Do you recall those childhood days when you eagerly anticipated bedtime stories about Peter Rabbit, Toad or Ratty from The Wind in the Willows? Or the excitement that washed over you every time you opened a children's book teeming with playful, animated animals? 



Well, a new study is giving us a fresh perspective on the role of these furry, iconic characters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-children-s-books-animal-characters">Children's books animal characters</h2>



The research has shed light on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/toddlers-learn-faster-after-witnessing-impossible-events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">potential influence</a> of non-human characters in children's books.



The researchers aimed to gauge how these animal characters affected children's theory of mind skills - crucial abilities which include deciphering social changes in the environment based on voice tone, word choice, or facial expressions.



They worked with over 100 children aged five to 10, each of whom were tested on their theory of mind skills after hearing stories featuring animal characters, as well as those highlighting human characters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-vs-animal-characters-in-books">Human vs. animal characters in books</h2>



The study unveiled an interesting pattern. When exposed to stories centered around human characters, an age-related progression was observed. 



Older children were consistently outperforming their younger counterparts, with 3rd grade children surpassing the researchers' expectations in tests featuring human characters.



But the revelations didn't stop there. The tests that involved animal characters threw up another surprise. 



The younger participants were able to match the scores achieved by pupils in 3rd grade, who were two years their senior. That's quite a feat for our young champions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-insight-into-children-s-development">New insight into children's development</h2>



These findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, highlight the importance of both human and non-human characters in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/outdoor-classes-improve-childrens-mental-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">children's developmental stages</a>.



The research was led by Dr. Gray Atherton and Dr. Liam Cross from the University of Plymouth’s <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/schools/psychology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Psychology</a>.



"Animals play a huge part of children’s stories, whether that is in books and comics or through TV and film. We wanted to test if that is down to more than simply liking the characters, and whether there are actual benefits of children learning through by watching or reading about animals and if this changes over time," said Dr. Atherton.



"Our findings showed that both human and non-human characters are important in helping children interpret the world around them, and that they play differing roles at different stages in their development. Adapting activities and lessons in nurseries and the early school years to take that into account could be hugely effective in helping to support their development."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-educators-and-parents">Implications for educators and parents</h2>



The insights gained from this study have substantial implications for educators and parents aiming to support children's cognitive and social development.



By incorporating both human and animal characters into books, educators can craft a more balanced learning environment that caters to the diverse needs of children across age groups. 



Parents, too, can enrich their children's home learning experiences by selecting a variety of stories that include both human and animal protagonists. 



This approach not only makes reading sessions more engaging but also aids in developing empathy and understanding of complex social scenarios.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions</h2>



While this study provides valuable insights, it also opens avenues for further exploration. 



Future research could go deeper into the types of animal characteristics that are most effective in nurturing children's theory of mind. For instance, exploring whether anthropomorphized animals or more realistic portrayals have differing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-who-use-humor-have-better-relationships-with-their-children/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">impacts</a>. 



Similarly, cross-cultural studies could investigate whether the affinity towards animal characters holds true in diverse cultural contexts. These inquiries could refine understanding and application in educational strategies, enhancing the efficacy of storytelling as a developmental tool.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-characters-and-autism-treatment">Animal characters and autism treatment</h2>



In previous studies, Dr. Atherton and Dr. Cross examined the factors influencing the educational and social development of individuals with autism and learning difficulties.



The experts launched initiatives proving how board and online games can bolster confidence among people with autism. 



Borrowing insights from this research, the scholars now plan to dig deeper to explore if their findings could provide specific benefits to children with such conditions.



Dr. Cross envisions a significant impact of this study on individuals with autism or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-with-behavioral-issues-have-high-cortisol-levels-in-their-hair/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">other conditions</a> affecting their learning. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-way-of-looking-at-animal-characters">A new way of looking at animal characters</h2>



The researchers have observed how tasks involving animal characters can result in autistic individuals performing on par with non-autistic children. 



The plan is to replicate this study with autistic children in an effort to unveil more effective ways to support them at a critical stage in their development.



In a nutshell, this study has unraveled an entirely new dimension of how we view animals in children's books. 



Those delightful animal characters do more than simply entertain; they help shape our children's minds and understanding of the world around them in their formative years.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002209652400256X?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Experimental Child Psychology</a>. 



