Heart disease, not suicide or overdose, is the leading killer of people living with serious mental health conditions. This is the conclusion of a sweeping review led by Viola Vaccarino of Emory University.



The experts report that adults with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety die, on average, 10 to 20 years earlier than their peers - largely because of cardiovascular disease.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-health-and-life-expectancy">Mental health and life expectancy </h2>



The cardiovascular penalty attached to common psychiatric diagnoses is substantial. Depression raises the risk of heart disease by roughly 72 percent.&nbsp;



For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/psychedelic-use-linked-to-higher-risk-of-schizophrenia/">schizophrenia</a>, the risk nearly doubles - up to about 95 percent. Bipolar disorder increases cardiovascular risk by 57 percent, PTSD boosts coronary heart disease risk by 61 percent, and anxiety disorders are associated with a 41 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular causes. 



These numbers help explain why <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-life-expectancy-faces-a-triple-threat/">life expectancy</a> shrinks so dramatically for this population.



Despite the elevated risks, people with mental health conditions routinely receive worse heart care than the general public. Screenings are missed and risk factors go unmanaged. Evidence-based treatments are offered less often and followed up less reliably.&nbsp;



The result is a widening survival gap affecting a vast swath of society: roughly one in four people will experience a mental health disorder during their lifetime.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-illness-and-heart-disease">Mental illness and heart disease</h2>



Mood and thought disorders don’t just coincide with heart disease; they help cause it - and cardiovascular events can in turn trigger new psychiatric illness. That feedback loop runs through behavior and biology.&nbsp;



Higher rates of smoking, physical inactivity, and poor diet are part of the story. So are the physiological effects of chronic stress: systemic inflammation, elevated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blood-pressure-treatment-efficacy-calculator-revolutionize-measurement-and-treatment/">blood pressure</a>, arrhythmias, and insulin resistance all nudge the cardiovascular system toward failure.



The relationship is equally visible in reverse. About 18 percent of people with cardiovascular disease live with depression; after an acute event such as a heart attack, that figure climbs to roughly 28 percent. 



Nearly one in four stroke survivors develops depression in the aftermath, and around 12 percent of heart attack survivors go on to meet criteria for PTSD. Treating either condition in isolation misses the way each amplifies the other.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-existing-systems-miss-what-matters">Existing systems miss what matters</h2>



The review highlights a pattern of structural neglect. Mental health and cardiology are typically staffed, funded and measured as separate domains, with little coordination between them.&nbsp;



Many cardiology clinics don’t routinely screen for depression, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/witnessing-trauma-may-cause-ptsd-in-a-different-way/">PTSD</a>, or anxiety. Many psychiatric services don’t monitor blood pressure, lipids, or glucose as systematically as cardiovascular teams would.



Access gaps compound the problem. In a 2023 U.S. survey cited by the authors, 54 percent of people who met criteria for a mental health disorder received no treatment at all.



Even in countries with universal coverage, patients with serious mental illness are less likely to receive recommended medications, procedures and follow-up for heart disease. 



Poverty, unstable housing, and social isolation make adherence and clinic attendance harder, turning health inequities into entrenched mortality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-and-physical-health-gains">Mental and physical health gains</h2>



The good news is that several familiar tools carry cardiovascular benefits alongside mental health gains.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-in-a-pill-is-now-closer-to-reality/">Exercise</a> is one of the most effective treatments for depression and also directly improves blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and endothelial function. The review argues it should sit alongside psychotherapy and antidepressants as core treatment - not an optional add-on.



Mind-body practices such as yoga, tai chi, and meditation can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve some risk factors (for example, heart rate variability and stress biomarkers). Evidence that they prevent heart attacks or strokes remains limited, but early signals are encouraging and warrant larger trials.



Integrated care models - where mental health and cardiovascular teams coordinate around the same patient - consistently improve psychiatric outcomes in clinical studies. The next step is proving that these collaborative approaches also cut hard cardiac endpoints like myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality.&nbsp;



To do that, researchers will need to stop excluding people with mental health disorders from cardiovascular trials, a longstanding practice that has left clinicians without robust, disorder-specific guidelines for high-risk patients.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-improving-life-expectancy-outcomes">Improving life expectancy outcomes</h2>



The authors call for changes that are as practical as they are profound. Medical schools and residency programs should train clinicians to recognize and manage the bidirectional links between mental and physical illness.&nbsp;



Health systems and payers need to expand mental health coverage while embedding routine cardiovascular screening and risk management into psychiatric care - and, conversely, embedding mental health screening into cardiology.



Community-level solutions matter, too. Making exercise accessible and safe, addressing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smoking-related-deaths-will-surge-by-2030/">tobacco</a> use with tailored support, improving food access and tackling social isolation are public-health interventions that serve both the heart and the mind.&nbsp;



And because the burden is unequally distributed, equity must be a design principle: culturally competent care, outreach in underserved neighborhoods and policies that reduce financial and logistical barriers will save the most lives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-treat-the-whole-person">Treat the whole person</h2>



Taken together, the evidence reframes a familiar crisis. Mental health disorders are common. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-century-of-progress-in-the-fight-against-cardiovascular-disease/">Cardiovascular disease</a> is common. When they collide, lives are cut short - not by inevitability, but by gaps we can close.&nbsp;



If roughly a quarter of us will face a mental health condition in our lifetime, preventing the downstream heart damage is not a niche priority; it’s a population-wide imperative.



