In the high-pressure world of elite sports, maintaining mental health is proving to be as crucial as keeping one's physical health in top shape. 



Alarming statistics from a recent study conducted by Amsterdam UMC, in partnership with NOC*NSF (the Dutch Olympic Committee and Sport Federation), highlight the extent of the issue. 



The study, published in BMJ Open Sport &amp; Exercise Medicine, reveals that nearly 74% of Dutch elite athletes and 41% of their coaches report significant sports-related distress. The figures are reflective of global trends seen among elite athletes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-health-concerns-of-elite-athletes">Mental health concerns of elite athletes</h2>



The study's findings go beyond stress, revealing a broader spectrum of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mental-health-crisis-half-of-the-worlds-population-will-be-affected-by-age-75/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mental health</a> concerns that extend into athletes' daily lives. 



Excessive alcohol consumption, reported by 52% of athletes and 53% of coaches, is a notable concern, as it not only negatively impacts performance but also exacerbates underlying mental health issues. 



In athletes, mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders are frequently linked to significant life events or severe injuries, creating a cycle of distress that can hinder both personal well-being and athletic success.



According to Vincent Gouttebarge, professor of sports medicine at <a href="https://www.amsterdamumc.org/en/organization/amsterdam-umc.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Amsterdam UMC</a> and the <a href="https://www.up.ac.za/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Pretoria</a>, the results are comparable to the mental health of non-athletes and are in line with similar studies among elite athletes worldwide. 



"These are high percentages, but these are self-reported complaints and not serious diagnosed mental illnesses. Nevertheless, sports physicians and other supervisors should pay more attention to the psychological well-being of elite athletes," said Professor Gouttebarge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-unseen-toll-on-elite-athletes">The unseen toll on elite athletes</h2>



The study surveyed 156 athletes and 95 coaches about their mental health experiences, finding that recent life events had a significant impact on athletes’ mental health. 



There were strong links between these events and issues like anxiety, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-with-a-history-of-depression-tend-to-process-more-negative-information/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">depression</a>, and eating problems. 



Additionally, severe injuries were found to correlate with anxiety and sleep disorders - though no such patterns were found among the coaches.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-health-support-in-elite-sports">Mental health support in elite sports</h2>



To address these issues, researchers recommend using the International Olympic Committee’s Sport Mental Health Assessment Tool 1 to screen athletes for mental health symptoms before the sports season begins. 



Gino Kerkhoffs, Chair of the Academic Center for Evidence-based Sports Medicine at Amsterdam UMC, explained that the tool is an instrument to screen elite <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/at-what-age-do-olympic-athletes-perform-their-best/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">athletes</a> for mental health symptoms. 



"This makes it possible to identify athletes who are at risk of mental health problems or who already suffer from them at an early stage. And then the sports doctors can adequately support, treat, and/or refer them," said Kerkhoffs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-sports-organizations">The role of sports organizations</h2>



Sports organizations play a critical role in addressing the mental health challenges faced by elite athletes. Implementing mental health screening tools and providing psychological support should be integral to their programs.



Many athletes feel the pressure to constantly perform at their best, often ignoring or downplaying mental health symptoms. 



By creating an environment that prioritizes both physical and mental well-being, sports organizations can help athletes develop resilience, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/physically-active-children-cope-better-with-stress/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cope with stress</a>, and seek timely intervention.



Collaboration between sports physicians, coaches, and mental health professionals is essential in ensuring athletes receive the right support. 



Mental health training for coaches can also help them better recognize symptoms and provide appropriate guidance, which may positively influence both athlete performance and well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-prioritizing-mental-health-in-sports">Prioritizing mental health in sports</h2>



As the conversation around mental health in elite sports continues to grow, the need for long-term solutions becomes more evident. 



Regular mental health assessments, combined with ongoing education for athletes and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coaches-can-improve-athletes-lives-by-being-authentic-leaders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coaches</a>, will help destigmatize the topic and encourage more individuals to seek help when needed. 



Moving forward, research will need to explore the most effective interventions for elite athletes, focusing not only on reactive measures but also on preventive strategies that support overall psychological health.



By embedding mental health awareness into the very fabric of sports culture, the athletic community can ensure that athletes are equipped to handle the unique pressures they face, leading to healthier, more sustainable careers in sports.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/10/3/e001821" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BMJ Open Sport &amp; Exercise Medicine</a>.



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Mental health issues are prevalent among elite athletes

In the high-pressure world of elite sports, maintaining mental health is proving to be as crucial as keeping one's physical health in top shape. Alarming statistics from a recent study conducted by Amsterdam UMC, in partnership with NOC*NSF (the Dutch Olympic Committee and Sport Federation), highlight the extent of the issue. The study, published in BMJ Open Sport &amp; Exercise Medicine, reveals that nearly 74% of Dutch elite athletes and 41% of their coaches report significant sports-related distress. The figures are reflective of global trends seen among...

