When you meet someone for the first time, take in a book's cover, or glance at a storefront, your mind rapidly constructs an initial impression. These instant perceptions stick around for a while, even when they're unfounded. 



But in a turn of events, new research suggests sleeping could aid in perceiving beyond the "book's cover" and help us make better decisions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-strong-first-impression">A strong first impression </h2>



A team at Duke University recently rolled out an intriguing study. The researchers addressed the age-old question - does it pay off to make a strong first impression or does the last word have a stronger impact?



To investigate, the team devised an experiment based on an imaginary garage sale. Participants were asked to sift through virtual boxes filled with unwanted goods and select items for the sale. 



The participants' earnings depended on the boxes they chose, hence they were motivated to figure out the worth of each box.



The secret was, however, that all of the boxes had the same total value. What differed was the arrangement of valuable and worthless items. Some boxes had valuable items right on top, others in the middle, at the bottom, or intermixed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-primary-bias-and-poor-decisions">Primary bias and poor decisions</h2>



After opening the boxes, the participants were asked to gauge the value of each and select their preferred ones. Some had to make instant decisions, while others "<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/colors-of-sunset-and-sunrise-reset-our-circadian-rhythms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slept on it</a>" and decided after a day. 



An interesting pattern emerged – the instant decision-makers tended to remember boxes not by their entire content but by the initial items they encountered. This discovery points towards a psychological trend known as "primacy bias."



Study lead author Allie Sinclair is a PhD candidate under Dr. Alison Adcock, a Duke professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.



"We found that people are strongly biased by first impressions," noted Sinclair. The participants repeatedly chose boxes with valuable items on top. 



Unveiling "treasures" before low-priced items made a box more appealing than if it was the other way round. They not only favored boxes that started strong, but also overvalued them.



Sinclair, now a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Pennsylvania</a>, explained that primacy bias could lead to irrational comparisons and inaccurate estimates of value.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-rational-choices-after-sleep">More rational choices after sleep</h2>



But there's a twist in the tale. Participants who had a day to think rendered more rational choices. They treated boxes with valuable items at any position equally. 



"They made more rational choices, equally favoring boxes with clusters of valuable items at the beginning, middle, or end," said Sinclair.



This finding suggests that delaying a decision might help us avoid the pitfalls of primacy bias. "When it's over, our brain knits it all together in memory to help us make better choices - and that neat trick happens overnight,” said Dr. Adcock.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sleeping-for-everyday-decision-making">Sleeping for everyday decision-making</h2>



The insights from this study offer profound implications for how we approach decision-making in everyday life. Whether we're buying a car, choosing a meal, or hiring a new team member, the tendency to rely on first impressions can lead to skewed assessments of value.



By recognizing the power of primacy bias, we can actively counter its effects by allowing ourselves time to reflect on all available information. Such a practice could enable us to make more informed, balanced decisions. 



Encouraging a brief pause or even a strategic overnight delay before arriving at significant decisions might be the key to sidestepping biases and making choices that align closer with the true merits of the situation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-science-of-memory-consolidation">Science of memory consolidation</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-increases-feelings-of-hope-happiness-and-gratitude/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">role of sleep</a> in this study highlights the fascinating process of memory consolidation. During sleep, our brains engage in an intricate activity of reorganizing and reinforcing stored information, a vital function for learning and decision-making. 



This neurological process enhances our capacities for rational thought, allowing us to access a more comprehensive understanding of complex information. 



As the study illustrates, this can mitigate the allure of initial impressions. Understanding the relationship between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleeping-less-than-seven-hours-high-blood-pressure-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a> and cognitive function opens promising avenues for improving educational methodologies, therapeutic practices, and even business strategies. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sleeping-on-a-decision">Sleeping on a decision</h2>



"Judging from first impressions may actually be a good thing for choices in the moment," said Dr. Adcock. However, for decisions with longer-term implications, it's worth "<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/micro-naps-in-the-brain-some-regions-sleep-while-others-stay-awake/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleeping</a> on it."



Sinclair believes there's wisdom in the idea of delaying decisions, especially in matters of consequence, like hiring or dating.



This research, backed by a <a href="https://duke.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Duke University</a> Health Scholars Award to Alison Adcock, is an exciting first look at how our brain's summary of experiences impacts our future choices.



The study is published in the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fxge0001638" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Experimental Psychology</a>. 



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'Sleeping on it' is the best way to make a rational decision

When you meet someone for the first time, take in a book's cover, or glance at a storefront, your mind rapidly constructs an initial impression. These instant perceptions stick around for a while, even when they're unfounded. But in a turn of events, new research suggests sleeping could aid in perceiving beyond the "book's cover" and help us make better decisions. A strong first impression A team at Duke University recently rolled out an intriguing study. The researchers addressed the age-old question - does it pay off...

Numerous past studies have shown a link between levels of physical activity and the risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/steep-rise-in-cardiovascular-disease-expected-in-the-u-s/">cardiovascular disease</a> (CVD). Despite the fact that mortality from CVD has decreased in recent decades, it remains a leading contributor to the global burden of disease and physical activity is an important, modifiable risk factor that can be implemented in a person’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weight-loss-can-be-achieved-at-any-age-with-simple-lifestyle-changes/">lifestyle</a> without too much difficulty. However, most of the evidence in studies to date has relied on self-reported levels of physical activity, which may be prone to various sources of bias and inaccuracy.