The path forward is clear enough: measure risk where it’s highest, treat depression and anxiety as cardiac risk factors, deploy exercise and integrated care as first-line tools, and build research and reimbursement structures that reflect how tightly the mind and heart are tied. 



Stop treating mental and cardiovascular health separately, and that 10- to 20-year life-expectancy penalty starts to look less like fate - and more like a fixable failure.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(25)00165-6/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Lancet Regional Health - Europe</a>.



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Mental health disorders reduce life expectancy by up to 20 years

Heart disease, not suicide or overdose, is the leading killer of people living with serious mental health conditions. This is the conclusion of a sweeping review led by Viola Vaccarino of Emory University. The experts report that adults with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety die, on average, 10 to 20 years earlier than their peers - largely because of cardiovascular disease.&nbsp; Mental health and life expectancy The cardiovascular penalty attached to common psychiatric diagnoses is substantial. Depression raises the risk of heart...

Plenty of people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) eyeball the bread basket like it’s a minefield. Many swear that a single crumb of gluten or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/this-diet-promises-to-improve-symptoms-of-irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs/">wheat</a> will balloon their abdomen or send them racing to the restroom.



A new controlled <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2468125325000901" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trial</a> from McMaster University hints that the real culprit may be expectation, not gluten molecules. The finding lands in a country where roughly <a href="https://cdhf.ca/en/digestive-conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one-in-ten</a> Canadians live with IBS.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-belief-affects-gut-more-than-gluten">Belief affects gut more than gluten</h2>



“Not every patient who believes they are reacting to gluten actually does,” explained <a href="https://experts.mcmaster.ca/display/bercikp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Premysl Bercik</a>, a senior investigator and study co-author from the Department of Medicine at <a href="https://www.mcmaster.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">McMaster University</a>. He and his colleagues designed a cereal bar challenge that separated perception from physiology. 



Participants cycled through three bars that looked and tasted identical: one packed with purified <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/colonoscopy-vs-stool-tests-doctors-found-out-which-is-better-at-detecting-cancer/">gluten</a>, one with whole grain wheat, and one completely free of both. Only after the study ended did they learn which week featured which bar.



Symptom logs revealed no statistical difference among the three bars. The sham snack triggered just as many bad gut days as the wheat laden versions, undermining the assumption that gluten is uniquely sinister.



When the blindfold came off, most volunteers still insisted wheat was toxic and vowed to stay gluten free. That disconnect between data and conviction hints at a powerful role for learned fears.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cereal-bar-test-found-no-link-to-gluten">Cereal bar test found no link to gluten</h2>



Lab teams tracked dietary compliance by measuring <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38257173/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38257173/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gluten immunogenic peptide</a> fragments in stool, an objective fingerprint of recent gluten intake. 



The marker showed that many participants quietly skipped the bars, suggesting anxiety steered behavior more than the study protocol.



Only about one third followed instructions to the letter. Yet even that compliant subset showed no consistent link between gluten dose and symptom flare, shrinking the pool of true wheat reactors.



Whole wheat contains amylase trypsin inhibitors as well as gluten proteins, so the team expected the grain bar to cause more trouble than purified gluten. It didn’t, further weakening the wheat equals pain narrative.



“Many of them may benefit from psychological support and guidance to help destigmatize gluten and wheat,” Bercik said, calling for individualized management rather than sweeping bans. He believes clinicians must combine nutritional advice with psychological <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/protein-cd74-discovery-may-change-the-treatment-of-colon-cancer/">tools</a>.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fear-of-gluten-can-worsen-ibs">Fear of gluten can worsen IBS</h2>



Expectation can hurt as much as a bad meal, a phenomenon known as the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3167012/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nocebo effect</a>. Systematic <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36606047/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reviews</a> show up to 40 percent of trial participants report new gut pain after a biologically inert placebo.



Researchers think negative anticipation primes the brain’s pain circuits, amplifying normal digestive sensations until they feel pathological. 



That feedback loop travels the vagus nerve and reshapes motility, explaining why fear alone can quicken bowels.



IBS already involves a hypersensitive gut brain axis, so patients are especially vulnerable to suggestion. Social cues, food labels, and memories of past flares all feed the cycle.



Breaking that loop means addressing stress and thought patterns alongside menu planning. 



Cognitive behavioral therapy and gut directed hypnotherapy have both improved IBS scores in randomized trials, showing belief can heal as well as harm.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gluten-panic-worsens-ibs-confusion">Gluten panic worsens IBS confusion</h2>



An <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10793197/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> of 822 gluten free videos found view counts rising briskly while information quality lagged, with average <a href="https://openmd.com/guide/health-information-quality-seals" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HONcode</a> scores under two out of eight. 



