Different,Types,Of,Non-dairy,Milk

Vegans who replace cow's milk with soy, almond, or other plant-based alternatives may face a higher chance of mental issues like depression and anxiety than individuals who drink cow’s milk regularly.



This finding emerged from a recent investigation of lifestyle patterns and mental health outcomes among hundreds of thousands of adults in the United Kingdom.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-well-being-of-milk-drinkers">Mental well-being of milk drinkers</h2>



Scientists explored how different milk types might be linked to mental and emotional well-being over more than a decade. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-gmo-plants-make-baby-formula-healthy-as-breast-milk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milk</a> is consumed by <a href="https://www.fao.org/dairy-production-products/products/milk-and-milk-products/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">billions of people</a> worldwide, making it a major part of daily diets.&nbsp;After reviewing participants’ intake habits, researchers noted intriguing contrasts in mental health. 



One group that stood out was semi-skimmed milk drinkers. According to data, they had lower rates of both anxiety and depression when compared to those who either consumed full-fat or plant-based alternatives. 



This observation piqued the interest of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chunyan-Wu-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Chunying Wu</a> from <a href="https://portal.smu.edu.cn/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southern Medical University</a>, who authored the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shifting-to-non-dairy-beverages">Shifting to non-dairy beverages</h2>



In recent years, many individuals have turned to non-dairy beverages. They cite environmental, health, or ethical concerns in their decision to avoid traditional cow’s milk. 



Yet <a href="https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-General/Trade-Market-reports/Milk-alternatives-popularity-growing-in-the-US-February-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence</a> suggests some of these milk alternatives may not provide the same mental health benefits. One explanation involves nutritional content.&nbsp;



“Milk is a rich source of nutrients such as lactose, lipids, protein, and minerals, which are essential for maintaining human health,” wrote the scientists from Southern Medical University. 



Plant-based options, on the other hand, often differ in protein levels and might include added ingredients that influence mood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-calcium-and-serotonin">Calcium and serotonin</h2>



Researchers found that cow’s milk <a href="https://www.adsa.org/About-ADSA/Media/Serotonin-found-to-be-an-important-factor-in-calcium-homeostasis-in-dairy-cows-November-16-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">delivers calcium</a> in a form that supports pathways involved in serotonin production. Serotonin, sometimes called the body’s “feel-good” molecule, helps regulate mood and stress responses.&nbsp;



“Serotonin is a chemical that plays a role in the brain with respect to mood and mental health. The most popular group of antidepressant medications promotes the absorption of serotonin,” the authors explained.&nbsp;



As a result, consistent calcium intake can potentially improve these natural coping mechanisms. Some plant-based milks also offer calcium, but the level and bioavailability may vary.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saturated-versus-unsaturated-fats">Saturated versus unsaturated fats</h2>



Milk is rich in saturated fats. Semi-skimmed milk reduces the proportion of these fats but still retains valuable fatty acids that might help protect the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11211382/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brain</a>. 



Compared to the full-fat version, semi-skimmed appears to occupy a middle ground of moderate fat content without the potential drawbacks of excess saturated fat.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, plant-based milk alternatives can sometimes include added sugars or other compounds that may have unexpected effects on mental well-being. 



These additives, while often enhancing taste or texture, may inadvertently interfere with the body's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breast-milk-lowers-asthma-risk-in-babies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">natural hormone regulation</a>, potentially impacting emotional stability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-potential-impact-on-dopamine">Potential impact on dopamine</h2>



In addition to serotonin, <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/dopamine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dopamine</a> plays a key part in focus and reward-related behavior. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4850606/#:~:text=Recent%20research%20has%20shown%20that,to%20be%20vulnerable%20to%20dysregulation." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Studies</a> have suggested that high levels of certain saturated fats can alter dopamine signaling, which may contribute to mood disorders.&nbsp;



Semi-skimmed milk, with its reduced saturated fat, may avoid some of these mental effects and maintain a healthier balance of essential nutrients. 



Scientists suggest this balance could hold the key to the lower rates of depression and anxiety seen among semi-skimmed milk consumers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-varied-mental-health-benefits-of-milk">Varied mental health benefits of milk</h2>



While findings point to fewer mood challenges for people who choose semi-skimmed over other varieties, each individual’s mental health picture depends on much more than beverage choice. 



Genetics, life stressors, sleep, and socioeconomic circumstances all contribute.&nbsp;



Researchers emphasize that food-related decisions are just one facet of psychological well-being. They recommend that people remain mindful of their overall habits and consult healthcare professionals when making major dietary shifts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-practical-considerations">Practical considerations</h2>



Experts often promote a balanced diet that combines fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and moderate dairy. Semi-skimmed milk could fit neatly into many people’s meal plans.&nbsp;



Individuals who prefer plant-based options may benefit from checking labels for calcium and protein levels, as well as added substances. 



