Since 1990, childhood obesity has significantly increased on all continents, nearly doubling in prevalence. Although the United States currently has the highest prevalence, many other nations are not very far behind.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-childhood-obesity-worldwide-nbsp">Childhood obesity worldwide&nbsp;</h2>



For instance, in Southern European countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain, 10 to 15 percent of children are obese, and, although Eastern European countries have for the moment slightly lower rates, they are experiencing a rapid surge which may soon match Southern Europe.&nbsp;



At a global level, Asia has almost half of all overweight children under five, while Africa has one-quarter of such children. Finally, in Latin America, nearly 20% of children under 20 are overweight.&nbsp;



And sadly, a great number of developing countries currently face not only the challenge of&nbsp; overweight/obesity in their children, but also malnutrition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-epidemic-levels-of-childhood-obesity-nbsp">Epidemic levels of childhood obesity&nbsp;</h2>



This obesity epidemic leads to a variety of health issues, including childhood <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/high-blood-pressure-drug-called-rilmenidine-dramatically-slows-aging-in-animals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hypertension</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/high-blood-pressure-drug-called-rilmenidine-dramatically-slows-aging-in-animals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">type 2 diabetes</a>.&nbsp;



Recently, a team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.fau.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida Atlantic University</a> (FAU) has discussed these challenges and provided possible solutions in a commentary published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10995-024-04001-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Maternal and Child Health Journal</a>.



Study lead author Charles H. Hennekens is a professor of medicine and preventive medicine at FAU.&nbsp;



“Pediatric overweight and obesity have reached epidemic levels in the U.S. and are becoming a pandemic globally. These conditions lead to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and lipid disorders, which contribute to metabolic syndrome,” said Hennekens.



“In adults, these issues significantly increase the risks of heart attacks, stroke, liver disease, obstructive sleep apnea, arthritis and certain cancers - many of which are now occurring at younger ages.”



Hennekens noted that through coordinated clinical and public health efforts, we can address these troubling trends and work toward a healthier future for children and families globally.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-misconceptions-about-childhood-obesity-nbsp">Misconceptions about childhood obesity&nbsp;</h2>



In the United States, a preschooler is considered overweight if their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weight-and-bmi-do-not-accurately-reflect-a-persons-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">body mass index</a> (BMI) surpasses the 85th percentile.&nbsp;



Previous research has shown that such children are at a significantly higher risk of being overweight in their adolescence than those with a BMI at the 50th percentile. This highlights the current misconception that children can simply “outgrow” overweight problems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boosting-daily-activity-among-children-nbsp">Boosting daily activity among children&nbsp;</h2>



According to the experts, health care providers and public health practitioners face great challenges in their attempts to boost daily <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/any-type-of-physical-activity-can-help-protect-the-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">physical activity</a> among children, which could significantly increase metabolic rates, lower BMI, and reduce risks of coronary heart disease later in life.



“With declining physical education in schools and excessive time spent on electronic devices, many children fail to meet recommended activity guidelines,” said co-author Panagiota “Yiota” Kitsantas, the chair of FAU’s Department of Population Health and Social Medicine.&nbsp;



“This sedentary behavior contributes to overweight and obesity through poor diet, reduced sleep, and decreased physical activity. Encouraging organized, enjoyable activities rather than competitive ones can help children achieve necessary physical activity levels.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contributing-factors-to-childhood-obesity-nbsp">Contributing factors to childhood obesity&nbsp;</h2>



However, the scientists warn that while increasing the amount of physical activity among children is necessary, it is far from sufficient to have a large impact on the rates of childhood overweight and obesity. 



This is due to the fact that other major contributors are the increase of foods containing high quantities of sugars, together with the consumption of ultra-processed foods.



“Nearly 70 percent of the average U.S.-based child’s diet is made up of ultra-processed foods,” Hennekens said. “Moreover, consumption of ultra-processed foods among children under 24 months is rising worldwide, triggering not only the potential of developing obesity but also decreased immunological protection.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-ultra-processed-foods-nbsp">The role of ultra-processed foods&nbsp;</h2>



Although further research is needed to clarify which components of ultra-processed foods lead to weight gain in children, it is already clear that a diet high in such foods is connected to increasing rates of overweight and obesity.