Recipes dominate these clips, but many also warn that wheat causes vague “inflammation” in everyone, regardless of diagnosis.



Algorithms reward sensational claims, so posts linking gluten to cancer or autism spread faster than nuanced evidence. 



Viewers then arrive at the clinic convinced that purity equals health and that a slice of pizza will undo weeks of progress.



Bercik notes that online <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IBS</a> communities can also validate symptoms and give patients a sense of control. The challenge is steering that energy toward evidence based strategies instead of endless eliminations.



Clinicians now spend precious appointment minutes debunking myths before prescribing care. Better media literacy campaigns could free up time for science rather than damage control.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ibs-triggers-aren-t-always-gluten">IBS triggers aren’t always gluten</h2>



Gluten may be innocent for many, but food still matters. Roughly half of IBS cases improve on a low fermentable oligo-, di-, and monosaccharides and polyols plan (<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27725652/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FODMAP</a>) that limits fermentable carbohydrates, including certain fruits, dairy sugars, and wheat fructans.



The diet identifies which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/that-whole-wheat-bread-youve-been-eating-is-often-a-trap-its-not-what-you-think-it-is/">carbohydrates</a> ferment into gas inside the colon, stretching the gut wall and sparking pain. After a strict short phase, foods are re-introduced one by one to map personal thresholds.



Unlike a permanent gluten ban, the FODMAP approach is temporary and re-expansive, aiming for the broadest diet that keeps symptoms in check. Professional guidance is critical, because unmonitored restriction can create nutritional gaps.



Some patients also react to fat, caffeine, or big evening meals. A food and symptom diary, paired with structured re challenges, often clarifies patterns that emotion alone obscures.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-treat-ibs-with-facts-not-gluten-fear">Treat IBS with facts, not gluten fear</h2>



Genetic testing can rule out true <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/map-of-1-6-million-gut-cells-will-reveal-new-ways-to-treat-disease/">celiac disease</a>, a condition that demands lifelong gluten avoidance. When results come back negative, patients deserve reassurance that an occasional sandwich will not erode their intestines.



Emerging breath tests, microbiome profiling, and wearable motility sensors promise to refine IBS sub types and their triggers. 



The cereal bar study underscores the need to validate new tools against placebo controlled designs, keeping expectation bias in check.



Meanwhile, simple steps, stress management, graded exercise, adequate sleep, ease the gut’s alarm system. Layering these habits onto a flexible diet may offer more relief than chasing ever narrower menus.



For clinicians, the lesson is to test beliefs before endorsing them. A short blind challenge can reveal whether wheat, lactose, or FODMAPs are genuine villains or just familiar scapegoats.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2468125325000901" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Lancet Gastroenterology &amp; Hepatology</a>.



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Study claims that gluten intolerance is psychosomatic and not the cause of IBS

Plenty of people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) eyeball the...

Covid-19,And,Dementia.,Neuropsychiatric,Sequelae,Of,Covid-19.,3d,Illustration.,Coronaviruses

Scientists watched the pandemic reshape hospitals, jobs, and politics, but a new set of brain scans hints that it also reshaped the organ inside our skulls.



People who were never infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed brains that looked a few months older than expected. 



This suggests that merely living through lockdowns, uncertainty, and social upheaval left a subtle neurological signature. 



The findings come from a new investigation by Dr. Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad of the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Nottingham’s School of Medicine</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pandemic-stress-aged-the-brain">Pandemic stress aged the brain</h2>



Nearly 1,000 healthy adults enrolled in the UK Biobank underwent two MRI sessions - one before March 2020. For half of them, a second scan took place between 2021 and 2023.



Researchers used machine learning models built from 15,334 pre-pandemic scans to estimate each volunteer’s brain age gap, the difference between predicted brain age and chronological age. A positive gap means the brain appears older on imaging, a negative gap younger.



“What surprised me most was that even people who hadn’t had Covid showed significant increases in brain aging rates,” said Mohammadi-Nejad.&nbsp;



Participants who weren’t infected but lived through the pandemic showed an average increase in brain age of about five and a half months compared to similar individuals who were scanned twice before 2020.



Older age, male sex, and lower income made the acceleration steeper, demonstrating that biology and biography travel together.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stress-accelerates-brain-aging">Stress accelerates brain aging</h2>



The study adds to a growing collection of research that links chronic stress hormones to faster structural decline in white matter.



Elevated allostatic load, the body’s cumulative stress score, correlates with brains that look a year or two older than they should.



Isolation compounds the problem. A study of 24,867 adults found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loneliness-harms-health-more-than-alcohol-obesity-or-smoking/">loneliness</a> and poverty were linked to higher brain age and worse physical health. Lockdowns amplified both stress and isolation, so a slight pandemic era uptick in brain age is biologically plausible.



Animal studies support the idea. Rodents under constant stress show brain inflammation and damage in areas used to estimate brain age.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-infected-brains-show-more-decline">Infected brains show more decline</h2>



Covid-19 infection had its own costs. Participants who caught the virus took longer on the Trail Making Test (TMT), a timed task of mental flexibility, than both controls and pandemic peers who were never infected with the virus.