Though no single approach will suit everyone, looking at subtle dietary factors might pay off for those hoping to support a healthy outlook.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-on-milk-s-mental-benefits">Future research on milk's mental benefits</h2>



Additional research may help clarify whether semi-skimmed milk truly provides extra mental health benefits.



Controlled clinical trials could investigate how this option affects depression or anxiety in different subgroups, such as older adults or those with pre-existing conditions.&nbsp;



Researchers also <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7178197/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">note</a> that genetics can make some people more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/raw-milk-could-carry-deadly-flu-viruses-for-days/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vulnerable</a> to certain dietary impacts. A closer look at these details might inform tailored recommendations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-ahead">Looking ahead</h2>



Many are interested in how small tweaks to daily meals might lift or lower spirits. 



This study urges people to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-raw-milk-health-hazard-pasteurization-important/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pay attention to milk</a> choice, especially if they already feel down or tense. Substituting semi-skimmed for full-fat or plant-based beverages could make a subtle difference for some.&nbsp;



Experts look forward to future work that explores how simple changes in milk type and eating patterns might support better mental well-being. Further investigation of these connections may help people shape diets that support mental balance.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1435435/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Nutrition</a>.



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Some types of plant-based milk are linked to mental disorders like depression

Vegans who replace cow's milk with soy, almond, or other plant-based alternatives may face a higher chance of mental issues like depression and anxiety than individuals who drink cow’s milk regularly. This finding emerged from a recent investigation of lifestyle patterns and mental health outcomes among hundreds of thousands of adults in the United Kingdom.&nbsp; Mental well-being of milk drinkers Scientists explored how different milk types might be linked to mental and emotional well-being over more than a decade. Milk is consumed by billions of people worldwide,...

As the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drug-overdose-epidemic-decades/">opioid crisis</a> looms, doctors are looking for more effective ways to treat pain – including, it seems, at the nerve-destroying chemical produced by a Moroccan plant called Euphorbia resinifera.

Also known as the resin spurge, the succulent produces a chemical called resiniferatoxin, which measures at 16 billion units on the Scoville scale. By comparison, jalapeños hit only about 2,500 to 8,000 units on the scale.

Eating Euphorbia resinifera is undoubtedly a terrible idea. Injecting the nerve-destroying chemical resiniferatoxin, however, might be a way to help people with chronic pain, without the potential health and addictive side effects of opioids.

That’s because resiniferatoxin, known as RTX, binds specifically to a molecule in nerves that sense pain: TRPV1. It’s the same molecule capsaicin affects.

“So when you put hot pepper on your tongue and it feels like it's burning, it's not because your tongue is on fire,” Dr. Tony Yaksh of <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">UC San Diego</a> told the newsmagazine <a href="https://www.wired.com/">Wired</a>. “It's simply activating the same sensory axons that would have been activated if your tongue had been on fire.

An anesthesiologist and pharmacologist, Yaksh has been studying how RTX can be used to treat pain. Because the nerve-destroying chemical binds only to TRPV1, it could potentially stop pain in its tracks without affecting function – doctors could treat knee pain without removing the ability to walk, or hand pain without killing the patient’s sense of touch.

Patients would need to be anesthetized before RTX is used, because the initial pain is excruciating, doctors studying the nerve-destroying chemical said. But after a couple of hours, the pain wears off and the treated area is deadened to pain for potentially months, until the damaged pain-sensing nerves regenerate.

“You give it once and it should last for an extended period of time because it is destroying the fibers,” Dr. Andrew Mannes of the <a href="https://www.nih.gov/">National Institutes of Health</a>. “But the other thing with this to remember is there's no reinforcement. There's no high associated with it, there's no addiction potential whatsoever.”

And treating tissue around the spinal column – not the spinal cord itself – can help people with widespread pain, such as patients in the last stages of cancer.

The NIH is <a href="https://clinicalstudies.info.nih.gov/ProtocolDetails.aspx?A_2015-N-0175.html">currently running trials</a> on the nerve-destroying chemical, which is not ready for release as a pain treatment yet. But if it makes it through the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/">Food and Drug Administration</a>’s approval process, it could become a potent treatment for people with chronic pain conditions like cancer and autoimmune disorders.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Sometimes a nerve-destroying chemical can be a good thing

As the opioid crisis looms, doctors are looking for more...

With the explosion of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/social-media-use-depression/">social media</a> into the average person’s daily life, it’s not hard to imagine that its presence and use can influence how we feel – especially about ourselves. A new study from <a href="https://www.yorku.ca/">York University</a> has found that young women who actively engage with social media images of friends who they believe are more attractive report feeling worse about their own appearance afterwards.

The study is published in <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/body-image">Body Image</a>, and focuses on young women, ages 18 to 27 years old, who liked or commented on photos of people they find more attractive than themselves. 

