Sunburn is painful skin damage that we've all experienced after spending a bit too much time outdoors without protection from UV rays. Whether it's from a lazy beach day or an exhilarating hike, the aftermath tells a singular tale - crimson skin and a nagging sting.



We've long believed that stepping out into the sun requires ample sunscreen slathering, shade-seeking, and hat-wearing, especially between the peak hours of 12 noon and 3 p.m.



However, researchers at the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Copenhagen</a> and <a href="https://www.ntu.edu.sg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nanyang Technological University</a> (NTU Singapore) have made surprising new strides in our understanding of sunburn.



As it turns out, the DNA damage we've always associated with sunburn might not be the complete story.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dna-rna-and-sunburn-damage">DNA, RNA, and sunburn damage</h2>



When it comes to sunburn, the prevailing wisdom suggests that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-can-now-collect-human-dna-from-water-air-and-basically-everywhere/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DNA</a> damage triggers inflammation and subsequent cell death.



However, this recent research suggests that the real offender might be <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rna-world-unraveling-mysteries-life-origin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RNA</a>, not DNA. 



"Sunburn damages the DNA, leading to cell death and inflammation. So the textbooks say," stated assistant professor Anna Constance Vind from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the <a href="https://researchprofiles.ku.dk/en/organisations/institut-for-cellul%C3%A6r-og-molekyl%C3%A6r-medicin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Copenhagen</a>. 



"But in this study we were surprised to learn that this is a result of damage to the RNA, not the DNA that causes the acute effects of sunburn." 



But what's the difference between DNA and RNA? While they share similarities, the two aren't interchangeable. 



DNA is a more consistent molecule, whereas RNA is more transitory. 



A particular type of RNA, messenger RNA (mRNA), carries information from DNA to create proteins - the fundamental building blocks of cells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-importance-of-rna">Importance of RNA</h2>



The importance of mRNA in our body's response to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-does-skin-become-leathery-after-too-much-uv-light-from-sun-exposure/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UV radiation</a> can't be understated. 



"DNA damage is serious as the mutations will get passed down to progenies of the cells, RNA damage happens all the time and does not cause permanent mutations," Vind explained. 



"Therefore, we used to believe that the RNA is less important, as long as the DNA is intact. But in fact, damages to the RNA are the first to trigger a response to UV radiation."



Investigating more deeply into the matter was no small task.



The researchers embarked on a study involving both mice and human skin cells to better understand the consequences of UV radiation on the skin. They discovered a consistent response in both species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-zak-alpha-the-protector">ZAK-alpha - the protector</h2>



RNA damage activates a response in ribosomes (protein complexes that interpret the mRNA to assemble proteins).



This process is managed by a protein known as ZAK-alpha, which triggers what is referred to as the "ribotoxic stress response."



Think of it like a vigilant watchman, always on the lookout for RNA damage. When it detects any, it won't hesitate to call for backup.



"We found that the first thing the cells respond to after being exposed to UV radiation is damage to the RNA, and that this is what triggers cell death and inflammation of the skin," explained Professor Simon Bekker-Jensen, who was also from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.



In mice exposed to UV radiation we found responses such as inflammation and cell death, but when we removed the ZAK gene, these responses disappeared, which means that ZAK plays a key role in the skin's response to UV-induced damage.



"So you could say that everything depends on this one response, which monitors all protein translations occurring. The cells respond to the RNA damage, realizing that something is wrong, and this is what leads to cell death," Bekker-Jensen elaborated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-sunburn-and-uv-damage">Rethinking sunburn and UV damage</h2>



The study's findings question our long-held beliefs about sunburn and how our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/skins-secret-strength-shields-against-puncture-damage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">skin</a> safeguards itself. It suggests that RNA damage sparks a quicker, more efficient response, which safeguards the skin from additional harm.



"The fact that the DNA does not control the skin's initial response to UV radiation, but that something else does and that it does so more effectively and more quickly, is quite the paradigm shift," reflected Vind.



