From childhood spats to shared memories and cherished traditions, there's a unique bond that ties siblings together. But there's one topic that's a perennial cause for discussion: who's the favorite child?



Alex Jensen, a professor from BYU School of Family Life, shed some valuable insights on this playful contest in his recent research, which examines the subtle displays of parental favoritism influenced by birth order, personality, and gender.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-younger-siblings-vs-older-siblings">Younger siblings vs. older siblings</h2>



According to Professor Jensen, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parent-children-relationships-are-key-to-lifelong-well-being/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">parents</a> generally treat their children differently based on birth order, often having a favorite.



Younger siblings often receive more attention, warmth, and support from parents. This could be because parents have more experience raising children by the time the younger ones arrive, making them more relaxed and affectionate.



On the other hand, older siblings tend to gain more independence as they grow up. Parents are usually stricter with their firstborns but gradually become less controlling over time. 



Since older siblings are the first to experience different stages of life, parents may place higher expectations on them to be responsible and self-sufficient.



In short, younger siblings may get more emotional support, while older ones receive more freedom. This difference in treatment can shape sibling relationships and influence how children perceive fairness in their families.



“It is helpful to take the findings from this study and be aware of the patterns that could be happening in your family,” Jensen said. “When parents are aware, they can make small adjustments that benefit everyone.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-parents-favor-daughters">Do parents favor daughters?</h2>



The researchers found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-who-use-humor-have-better-relationships-with-their-children/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">parents</a> tend to favor daughters slightly more than sons, often seeing them as the favorite child.



This preference appears in different ways, such as how parents interact with their children and how they distribute resources like money, time, and attention. Interestingly, while parents are aware of this bias, children themselves do not seem to notice it.



The researchers analyzed data from 19,469 participants. The results showed that both mothers and fathers are more likely to treat daughters with warmth, engage in more positive interactions with them, and provide them with more resources compared to sons.



This could be due to cultural expectations, emotional closeness, or the perception that daughters require more protection and support.



Even though this favoritism is subtle, it can still influence how children perceive their relationships with their parents and siblings. Understanding these tendencies can help parents ensure fairness and strengthen family bonds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-personality-of-favorite-child-matters">Personality of favorite child matters</h2>



It’s not just birth order or gender that matters - personality also influences favoritism. The study revealed that children who are more conscientious and agreeable receive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-parents-use-threats-to-discipline-children-but-its-not-effective-in-the-long-run/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">better treatment</a>, regardless of whether they are the eldest or youngest.



“Most parents probably connect more easily with one child over another, whether that be due to personality, birth order, gender or other things like shared interests,” Jensen said. 



“Watch for those patterns within yourself. Pay attention to how your children react to things that could be perceived as favoritism.”



One surprising finding? Extraversion didn’t seem to impact favoritism. “Americans seem to particularly value extraverted people, but within families it may matter less,” Jensen noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-being-the-favorite-child-matters">Why being the favorite child matters</h2>



Favoritism in families goes beyond small privileges like getting the biggest slice of cake - it can have serious emotional and psychological effects on children.



When a child feels less favored by their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-often-feel-lonely-burnt-out-parenting-demands/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">parents</a>, they may struggle with low self-esteem, anxiety, or feelings of rejection. This emotional distress can lead to changes in their behavior, such as acting out, withdrawing socially, or experiencing difficulty in school.



Research suggests that children who perceive themselves as less favored are more likely to develop mental health challenges, including depression and behavioral issues. 



They may seek attention through rebellious actions or disengage from family interactions altogether. This dynamic can also create resentment toward siblings, weakening family relationships over time.



Parents may not always be aware of these effects, but favoritism can leave a lasting impact. 



“Keep an eye out for things that seem unfair. Your children will let you know if they think something is unfair,” Jensen said. “Either they are missing perspective and understanding, or you need to make some changes in your parenting. Make sure you are open to the latter.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-can-parents-do">What can parents do?</h2>



Parents don’t need to feel guilty, but they should be mindful of these patterns. Jensen emphasizes that favoritism isn’t always intentional - it often happens naturally based on personality and circumstances.



“Sometimes parents get so concerned about treating their kids the same that they may overlook individual needs,” he said. 