“The results showed that these young adult women felt more dissatisfied with their bodies,” says Jennifer Mills, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at <a href="https://www.yorku.ca/index.html">York University</a>. “They felt worse about their own appearance after looking at social media pages of someone that they perceived to be more attractive than them. Even if they felt bad about themselves before they came into the study, on average, they still felt worse after completing the task.”

Participants in the study were over 100 female undergraduate students from diverse ethnic backgrounds. They answered questions about their backgrounds, and then indicated on a specific scale how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with their appearance or body image. Participants were then randomly assigned into one of two experimental conditions. In one group, they were asked to go on Facebook and Instagram for five or more minutes and find one peer who was their same age and who they believed to be more attractive than themselves. After looking at the photos, they were then asked to leave a comment of their choosing.

In the other group, participants were asked to complete the same task – but this time comment on a post of a family member who they did not find to be more attractive than them. Results showed that participants’ views of their own experience were not affected when they interacted with a family member’s social media. 

“I think in a lot of cases, young women who post to social media are hoping to get positive reinforcement for what they’re posting and the way in which women use social media is more appearance-based than it is for men,” explains Mills.

Appearance is very important to the age group identified in the study, and Mills asserts that for women age 18 to mid-20s, looks are even more important. 

“When we compare ourselves to other people, that has the potential to affect the valuation of ourselves,” says Mills. “We really need to educate young people on how social media use could be making them feel about themselves and how this could even be linked to stringent dieting, eating disorders or excessive exercise. There are people who may be triggered by social media and who are especially vulnerable.”

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Social media makes us more critical of our own bodies, study shows

With the explosion of social media into the average person’s...

Researcher Sabrina Helm from the <a href="https://uaonline.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> wanted to see how shoppers really feel about the looming “retail apocalypse,” that being the death of brick-and-mortar stores at the hands of online retailers. Although consumers were generally at odds about their preference of in-store versus online shopping, they agreed that the disappearance of brick-and-mortar establishments would be detrimental to society.

Between 2016 and 2017, over 7,000 store closures happened within the United States while e-commerce sales rose a staggering 101% between 2011 and 2016. And Helm and her colleagues found that consumers are aware that they only have themselves to blame for this massive shift in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/working-home-saves-energy/">shopping</a>.

For Helm’s study, published in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services">Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services</a>, she and her colleagues surveyed 400 consumers about their shopping preferences, habits, and outlook on today’s retail landscape. As a whole, the group of participants largely agreed that the loss of physical stores would lead to job losses, threaten socialization opportunities, and could even increase certain types of crime.

Helm, an associate professor in the <a href="https://cals.arizona.edu/fcs/node/1">UA Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences</a> in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said, “There's a sense that brick-and-mortar stores are part of the social fabric of our society. If they disappear, many are concerned about the economy and what this will do for jobs and revenue for communities. Many people also said stores were vital to their quality of life.” Others added that they fear social skills amongst a community would decline.

She continued, “There are also fears that come from the closure of store spaces: What happens with all that empty space? Is crime going to increase because now we have all these empty areas? Crime rate was also a concern with regard to increased online shopping: Are there going to be more home invasions because there are all these packages on door fronts?"

Of course, both forms of retail shopping have pros and cons. Many prefer the ease of online shopping to physical in-store shopping. Others like being able to touch and try the products before buying. And consumers are realizing that their preferences hold power in changing the retail industry.

Helm notes that it’s important for brick-and-mortar stores to understand how consumers are thinking. The power is in the shoppers’ hands after all. Improving customer service, keeping fresh stock, and hiring the appropriate amount of staff to mitigate long lines and wait times, could help physical stores stay away from the threat of online retailers.

“It's up to retailers to increase consumer preference again for brick-and-mortar shopping," Helm concluded, "and keeping people in the store starts with the basics."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Retail apocalypse: Shoppers don’t want to lose physical stores

Researcher Sabrina Helm from the University of Arizona wanted to...

A hot bath could help reduce inflammation and blood sugar levels in people who can’t exercise, according to a new study. 

Exercise has many proven health benefits beyond helping to maintain a healthy weight. Regular physical activity helps boost energy, improves mood, and even helps promote deep sleep. 

Studies have shown that exercise can also reduce the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-reduces-cancer-risk/">risk of several cancers</a> including colon cancer, breast cancer, and endometrial cancer. 

However, not everyone is able to exercise whether through physical limitations, lifestyle, or because of medical conditions. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk/">Loughborough University</a> and <a href="https://www.ntu.ac.uk/">Nottingham Trent University</a> in the United Kingdom found that taking an hour bath in hot water can elicit the same anti-inflammatory response that happens while working out. 

The researchers published their findings in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

Exercise causes short-term inflammatory markers in the body to elevate. Post workout, levels of an inflammatory chemical called Il-6 increases in the body which then activates anti-inflammatory substances. 