A separate Japanese cohort <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7563673/">study</a> confirms that slower trail making times flag early cognitive change in older adults.



Brain scans of infected people elsewhere echo the pattern. A 2022 report comparing 401 infected volunteers with 384 controls found greater gray matter loss in orbitofrontal and parahippocampal regions, areas tied to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-your-brain-decides-what-smells-good-or-bad/">smell</a> and memory.



In the Nottingham analysis, only the infected subgroup linked larger brain age jumps with worse trail making scores, hinting that viral effects and stress effects overlap but are not identical.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stress-hits-the-vulnerable-harder">Stress hits the vulnerable harder</h2>



Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood, working an unstable job, or lacking higher education magnified the brain aging-signal. 



Employment insecurity, for example, added almost six extra months to the gap compared with securely employed peers.



These scans make visible a truth social scientists have charted for decades: financial strain and limited social capital seep into physiology. When economic cushions thinned during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-lockdowns-weakened-our-immune-systems/">lockdowns</a>, the impact may have sped up.



The data support protecting vulnerable groups during crises, as stress leaves measurable effects on the brain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-healing-depends-on-lifestyle">Healing depends on lifestyle</h2>



“We can’t yet test whether the changes we saw will reverse, but it’s certainly possible, and that’s an encouraging thought,” said Professor Dorothee Auer, senior author of the study.



Brain age models capture averages, not destinies. Earlier studies of stress recovery suggest that gray matter volume and brain connectivity can rebound when stress is reduced. Recovery is more likely when lifestyle factors like sleep, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-bursts-of-intense-exercise-can-slow-brain-aging/">exercise</a>, and social contact improve.



Longer follow-ups will reveal whether the pandemic’s neural footprint fades, stays put, or predicts later cognitive trouble. 



For now, the scans remind us that global emergencies do not end at the ICU door - they echo inside healthy brains, too, in ways only careful imaging can catch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-scans-reveal-policy-impact">Brain scans reveal policy impact</h2>



The study adds weight to the idea that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-brains-age-might-be-older-than-you-are/">brain age</a> could become a routine marker in population health. 



If small changes in daily life - or major global events - show up clearly on brain scans, public health leaders might one day use brain age metrics to evaluate policy impacts over time.



The research also raises the question of how resilience works at a neural level. Some people weathered the pandemic with little psychological or neurological wear, while others showed sharper declines.



Understanding what protects brain health under chronic stress could shape future treatments or community interventions.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61033-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Covid aged our brains, even if you weren't infected - here's how it happened

Scientists watched the pandemic reshape hospitals, jobs, and politics, but...

Woman,Using,Daily,Activity,Tracking,App,On,Mobile,Phone,Showing

A fitness tracker doesn’t care whether you run for the bus or wander through the grocery store. It simply counts. Those digital tallies have become a barometer of personal health and wellness, yet the “magic” 10,000-step goal that pops up on so many screens never came from a medical textbook. 



New evidence now suggests that you can bank most of the same benefits with a target that feels far more doable.



Daily movement is still critical. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cardiorespiratory-fitness-linked-to-greater-cognitive-performance/">Cardiorespiratory fitness</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/squats-vs-walking-the-definitive-winner-for-reducing-blood-sugar/">blood sugar control</a>, and mood all improve when people spend less time sitting. The question has always been how much walking is enough to tip the scales toward better health. 



A sweeping review published in The Lancet Public Health turns that puzzle on its head, offering a fresh benchmark that's easier to reach for schoolchildren, office workers, and older adults alike.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-benefits-of-daily-steps">Health benefits of daily steps</h2>



After combing through data collected between 2014 and 2025 in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and several other nations, researchers at the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sydney</a> weighed information from fifty-seven studies that tracked step counts with pedometers, accelerometers, and popular wrist-worn sensors. 



Lead author <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/melody-ding.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Melody Ding</a> explains, “Aiming for 7,000 steps is a realistic goal based on our findings, which assessed health outcomes in a range of areas that hadn’t been looked at before.”



The analysis compared people who logged about 2,000 steps per day with peers who reached higher brackets in 1,000-step increments. 



It found that moving up to roughly 7,000 steps lowered the risk of dying from any cause by 47 percent, almost matching the advantage seen at 10,000 steps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-numbers-reveal">What the numbers reveal</h2>



Walking around 3½ miles a day also trimmed dementia risk by 38 percent, while an extra 3,000 steps beyond that shaved only seven additional percentage points. 



<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20351193" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Type 2 diabetes</a> showed a different curve: incidence dropped 22 percent at 10,000 steps and 27 percent at 12,000. Importantly, the biggest jump in protection happened when people climbed from 2,000 to between 5,000 and 7,000 steps. 



<a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/katherine.owen.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Katherine Owen</a>, the study’s chief analyst, notes, “For people who are already active, 10,000 steps a day is great, but beyond 7,000 steps, the extra benefits for most of the health outcomes we looked at were modest.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-gains-and-step-goals">Health gains and step goals</h2>



The review did more than tally deaths. Researchers linked a 7,000-step habit to lower odds of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-remains-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide/">cardiovascular disease</a>, certain cancers, depression, and mobility problems. 



