then be able to convert <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/co2-emissions-energy-costs/">CO2</a> into oxygen using photosynthesis. 

Goodyear claims that in a city the size of Paris with 2.5 million cars, the new moss tires could remove more than 4,0000 tons of carbon dioxide and produce 3,000 tons of oxygen each year. 

Besides being eco-friendly, Goodyear says the rubber tread casing will have better wear and tear than other tire models on the market today, and the open design will provide better traction on slippery roads. 

The Oxygene tire will also be puncture proof. Other features include electronic sensors powered by photosynthesis that communicate with other cars on the road at the speed of light. The cars and tires would also have smart capabilities. 

Goodyear, like many other companies, is working to find innovative ways to stay ahead of the race to mitigate climate change and combat emissions. 

“Smarter, greener infrastructure and transport will be crucial in addressing the most pressing challenges of urban mobility and development,” said Chris Delaney, the president of Goodyear Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

It may be some time before Oxygene becomes commercially available or even goes into production, but Goodyear’s new tire could motivate other companies to create similar solutions to the world’s emissions and transportation problems. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: PRNewsfoto/Goodyear

Goodyear reveals eco-friendly tires that absorb carbon dioxide

Tire titan Goodyear has announced the company’s new eco-friendly concept...

Smart glass could forever change the way we use windows, potentially eliminating the need for curtains or blinds by allowing us to regulate the amount of sunlight allowed to enter.

This new glass technology has been developed by Keith Goossen, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the <a href="http://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware</a>, along with colleague Daniel Wolfe.

The new glass created by Goossen can switch between letting light in and blocking it out. The research team’s smart windows would also be an eco-friendly and a cost-effective way to cool and heat buildings. 

Similar efforts have been made with other smart glass, but Goossen’s model is much cheaper to manufacture, and it is more reflective and absorbent of light than other versions out there. In fact, this new type of smart glass is actually one-tenth the price of other smart glass technology. 

The smart glass is made with two sheets of plastic with a small space between. Goosen’s first designs had tiny cube-shaped structures contained within the plastic and these were used to reflect light back to its source. 

The space between the sheets of plastic was then filled with methyl salicylate which is an extract from wintergreen that has optical properties. The methyl salicylate enhanced the reflective capabilities of the plastic sheets. 

Recently, Goossen and Wolfe unveiled a new and improved model at the <a href="http://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/smart-structures/nde?SSO=1">Smart Materials and Nondestructive Evaluation Conference</a> in Denver. The new design used one-dimensional shapes layered perpendicular within the sheets of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-deep-sea-fish/">plastic</a> rather than cubes.

The smart glass can switch back and forth from transparent to blocking out light thousands of times without losing any of its reflective strength. 

There is now a good deal of interest and potential with Goossens new technology, and commercialization of the product may happen soon. Meanwhile, Goossen will work to continue to perfect and study the materials used in the glass. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New smart glass technology is cheaper and more reflective

Smart glass could forever change the way we use windows,...

According to research from the <a href="https://uci.edu/">University of California, Irvine</a>, climate change could drive fishery yields down by 20 percent across the world ocean and by 60 percent in the North Atlantic before the year 2300.

The decline is primarily linked to a lack of ocean mixing. When the surface layer of ocean water is warm, it prevents the nutrients that have built up in the deep waters from rising to the surface. 

The study authors explained that significant changes in ocean mixing would ultimately drive a decline in fish populations near the surface.

Many studies have confirmed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-oceans-fisheries-fish/">fisheries</a> will be significantly less productive by the end of this century, but little research has investigated the fate of fisheries beyond 2100.

A team led by J. Keith Moore used modeling to predict the effects of climate change on fisheries under the condition that the rate of carbon emissions remains the same as it is today.

Currently, the Southern Ocean has such a successful amount of mixing that nutrients abundantly flow into other oceans. 

But now, model simulations produced by the current study indicate that changing wind patterns and warmer ocean surface layers will cause an increased portion of nutrients to sink into the deeper layer of the ocean and become trapped there. The model showed that phosphate, for example, will become 41 percent less abundant.

The steep decline of mixing in the Southern Ocean will also be facilitated by a polar shift of nutrient upwelling into the Antarctic. 

The study authors also established that ocean mixing will be particularly reduced in the North Atlantic. They explained that the long-term impact of these changes in ocean mixing will reduce fishery yields for at least a thousand years.

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

Climate changes will significantly reduce fishery yields

According to research from the University of California, Irvine, climate...

