Who knew that a simple catch-up with your pals could hold the secret to a longer, healthier life? A recent study has suggested an intriguing link between our levels of social interaction and loneliness, and our physical health.



Leading the study was Dr. Chun Shen, along with his dedicated team from the University of Cambridge. The researchers found that a lack of social contact might be more harmful than previously suspected.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growing-problem-of-loneliness">Growing problem of loneliness</h2>



Loneliness has become a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-isolation-and-loneliness-trigger-changes-in-blood-proteins/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">global public health issue</a> that affects people of all ages. While often associated with the elderly, loneliness has surged among younger generations as well, with 61% of 18–25-year-olds reporting frequent feelings of isolation.



Technology, despite promoting virtual connections, has deepened the problem by replacing meaningful, face-to-face interactions with superficial, online relationships.



Workplace changes, like remote work, have also reduced casual interactions and increased isolation among employees. Urban environments, with their fast-paced, individualistic cultures, paradoxically leave many feeling disconnected despite being surrounded by people.



Governments worldwide are recognizing loneliness as a crisis. The U.K. appointed a Minister for Loneliness, and Japan has initiatives to address extreme social withdrawal. The World Health Organization has also flagged loneliness as a growing concern.



Addressing loneliness requires promoting inclusive communities, encouraging social connections, and raising awareness to counter its significant emotional, physical, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loneliness-disrupts-college-students-sleep-more-than-screen-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">societal impacts</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-proteins-loneliness-and-health">Proteins, loneliness, and health</h2>



Researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed blood samples from 42,000 adults aged 40-69, collected through the <a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.K. Biobank</a>. Their study revealed a critical insight: loneliness increases the production of five specific proteins.



These proteins are directly linked to serious health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, insulin resistance, and even early death. This finding sheds light on the biological mechanisms through which loneliness can harm physical health.



“We know that social isolation and loneliness are linked to poorer health, but we’ve never understood why. Our work has highlighted a number of proteins that appear to play a key role in this relationship,” explained Dr. Shen.



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



The study emphasizes how social bonds act as a protective shield against many health issues. Loneliness and social isolation have long been associated with reduced well-being and early mortality. 



However, this research offers new insights into the biological mechanisms at play.



“These findings drive home the importance of social contact in keeping us well," noted Professor Barbara Sahakian from the Department of Psychiatry at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Cambridge</a>.



"More and more people of all ages are reporting feeling lonely. That’s why the World Health Organization (<a href="https://www.who.int" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHO</a>) has described social isolation and loneliness as a ‘global public health concern.” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-of-loneliness-and-health">The science of loneliness and health</h2>



The research indicated that loneliness was linked to the increased production of five distinct proteins in the body.



One of the primary ways loneliness affects health is through chronic stress. When people feel socially isolated, their bodies may register stress and prepare them for a state of “fight or flight.”



This stress response can elevate inflammation, disrupt hormone regulation, and impair immune system function. Over time, these physiological changes contribute to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loneliness-harms-health-more-than-alcohol-obesity-or-smoking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">development of diseases</a>.



Additionally, loneliness impacts heart health by influencing blood pressure and increasing the likelihood of conditions such as hypertension. It also contributes to metabolic changes, which can lead to insulin resistance - a precursor to type 2 diabetes.



These findings reveal that loneliness is not just a social or emotional issue but a biological one with far-reaching implications for overall health. Understanding the science behind these processes emphasizes the importance of addressing loneliness to prevent its harmful effects on the body.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-practical-tips-for-staying-connected">Practical tips for staying connected</h2>



Promoting relationships and staying socially connected can significantly improve your well-being. Below are some practical ways to build and maintain connections while reducing feelings of loneliness.



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Reconnect with friends and family
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Send a message, make a call, or schedule regular meetups.</li>



<li>Plan activities like meals, walks, or shared hobbies.</li>
</ul>
</li>



<li>Engage in community activities
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Join local groups or clubs, such as book clubs or fitness classes.</li>



<li>Volunteer in your community to meet people and make a difference.</li>
</ul>
</li>



<li>Build new social networks
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Attend events like workshops, networking meetups, or local festivals.</li>



<li>Use platforms like Meetup or Facebook Groups to find people with similar interests.</li>
</ul>
</li>



<li>Strengthen everyday interactions
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Greet your neighbors, chat with coworkers, or start conversations in daily settings.</li>



<li>Smile, make eye contact, and show interest to encourage connections.</li>
</ul>
</li>



<li>Focus on quality over quantity
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Spend time nurturing relationships that bring joy and support.</li>



<li>Prioritize meaningful connections over having a large social circle.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-combating-loneliness-for-better-health">Combating loneliness for better health</h2>



The findings, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, stress the need for society to prioritize social contact. Whether through community programs, mental health support, or simply reaching out to loved ones, staying socially connected can significantly improve overall health.