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Animal characters boost social and emotional skills in children

Do you recall those childhood days when you eagerly anticipated bedtime stories about Peter Rabbit, Toad or Ratty from The Wind in the Willows? Or the excitement that washed over you every time you opened a children's book teeming with playful, animated animals? Well, a new study is giving us a fresh perspective on the role of these furry, iconic characters. Children's books animal characters The research has shed light on the potential influence of non-human characters in children's books. The researchers aimed to gauge how these...

If sea levels continue to rise on the current trajectory, major coastal <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/flooding-drastically-affected-crop-production-in-south-dakota/">flooding</a> events that are considered unusual today will soon become part of the normal routine. 

A new study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4dr0BRCxARIsAKUNjWRvZAowrzOT7rZqDbvBZnvOsbw6JUkbqGCdB2g5DBdNYX5fsUtKfAQaAuJlEALw_wcB">Scientific Reports</a> has found that extreme flooding events are set to double every five years across many coastal regions of the United States.

According to the researchers, the predicted pattern of sea-level rise has the potential to cause daily occurrences of 50-year water levels by the end of this century. 

A team of experts led by Mohsen Taherkhani of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Sean Vitousek of the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">USGS</a> investigated how the frequency of major flooding events will increase in the coming decades.

To estimate the future rate of extreme water levels, the researchers combined sea-level rise scenarios with data from 202 tide gauges located in various regions across the United States coastline.

The researchers found that among 73 percent of the tide gauges, the difference between the daily average highest tide and the 50-year extreme water level was less than one meter. Most sea-level rise projections exceed one meter by 2100, especially under a high emissions scenario. 

The model developed in the current study predicted that by 2050, once-in-a-lifetime flooding events will happen annually across 70 percent of the U.S. coastline. By the year 2100, 50-year water level extremes will be exceeded on a near-daily basis for 93 percent of the sites measured.

The most susceptible areas will be low-latitude regions, where the rate of coastal flooding is set to double every five years. 

The most vulnerable sites, located along the Hawaiian and Caribbean coast, are expected to experience a doubled rate of extreme water levels with every centimeter of sea-level rise.

The study authors pointed out that the risk of coastal hazards associated with flooding, such as beach and cliff erosion, will accelerate alongside an increased risk of flooding.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4dr0BRCxARIsAKUNjWRvZAowrzOT7rZqDbvBZnvOsbw6JUkbqGCdB2g5DBdNYX5fsUtKfAQaAuJlEALw_wcB">Scientific Reports</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Coastal flooding will soon be common in the U.S.

If sea levels continue to rise on the current trajectory,...

Experts are urgently investigating whether overactive immune cells are to blame for the most severe cases of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exercise-may-prevent-ards-in-covid-19-patients/">COVID-19</a> infection. 

Eleven international medical research organizations have teamed up to form a consortium known as the NETwork.

In a paper published today, the researchers describe the late stage of severe COVID-19 infection, which is characterized by pulmonary inflammation, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), thick mucus secretions in the airways, extensive lung damage, and blood clots. Patients with these complications require invasive mechanical ventilation and many are still unable to survive. 

The NETwork has found evidence that the worst cases of COVID-19 may result from overactive white blood cells known as the neutrophils. 

Triggered by the body's immune system, neutrophils can expel their DNA to attack bacteria with a gauzy web of DNA that contains toxic enzymes, called a NET. 

Although NETs can bind and kill pathogens, they can also cause damage to the lungs and other organs. 

"Given the clear similarities between the clinical presentation of severe COVID-19 and other known diseases driven by NETs, such as ARDS, we propose that excess NETs may play a major role in the disease," said study co-author Dr. Betsy Barnes. "As samples from patients become available, it will be important to determine whether the presence of NETs associates with disease severity and/or particular clinical characteristics of COVID-19."

Study co-author Dr. Mikala Egeblad is a cancer biologist at the <a href="https://www.cshl.edu/">Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory</a> who organized NETwork research group.

"NETs were identified in 2004, but many scientists have never heard of them. Most of the researchers in the NETwork have worked on NETs in other diseases, and when we started hearing about the symptoms of the COVID-19 patients, it sounded familiar," explained Dr. Egeblad.

Dr. Jonathan Spicer is a thoracic surgeon who has witnessed the devastating effects of COVID-19 infection firsthand. 

"We see in these patients severe lung damage known as ARDS, another serious problem caused by excess NETs and seen in cases of severe influenza," said Dr. Spicer. 

