Why do some individuals rush to help, while others hesitate? A new study led by Dr. Inbal Bartal of Tel Aviv University digs deep into this question using rats. The findings highlight the strong influence of social experience and brain chemistry on prosocial behavior and willingness to help.



The team used a helping behavior task where rats could free a distressed peer trapped in a restrainer. Rats that had previous positive interactions were more likely to help. 



These "helper rats" also showed more brain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-increases-feelings-of-hope-happiness-and-gratitude/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">activity</a> in areas linked to empathy and motivation compared to their less helpful counterparts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-bonds-drive-helping">Social bonds drive helping </h2>



Helper rats exhibited stronger activation in the anterior cingulate cortex, somatosensory cortex, and other empathy-related areas. This activity pattern suggests that not just feeling another’s distress, but having a social bond, is crucial for helping.



Interestingly, oxytocin - the hormone involved in bonding - played a key role. Rats that consistently helped had higher oxytocin receptor expression in the nucleus accumbens, a major reward center in the brain. 



Blocking oxytocin signaling did not completely erase helping <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/who-is-happier-being-single-men-or-women/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">behavior</a> but did reduce the rats’ social tendencies. According to the researchers, caring about others appears more important than simply sensing their distress.



“We appear to live in an increasingly polarized society where there is a gap in empathy towards others," said Dr. Bartal, a faculty member in the Psychology Department and School of Neuroscience at <a href="http://tau.ac.il/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tel-Aviv University</a>.



"This work helps us understand prosocial, or helpful, acts better. We see others in distress all the time but tend to help only certain individuals. The similarity between human and rat brains helps us understand the way our brain mediates prosocial decisions."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-helpful-rats-socialize-more">Helpful rats socialize more</h2>



The study found that rats who became "helpers" showed greater <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/facial-expressions-arent-enough-to-understand-human-emotions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social</a> affiliation even before the helping task began. Before any rat was trapped, these rats spent more time interacting, lying together, and engaging in affiliative behaviors with their cagemates.



The frequency of social interactions predicted how quickly rats would later act to free a distressed peer. Rats that interacted more often on the first day were faster to help across testing days. 



This link between early social behavior and later helping actions offers new insights into how prosocial tendencies develop.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-helpers-had-more-oxytocin-receptors">Helpers had more oxytocin receptors</h2>



Gene expression studies revealed that helper rats had significantly higher oxytocin receptor (Oxtr) levels specifically in the nucleus accumbens. They also showed greater activity of genes related to social reward and emotional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coping-with-eco-anxiety-turning-climate-worry-into-action/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">regulation</a>.



Importantly, genes tied to stress responses were downregulated in helper rats. This suggests that lower stress reactivity could promote a readiness to help others. Brain-wide analyses also showed that helper rats had more active networks in sensory and empathy-related brain regions.



When the researchers blocked oxytocin signaling in the brain’s paraventricular nucleus, rats showed fewer social behaviors. This reduced sociality hints that oxytocin may strengthen social bonds in the brain, which in turn could drive helping actions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-brains-are-motivated-to-help">Social brains are motivated to help</h2>



Helper rats demonstrated a widespread activation of the brain’s prosocial network. Critical areas included the anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and insular cortex. Many of these regions overlap with known human empathy and reward circuits.



Moreover, the orbitofrontal cortex stood out as playing a major role. This area, known for evaluating rewards and decisions, showed the strongest difference between helpers and non-helpers.



Social interaction frequency correlated strongly with brain activity in these regions. Rats who were more socially engaged early on had higher brain activation related to empathy later, even days after initial testing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-human-society">Implications for human society</h2>



The research suggests that social connectedness and neurochemical factors together shape helping behavior. The results support the idea that empathy alone does not always lead to action - social bonds and emotional rewards are key motivators.



Understanding how oxytocin and social affiliation drive prosocial behavior could help us better support empathy in increasingly divided societies. Strengthening social bonds might be more effective than simply raising awareness about others' distress.



