A good night’s sleep can feel like a luxury as people age. Many older adults find themselves staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, restless and exhausted. Insomnia creeps in, bringing groggy mornings and sluggish days. 



While sleep aids exist, they come with side effects, leaving many searching for natural solutions. Could exercise be the answer?



A new analysis suggests that physical activity plays a crucial role in sleep quality. But not all movement is created equal. Among various exercise types, one stands out as particularly effective - strength training.



The results are clear: lifting weights, performing push-ups, and engaging in resistance <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-reduces-the-risk-of-brain-diseases-by-up-to-54-percent/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exercises</a> may be the key to deeper, more restful sleep in older adults.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-sleep-worsens-with-age">Why sleep worsens with age</h2>



As people age, sleep gets harder. Something once easy can turn into a nightly challenge. Studies show that about one in five older adults has insomnia, which causes more than just tiredness.



Sleep deprivation doesn’t just cause fatigue; it has been linked to cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, and weakened immune function.



Even for those without underlying health issues, poor sleep disrupts daily life. Concentration slips, energy levels plummet, and mood swings become frequent.



Older adults who still work may see their productivity decline, while those enjoying retirement may feel too exhausted to fully engage in social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-doses-of-exercise-can-greatly-reduce-dementia-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">activities</a>. The consequences ripple far and wide, making sleep quality a major concern.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-best-type-of-exercise">Best type of exercise</h2>



Understanding that exercise could hold the key to better sleep, researchers set out to determine which type had the greatest impact. They scoured medical databases, analyzing clinical trials published up to October 2022. Their focus? Adults formally diagnosed with insomnia.



The studies that were examined by the team compared different forms of exercise against routine daily activities, usual care, and other non-exercise interventions. To measure sleep quality, the researchers relied on the Global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (GPSQI), a widely recognized tool in sleep research.



Across these studies, a variety of exercises emerged. Some focused on aerobic activities like cycling, dancing, swimming, brisk walking, and even gardening. Others examined the effects of resistance training, including exercises with weights, push-ups, and planks.



Balance training featured step-ups and heel-to-toe walking, while flexibility exercises involved gymnastics, yoga, and Pilates. A few studies combined multiple <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/step-and-time-based-exercise-goals-are-equally-beneficial/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exercise</a> types into a single regimen.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-participated-in-the-studies">Who participated in the studies?</h2>



The analysis included data from 24 studies, encompassing 2,045 older adults with an average age of 70.



These studies spanned the globe, with research conducted in Asia, North America, South America, and Europe. Some studies were community-based, while others focused on nursing home residents.



Exercise programs varied significantly. Some involved mild activity, while others pushed participants into moderate-intensity workouts. On average, sessions lasted just over 50 minutes and were performed two to three times per week. 



Most programs continued for about 14 weeks, long enough to assess meaningful changes in sleep patterns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-strength-training-improves-sleep">Strength training improves sleep</h2>



At first glance, aerobic exercise seemed promising. When analyzed alone, it improved sleep quality by 4.35 points on the GPSQI. Combination exercise also showed positive effects, though slightly less impressive, with an improvement of 2.35 points.



Then came the deeper analysis. Using an advanced statistical method known as network meta-analysis, the researchers compared multiple exercise types simultaneously, accounting for direct and indirect effects.



The results flipped the script. Strength training took the lead, improving sleep quality by a remarkable 5.75 points - far surpassing all other exercise types.



Aerobic exercise, while still beneficial, improved sleep by 3.76 points. Combination exercises, which incorporated multiple techniques, improved it by 2.54 points. 



Sleep education, a non-exercise intervention that researchers examined as a comparison, showed some effectiveness but fell short of the impact seen with strength training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-strength-training-works">Why strength training works</h2>



The impact of resistance exercises on sleep may not be immediately obvious. Yet, a closer look reveals multiple pathways through which strength training promotes better rest.



One explanation lies in hormonal balance. Strength training influences the production of cortisol and melatonin, two hormones critical to sleep regulation. 



It also reduces stress, a common trigger for insomnia. Physically, stronger muscles contribute to better posture, reduced joint pain, and improved mobility - all factors that can make sleep more comfortable.