Since <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/addiction-smartphones-imbalances-brain/">smartphones</a> have reshaped our lives over the past decade, there have been concerns that the gadget’s addictive nature is replacing real social interaction. 

Recently, students from Stanford University even <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stanford-computer-science-students-protest-apple-addictive-devices-2018-3">protested</a> at an Apple Store in Silicon Valley, demanding that the company make changes to the iPhone to make it less addictive. 

The Stanford students aren’t the only ones who have raised issues with smartphone addiction or the idea that the device makes people anti-social. 

However, researchers from <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a> in Montreal have offered some perspective on the debate surrounding smartphone addiction. 

The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, show that people with smartphone addictions are actually “hyper-social,” and smartphones have provided an easy outlet to connect with people constantly. 

“There is a lot of panic surrounding this topic,” said Samuel Veissière, the study’s lead author. “We're trying to offer some good news and show that it is our desire for human interaction that is addictive -- and there are fairly simple solutions to deal with this.”

According to the study, humans are extremely social and have evolved to be uniquely so compared to other species. People are constantly looking to others for guidance, approval, and input from others. This is an essential part of our day to day lives and helps shape our sense of identity. 

For the study, Veissière and colleague Moriah Stendel reviewed current studies and literature regarding smartphone addiction and the dysfunctional use of smart technology through an evolutionary lens. 

The researchers found that smartphone addiction is likely rooted in the need to be “hyper-social,” and that just like any other urge, cravings can quickly turn into unhealthy addictions. 

“In post-industrial environments where foods are abundant and readily available, our cravings for fat and sugar sculpted by distant evolutionary pressures can easily go into insatiable overdrive and lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease,” the researchers said. “The pro-social needs and rewards [of smartphone use as a means to connect] can similarly be hijacked to produce a manic theatre of hyper-social monitoring.” 

The team suggests that instead of regulating tech companies or phone use, curbing smartphone addiction starts with the consumers and creating a dialogue about the best ways to use smartphones. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Smartphone addiction rooted in addiction to social connection

Since smartphones have reshaped our lives over the past decade,...

When talking to babies and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pets-harmful-indoor-chemicals/">dogs</a>, we often use a sort of  high pitched rhythmic talking known commonly as “baby talk.”

Scientifically, this is called infant-directed speech and research has shown that using baby talk is actually important for bonding with an infant. 

A new study set out to investigate if infant-directed speech aimed at dogs served the same useful purpose as it does for children. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a> conducted the study and found that “dog-speak,” like baby talk, does improve concentration and bonding with pet dogs. 

“This high-pitched rhythmic speech is common in human interactions with dogs in western cultures, but there isn't a great deal known about whether it benefits a dog in the same way that it does a baby,” said Katie Slocombe, a co-author of the study. "We wanted to look at this question and see whether social bonding between animals and humans was influenced by the type and content of the communication."

Previous research that studied dog-speak found that it was useful for puppies but not adult dogs. However, those experiments involved playing recordings for dogs and not having the dogs interact with a human talking to them. 

For this study, the researchers asked participants to talk to dogs who were in the same room with them.

This way the researchers could determine if dog-speak was a key motivator in who the dog gravitated towards.

Several tests were conducted with an adult dog where the dog listened to two different people. One used dog-related phrases such as “shall we go for a walk?” with dog speak, and the other use adult-directed speech and didn’t use any dog related phases. 

After this, the phrases were mixed and spoken to the dogs in different tones to determine if it was the tone or content of the words that was more appealing. 

The researchers observed the dog’s focus during these experiments and who the dog preferred to interact with after the participants finished talking. 

The dogs preferred those who had spoken to them with dog speak and dog-related phrases. According to the researchers, the results indicate that both tone and content are important for adult dogs. 

“We found that adult dogs were more likely to want to interact and spend time with the speaker that used dog-directed speech with dog-related content, than they did those that used adult-directed speech with no dog-related content,” said Alex Benjamin, the study’s lead author. 

The dogs preferred those who had spoken to them in dog speak and used dog-related phrases. According to the researchers, the results indicate that both tone and content are important for adult dogs. 

--

By <a href="mailto:mailtoLkayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Using baby talk with your dog actually found to enhance bonding

When talking to babies and dogs, we often use a...

It’s no secret that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/temperature-sleep-circadian-clocks/">sleep</a> plays an integral role in our health and wellbeing. A good night’s sleep can be the difference between a groggy, stressful day and an energetic, successful day. While sleep can certainly impact your mood, it is also important for the formation and retention of new memories. 

