The inclusion of fiber in the diet has been linked to a variety of health perks for decades. The body needs this essential nutrient to keep digestion running smoothly and maintain steady blood sugar levels.&nbsp;



Most experts recommend at least 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams for men, yet many adults in the United States barely reach half that goal. But there is more to this story than a happy belly or balanced glucose.&nbsp;



A recent study in Nature Metabolism shows that fiber may also leave a mark on our genes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-fiber-still-matters">Why fiber still matters</h2>



Fiber comes in many forms, from the crunchy stems of leafy greens to the chewy shells of beans and nuts. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/want-to-lose-weight-try-eating-more-protein-and-fiber/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dietary fiber</a> travels to the large intestine, where friendly bacteria feast on it.&nbsp;



This feast produces short-chain fatty acids, including propionate and butyrate, which have gained attention recently for their effects on gut health.



Researchers have been eager to see whether these acids from fibers impact genes beyond basic energy production.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fiber-gut-and-fatty-acids">Fiber, gut, and fatty acids</h2>



The science behind short-chain fatty acids and genes has intrigued experts for years, and now <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/michael-snyder" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Snyder</a>, Stanford B. Ascherman Professor of Genetics at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford University</a>, has shed more light on it through this project. 



His team traced the biological footprints of propionate and butyrate in both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fiber-rich-diets-reduce-antimicrobial-resistance-in-the-gut/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">normal cells</a> and cancer cells. 



The aim was to see how these acids might switch genes on or off in ways that influence the growth and survival of cells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-fiber-impacts-genes-nbsp">How fiber impacts genes&nbsp;</h2>



Short-chain fatty acids are generated when gut microbes break down fiber. They move into the bloodstream and can reach different tissues.&nbsp;



The study found that propionate and butyrate attach to certain sites on histones - which are proteins that act like spools for DNA - causing direct modifications on genes related to cell division and cell death.



“We found a direct link between eating fiber and modulation of gene function that has anti-cancer effects,” said Snyder.



Instead of simply describing fiber’s link to good health, the researchers pinpointed the exact molecular changes behind those benefits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preventing-uncontrolled-cell-growth">Preventing uncontrolled cell growth</h2>



Cancer often begins when cells lose their usual checks and balances. Normal cells are expected to grow, specialize, and sometimes self-destruct if there’s a problem.&nbsp;



When those processes go haywire, mutated cells can survive too long or multiply too fast. The study uncovered how certain chemical markers on genes for cell regulation might switch in a protective way when these short-chain fatty acids are around.



It is generally the case that people’s diets are very poor in fiber. Adjusting meal plans to include foods like beans, nuts, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/certain-vegetables-protect-us-from-illness-by-strengthening-the-lung-barrier/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cruciferous vegetables</a>, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-one-avocado-each-day-can-add-years-to-your-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">avocados</a> may promote the production of more of these acids, potentially offering some defense against abnormal cell growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-gut-and-genes-might-need-more-fiber">Why gut and genes might need more fiber</h2>



A diet that skimps on fiber starves the microbes that produce these beneficial fatty acids. Low levels can reduce the supply of butyrate and propionate.



That could leave you short on important chemical signals that appear to help keep unwanted cellular behavior under control.&nbsp;



According to the <a href="https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/carbohydrates/fiber/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a>, most Americans only consume around 15 grams of fiber daily, which falls short of <a href="https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/carbohydrates/fiber/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommended amounts</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-risk-and-fiber-s-gene-protective-role">Cancer risk and fiber’s gene-protective role</h2>



Colon cancer is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-cooking-oils-in-your-diet-may-be-linked-to-cancer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">concern for many adults</a>. The <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Cancer Society</a> estimates that about 1 in 23 men and 1 in 25 women will be diagnosed with colon cancer at some point in their lifetime. 



This new study provides a window into how the byproducts of fiber breakdown might influence gene behavior in the colon, and possibly other tissues, in a helpful way.



“By identifying the gene targets of these important molecules we can understand how fiber exerts its beneficial effects,” said Snyder.&nbsp;



Although more work is needed to confirm how each type of fiber interacts with the gut and the rest of the body, this adds to growing evidence that diet and cancer risk are tightly woven together.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-connection-between-diet-gut-and-genes">Connection between diet, gut, and genes</h2>



The research highlights the importance of diet as a modulator of genetic signals. 