Unlike aerobic workouts, which primarily elevate heart rate, strength training activates deep muscular and neurological processes. The controlled, intentional nature of these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-it-comes-to-practice-and-learning-variety-is-key/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exercises</a> may help calm the nervous system, preparing the body for rest.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-role-of-sleep-education">Role of sleep education</h2>



Interestingly, sleep education emerged as the strongest non-exercise <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/long-term-exercise-can-make-belly-fat-healthy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">intervention</a> in this analysis. However, its effectiveness varied across studies. 



Some programs focused on relaxation techniques, while others provided guidance on sleep hygiene, such as maintaining a consistent bedtime or limiting screen exposure before bed.



While sleep education did show benefits, it still didn’t match the power of physical exercise - especially resistance training. The researchers emphasized that while knowledge is valuable, action is more effective.



Understanding how to sleep better is one thing; engaging in a structured exercise routine that actively enhances sleep is another.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-and-considerations">Challenges and considerations</h2>



Despite the strong evidence supporting strength training, the researchers acknowledged limitations in their analysis. 



The studies they reviewed varied in design, making it difficult to compare results perfectly. Some lacked precise details about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mindfulness-training-improves-mental-resilience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exercise</a> intensity, while others didn’t focus on specific types of resistance training.



Another challenge is accessibility. Strength training requires proper technique to avoid injury, and not all older adults feel comfortable using weights. Those with joint issues or mobility limitations may find certain movements difficult. 



However, modifications exist, and even low-impact resistance exercises can provide benefits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-strength-training-a-simple-solution">Strength training: A simple solution</h2>



At the end of their analysis, the researchers reached a firm conclusion. 



“Exercise, particularly strengthening exercise and aerobic exercise, is beneficial for enhancing subjective sleep quality at a clinically significant level compared with normal activities,” they noted.



For older adults searching for a natural way to combat insomnia, strength training may be the missing piece. A simple routine - whether lifting light weights, performing bodyweight exercises, or using resistance bands - could lead to deeper sleep, improved energy, and better overall well-being.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://fmch.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/fmch-2024-003056" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Family Medicine and Community Health</a>.



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Strength training may be the best exercise for insomnia

A good night’s sleep can feel like a luxury as people age. Many older adults find themselves staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, restless and exhausted. Insomnia creeps in, bringing groggy mornings and sluggish days. While sleep aids exist, they come with side effects, leaving many searching for natural solutions. Could exercise be the answer? A new analysis suggests that physical activity plays a crucial role in sleep quality. But not all movement is created equal. Among various exercise types, one stands out...

Are you a confident person? You may want to stop and consider whether you can be confident the gifts you select are really what your loved ones want. A new study shows that people who are anxious in social settings may be better gift givers than their more confident peers.

“You'd think that secure people with lots of friends and healthy personal relationships would have a better idea of what someone would like as a gift, but that's not the case,” Dr. Meredith David of Baylor University’s <a href="https://www.baylor.edu/business/">Hankamer School of Business</a> said in a press release. "This research shows that individuals who are anxious in interpersonal situations and who have fewer close, personal relationships are better at predicting what a person may like.”

The study reached its conclusions after polling 1,272 people over five separate surveys. It found that those who reported feeling more “secure” is social situations also tend to practice “social projection.” In other words, they unconsciously project their own interests and desires on other people.

More anxious gift givers don’t make the same assumptions based on their own preferences. They’re less anxious to assume they know what others want without giving it plenty of thought.

In other words, social anxiety may actually have an upside, at least when it comes to holidays and birthdays.

“A key takeaway is that secure people (people who have healthy relationships and feel comfortable in interpersonal settings, etc.) should be mindful of their propensity to assume others like what they like,” David said. “Gifts should be thoughtful, and securely attached folks need to take caution when selecting and buying gifts. Importantly, these individuals should strive to put their own preferences aside when considering what others may like.”

The study goes beyond just helping people choose better birthday presents. It could guide marketers as well.

For example, online retailers that list a selection of their products as “good gifts” may be more likely to lure confident gift givers who shop at their store. They may assume that their giftee will like the same stores they do.

The research could also guide hiring managers when selecting candidates for certain roles, David said.

“For example, it is not uncommon that marketers and salespeople must predict preferences of the customers, at least as they relate to new products, pricing promotions etc. Sales and product development positions may be better suited for anxiously attached individuals; whereas financial, technical or market research positions may be a better fit for secure individuals,” she said.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15206793">Psychology &amp; Marketing</a>. 

