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,...

For farmers in New South Wales, Australia, drought comes with the territory. Australia is one of the driest continents in the world, second only to Antarctica, and around <a href="http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/landforms/deserts">35 percent of Australia is desert</a>.

Climate change extremes in recent years have caused record-breaking droughts and severe heat waves resulting in some of the hottest and driest spells that farmers in New South Wales have ever experienced.

We’ve had droughts before,” Krystal Bullen, owner of 4,000 acres of land in the New South Wales town of Pilliga, told <a href="http://time.com/longform/australia-drought-photos/">Time</a>. “But nothing of this caliber.”

<a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/">Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology</a> announced that January 2019 was the hottest January in recorded history for the continent. The sweltering heat melted roads and killed off <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/severe-drought-australia-wildlife/">large populations of fish and wildlife</a>. 

Now, farmers in New South Wales are scrambling to feed their livestock and keep their livelihoods, but the drought is unrelenting. 

Nine out of ten of the warmest years for Australia have occurred after 2005, and it’s all due to climate change. 

“We are probably more challenged than we have ever been before. We’re going into drought quicker, harder, tougher,” Mark Howden, vice chair of the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>, told Time.

The drought has made planting crops impossible, and there’s no feed for livestock to graze on. Krystal Bullen told Time that the Bullen Farm’s sheep stock dropped from 1,700 to just 500. 

Instead, feed needs to trucked in, but sheep and cattle are weak and vulnerable, unable to adapt to the extremes. 

Earlier in February, Queensland, Australia welcomed torrential rain storms after seven years of drought, but the flooding killed nearly <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/13/australia/cattle-crisis-australia-intl/index.html">500,000 cattle</a>. 

The livestock losses experienced in New South Wales and Queensland are a tragic consequence of the recent climate change extremes. Unfortunately for Australia and the rest of the world, these severe climate extremes are quickly becoming the norm, not the exception. 

--

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>

Australia battles drought: Livestock losses, no crops, and no rain

For farmers in New South Wales, Australia, drought comes with...

Ingredients in dog and cat foods now include some pretty exotic sounding meats.  Salmon is common in pet treats. Bison, deer and elk can all be found in different dog foods.  Even alligator, rabbit, and quail have found their way into dog bowls in the US. Many of these foods capitalize on the idealized image of a wolf and seem to use the idea that you’re feeding wildness in your canine companion.  One potential dog food ingredient goes a bit further, as the government of Botswana has proposed using elephant meat in pet foods. 

Botswana currently has the world’s largest population of wild African Elephants.  <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/22/botswana-may-lift-elephant-hunting-ban-turn-culled-animals-pet/">The Telegraph</a> reports that the nation has long been considered a refuge amidst the poaching in other African nations.  Today, Botswana boasts elephant populations as large as 130,000 individuals. President Mokgweetsi Masisi tasked a government subcommittee with reviewing a potential lift on an elephant trophy hunting ban put into place by the previous president in 2014.  Recently, the subcommittee advised lifting the ban. Included in the proposal is one to establish a facility to process and can elephant meat, including to use for pet food.

The proposal suggests the lift of the hunting ban as a way to jump start Botswana’s safari industry.  The ban didn’t cover hunting inside of private and registered game ranches where hunting is instead carefully regulated.  It seems the use of elephant meat as pet food and potentially other products is only a suggestion to justify the waste of killing animals for mere sport.  The idea is that if elephants are made into food products, they’re killed for a greater purpose than a mere trophy. Easy justifications like this one all too often allow consumers to ignore the impact of their own actions.  It turns out that elephant meat is just one of several potentially questionable ingredients in pet foods on the market today.

<a href="https://www.petfoodindustry.com/blogs/7-adventures-in-pet-food/post/7385-pet-food-premiumization-drives-packaging-market-growth">PetFoodIndustry</a> reported in August of last year on the growing premiumization of pet foods in the United States.  Dry dog food is still the largest portion of food sold in the US and abroad, but refrigerated and frozen foods are growing in popularity.  In the US, dry pet foods make up 31% of total packaging sales, while wet and treat packaging each make up 28 and 27%. This trend is in contrast to much of the rest of the world, where dry pet foods are much more popular.  