“We’re not suggesting parents feel guilty; instead, parents can look at this research and use it as encouragement to look at places where they can improve, without going to extremes.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-strengthening-family-bonds">Strengthening family bonds</h2>



Favoritism can impact sibling relationships, but awareness can help parents make positive changes. The study from <a href="https://familylife.byu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BYU School of Family Life</a> encourages families to focus on connection rather than comparison.



“The simple answers are perhaps the best. Be patient with yourself and with your children,” Jensen said. 



“Spend time together. Do things together that you like to do. Do things together that your children like to do. Work together, serve others together, worship together. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-spend-the-most-time-on-devices-but-nature-offers-a-solution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Relationships</a> take time and time together doing a variety of things will have many positive benefits.”



So, if you’re wondering whether your sibling really is the “golden child,” the answer might not be so simple. It’s not just about being the oldest, the youngest, or even the most charming - it’s about personality, responsibility, and sometimes, just how easy you are to deal with.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/bul-bul0000458.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Psychological Bulletin</a>.



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Parents treat their children differently - but do they have a favorite?

From childhood spats to shared memories and cherished traditions, there's a unique bond that ties siblings together. But there's one topic that's a perennial cause for discussion: who's the favorite child? Alex Jensen, a professor from BYU School of Family Life, shed some valuable insights on this playful contest in his recent research, which examines the subtle displays of parental favoritism influenced by birth order, personality, and gender. Younger siblings vs. older siblings According to Professor Jensen, parents generally treat their children differently based on birth order,...

Children younger than 12 can identify their mothers’ voices with extremely high accuracy. Moreover, rather than cuing only their brains’ auditory-processing networks, the specific sound of these voices activates many other key neural areas, including reward centers, emotion-processing regions, visual processing centers, and neural networks parsing which incoming information is salient. 



However, a new study led by <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/">Stanford Medicine</a> has found that around age 13, children’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-has-an-alert-system-to-shut-down-unwanted-memories/">brains</a> shift from focusing on their mothers’ voices to favor new voices, as a part of a biological signal driving them to separate from their parents and enlarge their social spheres.&nbsp;



“Just as an infant knows to tune into her mother’s voice, an adolescent knows to tune into novel voices,” said study lead author Daniel Abrams, an associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. “As a teen, you don’t know you’re doing this. You’re just being you: You’ve got your friends and new companions and you want to spend time with them. Your mind is increasingly sensitive to and attracted to these unfamiliar voices.”



By analyzing fMRI scans of teenagers’ brains recorded while they listened to their mothers’ voices and several unfamiliar ones, the researchers discovered that, although teens’ brains were more receptive to all voices (including their mothers’) than those of younger children, in teenagers aged 13 or older, the reward circuits and the brain networks that prioritize important stimuli were activated more strongly by unfamiliar voices than by those of their mothers. According to the scientists, the brain’s shift towards new voices is a sign of healthy maturation.



“A child becomes independent at some point, and that has to be precipitated by an underlying biological signal,” said study senior author Vinod Menon, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. “That’s what we’ve uncovered: This is a signal that helps teens engage with the world and form connections which allow them to be socially adept outside their families.”



As Professor Abrams argues, the voices in our environment represent an extremely rewarding sound source, allowing us “to feel connected, included, part of a community, and part of a family.” Since children’s social interactions undergo major transformations during adolescence, revealing the neurobiological roots of these changes is essential not only for better understanding healthy maturation processes, but also for clarifying what goes wrong in children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2022/04/06/JNEUROSCI.2018-21.2022">Journal of Neuroscience</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

Teenagers start tuning out their mothers’ voices

Children younger than 12 can identify their mothers’ voices with...

Sleep plays a fundamental role in enabling cognitive functioning and maintaining good mental health. Moreover, it helps keep the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-has-an-alert-system-to-shut-down-unwanted-memories/">brain</a> healthy by removing toxins. As we age, we often see alterations in our sleep patterns, such as increased difficulty of falling and staying asleep, together with decreased quantity and quality. Such disturbances often contribute to cognitive decline and psychiatric disorders in the elderly.



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> in the UK and <a href="https://www.fudan.edu.cn/en/">Fudan University</a> in China has found that seven hours is an ideal amount of sleep for people in their middle age or older, with too little or too much sleep associated with poorer cognitive performance and mental health.



The researchers analyzed data from almost 500,000 adults aged 38-73 from the <a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/">UK Biobank</a>, who were asked questions about their sleeping patterns and mental health and wellbeing, and also took part in a series of cognitive tests. In addition, brain imaging and genetic data were available for nearly 40,000 of the participants.