The Covid-19 pandemic affected people all over the world in different ways, and the high uncertainties that accompanied this unprecedented situation caused fear and anxiety for many. During the pandemic, social media platforms such as Twitter was a major information source for many people, due to the quick and easily digestible news that it constantly provided. Sadly, such platforms also contributed to the spread of various <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/conspiracy-theory-believers-small-crimes/">conspiracy theories</a>, rumors, and outright lies, which had an adverse impact on people’s compliance with public health measures.



Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://iiasa.ac.at/">International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis</a> (IIASA) has analyzed the Twitter discussions of eight different widespread conspiracy theories. Instead of measuring the number of conspiracy-related tweets relative to the total number of tweets – as previous studies did – the researchers analyzed the discussions around conspiracy tweets themselves in order to find out more about what specific theories were discussed, to what extent, and how the frequency of these discussions changed over time.



The scientists collected a data set of nearly 1.3 million tweets associated to conspiracy theories between January 2020 and November 2021. These data included tweets related to eight different conspiracy theories: the 5G, Big Pharma, Bill Gates, biological weapon, exaggeration, Film Your Hospital, Genetically Modified Organism (GMO), and vaccine conspiracies.&nbsp;



“Analyzing the distribution of tweets citing different conspiracy theories over time allowed us to instantly determine when the discussion of which theory prevailed and how the distribution changed over the time period we investigated,” said study lead author Dmitry Erokhin, a scientist in the Cooperation and Transformative Governance Research Group at IIASA.



The analyses revealed that conspiracy theories differed in terms of their development. For instance, some peaked at the beginning of the pandemic (the 5G and Film Your Hospital theories), some grew during the pandemic (the vaccine-related theories), others remained persistent during the pandemic (the Bill Gates and exaggeration theories), and some had two peaks (the GMO and the biological weapon theories). The number of active Covid-19 cases appeared to be a significant predictor for the frequency of conspiracy tweets a week later for seven of the theories.



According to the researchers, risk perceptions play a large role in the emergence and proliferation of conspiracy theories, which usually aim to describe difficult and unexpected events with a high personal risk. Fear and distrust drive people to search for seemingly logical explanations of the pandemic and bring together like-minded individuals, forming so-called “echo-chambers” consisting of, for example, pro- versus anti-vaccine groups.



“Conspiracy theories are an important part of the Covid-19 discussion, and they influence people’s behavior. In this regard, it is important to be careful and critical in evaluating the information we receive, especially from social media. This makes our findings important for policymakers, as it can help them identify theories that remain persistent despite two years of pandemic development and anti-conspiracy news campaigns, and to develop measures aimed specifically at combating the remaining conspiracies,” concluded co-author Nadejda Komendantova, the leader of the Cooperation and Transformative Governance Research Group at IIASA.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20563051221126051">Social Media and Society</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why do Covid conspiracy theories persist on social media?

The Covid-19 pandemic affected people all over the world in...

A new study from <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> suggests that experiencing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/families-are-less-stressed-when-they-eat-meals-together/">stressful</a> events can help people learn resilience. Using a mouse model, the researchers also found that dopamine may play an important role in building resilience and bouncing back quickly from adversity.



"Chronic stress can have lasting adverse consequences in some individuals, yet others are resilient to the same stressor," wrote the study authors. "Susceptible and resilient individuals exhibit differences in the intrinsic properties of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons after the stressful experience is over. However, the causal links between DA, behavior during stress and individual differences in resilience are unknown."



For the investigation, the researchers placed small mice in close proximity with larger, aggressive mice. The team observed a display of defensive behaviors that could predict a mouse's level of resilience. When dopamine was activated as the small mice defended themselves, resilience appeared to be even stronger.



Study lead author Lindsay Willmore was intrigued by the group of mice who defended themselves tenaciously when faced with an aggressor.



“They’d turn back towards the aggressor, they’d throw their paws out, they’d jump on him, and they would just not give up,” said Willmore. “I thought, wow, there’s something going on in these guys’ brains that’s super interesting and could be the key to resilience.”



“It’s a complicated environment where a mouse has to decide what to do around a bully mouse,” said study co-author Professor Ilana Witten. “What decision it makes has profound consequences in terms of how it ends up.”



While the defensive stances associated with fighting back were key in predicting a mouse’s resilience in the face of attack, Willmore said that even more strongly related to resilience was how much dopamine the animals had in their reward system during the time when they were starting to fight back. "That’s what was really cool to me - that an animal that is not just fighting back but is rewarded for fighting back is the one that becomes resilient.”



