Have you ever found yourself in a quandary about whether children should use their fingers to count? If you have, you're not alone. Many preschool teachers are in the same boat. 



Some believe that little ones who resort to finger counting are struggling with math. Others see it as a clear sign of advanced numerical knowledge. 



One of the lead researchers for this study is Dr. Catherine Thevenot from the Institute of Psychology at the <a href="https://www.unil.ch/central/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Lausanne</a>. 



Her team decided to investigate if a finger counting strategy could give a leg up to kindergarten-aged children when faced with arithmetic problems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-impact-of-finger-counting-on-kids">Impact of finger counting on kids</h2>



The experiment, which involved 328 five and six-year-olds (mainly white European kids living in France), set out to determine if children who don’t ordinarily count on their fingers could be trained to do so. And more importantly, it sought to find out if this training would improve their arithmetic abilities.



The process was straight-forward. Recruited through their teachers, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-with-too-much-screen-time-struggle-to-gain-language-skills/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">children</a> underwent a pre-test, a two-week training period, a post-test right after the training, and a delayed post-test.



The children who were trained and did not originally count on their fingers showed a substantial improvement in performance (from 37% to 77% of correct responses), outperforming those in the control group.



We now have the first study to prove that a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/board-games-help-children-improve-their-math-skills/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">child's arithmetic performance</a> can be boosted by teaching them a finger counting strategy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crunching-numbers-with-dr-thevenot">Crunching numbers with Dr. Thevenot</h2>



As it turns out, the catalyst for this research was a question that kept cropping up during her interactions with primary school teachers -- should they encourage or discourage their pupils to count on their fingers? The lack of a clear answer in existing research prompted her to investigate the issue.



"Our findings are highly valuable because, for the first time, we provide a concrete answer to the long-standing question of whether teachers should explicitly teach children to use their fingers for solving addition problems -- especially those who don’t do so naturally. The answer is yes," Dr Thevenot said.



"Our study demonstrates that finger calculation training is effective for over 75% of kindergartners. The next step is to explore how we can support the remaining 25% of children who didn’t respond as well to the intervention." 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-benefits-of-finger-counting">Benefits of finger counting</h2>



"When I first saw the results, I was amazed by the huge improvement in performance among children who didn’t initially use their fingers to solve the problems. Before our intervention, these children were only able to solve about one-third of the addition problems at pre-test," Dr. Thevenot said.



"After training, however, they were solving over three-quarters of them! The difference was striking, especially compared to the control groups, where gains were insignificant. The extent of this improvement truly exceeded my expectations," she concluded.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-for-education">Broader implications for education</h2>



The insights gleaned from this study could have far-reaching implications for educational practices. 



By allowing children, particularly those who might initially struggle with arithmetic, the freedom to employ finger counting, educators can foster an environment that is both supportive and conducive to learning. 



This study challenges the traditional pedagogical stance that views finger counting as a crutch indicative of mathematical deficiency. 



Instead, it paints finger counting as a valuable tool that can enhance a child's comprehension of numbers and arithmetic processes, potentially leading to more effective teaching strategies that embrace individual learning styles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-comes-next">What's comes next?</h2>



What does the future hold? Well, they are now probing if the children have gained a deeper understanding of numbers or are simply following a procedure to solve problems. 



Initial results are promising according to Dr. Thevenot, but more tests are required for confirmation.



The study by Dr. Thevenot and her team opens several avenues for further investigation. Future research could explore the long-term impacts of finger counting as a foundational skill integrated into early mathematics education. 



Additionally, examining how cultural differences affect the perception and utilization of finger counting in various educational systems can provide a more comprehensive understanding of its benefits and limitations. 



Importantly, expanding the demographics beyond the initial cohort to include diverse populations will enhance the generalizability of the findings. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-show-of-hands">A show of hands</h2>



To sum it up, it seems that finger counting could be instrumental in reducing disparity in mathematics among children. 