The data analysis reveled that both insufficient and excessive sleep were associated with impaired cognitive functioning, including poorer visual attention, processing speed, and memory and problem-solving skills. Seven hours of sleep per night appeared to be an optimal amount for smooth cognitive performance and good mental health. People who reported sleeping for shorter or longer durations experienced more symptoms of depression and anxiety and worse overall wellbeing.



“While we can’t say conclusively that too little or too much sleep causes cognitive problems, our analysis looking at individuals over a longer period of time appears to support this idea,” said study co-author Jianfeng Feng, an expert in Computational Biology and Data Science at Fudan University. “But the reasons why older people have poorer sleep appear to be complex, influenced by a combination of our genetic makeup and the structure of our brains.”



According to Dr. Feng and his colleagues, one possible reason for the association between insufficient sleep and cognitive decline may be due to the disruption of slow-wave, or “deep” sleep, which is known to lead to deficiencies in memory consolidation and the build-up of amyloid, an important protein which protects against dementia. Moreover, sleep disturbances are associated with increased inflammation and can hamper the brain’s ability to get rid of toxins.



“Getting a good night’s sleep is important at all stages of life, but particularly as we age. Finding ways to improve sleep for older people could be crucial to helping them maintain good mental health and wellbeing and avoiding cognitive decline, particularly for patients with psychiatric disorders and dementia,” concluded study co-author Barbara Sahakian, a psychiatrist at Cambridge.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43587-022-00210-2">Nature Aging</a>.&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;

Seven hours is the ideal amount of sleep from middle age on

Sleep plays a fundamental role in enabling cognitive functioning and...

We’ve long known that nature is good for us. And now, a study published in the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35382562/">American Journal of Health Promotion</a> further reinforces this idea. The research suggests that feeling connected to nature can positively affect our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-have-nutritional-wisdom-we-eat-what-our-body-needs/">diet</a>.



Study lead author Dr. Brandy-Joe Milliron is an associate professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at <a href="https://drexel.edu/">Drexel University</a>.



“Nature relatedness has been associated with better cognitive, psychological and physical health and greater levels of environmental stewardship. Our findings extend this list of benefits to include dietary intake," said Dr. Milliron.



“We found people with higher nature relatedness were more likely to report healthful dietary intake, including greater dietary variety and higher fruit and vegetable consumption.”



To conduct the study, the research team surveyed approximately 300 adults in Philadelphia between May and August 2017. The team asked participants how close they felt to nature and what they ate the previous day to determine how many fruits and vegetables they consumed.&nbsp;



The study represented Philadelphia’s different socio-economic and racial demographics based on the 2010 census. The researchers believe the results of the study have profound implications for healthcare, lifestyle, and city planning.&nbsp;



“This work can impact health promotion practices in two ways," said Dr. Milliron. "First, nature-based health promotion interventions may increase nature-relatedness across the lifespan and potentially improve dietary intake. And second, augmenting dietary interventions with nature-based activities may lead to greater improvements in dietary quality.”



However, the researchers emphasize that further research is necessary to understand the intricacy of these findings.



“Future research should explore the ways different communities experience and value nature," said study co-author Dr. Diane Ward. “It needs to include how the intersections of environment, culture, race, history (including connection to land), social cohesion and other social and economic factors influence community identity relative to nature relatedness and dietary intake.”&nbsp;



In the meantime, perhaps we should consider ways to build a closer connection to nature. We could do this by advocating for more green spaces, encouraging schools to include nature in their curriculum, and prescribing time outdoors to those that suffer from mental and physical illness. 



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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

A daily dose of nature can improve your diet

We’ve long known that nature is good for us. And...

What drives our food preferences? An international study has indicated that our choices may be influenced by the specific <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-threatens-vital-micronutrients-from-fisheries/">nutrients</a> we need. The results of the research suggest that humans possess a surprising degree of "nutritional wisdom."&nbsp;



A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> (UK) set out to test the notion that humans evolved to favor energy dense foods and our modern balanced diets are a result of eating a variety of foods.



The study revealed that people have nutritional wisdom, which enables us to select foods to meet our vitamin and mineral needs and avoid nutritional deficiencies.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The results of our studies are hugely significant and rather surprising. For the first time in almost a century, we’ve shown humans are more sophisticated in their food choices, and appear to select based on specific micronutrients rather than simply eating everything and getting what they need by default," said study lead author Jeff Brunstrom.



