A good night’s sleep does more than help you feel rested - it literally clears your mind. New research reveals how deep sleep removes waste buildup in the brain, a process that is crucial for brain health.



However, sleep aids may disrupt this natural “brainwashing” system, raising questions about their long-term effects on cognitive function.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-s-built-in-cleanup-system">Brain’s built-in cleanup system</h2>



The glymphatic system is like a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-sleep-transforms-brain-performance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cleaning service for your brain</a>. Throughout the day, metabolic waste builds up in the brain, including toxic proteins that, if not removed, can lead to neurological issues like Alzheimer’s disease.



The glymphatic system works by using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a clear liquid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, to flush out these harmful substances.



Think of the CSF as water flowing through pipes and washing away debris. This process happens most effectively during deep sleep, when the brain’s cleaning system kicks into high gear.



While scientists have known about the glymphatic system’s existence for years, they didn’t understand exactly what powered it - until now.



Recent research has shown that norepinephrine, a chemical messenger in the brain, is key. During deep sleep, waves of norepinephrine cause blood vessels in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-brain-literally-changes-based-on-daily-activities-and-lifestyle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brain</a> to pulse rhythmically. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-role-of-norepinephrine-in-brain-cleaning">Role of norepinephrine in brain cleaning</h2>



Danish scientists have uncovered a crucial role for norepinephrine during deep sleep. They found that the brainstem releases waves of norepinephrine roughly every 50 seconds during this sleep phase. 



These waves cause blood vessels in the brain to contract and relax rhythmically, much like a pump. This rhythmic movement generates fluid pulses that help cerebrospinal fluid flow through the brain and flush out waste and toxins.



“It’s like turning on the dishwasher before you go to bed and waking up with a clean brain,” explained Maiken Nedergaard, senior author and researcher at the <a href="https://www.rochester.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Rochester</a> and <a href="https://www.ku.dk/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Copenhagen</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-blood-flow-during-sleep">Brain blood flow during sleep</h2>



Nedergaard's team investigated how norepinephrine affects blood flow during sleep. In sleeping mice, they observed that waves of norepinephrine align with changes in the size of blood vessels.



These waves cause the blood vessels to alternately contract and expand in a steady rhythm. This rhythmic motion acts like a pump, pushing cerebrospinal fluid through the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sleep-how-slow-waves-boost-memory-formation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brain</a> to remove waste.



“You can view norepinephrine as this conductor of an orchestra. There’s a harmony in the constriction and dilation of the arteries, which then drives the cerebrospinal fluid through the brain to remove the waste products,” noted lead author Natalie Hauglund.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-are-all-types-of-sleep-equal">Are all types of sleep equal?</h2>



The researchers investigated how zolpidem, a common sleep aid, affects the brain's cleaning system during deep sleep. They found that mice given zolpidem experienced a significant reduction in norepinephrine waves, which are essential for driving the brain’s waste-clearing process. 



Specifically, the norepinephrine waves were 50% weaker in mice that were given zolpidem than in mice that slept naturally.



As a result, the fluid transport system responsible for flushing out brain waste slowed down by more than 30 percent. Although zolpidem helped the mice fall asleep faster, their brain’s ability to remove harmful waste was compromised.



This suggests that while sleep aids like zolpidem can promote sleep, they might interfere with the brain's natural cleaning processes, potentially <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/poor-sleep-habits-may-age-the-brain-faster/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">affecting long-term brain health</a>.



“If people aren’t getting the full benefits of sleep, they should be aware of that so they can make informed decisions,” Hauglund warned.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-human-health">Implications for human health</h2>



While this study was focused on mice, the researchers believe the findings are relevant to humans, who also have a glymphatic system.



Similar patterns of norepinephrine waves, blood flow changes, and fluid dynamics have been observed in human brains. Disruptions to these processes may contribute to neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.



“Now we know norepinephrine is driving the cleaning of the brain, we may figure out how to get people a long and restorative sleep,” Nedergaard concluded.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-the-brain-healthy-with-sleep">Keeping the brain healthy with sleep</h2>



The research highlights how critical deep sleep is for keeping the brain healthy. During deep sleep, the brain’s cleaning system removes harmful waste and toxins. This process is essential for preventing neurological disorders and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-is-essential-for-memory-formation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">maintaining cognitive function</a>.