So, the next time you see a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kindergarten-conduct-childhood-behavioral-problems-will-cost-society-later/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">child</a> using their ten tiny tools to solve a math problem, remember, they might just be on to something. And, who knows? Maybe we adults could pick up a thing or two from those little fingers.



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This study is summarized from an article in Child Development, titled "Finger counting training enhances addition performance in kindergarteners," authored by Poletti, C., Krenger, M., Létang, M., Hennequin, B., and of course, our Dr. Thevenot from <a href="https://www.unil.ch/central/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Lausanne</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.14146" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Child Development</a>.



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Finger counting boosts math skills in children

Have you ever found yourself in a quandary about whether children should use their fingers to count? If you have, you're not alone. Many preschool teachers are in the same boat. Some believe that little ones who resort to finger counting are struggling with math. Others see it as a clear sign of advanced numerical knowledge. One of the lead researchers for this study is Dr. Catherine Thevenot from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Lausanne. Her team decided to investigate if a finger counting...

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded over the New Year's holiday in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/india-cannon-air-pollution/">New Delhi</a>, as thick fog descended upon the city for the second day on Monday. 

An estimated 300 flights departing from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport were either cancelled or backlogged due to poor visibility on the runways.

Sanjiv Kapoor is the Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer for Vistara, an Indian domestic airline. 

Kapoor <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSanjivKapoor/status/947694022906097664">posted</a> on Twitter: 

“Happy New Year! Another tough day at DEL. All departures were held up due to fog, arrivals not getting gates as all occupied by aircraft waiting to depart. Departures finally starting to happen now. Consequential delays expected through the day across the network.”

Kapoor updated travelers again today on Twitter to warn that the fog is back and is expected to remain in the area overnight into Tuesday morning. “Please be prepared for extensive delays again,” he wrote.

An <a href="https://twitter.com/dtptraffic/status/947844598507782144">advisory</a> from the Delhi Traffic Police was posted on New Year's Eve, which encouraged drivers to delay their travel plans when fog warnings are in place. Drivers who end up in foggy conditions were asked to slow down, avoid passing, and increase their following distance. 

The tweet from Delhi traffic officials advised people driving in fog to “reduce the distractions" in their vehicles by turning off music and cell phones.

Over two dozens trains were also delayed Monday morning, leaving passengers stranded for a short time at New Delhi’s railway station. 

The fog is predicted to continue up until Wednesday when it will begin to moderate, according to the <a href="http://www.imd.gov.in/">India Meteorological Department</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fog delays holiday travel in New Delhi

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded over the New Year's...

Flying overhead as my plane makes its way to the airport, Tasmania is a patchwork quilt in hues of green.  I’ve heard Tasmania called the ‘Ireland of the South’ and that seems to fit as far as it goes.  The Island, the smallest state of Australia is cool, wet and green.  There are enormous ferns growing into trees and Eucalypt trees vie with California redwoods for grandeur claiming the title of largest trees in the Southern hemisphere.  Rocky cliffs and lonely beaches edge the coast where the world’s smallest penguin, the Fairy or Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor) nest in burrows they dig or are supplied by hopeful bird enthusiasts.  Waiting on a beach one dark night, I startled a Blue Penguin, who nearly fell over himself scampering down from the hilltop where I watched back towards the ocean.  I felt terrible.  

I came to Tasmania on something of a whim.  I had found a Help Exchange host willing to put me up on his subsistence farm surrounded by forest near Derby for a month in exchange for work, mainly on the farm.  I rented a car and spent two weeks driving around the island, sleeping in the car (it was colder than I expected when I packed my tent), walking around towns, forest trails and along beaches.      

There is a deep stain of the past on the beauty of present day Tasmania.  The island was taken as a penal colony by the British.  Tasmania was also a place where prisoners already shipped to Australia were sent if they were repeat offenders, a sort of end of the line.  In Port Arthur, a historical penal colony the stories’ of some of these prisoners is still told.  One prisoner was Samuel Holmes, a boy of 14, convicted of larceny.    