Retaining new memories – known as memory consolidation – is associated with sudden bursts of oscillatory brain activity, called sleep spindles. New research published in <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a> has found that sleep spindles also play an important role in strengthening new memories when newly learned information is played back to a person as they sleep.

“While it has been shown previously that targeted memory reactivation can boost memory consolidation during sleep, we now show that sleep spindles might represent the key underlying mechanism,” says Bernhard Staresina of the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a> in the UK. “Thus, direct induction of sleep spindles – for example, via transcranial electrical stimulation – perhaps combined with targeted memory reactivation, may enable us to further improve memory performance while we sleep.”

Sleep spindles are bursts of brain activity that last between a half second and two seconds, and measure in the 10-16 Hertz range on an EEG. They occur during non-rapid eye movement in sleep stages two and three. Past studies have found that the number of spindles a person experiences during the night could predict the individual’s memory the next day. In animals, studies have shown that sleep spindles are linked to the process through which the brain makes new connections. 

Researchers from the United Kingdom postulated that experimental reactivation of memories might be linked to an increase of sleep spindles in the brain of a sleeping person. To test this theory, they ran an experiment in which participants learned to associate particular adjectives with specific objects and scenes. Some participants then took a 90-minute nap following their study session, while other participants remained awake. While the napping participants slept, the researchers cued those associative memories and unfamiliar adjectives. 

The results showed that memory cues led to an increase in sleep spindles. By using the EEG while participants slept, the researchers were able to see that the EEG patterns during spindles related to the types of memories, either objects or scenes, that were being processed. Overall, these findings are evidence of the important information-processing role of sleep spindles in memory consolidation.

“Our data suggest that spindles facilitate processing of relevant memory features during sleep and that this process boosts memory consolidation,” says Staresina.

The implications of this study are far-ranging. We may now be able to further explore the processes that hold people back with learning disabilities, while also improving the processing of important information and memory for the general public.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sleep helps the brain retain newly learned information

It’s no secret that sleep plays an integral role in...

A team led by researcher Soroush Vosoughi at the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> is reporting that false information is traveling faster and reaching far more people on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/twitter-unreliable-representation/">Twitter</a> compared to information that is true. 

While news is known to spread like wildfire on social media, little is known about how these platforms facilitate the spread of false information.

The research team investigated the distribution of verified true and false news stories on Twitter between 2006 and 2017. The experts analyzed around 126,000 tweets by 3 million people that were shared more than 4.5 million times.

The study revealed that false information spread substantially farther, faster, and more broadly than the truth across all categories of information. False stories were found to be 70 percent more likely to be retweeted than true stories.

The top one percent of false news was promoted by up to 100,000 people, while the truth was rarely shared among more than 1,000 people. Political news spread the most aggressively - at three times the rate of other false stories.

The researchers also established that, when false news is considered to be novel information, it is much more likely to be retweeted and shared.

The experts analyzed the emotional content of the tweets and their replies as well. They discovered that false stories often inspire fear, disgust, and surprise, while true stories mainly inspire anticipation, joy, sadness, and trust. 

A previous study demonstrated that Americans were exposed to between one and three stories from known publish­ers of fake news during the month before the 2016 presidential election in the United States. 

Political Science Professor David Lazer and his colleagues have also addressed the issue of false news, and have recommended two key types of interventions: one that is focused on empowering individuals to evaluate and recognize fake stories, and a second that is focused on structural changes that may prevent the spread of false news. 

The research 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

False news stories reach more people on Twitter than true stories

A team led by researcher Soroush Vosoughi at the Massachusetts...

In the last few years, the development and implementation of widespread <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fracking-sites-health-newborns/">fracking</a> in the U.S. has produced billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. This has led to a transformation in the global energy sector, and undercut fossil fuel markets in Saudi Arabia and Russia. Now, according to a leading global energy agency, U.S. natural gas is primed to unleash a “major second wave” of fracking, as reported in <a href="http://time.com/">TIME</a>.

In a new energy forecast this week, the <a href="https://www.iea.org/">International Energy Agency</a> (IEA) announced that growth in U.S. oil production would cover 80% of new global demand for oil over the next three years. Overall, U.S. oil production is anticipated to rise almost 30% by 2023, with much of the growth coming from oil produced as a result of fracking in West Texas.

“Non-OPEC supply growth is very, very strong, which will change a lot of parameters of the oil market in the next years to come,” says Fatih Birol, the head of the IEA. “We are going to see a major second wave of U.S. shale production coming.”