A new study by researchers based at the University of Glasgow is the first to use device-measured levels of physical exercise to investigate the association between activity and risk of heart failure. During the years 2013–2015, participants were randomly invited to take part in the study if they had already given their data to the U.K. Biobank, a large research database in the United Kingdom that enrolled and collected health information on 500,000 adults between 2006 and 2010.&nbsp;



The 94,739 adults that were selected in this way had an average age of 56, were predominantly female (57 percent) and white (97 percent). None of them had been diagnosed with heart failure or had had a heart attack at the time of their enrolment in this study. Each participant wore a wrist accelerometer for seven consecutive days, 24 hours per day, to measure the intensity and duration of physical activity. Subsequent data on incidence of heart attacks in participants was collected through linked hospital and death records.



The results of the analysis showed that, during the follow-up period (median duration of 6.1 years after the physical activity measurement was conducted), adults who had logged 150–300 minutes of moderate physical activity in one week had a 63 percent lower risk of heart failure, compared to participants who engaged in minimal to no physical activity. Adults who had performed 75–150 minutes of vigorous physical activity in one week were estimated to have a 66 percent lower risk of heart failure. These estimated risk reductions are after taking into account factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, education, socioeconomic conditions, smoking, alcohol intake and diet.



Physical activity is such an important aspect of keeping ourselves healthy that the US Department of Health and Human Services issued&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2712935">Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans</a>&nbsp;in 2018. They recommended that adults engage in at least 150–300 min/wk of moderate physical activity or 75–150 min/wk of vigorous physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both intensities. The American Heart Association followed suit, recommending at least 150 min/wk of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or at least 75 min/wk of vigorous aerobic exercise, or a combination of both.



“There are many potential ways that regular physical activity may reduce the risk of developing heart failure,” said Frederick K. Ho, Ph.D., co-lead author of the study and a lecturer in public health at the University of Glasgow. “For example, physical activity helps prevent weight gain and related cardiometabolic conditions, such as high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes, all of which are risk factors for heart failure. Regular physical exercise may also strengthen the heart muscle which, in turn, may prevent heart failure from developing.”



Heart failure&nbsp;is a chronic, progressive condition that develops when the heart is not capable of pumping sufficient blood to keep up with the body’s needs for blood and oxygen, and it can result in fatigue and difficulty breathing. Heart failure affects more than 6 million adults in the United States, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001052">American Heart Association</a>, and more than 86,000 Americans died of heart failure in 2019.&nbsp;



According to Ho, the study results suggest that going above and beyond the current AHA recommendations for moderate activity may provide even greater protection against heart failure. “We found that moderate physical activity has the potential increased cardiovascular risk benefits up until 500 min/wk, as appropriate for each individual,” he said. However, participants who performed more than 150 min/wk of vigorous physical activity showed did not show a further reduction in risk of heart failure.&nbsp;



“These findings indicate that every physical movement counts. A leisurely, 10-minute walk is better than sitting and no physical activity. And, if possible, try to walk a little faster, which increases the intensity and potential benefits of exercise,” Ho said.



People whose risk of heart failure is high, due to their being overweight or obese, having high blood pressure or elevated glucose or cholesterol, may be particularly likely to benefit from increasing their physical activity, according to Ho and colleagues.



“Health care professionals may suggest more physical activity based on a patient’s current lifestyle and health status,” Ho said. “Generally, moderate physical activity is easier to incorporate into daily routines, and it’s generally safer. Vigorous physical activity is sometimes the most time-efficient and may be more suitable for busy people. However, caution is advised for all when beginning a new physical activity regimen to prevent injuries or acute adverse events (such as a heart attack in a formerly sedentary person initiating a vigorous exercise program).”



Although the results of the study suggest a link between reduced risk of heart failure and boosting the duration, frequency and intensity of exercise, this is an observational study and so it cannot prove a cause-and-effect link. Further experimentation would be required for this. In addition, because participants were overwhelmingly white, further studies would be needed to confirm that these results also apply to people from diverse backgrounds.



“Our findings add to the overwhelming body of other evidence, suggesting that maintaining even a modest amount of regular physical activity can help prevent a range of chronic conditions from developing, including heart failure,” said senior study author Professor Naveed Sattar.



The research is published in Circulation, the flagship journal of the <a href="https://www.heart.org/">American Heart Association</a>



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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

Even modest exercise reduces the risk of heart failure

Numerous past studies have shown a link between levels of...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en">Leiden University</a> has analyzed recent archaeological excavations from the Middle/Upper Paleolithic in Western Romania at the site of Româneşti, which is one of the most important southeastern European sites associated with the earliest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diverse-climates-homo-sapiens-thrive/">Homo sapiens</a> on this continent. These excavations offer a significant glimpse of how modern humans adapted to their new environment after reaching Europe.



Over the past decades, scientists have discovered many early Homo sapiens fossils in Southeastern Europe, most likely because they first entered the continent through the Balkan Peninsula. However, until recently, very few of such fossils have been associated with cultural remains. The excavations at Româneşti revealed a variety of artifacts which were probably geared towards producing highly standardized chipped stone bladelets that might have been used to straighten wooden shafts, suggesting that this region was a type of projectile workshop.