“Evidence suggests that enhancing school lunch nutritional standards could help reduce obesity, particularly among low-income children,” Kitsantas said.&nbsp;



“We recommend adopting school food policies that remove ultra-processed foods from menus and promote healthier alternatives, alongside educational programs on healthy eating, despite the challenges posed by external influences on children.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-public-health-measures-nbsp">Public health measures&nbsp;</h2>



Some of these challenges include the use of social media and advertising, which affects children’s food choices and behaviors such as sharing unhealthy food posts.



“Despite recommendations from the World Health Organization and public health authorities to restrict food marketing aimed at children, few countries have implemented such measures,” Hennekens explained.&nbsp;



“The effectiveness of existing regulations in today’s media landscape is uncertain, creating an opportunity for health providers and public health practitioners to educate families about the impact of this advertising.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-managing-the-public-health-crisis">Managing the public health crisis </h2>



The scientists argue that tackling the rising pediatric obesity epidemic requires a multidimensional approach. In 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics endorsed World Health Organization’s guidelines, while releasing their own recommendations for managing this public health crisis.&nbsp;



The guidelines suggest that healthcare providers and public health professionals address the social determinants of health, utilize motivational interviewing to encourage changes in nutrition and physical activity habits, and consider options like pharmacotherapy or surgery to achieve individualized patient objectives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reversing-the-troubling-trends">Reversing the troubling trends</h2>



Yet, the study authors argue that although there are approved drug therapies available, maternal and child health care providers should employ therapeutic lifestyle changes before prescribing pharmaceutical interventions.



“While the ultimate goal is prevention of pediatric overweight and obesity as well as metabolic syndrome, to paraphrase Voltaire, we should not ‘let the perfect be the enemy of the good,’” Hennekens said.



“Health care and public health professionals must collaborate across disciplines to address these issues with patients, families, communities and policymakers. United efforts can help reverse these troubling trends and ensure a healthier future for children worldwide,” Kitsantas concluded.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-ralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Childhood obesity rates are surging worldwide

Since 1990, childhood obesity has significantly increased on all continents, nearly doubling in prevalence. Although the United States currently has the highest prevalence, many other nations are not very far behind. Childhood obesity worldwide&nbsp; For instance, in Southern European countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain, 10 to 15 percent of children are obese, and, although Eastern European countries have for the moment slightly lower rates, they are experiencing a rapid surge which may soon match Southern Europe.&nbsp; At a global level, Asia has almost half of...

Young smokers have a harder time quitting as adults. According to new research published by the <a href="https://www2.heart.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=donatenow_heart&amp;s_src=pmxsem19&amp;&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwybD0BRDyARIsACyS8mszzosQiKrIPHWJJwuMvycpdEOiqTMo_7EKM3YvajGjIagersw46lkaAjmFEALw_wcB">American Heart Association</a>, adults who started smoking in their adolescent or teen years have a much harder time kicking the habit. Smoking <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/smoking-fewer-cigarettes/">cigarettes</a> early in life increases the odds of smoking daily into adulthood and beyond the age of 40.

The study is unprecedented in that data collected from young smokers in the 1970's and 80's was followed up on as recently as 2018. Dr. David Jacobs is the lead author of the study and a professor of Public Health at the University of Minnesota.

"Based on our data coupled with a variety of other evidence, we found childhood smoking leads to adult smoking," said Dr. Jacobs. "Cigarette smoking, even experimentally, among children of any age should be strongly discouraged."

The investigation was focused on more than 6,600 individuals between the ages of six and 19 from Finland, Australia, and the United States. As part of the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort Consortium, the participants were followed up with during their 20s and 40s.

The study revealed that people who began smoking at early ages were daily smokers in their 20s and were much less likely to quit smoking by their 40s. Even children who barely experimented with cigarettes were prone to developing a consistent smoking habit that lasted for decades.

The frequency of childhood smoking was found to be similar across Finland, Australia, and the United States.

"Even in low income and developing countries, the societal reinforcement of smoking, the basic addictive qualities of nicotine, and the maturation of children and children's judgment through adolescence are universal," said Dr. Jacobs. "As children mature through adolescence, they may have developed a better ability to resist impulses and to reject social pressures.