While staying at the subsistence farm, Peter, the man who I was exchanging my labor to for room and board, took me to visit a friend of his.  He was a tall man with white hair and a friendly, calm personality, inviting me into his house graciously.  The man lived in one room of his family estate, a rambling old building all walled off except for his small chamber with a fireplace apparently for warmth and for cooking.  He was the last heir to the estate, with no daughters or sons to inherit it from him and its end seemed to be one of slow decay around a solitary room with a solitary occupant.  There was a small farm or garden, there were vegetables and there were chickens.  There was a hill behind the house I climbed to find the delicate, crushed rings of a broken crinoid (sea lily) stem weathering out of the limestone.  

All around the man’s property he had set up cameras triggered by motion detectors that should photograph any animal moving in proximity.  There is a standing reward for a photograph of a living Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and this man was determined to catch the famed marsupial on film.  Officially the Thylacine is extinct.  The last known individual died in a zoo in Hobart of exposure.

While reading about Tasmania, I encountered many previously unknown facts.  I’d never thought much of the island state and I was excited to learn about caves with glow worms (some of which I visited).  I giggled to myself in true Colorado hubris over Tasmanian ‘mountains’ which may get snow in the winter.  I learned that native Tasmanians were annihilated by British colonists and the government.  

Then I learned that there are living people who claim ancestry of native Tasmanians.  In the days when the Australian government was bent on eradicating completely Tasmanian natives from the face of the Earth, whalers sometimes kidnapped Tasmanian women to make them concubines or sex slaves.  Sometimes the Tasmanian women had children.  Needless to say the children of such unions were cared for more by their mothers, inherited more culture from their mothers; these children were indeed Tasmanian natives. 

In official history after a prolonged campaign of genocide followed by benign neglect of natives as wards of the state, the last ‘full blooded’ Tasmanian died.  The official last Tasmanian was a man mocked as ‘King Billy of the Tasmanians’ during his life.  In death ‘King Billy’ was carved up by competing scientists, one of which made a snuff bag from his skin.  Another woman had her skeleton on display in a Tasmanian museum for decades, against her will while she was alive.  Anthropology in Tasmania’s early days seemed a way to justify racial hatred rather than anything resembling true science.

Peter and I discussed the remote possibility that Tasmanian Tigers still lived in the wilder parts of Tasmania.  I expressed extreme doubt, but Peter was a little more hopeful but in a rather cynical way.  Peter wondered whether it was in the government’s best interest, especially in the interest of the forestry department, to suppress or ignore Thylacine sightings.  It was a question I wasn’t so sure about.  I was well indoctrinated into standard conservation in the U.S. and much of that seemed similar to Tasmania.  National parks existed in the US and Tasmania; forestry was practiced in both places.  Surely a government organization existing to protect and manage wildlife wouldn’t be driving a species to extinction with knowing neglect?  Peter pressed the issue; more money was to be made through logging, mining and other activities than through protecting a Thylacine.  Peter had a point.  

Historically the government of Britain, Australia and Tasmania was as vehemently anti-thylacine as the US government has been anti-wolf, anti-coyote and anti-bear.  Just as an official and recent policy of equality doesn’t wipe out a history of slavery, discrimination, violence and genocide, so to a recent (and rather ambivalent in the US) policy of not driving predators to extinction doesn’t wipe out the past.  

There was a bounty on Tasmanian Tigers encouraging the destruction of the species.  The government didn’t embrace Thylacine conservation until only one known individual was left alive, in a zoo in Hobart.  The last known Tasmanian Tiger died in captivity when the door mechanism on his enclosure failed to let him shelter inside on an especially cold night.  You can find <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBpyAOpzlEE">YouTube footage</a> of this last Thylacine, short but haunting, an animal in a cage with an almost unnaturally large gape.    

Strangely, as hard as it is to find the truth that there are still living Tasmanian Aborigines, it seems hard for everyone to admit the extinction of the Thylacine.  There are projects moving towards the possibility of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tasmanian-tiger-extinction/">cloning</a> Tasmanian Tigers.  There are also a lot of Thylacine sightings, even by rather reliable observers such as National Park employees and experienced outdoors persons.  As late as this past year, there was a sighting in mainland Australia of an animal which could be a Tasmanian Tiger.  Technically Thylacines did once live on mainland Australia, before Europeans arrived, there’s a petroglyph of the animal on the mainland.  