Dr. Bartal and colleagues have illuminated the biological roots of kindness in a way that could one day inform how we nurture empathy in humans.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2025/04/17/JNEUROSCI.0845-24.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.



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Acts of kindness: Social brains are wired to help

Why do some individuals rush to help, while others hesitate? A new study led by Dr. Inbal Bartal of Tel Aviv University digs deep into this question using rats. The findings highlight the strong influence of social experience and brain chemistry on prosocial behavior and willingness to help. The team used a helping behavior task where rats could free a distressed peer trapped in a restrainer. Rats that had previous positive interactions were more likely to help. These "helper rats" also showed more brain activity in areas...

A significant number of kids – and even babies – are using touchscreen electronic devices such smartphones and tablets – and it’s robbing them of the sleep they need. That’s what researchers from <a href="http://www.bbk.ac.uk/">Birkbeck University</a> of London and <a href="https://www.kings.edu/">King’s College</a> London uncovered when surveying 715 parents over their youngsters’ sleep and touchscreen habits.

They concluded that, for each hour of daily smartphone use, the young ones lost, on average, 16 minutes of sleep. The way that broke down was that the screen-using youngsters spent less time sleeping at night and more time napping during the day, but that overall sleep time was still insufficient. Also, it took longer to get the kids to sleep.

Of the six-month to three-year-old children of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grown-penguins-mooch-parents/">parents</a> surveyed, 75 percent used smartphones on a daily basis. This included 51 percent of the six-month-olds and escalated to 92 percent of those at the two- and three-year stage.

“These results indicate that the popularity and accessibility of touchscreen devices has led to high levels of usage by babies and toddlers, and this is associated with reduced sleep,” said Dr. Tim Smith, a research team member from Birkbeck University. “Future research is now needed to build on this initial study to try and understand whether touchscreen use is causing sleep problems and how types of use may mitigate these risks.”

The idea here is the need to find out which came first – the chicken or the egg? Does touchscreen use keep kids up, or are parents giving their toddlers the screens because they’re not sleeping anyway?

Not that there isn’t an upside to screen use among the very young. An earlier study from the same research team demonstrated that increased active use – that is, scrolling through pages and interacting with the content rather than merely watching a video – helped develop fine motor skills at an earlier age than non-users.

“Before totally restricting touchscreen use, which might have potential benefits, we need to understand in depth how to use this modern technology in a way that maximizes benefits and minimizes any negative consequences for young children,” said Smith.

The research was reported in Scientific Reports.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://www.bbk.ac.uk/news/babies-and-toddlers-who-use-touchscreens-sleep-less"> Birkbeck University of London</a>

Smartphones causing kids to get much less sleep

A significant number of kids – and even babies – are...

These days, there is no shortage of dating apps that allow people to… get around. While it may certainly sound like fun, these apps have also <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34008736/dating-apps-increasing-rates-of-sexually-transmitted-infections-say-doctors">been shown</a> to increase the rate of sexually transmitted diseases amongst young people. And now, more bad news. New research suggests that promiscuity within a species can slow down its evolution.

The study was performed by a collaborative team of researchers from the <a href="http://www.bath.ac.uk/">University of Bath’s</a> Milner Centre for Evolution, <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/">Cardiff University</a>, and the <a href="http://www.orn.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Ornithology</a>, and published in the journal Evolution.

The team studied the genetic structure of shorebird populations to see how they evolved over time. The data showed that polygamous bird species are much less genetically diverse than monogamous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-dehydration-climate-change/">bird</a> species. The findings contradict prior theories that polygamous birds experience rapid diversification and higher genetic differences.

As it turns out, promiscuity mixes up the gene pool of a species. This actually dilutes the genetic differences between populations and thus, slows down the rate of evolution. 

"Our findings suggest that because of the pressure to find more than one mate, polygamous shorebirds may search large areas and therefore spread their genes as they go,” said Josie D'Urban Jackson, lead author of the study. "This means they effectively mix up the gene pool by diluting any genetic differences between geographically distant locations, so that populations are less likely to diversify into new species over time".