Knowing how our skin reacts to UV damage at a cellular level could potentially transform prevention and treatment approaches to sunburn and other inflammatory skin conditions.



"Many inflammatory skin diseases are worsened by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-parents-are-not-using-sunscreen-properly/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sun exposure</a>. Thus, understanding how our skin responds at the cellular level to UV damage opens the door to innovative treatments for certain chronic skin conditions," explained Dr. Franklin Zhong, Nanyang assistant professor at NTU's Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and a co-author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rewriting-the-textbooks">Rewriting the textbooks</h2>



In closing, it seems now is the time to revise our textbooks and rethink how we perceive the effects of UV radiation on our skin. 



"This new knowledge turns things upside down. I think most people associate sunburn with DNA damage; it is established knowledge," Professor Simon Bekker-Jensen concluded. "But now we need to rewrite the textbooks, and it will affect future research on the effects of UV radiation on the skin."



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1097276524008840" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Molecular Cell</a>.



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Main cause of sunburn is finally identified, and it's time to rewrite the textbooks

Sunburn is painful skin damage that we've all experienced after spending a bit too much time outdoors without protection from UV rays. Whether it's from a lazy beach day or an exhilarating hike, the aftermath tells a singular tale - crimson skin and a nagging sting. We've long believed that stepping out into the sun requires ample sunscreen slathering, shade-seeking, and hat-wearing, especially between the peak hours of 12 noon and 3 p.m. However, researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have...

Skin creams usually contain a few standard ingredients, but manufacturers know little about how these substances interact to influence the product's performance. A team of researchers has investigated the structure of a skin cream on a molecular scale, and they were surprised by what they found.

"The long-term stability and clinical properties of a cream are determined by its fundamental structure," said Delaram Ahmadi, a graduate student at <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">King's College London</a> who conducted the research. "If we can understand the chemical microstructure of the cream and relate that to the structure of the skin, then perhaps we can better repair the compromised skin barrier."

"We wanted to improve the science around cream formulation so that companies could more rationally formulate them to get exactly what they want," added Dr. David Barlow. "The most significant thing we found is that the textbook picture of the structure of a cream is very naïve."

Dr. Barlow explained that formulators have mostly inferred the structure of these emulsions based on indirect measurements. For their investigation, however, the researchers took a direct approach by analyzing creams using X-ray and neutron scattering techniques to determine how the ingredients were distributed. 

The team expected for a cream to be composed of stacks of lamellae, or membranes, that are made up of surfactants and co-surfactants. These substances reduce the surface tension of the liquid they are dissolved in.

The researchers started with an aqueous cream formulation from the British Pharmacopoeia that contains a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant and two co-surfactants. The X-rays revealed that the co-surfactants were present in the lamellar layers as predicted, but the surfactant was surprisingly absent.  

"The surfactant peak profile suggested that the molecule formed micelles in the cream," explained Ahmadi. In addition, the preservative was not found in the aqueous layer, where scientists have always thought it would be. Instead, the preservative was found in the lamellae. 

Preservatives have an antimicrobial effect, which gives them a longer shelf life. Formulators assumed that the preservative had to be dissolved in the water layer in order to be an effective <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/antimicrobial-bacteria-spread-urban-wildlife/">antimicrobial</a>. Therefore, according to Ahmadi, the new finding indicates that creams are self-preserving.

"I don't think anybody else has considered that there would be these micelles in the system at all," said Dr. Barlow. "This is new, and we need to think about where they are in the structure and what they are doing."

The research will be presented at the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> Fall 2019 National Meeting

--

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/Maryna Pleshkun

Scientists find that skin creams have a surprising molecular structure

Skin creams usually contain a few standard ingredients, but manufacturers...

In a new study published by the <a href="https://www.srcd.org/">Society for Research in Child Development</a>, researchers have investigated the outcome of a program that was developed to improve the quality of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/screen-time-behavioral-problems/">preschool</a> for low-income children. The focus of the research was to explore how this preschool program may have impacted the academic performance of the students when they reached high school. 

The Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) was an experimental teacher development and coaching intervention that was implemented in 35 Head Start classrooms in 2004 and 2005. Head Start centers are federally funded to accommodate preschool students from low-income families. Sites were selected for the study based on their location in high-crime, high-poverty neighborhoods in Chicago, and were randomly assigned to the intervention group or to a control group.

The researchers determined that the CSRP boosted the children's grades in high school years later, which can be partially explained by academic gains made in preschool. The team also found some evidence that the program improved the students' executive function skills, including impulse control and attention, which can be largely attributed to early improvements in math.

Study lead author Dana Charles McCoy is an assistant professor of Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

"Our results point to the sustained impacts of interventions that provide quality enhancements to existing preschool programming," said Professor McCoy. "In disadvantaged contexts, efforts to improve the well-being of preschool teachers and classroom management appeared to result in long-term benefits for children's academic outcomes, even in the absence of additional supports for instruction."

The high school grades of the CSRP participants were found to be increased by approximately one-quarter of a letter grade. According to the experts, this is primarily due to preschool gains in vocabulary and math skills. The study suggests that short-term improvements in these particular skills laid the groundwork for more advanced academic competencies over time.

"Given recent increases in state and federally funded preschool participation, it's important that we understand both the short- and the long-term impacts of early interventions, as well as the skills that may account for these effects," said study co-author Professor Stephanie Jones.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14678624">Child Development</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

Academic skills gained in preschool have long-term benefits for children

In a new study published by the Society for Research...

Clothing lined with graphene, an ultra-thin nanomaterial comprised of carbon atoms arranged in a lattice configuration, could help prevent mosquito bites. 

Graphene is lightweight, flexible, stronger than steel, and can be used in a single layer or stacked together. There are a wide variety of potential uses for the material including in batteries, solar cells, and even DNA sequencing. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.brown.edu/">Brown University</a> have now discovered a new use for graphene as a mosquito deterrent. 

The team discovered that graphene layers are impenetrable for mosquitoes in search of a blood meal, and the material blocks the chemical signals a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mosquitoes-sense-smell-disease/">mosquito uses to find a host</a>. 

Clothing lined with layers of graphene could keep people safe from disease-carrying mosquitoes. 

The researchers detailed their findings in a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Mosquitoes are important vectors for disease all over the world, and there’s a lot of interest in non-chemical mosquito bite protection,” said Robert Hurt, a senior author of the study. “We had been working on fabrics that incorporate graphene as a barrier against toxic chemicals, and we started thinking about what else the approach might be good for. We thought maybe graphene could provide mosquito bite protection as well.”

For the study, participants were asked to put their arm in an enclosure filled with lab-bred, disease-free mosquitoes. 

Some of the participants either had a patch of cheesecloth or a graphene oxide lined cheesecloth patch on their skin. The other participants just exposed bare skin to the mosquitoes. 

Only a small patch of skin was exposed, and the researchers recorded how many participants were bitten. 

Graphene repelled mosquitoes, and participants that had the graphene oxide patch didn’t get bit once. Mosquitoes also responded differently when presented with graphene. 

“With the graphene, the mosquitoes weren’t even landing on the skin patch -- they just didn’t seem to care,” said Cintia Castilho, the lead author of the study. “We had assumed that graphene would be a physical barrier to biting, through puncture resistance, but when we saw these experiments, we started to think that it was also a chemical barrier that prevents mosquitoes from sensing that someone is there.” 

The researchers confirmed that graphene acts as a chemical barrier, and some forms of graphene oxide can only effectively prevent mosquitoes from puncturing the material when dry. 

Reduced oxygen content (called rGO) graphene oxide works wet or dry but lacks the breathability of graphene oxide. 

“GO is breathable, meaning you can sweat through it, while rGO isn’t,” said Hurt said. “So our preferred embodiment of this technology would be to find a way to stabilize GO mechanically, so that is remains strong when wet. This next step would give us the full benefits of breathability and bite protection.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Hurt Lab / Brown University

Clothing lined with graphene could help deter mosquitoes

Clothing lined with graphene, an ultra-thin nanomaterial comprised of carbon...