“We know daily step count is linked to living longer, but we now also have evidence that walking at least 7,000 steps a day can significantly improve eight major health outcomes - including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, and depressive symptoms,” Professor Ding says. 



Those findings back up earlier work showing that even light-intensity activity improves insulin sensitivity, blood-pressure regulation, and the release of brain-boosting neurochemicals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moving-the-goalposts-again">Moving the goalposts (again)</h2>



Why did 10,000 steps take root in the first place? Historians trace the figure to a Japanese pedometer marketed in the 1960s under the name manpo-kei, or “10,000-step meter.” 



Marketers rounded the idea into a neat slogan, and fitness culture never looked back. Science, however, keeps refining the target. 



By pooling millions of person-years of follow-up, the Sydney team demonstrated that the curve of risk reduction begins to flatten once people cross 7,000 steps. 



Hitting higher numbers still helps, especially for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-identify-a-cellular-switch-mitochondria-that-could-reverse-type-2-diabetes/">blood-glucose</a> control, yet the incremental payoff shrinks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-increases-big-payoffs">Small increases, big payoffs</h2>



Most adults in high-income countries average fewer than 5,000 steps on workdays. That leaves substantial room for improvement without marathon ambitions. 



Professor Ding reminds readers, “However, for those who cannot yet achieve 7,000 steps a day, even small increases in step counts, such as increasing from 2,000 to 4,000 steps a day, are associated with significant health gains.” 



The same principle holds for those edging toward retirement: replacing a couple of car trips each week with short walks or choosing stairs instead of elevators can push step totals into the protective zone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finding-what-fits">Finding what fits</h2>



Public health agencies have long advised at least 150 minutes of moderate activity weekly, a metric many people find hard to translate into daily life. 



Steps provide a simpler yardstick, and the Australian government is already exploring how to fold the new evidence into future guidelines. 



Researchers also want to know whether age, chronic illness, or regional differences should tweak the threshold. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/to-get-fit-and-stay-healthy-walk-this-exact-distance-every-day/">Step counters</a> miss swimming and cycling, and most studies still overrepresent wealthier nations, so widening the research net will sharpen advice for diverse communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-steps-and-the-future">Health, steps, and the future</h2>



The main lesson is one of progress rather than perfection. 



“Our research helps to shift the focus from perfection to progress. Even small increases in daily movement can lead to meaningful health improvements,” Professor Ding concludes.



A stroll with the dog, an extra loop around the block during lunch, or pacing the sidelines at a child’s soccer game all add to the tally. 



Cross the 7,000-step mark most days, and you are likely protecting your heart, mind, and metabolic health. Go further if you enjoy it, but remember that the steepest gains come early. 



Your sneakers - and your body - will thank you.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2468266725001641" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Lancet Public Health</a>.



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No more counting to 10,000 every day - study shows equal health benefits in fewer steps

A fitness tracker doesn’t care whether you run for the...

Portrait,Of,The,Elderly,Woman.,A,Photo,On,Outdoors

Wrinkles don’t just appear because you’re growing older. Beneath every line and fold lies a mechanical truth. As your skin ages, its ability to manage physical stress weakens, leading to creases and crumples. But how exactly does that happen?



Scientists have long speculated on why older skin forms wrinkles. Many blamed genetics, sun damage, or gradual loss of proteins like collagen and elastin. But no one had tested these ideas on actual human skin until now. 



Researchers at <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a>, State University of New York (<a href="https://www.suny.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SUNY</a>), decided to find out what really happens when skin ages.



Their work goes beyond theory. They brought solid experimental evidence to show how wrinkles form through physical buckling when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/summer-skin-care-dermatologists-reveal-the-ingredients-they-trust/">skin</a> stretches and contracts over time. The results confirm what many suspected but couldn’t prove.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-skin-shrinks-more-with-age">Skin shrinks more with age</h2>



Guy German, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, and his team closely examined strips of human skin from people aged 16 to 91. They used a low-force tensometer to stretch these samples in one direction. 



What they found was simple but powerful: when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stem-cells-can-shift-from-hair-growth-to-skin-healing/">skin</a> stretches one way, it contracts the other way. This shrinking movement increases with age. When it becomes too strong, the skin buckles and forms wrinkles. 



“This is no longer just a theory,” said Professor German. “We now have hard experimental evidence showing the physical mechanism behind aging.”



Imagine your oldest hoodie. Over time, it stretches in random spots and loses its shape. Skin, though far more complex, behaves in a surprisingly similar way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-milestone-for-skin-science">A milestone for skin science</h2>



For Professor German, this breakthrough isn’t just another study. It’s personal. Understanding how and why <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-skins-bacteria-could-be-a-natural-sunscreen/">skin</a> wrinkles was one of his life goals.



Professor German questioned the endless advice from media and marketers about anti-aging. Instead of relying on vague claims, he wanted scientific clarity.