"In addition, their airways are often clogged with thick mucus and unlike most severe lung infections, these patients tend to form small clots throughout their body at much higher rates than normal. NETs have also been found in the blood of patients with sepsis or cancer, where they can facilitate the formation of such blood clots."

If the researchers conclude that excess NETs are causing the severe symptoms of COVID-19, new treatments may be deployed to help COVID-19 patients recove. Treatments that are currently used in other NET-driven diseases may inhibit the activity of NETs in COVID-19 patients, which may reduce the need for invasive mechanical ventilation.

The study is published in the <a href="https://rupress.org/jem">Journal of Experimental Medicine</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Severe COVID-19 infections may be caused by overactive immune cells

Experts are urgently investigating whether overactive immune cells are to...

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/aspirin-serious-risks/">Aspirin</a> may lower the risk of deadly cancers of the digestive tract, such as pancreatic and liver cancer. In the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers found that aspirin was associated with a reduced risk of developing digestive tract cancers by between 22 and 38 percent.

Previous studies have established a link between aspirin and a lower risk of bowel, esophagus, and stomach cancers.

The current research, which is published by the <a href="https://www.esmo.org/">European Society for Medical Oncology</a>, analyzed the results of 113 observational studies. The study was focused on cancers of the bowel, head and neck, esophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder and bile ducts, and pancreas.

The researchers found evidence to suggest that taking at least one or two aspirin a week significantly lowers the risk of developing all of the cancers examined in the study, with the exception of head and neck cancer.

Aspirin was linked to a 27-percent reduced risk of bowel cancer.

"There are about 175,000 deaths from bowel cancer predicted for 2020 in the EU, of which about 100,000 will be in people aged between 50 and 74," said study senior author Professor Carlo La Vecchia.

"If we assume that regular use of aspirin increases from 25% to 50% in this age group, this would mean that between 5,000 to 7,000 deaths from bowel cancer and between 12,000 and 18,000 new cases could be avoided if further studies show that aspirin does indeed cause the reduction in cancer risk."

"Corresponding figures would be approximately 3,000 deaths each for esophageal, stomach and pancreatic cancer, and 2,000 deaths from cancer of the liver. Given the unfavorable prognosis for these cancers, the number of new cases would be only slightly greater."

The team analyzed the effect of aspirin dose and duration on bowel cancer, combining data for how frequently aspirin was taken at low, regular, or high doses.

Study lead author Dr. Cristina Bosetti is the head of the Unit of Cancer Epidemiology at the Mario Negri Department of Oncology in Milan.

"We found that the risk of cancer was reduced with increased dose; an aspirin dose between 75 and 100mg a day was associated with a 10% reduction in a person's risk of developing cancer compared to people not taking aspirin; a dose of 325mg a day was associated with a 35% reduction, and a dose of 500mg a day was associated with a 50% reduction in risk. However, the estimate for high dose aspirin was based on just a few studies and should be interpreted cautiously," explained Dr. Bosetti.

"Our findings on bowel cancer support the concept that higher aspirin doses are associated with a larger reduction in risk of the disease. However, the choice of dose should also take into consideration the potential risk of stomach bleeds, which increases with higher aspirin doses."

"Compared to people who did not take aspirin regularly, the risk of bowel cancer declined in regular aspirin users up to ten years. The risk was reduced by 4% after one year, 11% after three years, 19% after five years and 29% after ten years."

Professor La Vecchia said the findings suggest there is a beneficial effect of aspirin in the prevention of bowel and other cancers of the digestive tract. 

"The results for bowel, esophageal, and pancreatic cancers are consistent with evidence from clinical trials on aspirin in the prevention of heart and blood vessel diseases."

"The findings for pancreatic and other digestive tract cancers may have implications for the prevention of these highly lethal diseases. For pancreatic cancer, we found that risk of the disease declined by 25% after five years among people who took aspirin regularly compared to those who did not.

"Taking aspirin for the prevention of bowel cancer, or any other cancers, should only be done in consultation with a doctor, who can take account of the person's individual risk. This includes factors such as sex, age, a family history of a first-degree relative with the disease, and other risk factors. People who are at high risk of the disease are most likely to gain the greatest benefits from aspirin," said Professor La Vecchia.

The side effects of aspirin include stomach bleeds, bleeding in other parts of the body, and hemorrhages. The study is limited in that it is based on observational studies and can only show that aspirin is associated with a reduced risk of digestive tract cancers. 

