When humans burst into laughter together, moods lift almost automatically. New research shows that a similar boost happens in our closest cousins.



An international team led by <a href="https://bloomington.iu.edu/">Indiana University</a> scientists has discovered that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-group-cohesion-common-enemy-effect-do-not-kill-inside-their-species/">bonobos</a> become more upbeat after hearing the giggles of their companions. This finding pushes the evolutionary history of positive emotions back millions of years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-laughter-changed-ape-choices">Laughter changed ape choices</h2>



To explore laughter’s influence, the researchers designed a cognitive-bias test often used in animal psychology to gauge optimism or pessimism.



First, they trained bonobos at the <a href="https://www.apeinitiative.org/">Ape Initiative</a> in Des Moines, Iowa, to recognize two kinds of boxes: black ones that always contained a delicious snack and white ones that were always empty.



Once the apes consistently chose black and ignored white, the experimenters introduced a third, ambiguous gray box. They then played one of two sounds: recorded bonobo laughter or a neutral control noise.



“We know that other apes, like chimpanzees, have contagious laughter during play," said lead author Sasha Winkler, a primatologist at <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a>. "We were wondering if that behavior could be explained by positive emotions produced from the sound itself.” 



If the bonobos felt a surge of good feeling after hearing laughter, the team expected them to treat the uncertain gray box as if it were the rewarding black one.



That is exactly what happened. “Think of it like the rose-colored glasses effect,” Winkler said. “The bonobos were much more likely to approach the gray boxes after hearing laughter, treating them like the rewarded boxes, and indicating a more optimistic expectation of finding a treat.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-optimism-to-our-ancestors">Tracing optimism to our ancestors</h2>



This study is the first experimental proof that great-ape laughter can shift mood and cognition the way human laughter does.



“The tendency to behave more optimistically after hearing laughter suggests that the sound alone induced a positive emotional state in bonobos,” said senior author Erica Cartmill, the director of Indiana University’s Cognitive Science Program.



“This is the first study of which we're aware to measure a positive affect shift in nonhuman primates from a brief experimental intervention.”



Great apes -&nbsp; bonobos, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-wild-chimpanzees-can-teach-us-about-parenting/">chimpanzees</a>, gorillas, orangutans - all emit play calls that acoustically resemble human chuckles. Earlier work tied those sounds to a common evolutionary origin. The new findings add a cognitive twist.



“Our results suggest that laughter in other apes shares not only phylogenetic and behavioral similarities with human laughter but also perhaps some of the same cognitive-emotional underpinnings,” Winkler noted.



“This emotional contagion appears to have been present in the primate lineage long before the evolution of language.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-laughter-empathy-and-apes">Laughter, empathy, and apes</h2>



Emotional contagion is often described as a foundational element of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/little-benjamina-the-oldest-evidence-of-social-empathy-in-humans/">empathy</a> - the capacity to share another’s feelings. As Winkler put it, “studies like ours can help to untangle the evolutionary building blocks of empathy, communication, and cooperation in humans.”



By revealing that a simple vocal cue can brighten outlooks in bonobos, the research suggests that the mechanisms linking social sound to positive mood were already in place in a common ancestor millions of years ago.



Cartmill added that the work answers a long-standing bias in emotion research. “Our emotions influence many aspects of cognition, including memory, attention, and decision-making, but research has historically focused on negative emotions with clear behavioral correlates, like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-pathway-discovered-that-suppresses-fear/">fear</a> and aggression.”



“We wanted to better understand the relationship between positive affect and cognition in our closest living relatives.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kanzi-and-the-future-of-empathy">Kanzi and the future of empathy</h2>



The experiments involved four bonobos, including the celebrated language-using ape Kanzi, who recently passed away.



“I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Kanzi while he was still alive,” Winkler said. 



“We hope this brings greater public awareness of the remarkable similarities between us and bonobos, who are an endangered species. We have so much to learn from these incredible animals.”



Future studies will test whether laughter exerts similar cognitive effects in chimpanzees and other primates. They will also explore how social context - for example, hearing laughs from friends versus strangers - modulates optimism.