This is called the inflammatory response, and it’s important for reducing high levels of inflammation and chronic low-grade inflammation. 

Exercise also increases blood flow and temperature which helps with maintaining blood sugar levels.

For the study, ten sedentary males who were classified as overweight participated in a series of trials involving a hot-water immersion treatment. The researchers first studied potential inflammation markers and measured blood sugar and insulin levels of the men. 

Next, the participants were told to rest in a room with a temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. 

After the 15 minutes were up the men were split into two groups, and one group stayed in the 80-degree room while the other took part in a hot-water treatment. 

The members of the second group were immersed from the neck down in a hot water bath with a temperature of 102-degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. The researchers took blood samples before every phase of the trial and recorded temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate measurements every 15 minutes. 

One session of the hot-water treatment elevated Il-6 levels in the men’s blood, and after two weeks of daily hot water baths, the researchers found that blood sugar and insulin levels were reduced, and inflammation improved. 

Some of the participants complained that the water was too hot or that the sessions were too long and the researchers say that hot water immersion sessions could be difficult for some people. 

However, the study provides a potential alternative for people who can’t exercise but could benefit from the health impacts of regular physical activity. 

“Regular exercise-induced acute inflammatory responses are suggested to improve the inflammatory profile and insulin sensitivity,” the researchers wrote. “[hot water treatments could] improve aspects of the inflammatory profile and enhance glucose metabolism in sedentary, overweight males and might have implications for improving metabolic health in populations unable to meet the current physical activity recommendations.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A hot bath reduces inflammation the same way exercise does

A hot bath could help reduce inflammation and blood sugar...

A company known as Genomic Prediction, which provides advanced genetic testing for IVF, has now developed screening to detect the risk of some diseases as well as low intelligence in embryos. While the testing has not yet been used, <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a> is reporting that the firm is in communication with several <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/white-rhinos-ivf-extinction/">IVF</a> clinics.

Stephen Hsu, a co-founder of Genomic Prediction, told New Scientist that intelligence screening will only be used to detect a mental disability. However, he said that this technology will eventually be used to identify the potential IQ among embryos. “I think people are going to demand that. If we don’t do it, some other company will,” said Hsu.

Advances in technology have made it possible to screen embryos for many conditions that involve a single gene or chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome. However, it is much more complicated to detect conditions that are influenced by hundreds of genes. 

By looking at many different DNA regions, experts can estimate what is called a genetic risk score, or a polygenic risk score. According to New Scientist, Genomic Prediction is the first company to offer polygenic risk scores for embryos rather than adults. 

Hsu explained that the company’s polygenic test for mental disability is controversial. It cannot accurately predict IQ for each embryo, but it can single out “genetic outliers,” such as embryos that are likely to have an IQ that is at least 25 points below average.

This test would enable parents to avoid embryos with the potential for a lower than average IQ, and would also inform them of embryos with the potential for an exceptionally high IQ. For ethical reasons, Genomic Prediction will not help parents select high-IQ embryos through their testing. 

Kevin Mitchell is a professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Professor Mitchell told New Scientist that if the intelligence screening is not used in the United States, it will still happen in another country.


Lynn Murray of Don’t Screen Us Out, an activist group against prenatal testing for Down syndrome, told New Scientist, “If we consider inclusion and diversity to be a measure of societal progress, then IQ screening proposals are unethical. There must be wide consultation.”

Genomic Prediction can also calculate polygenic risk scores for heart disease, breast cancer, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Embryo screening for IQ is now possible, but is it ethical?

A company known as Genomic Prediction, which provides advanced genetic...

Is 70 is the new 50? It sure is, according to a new survey conducted for the online trading and investment company <a href="https://www.tdameritrade.com/home.page">TD Ameritrade. </a>

The results show that an increasing number of women are looking forward to getting older rather than pining for their younger years.

Researchers from The Harris Poll, which is part of <a href="https://theharrispoll.com/our-firm/">Harris Insights &amp; Analytics</a>, surveyed 2,002 US men and women, ages 18 and up in July 2018. 

Overall, the results showed that women today are much more optimistic about their future and many view retirement as an opportunity to do things they were unable to do during their younger years. 

83 percent of the women surveyed said that retirement would allow them to reach new goals, 58 percent reported that they were excited about the prospect of traveling abroad, and 72 percent said that aging would finally allow for self-reflection and betterment. 

“The survey results demonstrate that women are coming into their own as they age, seizing opportunities and remaining optimistic as years pass,” said Christine Russell, senior manager of retirement and annuities at TD Ameritrade. “It wasn’t always that way. Multiple reports point out  women tend to lag men in financial security when it comes to their golden years, but our data shows that they have an incredibly enthusiastic outlook on retirement, as 62 percent say it will be the most liberating phase of their lives.”