A report in <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americas-fancy-pet-food-addiction-contributing-climate-change-180964363/">Smithsonian</a> notes that pet food sales have doubled since 2000.  <a href="https://www.petfoodindustry.com/blogs/7-adventures-in-pet-food/post/7385-pet-food-premiumization-drives-packaging-market-growth">PetFoodIndustry</a> suggests that this trend is part of a humanization of pets.  People seem to be more empathetic towards their pets than ever, which can’t be entirely bad.  However, buying high end foods for dogs and cats does have its consequences.

A study published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181301">PLOS One</a> by researcher Gregory Okin in 2017 showed that of the more than 163 million cats and dogs in the US, meat consumption creates a real impact.  Animals raised for food create <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/agriculture-reduce-non-co2-emissions/">greenhouse gases</a> and often create conflicts between ranchers and wild animals like bison or wolves. Grains and other foods used to feed livestock further increase the environmental impact of animal consumption whether you’re a human eating a steak or a dog with a bowl of kibble.  

<a href="http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/02/petfood_sustainability/">Some experts</a> have calculated that a medium sized dog can have the same annual environmental impact as an SUV.  Gregory Okin’s research shows that consumption of dog and cat food products are annually responsible for the creation of 64 ± 16 tons of CO2-equivalent methane and nitrous oxide, both greenhouse gases in the US.  

<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americas-fancy-pet-food-addiction-contributing-climate-change-180964363/">Smithsonian</a> points to the growing trend of foods and treats to use prime cuts of meat instead of organ meats or other by-products of livestock production.  Americans are generally more particular about the food they consume than their animals are – don’t believe it? When’s the last time you saw a dog getting into a trash can?  By insisting on buying premium meat for our furred companions, we’re inadvertently contributing to more livestock being slaughtered for food while morsels like organs are perfectly acceptable for cats and dogs.  Some pet food producers are even trying out vegan pet foods as a solution.

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jun/26/pet-food-is-an-environmental-disaster-are-vegan-dogs-the-answer">The Guardian</a> reported in June 2018 on a new vegan pet food called <a href="https://wildearth.com/">Wild Earth</a> then undergoing tests.  Wild Earth uses koji, a fungi the company claims contains a full protein and has a 3,000 year history of consumption by humans.  The company is also developing lab created meat that would culture animal cells for consumption without the need for slaughter. The same process is being researched for humans, but Wild Earth anticipates their lab cultured mouse meat for cats to reach the market first because of less-restrictions on animal foods.  Some pet nutritionists are suspicious of the vegan pet food, pointing out that although it’s possible to feed a dog vegetarian, it must be done very carefully. 

Cats on the other hand are obligate carnivores, eating very little besides meat.  A vegetarian diet for a feline might be very dangerous, indeed. With lab cultured meat, we enter uncharted territory and it’s extremely hard to anticipate the long reaching impacts at all.  Environmental impact of pets is largely a systematic one. 

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/18/americans-waste-food-fruit-vegetables-study">The Guardian</a> reported last year that Americans waste 15,000 tons of food each day. In 2014, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/19/meat-dairy-waste">The Guardian</a> was more specific, stating that households are wasting 570,000 tonnes [Sic] of fresh meat each year.  Globally this number equates to the meat of almost 12 billion animals wasted. These numbers make it clear that we don’t need another source of protein for our cats and dogs, whether it’s elephant meat or ancient fungi.  

In order to lessen the environmental impact of pet ownership, what we need is a system to use meat we already produce more effectively.  Whole categories of meat such as bone meal, organs, and other undesirable animal parts are eaten by people but would be eaten with few complaints by dogs and cats.  The problem is that often the meats are sourced in unethical and dangerous ways. As late as this month, <a href="https://pets.webmd.com/news/20180215/pet-alert-euthanasia-drug-found-wet-dog-food">WebMD</a> reported on FDA warnings that drugs used to euthanize animals have shown up in several brands of dog food.  Obviously meats with poisons in them are unacceptable as any type of food. 

The way we consume food is ever more complicated and the same is true for our pets.  The way forward is murky but it seems we already produce enough food; it’s a matter of making that system efficient at redirecting good food that’s less desirable to western consumers to animal food bowls.  There should be enough room for our companion animals as well as wild creatures if we work hard for it. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

What’s in your dog's food?

Ingredients in dog and cat foods now include some pretty...