It also emphasizes potential opportunities for personalized strategies that combine better eating habits with therapies aimed at correcting harmful gene activity.&nbsp;



Many clinicians see fiber as a key feature of a balanced diet, and these findings may prompt more specific guidelines on how much and which types of fiber are most valuable for long-term health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-foods-can-boost-fiber-intake">What foods can boost fiber intake?</h2>



Whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes remain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ketogenic-diet-may-help-the-body-kill-cancer-cells/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">top options</a> for boosting your daily fiber count. Vegetables like Brussels sprouts and broccoli, as well as fruits such as raspberries, also offer generous amounts.&nbsp;



Even small shifts like opting for a whole-wheat tortilla instead of a white-flour tortilla can push your numbers up. 



For individuals who struggle to reach recommended targets, talking with a healthcare provider or a registered dietitian can point the way to practical changes that nourish both you and your gut bacteria.



People sometimes balk at the thought of adding more plant-based foods to their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/which-dietary-changes-are-best-for-cancer-prevention/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diet</a>. But a gradual introduction may help your gut adjust without uncomfortable bloating or gas.&nbsp;



Your digestive system, along with your genes, could benefit from these simple swaps, especially as ongoing research on fiber clarifies the links between short-chain fatty acids and various cellular pathways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-health-research">Future of health research</h2>



All signs suggest that fiber is more than just a helper for digestion. These insights about short-chain fatty acids may prompt further collaboration between nutrition science and genetics.&nbsp;



By paying attention to what our microbes need, we may discover fresh paths to protect our cells from harm. The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-024-01191-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Metabolism</a>.



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Eating enough fiber prevents cancer in a surprising way

The inclusion of fiber in the diet has been linked to a variety of health perks for decades. The body needs this essential nutrient to keep digestion running smoothly and maintain steady blood sugar levels.&nbsp; Most experts recommend at least 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams for men, yet many adults in the United States barely reach half that goal. But there is more to this story than a happy belly or balanced glucose.&nbsp; A recent study in Nature Metabolism shows that fiber may...

A team of researchers at the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a> has discovered that compassion for animals may actually be part of our DNA. The experts found that study participants who cared the most for animals also shared a variation in the gene that produces oxytocin, which is associated with love and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dogs-comfort-owners-upset/">bonding</a>. 

The investigation was focused on the DNA of 161 students, which was analyzed by experts at the Roslin Institute and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). The students also completed a survey that was designed to measure their levels of empathy toward animals. 

The study revealed that individuals with the highest compassion scores shared a specific version of the oxytocin gene. In addition,  women were found to have the greatest feelings of empathy for animals compared to men.


According to the researchers, there are many social factors that influence a person's attitude toward animals, including early life experiences, personality traits, and religious beliefs. This research has demonstrated, for the very the first time, that genetics may also have an influence on how we feel toward animals. 

“We already knew that oxytocin was important for empathy between people but now we know it helps us bond with animals too,” said study co-author Dr. Sarah Brown.

Oxytocin has been previously linked to a variety of human behaviors, such as the social bonding between a mother and child or between romantic partners. The study findings suggest that oxytocin is also associated with the bond between people and their animals. 


Study co-author Professor Alistair Lawrence said, “This research is only the beginning but we hope that these findings could help us to devise strategies to help improve animal welfare across the UK.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/animals">Animals</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Compassion for animals may be part of our DNA

A team of researchers at the University of Edinburgh has...

If you’ve kept up with the slew of climate change reports and studies being published as of late you will have undoubtedly noticed a pattern, one year that pops up time and time again: 2050. 

Why do so many studies and climate reports seem hyper-focused on this year, especially when it comes to food security, agriculture, and global food demand? Is 2050 some portent of doom that we should all be more aware of or a worst-case scenario only in the unlikeliest of events?

To understand why so many studies focus on 2050, it’s important first to understand what the date means for the world’s population. Having a better grasp on population projections and why researchers choose the dates they do will help make sense of food demand and the project impact of climate change on food security. 

What’s with 2050? 

2050 presents a perfect middle ground for a future that’s far enough away that climate change mitigation still seems like a possibility, and yet close enough for people to be concerned about what the world will be like for future generations. 

Many people today will live to see 2050 or will have children or grandchildren who will. It’s also an exact number that’s easy to remember, write about, and factor into predictions. 