The paper confirms the findings of research that was conducted in the 1930s by American pediatrician Dr. Clara Davis. She put a group of 15 babies on a diet to “self-select," and eat whatever they wanted. Every child in the study achieved and maintained a good state of health, and this was considered evidence of nutritional wisdom.



Replicating the study was not possible because of the unethical nature of experimenting on babies. Nearly a century has passed since any scientist attempted to find further evidence for nutritional wisdom in humans.&nbsp;



To overcome these barriers, the research team measured food preference by showing participants images of different fruit and vegetable pairings. Overall, 128 adults participated in two experiments.&nbsp;



The first found that certain food combinations are more preferable than others. For example, apple and banana might be chosen more often than apple and blackberries. Remarkably, these preferences align with the amounts of micronutrients in a given food combination.&nbsp;



In a second experiment, the team examined meal combinations as reported in the UK’s <a href="https://faunalytics.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Citation291.pdf">National Diet and Nutrition Survey</a>. Once again, the results showed that&nbsp; people combine meals to increase micronutrients in their diet. Specifically, components of popular UK meals, like "fish and chips" seem to offer a wider range of micronutrients than meal combinations generated randomly.



The study features an unusual collaboration between Professor Brunstrom and journalist Mark Schatzker. Interestingly, the research was initiated by a disagreement.



“I watched Mark give a fascinating talk which challenged the received view among behavioural nutrition scientists that humans only really seek calories in food. He pointed out, for example, that fine wine, rare spices, and wild mushrooms are highly sought after but are a poor source of calories," said Professor Brunstrom.



“This was all very intriguing, so I went to see him at the end and basically said: ‘Great talk, but I think you’re probably wrong. Do you want to test it?’ That marked the start of this wonderful journey, which ultimately suggests I was wrong. Far from being a somewhat simple-minded generalist, as previously believed, humans seem to possess a discerning intelligence when it comes to selecting a nutritious diet.”



“The research throws up important questions, especially in the modern food environment," added Mark Schatzker. "For example, does our cultural fixation with fad diets, which limit or forbid consumption of certain types of foods, disrupt or disturb this dietary “intelligence” in ways we do not understand?”



Previous studies have shown that animals use flavor as a way to find foods that give them nutrients they need. If the same is true for humans, the research team suspects that the food industry could be adding flavor to unhealthy foods like chips and pop, to use our nutritional wisdom against us, encouraging unhealthy eating and contributing to obesity. This is an interesting theory to conclude a fascinating study.&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/appetite">Appetite</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

Humans have nutritional wisdom - we eat what our body needs

What drives our food preferences? An international study has indicated...

A new study has revealed that six out of ten people who suffer from COVID-19 still have at least one symptom a year later. The researchers determined that Covid symptoms which linger for 15 weeks are likely to persist for at least a year. The most common lingering symptoms are shortness of breath, irritability, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/listening-music-exercise-fight-fatigue/">fatigue</a>.&nbsp;



The experts report that up to 40 percent of COVID-19 patients develop "long Covid," which is characterized by persistent symptoms that can affect multiple organs and include mental health problems.



To investigate the prevalence of long Covid, Aurelie Fischer and colleagues at the <a href="https://www.lih.lu/en/">Luxembourg Institute of Health</a> surveyed nearly 300 people for a year after they were diagnosed. The study participants reported on whether they were experiencing 64 common symptoms of long Covid. The individuals also answered questions about how these symptoms affected their quality of life.&nbsp;



An analysis of the data revealed that nearly 60 percent of the participants had at least one long Covid symptom a year after their initial infection. More than half of these individuals suffered from ongoing sleep problems, while one-third were still experiencing fatigue.&nbsp;



Patients who had moderate to severe COVID-19 were twice as likely to still have at least one symptom a year later compared to asymptomatic patents.



“We observed a gradient between COVID-19 severity at inclusion and frequency of long Covid at one year," said Fischer. “Participants with a mild form of the acute illness were more likely than those who’d been asymptomatic to have at least one symptom at one year, and to have sleep problems, but to a lesser extent than those with a moderate or severe acute illness.”