Although research has shown that documenting calories and fat intake is the best way to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/standing-lose-weight/">lose weight</a>, this activity is widely perceived as being too tedious or time-consuming. However, a new study demonstrates that dietary self-monitoring does not require a lot of time or effort to be effective. 

Researchers found that the most successful participants in a six-month weight loss program spent an average of 14.6 minutes per day tracking their food intake. The individuals recorded calories and fat for all of the food and beverages they consumed, as well as the portion sizes.

Study lead author Jean Harvey is the chair of the Nutrition and Food Sciences Department at the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/">University of Vermont</a>.

“People hate it; they think it's onerous and awful, but the question we had was: How much time does dietary self-monitoring really take?” said Harvey. “The answer is, not very much.”


The investigation was focused on the dietary tracking activity of 142 participants in an online weight loss program. The individuals also engaged in a weekly group session led by a dietician for 24 weeks.

The most successful participants, who lost around ten percent of their body weight, spent an average of 23.2 minutes per day on self-monitoring during the first four weeks. By the last month of the trial, they had reduced this time to 14.6 minutes. The study revealed that the frequency of the log-ins was the biggest predictor of weight loss.

“Those who self-monitored three or more time per day, and were consistent day after day, were the most successful,” said Harvey. “It seems to be the act of self-monitoring itself that makes the difference - not the time spent or the details included.”

According to Harvey, the increased efficiency of computer apps have significantly reduced the time needed for dietary self-monitoring. He explained that the most important outcome of the study is that it may help individuals to set behavioral targets.

“We know people do better when they have the right expectations,” said Harvey. “We've been able to tell them that they should exercise 200 minutes per week. But when we asked them to write down all their foods, we could never say how long it would take. Now we can.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1930739x">Obesity</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: Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist

Tracking food and calorie intake is easier than most people think

Although research has shown that documenting calories and fat intake...

A Southern California doctor believes exercise should be part of the treatment plan for patients with higher depression risk.

Dr. Davis Agus, a physician at the <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/">New York Times</a> bestselling author, cited a new study into depression risk when he encouraged viewers of <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/cbs-this-morning/">CBS This Morning</a> to exercise more on Thursday.

"Previous studies have shown an association. People who exercise have less depression," Agus said. "But this study, in a very clever genetic way where they actually were able to use genetics to randomize people … showed causality. That exercise itself, no matter who you are, can reduce the risk of depression."

However, the researchers themselves were less quick to jump to that conclusion. While exercise may help lower depression risk, they said, the opposite may also be true. Exercising less may actually be a symptom of depression for some people, because the illness robs them of motivation or energy.

“Increasing evidence shows that physical activity is associated with reduced risk for depression, pointing to a potential modifiable target for prevention,” the researchers from <a href="https://www.massgeneral.org/">Massachusetts General Hospital</a> wrote. “However, the causality and direction of this association are not clear; physical activity may protect against depression, and/or depression may result in decreased physical activity.”

Still, the study shows that exercise may play a role in lowering depression risk or treating the illness. It's not the first study to link <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hour-exercise-prevent-depression/">exercise with improved mental health</a>, but the new study included a genetic component.

Agus hoped that the link between exercise and depression risk will encourage doctors to look at other treatments before medication.

"My patients now, when they come in and say, 'I'm starting to feel a little depressed and not do as much,' my first thing is not prescribe a pill, but get outside and do something," he said.

That said, patients taking medication for depression or other mental health challenges should never stop that treatment without consulting their doctor or psychiatrist, according to the <a href="https://www.nami.org/FAQ/Mental-Health-Medication-FAQ/I-have-heard-that-there-may-be-negative-effects-as">National Alliance on Mental Illness</a>. Stopping medications improperly can lead to negative side effects or other complications.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2720689">JAMA Psychiatry</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Doctor prescribes exercise to reduce depression risk

A Southern California doctor believes exercise should be part of...

SpaceShipTwo, a prototype space plane designed by <a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/">Virgin Galactic</a>, soared more than 55 miles above the Earth in a test flight on Friday. The rocket carried a pilot, co-pilot and passenger in a first for the company.

Chief pilot David Mackay and co-pilot Mike Masucci were joined by Beth Moses, the chief astronaut instructor for Virgin Galactic and a micro-gravity expert. Moses’ role was to evaluate the passenger cabin.

