Female,Having,Heart,,Asthma,Or,Panic,Attack.,Difficulties,With,Breathe,

When we think of a heart attack, the image that often comes to mind is straight out of a movie: someone suddenly clutches their chest in pain and collapses as shocked bystanders look on. It's a scene etched into our collective memory by decades of TV and film.



However, the real experience of a heart attack rarely fits that narrative. In fact, believing in that dramatic version can delay life-saving treatment.



Hollywood’s version has shaped public perception in ways that may be doing more harm than good. The truth is far more complex and subtle. 



For Ann Eckhardt, a nursing professor and researcher at <a href="https://www.uta.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The University of Texas at Arlington</a>, this public misunderstanding is not just a matter of health education. It is a deeply personal mission rooted in years of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-kills-differently-now-than-five-decades-ago/">research</a> and a family experience that first sparked her passion for the subject.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-missing-the-signs-of-a-heart-attack">Missing the signs of a heart attack </h2>



Movies from the 1980s and 1990s cemented an unrealistic idea of heart attacks. The result? Many people don’t recognize the signs when it happens to them.



“We did ourselves a disservice in the 1980s and 1990s with what’s known as ‘The Hollywood Heart Attack,’” Dr. Eckhardt said. “That’s unfortunately not real life. It’s not always intense." 



"Sometimes it’s just discomfort that doesn’t feel quite right, so people tend to wait to see a doctor. The longer you wait, the more likely you are to have negative consequences after your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-remains-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide/">heart</a> attack.”



This tendency to wait, to dismiss symptoms that don’t seem dramatic enough, can cost precious time. And in cardiology, time is muscle. 



The longer blood flow to the heart is restricted, the greater the damage. But if people are looking for cinematic signals, they might miss the real ones.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heart-attack-symptoms-can-be-subtle">Heart attack symptoms can be subtle </h2>



One of the biggest myths is that heart attacks always present with severe, sudden <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-sweeteners-erythritol-directly-linked-to-heart-attacks-and-strokes/">pain</a>. In reality, many symptoms are subtle. 



People may experience vague discomfort, pressure, or a strange feeling they can’t quite describe. These symptoms are easier to ignore, especially when life is busy or stressful.



Eckhardt and her team wanted to understand these misconceptions in detail. They explored how people interpret chest pain and whether that interpretation affects how and when they seek care. 



The team has identified a dangerous gap between public belief and medical reality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-the-warning-signs">Rethinking the warning signs </h2>



Many people also believe that heart attacks look drastically different in men and women. While that belief was once supported in the medical community, experts are now rethinking the language they use.



“We used to say men have typical symptoms and women have atypical symptoms,” Eckhardt said. “We’re trying very hard to move away from that language now."



"The most common symptom for men and women is chest-related. We created confusion by saying women are somehow completely different.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-false-expectations-about-heart-attacks">False expectations about heart attacks</h2>



Labeling symptoms as typical or atypical can confuse patients. If someone doesn’t feel the expected kind of pain, they may assume it isn’t serious. Worse, they might believe it can’t possibly be a heart attack. That false assurance can delay treatment.



Eckhardt’s team wanted to dig deeper into how people form these ideas. To do that, they created the <a href="https://www.heartandlung.org/article/S0147-9563(23)00121-8/abstract?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chest Pain Conception Questionnaire</a>. The tool is designed to measure what people think heart attack symptoms look like, and where those ideas come from.



Three years into the project, the team made a striking discovery: nearly 75% of respondents had gotten their information about heart attacks from media sources like TV and film. That suggests medical messaging is losing the battle for public attention.



“We often tell people chest pain is a symptom of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-this-amount-of-coffee-helps-prevent-heart-disease-and-diabetes/">heart</a> attack, but what we don’t tell them is what they might actually feel,” Eckhardt said. 