While sleep aids can make falling asleep easier, they may interfere with the brain's natural cleaning process by disrupting mechanisms like norepinephrine waves, which drive waste clearance. 



This disruption could reduce the benefits of sleep and potentially harm long-term brain health.



By understanding these processes, people can make more informed decisions about their sleep habits, such as prioritizing natural, restorative sleep over relying on sleep medications.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(24)01343-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cell</a>.



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Deep sleep clears toxic waste from the brain

A good night’s sleep does more than help you feel rested - it literally clears your mind. New research reveals how deep sleep removes waste buildup in the brain, a process that is crucial for brain health. However, sleep aids may disrupt this natural “brainwashing” system, raising questions about their long-term effects on cognitive function. Brain’s built-in cleanup system The glymphatic system is like a cleaning service for your brain. Throughout the day, metabolic waste builds up in the brain, including toxic proteins that, if not removed,...

In the United States and much of the western world, people are now waiting longer to get married and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/maternal-instinct-brain-moms/">have children</a>. 

There are a number of factors that influence this growing trend to start a family at a later age than previous generations, including greater access to birth control, education, and putting a priority on establishing a career first. 

However, in a recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/04/upshot/up-birth-age-gap.html">New York Times</a> piece, Quoctrung Bui and Claire Cain Miller point to the stark socioeconomic gap between educated women in larger, urban areas compared to women in smaller rural areas, showing that there is a huge divide between the ages that women are having children in the United States. 

What’s more, this age gap just further instills a pattern where the children of young mothers in less affluent communities will, in turn, have children at younger ages. 

Bui and Miller cited an analysis of all U.S. birth certificates from 1985 to the present, conducted for the New York Times, by Caitlin Myers an expert on reproductive policy. 

The data for the analysis came from the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/">National Center for Health Statistics</a> and reveals that in big cities like New York, the average age for first-time mothers is 32, but in Zapata County Texas, women are having children much earlier at 21. 

Education seems to be the biggest driving wedge between first-time mothers. As Bui and Miller found, women with college degrees are having children seven years later than those without degrees. 

A college education can afford many opportunities including a better paying job, the ability to establish a career and save money for a future child’s college education. 

“Lower-socioeconomic-status people might not have as many opportunity costs — and motherhood has these benefits of emotional fulfillment, status in their community and a path to becoming an adult,” Heather Racking, a sociologist at the Louisiana State University, told the New York Times. 

Yet, other women from a higher socioeconomic standing are waiting longer because healthcare has drastically improved to the point where complications with advanced maternal age are less of a concern. 

This gap is not isolated to the United States and is mirrored when you compared developing nations to countries with higher economic prosperity. 

According to the <a href="http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-pregnancy">World Health Organization</a> (WHO), around 21 million girls ages 15 to 19 become pregnant in developing regions every year due in large part to a lack of access to quality health care, a lack of education, and few employment opportunities. 

But in developed countries like Switzerland, Japan, Spain and Italy, the average age of first-time mothers is 31.  

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Socioeconomic factors drive the age gap of when women become moms

In the United States and much of the western world,...

I remember standing at the top of a hillside in a field biology camp in Madagascar.  At night from a high vantage point, it seemed like you could always see a fire burning somewhere.  The little far off eruptions of flames in the dark, tropical night were eerie and haunting. Knowing what the fires meant is what made them tragic.  

Today roughly 90% of Madagascar’s spectacularly unique forests have been destroyed, and much of the destruction has come from slash and burn agriculture, or as the fires are called locally. tavy.  The problem with tavy is that in the end, the land is left bereft of the nutrients that supported vegetation such as forest or the later rice paddies.  When the land is eventually abandoned after its usefulness, erosion often occurs and it’s extremely hard for forests to reclaim the land in the short-term.  It’s said that from space, Madagascar looks like it’s bleeding from the run-off of red soil in the oceans surrounding the island nation. 

People have been living on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/toxic-toad-species-madagascar/">Madagascar</a> for only about 2,000 years, a very short time when considering how long people have lived in Africa, Asia or even North America and Australia.  People arrived on Madagascar probably by boat from both Africa and Asia and brought agriculture with them. Rice paddies dominate much of the land in Madagascar, hills are terraced extensively to grow rice, I even saw a large rice paddy bordering directly on a trash landfill.  Cattle are also common, with the Zebu breed of cow, which looks similar to Brahmas being popular. Men herding cows down roads on foot is a common thing to see in Madagascar. I’ve ridden in public transportation past men bedded down by highways with their cows at night cooking over small campfires.  

