Bad habits are repetitive behaviors or patterns that may have negative consequences on physical health, mental well-being, relationships, or productivity. 



They often develop unconsciously and can be challenging to break because they are reinforced by habit loops, which consist of a cue, a routine, and a reward.



But what if you could easily change your habits? What if you had the power to take control of your brain's habit-making mechanism and use it to your advantage?



Enter cognitive neuroscience, a field that offers fresh insights into how our brains form habits. In a recent study, scientists at Trinity College Dublin have proposed a new approach to changing habits that promise lasting results.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-of-habits">The power of habits</h2>



Led by Dr. Eike Buabang, postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Professor Claire Gillan, the study explores how habits drive our daily lives.



"Habits play a central role in our daily lives, from making that first cup of coffee in the morning to the route we take to work, and the routine we follow to prepare for bed," said Dr. Buabang.



"Our research reveals why these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/happiness-influences-online-shopping-habits/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">automatic behaviors</a> are so powerful - and how we can harness our brain's mechanisms to change them."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-brain-systems">Two brain systems</h2>



Our habits are driven by two brain systems. One triggers automatic responses to familiar cues, while the other enables goal-directed control.



Take, for instance, the habit of scrolling through social media when you're bored - this is the result of an automatic response system. But when you put your phone away to focus on work - that's the goal-directed brain control system at work.



When these two systems are imbalanced, it can lead to action slips like entering an old password instead of the new one. 



In more severe cases, it can contribute to compulsive behaviors seen in conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance-use disorders, and eating disorders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-switching-from-bad-habits-to-good-ones">Switching from bad habits to good ones</h2>



Understanding the interplay between these two systems can pave the way for personal development and clinical treatment of compulsive disorders. 



"Good and bad habits are two sides of the same coin - both arise when automatic responses overpower goal-directed control. By understanding this dynamic, we can start to use it to our own advantage, to both make and break habits," noted Dr. Buabang.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-factors-involved-in-habit-change">Factors involved in habit change</h2>



Dr. Buabang's research provides a playbook for behavior change, bridging brain science with practical applications. The framework describes several factors crucial for influencing the balance between automatic responses and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-to-set-realistic-goals-and-achieve-them-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">goal-directed control</a>.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-repetition-and-reinforcement">Repetition and reinforcement</h3>



Repeating a behavior builds strong associations between cues and responses, while rewarding the behavior makes it more likely to be repeated. 



The same mechanism can be leveraged to break habits, by replacing old behaviors with new ones to create competing automatic responses.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environment">Environment</h3>



Your surroundings play a significant role in habit change. Tweaking your environment to make desired behaviors easier to access encourages good habits, while removing cues that trigger unwanted behavior disrupts the bad ones.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-goal-directed-system">Goal-directed system</h3>



Knowing how to engage your goal-directed system can help strengthen and weaken habits. 



However, stress, time pressure, and fatigue can trigger a return to old patterns, so staying mindful and intentional is crucial when trying to break them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-theory-to-real-world-applications">From theory to real-world applications</h2>



The theory doesn't stop at habit change; it also opens the door to personalizing treatments based on how different people <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-long-does-it-take-to-form-a-habit/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">form</a> and break habits.



"We are all different; depending on your neurobiology, it might make more sense to focus on avoiding cues than reducing stress or allowing yourself more time for your daily routine," said Professor Gillan.



These insights have far-reaching implications. They could reshape public health strategies and help policymakers design more effective health campaigns. 



"By working with - rather than against - how our brains naturally form habits, we can create strategies that make healthier choices more automatic at both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shopping-habits-have-remained-consistent-for-3500-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">individual</a> and societal levels," noted Professor Gillan.



In conclusion, this new approach to habit change has the potential to revolutionize both personal development and the treatment of compulsive disorders. 



The exciting findings from the <a href="https://www.tcd.ie" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Trinity College Dublin</a> team have provided a new avenue for tapping into our brain's potential, making habit change achievable and lasting.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(24)00266-3?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1364661324002663%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Trends in Cognitive Sciences</a>.