"Cigarette smoking is an avoidable health risk, and its seeds are in childhood. These results strongly support Tobacco 21, a national movement to restrict all sales of tobacco products to people under age 21. The American Heart Association is an advocate of Tobacco 21."

Dr. Rose Marie Robertson is the co-principal investigator of the American Heart Association's Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science.

"This is a very important study, both because it has data from multiple countries and because it has been able to follow individuals into middle age, a critical observation. It re-emphasizes the importance of keeping tobacco products out of the hands of children before age 21 to prevent long-term addiction," said Dr. Robertson.  

"Vaping products had not been introduced at the time these study participants were teens, but it is plausible that the findings may relate to vaping as well, since both addiction to nicotine and the adverse effects of nicotine on the developing brain in youth are relevant to these nicotine delivery devices as well."

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/jaha">Journal of the American Heart Association</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Young smokers have a harder time quitting as adults

Young smokers have a harder time quitting as adults. According...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.uni-bonn.de/">University of Bonn</a> suggests that a ketogenic diet may help to prevent asthma attacks. Using a mouse model, the researchers linked a ketogenic diet to a significant reduction of inflammation in the respiratory tract.

Patients who suffer from asthma can experience a severe inflammatory reaction from even low exposure to certain allergens. This inflammation is accompanied by an increase in mucus production, which makes breathing more difficult. 

The cells of the innate immune system, called Innate Lymphoid Cells (ILCs), play a central role in asthma flare-ups. ILCs protect the lungs by regenerating damaged mucous membranes. To do this, the cells produce inflammatory messengers that activate the division of mucosal cells and elevate mucus production. 

The ILC system helps the body repair damage caused by harmful substances, which are removed from the bronchial tubes through mucus. "With asthma, however, the inflammatory reaction is much stronger and longer than normal," explained Dr. Christoph Wilhelm. 

The current study suggests that if the ILC multiplication process is slowed down, dangerous asthma attacks can be prevented. 

"We have investigated which metabolic processes are active in the ILCs when they switch to reproduction mode," explained Dr. Fotios Karagiannis. "Then we tried to block these metabolic pathways and thereby reduce the speed at which the cells divide."

Some metabolic pathways are significantly more active in dividing ILCs. For example, extra fatty acids are supplied to help the cells make their membranes. Dr. Karagiannis explained that activated ILCs absorb fatty acids from their environment and store them in their interior for a short time, before using them for energy or building membranes.

The researchers wanted to know what would happen if the cells were forced to use these fatty acids elsewhere. To investigate, they put mice on a ketogenic diet consisting of mainly fats and very few carbohydrates or proteins. 

The ketogenic diet is known to change cell metabolism, and cells switch to fat burning for energy. This means that cells will lack the fatty acids that facilitate ILC reproduction.

&nbsp;

Among the mice fed a ketogenic diet, the division activity of ILCs was found to be drastically decreased. "Normally, contact with allergens increases the number of ILCs in the bronchi fourfold," said Dr. Wilhelm. "In our experimental animals, however, it remained almost unchanged. Both mucus production and other asthma symptoms decreased accordingly."

The ketogenic diet also leads to glucose deficiency, which likely contributed to the weakened ILC activity. 

"The prevalence of asthma has increased dramatically over the last few decades. Perhaps this is also related to an increasingly common high-sugar and high-fat diet," said Dr. Wilhelm.

Going forward, the experts will focus on patients to investigate whether a ketogenic diet can prevent asthma attacks."We are trying to determine which components of the dietary change are responsible for the effect," said Dr. Wilhelm. "Maybe this will open the door to the development of new drugs."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/immunity/home">Immunity</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Ketogenic diet may prevent asthma attacks

A new study from the University of Bonn suggests that...

The concept of having a “gut feeling” is actually more literal than you may have thought, as a new study has revealed that your stomach can send signals directly to the brain.

It’s been suggested by scientists that many different conditions and health problems like depression, obesity, and arthritis originate in the gut, but it was not understood how messages from our stomachs were sent to the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/brain-connects-old-memories/">brain</a>.