Among most human populations, the cannibalism taboo is so strong that ethics don’t matter. Even in life or death situations – such as when the Donner Party was trapped by a blizzard in the Sierra Nevada mountains – survivors often wait until near death before eating, and struggle with the guilt afterward. 

Not so in the animal kingdom, where for many species cannibalism is the norm. Many female insects – including praying mantises and black widow spiders – consume the male after mating. Hamsters and mice may <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-eat-young/">eat their young</a> if they have too large of a litter or are under too much stress. 

Even some herbivores have been recorded munching on their own, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-turn-caterpillars-cannibals/">caterpillars that can’t find enough food</a>, or snack on the wrong leaves.

Among humans, though, the cannibalism taboo leads to an almost visceral reaction. 

“In one of our own experiments, participants were asked to consider the hypothetical case of a man who gave permission to his friend to eat parts of him once he died of natural causes,” Dr. Jared Piazza and Dr. Neil McLatchie wrote for <a href="http://theconversation.com/cannibalism-is-common-in-the-animal-kingdom-heres-why-for-humans-its-the-ultimate-taboo-121678">The Conversation</a>. “Participants read that this occurred in a culture that permitted the act, that the act was meant to honor the deceased, and that the flesh was cooked so that there was no chance of disease. Despite this careful description, about half of the participants still insisted that the act was invariably wrong.”

The pair of psychologists from <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> have run a series of experiments in which they question participants about their own beliefs regarding cannibalism and present hypothetical situations intended to test the strength of the cannibalism taboo. 

They pointed out that Roberto Canessa, a survivor of a plane crash in the Andes Mountains that left a soccer team stranded and forced to rely on eating the deceased, described cannibalizing his teammates as “stealing their souls.” This was despite his memory of urging his fellow survivors to eat his body if he should die, they said.

“Our capacity to represent the personalities of the living and the departed is unparalleled. This deep connection between personhood and flesh can mean that careful reasoning in certain situations over the merits of cannibalism is overridden by our feelings of repulsion and disgust,” the pair wrote.

This may also explain why most people are fine with eating some animals, but may recoil at eating those deemed pets. 

“Research shows that the more we think of animals as having human properties – that is, as being ‘like us’ – the more we tend to think they’re gross to eat,” they wrote.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Cannibalism taboo separates humans from other animals

Among most human populations, the cannibalism taboo is so strong...

A large number of teens are using marijuana in its most potent form. Researchers at <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> (ASU) are reporting that nearly 25 percent of teenagers in Arizona have tried cannabis concentrate, a highly potent form of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/marijuana-use-increased/">marijuana</a>.

The study was focused on nearly 50,000 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who participated in the 2018 Arizona Youth Survey. Overall, 33 percent of the teens had tried marijuana in some form, while 24 percent had tried marijuana concentrate.

Marijuana concentrates have about three times more THC, the main mind-altering compound, compared to what is found in the plant naturally. Professor Madeline Meier, the study's lead researcher, said that this is concerning because higher doses of THC have been linked to increased risk of marijuana addiction, cognitive impairment, and psychosis.

Compared to adolescents who had tried only traditional marijuana, those who tried concentrates were found to have more risk factors for addiction, such as lower perceived risk of harm, peer substance use, and parental substance use.

"This is important because it shows that teens who have a diverse array of risk factors for developing marijuana addiction may be further amplifying their risk for addiction by using high-THC marijuana concentrates," explained study co-author Professor Dustin Pardini.

The study also revealed that teens who had used concentrates had much higher rates of e-cigarette use. According to Professor Meier, one explanation for this could be that teens are using e-cigarettes to vape marijuana concentrate. 

Previous studies have shown that some teenagers use e-cigarettes to conceal their marijuana use. "Vaping marijuana can be passed off as nicotine vaping," said Professor Meier.