The problem with the agricultural methods of Madagascar is that they were largely brought to the country from places with more land.  Asia and Africa are both much larger than Madagascar and rice and cattle agriculture has developed in each respectively over long periods.  The total land in Madagascar is only 224,632 sq. miles compared to mainland Africa at 11.73 million sq. miles and Asia at 17.21 million sq. miles.

It’s not only clearing land for more agriculture that’s burning up Madagascar’s forest.  It’s also charcoal. Even mangrove forests and marshes are burned to create charcoal. 

Charcoal production and agriculture are both driven by a basic desire to survive.  Madagascar is one of the world’s poorest nations and people do what they must just to get by.  I saw kids less than ten years old dressed in taters, filling potholes in public roads in the hopes that drivers would give them a few coins for their labor.  It was common when eating at a restaurant to see people standing outside a window by your table, watching you eat and hoping you’d be generous enough to give a piece of bread from your meal.  A reforestation effort I was working on paid locals five dollars a day to plant trees and for that price, dozens of people always lined up, eager to work. Some non-profit organizations pay Malagasy people (locals) in rice instead of money for their labors but the situation is so desperate that they still have no problem finding workers.  Funerals for people in their twenties and thirties were depressingly commonplace and I attended or was invited (as a volunteer) to at least a dozen funerals in the small community I stayed at in five months. I wasn’t in one of the poorer parts of Madagascar either. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/01/madagascar-the-country-thats-poor-but-not-poor-enough-for-aid">The Guardian</a> reported in 2015 that almost 1.9 million people in Southern Madagascar don’t have secure food supplies.  According to the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/countries/madagascar_en">European Commission</a>, 92% of Madagascar’s population lives on less than $2 per day.         

Over the years I’ve heard many people express a variety of opinions on what must be done to save the forests of Madagascar.  It’s no wonder people want to save Madagascar, the rainforests, spiny forests, desert, even the reefs surrounding Madagascar are home to spectacular wildlife.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/06/madagascar-biodiversity-600-species-discovered">The Guardian</a> reported in 2011 that in the previous decade, 600 new species had been discovered in Madagascar.  It’s all the more striking that so many species have been found in a place that’s been intensely researched, explored and inhabited for the last 2,000 years.  

There are cities, roads, villages, farms throughout Madagascar, and nothing is as remote as the far reaches of the Amazon, Arctic or Congo.  Madagascar is the only wild home to lemurs, made famous for their cartoon counterparts in the 2005 film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)">Madagascar</a> that danced and sang, ‘I like to move it move it’.  There are 105 living species of the strange, primordial primate.  It’s thought lemurs may be similar to ancient primates, including our very distant ancestors but they’ve erupted in biodiversity being adapted to numerous niches from nocturnal pollinators to diurnal leaf eaters.  

Madagascar is also home to two-thirds of the world’s chameleon species, strange creatures varying in size from barely more than the head of a match stick to the Parson’s chameleon which measures roughly 27 inches long.  Strange geckoes camouflage themselves looking like little more than lichen on trees and pale blind <a href="https://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/the-cave-fishes-of-madagascar/">fishes</a> live in the caves of Madagascar.  According to <a href="http://www.wildmadagascar.org/flora/">wildmadagascar.org</a>, 70 to 80% of Madagascar’s 12,000 plant species are found nowhere else on Earth.

Part of the problem is we really have little grasp on how to ‘save’ Madagascar despite the quickness of well-intentioned people to espouse opinions.  At least those who are in charge of large NGOs and aid groups seem to be helping Madagascar very little. The organization I volunteered for oversaw the planting of many trees, the majority of which were non-native with no clear idea of the impact of the non-native trees on the ecosystem.  

Aid to local governments was also slow in coming, basic safety measures like running water, street lights and good hospitals were hard to find.  <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/madagascar">USAID</a> has been working in Madagascar for 33 years, and according to the organization,  the US gave Madagascar $91 million in aid in 2016. The EU has also historically given aid to Madagascar, there are impressive bridges spanning rivers with plaques saying they were built by EU aid.  The EU has pledged to give €518 million in aid from 2014 to 2020 to Madagascar, aimed at rural development, infrastructure support and governance assistance. 