-----



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Brain science: A new approach to breaking bad habits

Bad habits are repetitive behaviors or patterns that may have negative consequences on physical health, mental well-being, relationships, or productivity. They often develop unconsciously and can be challenging to break because they are reinforced by habit loops, which consist of a cue, a routine, and a reward. But what if you could easily change your habits? What if you had the power to take control of your brain's habit-making mechanism and use it to your advantage? Enter cognitive neuroscience, a field that offers fresh insights into how...

Children born to older parents are less likely to have behavioral problems. People are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/socioeconomic-age-gap-children/">having children</a> later on in life, and it’s a trend evident in several countries including the United States. 

Researchers from several Dutch institutions and medical centers conducted a study to see how children of older parents are affected and if parent age is linked to child behavioral problems. 

The study was published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14678624">Child Development</a>. 

“Evidence points to an association between fathers’ age and autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia, so we wanted to know if there is an association in the general population between parents’ age and common behavior problems in children, beyond the clinical diagnoses,” said Marielle Zondervan-Zwijnenburg, the leader of the study.

For the study, the researchers reviewed data from children who were born after 1980 that took part in four studies about adolescent development and relationships. 

Data on 32,892 Dutch children when they were 10 to 12 years old were considered for the study. Problem behaviors like aggression or anxiety were rated by the children themselves and their parents and teachers. 

Parent age at childbirth ranged from 16 to 68 across the four studies reviewed by the researchers. 

While children of older parents exhibited fewer externalizing behavior problems like aggression, the researchers found no link between parent age and risk of internalizing behavior problems like depression or anxiety.

One potential reason that children of older parents may be less likely to exhibit certain behavior problems is that older parents are more likely to have completed higher levels of education, according to Dorret Boomsma, a co-author of the study. 

The study shows that older parents who want to start a family need not necessarily worry about increasing the risk of behavior problems in their children. 

“With respect to common behavior problems, we found no reason for future parents to worry about a harmful effect of having a child at an older age,” said Zondervan-Zwijnenburg. 

It’s important to note that the study only focused on behavior problems, and so the results can not be expanded to include other development issues without further research. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/javi_indy

Children born to older parents are less likely to have behavioral problems

Children born to older parents are less likely to have...

Innovations like electric cars and spaceships that can travel to the moon, which were once fabulous pipe dreams of the past, have become a reality. But what does the future hold for people today? 

According to a panel of experts and the British campaign <a href="https://www.smartenergygb.org/en">Smart Energy GB</a>, smart homes that combine futuristic technology with eco-conscious living will soon be all the rage. 

Imagine living in a home made with reusable and eco-friendly materials and a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/renewables-more-electricity-coal/">roof of solar panels</a>. 

Inside you’ll find shape-shifting furniture that changes color, smart appliances that store power, and a fridge that instantly cools or freezes food in seconds. Imagine wall screens and windows that can project any backdrop you want, and bedding that is temperature-controlled, so you never have to wake up in a sweat again. 

Sound too good to be true? Smart Energy GB reports that these innovations are all based on technology or solutions that are already available or being designed and could be ready for consumers by 2030. 

What’s key about Smart Energy’s smart home is the focus on eco-friendly living. Personal roof gardens, hydroponic herb gardens, toilets that convert waste into fuel, and roof wind turbines to help generate energy are all potential realities for homes of the future. 

Smart Energy GB commissioned the study and 2,000 UK adults were surveyed in the process. 

The survey showed that people in the UK are already looking to make their homes greener and seven out of ten of the participants said they would like in a more eco-friendly house. 

“Making homes greener certainly won’t mean making them low tech,” said Dr. Ian Pearson, a futurologist who was part of the panel of experts asked to speak about what the future would look like. “Our homes will use renewable energy, stored in home batteries, and will make our lives easier.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

Future smart homes will combine advanced tech with eco-friendly innovation

Innovations like electric cars and spaceships that can travel to...

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ohsu.edu/">Oregon Health and Science University</a> may have discovered a new path for treating drug addiction by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain. 

In the past, there have been many studies focused on finding ways to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cure-cocaine-addiction/">treat drug addiction</a> and unhealthy reward-seeking behaviors. 

Now, new research using rats has found that dopamine receptors in the amygdala could be key to treating cocaine addiction. 

The amygdala, a cluster of neurons located in the medial temporal lobe, helps process both pleasure and fear responses and as such, the amygdala contains receptors for dopamine. 