Overall, one in seven participants said they could not imagine coping with their symptoms long-term. The researchers also found that some groups of symptoms tend to occur together, which indicates that there are multiple different types of long Covid.



“Our study offers a detailed description of symptoms persisting one year after Covid-19, according to the initial disease severity," said Fischer.



“It shows that long Covid can still have a large impact on quality of life, even a year after the acute infection. In general, the more severe the acute illness is, the more likely someone is to have ongoing symptoms; however, those with an asymptomatic or mild initial infection may also experience a deterioration in their quality of life."



“We also highlighted that long Covid likely consists of multiple sub-categories, distinguished by particular combinations of symptoms. Finally, this work will help raise awareness of the needs of people with long Covid and contribute to the development of health strategies to help them.”



The research will be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology &amp; Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Lisbon, Portugal.



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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

Covid symptoms persist for over a year in 60 percent of patients

A new study has revealed that six out of ten...

On Thursday, April 21, 2002, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) issued a <a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/han00462.asp">nationwide health alert</a> concerning an unusual cluster of serious hepatitis cases with unknown origin in young children in the United States. These U.S. cases were identified soon after the United Kingdom and several European countries such as Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands have also reported mysterious cases of hepatitis of unknown etiology.



The first known case in the United Kingdom occurred in January in Scotland, followed by over 100 other cases across, most of them in England. These cases presented clinically with severe acute hepatitis, exhibiting increased levels of liver enzymes, jaundice, as well as – in some cases – gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and vomiting. Eight children in the U.K. underwent liver transplants, but no deaths have yet been reported. In the U.S. nine cases of hepatitis in children aged 1-6 have been identified in Alabama and two in North Carolina, between October 2021 and February 2022. The experts did not manage to identify any epidemiological link connected these cases.



Hepatitis can be triggered by many factors, including toxic chemicals, autoimmune disorders, or viruses, such as those causing chickenpox or common cold. However, the most common cause of viral hepatitis are the hepatitis A, B, and C viruses. According to health experts though, all these common causes have been ruled out in both the U.S. and the U.K.



Officials are now investigating a possible association between these mysterious cases of pediatric hepatitis and adenoviruses – a family of widespread viruses that cause various infections, most commonly respiratory illnesses. Although such viruses rarely cause hepatitis, all nine children in Alabama were infected with adenoviruses, with five of the nine cases testing positive for a specific type of adenovirus (adenovirus 41) which often causes cases of pediatric acute gastroenteritis. In the U.K. several – but not all - children tested positive for adenovirus too. While some of the U.K. children were also found to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, no such infections were yet detected in the U.S.



“At this time, adenovirus may be the cause for these, but investigators are still learning more, including ruling out other possible causes and identifying other possible contributing factors,” reported the CDC.



According to Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious disease expert at the <a href="https://www.uhhospitals.org/rainbow">University Hospitals Rainbow Babies &amp; Children’s Hospital</a> in Cleveland, with the lifting of mask mandates and social distancing measures, it is normal for children to be more susceptible to a wide range of infections.



“Now that COVID is down, viral interference has been released and I think we are going to see a lot of old pathogens coming back and maybe some new ones, which worries me too,” confirmed Monica Gandhi, a professor of Medicine at the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California, San Francisco</a>.



CDC urges clinicians who may encounter pediatric patients with hepatitis of unknown origin to consider adenovirus testing and to immediately report such cases to state public health authorities.



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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

Mysterious cases of hepatitis detected in children

On Thursday, April 21, 2002, the Centers for Disease Control...

A recent study led by the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">Barcelona Institute for Global Health</a> (ISGlobal) has found that living in a tree-filled <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biden-administration-restores-a-key-environmental-law/">environment</a> is linked to better early child development than living in areas where vegetation takes the form of grass cover. However, both varieties of green spaces were associated with better developmental outcomes than places dominated by paved surfaces.