“I’m very interested in the question of whether we can teach resilience,” said study co-author Professor Annegret Falkner. The results of the study indicate that the answer is yes, as the mice showed that they could be guided toward resilience.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05328-2">Nature</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

Can we learn resilience from stressful events?

A new study from Princeton University suggests that experiencing stressful...

Researchers have confirmed that not <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hitting-snooze-is-common-among-sleep-deprived-people/">sleep</a> can negatively impact long-term health. During a 25-year study led by <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> (UCL), experts gathered self-reported data from 7,000 men and women aged 50, 60, and 70. The data included how much sleep the participants got, their death rate, and whether they had been diagnosed with more than one disease (multimorbidity).&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that people who slept for five hours or less at age 50 were 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with a chronic disease, and 40 percent more likely to be diagnosed with two or more chronic conditions over the course of 25 years, when compared with those who received up to seven hours of sleep.&nbsp;



Among the sleep deprived group, the rate of mortality also increased by 25 percent. When all ages were combined, those who received less than five hours of sleep were 30 to 40 percent more likely to experience multimorbidity.



"Multimorbidity is on the rise in high income countries and more than half of older adults now have at least two chronic diseases. This is proving to be a major challenge for public health, as multimorbidity is associated with high healthcare service use, hospitalisations and disability," said study lead author Dr. Severine Sabia.



"As people get older, their sleep habits and sleep structure change. However, it is recommended to sleep for 7 to 8 hours a night - as sleep durations above or below this have previously been associated with individual chronic diseases."



The researchers did not find any significant benefit to getting nine or more hours of sleep per night.&nbsp;



"Our findings show that short sleep duration is also associated with multimorbidity," said Dr. Sabia. "To ensure a better night's sleep, it is important to promote good sleep hygiene, such as making sure the bedroom is quiet, dark and a comfortable temperature before sleeping. It's also advised to remove electronic devices and avoid large meals before bedtime. Physical activity and exposure to light during the day might also promote good sleep."



"Getting enough sleep allows your body to rest. There are a host of other ways that poor sleep could increase the risk of heart disease or stroke, including by increasing inflammation and increasing blood pressure," said Jo Whitmore, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation.



"This research adds to a growing body of research that highlights the importance of getting a good night's sleep."



This research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004109">PLOS Medicine</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lack of sleep linked to greater risk of comorbid disease

Researchers have confirmed that not sleep can negatively impact long-term...

Seafood,On,Ice,At,The,Fish,Market

Marine and freshwater foods – so-called “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blue-foods-are-healthy-and-environmentally-friendly/">blue foods</a>” – are a vital source of nutrients and income, sustaining the livelihoods of nearly 800 million people worldwide. However, according to a new study of 195 countries led by <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a>, despite generating over $424 billion globally, the benefits of the aquatic foods sector are distributed unequally, and often even contribute directly to ongoing injustices. Due to these findings, the study authors call for urgent actions to ensure that marginalized people, communities, and nations have more equal opportunities to benefit from aquatic foods in terms of nutrition, income, and trade.



“Current ongoing crises – from conflicts to pandemics – have only exacerbated global inequalities, and blue food systems are more vulnerable than ever,” said&nbsp;study lead author Christina Hicks, an environmental social scientist at Lancaster. “However, with fairer and more just access and rights, blue foods also present the opportunity to level the playing field, allowing more people to participate in and benefit from this rich and diverse sector.”



The scientists found that the blue food sector supports welfare-based benefits – in the form of affordable nutrition and jobs – as well as wealth-based benefits, in the form of revenue from increased production, trade, and consumption. Unfortunately, various social, economic, and political barriers cause countries most in need of welfare-based benefits to be excluded from the wealth generating benefits, thus limiting their potential for growth.&nbsp;



Moreover, the experts highlighted another tension between the two: the pursuit of wealth benefits risks undermining the critical gains to human welfare from blue foods, such as supporting jobs and nutrition. For instance, in some countries, export-led economic growth could undermine the jobs supported by fisheries and aquatic food systems, along with the nutritional quality of their products.



The analysis revealed that lower income countries produced and consumed fewer aquatic foods, despite employing more people in the blue food industry. In addition, policies often fail to account for gender-related constraints regardless of data suggesting that greater equality for women supported more affordable food and could reduce the number of food insecure people by 17 percent.



Thus, policies based on principles of justice and human rights, with inclusive decision-making processes accounting for the main drivers of injustice, could lead to more equitable outcomes for aquatic food systems.