There is real hope that Thylacines live, but it says something rather dark that we as westerners embrace the idea of reviving Tasmanian Tigers and rather ambivalent about revival of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture.  Either way, there are plenty of political motivations for declaring Tasmanian Natives or the Thylacine extinct.       

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Tasmanian Tigers and Aboriginals: Which is extinct?

Flying overhead as my plane makes its way to the...

Have you made a New Year’s resolution to invest in solar panels, use public transportation more, or ask your city to look installing charging stations for hybrid cars? If so, you may be helping to curb climate change, a new study says.

The study, led by Dr. Brian Beckage of the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/">University of Vermont</a>, drew on both social psychology and climate data to determine how humans are reacting to climate change and whether the changes they’re making are having any effect on rising global temperatures.

"A better understanding of the human perception of risk from climate change and the behavioral responses are key to curbing future climate change," Beckage said in a press release.

The study – a joint effort by the <a href="http://www.nimbios.org/workinggroups/WG_risk">Working Group on Human Risk Perception and Climate Change</a> at the <a href="https://www.utk.edu/">University of Tennessee, Knoxville</a>, and the <a href="https://www.sesync.org/">National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center</a> at the <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a> – used data on human perceptions of climate change and its associated risks going back to 2013, as well as climate data.

They found that behavioral changes – especially those that could not be easily reversed, like insulating homes, buying hybrid cars, or installing solar panels – do actually help to curb climate change.

The study calls out a missing aspect of most climate change models: human behavior. Many climate change models don’t take human behavior or efforts to reduce atmospheric carbon emissions into account.

“It is easy to lose confidence in the capacity for societies to make sufficient changes to reduce future temperatures. When we started this project, we simply wanted to address the question as to whether there was any rational basis for 'hope' – that is a rational basis to expect that human behavioral changes can sufficiently impact climate to significantly reduce future global temperatures," said Louis J. Gross, director of the Working Group at University of Tennessee and a study co-author.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-017-0031-7">Nature Climate Change</a>. Funding was provided by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Changes in behavior can help curb climate change

Have you made a New Year’s resolution to invest in...

Researchers at the <a href="http://www.nus.edu.sg/">National University of Singapore</a> may have just created a safe alternative to drinking alcohol with a glass which can trick the mind into believing that water is actually a cocktail. The virtual drink uses LED lights, electric impulses, and scent cartridges to appeal to a person's senses.

“Our approach is to augment beverage flavor experience by overlaying external sensory stimuli,” said lead author Dr. Nimesha Ranasinghe. “For example, in the ‘vocktail’ we overlay color, taste and smell sensations to create an adjustable flavor experience."

Dr. Ranasinghe explained that flavor, which is how we primarily perceive food, is accomplished through the use of the senses.

“Therefore, by changing the color of the drink, using a different smells and changing the taste through electricity, we are able to simulate the flavor of a drink, without it actually changing the liquid,” she said.

The virtual cocktail appeals to the senses of sight, smell, and taste through the use of a smartphone application. With the touch of a button, users can change the simulated drink.

Colors which are projected from the base of the glass mimic the colors of actual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alcoholic-beverages-emotional-responses/">alcoholic</a> beverages, such as a maroon light for red wine and a bright orange light for a screwdriver.

The rim of the glass contains two electrode strips that emit electrical pulses onto the tongue to arouse the taste buds. 180 microamps correspond with a sour-flavored drink, 80 microamps induce a bitter flavor, and 40 microamps are used to imitate a salty taste.

In addition, the glass has scent cartridges which are connected to air pumps. Different scents are intended to fool the brain into believing that what you smell is what you are actually tasting.

The scientists are now working on ways to silently release the scents and also to increase the amount of smells which are available.

