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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

Depression can cause a whole host of symptoms and can impact sleep, mood, and weight. 

One of the common ailments that accompany depression is stomach trouble like constipation, and now a new study has provided an explanation and potential treatment for this problem. 

Nearly a third of all people suffering from depression also deal with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-health-depression/">chronic constipation</a>, and many people report that gastrointestinal distress significantly reduces their quality of life. 

A queasy stomach and constipation can be a nuisance, but severe constipation can lead to obstructions and pain. Each year 100,000 people are hospitalized because of severe constipation. 

Given the prevalence of constipation among people dealing with depression, researchers from <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a> conducted a study to better explain this relationship and find potential treatments that would effectively help reduce stomach distress in people with treatment-resistant depression. 

The study was published in the journal Gastroenterology. 

“Ultimately, many patients with depression are faced with limited treatment options and have to suffer with prominent GI dysfunction,” said study leader Kara Gross Margolis, the leader of the study. 

Both the brain and gut contain neurons which led the researchers to wonder if there was a similar cause linking depression and constipation. 

“The gut is often called the body’s second brain,” said Margolis. “It contains more neurons than the spinal cord and uses many of the same neurotransmitters as the brain. So it shouldn’t be surprising that the two conditions could be caused by the same process.”

For the study, the researchers used mice that carried a genetic mutation which reduced the amount of serotonin in both brain and gut. Low serotonin levels in the gut caused constipation in the mice’s GI tract. 

“Basically, the mice were constipated, and they showed the same kind of GI changes we see in people with constipation,” said Margolis. 

The results show that neurons in the gut are impacted by low serotonin levels the same way the neurons in the brain are which means that increasing gut serotonin may help alleviate gastrointestinal distress. 

Two of the study’s co-authors invented a slow release drug treatment to help increase gut serotonin which helped relieve constipation in the mice. 

The treatment is a drug that slowly releases 5-HTP in the gut. 5-HTP is a precursor of serotonin and helps increase the number of neurons in the GI tract and serotonin levels. 

A slow release 5-HTP drug may help treat other GI tract problems not linked to depression. 

“We see a reduction of neurons in the GI tract with age, and that loss is thought to be a cause of constipation in the elderly,” said Margolis. “The idea that we may be able to use slow-release 5-HTP to treat conditions that require the development of new neurons in the gut may open a whole new avenue of treatment.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why gastrointestinal trouble often accompanies depression

Depression can cause a whole host of symptoms and can...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.nips.ac.jp/eng/">National Institute for Physiological Sciences</a> in Japan have identified neurons in the brainstem that are responsible for relaying sweet taste signals to the gustatory thalamus and cortex in mice.

Despite extensive research in the past, the contribution of CNS gustatory neurons in the sensation of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/coffee-beer-taste-genetic/">taste</a> has remained largely unknown. 

In mice, the parabrachial nucleus of the pons in the brainstem is a critical site that receives sensory information about hunger and taste information, which is transported to the cortex through the gustatory thalamus. 

Ken-ichiro Nakajima and his colleagues investigated the role of neurons in the parabrachial nucleus that possess the SatB2 transcription factor. The study revealed that the SatB2-expressing neurons encode sweet tastes. The experts also found that the presence of these neurons in the gustatory thalamus caused appetitive licking behavior in mice. 

“We've known about the presence of taste-responsive neurons in the parabrachial nucleus for over 40 years,” said Nakajima. “Only recently have we had the appropriate molecular markers and imaging methods to properly characterize these neurons - we used cell ablation, in vivo calcium imaging, and optogenetics to define the role of SatB2-expressing neurons is in the sensation of taste.”

The selective destruction of SatB2-expressing neurons caused the mice to lose their ability to sense sweet tastes, but did not affect their sensitivity to bitter, sour, and salty tastes. 

