Change is the only constant in life - except for blinking, of course. And for the 360 million people living with dry eye disease (DED), those constant blinks can be pure agony. 



But what if the cure for dry eyes was as simple as sharing a good belly laugh through laughter therapy?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-healing-power-of-laughter">Healing power of laughter</h2>



Scientific studies have long endorsed laughter therapy as a potent remedy, particularly for patients dealing with depression, stress, anxiety, and chronic pain.



The healing effects of laughter have been observed in patients with diverse medical conditions such as mental health <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-the-human-brain-processes-visual-information/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disorders</a>, cancer, and diabetes.



However, a clinical trial from China recently published by The BMJ unearthed something more profound: laughter therapy might also hold the cure for DED.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dry-eye-disease">Dry eye disease</h2>



Dry eye disease can make your eyes feel as scratchy as a cat's tongue. It can paint your whites an irritated red and make you wish you could shower your eyes in rejuvenating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-retinal-cells-explain-complex-color-perception/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eye</a> drops just to get some relief. 



If you've ever suffered from a case of DED, you know it's no walk in the park.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-laughter-for-treating-dry-eyes">Laughter for treating dry eyes</h2>



Experts from China and the UK embarked on a journey to investigate the effectiveness and safety of laughter exercises in patients struggling with DED symptoms.



"With the population aging, video display terminal use increasing, and air pollution, the global prevalence of dry eye disease has risen sharply, affecting approximately 360 million individuals," noted the researchers.



The trial involved 283 participants, aged between 18-45 years, with an average age of 29 years (74% female). The participants were split into two groups: one group practiced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-who-use-humor-have-better-relationships-with-their-children/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">laughter</a> exercises while the other applied 0.1% sodium hyaluronic acid eye drops four times a day, both for eight weeks.



The researchers ensured all participants had no existing eye conditions, and recent contact lens wearers or DED treatment users were excluded from the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-glimpse-into-the-laughter-exercise">Glimpse into the laughter exercise</h2>



The idea of laughter being a workout might coax a smirk onto your face, but it's no laughing matter (pun intended). 



The participants in the smiling group were asked to watch an instructional video and vocalize phrases like "Hee hee hee, hah hah hah, cheese cheese cheese, cheek cheek cheek, hah hah hah hah hah hah," 30 times over a five-minute session.



They used a face recognition mobile app to track these laughter workouts and enhance their facial movements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eye-drops-the-control-experiment">Eye drops: The control experiment</h2>



On the other hand, the second group treated their eyes with 0.1% sodium hyaluronic acid eye drops four times a day, for the same span of eight weeks. 



Eye drops are typically the go-to remedy for combating DED's scratchy, irritating symptoms. This group also used the same app to keep tabs on their usage frequency.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tears-of-laughter-for-dry-eyes">Tears of laughter for dry eyes</h2>



After both treatments were stopped at eight weeks, the researchers observed that the average OSDI (ocular surface disease index) score in the laughter group was 10.5 points lower, indicating less discomfort. The eye drop group, in contrast, scored 8.83 points lower.



Laughter exercise was not only as effective as traditional eye drops but also showed noticeable improvements in non-invasive tear break up time (the time taken for the first hint of dryness to appear on the cornea after a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blinking-plays-crucial-role-vision-human-perception/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blink</a>), meibomian gland function (oil glands that prevent tears from drying up too soon), and mental health scores.



What makes this discovery even more exciting is that there were no adverse events reported in either study group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-laughter-and-dry-eye-symptoms">Laughter and dry eye symptoms</h2>



The researchers acknowledged some limitations that could have influenced the results, but they firmly believe that laughter exercise has the potential to improve DED symptoms substantially.



"As a safe, environmentally friendly, and low-cost intervention, laughter exercise could serve as a first-line, home-based treatment for people with symptomatic dry eye disease and limited corneal staining," the authors noted.



So next time you're feeling the scratch, why not put on your favorite sitcom or call that friend who never fails to make you laugh?



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj-2024-080474" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The BMJ</a>.