Dr. Ranasinghe acknowledged that the external stimulation of the senses is not the same as experiencing an actual drink, and she said that the team is “constantly conducting experiments to create an even more immersive experience.”

“We want to bring it to pubs and bars, but we need industry partners to bring it out of the lab and into reality,” said Dr. Ranasinghe.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Caters News Agency

Virtual cocktails use lights and stimuli to trick your senses

Researchers at the National University of Singapore may have just...

Sitting down at a desk all day comes with a range of health risks, including hypertension, poor circulation, cardiovascular disease, high-blood pressure, and stress on your back and neck. Many people also find, especially if going from an active job to a sedentary desk job, that weight gain is common. 

Now, a new study, published the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has revealed that sitting all day interferes with the body’s internal scale. 

Swedish researchers discovered that the brain monitors and records body weight every time someone stands. If the brain senses <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/canola-oil-brain-decline/">weight gain</a>, it will send the right signals to the body that stop overconsumption of calories.

Obsessing over your bathroom scale may be unnecessary, as your body naturally measures weight throughout the day. 

However, the researchers also realized that this process is hindered by sitting all day, and so the brain doesn’t register weight the same way. 

“We believe that the internal body scales give an inaccurately low measure when you sit down,” said Professor Claes Ohlsson, a member of the research team. “As a result you eat more and gain weight.” 

For the study, the researchers used mice which also have an internal scale that made daily measurements of weight and weight gain. 

Obese mice had weights attached to them and as this extra weight was recorded, the mice cut back on their food intake. The mice lost the same amount of weight as was added artificially.

The mice that lost weight also had lower body fat and better blood glucose levels. 

The results of the study are promising, and the researchers hope that the findings may help with new treatments for unwanted weight gain. 

“We have discovered a completely new system that regulates fat mass,” said Professor John-Olov Jansson, the study’s lead author. “We hope this discovery will lead to a new direction in obesity research.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Our brain frequently measures and records our own body weight

Sitting down at a desk all day comes with a...

Our society offers various forms of punishment in order to encourage cooperation. You pay a fine for speeding, get your wages garnished for not paying your taxes, or serve a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nature-calming-effects-prisoners/">prison</a> sentence for breaking the law.

But is punishment really an effective strategy to keep peace within a community or society? 

A new study conducted by an international team of researchers found that punishment can actually hinder cooperation rather than promote it. 

The researchers, led by led by Marko Jusup from <a href="https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/">Hokkaido University</a> in Japan and Zhen Wang from the <a href="http://en.nwpu.edu.cn/">Northwestern Polytechnical University</a> in China, performed a social dilemma experiment to see what impact punishment has on cooperation. 

The team used a version of the “prisoner’s dilemma” game. which is often cited in game theory, where people are rewarded if they cooperate, but will most likely not cooperate in an attempt to gain more in the end. 

225 students in China were split into three groups and were asked to play 50 rounds of the game. 

For the first group, one student played against two opponents, and these players changed every round. The players had the option of “cooperate” or “defect,” and points were awarded based on how the choices worked together. 

If the opponents cooperated, the student playing against them gained zero points. If all three players cooperated, the student gained four points. The points resulted in monetary compensation at the end of the rounds. 

For the second group, the players never changed, so the students in that group became familiar with their opponents’ gameplay and the rules of the game. 

The third group was given the option of "punish" as well as defect and cooperate. If a player chose punish, the punishee lost points, and the punisher also lost points but far less than the punishee.

The group that played with the same players cooperated 38 percent more than the group that had constantly changing players. 

It was thought that adding punishment as an option would also increase cooperation, but it did not.

“While the implied message when punishing someone is ‘I want you to be cooperative,’ the immediate effect is more consistent with the message ‘I want to hurt you,’” the researchers wrote in their study. 

Punishment hindered gameplay and had a demoralizing effect, but then the researchers wondered why punishment persists in society today. 

“It could be that human brains are hardwired to derive pleasure from punishing competitors,”  said Jusup. 