“When I got into this field, that was one of my goals - can I figure out aging? Because if I look at the TV, the radio, online, at shops, I'm being told 1,000 different things about how to improve my skin health, and I want to know what's right and what isn't. And so I thought I'd skip to the end and try and figure it out myself.“



Abraham Ittycheri and Alejandro Wiltshire, both students of Professor German, played key roles in this research. Together, they applied gentle tension to the skin samples and carefully recorded how the tissue responded. 



The setup mimicked everyday pressures your skin feels while smiling, frowning, or even sleeping.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wrinkles-form-when-skin-gets-wonky">Wrinkles form when skin gets "wonky"</h2>



As skin ages, it doesn’t stretch and contract evenly. German explained that youthful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vitamin-c-promotes-skin-renewal-and-anti-aging-at-the-genetic-level-dna-demethylation/">skin</a> has predictable mechanical properties. But over time, these properties begin to shift.



“Your skin has one set of mechanical properties when you're young, but as you get older, things begin to change and get a bit ‘wonky,’” said Professor German.



He noted that aging skin stretches more sideways. This uneven tension causes folds to appear. 



Interestingly, the skin doesn’t rest naturally. Even when you’re relaxed, internal forces are still pulling it in various directions. These built-in tensions increase the likelihood of wrinkling.



“Things degrade a bit, and it turns out the skin stretches laterally more, which causes the actual wrinkles that form," explained Professor German.



"And the reason why that exists in the first place is that your skin is not in a stress-free state. It's actually stretched a little bit. So there are inherent forces within your skin itself, and those are the driving force towards wrinkles.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-silly-putty-skin-and-sun">Silly putty, skin, and sun</h2>



To explain further, German used a simple analogy. “If you stretch Silly Putty for instance, it stretches horizontally, but it also shrinks in the other direction - it gets thinner. That's what skin does as well."



“As you get older, that contraction gets bigger. And if your skin is contracted too much, it buckles. That's how wrinkles form.”



This shrinking effect mirrors what happens to the dermal layer of your skin. Over time, it loses strength and elasticity, which changes how it handles movement and pressure.



Sun exposure can make this process worse. According to Professor German, long-term time in the sun can cause your skin to age faster even if you’re still young.



“If you spend your life working outside, you’re more likely to have more aged and wrinkled skin than those who are office workers, for example,” he said. 



“Chronological aging and photoaging give you similar results. So go and have a fab summer, but don't forget the suntan lotion - your future self will appreciate it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-how-wrinkles-form">Understanding how wrinkles form</h2>



The new research finally puts years of assumptions to the test. Past models speculated about the weakening of the dermal structure. But this is the first time scientists used real samples to demonstrate exactly how wrinkles form.



By identifying this contraction behavior in skin, the study offers a new path for future cosmetic and clinical strategies. Treatments may now aim to adjust how skin responds to tension, instead of simply adding hydration or boosting collagen.



For now, the study acts as a solid foundation, clearing the noise in a crowded industry full of unverified claims. It marks a new chapter in our understanding of what really happens as skin ages.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1751616125001961?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials</a>. 



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Scientists finally know how wrinkles form when skin ages

Wrinkles don’t just appear because you’re growing older. Beneath every...

Complaining is universal. Whether it’s about the weather, a late bus, or a frustrating coworker, venting is part of being human. But how we complain - and what our voices reveal when we do it - can vary more than you might think.



New research from a team of scientists in Switzerland and Canada shows that complaining has a recognizable tone of voice. Even more interesting, the emotional signals behind that tone shift depending on cultural background.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vocal-expressions-of-complaints">Vocal expressions of complaints</h2>



The study, led by researchers from the <a href="https://www.unige.ch/">University of Geneva</a>, sheds light on how vocal expressions of complaints differ between French and Québécois speakers. 



Dr. Maël Mauchand is a neuroscientist at the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences at the University of Geneva.



“Complaining is differentiated from neutral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-speech-is-full-of-melodies-that-create-language-like-patterns/">speech</a> by changes in vocal expression. Complainers tend to change their intonation, pitch, rhythm, and emphasis, making them sound more emotive and expressive,” said Dr. Mauchand.



“We show that complaining strategies show specific variations across two francophone cultures, with Québécois sounding more angry or surprised and French speakers sounding sadder.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-complaining-across-cultures">Complaining across cultures</h2>



To explore how complaints differ between cultures, researchers recorded eight native speakers - four from France and four from Quebec.



The participants read 84 simple sentences in both a neutral and complaining tone. The content of the sentences stayed the same; only the vocal delivery changed.



Next, 40 listeners living in Quebec, including both native Québécois and individuals who grew up in France, were asked to assess the emotional tone of selected recordings. They rated them across six emotional categories: happy, sad, angry, surprised, fearful, and disgusted.



“Complaining strategies seem consistent towards defining a general ‘complaining tone of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-our-voice-gives-us-a-greater-sense-of-control/">voice</a>,' with a few specific cultural variations,” noted Dr. Mauchand.