The research is published in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/annals-of-oncology">Annals of Oncology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Aspirin is associated with a lower risk of developing digestive tract cancers

Aspirin may lower the risk of deadly cancers of the...

High <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fruits-vegetables-memory-loss-men/">vegetable</a> consumption before pregnancy has been linked to a lower risk of premature birth, according to research from the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a>. While it is widely known that additional nutrients and minerals are needed during pregnancy, the new study is shedding light on the importance of a healthy diet prior to conception.   

An investigation conducted by PhD candidate Dereje Gete was focused on the diets of nearly 3,500 women. The study revealed that the regular consumption of carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, cabbage, green beans, and potatoes before conception led to a greater chance for expectant mothers to have a full term pregnancy. 

"Traditional vegetables are rich in antioxidants or anti-inflammatory nutrients, which have a significant role in reducing the risk of adverse birth outcomes," explained Gete.

"Women depend on certain stored nutrients such as calcium and iron before conception, which are critical for placenta and foetus tissue development."

"Starting a healthier diet after the baby has been conceived may be too late, because babies are fully formed by the end of the first trimester."

Babies delivered before 37 weeks of gestation are considered premature. In the United States, the preterm birth rate is 10 percent, or one out of every ten babies. 

Among Australian infants, preterm birth is the leading cause of death, affecting 8.5 percent of babies born each year. 

According to Professor Gita Mishra, the study findings suggest that dietary intervention and strategies to change behavior may be helpful when women start thinking about having a baby.

"People born prematurely face a greater risk of metabolic and chronic diseases in adulthood, as well as poor cognitive development and academic performance," said Professor Mishra.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/ejcn/about?gclid=CjwKCAjwvtX0BRAFEiwAGWJyZC7sguZcwZrr5XNNcjISKD-olcqrjmLBnXZ9LqcAn7pJW2Y8raTXQxoC8FwQAvD_BwE">American Journal of Clinical Nutrition</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Vegetable consumption before pregnancy lowers risk of preterm birth

High vegetable consumption before pregnancy has been linked to a...

Thousands of monarch <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/monarch-butterflies-lose-migration-ability/">butterflies</a> are caught and tagged during their fall migration, and just as many caterpillars are used in classroom demonstrations and outreach events. A new study has found that human handling can put a great deal of stress on monarch butterflies when they are in the early stages of life.

Andy Davis is an assistant research scientist in the Odum School of Ecology at the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a>. He set out to investigate how human handling may adversely affect monarch butterflies. Davis looked into whether monarchs had faster heartbeats after being handled by humans. Among insects, elevated heart rate is a sign of stress that is triggered by perceived predators.

"Most people don't realize that insects get stressed in much the same way as vertebrates do," said Davis. "People handle monarchs for all of these activities, but if you imagine yourself in their place, what would it be like for us if a 50-foot-tall robot picked us up and passed us around? From the monarch's perspective, maybe for them this is akin to being attacked by a predator."

Davis measured the heart rates of the butterflies at all life stages - larval, pupal and adult.

Under a microscope, the heart rates of caterpillars were assessed before and after they were carefully passed from hand to hand for three minutes.

Adult butterflies, who were netted during fall migration, underwent a similar process. Davis measured their heart rates before and after he simulated the procedure for tagging them.

To measure the heartbeats of monarch pupae, Davis used an electronic device that could remotely detect heart movement inside the chrysalis. This process was more complicated, especially due to the unusual cardiac function of monarch pupae.

"At the pupal stage, their hearts beat in a weird way," said Davis. "The heart will beat for about 15 minutes and then stop for up to two hours; it flatlines."

The study revealed that human handling significantly impacted heart rates at the two early stages of life. Caterpillars experienced a heart rate increase of approximately 20 percent, while pupal heart rates skyrocketed from zero to 88 beats per minute. This is almost three times higher than the typical active beating rate for pupae, according to previous research.

Meanwhile, the heart rates of adult monarchs showed no significant change after handling. This indicated that either the experiment did not capture the stress response of the adult butterflies or that gentle handling does not cause them stress.

"It kind of makes sense that adult monarchs would be fairly stress-tolerant," said Davis. "The migration itself is fraught with dangers and perils along the way, and for a monarch to be able to accomplish that, it has to be able to deal with a wide variety of natural stressors."

Davis said that just because larvae and pupae seem prone to stress reactions from handling, people should not stop working with monarchs.

