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 1991, the oldest naturally-preserved ice <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dragon-dinosaur-mummy-display/">mummy</a> was discovered by German tourists in the Eastern Italian Alps. The first analysis of the ancient human’s stomach has revealed that the mummy, known as the Iceman, ate a final meal that was loaded with fat.

The research is providing rare insight into the dietary habits of European individuals more than 5,000 years ago during the Copper Age. The findings also offer a glimpse into how our ancient ancestors may have prepared food.


Study lead author Frank Maixner is an expert at the <a href="http://www.eurac.edu/en/research/health/iceman/Pages/default.aspx">Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies</a> in Bolzano, Italy. 

“By using a complementary multi-omics approach combined with microscopy, we reconstructed the Iceman's last meal, showing that he has had a remarkably high proportion of fat in his diet, supplemented with wild meat from ibex and red deer, cereals from einkorn, and with traces of toxic bracken,” said Maixner.


The researchers explained that the investigation had not been conducted sooner because scientists were initially unable to identify the Iceman's stomach, which had shifted upward during the mummification process.


Maixner said that the material found in the stomach was compared to extraordinarily well-preserved samples from the lower intestine. He also explained that the stomach “contained large amounts of unique biomolecules such as lipids, which opened new methodological opportunities to address our questions about Otzi's diet.”


Using both modern molecular approaches and classic microscopic methods, the researchers set out to determine the exact composition of the Iceman's diet before his death. 

The experts identified ibex adipose tissue, which made up about half of the stomach contents, as the most likely fat source. Although this level of fat content was not expected, the researchers said it makes perfect sense considering the extreme environment that the Iceman lived in.

“The high and cold environment is particularly challenging for the human physiology and requires optimal nutrient supply to avoid rapid starvation and energy loss,” explained study co-author Albert Zink. “The Iceman seemed to have been fully aware that fat represents an excellent energy source.”


According to the study, the wild meat had either been eaten fresh or dried out. The presence of toxic bracken particles from fern plants is difficult to understand, but the scientists believe it is possible that the iceman could have suffered intestinal problems from parasites and ate the bracken as treatment. The fern leaves could have also been used to the wrap food before it was eaten.

Next, the researchers will use traces of the gut bacterial community present in the Iceman's intestinal contents to reconstruct the ancient gut microbiomes of these other mummified remains.


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</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: Southtyrolarchaeologymuseum\Eurac\M.Samadelli

Ice mummy’s last meal reveals human diet from the Copper Age

In 1991, the oldest naturally-preserved ice mummy was discovered by...

In the United States, we’re used to recycling our glass and plastic bottles and getting 5 to 10 cents back in return. But returning large reusable bottles emptied of beer for a refund at convenience, liquor and grocery stores is commonplace in Mexico.  If you buy a liter of Tecate say at a small liquor store, you’re told that the price is more than on the label because you’ll get a refund upon returning the beer bottle. Some of the bottles have obviously been cleaned before, with a clear line of wear across the brown glass.

The practice of returnable bottles is common in Madagascar as well, where you get beer not so much in shops as roadside stands where they sell THB, Three Horses Beer or Gold in returnable bottles.

The first place I experienced returning a bottle of beer was in Ecuador where usually there is only one choice in bottled beer, a large one or a small one.  Returnable beer bottles is common enough in Germany, too. According to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/">The Atlantic</a>, in Norway, 95% of all beverage containers sold are returned to stores for recycling.  

The practice of reusing bottles makes good sense and it has always made me wonder with a bit of frustration, why don’t we do this in the US?  Of course reusing bottles was common place in the United States once upon a time as well. According to <a href="http://www.container-recycling.org/">Container Recycling Institute</a>, the ubiquitous disposable can showed up in 1938 and within 10 years comprised 11% of the beer market in the United States.  Reusable bottles dropped to 86% of the market in that same time while non-reusable bottles rose to 3%.

Over time, the use of refillable bottles for both soda and beer dropped off steeply.  Soft drink bottles were 100% refillable in 1947, according to Grass Roots Recycling Network, and by 2000, less than 1% of soft drinks were bottled in refillable containers.  