For now, the discovery that bonobo giggles brighten expectations highlights a shared emotional heritage and hints that a simple laugh has been boosting group spirits since long before humans walked the Earth.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-02594-8">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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Laughter lifts bonobo moods, offering clues to human emotion

When humans burst into laughter together, moods lift almost automatically. New research shows that a similar boost happens in our closest cousins. An international team led by Indiana University scientists has discovered that bonobos become more upbeat after hearing the giggles of their companions. This finding pushes the evolutionary history of positive emotions back millions of years. Laughter changed ape choices To explore laughter’s influence, the researchers designed a cognitive-bias test often used in animal psychology to gauge optimism or pessimism. First, they trained bonobos at the...

A team of scientists in Japan have identified multiple active compounds in a traditional plant medicine that both strengthen memory and reduce Alzheimer’s disease characteristics in mice. 

The discovery was made possible by a new technique innovated by the researchers that allowed them to isolate and identify active compounds in plant medicines that, in turn, account for drug behavior in the body.

The plant medicine, known as Drynaria Rhizome, has been used by humans for many years to help cope with a variety of ailments. 

While many plant compounds have little to no effect on the body, others can have an important, therapeutic effect. If those compounds can be isolated, they can be used in new medicines. 

Still, once these compounds enter the body, enzymes can reduce their effectiveness. Additionally, certain parts of the body like the brain can be very difficult for the drugs to access.

"The candidate compounds identified in traditional benchtop drug screens of plant medicines are not always true active compounds, because these assays ignore bio-metabolism and tissue distribution," said Chihiro Tohda, senior author of the study. "So, we aimed to develop more efficient methods to identify authentic active compounds that take these factors into account."

To test the active compounds in Drynaria Rhizome, the scientists used mice who possessed a genetic mutation as a model for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lack-sleep-eat-brain/">Alzheimer's disease</a>. After treating the mice with the compounds orally and examining their brain tissue several hours later, they found that three compounds had made to to the brain. As a result, the plant treatment reduced both memory impairment and levels of amyloid and tau proteins, which build up and block memory. 

The researchers are hopeful that the breakthrough technique can be used to identify further Alzheimer’s disease treatments.

"We are applying this method to discover <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/new+drugs/">new drugs</a> for other diseases such as spinal cord injury, depression and sarcopenia," explains Tohda.

--

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.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a>

Breakthrough plant compounds could help treat Alzheimer’s disease

A team of scientists in Japan have identified multiple active...

A recent article published in <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/sociology">Frontiers in Sociology</a> explores the definition and origin of music, and raises the question of whether music has always been of great significance to humans. Author Jeremy Montagu determines that music brings people together, and represents the stories of human lives and traditions. 

Music can be defined differently by each individual. To Montagu, music is “sound that conveys emotion.” Music obviously involves sound but Montagu believes there is meaning to the sound. He says the emotion behind sound has “an infinite range of possibilities,” from pleasure to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yoga-lower-back-pain-therapy/">pain</a>. 

Speech, which also conveys emotion, can vary in pitch the same way music does. It seems that, in order for music to be distinguished from speech, it must have a rhythm or at least a pattern. However, Montagu points out that speech may also have patterns and rhythms such as those used in poetry recital. He says it is up to each individual to classify what is heard as music or speech. 

When questioning whether music can be defined as organized, Montagu applies his expertise. He is an ethno-organologist who studies the history of musical instruments worldwide. He determines that “organization may be regarded as desirable for musical sound, but it cannot be deemed essential.”

To answer the question of when our ancestors began singing, scientists studied the fossilized skulls and jaws of apes from a million years ago and found they contained the anatomy that is needed to sing. This means the capability to sing was passed down to Neanderthals, yet there is no way to know if they did.

Rhythm is a key component of music. While sticks and soft materials that may have been used in ancient times to make music cannot be tracked down, what have survived are bone pipes. Some of the earliest bone pipes ever found are made from swan and vulture wing bones and are between 39,000 and 43,000 years old. There is also evidence of  "rock gongs," stalactites that were stuck together in caves, which date back 12,000 years. 