"These results do not mean people should stop important activities like research and outreach. But the results should at least make us more cognizant about how the monarch is feeling about being handled. In other words, we shouldn't kid ourselves by thinking the monarchs are OK with it."

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.lepsoc.org/content/journal">Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Young monarch butterflies are stressed by human handling 

Thousands of monarch butterflies are caught and tagged during their...

A new study has traced the mahogany family of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tropical-trees-higher-elevations/">trees</a> back to the era when dinosaurs vanished. The research shows that the earliest appearance of mahogany in the fossil record was actually 15 to 20 million years earlier than what was previously thought. 

The analysis was conducted by Brian Atkinson, an assistant professor of Ecology &amp; Evolutionary Biology at the <a href="https://www.ku.edu/">University of Kansas</a>.

The findings indicate that the mahogany family originated during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous between 72-79 million years ago. Previously, experts believed that mahogany trees appeared about 60 million years ago during the Paleocene.

The fossil presence of mahogany is significant because it gives scientists an indication of where tropical forests once stood. 

"For understanding when many of the different branches of the tree of life evolved, we're primarily dependent on the fossil record," said Professor Atkinson, "In this case, Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is an ecologically and economically important group of trees." 

"A lot of researchers have used this group as a study system to better understand the evolution of tropical rainforests. This work is the first definitive evidence that the tropically important trees were around during the Cretaceous period, when we first start to see the modernization of ecosystems and modern groups of plants."

The current investigation was focused on a well-preserved mahogany specimen discovered just off Vancouver Island. 

"The rock that contained the specimen was collected by a local fossil collector, Graham Beard, who is the director of the Qualicum Beach Museum of Natural History," said Professor Atkinson. "He collected it years ago, but I was actually interested in the rock that has this fossil in it for something else. And as I kept preparing this rock more for the other fossils that were in there, this thing showed up by surprise. So, it was kind of found by accident."

Professor Atkinson examined the structure of the fossilized fruit and analyzed phylogenetic information to identify the fossil.

"I combined the molecular data from living representatives of the mahogany family with the morphology of the fossil, as well as the morphology of living species. And then I subjugated that combined dataset to phylogenetic analyses, which allows us to reconstruct evolutionary relationships. Based on this analysis, we found the fossil is closely related to this genus called Melia, which is living today."

The newly described specimen, Manchestercarpa vancouverensis, is now the oldest-known mahogany fossil. Its scientific name represents where the specimen was discovered, and the genus is named to honor one of Professor Atkinson's colleagues.

"I named it after a prolific paleobotanist who's really improved our understanding of the evolution of flowering plants through the fossil record. So, I named it in honor of Steve Manchester, who's at the University of Florida Museum of Natural History."

The research not only pushes back the origin of mahogany, but also helps to improve our understanding of early flowering plant evolution, according to Professor Atkinson.

"They're our most diverse group of plants on Earth, and so there's a whole lot to explore. And there are some cool things you can do methodologically that you might not be able to do with other groups of plants. I can really ask some exciting paleontological and general evolutionary questions with this group."

The study is published in the <a href="https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15372197">American Journal of Botany</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Mahogany tree fossil pushes back origin back by 15 to 20 million years

A new study has traced the mahogany family of trees...

Regular <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exercise-can-help-prevent-the-deer-development-of-liver-cancer/">exercise</a> helps to prevent a potentially fatal complication of COVID-19 infection. According to a review by Dr. Zhen Yan of the <a href="https://med.virginia.edu/">UVA School of Medicine</a>, exercise has protective effects against acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which is a major cause of death among COVID-19 patients. 

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by severe shortness of breath. With this condition, fluid accumulates in the air sacs of the lungs and deprives the body of oxygen.

Dr. Yan found strong evidence to suggest that exercise can prevent or reduce the severity of ARDS. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 20 to 42 percent of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 will develop ARDS. Among patients admitted to intensive care, 67 to 85 percent will develop the dangerous respiratory condition. 

"All you hear now is either social distancing or ventilator, as if all we can do is either avoiding exposure or relying on a ventilator to survive if we get infected," said Dr. Yan. "The flip side of the story is that approximately 80% of confirmed COVID-19 patients have mild symptoms with no need of respiratory support. The question is why. Our findings about an endogenous antioxidant enzyme provide important clues and have intrigued us to develop a novel therapeutic for ARDS caused by COVID-19."