—

By Kyla Cathey,<a href="http://www.earth.com"> Earth.com</a> staff writer

Could social anxiety make people better gift givers?

Are you a confident person? You may want to stop...

The Spanish government is kicking off a new campaign to clean up the oceans after a young sperm whale was discovered dead off the coast, its guts filled with plastic and trash.

The whale was discovered on Feb. 27 near the lighthouse of Cabo de Palos, the <a href="http://www.carm.es/">Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia</a> said in a press release.

A necropsy revealed that the digestive system of the emaciated young sperm whale was filled with about 64 pounds of trash, including ropes, plastic, fishing nets, raffia and a drum.

“The presence of plastics in seas and oceans is one of the greatest threats to the conservation of wildlife throughout the world, as many animals are trapped in the trash or ingest large amounts of plastics that end up causing their death,” said Consuelo Rosauro, who directs environmental programs for CARM. 

The Region of Murcia, an autonomous province on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, is no stranger to the problem of pollution, Rosauro added. The discovery of the whale and other animals harmed by trash shows the importance of clean-up efforts and raising citizens’ awareness, she said.

It’s especially important for regions like Murcia, where the diversity of ocean life runs up against modern living and visiting tourists.

CARM is home not just to sperm whales but also to bottlenose dolphins, pilot whales, loggerhead turtles. A project in Murcia monitors how trash and pollution affect the region’s wildlife and conservation efforts.

There are about 5.25 trillion pieces of trash in the ocean, much of it plastic that doesn’t biodegrade, according to <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150109-oceans-plastic-sea-trash-science-marine-debris/">National Geographic</a>. 

Instead, it can be mistaken for jellyfish by hungry turtles, break down into tiny pieces that fish eat, or end up in the bellies of birds that hunt those fish – or it could end up joining the massive Pacific Garbage Patch, now <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-is-now-twice-as-big-as-texas/">twice as large as the state of Texas</a>. The tiny <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-swimming-waste-plastic/">Henderson Island in the South Pacific</a> alone is awash in plastic garbage.

Wildlife like the young sperm whale can struggle to survive amid the plastic pollution. CARM announced that its new campaign would focus on reducing plastic waste and raising citizens’ awareness. 

And it won’t stop there. Murcia is launching 11 different beach cleanup efforts that will include cataloging and tracking the kinds of trash volunteers collect. A series of 19 presentations will also be offered throughout the province on the problem of ocean trash and how people can act.

—

By Kyla Cathey,<a href="http://www.earth.com"> Earth.com</a> staff writer

Young sperm whale dies, 64 pounds of trash in its system

The Spanish government is kicking off a new campaign to...

Along with many other environmental benefits, green roofs introduce new habitats for wildlife. A team of researchers is reporting that some organisms are making their way onto green roofs by riding along with birds or getting carried by the wind.

Green roofs can be a challenging place for plants to survive with conditions such as extreme temperatures, high winds, and intense sunlight and rainfall. This harsh environment makes it even more critical that certain soil organisms are present which promote nutrient cycling and plant growth.

The research team set out to determine whether soil organisms such as mites, springtails, bacteria, and fungi are introduced to green roofs in their building materials or if they arrive by some other means.

Study co-author Dr. Heather Rumble is a senior lecturer in Environmental Geography at the <a href="http://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a>.

“We found that while there was a healthy soil community in construction materials, most species died off soon after the roof was constructed due to the harsh conditions,” said Dr. Rumble. “This means that green roof soil species must arrive via another mechanism, such as by hitching lifts on birds or by coming in the aerial plankton.”

For their investigation, the experts monitored a new green roof on the grounds of Royal Holloway from September 2011 to July 2012. They tracked soil microorganisms living in the construction materials to find out if they would colonize the green roof.

As a result of the study, the researchers have made important recommendations. First off, in order to make the green roofs more sustainable, the soil must be engineered so that the biology is well-balanced.

“This is important, because as a completely man-made environment, getting the soil community right in the construction materials could ensure that the roof is sustainable in the long term,” said Dr. Rumble.