In a world that often feels more digitally connected but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/feeling-lonely-and-unhappy-can-age-you-faster-than-smoking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">socially distant</a>, these insights remind us of the importance of nurturing real-life relationships - for both our hearts and our health.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02078-1">Nature Human Behaviour.</a>



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Social contact is a protective shield against health issues

Who knew that a simple catch-up with your pals could hold the secret to a longer, healthier life? A recent study has suggested an intriguing link between our levels of social interaction and loneliness, and our physical health. Leading the study was Dr. Chun Shen, along with his dedicated team from the University of Cambridge. The researchers found that a lack of social contact might be more harmful than previously suspected. Growing problem of loneliness Loneliness has become a global public health issue that affects people of...

Young children have a sense of self that is comparable to that of older kids and adults, according to a new study. The findings reveal that an individual's understanding of self-worth develops early in life, and failure has a negative influence much earlier than previously realized.

"Young children's self-concepts are not qualitatively different from those of older children and adults," said senior author Andrei Cimpian of <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a>. “Young children can think of themselves as possessing abstract traits and abilities, and they can also reason about their self-worth, which has implications for self-esteem.”

Cimpian pointed out that self-awareness at a young age also has a downside. She explained that, “this level of maturity in reasoning about the self also means that young children can become dispirited in the face of failure and are not the undaunted optimists that previous theories have described.”

Cimpian and a team of psychology researchers wanted to challenge the theory that young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/children-higher-iqs-live-longer/">children</a> are not capable of reasoning about their individual talents and self-worth. The experts set out to understand if young children can think about themselves in terms of their abilities and distinguishing qualities, such as being smart, or if they are mainly focused on concrete behaviors and outcomes, such as getting a good grade. To find out, the researchers developed a series of assessments and tested children ranging from four to seven years old. 

The participants were presented with several hypothetical scenarios. The children were asked to imagine they could not complete a task despite their best efforts. They were sometimes told the task was easy and other times they were told it was difficult. In addition, some children were told the task was done at the request of a parent or teacher, while others were told it was self-initiated. They were then asked specific questions regarding their skills and self-esteem.

The results of the study showed that children as young as four have the ability to reason about their talents and sense of self-worth based on context. When told they failed an easy task, children doubted their skills but did not doubt their overall self-worth. On the other hand, they lowered their estimation of global self-worth when informed they failed a task that an adult had requested for them to complete.

The study, which appears in the journal <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/index.html">Child Development</a>, suggests that the influence of others can negatively affect a child's self-esteem at a very young age.

“In light of this new work, we need to think carefully about, and investigate, ways of supporting young children's motivation and engagement with important--but often difficult--activities such as school,” said Cimpian.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Children form their sense of self-worth as early as age 4

Young children have a sense of self that is comparable...

A new study from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> (UCL) has found that a short lesson in mindfulness can go a long way with heavy drinkers. Learning how to experience a heightened sense of self-awareness helped individuals significantly cut back on their alcohol consumption.

The study, published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ijnp">International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology</a>, was led by Dr. Sunjeev Kamboj of the UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit.

"We found that a very brief, simple exercise in mindfulness can help drinkers cut back, and the benefits can be seen quite quickly," said Dr. Kamboj.

The research was focused on 68 heavy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/moderate-drinking-health-benefits/">drinkers</a> who were not to the point of having an alcohol use disorder. Half of the individuals were taught mindfulness, a practice that promotes calmness, self-acceptance, and living in the moment. 

The 11-minute training session, which was delivered through audio recordings, helped the participants realize their alcohol cravings were only temporary so they would not give in to them as easily. After training, the subjects were asked to practice what they had learned over the next week.

The research team taught the other half of participants relaxation strategies as a control condition. This technique seemed to be have the same potential for reducing alcohol use. The study was double-blind, which means that neither the researchers nor the subjects were aware of which type of therapy was being used.