In a country that has previously had foreign aid account for <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-restores-aid-to-madagascar/">40% of its budget</a>, it’s hard to understand why we can’t support people without burning down the forest and destroying the nation’s most precious resource: soil.  

The US as one of the main sources of aid to Madagascar benefits as well from trade agreements with the country.  Non-profit organizations routinely cash in on short-term volunteers naively feeling they’ll make a difference in saving biodiversity or alleviating poverty.  The organization I once volunteered to plant trees with for free now charges $210 to reserve a volunteer spot, $650 for accommodation fees for three months and $70 to $90 to get a visa for your stay.  It’s hard to feel you’re making as much of an impact through work as you are through paying to work in a country where $5/day is a living wage. 

Most organizations seem instead of engaging locals to focus on bringing volunteers to places they have no deep connection to and turning a profit.  As Madagascar continues to burn, the root problem continues to grow as well: exploitation of a land and a people too powerless to stop the relentless march of exploitative capitalism.        

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://Earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Exploitation and deforestation as Madagascar continues to burn

I remember standing at the top of a hillside in...

A city in Australia successfully wiped out dengue fever by infecting mosquitoes with a bacteria that stops the virus from spreading. 

Dengue fever is the leading cause of illness and death in the subtropics and tropics, and according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/index.html">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>, more than one-third of the world’s population is at risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-dengue-fever/">contracting dengue</a>. Mosquitoes spread the virus and symptoms can mirror those of the flu. 

In 2014, researchers from the <a href="https://www.monash.edu/">Monash University of Melbourne</a>, led by Scott O'Neil, a Monash professor and director of the dengue mosquito program, infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with a bacteria called Wolbachia. 

Wolbachia stops mosquitoes from passing on dengue fever to humans and over the next two years, four million anti-virus mosquitos were released in Townsville, Australia. 

Eventually, the infected mosquitoes bred with wild mosquitos and the virus inhibiting bacteria spread to the offspring, continuing to keep dengue at bay. 

Today, the city of Townsville has not had a single case of dengue in the four years since the Wolbachia mosquitoes were first introduced, according to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6022713/Deadly-dengue-fever-wiped-entire-city-anti-virus-mosquitoes.html">Daily Mail</a>. 

The trial run of using modified mosquitoes to combat dengue was so successful that there are already plans to introduce Wolbachia infected mosquitoes into eleven other countries where dengue can be contracted. 

“At a cost of around $15 per person, the Townsville trial demonstrates the approach can be rolled out quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively to help provide communities ongoing protection from mosquito-borne diseases,” said Scott O'Neill.

Eventually, O’Neil and his program colleagues hope to reduce the cost of introducing Wolbachia mosquitoes to one dollar per person. 

The Wolbachia mosquito program has a lot of potential, but there are concerns that introducing the mosquitoes to regions where Dengue fever cases are more numerous than in Townsville will hinder the mosquitoes from successfully eradicating the virus. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Australian city wipes out dengue fever using modified mosquitoes

A city in Australia successfully wiped out dengue fever by...

The purpose of sleep has been the subject of many studies through the years, and entire fields of research are devoted to the processes that occur in the brain during sleep. 

Sleep is said to help with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-newly-learned-information/">strengthening memories</a>, repairing the brain, and filtering out unnecessary data acquired throughout the day before, but these explanations for sleep have been the subject of much debate. 

A new study from <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">Oxford University</a> used mathematical modeling to showcase the necessity of sleep in a new light. 

“The application of mathematics to understanding biological systems has far-reaching consequences and being able to understand phenomena such as how sleep evolved through a mathematical lens is a fantastic advance,” said Mike Bonsall, a leader of the research. 

It turns out, sleep helps boost the success of your family tree, meaning that sleep plays a role in the fitness of your future family line and mortality rates. 

Fitness is defined by the Oxford researchers as the number of future children and grandchildren a person could have. 

The results were published in the journal PLOS ONE. 

For the study, the researchers tested a number of fitness success scenarios and the evolutionary purpose of sleep using a mathematical modeling formula. 

The researchers compared the success of sleeping and not sleeping and modeled different mortality rates in safe and vulnerable environments. 

Sleeping, as the researchers discovered, correlated with an increase in fitness or reproductive success, compared to not sleeping. 