“Global seafood and other aquatic food systems generate huge economic revenues and blue foods contain large quantities of micronutrients that are absolutely essential to the health and wellbeing of millions. However, our study shows that the system as it stands is not fairly distributing the benefits of these resources and identifies the multiple barriers that need to be overcome. This is a crucial step in ensuring an equitable balance between welfare and wealth benefits and across nations, which is critical to ensuring blue foods can address undernutrition and poverty for millions of people across the globe,” Professor Hicks concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00618-4">Nature Food</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Benefits of blue foods are not reaching millions of people

Marine and freshwater foods – so-called “blue foods” – are...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.nd.edu/">University of Notre Dame</a> has shed more light on people’s tendency to hit the snooze button on their alarm devices. The experts found that 57 percent of the participants were habitual snoozers, most likely due to the fact that they are not getting sufficient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-age-could-predict-health-and-lifespan/">sleep</a>. Although scientists and medical professionals have long advised against such behavior, the act of snoozing has remained until now virtually unstudied.



“Most of what we know about snoozing is taken from data on sleep, stress, or related behaviors,” said study lead author Stephen Mattingly, who conducted the research during a postdoctoral fellowship at Notre Dame. “Alarm clocks, smartphones, they all have snooze buttons. The medical establishment is generally against the use of snoozing, but when we went to look at what hard data existed, there was none. We now have the data to prove just how common it is — and there is still so much that we do not know.”



Since, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC), only one in three Americans get enough sleep, Dr. Mattingly and his colleagues suggest that snoozing may be how some of them battle their chronic exhaustion. “So many people are snoozing because so many people are chronically tired,” Mattingly explained. “If only one in three people are sleeping adequately, that means a lot of us are turning to other means to manage fatigue.”



By surveying 450 adults with full-time, salaried employment, the scientists found that females were 50 percent more likely to snooze than males, and that all snoozers tended to experience more disturbances during sleeping hours. Moreover, night owls – people who go to sleep later in the night – were found to snooze more and be more tired in general. “In the 9 to 5 world, night owls are losing,” Mattingly warned. Finally, respondents who woke naturally, without the help of an alarm, slept longer and consumed less caffeine.



“Part of the focus of this study was to demystify what is happening with snoozing,” said study senior author Aaron Striegel, a professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Notre Dame. “Is it really worse than waking up to an alarm on the first ring — is it that much different?"



"The recommendation against an alarm is well-founded, but as far as we can tell from the physiology and our data, waking to one alarm or hitting the snooze button and waking to two or three alarms doesn’t make much of a difference. If you need an alarm because you’re sleep-deprived — that’s the issue.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac184">SLEEP</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Hitting snooze is common among sleep-deprived people

A new study led by the University of Notre Dame...

Mortality rates increased in most countries due to the global Coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020. This led to changes in life expectancy that were more severe in some countries than in others. Previous global epidemics have seen life expectancies recover fairly rapidly afterwards, but this has not been the case in all countries as the current pandemic has progressed. New research published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01450-3">Nature Human Behavior</a>.has found that, in some countries, deficits in life expectancy continue to persist more than two years after the start of the pandemic.



Scientists from Oxford’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.demographicscience.ox.ac.uk/">Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.demogr.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research</a> used data from 29 countries, including those in Europe, as well as Chile and the U.S., to assess whether life expectancy had ‘bounced back’ to pre-pandemic levels. They found that life expectancy in 2021 remained lower than would be predicted across all 29 countries, had pre-pandemic trends continued. They say that COVID-19 has caused a protracted shock to life expectancy levels, leading to global mortality changes that are unprecedented in the last 70 years.



This finding about the magnitude and distribution of mortality due to COVID-19 confounds claims that the disease has had no more impact than a flu-like illness. Life expectancy losses during recurring flu epidemics over the second-half of the 20th&nbsp;century have been much smaller and less widespread than those seen in the current pandemic.



The researchers identified a clear geographical divide between Western and Eastern European countries that appeared in 2021. Those in Western Europe experienced life expectancy bounce backs from the sharp losses in 2020. Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and France saw complete bounce backs, and returned to pre-pandemic (2019) life expectancy levels. England and Wales, on the other hand, saw partial bounce backs from 2020 levels in 2021. Life expectancy in Scotland and Northern Ireland, however, still remained at the same depressed level as seen in 2020.&nbsp;



But Eastern Europe and the U.S. witnessed worsening or compounded losses in life expectancy over the same period. The scale of life expectancy losses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eastern Europe were akin to those last seen at the break-up of the Soviet Union, according to the research.&nbsp;



The authors state that this East-West difference in life expectancy during COVID-19 generally reflects bigger losses in countries that had lower pre-pandemic life expectancy levels to start with. Bulgaria was the worst-hit of the countries studied, with a decline in life expectancy of nearly 43 months, over two years of the pandemic. Furthermore, the study’s results show that “Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia suffered substantially higher life expectancy deficits in 2021 compared to 2020, indicating a worsening mortality burden over the course of the pandemic.”