Many previous studies have argued that exposure to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exposure-to-green-space-reduces-oxidative-stress-in-children/">green spaces</a> is associated with better memory and attention in early childhood, higher academic achievements, and fewer behavioral and emotional problems. However, this is the first study to explore whether the type of vegetation makes a difference in these positive associations.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The investigation was carried out in the Vancouver Metropolitan Area in Canada and was based on a large cohort of 27,539 children, who were followed from birth to five years of age (between 2000 and 2005). In the fifth year, in order to compute each child’s developmental score, the researchers asked children’s kindergarten teachers to rate their pupils’ physical health, mental well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, communication skills, language development, and general knowledge.&nbsp;



Afterwards, by using a high-spatial-resolution land cover map, the scientists determined how much exposure to vegetation each child had, and whether the vegetated land consisted of grass or trees. The average percentage of total vegetation exposure was found to be 36 percent, while exposure to predominantly paved surfaces was 32.2 percent.&nbsp;



While children with the greatest exposure to vegetation (either trees or grass) had the highest developmental scores, those exposed predominantly to paved surfaces had the lowest ones. However, the study revealed that living close to tree-filled areas in early childhood led to better developmental scores than being exposed to grass-covered environments. According to the scientists, this may be due to the fact that tree-filled areas are better in mitigating air pollution, noise and heat than more open green spaces, while also contributing to a higher degree to support restoration from mental fatigue and the capacity for focused attention. On the other hand, grassy spaces may encourage group activities and thus foster social well-being.



“Because we assessed different types of vegetation, our findings contribute to an&nbsp;improved understanding&nbsp;of associations between exposure to green spaces and early childhood development,” said study lead author Ingrid Jarvis, a landscape ecologist at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a>.



“Taken together, our findings suggest that&nbsp;converting paved surfaces to green spaces&nbsp;and, in particular, increasing the amount of trees in neighborhoods may have positive effects on early childhood health and development,” concluded study senior author Matilda van den Bosch, an expert in landscape planning and public health at ISGlobal.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001222?via%3Dihub">Environment International</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

Tree-filled spaces boost child development

A recent study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global...

Many studies have shown us that walking provides physical and mental benefits. Yet, new research from the <a href="https://le.ac.uk/">University of Leicester</a> sought to determine if pace made a difference in health outcomes. Indeed, the study shows us that there is a link between how fast we walk and our biological <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-satisfaction-increases-with-age-thanks-to-oxytocin/">age</a>.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed 405,981 UK biobank genetic samples and found that people who walked faster had longer telomeres, which are used to determine biological age. This is because cells with shorter telomeres are correlated with frailty and age-related diseases.&nbsp;



The experts used self-reported data, as well as data from wearable activity trackers, to determine the participants' walking speeds.&nbsp;



Based on the results, the researchers estimate that a lifetime of brisk walking could decrease an individual’s biological age by as much as 16 years by midlife.



"This research uses genetic data to provide stronger evidence for a causal link between faster walking pace and longer telomere length," said study lead author Dr. Paddy Dempsey.



"Data from wrist-worn wearable activity tracking devices used to measure habitual physical activity also supported a stronger role of habitual activity intensity (e.g. faster walking) in relation to telomere length.”



The research is vital because it helps inform the general population and health officials on who may be more at risk.



"This suggests measures such as a habitually slower walking speed are a simple way of identifying people at greater risk of chronic disease or unhealthy ageing, and that activity intensity may play an important role in optimising interventions," explained Dr. Dempsey.



Previous research has indicated that those who walk briskly for at least 10 minutes a day live longer, but this study is the first of its kind to reveal a specific marker - telomere length - associated with walking faster. This may ultimately help encourage healthy lifestyle changes.&nbsp;



"For example, in addition to increasing overall walking, those who are able could aim to increase the number of steps completed in a given time (e.g. by walking faster to the bus stop). However, this requires further investigation," concluded Dr. Dempsey.



This study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsbio/">Communications Biology</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

Brisk walking may reduce biological age by more than a decade

Many studies have shown us that walking provides physical and...

Oxytocin is a hormone that has effects on many organs in the body. It is secreted into the bloodstream by the pituitary gland and travels around the body to these target organs. In the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-has-an-alert-system-to-shut-down-unwanted-memories/">brain</a>, oxytocin acts as a chemical messenger and has an important role in many human behaviors. In particular, it has been shown to influence levels of trust, altruism, charity, and generosity.



A new study, conducted by scientists from Claremont Graduate University and the University of Southern California set out to investigate whether the release of oxytocin changed with age, as is found with some other neurochemicals that influence feelings and behaviors.&nbsp;



“We have previously shown a link between how kind and generous people are, known as prosocial behaviors, and the release of oxytocin,” said Dr Paul J Zak of Claremont Graduate University. “Seniors spend more time volunteering and donate a larger proportion of their income to charity than do younger people, so we wanted to see if there was a neurochemical basis for these behaviors.”