The idea of retirement can be daunting because of the financial pressures that come with it.  

A <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/27/1-in-3-americans-have-less-than-5000-dollars-saved-for-retirement.html">recent study</a> found that 21 percent of Americans have no plan for retirement and nothing saved. That same study found that ten percent of people had less than $5,000 put away for the future. 

However, this recent survey found that many women want to prioritize their health and money management and are unafraid of potential financial challenges. 

88 percent of the women in the survey said they would trade wealth for health, understanding that making health a priority decreases the risk of developing chronic health problems that could lead to costly medical bills. 

“Long-term medical care is expensive, and often not accounted for in retirement costs; but it’s clear most women understand that choosing to prioritize health, the best they can, is a smart personal and financial move,” said Russell. “The survey also shows that for women, the focus on health and wellness extends well beyond just the physical, to focus more on emotional and mental health which is equally important.”

Women, more so than men, said that they wanted to prioritize health, wellbeing and emotional fulfillment, according to the survey. 

Nearly 90 percent of the women surveyed said that it will be important to have a higher sense of purpose during <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/retirement-stress/">retirement</a>,and many viewed retirement as an opportunity to spend more time with family and friends as well a giving back to the community. 

The results show that many people are looking to their retirement as a fresh, new chapter in their lives, and Russell says that money management, one of the biggest concerns with retirement, is something that can be learned. 

“As women grow older and naturally encounter important life events that require careful money management, often times it’s a lot of learning on the fly,” said Russell. “It’s normal to feel overwhelmed at times, but that’s when it’s important to keep the big picture optimistic and seek out resources to help keep financial goals in check.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Survey: Modern women are more optimistic about getting older

Is 70 is the new 50? It sure is, according...

Do you find yourself regularly sleeping in later on the weekends and then, when Monday comes around, you feel tired and not able to adjust back to your early work schedule? 

If the answer is yes, then you’re one of the many people who suffer from social jet lag. Social jet lag describes the mismatch between a person’s internal clock and their daily schedules. 

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-social-jet-lag/">Social jet lag</a> is most prominent on the weekends when people sleep in, and <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170605085326.htm">studies have shown </a>that social jet lag can increase the risk of heart disease, fatigue and is associated with moodiness and poor health. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a> found a way to measure social jet lag across the United States by using Twitter to monitor sleep/wake schedules. 

The researchers published their findings in a study in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)31345-9">Current Biology</a>. 

Twitter allowed the researchers to study sleep/wake schedules country-wide without using specialized activity monitors or surveys that previous social jet lag studies relied on. 

The social media platform also provided a large database and sample of people. The researchers collected Twitter data from 1,500 US counties from the 2012-2013 calendar year. 

Overall, the study included tweets from 240,000 people, and the researchers were able to track Twitter activity changes from season to season and county to county. 

Low periods of Twitter activity were linked to sleep patterns, and Twitter users were more active later in the evening on weekends than on weekdays which is a key marker of social jet lag. 

“When we look at how social jet lag changes throughout the year, we find that the dominant effect by far is the social calendar,” said Michael Rust, a co-author of the study. “It suggests that humans in modern societies, at least people who used Twitter in 2013-2014, have biological rhythms that are somewhat disconnected from the changing hours of sunlight throughout the year.”

Twitter activity and social jet lag varied depending on the season and geographic location. The researchers found that Twitter users on the west coast experience less social jet lag compared to other parts of the country. 

February saw the largest amount of users with social jet lag and the researchers say this confirms the idea that our daily schedules and social commitments have more of an influence on social jet lag than seasonal changes. 

The study provides an important new framework for studying social jet lag and confirms what other smaller-scale studies and observations had found. 

Having a consistent bedtime and being aware of the needs of your internal body clock are both important in reducing the impacts of social jet lag. The researchers next hope to find a way to develop methods for helping people learn about their individual circadian rhythms. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Patterns of social jet lag revealed through Twitter data

Do you find yourself regularly sleeping in later on the...

Mesa Verde National Park is an icon in the American Southwest.  Central to the park is the iconic Cliff Palace, made of native stone walls nestled on a cliff ledge, reaching to round and square towers.  The whimsical shape the ruins cut into the cliff is indeed a palace made out of the desert. Mesa Verde is haunting, a place of great size built in the desert and in turn left to be occupied by the emptiness implied by the desert itself.    

Photos framed in hotel rooms and restaurants, printed on postcards sold in gas stations across the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/winter-rain-southwest-new-zealand/">southwest</a> fail to capture the beauty of Cliff Palace.  Walking through the place guided by a ranger, it almost feels like the ruins protected by an overhanging stone alcove were abandoned a week ago. 