Dr. Yan conducted an in-depth review of existing medical research to investigate an antioxidant known as extracellular superoxide dismutase (EcSOD). 

This is a powerful antioxidant which seeks out harmful free radicals to protect body tissues and help prevent disease. EcSOD is naturally secreted by the muscles, but the production of the potent antioxidant is boosted by cardiovascular exercise.

Dr. Yan found that diseases such as acute lung disease, heart disease, and kidney failure are associated with a significant decrease in EcSOD. 

Animal studies have shown that blocking EcSOD's production worsens heart problems, while increasing its production can benefit heart health. 

Dr. Yan emphasizes that even a single session of exercise increases production of EcSOD. He is urging people to find ways to exercise, even while sheltering in place.

"We cannot live in isolation forever," said Dr. Yan. "Regular exercise has far more health benefits than we know. The protection against this severe respiratory disease condition is just one of the many examples."

The findings indicate that EcSOD may ultimately be used as a treatment for ARDS and many other health conditions. For example, gene therapy could be used to increase production of the antioxidant in patients battling COVID-19 to help protect the lungs and other organs.

EcSOD may prove beneficial against multi-organ dysfunction syndrome, a condition in which multiple organs begin to fail. Dr. Yan suggests that a better understanding of EcSOD's function will allow doctors to unleash its potential in a more targeted and effective way. 

"We often say that exercise is medicine. EcSOD set a perfect example that we can learn from the biological process of exercise to advance medicine," said Dr. Yan. "While we strive to learn more about the mysteries about the superb benefits of regular exercise, we do not have to wait until we know everything."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/redox-biology">Redox Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Exercise may prevent ARDS in COVID-19 patients

Regular exercise helps to prevent a potentially fatal complication of...

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/economic-cost-opioid-epidemic/">opioid</a> crisis in the United States was largely driven by widespread overprescribing. This trend has now merged with a dangerous pattern of prescribing opioids with an unnecessarily high potency, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/">Mayo Clinic</a>.

The researchers found that more than half of Americans starting out on highly-regulated opioids may be receiving inappropriate treatment. Study co-author Dr. W. Michael Hooten is an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic.

"In pain management, there is a need to use a variety of treatment options, including - when appropriate - extended-release opioids and very strong immediate-acting opioids like fentanyl," said Dr. Hooten. "However, these particular medications can cause a number of serious adverse effects, so extra safeguards are needed when these medications are prescribed." 

"One of the key factors in determining whether these drugs can be used safely is the presence of opioid tolerance in the patient who was prescribed one of these medications." 

"In other words, tolerance to some of the most dangerous adverse effects of opioids, including suppressing breathing and excessive sedation, develops only after a patient takes daily doses of opioids over time. Patients who are not opioid-tolerant should not be receiving high-potency fentanyl or extended-release opioid products because they are susceptible to these life-threatening adverse effects."

The investigation was focused on medications such as high-dose oxycodone, extended-release hydromorphone, and fentanyl patches.

To investigate the inappropriate use of these medications across the country, the researchers used pharmacy and medical claims data and linked electronic health records from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse. Between 2007 and 2016, the team identified nearly 300,000 prescriptions for medications that should be strictly reserved for people with opioid tolerance. 

After removing records with inadequate information or for patients who had recently been hospitalized, the remaining 153,385 cases of new outpatient prescriptions for the reserved medications involved 131,756 people across the United States. Among these individuals, less than 48 percent had evidence of prior opioid tolerance in their records.

"Our findings are concerning because it appears that many people starting to use these drugs may be at risk for some quite serious outcomes," said study lead author Dr. Molly Jeffery. "In general, physicians are allowed to prescribe drugs off-label - that is, without adhering to the indications or warnings included in the drug label. But these particular drugs are considered risky enough that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) requires manufacturers to provide additional oversight and education to physicians to make sure they understand the risks associated with the drugs." 

"We used natural language processing - a type of artificial intelligence - to look through physician notes in the patients' health records, and also looked at information about prescriptions written. We did not find substantial additional evidence that patients were opioid-tolerant when they started these drugs."

Dr. Jeffery said that, with no evidence of opioid tolerance in more than half of the patients examined in the study, the team looked into the clinical notes for reasons why the physicians would have prescribed these particular drugs. 

The analysis did not offer any insight into the physicians' reasons for prescribing to patients who were not opioid-tolerant. However, the researchers had ideas about why certain prescriptions may have been chosen. 