The presence of thousands of such artifacts, spanning around 300 kilometers around the site, together with evidence for onsite fire use, shows that Româneşti was an important place where the early humans returned frequently. Since microscopic analyses of the artifact surfaces revealed that most of them were not used, the site may have acted as a place for manufacturing tools which were later transported in other areas.



“The use of good-quality local, meso-local, and exotic raw materials at the onset of the Aurignacian [one of the first cultural-technological traditions commonly associated with the expansion of&nbsp;Homo sapiens&nbsp;in Europe] also demonstrates that Româneşti and the other Banat sites were repeatedly returned to from a range of distances up to 300&nbsp;km and were persistent places in the landscape,” the study authors explained.



Although these findings indicate changes in how Homo sapiens subsisted in comparison to the Neanderthals, further research is needed to clarify what the relationship of these early Homo sapiens with the Neanderthals was. While nearby contemporary fossils suggest that the two species of hominids were interbreeding, it is still not yet clear what this means for the ways in which their lifestyles were changing and how the archeological remains reflect this.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15544-5">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&nbsp;&nbsp;

New clues about the earliest Europeans found in Romania

A new study led by Leiden University has analyzed recent...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/">Liverpool John Moores University</a> has found that our sense of how quickly or slowly time is passing is partly structured by changes in our bodies. More specifically, the experts have shown that greater activity of the parasympathetic nervous system (SNS), characterized by increased <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-weather-heightens-risk-of-death-from-heart-disease/">heart</a> rate and electricity conductance, had a “small, but significant” effect on the feeling of time passing faster.



The scientists asked 67 participants to complete a normal day’s activities while wearing sensors measuring how their SNS was behaving, including a heart rate monitor and a skin sensor tracking electricity conductance caused by the activity of the sweat glands. The participants had to provide an hourly report regarding how fast or slow they felt time had passed.



“The results show, for the first time that increases in SNS activity can significantly speed up our subjective experience of time - being aroused really does make time pass more quickly,” explained study lead author Ruth Ogden, an experimental psychologist at Liverpool John Moores. “When an individual experiences a significant increase in heart rate or skin conductance this can make time seem like it is passing up to ten per cent faster.”



According to the scientists, this relatively small effect may be due to the participants experiencing quite “normal” days. If they had been experiencing a more chaotic fluctuation of events, the effect would have likely been greater. “The work I have done in the lab using electric shocks and other aversive stimuli has shown much larger effects of SNS activity on time experience,” Dr. Ogden said.&nbsp;



In her view, such changes in time experience could have evolutionary benefits. “When we think about why humans would experience distortions to time, one idea is that there is some sort of evolutionary benefit to having a flexible timing system - think back to being a cave man, having “extra time” may have provided some survival advantage.”



“Assuming this evolutionary survival account is correct then it wouldn’t make sense to have a timing system that waxed and waned with every small change in arousal. Instead it would need to be a system which reacted to large changes - fight or flight. In our study, participants were mainly students going about their normal daily lives - there really weren’t that many life or death situations and maybe this limited the role of arousal in time experience.”



In future research, the scientists aim to test this hypothesis by using a virtual reality environment in which participants are exposed to a variety of virtual threats.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-16198-z">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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Increased heart rate makes us feel time passing faster

A new study led by the Liverpool John Moores University...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a> (NYU) has found that two doses of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/psilocybin-can-safely-treat-mental-health-disorders/">psilocybin</a> – the main psychoactive compound from hallucinogenic mushrooms – reduces heavy drinking by 83 percent on average (when combined with psychotherapy) among people suffering from alcoholism. This is the first controlled trial exploring psilocybin as a treatment for excessive alcohol consumption.&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention</a> (CDC), excessive alcohol use kills nearly 95,000 Americans each year, frequently due to binge drinking or liver disease. Alcohol abuse has also been linked to enormous economic and workplace losses, injuries, and impaired learning, memory, and mental health. Current methods to treat alcohol dependency include psychotherapy, supervised detoxification programs, and drug regimens that reduce alcohol craving.&nbsp;



To test the effect of psychedelic treatment on alcoholism, the researchers enrolled 93 participants of both genders, and randomly assigned them to receive either two doses of psilocybin or an antihistamine placebo. Within an eight-month period from the start of the treatment, those given psilocybin reduced heavy drinking by 83 percent, while those in the placebo group only by 51 percent. Moreover, 48 percent of those who received psilocybin stopped drinking altogether, compared with 24 percent of the control group.



“Our findings strongly suggest that psilocybin therapy is a promising means of treating alcohol use disorder, a complex disease that has proven notoriously difficult to manage,” said study senior author Michael Bogenschutz, the director of the <a href="https://med.nyu.edu/departments-institutes/psychiatry/research/center-psychedelic-medicine">NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine.</a>&nbsp;



“As research into psychedelic treatment grows, we find more possible applications for mental health conditions. Beyond alcohol use disorder, this approach may prove useful in treating other addictions such as cigarette smoking and abuse of cocaine and opioids.”&nbsp;



More research is needed to document psilocybin’s effects and find the appropriate dosages before the treatment will be ready for widespread clinical use. Moreover, since this drug raises blood pressure and heart rate and can cause overwhelming and sometimes debilitating psychological and emotional effects, it should only be used in clinical settings in conjunction with psychological evaluation and preparation.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.2096">JAMA Psychiatry</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Psychedelic drug therapy could help treat alcoholism

A new study led by the New York University (NYU)...