Another goal of Friday’s test flight was to evaluate how SpaceShipTwo handled during its descent. The space planes twin tails rotate upward during the descent to provide slower speeds and more stability as the craft returns to the atmosphere. Then, the tails rotate back into their normal position to allow the space plane to glide back down to the ground in California’s Mojave Desert.

Virgin Galactic wasn’t testing altitude or speed on Friday’s test flight.

“If we have sort of a nominal-duration burn we will get up pretty high, but that is not one of the formal test goals for this one,” Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said in an <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a> interview earlier in the week.

The craft is carried to high altitude by a special carrier, where its rocket ignites and propels it still farther above the Earth.

The test flight brings the company closer to offering commercial spaceflight.

“That’s not to say that we are fully done with vehicle testing, but we really are starting to move into the interiors testing phase, and that’s a really important milestone for the company,” Whitesides told the AP.

SpaceShipTwo is Virgin Galactic’s second prototype, after SpaceShipOne. 

Company founder Richard Branson intends to ride a future test flight, he told the AP. He was unable to attend Friday’s launch because he was attending a benefit concert in Colombia for humanitarian aid to Venezuela, he said.

But Branson hopes to make his first flight on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing this summer.

There are still more test flights ahead before Virgin Galactic is ready to start selling space flight tickets.

“We’re getting there, I mean we’re making good progress, and I don’t think it’s a huge remaining number now. There’s light at the end of the tunnel now,” Whitesides said.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Steve Mann, <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/">Shutterstock.com</a>

Virgin Galactic reaches space again, with a passenger

SpaceShipTwo, a prototype space plane designed by Virgin Galactic, soared...

A new study has examined the potential economic and environmental consequences of coral bleaching for 30 islands across the Caribbean. An interdisciplinary team of researchers found that island nations such as Cuba and Jamaica are less vulnerable to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/coral-bleaching-fish-diversity/">coral bleaching</a> than island territories like Saint Barthélemy.

A coral bleaching event that is extreme enough for corals to die impacts the entire reef ecosystem. This can have ripple effects for coastal communities that depend on reef ecosystems for food, tourism, and shoreline protection.

“This study brings together data on 35 biophysical, ecological, socioeconomic, and management variables from 30 islands and creates important advances in understanding climate change vulnerability in the Caribbean,” said study lead author Katherine Siegel, a graduate student at <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a>.

The research was focused on the Caribbean island chain that runs from the Bahamas in the north to Trinidad &amp; Tobago in the south. This region is socioeconomically diverse, with major differences in economic dependence on reefs.

The team classified an island’s vulnerability in three ways: exposure, or the likelihood of bleaching events; sensitivity, or the effect that bleaching is likely to have on the ecosystem and people; and the ability of the ecosystem and people to adapt to or recover from a bleaching event. The team based the analysis on more than 250 published datasets, survey results, and government reports.

“We were surprised to find that independent islands have lower social-ecological vulnerability than territories,” said Siegel. “Territories - such as the Dutch islands of Sint Maarten and Saba - tend to be left out of global assessments of climate change vulnerability, but our results suggest that they need to invest in improving their ability to adapt to environmental changes.”

While independent islands are more exposed to environmental conditions that can trigger bleaching events, the researchers found that they are less likely to experience negative socioeconomic consequences because they are less economically dependent on reefs. On the other hand, the French territory Saint Barthélemy has very low exposure to the conditions that cause bleaching, but is highly vulnerable. 

“Bleaching events have become more common and severe in recent decades, a trend that may only worsen as the world's oceans continue to warm.” said study co-author Sarah Lester. “It's essential that we develop a better understanding of how this disturbance impacts coral reef ecosystems and the people that rely on these ecosystems for their livelihood.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</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: UC Berkeley Photo by Katherine Siegel

The economic impacts of coral bleaching across the Caribbean islands

A new study has examined the potential economic and environmental...

Researchers examined the perceived social support of women between the ages of 50 and 79, and analyzed the effect of this social support on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. The experts found that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/diet-driks-risk-stroke/">women</a> who believed that they had more social support were less likely to die during the course of the study.

The study was led by Dr. Nancy Freeborne, an adjunct professor in the College of Health and Human Services at <a href="https://www2.gmu.edu/">George Mason University</a>.