Dopamine is a chemical in the brain, and because of its role in those feel-good highs we get when we do something pleasurable, it’s often referred to as the “pleasure chemical.”

While this overly simplistic definition of dopamine can make for a catchy news headline, the reality is that dopamine has much more to do with<a href="https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(12)00941-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0896627312009415%3Fshowall%3Dtrue"> motivation and seeking out a reward</a> rather than the feelings experienced after. 

For the study, researchers Mathew Lattal and Earnest Kim trained rats to push a series of levers to release a dose of cocaine as a way to model drug-seeking behavior.

The researchers then blocked the dopamine receptors in different regions of the amygdala to see how it impacted the rat’s motivation to get the drug. 

Blocking receptors in the basolateral amygdala of the rats resulted in a gradual decrease in the rats pushing levers and self-administering the drug. 

When the researchers blocked receptors in the central amygdala, this caused the rats to rapidly cease pushing the levers, but when the same rats were put in a new environment, the drug-seeking behaviors increased again.  

The results, published in the journal eNeuro, show how targeting dopamine receptors in different regions in the amygdala could help weaken the addictive effects of cocaine. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/sdecoret

Blocking dopamine receptors in the brain could treat cocaine addiction

Researchers from the Oregon Health and Science University may have...

Humans and chimps have different foraging patterns in the rainforest. A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> set out to compare the spatial movement patterns of human foragers and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-hunting-eating-crabs/">chimpanzees</a> in similar rainforest environments. 

The Mbendjele BaYaka people are constantly changing camps and have a large lifetime range of about 800 square meters, while chimpanzees live in a much smaller area and spend most of their adult lives within the same home range.

The study was focused on the direction and  speed of five Mbendjele BaYaka women from the Republic of Congo and five female chimpanzees from Taï forest as they ventured away from established trails on their daily quest for food.

The researchers found that both the Mbendjele BaYaka people and Taï chimpanzees had similarly high levels of linearity when they traveled toward locations that were out of sight. On the other hand, humans and chimpanzees showed clear differences in their movement as their surroundings and group sizes shifted.

The Mbendjele BaYaka traveled with higher linearity in familiar areas compared to less familiar areas. This pattern was reversed in Taï chimpanzees, who moved with higher linearity and speed in less familiar areas.

"One possible explanation of these differences can be their different ranging style," said study lead author Haneul Jang. "The Mbendjele BaYaka people stay in several seasonal camps in their lifetime range, and walk 90 percent of their travel distance on human-made trails during their foraging trips in the forest. They may therefore have less experience in less familiar off-trail areas. Hence, when the Mbendjele BaYaka people forage in these areas, their travel linearity decreases due to their searching effort."

"Since chimpanzee groups can be highly hostile towards each other, they might need to travel more efficiently and faster in less familiar areas, where they are more likely to encounter other chimpanzee groups."

Travel linearity was found to increase among the Mbendjele BaYaka people when they traveled in larger groups, yet not among the chimps.

"When I followed the chimpanzees, I often saw them wait for each other and have apparent disagreements about where to go," explained study supervisor Karline Janmaat. "With more individuals joining the group, disagreement seemed to increase. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that when group size increased, their travel became less linear."

"For the Mbendjele BaYaka people we found the opposite pattern. This can have many reasons, but I like to think that it is because humans can discuss, evaluate and eventually agree about where the best food sources are, by using language, and that this helped them to travel more efficiently."

According to the researchers, the study is the first necessary step needed to compare long-range spatial movement patterns of human and chimpanzee populations in their natural habitats. 

"Our study provides insights into how two closely related species living in similar environments can differ in their spatial movement patterns, which possibly results from their different ranging styles," said Jang. "We hope our study can contribute to expanding comparative research on spatial movement patterns to a wide range of primate species and populations, including humans, in natural environments."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</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: Karline Janmaat

Humans and chimps have different foraging patterns in the rainforest

Humans and chimps have different foraging patterns in the rainforest....

It’s estimated that about 30% of the American population is <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/excessive-smartphone-use-obesity/">obese</a>, and obesity-related health problems such as diabetes and hypertension are on the rise. While obesity leads to a propensity of health issues, there can also be some underlying factors that play a part in an individual being clinically obese. 