If the environment was safe, having a more active lifestyle had less impactful effect if mortality rates were lower, but in vulnerable environments sleep was key. 

“Sleep as a behaviour, is in and of itself, valuable. While much research has been done to find vital functions that explain why organisms sleep, our study provides broader ecological reasons applicable to a range of environments and conditions,” said Jared Field, a fellow leader of the study. “Regardless of the scenario, sleep and periods of inactivity were found to have a more positive impact on fitness than not sleeping.”

The researchers next plan to explore what environmental factors influence productive sleep patterns. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Quality sleep found to aid to reproductive success

The purpose of sleep has been the subject of many...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a> has found that stress makes it easier for us to process bad news. The researchers found a potential mechanism that adjusts levels of optimism to the relative danger or safety of our environment.

According to the research, people are generally overly optimistic, and we have a tendency to accept good news over bad news. Under certain psychiatric conditions such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/depression-diagnosed-blood-test/">depression</a>, however, the opposite is true. Depressed patients more readily accept bad news.

The study by Neil Garrett, Tali Sharot, and colleagues has found that the ability to shift between these two patterns can be a healthy response to the changing demands of our environment.


In a controlled lab test, the researchers induced stress among participants by informing them that they would be giving a public speech unexpectedly. Next, the individuals were asked to estimate the likelihood of experiencing 40 different aversive events in their life, such as being involved in a car accident or becoming a victim of card fraud. 

Participants were then told either the good news that the likelihood of experiencing these events was lower than they had estimated, or the bad news that the risk was actually higher than anticipated. After this phase of the trial, the participants were asked to reevaluate their estimates.

The tendency toward optimism was clearly demonstrated by the control group, who took more notice of good news compared to bad news. In contrast, the participants who had been exposed to stress showed no such bias and became better at processing bad news. 

The researchers also conducted a study that was focused on Colorado firefighters, who naturally experience fluctuating periods of stress as part of their job, and the analysis had very similar results to the lab test.

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Stress can make it easier to process bad news

A new study from the Society for Neuroscience has found...

Firefighting is a high-stakes profession. It requires individuals to confront dangerous situations and make decisions that put them in harm’s way for the sake of helping others. These decisions may involve helping the general public, or putting themselves in a dangerous situation to help out another firefighter. But how are firefighters able to decide at a moment’s notice to take a dangerous action for the sake of someone else – a “leap of faith,” if you will? A new study of firefighters in the United States sheds light on what goes into this decision-making for people who work in high-risk occupations.

In a study published in the journal <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/home/asq">Administrative Science Quarterly</a>, researchers report that leaps of faith are initiated and perpetuated through two sets of dynamics: supporting and sustaining. They determined this through studying over 60 firefighters in the U.S, using interviews, observations, and surveys to assess individual firefighters and learn how trust was earned and viewed at the site of a fire. The researchers asked firefighters to describe colleagues they trusted, along with those they didn’t, and asked what information they used to make these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/decisions-less-informed-age/">decisions</a>. 

Only about four percent of calls to a fire station are fire-related, so some firefighters might be heading to a fire call with a colleague that they had never even seen fight a fire. 

“We found that firefighters take a leap of faith to move from weak evidence derived from mundane tasks and behaviors at the fire station to trust in terms of entering a burning building with other firefighters,” the authors explain.

Reputation is a big part of the trust factor. The dynamics of support start with knowing who is or isn’t a good firefighter. This knowledge makes its way through a firehouse from one individual to the next, generally through stories that indicate a certain firefighter’s trustworthiness. The authors found that cues at the firehouse – such as how people look, act, and talk – are a part of determining how another firefighter will act in a fire.

Firefighters also use sustaining dynamics that eliminate or diminish new information and keep their original judgements stable. This means that firefighters who have already been labeled as untrustworthy do not have many opportunities to change how they are viewed. 

The authors believe that similar trust dynamics can most likely be found in occupations where there is not much direct information about people’s coworkers – such as bodyguards or nuclear power plant emergency operators. But because work relationships can be complex, you might never have all the information you need to correctly judge a colleague. This means that even in less hazardous jobs, we’re all taking leaps of faith when it comes to trusting our coworkers. Let’s just hope that the colleague you’re not so sure about isn’t the one standing next to you when a fire breaks out.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How do firefighters brave danger and take big leaps of faith?