Kostas Stamoulis, the director of the Agricultural Development Economics Division of the <a href="http://www.fao.org/">United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization</a>, told <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/forget-2015-2050-year-predictions-296481">Newsweek</a> that the year in question was a “nice, round number.” 

The Earth will look very different in 2050, not only because of climate change, but also because of the projected growth in the world’s population, which is estimated to be 9.8 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100, according to the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2017.html">United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs. </a>

2050 will have a population nearly twice as large as it was at the beginning of the millennium. Studies that make projections about 2050 examine both climate impacts and food demand for a drastically growing population of people.

India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Indonesia and the United States will experience some of the biggest population increases, according to the UN. 

The fact so much population growth will be concentrated to some of the least developed countries could be challenging for ensuring nutritional needs are met when already, many populations suffer from hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. This brings us to the crux of the food demand issue. 

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-triggers-extreme-weather/">Climate change</a> is expected to cause sea level rise, heat waves, droughts, and an increased frequency of storms, flooding, and hurricanes, all of which will impact global agriculture and crop production. We are already seeing these impacts today, and crop production in many parts of the world is suffering because of climate change. 

However, if climate change will negatively impact crop production, what will that mean for a quickly growing population of people on Earth? Put simply, more people equals higher food demand, but climate change is projected to reduce food security. 

Food Security and rising demands: 2018 versus 2050

Food demand, or food security, is how much food is needed to feed a population, be it your own family, the population of a country or the world, and ensuring that these needs are met. 

The term food security was first coined in the 1970s but later revised in 1983 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to a definition that factored in both supply and demand of food products according to a<a href="http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/faoitaly/documents/pdf/pdf_Food_Security_Cocept_Note.pdf"> 2006 FAO Policy Brief.</a>

The 1983 definition of food security is “ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic food that they need.” 

There are many different facets to food security including ethical and human rights considerations, access to food, availability, and sustainability, according to the FAO.  

Food insecurity, similarly, doesn’t just describe hunger. According to the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/definitions-of-food-security.aspx">United States Department of Agriculture</a>, it refers to limited or uncertain access to adequate food at the household level. 

Around 821 million people are undernourished today, and world hunger has been on the rise. 

Agriculture and food security go hand in hand, and each one is dependent on the other which is why a rising population coupled with rising food demands presents such a challenge.

The amount of resources like water or grain needed for food production is staggering. According to the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/food-security-and-why-it-matters/">World Economic Forum</a>, it takes on average 1,500 liters of water to produce one kilogram of rice, or about 400 gallons to produce two pounds of rice. 

Cows require even more water, around 16,000 liters to produce a kilogram of beef. Chickens require hundreds of gallons of water a day. As people increase their meat consumption, it will require more grains to be produced every year to feed livestock. 

More grains will need more water along with the increasing numbers of livestock draining the already strained freshwater resources available for human consumption and agriculture. 

Many people don’t realize just how much water is required for the food we eat every day. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/food/">National Geographic</a> reported that 70 percent of the water available for human consumption goes toward food production. 

In 2050, it’s projected that food production will require twice as much water to ensure food demands are met. We’ll also need viable cropland and more sustainable farming alternatives by 2050, but today we are losing far more potential farmland than we are gaining due to expanded urban development and soil degradation through pollution, logging, mining, and other human activities. 

The <a href="http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/Issues_papers/HLEF2050_Global_Agriculture.pdf">FAO</a> also notes that a shrinking rural labor force will result in fewer farmers by 2050.

Meanwhile, climate change will factor into food production in the future as increasing temperatures cause more droughts and shrink usable land for crops and grazing. 

In order to feed 9.1 billion people, the FAO reports that current projections estimate that food production will need to increase<a href="http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/expert_paper/How_to_Feed_the_World_in_2050.pdf"> by 70 percent</a> between 2007 and 2050. 

To help put that number in perspective, cereal production would need to increase from 2.1 billion tons to three billion and meat production will need to more than double to 470 million tons by 2050. 

By 2050, the Earth is projected to have drastically increased populations which will increase global food demands, especially for lower income and developing nations. Climate change is projected to majorly impact food security which is why many researchers, aid organizations, and policymakers are so focused on finding sustainable agricultural practices that won’t further strain the world’s limited natural resources. 

--

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>

How climate change will impact food security

If you’ve kept up with the slew of climate change...