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Laughter may help dry eyes as much as eye drops

Change is the only constant in life - except for blinking, of course. And for the 360 million people living with dry eye disease (DED), those constant blinks can be pure agony. But what if the cure for dry eyes was as simple as sharing a good belly laugh through laughter therapy? Healing power of laughter Scientific studies have long endorsed laughter therapy as a potent remedy, particularly for patients dealing with depression, stress, anxiety, and chronic pain. The healing effects of laughter have been observed in...

Many people prefer to add water to their whisky yet no one really knows why this makes the drink taste better. But now, researchers explain how a splash of water improves the aroma and taste of whisky by pushing flavor compounds to the surface.

Whisky is a complex mixture of hundreds of compounds. One compound in particular, guaiacol, is responsible for giving whisky its smoky flavor. Chemists Bjorn Karlsson and Ran Friedman of <a href="https://lnu.se/en/">Linnaeus University</a> set out to model the molecular composition of whisky and observe the interaction of water, ethanol, and guaiacol. 

The team used computer simulations to observe how guaiacol behaves in different concentrations of alcohol. The researchers were able to determine that diluting whisky by at least 45 percent boosted the guaiacol to the surface and improved the taste. Diluting the whisky up to 27 percent increased the density of guaiacol at the surface by more than a third.

“Our simulations revealed that guaiacol is present at the air-liquid interface at ethanol concentrations that correspond to the alcohol content of bottled or diluted whiskies,” explained the study co-authors. “Because the drink is consumed at the interface first, our findings help to understand why adding water to whisky helps to enhance its taste.”

At concentrations of over 59 percent, the ethanol interacted more strongly with guaiacol and the molecules were pushed down into the liquid away from the surface. This showed the authors that “the taste of guaiacol is less pronounced at high alcohol concentrations, which explains why dilution of cask-strength whiskies results in a change in the sensory effects of the whisky.”

The findings of the study, published this week in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, may be used to optimize the flavor of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alcohol-abuse-united-states/">spirits</a>. 

“Overall, there is a fine balance between diluting the whisky to taste and diluting the whisky to waste,” said the authors. “This balance will depend on the concentration and types of taste compounds that are characteristic for each whisky. Similar considerations can be used to optimize the alcohol concentration of other spirits including gin, rum and brandy.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A splash of water improves the taste of whisky

Many people prefer to add water to their whisky yet...

The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that aids in planning, impulse control, and plays a large role in personality development. It was theorized and widely believed that because teenagers and children do not have a fully developed prefrontal cortex compared to adults, they are more prone to foolish risk taking behaviors and outbursts. 

But new research has offered a different explanation for risky and impulsive adolescent behavior. According to a new study, teenage risk taking has more to do with exploration and discovery rather than impulse control and poor judgment. 

The research, which includes thorough reviews of previous studies surrounding development issues, will be published in the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience in October of this year. 

“Not long ago, the explanation for teenage behavior was raging hormones. Now, it's that the prefrontal cortex isn't fully developed,” said Daniel Romer, lead author of the study and research director at the <a href="http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/">Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania</a>. “Neuroscientists were quick to interpret what appeared to be a characteristic of the developing brain as evidence of stereotypes about adolescent risk taking. But these behaviors are not symptoms of a brain deficit.” 

The stereotypically careless <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/underprivileged-teens-drop-college/">teen</a> might just be exhibiting a desire to explore the world and also gaining valuable life skills that will help while transitioning to adulthood. 

Impulse control problems and weak cognitive control can be recognized in young people by age four or five, and these are the teens who are more at risk of taking the typical exploratory behavior of adolescence one step further and could potentially incur injury, become involved in car crashes, exhibit violent behavior and are more likely to get a sexually transmitted infection. 

The research shows that there is growing evidence to support the inclusion of exploratory inclinations in adolescent behavioral studies, rather than just chalking up a teen’s propensity for risks to a cognitive development problem or just stereotypical behavior. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Teenage risk taking found to be an important part of development

The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that...

The consequences of climate change are numerous and wide-ranging, but part of what makes it so hard for scientists to fully determine what these consequences might be is how one change affects another. This leads to confusing and intricate domino-effect situations, where the effects of climate change can actually be amplified even further. Now, a recent study by the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a>, has found that climate change and habitat conversion to agriculture are combining to homogenize nature. 

This means that as these changes increase, some species within certain ecosystems become more prominent while others die off.