“Perceived functional social support, which we examined in this study, can include whether a person believes they could get emotional support, advice, or just company from others to do fun things with, which can help reduce stress,” explained Dr. Freeborne. “It's a reminder that sometimes the simplest things - like reaching out to a loved one - can have the most profound impact.”

Women who reported lower levels of social support had about a 20 percent greater risk of death during the 10 plus years of the study compared to women who reported high levels of social support. On the other hand, higher perceived social support was not found to have an effect on cardiovascular disease. The results were the same even after the team accounted for factors such as income, race, and education.

“Interestingly, prior studies that found a link between social support and CVD did not account for the effect of income, and for this study, it was the factor that most influenced that relationship,” said Dr. Freeborne.

According to the study authors, further research is needed to account for perceived social support on social media and to examine potential age and gender differences in the health benefits of social support.

“The main take-away from our study is that in a longitudinal study of post-menopausal women, having lower social support was linked to having slightly higher mortality risk,” said Dr. Freeborne.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause/">Menopause</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Older women with more social support have a lower risk of death

Researchers examined the perceived social support of women between the...

Researchers have discovered that foxes were domesticated during the Early to Middle Bronze Age. In the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, it was common for humans to be buried with animals. Scientists have identified the remains of both dogs and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/urban-foxes-animals-settle-cities/">foxes</a> who are believed to have been domesticated because their diet was similar to that of their owners.

“We discovered that in some cases the dogs received a special kind of food. We believe this is linked to their function as working dogs. Besides, one of the foxes shows signs of having already been a domestic animal in those times,” said study co-author Aurora Grandal-d'Anglade.

The researchers analyzed a total of 37 dogs, 19 domestic ungulates, and 64 humans. They studied stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone collagen to compare the diets of the animals to that of their owners. 

The isotopic study of the foxes revealed a varied diet. The diet of some foxes looked similar to that of dogs at the same site, while the diet of others looked more like that of wild animals.

“The case of the Can Roqueta fox is very special, because it is an old animal, with a broken leg. The fracture is still in its healing process, and shows signs of having been immobilized (cured) by humans. The feeding of this animal is very unusual, as it is more akin to a puppy dog's. We interpret it as a domestic animal that lived for a long time with humans,” said Grandal-d'Anglade.

In some particular cases in Can Roqueta, there was a food rich in cereal that had been given specifically to larger dogs and to at least one of the foxes. The researchers found evidence that these animals were used for carrying loads.

[caption id="attachment_1868455" align="aligncenter" width="570"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fox-bronze-age.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868455 size-full" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fox-bronze-age.jpg" alt="" width="570" height="380" /></a> Bronze Age woman with a dog and a fox, Image Credit: J. A. Peñas[/caption]

“These specimens also show signs of disorders in the spinal column linked to the transport of heavy objects. Humans were probably looking for a high-carbohydrate diet because the animals developed a more active job, which required immediate calorie expenditure. It may seem strange that dogs were basically fed with cereals, but this was already recommended by the first-century Hispano-Roman agronomist Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, in his work De re rustica,” said study co-author Silvia Albizuri, who is an archaeozoologist at the <a href="https://www.ub.edu/web/ub/en/">University of Barcelona</a>.

Exceptional findings in the tombs suggest that there were already well-differentiated funeral treatments among human communities during the Bronze Age.

“In tomb #88 there was the body of an old man with the remains of a whole cow and the legs of up to seven goats. The remains of a young woman with the offering of a whole goat, two foxes and a bovine horn were also found,” said study co-author Ariadna Nieto Espinet.

In tomb #405, the experts uncovered the body of an individual accompanied by the whole bodies of two bovines and two dogs. 

“We still don't know why only a few people would have had the right or privilege to be buried with this type of offering, unlike what happens with the vast majority of burials,” Espinet added.

In Can Roqueta, there were also clear differences in the deposits of domestic animals within the tombs of both adults and children. According to the researchers, this indicates that social status was inherited from birth.

“It is tempting to think that if we understand domestic animals as a very important part of the agro- pastoral agro-shepherding economy of the Bronze Age and of the belongings of some people in life, these could be an indicator of the wealth of the deceased individual or of his clan or family,” said Nieto Espinet.