“Our findings indicate that different taste qualities are processed by different types of neurons, at least in the brainstem,” said study lead author Ou Fu. “The next important step will be to identify a whole set of gustatory neurons, including SatB2 neurons, in the mouse parabrachial nucleus. This will allow us to understand how their assemblage forms complex flavors.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/home">Cell Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Different tastes are processed by different neurons in the brainstem

Researchers at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan...

Researchers from <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">Oxford University</a> recently examined the disproportionate economic gains that counterterrorism efforts provide developed countries versus developing countries.

The study, published in the journal Oxford Economic Papers, shows how global welfare is impacted by counterterrorism, an important security measure that does not benefit each country equally. 

While developed countries like the United States or the UK are often targets of terrorist organizations, the researchers found that counterterrorism efforts in these countries can generate significant economic gains.

In developing countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen where resources are more scarce and terrorist organizations like can more easily operate and recruit disaffected people, counterterrorism efforts negatively impact the economy and trade operations.  

The United States responds to terrorism by beefing up counterterrorism efforts which benefits both security and trade, but ultimately disrupts the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trade-war-us-china-deforestation/">global supply and demand of goods</a>, according to the researchers. 

Defensive counterterrorism may decrease terrorism in a targeted country like the US but could potentially increase terrorism in other countries as terrorist groups shift their targets. 

For this study, the researchers focused on trade, specifically how terrorism impacts free trade between developing and developed countries. 

The demand for counterterrorism goods like surveillance equipment and weapons decreases the demand for other goods that developing countries may manufacture or produce. 

Exports from developing countries decrease in response to the lowered demand and price of exports, which in turn, decreases home counterterrorism efforts. 

For developing countries, the researchers found that counterterrorism measures are weighed against potential trade loss. In other words, developing countries have to consider the economic risks of pursuing local counterterrorism measures. 

This is not the case for developed countries where counterterrorism efforts are coupled with more expensive manufactured goods and exports. 

According to the researchers, developed countries have more incentive to increase counterterrorism efforts, and this study is the first of its kind to identify such a disproportionate relationship between developing and developed countries. 

“This article shows that counterterrorism must be investigated in a way that accounts for subtle, but important, trade consequences,” said Todd Sandler, an author of the paper. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Developed countries benefit economically from counterterrorism efforts

Researchers from Oxford University recently examined the disproportionate economic gains...

A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2019.02.011">new study</a> by <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/">Elsevier</a> has found that teaching children healthy eating habits through repetition is the best way to help them understand the benefits of increased consumption and nutrition. This study is published in the <a href="https://www.jneb.org/">Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior</a>.

"Because preschool children rely on other people to provide food, it is important to understand best practices to improve healthy eating," said lead author Jane Lanigan, PhD, from the Department of Human Development at <a href="https://hd.vancouver.wsu.edu/department-human-development">Washington State University Vancouver</a>. "This study shows the value of creating consistent nutrition phrases to use in the home and in child care and healthcare settings during meal time."

The study recruited 98 families from two early-education programs that taught 3- to 6-year-olds. The first program took part in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which served <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/educating-kids-climate-change/">kids</a> breakfast, lunch, and snacks. And the second program only served kids the food they brought from home.

The researchers introduced tomatoes, bell peppers, lentils, and quinoa and assigned kids one of the foods for repeated exposure, one for repeated exposure plus child-centered nutrition phrases, and two foods for no intervention.

During the six-week study, kids took part in tasting sessions two days per week. In these sessions, children would visit stations and were offered food to try out. On the days that child-centered nutrition phrases plus repeat exposure were in use, researchers introduced kids to food-related phrases like “Whole grains help you run fast and jump high," and "Fruits and vegetables help keep you from getting sick."

Children were then asked to describe the food they were tasting by selecting a face that showed how they think the food tastes. The foods were later given out to kids as snacks and researchers noted which foods were selected.

They found that repeated exposure, as well as repeated exposure with child-centered nutrition phrases, increased the kids’ willingness to try foods and positively shifted preference and consumption. In fact, those who heard the child-centered nutrition phrases consumed twice as much of the foods after the intervention even if their stated liking or willingness to try remained at the same level.