Previously, researchers believed that hormones were responsible for this line of communication between the gut and brain, but a new study has identified a much more direct path that sends signals with lightning speed. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.duke.edu/">Duke University </a>conducted the study which was published in the journal Science.

“Scientists talk about appetite in terms of minutes to hours. Here we are talking about seconds," said Diego Bohórquez, the senior author of the study. “That has profound implications for our understanding of appetite. Many of the appetite suppressants that have been developed target slow-acting hormones, not fast-acting synapses. And that's probably why most of them have failed.”

You may not think of your gut as a sensory organ, like your eyes or ears, but the stomach’s ability to send signals to the brain that its hungry or full is essential for survival. 

Bohórquez previously discovered that the sensory cells lining the gut were similar to the ones located on the tongue and in the nose. 

For this study, the researchers, led by Bohórquez, mapped the signal of a rabies virus that had been dyed with a green fluorescent tag as it was carried from the stomach to the brainstem of mice. 

The researchers saw that the rabies virus traveled via the vagus nerve from the gut to the brain in under 100 milliseconds. 

After the researchers established this link, sensory gut cells of mice were grown in a dish with vagal neurons. The neurons crawled along the surface of the dish in order to connect with the gut cells, after which signals started to fire between the two. 

The rate of signals firing was sped up when the researchers introduced sugar to the dish environment. 

Glutamate, a neurotransmitter that sends signals from the other senses, was found to be responsible for sending the messages from the gut to the grain, and when the researchers blocked the release of glutamate in the sensory gut cells, no messages were sent. 

“We think these findings are going to be the biological basis of a new sense,” said Bohórquez. “One that serves as the entry point for how the brain knows when the stomach is full of food and calories. It brings legitimacy to the idea of the 'gut feeling' as a sixth sense.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Your gut sends messages directly to the brain at lightning speed

The concept of having a “gut feeling” is actually more...

Researchers from the <a href="https://publichealth.gwu.edu/">George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health</a> (Milken SPH) have found about 4 million children worldwide develop asthma each year as a result of inhaling traffic-caused nitrogen dioxide <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/more-deaths-air-pollution/">air pollution</a>. The data collected between 2010 and 2015 shows that 64% of these new asthma cases plague urban areas.

This study, published April 10th in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(17)30013-X/fulltext">The Lancet Planetary Health</a>, is the first to find a number for the amount of pediatric cases of asthma linked to traffic-related nitrogen dioxide. Asthma is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in the lungs. It affects quality of breathing and can be life threatening.  

"Our findings suggest that millions of new cases of pediatric asthma could be prevented in cities around the world by reducing air pollution," said senior author Susan C. Anenberg, PhD, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at Milken Institute SPH. "Improving access to cleaner forms of transportation, like electrified public transport and active commuting by cycling and walking, would not only bring down NO2 levels, but would also reduce asthma, enhance physical fitness, and cut greenhouse gas emissions."

To find their data, researchers gathered and linked international data pertaining to NO2 concentrations, pediatric population distributions, and asthma diagnoses rates, to evidence showing traffic-related NO2 pollution with asthma development in children.

Not only did the team find the grand total of 4 million NO2-linked asthma cases in kids, but they also saw than an annual 13% of asthma diagnoses worldwide are linked to NO2 pollution. And in 125 cities studied, NO2 was responsible for 6-48% of pediatric asthma development.

China, Moscow, Russia, and Seoul, South Korea were estimated to have the largest NO2 contributions in the world. And U.S. cities of Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Milwaukee, had the highest NO2 contributions in the country.

The World Health Organization has established Air Quality Guidelines for NO2 and other air pollutants that pose a “major environmental risk to health.” However, the research team estimates that most of the children in their study live in areas currently below the current WHO guideline of 21 parts per billion for annual NO2 average. Furthermore, they saw that 92% of the new NO2-caused asthma cases that were diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 were in locations that already meet the WHO guideline.

"That finding suggests that the WHO guideline for NO2 may need to be re-evaluated to make sure it is sufficiently protective of children's health," said lead author Pattanun Achakulwisut, PhD, a postdoctoral scientist at Milken Institute SPH.