French speakers tended to use a higher pitch. Québécois speakers, meanwhile, showed more variation in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-people-have-a-hidden-musical-talent-for-singing-on-pitch/">pitch</a> - making their tone more dynamic and emotionally charged.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-anger-versus-sadness">Anger versus sadness</h2>



Complaining, at its core, is a way to relive or express a negative experience. That means it’s often full of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-emotions-build-in-the-brain-and-why-they-linger/">emotion</a> - and those emotions came through loud and clear in the study.



Listeners judged Québécois speakers as sounding angrier, more surprised, and more disgusted. French speakers, by contrast, were consistently rated as sounding sadder.



“There may be cultural norms on what a complaint sounds like in France or in Quebec, influenced by their use,” said Dr. Mauchand. 



“The French are said to complain quite often - if complaining is frequent and ritualized, it makes sense that complainers try to make their voice sound less aggressive, for example by using higher intonation and sounding more sad than angry.”



In Quebec, expressiveness is often more pronounced in everyday speech. That might be why high-energy emotions like anger and surprise come through more strongly in complaints.



“There may be social conventions on what a complaint sounds like in a particular culture, which can be learned as we grow up,” noted Dr. Mauchand. “How we complain is a subtle interplay between emotion, social context, and cultural display rules.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-the-tone-of-complaints">Understanding the tone of complaints</h2>



The researchers acknowledged that their sample was small - only eight speakers and two cultural groups. This means that the results might not apply universally. Still, the findings offer a useful lens for thinking about emotional communication. 



The study also raises bigger questions: How do complaints function in different cultures? How often do people complain? And how are those complaints received by others?



The answers could be useful far beyond linguistics. Understanding the tone of complaints could help in fields like communication disorders, psychotherapy, and emotional training.



“As an immediate application, it could encourage people to be more attentive,” said Dr. Mauchand. “Not just to what people say, but how they say it - and what it implies.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-complaining-as-emotional-communication">Complaining as emotional communication</h2>



Complaining isn’t just <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/venting-does-not-reduce-anger-psychologists-advise-doing-this-instead/">venting</a> - it’s a way of expressing emotion. Whether it’s anger, sadness, frustration, or even surprise, the tone we use when complaining tells others how we feel, often more clearly than the words themselves.



That’s why these subtle vocal shifts matter. A sad-sounding complaint might invite comfort. An angry-sounding one could trigger defensiveness. How we sound when complaining can influence how others react, whether they feel empathy, annoyance, or something in between.



This is especially important in multicultural environments where people may interpret emotional tones differently. What sounds like a mild complaint to someone from France might come across as intense or aggressive to someone from Quebec - and vice versa.



Understanding these patterns could help improve cross-cultural communication, emotional awareness, and even professional training in areas like counseling, mediation, or caregiving.



As the study suggests, there’s more going on in complaining than meets the ear. And being aware of that might change how we listen - and how we speak - when emotions run high.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1592994">Frontiers in Communication</a>.



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Sad or angry? Complaining sounds different across cultures

Complaining is universal. Whether it’s about the weather, a late...

Sadness and depression can feel heavy enough to cause your shoulders to slump and even cause you to feel a faint flush on your face, as if someone turned up the temperature. 



Many people report the same thing: when the blues roll in, a gentle warmth tags along. Doctors have wondered for decades whether that extra body heat is simply coincidence or a clue to something deeper.



A new trove of data suggests the two feelings march together far more often than chance would allow. 



Spotting depression early can save months of struggle, and an everyday thermometer to measure your body temperature might become part of that early-warning kit, according to a fascinating study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-depression-and-body-temperature">Depression and body temperature</h2>



A team of researchers - led by a team at the University of California, San Francisco (<a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">UCSF</a>) and partners in 106 countries - studied seven months of depression scores and body temperature readings from more than 20,000 volunteers.



After the second month of analysis, a very clear pattern emerged: higher depression scores meant higher body temperatures. 



Participants used household thermometers once a day and wore smart rings that sampled skin temperature thousands of times during each 24-hour cycle. The design captured both single snapshots and continuous streams, giving the study unusual breadth.



Each notch upward on the depression survey paired with a small rise in temperature - often less than one degree Fahrenheit - but the match held across climates, ages, and seasons. 



That consistency lifts the evidence from this study above many previous lab experiments that relied on a few dozen college students at a time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-a-slight-rise-means">What a slight rise means</h2>



A healthy core hovers near 98.6 °F, yet the body drifts up and down around that mark as metabolism revs or relaxes. 



In this study, people reporting milder symptoms stayed close to the textbook average, while those with heavier moods sat just a hair warmer. 



The differences averaged less than one degree, and that alone won't trigger an alarm. But across populations, it points to a biological shift that shadows emotional pain.



The investigators also compared the daily swing - called <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37640270/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diurnal amplitude</a> - between daytime peaks and nighttime lows. Smaller swings lined up with stronger depression scores. 



The trend scraped just below statistical significance, yet it matched hints from earlier controlled trials, suggesting timing may matter as much as the absolute reading.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-nighttime-signal">The nighttime signal</h2>



Cooler evenings help the brain drift into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sleep-clears-toxic-waste-from-the-brain/">deep sleep</a>. Volunteers who scored high for depression did not shed heat as smoothly after sundown. 