A new study published in the <a href="https://jandonline.org/">Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics</a> has found that obese individuals may have heightened initial taste perceptions when compared to those of normal weight individuals – which could be linked to them deriving greater satisfaction from food.

When we eat some item of food, we gradually experience diminishing taste perception. This means that our perceived taste from additional consumption tends to decline as we continue to eat. That is why the tenth bite of that burger usually doesn’t taste nearly as good as the first. 

In an effort to test how marginal taste perceptions might differ between individuals of normal-weight, those who are overweight, and those with obesity, researchers from the <a href="https://uiowa.edu/">University of Iowa</a> conducted a non-clinical, randomized controlled trial of 290 adults. 

The trial involved participants eating one piece of chocolate at a time – as many as they wanted without feeling uncomfortable. Researchers tracked a consistent association between taste from food and BMI by directly observing instantaneous taste changes over time, rather than just at the beginning and end of a period of consumption, as prior studies have done. 

The results showed that taste ratings generally went down after each piece of chocolate eaten, and more importantly, that the ratings of obese participants began at higher levels and tended to decline at a more gradual rate than those of normal-weight participants.

“Causes of obesity are varied, but food consumption decisions play an important role, especially decisions about what foods to eat and how much to consume,” says lead investigator Linnea A. Polgreen, PhD, from the University of Iowa. “Taste perceptions may lead to overeating. If people with obesity have different taste perceptions than nonobese people, it could lead to better understanding of obesity and possibly designing new approaches to prevent obesity.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/JPC-PROD

Obese individuals may experience higher taste satisfaction when eating

It’s estimated that about 30% of the American population is...

A therapy that involves tickling the ear with a small electrical current has been found to rebalance the autonomic nervous system for adults over the age of 55. Individuals who received a short daily therapy for two weeks reported improvements in mood, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/poor-sleep-poor-nutrition/">sleep</a>, and overall quality of life. 

Known as transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), the treatment delivers a small electrical current to the ear that transmits signals to the nervous system through the vagus nerve. 

According to researchers at the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a>, the therapy may help protect people from chronic diseases that are associated with aging such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and atrial fibrillation. The team demonstrated that this type of stimulation has the potential to conserve health by recalibrating the body's internal control system.

"The ear is like a gateway through which we can tinker with the body's metabolic balance, without the need for medication or invasive procedures. We believe these results are just the tip of the iceberg," said study lead author Dr. Beatrice Bretherton.

"We are excited to investigate further into the effects and potential long-term benefits of daily ear stimulation, as we have seen a great response to the treatment so far."

Previous research from Leeds has shown that the electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve at the ear improved the balance of the autonomic nervous system in healthy 30-year-olds.

In the current study, the team set out to explore whether tVNS could benefit adults over 55, who are more likely to have unbalanced autonomic systems that could contribute to age-related health issues.

For 29 healthy participants, the therapy was effective in rebalancing and improving autonomic function. In addition, some of the individuals experienced mental health and sleeping benefits. The researchers found that these improvements were the most pronounced among those who displayed the greatest imbalance at the start of the study.

"We believe this stimulation can make a big difference to people's lives, and we're now hoping to conduct further studies to see if tVNS can benefit multiple disorders," said study senior author Dr. Susan Deuchars. 

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.aging-us.com/">Aging</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: University of Leeds

Electrical ear stimulation may help prevent age-related health issues

A therapy that involves tickling the ear with a small...

In the southwestern United States, it may not get hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk in the summer, but that doesn’t mean the pavement won’t cause severe burns. 

A new study found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/urban-heat-island/">pavement can get hot enough</a> to cause second degree burns on the skin almost instantly when temperatures surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.unlv.edu/">University of Nevada, Las Vegas </a>reviewed hospital records of pavement burn admissions to a desert burn center from 2013 through 2017 and determined the outdoor temperature at the time each patient was admitted.  

Overall, the researchers identified 173 cases of pavement burns, and 149 of those burns were isolated incidents. The other 24 burns were related to other injuries like a car accident. 

Pavement burns can be a significant problem, especially in areas with notoriously hot and dry summers like the Southwestern US.  If temperatures are hot enough, any skin that comes in contact with a hot sidewalk, road, or driveway can be seriously damaged. 