The experts also explained that green roofs must somehow be connected to ground-level <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotics-soil-killing-superbugs/">soils</a> so that critical species have easier access. According to the experts, this could be done by combining green roofs and living walls.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/applied-soil-ecology">Applied Soil Ecology</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: Heather Rumble, University of Portsmouth

&nbsp;

Green roofs offer habitat opportunities for diverse species

Along with many other environmental benefits, green roofs introduce new...

When your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-befriend-stranger-relaxed/">dog</a> rolls over onto its back, it’s almost impossible to resist giving them a good belly rub. But according to one animal expert, this could be an invasion of your pet’s space and while they tolerate the behavior, it's not fun for them. 

According to Jill MacKay, an animal expert from the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/vet">Royal School of Veterinary Studies</a> at the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a>, dogs expose their stomachs in submission while playing with other dogs or their owners, as rolling over and showing its belly is a sign of trust. 

However, sometimes the submissive posture is a way to avoid confrontation, which is why it's important for dog owners to better understand these subtle signals and behaviors in their pets. 

Not only will it make your pet happier, but it can make training and avoiding problem behavior easier. 

MacKay will discuss the things we get wrong with our pets in a talk on pet behavior at this year’s <a href="https://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/">Edinburgh International Science Festival</a>.

Other problems MacKay will mention include the ways owners mishandle problem behaviors like barking and scratching up furniture. 

Even though owners mean well and obviously want the best for their pets, actions, and behaviors such as rolling over can be easily misinterpreted. 

“It is very common for a dog to lie down, show its tummy and lift its legs in the air, but that is not a request for a tummy rub,” MacKay told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5583311/Dogs-DONT-want-tickled-roll-stick-legs-air.html">Daily Mail</a>. “When a dog does it to another dog it means “I trust you and I think you are a good dog to be around. So when a dog does it to a human they trust, it can then be alarming if that human invades their space and touches their soft, exposed belly.”

MacKay has helpful tips for dealing with issues like barking at strangers and cats tearing up nice furniture. She has even written a book, Animal Personality, that will be released later this month. 

For example, even though it can be a nuisance when your dog barks when he shouldn’t, yelling could only make things more confusing for dogs. 

“The best advice is to ignore and refuse to look at the dog. Dogs love us and want our attention so this is a good way to train them they are behaving badly,” said MacKay of teaching dogs not to bark at visitors or passersby. 

When it comes to cats, it can be hard to train them not to scratch on furniture as it’s a natural instinct. 

“Cats walk into a living room and often the first thing they see is the back of the sofa,” said MacKay. “It is almost like an extra wall, so it’s a good place to mark their territory. Instead of shouting at them, owners should just put a scratching post in the same place.”

We want the best for our pets but as MacKay points out, even a well-meaning sign of affection can be misinterpreted because humans and their pets don’t have the same signals, behaviors and social cues.

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dogs don’t want their belly rubbed, animal expert claims

When your dog rolls over onto its back, it’s almost...

As nations work together to meet the goals put in place by the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-decision-paris-climate-agreement/">Paris Accord</a>, there is one major missing component when it comes to reducing carbon emissions: the shipping industry.

Ships carry the brunt of the world’s trade, <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/three-reasons-why-maritime-transport-must-act-climate-change-now">moving 80 percent</a> of the all world trade by volume along international shipping lanes. 

The shipping industry is only projected to increase and with it, carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. <a href="https://www.imo.org/">The International Maritime Organization (IMO) </a>has estimated that carbon emissions from shipping could increase 50 to 250 percent in the coming years.

Ship fuel is harmful to the environment and already the shipping industry has a similar carbon footprint to the whole of Germany. 

The editors of Bloomberg recently wrote <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-04-05/greener-shipping-can-help-fight-climate-change">an opinion piece </a>about the problems that the shipping industry needs to address. According to the editors, unless emissions are reduced, shipping could account for 15 percent of the global carbon budget. 

When the Paris Accord was first introduced, international shipping carbon emissions were not part of the conversation. 

That could change when next week the International Maritime Organization will announce a plan for reducing emissions. 

Any plans to reduce emissions could be met with resistance as several countries like Argentina, Brazil, India, Panama and Saudi Arabia are opposed to capping emissions or meeting CO2 targets. 

“Despite this resistance, the IMO needs to be ambitious,” said <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-04-05/greener-shipping-can-help-fight-climate-change">Bloomberg</a>. “Ultimately, the most cost-effective approach would be to put a tax on carbon, and let that guide investment and innovation. But devising and implementing an international carbon-price system won't be done overnight.” 