“However, it is more likely that, in real life, a dominant side has the ability to punish without provoking retaliation,”  added Wang.

The study sheds light on cooperation and punishment, and could help reform future criminal justice policies.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Does punishment actually get people to cooperate?

Our society offers various forms of punishment in order to...

Recreational use of marijuana will officially become legal in California on January 1st, and <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/">USA Today</a> is referring to the event as the state's “new gold rush.”

According to Matt Karnes of <a href="http://www.greenwaveadvisors.com/">GreenWave Advisors</a>, the black market for pot in California is currently worth 13.5 billion dollars and entrepreneurs are expected to generate 5.2 billion dollars of pot revenue in the first year of legal sales.

Business owners that are licensed for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/college-offers-degree-marijuana/">marijuana</a> sales are fighting the clock to comply with the state's new regulations, including packaging which is not transparent and restrictions on THC levels. 

Marijuana products will not be allowed in public areas such as restaurants, and landlords may ban smoking on their properties as well. In addition, smoking pot and driving will be classified as Driving Under the Influence (DUI).

Some local governments are outlawing the recreational use of pot, but this is not the case in Los Angeles, which is now the largest city in America to approve retail pot sales.

The Adult Use of Marijuana Act, or Proposition 64, was passed on November 8th, 2016. The implementation of retail marijuana sales will be a gradual process across the state of California, as only 42 licenses have been issued so far.

Some news outlets are reporting that at least 150 additional applications will be reviewed this weekend and thousands of licenses are expected to be ultimately approved.

According to Proposition 64, adults who are 21 or older will be allowed to possess up to one ounce of marijuana or up to eight grams of concentrated cannabis. Adults over 21 years of age will also be permitted to grow up to six marijuana plants per household.

Many pot-related crimes that were previously classified as felonies could now be reduced to misdemeanors under Proposition 64. Individuals who are incarcerated could potentially receive shorter sentences or be released from jail.

The <a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/">Drug Policy Alliance</a>, a nonprofit organization which supports human rights, estimates that over one million people convicted of marijuana-related offenses in California could petition to have their charges reviewed and “redesignated” under the new legislation.

--

By <a href="about:blank">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The new year brings legal recreational marijuana to California

Recreational use of marijuana will officially become legal in California...

Britain is transitioning away from coal and toward renewable energy, and so far their progress is very impressive. The UK’s gradual switch to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melbourne-tram-network-solar/">solar</a>, wind, and hydropower is a huge success, as they have set 13 new clean energy records in the process.

The British government has a goal of eliminating all coal power stations by 2025 to meet the country's climate change commitments. 

Statistics from the <a href="https://www.nationalgridus.com/">National Grid</a> have revealed that 2017 was the UK’s greenest year in the power sector. According to <a href="http://www.mygridgb.co.uk/">MyGridGB</a>, more power was generated by renewable energy sources than coal for 90 percent of the year. 

The UK had its first completely coal-free day since the Industrial Revolution back in April, and days without coal will become more and more common as the fossil fuel is phased out. 

Britain also set a new record for the longest time period without coal power when the country went completely coal-free for 40 hours and 35 minutes in October.

Wind farms in the UK powered the country more than three out of every four days this year, leading to record low carbon emissions. In addition, the cost of offshore wind power dropped below the cost of nuclear energy generation for the first time ever.

Duncan Burt is the Acting Director of Operations at National Grid. 

“2017 marked a new era of grid operation,” said Burt. “We now have significant volumes of renewable energy on the system which poses an exciting challenge for us in ensuring the supply and demand is matched second by second.”

Mr. Burt said that National Grid planned for these changes in the generation and transmission of power, and that the company will continue to evolve alongside the energy system.

“We have worked with the industry to ensure we have the right tools and services in place to continue operating the grid safely and reliably,” he said. “I'm sure there will be more records broken in 2018 and we're ready and excited to play our part.”

--

By <a href="about:blank">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Britain breaks 13 clean energy records in 2017

Britain is transitioning away from coal and toward renewable energy,...