In 1960 there were 4,519 bottling plants operating in the U.S. creating a decentralized system where beverages were bottled relatively locally, cutting the cost of shipping and allowing a returnable bottle system.  In the case of soft drinks, Pepsi and Coca Cola bought up many of the independent bottling companies and consolidated their bottling plants, creating further distances to ship a more uniform batch of products. Longer shipping distances diminish the benefit of refillable glass bottles.  By 1997, there were only 342 bottling plants in the US. 

Campaigns by steel manufacturers producing steel cans and glass manufacturers promoted production of throw away containers in the 1960s. The throw away containers in turn seemed to make the returnable bottles less attractive to consumers, promoting more reliance on bottles and cans tossed as soon as they’re drained.  Initiating a refund for returned non-refillable bottles in many states also seemed to make refilling old bottles even less attractive as one could get money for recycling rather than reusing. 

The thing that’s strange is that unlike soda, beer has become much more of a locally produced phenomena much to the surprise of some business people.  According to an article by Cherian George writing for the <a href="http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/">Stanford Graduate School of Business</a>, there were 43 beer firms operating in the U.S. in 1983, but as of the middle of 2000, there were 1,400.  According to the <a href="https://www.brewersassociation.org/">Brewers Association</a>, as of 2017 there were 6,266 craft breweries, 202 regional craft breweries, 3,812 microbreweries, 2,252 brewpubs and only 71 large non-craft breweries in the US.  731 microbreweries opened in 2017, while only 101 closed, 264 brewpubs opened and 64 closed. 

The numbers are encouraging for those of us who enjoy craft beers of merely a selection of different tastes.  Research has shown that even as large beer companies try to create more unique flavors of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ingredient-beer-digestive-health/">beer</a>, consumers demand true microbrews.  Most of the breweries to enter the market in the US in recent years have been microbreweries or craft breweries. 

As microbreweries gain importance in the U.S. beer market, more people are drinking locally or regionally.  With different dynamics, less distance to ship empty bottles, maybe we could get a second chance to have more reusable bottles.  If Americans can learn to drink more locally, maybe their sense of nostalgia if not their common sense may teach them to treat used bottles differently.  Maybe there will be a future where hipsters and college students line up to return bottles on Sunday mornings.

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Could reusable bottles ever make a comeback in the United States?

In the United States, we’re used to recycling our glass...

Are people more likely to place their trust in scientific experts or government officials when advised to change habits or make better health decisions? 

A new study found that in the US and UK, the public is more likely to believe and follow advice from scientific experts rather than government officials, and the results show that people are biased towards scientific findings even when being told something outlandish. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London </a>and published in the journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 

The researchers asked US and UK residents to consider a set of nudges proposed by both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forms-government-best-environment/">policymakers</a> and scientists in three large-scale experiments.

Nudges are interventions or changes that people can make to improve health and welfare and which are presented as short, attractive snippets. 

For example, proposing to put catchy photos in stairwells to encourage people to take the stairs is a nudge. 

Some of the nudges, like the stairwell example, presented to the participants were real and already being implemented whereas others were completely fictitious. 

One example of an outlandish nudge was the suggestion that people stir their coffee counter-clockwise to avoid cancer risks. 

The nudges that were presented by scientific experts were favored by the participants and those were considered more trustworthy, even if they were implausible like the coffee nudge. 

“While people judged genuine nudges as more plausible than fictitious nudges, people trusted some fictitious nudges proposed by scientists as more plausible than genuine nudges proposed by the government,” said Norman Fenton, the study’s co-author. “For example, people were more likely to trust the health benefits of coffee stirring than exercise if the former was recommended by scientists and the latter by government.”

While one takeaway of the results could be that people will trust scientists no matter what information is actually presented, the researchers say that the study shows people are more discerning and prone to scrutiny than typically thought. 

“The evidence suggests that trust in scientists is high, but that the public are skeptical about nudges in which they might be manipulated without them knowing,” said Magda Osman, the lead author of the study. “Overall, the public make pretty sensible judgments, and what this shows is that people will scrutinize the information they are provided by experts, so long as they are given a means to do it.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study: People place their trust in scientists over policy makers

Are people more likely to place their trust in scientific...