The researchers examined the release of oxytocin in 103 participants aged between 18 and 99, and its relationship to prosocial behaviors. Blood samples were taken from participants before and after they watched a video about a little boy with cancer; this video had previously been shown to induce oxytocin release in the brain.&nbsp;



“Participants had the option to donate some of their earnings from the study to a childhood cancer charity, and this was used to measure their immediate prosocial behavior. We also collected data on their emotional states, to provide information on their overall satisfaction with life,” explained Zak.



The results of the research, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience">Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience</a>, showed that the release of oxytocin following the video was related to the age of the participant. Older participants released significantly more oxytocin and they also donated more to the charity than did younger participants. Older participants also reported being involved in many other helping activities and being overall more satisfied with their lives.&nbsp;



“Participants in our study who released the most oxytocin were more generous to charity when given the opportunity and performed many other helping behaviors. The change in oxytocin was also positively related to participants' empathy, religious participation, and gratitude,” said Dr. Zak, who is first author on the publication.



The conclusion of the study is that a sense of life satisfaction is linked to the chemistry of our brains. As we grow older, we produce more of the hormone oxytocin, which encourages us to be kinder and more caring to others. The more we help others, the more satisfied we feel with our lives. These findings are consistent with many religious philosophies, where satisfaction with one's life is enhanced by helping others.



The finding that helping behaviors improve the quality of life is consistent with many faith traditions and philosophies. Serving others appears to prime the brain to release more oxytocin in a positive feedback loop of increased empathy and gratitude.



Dr. Zak would like to repeat this study in a more ethnically and geographically diverse sample of people to see if the findings hold for different cultures.



“We would also like to conduct a longer-term measurement of neurophysiology using non-invasive wearable technologies to see what specific activities raise people's satisfaction with life,” he concluded.



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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

Life satisfaction increases with age thanks to oxytocin

Oxytocin is a hormone that has effects on many organs...

Portrait,Of,Two,Friends,Using,Mobile,Phone,And,Listening,To

Opioid-related deaths grew fivefold in Ontario, Canada from 2003 to 2020, and the impacts moved toward younger people. A new study published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0265509">PLOS ONE</a> showed that opioid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-and-the-flu-can-increase-severe-risks-including-death/">deaths</a> peak in people in their mid-thirties.&nbsp;



Opioids and opioid related deaths are increasing problems in North America. The new study gives more information for helping to tailor government response and intervention to the ongoing crisis.&nbsp;



From 2003 to 2020, there were 11,633 opioid-related deaths in Ontario, according to coroner’s office data collected for the study. These deaths were all of people aged 15 to 69. Overall, 72 percent of the deaths in the study period were of males, and 82 percent of the deaths were accidental.&nbsp;



During the study period, the death rate grew substantially, increasing five times from what it was at the beginning. Cases among males and females grew substantially, along with the proportion of younger people impacted.&nbsp;



The analysis shows that in 2003, the majority of deaths occured around the age of 44. By 2020, the majority of deaths seemed to fall around the age of 35 for males. The trend was parallelled in females.&nbsp;



The researchers suspect that the age of those dying from opioids will continue to drop, making outreach to younger people even more important. “Opioid-related mortality has been rising in Ontario, Canada since 2003, and after a brief decline in part of 2019, the upward trend resumed in the 2020 COVID-19 era," said the researchers.



"Using a novel Bayesian model and high-frequency data from the coroner's office, we show that the age distribution of opioid-related mortality has shifted gradually over 18 years from being highest among the 45 to 54-year age group, to being highest among the 25 to 44-year age group.”



"This analysis may inform a refocusing of public health strategy for reducing rising rates of opioid-related mortality, including effectively reaching both older and younger males, as well as young females, with health and social supports such as treatment and harm reduction measures."



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Opioid-related deaths are on the rise among young people

Opioid-related deaths grew fivefold in Ontario, Canada from 2003 to...

Vaccine,Against,Coronavirus,For,Kids,During,Outbreak,Concept.,Little,Girl

A new study published in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2202826">New England Journal of Medicine</a> has evaluated the effectiveness of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pfizer-antibodies-decline-faster-than-those-induced-by-moderna/">Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine</a> in children ages 5-11 during the Omicron wave, and in adolescents ages 12-18 during both the Delta and the Omicron periods. The scientists found that vaccination with a primary series of Pfizer shots reduced the risk of COVID-19-related hospitalizations in children by two-thirds during the Omicron wave. 