A new study has identified connections between cold <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-climate-change-affect-extreme-weather-events/">weather</a> and deaths from heart disease, particularly in poor neighborhoods. Hot weather was also linked with excess deaths from heart disease and stroke in patients with heart conditions.



“Climate change is leading to a rise in the average global temperature but also extreme cold in some regions. More than 70,000 excess deaths occurred across Europe during the summer of 2003 due to intense heatwaves," said Professor Stefan Agewall of the University of Oslo, Norway.



"Cold weather also accounts for excess deaths and hospital admissions. Previously studies on the cardiovascular effects of heat and cold mainly used aggregated data, such as daily deaths in a city. The EXHAUSTION project used individual data, enabling us to identify vulnerable subgroups for protective interventions, thereby increasing resilience for future weather events.”



The analysis included 2.28 million adults from five cohort studies conducted in Italy, Germany, the UK, Norway, and Sweden between 1994 and 2010. Participants with and without cardiovascular disease were included.&nbsp;



The relationships between temperature and cardiovascular conditions and death were analyzed for all participants.&nbsp;



The researchers compared the temperature on the day of the week an adverse event occurred (e.g. Monday) with the temperature on the same day without an adverse event (e.g. all remaining Mondays) within the same month.



In particular, the experts found increased risks of death from cardiovascular disease and heart disease associated with cold weather.&nbsp;



With a temperature drop of 10°C, from 5°C to -5°C, there was a 19 percent greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 22 percent elevated likelihood of death from heart disease.&nbsp;



The relationship between cold temperature and death was pronounced in men and people living in poor neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the relationship between cold and new-onset heart disease was stronger among women and those older than 65.



Interestingly, heat was not related to detrimental effects in the overall study population. However, temperature rises from 15°C to 24°C were associated with 25 to 30 percent elevated risks of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke in people with heart disease.



“Clinicians can use this information to provide tailored advice to those most at risk of adverse health outcomes during hot and cold days," said Professor Agewall.



"Patients with heart conditions should stay hydrated in hot weather and adhere to advice from their cardiologist on medication use. We can all check the news for extreme heat and cold alerts and follow safety tips from local authorities.”



The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.escardio.org/">European Society of Cardiology</a>, ESC Congress 2022.



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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

Extreme weather heightens risk of death from heart disease

A new study has identified connections between cold weather and...

Although we are familiar with the association between smoking and lung cancer, a new study that investigates the effect of smoking on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loneliness-is-an-underestimated-threat-to-heart-health/">heart</a> structure and function is to be presented at the <a href="https://www.escardio.org/Congresses-&amp;-Events/ESC-Congress">European Society of Cardiology Congress 2022</a>. The Congress takes place between 26 and 29 August, 2022, in Barcelona, Spain. The study finds that smokers have weaker hearts than non-smokers, and that the more a person smokes, the worse his or her heart function becomes.&nbsp;



“It is well known that smoking causes blocked arteries, leading to coronary heart disease and stroke,” said study author Dr. Eva Holt of Herlev and Gentofte Hospital. “Our study shows that smoking also leads to thicker, weaker hearts. It means that smokers have a smaller volume of blood in the left heart chamber and less power to pump it out to the rest of the body. The more you smoke, the worse your heart function becomes. The heart can recuperate to some degree with smoking cessation, so it is never too late to quit.”



Tobacco kills more than eight million people each year, according to the World Health Organization. Cigarettes are responsible for 50 percent of all avoidable deaths in smokers, with half of these due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke.&nbsp;



Studies have also shown that smoking is associated with a higher risk of heart failure, and that this is often caused by a weakened heart muscle that does not pump blood around the body adequately. Where a weakened heart does not pump as much blood as it should, the cells of the body will not receive the oxygen, glucose or other nutrients they need in order to function. However, the link between smoking and heart structure and function has not yet been fully examined.



In the current study, the researchers explored whether smoking was related to changes in the structure and function of the heart in people without cardiovascular disease, as well as investigating the effect of changing smoking habits. Data from the 5th Copenhagen City Heart Study was used; this study investigated cardiovascular risk factors and diseases in the general population. A total of 3,874 participants who had no heart disease were enrolled in the study and they were categorized as current smokers, former smokers or never smokers.&nbsp;



The participants, who were aged between 20 and 99 years, were required to complete a self-administered questionnaire that asked for details of smoking history, and to estimate their pack-years, which is a measure of the number of cigarettes smoked throughout life. One pack-year is defined as 20 cigarettes smoked every day for one year.



Participants also underwent an ultrasound examination of the heart, called echocardiography, which gave information about its structure and how well it was working. The researchers compared the echocardiography measures of current smokers to those who had never smoked, while taking into account the participants’ age, gender, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diabetes status and lung function.