"Mealtime conversations can be a time to encourage food exploration and develop healthy eating behaviors with young children," Dr. Lanigan concluded. "Both parents and child care providers would benefit from learning and using developmentally appropriate, accurate nutrition messages when introducing new foods."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Repetition makes a difference when teaching kids healthy eating habits

A new study by Elsevier has found that teaching children...

Although Coca-Cola funds health research at public universities in the United States and Canada, a new study has revealed that the company reserves the right to review findings early and to “terminate without reason.” The investigation also found that Coca-Cola has a clause which allows any data and intellectual property associated with the research to be intercepted.  

The team reviewed over 87,000 documents that were obtained through Freedom of Information requests submitted by <a href="https://usrtk.org/">US Right to Know</a>, a non-profit consumer and public health research group. According to the study authors, many of the clauses they found in the legal documents enable Coca-Cola to suppress “critical health information.”

The experts said that the clauses are not in compliance with Coca-Cola's commitment to transparent and “unrestricted” support for science, and they are calling for corporate funders to publish lists of terminated research.

Study lead author Dr. Sarah Steele is a policy researcher in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>.

“It is certainly true that the contracts we have found allow for unfavorable developments or findings to be quashed prior to publication,” said Dr. Steele. “Coca-Cola have declared themselves at the forefront of transparency when it comes to food and beverage giants funding health research. In fact, our study suggests that important research might never see the light of day and we would never know about it.”

“We are already hearing accusations from experts in nutrition that the food industry is copying tactics from big tobacco's playbook. Corporate social responsibility has to be more than just shiny websites stating progressive policies that get ignored.”

Coca-Cola's own transparency website claims that scientists retain full control over their research and the company has no right to prevent the publication of any findings. However, the company retains a strong level of control throughout the process, including the right to receive updates and the power to terminate studies early without reason.

Within the documents, one scientist expressed concern over intellectual property and uncertainty over his study termination. Another scientist argued that his contract was “very restrictive for an ‘unrestricted grant.’”

“These contracts suggest that Coke wanted the power to bury research it funded that might detract from its image or profits,” said Gary Ruskin, co-director of US Right to Know. “With the power to trumpet positive findings and bury negative ones, Coke-funded science seems more like an exercise in public relations.”

The researchers acknowledge that the food and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sugary-beverages-premature-death/">beverage industry</a> may be updating research contracts as new public commitments are made, but without access to those contracts it is not clear. 

“Journals should require authors of funded research to upload the research agreements for studies as appendices to any peer-reviewed publication,” said Dr. Steele. “The lack of robust information on input by industry and on studies terminated before results are published, makes it impossible to know how much of the research entering the public domain reflects industry positions.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/41271">Journal of Public Health Policy</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

Coca-Cola reserves the right to suppress the health research it supports

Although Coca-Cola funds health research at public universities in the...

Soy is a staple ingredient in the diets of many vegetarians and vegans.  It seems there’s nothing you can’t do with soy, from simple edamame to the gelatinous wonder of tofu and milk replacements.  It is true that eating less animal products can reduce your carbon footprint, help lessen your culpability for deforestation, and de-incentivizes the slaughter of bison and wolves.  The unfortunate reality of all agriculture is that it requires a certain amount of land as well as potential inputs such as fertilizer and water. 

As a human enterprise requiring resources, any type of agriculture has some environmental impact.  Soy is no different. Sometimes <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/lightening-soybean-supply-food/">soy</a> can even drive the deforestation of tropical rainforest. It’s also worth noting that soy is often used for <a href="https://animalsmart.org/species/cattle/what-do-beef-cattle-eat-">livestock feed</a>.