There are several methods that shipping companies could implement to reduce emissions, but the key is first admitting that shipping emissions need to be taken seriously. 

“The main thing next week is to acknowledge that confronting climate change is too urgent a goal for any sector of the global economy to be given a pass,” write the Bloomberg editors. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The shipping industry is a major source of carbon emissions

As nations work together to meet the goals put in...

Chile has long been known for its fantastic natural areas.  

After a trip to Tasmania where I stayed in a rural house with no electricity for a month, I was picked up at the airport in Denver, Colorado by my brother and was almost immediately dragged to the mall to go shopping.  I remember feeling overwhelmed and depressed as my brother perused shoes and earrings at an endless array of shops. In the midst of the mall I happened upon a vendor selling photos, and a picture of Torres Del Paine in Chile grabbed my attention.  It was at that moment, staring at other worldly, jagged mountains, like viciously broken glass stabbing the sky that I first imagined the beauty of Chile.

It turns out, I was relatively late in figuring out that Chilean Patagonia was a place of awe inspiring natural beauty.  In 1968, Yvon Chouinard (later the founder of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/patagonia-fighting-trump/">Patagonia</a>) and Doug Tompkins (Later founder of The North Face) made an epic road trip in a Ford E-series Van.  The trip was life-changing for the two men, laying the foundation for their later lives. Starting in Ventura California, they drove all the way to Patagonia.  Founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, just 5 years after the epic road trip, Patagonia clothing company got its name from that trip. The Patagonia company logo is the outline of Cerro Fitz Roy, a mountain in Patagonia Yvon summited in ’68.  

Since its humble beginnings, Patagonia clothing company has grown enormously.  Yvon Chouinard, once a climbing bum who lived for months on the staple of dented canned cat food, is now valued by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/">Forbes</a> at a net worth of $1 Billion.  Kristine McDivitt met Yvon Chouinard at the age of 15, when he ran the company Chouinard Equipment in Ventura California, and got a summer job working for the company.  Kris later went on to college in Idaho where she ski raced competitively. Eventually Kris made her way to being the CEO of Patagonia. Somewhere along the way Kris McDivitt became Kris McDivitt Tompkins, marrying Yvon’s friend Doug Tompkins of the road trip to Patagonia.  

Doug Tompkins also had a successful business career, founding The North Face and Esprit clothing companies.  With his first wife Susie, Doug built Esprit into a multinational corporation with over $1 billion in sales. Eventually Doug became dissatisfied with contributing to a gross consumer culture and sold his share of Esprit in the late 1980s.  Doug became more involved in environmentalism, creating the Foundation for Deep Ecology and the Tompkins Foundation. Doug died kayaking with friends in Chile in 2015.

The controversy behind Doug and Kris Tompkins’ legacy is the same as many of those who oppose progress for progress sake.  Over the years the couple successfully opposed a hydroelectric plant, bought over a million acres of land in Chile and fostered the growth of puma populations.  Locals have accused the two of taking land out of production, hurting ranching and taking jobs away. These are common terms of attack against environmentalists.  The land that the Thompkins’ loved has its own answer in transcendent beauty. Over time relationships with locals have improved too, as the Thompkins worked to involve people in the project and hear out the concerns of locals. 

This year, Kris Tompkins donated a little over 1 million acres of land to the Chilean government to be protected as National Parks.  The government of Chile added nearly 9 million acres of its own land creating more than 10 million acres of new parks. With this addition, the National Parks of Chile increased by 38.5%.  

The new land is set aside to protect seasonally snowy mountains, volcanoes, red rock canyons and rivers.  The park land is set to protect habitats of guanacos (basically wild llamas), mountains lions and other iconic wildlife.  Other ongoing work in Argentina by Tompkins Conservation has reintroduced giant anteaters and protected land and wildlife there.

All told, the new land in Chile created two new National Parks and expanded two other national parks and one national reserve.  The expansion of parkland in Chile can offer us in North America some hope as our protected areas are attacked at home. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The inspired conservationists behind Chile’s new national parks

Chile has long been known for its fantastic natural areas....