The average age of participants was 56 years and 43 percent of them were women. Nearly one in five participants (18.6 percent) currently smoked, while 40.9 percent were former smokers and 40.5 percent had never smoked. Compared to never smokers, current smokers had thicker, weaker and heavier hearts. In addition, less blood was pumped by the hearts of people who had high values for pack-years.



“We found that current smoking and accumulated pack-years were associated with worsening of the structure and function of the left heart chamber – the most important part of the heart," explained Dr. Holt.&nbsp;



"Furthermore, we found that over a 10-year period, those who continued smoking developed thicker, heavier and weaker hearts that were less able to pump blood, compared to never smokers and those who quit during that time.”



"Our study indicates that smoking not only damages the blood vessels but also directly harms the heart. The good news is that some of the damage is reversible by giving up.”



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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

Smokers have weaker hearts that pump less blood

Although we are familiar with the association between smoking and...

While ultra-processed foods are convenient, low cost, and ready-to-eat, these processed substances (oils, fats, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/woodpeckers-and-other-birds-can-taste-sugar-but-how/">sugars</a>, starch, protein isolates) contain little or no whole food. The products are a result of extensive "physical, biological, and chemical processes" that include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers and other cosmetic additives.



A team of researchers at <a href="https://www.fau.edu/">Florida Atlantic University</a>’s <a href="http://med.fau.edu/">Schmidt College of Medicine</a> set out to investigate whether individuals who consume high amounts of ultra-processed foods experience adverse mental health symptoms including depression, anxious days, and mentally unhealthy days. The team measured the frequency of these symptoms in 10,359 adults who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.



The experts used the NOVA food classification system, which was recently adopted by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. NOVA considers the nature, extent and purpose of food processing in order to categorize foods and beverages into four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods and ultra-processed foods.



The results showed that individuals who consumed the most ultra-processed foods had statistically significant increases in adverse mental health symptoms associated with depression. These individuals also experienced more “mentally unhealthy" and “anxious” days.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, these findings can be applied to the entire United States, as well as to other Western countries with similar ultra-processed food intakes.



“The ultra-processing of food depletes its nutritional value and also increases the number of calories, as ultra-processed foods tend to be high in added sugar, saturated fat and salt, while low in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals,” said study co-author Dr. Eric Hecht.



“More than 70 percent of prepresent about 60 percent of all calories consumed by Americans. Given the magnitude of packaged foods in the U.S. are classified as ultra-processed food and exposure to and effects of ultra-processed food consumption, our study has significant clinical and public health implications.”



According to the <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/">National Institute of Mental Health</a>, nearly one in five adults live with a mental illness. Mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety, are leading causes of morbidity, disability and mortality.



This research was funded in part by the Bertarelli Foundation. It is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition">Public Health Nutrition</a>.



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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

Ultra-processed foods can make you feel mentally unwell

While ultra-processed foods are convenient, low cost, and ready-to-eat, these...

Cannabis is one of the most commonly used illegal drugs in the United States. Nevertheless, in the past few years, more and more states have begun to legalize recreational cannabis. As a result, more than 141 million Americans now live in a state where they are able to use the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bees-do-it-better-self-pollinating-plants-lose-genetic-diversity/">plant</a> legally.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Although some people claim that they can use marijuana recreationally with no ill effects, it is still an addictive substance that can lead to physical and mental distress. Consequently, there was some curiosity among addiction researchers about the effects of legalization on the frequency of drug use.



A paper recently published by the <a href="https://www.addiction-ssa.org/">Society for the Study of Addiction</a> found that the legalization of recreational cannabis has increased usage by an average of 20 percent.



Among the study participants, 1,425 live in a state where recreational use is legal, while 1,997 reside in a state where cannabis use is still illegal. What's notable about the study is that the research participants included 111 identical twin pairs that lived in states with opposing drug policies.&nbsp;



There is a great deal of value in twin studies because each twin provides a control for the other, which means a more precise estimate of the causal effect of legalization.



When analyzing all the study participants, the researchers discovered a 24 percent increase in average cannabis use frequency that they could attribute to legalization.



When analyzing twin data, they found that the twin who lived in a "legal" state used cannabis recreationally 20 percent more frequently than their sibling living in an "illegal" state. Both of these findings imply that recreational legalization is causing more cannabis use.



This research was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.16016">Addiction</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

Cannabis use is up by 20 percent in states where it's legal

Cannabis is one of the most commonly used illegal drugs...

Obesity in pet dogs has become a common phenomenon in recent times and is of concern to veterinarians and owners alike. It is estimated that between 34 and 41 percent of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-cry-tears-of-joy-when-reunited-with-their-owners/">dogs</a> globally are overweight or obese, and several previous research studies have investigated the risk factors associated with this condition. Overweight and obese animals are more likely to develop serious health problems, including joint, skin, respiratory, cardiac and renal diseases, diabetes and an increased risk of death.&nbsp;



The main cause of obesity in dogs is that they consume more calories than they use up in their daily lives, largely because they receive too much food and not enough exercise. Both of these factors are under the control of the dog owner but, although there are many commercial dietary options for overweight dogs, there is not a lot of information or guidance for owners who wish to increase their dog’s exercise levels. In this light, researchers from the <a href="https://www.uoguelph.ca/">University of Guelph</a> in Canada undertook a large-scale, international study to investigate the relationship between the exercise regimen of owners and their dogs.&nbsp;



Past studies on the association between dogs’ body weight and their diet, exercise regimen and other sociodemographic factors have involved small samples and have been restricted in geographic location. For a broader, international perspective, PhD student Sydney Banton and colleagues analyzed the results from a survey of 3,298 dog owners living in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. The survey included questions about both owners’ and dogs’ diets and exercise routines, and each owner’s perception of his or her dog’s body weight.