Soybeans are a major component of global trade and agriculture.  According to the <a href="https://www.soymeal.org/soy-meal-articles/world-soybean-production/">Soybean Meal Info Center</a>, the global production of soybeans reached an estimated 346.92 million metric tons in 2017-18.  The US leads soy production with an estimated 119.52 million metric tons of production in the same year.  Brazil comes in second with an estimated 112 million metric tons, followed by Argentina, putting China in fourth place with 14.2 million metric tons of estimated production.  Interestingly, China is also a leading consumer of soy meal. China consumes an estimated 73.87 million metric tons of soymeal, compared with the US in second place at 31.12 million metric tons. This disparity between production and usage of soy and soy products has far reaching and unintended global consequences.

President Donald Trump has been open with his dissatisfaction with trade between the US and China, even before he took office.  Now, the US and China is locked into a mutual trade war. The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45899310">BBC</a> reports that so far, the US has imposed three rounds of tariffs over a wide variety of imports from China, mainly manufactured goods.  The tariffs range from 10 to 25% and total to more than $250 billion. China has responded to these broad tariffs by imposing its own targeted taxes on imports from the US, intending to specifically punish areas that voted largely for Trump.  One of the taxes is on imported soybeans from the US. The result has been a 50% decline in soy exports from the US to China in 2018.

China has been looking at other countries to supply more soy while relying less on US sources, decreasing taxes on imported soy from five Asian countries.  It’s also likely that Argentina and Brazil will be supplying more of China’s demand for soy. Unfortunately, an increase in soy from South America might also mean an increasing destruction of some of the most biodiverse and striking areas of the planet.  

A paper published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00896-2">Nature</a> by Richard Fuchs and colleagues predicts massive deforestation in the Amazon region in response to a greater demand for soy from non-US sources.  According to Yale’s <a href="https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon/land-use">Global Forest Atlas</a>, Brazil contains 350 million hectares of the Amazon rainforest.  110 million hectares of that land is designated as Indigenous Reserves, something that Brazil’s recently elected President Bolsonaro promised to do away with while campaigning.  

Already, Bolsonaro has weakened indigenous land protections by transferring management of the reserves to the Department of Agriculture, a government agency friendly with agribusiness, <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/01/bolsonaro-hands-over-indigenous-land-demarcation-to-agriculture-ministry/">Mongabay</a> reported earlier this year.  An additional 25 million hectares of Brazil’s Amazon is set aside for sustainable use, mainly extraction of rubber.  70 million hectares are protected as parks in Brazil’s Amazon. How much these protections will mean under the rule of President Bolsonaro remains to be seen, and corruption under his predecessor already threatened protected lands. Former president Michel Temer allowed forest protected under the law to be cleared and turned into cattle pasture.  So far, ranching is responsible for the majority deforestation compared to other agriculture within Brazil’s Amazon basin but that may change. 

Until recently, 62% of recently cleared Amazon land within Brazil ended up as cattle pasture, equally approximately 45 million hectares.  Permanent agriculture, such as soy crops, occupy only 3.5 million hectares within the Amazon region. Most of the soy production in Brazil comes from outside of the Amazon region.

With little standing in its way and demand growing, Brazil may be set to destroy greater areas of the Amazon to grow more soy.  As of 2016, Brazil supplied almost half of China’s demand for soy. The researchers <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00896-2#ref-CR1">estimate</a> that the land used for soybean production in Brazil could increase by 39%, that’s 13 million hectares.  For comparison, the researchers pointed out that the worst two years for deforestation in Brazil, 1995 and 2004, cleared almost 3 million hectares of land.  This would be a historical destruction of one of the greatest forests on Earth. 

To be clear, China’s demand for soy comes from a growing consumption of meat.  According to the paper in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00896-2#ref-CR1">Nature</a>, just a 2% decrease in soy used for livestock feed would result in 10 million tons less meat produced in China per year.  Globally, 71% of Brazil’s soy is used as animal feed. Influence from the west, whether it’s a more westernized diet or higher tariffs, is driving China’s demand and in turn destruction of Brazil’s Amazon.