Surprisingly, relatively little is known about how the brain recognizes faces and facial cues, even though we take in and process tons of information just by looking at another face. 

When we see another person's face, we can take a guess at their age, gender, race and even know what kind of mood that person might be in based on their expression and gaze. 

Researchers are working on understanding the underlying mechanisms that make this process and interpretation of information in the brain possible and for a good reason. 

Having a better idea of how facial recognition works could help people who have a hard time making eye contact. For example, many with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fathers-age-social-development/">autism</a> have a hard time communicating and making eye contact with others because their brains process information differently. 


Facial recognition is a key part of social engagement and helps us understand our surroundings. On the other hand, when we meet someone who doesn't make eye contact we sometimes misinterpret that to mean disinterest on the part of the other person. 

Nicolas Davidenko, an assistant professor of psychology at the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>, recently led a study to examine facial “fixation,” in the hopes of gaining new insight into facial recognition. The study was published in the journal Perception. 

Fixation is just what the name implies, what our eyes tend to fixate on when looking at someone's face. Past studies have shown that we naturally focus on the left side of someone's face and this is called “left-gaze bias.” 

Davidenko wanted to know if left-gaze bias was still present if someone looked at a titled or slightly rotated face. 

“We take in faces holistically, all at once--not feature by feature," said Davidenko. “But no one had studied where we look on rotated faces.”

To test this, Davidenko used eye-tracking technology to monitor participants looking at faces with different tilts and angles. 

The results showed that as soon as the face tilts, left-gaze bias disappears and is replaced by “upper-eye bias” where the eyes fixate on the higher point. 

“People tend to look first at whichever eye is higher,” said Davidenko. “A slight tilt kills the left-gaze bias that has been known for so long. That's what's so interesting. I was surprised how strong it was.”

A tilt of the head at 45 degrees seemed to the sweet spot for people and garnered the strongest upper-eye bias, but tilts at an angle past 45 degrees had the opposite desired effect. 

“Ninety degrees is too weird,” said Davidenko. “People don't know where to look, and it changes their behavior totally.”

The results of the study also showed that people have an easier time making eye contact with a tilted face, which could help create better pathways for social engagement and communication among people with autism and who struggle with eye contact. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Eye contact is easier when a person’s face is tilted, study shows

Surprisingly, relatively little is known about how the brain recognizes...

Research has found that individuals who abstain from drinking alcohol in the month of January, also known as “Dry January,” experience many health benefits. The month-long alcohol detox promotes weight loss, more energy, clearer skin, better focus, and lower blood pressure. In addition, Dry January participants often regain control of their drinking.

The study, led by Dr. Richard de Visser at the <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/">University of Sussex</a>, was focused on over 800 people who took part in Dry January in 2018. The investigation revealed that the participants were still drinking less in August. 


“The simple act of taking a month off alcohol helps people drink less in the long term: by August people are reporting one extra dry day per week,” said Dr. de Visser. “There are also considerable immediate benefits: nine in ten people save money, seven in ten sleep better, and three in five lose weight.”

Even those who were not successful in abstaining from <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/buzzed-feeling-drinking-alcohol/">alcohol</a> for the entire month of January experienced health benefits. 

“Interestingly, these changes in alcohol consumption have also been seen in the participants who didn't manage to stay alcohol-free for the whole month - although they are a bit smaller. This shows that there are real benefits to just trying to complete Dry January.”

The benefits identified in the study were not just physical. For example, 93 percent of participants had a sense of achievement, 88 percent saved money, 82 percent felt more in control of their drinking, and 76 percent learned more about why they drink. 

A survey conducted by <a href="https://alcoholchange.org.uk/">Alcohol Change UK</a> found that an estimated 4.2 million people in the UK are already planning to do Dry January in 2019.


“Put simply, Dry January can change lives. We hear every day from people who took charge of their drinking using Dry January, and who feel healthier and happier as a result,” said Dr. Richard Piper, who is the CEO of Alcohol Change UK.

“The brilliant thing about Dry January is that it's not really about January. Being alcohol-free for 31 days shows us that we don't need alcohol to have fun, to relax, to socialize. That means that for the rest of the year we are better able to make decisions about our drinking, and to avoid slipping into drinking more than we really want to.”