Marijuana concentrates do not look like traditional marijuana, and some products resemble wax or oil.

"What concerns me most is that parents might have no idea that their child is using marijuana, especially if their child is using marijuana concentrate," said Professor Meier. "Marijuana is not harmless, particularly for adolescents."

Earlier work by Professor Meier identified a link between frequent marijuana use throughout adolescence and reduced intelligence scores. In addition, prior research by Professor Pardini found that teenagers who use marijuana regularly are more likely to develop persistent subclinical psychotic symptoms.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/">Pediatrics</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A large number of teens are using marijuana in its most potent form

A large number of teens are using marijuana in its...

We waste more food by overeating than directly throwing it away. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.unite.it/UniTE/English">University of Teramo</a> found a way to measure the ecological impact of global food waste caused by overeating. Using global BMI and height data, they first estimated how much net excess bodyweight the overall population of a country has, and then distributed its energy content among food groups based on availability.

The results, published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2019.00126/full">Frontiers in Nutrition,</a> showed that the amount of direct <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/freshness-sensors-reduce-food-waste/">food waste</a> — that being, food that is discarded and/or lost on the way to the consumer  — is nothing compared to what is wasted on overeating.

"Excess bodyweight corresponds to roughly 140 billion tonnes of food waste globally," said group leader Prof. Mauro Serafini, of the University of Teramo. For comparison, annual direct food waste is estimated at 1.3 billion tonnes.

The impact of what Serafini calls “metabolic food waste” grows when its ecological costs are calculated using per-kilo values from thousands of food lifecycle assessments. For example, fruits, vegetables, roots, and tuebers, have the highest direct wastage rates, however, excess energy consumption is driven by denser caloric foods that usually take more land, water, and greenhouse gases to produce.

In fact, researchers estimate that to grow the world's metabolic food waste would generate about 240 billion tonnes of CO2. This number is about equal to the amount of CO2 produced by burning fossil fuels worldwide over the last seven years. But less certain are the figures that show the total amount of land and water used to produce this amount of metabolic food waste, due to the unknowns when it comes to how long land is required to grow different foods, and/or the redistribution of water. Therefore the researchers cannot make any estimates or conclusions about land usage in terms of metabolic food waste.

Furthermore, Serafini admits that his team’s calculations are based on national availability, not average intake. And the researchers assumed that BMI counts over 21.7 was all excessive fat, even though the understanding of excess bodyweight and its relationship to physical activity is changing.

Even though the estimates are wonky, they are still fairly accurate in a general sense. Therefore, overeating is harming our planet and also harming our health.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Lightspring

We waste more food by overeating than directly throwing it away

We waste more food by overeating than directly throwing it...

To humans a whimpering puppy sounds just as sad as a crying baby. The whimpers, whines, meows, and cries of our furry, four-legged friends are just as sad to human ears as the cries from a baby, according to a new study. 

Researchers from <a href="https://international.au.dk/">Aarhus University</a> in collaboration with the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a>, the <a href="http://www.ucla.edu/">University of California, Los Angeles</a>, and <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/">King’s College of London</a> found that pet owners’ devotion and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-comfort-owners-upset/">emotional attachment</a> has increased sensitivity to specific vocalizations that signal pain or sadness. 

A whimpering dog has the same effect on pet owners as the sound of a crying baby, the results showed. 

The study was published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.181555">Royal Society Open Science</a> and was part of a larger effort to compile a database of sounds that emotionally resonate with people. 

For the study, 264 dog or cat owners and 297 people who did not own pets were asked to rate the valence of animal distress sounds, or how positive or negative the sounds were. Pet owners rated the dog and cat whines as more negative than those who didn’t own pets. To humans a whimpering puppy sounds just as sad as a crying baby

Cat meows were saddest to cat owners, but both cat and dog owners thought dog whines were more distressing than a cat meowing. 

The reason dog owners may be more attuned and sensitive to a dog whimpering is that in general, dog owners spend more time attending to their pet’s needs than cat owners. Cats are relatively independent, whereas dogs need walks, exercise, and training. 