But there is also some historic precedent for this. A 1980 US embargo on exporting soy to the Soviet Union drove up production of soy in Brazil.  Land used for soy in Brazil more than doubled between 1990 and 2010 to a total of 24.2 million hectares.  More land used for soy pushed cattle ranching deeper into the Amazon region, where slash and burn pasture practices use increasingly large portions of land in a wasteful practice.  

In one scenario, all 94 countries that produce soy would help make up for China’s 22.6 million to 37.6 million ton shortage of soybeans.  In this scenario, Brazil would have to increase it’s land dedicated to soy production by 5.7 million hectares. It’s unclear whether this scenario is likely but it’s quite obvious that with current trends continuing, global consumption of meat - and thus soy - will continue to increase with growing populations. The question lingers – how long can we chew at our world before it’s gone? 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer           

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com </a>

Trade war between the US and China may prompt Amazon deforestation

Soy is a staple ingredient in the diets of many...

A floral scent in perfume may be pleasant, overpowering, or barely register depending on the nose that sniffs the fragrance. 

While researchers have known that people are more sensitive to certain scents than others, a new <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/04/29/1804106115">study</a> has found that subtle genetic variations in individual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smell-receptors-tongue/">olfactory receptors</a> explain why people perceive smells differently. 

For example, the compound 2-ethylfenchol which is found in beets can be so overpowering to some people that eating beets is like eating forkfuls of dirt, while for others, their olfactory receptors don’t pick up on the soil-like scent at all. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.rockefeller.edu/">Rockefeller University</a> and the <a href="http://www.monell.org/">Monell Chemical Senses Center</a> conducted the study which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

The researchers examined the genetic variations in olfactory receptors to see if these slight changes impacted perceptions of odors for different people. 

Overall, people have about 400 olfactory receptors. 

“We still know very little about how olfactory receptors translate information from an odor molecule into the perception of an odor’s quality, intensity, and pleasantness,” said Joel Mainland, a senior author of the study. “By examining how variation in an olfactory receptor gene changes odor perception, we can begin to understand the function of each receptor.” 

332 participants were asked to rate the intensity and strength of 70 odors, many of which were popular food flavorings and additives. 

The researchers also collected DNA samples from the participants and used sequencing technology to identify variations in the olfactory receptor genes of each participant. 

“We used people’s genes to identify who has a broken form of a given receptor and compared their odor perception to that of individuals having the more functional version of that receptor,” said Cassey Trimmer, the lead author of the study. “Is the odor less strong? Is it more pleasant? Is it both?” 

Surprisingly, a variation in just one receptor was enough to impact odor perception the researchers found. 

“Because most odors activate several receptors, many scientists thought that losing one receptor wouldn’t make a difference in how we perceive that odor. Instead, our work shows that is not the case, and changes to a single receptor can make a big difference in how you perceive an odor,” said Mainland.

The study provides insight into the underlying mechanisms that impact our sensory perceptions through our day to day lives. Since smell and taste are so closely tied together, the study could help future research into how our noses impact dietary choices. 

“By taking advantage of the natural variation in the olfactory receptor family, we can gain crucial insight into how the olfactory system works and how differences in this system may impact food choice, nutritional health, and overall well-being,” said Trimmer. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Genetic variations explain why people smell things differently

A floral scent in perfume may be pleasant, overpowering, or...

Native Americans were using psychoactive plants 1,000 years ago. While there is well-documented evidence of cultures using <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/psychedelic-microdosing-benefits-mental-health/">psychoactive plants</a> for spiritual and medicina. l use throughout human history, pinpointing the exact origin of ritualistic psychotropic plant use is tricky. 

But recent excavations of a human burial site in the dry Sora River valley in southwestern Bolivia have unearthed a ritual bundle of psychotropic plants providing clear evidence that Native Americans in the area used multiple plants, perhaps in different combinations, to induce hallucinations as early as 1,000 years ago. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a> discovered the human burial site and ritual bundle while looking for evidence of ancient occupation of the region. 