Anenberg concluded that, although more research needs to be done in this sector, using methods to clean up pollution would not only benefit the Earth, but also most likely reduce future asthma cases from being diagnosed worldwide.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Millions of children develop asthma from air pollution

Researchers from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.umontreal.ca/en/">University of Montreal</a> (UdeM) are reporting that excessive amounts of television and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/social-media-depression-girls/">social media</a> have a negative impact on the mental health of teenagers. The study reveals that the more time adolescents spent on social media or in front of the television, the more severe their symptoms of depression became within the same year.

The findings also indicate that social media, in particular, may further promote depressive symptoms in those who are already experiencing depression. Internet browsing, video gaming, and other types of computer activities analyzed by the team did not predict depression.

"Our research reveals that increased time spent using some forms of digital media in a given year predicts depressive symptoms within that same year," said study senior author Dr. Patricia Conrod. "Early identification of vulnerability to depression gives clinicians and parents a large window of time in which to intervene. Regulating teens' social media and television use might be one way to help young people manage depressed mood or vulnerability to depressive symptoms."

After testing three theories that may explain the link, the researchers found no evidence to suggest that screen time affected adolescent depression by reducing their involvement in physical activities. On the other hand, they found that exposure to media outlets which promote upward social comparisons was strongly tied to declining self-esteem, which could explain the depressive symptoms.

Study lead author Elroy Boers is post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at UdeM.

"Social media and television are forms of media that frequently expose adolescents to images of others operating in more prosperous situations, such as other adolescents with perfect bodies and a more exciting or rich lifestyle," said Boers. 

"Furthermore, based on reinforcing spirals theory, people seek out and select information congruent with their current state-of-mind. The algorithmic features of television viewing and in particular, social media, create and maintain a feedback loop by suggesting similar content to users based on their previous search and selection behavior." 

"Thus, the more one's depressive state influences their viewing choices, the more similar content is being suggested and provided, and the more likely one will be continuously exposed to such content, therewith maintaining and enhancing depression."

The study highlights a need for families to regulate digital screen time in order to prevent and reduce depressive symptoms. 

"Many people attribute increasing rates of depression among young people in North America to the recent introduction of mobile digital devices to our society. The study's findings indicate social media use and television viewing are important predictors of depression in adolescence," said Dr. Conrod.

"While our results are based on observational research design, the nature of statistical approach that we used to test possible causal effects robustly controlled for any potential common underlying vulnerability to high levels of screen time and depression. Furthermore, the effects could be explained through mediation analyses, which further supports a causal hypothesis."

"Nevertheless, more research is needed, among which research that includes experimental designs, to confirm that exposure to social media is causing elevated rates of depression in young people."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics">JAMA Pediatrics</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Antonio Guillem

Social media and tv linked to higher risk of depression in teens

Scientists at the University of Montreal (UdeM) are reporting that...

Sleep quality impacts the brain’s ability to remove toxins. New research from the <a href="https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/">University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC)</a> shows that a lack of deep sleep disrupts the brain’s process of flushing out toxic proteins and waste. And because our <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sleep-reduces-cardiovascular-disease/">sleep</a> becomes lighter as we age, researchers believe their findings, published February 27th in <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>, could potentially unlock the mystery of aging and sleep deprivation in relation to heightened risk of Alzheimer’s disease. 

"Sleep is critical to the function of the brain's waste removal system and this study shows that the deeper the sleep the better," said lead author Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., co-director of the <a href="https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/ctn.aspx">Center for Translational Neuromedicine</a> at URMC. "These findings also add to the increasingly clear evidence that quality of sleep or sleep deprivation can predict the onset of Alzheimer's and dementia."

The study shows that deep non-REM sleep, during which both the brain and cardiopulmonary activity slow down, is the perfect sleep stage for the glymphatic system to function properly. The glymphatic system, a “plumbing” system that pumps cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) through brain tissue to flush away waste, was only just discovered by Nedergaard and her team in 2012.

Toxic proteins that accumulate in the brain, such as beta amyloid and tau, are associated with the development of Alzheimer’s. Therefore, researchers believe that an impairment of the glymphatic system due to weakened sleep may encourage the development disease.