“The result suggests that dogs, more effectively than cats, communicate distress to humans and that pet ownership is linked to greater emotional sensitivity to these sounds,” said Christine Parson, the first author of the study. 

Because dogs are so dependent on their owners for their needs, care, and attention, they may have evolved the ability to communicate distress more effectively than other pets. 

“This difference in animal dependence may explain why dog whines are rated as more negative than cat meows by all adults, including cat-owners,” said Katherine Young, a senior author of the study. “Dogs may simply have more effective distress signals than cats.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/gostua

To humans a whimpering puppy sounds just as sad as a crying baby

To humans a whimpering puppy sounds just as sad as...

Since <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/decriminalizing-medicinal-marijuana/">recreational marijuana</a> was first legalized in Washington and Colorado in 2012, edibles have become a huge part of the cannabis industry. 

Edibles are foods infused with cannabis, and these days you can find everything from gummy bears to cookies to chocolate bars that contain marijuana at dispensaries. 

These cannabinoid-infused treats have flooded the market, but a new study has found that components in chocolate are leading to inaccurate potency test results. 

Edible manufacturers must adhere to strict labeling and potency standards. 

That’s where testing labs come in. David Dawson, a researcher at <a href="http://www.cwanalytical.com/">CW Analytical Laboratories</a>, a cannabis testing lab in California, and his team noticed variations while testing chocolate edibles. 

“My research focuses on cannabis potency testing because of the high stakes associated with it,” said Dawson. “If an edible cannabis product tests 10% below the amount on the label, California law states that is must be relabeled, with considerable time and expense. But it’s even worse if a product tests 10% or more above the labeled amount -- then the entire batch must be destroyed.”

Chocolate edibles are extremely common, and the researchers tested the potency of differently prepared samples. 

The researchers experimented with the amounts of chocolate, the type of chocolate, and the concentrations of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the major psychoactive component of cannabis. 

“When we had less cannabis-infused chocolate in the sample vial, say 1 gram, we got higher THC potencies and more precise values than when we had 2 grams of the same infused chocolate in the vial,” said Dawson. “This goes against what I would consider basic statistical representation of samples, where one would assume that the more sample you have, the more representative it is of the whole.” 

Chocolate contains a component that is leading to inaccurate results, and the researchers say that this component is suppressing the signal for Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. 

“Simply changing how much sample is in the vial could determine whether a sample passes or fails, which could have a huge impact on the producer of the chocolate bars, as well as the customer who might be under- or overdosing because of this weird quirk of matrix effects,” said Dawson. 

The researchers have not pinned down exactly what is hindering the potency tests, but it likely has something to do with the fat content in chocolate as Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol is fat-soluble. 

The findings will be presented at the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society </a>(ACS) Fall 2019 National Meeting &amp; Exposition taking place this week through Thursday. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Kevin Kerr

Testing for cannabis potency is problematic in chocolate edibles

Since recreational marijuana was first legalized in Washington and Colorado...

As early humans evolved from their ancient primate ancestors, a helpful genetic mutation arose that created immunity to the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a virus that still plagues primate groups today. 

While this mutation stopped the virus from crossing over to infect humans, eventually the virus found a workaround and SIV evolved to give rise to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drug-treatment-eliminates-hiv-transmission/">human immunodeficiency virus </a>(HIV) which began the AIDS pandemic. 

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkley</a> have unlocked the inner workings of how this mutation blocked the SIV virus and how the virus eventually came to infect humans. 

An estimated 38 million people worldwide were living with HIV as of 2018, according to the <a href="https://www.who.int/gho/hiv/en/">World Health Organization</a>, and since the start of the epidemic, 32 million people have died of HIV. 

Before the rise of HIV, early humans developed a mutation in the cells that stopped SIV from hacking the cell’s machinery and making thousands of copies of itself. 

The researchers found that the key was that the mutation disrupted SIV proteins from binding to human proteins. 