“We already knew that psychotropics were important in the spiritual and religious activities of the societies of the south-central Andes, but we did not know that these people were using so many different compounds and possibly combining them together,” said Jose Capriles, an assistant professor of anthropology at Penn State. “This is the largest number of psychoactive substances ever found in a single archaeological assemblage from South America.”

The bundle contained two snuffing tablets, a snuffing tube, and a pouch made from fox snouts. The snuffing tablets would have been used to grind psychotropic plants into snuff which then would have been smoked with the snuffing tube. 

Radiocarbon dating revealed that the bundle is around 1,000 years old.

[caption id="attachment_1872268" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/fox-snout-pouch.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872268" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/fox-snout-pouch.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> Psychoactive compounds were found in an animal-skin pouch made of three fox snouts stitched together. Image Credit: Jose Capriles, Penn State[/caption]

The researchers carefully collected tiny scrapings from the fox-skin pouch and used liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry to analyze its contents. 

“This method is highly sensitive and very effective for detecting the presence of minute amounts of specific compounds from very small samples,” said Melanie Miller, the researcher responsible for analyzed the samples. 

The pouch once contained multiple psychoactive plants as the analysis identified many different psychoactive compounds including cocaine, harmine, dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and possibly psilocin (the main hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms).

The presence of both DMT and harmine suggests that the owner of the pouch used the ingredients to make ayahuasca. 

“Some scholars believe that ayahuasca has relatively recent origins, while others argue that it may have been used for centuries, or even millennia,” said Capriles. “Given the presence of harmine and DMT together in the pouch we found, it is likely that this shaman ingested these simultaneously to achieve a hallucinogenic state. This finding suggests that ayahuasca may have been used up to 1,000 years ago.”

It is possible that the pouch and burial site where it was found belonged to a shaman, but the discovery only produces more questions than answers as many of the plant compounds discovered in the pouch were not native to the nearby region.

[caption id="attachment_1872269" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/snuffing-tablet.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872269" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/snuffing-tablet.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="892" /></a> Snuffing tablets used to pulverize psychotropic plants. Image Credit: Jose Capriles, Penn State[/caption]

“The presence of these compounds indicates the owner of this kit had access to at least three plants with psychoactive compounds, but potentially even four or five,” said Miller. “None of the psychoactive compounds we found come from plants that grow in this area of the Andes, indicating either the presence of elaborate exchange networks or the movement of this individual across diverse environments to procure these special plants.”

The recent findings were 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

Main Image Credit: Jose Capriles, Penn State

Native Americans were using psychoactive plants 1,000 years ago

Native Americans were using psychoactive plants 1,000 years ago. While...

A team of psychologists at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> has identified a brain region that is activated in response to Pokémon characters among people who spent a lot of time playing the video games as children. This preferential behavior in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/blind-people-hearing-ability/">brain</a> may help to unravel mysteries about our visual system.

“It's been an open question in the field why we have brain regions that respond to words and faces but not to, say, cars,” said study first author and former Stanford graduate student Jesse Gomez. “It's also been a mystery why they appear in the same place in everyone's brain.”

In a recent study focused on monkeys, researchers at Harvard Medical School determined that in order for a region of the brain’s visual cortex to become dedicated to a new category of objects, exposure to those objects must start at a young age when the brain is particularly malleable and more sensitive to visual experience.

Gomez theorized that if early childhood exposure is critical for developing dedicated brain regions, then the brains of adults who played Pokémon as kids would respond more to Pokémon characters than to other kinds of stimuli. Furthermore, Pokémon characters look very different from objects we usually encounter in our daily lives, which could help the experts predict where the activated responses to Pokémon should appear.

“What was unique about Pokémon is that there are hundreds of characters, and you have to know everything about them in order to play the game successfully. The game rewards you for individuating hundreds of these little, similar-looking characters,” said Gomez. “I figured, ‘If you don't get a region for that, then it's never going to happen.’”