Up until this point, little has been known about how species respond to both stressors: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-trees-weapon-climate-change/">climate change</a> and conversion to agriculture. The study’s authors surveyed birds and plants at 120 site in northwest Costa Rica. These sites included rainforests, dry forests, and farmland.

This survey was done to determine how habitat conversion and droughts induced by climate change affect tropical wildlife. The results showed that different bird species thrive in drier versus wetter areas of the forests. However, in farmlands, birds that also lived in dry forests were found everywhere – even in the wettest areas.

“Across Central and South America, we are seeing large areas being converted from native forest to agriculture, and droughts are becoming more frequent,” says Daniel Karp, lead author and assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology. “Both of these global pressures are favoring the same species and threatening the same species. This means we may be losing biodiversity faster than we previously thought when we were studying climate change and habitat conversion individually.”

The authors point out that some of the most vulnerable birds at the study sites were those found in wet forests. The birds found at agricultural sites were more similar to those found in the dry forest, which has less of a tree canopy and more grass cover. “Now that we know this, we know what to focus on from a conservation perspective,” Karp says.

Some possible solutions to this issue do exist. In order to help retain high levels of biodiversity, land managers should look to protect areas of wetter forests. Conservation efforts should also be more focused on wet-forest species – such as tanagers, manakins, and woodcreepers – which are more sensitive to habitat conversion and climate change. Furthermore, if private landowners are incentivized to protect wet regions of their land, it could help balance biodiversity as well as food production.

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change and habitat conversion eat away at biodiversity

The consequences of climate change are numerous and wide-ranging, but...

In 2015, suicide rates in the United States increased to the highest they have been in 30 years, with 13.3 suicides per 100,000 people. Awareness and prevention have become a major public health issue, as suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. There are many programs in place and care options for people suffering from depression and are at risk of suicide, but access to these programs might be harder for rural community residents. 

A study from the <a href="https://www.jhsph.edu/">John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health</a> discovered an alarming disparity between suicide rates in rural areas compared to urban areas, and their findings revolve around one key component: access to firearms. 

Researchers found that the reason suicide rates were higher in rural parts of Maryland was because of easier access to firearms. 

“The reason that rural suicide rates are higher is because people in these areas are killing themselves with guns," said the study’s leader Paul Sasha Nestadt. 

The study looked at a little over 6,000 suicides in Maryland between 2003 and 2015. Nestadt and his research team found that the rate of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/suicide-mental-illness-middle-east/">suicide</a> in urban areas was 16 deaths per 100,000 people and in rural areas that number spiked to 24 deaths per 100,000 people. The study concluded that the suicide rate was 66 percent higher in rural areas than urban areas. Half of all suicides analyzed used firearms. 

Access to care, geographic isolation, and economic disparity could partly explain this higher percent in rural areas, but the researchers believe it has to do mostly with easy access to firearms. 

"If there is no gun around, many people won't have the means to follow through on those impulses, or would use a less lethal method with a much greater chance of survival," said Nestadt. 

This conclusion is further evidenced by the statistic that around 70 percent of suicides occur within an hour of when the initial suicidal thoughts happen.  

These disparaging suicide rates are certainly troubling, but Nestadt argues that studies like this can also help efforts to show gun shop owners the red flags to look for when selling a guns.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Access to guns linked to higher suicide rates in rural areas

In 2015, suicide rates in the United States increased to...

A recent study reveals that the failure of the Senate to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was due to a divide among Republicans and between parties. Public opinion polls suggest that the outcome of the debate was also heavily influenced by a rise in public support for universal insurance coverage.

The analysis focused on data from 27 public opinion polls distributed by 12 separate organizations. The research finds that citizens who are Republicans are much more divided on health care issues than was previously realized, which makes it very difficult to pass legislation. According to the surveys, 50 percent of Republicans prefer to repeal the ACA and replace it, 14 percent wish to repeal the ACA but not replace it, 29 percent want to keep the law but work to improve it, and 4 percent would like to keep the ACA the way it is.

The polls also show a major divide between Republicans and Democrats regarding the overall future of the bill. The two parties disagree on most policy issues. However, majorities of both parties agree that the number of people covered by Medicaid should not be reduced.