“Pavement burns account for a significant number of burn-related injuries, particularly in the Southwestern United States,” the study authors wrote. “The pavement can be significantly hotter than the ambient temperature in direct sunlight and can cause second-degree burns within two seconds.”

153 of the burns, 88 percent occurred when temperatures were at 95 degrees or higher. As temperatures rose above 105 degrees, the risk of a patient being admitted into the burn center for pavement burns drastically increased. 

Pavement absorbs sunlight, and as sidewalks and roads bake in the hot afternoon sun, surface temperatures can far surpass the surrounding ambient temperatures. Pavement on a 111-degree day can get as hot as 147 degrees, for example. 

While it is sound advice to stay off the pavement when temperatures reach a certain point, for many, it’s unavoidable. 

Some people also may not know that the pavement is dangerous when it’s hot outside, like young children riding their bikes. If they fall, they risk getting burned. 

“This information is useful for burn centers in hotter climates, to plan and prepare for the coordination of care and treatment,” said Dr. Jorge Vega, the lead author of the study. “It can also be used for burn injury prevention and public health awareness, including increased awareness and additional training to emergency medical service and police personnel when attending to pavement burn victims in the field.”

The findings of the study were published in the Journal of Burn Care &amp; Research. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/welcomia

Hot sidewalks in the summer can cause second-degree burns

In the southwestern United States, it may not get hot...

In 2016, political scientist Nicholas Sambanis founded the <a href="https://web.sas.upenn.edu/pic-lab/">Penn Identity and Conflict (PIC) Lab</a> in an effort to understand why groups come into conflict and how to resolve those conflicts without violent escalations. Most recently, Sambanis used an experimental approach to explore the causes of discrimination against Muslim immigrants in Germany. 

"Opposition toward immigration can be due to economic reasons because of competition for jobs or due to the perceived cultural threat that immigrants pose to their host country by challenging dominant norms and changing the national identity."

According to Sambanis, there is very little experimental research on the causes of anti-immigrant bias and even less research on how to reduce it.

"Most previous research is limited to presenting survey-based attitudinal measures of antipathy toward immigrants or refugees and correlating them with socio-economic characteristics of the survey respondents or their political beliefs," explained Sambanis. 

"We wanted to go beyond that and measure actual behavior in the field. We wanted to figure out what particular aspects of refugees or immigrants generate more hostility. Is it racial differences? Ethnic differences? Is it linguistic or religious differences? Is there merit to the idea that discrimination toward immigrants is due to the perception that they do not follow the rules and threaten dominant social norms?"

The PIC lab study was focused on Germany because of its high influx of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bias-against-immigrants-names/">immigrants</a> and refugees, and also because Germans are strongly inclined to conform with social norms.

The team theorized that opposition to immigration is most strongly driven by a perceived cultural threat. If this is the case, they proposed, then a country like Germany that values norm adherence would see a reduction in discrimination toward immigrants if they were to show respect for social norms within their new society.

The researchers staged an intervention that involved a native German male who littered in a public space, since littering goes against the social norms. A female researcher approached the person littering and asked him to dispose of the trash properly. The team studied the reaction of bystanders as they observed the interaction. 

As the female walked away, she dropped a bag of groceries and the researchers analyzed which of the bystanders would help her pick them up.

In some versions of the experiment, the woman dropping the groceries confronted the man who littered, demonstrating integration with the German culture. In other versions, the woman acted indifferent to the littering. 

The woman's identity was also manipulated for the trials. She was sometimes depicted as a native German, and sometimes as a Muslim immigrant wearing a hijab. 

The experiment was conducted more than 1,600 times in train stations across 30 cities in both western and eastern Germany using multiple teams of research assistants. Overall, more than 7,000 bystanders unknowingly participated in the study. 

The researchers measured the following: whether women who wore a hijab received less assistance than native Germans, whether ethno-racial differences between immigrants matters less than religious differences in generating bias, whether immigrants who wore a cross received more help than those who did not wear any outward symbols of religiosity, and whether good citizenship generated more help from bystanders.

"We found that bias toward Muslims is too pronounced and is not overcome by good citizenship; immigrant women who wore a hijab always received less assistance relative to German women, even when they followed the rules," said Sambanis.

"But we also found that good citizenship has some benefit, as the degree of discrimination toward Muslims goes down if they signal that they care about the host society. And ethnic or racial differences alone do not cause discrimination in our setup. Nor is religious assimilation - wearing a cross rather than a hijab - necessary to be treated with civility."