“Many of us know about the health risks of alcohol - seven forms of cancer, liver disease, mental health problems - but we are often unaware that drinking less has more immediate benefits too. Sleeping better, feeling more energetic, saving money, better skin, losing weight... The list goes on. Dry January helps millions to experience those benefits and to make a longer-lasting change to drink more healthily.”


Anyone interested in participating can sign up at dryjanuary.org.uk for regular support emails with tips from experts. There is also an application called <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.org.alcoholconcern.dryjanuary">Try Dry: The Dry January App</a> that can be used to track your progress, including money and calories saved. 

--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study shows that Dry January helps people drink less all year

Research has found that individuals who abstain from drinking alcohol...

How much of an impact does ocean trash have on the environment, coastal economies and human health? 

That’s what a team of researchers from <a href="http://www.disl.org/">Dauphin Island Sea Lab</a> and the <a href="https://missionaransas.org/">Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve</a> set out to discover in a two-year study in the Gulf of Mexico.

Between February 2015 and August 2017, the team monitored 12 sites on a series of nine barrier islands that range from North Padre Island off the coast of Texas to Santa Rosa, Florida. They sorted through ocean trash that washed ashore, separating by type, frequency, and where it was collected.

“With this information we are investigating three specific questions: (1) what are the major types/sources of marine debris; (2) does debris deposition have seasonal oscillations; and (3) how does debris deposition change spatially?” the researchers wrote in their report, published in the ScienceDirect journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X18308749?via%3Dihub">Marine Pollution Bulletin</a>.

The answers were sometimes shocking, the researchers said.

For example, they discovered that ocean trash washes up on the shore of Texas at more than 10 times the rate as at other Gulf State locations. 

Somewhat less surprising was the makeup of the ocean trash they collected. From 69 to 95 percent of the garbage was <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-oceans-triple/">plastic</a>, the team found. That included plastic bottles and bottle caps, straws, spoons and forks, clothing hangers and more. Much of the plastic had broken down into indeterminate pieces. Other debris included aerosol cans, string and cigarette butts.

“[T]here was a significant increase in debris accumulation during the spring and summer seasons,” the researchers noted. More human activity on the water during the warmer months could account for much of that, they said.

They also found that they could predict when and how much ocean trash would accumulate in areas with high freshwater influx.

“Marine debris is an economic, environmental, human health, and aesthetic problem posing a complex challenge to communities around the globe,” the researchers wrote.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Study looks at ocean trash in the Gulf of Mexico

How much of an impact does ocean trash have on...

On Friday at midnight, the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) began the process of temporarily laying off employees, after the agency's funding ran out as a result of the partial government shutdown.

A week ago, 25 percent of federal agencies were already forced to cease normal operations after the government failed to agree on a final funding bill.

The House and Senate both met briefly on Thursday, yet no agreement was reached between Congressional Democrats and President Trump, who are at odds over $5 billion in funding that is needed for the proposed border wall.


According to an email obtained by <a href="https://thehill.com/">The Hill</a>, acting EPA administrator <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/andrew-wheeler-inew-epa-head/">Andrew Wheeler</a> has informed employees: “In the event an appropriation is not passed by midnight Friday, December 28th, EPA will initiate orderly shutdown procedures.”

The message also said that travel plans will be cancelled for furloughed employees, who were instructed to create an out of office email message and to change their voicemail greeting. 


During the EPA shutdown, more than 700 of the most essential EPA employees will have to work without pay, while the remaining 13,000 employees will be on temporary leave from their positions. 

In addition, the Smithsonian will close its museums and popular galleries, the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2018/12/29/epa-museums-close-shutdown-slogs-into-weekend/QieABjlBLyfdrAquiseysO/story.html">Boston Globe</a> reports. This includes The National Zoo, The National Air and Space Museum, and the National Museum of Natural History.

Overall, 400,000 federal employees will be affected by the partial government shutdown. In addition, previous EPA shutdowns have caused more than 134 facilities to close across the country. 

The Senate is not expected to reconvene until January 2, which is the same month that Democrats will take over the House. North Carolina Republican Representative Mark Meadows told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/">CNN</a>, “At this point, it looks like we could be in for a very long-term shutdown.”

Activities such as inspections for drinking water systems and hazardous waste management sites could be potentially affected by the EPA shutdown. It will be up to senior officials to decide what work must continue in order to best protect public health.
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

EPA runs out of money amid government shutdown, museums to close

On Friday at midnight, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began...