“The binding site involved is structurally very complex, so essentially it is not possible to adapt to it once the tight binding is lost. The virus had to invent a completely different way to do the same thing, which took a long time in evolution,” said James Hurley, a co-author of the study. “This conferred an advantage on our prehistoric ancestors: From chimps on down, every primate was susceptible to SIV, but humans were immune.” 

Cryo-electron microscopy was used to analyze the structure of SIV proteins. 

Both SIV and HIV are lentiviruses that take over a host cell, forcing the cell to make copies of the virus, and sending these copies (virions) to infect other cells. 

[caption id="attachment_1876942" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/graphic.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1876942" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/graphic.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="464" /></a> Image Credit: UC Berkeley image by Cosmo Buffalo[/caption]

The virus wraps its DNA around a piece of the host cell’s membrane to make copies. The cell sheds this piece, and the virus is safely cocooned in a bubble until it finds another cell to infect. 

Typically the immune system would recognize a virus and infection and destroy the entire cell, but SIV found a way to fight these natural defenses. 

SIV virions staple themselves to the cell membrane with something called tetherin. A protein called Nef ramps up the cell’s recycling system forcing the cell to go into overdrive and shed tetherin, whether it’s connected to a virus or not. This allows copies to be safely ejected from the cell. 

Humans developed a mutation which loosened the binding between Nef and the cell proteins and kept the tetherin firmly in place, preventing copies from infecting other cells. 

Eventually, SIV found a workaround, a second protein to wedge in between the proteins and make copies once again. 

“There were probably many crossovers into humans that failed, but eventually, some hunter in Africa, perhaps in the course of butchering a chimp, was exposed to the blood, and the virus then acquired an additional mutation, a small step that turned SIV into HIV,” said Hurley.

The study provides a detailed overview of how early humans evolved a mutation against SIV and the thousands of years it took for SIV to adopt a new strategy and infect human hosts. 

“The main importance for this paper is that it tells us what was one of the last major barriers before the crossover to humans happened,” said Hurley. “The current paper is an archeological look at how this

The researchers published their findings in the journal Cell Host and Microbe.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/monofaction

Early humans were once immune to immunodeficiency viruses

As early humans evolved from their ancient primate ancestors, a...

Research proves that the ‘crazy cat lady’ stereotype is false. After psychoanalyzing the emotional health of individuals with and without pets, a team of researchers at <a href="http://www.ucla.edu/">UCLA</a> has determined that it is time to put the "crazy cat lady" stereotype to rest. The study revealed that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cat-owners-hunting-wildlife/">cat owners</a> are no more "crazy" than anyone else.

"We found no evidence to support the 'cat lady' stereotype: cat-owners did not differ from others on self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety or their experiences in close relationships," wrote the study authors.

The study was focused on the mental health of 264 young adults with cats, dogs, or both. For comparison, the team also evaluated 297 young adults who had no pets.     

The researchers analyzed the potential link between pet ownership and mental health-related or social difficulties, and also observed how the participants reacted to distress calls from animals. 

The experts said that their findings do not support the idea that cat owners tend to be mentally unstable or lonely. In 2017, researchers at University College London came to a similar conclusion. They could not find any evidence that cat ownership is linked with the development of psychotic symptoms.

The UCLA study also demonstrated that cat and dog owners were more likely to react with empathy when they heard the distress calls of an animal. Pet owners were found to be more emotional than people without pets when they heard dog whimpers or cat meows.

"We found several subtle differences between how adults with and without pets generally rated animal vocalizations," said the study authors. 

A growing collection of research has found that caring for a cat or dog has a positive impact on mental health, helping to relieve depression, anxiety, and stress. In addition, pets provide companionship, boost physical activity, and ease loneliness.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos">Royal Society Open Science</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/Alena Ozerova

Research proves that the ‘crazy cat lady’ stereotype is false

Research proves that the ‘crazy cat lady’ stereotype is false....

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, and research has shown that it can help <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oral-healthcare-crisis/">prevent tooth decay</a>, keeping the tooth enamel strong and healthy to guard against cavities. 