"In contrast, monogamous species only have to find one partner to pair with each season and tend to come back to the same breeding sites over time. This means they can gradually adapt to their local environment which increases the chance that they will split off and form a new species."

"We're very excited about these findings as this theory completely overturns conventional wisdom,” added Professor Tamás Székely of the <a href="http://www.bath.ac.uk/">University of Bath's</a> Milner Centre for Evolution."You might think that birds choose mates arbitrarily if they are promiscuous, but most individuals prefer a certain type, just as some humans might prefer blonde or dark hair in a partner.”

--

By <a href="mailto:rarnold@earth.com">Rory Arnold</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.bath.ac.uk/research/news/2017/04/10/promiscuity-and-evolution/">University of Bath</a>

Sexual promiscuity can slow down the process of evolution

These days, there is no shortage of dating apps that...

Ambient fine particle exposure is the cause of 3.7 million <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-snow-toxic/">deaths</a> worldwide each year. Many of these losses are due to short-term particulate matter exposure that causes damage to the cardiovascular system. A new study suggests that a simple vitamin B supplement may reverse the effects of potentially deadly health issues caused by particulate matter pollution.

The study was led by Jia Zhong, PhD., a postdoctoral research officer for <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia’s </a>Mailman School. "Ambient PM2.5 pollution is one of the most common air pollutants and has a negative effect on cardiac function and the immune system," says Zhong. "For the first time, our trial provides evidence that B-vitamin supplementation might attenuate the acute effects of PM2.5 on cardiac dysfunction and inflammatory markers."

Researchers at<a href="https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/"> Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health</a> set out to discover if B vitamins can reduce, or even possibly reverse, the harmful effects of air pollution. Between July 2013 and February 2014, ten volunteers who were healthy non-smokers were given a placebo for four weeks prior to a two-hour exposure to ambient PM2.5. Next, they were given Vitamin B supplements for four weeks before another two-hour exposure to the concentrated ambient PM2.5. The results were then compared to a particle-free  two-hour exposure.

"Our results showed that a two-hour exposure to concentrated ambient PM2.5 had substantial physiologic impacts on heart rate, heart rate variability, and white blood counts. Further, we demonstrated that these effects are nearly reversed with four-week B-vitamin supplementation," says Dr. Andrea Baccarelli, PhD., who worked closely with Leon Hess, a professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School.

The research shows that the Vitamin B supplements reversed the effects of air pollution on the heart rate by 150 percent, lymphocyte count by 106 percent, and the white blood cell count by 139 percent. According to the researchers, they studied healthy adults from a lightly-polluted area, and advise that the findings are not applicable to every case of air pollution-induced cardiovascular disease.

The study, published in the online journal Scientific Reports,is the first of its kind to determine if Vitamin B can alter biological responses to ambient air pollution. Dr. Baccarelli stresses that, despite the efforts of studies like this, there is still an urgent need for pollution regulation. 

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:: <a href="https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/">Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health</a>

How Vitamin B Could Save Your Life

Ambient fine particle exposure is the cause of 3.7 million...

A stressful childhood is a common occurrence that seems to lead to a more difficult future. A new study reveals this is not the case. Adversity in early life can actually help develop a skill set that is not learned by more privileged children.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">the University of Utah </a>studied cases of people who had endured childhood trauma. The team discovered many of these individuals adapted to their situations by becoming exceptionally aware of the stressful circumstances they endured. As a result, they have improved <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-trained-improve-memory/">memory</a> function. The team derived this adaptation could be a way of avoiding the same type of emotional hardship in the future.

Bruce Ellis, a psychology professor at the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> explained, “We have been documenting deficits in children from high-stress backgrounds forever. We fill libraries with all the things that are wrong with them. But this paper was the first systematic attempt to understand what was right with them.”

The study, which will be published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, found that children have a much better memory of negative interactions than positive ones. The research suggests that these individuals evolve to protect themselves from experiencing these types of negative encounters later in life. 