There has been a significant rise in public support for universal coverage since the implementation of the ACA. Public approval of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/president-trump-takes-action/">ACA</a> has gone from 44 percent in 2012 to 49 percent at the time of the debate.

When asked whether or not the federal government should make sure that all Americans have healthcare coverage, six out of ten people say that it should be the responsibility of the federal government. This stance has changed from 42 percent in 2013 to 60 percent in June of this year.

"When confronted with millions losing coverage, the public became more supportive of the principle that the federal government should ensure coverage for these people," explained lead author Robert J. Blendon. "This substantial change likely impacted the outcome of the Senate debate."

The findings of the study are published in the <a href="http://www.nejm.org/">New England Journal of Medicine</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Survey: Repeal failed because public demands universal coverage

A recent study reveals that the failure of the Senate...

What exactly is in your tap <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-inexpensive-treatment-can-quickly-remove-bpa-water/">water</a>? That’s probably a thought that has crossed the minds of many people as they turn on their sink – especially with the prevalence of drinking water problems in areas like Flint, Michigan. Even if you have a filter attached to your sink head, or a filtered pitcher in your fridge, you’d like to think you can rely on the water that comes into your home to not get you sick.

A recent study from <a href="http://drexel.edu/">Drexel University</a> has found that cloudy drinking water has been linked to increased cases of gastrointestinal illness, even if it’s within the limits allowed by some cities. In a review of past studies concerning cities in North America and Europe, this analysis found associations between acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) and water turbidity. 

“More than 10 studies found a link between water turbidity and AGI incidence,” says Anneclaire De Roos, an associate professor at <a href="http://drexel.edu/">Drexel University</a>. “These results suggest that exposures through drinking water caused a low but detectable number of AGI cases in the regions and time periods studied. There is no clear, alternative explanation for the patterns of associations – particularly when a similar pattern was seen multiple times.”

The turbidity, or cloudiness, in water is often caused by material floating in it. This has led scientists to think that undissolved particles may actually be providing protection for harmful pathogens against disinfectants. These pathogens that cause AGI include norovirus, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium. In the United States alone, there are an estimated 12 to 16.4 million AGI cases every year.

Cloudiness might also be evidence of runoff affecting water sources. The runoff could contain harmful pathogens that lead to AGIs as well. So to look into whether or not turbidity is an indicator of pathogens in drinking water sources, the researchers analyzed a number of studies on the topic.

The general strategy of the studies was to link turbidity levels with the amount of people who reported having an AGI on a day-by-day basis. In analyzing this data, De Roos determined that the turbidity of drinking water had a defined link to AGI in multiple studies, and not just when there was increased cloudiness.

“As expected, the association between turbidity and AGI was found in cities with relatively high turbidity levels, often in unfiltered drinking water supplies,” says De Roos. “The findings that go against the conventional wisdom are the associations between turbidity and AGI that were seen at very low levels of turbidity – levels lower than the regulatory limits.”

One of the cities studied was Philadelphia, where there had been previous reports of drinking water turbidity and AGI in children and the elderly. 

However, there were some differences between the studies in the levels of turbidity that were linked to AGI. De Roos believes that future research should have a more enhanced focus on the specific conditions under which turbidity leads to AGI.

“For example, given a similar range of turbidity, is the association with AGI restricted to a certain season or certain climatic conditions, such as periods of heavy rainfall?” De Roos asks. “Furthermore, does the association disappear if a different treatment method is used – like UV disinfection versus chlorination alone?”

If research becomes more focused on these conditions, it may help city utilities better monitor their data in order to prepare for periods where contamination risk is higher. 

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cloudy drinking water puts people at increased risk for illness

What exactly is in your tap water? That’s probably a...

Dementia is brutal enough on those who suffer from the condition, and their family members who have to watch their loved one struggle. Unfortunately, family members also have to shoulder the financial burden of care. Even with Medicaid and Medicare, close loved ones of dementia patients often end up having to pay sky-high medical care costs. 

A new study from the<a href="https://www.brown.edu/academics/public-health/"> Brown University of Public Health</a> looked at the growing dementia epidemic sweeping the US. The team of researchers created a simulation to model the expenses and financial toll that families face to provide care for loved ones afflicted with neurodegenerative conditions. 