There was also an apparent vaccination effect that followed the same East-West divide in Europe. Countries with higher proportions of fully vaccinated people experienced smaller life expectancy deficits. Older people, especially those over 80 who had seen the bulk of deaths in 2020, benefitted from vaccine protection and suffered less excess mortality in 2021.



“A notable shift between 2020 and 2021 was that the age patterns of excess mortality shifted in 2021 towards younger age groups, as vaccines began to protect the old," said study co-author <a href="https://www.demographicscience.ox.ac.uk/ridhi-kashyap">Dr. Ridhi Kashyap</a>. But there were ‘outliers’ that had surprisingly high life expectancy deficits, in spite of high vaccination rates.&nbsp;



“Finer-grained details of the age prioritization of vaccine roll-out and the types of vaccines used may account for some of these differences, as well as correlations between vaccine uptake and compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions or the overall health care system capacity," explained study co-author Dr. Jonas Schöley.&nbsp;



“Countries, such as Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and France, managed a recovery to pre-pandemic levels of life expectancy because they managed to protect both the old and the young.”



The research team expresses concern about the possible wider international impact of the pandemic. “In 2020, losses in life expectancy suffered in Brazil and Mexico exceeded those experienced in the U.S., so it is likely these countries may have continued suffering mortality impacts in 2021 – even potentially exceeding the 43 months we estimated for Bulgaria," said study co-author&nbsp;<a href="https://www.demographicscience.ox.ac.uk/jose-manuel-aburto">Dr. José Manuel Aburto</a>.



‘It is plausible that countries with ineffective public health responses will see a protracted health crisis induced by the pandemic with medium-term stalls in life expectancy improvements, while other regions manage a smoother recovery to return to pre-pandemic trends," wrote the researchers.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

COVID-19's impact on life expectancy is worse than anticipated

Mortality rates increased in most countries due to the global...

According to a recent comprehensive study led by <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/">University of Glasgow</a> based on the experiences of nearly 100,000 participants, many people do not fully recover months after being infected with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pigs-are-highly-resistant-to-sars-cov-2-infection/">SARS-CoV-2</a> – a debilitating condition known as “long Covid.” The experts found that between six and 18 months after infection, one in 20 people had not fully recovered, and a staggering 42 percent of the participants reported only partial recovery. However, people with asymptomatic infections, as well as vaccinated individuals, appear to suffer less long-term effects.



“It’s one more well-conducted, population-level study showing that we should be extremely concerned about the current numbers of acute infections,” said David Putrino, the director of rehabilitation innovation at the <a href="https://www.mountsinai.org/">Mount Sinai Health System</a> in New York. “We are in trouble.”



“There are lots of different impacts going beyond health to quality of life, employment, schooling and the ability to look after yourself,” added study senior author Jill Pell, a professor of Public Health at the University of Glasgow.



The wide range of reported symptoms – including breathlessness, fatigue, brain fog, chest pain, or palpitations – and the inability to provide a clear prognosis for people with this condition have long perplexed scientists, even as the dangers of this long Covid are became clearer, with between seven and 23 million Americans currently suffering from the long-term effects of battling the novel coronavirus. Unfortunately, as Covid-19 is turning into an endemic disease, these numbers are expected to rise dramatically.



Although symptoms of long Covid tend to be more severe among patients hospitalized during their acute stage of infection, milder or even asymptomatic cases are also at risk of developing this debilitating condition. “It has always been the case that those who are sicker are more likely to have long-term sequelae. What is frightening is that the mild cases by far outnumber the severe, so even a small percentage of mild cases going on to develop long-term sequelae is a massive public health concern,” Dr. Putrino warned.



The researchers also discovered that the risk of long Covid is higher among women, older individuals, those living in economically disadvantaged communities, or people who already suffered from various health issues, including respiratory disease or depression. Although vaccination appear to reduce the chance of developing long Covid, the protection vaccines offer against long-Covid is significantly lower than previously thought. The reasons for this need further investigation. “That is one of the most important things we need to understand next,” Dr. Putrino concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33415-5">Nature Communications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists raise alarm about long Covid prevalence

According to a recent comprehensive study led by University of...

Research has shown that a healthy diet may reduce risk of dementia. However, a new study published in the online issue of <a href="http://www.neurology.org/">Neurology®</a> has found that two diets, including the Mediterranean diet, are not linked to a reduced risk of dementia.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mediterranean-diet-can-lead-to-longer-life/">Mediterranean diet</a> is focused on fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, healthy fats such as olive oil, and a low intake of dairy products, meats and saturated fatty acids.



“While our study does not rule out a possible association between diet and dementia, we did not find a link in our study, which had a long follow-up period, included younger participants than some other studies and did not require people to remember what foods they had eaten regularly years before.”&nbsp; said study co-author Dr. Isabelle Glans of Lund University.