Firefighting is a high-stakes profession. It requires individuals to confront...

Researchers at <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a> are creating industrial packaging with a goal of cutting back on food waste. Vegetable oil is used to make the new packaging slick so that sticky foods like ketchup will dispense more easily without leaving behind <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americans-waste-pound-food/">waste</a>.

Not only is it annoying when food sticks to plastic packaging, but it also contributes to the millions of pounds of edible food that gets tossed out every year in America.

The new technique developed by the team involves the integration of chemically compatible vegetable oils and commonly extruded plastics. This is the first time that such a method has been executed using inexpensive and widely available plastics, such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

Study lead author Ranit Mukherjee is a doctoral student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics within the College of Engineering.

“Previous SLIPS, or slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces, have been made using silicon- or fluorine-based polymers, which are very expensive,” said Mukherjee. “But we can make our SLIPS out of these hydrocarbon-based polymers, which are widely applicable to everyday packaged products.”

SLIPS, which were first created by <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> researchers in 2011, are porous surfaces or absorbent polymers that can hold a chemically compatible oil within their surfaces through the process of wicking. These slick surfaces are also self-cleaning, self-healing, and more durable than traditional superhydrophobic surfaces.

Study co-author Jonathan Boreyko is an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics.

"We had two big breakthroughs," said Professor Boreyko. “Not only are we using these hydrocarbon-based polymers that are cheap and in high demand, but we don't have to add any surface roughness, either. We actually found oils that are naturally compatible with the plastics, so these oils are wicking into the plastic itself, not into a roughness we have to apply.”


Professor Boreyko pointed out several other benefits to the improved design beyond minimizing food waste, including consumer safety and comfort.

“We're not adding any mystery nanoparticles to the surfaces of these plastics that could make people uncomfortable. We use natural oils like cottonseed oil, so there are no health concerns whatsoever. There's no fancy recipe required.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a>

New packaging could help cut back on food waste in a big way

Researchers at Virginia Tech are creating industrial packaging with a...

The deportation of undocumented <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/immigration-policies-stress-latino/">immigrants</a> – specifically those from Mexico – has been a major topic of debate. In the last 30 years, changes in U.S. immigration policy have resulted in a major increase in deportation, and with the current Trump administration, the spotlight has been focused on the trauma that these policies can cause.

In this vein, a new study published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15732770">American Journal of Community Psychology</a> has found that the deportation and forced separation of immigrants has negative effects that reach beyond the families affected and can impact entire communities.

A division of the <a href="http://www.apa.org/">American Psychological Association</a> (APA) reviewed the effects of three decades of U.S. immigration policy, and are now calling for policy changes based off what they found. Their policy statement lays out the psychosocial and economic impacts of deportation on children and families, as well as the effects it has on surrounding communities.

“This policy brief is a thorough examination of the research,” says Regina Langhout, a professor of psychology at the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>, and lead author of the brief by the APA's Society for Community Research and Action. “U.S. immigration and deportation policies have negative effects for everybody – not just in immigrant communities, but for everybody. When families are torn apart without their consent, it has very negative outcomes for everyone.”

The mental hardship and psychological trauma experienced by U.S.-born children of immigrants were both significant and widespread. Studies showed that children who lose a parent to forced deportation experience anger, aggression, anxiety, withdrawal, and an increased sense of fear, as well as sleeping disturbances, isolation, depression, and trauma. These children also experience housing instability, academic withdrawal, and family dissolution.

They also found that immigration raids and deportations are a major source of fear and mistrust, which can have ripple effects within communities. Community members become afraid of being targeted themselves, and are less likely to participate in churches, schools, health clinics, cultural activities, and social services. 

“As a scholar and social psychologist, my job is to figure out what creates healthy, strong, vibrant communities, and to share research findings in an attempt to influence public policy,” says Langhout. “We can be a barometer of this, because we know the research.”

Because of the severity of their findings, Langhout and her colleagues also came up with a number of national and local-level policy recommendations to alleviate suffering among U.S.-born children. These “child-first” recommendations include: no forcible separation of families, modification of laws to allow extended family caregivers – such as grandparents – to qualify for exemption from deportation, and creating a human rights framework in U.S. immigration policy. They encourage schools, places of worship, and community organizations to get involved and build supportive social networks that help create a sense of belonging among families that are dealing with the effects of deportation.