China’s government has announced plans to limit Shanghai’s population to 25 million people by the year 2035. As of 2015, the city’s population had reached 24.15 million.

Not only will the population be capped at 25 million, but land for construction will also be limited to 3,200 square kilometers. 

<a href="http://english.gov.cn/policies/latest_releases/2017/12/25/content_281475989395788.htm">The State Council of the People’s Republic of China</a> approved Shanghai’s city plans where the population limits were emphasized. 

The reason behind the new plans is to reduce the risk of big city disease, which occurs when megacities like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-cardiovascular-disease/">Shanghai</a> are overwhelmed by pollution, traffic congestion, and a shortage of public services. 

Shanghai’s city plans will span 2017 through 2035, and according to the State Council, environmentalism and reducing pollution are a priority. 

“More efforts should be made to weed out backward production capacity, reduce pollutant emissions, enhance protection of water areas and green land, and build a water-saving city and a sponge city,” the State Council said.

However, some experts feel that the plan isn’t practical, will put a strain on the city, and that Shanghai’s poor are likely to be most affected by the population cap. 

These fears are not unfounded, and recently thousands of migrant workers were evicted from their homes in Beijing, China as part of a “<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/beijing-mass-safety-evictions-2017-11">Safety Evacuation Campaign</a>” spurred on by a fire that killed 19 people. 

At first glance, these evictions seem necessary in order to reduce the risk of future fires and casualties. But many news organizations are suspicious of the hasty and brutal manner in which the evacuations were carried out. 

“It is part of a broader plan to modernize, beautify and gentrify the Chinese capital as a showcase for the Communist Party,” argued one <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/11/27/forced-evictions-in-freezing-beijing-winter-sparks-public-outrage-but-little-official-remorse/?utm_term=.bd121119332a">Washington Post article</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Shanghai plans to limit population to 25 million by 2035

China’s government has announced plans to limit Shanghai’s population to...

<a href="http://www.tippingresearch.com/">Michael Lynn</a> is an expert in the fields of hospitality, food service and especially tipping, so much so that he has written over 50 research publications on tipping alone.

Lynn’s most recent publications, “The effects of tipping on consumers' satisfaction with restaurants” and “ A within-restaurant analysis of changes in customer satisfaction following the introduction of service inclusive pricing or automatic service charge,” discuss how tipping enhances customer satisfaction.

In fact, his research shows that restaurants that remove the tip system from their business and compensate with inclusive pricing or service charges suffer poor reviews.

In an interview with the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5215659/Why-tipping-server-make-happier-customer.html">Daily Mail</a>, Lynn himself explains the two-sides of the tipping debate.

Anti-tippers often feel that wages that include tips are too low and that tipping allows for discrimination against people of color and less attractive servers.

Tipping is also thought to negatively impact customer and worker satisfaction and increase employee turnaround because of inconsistent wages and work.

However, Lynn has found in recent research that tipping improves customer satisfaction and allows restaurants to keep menu prices lower than if they were to adopt an inclusive pricing system.

For his new studies, Lynn recruited the firm ReviewTrackers, which monitors and collects reviews for companies. Specifically, the studies used reviews from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-cues-people-overeat/">restaurants</a> that had changed their tipping policy.

Lynn then analyzed this data see how tipping increased or decreased customer satisfaction.

One study involved the restaurant chain<a href="http://www.joescrabshack.com/"> Joe’s Crab Shack</a>, which tried to adopt an inclusive pricing system and do away with tipping, only to bring tipping back shortly after.

“I found customers rated Joe’s Crab Shack restaurants higher – by about a third of a point on a five-point scale – when they operated under tipping than when they used service-inclusive pricing,” Lynn stated in his Daily Mail article. “I also found that after switching to service-inclusive pricing, reviewers’ comments were more likely to mention tipping, the server or service, and price.”

The results of the studies show that inclusive pricing is more likely to be frowned on if the restaurant is less expensive but service charges garnered more unfavorable reviews than inclusive pricing.