“It seems that species such as bovines and dogs, two of the most recurring animals in funeral offerings, are those that might have played a fundamental role in the economy and work as well as in the symbolic world, becoming elements of ostentation, prestige and protection.” 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/12520">Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Foxes were domesticated during the Bronze Age

Researchers have discovered that foxes were domesticated during the Early...

The Yerba santa shrub native to California has promising anti-inflammatory properties that new research shows could potentially treat <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alzheimers-not-one-disease/">Alzheimer’s</a>.

Yerba santa, which translates to “holy herb” in English, is well known for its medicinal qualities, and it’s used to treat everything from fever to sore muscles.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.salk.edu/">Salk Institute for Biological Studies</a> conducted a screening analysis of a commercial library of 400 plant extracts in the hopes of identifying promising anti-inflammatory compounds in nature that could be used to help brain swelling related to dementia.

Previously, researchers from the Salk Institute had used a similar screening technique to identify anti-inflammatory flavonoids in plants. 

One molecule stood out among the 400 plant extracts, an active component of Yerba santa called sterubin which the researchers then used to test on mice nerve cells.

Sterubin had a powerful anti-inflammatory impact on microglia brain cells and also removed iron from nerve cells.

“Alzheimer’s disease is a leading cause of death in the United States,” said Pamela Maher, a member of Salk’s Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory. “And because age is a major risk factor, researchers are looking at ways to counter aging’s effects on the brain. Our identification of sterubin as a potent neuroprotective component of a native California plant called Yerba santa (Eriodictyon californicum) is a promising step in that direction.”

Many powerful and effective drug compounds come from plants like aspirin and digitalis.

“This is a compound that was known but ignored,” said Maher. “Not only did sterubin turn out to be much more active than the other flavonoids in Yerba santa in our assays, it appears as good as, if not better than, other flavonoids we have studied.”

The Salk researchers will continue to study sterubin to see if it could one day be ready for human trials.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

California’s “holy herb” could help treat Alzheimer’s

The Yerba santa shrub native to California has promising anti-inflammatory...

In the past two decades, opioid overdose deaths have increased fourfold, and the epidemic is no longer primarily concentrated to rural midwestern and Appalachian states, according to a new study. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/">Stanford University School of Medicine</a>, <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a>, and the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a> examined the changing landscape of the US opioid crisis over the years. 

The results were published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Data from the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/index.htm">National Center for Health Statistics</a> and the <a href="https://www.census.gov/">US Census</a> were reviewed and analyzed for the study. 

The researchers saw a geographic shift in opioid-related deaths as opioids became more widely used in the eastern United States.

“Although opioid-related mortality has been stereotyped as a rural, low-income phenomenon concentrated among Appalachian or Midwestern states, it has spread rapidly, particularly among the Eastern states,” the researchers wrote in their study. 

Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-lost-opioids-ohio/">Ohio</a> had the highest rates of opioid-related deaths, while mortality rates in Florida and Pennsylvania doubled every two years. 

In the District of Columbia, opioid-related deaths have more than tripled every year since 2013. 

The researchers found that over the years the opioid epidemic has evolved into different stages with the first wave of deaths from the 1990s to 2010 related to prescription painkillers. 

After 2010, prescription painkillers began to be replaced by heroin which increased the number of heroin-related deaths. 

Now, the researchers say that the many recent opioid deaths are due to synthetic opioids and highly potent drugs being laced with synthetics like tramadol or fentanyl.

People may be unaware that their drugs are contaminated and so there is a higher risk of overdose and death, the researchers said. 

“The evolution has also seen a wider range of populations being affected, with the spread of the epidemic from rural to urban areas and considerable increases in opioid-related mortality observed in the black population,” the researchers wrote in their study. 

Understanding the evolution of the opioid crisis and the shifts in opioid-related deaths is crucial in creating more effective policies to combat opioid addiction. 

“Treating opioid use disorder should be our top priority to curb the problem,” said Mathew Kiang, the lead author of the study. “Similarly, we have the ability to counteract the effects of an overdose. These lifesaving drugs should be easily accessible and widely available.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Opioid overdose deaths have increased fourfold in 20 years

In the past two decades, opioid overdose deaths have increased...