Researchers from <a href="https://www.southernct.edu/">Southern Connecticut State University</a> have found that using bad language leaves a negative impression on others, even those who are not offended by profanity. According to the analysis, people who swear are perceived as being unintelligent, untrustworthy, and less likeable.

The study was focused on 138 students, including 101 women. The students were questioned about their own swearing habits before participating in a series of experiments that were developed to analyze how they felt about people who use foul language. 

The study participants read a hypothetical conversation between two 15-year-olds. They were asked to judge the two individuals on various qualities.


“Speakers using profanity had poorer impression ratings on several variables, including overall impression, intelligence, and trustworthiness,” explained lead author Melanie DeFrank.

The researchers used the assessments to determine which swear words were the most offensive to the study participants. “Dang” was found to be the least offensive expletive, while the b-word and the f-word were considered to be the most derogatory.


The experts also found that people are consistently repulsed by the same curse words. On the other hand, an interesting discrepancy was noted in the amount of swearing across the general population - almost the same percentage of people rarely ever swear compared to those who swear profusely.

Around 17 percent of people curse less than five times per day, but around 20 percent of people admit to swearing at least 21 times every day. Regarding how much bad language people are exposed to on a daily basis, nearly the same ratio was established.


People who used profanity in the experiment were perceived as being less honest and less intelligent, and this effect was even stronger when the researchers manipulated the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gender-bias-courtroom-decisions/">gender roles</a> in the hypothetical conversation.

“Speakers swearing in mixed-gender dyads were rated as less sociable, and males swearing in mixed-gender dyads were rated as more offensive,” explained the researchers.

Even when the study participants had not rated specific words as being offensive, they still judged the speakers harshly when they used those expletives.

“Despite people not considering the language offensive, they are still affected by it and use it to judge others, suggesting a subliminal effect,” wrote the study authors.

They said that this finding indicates that “people have become more desensitized to certain swears and even expect them at times.”

The study is published in the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/home/jlsa">Journal of Language and Social Psychology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

People who use profanity are perceived as less smart, trustworthy

Researchers from Southern Connecticut State University have found that using...

A research team led by Professor Stephen Wroe of the <a href="http://www.une.edu/">University of New England</a> is describing why Neanderthals had such distinctively shaped skulls. The experts have determined that a protruding face with large nostrils enabled Neanderthals to adapt to cold weather and helped them breathe in more air when they were exerting themselves.

The researchers digitally reconstructed Neanderthal skulls using five European specimens and simulated a wide range of modern human skulls for comparison. The scientists concluded that protruding skulls helped Neanderthals survive the extreme cold climate of the Ice Age.

“Neanderthal nasal passage morphology may represent an adaptation to cold that improves conditioning of inspired air, albeit a less efficient solution to that found in modern humans,” wrote the study authors.

“Our results further suggest that the Neanderthal capacity to move greater air volumes may also represent an adaptation to cold, insofar as it could support a cold climate physiology.”

The experts speculated that the bigger nostrils found in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthals-compassionate/">Neanderthal</a> skulls would have helped them breathe air in and out more quickly when they were running and hunting. In addition, the large nasal passages would have allowed them to warm and humidify cold, dry air before it entered into their lungs.

“An alternative, not mutually exclusive explanation, is that this ability reflects an adaptation to a more strenuous, energetically demanding lifestyle demanding high caloric intakes,” said the researchers. 

Many scientists had previously concluded that the unique design of Neanderthal skulls allowed them to use their front teeth more aggressively. The current study found, however, that the protruding face of Neanderthals was not an ideal shape for heavy biting with the front teeth.

The study is published in the journal <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.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Natural History Museum, Lond

Neanderthal skull shape helped them adapt to cold, inhale oxygen

A research team led by Professor Stephen Wroe of the...

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ukpdc/collaborators/inserm-french-national-institute-of-health-and-medical-research">French Institute of Health and Medical Research</a> are reporting that outdoor <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/child-asthma-air-pollution/">air pollution</a> is causing more widespread asthma symptoms.

According to the study, long-term exposure to traffic and ozone significantly increases the risk of asthma attacks, and also increases the need for asthma medication and treatment.

“It is very well known that short-term exposure to air pollution is associated with increased asthma symptoms, hospitalizations and use of asthma medication, but studies on the associations between long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution and asthma among adults are still scarce,” explained lead author Anaïs Havet.