For the study, 28,000 people at an average age of 58 were followed over a 20-year period. Participants filled out a daily food diary, a food frequency questionnaire and completed an interview. By the end of the study, 1,943 people were diagnosed with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.



To determine links to diet, the researchers closely examined how participants’ diets aligned with dietary recommendations and the Mediterranean diet. No link was identified between following either a conventional diet or the Mediterranean diet and a reduced risk of dementia.



“Diet on its own may not have a strong enough effect on memory and thinking, but is likely one factor among others that influence the course of cognitive function. Dietary strategies will still potentially be needed along with other measures to control risk factors," explained Dr. Nils Peters of the University of Basel.



The researchers noted that self reporting of diet could have been a limitation, and that further research is needed to confirm these findings.



The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation, the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg foundation, at Lund University, the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation, the Swedish Brain Foundation, and other organizations.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Does the Mediterranean diet lower dementia risk?

Research has shown that a healthy diet may reduce risk...

Through a randomized online experiment with 295 participants, a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Human Development</a> has investigated how traffic noise and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birdsong-frequency-is-influenced-by-sexual-selection/">birdsong</a> affect mood, paranoia, and cognitive functioning. The analysis revealed that listening to birdsong reduces anxiety and paranoia, thus contributing to mental health.



The participants listened to six minutes of either typical traffic noise or birdsongs. Before and after hearing these clips, the participants had to fill in questionnaires assessing their mental health and to perform a series of cognitive tests. 



“Everyone has certain psychological dispositions. Healthy people can also experience anxious thoughts or temporary paranoid perceptions,” explained study lead author Emil Stobbe, a postdoctoral fellow in Environmental Neuroscience at Max Planck.



“The questionnaires enable us to identify people’s tendencies without their having a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, and paranoia and to investigate the effect of the sounds of birds or traffic on these tendencies.”&nbsp;



While birdsong appeared to reduce anxiety and paranoia in healthy participants, it did not seem to have an influence on depressive states. By contrast, listening to traffic noise worsened such states, particularly if the audio clip involved many different types of traffic sounds. While the positive effect of birdsong on mood was already well-known, this study is the first to reveal a positive effect on paranoid states. However, neither birdsong nor traffic noise influenced cognitive performance.



According to the researchers, birdsong could be a subtle indication of an intact natural environment, detracting the listeners’ attention from environmental stressors which could otherwise signal an acute and imminent threat. These findings suggest the possibility of applications in the treatment of mental illness, such as the active manipulation of background noise in various situations or the examination of its influences on people suffering from anxiety disorders or paranoia.



„Birdsong could also be applied to prevent mental disorders. Listening to an audio CD would be a simple, easily accessible intervention. But if we could already show such effects in an online experiment performed by participants on a computer, we can assume that these are even stronger outdoors in nature,” Dr. Stobbe said.



“We were recently able to perform a study showing that a one-hour walk in nature reduces brain activity associated with stress,” added senior author Simone Kühn, a professor of Environmental Neuroscience at Max Planck. “We cannot say yet which features of nature – smells, sounds, color, or a combination thereof – are responsible for the effect. The present study provides a further building block to clarify this issue,” she concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-20841-0">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Listening to birdsongs can improve mental health

Through a randomized online experiment with 295 participants, a team...

Hand,Holding,Vegan,Sweet,Potato,Black,Bean,Burger,With,Kale

In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.surrey.ac.uk/">University of Surrey</a>, researchers set out to analyze changes in supermarket sales of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/replace-meat-with-seafood-for-a-healthier-planet/">meat</a> products and plant-based alternatives. The analysis revealed that the average weekly sales of plant-based foods increased by 57 percent, yet without a reduction in meat sales.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Efforts to reduce meat consumption have remained absent from the UK political agenda to date, but the need to shift to lower-meat diets is gaining traction in wider society. Veganuary, an annual campaign which encourages individuals to adopt a vegan diet for the month of January, is an example of a civil society initiative to support consumer diet change," explained the study authors.&nbsp;



The research was focused on UK supermarket sales during the "Veganuary" period in January 2021. The experts compared these figures to sales before and after the campaign.&nbsp;



"Our study suggests that while retail-led campaigns are driving increased sales of plant-based foods, we are not yet seeing meat replacement at scale, which is key to drive progress toward healthy, sustainable diets," said study lead author Joanna Trewern.



"Retailers have an important role to play in enabling the adoption of healthier, more sustainable consumer diets. It’s great to see them taking action, but more is needed to reduce our reliance on meat and dairy.”&nbsp;



The team found evidence that the retailer’s efforts to make plant-based products more affordable were effective, as the increase in plant-based food sales was the greatest in low-income areas and superstores.