“For a lot of people, it’s not pain in the traditional sense. It’s more discomfort, pressure, tightness. They just don’t feel quite right, but they can’t really put their finger on it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vague-signs-delay-treatment">Vague signs delay treatment</h2>



Many heart attack sufferers report a general unease or tightness instead of sharp pain. But because it’s vague, they hesitate to call a doctor or go to the hospital. This indecision can lead to devastating outcomes.



Eckhardt wants medical professionals to change how they talk to patients. Instead of simply asking about chest pain, they should expand the question to include more accurate descriptions.



“The longer you wait, the more likely it is you’ll have irreversible damage to the heart,” Eckhardt said. 



“So, if we can determine what people think a heart attack will be like, perhaps we can help the medical community better triage and ask questions. It’s not just ‘Are you having chest pain?’; it’s also ‘Do you have any discomfort, pressure, tightness, squeezing?’”



This approach could help doctors identify patients at risk more effectively. It also makes space for individuals to describe their symptoms without second-guessing themselves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-lifelong-mission">A lifelong mission </h2>



For Eckhardt, this work is not just about data or education. It is deeply personal. Her commitment to the subject began when she was young, shaped by a frightening family event.



“That experience sparked my interest early on,” Eckhardt said. When she was in middle school, her grandfather was rushed to the hospital after a heart attack. 



Thankfully, he survived the ordeal thanks to timely bypass surgery and lived for another two decades. That moment planted the seeds of a lifelong commitment to health education and research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changing-the-public-perception">Changing the public perception </h2>



Eckhardt and her colleagues know it won’t be easy to re-educate the public. Hollywood images are hard to shake. 



However, the team's research continues, driven by a clear goal: help people recognize real heart attack symptoms, seek help early, and improve outcomes.



Every person who rethinks their idea of what a heart attack feels like could be one life saved. It is not always about pain. Sometimes, it is a quiet, persistent signal that something is wrong. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.heartandlung.org/article/S0147-9563(25)00104-9/abstract" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heart &amp; Lung</a>.



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What a heart attack really feels like - it's much different from what you see on TV

When we think of a heart attack, the image that often comes to mind is straight out of a movie: someone suddenly clutches their chest in pain and collapses as shocked bystanders look on. It's a scene etched into our collective memory by decades of TV and film. However, the real experience of a heart attack rarely fits that narrative. In fact, believing in that dramatic version can delay life-saving treatment. Hollywood’s version has shaped public perception in ways that may be doing more harm than good....

More than 400 million years ago, Earth saw an unprecedented explosion of new life. In a new study, geologists have added to the growing mountain of evidence connecting this burst of biodiversity to rising oxygen levels on the planet.

A team of scientists led by Dr. Cole Edwards of <a href="http://www.appstate.edu/">Appalachian State University</a> found that oxygen levels spiked at around the same time that life began diversifying during the Ordovician Period, between 445 and 485 million years ago.

"This oxygenation is supported by two approaches that are mostly independent from each other, using different sets of geochemical records and predicting the same amount of oxygenation occurred at roughly the same time as diversification," Edwards said in a press release about the study.

The researchers made use of geochemical proxies, high-resolution data and chemical signatures preserved in rocks to identify when oxygen levels rapidly increased during the Middle and Late Ordovician Period. Their discovery of a nearly 80 percent oxygen increase during that period coincides with what’s become known as the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.

The explosion of life led to enormous changes in existing species and a spike in new marine life.

Previous studies have estimated that Earth’s oxygen levels spiked to nearly modern levels during the Cambrian Period from 485 to 541 million years ago. However, measuring prehistoric oxygen levels is difficult because there’s no way to directly measure ancient seabeds or atmospheric makeup. The new study shows oxygen levels may not have peaked until the Ordovician Period.

"This study suggests that atmospheric oxygen levels did not reach and maintain modern levels for millions of years after the Cambrian explosion, which is traditionally viewed as the time when the ocean-atmosphere was oxygenated," Edwards said. "In this research, we show that the oxygenation of the atmosphere and shallow ocean took millions of years, and only when shallow seas became progressively oxygenated were the major pulses of diversification able to take place." 