Although Republican politicians and policymakers are seeking to take credit for this development, analysts say that the growth in U.S. production is more a result of market factors than Republican policy. According to the IEA, higher oil prices and increased demand from China and India will trigger increased U.S. output in order to make up the gap. Along with overall demand for oil, the IEA also predicts that demand for petrochemicals used in plastic will increase as well. 

The implications that come as a result of this second rise in U.S. oil production are far ranging, and touch on more than just fossil fuel supply and demand. In terms of geopolitics, the U.S. supply of oil and natural gas has contributed to political upheaval in the Middle East and in Russia, creating new competition for oil exports and natural gas supply. “In a shale revolution world, no country is an island,” warns Birol. “Everyone will be affected.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

U.S. to unleash “major second wave” of fracking on the world

In the last few years, the development and implementation of...

The connection between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-risk-death/">air pollution</a> and cardiovascular and respiratory disease is well known. Exposure to pollutants can irritate the nose, eyes, throat, and lungs, worsening asthma symptoms and increasing the chance of disease. 

However, a new study published in the journal Nature Communications has found that air pollution changes the expression of our genes, and that the influence of pollutants is stronger than the genes we inherit from our parents. 

While previously it was thought that your genetic heritage had the most say over your genes, a research team from the <a href="https://oicr.on.ca/">Ontario Institute for Cancer Research </a>has found that in fact, geography and exposure to air pollution plays a major role.

For example, sulfur dioxide can affect 270 genes associated with asthma and cardiovascular disease. 

The researchers collected blood samples, genetic data, and personal information on 1,007 participants from three different areas in Quebec Province, Montréal, Quebec City, and Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean. 

Both Quebec City and Montreal are major cities which showed the researchers how pollution in large urban areas differed from the smalle, less populated Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean. 

The researchers also gathered data on air different air pollutants in the three areas, comparing volume and exposure to pollutants to the genetic makeup and gene expression of the participants. 

No matter the ancestral history, the researchers found pollutants in specific geographic areas had the biggest influence on gene expression. 

“Both genetic variation and gene expression followed something of a geographic cline,” Philip Awadalla, the study’s lead author, told <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5464857/Fossil-fuels-air-pollution-control-expression-genes.html">Daily Mail</a>. “Leading us to initially think that gene expression was driven by your genotype. In fact, that was largely not the case. Most gene expression variation is associated with where you live rather than your genetic ancestry.”

Awadalla said the researchers considered hundreds of variables that may affect gene expression, but the results consistently pointed to air quality and exposure to pollutants as having the strongest impact. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Air pollution affects genes more even more than inherited DNA

The connection between air pollution and cardiovascular and respiratory disease...

Residents in Cape Town, South Africa, are still counting down to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cape-town-water/">Day Zero</a>, which is now expected to strike in the middle of July. At that time, the city will shut off residential taps and four million people will be forced to stand in lines to collect a daily ration of 6.6 gallons of water.

Day Zero was originally expected to arrive in April, but water conservation measures and a large donation of water to a Cape Town dam have helped to push it back. The dreaded day will officially hit when Cape Town dams are drained down to 13.5 percent.

With the rainy winter season approaching in a couple of months, there is some hope that dam levels will remain high enough to avoid Day Zero altogether. But officials are not likely to lift current water restrictions even if the city does get to keep its water supply running.

Ian Neilson, the city’s executive deputy mayor, said in a statement last month:

“Today I urge the residents of Cape Town not to ease up on their water-saving efforts. We cannot afford to slow down when the estimated Day Zero date moves out, simply because we cannot accurately predict the volume of rainfall still to come or when it will come.”

There is also no guarantee the rainfall will come at all, considering the record drought of the last three years. This drought, which experts believe has been worsened by climate change, combined with population growth and overdevelopment is what disrupted the balance of water supply and demand.

Many residents reportedly ignored voluntary water restrictions for months. In January, officials ordered residents to use no more than 50 liters, or 13.2 gallons, of water a day. 

Cape Town resident Michelle Koton explained to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/">NBC News</a> how her family has cut back on daily activities like flushing and washing clothes, and they now use plastic dishes so there are none to wash. 

“The water-saving measures were fine in the beginning, but month after month the novelty of saving water has worn off and it’s become revolting,” Koton told NBC. “I have learned so much from this experience as to how much we took water for granted and how we wasted so much.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cape Town “day zero” pushed to July, but water crisis persists

Residents in Cape Town, South Africa, are still counting down...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

[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

[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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