The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/historyculture/cd_cliff_palace.htm">National Park Service</a> reports that the Cliff Palace contains 150 rooms and 23 ceremonial kivas.  There were once amazing artifacts left in Mesa Verde, pottery jewelry and perhaps much else we’ll never know.  Near the turn of the last century, many of the artifacts from the Mesa Verde region were stolen as souvenirs or to sell on the black market.

Mesa Verde was actually part of the impetus to create the Antiquities Act, which allows the creation of National Monuments by the US president. Partially the act was meant to seize control of ruins like Mesa Verde and prevent the raiding of artifacts.  The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/archeology/tools/laws/antact.htm">National Park Service</a> website quotes part of the Antiquities Act passed in 1906 on the preservation of ruins and artifacts

“ "... The examination of ruins, the excavation of archaeological sites, or the gathering of objects of antiquity..." on lands administered by the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, or War be carried out only after a permit to do so had been issued by the Secretary of the department responsible for the land in question. The permits were to be issued only to institutions "...properly qualified to conduct such examinations, excavations, or gatherings..." Furthermore, the objective of these permitted activities was to be "...for the benefit of reputable museums, universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational institutions, with a view to increasing the knowledge of such objects." ”    

The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/historyculture/index.htm">National Park Service</a> says that Mesa Verde National Park was created by Theodore Roosevelt on June 29 1906 to preserve ‘the work of man’ making it the first park of its type at the time.  The creation of a park at Mesa Verde is just the thinnest veneer of its deep history and importance to the region and its people.

[caption id="attachment_1861968" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Cliff-Palace.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1861968" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Cliff-Palace-1024x463.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="316" /></a> Image Credit: Shutterstock/Milosk50[/caption]

The name Mesa Verde itself is Spanish, meaning literally ‘green table’ but referring to the flat mountain (or mesa) on the side of which the cliff houses were situated on, abundant with agriculture at its top.  The National Park Foundation reports that Mesa Verde contains a total of 4,000 known archaeological sites the oldest dating back about 1,400 years to 550 A.D. 

At the earliest date, the elaborate cliff dwellings that the park is known for weren’t yet begun.  The first people in the Mesa Verde area lived in pit dwellings atop the mesa. Eventually the ancestral Puebloan people who lived in Mesa Verde made their way to the sheltered cliff walls where they built the ruins which make them famous today.  The new location for homes made life more tedious for the ancestral Puebloans who had to climb and walk to the top of the mesa or down to the base for farming, hunting or to collect water. Cliff dwellings did offer one large advantage though: they were defensible.  

A paper published on <a href="https://www.academia.edu/8588718/An_Outbreak_of_Raiding_in_the_Central_Mesa_Verde_Region_in_the_12th_Century_AD">Academia.edu</a> reports that there are numerous archaeology sites showing evidence of violence and raids through the Mesa Verde region in last half of the 12th century.  At least nine sites showed mutilated human remains.  It may be that violence in the Mesa Verde region pushed the ancestral Puebloans to build their new cliff homes as cliff fortresses rather than cliff palaces.

Throughout the southwestern United States, cliff home ruins are notoriously hard to access.  In some places foot holds are carved into cliff faces, creating a sort of precarious stairway.  In other places, access seems to have been made only by ladders. It’s easy to see how ladders could be drawn up or pushed over with intruders on them.  Equally one person armed with nothing more than rocks could easily thwart an attacker trying to climb tiny steps carved out of rock. 

Being set into cliffs of the same color as the homes themselves, many smaller cliff dwellings are hard to find and some are probably unknown to archaeologists to this day.  Sometimes only rock blackened by fire smoke centuries before gives away a ruin. Mesa Verde was undoubtedly a dynamic place, connected to others not only by conflict but by trade and culture.

Sea shells from the Pacific Ocean have been found at Mesa Verde and textiles, food or pottery were traded for other goods such as turquoise or cotton.  The people living in Mesa Verde also undoubtedly had connections to other ancient populations throughout the southwest such as those at Chaco Canyon. Today, much of this culture is maintained by modern Puebloan people such as the Hopi and Zuni tribes of the southwest.  

Beyond the archaeological heritage represented by the impressive ruins, Mesa Verde National Park also encompasses 8,500 acres designated as wilderness.  74 species of mammal, 200 species of bird, over 1,000 species of invertebrate even 5 amphibian species and 6 fish species live in Mesa Verde National Park.

Historically, the ruins of Mesa Verde have been seen as a cautionary tale.  People came and built an impressive civilization but in the end were forced to abandon what was essentially over reach due to drought.  There is evidence that drought may have played a role in the eventual abandonment of Mesa Verde, however it’s not the whole story. The ecological richness of the Mesa Verde area may have something to say about the ruins as well.  

In other parts of the southwest, the Ancestral Puebloans left behind homes for a generation or two only to later return and again occupy them.  The Puebloan people still remember Mesa Verde. It seems that the people who once lived in the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings were always willing to walk away, understanding that life in the desert demands as much.  It’s only when western values are placed on Mesa Verde, do we find it a ghost town instead of a living place?