Because of its potential role in improving oral health, fluoride can be found in many community water systems. According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/index.html">Centers for Disease Control</a>, drinking fluoridated water reduces cavities by 25 percent in children and adults. 

But as helpful as fluoride may be, there has been a long-running debate about the safety of adding this potentially toxic mineral to the drinking water and consuming high levels of fluoride. 

Now, a new study has added fuel to that debate. Researchers from several Canadian and US academic institutions and medical centers discovered that maternal fluoride exposure was linked to lower IQ scores in children aged three to four.  

The researchers reviewed and analyzed data from the <a href="http://www.mirec-canada.ca/en/">Maternal-Infant Research in Environment Chemicals cohort</a> focusing on 601 mother and child pairs across six major Canadian cities. Children in the cohort were born between 2008 and 2012. 

Of the children included in the research, 41 percent were exposed to fluoridated drinking water. 

Overall, for the children who had IQ data available, the researchers found a definite link between maternal fluoride exposure and lower IQ scores in the children, particularly for boys.  

“Based on the current evidence, it is a reasonable recommendation to tell women to reduce their fluoride intake during pregnancy,” Christine Till, a co-author of the study, told<a href="https://time.com/5656476/is-fluoride-in-water-safe/?utm_source=emailshare&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=email-share-article&amp;utm_content=20190821"> Time</a>. “It’s a low-hanging-fruit recommendation to [protect] the safety of the fetus. That’s a no-brainer.” 

The study was observational, so there are limitations to the results and the researchers caution that this is just one study, and more research is needed to explore the potentially damaging impacts of adding fluoride to the drinking water. 

The researchers published their findings in the journal<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2748634"> JAMA Pediatrics</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Jakub Zak

Is drinking fluoride during pregnancy linked to lower IQ scores for children?

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, and research has shown...

‘Managed retreat’ may be a smart strategy in adapting to climate climate. As humans grapple with the effects of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/us-cities-vulnerable-climate-change/">climate change</a>, some have argued that moving populations away from at-risk areas may be the wisest strategy, while others have been quick to label it as accepting ‘defeat’. 

A.R. Siders, a researcher from <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> and the <a href="https://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware</a>, posits that “managed retreat,” a form of fleeing, may just be the best adaptation option in the midst of a rapidly changing climate. 

In an <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> Policy Forum, Siders and colleagues recognize that retreat is a “politically sensitive climate adaptation strategy," but believe that "the question is no longer if retreat will occur but how, where, and why." 

"We need to stop picturing our relationship with nature as a war," said Siders. "We're not winning or losing; we're adjusting to changes in nature. Sea levels rise, storms surge into flood plains, so we need to move back."‘ Managed retreat’ may be a smart strategy in adapting to climate climate

If the overall abandonment approach, which involves fleeing vulnerable areas with the highest climate-related hazards, is managed correctly and strategic goals are put into place, Siders suggests that there will be massive social, economic, and environmental benefits to a managed retreat. 

"No matter the circumstances, moving is hard," said co-author Miyuki Hino of <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a>. "People have chosen where to live for a reason, and it is often difficult to find a place to move to that meets all their social, cultural and financial requirements.

"One major challenge with retreat is that we're so focused on getting people out of harm's way, we miss the chance to help them move to opportunity."

Furthermore, Siders believes that managed retreat should not be saved as a last resort option. If put into action now, Siders says that we can efficiently dole out vacant land and make the process sustainable and strategic for the future. In fact, managed retreat should be integrated into broader development goals right now.

"Future retreat will need to be engaged with a spirit of experimentation: a willingness to try new things paired with rigorous research and evaluation of process and outcomes for all participants," Siders and colleagues conclude.

This paper is published in <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6455/761">Science</a>.

--

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>

Image Credit: NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)

‘Managed retreat’ may be a smart strategy in adapting to climate climate

‘Managed retreat’ may be a smart strategy in adapting to...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[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



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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...