The study was focused on adults who had played Pokémon extensively as children, including Gomez himself and study co-author Michael Barnett. The participants were placed inside of a functional MRI scanner and shown hundreds of random Pokémon characters. As predicted, their brains responded more to the Pokémon images compared to a control group who had not played the video game as children.

“I initially used the Pokémon characters from the Game Boy game in the main study, but later I also used characters from the cartoon in a few subjects,” said Gomez. “Even though the cartoon characters were less pixelated, they still activated the brain region.”

The site of the Pokémon brain activations was consistently located in a brain fold positioned just behind our ears called the occipitotemporal sulcus. The researchers believe that this brain region typically responds to images of animals, which Pokémon characters resemble.

“I think one of the lessons from our study is that these brain regions that are activated by our central vision are particularly malleable to extensive experience,” said Professor Kalanit Grill-Spector. She said that the findings are just the latest evidence that our brains are capable of changing in response to experiential learning from a very early age, but there are underlying constraints hardwired into the brain that shape and guide how those changes unfold.

For parents who may view the research as proof that video games leave a lasting effect on the brains of impressionable children, Professor Grill-Spector said that our brains are capable of containing multitudes. “The visual cortex is made up of hundreds of millions of neurons. We have the capacity to encode many, many patterns in that stretch of cortex.”

Gomez noted that all of the study participants have grown up to be successful adults. “I would say to those parents that the people who were scanned here all have their PhDs,” said Gomez. “They're all doing very well.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nathumbehav">Nature Human Behavior</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Experts find a brain region dedicated to identifying Pokémon characters

A team of psychologists at Stanford University has identified a...

Drug treatment completely eliminates risk of HIV transmission, research confirms. Groundbreaking new research has found that men taking antiretroviral treatments are significantly less likely to transmit the HIV virus to male partners during sex.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> (UCL) and the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> found that when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/male-patient-london-hiv-cured/">HIV</a> is fully suppressed through antiretrovirals (ART), HIV positive partners have a zero chance of spreading the infection to a non-infected partner. 

“Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men that the risk of HIV transmission with suppressive ART is zero,” said Alison Rodger, the lead author of the study in a <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/may/antiretroviral-treatment-prevents-sexual-transmission-hiv">UCL press release</a>. “Our findings support the message of the international <a href="https://www.preventionaccess.org/about">U=U campaign</a>, that a suppressed viral load makes HIV untransmittable.”

The extensive PARTNER2 study, published in the Lancet, is a companion follow up to the original PARTNER study which followed heterosexual couples. 

Nearly 1,000 gay couples across Europe were part of the eight-year PARTNER2 study, and in each couple, one partner was HIV-positive and took antiretrovirals throughout the study period. 

Antiretrovirals work to suppress the viral load of retroviruses like HIV. Without treatment, the viral load in an infected person can grow to millions, but with treatment the virus is suppressed to undetectable levels. 

In 77,000 condomless sexual encounters reported over the eight-year period between the couples in total, not one case of HIV transmission occurred. 

There were 15 cases of HIV infection, but these were found to be the result of having intercourse with a partner who was not part of the study and not taking antiretrovirals. 

Overall, the researchers estimated that treatment prevented 472 potential HIV transmissions among the participants. Drug treatment completely eliminates risk of HIV transmission

“It is impossible to overstate the importance of these findings,” said Dr. Michael Brady, Medical Director at the <a href="https://www.tht.org.uk/">Terrence Higgins Trust</a> and a member of the PARTNER Study research team. “The PARTNER study has given us the confidence to say, without doubt, that people living with HIV who are on effective treatment cannot pass the virus on to their sexual partners. This has incredible impact on the lives of people living with HIV and is a powerful message to address HIV-related stigma.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Drug treatment completely eliminates risk of HIV transmission

Drug treatment completely eliminates risk of HIV transmission, research confirms....

Music has been shown to improve health and wellbeing, reduce stress, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/music-enhances-exercise-performance/">enhance athletic performance</a> and productivity. 

Now, a new survey has found that the sound quality of music we listen to makes a difference in the positive impact that music has on our lives. 