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Aqnus Febriyant

Good citizenship found to help reduce bias against immigrants

In 2016, political scientist Nicholas Sambanis founded the Penn Identity...

In our complex society, we often look to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-determines-social-dominance/">leaders</a> to make sure that people stick to the rules. We learn from a young age that there’s usually always someone to intervene in case of wrongdoing. 

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign </a>were curious to determine the age where these expectations begin to form. 

“We know that adults expect the leaders of social groups to intervene to stop within-group transgressions,” said Maayan Stavans, an author of the study. “We wanted to know how early those expectations appear in human development, so we examined the question in very young children.”

For the study, the researchers used puppets and put on a series of skits in front of 120 infants. 

Because infants are still fine-tuning their verbal communication skills, the researchers tracked eye movements and how long an infant focused on different puppets in the skits. 

The skits involved three bear puppets dressed in red, yellow, or blue. In one scenario, there was a bear leader, but in the other skits, there was no leader figure. 

In each of the skits, the red bear, or protagonist bear, presented both the yellow and blue bear with two toys, meant to be shared.

However, the blue bear quickly grabbed both toys. In some of the skits, the red bear would then intervene and correct the transgression by taking a toy from the blue bear (the wrongdoer) and giving it to the yellow bear (the victim.) 

In the other skits, the red bear sat idly by and did nothing when the blue bear grabbed both toys. 

[caption id="attachment_1875816" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/skits.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1875816" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/skits.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="650" /></a> Image courtesy Renee Baillargeon[/caption]

“Infants stared longer when the leader ignored the wrongdoing than when she rectified it,” said Renée Baillargeon, the leader of the research. “This suggests that infants expected the leader to intervene and right the wrong in her group, and were surprised when she took no such action.”

The infants also stared longer at the wrongdoer when the red bear didn’t intervene. The children did not expect either the yellow or blue bear to step in and intervene or change the behavior.

It was clear that the infants saw the red bear as the leader and were surprised when the red bear tried to correct something that didn’t need to be repaired. 

In one of the experiments, one of the bears said they didn’t want to play with a toy and the other bear took the two toys. When the red bear corrected this, the infants stared longer at the leader. 

“It was as if the infants understood that in this case there was no transgression, so they viewed it as overbearing for the leader to redistribute one of the toys to a bear who had made it clear she didn’t want one,” said Stavans.

Children as young as 17 months appear to understand the social hierarchies of human society, the researchers say. Infants learn early on how to identify and depend on leaders to right transgressions. 

“We knew from previous work that children this age have specific ideas about how followers will behave toward their leaders,” said Baillargeon. “Now we see that they also have complementary expectations about how leaders will behave toward their followers.”

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Milos Vucicevic

Study shows how infants look to leaders to make things right

In our complex society, we often look to leaders to...

In a study published by the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a>, researchers analyzed neural activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) which reflects the intention to drink alcohol. Using rats as a model system, the experts found that PFC brain activity was weakened in animals with a family history of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/quitting-alcohol-health-benefits/">excessive drinking</a>. 

The research has implications for the development of new targeted therapies to treat alcohol use disorders.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the cerebral cortex that covers the frontal lobe. The PFC is involved in decision making, planning complex cognitive behavior, and controlling social behavior. This region of the brain becomes activated before a behavior is initiated, indicating intention. 

A team of experts led by David Linsenbardt of <a href="https://www.iupui.edu/">Purdue University Indianapolis</a> investigated neural activity in the prefrontal cortex of rats to determine whether this brain region processes the intention to consume alcohol.

Among two types of rats, the team compared activity before and during alcohol consumption. One type of rat had a family history of alcohol abuse, while the other type had no family history of excessive alcohol consumption. 

The prefrontal cortex was found to be activated in both groups of rats during the consumption of alcohol. However, prior to alcohol consumption, this region only became activated in rats without a family history of drinking.

The findings suggest that the prefrontal cortex directly encodes the intention to consume alcohol, but that this process is disrupted in animals who have a higher risk of abusing alcohol. For individuals with a predisposition to drink excessively, restoring prefrontal cortex activity could provide experts with a new approach for treating alcohol use disorders.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.eneuro.org/">eNeuro</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

Image Credit: Shutterstock, CLIPAREA l Custom media

Prefrontal cortex may provide new opportunities for treating alcoholism

In a study published by the Society for Neuroscience, researchers...