It’s well known that cephalopods as a group are intelligent.  There are stories of octopus in captivity quietly moving into nearby tanks to eat all the fish before returning to their own tank before keepers arrived in the morning.  A <a href="https://youtu.be/1DoWdHOtlrk">YouTube video</a> shows an octopus pulling two pieces of coconut shell together and hiding inside.  After hiding, the octopus stacks the coconut shells together and carries them away, apparently planning for using them in the future.  Octopuses and other cephalopods are a paradox, dissimilar in many ways to other – long-lived and social – intelligent animals. 

In fact, a report from the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/science/animal-intelligence-octopus-cephalopods.html">New York Times</a> points out that scientists don’t have a clear grasp on cephalopod intelligence, they just know that the octopus is a very smart animal.  Despite the intelligence of octopus and other cephalopods, humans have a long history of eating them.

While climate change and overfishing is diminishing the populations of many wild animals in the ocean, cephalopod populations seem to have been rising recently.  Research from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> suggests that cephalopods may become and increasingly important sustainable seafood now and in the future.  

With short life spans, cephalopods reproduce and grow quickly and they’re adaptable to changing water temperatures.  Indeed, as other marine animals suffer from overfishing and warming oceans, cephalopods are filling in the gaps and growing in population, according to a recent report from a biologist published in <a href="https://theconversation.com/octopus-and-squid-populations-are-booming-heres-why-59830">The Conversation</a>. Another report from 2014 cited 4.8 million tons of cephalopods caught annually, although the number may be much larger due to under reporting in some countries.  Despite the trend of growth in cephalopods, the animals can change population numbers for better or worse rather quickly. 

Because of their short life spans, cephalopods can increase in numbers very quickly but can also drop in numbers very quickly.  Overall cephalopods seem quick to rebound with another generation but it would be easy to kill off most of a population with overfishing before realizing the extent of the damage.  For this reason as well as the predicted popularity of squid and octopus plates in the future, octopus farming is a growing trend. Until recently, raising cephalopods in captivity has been nearly impossible to accomplish. 

For a long time, other seafood has been raised in farms, from fish to oysters, raised in captivity and fed a formulated diet.  According to the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">USDA</a>, the US traded in 27,929,000 pounds of fresh or frozen aquaculture raised trout in 2017 alone.  According to <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/aquaculture/us-aquaculture">NOAA</a>, the US produced 37 million pounds of aquaculture oysters for a total of $192 million in 2016.  10 million pounds of clams raised in the US in 2016 made $138 million in profit. The total value for all US marine and freshwater aquaculture in 2016 was estimated to be $1.5 billion, making up 21% of US seafood and fisheries products by value.  Clearly aquaculture is profitable. With many wild fish being over harvested at alarming rates, many feel that aquaculture is the way of the future. 

<a href="https://www.thebalance.com/the-benefits-of-aquaculture-1301626">The Balance</a> reports that there are many benefits to aquaculture in general.  Aquaculture can create a more steady supply of food. Fish and other animals raised in captivity aren’t as dependent on natural conditions or seasons for their growth and health as wild caught fish.  Some studies suggest that aquaculture is more sustainable as well and allows wild populations to potentially rebound. 

But as <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/octopus-farms-environmental-effect/">we’ve reported</a>, the downsides to captive raised fish (and other animals) is pollution from food and waste. Still, the benefits for many seem to outweigh these downsides.  Cephalopods are quite different from most of the organisms raised in aquaculture today, so how well an industry of raising octopus and squid will do is still a bit uncertain.  

In 2013, <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/octopus-chronicles/first-octopus-farms-get-growing/">Scientific American</a> reported on the first octopus farm, Mayab Mollusks, on the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.  According to a first-hand account in <a href="https://www.southernfoodways.org/lunch-at-the-octopus-farm-pulled-pork-and-hot-sauce-at-the-yucatan-table/">Southern Foodways Alliance</a> by Richard Schweid who worked for a time at Mayab Mollusks, the farm was still working towards being profitable in 2016.  <a href="https://www.kanaloaoctopus.com/about-us">Kanaloa Octopus Farm</a> in Hawaii is another startup octopus aquaculture business.  So far, Kanaloa seems to be focused on researching the viability and methods for octopus aquaculture as well as being a place for tourists to see captive octopuses.   