Currently in the UK, individual meat consumption far exceeds the government's recommendations. The National Food Strategy has proposed a 30-percent reduction in meat consumption to support the nation's commitment of reaching Net Zero by 2050.



"For there to be any chance of meeting UK climate change targets, government, food companies, civil society, scientists, and health professionals need to work together urgently to implement action plans and policies that can deliver swift and sustained change," said Trewern.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/does-promoting-plantbased-products-in-veganuary-lead-to-increased-sales-and-a-reduction-in-meat-sales-a-natural-experiment-in-a-supermarket-setting/CB44968AAD1E86856D01CA47A7BC884D">Public Health Nutrition</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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.



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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

Plant-based food sales do not always reduce meat sales

In a new study led by the University of Surrey,...

Newborn infants begin to perceive language inputs from their parents or caregivers within the first few weeks of life. This time period is thus important for subsequent linguistic development and it can be influenced by several factors. Previous research has shown that the infants of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childhood-obesity-linked-to-mothers-poor-dietary-choices/">mothers</a> suffering from postpartum depression may have reduced language comprehension and production within the first years of life.&nbsp;



While around 15 percent of new moms may be clinically depressed after the birth of the new baby, a much larger percentage experience the “baby blues,” characterized by a depressed mood but not by full-blown clinical depression. It is not known to what extent mild depressed mood may affect an infant’s early linguistic development, despite the fact that this condition is far more prevalent than clinical postpartum depression.



Scientists from the <a href="https://www.cbs.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences</a> in Leipzig, Germany, have now investigated whether subclinical depressed mood in mothers also has a negative effect on how well young babies can distinguish speech sounds from one another. This ability is considered an important prerequisite for the further steps towards a well-developed linguistic ability. If sounds can be distinguished from one another, individual words can also be distinguished from one another, and this forms the basis for recognizing both familiar and novel words in the child’s future.



The study involved 46 mothers who completed surveys about their different mood experiences and levels of stress after giving birth. Their moods were measured using a standardized questionnaire typically used to diagnose postnatal upset. The researchers also used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure how well babies were able distinguish speech sounds from other, deviant sounds. The so-called mismatch response is used for this purpose, in which a specific EEG signal shows how well the brain processes and distinguishes between different speech sounds.&nbsp;



The newborns were presented with speech stimuli consisting of repeated “ba” sounds, with irregular and unexpected deviant sounds, namely “ga” and “bu,” introduced at random intervals. The mismatch response was measured at ages of two and six months in each infant. This test of neurolinguistic perception does not require the infants to pay any conscious attention to the sounds and can be conducted perfectly comfortably while infants lie down (2 months) or sit in the laps of their parents (6 months). It is considered an accurate measurement of the infant’s ability to distinguish between sounds.&nbsp;



The results, published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.32672">Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open</a>, revealed that if mothers experience a more negative mood two months after giving birth, their children are less able to process speech sounds when they are tested at six months of age. This applied particularly when the deviant sounds involved differences in pitch, rather than content, with infants from depressed mood mothers being unable to distinguish variations in pitch. These infants showed a more immature mismatch response indicating that their ability to distinguish sounds with different pitches was not as developed as it was in infants whose mothers reported positive moods.&nbsp;



When people speak directly to infants they often use variations in pitch and emphasis, and speak more slowly. The researchers hypothesized that mothers with subclinical depressed mood engage in less infant-directed speech and that when they do engage, their speech may be more monotonous in nature.



“We suspect that the affected mothers use less infant-directed-speech,” explains study first author Professor Gesa Schaadt. “They probably use less pitch variation when directing speech to their infants.” This also leads to a more limited perception of different pitches in the children, she said. This perception, in turn, is considered a prerequisite for further language development, and infants who have delayed development of a mismatch response are considered to be at increased risk of suffering from a speech disorder later in life.



The results show how important it is that parents use infant-directed speech for the further language development of their children. Infant-directed speech that varies greatly in pitch and emphasizes certain parts of words more clearly – and thus focuses the little ones’ attention on what is being said – is considered appropriate for infants and children, and is critical for encouraging early language development.



The findings of the research suggest that the postpartum period is a critical time for infant speech perception and that early support for mothers with postpartum depressed mood may also be beneficial for their infants’ speech perception and language development. Such support could come from fathers and other caregivers who are able to engage in infant-directed-speech appropriately.&nbsp;



“To ensure the proper development of young children, appropriate support is also needed for mothers who suffer from mild upsets that often do not yet require treatment,” says Professor Schaadt. That doesn't necessarily have to be organized intervention measures. “Sometimes it just takes the fathers to be more involved.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A mother’s mood influences newborn language development

Newborn infants begin to perceive language inputs from their parents...