Why has music persisted for so long? Montagu explains, “There are four evident purposes for music: dance, ritual, entertainment personal, and communal, and above all social cohesion.”

Montagu believes the main reason that music persists is because it joins people together.

"Music leads to bonding, such as bonding between mother and child or bonding between groups," explains Montagu.

"It has even been suggested that music, in causing such bonding, created not only the family but society itself, bringing individuals together who might otherwise have led solitary lives."

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/sociology">Frontiers in Sociology</a>

How music has a long history of bringing people together

A recent article published in Frontiers in Sociology explores the...

New research shows that parents who practice prosocial behavior such as kindness and altruism are more likely to pass those values along to their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/love-hormone-parents-protect-children/">children</a>. Principles based on selfish goals such as power and achievement are not as easily transferred, according to the study.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/">Royal Holloway</a> and various other universities set out to determine what values parents wish to pass along to their children and how successful they are in doing so. 

Dr. Anna Doehring from the <a href="https://www.westminster.ac.uk/">University of Westminster</a> explained, “This is the first time a study that examined similarity between the values of children and their parents has actually assessed children’s values when they are at the formative time of childhood, whereas previous research only asked teens and young adults to reflect back on their experiences.”

418 families were evaluated for the study with children of ages 6 to 11. The parents and children were shown pictures of other adults and children. The images were captioned with statements such as “She wants to have a lot of money and expensive things,” or “She believes that people should do what they are told.”

The subjects were asked how much they identified with each picture. Parents were asked which people they wanted their children to grow up to be like. 

The study revealed that parents who were intent on raising kind, considerate kids were more likely to achieve this goal. 

On the other hand, parents who place more importance on raising powerful and wealthy children were less likely to succeed in fostering those values. 

“Where being ‘the best’ is among the dominant interests of the parents, children tend not to express such connection to their parent’s values,” explained Professor Anat Bardi of Royal Holloway.

The findings of the study revealed significant differences in the gender roles of the parents. Mothers were more interested in teaching kids to be caring, while fathers more often wished for their children to have material wealth or power. Also, the females wanted to teach children to be conservative while most males hoped for them to be open to change.

The researchers believe parents who focus on prosocial behavior are more sensitive to the needs of their children, and establish stronger bonds as a result. The strong force behind this relationship makes it easier for values to be ingrained in children. Altruism and kindness create positive experiences for children that they want to recreate later in life.

“This research brings a positive message to the world: prosocial parents breed a prosocial next generation, but parents who endorse selfishness do not breed a selfish next generation,” said Professor Bardi.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/">Royal Holloway</a>

Parents who want their kids to be good people pass down values

New research shows that parents who practice prosocial behavior such...

It’s more valuable to grow corn for food than biofuel, according to a new study.

The net social and economic worth of food corn production in the U.S. is $1,492 per hectare, versus a $10 per hectare loss for biofuel corn production, according to the study by the <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</a>.

Researchers inventoried the resources required for corn production and processing, then determined the economic and environmental impact of using these resources. All factors were defined in terms of energy available and expended, and normalized to cost in U.S. dollars.

The team accounted for numerous factors in their analysis, including assessing the energy required to prepare and maintain the landscape for agricultural production for corn and its conversion to biofuel. Then, they quantified the environmental benefits and impacts including the effects on the atmosphere, water quality, and corn's societal value, both as food and fuel.

Renewable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biofuel-compete-oil/">biofuels</a> can come with hidden economic and environmental issues, and the question of whether corn is better utilized as food or as a biofuel has persisted since ethanol came into use, the study said.

As part of a <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> project to study the environmental impact of agriculture in the United States, the Illinois group introduced a comprehensive view of the agricultural system, called critical zone services, to analyze crops' impacts on the environment in monetary terms.

"The critical zone is the permeable layer of the landscape near the surface that stretches from the top of the vegetation down to the groundwater," said University of Illinois Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Praveen Kumar, who authored<a href="http://cee.illinois.edu/directory/profile/kumar1"> the study along with graduate student Meredith Richardson.</a> "The human energy and resource input involved in agriculture production alters the composition of the critical zone, which we are able to convert into a social cost."