“If we're going to have neighborhoods and towns and schools and places where people of all different backgrounds interact, it's imperative for public health that everybody feels a sense of belonging and connection, a sense of attachment,” says Langhout.

-

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Study: Deportation has ripple effects that spread beyond family

The deportation of undocumented immigrants – specifically those from Mexico...

It’s been the plot of many a disaster movie: A deadly epidemic sweeps across the Earth killing thousands, leaving scientists mystified and body counts rising. 

A new simulation created by researchers from <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">John Hopkins University</a> shows just how unprepared we are to deal with a fast-spreading, highly contagious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/will-dogs-be-the-source-of-the-next-global-flu-outbreak/">flu virus</a> if it were to begin infecting people tomorrow. 

One of deadliest pandemics in recent history was the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/basics/past-pandemics.html">1918 flu pandemic</a>, also known as the Spanish flu, that is reported to have killed an estimated 50 million people with about 675,000 deaths occurring the United States, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control</a> (CDC). 

During the Middle Ages, the infamous Bubonic Plague effectively wiped out 60 percent of the European population. 

We’d like to think today that because of advancements in scientific technology, our understanding of how disease spreads, and our ability to create vaccines that deadly pandemics are a thing of the past. 

However, the John Hopkins simulation found that even with top policymakers, experts, and scientists working to contain a pandemic, almost a billion people could die of a flu virus in the future. 

For the simulation, researchers created a fake virus called Clade X which was modeled to be as infectious as SARS. 

According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pandemic-virus-simulation-johns-hopkins-shows-vulnerability-2018-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">Business Insider</a>, Clade X was a cross between a parainfluenza virus and the Nipah virus which can kill people within days. 

In the researchers' simulation, Clade X was released through an act of bioterrorism and several experts including Julie Gerberding, the former director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were asked to assess Clade X and try and prevent it from spreading. 

A month after the virus first appeared in the simulation killing 50 people in the United States, politicians met with the president. 

In other parts of the world like Germany, the virus was contained but in a simulated 20-month time frame, no vaccine was able to be produced resulting in the deaths of 150 million people. The infection spread too quickly to stop. 

The creator of the simulation said that if a virus like Clade X were to spread around the world, it could potentially wipe out 900 million people. 

What’s more concerning is that the researchers behind the simulation say that it’s only a matter of time before a virus like Clade X starts a global pandemic and one that we are ill-equipped for. 

“We don’t have the ability to produce vaccines to a novel pathogen within months rather than decades and we don’t have the global public health capabilities that would allow us to rapidly identify and control an outbreak before it becomes a pandemic,” Eric Toner, the simulation’s developer, told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pandemic-virus-simulation-johns-hopkins-shows-vulnerability-2018-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">Business Insider</a>. “It will happen, but I don’t know when,” Toner said. Whenever it does, we have to hope that we’ll be more prepared than we are now.

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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

Simulation says a global pandemic could kill 900 million people

It’s been the plot of many a disaster movie: A...

The largest study to ever investigate the possible association between mobile phones and brain cancer has found no evidence to support the theory. 

Research led by the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">Barcelona Institute for Global Health</a> (ISGlobal) was focused on data from over 9,000 participations in a study called INTERPHONE, which compared primary brain cancer risk against the high-frequency electromagnetic radiation (EMF) generated by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smartphones-classroom-hindering-learning/">mobile phone</a> use.

The safety of EMF waves has been the subject of much debate. These electromagnetic fields cannot be seen yet surround us in everyday life, originating in common sources such as televisions, computers, and microwaves.

In 2011, after a review of existing research, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that there was enough reason to classify radiofrequency EMF as a possible carcinogen.


Despite well-documented concerns, however, the new analysis from ISGlobal suggests that EMF waves do not increase the risk of developing brain tumors.

On the other hand, the study authors acknowledged that only about one in ten of the individuals evaluated had been exposed high levels of EMF, and only one in a hundred had been exposed to intermediate frequencies. This means that the risk could still be greatly underestimated. 


In addition, the study results showed that brain tumors occurred more often among individuals that had been exposed to EMF in the last decade. 

“Although we did not find a positive association, the fact that we observed indication of an increased risk in the group with most recent radiofrequency exposure deserves further investigation,” explained study first author Javier Vila.