From his research, Lyn concluded that tipping is ultimately a more beneficial system and improves customer satisfaction, and that arguments against tipping may need to be reevaluated.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tipping may actually improve customer satisfaction

Michael Lynn is an expert in the fields of hospitality,...

Scientists at <a href="http://berkeley.edu/">University California Berkeley</a> have finally explained the reason why shoelaces come untied so often. A team of mechanical engineers are describing the driving forces behind shoelace knot failure.

The researchers used a slow-motion camera to document their experiments. They discovered that the knot is first stretched and then relaxed by the force of a foot hitting the ground. At the same time, the energy that is exerted as the leg swings essentially tugs at the ends of the laces.

“When you talk about knotted structures, if you can start to understand the shoelace, then you can apply it to other things, like DNA or microstructures, that fail under dynamic forces,” said lead author Christopher Daily-Diamond. “This is the first step toward understanding why certain knots are better than others, which no one has really done.”

For the first part of the study, one of the researchers laced up a pair of shoes and then ran on a treadmill while being filmed. 

The experts established that a person's feet hit the ground with around seven times the force of gravity. This energy is what causes the knot to stretch and then relax and, when combined with the inertial force that tugs on the ends of the laces, a shoelace can come untied in as few as two steps.

“To untie my knots, I pull on the free end of a bow tie and it comes undone,” said study co-author Christine Gregg. “The shoelace knot comes untied due to the same sort of motion.”

"The forces that cause this are not from a person pulling on the free end but from the inertial forces of the leg swinging back and forth while the knot is loosened from the shoe repeatedly striking the ground,” she explained.

Although the research team tested various types of shoelaces and determined that some laces are better than others for creating knots, the underlying causes of shoestring knot failure are universal.

"The interesting thing about this mechanism is that your laces can be fine for a really long time and it's not until you get one little bit of motion to cause loosening that starts this avalanche effect leading to knot failure,” said Gregg.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Proceedings of the Royal Society A</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why your shoelaces come untied on their own

Scientists at University California Berkeley have finally explained the reason...

A team of researchers from the <a href="http://lyon-university.org/">University of Lyon</a> in France set out to determine how dogs respond to human speech. The experts are reporting that puppies love when people direct a type of “baby talk" at them and may even begin understanding some human words through these types of interaction, while older dogs appear to be indifferent.

To examine how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-chocolate-poisoning-christmas/">dogs</a> react to the way that humans speak, the experts first recorded the voices of 30 women as they looked at photographs of dogs and spoke to the images. The women were exposed to pictures of both puppies and older dogs, and were also directed to repeat the passage to a person.

The script read, “Hi! Hello cutie! Who’s a good boy? Come here! Good boy! Yes! Come here sweetie pie! What a good boy!” 

The scientists compared the women's speech when it was directed at humans to when it was directed at dogs. It came as no surprise that the women had spoken in distinctive, high-pitched, musical tones to the animals,  but not to the humans. The women spoke at an even higher pitch when looking at puppy photos.

The researchers played the voice recordings  for 10 puppies and 10 adult dogs at a New York City animal shelter and filmed their responses. 

The documentation revealed that nine of the puppies reacted strongly to the voices, barking and approaching the loudspeaker even when the recording had been made for an older dog. Some of the puppies bent down toward the sound of the voices in a play bow, which is a pose that shows a puppy is in a playful mood.

Study lead author Nicolas Mathevon explained that the younger dogs most likely consider dog-directed speech as “an invitation to play.” The puppies were not nearly as excited by the recordings of the women speaking to other humans, however. 

As far as the adult dogs observed for the analysis, it made no difference if they were hearing speech which was directed at puppies, older dogs, or humans. “They had a quick look at the speaker, and then ignored it,” said Mathevon.

Further investigation is needed to determine if the dog-directed speech means something to the puppies that is not yet understand or whether it helps them to learn human words.

The study is published in the <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Puppies love when we talk to them, older dogs aren’t as into it

A team of researchers from the University of Lyon in...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[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

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

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...