Nedergaard and her team used anesthetized mice to conduct their experiment. While under six different anesthetic regimens, researchers watched the mice’s brain electrical activity, cardiovascular activity, and the flow of CSF through the brain. They found that the drugs ketamine and xylazine (K/X) replicated the deep non-REM sleep needed for proper cleansing.

"The synchronized waves of neural activity during deep slow-wave sleep, specifically firing patterns that move from front of the brain to the back, coincide with what we know about the flow of CSF in the glymphatic system," said first author Lauren Hablitz, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate in Nedergaard's lab. "It appears that the chemicals involved in the firing of neurons, namely ions, drive a process of osmosis which helps pull the fluid through brain tissue."

Via this experiment, researchers found that sleep can be enhanced to better the function of the glymphatic system. Later down the road, this could prove to be a form of therapy for patients at risk for developing Alzheimer’s or dementia. And researchers also noted that certain anesthetics used in clinical settings can lead to cognitive difficulties, which could also affect glymphatic activity.

"Cognitive impairment after anesthesia and surgery is a major problem," said co-author Tuomas Lilius, M.D., Ph.D., with the <a href="https://ctn.ku.dk/">Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Copenhagen</a>. "A significant percentage of elderly patients that undergo surgery experience a postoperative period of delirium or have a new or worsened cognitive impairment at discharge."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sleep quality impacts the brain’s ability to remove toxins

Sleep quality impacts the brain’s ability to remove toxins. New...

The definition of “high blood pressure” may need to be reevaluated after a new study has found that having just above normal blood pressure <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/healthy-heart-young-help-brain/">can impact brain size.</a>

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.cbs.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences</a> examined brain scans and blood pressure measurements to see if there was a link between reduced gray matter in the brain and higher than normal blood pressure.

The findings of the study were published in an online issue of the journal Neurology.

Normal blood pressure or healthy blood pressure measures 120/80 millimeters of mercury, and the researchers defined high blood pressure as 140/90 for this study.

“Previously the assumption has been that brain damage related to high blood pressure results over years of evident disease, but our study suggests that subtle changes in the brain's gray matter can be seen in young adults who have never been diagnosed with high blood pressure,” said Arno Villringer, an author of the study. “More research should be done to investigate whether this could increase the risk for stroke, dementia and other cerebrovascular diseases later in life.”

423 people with an average age of 28 took part in the study and underwent an MRI brain scan and had their blood pressure measured. 41 percent of the participants had normal blood pressure, 29 percent had pressure levels ranging from 120/80 to 129/84.

11 percent had high blood pressure over 140/90, and 19 percent had higher than normal blood pressure, but the readings were not enough to be considered high blood pressure.

The MRI scans showed loss of brain volume in the participants with blood pressure above normal.

The researchers identified lower amounts of gray matter volume in the hippocampus, amygdala, and parietal lobes specifically related to higher than normal blood pressure levels.

As blood pressure readings increased, the researchers found that gray matter volume decreased among the participants.

Further research is needed to help explain this relationship and why high blood pressure impacts brain volume, but the results indicate that blood pressure should be carefully monitored early on.

“While the study does not prove that above normal blood pressure causes these gray matter alterations, this research suggests that treating high blood pressure or maintaining lower blood pressure in early adulthood might be essential for preventing the cascade from silent brain changes with no symptoms to organ damaging conditions such as stroke and dementia,” said Villringer.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Abnormal blood pressure may shrink your brain

The definition of “high blood pressure” may need to be...

While no one likes dealing with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-sick-allergies/">stress</a>, our bodies are equipped with special hormones and mechanisms to help us cope with it. A stressful event triggers the release of cortisol which is the primary stress hormone in humans that helps increase energy levels in the face a fight or flight response. 

But now, a new study has found that stress in the evening releases less cortisol compared to stressful events in the morning.

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/">Hokkaido University</a> in Japan and published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology Reports. 

The results suggest that we may be more vulnerable to the negative impacts of stress in the evening because our bodies stress response is dampened. 

To better understand the link between stress and time of day, the researchers focused on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its differing responses in 27 volunteers. 