Although corn appears to be an easy path to renewable energy, ”this research shows that the environmental costs are much greater, and the benefits fewer, than using corn for food,” said  Richard Yuretich, National Science Foundation program director for Critical Zone Observatories. 

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2328-4277/">Earth's Future</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</a>

Corn more valuable as a food than as a fuel

It’s more valuable to grow corn for food than biofuel,...

Increased ethnic diversity in middle schools benefits students of all ethnicities, according to a new study.

"Our study is the first to show such a wide range of personal and social benefits for students of all races and ethnicities from attending ethnically diverse schools," said Jaana Juvonen, Professor of Psychology at <a href="http://www.ucla.edu/">UCLA</a> and the study's lead author.

One benefit of diversity is that there may be more of a balance of power, with one or more large ethnic groups less likely to exert their influence over one or more small ethnic groups, said Juvonen.

The researchers studied 4,302 sixth-grade students from four ethnic groups - African American, Asian, Latino, and White - in 26 urban middle schools in California. They focused on middle schools because previous research shows that this is when race and ethnicity take on heightened meaning and problems such as bullying increase. 

The ethnic compositions of each of the schools differed, with some having two large and relatively equally sized ethnic groups, some having one clear numerical majority ethnic group, and some having four similarly sized and smaller ethnic groups. The students were from middle-income and working-class families. 

At the end of sixth grade, students rated how socially vulnerable (e.g., feeling unsafe, bullied, lonely) they felt at school, how close they felt to different ethnic groups, and whether their teachers treated all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/high-achievement-high-risk-addiction/">students</a> fairly and equally. 

Students from all four ethnic groups felt less vulnerable, reported better attitudes across ethnic groups, and believed teachers treated all students more fairly and equally in more diverse schools, the study found.

Exposure in their classes to students from a range of ethnicities boosted the positive effects of school diversity on their race-related perceptions, the research found.

When students attended classes that were less diverse than their school overall, the benefits of school diversity for students' racial views and their perceptions of teachers' treatment disappeared, the study found. 

"Our findings also underscore the importance of class placement," notes Sandra Graham, distinguished Professor of Education at UCLA, who contributed to the study. "To reap the social benefits of ethnic diversity, students need to be placed in classes that reflect the overall diversity of their school.”

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.srcd.org/">Society for Research in Child Development</a>

Study: Kids of all races benefit from diversity in schools

Increased ethnic diversity in middle schools benefits students of all...

When looking for new opportunity, cultural identity affects a person’s choice of a prestigious big pond or a less known small pond, a new study concludes.

<a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> researchers recruited Chinese and U.S. adults and gave them the option of choosing to attend a top 10 ranked college while having below-average grades or attending a top 100 ranked <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/college-kids-underestimate-drinking/">college</a> while having above-average grades.

Chinese participants were much more likely (58%) than European-Americans (29%) to choose the first option, being below average at a top-10 ranked school. 

 Further questioning explored why the participants made those choices.

 "Chinese didn't choose the 'big pond' because they are harmonious collectivists uninterested in standing out in a small pond." said lead author Kaidi Wu. "The real reason Chinese go for the big pond is that they are more concerned about prestige than European Americans.”

In real life, people are faced with so-called “frog pond” decisions at major crossroads in their lives, Wu said.

"What we end up choosing has downstream consequences and may significantly alter the paths of our lives,” he said. “These consequences are not only individual, but cultural."

Past research on the topic has focused on what happens to people after they've made the decision for what "pond" to join. The authors of the new study wanted to better understand how people choose which "pond" to join.

It’s important to remember there are no right or wrong answers, said Wu.

"The choices we make are the products of our culture," he added. "The next time you are faced with a frog-pond dilemma, take heart that there is not one right way of choosing; nor is there a universal standard of a single rational decision to be made."