The group who studied mindfulness consumed 9.3 fewer units of alcohol in the following week compared to their consumption level during the week before the study. For the individuals who learned relaxation techniques, however, there was no notable reduction in alcohol consumption.

"Practicing mindfulness can make a person more aware of their tendency to respond reflexively to urges,” said Dr. Kamboj. “By being more aware of their cravings, we think the study participants were able to bring intention back into the equation, instead of automatically reaching for the drink when they feel a craving.”

Because heavy drinking often leads to severe alcohol problems, the researchers are hopeful that further research can give more insight into how mindfulness training may help to empower heavy drinkers before they develop a full blown disorder. According to co-author Shirley Serfaty, this practice may also help with other substance abuse issues.

"Some might think that mindfulness is something that takes a long time to learn properly, so we found it encouraging that limited training and limited encouragement could have a significant effect to reduce alcohol consumption," said co-author Damla Irez.
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Practicing mindfulness helps heavy drinkers slow down

A new study from University College London (UCL) has found...

It seems that extroverts and introverts differ on more than just social behavior. According to a new study, extroverts with lower incomes are more likely to purchase more luxury goods to make up for the deficit in perceived social status, whereas introverts are less inclined to spend outside their means.

The study examined spending habits, income, and different personality types of a wide array of individuals in the UK. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> compiled the data and found that personality was a powerful motivator of spending habits, especially for people with lower <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/higher-incomes-more-exercise/">incomes</a>. 

The study suggests that a lower income leads to a higher likelihood of spending on goods and services that are associated with higher status in society. Because extroverts are known for being outgoing, sociable, and focused on society’s opinions of them, they may be inclined to spend more on items that appear to elevate their status.

“It's clear from our study that an extroverted personality is a driver for low-income individuals purchasing more luxury goods, and this is most likely to compensate for a perceived low social status that isn't as keenly felt by introverts. We saw very little difference in the spending habits of introverts and extroverts with high incomes," said co-author Blaine Landis from University College London’s School of Management. 

The study was published in Psychological Science and collected data from 718 UK banking customers over 12 months. The researchers asked participants to answer a short personality questionnaire that was then matched to individual spending habits. Researchers made sure to factor in other markers that indicate spending habits like age, sex, and number of dependents. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Low income extroverts purchase more luxury goods

It seems that extroverts and introverts differ on more than...

Oil, gas, and fracking wells are a huge contributor to methane emissions, second only to the cattle industry. According to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">EPA</a>, in 2015, oil and gas operations contributed to 29 percent of the United States’ methane emissions overall. There are millions of active wells worldwide that are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-cardiovascular-disease/">polluting the air</a>, contaminating the soil, affecting ground water, and in turn, heavily impacting populations that live in close proximity to them. 

A new study from researchers at the <a href="https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/">PSE Healthy Energy Institute</a>, <a href="http://berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a>, and<a href="https://www.hmc.edu/"> Harvey Mudd College</a>, is the first of its kind to closely track and record how many people live within a harmful distance of active oil and gas wells, along with the health risks associated with those conditions. The study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, discovered that an estimated 17.6 million people live within one mile of an active oil or gas well in the United States.

Living that close to oil operations puts people at higher risk of cancers, increased asthma and respiratory problems, heart and neurological problems, and there is a higher likelihood of being hospitalized. The research also found that living within a mile of oil and gas wells can create adverse birth defects, smaller babies, and a higher risk of preterm births. 

The study aimed to target the pollution caused by oil and gas wells and its effects on the health of those residents within close proximity to operations. 

“Our study was specifically designed to determine how many Americans have increased health risks from potential exposure to pollutants emitted from oil and gas development,” said Eliza Czolowski, lead author of the study. 

Czolowski and her colleagues also found that the type of the drilling or oil production did not matter, as both fracking (a method of extracting oil and gas by using highly pressurized sand, water and chemicals) and conventional oil and gas wells generate the same pollutants.

This innovative and expansive study shows the costly ramifications of living in close proximity to active oil and gas wells. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Millions who live near oil and gas wells exposed to pollutants

Oil, gas, and fracking wells are a huge contributor to...

A new study from the<a href="https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/"> Boston University School of Medicine</a> has linked dementia to lack of REM sleep in earlier years. 