However, it still remains unclear what effect higher oxygen levels may have had on animal life, the researchers said.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo/">Nature Geoscience</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: luisrsphoto, <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/">Shutterstock.com</a>

Study: Biodiversity on Earth connected to oxygen levels

More than 400 million years ago, Earth saw an unprecedented...

A coastal survey team came upon an unexpected discovery in Russia’s Kamchatka Territory late last week: the headless remains of a Pleistocene sea monster.

The massive skeleton once belonged to a creature known as Steller’s sea cow. While the species had an extensive range during the Pleistocene epoch, by the time they were discovered by European explorers in 1741, they lived only around the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea. 

The explorers hunted them, finding that they had few defenses against harpoons. Just one massive, nearly 10-ton sea monster could feed a 30-person ship’s crew for a month, and the fat made an excellent substitute for butter, according to primary sources shared by Jacob Mikanowski in <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/04/pleistoseacow/522831/">The Atlantic</a>. 

The sea cows’ run-in with the expedition, led by their namesake Georg Steller, spelled their demise. The species was extinct just 27 years after its discovery. Scientists suspect needless overhunting of the creatures contributed to their disappearance.

The skeletal remains found by the coastal surveyors would have been about 20 feet long, if the skull had been present. The manatee-like sea creatures could grow to nearly 30 feet. The researchers excavated 45 vertebrae, 27 ribs, a left shoulder blade and several other bones, the <a href="http://www.mnr.gov.ru/news/detail.php?ID=343860">Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology</a> reported. 

The remains are missing a skull, the cervical vertebrae, the right scapula, and a few other vertebrae and small bones.

“The discovery of such a sufficiently complete skeleton of Steller's sea cow is an extremely important event not only for the <a href="http://www.travelkamchatka.com/komandorsky.htm">Komandorsky reserve</a>, but for science in general,” the ministry said.

The find is one of the most complete skeletons found since the 19th century. The last discovery of a full Steller’s sea cow skeleton was in 1987. That set of remains, found on Bering Island, was around 9 feet long.

“The found skeleton will become one of the central exhibits of the visitor center of the Komandorsky reserve,” the ministry said.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: <a href="http://komandorsky.ru/было-бы-чудом.html">Commander State Biosphere Reserve</a>

Skeletal sea monster found on Russian island – without its head

A coastal survey team came upon an unexpected discovery in...

Controversial Italian scientist Dr. Sergio Canavero has announced the world’s first successful head transplant – conducted on a cadaver in China.

If it sounds too good to be true, it just might be. Medical researchers around the world have expressed skepticism over Canavero’s claims.

According to Canavero, a surgical team from <a href="http://cie.hrbmu.edu.cn/en/dynWeb.asp?dataID=8">Harbin Medical University</a> led by Dr. Xiaoping Ren performed an 18-hour operation to attach a severed head to a body. The surgery included reconnecting the spine, nerves and blood vessels.

Ren made waves last year when he reported he had successfully grafted a head onto the body of a monkey. The team also reported a successful head transplant using three rats in May.

“We're born, we grow, we age and we die. For millions of years humans has evolved and 110 billion humans have died in the process,” Canavero said during a press conference, as reported by the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>. “That's genocide on a mass scale. We have entered an age where we will take our destiny back in our hands. It will change everything. It will change you at every level. The first human head transplant, in the human mode, has been realised.”

The team plans to attempt the surgery using the bodies of two brain-dead organ donors next, he said.

However, the medical establishment is skeptical about Canavero and Ren’s claims. 

Dr. Dean Burnett, a neuroscientist and author of <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Idiot-Brain-Neuroscientist-Explains-Really-ebook/dp/B0176HBRMY">The Idiot Brain</a>, questioned why Canavero announced the transplant in a press conference rather than releasing his research through legitimate channels.