Analysis of the survey responses showed that dogs were likely to get more exercise if their owners spent more time exercising, themselves. Active owners were also more likely to perceive their dog as having an ideal body weight. Compared to owners in other countries, owners in Germany tended to exercise their dogs for a longer time, were more likely to perceive their dog’s body weight as ideal, and were less likely to report having been told that their dog was overweight.



The results, published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0272299">PLoS ONE</a>, also showed that dog owners who had been told their dog was overweight were more likely to respond by restricting the dog’s diet, or by feeding it a weight control diet, but not by adjusting its exercise regimen or by cutting out the daily treats. These owners were more likely to report that their dog only exercised for between 0 and 15 minutes per day, while the recommended daily exercise time, on average, is at least 30 minutes per day.&nbsp;



Among dogs who were five years old and older, owners were less likely to perceive their dog as having an ideal body weight if they had been told their dog was overweight, if they reported attempting to control their dog’s weight by limiting food intake, and if they reported giving dogs other foods, such as treats, every day.



To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first large-scale study that demonstrates a relationship between an owner’s exercise regime and his or her dog’s exercise pattern. In the past, veterinarians have reported that the main causes of obesity are diet, socioeconomic reasons and lack of exercise, but admit that their primary strategy to address this obesity is to reduce food, reduce treats and change the diet, but not to change the exercise routine.&nbsp;



This highlights that the option to increase exercise time needs to be promoted by veterinarians when advising owners of overweight and obese dogs. "In order to treat and prevent obesity in dogs, a more holistic approach to changing both dietary and exercise routine needs to be made," wrote the study authors.



“Results from the survey revealed that feeding practices play a main role in owner perception of their dog being overweight, while exercise practices play a main role in owner perception of their dog being an ideal weight," said Banton. "While many weight loss strategies for dogs focus on feeding, this data highlights the need to incorporate exercise into weight loss regimens.”



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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

Jog with your dog to prevent pet obesity and health issues

Obesity in pet dogs has become a common phenomenon in...

The world is full of newsworthy events, spread to us via diverse media channels, that warrant our attention. Unfortunately, these events are often concerning or distressing but we feel compelled to understand them and stay informed about them anyway. In the recent past, for example, there has been a seemingly constant flow of disconcerting events, including a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-world-is-still-unprepared-for-the-next-pandemic/">pandemic</a>, a highly contentious U.S. presidential election culminating in an attempted insurrection, large-scale protests, mass shootings, a Russian invasion of Ukraine, life-threatening floods and devastating wildfires.&nbsp;



It is likely that, for many people witnessing these events in the news, the experience may cause stress and anxiety. In addition, for those who become drawn in to the unfolding tragedies and dramas, being exposed to a 24-hour news cycle of continually evolving events can have serious impacts on mental and physical wellbeing. This is the finding of a new research study that investigates the consequences of problematic news consumption on the general well-being of people.



“Witnessing these events unfold in the news can bring about a constant state of high alert in some people, kicking their surveillance motives into overdrive and making the world seem like a dark and dangerous place,” explained study first author Bryan McLaughlin, associate professor of Advertising in the College of Media and&nbsp;Communication at Texas Tech University.



“For these individuals, a vicious cycle can develop in which, rather than tuning out, they become drawn further in, obsessing over the news and checking for updates around the clock to alleviate their emotional distress. But it doesn’t help, and the more they check the news, the more it begins to interfere with other aspects of their lives.”



Known colloquially as news addiction, problematic news consumption is defined in this study as becoming immersed in the news (transportation) as well as consumed with thoughts about the news (preoccupation), attempting to alleviate feelings of threat by consuming more news (misregulation), experiencing a loss of control over consumption of the news (underregulation), and devoting less time to other aspects of one’s life (interference). McLaughlin and his colleagues, Dr. Melissa Gotlieb and Dr. Devin Mills, hypothesized that those with higher levels of problematic news consumption would experience greater mental and physical ill-being than those with lower levels of problematic news consumption.



The experts obtained data by means of an online survey completed by 1,100 U.S. adults. In the survey, people were asked about the extent to which they agreed with statements like “I become so absorbed in the news that I forget the world around me”, “my mind is frequently occupied with thoughts about the news”, “I find it difficult to stop reading or watching the news”, and “I often do not pay attention at school or work because I am reading or watching the news”.&nbsp;



Mental ill-being was assessed using nine items in the survey that captured feelings of stress (e.g., “I was in a state of nervous tension”) and anxiety (e.g., “I felt I was close to panic”) in the previous month. In addition, respondents answered questions about their experience of physical ailments, such as fatigue, pain, disrupted sleep, poor concentration, and gastrointestinal issues.