The research found that health care costs for people suffering with dementia were more than double that of people without the condition. The numbers are startling, especially considering that 70 percent of the costs fell on patients and families. The average costs of care for persons with dementia were found to be more than $300,000 over five years. 

The study and simulation are particularly innovative because they represent a novel concept of looking at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dementia-preventable-treatment/">dementia</a> care costs over the long term, factoring in how the symptoms of the disease progress over time. 

“The modeling structure I used was able to synthesize data from different sources and put them together to form this long-term picture, over the course of the disease, that currently doesn't exist in any one place,” said Eric Jutkowitz, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor at the Brown University of Public Health. 

To conduct the study and create a reliable simulation of data, Jutkowitz and his research team gathered data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set, the Aging Demographics and Memory Study, and Federal Medicare Records.

The researchers then used this data to simulate the medical costs of computer generated patients with a varied set of demographics including gender, race, income, location, and any other pre-existing diseases like diabetes. Jutkowitz ran 16,000 computer generated patients through the simulation to examine what the costs of care were over time as the disease progressed. 

The financial costs were found to be significantly higher than those patients without dementia. The simulation also showed that Medicare and Medicaid would only cover a fraction of the actual costs with the majority of financial responsibility falling on family members. 

"A lot of people, I think, believe that Medicare will pay for their long-term care," said Jutkowitz. "That's not the case. Private long-term care insurance may help, but benefits can be exhausted and few families have policies. For a disease like dementia, the burden and cost fall on the individual and the family.”

Neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and are proving to be a growing problem, with five million Americans affected today and an entire generation of baby boomers set to reach age 65 or older by 2029. Understanding just what the costs will be over time could prove to be a critical component to help families and government programs prepare for the costs ahead. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dementia quickly becomes expensive for families

Dementia is brutal enough on those who suffer from the...

It’s often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but is that true… or is it simply a marketing ploy by “big cereal?” A study by researchers at <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/index.aspx">King’s College London</a> has found that kids who skip breakfast regularly may be missing the proper amounts of key nutrients needed for growth and development that are recommended by the UK government.

The study involved collecting food diaries used by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-single-moms-well/">children</a> in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling program from 2008 to 2012. The diaries were completed by over 800 children ages 4-10 years old and over 880 children ages 11-18 years old. They assessed nutrient intake through a food composition databank from the Department of Health.

Results showed that over 30 percent of kids who skipped breakfast did not even meet the lower recommended nutrient intake of iron (LRNI), compared to roughly 4 percent of kids who ate breakfast. Of non-breakfast eaters, 19 percent did not meet LRNI for calcium and 21.5 percent did not meet lower levels for iodine, compared to only 2.9 percent and 3.3 percent of breakfast-eaters respectively. All children who consumed breakfast daily had a folate intake above LRNI, while 7.3 percent of those who skipped breakfast were below.

Further analysis also showed that on days when younger children (4-10 years old) consumed breakfast, they had higher intakes of folate, calcium, vitamin C, and iodine compared to when they skipped breakfast. Interestingly, of these same nutrients, only calcium intakes were higher on breakfast-consuming days for older children (11-18 years old).

The authors believe that this difference is due to the difference in parental control over eating habits for the younger children, and results were possibly affected by mis-reporting in food diaries by the older children, who reported their own intakes.

The study also found that nearly 27 percent of 11-18 year olds miss breakfast every day, compared to just 6.5 percent of 4-10 year olds. It was discovered that girls were also more likely to skip breakfast than boys, and household income was higher in families where the children ate breakfast every day.

Although the study was unable to identify a causal link, the results clearly show that children have higher daily intakes of key nutrients on days when they eat breakfast. 

“This study provides evidence that breakfast is key for parents to ensure that their children are getting the nutrition they need,” says Gerda Pot, senior author and Lecturer in Nutritional Sciences at <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/index.aspx">King’s College London</a>. “Further studies that investigate specific foods and dietary quality would help to identify if the differences are due to the different types of breakfast being eaten by different age groups, as well as provide more insight into the impact of breakfast on dietary quality overall.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Kids who skip breakfast aren’t getting the nutrition they need

It’s often said that breakfast is the most important meal...