“Why do that? Why tell the newspapers before you tell your peers?” he asked in a column written for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/nov/17/no-there-hasnt-been-a-human-head-transplant-and-may-never-be-sergio-canavero">The Guardian</a>. “If your procedure is rigorous and reliable enough, the data should reflect that. When scientists, particularly self-styled ‘mavericks,’ court publicity but desperately avoid scrutiny, that’s never an encouraging sign.”

Burnett also questions where Canavero and Ren were able to find “volunteers” among patients with no brain activities, and why they’re hesitant to try the procedure on conscious, living people who have volunteered for it.

“Trying it with a conscious, thinking person means it absolutely has to be 100 percent effective for them to remain in this state after the transplant is done,” he wrote. “This would mean finding workable solutions to all the considerable obstacles presented by the very concept of a head transplant.”

Rachel Feltman, a science editor for the magazine <a href="https://www.popsci.com/first-head-transplant-human-surgery">Popular Science</a>, also questioned the claims. She points out unanswered questions about Canavero and Ren’s claims; for example, they claim to have reattached the spine, but doctors still cannot repair a fully severed spinal cord.

“For a completely severed spinal cord to be brought back to functionality there are millions of nerve connections that need to be linked back together, and these are wildly difficult to rejoin,” Feltman wrote.

Much simpler transplants than a human head are still being figured out and refined, she noted, and it takes years of research and collaboration before any of them – such as face or uterine transplants – were successful.

“In 2017, we’ve only just begun to attach hands in such a way that nerves will connect and operate well enough to make the appendages useable,” she wrote. “Accomplishing the same feat with an entire body would be a monumental achievement.”

A full report on Ren’s procedure will be released within the next few days, Canavero promised.

Despite the skepticism, even a partially successful head transplant like the one Canavero described could move transplant science forward much as face and hand transplants have.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

First successful head transplant? Maybe not, scientists say

Controversial Italian scientist Dr. Sergio Canavero has announced the world’s...

New evidence uncovered in Spain has revealed that Neanderthals survived in the area long after Neanderthals died out in other parts of the world. The findings support the notion that human evolution was more complicated and uneven than previously thought.

A 10-year excavation uncovered the remains of three Middle-Paleolithic sites in southern Spain that showed evidence of Neanderthals at least 3,000 years after <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthals-smooched-treat-toothache/">Neanderthals</a> were thought to have died off. 

The researchers recently published their findings in the journal Heliyon. 

The Middle-Paleolithic Period was part of the Stone Age and dates back from 300,000 to 30,000 years ago. It was during this time that modern humans interbred with Neanderthals and other Eurasian populations. 

The researchers used radiocarbon and luminescence dating to track artifacts that were found in the sites. Luminescence dating is a precise dating method that can tell archaeologists exactly when certain events occurred. 

In this case, the excavations and dating pointed to a Neanderthal presence. 

“In three new excavation sites, we found Neanderthal artifacts dated to thousands of years later than anywhere else in Western Europe,” said Dr. João Zilhão, the lead author of the study. “Even in the adjacent regions of northern Spain and southern France the latest Neanderthal sites are all significantly older.” 

One of the most interesting aspects of the discovery is that it gives a more accurate picture of how and when Neanderthals were absorbed into modern human populations through interbreeding. 

This interbreeding was not a smooth process that happened everywhere at once, but instead was an uneven “stop and go” process that differed depending on geographic regions. 

“We believe that the stop-and-go, punctuated, uneven mechanism we propose must have been the rule in human evolution, which helps explain why Paleolithic material culture tends to form patterns of geographically extensive similarity while Paleolithic genomes tend to show complex ancestry patchworks,”  said Dr. Zilhão.

There is certainly more about human evolution left to discover, particularly when it comes to Neanderthals, and excavating new sites may be the key to unearthing that information. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Human evolution involved overlapping eras, new research finds

New evidence uncovered in Spain has revealed that Neanderthals survived...

Researchers have discovered that some Amish people have a gene mutation that enables them to live up to ten years longer. The carriers also have higher metabolic efficiency and are significantly less likely to develop diabetes.