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The ruins of Mesa Verde offer a rare glimpse and a cautionary tale

Mesa Verde National Park is an icon in the American...

While eating out at a nice restaurant is usually relaxing for most people, for those with food <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-allergies-develop-adult/">allergies</a>, eating out can be a maze of finding an accommodating restaurant and a hazard if food uses the wrong ingredients. 

That’s why people with food allergies, especially life-threatening ones, employ a series of strategies while dining out to ensure that the food they eat hasn’t been contaminated or made with anything dangerous. 

A person with a severe allergy could end up in the hospital with anaphylaxis just because the food was prepared on a cross-contaminated surface. 

While many restaurants can make or alter dishes to accommodate food requests, sometimes these requests are forgotten or even ignored because the waitstaff and chef are not aware of how serious the problem is.  

New research has found that the more strategies that are used, the better the chances are of avoiding a reaction. 

Members of the <a href="https://acaai.org/">American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI)</a> conducted surveys to find out which strategies people with food allergies used most often and which strategies had the best results as far as reducing the risk of an allergic reaction. 

The researchers asked people from a food allergy network to fill out a 25-question survey that asked what measures were used when dining out. 

80 percent of the survey respondents reported that their number one strategy was talking to a waiter upon arrival at the restaurant. 

Other top strategies included ordering dishes that had few ingredients, double checking with a waiter before taking a bite of the food, researching the restaurant online ahead of time and looking at the ingredients used, and avoiding restaurants with a high risk of contamination. 

The strategies used the least included using a personal allergy card, placing an allergy order separately, avoiding eating at restaurants altogether, going during off hours, or choosing a chain restaurant. 

Interestingly, the researchers found that using multiple strategies while eating at a restaurant had the highest level of success for people with allergies. 

 “We found when those with food allergies used more strategies in a restaurant, the result was fewer reactions,” Justine Ade, the lead author of the study. “People who used an average of 15 strategies when eating out tended to avoid having a severe allergic reaction. Those who did experience an allergic reaction were using an average of only six strategies at the time of their most severe reaction.”
--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

How to safely eat at restaurants if you have a food allergy

While eating out at a nice restaurant is usually relaxing...

New research shows that sucking on a pacifier before putting it in your baby’s mouth can help strengthen your child’s immune system and lower allergic responses. 

Multiple <a href="https://www.babycenter.com/0_choosing-and-caring-for-your-babys-pacifier_1078.bc">parenting guides</a> and <a href="https://www.fatherly.com/parenting/care-clean-maintain-baby-pacifiers/">baby blogs</a> warn parents <a href="https://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/pacifiers">not to use their own </a>spit, but instead say the best way to clean a pacifier is to wash it in hot soapy water for a few minutes. 

However, researchers from the <a href="https://www.henryford.com/">Henry Ford Health System</a> and members of the <a href="https://acaai.org/">American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI)</a> conducted a study with mothers and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/babies-recognize-happiness-emotions/">their infants</a> and found different results.

The researchers presented their findings at the ACAAI Annual Scientific Meeting which took place this week in Seattle, Washington. 

“We interviewed 128 mothers of infants multiple times over a period of 18 months and asked how they cleaned their child's pacifier,” said Eliane Abou-Jaoude, the lead author of the study. “We found the children of mothers who sucked on the pacifier had lower IgE levels.” 

IgE stands for <a href="https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions-dictionary/immunoglobulin-e-(ige)">immunoglobulin</a> which are antibodies that the immune system produces. As the immune system reacts to an allergen, it produces IgE antibodies which can cause physical allergic reactions in the form of a rash or swelling. IgE levels are a good indicator that a person has an allergy to something. 

58 percent of the mothers taking part in the study said their child used a pacifier, and of those 41 percent reported that they cleaned their child’s pacifiers with sterilization. 

Washing by hand was the most common way to clean a pacifier according to the interviews and only 12 percent of the mothers admitted to sucking on the pacifier to clean it. The researchers found that infants whose parents did suck on the pacifiers had lower IgE levels. 

“We found that parental pacifier sucking was linked to suppressed IgE levels beginning around 10 months, and continued through 18 months,” said Edward Zoratti, a co-author of the study. “Further research is needed, but we believe the effect may be due to the transfer of health-promoting microbes from the parent's mouth. It is unclear whether the lower IgE production seen among these children continues into later years.”

The researchers theorize that by sucking on the pacifiers, the mothers are transferring helpful microorganisms to their children that can help guard against allergies and improve the immune system. 