According to the research, being in a REM state for a shorter amount of time and taking longer to enter REM are both independently associated with a greater risk of developing dementia later in life. 

The study was published in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology and examined 321 test patients over the age of 60 who had participated in an overnight sleep study between 1995 and 1998. The study participants were then analyzed every 12 years to observe any possible risks of developing dementia.  

The researchers found as the years went on that a lack of REM sleep was correlated with a 9 percent increase in the risk of developing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dementia-expensive-families/">dementia</a> and an 8 percent increase in developing Alzheimer's disease dementia. 

Consequently, while less REM sleep could increase risk of dementia, sleeping too much can also be a high risk marker. Earlier in the year, the researchers reported that people who sleep more than 9 hours each night are twice as likely to develop dementia in 10 years compared, to those who sleep for nine hours or less.

"Different stages of sleep may differentially affect key features of Alzheimer's disease. Our findings implicate REM sleep mechanisms as predictors of dementia," said Matthew Pase from the department of Neurology at Boston University.

The human body needs the right amount of REM sleep each night to function properly, and lack of sleep has been attributed to severely depreciated motor skills, poor memory retention, and lowered cognitive functioning. Studies like this help promote the importance of getting enough REM sleep each night, and in turn, lower the risks of developing dementia. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Not getting enough REM sleep increases risk of dementia

A new study from the Boston University School of Medicine...

The realities of climate change are felt with increasing severity each year. We have seen record breaking heat waves in parts of Europe and Asia, increased carbon emissions, rising global temperatures, and rising sea temperatures. But the timeline for implementing policies to help reverse these potentially catastrophic effects is getting shorter and shorter. But now, Mark Z Jacobson from <a href="https://cee.stanford.edu/programs/atmosphere-energy-program">Stanford University's Atmosphere and Energy Program</a>, along with 26 of his colleagues, have created a global roadmap to transitioning 139 countries to using 100 percent renewable energy sources by the year 2050. 

Not only will these changes reduce pollution and help stave the effects of climate change, but according to Jacobson, there is potential for the creation of  millions of new long term jobs. 

"Aside from eliminating emissions and avoiding 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming and beginning the process of letting carbon dioxide drain from the Earth's atmosphere, transitioning eliminates 4-7 million air pollution deaths each year and creates over 24 million long-term, full-time jobs by these plans," said Jacobson.

The roadmap and the corresponding research has been published in Cell Press’s new journal Joule. 

The research looked at 139 of the world’s 195 countries and specifically focused on energy consumption and each country's electricity, transportation, heating and cooling, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-consumption-climate-change/">agricultural industries</a>.

Jacobson’s plan has been criticized for its exclusion of nuclear power, “clean coal,” and biofuels. Nuclear power has proven to be costly and risky to operate, not to mention the hazardous waste buildup from nuclear power plants that of yet have no set long term disposal places. Biofuels and coal are also not as eco-friendly as wind, solar, and water energy because of their high pollution rates. 

This plan is not the first of its kind as Jacobson is expanding on a 2015 study that looked at transitioning all 50 states to renewable energy and the mitigating challenges and costs that would have to be factored in to make it a reality. 

Naysayers of Jacobson's plans also point out the enormous costs of transitioning so much of the world to renewable energy, but Jacobson counters this by showing the higher costs that will result in following a business-as-usual model and not doing anything to hinder carbon output. 

"Both individuals and governments can lead this change. Policymakers don't usually want to commit to doing something unless there is some reasonable science that can show it is possible, and that is what we are trying to do," says Jacobson. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

By 2050, 139 countries could be powered by renewable energy

The realities of climate change are felt with increasing severity...

When you think of war, you probably first imagine two militaries made up of soldiers and combat gear going at it for a variety of reasons. For many people, the idea of danger or casualties is often confined to what the soldiers for either side experience. However, it’s often forgotten that these wars usually have to take place in an area where normal civilians live, including women and children. Even though they may not have signed up for the army, these bystanders can experience the physical and emotional toll of war just as much as any soldier.

A recent study by researchers in Israel surveyed parents and children (aged 12-14) in a region that had recently experienced an armed conflict in southern Israel. The survey included questions about the type of parenting style the parents used, the level of parental warmth, the children’s exposure to violent events, and their mental health symptoms.