Solar panels provide access to virtually unlimited clean energy, yet this renewable resource is not utilized anywhere close to its potential. There are many reasons for this, including the expense and limited selection of solar panels. Experts are working to replace the traditional black and blue panels with green, red, and white colors that may be more enticing to home and building owners.

Researchers have developed a technique to imprint solar panels with silicon nanopatterns which cast out green light. The loss of absorbed green light only reduces the effectiveness of the panels by approximately 10 percent.

"Some people say 'why would you make solar cells less efficient?' But we can make solar cells beautiful without losing too much efficiency," said lead author Verena Neder. "The new method to change the color of the panels is not only easy to apply but also attractive as an architectural design element and has the potential to widen their use."


Previous research on solar cells has been mainly focused on increasing the efficiency of panels and reducing the cost. The solar panels currently available on the market can convert up to 22 percent of sunlight into usable energy. The colored solar panels that are available are not nearly as effective due to the dyes and reflective coatings that give them their color.

For the current study, researchers used soft-print lithography to create green <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kentucky-coal-mining-museum-solar/">solar panels</a> that maintain most of their efficiency. This process stamps a heavy concentration of silicon nanocylinders onto the cell surfaces. At about 100 nanometers wide, each nanocylinder has an electromagnetic vibrancy that scatters a particular wavelength of light. The nanocylinders can be adjusted to alter the color of the solar cell.

"In principle, this technique is easily scalable for fabrication technology," said senior author Albert Polman. "You can use a rubber stamp the size of a solar panel that in one step, can print the whole panel full of these little, exactly defined nanoparticles."

The solar panels enhanced with nanopatterns appeared green from almost any angle, which is a huge improvement on colored panels that are currently on the market. The nanopatterns may also make it possible to stack several layers of cells which are developed to absorb different parts of the spectrum. This design could improve the efficiency of solar panels to more than 30 percent.

The study, which is published this week <a href="http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl">Applied Physics Letters</a>, will continue with the development of imprints for red and blue solar cells. The creation of green, red, and blue solar cells may ultimately enable the researchers to develop white solar panels.

"You have to combine different nanoparticles, and if they get very close to each other they can interact and that will affect the color," said Polman. "Going to white is a really big step."

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Green solar panels make clean energy more aesthetically appealing

Solar panels provide access to virtually unlimited clean energy, yet...

Familiar brand rivalries like Coke vs Pepsi, Mac vs PC, and Verizon vs AT&amp;T, often target each other in commercials and consumers often pick a team and stick with them. But it turns out that brand preference is more than just a marketing tool, as recent research reveals that it plays a role in relationship compatibility over time as well. 

“Brand compatibility” is a novel concept and the focus of the study, “Coke vs. Pepsi: Brand Compatibility, Relationship Power, and Life Satisfaction” which was published in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Brand compatibility refers to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/couples-together-share-microbes/">couples</a> who have similar tastes in brands, and therefore higher satisfaction in the relationship. It might seem like a little thing, something as simple as one partner preferring a different brand of chips, but it’s something that research finds might have more of an impact on relationship happiness compared to shared hobbies or personality traits. 

The research found that while big ticket issues like religious differences or differing political viewpoints can create conflict, these are likely to be at the forefront of a relationship, discussed frequently, and may lead to the dissolution of a relationship. But brand preference is one of those little micro issues that over time could grow and cause relationship dissatisfaction. 

“If you like Coke and your partner like Pepsi, you're probably not going to break up over it -- but 11 years into a relationship, when he or she keeps coming home with Pepsi, day in and day out, it might start to cause a little conflict. And if you're the low-power person in the relationship, who continually loses out on brands and is stuck with your partner's preferences, you are going to be less happy,” said Danielle Brick, a former student from <a href="http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/">Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. </a>

The study explained that one of the reasons brand preference could cause a slow burn is due to a power imbalance in the relationship. If you have a lower power level than your partner, he or she may take over all brand buying choices and continue choosing options you are not happy about. 

“If you are lower in relationship power and have different brand preferences than your partner, you're probably going to find yourself stuck with your partner's favorite brands, over and over again. This could lead to a death-by-a-thousand-cuts feeling,” said Brick. 