400 million pounds of octopus were bought and sold globally in 2016 and that number is only rising in the US and globally.  Demand for octopus is projected to only continue rising in the near future. Aquaculture seems like a natural way to meet the huge demand for octopus meat and create a sustainable source of food.  Unfortunately for the cephalopods themselves, the growing trend in their population that I mentioned earlier has now reversed. What was seen as an increase in octopus populations a few years ago is now a drop in wild populations.  Global catches of octopus in the 1970s were around 99,000 tons per year but now are only 44,000 tons, according to <a href="https://newfoodeconomy.org/case-against-octopus-farming-cephalopod-aquaculture/">The New Food Economy</a>.  With wild octopus declining perhaps from fishing, aquaculture not yet viable for the animals seems even more important.  

Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as finding a way to farm octopuses. In an analysis of octopus fisheries, Jennifer Jacquet, professor of environmental studies at <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a>, criticized the idea of farming octopus.  Octopuses are carnivores and in order to feed them, even more fish and other animals would have to converted into octopus feed.  Catching more fish for farmed octopus not only hurts the populations of fish caught but would actually harm the wild octopuses themselves by leaving them with less natural prey.  About one third of the fish caught globally are used to create food for other animals, about half of that goes to aquaculture itself. Some of the fisheries used to create animal food are already in decline.  

Faced with the increased rarity of an animal we like to eat, humans traditionally eat it down to the last individual.  Dodos died this way. Mammoths potentially were hunted out too. Passenger pigeons were once a cheap source of food sold by the pickled barrel.  We can recognize intelligence in octopus but as a species we don’t seem to show actual restraint. Instead of simply giving up a food, we do our best to endlessly manipulate our world so we can continue business as usual.  The octopus is just another victim to this way of thinking. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Why octopus farming is no simple solution to overfishing

It’s well known that cephalopods as a group are intelligent....

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health and development, according to the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antibiotic-resistance">World Health Organization</a> (WHO). Once easily treatable infections are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics and research has shown that the environment plays a major role in the spread of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-environment/">antibiotic-resistant bacteria</a>. 

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.ru.nl/english/">Radboud University</a> is the first to review the increase in antibiotic levels in global freshwater sources over the past 20 years and assess the environmental risks posed by contaminated watersheds. 

The study was published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. 

“Generally, it's seen as a problem for the health sector, as resistant bacteria can be spread within hospitals or through livestock,” said Rik Oldenkamp, the lead author of the study. “But there's little awareness of the role of the environment in this problem, even though it becomes increasingly clear that the environment functions as a source of resistance for various pathogens.”

The researchers focused on two popular drugs, an antibiotic called ciprofloxacin and an anti-epileptic called carbamazepine.

[caption id="attachment_1868362" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/freshwater-map.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868362" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/freshwater-map.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="573" /></a> Environmental risks of ciprofloxacin in fresh water, Image Credit: R. Oldenkamp et al, Environmental Research Letters[/caption]

Socio-economic and demographic information, as well access to wastewater treatment, pharmaceutical consumption, and available freshwater resources, were used to build on past models which allowed the researchers to more accurately model environmental risks by ecoregion. 

“Our model shows a particular need for new data in these types of areas,” said Oldenkamp. “The model is really a starting point for creating an insight into the environmental risks posed by pharmaceuticals all over the world.” 

The researchers found that in 2015, the environmental risks posed by the two drugs were ten to 20 times higher compared to 1995. Ciprofloxacin, in particular, is being used so much that contaminate levels could cause serious damage to the ecosystem. 

“The concentrations of this antibiotic can be harmful for bacteria in the water, and these bacteria in turn play an important role in various nutrient cycles,” said Oldenkamp. “Antibiotics can also have a negative impact on the effectiveness of bacteria colonies used in wastewater treatment.”

The results highlight how limited global data is on pharmaceutical use and antibiotic contamination levels in freshwater resources, according to Oldenkamp who says that data is key to understanding the scope of freshwater antibiotic concentrations. 

“Getting an accurate picture of the environmental risks of pharmaceuticals around the world depends on the availability of data, which is limited,” said Oldenkamp. “It's true that there are models, such as the ePiE model, which can give detailed predictions of pharmaceutical concentrations in the environment, but these are often only applicable to places where we already have a lot of information, such as rivers in Europe.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antibiotic contamination in freshwater poses huge environmental risk

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global...

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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

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" 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.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?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" 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.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

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

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

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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

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