The HPA axis connects the central nervous system and the endocrine system (the hormone system). When the HPA axis reacts to a stressful event, the endocrine system floods the body with cortisol, and the body’s internal clock regulates cortisol levels throughout the day. 

The 27 volunteers for the study all had normal work and sleep schedules, and the researchers measured cortisol levels by analyzing saliva samples both before and after a stressful event. 

The participants were split into two groups, and one group had a stress test in the morning while the other had the test in the evening. 

For the test, the participants had to give a presentation and do math problems in their head. The researchers took saliva samples from the participants a half hour before the test, after the test, and during ten-minute intervals for a half hour following the test. 

Not surprisingly, cortisol levels spiked in the participants given the stress test in the morning. However, for the evening group, there were no recorded increases in cortisol. 

“Our study suggests a possible vulnerability to stress in the evening,” said aid Yujiro Yamanaka, the lead author of the study. “However, it is important to take into account each individual's unique biological clock and the time of day when assessing the response to stressors and preventing them.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Our bodies are less equipped to deal with stress at night

While no one likes dealing with stress, our bodies are...

<div id="titlewrap"></div>
<div id="titlewrap"></div>
Depression linked to loss of memory in late adulthood. Researchers have found a link between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/medical-marijuana-stress-depression/">depression</a> and memory issues in older adults. The study also revealed that seniors with higher levels of depression developed structural changes in the brain.

Dr. Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri is an assistant professor of Epidemiology at the <a href="http://med.miami.edu/">University of Miami Miller School of Medicine</a> and one of the study's co-authors.

“Since symptoms of depression can be treated, it may be possible that treatment may also reduce thinking and memory problems,” said Dr. Al Hazzouri. “With as many as 25 percent of older adults experiencing symptoms of depression, it's important to better understand the relationship between depression and memory problems.”

The investigation was focused on over 1,000 stroke-free individuals who had an average age of 71. Study participants were given preliminary brain scans, memory and thinking tests, and psychological assessments. Memory and thinking skills were re-evaluated five years later.

The tests revealed that 22 percent of participants suffered from major depression. After adjusting for factors such as age, race, and medications, the researchers found that greater symptoms of depression correlated with declines in episodic memory, which is the ability to remember specific experiences an events.

The experts also determined that participants with major depressive symptoms demonstrated changes in the brain such as smaller brain volume. In addition, these individuals were found to have a 55 percent greater chance of small vascular lesions in the brain.


On the other hand, there was no evidence which linked major depression and changes in thinking skills over the course of the study period.


“Small vascular lesions in the brain are markers of small vessel disease, a condition in which the walls in the small blood vessels are damaged,” said Dr. Al Hazzouri. “Our research suggests that depression and brain aging may occur simultaneously, and greater symptoms of depression may affect brain health through small vessel disease.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.aan.com/">American Academy of Neurology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Depression linked to loss of memory in late adulthood

Depression linked to loss of memory in late adulthood. Researchers...

Eye and hair color, height, and even dimples are all physical traits we can inherit from our parents. But now, a new study has found that children can also inherit their parent’s moral compass.

The nature versus nurture debate shows that inherited traits and environmental influences each play a strong role in a person’s upbringing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/intelligence-inherited-genes/">intelligence</a>, personality, and worldview.

But when it comes to virtuous characteristics like responsibility and conscientiousness, which has a stronger influence, genetics or parenting?

Researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State University</a> examined the heritability of virtuous characteristics in a new study published in the journal Behavior Genetics.

“A lot of studies have shown a link between parenting and these virtuous traits, but they haven’t looked at the genetic component,” said Amanda Ramos, the lead author of the study.  “I thought that was a missed opportunity because parents also share their genes with their children, and what we think is parents influencing and teaching their children these characteristics may actually be due, at least in part, to genetics.”

The researchers reviewed data from 720 pairs of twins, both identical and fraternal, siblings, half-siblings, unrelated step-siblings, and siblings from divorced and non-divorced families. Including twins and non-related siblings in the study was important for assessing the heritability of certain traits. 

Ramos and colleagues reviewed data from the sibling’s adolescence and young adulthood and made a note of how positive or negative each sibling’s parent had been during adolescence.