Living near green space has many positive effects, and studies have shown that urban green space specifically counters the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-exercise-seniors/">negative impacts of city pollution</a>. 

Now, a new study found that living in greener neighborhoods may also potentially guard against cognitive decline and decrease the risk of dementia among the elderly. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">Barcelona Institute for Global Health</a> (ISGlobal) conducted the study which was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. 

The results show that cognitive decline, a natural indicator of the aging process, slows down slightly among people who live near green space. 

“There is evidence that the risk for dementia and cognitive decline can be affected by exposure to urban-related environmental hazards (such as air pollution and noise) and lifestyle (such as stress and sedentary behavior),” said Carmen de Keijzer, the study’s first author. “Recent evidence has shown cognitive benefits of green space exposure in children, but studies on the possible relations of exposure to green spaces and cognitive decline in older adults are still very scarce and often have inconsistent results.” 

For the study, the researchers followed up on 6,500 people ages 45 to 68 who were part of the UK Whitehall II Cohort Study after ten years. 

The participants were asked to complete a course of cognitive tests to measure verbal fluency, short-term memory, and mathematical reasoning at three different points during the follow-up. 

In order to see if greenspace influenced the test results, the researchers used satellite imagery to estimate how much green space the study participants were in proximity to. 

The results showed that there was a slight but definite influence with green space slowing cognitive declines. 

“Our data show that the decline in the cognitive score after the 10-years follow up was 4.6% smaller in participants living in greener neighborhoods,” said Keijzer. “Interestingly enough, the observed associations were stronger among women, which makes us think that these relations might be modified by gender.”

The results are significant as the researchers say that the number of dementia cases is expected to double between 2015 and 2050. 

“Although the differences in cognitive decline observed in our study are modest at individual level, they become much more significant if we consider these findings at population level,” said Payam Dadvand, the last author of the study. “If confirmed by future studies, our results may provide an evidence base for implementing targeted interventions aimed at decelerating cognitive decline in older adults residing in urban areas and hence improving their quality of life.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Huy Phan

Living in green spaces can guard against mental decline, dementia

Living near green space has many positive effects, and studies...

The widely accepted theory of human evolution depicts Homo sapiens as descending from a single ancestral population in one region of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/locations-lion-conservation-africa/">Africa</a> around 300,000 years ago. However, an interdisciplinary team of researchers has found that early humans were more physically and culturally diverse, evolving from a subdivided pan-African meta-population.

Dr. Eleanor Scerri is a British Academy postdoctoral fellow in Archaeology at the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> and the <a href="https://www.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute</a> for the Science of Human History. 

“In the fossil record, we see a mosaic-like, continental-wide trend toward the modern human form, and the fact that these features appear at different places at different times tells us that these populations were not well connected,” said Dr. Scerri. “This fits with a subdivided population model in which genetic exchanges are neither random nor frequent. This allows us to start detailing the processes that shaped our evolutionary history.”

The poor connectivity among populations is represented by a series of physical barriers highlighted in the ecological record such as shifting rivers, deserts, and forests that separated the subpopulations. 

“These barriers created migration and contact opportunities for groups that may previously have been separated, and later fluctuation might have meant populations that mixed for a short while became isolated again,” explained Dr. Scerri.

The idea of isolated subpopulations from the southern tip to the northern coasts of Africa correlates better with existing fossil and genetic data compared to a model that represents a single population. For example, Homo sapiens fossils paired with information derived from modern DNA samples show levels of early human diversity that support a shifting, subdivided population model.

“For the first time, we've examined all the relevant archaeological, fossil, genetic, and environmental data together to eliminate field-specific biases and assumptions and confirm that a mosaic, pan-African origin view is a much better fit with the data that we have,” said Dr. Scerri. “To understand our genetic and cultural diversity or where being human comes from - our behavioral flexibility and biological plasticity - we have to look at an ancient history of population subdivision and diverse ecologies across Africa.”


The research will allow historical evolutionary models to be reshaped from a simple linear progression toward a history with more complexity and the acknowledgment of a pan-African origin of our species.