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.spsp.org/publications/social-psychological-and-personality-science">Social Psychological and Personality Science</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a>

Study: Those looking for prestige prefer a big pond

When looking for new opportunity, cultural identity affects a person’s...

How long have cats been domesticated as lovable pets? It's difficult to know for sure. Ancient fossils do not reveal whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-older-women-match/">cats</a> were wild or domesticated, making the domestication timeline difficult to track. 

A new study uses DNA analysis of ancient cat remains to show that populations of cats from both Egypt and the Near East contributed to the gene pool of today's domestic cats. 

The taming of cats is traditionally associated with ancient Egypt. Paintings from 3, 500 years ago depict cats perched underneath chairs in household settings. 

However, there is evidence to suggest that cats may have been domesticated around 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. Grains were grown and stored in homes, which attracted rodents and the wild cats that preyed on them. It is possible that cats were adopted for pest control at this time. 

A complete skeleton of a cat was found in Cyprus buried alongside human remains from 7500 BC. This provides further evidence that cats may have been tamed by early communities in Southwest Asia.

For the current study, researchers set out to track the distribution of specific cat DNA markers. The researchers used data from 209 ancient and modern cats spanning 9000 years, from the Mesolithic period to the twentieth century. The fossils were from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Egyptian cat mummies. 

The team discovered that the genetic signatures were widespread throughout time and location, which is evidence that people took cats with them as they relocated.

One of the DNA signatures analyzed by the team - which had first appeared in Turkey - showed up more than 6, 000 years ago in Bulgaria, 5,000 years ago in Romania, and 3,000 years ago in Greece. 

A second genetic marker, which was first seen in Egypt, had reached Bulgaria between the first and fifth centuries. It was found in a seventh-century sample from Northern Europe, and appeared in an eighth-century sample from Iran. 

In addition to these two major DNA breakthroughs, the researchers were able to determine that tabby cat markings became common by the 1700s. The study also showed that people started breeding cats in the 1800s.

Carlos Driscoll of the Wildlife Institute of India points out that this research "strengthens and refines previous work.” The study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>, provides an unprecedented historical look at the DNA of cats. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>

Have cats really been domesticated for over 10,000 years?

How long have cats been domesticated as lovable pets? It's...

Yoga is just as safe and effective as physical therapy in treating lower back pain, a new study found.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.bmc.org/">Boston Medical Center</a> randomly assigned 320 participants suffering from chronic lower back pain to 12 weekly yoga classes, 15 physical therapy visits, or an educational book and newsletters about coping with their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-reveals-human-spine-originated/">pain</a>. The participants were predominantly low-income, racially diverse adults.

An estimated 10 percent of U.S. adults are affected by chronic lower back pain, the study said.

It is more common among racial and ethnic minorities and in people of lower socioeconomic status, the study said.

Currently, physical therapy is the most common evidence-based, reimbursable, and non-pharmacologic therapy prescribed by physicians. But clinical guidelines, meta-analyses, and several large randomized controlled trials also support yoga. This was the first study to compare the two therapies.

After a year,  researchers found that a yoga class designed for chronic low back pain patients was as effective as physical therapy for reducing pain, improving function, and lowering use of pain medication.

Compared to an education-only intervention, patients who did yoga or physical therapy were also less likely to take pain medications at 12 weeks. 

The researchers concluded that yoga may be a reasonable alternative to physical therapy depending upon patient preferences, availability, and cost.

The findings are published in <a href="http://annals.org/">Annals of Internal Medicine</a>. 

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://www.acponline.org/"> American College of Physicians</a>

Yoga just as effective as physical therapy for lower back pain

Yoga is just as safe and effective as physical therapy...

If carbon gas emissions continue to rise at current rates, 74 percent of the world's population will be exposed to deadly heatwaves by 2100, according to a new study.

Even if <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-emissions-income-gap/">emissions</a> are reduced aggressively, 48 percent of the world's human population will be affected, the study said.

"We are running out of choices for the future," said the study’s lead author, Camilo Mora, associate professor at the<a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/"> University of Hawaii at Manoa</a>. “For heatwaves, our options are now between bad or terrible.”