The research also concludes that individuals who witness verbal abuse early in life become much more capable of recognizing emotions. This prepares them to better cope with stressful situations. The research team refers to this as a type of “cognitive survival mechanism” that could be helpful in creating a school curriculum that will help build on the strengths of children that may otherwise be considered weak.

“We're not arguing that stress is good, or that it's good for kids to grow up in poverty or under harsh conditions,” said Dr Ellis. “What we're arguing is that [the detrimental effects of stress] are real, and that's half the story.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">The University of Utah</a>

A tough childhood could lead to smarter decisions in adulthood

A stressful childhood is a common occurrence that seems to...

Would you believe me if I told you that a team of mechanical engineers from <a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a> just came out with a study to show why your shoelaces may keep coming untied? Well, like it or not you’re going to have to believe me – because it’s true and it’s on the cutting edge of shoelace science.

The study shows that the reason behind this annoying inconvenience is the combined factors of stomping and whipping forces that act like an invisible hand (not Adam Smith’s invisible hand- sorry, economics majors) and loosens the knot while pulling on the free ends of the shoelaces. 

So that’s it, right? Mystery solved and now we can all go about our day with a better understanding of our shoelace physics. Well… this study goes beyond just the laces on our shoes. The researchers believe that this study on knot mechanics could also lead to a better understanding of how knotted structures as a whole fail under a number of forces.

“When you talk about knotted structures, if you can start to understand the shoelace, then you can apply it to other things, like DNA or microstructures, that fail under dynamic forces," says Christopher Daily-Diamond, co-author and a graduate student at <a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/">Berkeley</a>. “This is the first step toward understanding why certain knots are better than others, which no one has really done.”

Previous studies have shown how knotted structures fail under sustained loads, but not much research has been done on how the dynamic pressures of changing forces and loads affects a knotted structure.

“We are trying to understand knots from a mechanics perspective, such as why you can take two strands and connect them in a certain way that can be very strong, but another way of connecting them is very weak,” explains Oliver O'Reilly, a <a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/">Berkeley</a> professor of mechanical engineering.

And while you may ask the opinion of your closest sailor friend on which knots are the toughest and strongest, you’ll need to read about this study to find out the mechanics behind their strength.

This study tested the two most common bowtie knots used to lace up shoes. One version is based on a square knot, with two lace crossings of opposite handedness on top of each other. The other version is based on a false knot, where the two lace crossings have the same handedness, which causes the knot to twist instead of lying flat when it is tightened.

The researchers found that both knots failed in the same way, and surmised that weak knots will always fail – which shouldn’t be surprising – but a strong knot will also fail over a certain time scale. However, they are still unsure as to why there is a fundamental mechanical difference between the two most common shoelace bowtie knots. 

Although this may all seem very trivial, the mechanics and physics behind this research have applications elsewhere. And if nothing else, reading this study may help you learn to tie your shoes.

More information on this study can be found in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California – Berkeley</a>

The real reason your shoelaces are always coming undone

Would you believe me if I told you that a...

How would you use a warning of a few seconds – or possibly as much as a minute – before an earthquake struck? It’s not much time, but maybe you could get out of a building or at least stay out of that elevator whose doors have just opened. If you live on the U.S. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unusual-blob-ocean-water/">west coast</a>, you might start giving it some thought because you soon might get that early earthquake warning safeguard.

According to the <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a>, Oregon and Washington State are about to join California in the launch of ShakeAlert, an earthquake warning system under development by the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Society</a> (USGS) and university partners.

Officials with <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">USGS</a>, the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> and others held a news conference Monday in Seattle to announce the system's rollout across the west coast. California has been testing the production prototype since early last year.

The <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/">Seattle Times</a> reported that RH2 Engineering, a Washington state firm, signed on as a pilot user. The firm develops municipal water and sewage tank plants and hopes the alert system can help prevent spills in the event of a quake.