“We set out to understand the effects of two aspects of parenting on children’s mental health and adjustment after exposure to the trauma of war: parenting style and parental warmth,” says Michelle Slone, a researcher at <a href="https://english.tau.ac.il/">Tel Aviv University</a>. “The motivation for this study was to trace the most beneficial aspects of parenting that could facilitate and promote children’s adjustment and positive development in a dangerous and unstable reality.”

There are many factors that can affect a child’s resilience or vulnerability to stressful events. The manner in which they are raised by their parents and the inner dynamics of their family life is one of these major factors. The researchers organized parenting styles by three different categories:
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Permissive: this parenting style provides the child with a lot of support and encouragement, but not much discipline.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Authoritarian: the child receives limited emotional support and faces strict discipline.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Authoritative: involves a combination of emotional support with discipline that is open to negotiation.</li>
</ul>
“Parenting styles and practices could be a facilitating or damaging factor in children’s adjustment to traumatic experiences, and this has not been well studied in the context of armed conflicts,” says Slone.

From the results of the survey, the researchers determined that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/children-harmful-chemicals-schools/">children</a> who have been exposed more to traumatic events exhibited more mental health symptoms, which isn’t exactly shocking. What was interesting though, was that mothers who used an authoritative parenting style actually helped protect their children against internalizing and externalizing symptoms in response to traumatic events. Furthermore, mothers exhibiting more maternal warmth also provided more protection against their children externalizing symptoms.

The permissive and authoritarian maternal parenting styles were linked to a greater internalization and externalization of symptoms from children who had high exposure to traumatic violence.

One interesting finding was that the parenting style and parental warmth of fathers had no effect on their children’s response to trauma. Roughly 88% of the primary caregivers surveyed were women, which points to them having more of an effect on the emotional well being of children. 

Although it seems simple to say, no child should ever have to experience the trauma of war. The problem is that this statement isn’t powerful enough to change the world, despite the obvious consequences. Luckily, studies such as this may help us better protect children in war zones from emotional trauma. As Slone explains, “Knowledge of these effects can guide psychologists and counselors who are faced with the task of accompanying families through traumatic circumstances and experiences.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

During war, parenting style can impact stress levels of kids

When you think of war, you probably first imagine two...

Adult mosquitoes depend on the nectar or honeydew of plants to get the sugar they need for survival. With this in mind, scientists developed a sweet-smelling insecticide that is not only highly effective and inexpensive but also environmentally friendly. This new eradication method may be used worldwide to help suppress diseases transmitted by mosquitoes such as Zika and malaria.

"The blend of chemicals that we use to attract mosquitoes is so powerful that they will ignore natural plant odors and attractants in order to get to our formulation," said lead researcher Agenor Mafra-Neto. "From a mosquito's point of view, it's like having an irresistible chocolate shop on every corner. The product is so seductive that they will feed on it almost exclusively, even when it contains lethal doses of insecticide."

The most common chemical insecticides that are used to control <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mosquitoes-zika-transmit-diseases/">mosquitoes</a> are sprayed over wide areas, which may threaten people, animals, and other insects. This blanket approach can also pollute the environment and promote pesticide resistance. The research team set out to develop a formula spiked with semiochemicals, or pheromones, that would successfully attract the mosquitoes to the insecticide for a much more targeted approach. 

The team collected the scents of flowers and plants that produce nectar and managed to identify their odorous compounds. They exposed mosquito antennae to thousands of these compounds to analyze their responses. The researchers also eliminated scents which attracted bees.

The team developed a semiochemical blend containing sugars and proteins to mimic 20 chemical signals that the mosquitoes found most attractive. They combined these compounds with insecticides such as pyrethroids or spinosad which produced highly-effective formulas.

The product ultimately created by the study is called Vectrax. It is safe for both indoor and outdoor use, and can be applied in the form of a spray or in a gel form. The spray produces 1-5 millimeter dollops, which help to deliver a precise dose of the insecticide as the mosquitoes visit and manipulate the dollops. 

The researchers are now testing out the product in Tanzania, where 93 percent of the population is at risk for malaria. Preliminary results showed that Vetrax reduced mosquito populations by two-thirds in only two weeks.

"If the trend continues like this, we expect that the Anopheles malaria mosquito population will soon be collapsing down to nearly zero in the treated villages," said Mafra-Neto. 

The researchers are presenting their work today at the 254th National Meeting &amp; Exposition of the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New insecticide attracts mosquitoes with sweet pheromones

Adult mosquitoes depend on the nectar or honeydew of plants...