Putting an emphasis on brand preference and gauging brand compatibility early in a relationship could lead to happier life satisfaction. We live in an age where brands are reaching out to consumers in never-before-seen ways. Buying power for the consumer has also changed over recent years, which means brand compatibility could have more influence on relationship success than ever considered. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Brand preference can cause strain on relationships

Familiar brand rivalries like Coke vs Pepsi, Mac vs PC,...

A new study has found that binge watching your favorite TV shows can ruin your quality of sleep. Unlike regular TV viewing, binge watching was linked with poorer sleep quality, higher fatigue, and increased <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/insomnia-cure-camping/">insomnia</a>.

Binge-watching refers to watching multiple episodes or entire seasons in a one or few sittings, as opposed to the regular weekly episodic viewing that cable TV programming provides. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> and the <a href="https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/en/unit/50019224">Leuven School for Mass Communication Research</a> in Belgium examined the watching habits and sleep quality of 423 adults between the ages of 18 and 25.

The study found that binge watching had an adverse impact on quality of sleep while regular TV watching did not. 

Of those who participated in the study, the majority agreed that they had binge-watched to some extent, and almost 40% did it once a month, while only 7% of the participants reported daily habitual binging. 

Those who binge-watched reported getting a normal amount of sleep a night, around seven hours, but with a severely degraded quality of sleep. Participants who were frequent binge watchers were found to have more insomnia and fatigue compared to non binge-watchers. 

The study also looked at mental alertness after watching intense programming like Game of Thrones and how it affected sleep. The action and intensity of certain shows make it easy to get engrossed in the story, and in turn, make it more difficult to then fall asleep.

"We think they become intensely involved with the content and may keep thinking about it when they want to go to sleep,” said Liese Exelmans, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Leuven School.

Sleep is essential to keeping our bodies functioning properly, and poor sleep quality can open the door to memory problems, hinder the brain’s ability to retain and learn new information, and cause hypertension and cardiovascular disease. That is why studies that can prove risk factors, such as binge-watching, to sleep quality are important to understanding how to better maintain and create healthy sleep cycles. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmai.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Binge watching TV shows can harm your quality of sleep

A new study has found that binge watching your favorite...

New research published in the <a href="http://www.ajog.org/">American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology</a> finds that even small exposures to some of the toxic chemicals in today’s beauty products can cause health problems – and this issue disproportionately affects women of color. 

The beauty product industry is estimated to bring in roughly $400 billion globally. A lot of this money comes from black, Latina, and Asian-American women, who spend more on beauty products than the national average.

“Pressure to meet Western standards of beauty means Black, Latina and Asian American women are using more beauty products and thus are exposed to higher levels of chemicals known to be harmful to health,” says Ami Zota, an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health at <a href="https://www.gwu.edu/">George Washington University</a>. “Beauty product use is a critical but underappreciated source of reproductive harm and environmental injustice.”

The authors point out that marketing practices often emphasize a “European standard of beauty.” Women of color may buy products such as skin lightening face cream, which can contain ingredients like topical steroids or even mercury. Black women are also more likely to suffer anxiety about having “bad hair,” and are twice as likely to experience social pressure to straighten their hair. According to this study, hair products like relaxers or straighteners sometimes contain estrogen, which can trigger premature reproductive development in young girls and possibly lead to uterine tumors.

Low-income women of color are also more likely to live in an area with high levels of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-snow-toxic/">pollutants</a> that contaminate the air, soil, and water. So they are not only more likely to be exposed to more toxic chemicals on their skin and hair, but in their environment as well. 

“For women who live in already polluted neighborhoods, beauty product chemicals may add to their overall burden of exposures to toxic chemicals,” says Bhavna Shamasunder, an assistant professor at <a href="https://www.oxy.edu/">Occidental College</a>. “Certain racial/ethnic groups may be systematically and disproportionately exposed to chemicals in beauty products since factors such as institutionalized racism can influence product use.”

All of these increased risks can add up to become detrimental in healthy reproduction and development. The authors’ commentary suggests that health professionals can aid these at-risk groups by counseling their patients on the detriments of exposure to hidden chemicals in beauty products.

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Women of color more at risk of health hazards of beauty products

New research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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

[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...