Positive parenting went a long way in determining how conscientious a child grew up to be, but virtuous traits were stronger in twins and full siblings suggesting that heritability is part of the equation and that responsibility is a partially genetic trait.

The researchers say the results don’t mean that conscientious parents will always raise conscientious children, only that responsibility and other virtuous traits may be strengthened by genetics.

“Your genes are not totally deterministic of who you are,” Ramos said. “Genes simply give you a potential. People still make their own choices and have agency in shaping who they become.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Children inherit conscientiousness from their parents

Eye and hair color, height, and even dimples are all...

Kids who don’t drink water are consuming more sugary beverages. A new study from researchers at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a> has found that kids and young adults who do not drink water throughout the day may consume twice the amount of calories from sugary drinks. According to study co-author Professor Asher Rosinger, the findings underscore the importance of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/behavioral-issues-brain-wiring/">children</a> having access to clean water.

“Kids should consume water every single day, and the first beverage option for kids should be water,” said Professor Rosinger. “Because if they're not drinking water, they're probably going to replace it with other beverages, like sugar sweetened beverages, that are less healthy and have more calories.”

Professor Rosinger added that while other research has shown an overall decline in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, there are still subpopulations of kids in the United States who are more likely to consume sugary drinks. His team set out to investigate the daily water intake of children and how this may affect caloric intake from sugar-sweetened beverages.

The research was focused on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, including information about the water and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption of 8,400 children between the ages of 2 and 19. 

For the study, sugar-sweetened beverages included soda, fruit juices, sports drinks, energy drinks, tea, and coffee drinks, but did not include 100 percent fruit juices, drinks sweetened with zero-calorie sweeteners, or drinks that are sweetened by the consumer.

The study revealed that on any given day, about 20 percent of children reported drinking no water. The same children were found to consume 200 calories from sugar-sweetened beverages, which was twice the amount of calories from sugary drinks that were consumed by children who drank water.

According to Professor Rosinger, an extra 200 calories may not seem like a lot, but it can add up quickly if someone is drinking sugar-sweetened beverages on a regular basis.

“What you have to remember is that an extra 3,500 calories equals one pound of weight gain,” said Professor Rosinger. “So if you're not compensating for those extra calories, then over a month, you can potentially gain a pound. Over several months, that could add up.”


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics">JAMA Pediatrics</a>. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Kids who don’t drink water are consuming more sugary beverages

Kids who don’t drink water are consuming more sugary beverages....

Excessive sleep may negatively impact memory. While the negative impacts of sleep deprivation are well documented, a new study from the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> (UCL) suggests that too much sleep may be just as harmful. The researchers found that getting nine hours of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/physical-activity-teens-sleep/">sleep</a> caused the same amount of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=memory&amp;cvid=82dc23458806498bb4691294ffe6af26&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">memory</a> problems as getting only five hours of sleep. 

The investigation was focused on the memory test results for nearly 400,000 individuals. The participants had completed a task that involved memorizing and matching six pairs of hidden cards.

The study revealed that seven hours of sleep may be the ideal goal for boosting memory. The participants who reported getting nine hours of sleep made the same number of mistakes as those who reported getting five hours of sleep. Excessive sleep may negatively impact memory

Furthermore, individuals who reported getting ten hours of sleep made even more mistakes. The findings indicate that too much sleep can affect cognition in the same way as sleep deprivation. 

According to the experts, people who sleep for too long are likely to have poor sleep quality. This prevents brain regions from communicating as effectively, increasing the risk of cognitive issues. 

Senior author Dr. Victoria Garfield said it is not new to find that less sleep is bad for you, but that the results of this study are unusual. "Some people may think that going to bed and sleeping for as long as you like is fine, but our findings show that sleeping for too long may affect memory."

Study lead author Albert Henry explained that there was not much evidence to suggest that too much or too little sleep is linked to a higher risk of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exposure-to-fine-particle-pollution-linked-to-higher-risk-of-dementia/">dementia.</a> He said that more research is needed to investigate a potential link.

The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ije">International Journal of Epidemiology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Excessive sleep may negatively impact memory

Excessive sleep may negatively impact memory. While the negative impacts...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...