A new study demonstrates how supermarkets could play a role in fighting obesity by reducing the calories in their products. Using a strategy known as silent reformulation, retailers can change the recipes of food products to lower calorie content without alerting customers.

Jørgen Dejgaard Jensen is a professor at the <a href="http://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> and lead author of the study.

"Silent product reformulation may not achieve dramatic reductions in the population's calorie intake, but there seems to be little doubt that it can reduce calorie intake, and that it can do so at a relatively low cost,” said Jensen.

The researchers analyzed data from a silent reformulation that took place between March 2013 and 2014. A Danish retail chain reformulated eight of its own-brand products including mayonnaise, fruit yoghurt, pumpkin seed rye bread, toasting buns, yoghurt bread, carrot buns, whole-grain rolls, and chocolate muesli. Nutritional facts were updated on the product labels but the changes were not announced to customers. 

The study revealed that the overall calorie sales of six products dropped up to 7 percent after the reformulation. Some customers swapped out the new bread and chocolate cereal for alternatives with higher calories, which negated the calorie-reducing effects for those two product categories. For the majority of the products, however, the effects of reformulation were positive.

The researchers pointed out that potential changes in consumer behavior, such as switching out reformulated bread for another <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brand-preference-strain-relationships/">brand</a>, must be taken into consideration when measuring the success of these interventions. They said that studies which do not take this data into account may overstate the public health benefits of product reformulations. 

Professor Jensen explained that the recipe changes made in the products were only “marginal” changes that focused on maintaining the same appearance and taste. 

“Previous research has indicated that through a sequence of such marginal product reformulations, it may be possible to undertake more substantial changes in food products' nutritional characteristics, and still maintain consumers' acceptance of the products,” said Jensen.

The research team also examined whether consumer behavioral changes would negatively affect sales. They found that the product reformulations had very little impact on the retailer's sales turnover, which indicates that such health interventions can be done at a relatively low cost for the retailers. The findings of the study are published in the <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/">International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Supermarkets could help you eat fewer calories without realizing

A new study demonstrates how supermarkets could play a role...

Production of myelin is crucial to neural development and the structural organization of white matter. Myelin is the fatty white substance that surrounds some nerve fibers or axons and helps insulate the nerve fibers as they send signals to and from neurons and other cells. Now, new research has shown that sensory rich experiences and new environments can play a positive role in the development of white matter and enhance myelination in children.

Myelination is the process of producing the sheath-like insulation for axons (nerve fibers). Without enough insulation, the nervous system cannot work properly, and many developmental disorders can be traced back to defects in white matter formation and myelin integrity

Thomas A. Forbes, lead author of a report published in the journal Trends in Neurosciences, discusses a crucial  “feedback loop,” wherein a pool of cells known as oligodendrocyte progenitor cells make myelin through childhood and adolescence, and the oligodendrocyte cells work in tandem with the axons.

Forbes and his fellow researcher discuss myelination in conjunction with the beneficial effects that sensory rich environments have on young developing brains. 

“The strength, duration and timing of environmental experience influences plasticity in brain circuitry, which is made up of communication cables called axons that link neurons throughout the brain and are coated by myelin, a fatty substance that helps nerve impulses speed from place to place,” says Vittorio Gallo, the study’s senior author and Chief Research Officer at <a href="https://childrensnational.org/">Children's National Health System. </a>

Sensory rich environments can help cognitive development through a variety of ways. Enriching a child’s environment through exposure to new objects and surroundings and interactions with new people and playmates has been found to increase volume and length of myelinated fibers and boost total brain volume. 

Other sensory rich activities that can boost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmental-pollutant-dioxin-alters-brain-development/">brain development</a> include listening to music, active learning, and physical fitness. These positive impacts are further evidenced by the negative effects that poor nutrition, neglect, and social isolation have on basic motor skills and cognitive function and in turn myelin structure. 

The research shows how important an enriched environment is to brain development for infants and children, and offers important information for finding therapies and treatments to enhance white matter health. 

“An enriched environment not only involves the opportunity to move and participate in physical exercise and physical therapy; it is also an environment where there is novelty, new experiences and continuously active learning. It is equally important to minimize social stressors. It's all about the balance,” said Gallo. 

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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

Vibrant environments can help white matter development in kids

Production of myelin is crucial to neural development and the...