Dr. Douglas Vaughan of <a href="http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine</a> is the lead author of the study.

“Not only do they live longer, they live healthier,” said Dr. Vaughan. “It's a desirable form of longevity.”

The researchers tested 177 Amish residents of Berne, Indiana for the analysis. They found 43 individuals who had the genetic mutation. These carriers, who have one mutant copy of the gene SERPINE1, were found to live an average of 85 years, while non-carriers in the same community were found to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-earth-meteorites-ponds/">live</a> an average of 75 years.

The analysis also revealed that Amish people with this gene mutation are less prone to diabetes, with 30 percent lower fasting insulin levels. In addition, they have higher metabolic efficiency and significantly more vascular flexibility.

“The findings astonished us because of the consistency of the anti-aging benefits across multiple body systems,” said Dr. Vaughan.

According to the researchers, the genetic mutation was introduced into the Amish community by farmers who migrated to Indiana in the 19th century from Berne, Switzerland. Due to cultural preferences, the Amish in Berne have been genetically isolated and they are mostly all related to some degree.

“This is the only kindred on the planet that has this mutation,” said Dr. Vaughan. “It's a private mutation.''  

The research team has collaborated with scientists at <a href="http://www.tohoku.ac.jp/">Tohoku University</a> in Japan to develop an experimental oral drug, TM5614, that can mimic the effects of the mutant gene. 

Clinical trials in Japan are testing to see how the drug influences insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity. The researchers will also test the drug to investigate whether it can protect against age-related illnesses.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Gene mutation allows some Amish people to live 10 years longer

Researchers have discovered that some Amish people have a gene...

Researchers have created the most precise geothermal heat map of the Antarctic to date that may explain the source of ice shelf melting.

Trying to map the “geothermal heat flux,” or geothermal heat rising, to the Antarctic ice sheet has been difficult in the past because of the hostile conditions in the area and the thickness of the ice itself. The ice sheet measures a little over two miles in some places.

But now, researchers from the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a> have created an accurate and detailed graphic of the geothermal heat flux in the area using magnetic measurements.  

This heat map correlates with another recent study that found evidence of an ancient heat source deep below the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-glacier-melting/">West Antarctic Ice Sheet</a>. 

The researchers used magnetic measurements to create a map that is 30 to 50 percent more accurate than any previous heat maps of the area.

[caption id="attachment_962304" align="aligncenter" width="286"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Heat-flux-map.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-962304" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Heat-flux-map-286x300.jpg" alt="" width="286" height="300" /></a> Image Credit: British Antarctic Survey[/caption]

Geothermal heat, which can also be a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/game-changing-invention-converts-both-co2-and-plastic-waste-into-renewable-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sustainable energy source</a>, is important to factor in when examining ice sheets and melting. This is especially true when predicting how climate change will impact those areas in the Antarctic and Arctic where melting will cause sea level rise.  

“How the ice sheet will respond to these recent changes is influenced by the pattern of geothermal heat, and that’s why this new map is so important,” said David Vaughan, a British Antarctic Survey glaciologist in a written statement.

Recently, scientists discovered new evidence that a mantle plume underneath the West Antarctic ice sheet is causing melting beneath the ice.

The possibility of a mantle plume beneath the Antarctic is not new, but now researchers have a better understanding of the inner workings of the plume and its activity below the ice sheet. 

Both the plume study and the new geothermal map will help researchers make better predictions about melting and the effects of climate change on the ice sheet. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New map shows heat from deep Earth melting Antarctica

Researchers have created the most precise geothermal heat map of...

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Don Juan Pond in Antarctica is one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth, but its water source has long been a mystery to scientists.

It is called a pond, but it actually measures about 300 by 900 feet and ranges only about four inches deep. 

Don Juan Pond consists of a salty brine that is rich in calcium chloride. This salty mixture keeps the pond from freezing, even with temperatures at -50 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Scientists have been unsure about where the source of this salty liquid originates, but new research has revealed the pond is actually fed from underneath.