As for future research, more advanced tools must be developed to gain more accurate insight into the potential risks involved with EMF, as well as the roles of different chemical reactions to the radiation.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international">Environment International</a>.

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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

Cell phones do not cause brain cancer, largest study yet finds

The largest study to ever investigate the possible association between...

An experimental study from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> has found that people tend to become paranoid around those who do not share the same political beliefs or social status. The researchers found that this paranoia may cause the actions of others to be misinterpreted.

Paranoia is characterized by an inclination toward fearful thoughts of being harmed. This mental condition can also induce anxiety over the motivations of others, and the research team has found that this tendency spikes during interactions with people of a higher social status or opposing political beliefs.

“Being alert to social danger is key to our survival, but our results suggest social difference alone encourages us to think that the other person wants to harm us,” said study senior author Professor Nichola Raihani.

“Intense paranoia is also a symptom of mental ill health, and is more common among people who perceive themselves to have low social rank. We believe our findings could shed light on why paranoia is more common in those who are struggling on the social ladder and excluded by society.”

The investigation was focused on over 2,000 volunteers as they engaged in an online experiment where they were designated a partner and a specific sum of money. 


Prior to the experiment, the participants had filled out a questionnaire that could be used to assess their normal levels of paranoia. The survey was also designed to measure the social status and political affiliations of the individuals.

The participants were partnered with someone from a higher, lower, or similar social status, or with someone who had similar or opposing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/political-parties-fake-news/">political beliefs</a>.

One person out of each pair was assigned to decide whether to split the money in half or to keep it all for themselves. The other person was then asked to rate how much they thought the decision was motivated by self-interest, and how much the decision was likely motivated by perceived harmful intent, or the desire to deprive their counterpart of any prize. In a second round of the game, the roles were reversed with a new sum of money.

People who were paired with someone of a higher social status or with different political beliefs more frequently assumed their partner's decision had been motivated by harmful intent. On the other hand, social differences did not affect how often participants attributed their partner’s decision to self-interest.


Interestingly, the study also revealed that the unrealistic perception of harmful intent occurred at the same rate, regardless of whether participants had heightened levels of paranoid thinking before the experiment.

“Our findings suggest that people who struggle with high levels of paranoia are equally well-tuned to social difference despite sometimes seeming that they misperceive the social world,” said study co-author Dr. Vaughan Bell. “This research may help us understand how exclusion and disadvantage fuel some of the most severe mental health problems.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

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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

Differences in social status and politics found to spark paranoia

An experimental study from University College London has found that...

A new report from the <a href="https://www.bmc.org/">Boston Medical Center</a> (BMC) warns that photo-editing technology is setting unrealistic beauty standards. According to the researchers, frequent exposure to filtered images and selfies can affect a person's self-esteem and can even lead to body dysmorphic disorder.

The polished images that were once limited to beauty and celebrity magazines are now smeared all over <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/taking-pictures-miss-moment/">social media</a> due to the use of applications such as Snapchat and Facetune. The experts say that these modified pictures are shifting the world's definition and perception of beauty, and that the results can be dangerous. 

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder that affects around two percent of the population and causes an individual to become fixated on a perceived flaw in his or her appearance. People who have BDD often take drastic measures such as plastic surgery to conceal or hide the aspect of their appearance that they are obsessed over.

The experts referenced studies which found that teen girls who manipulate their photos are more concerned with their body appearance, and those with dysmorphic body image seek out social media as a means of validation. 

Previous research has also revealed that 55 percent of plastic surgeons report having patients who inquired about procedures to improve their appearance in selfies.

Dr. Neelam Vashi is the director of the Ethnic Skin Center at BMC.

“A new phenomenon called ‘Snapchat dysmorphia’ has popped up, where patients are seeking out surgery to help them appear like the filtered versions of themselves,” said Dr. Vashi.


The researchers caution that surgery is not the best solution because it will not accomplish what patients have envisioned and may worsen underlying BDD. Instead, they recommend psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy.

“Filtered selfies can make people lose touch with reality, creating the expectation that we are supposed to look perfectly primped all the time,” said Dr. Vashi. 

“This can be especially harmful for teens and those with BDD, and it is important for providers to understand the implications of social media on body image to better treat and counsel our patients.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamafacialplasticsurgery">JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Filtered social media images setting unrealistic beauty standards

A new report from the Boston Medical Center (BMC) warns...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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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...