The results, published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10410236.2022.2106086">Health Communication</a>, revealed four categories of problematic news consumption behavior – severe, moderate, minimal and non-problematic. Overall, 16.5 percent of people surveyed showed signs of ‘severely problematic’ news consumption. Such individuals frequently became so immersed and personally invested in news stories that the stories dominated their waking thoughts, disrupted time with family and friends, made it difficult to focus on school or work, and contributed to restlessness and an inability to sleep.



Perhaps not surprisingly, people with higher levels of problematic news consumption were significantly more likely to experience mental and physical ill-being than those with lower levels, even when controlling for demographics, personality traits, and overall viewing.



In particular, 73 percent of those recognized to have severe levels of problematic news consumption reported experiencing mental ill-being “quite a bit” or “very much,” compared to only 8 percent of all other participants in the study. Similarly, 61 percent of those with severe levels of problematic news consumption reported experiencing physical ill-being “quite a bit” or “very much,” compared to only 6.1 percent of all other study participants.



According to McLaughlin, the findings are “alarming” and show that there is a need for focused media literacy campaigns to help people develop a healthier relationship with the news. “While we want people to remain engaged in the news, it is important that they have a healthier relationship with the news,” he said.



“In most cases, treatment for addictions and compulsive behaviors centers on complete cessation of the problematic behavior, as it can be difficult to perform the behavior in moderation. In the case of problematic news consumption, research has shown that individuals may decide to stop, or at least dramatically reduce, their news consumption if they perceive it is having adverse effects on their mental health." “For example, previous research has shown that individuals who became aware of and concerned about the adverse effects that their constant attention to sensationalized coverage of COVID-19 was having on their mental health reported making the conscious decision to tune out.”



“However, not only does tuning out come at the expense of an individual’s access to important information for their health and safety, it also undermines the existence of an informed citizenry, which has implications for maintaining a healthy democracy. This is why a healthy relationship with news consumption is an ideal situation.”



In addition, the study also identifies the contribution of the news industry to fueling the problem. Journalists are encouraged to focus on “newsworthy” stories that will grab the attention of consumers, and news channels that then give non-stop coverage of unfolding stories feed into the fascination that some people experience. The authors call for a wider discussion about the news industry’s involvement in the issue of problematic consumption.&nbsp;



In conclusion, the authors state that for certain types of people, the conflict and drama that characterize newsworthy stories not only grab their attention and draw them in, but also can lead to a maladaptive relationship with the news. "Thus, the results of our study emphasize that the commercial pressures that news media face are not just harmful to the goal of maintaining a healthy democracy, they also may be harmful to individuals’ health.”



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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

News addiction can have serious health consequences

The world is full of newsworthy events, spread to us...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a> (USC) and the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> has found that adults aged 60 or older who sit for long periods of time watching TV or engaging in other such passive, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sedentary-behavior-linked-to-higher-risk-of-cancer-mortality/">sedentary</a> behaviors are at increased risk of developing dementia. Surprisingly, the investigation revealed that other sedentary activities, such as using a computer or reading, were not associated with similar risks.



“It isn’t the time spent sitting, per se, but the type of sedentary activity performed during leisure time that impacts dementia risk,” said study lead author David Raichlen, a professor of Biological Sciences and Anthropology at USC.&nbsp;



“We know from past studies that watching TV involves low levels of muscle activity and energy use compared with using a computer or reading. And while research has shown that uninterrupted sitting for long periods is linked with reduced blood flow in the brain, the relatively greater intellectual stimulation that occurs during computer use may counteract the negative effects of sitting.”



To investigate potential correlations between sedentary leisure activities and dementia in older adults, the scientists used self-reported data from the <a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/">U.K. Biobank</a> involving over 145,000 participants aged 60 or older who were not diagnosed with dementia at the beginning of the study. After 12 years of follow-up, the researchers used hospital inpatient records to determine new dementia diagnoses, and found 3,507 cases from their cohort.



Surprisingly, even in individuals who were highly physically active, time spent watching TV was associated with increased risk of dementia, while leisure-time spent using a computer was linked to a reduced risk for dementia. “Although we know that physical activity is good for our brain health, many of us think that if we are just more physically active during the day, we can counter the negative effects of time spent sitting,” said study senior author Gene Alexander, a professor of Psychology at the University of Arizona.



“Our findings suggest that the brain impacts of sitting during our leisure activities are really separate from how physically active we are, and that being more mentally active, like when using computers, may be a key way to help counter the increased risk of dementia related to more passive sedentary behaviors, like watching TV.”



“What we do while we’re sitting matters. This knowledge is critical when it comes to designing targeted public health interventions aimed at reducing the risk of neurodegenerative disease from sedentary activities through positive behavior change,” Professor Raichlen concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206931119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Watching TV increases risk of dementia in seniors

A new study led by the University of Southern California...

Humans help one another – this is one of the characteristics of human society and one of the traits that makes us human. Help may be in terms of financial donations, goods, assistance or kindness, but it is a widespread phenomenon globally, and is common across diverse societies. Indeed, more than 50 percent of people across the U.S., Europe and Asia have reported donating to charity or helping a stranger in the past month. But why do we do it?