"My colleagues and I discussed the possibility that, in particular, fentanyl patches might have been prescribed for patients who have serious medical or surgical problems that limit the ability to swallow oral medications," said Dr. Hooten. "Also, fentanyl patches contain a three-day supply of the drug, so patches could be a possible solution for patients who may not be able to take oral medications on a scheduled basis."

Dr. Hooten hopes that fellow clinicians will pay attention to the findings of this research.

"I often treat people mired in addiction. As physicians, our first charge is to do no harm, and with opioids - especially this group of medications - the risk of harm is very real," said Dr. Hooten. "It concerns me that I might have patients coming to me whose substance abuse disorder was exacerbated by inappropriate prescribing practices."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen">JAMA Network Open</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Inappropriate prescriptions are fueling the opioid crisis 

The opioid crisis in the United States was largely driven...

Children may be more motivated to read <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/traditional-books-e-books/">books</a> that teach them why and how things happen, according to a new study published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a>. Children have a strong desire to understand the way the world works, which explains why they tend to prefer storybooks that contain more causal information. 

The study findings could help parents and teachers choose books that will boost a child's interest in reading. This engagement plays an important role in early literacy and language skills.

While it comes as no surprise that the imaginative minds of children are drawn to causal information, researchers have not fully explored the potential link between scientific enthusiasm and real-world activities such as reading.

"There has been a lot of research on children's interest in causality, but these studies almost always take place in a research lab using highly contrived procedures and activities," explained  Margaret Shavlik of Vanderbilt University. "We wanted to explore how this early interest in causal information might affect everyday activities with young children - such as joint book reading."

It is very beneficial for children to feel eager to read, and choosing the right books can help keep them motivated. 

To investigate whether children may prefer books with more causal information, the researchers conducted a study involving 48 children between the ages of three and four years old. 

An adult read two strategically-matched storybooks to the children, and then asked them about their preferences.

"We read children two books: one rich with causal information, in this case, about why animals behave and look the way they do, and another one that was minimally causal, instead just describing animals' features and behaviors," said Shavlik.

The children appeared to be just as interested in both types of books. On the other hand, when the kids were asked which book they liked best, the book loaded with causal information was chosen most of the time.

"We believe this result may be due to children's natural desire to learn about how the world works," explained Shavlik. "If children do indeed prefer storybooks with causal explanations, adults might seek out more causality rich books to read with children - which might in turn increase the child's motivation to read together, making it easier to foster early literacy."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology">Frontiers in Psychology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Children want to read about how and why things happen

Children may be more motivated to read books that teach...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> have determined that estuaries are <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-is-bringing-major-changes-to-the-arctic/">warming</a> at twice the rate of Earth's oceans. The investigation was focused on 166 rivers, lakes, and lagoons on the southeast coast of Australia.

According to the researchers, the accelerated impact of climate change on estuaries could adversely affect economic activity and ecological biodiversity in rivers and lakes worldwide.

"Our research shows that estuaries are particularly vulnerable to a warming environment. This is a concern not only for the marine and bird life that rely on them but the millions of people who depend on rivers, lakes and lagoons for their livelihoods around the world," said Dr. Elliot Scanes.

The researchers predict that changes in estuarine temperature, as well as changes in salinity and acidity, will reduce the profitability of aquaculture and wild fisheries. 

Worldwide, the aquaculture industry is worth more than $243 billion a year, while the wild fisheries industry has an annual value of $152 billion. There are more than 55 million people who depend on these industries for income.

"Estuaries provide services of immense ecological and economic value," said Professor Pauline Ross. "The rates of change observed in this study may also jeopardize the viability of coastal vegetation such as mangroves and saltmarsh in the coming decades and reduce their capacity to mitigate storm damage and sea-level rise."

The study findings are based on more than a decade of documentation in estuaries along the entire stretch of the New South Wales coast. 

Over the course of 12 years, more than 6,200 temperature observations were taken by field officers of the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and the Environment.

The study revealed that estuaries experienced warming of about 0.2-degrees each year. On average, the estuary systems warmed by 2.16 degrees during the study period.

"This increase in temperature is an order of magnitude faster than predicted by global ocean and atmospheric models," said Dr. Scanes.

"This is evidence that climate change has arrived in Australia; it is not a projection based on modelling, but empirical data from more than a decade of investigation."

The study is the first of its kind to analyze the long-term warming impacts on a diverse range of estuaries.