The researchers conducted an extensive review and found more than 1,900 locations worldwide where high ambient temperatures have killed people since 1980. By analyzing the climatic conditions of 783 lethal heat episodes, researchers identified a threshold beyond which temperatures and humidities become deadly. 

The area of the planet where such a threshold is crossed for 20 or more days per year has been increasing and is projected to grow even with dramatic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. 

As of now, about 30 percent of the world's population is exposed to such deadly conditions each year.

The 2003 European heatwave that killed approximately 70,000 people, the 2010 Moscow heatwave that killed 10,000 people, and the 1995 Chicago heatwave that killed 700 people are staggering examples of the risk to life posed by heatwaves, the authors said.

Other cities that have experienced deadly heatwaves included New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, London, Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney and Sao Paulo.

"Finding a threshold beyond which climatic conditions turn deadly is scientifically important yet frightening," said Farrah Powell, a UH Manoa graduate student and one of the study’s co-authors. "This threshold now allows us to identify conditions that are harmful to people. And because it is based on documented cases of real people across the globe, it makes it that more credible and relevant. The scary thing is how common those deadly conditions are already."

A web-application accompanying the paper allows counting, for any place on Earth, the number of days in a year when temperature and humidity exceed such a deadly threshold. For example, by 2100 New York is projected to have around 50 days with temperatures and humidities exceeding the threshold in which people have previously died. That same year, the number of deadly days for Sydney will be 20, 30 for Los Angeles, and the entire summer for Orlando and Houston.

"Climate change has put humanity on a path that will become increasingly dangerous and difficult to reverse if greenhouse gas emissions are not taken much more seriously," Mora said. "Actions like the withdrawal from the Paris agreement is a step in the wrong direction that will inevitably delay fixing a problem for which there is simply no time to waste."

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source : <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/">University of Hawaii at Manoa</a>

Study: Deadly heatwaves will rise even with emission cuts

If carbon gas emissions continue to rise at current rates,...

The happiest people may be those who sleep just over seven hours per night, according to an American mattress company.

The company <a href="https://www.amerisleep.com/">Amerisleep</a> conducted a survey of 2,000, and found that the respondents who claimed to be happiest got that amount of sleep each night. The company shared its results – along with links to scientific studies about the healthiest sleep habits – on its <a href="https://www.amerisleep.com/blog/counting-sheep-losing-sleep/">blog</a>.

“Those who reported being somewhat unhappy or completely unhappy got an average of less than seven hours of sleep per night, while ‘perfectly happy’ people reported slightly over seven hours per night,” Amerisleep wrote.

The company surveyed 2,000 Americans, asking them about their sleep habits, how much sleep they get eat night, their relationships, and their habits. Some of their findings reinforce existing scientific research on sleep.

For example, some of the people surveyed reporting worrying about their relationships. This spanned all of the sleep categories. However, those who got less sleep reported being significantly less happy overall than those who got between 6.8 and 7 hours per night.

“According to our survey, if you’re in a bad relationship, you’re also not getting a lot of sleep,” the company reported. “But what about if you’re in no relationship at all? Turns out, single people get the most sleep of any group in our survey, and separated people get the least.”

They also confirmed that medication can impact sleep habits, but they did find that some medications, like Benadryl, seemed to be associated with less sleep, though the survey didn’t indicate if that was because of the medication, or because of the allergies it is often used to treat.

Some more surprising findings: Living in a noisy area or having an uncomfortable mattress didn’t bar respondents from being among the happiest people. Most of the respondents who reported a light room, mildly noisy sleeping environment or uncomfortable bed still got plenty of sleep.

“Light, comfort, and noise do matter, of course, but only when they are significant,” the company said.

While people who are well-rested tend to be the happiest, Amerisleep concluded, poor sleeping conditions can be overcome, and getting a good night’s rest can help other aspects of your life.

And a little pre-bedtime meditation never hurts, the company said.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Mattress company shares sleep secrets of happiest people

The happiest people may be those who sleep just over...

Meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi can reverse the molecular reactions in our DNA which cause ill-health and depression, a new study said.