While many people have experienced that tipsy feeling after one too many cocktails, everyone reacts differently to alcohol as it <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-happening-to-us-when-we-get-drunk-51245">enters the bloodstream</a> and causes the all too familiar effects of intoxication. 

This is why some people are done after one glass of wine while others have a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-binge-drinking-causes-you-to-build-up-alcohol-tolerance/">higher tolerance for alcohol</a> and can seem to drink in much higher quantities before showing any obvious signs of being drunk. 

Many different factors impact alcohol sensitivity including body mass, genetic factors, and medical history.

However, one thing researchers were sure of was alcohol's direct effect on the brain and body once it enters the bloodstream. 

Now, a new study led by <a href="https://www.scripps.edu/">Scripps Research</a> has found that there may be another step in the process that changes our understanding of how intoxication happens. 

The study was published in the Journal of Molecular Biology, and the results show that alcohol travels to the nerve cells and attaches molecules to the membrane surface of a neuron that indirectly produces the effects of intoxication. 

The researchers discovered this intermediary molecule step by studying inebriated fruit flies which have a similar reaction to alcohol that we as humans do. 

“They act just like people,” said Scott Hansen, a co-author of the study. “They start losing coordination. They literally get drunk.”

Alcohol acts as an anesthetic and at first causes feelings of hyperactivity, or a “buzzed” feeling in both people and fruit flies. 

The researchers tracked alcohol molecules as they traveled through the fruit flies by using previous anesthesia research. 

A key part of the process, according to the researchers, has to do with an enzyme on the nerve cell membrane called phospholipase D2, (PLD2).

PLD2 allows alcohol molecules to attach to the membrane of the nerve cell and this in term creates a fatty alcohol metabolite called phosphatidylethanol (PEtOH).

After enough PEtOH metabolites build up on the nerve cell membrane, the neurons are able to fire easily which causes that “buzzed” sensation of hyperactivity. 

Once the researchers silenced the gene expression that creates the PEtOH metabolite, the fruit flies did not become hyperactive after being exposed to alcohol. 

Now, researchers have a pathway that can help determine alcohol sensitivity and the results could also produce insights into hangovers, according to the study. 

“It has definitely led to some different ways of thinking about alcohol intoxication at the molecular level,’ said Hansen. “Most scientists thought alcohol had a direct effect. Blocking the enzyme in flies shows that's not likely true.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why you get that buzzed feeling when drinking alcohol

While many people have experienced that tipsy feeling after one...

Christmas tree pine needles could soon be used in an array of products including paint and sweeteners, thanks to new research from the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/">University of Sheffield</a>.  

The Christmas pine tree is a staple in many households this time of year, but as 2019 fast approaches, that same Christmas tree quickly turns from festive holiday decoration to a blight and fire hazard. 

Some cities offer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmentally-friendly-christmas-tree/">Christmas tree recycling programs</a>, and trees are usually ground up into free mulch that residents can use in their yards and gardens. 

It’s a wonderful idea, and more and more cities are offering free tree recycling programs after the holidays every year. However, for every tree that’s recycled, millions more end up in landfills and pine needles take a long time to biodegrade. 

In the US alone, around 25 to 30 million real Christmas trees are sold every year, according to the <a href="http://www.realchristmastrees.org/dnn/Education/Quick-Tree-Facts">National Christmas Tree Association</a>, and in the UK around seven million of the eight million trees used to decorate homes for the holidays end up in a landfill. 

Pine needles emit large amounts of greenhouse gases as they decompose and so even though Christmas trees are biodegradable, they are still contributing to atmospheric greenhouse gas levels every year and adding to a city’s or country’s carbon footprint. 

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have developed a new solution for recycling Christmas trees and found a way to break down the complex polymer in pine needles. 

Once this polymer, known as lignocellulose, is broken down, it could be used in many different products such as adhesives and food sweeteners. 

“My research has been focused on the breakdown of this complex structure into simple, high-valued industrial chemical feedstocks such as sugars and phenolics, which are used in products like household cleaners and mouthwash,” said Cynthia Kartey, who headed the new research. “Biorefineries would be able to use a relatively simple but unexplored process to break down the pine needles.”

Kartey discovered that heat and solvents like glycerol which are environmentally friendly help break down the lignocellulose into liquid bio-oil and solid bio-char. 