What’s even more exciting is that water in the pond could be similar to water on Mars.

A new study from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington </a>has found that Don Juan Pond’s water source likely comes from a deep groundwater system. The finding contradicts an earlier hypothesis that theorized the water came from moisture from local valley slopes.

“Don Juan Pond is probably one of the most interesting ponds on Earth,” said Jonathan Toner, the lead author of the study. “After 60 years of extensive study, we still don't really know exactly where it's coming from, what drives the fact that it's visible on the surface, and how it's changing.”

For the study, Toner developed a model to compute how salty water, like that in Don Juan Pond, changes during evaporation and freezing. Toner put different salt and water ratios into the model to create different inputs and equations.

Toner then created two different situations for his model. In one, the water was fed from beneath, and in another, the pond was fed from runoff or near-surface seeps.

Toner discovered that deep groundwater was the only source that produced a similar chemical makeup to the liquid in Don Juan Pond. 

"You couldn't get Don Juan Pond from these shallow groundwaters," Toner said. "It's definitely coming from the deep groundwater." 

Toner also discusses how important the Don Juan Pond is in relation to future <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planets-earth-mars-created/">Mars</a> explorations. The location and contents of the Don Juan Pond are very similar to what conditions are like on Mars now. 

“If there is water on Mars, it's probably going to look a lot like this pond,” Toner said. “Understanding how it formed has large implications for where would you expect to find similar environments on Mars.”

Toner is part of a team sponsored by NASA that will explore the pond and the nearby slopes within a larger context of furthering Mars research. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Pierre Roudier/Flickr

Salty pond in Antarctica could hold clues about water on Mars

Don Juan Pond in Antarctica is one of the saltiest...

A new forecasting tool will let scientists know which cities are at risk of flooding as glacial land ice melts. Developed by scientists at <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> in California, the model also gives experts insight into which ice sheets are of the most concern.

The tool, which predicts how water will be “redistributed" as land ice melts, can inform cities of which particular <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/iceberg-a-68/">ice sheets</a>, ice caps, and glaciers will impact sea level rise in their region.

Dr. Eric Larour, who has worked in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 2005, is the project’s lead developer. 

Dr. Larour told <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news">BBC News</a>, "We can compute the exact sensitivity - for a specific town - of a sea level to every ice mass in the world. This gives you an idea, for your own city, of which glaciers, ice sheets and ice caps are of specific importance."

Dr. Larour explained that the tool diagnoses the sea level rise by examining its three major contributors, the first of which is gravity. 

Dr. Larour said that ice sheets “are huge masses that exert an attraction on the ocean. When the ice shrinks, that attraction diminishes- and the sea will move away from that mass." In addition, land that has been compressed underneath the weight of the ice expands vertically.

The third major influence on the pattern of sea level change is the Earth’s rotation.

"You can think of the Earth as a spinning top," said Dr Larour. "As it spins it wobbles and as masses on its surface change, that wobble also changes. That, in turn, redistributes water around the Earth."

The researchers found that sea level rise caused by changes in the northern and eastern regions of the Greenland ice sheet will directly impact New York, while London may be significantly affected by the ice sheet’s northwestern region. Sea level pattern changes in Sidney will be heavily influenced by melting ice sheets along the northeast and northwest coastline of Antarctica, according to the study.

"As cities and countries attempt to build plans to mitigate flooding, they have to be thinking about 100 years in the future and they want to assess risk in the same way that insurance companies do,” said senior scientist Dr. Erik Ivins.

The findings of the study are published in <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/?utm_source=gophotonics">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New tool predicts which cities are at risk as sea levels rise

A new forecasting tool will let scientists know which cities...

It can be very challenging to make important decisions based on cost versus benefit, and neuroscientists at the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> have determined that this type of conflict is drastically affected by chronic stress. When mice were faced with a cost-benefit analysis, stress caused them to make the most high-risk decisions available.