"Our results highlight that air or ocean temperatures alone cannot be relied upon to estimate climate change in estuaries; rather, individual traits of any estuary need to be considered in the context of regional climate trends," said Dr. Scanes. "New models will need to be developed to help predict estuarine changes."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Estuaries are warming at twice the rate of the ocean

Experts at the University of Sydney have determined that estuaries...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/">National Eye Institute</a> (NEI) have discovered that a healthy diet reduces the risk of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/higher-education-cognitive-decline/">cognitive decline</a>. In particular, the experts found a strong link between the Mediterranean diet and higher brain function.

Study lead author Dr. Emily Chew is the director of the NEI Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications.

"We do not always pay attention to our diets. We need to explore how nutrition affects the brain and the eye," said Dr. Chew.

The Mediterranean diet is known for having an extensive list of protective health benefits, ranging from heart disease and cancer prevention to increased longevity.

The NEI researchers set out to investigate the potential cognitive benefits of the Mediterranean diet. They zeroed in on the effects of nine specific components of the diet, including vegetables, whole grains, fish, legumes, nuts, fruits, olive oil, and reduced meat and alcohol consumption. 

For the investigation, the researchers analyzed data from two major studies on eye disease, the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and AREDS2. These were designed to analyze the effect of vitamins on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which damages the light-sensitive retina. 

Overall, more than 8,000 participants were involved in the AREDS and AREDS2 studies, including a majority of individuals with AMD. The participants reported annually on their average consumption of each Mediterranean diet component, and cognitive function was assessed at different intervals between two and ten years later. 

The experts discovered that participants with the greatest adherence to the Mediterranean diet had the lowest risk of cognitive impairment. The greatest protective effects were associated with high fish and vegetable consumption. 

After 10 years, individuals with the highest levels of fish consumption were found to have the slowest rate of cognitive decline.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15525279">Alzheimer's &amp; Dementia</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Mediterranean diet protects cognitive function 

Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have discovered that...

During the COVID-19 epidemic in China, at least one-third of healthcare workers suffered from <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/insomnia-strengthens-shameful-memories/">insomnia</a>, according to a study published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a>. The researchers found that sleeplessness made members of the medical staff more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and stress-based trauma.

By Monday evening, more than two million cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed worldwide. The new research emphasizes the fact that the disease is not just a physical threat, but is also taking a toll on mental health. 

Study co-author Dr. Bin Zhang is a professor at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China.

"Typically, stress-related insomnia is transient and persists for only a few days," said Dr. Zhang. "But if the COVID-19 outbreak continues, the insomnia may gradually become chronic insomnia in the clinical setting."

The investigation was focused on a series of online questionnaires conducted at the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic in China between January 29 and February 3. The researchers used the WeChat social media platform to collect information from more than 1,5oo participants who work in the medical field.

Symptoms of insomnia were reported by 564 individuals, or 36.1 percent of respondents. The study authors found that this rate is consistent with previous research which examined the psychological effects of the 2003 SARS outbreak. At that time, an estimated 37 percent of nurses who worked with SARS patients experienced insomnia.

In the current study, healthcare workers who suffered from insomnia were 56.1 percent more likely to experience depression compared to medical staff members without insomnia. The statistics regarding anxiety and trauma were similar.

The team also identified other factors that were correlated with insomnia.

"The most important factor was having very strong uncertainty regarding effective disease control among medical staff," said Dr. Zhang. Strong uncertainty was 3.3 times higher among those who were experiencing insomnia.

The study authors pointed out that healthcare workers were under incredible stress regardless of their sleeping patterns. The medical staff was in close contact with infected patients, causing major concerns about becoming infected and passing the virus along to family and friends. The healthcare workers had to wear a full array of personal protective equipment (PPE) for at least 12 hours at a time, and often endured the long shifts without a break. 

"Under these dangerous conditions, medical staff become mentally and physically exhausted, and therefore experience an increased risk of insomnia due to high stress," explained the researchers..

"A longitudinal study to track the changes of insomnia symptoms is needed among medical staff, especially when the death of medical staff during COVID-19 will be officially announced and updated."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry">Frontiers in Psychiatry</a>. 

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Insomnia struck China's healthcare workers during COVID-19 outbreak

During the COVID-19 epidemic in China, at least one-third of...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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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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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



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.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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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.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&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.

How the immune system responds to injury

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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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.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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