The bio-oil has many useful chemicals like glucose and phenol acids, and overall the process is completely sustainable.

Recycling pine trees this way would help keep trees out of the landfills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from pine needles in landfills. 

“The use of biomass - materials derived from plants - to produce fuels and chemicals currently manufactured from fossil resources will play a key role in the future global economy,” said James McGregor, a member of the research team. “If we can utilise materials that would otherwise go to waste in such processes, thereby recycling them, then there are further benefits.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Christmas tree pine needles can be turned into sweeteners and paint

Christmas tree pine needles could soon be used in an...

It’s the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giving-brings-joy/">season of giving</a>, and many people save their charitable donations for this time of year. <a href="https://www.worldvision.org/about-us/media-center/survey-majority-americans-donate-charity-end-december">One survey</a> conducted by <a href="https://www.harrispollonline.com/">Harris Poll</a> found that in 2016, a little over 60 percent of Americans donated to charity or an organization during the last weeks of December. 

The opportunity to help people in need and support causes that matter should be enough motivation for giving. 

However, a new study published in the journal PLoS One found that when it comes to donations, wealthy people will give more if they feel powerful and in control. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> that conducted the study say that giving campaigns should cater to a wealthy person on an individual level rather than bringing up the community or a sense of belonging. 

Previous research found that wealthy people value the ability to control the outcome of different events compared to lower-income earners, according to <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24132110-200-rich-people-give-more-to-charity-when-you-make-them-feel-powerful/">New Scientist</a> which reported on the new study. 

For the study, the researchers created a fundraising campaign and sent letters to over 12,000 alumni of an Ivy League business school who earned $100,000 or more every year in salaries. 

The researchers sent two different letters, and the first letter included phrasing targeting the community and the second appealed to an individual asking the alumni members to donate to their alma mater. 

“Sometimes, one person needs to come forward and take individual action,” the first letter read.

The second letter, on the other hand, read, “Sometimes, one community needs to come forward and support a common goal.” 

The alumni who received the letter that talked about “individual action” on average gave $432, 1.5 times more than the people who received the letters about community action. 

“We think that giving high-income earners a sense of control makes them want to give more,” said Ashley Whillans, the lead author of the study. “Charities often use messages that highlight how positive the action is, like, ‘it’s so important to help the environment,’ but they may benefit from tailoring their messages to people’s self-interested motivations instead.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wealthy people donate more to charity when they feel in control

It’s the season of giving, and many people save their...

2018’s Winter Solstice had both a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/full-moon-meteor-shower/">full moon and a meteor shower</a>, closing out the year with some spectacular astronomical activity. 

But not to be outdone, 2019 will start with year with both a supermoon and a lunar eclipse, one of four eclipses expected to occur throughout the year. 

On January 21st, lucky stargazers will be privy to a “Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse” which will cast the moon in a coppery, red color, which is where the name “blood moon” comes from. 

The first full moon of the new year is referred to as a wolf moon, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/27/world/five-eclipses-in-2019-and-super-blood-wolf-moon-trnd/index.html">CNN</a>, which is why January’s hodgepodge supermoon eclipse event is being called a Super Blood Wolf Moon. 

A total lunar eclipse is only possible when the moon is full, according to <a href="https://earthsky.org/?p=295245">Earthsky</a>, and a supermoon describes the point when the moon is closest to Earth. 

When the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, which is called the Umbra, <a href="http://time.com/3479189/blood-moon/">the moon begins to get darker</a>, and when the Earth’s shadow surrounds the moon, it appears red. 

Because of the alignment of the sun, moon, and Earth, the sunlight that bounces off the Earth’s atmosphere refracts and reaches the moon’s surface, and the longer wavelengths of red and orange encase the moon in a pale reddish tinge. The whole eclipse from start to finish will last around three and a half hours. 


January, February, and March will all have supermoons, and February’s supermoon will the biggest and fullest of them all. 

Other major 2019 astronomy events will include a total solar eclipse which will be visible in South America and parts of South Asia and the rare sighting of Mercury as it passes between the <a href="https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/catalog/MercuryCatalog.html">Earth and Sun</a>.

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse will kick off the new year

2018’s Winter Solstice had both a full moon and a...

According to a new study from a research team based at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a>, reducing drinking can help a person quit smoking. Researchers found that as heavy drinkers limited their <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/alcohol-consumption-colder-environments/">alcohol intake</a>, their nicotine metabolite ratio — a biomarker that shows how fast a person's body metabolizes nicotine — was reduced.