When a person is exposed to a stressful event, their sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for the 'fight-or-flight' response, is triggered. This, in turn, increases production of a molecule called nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), which regulates how our genes are expressed, the study said.

NF-kB activates genes to produce proteins called cytokines that cause inflammation at the cellular level. This is a reaction that is useful as a short-lived fight-or-flight reaction, but if persistent, leads to a higher risk of cancer, accelerated aging, and psychiatric disorders like depression, according to a study by <a href="http://www.coventry.ac.uk/">Coventry University</a> and <a href="http://www.ru.nl/english/">Radboud University</a>.

However, people who practice mind-body interventions (MBIs) such as yoga and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daily-meditation-works-wonders/">meditation</a> exhibit the opposite effect. They experience a decrease in production of NF-kB and cytokines, leading to a reversal of the pro-inflammatory gene expression pattern and a reduction in the risk of inflammation-related diseases and conditions, the study said.

The research, published in the journal <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/immunology">Frontiers in Immunology</a>, reviews more than a decade of studies analysing how the behavior of genes is affected by different MBIs.

When examined together, the 18 studies -- featuring 846 participants over 11 years -- reveal a pattern in the molecular changes which happen to the body as a result of MBIs, and how those changes benefit our mental and physical health.

The researchers focus on the way genes activate to produce proteins which influence the biological makeup of the body, the brain, and the immune system.

"Millions of people around the world already enjoy the health benefits of mind-body interventions like yoga or meditation, but what they perhaps don't realize is that these benefits begin at a molecular level and can change the way our genetic code goes about its business,” said lead investigator Ivana Buric of Coventry University.

Activities such as yoga leave a “molecular signature” in our cells, which reverses the effect that stress or anxiety would have on the body by changing how our genes are expressed, Buric said.

”Put simply, MBIs cause the brain to steer our DNA processes along a path which improves our wellbeing,“ she said.

More research is needed to better understand the effects, Buric said.

"But this is an important foundation to build on to help future researchers explore the benefits of increasingly popular mind-body activities,” she said.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source : <a href="http://www.coventry.ac.uk/">Coventry University</a>

How yoga and meditation actually reverse ill health, depression

Meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi can reverse the molecular reactions...

Staving off irreversible damage to the environment will require less meat consumption and more efficient farming methods globally, according to a new study.

"If we want to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, but still provide a secure food supply for a growing global population, it is essential to understand how these things are linked," said lead author Michael Clark of the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a>.

The study analyzed the input, output, and environmental impact of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-agriculture-tropical-forest-loss/">food production</a> systems. 

Although high agricultural efficiency consistently correlated with lower environmental impacts, the detailed picture was “extremely mixed,” Clark said. Organic systems used less energy, but required more land use, did not lower greenhouse gas emissions, and tended to have higher eutrophication (nutrient runoff) and acidification potential per unit of food produced. 

Grass-fed beef, meanwhile, tended to require more land and emit more greenhouse grasses than grain-fed beef.

Combining the benefits of different production systems, such as organic's reduced reliance on chemicals, with the high yields of conventional systems would result in a more sustainable agricultural system, the study concluded. 

"Interestingly, we also found that a shift away from ruminant meats like beef - which have impacts three to 10 times greater than other animal-based foods - towards nutritionally similar foods like pork, poultry or fish would have significant benefits, both for the environment and for human health,” Clark said. "Larger dietary shifts, such as global adoption of low-meat or vegetarian diets, would offer even larger benefits to environmental sustainability and human health."

A lack of action will lead to massive increase in agriculture’s environmental impact, including the clearing of 200 to 1000 hectares of land, tripling the use of fertilizer and pesticide applications, and and 80 percent jump in greenhouse gas emissions from farming, said coauthor David Tilman. 

"The steps we have outlined, if adopted individually, offer large environmental benefits,” he said. 

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/erl">Environmental Research Letters</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://ioppublishing.org/"> IOP Publishing</a>

Diet and farming changes that the environment needs us to make

Staving off irreversible damage to the environment will require less...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" 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.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

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[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



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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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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