“The advantage of earthquake early warning is that it gives us forewarning that the shaking will occur, and we can be sure the valve is fully closed by the time the shaking starts,” RH2’s Dan Ervin told the newspaper.

The company is developing software and hardware to process the warning signals and automatically close valves.

The warning system works through a network of ground motion sensors. The amount of warning time depends on distance from an earthquake's epicenter. It might provide little or no warning to locations close to the epicenter, but spots farther away could get seconds or minutes depending on distance.

The <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">USGS</a> says it will cost $38.3 million in capital investment to complete the ShakeAlert system to the point where it can begin issuing alerts and about $16.1 million per year to operate and maintain.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://www.apnews.com/be7d5ed5a3904d3cba5dc013fd1ec38d/Early-quake-warning-system-expands-to-Oregon,-Washington"> Associated Press</a>

Could this new earthquake warning system save lives?

How would you use a warning of a few seconds...

Neuroscientists have recently made new breakthroughs in understanding how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-store-memories/">brain</a> works while we're dreaming. Researchers from the Center of Sleep and Consciousness at the <a href="http://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> and the <a href="http://centerforsleepandconsciousness.med.wisc.edu/">Wisconsin Institute of Sleep and Consciousness</a> (WISC) published insights gained from recent sleep experiments in the latest issue of Nature Neuroscience.  

“This study has managed to identify the brain regions that are involved in dreaming,’’ says one of the study’s lead authors, Dr. Francesca Siclari, of the <a href="https://www.unil.ch/central/en/home.html">University of Lausanne</a> and the WISC lab. “We’ve also been able to identify the brain areas that correspond to specific dream contents (like faces, spatial setting, movement and speech) during well-established sleep.”

One finding contradicts prevailing thought that the dream state was only activated during REM sleep, our deepest sleep cycle. The searchers found that dreams and a lack of dreaming can both occur in REM sleep and in non-REM sleep, or NREM.  

They also found that the type of dreams experienced by test subjects were related to activity in the area of the brain that would control that process in the waking hours. For instance, if the awakened participant reported a dream that involved hearing someone speak, it corresponded to electrical impulses in the part of the brain that controlled communications skills.

The experiments involved a total of 46 volunteers sleeping at the institute while wearing nets with 256 electrodes covering their scalps and parts of their faces. The electrodes created a high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG) report when electrical activity was detected in their brains. When that happened, the volunteers were awakened by a tone and asked to report whether they’d been dreaming or not.

The first experiment showed that in both REM and NREM sleep, sleepers reported dreams when the ‘posterior hot zone’ in the back of the brain was activated, regardless of what the rest of the cortex was doing. Siclari said that dreaming can occur in the different sleep stages because the occurrence depends on this brain region being active, not on the stage of sleep.

In subsequent tests, subjects were awakened and asked to describe the content of their dreams. It was in this test that researchers found a correlation between the dream and the waking-life area of the brain, ie the dream about hearing someone corresponding to electrical activity in the language skills region of the brain.

“This suggests that dreams recruit the same brain regions as experiences in wakefulness for specific contents,” Siclari said. “This also indicates that dreams are experiences that truly occur during wakefulness, and that they are not ‘inventions’ or ‘confabulations’ that we make up while we wake up.”

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://www.med.wisc.edu/news-events/activity-in-the-brains-hot-zone-predicts-dreams-during-sleep/50715"> University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health</a>

Scientists identify how the brain works while dreaming

Neuroscientists have recently made new breakthroughs in understanding how the...

We usually think of our adult-selves as more perceptive and focused than we once were as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-kids-health/">kids</a>, and while this is mostly true, new research shows that children may be better at noticing things most adults miss.

Researchers at <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">The Ohio State University</a> performed two studies comparing the focus and attention of adults versus that of children. Not surprisingly, they found that adults were better at remembering information they were told to focus on, while ignoring any outside information. However, because of the grownups’ enhanced selective attention, they tended to miss information that children picked up on.

Vladimir Sloutsky, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State</a>, conducted both studies with Daniel Plebanek, a graduate student in psychology. 