“We wanted to try and better understand the underlying biological mechanisms associated with outdoor air pollution and increased asthma symptoms, asthma attacks or medication use, as up to now they were largely unknown.”

For their investigation, the experts obtained cohort study information on 608 French adults, including 240 individuals who had asthma with respiratory symptoms, asthma attacks, or increased medication use in the previous 12 months. The research team used this data to estimate the impact of long-term exposure to heavy traffic, particulate matter, and ozone.

The researchers also examined the link between asthma, exhaled 8-iso, and outdoor air pollution. A high concentration of 8-iso can cause contraction of the airway muscles, which makes it hard to breathe.

The study revealed that 8-iso concentration, high traffic intensity, and ozone exposure increased the risk factors in individuals who currently had asthma. Furthermore, the risk of  future asthma was significantly increased by 8-iso levels and particulate matter.

“For the first time in adults, we found associations between long-term exposures to outdoor air pollution, exhaled 8-iso concentration and current asthma,” explained Havet.

“Based on this, we think that 8-iso is a marker related to one of the underlying biological mechanisms by which outdoor air pollution increases the risk of experiencing asthma symptoms, asthma attacks or the need for use of asthma medications.”

Even though air pollution is much lower in western Europe than in regions of Latin America or Asia, the levels are still threatening to respiratory and lung health.

“Efforts should be made to limit air pollution emissions, with more emphasis on moving towards cleaner cities with fewer cars and more efficient public transport,” said Havet.

The study, which is published in the <a href="http://erj.ersjournals.com/">European Respiratory Journal</a>, adds to a growing collection of research that links air pollution exposure to asthma in adults.

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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

Exposure to traffic air pollution increases risk of asthma

Researchers from the French Institute of Health and Medical Research...

When you think about areas that experience seismic activity, you might think <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earthquakes-yellowstone-supervolcano/">Yellowstone National Park</a>, San Francisco and coastal cities along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

What probably won’t come to mind is New York City, but seismologists have warned that the city is overdue for a 5.0 magnitude earthquake or higher.

The reasoning behind this claim has to with the city’s history of earthquakes and its many fault lines.

Earthquakes on the east coast, while rarely big enough to be felt or cause damage, do occur. In 2011, a 5.8 earthquake struck near Virginia but could be felt strongly in Manhattan.

More recently, in late November of 2017, an earthquake near Delaware caused some tremors in the New York area.

Faraz Toor, an associate producer and writer for <a href="http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2018/04/01/new-york-city-is-due-for-magnitude-5-or-stronger-earthquake">NY1</a>, recently reported a thorough investigation into New York’s moderate earthquake risk.

“While New York is at moderate risk for earthquakes, its high population and infrastructure could lead to significant damage when a magnitude 5 quake or stronger hits the area,” said Toor.

Although even residents may not be aware, there are actually quite a few fault lines in New York City.

According to the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">United States Geological Survey</a> (USGS), faults of every size can be found on all continents, but their risk of seismic activity varies depending on the geological conditions and how active different regions are.

Toor points to several notable faults in New York City, including the 125th Street Fault, the Dyckman Street Fault, the Mosholu Parkway Fault, and the East River Fault.

The 125th Street Fault runs all the way into East River from New Jersey.

Even though these faults don’t carry the same risks as other well known and heavily monitored seismic zones, there is a chance of an earthquake causing substantial damage in New York City in the near future.

By looking at the city’s past earthquakes, experts point to the likelihood of 5.0 or greater hitting the city soon. The last known earthquakes that were 5.0 or greater occurred in 1737 and 1884.

“Researchers say New York City is susceptible to at least a magnitude 5 earthquake once every 100 years, a 6 about every 670 years, and 7 about every 3,400 years,” writes Toor. “It's been 134 years since New York was last hit by at least a magnitude 5. When it happens next, researchers say it won't be much like 1884.” 

The damage caused by an earthquake today would be far more significant due to the city’s infrastructure and high population. More buildings equal a greater risk of damage, and if a major quake were to strike it could cost the city billions of dollars. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Is New York City overdue for a big earthquake?

When you think about areas that experience seismic activity, you...

Hybrid and electric cars have slowly become more and more mainstream, and it’s been <a href="https://about.bnef.com/electric-vehicle-outlook/">estimated</a> that by 2040, electric cars will make up over half of all new car sales. 