Abstinence-only education promotes abstaining from sex until marriage, but these programs have been proven to be unsuccessful time and time again, and actually do more harm than good. 

Recent research from <a href="https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/">Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health</a> shows that abstinence-only programs in the United States lobby false statistics, enforce gender stereotypes, subjugate young women, withhold medically accurate information, stigmatize sex education and contraceptives, and most importantly, do not prevent sexual initiation, unplanned pregnancies, or STDs. 

According to recent studies using information from several human rights organizations, abstinence-only programs also enforce harmful narratives.

Another reason abstinence-only education is doomed to fail is that people are now getting married at a later age. Research shows that most people are now getting married in their later 20’s and early 30’s, and so the gap between the age that people first have sex and first get married is around 9 years for women and 11 years for men. 

Government spending for abstinence-only education in the US is now $85 million annually and states cannot use any of that allocated money to inform or educate about contraceptives, except to point out rates of failure. 

This misinformation, along with the withholding of information about anatomy and human body function, amounts to a human rights violation, according to several organizations.

"Withholding critical health information from young people is a violation of their rights. Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs leave all young people unprepared and are particularly harmful to young people who are sexually active, who are LGBTQ, or have experienced sexual abuse,” said co-author Leslie Kantor, vice president of Education at<a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/"> Planned Parenthood </a>Federation of America. 

The fact that abstinence-only <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientific-education-beliefs/">education</a> has been proven to be ineffective and actually enforces harmful stereotypes and narratives should be reason enough for schools and the US government to find ways to source information accurately. This research indicates that adolescents need a comprehensive education that ultimately empowers them to make their own safe, healthy choices.

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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

Abstinence-only education proven to be unsuccessful and dangerous

Abstinence-only education promotes abstaining from sex until marriage, but these...

In an effort to downplay subpar high school experiences, people will often tell young adolescents “high school doesn’t matter after you graduate.” But how true is that really? We know that the academic side of high school is obviously imperative to continued academic success, but the social side of school is often brushed off as juvenile, and friendships short-lived.

But researchers from the <a href="http://www.virginia.edu/">University of Virginia</a> wanted to dive deeper into the long-lasting impacts of peer relationships for high school students. Their study encompassed a community sample of 169 adolescents over a decade, from ages 15 to 25. The group studied was racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse. 

Individuals were assessed annually through surveys and interviews that asked questions about who their closest friends were, details about friendships and assessments analyzing feelings of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marijuana-low-doses-relieve-stress/">anxiety</a>, social acceptance, self-worth, and depression. The close friends of participants were also interviewed and asked to report on their friendships.

Friendship quality was determined from these reports by best friends of participants at age 15. The friendships that had a degree of attachment and support and allowed for intimate exchanges were considered “high-quality friendships.” Popularity was determined by the number of peers in the individual’s grade that ranked them as someone they would want to spend time with, and fully measured using nominations from all teens.

The study ultimately found that teens who prioritized close friendships early on had lower social anxiety, increased self-worth, and fewer symptoms of depression at age 25 compared to their peers. On the other hand, teens who were more popular in high school had higher levels of social anxiety as young adults.

“Our research found that the quality of friendships during adolescence may directly predict aspects of long-term mental and emotional health,” says Rachel K. Narr, PhD candidate in clinical psychology at the <a href="http://www.virginia.edu/">University of Virginia</a>, who led the study. “High school students with higher-quality best friendships tended to improve in several aspects of mental health over time, while teens who were popular among their peers during high school may be more prone to social anxiety later in life.”

The study concludes that focusing on strong, intimate friendships during adolescence can help promote long-term mental health. This may be because positive experiences with friends can help enhance positive feelings about oneself during a stage of life when personal identify is being developed. 

“Our study affirms that forming strong close friendships is likely one of the most critical pieces of the teenage social experience,” explains Joseph Allen, a professor at the <a href="http://www.virginia.edu/">University of Virginia</a>, who coauthored the study. “Being well-liked by a large group of people cannot take the place of forging deep, supportive friendships. And these experiences stay with us, over and above what happens later. As technology makes it increasingly easy to build a social network of superficial friends, focusing time and attention on cultivating close connections with a few individuals should be a priority.”

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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

High school friendships impact mental health later in life

In an effort to downplay subpar high school experiences, people...

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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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...