“In bringing together people from such diverse fields, we've arrived at a place where we can begin to address some key questions about our shared ancestry and even emerge with new questions we haven't known to ask before,” said Dr. Scerri. “We are an evolving lineage with deep African roots, so to understand this history, we must re-examine evidence from diverse sources without a priori conceptions.”

The research is published by Cell Press in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/trends-in-ecology-and-evolution">Trends in Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Humans did not evolve from just one population in Africa

The widely accepted theory of human evolution depicts Homo sapiens...

Financial prosperity is often attributed to hard work and a little bit of luck, but a new study has found that success could be written in your genes.

Researchers from the <a href="https://medschool.duke.edu/">Duke University School of Medicine</a> conducted a study to see how much genetics predicted a person’s academic success and social mobility, which can lead to better jobs and higher incomes. 

The results show that to some extent DNA determines a person’s success later on in life no matter their economic or social background. 

For the study, the researchers conducted a genome-wide association study of more 20,000 people from the US, Britain, and New Zealand. The participants were followed from childhood through adulthood. 

Those with higher polygenic scores or genome wide scores went further in education and had more academic success than other participants in the study, and the researchers found higher scores also correlated with better occupations and higher incomes than other members in the same family. 

If two siblings were part of the research, the study showed that the sibling with higher scores was more successful.

Genes may dictate only a small percent of a person’s success later in life, but the study showed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetics-defense-criminal-court/">DNA does have some influence</a>. 

“Findings from these analyses show that education-linked genetics may provide clues to biological processes in human development that influence success in school, at work, and in the accumulation of wealth across life,” Daniel Belsky, the lead author of the study, told the <a href="http://dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>. 

Belsky also found through previous research and this study that children with the “success genes” starting talking and learned to read earlier than other children with lower polygenic scores. 

There are several possibilities for why a genetic predisposition towards academic success can lead to wealth and job success later on in life but the researchers did find that people with the “success gene” did not do better in terms of health or happiness than others in the study. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The secret to success could be written in your DNA

Financial prosperity is often attributed to hard work and a...

Venus is the third most luminous object in the sky after the sun and moon and the brightest of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-orbit-lengthened-planets/">all the planets</a>. Yesterday evening, stargazers were privy to an exciting moment when Venus was within one degree of the star Regulus, one of the 21 brightest stars in the sky. 

Regulus is located in the constellation Leo and starting on July 7th, both Venus and Regulus began getting closer and closer to each other. 

At twilight on July 9th, <a href="https://www.space.com/41103-see-venus-moon-bright-star-regulus-july-2018.html">Space.com</a> reported that the two objects were so close and visible that they could be viewed without binoculars. 

As bright as Regulus is, it pales in comparison to Venus, which is 158 times more luminous than the star. 

Later this week, another celestial meeting will occur between the moon and Venus on July 15th. 

At this point, the moon will only be a few days in its beginning phases and just 12 percent illuminated but will be in close proximity to Venus. 

“For those in the eastern United States, they'll be separated by just over 2 degrees by mid-twilight. But for those in the western US, the view will be more striking, because they'll appear half as far apart.” writes Joe Rao, a Space.com columnist. 

As with Regulus, the event can be viewed with the naked eye but binoculars will boost your stargazing potential and you may even catch a glimpse of “Earthshine.” 

Earthshine occurs when sunlight reflects off the Earth and illuminates the darker side of the moon. 

Later this month, there will also be another lunar eclipse visible nearly everywhere but the continental United States, according to <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/venus-moon-regulus-conjunction-1013714?spMailingID=3715492&amp;spUserID=MzQ4OTU3MTYxNTkS1&amp;spJobID=1070386427&amp;spReportId=MTA3MDM4NjQyNwS2">Newsweek</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

This week, you can see Venus in two dazzling celestial events

Venus is the third most luminous object in the sky...

During a public health crisis or disaster like the recent outbreak of the Zika virus, many may try and suppress their fears and concerns as a coping mechanism. 

However, a new study found that this is counterproductive and that stifling fears and stress can be almost as detrimental as the events or diseases themselves. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State University</a> found that pregnant women who suppressed their fears and anxieties during the Zika outbreak were only setting themselves up for a cycle of suppression and fear leading to higher levels of fear later on.