Among vaccinated adolescents, protection against hospitalization was lower during the Omicron period than during the Delta period (as it happened in the case of adults too). However, levels of protection against highly severe cases remained high in vaccinated adolescents during both waves.



“Our study results are reassuring that COVID-19 vaccination in eligible children and adolescents continues to protect against the most severe outcomes associated with COVID-19, regardless of variant type,” said study co-author Bria Coates, a critical care physician at the <a href="https://www.luriechildrens.org/">Ann &amp; Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago</a> and assistant professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University.&nbsp;



“It is difficult to predict whether the vaccine will be as effective against the current subvariant of Omicron, but most likely the level of protection would be similar. Our results reinforce the importance of COVID-19 vaccination, including receiving a booster dose for those ages 12 years and older, to protect against critical illness.”



According to Dr. Coates and her colleagues, during the Omicron period (December 19, 2021 – February 17, 2022), vaccination reduced the risk of hospitalization by 68 percent in children between 5 and 11. Since vaccination for this age group was not available during the Delta period, no comparative studies could be performed. 



However, for adolescents ages 12-18, protection against hospitalization declined from 92 percent during the Delta period (July 1, 2021 - December 18, 2021) to only 40 percent during the Omicron wave. Yet, protection against critical cases of COVID-19, requiring life-supporting interventions, remained high for adolescents during both Delta (96 percent) and Omicron (79 percent).



During the Delta period, protection against hospitalization in adolescents remained consistent for over six months after receipt of a primary vaccination series. Although they were lower, the levels of protection against Omicron also stayed consistent over time after vaccination.



“This consistency in vaccine effectiveness during each variant suggests that the decline in protection among adolescents between the Delta and Omicron periods might be because the Omicron variant is more likely to escape control by the immune system, rather than waning immunity since vaccination,” explained Dr. Coates. “However, more data are needed to answer this question.”&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

Pfizer protects children and adolescents against severe COVID

A new study published in the&nbsp;New England Journal of Medicine...

A new study published by the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a> describes an "alarm system" in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-evidence-of-how-exercise-protects-brain-health/">brain</a> that helps suppress unwanted thoughts. According to the experts, this brain region proactively detects unwanted memories and responds by alerting other areas of the brain to inhibit them.&nbsp;



"Preventing unwanted memories from coming to mind is an adaptive ability of humans. This ability relies on inhibitory control processes in the prefrontal cortex to modulate hippocampal retrieval processes. How and when reminders to unwelcome memories come to trigger prefrontal control mechanisms remains unknown," wrote study lead author Maité Crespo García and colleagues.



As study participants executed a memory task, the experts measured brain activity with both EEG and fMRI. The volunteers were asked to memorize sets of words, such as gate and train. They were instructed to either recall the pair of words by association (see a gate, think about a train), or to focus only on the cue word (see a gate, only think about the gate).&nbsp;



When the participants were proactively suppressing a memory, the experts found&nbsp; that activity increased in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a brain region&nbsp; cognitive control. This area of the brain connects to both the emotional limbic system and the cognitive prefrontal cortex. The ACC plays an important role in "affect-regulation," the ability to control uncomfortable emotions.



Elevated activity in the ACC was detected within the first 500 milliseconds of the proactive memory suppression task, according to the study authors. The ACC was found to relay information to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which then inhibited activity in the hippocampus - a region that regulates memory recall.&nbsp;



When memory suppression was successful, activity levels in the ACC and DLPFC remained low throughout the remainder of the trial. On the other hand, if the memory was not quickly suppressed, the anterior cingulate cortex ramped up its activity to alert the DLPFC to stop the intrusion.



"Here we acquired neuroimaging data with both high spatial and temporal resolution as participants suppressed specific memories," explained the researchers.



"We found that the anterior cingulate cortex detects the need for memory control, responding both proactively to early warning signals about unwelcome content and reactively to intrusive thoughts themselves."



"When unwanted traces emerge in awareness, anterior cingulate communicates with prefrontal cortex and triggers top-down inhibitory control over the hippocampus through specific neural oscillatory networks."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/">JNeurosci</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

Our brain has an alert system to shut down unwanted memories

A new study published by the Society for Neuroscience describes...

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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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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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...