Spending time in nature is known to have positive effects on a person’s mental health and sense of well-being. In most previous studies on this phenomenon, ‘nature’ has been represented by parks, green spaces and woodlands, and their benefit on adult mental health has been assessed. In a new study, however, researchers have investigated the role played by contact with blue spaces, such as coastal regions, rivers and lakes. In addition, they have sought the mechanisms whereby <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-do-some-children-take-bigger-risks-than-others/">childhood</a> experiences in nature’s waterways influence subjective well-being in adulthood.



For this study, the researchers used data from 15,743 participants in the&nbsp;<a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbluehealth2020.eu%2Fprojects%2Fbluehealth-survey%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CA.O.Adesina%40exeter.ac.uk%7C122c204664284e04cd7308daa839d563%7C912a5d77fb984eeeaf321334d8f04a53%7C0%7C0%7C638007263582362973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=%2B%2BQo96auqDdZQ7xDri%2F%2BehWE9pIEMc36fx3ZBEa%2FiTs%3D&amp;reserved=0">BlueHealth International Survey</a>&nbsp;(BIS), a cross-sectional survey coordinated by the University of Exeter’s European Centre for Environment and Human Health. The participants came from 14 different European countries and four other, non-European countries/regions, namely Hong Kong, Canada, Australia and California.



Respondents were asked to recall their blue space experiences between the ages of 0 and 16 years, including how often they visited such spaces, how local they were, and how comfortable their parents/guardians were about allowing them to swim and play in these settings. They were also asked to quantify their recent contact with green and blue spaces over the previous four weeks, as well as the status of their mental health during the previous two weeks.



The results of the investigation, published in the&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101876">Journal of Environmental Psychology</a>,&nbsp;found that individuals who recalled more childhood blue space experiences tended to place greater intrinsic value on natural settings in general, and to visit them more often as adults – each of which, in turn, was associated with better mental wellbeing in adulthood. The researchers found that a model where childhood exposure to blue spaces was linked to adult subjective well-being primarily through intrinsic motivation and then through recent blue and green space visits exhibited the best fit to the data. This pattern was apparent across the data from all 18 countries.&nbsp;



The authors conclude that building familiarity with, and confidence in and around, blue spaces during childhood may stimulate a joy of, and greater propensity to spend recreational time in, nature in adulthood, with positive consequences for adult subjective well-being.



<a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphd.uniroma1.it%2Fweb%2FVALERIA-VITALE_nP1942935_EN.aspx&amp;data=05%7C01%7CA.O.Adesina%40exeter.ac.uk%7C122c204664284e04cd7308daa839d563%7C912a5d77fb984eeeaf321334d8f04a53%7C0%7C0%7C638007263582362973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=DiZ4vGxCnKu5xLuodAH0sVL92oJVWtJXonPCcPG3fKU%3D&amp;reserved=0">Valeria Vitale</a>, Lead author and PhD Candidate at Sapienza University of Rome, said: “In the context of an increasingly technological and industrialized world, it’s important to understand how childhood nature experiences relate to wellbeing in later life.”



<a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecehh.org%2Fpeople%2Fleanne-martin%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CA.O.Adesina%40exeter.ac.uk%7C122c204664284e04cd7308daa839d563%7C912a5d77fb984eeeaf321334d8f04a53%7C0%7C0%7C638007263582362973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=DoOc3GPESA6fltadW6jdeALzgsXtJEMH%2FbKv7vTsJPE%3D&amp;reserved=0">Dr Leanne Martin</a>, co-author and postdoctoral research associate at the University of Exeter’s European Centre for Environment and Human Health, said: “Water settings can be dangerous for children, and parents are right to be cautious. This research suggests, though, that supporting children to feel comfortable in these settings and developing skills such as swimming at an early age can have previously unrecognized life-long benefits.”



<a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecehh.org%2Fpeople%2Fdr-mathew-white%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CA.O.Adesina%40exeter.ac.uk%7C122c204664284e04cd7308daa839d563%7C912a5d77fb984eeeaf321334d8f04a53%7C0%7C0%7C638007263582362973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=2vl3nBM%2F2CFL9%2Bw6Xcor64x%2BoB62n1lCbt5hnOlp8AU%3D&amp;reserved=0">Dr. Mathew White</a>, co-author and senior scientist at the University of Vienna, said: “The current study is adding to our growing awareness of the need for urban planners and local bodies responsible for managing our green and blue spaces to provide safe, accessible access to natural settings for the healthy mental and physical development of our children.



“If our findings are supported by longitudinal research that tracks people’s exposures over the entire life-course, it would suggest that further work, policies and initiatives encouraging more blue space experiences during childhood may be a viable way to support the mental health of future generations.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Blue spaces in childhood improve well-being later in life

Spending time in nature is known to have positive effects...

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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

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" 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> 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

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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

[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 



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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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...