The Zika outbreak worked as an excellent model for the study because the media attention the outbreak garnered created a wave of panic among pregnant women in the United States due to the potential birth defects that the Zika virus could cause.  

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE. 

“It turns out that not only is suppression ineffective at handling fear, but it's counter-productive," said James Dillard, a member of the research tea, “It creates a cycle of fear -- and it's a vicious cycle.”

Unfortunately, fear suppression is a popular management strategy that people use when faced with fearful and overwhelming situations. Avoiding bad news, arguing with current news, and trying to reappraise the situations are other strategies people use. 

The researchers found that none of these actually help with fear management but suppression actively increases fear and creates more health problems along with it. 

“When people become frightened there are some good things that can happen -- they search out information, they get politically engaged, they might engage in self-protective behavior -- but when people get really scared, it's harmful for them,” said Dillard. “Stress hormones pour out and staying in that hyper-vigilant state -- fear -- is also resource intensive.” 

For the study, 1002 women between 18 and 35 from states that were said to be in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mosquitoes-zika-transmit-diseases/">range of Zika carrying mosquitoes</a> participated in the study. 

The women were given surveys that covered fear responses and management during the months following when Zika was declared an international health emergency by the <a href="http://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a>. 

After analyzing the results, the researchers offered some potential solutions for mitigating public fears, including staying ahead of the outbreak or disaster and offering as much quality information as possible to the public about the crisis. 

The researchers also said that it's important to inform the public about the health impacts of stress and fear in an effort to immunize against fear suppression and fear cycles. 

“The other thing we can do that hasn't been done is we can warn people that they may become frightened to inoculate them against that emotional response,” said Dillard. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study: Suppressing fear during a health crisis can make it worse

During a public health crisis or disaster like the recent...

Global temperatures are on the rise. 2016 was the world’s warmest year since <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-noaa-data-show-2016-warmest-year-on-record-globally">record keeping began in the 1880s</a>, 2017 was the hottest year on record for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2017-hottest-year-oceans/">Earth’s oceans</a>, and this week, much of the globe has battled intense heat. 

Heat waves have been sweeping across Europe, the UK and North America, and exposure to long bouts of extreme heat is the leading cause of death compared to any other meteorological events in the US. 

During heat waves, the elderly and very young are said to be the most at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heat-waves-increase-mortality-rates/">risk of suffering health problems</a>, however as a new study found this has created a research gap in the effect of extreme heat on healthy individuals. 

Researchers led by the <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health </a>examined the impacts of a heat wave on cognitive functioning for students who lived in non-air-conditioned dorms. 

The study, published in the journal Plos Medicine, is the first of its kind to illustrate the harmful effects of extreme heat on young, healthy individuals focusing specifically on indoor temperatures as most people in the US spend the majority of their lives indoors. 

“Most of the research on the health effects of heat has been done in vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, creating the perception that the general population is not at risk from heat waves,” said Jose Guillermo Cedeño-Laurent, the lead author of the study. “To address this blind spot, we studied healthy students living in dorms as a natural intervention during a heat wave in Boston. Knowing what the risks are across different populations is critical considering that in many cities, such as Boston, the number of heat waves is projected to increase due to climate change.”

44 students in their late teens and early 20’s participated in the research. 24 of the students lived in dorm buildings that had air conditioning while the other 20 lived in dorms without air conditioning. 

The researchers placed monitoring devices in each dorm room that measured temperature, CO2 levels, humidity and noise levels. Each student also wore devices that tracked physical activity and sleep patterns. 

Every morning, for 12 consecutive days during the summer of 2016 the students completed two cognition tests on their phones. 

The study took place over a heat wave followed by a brief period of cooler weather and the two tests were used to evaluate cognitive speed, focus, and memory. 

Those 20 students who lived in non-air conditioned dorms did worse on the tests than the other 24. 

The students who were lucky enough to live in dorms with AC had faster and more accurate response times which shows how much of an impact extreme heat and warm indoor temperatures have on cognition. 

The researchers also found that the buildings without AC also had poor circulation and were designed to trap heat which was a problem when the weather finally cooled down. 