“We know that exposure to certain microorganisms early in life stimulates development of the immune system and may protect against allergic diseases later,” said Abou-Jaoude. “Parental pacifier sucking may be an example of a way parents may transfer healthy microorganisms to their young children. Our study indicates an association between parents who suck on their child's pacifier and children with lower IgE levels but does not necessarily mean that pacifier sucking causes lower IgE.”

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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

Do this to your child’s pacifier to strengthen their immune system

New research shows that sucking on a pacifier before putting...

Inhalants are commonly abused <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tobacco-alcohol-biggest-threat/">drugs</a> that help elicit quick highs and are readily available in household products including glue, spray paints, paint thinner, nail polish remover, and even spray deodorants. 

The volatile substances in these products produce strong chemical vapors that can be inhaled directly, “huffed” through a piece of clothing or rag, or inhaled through a bag. 

According to the <a href="https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/inhalants/letter-director">National Institute on Drug Abuse,</a> around 21.7 million Americans ages 12 and over have used inhalants once or more in their lifetimes. 

Inhalants are a particular problem among teens, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, because of how easy they are to acquire and the fact that many people aren’t aware of the dangerous health risks. 

Not only are teens unaware of the consequences, but a large majority of health professionals are also not familiar with the effects of inhalant intoxication, according to a new case report

“The misuse of volatile substances is one of the least known methods to attain an altered state by drugs,” the authors wrote.

The report, which was published in the journal BMJ Case Reports, found that inhalants can cause severe heart problems and may account for an estimated 125 deaths per year in the United States. 

The case report revolves around a 19-year-old man who was admitted to the <a href="https://www.maasstadziekenhuis.nl/english/">Maasstad Ziekenhuis Hospital</a> in The Netherlands after huffing spray deodorant. 

Previously, the man was being treated in a drug rehab clinic for ketamine and cannabis abuse, but he relapsed when he used the spray deodorant. After breathing in the inhalant, he went into cardiac arrest and collapsed.

A team of doctors attempted six rounds of defibrillation but there was no response from the patient, and the man was put in an induced medical coma before being taken off life support, and later, he died. 

The report details just one case, but the authors of the report warn that cardiac arrest after inhalant abuse is common and there have been reported cases dating back to 1975. 

What makes inhalants like spray deodorants so dangerous is the butane contained in the spray. 

“The main toxic substance in deodorant spray inhalation is butane. Butane is one of the hydrocarbons commonly used in propellants in sprayable household products,” the authors of the report wrote. “Hydrocarbons are lipophilic [fat soluble] and therefore easily cross the air-blood and blood-brain barrier. It [butane] dissolves into tissues with a high-fat content such as the nervous system, fat tissue, liver, and kidneys.” 

It’s important for parents, health professionals, and even teachers to understand the dangerous health ramifications of inhalant abuse and to be aware of risk factors. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Inhaling spray deodorants for a high can be fatal

Inhalants are commonly abused drugs that help elicit quick highs...

It can be difficult to focus on one single task without letting your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/digital-media-distract-drain/">mind wander</a> to all the other items on your to-do list. 

Studies have shown that trying to do multiple projects at once impacts our ability to complete a job efficiently, however just thinking about multitasking may actually help improve focus.

Researchers from the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> discovered that just the illusion of multitasking improves performance and the ability to complete a task because people are more engaged when they think are doing multiple jobs at once. 

A study detailing these new findings was published in the journal Psychological Science.

First, the researchers set up 30 experiments to test how well people performed a set of tasks. 

For one of the experiments, over 160 participants were asked to watch an educational video and transcribe notes as they watched. 

The participants were split into two groups, and one group was told that transcribing and watching were actually two tasks. The other group was told that they were completing a single task that tested learning and writing ability. 

Members of the multitasking group performed better than the other group. Participants who thought they were multitasking wrote down more words and had better scores after taking a comprehension quiz. 

In another experiment, participants were asked to take notes online and again, those that thought they were doing two tasks at once were able to write more words than those who were doing a single task. 

A third study involved puzzles, and the researchers had participants solve multiple word puzzles at the same time. 

Each participant was presented with two different word puzzles, placed side by side on a screen. Some of the participants were told that the puzzles were part of two separate studies while others were told that the two puzzles were part of the same study. 

The results were similar to the other experiments as participants who thought they were part of two different studies performed better and solved more puzzles. 

Eye-tracking technology used during the experiments showed that participants who thought they were multi-tasking were also more focused and engaged in the tasks. 

“We might perceive sitting in a meeting as a single task, but we may actually be engaged in two tasks - listening to the person speaking and taking notes,” Shalena Srna, the leader of the study, told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6389163/Believing-multitasking-boosts-performance-arent-tackling-jobs-once.html">Daily Mail</a>. “Regardless of whether people actually engage in a single task or multiple tasks, making them perceive this activity as multitasking is beneficial to performance.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Just the illusion of multitasking can boost performance

It can be difficult to focus on one single task...

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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

[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 



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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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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