"One exciting thing is that by doing this very basic science, we found a microcircuit of neurons in the striatum that we could manipulate to reverse the effects of stress on this type of decision making,” said study senior author Ann Graybiel. “This to us is extremely promising, but we are aware that so far these experiments are in rats and mice." 

The research team had first identified the brain circuit involved in decision making that involves cost-benefit conflict in 2015. In that study, the researchers found that they could suppress the circuit and alter the rodents' preference for lower-risk, lower-payoff choices to a preference for higher risks and higher payoffs.

In the current study, the researchers exposed the mice to a short period of stress every day for two weeks. Before experiencing stress, the rodents would choose to run toward the region of the maze which had dimmer light and weaker chocolate milk about half the time. The researchers gradually increased the concentration of chocolate milk found in the dimmer side and the animals began choosing that side more frequently.

However, when chronically stressed rodents were put in the same situation, they continued to choose the side of the maze with bright light and better chocolate milk, even as the chocolate milk concentration increased on the other side. This was the same behavior the researchers witnessed in their previous study when they disrupted specific decision-making circuitry.

"Somehow this prior exposure to chronic stress controls the integration of good and bad," said Graybiel. "It's as though the animals had lost their ability to balance excitation and inhibition in order to settle on reasonable behavior."

The researchers found that after this stress-induced change takes place, it remains in effect for months. However, they were able to develop a way to restore normal decision making in the stressed mice, which demonstrates that the brain circuitry involved in cost-benefit decision making remains intact following chronic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/watching-sports-heart-stress/">stress</a>. 

The findings of the study, which are published in <a href="http://www.cell.com/">The Cell</a>, suggest that the key brain circuitry identified by the researchers may be susceptible to guidance that could restore normal behavior in humans who have disorders which cause atypical decision making.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Stress causes the brain to make risky decisions

It can be very challenging to make important decisions based...

Anyone who lives near any of the five Great Lakes might be familiar with the term “lake-effect snowstorm,” a special kind of blizzard that can batter residents with whiteout conditions and heavy snowfall. 

Now, new research from the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> (NSF) has found that the shape of Lake Ontario increases the severity of lake-effect snowstorms.

The research was conducted by a team of scientists who monitored lake-effect storms in rural Tug Hill, a region in upstate New York close to Lake Ontario that gets around 20 feet of snow a year. 

Lake-effect snow is caused by air circulation, moisture, and the temperature of the lake. When cold air moves over relatively warm water, the moisture from the lake intensifies the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/accurately-measure-snowfall-new/">snowstorm</a>. 

Researchers who studied Tug Hill found that the specific shape of the Lake Ontario’s shoreline is a factor in how and where the cold air circulates over the lake. 

The research was part of a project called Winter Lake-Effect Systems and was funded by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a>.  

"Lake Ontario's east-west orientation allows intense bands of snow to form," explained Ed Bensman, program director at the NSF Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences. "This study found that the shape of the lake's shoreline can have an important influence on the low-level winds that lead to bands of snow for long periods of time -- and to heavy snow totals. The research team analyzed the strength of these snow bands, and their formation and persistence. Snow bands were often active for several days."

The researchers hope their findings can help better inform weather forecasts for those areas most affected by lake-effect storms. 

“If we want to pinpoint where the lake-effect is going to be, we're going to have to do a very good job of simulating what's happening along these coastal areas,” said Jim Steenburgh, another member of the research team.

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The shape of Lake Ontario makes snowstorms worse

Anyone who lives near any of the five Great Lakes...

“Video games won’t get you anywhere!” How many times have kids been told that by their parents? But according to new research from scientists at the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a>, video game skill may show a direct correlation to higher intelligence. 

While the researchers make it clear that their findings do not indicate that playing computer games will make a young person smarter, they do indicate that individuals who are more skilled at these games tend to be smarter.

The study focused on “Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas” (MOBAs), which are action strategy games that usually involve two teams of five individuals competing against each other. They also looked a multiplayer “First Person Shooter” (FPS) games, which is one of the most popular game genres today.