The first study included 35 adults and 34 children who were 4 to 5 years old. The participants were shown two shapes on a computer screen, with one shape overlaying the other. One shape was red while the other was green. Individuals were told to pay attention to a shape of a particular color.

The shapes then disappeared and another screen with shapes appeared. Both the children and adults had to decide whether the shapes in the new screen were the same as in the previous screen.

Results showed that adults performed better than children at deciding whether the target shape had changed. Children only got this correct 86 percent of the time compared to the grownups’ 94 percent. But Sloutsky made an interesting observation:

“…The children were much better than adults at noticing when the non-target shape changed.” In fact, children noticed that change 77 percent of the time, compared to 63 percent of the time for adults.

Sloutsky says that what they discovered was “children were paying attention to the shapes that they weren’t required to. Adults, on the other hand, tended to focus only on what they were told was needed.”

The researchers performed a second study – this time asking participants to notice certain shapes on drawings of artificial creatures. Once again, they found that children were significantly more accurate than adults at remembering features they weren’t asked to pay attention to. The results showed that 72 percent of children correctly made these identifications while only 59 percent of adults could do the same.

“The point is that children don’t focus their attention as well as adults, even if you ask them to,” Sloutsky explains. “They end up noticing and remembering more.” Adults were only able to do well at noticing and remembering the ignored information in the studies if they were told to pay attention to everything.

This difference in the abilities of children and adults to focus their attention has both positives and negatives. “The ability to focus attention is what allows adults to sit in two-hour meetings and maintain long conversations, while ignoring distractions,” Sloutsky said – although some may look at that as a negative. On the other hand, in their ability to distribute their attention, children are able to “learn more in new and unfamiliar settings by taking in a lot of information.”

These results could have important implications for understanding how children can learn better in a classroom environment. If you ask any teacher, you’ll find that getting kids to sit still and pay attention is the hardest part of the job. Gaining insight into how their distributed attention can become more focused could be key in developing an education system around the intricacies of a child’s mind.

More information on this study can be found in <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/home/pss">Psychological Science</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a>

Children pick up on things that adults don’t catch

We usually think of our adult-selves as more perceptive and...

It’s perfectly understandable if your thoughts drift at work today and you find yourself imagining sitting under a hot sun, in a hammock strung up between two palm trees, drinking Pina coladas. But if you’re serious about getting any real work done, shift your thoughts. Get out of the hot sun and think about a polar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-ice-caps/">ice cap</a>. Or set your mind on a toboggan run after a fresh fall of snow. Later, when it’s time for relaxing, feel free to return to those warm climate scenes either through photos or just your own meandering mind.

That’s according to scientists studying cognitive control – the brain’s ability to ignore our impulses and focus in on making decisions that benefit our long term. Their research has indicated that images of cold temperatures trigger greater cognitive control. 

“Previous research focused on the actual effect of temperature on the psychological phenomenon known as ‘cognitive control,’” said Dr. Idit Shalev, from Ben-Gurion <a href="http://in.bgu.ac.il/en">University of the Negev</a> (BGU) in Israel. “But this is the first time we were able to measure the effects of perceived temperature.”

Shalev’s team recruited 87 students and asked them to stare at one area of a screen while motion occurred elsewhere on the screen. Those who did the best job of ignoring the movement were judged as having the best cognitive control abilities.

Working with this group of 28 students, the research team showed them a winter scene image as well as a sun-drenched landscape and one that was temperature-neutral. The participants were asked to imagine themselves in each of those environments, and then retook the cognitive control test.

“The result indicated that those viewing the cold landscape did better and that even without a physical trigger (the photo), cognitive control can be activated through conceptual processes alone,” said Shalev. “While signals of warmth induce a relaxed attitude, cool signals trigger alertness and a possible need for greater cognitive control.”

So think of a warming sun – or a cold walk through a winter landscape – depending on your tasks at hand.