Parents who talk to their teens about sex promote safer behavior. A new study from <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a> has investigated the success of programs aimed at helping parents to communicate with their children about sex. The researchers found that parent-based interventions do not make <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/social-media-television-depression/">adolescents</a> more likely to engage in sexual activity, and often lead to safer sexual practices. 

"People have been studying parent-based sexual health interventions for decades, and we wanted to know how effective they are; as well as whether there are specific features of these interventions that make them more effective," said study first author Professor Laura Widman.

The team analyzed the results of 31 trials, involving more than 12,000 adolescents between the ages of 9 and 18. Among the studies examined, 16 had follow-up periods of more than a year.

One of the most widespread effects identified in the meta-analysis was an increase in condom use by adolescents whose parents took part in an intervention. This effect was found to be the strongest among adolescents aged 14 or younger and Black or Hispanic youths. In addition, interventions that targeted parents and adolescents equally were more effective in promoting the use of condoms. 

"These are variables that make sense intuitively: reaching kids when they're younger and, often, more willing to listen; involving both parents and adolescents; spending more time on the subject matter - none of those are particularly surprising," said Professor Widman. "However, it's good to see that the data bears this out."

According to the study, interventions did not have an influence on when adolescents became sexually active.

"In other words, the kids who were taught about sexual health did not become sexually active any earlier than kids who were not part of the interventions - but kids who were part of the interventions were more likely to use condoms when they did become sexually active," explained Professor Widman.

The researchers also identified some areas that could be explored in future intervention research.

"For example, we found only one intervention that targeted fathers, and it worked very well," said Professor Widman. "Similarly, there was only one intervention aimed specifically at parents of sons, which also worked very well. This suggests that it may be worthwhile to pursue broader efforts to assess the effectiveness of gender-specific interventions for parents and adolescents."Parents who talk to their teens about sex promote safer behavior

"What's more, we found that there is a dearth of information on the effectiveness of online interventions. That's definitely an area ripe for future study."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics">JAMA Pediatrics</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

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/pixelheadphoto digitalskillet

Parents who talk to their teens about sex promote safer behavior

Parents who talk to their teens about sex promote safer...

Every day, we are faced with choices when we must decide whether to try something new or to stick with what we already know. Researchers at <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis</a> wanted to find out which of these strategies pays off the most in the real world, and they discovered that traversing unfamiliar territory may lead to greater success. 

The investigation was focused on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sharks-threatened-fishing-boats/">fishing boat</a> captains, who make critical choices between the familiar and the unknown every day while seeking out the best fishing spot. The UC Davis team analyzed more than half a million fishing vessel position records from nearly 2,500 commercial fishing trips in the Gulf of Mexico, including their revenues. 

Study co-lead author Shay O'Farrell is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Professor James Sanchirico in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy. 

"It looks like exploration pays off in the face of uncertainty," said O'Farrell. "This is particularly important in the context of global environmental change, when disturbances such as storms and droughts are predicted to increase."

The researchers found that some vessels explore new territory more frequently than others, investing more time and resources into trying out new fishing locations. In times of stability, the exploratory vessels were found to perform just as well as vessels that relied more on consistency.

"In relatively stable environments, we would expect that any gains from switching behaviors would usually go away, otherwise vessels would be changing how they fish," said Sanchirico.

In 2009, popular fishing grounds in the Gulf of Mexico were closed and boats were forced to find new places to fish. The researchers discovered that the exploratory vessels were much less impacted by the sudden change in circumstances, which is likely due to the captains' experience in selecting new fishing grounds.

According to O'Farrell, the findings may hold lessons for times of uncertainty.

"One way in which we can future-proof our livelihoods is by exploring new options," said O'Farrell. "That way, if our current options become unavailable or less attractive in the future, we can fall back on our knowledge of alternatives. Sharing our knowledge could make us even more resilient still, as we can draw from a larger pool of experience."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</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

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Nomad_Soul

Why it may not always pay to stick with what you know

Every day, we are faced with choices when we must...

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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



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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



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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 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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...