The researchers first study analyzed the correlation between performance in the game League of Legends and an individual’s performance in paper-and-pencil intelligence tests. Their second study looked at large datasets from two MOBA games (League of Legends and Defense of the Ancients) and two FPS games (Destiny and Battlefield 3). 

In their second study, the scientists found that for large groups of thousands of players in MOBAs, their performance in the game and IQ behaved in similar ways as player got older. However, for FPS games they found the opposite effect, where performance actually declined after players’ teen years. Athanasios Kokkinakis, a PhD student at York and lead author of the study, elaborates on this, “unlike First Person Shooter (FPS) games where speed and target accuracy are a priority, Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas rely more on memory and the ability to make strategic decisions taking into account multiple factors. It is perhaps for these reasons that we found a strong correlation between skill and intelligence in MOBAs.”

Professor Alex Wade of the University of York – a corresponding author on the paper – says that MOBA games “are complex, socially-interactive and intellectually demanding. Our research would suggest that your performance in these games can be a measure of intelligence.” Wade continues, “Research in the past has pointed to the fact that people who are good at strategy games such as chess tend to score highly at IQ tests. Our research has extended this to games that millions of people across the planet play every day.”

The researchers believe that their findings have the potential to have a big impact on the future of video games and the creative industry, as these games may be able to extend as a tool for research in mental health and psychology. They could also be used as “proxy” tests of IQ, as well as a way to monitor <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ways-keep-brain-healthy/">cognitive health</a> across populations.

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Good news for gamers! Video game skill linked to intelligence

“Video games won’t get you anywhere!” How many times have...

The fact that heated liquids freeze faster than cold liquids is known as the Mpemba effect, which was observed as far back as the 4th century AD by Aristotle. Researchers from <a href="https://www.uc3m.es/">Universidad Carlos III De Madrid </a>(UC3M) are demonstrating how this phenomenon occurs in granular fluids.

Study co-author Antonio Lasanta is from the UC3M <a href="https://www.uc3m.es/ss/Satellite/UC3MInstitucional/en/Detalle/Organismo_C/1381812372440/1371206581851/_Gregorio_Millan_Barbany__University_Institute_for_Modelling_and_Simulation_in_Fluodynamics">Gregorio Millán Barbany University Institute for Modeling and Simulation on Fluid Dynamics, Nanoscience and Industrial Mathematics</a>. 

“We can simulate on a computer and make analytical calculations to know how and when the Mpemba effect will occur," said Lasanta."In fact, we find not only that the hottest can cool faster but also the opposite effect: the coldest can heat faster, which would be called the inverse Mpemba effect."

In 1960, a Tanzanian student named Erasto Mpemba explained to his teacher that the hotter mixture of ice cream froze faster than the cold one. This inspired a technical document on the subject, and frequent analysis of the effect began. 

Regardless of the widespread interest, there have been conflicting explanations on exactly what that the Mpemba effect is and under what circumstances it happens.

"It is an effect that, historically, has not been addressed in a rigorous manner but merely as an anomaly and a didactic curiosity," said co-author Antonio Prados."From our perspective, it was important to study it in a system with the minimum ingredients to be able to control and understand its behavior." 

This approach led the researchers to their own theory of what conditions cause the Mpemba effect to occur.

"The scenario that the effect will most easily occur in is when the velocities of the particles before heating or cooling have a specific disposition--for example, with a high dispersion around the mean value," said researcher Francisco Vega. 

This means that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/temperatures-rise-mortality-rates/">temperature</a> of the fluid can evolve more rapidly if the state of the particles is prepared before the cooling.

The research team is planning to carry out experiments to confirm their theory. According to the scientists, learning more about this effect may lead to useful applications in everyday life. The findings of the study are published in <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/">Physical Review Letters</a>.

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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

Why hot water freezes faster than cold water

The fact that heated liquids freeze faster than cold liquids...

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.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



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.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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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://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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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.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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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...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&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.

How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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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.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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

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