The study was published in the February issue of Psychological Research.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/295899347_Keep_it_cool_temperature_priming_effect_on_cognitive_control"> Psychological Research</a>

How hot and cold imagery control your mind

It’s perfectly understandable if your thoughts drift at work today...

Blackfish (2013)

“A whale has eaten one of the trainers.”

The shaky-voiced 911 call in Orlando in 2010 wasn’t accurate, but the killer whale Tilikum had indeed pulled veteran SeaWorld whale trainer Dawn Brancheau into the water and drowned her. Brancheau’s death would be the third associated with the orca, or killer whale.

As a cause-oriented documentary, Blackfish did indeed make a splash upon its 2013 release. It took on the entire SeaWorld business model of holding and training the whales for the entertainment of audiences. It made a case for the practice as being a risk to trainers and a tragedy for whales snatched from their social pods and contained in space too small for the needs of marine mammals who might travel a hundred miles or more in a single day in the wild. 

The film was certainly effective. SeaWorld stock dropped after its 2013 release, audience numbers plummeted and the entertainment company went out of its way to defend its treatment of the killer whales and the training and safety protocol of the animals’ trainers.  In 2014, SeaWorld announced that it would build larger enclosures with more natural elements for the whales. Two years later, the company announced that they were going to phase out its killer whale shows and build its first park without a killer whale presence from the start (in Abu Dhabi UAE). 

Whale hunt

Early in the film, we see 1970 footage of a heartbreaking whale capture off the coast of Washington State conducted on behalf of another orca show – not SeaWorld. Pursuers in boats and by air drop explosives into the water to drive the whales to a capture point, then separate mothers from their young. The whale show only wants the younger and lighter marine mammals to hold down shipping costs. We can hear the mother whales wailing as their panicky young are caught. Three whales are accidentally killed during the hunt. A grizzled contemporary diver who hired on for the roundup briefly loses his composure as he calls it one of the worst things he’s ever done. 

The film establishes the fact that killer <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/false-killer-whales-danger-extinction/">whales</a> are intensely social creatures who stay within visual sight of their mothers for life. Later in the film, when we learn of two instances of SeaWorld separating mother and child, and the company responds that no calves were taken away – that, in fact, the younger animals were twelve and four-and-a-half years of age – Blackfish viewers might wonder if that softens the impact.

Psychotic whale

When Washington State forbad further orca capture in its waters, the whale hunters moved to Iceland. That’s where the killer whale known as Tilikum was captured as a two-year-old in 1983. It was taken to Sealand of the Pacific, a dismal Canadian water show.

That’s where, in 1991, a trainer named Keltie Byrne was pulled into the water and drowned. There were several witnesses, but court testimony disagrees as to which of several orcas actually grabbed and drowned the trainer. However, two grown sisters who witnessed the events two decades in the past tell the camera it was definitely the male – Tilikum.

Later, when Sealand went under, Tilikum was sold to SeaWorld Orlando. Living in close quarters with two females out of his natural social pod, one of the many disdainful former SeaWorld trainers interviewed said that he was frequently bullied, his flesh raked bloody by the teeth of the others. 

In 1999, a man named Daniel Dukes apparently hid away in the park and was found dead the next morning, his nude lifeless body on Tilikum’s back. As with the previous death, it was impossible to conclusively state that the big orca had caused the fatality, but evidence pointed that way. 

The documentary points toward the capture, the training methods, the lack of freedom and unnatural social structure turning the mammal into a killer. Is that a too-easy anthropomorphic explanation – a way of attributing human characteristics to animals who can’t actually form thoughts or emotions that complex? 

SeaWorld responds

In its response to the popularity of Blackfish and the subsequent hit on its business, SeaWorld Entertainment responded to several key points. One key argument is that the critical former whale trainers hadn’t been with the company for many years, and some had little whale-training experience while with SeaWorld. 

The company also said that the scientists interviewed on-air had no captive whale experience and were active animal rights activists who brought a one-sided perspective. On the other hand, the Blackfish director said that SeaWorld refused involvement in the project.