“Indoor temperatures often continue to rise even after outdoor temperatures subside, giving the false impression that the hazard has passed, when in fact the 'indoor heat wave' continues,” said Joseph Allen, one of the study's senior authors. “In regions of the world with predominantly cold climates, buildings were designed to retain heat. These buildings have a hard time shedding heat during hotter summer days created by the changing climate, giving rise to indoor heat waves.”

The results of the study emphasize how harmful extreme heat and heat waves can be even on healthy members of a population. 

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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

Heat waves can seriously harm brain performance

Global temperatures are on the rise. 2016 was the world’s...

Underneath London lies a network of tributaries that flow into the River Thames and River Lea. These rivers and waterways were once an important part of daily <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fault-lines-london-earthquake/">London</a> life as they powered mills and provided water for cooking to city residents. 

The rivers have since been buried under pavement and concrete as London expanded through the years, but there have been several calls to unearth the rivers so they can once again be used and enjoyed. 

A <a href="http://files.1010global.org.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/LostRivers_heat_seeking_report.pdf">recent report</a> conducted by the climate charity <a href="https://1010uk.org/">10:10 Climate Action</a> and social enterprise Scene suggests that these rivers are an untapped source of low carbon energy that could provide heat to London’s neighborhoods with fuel pumps. 

If heat pumps were employed, it could potentially create a surplus of clean energy to the city and help London meet its zero-emission goals. 

“Of course, the water temperature is not warm enough to directly heat buildings. But through a combination of energy efficiency measures and the use of heat pumps, we have an incredible opportunity: lower costs, lower carbon emissions, better air quality, and greater energy resilience,” writes Louise Waters, Alex Schlicke and Vijay Bhopal, who authored the report. 

While the use of heat pumps placed in London's underground rivers could potentially provide low carbon heat, the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5933337/A-new-way-tackle-climate-change-Lost-rivers-heat-London-cut-capitals-emissions.html">Daily Mail</a> noted that these pumps have never been used at a scale this large and the report did not consider the financial ramifications of such a project. 

10:10 Climate Action explained the heat pump process and found that a sealed tube containing a gas refrigerant would be placed between a building and a nearby underwater river. 

The refrigerant would change from a gas to liquid as it passed through the tube and release huge amounts of energy in the process, more than enough to meet the heating needs of even Buckingham Palace during the coldest days of the year. 

The rivers carry the same name as the streets under which they currently lie such as the Fleet and Strand. 

One of the rivers, the Effra, was once the second largest river in London and today it could provide heat to several city areas all year round. 

“The Effra by Brockwell Park carries a sizeable flow – some 180 liters per second on average, rising to 250 liters per second at peak times – which represents a heat resource of around 3 megawatts,” the report authors stated. “Tapping into just a tenth of this resource could allow the lido to be kept at a comfortable temperature for swimming in the cooler spring and autumn months.”

London’s current mayor has stated that he wants the city to be a zero-carbon city by 2050, but reaching that lofty aim would require a major shift towards renewable energy and carbon regulations. 

“The mayor has set ambitious targets for phasing out gas burning in London over the coming years and we are going to need every bit of low-carbon heat we can get our hands on to meet these goals,” Leo Murray, director of campaigns at 10:10, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/09/lost-rivers-could-heat-london-to-cut-emissions">The Guardian. </a>

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By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

London’s lost rivers could heat the city, reduce emissions

Underneath London lies a network of tributaries that flow into...

Public health trends haven’t been exactly positive in recent years, as obesity rates and the prevalence of chronic diseases and mental illness have only increased in many areas. Now, a recent study of residents of New York City has found that people are getting heavier, having difficulty sleeping, and many are suffering from depression. 

In a study published online in the <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/11524">Journal of Urban Health</a>, researchers from the <a href="https://med.nyu.edu/">NYU School of Medicine</a> and <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/index.page">NYC Health Department</a> conducted analyses based on physical examinations, laboratory testing, and interviews with more than 1,500 residents of the city. Their sample population represented every gender and race in the city’s five boroughs. The data for these assessments were collected through the NYC Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NYC HANES. 

“For the first time, we are getting a long-term look at New Yorkers’ physical health using objective measures, such as blood cholesterol and sugar levels, diet, weight, as well as mental health and chronic diseases,” explains Lorna Thorpe, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist and one of the NYC HANES study principal investigators.