The study’s findings, published in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ntr">Nicotine &amp; Tobacco Research</a>, show when a smoker cuts back on their drinking, their nicotine metabolism rate slows, thus helping them shake their dependence on cigarettes.

“It takes a lot of determination to quit smoking, often several attempts," said the study’s lead author, Sarah Dermody, an assistant professor in the <a href="https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/school-psychological-science/psychology">School of Psychological Science</a> at OSU’s College of Liberal Arts. "This research suggests that drinking is changing the nicotine metabolism as indexed by the nicotine metabolite ratio, and that daily smoking and heavy drinking may best be treated together."

Currently, about 1 in 5 adults use both alcohol and cigarettes, with cigarette use being prevalent amongst heavy drinkers. The two habits directly coincide, as previous studies have shown. To better understand the connection between smoking and drinking, Dermody and colleagues from Toronto’s <a href="https://www.camh.ca/">Centre for Addiction and Mental Health</a> studied individual nicotine metabolite ratios within a group of 22 smokers who were seeking treatment for their alcohol dependency.

"What's really interesting is that the nicotine metabolite ratio is clinically useful," Dermody continued. "People with a higher ratio have a harder time quitting smoking cold turkey. They have are also less likely to successfully quit using nicotine replacement therapy products."

As the men in the group reduced their drinking from 29 drinks per week to 7 drinks per week, their nicotine metabolite rate dropped significantly. However, the women involved in the study did not see a drop in their nicotine metabolite rate, and this is most likely because they collectively did not significantly reduce their drinking within the study period.

"The nicotine metabolite ratio was thought to be a stable index, but it may not be as stable as we thought," said Dermody regarding the results seen from the men in the group. "From a clinical standpoint, that's a positive thing, because if someone wants to stop smoking, we may want to encourage them to reduce their drinking to encourage their smoking cessation plan."

Dermody is now working on another study involving heavy drinkers and smokers who are willing to participate in an intervention to reduce their alcohol intake. She hopes this study will be even more telling regarding the connection between drinking and smoking, thus proving that addressing both habits is necessary to help those who want to quit either or.

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Reducing alcohol intake can help you quit smoking

According to a new study from a research team based...

A new study compared 60 years of data on American male <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/moon-dust-toxic-health/">astronauts</a> to pro athletes, who have a similar level of fitness and health care. The researchers found that, despite exposure to forms of radiation that are linked to cancers and heart problems, working in space was not associated with a shorter life expectancy. 

Between the astronauts and athletes,  neither group had higher rates of early death. In fact, these individuals were found to outlive members of the general public. 

Some previous studies have linked space work to a lower risk of premature death, which is not surprising because astronauts tend to be very well-educated and physically fit.

Robert Reynolds of Mortality Research &amp; Consulting, Inc. is one of the study's co-authors.

“The challenge has always been to understand if astronauts are as healthy as they would be had they been otherwise comparably employed but had never gone to space at all,” Reynolds told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/news/health">Reuters Health</a>. “To do this, we needed to find a group that is comparable on several important factors, but has never been to space.”

The study was focused on mortality rates for American male astronauts and professional athletes from Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1960 to mid-2018.

The study revealed that both athletes and astronauts had a lower risk of premature death compared to the general population. In addition, no significant mortality difference was found between NBA and MLB players.

The researchers also determined that astronauts were more likely to die of accidents or other external causes, and less likely to die from heart disease and all other natural causes.

“We cannot be sure from the data we have, but we speculate that cardiovascular fitness in particular is the most important factor in astronaut longevity,” said Reynolds.

The findings indicate that radiation exposure in space may not lead to heart problems or certain cancers among athletes. On the contrary, astronauts had a lower rate of death from heart disease than the athletes, and similar mortality rates from cancers.

Francis Cucinotta, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.unr.edu/">University of Nevada</a> who was not involved in the study, pointed out that radiation exposure may have been much lower during early space missions and may not represent the conditions today. He explained, “The missions in the past were low dose, while in the future the dose would be 50 to 100 times higher for a Mars mission.”


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://oem.bmj.com/">Occupational &amp; Environmental Medicine</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Exposure to radiation in space does not shorten astronaut lives

A new study compared 60 years of data on American...

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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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...