Here’s where you can read the <a href="https://seaworldcares.com/the-facts/truth-about-blackfish/">SeaWorld rebuttal on Blackfish</a>. 

Blackfish has a definite point of view, and expresses it eloquently.  

--

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Earth.com Film Review, Blackfish (2013)

Blackfish (2013) “A whale has eaten one of the trainers.”...

A new study shows that in U.S. states where the income gap is wide, the carbon footprint is larger.

The new research, conducted by sociologists at <a href="http://www.bc.edu/">Boston College</a>, looked at environmental and economic data collected between 1997 and 2012. The researchers discovered that when the top 10 percent in each state controlled a larger percentage of the wealth, carbon emissions rose. In states with lower income inequality, carbon emissions were lower.

The study echoes others conducted on a global scale, which found that in countries with wider income gaps, carbon emissions were higher.

“First, income concentration leads to concentrated political power and the ability to prevent regulations on carbon emissions,” study co-author Dr. Juliet Schor said in a press release. “Second, high income consumers are disproportionate carbon polluters.”

The sociologists looked beyond just the income gap. They also took into account population size, urbanization, manufacturing, each state’s gross domestic product, fossil fuel use and state-level environmental regulations in their analysis.

The common denominator in states with a larger carbon footprint, however, was the income gap.

“This suggests a holistic view of sustainability, equalizing income distribution within the U.S. can have social and environmental benefits,” said lead author Dr. Andrew Jorgenson. “And they can have a global benefit too, since the U.S. is such a significant contributor to climate change.”

The findings could lend support to several states’ declarations that, in light of loosening federal regulations, they would enforce their own environmental programs. For example, California Gov. Jerry Brown has pledged to keep the state’s stringent environmental policies in place.

“We think it is safe to say, in terms of environmental policy and action, it is going to be much more active at the state level than the federal level,” Jorgenson said.

However, the researchers point out that their study indicates working to decrease the income gap could be the key to lowering carbon emissions. 

Taking action to decrease inequality could benefit public health and other areas beyond the environment, too, Jorgenson said.

“Equalizing incomes has all kinds of potential benefits,” he said.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800916308345">Ecological Economics</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Carbon emissions may grow along with income gap

A new study shows that in U.S. states where the...

Ancient human bone fossils have been found in numerous excavations with bite marks that align with human teeth. This is widely accepted as evidence that our early ancestors resorted to cannibalism at times, and most researchers believe the practice occurred as a result of other food sources running low.  

But research by Dr. James Cole, an archeologist from England’s <a href="https://www.brighton.ac.uk/">University of Brighton</a>, suggests that the relative lack of caloric content of humans points the motive in another direction – social or cultural ritual.

Cole arrived at that conclusion by examining nine sites where bone fossils exhibiting signs of cannibalism had been found. The sites conformed to the Paleolithic period, some 14,000 to 900,000 years ago, and reflected the dietary behavior of modern man as well as Neanderthals and two other extinct branches of human evolution.

He estimated that the caloric value of a human is no higher than that of many other meat sources that would have been available. And why would it be worth the risk of trying to add one of their own kind to the menu? Cole wondered.

“You're dealing with an animal that is as smart as you are, as resourceful as you are, and can fight back in the way you fight them,” he said.

He figured that most would of our ancestors would have figured it was less risky and much more of a feast to take down a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-woolly-mammoths-extinction/">woolly mammoth</a> instead. Cole recognized that a certain amount of the human feasting could have been done out of convenience. Perhaps some meal sources consisted of tribe members who’d died and it was easier to consume them than to go on the hunt. But he didn’t feel that such a decision would be made frequently, and that most of the cannibalistic evidence we see through fossil study was motivated by factors beyond calories. It was more often a matter of choice, he wrote.

For instance, in some cases they might have been prisoners taken in battle and consumed for ritualistic reasons.

Cole’s paper was published in Scientific Reports.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep44707"> Scientific Reports</a>

Why early man might have practiced cannibalism

Ancient human bone fossils have been found in numerous excavations...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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