The findings of the study were both vast and mixed. Results were separated by race in order to determine the racial and ethnic disparities that still persist within public health. Obesity increased from 27 percent to 32 percent, with blacks having the highest obesity rate and Asians experiencing the largest increase in obesity – from 20 percent to 29 percent. Although the increase in obesity levels in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-york-city-earthquake/">NYC</a> was less severe than national trends, some groups had greater increases than others. These groups were those who had no more than a high school education, lacked health insurance, or were immigrants.

Women had lower rates of risk factors for heart disease than men, with lower rates of hypertension, less prevalence of smoking, and greater consumption of healthy fruits and vegetables. White women had better heart health than any other race or gender group, and black women had the worst heart health of all adult groups – with a 20 percent greater likelihood than white men of being overweight or obese.

Over 500,000 residents have symptoms of depression, with the highest rates of depression being among women and Latinos. Even more concerning, most people who experience depression are not receiving mental health counseling or taking medications to treat their depression. “These findings underscore the need for expanded screening and accessible mental health treatment in the city,” says Christina Norman, PhD, director of research and evaluation in the NYC Health Department’s Bureau of Mental Health and one of the studies’ authors. “Primary care physicians can play a role in identifying depression in their patients by using widely available mental health screening tools, providing treatment when needed, and referring individuals to mental health clinics when indicated.”

Overall, this wealth of information is necessary for both physicians and policymakers to help address disturbing health trends in the city. Hopefully, studies such as this will lead to an increased focus on the public’s physical and mental health.

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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

New Yorkers are getting heavier, struggle with sleep, study shows

Public health trends haven’t been exactly positive in recent years,...

New research from the <a href="http://heart.org/">American Heart Association</a> has found that multivitamin and mineral supplements do not help to prevent heart attacks, stroke, or other fatal cardiovascular events. 

Study lead author Dr. Joonseok Kim is an assistant professor of Cardiology at the <a href="https://www.uab.edu/">University of Alabama at Birmingham</a>. 

“We meticulously evaluated the body of scientific evidence,” said Dr. Kim. “We found no clinical benefit of multivitamin and mineral use to prevent heart attacks, strokes or cardiovascular death.”


The meta-analysis was based on the review of 18 previous studies. Overall, the research involved more than two million participants with an average of 12 years of follow-ups with the individuals.

The experts found no association between taking multivitamin and mineral supplements and a lower risk of fatal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breakfast-prevent-cardiovascular-disease/">cardiovascular disease</a>.

“It has been exceptionally difficult to convince people, including nutritional researchers, to acknowledge that multivitamin and mineral supplements don't prevent cardiovascular diseases,” said Dr. Kim. “I hope our study findings help decrease the hype around multivitamin and mineral supplements and encourage people to use proven methods to reduce their risk of cardiovascular diseases - such as eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising and avoiding tobacco.”

The nutritional supplement industry is expected to hit $278 billion globally by 2024, and around 30 percent of Americans use some form of supplements. According to the Food and Drug Administration, there are no regulations in place that require dietary supplements to be approved for safety or effectiveness.


The relationship between dietary supplements and cardiovascular disease has been debated for many years, despite the findings of many studies that there is no association.


“Although multivitamin and mineral supplements taken in moderation rarely cause direct harm, we urge people to protect their heart health by understanding their individual risk for heart disease and stroke and working with a healthcare provider to create a plan that uses proven measures to reduce risk,” said Dr. Kim. 

“These include a heart-healthy diet, exercise, tobacco cessation, controlling blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels, and when needed, medical treatment.”


Using multivitamin or mineral supplements to guard against cardiovascular disease is not recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA).

Dr. Eduardo Sanchez the AHA's chief medical officer for prevention.

“Eat a healthy diet for a healthy heart and a long, healthy life,” said Dr. Sanchez. “There's just no substitute for a balanced, nutritious diet with more fruits and vegetables that limits excess calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, sugar and dietary cholesterol.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/">Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes</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

Study: Multivitamins do not protect heart health

New research from the American Heart Association has found that...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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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...