A big part of the push toward electric and hybrid vehicles is the falling costs of lithium batteries. As a result, more and more companies are backing projects to put electric and zero-emission commercial planes in the air as soon as the early 2020s. 

Now, according to a new <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/electric-planes-promise-big-benefits-air-passengers-planet-ncna862001">NBC News</a> report, electric planes could offer a quieter and more comfortable flight while emitting less pollution.

According to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/regulations-greenhouse-gas-emissions-aircraft">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA), aircrafts account for 12 percent of all transportation <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/capture-conversion-carbon-emissions/">carbon emissions</a> and 3 percent of the United States’ entire annual greenhouse gas emissions. 

While they may not replace major jet airliners for long transatlantic flights, electric “air taxis” could be the best option for short trips. 

“They’ll be much quieter for passengers and people who live near airports, and their computer-controlled, electrically driven propellers will make for smoother, more comfortable flights,” reports NBC MACH journalist Tom Metcalfe. 

Electric planes could also be much cheaper than traditional flights because of the high cost of jet fuel. They’ll be cost effective, not only for passengers but for airline companies as well, as they have the capability of being remotely controlled in certain situations.

New startups and investments in electric planes have been popping up, with several companies working on designs and planes that could be in operation in the coming decade. 

According to the NBC report, these new planes include a 19-seat hybrid commuter plane being developed<a href="http://zunum.aero/"> Zunum Aero</a> which is backed by Boeing. The company <a href="http://www.airbus.com/">Airbus </a>is also working on a small craft that could take flight by the 2020s and another 100 seat aircraft down the line.

In addition, the Israeli startup <a href="https://www.eviation.co/">Eviation</a> will have its first electric plane “Alice” in the air by 2021. 

“We're harvesting the same kind of beautiful stability that you see in a drone flight, controlling it roughly 400 times a second, in the cruise,” Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay told NBC. 

We might be a long way off from the Jetsons’ picture of the future complete with flying cars, but these hybrid and electric air taxis are an exciting new innovation with the potential to mitigate climate change and reduce our carbon footprints. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Eviation

Electric planes could offer smoother flights and zero emissions

Hybrid and electric cars have slowly become more and more...

Researchers at the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) have led a widespread investigation into the effectiveness of carbon pricing, where a tax or fee would be charged for carbon emissions. Across almost a dozen separate studies, all of the experts found that taxing carbon could not only be an effective way of reducing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smartphones-drive-carbon-emissions/">carbon dioxide</a> (CO2) emissions but could also provide a fair method of boosting the economy.

The extensive research was conducted by 11 different institutions, including the <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/">National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a> (NREL), using a common set of starting assumptions to evaluate the outcome of various carbon tax proposals. The researchers also used sophisticated modeling tools for their analyses.

John Reilly is the co-director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and a senior lecturer at the Sloan School of Management. He explained that all of the teams evaluated the same options for pricing carbon emissions and for using the subsequent revenue. 

The researchers considered pricing carbon at $25 or $50 per ton of emissions with two different rates of increase: 1 percent or 5 percent per year. They also accounted for three different methods of distributing the revenue including an equal rebate to every household, a tax break for individuals, or a corporate tax break.

According to Reilly, even the lowest tax rates could lead to reductions in CO2 emissions sufficient enough to meet the standards set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.


The experts also found that the most efficient way of using the revenue would be for corporate tax breaks, which have been found to boost economic growth more than the other options. However, the benefits of corporate tax breaks would fall disproportionately on lower-income households.

The option of sending equal rebates to all households was found to be the least effective strategy for boosting the economy, but also the least regressive.

The researchers agreed on another scenario which combines corporate tax breaks and rebates for some low-income families. They found that this strategy could eliminate the unfair aspects of the tax with almost the same efficiency in reducing CO2 emissions.


The findings of the research indicate that starting with a $50 per ton carbon tax and increasing it by 5 percent per year would lead to a 63 percent reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. 

“So that's in line with what people are talking about, which is needing a 50 percent reduction by 2050, globally, and getting to net zero beyond that,” said Reilly.

An overview of all 11 studies is published in the journal <a href="https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscinet/cce">Climate Change Economics</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Charging a tax or fee on carbon could be effective in the U.S.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have led...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

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