Sonos, the maker of smart speakers and home sound systems, partnered with music experts to conduct the <a href="https://blog.sonos.com/en/brilliant-sound-survey/">Brilliant Sound Survey</a> which adds to the growing body of research showing how listening to music and podcasts enhances athletic performance, productivity, and relationships.

For some people, listening to three or more hours of music a day is more important than coffee or sex, the survey found. 

12,000 music lovers from 12 countries participated in the online survey, which was led by Daniel Müllensiefen, a professor of music psychology at<a href="https://www.gold.ac.uk/"> Goldsmiths College, University of London</a>.

“Scientists have found evidence that we are wired to perceive and enjoy music as well as to bond with each other through music,” said Müllensiefen.  “This explains why music is a ubiquitous part of the human experience, supporting the theory that music has a special, important function in our lives.

People from the UK and countries in the EU took part in the survey, and the results show that listening to music is a stress reliever and that a favorite song can help improve your mood. 

52 percent of the survey respondents said that music helps brighten up their workday. Music can also elicit unsuspected emotional responses such as laughing or crying. 

“Many people probably aren’t aware of how much they rely on music to regulate their moods throughout the day,” said Müllensiefen. “We take it for granted because music is so much more available than it used to be. You can virtually listen to anything at any point in time these days.”

Better quality sound can help bring out more emotion in the music, and a good sound system can make or break a big event or party, the survey found. 

“High sound quality has a significant correlation to stronger positive emotions, a richer musical experience, and general happiness,” said Müllensiefen. “It is also exciting to note that this is apparently not a culturally influenced effect, since there were hardly any differences in the results between the individual countries.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Music with higher sound quality linked to improved mood, well-being

Music has been shown to improve health and wellbeing, reduce...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a> have investigated how factors like exercise, sleep, and various daily stressors affect the daily lives and relationships of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-parents-sleep-deprivation/">new parents</a>. Although sleep and exercise were linked to greater overall well-being among new parents, new moms were found to be affected differently than new dads.

The study revealed that mothers who slept more on average than other mothers reported greater well-being. By contrast, fathers who slept more on average than other fathers reported lower overall well-being and did not feel as close with their partner or child.

The researchers also found that on days when fathers exercised more than usual, the likelihood of an argument with their partner was reduced. On the other hand, when mothers exercised more than usual, the chance of an argument increased. 

Study lead author Mark Feinberg is a research professor in the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State. He explained that these differences may be due to mothers often being seen as the primary caretaker.

“Fathers may resist or feel resentful when mothers spend more time than usual on their own needs such as exercise, leaving fathers to pick up more responsibility for child care - leading to arguments,” said Feinberg. “But, it's also possible that the extra time spent with the child is stressful for fathers, leading fathers to be more irritable on such days and leading to more arguments with the partner.”

According to Feinberg, while early parenthood is stressful for parents both as individuals and as a couple, it is also a vital period of rapid development for the newborn child. He said that this makes it especially important to understand and support the well-being of new parents during this time.

“In general, new parents report higher levels of stress, depression and couple conflict, as well as less sleep, companionship and romance with their partner,” said Feinberg. “Ironically, it's also the period when children are most vulnerable, when their brains and regulatory systems are rapidly developing to set the stage for their functioning for the rest of their lives, and when they are most dependent on parents for consistent affection and support.”

Feinberg said the research may be used to help parents find and reinforce their strengths and have more good days than bad.

“Some parents are happier or sleep better overall than others, but most parents experience some difficult days and some good days,” said Feinberg. “Most parents already have a good place to start from at least on some days, so it's a matter of figuring out what works on those days and then doing more of that. This would be an easier and maybe more effective approach than thinking that we have to help someone completely change their routines and emotional patterns.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15405834">Monographs of the Society for Research in 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

Sleep and exercise affect new parents differently depending on gender

Researchers at Penn State have investigated how factors like exercise,...

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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

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

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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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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



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"

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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...