There are many motivational factors that drive people to help others, including cultural norms, socioeconomic factors, genetics and personality type, but at the end of the day helping others is a conscious decision involving a set of brain regions known as the social cognition network. This network becomes active when we consider the needs, mental states and perspectives of others, and when we are go about making an active decision to help another. It is possible that impairment in the functioning of this network may affect a person’s willingness to help others.



A new study by scientists at <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a> suggests that lack of sleep may be another factor that determines how likely people are to help each other. Sleep deprivation not only disrupts the functioning of the social cognition network in the brain, but also impairs emotional processing – including the ability to recognize and express emotions. The researchers suggest, in their study published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLoS Biology</a>, that a lack of sleep impairs helping at a neural, individual, group and global societal level.



Lack of sleep is known to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, hypertension and overall mortality. The new study proposes that inadequate sleep also compromises the bonds between individuals – and even the altruistic sentiment of an entire nation.



The researchers undertook three separate studied that assessed the impact of sleep loss on people’s willingness to help others. In the first study, the scientists placed 24 healthy volunteers in a functional magnetic resonance imager (fMRI) to scan their brains after eight hours of sleep and after a night of no sleep. They found that areas of the brain that form the social cognition network were less active after a sleepless night. “When we think about other people, this network engages and allows us to comprehend what other person’s needs are: What are they thinking about? Are they in pain? Do they need help?” said study co-author research scientist Eti Ben Simon. “However, this network was markedly impaired when individuals were sleep deprived. It’s as though these parts of the brain fail to respond when we are trying to interact with other people after not getting enough sleep.” In the second study, they tracked more than 100 people online over three or four nights. During this time, the researchers measured the quality of their sleep – how long they slept, how many times they woke up – and then assessed their desire to help others, such as holding an elevator door open for someone else, volunteering or helping an injured stranger on the street. “Here, we found that a decrease in the quality of someone’s sleep from one night to the next predicted a significant decrease in the desire to help other people from one subsequent day to the next,” Ben Simon said. “Those with poor sleep the night prior were the ones that reported being less willing and keen to help others the following day.” The third part of the study involved analyzing over 3 million charitable donations made in the United States between 2001 and 2016. In particular, the researchers focused on donations made in the four weeks prior to, and the four weeks subsequent to the spring changeover to daylight saving time (DST). The researchers wondered whether the number of donations would change over this time in the states that transition to DST, when people experience the potential loss of one hour of sleep.&nbsp;



The results of the analysis showed a decrease of around 10 percent in the mean daily donation in the few days following the change to DST. This trend was not apparent in states that did not transition to daylight saving and so did not alter their clocks. This result demonstrates that a one-hour reduction in sleep opportunity is associated with a reduced desire to help others who are in need, and this occurs on a nation-wide scale.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Even a very modest ‘dose’ of sleep deprivation – here, just the loss of one single hour of sleep opportunity linked to daylight saving time – has a very measurable and very real impact on people’s generosity and, therefore, how we function as a connected society,” said study co-author Professor Matthew Walker. “When people lose one hour of sleep, there's a clear hit on our innate human kindness and our motivation to help other people in need.”



The authors state that sleep deprivation acts as a previously unrecognized factor influencing altruistic and helping behavior in humans. Considering that more than 50 percent of individuals across numerous first-world nations currently report not getting sufficient sleep during work days, this finding has potentially serious ramifications in terms of societal cohesion and caring.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Looking at the big picture, we're starting to see that a lack of sleep results in a quite asocial and, from a helping perspective, anti-social individual, which has manifold consequences to how we live together as a social species,” said Professor Walker. “A lack of sleep makes people less empathetic, less generous, more socially withdrawn, and it's infectious – there is contagion of loneliness.” “The realization that the quantity and quality of sleep affects an entire society, caused by an impairment in prosocial behavior, may provide insights into our societal state of affairs in the present day." This finding also offers a novel approach to improving these specific aspects of our society, since amount of sleep is a modifiable factor, unlike personality, genetics or cultural background, for example. ”Promoting sleep, rather than shaming people for sleeping enough, could very palpably help shape the social bonds we all experience every day,” Ben Simon said. “Sleep, it turns out, is an incredible lubricant to prosocial, connected, empathic, kind and generous human behavior. In these divisive times, if there was ever a need for a strong, prosocial lubricant to enable the very best version of ourselves within society, now seems to be it. Sleep may be a wonderful ingredient that enables the alacrity of helping between human beings," said Professor Walker, who is the author of the international bestseller, <a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2017/10/17/whywesleep/">Why We Sleep</a>. “Sleep is essential for all aspects of our physical, mental and emotional lives,” said Ben Simon. “When sleep is undervalued in society, not only do we get sleep-deprived doctors, nurses and students, but we also suffer from unkind and less empathic interactions on a daily basis.” “It is time, as a society, to abandon the idea that sleep is unnecessary or a waste and, without feeling embarrassed, start getting the sleep that we need,” she added. “It is the best form of kindness we can offer ourselves, as well as the people around us.”



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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

Lack of sleep makes people more selfish and less generous

Humans help one another – this is one of the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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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



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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



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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



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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

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