Their temperature curves looked flatter, which may echo trouble in the internal clock that guides hormone release and sleep architecture. 



Chronic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-gene-explains-why-some-people-can-thrive-on-less-sleep/">short sleep</a> is itself a risk factor for mood disorders, so a sluggish drop in temperature could add weight to an already heavy cycle.



Circadian researchers have long noted that light exposure, meal timing, and exercise <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/feeling-groggy-a-simple-trick-can-transform-your-mornings/">reset the clock</a>. 



This new work pushes body temperature onto that list, raising the chance that adjusting thermal cues might nudge sleep and mood back into sync.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-depression-likes-warm-temperatures">Depression likes warm temperatures</h2>



Keeping core temperature in check is a full-time job. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/syncing-brain-muscle-circadian-rhythms-slows-aging/">Muscles</a>, the liver, and even the brain churn out heat, while blood flow to the skin and sweating carry it away. 



<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3079864/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stress hormones</a>, low-grade inflammation, and shifts in neurotransmitters - all common in depression - can clog sweat glands and narrow tiny blood vessels near the surface. 



Electrodermal readings, which track microscopic bursts of sweat, often register on the low end for people with depression, hinting at weaker cooling.



A persistent half-degree rise may feel harmless, but over weeks it tweaks heart rate, muddles energy levels, and chips away at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sleep-how-slow-waves-boost-memory-formation/">restorative sleep</a>. 



That steady drag can deepen emotional lows, creating a loop in which feeling down slows cooling and inadequate cooling worsens the mood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heating-up-to-cool-down">Heating up to cool down</h2>



"Ironically, heating people up actually can lead to rebound body temperature lowering that lasts longer than simply cooling people down directly, as through an ice bath," said <a href="https://profiles.ucsf.edu/ashley.mason" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ashley Mason</a>, PhD, the study’s lead author and associate professor of psychiatry at <a href="https://weill.ucsf.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences</a>. 



"What if we can track the body temperature of people with depression to time heat-based treatments well?"



<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK6310/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Whole-body hyperthermia</a>, for instance, asks a patient to relax under infrared lamps until core temperature climbs several degrees. A single session in one small trial lifted mood for weeks. 



Saunas, hot yoga, and long soaks in a 104 °F tub appear to provoke a similar rebound: the body overshoots on cooling afterward, leaving core temperature slightly lower for hours. 



If timing that surge and crash lines up with individual temperature curves, it could become an affordable add-on to standard care.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taming-the-heat">Taming the heat</h2>



“To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date to examine the association between body temperature - assessed using both self-report methods and wearable sensors - and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/is-depression-contagious-couples-may-share-it-through-kissing/">depressive symptoms</a> in a geographically broad sample,” Mason concluded.



“Given the climbing rates of depression in the United States, we’re excited by the possibilities of a new avenue for treatment.”



Roughly one-third of patients feel little relief after trying two <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drugs-targeting-gut-cells-not-brain-cells-are-better-at-treating-depression-and-anxiety/">antidepressant drugs</a>, and weekly talk therapy remains out of reach for many because of cost or distance. 



Thermal protocols demand little gear beyond heaters, benches, or tubs already found in fitness centers. Insurance rarely covers such sessions today, but wider evidence may nudge payers to rethink that stance. 



Meanwhile, consumer wearables have plunged in price, making continuous temperature tracking a realistic self-care tool.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-depression-temperature-and-the-future-0">Depression, temperature, and the future</h2>



The next step is simple in plan, tricky in practice: deliberately adjust body temperature, then watch mood move in real time. 



Trials will compare saunas, heated vests, and water immersion to learn which triggers the most durable cooling. Researchers will also test whether syncing heat exposure with each person’s unique temperature rhythm improves results.



No one expects warmth alone to overhaul depression treatment, yet it could offer relief to people who prefer non-drug options or need something to bridge long gaps between counseling visits. Because the approach is low-tech, it might reach rural clinics that struggle to hire mental-health specialists.



For now, keeping an eye on the thermometer when low mood lingers could provide an early hint that the system is off balance. A small rise, coupled with persistent sadness or fatigue, may be reason enough to talk with a clinician.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-51567-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>.



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Strange link identified between body temperature and depression

Sadness and depression can feel heavy enough to cause your...

Gut-brain,Connection,Or,Gut,Brain,Axis.,Concept,Art,Showing,The

The human gut and the human brain share a hotline that scientists have been mapping for decades. Nutrients such as sugar and fat trigger signals that travel from the digestive tract to nerve centers in a flash, guiding everything from cravings to satiety. 



Yet the thought that the brain might also monitor the trillions of microbes living in the colon sounded almost science fiction - until now.



New evidence shows that chemical chatter from resident bacteria can hit the nervous system in real time, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drugs-targeting-gut-cells-not-brain-cells-are-better-at-treating-depression-and-anxiety/">shaping behaviors</a>, such as how much we eat, within minutes.



These findings sketch out a neurobiotic "sixth sense" that sits alongside taste and smell, one that keeps tabs on microscopic neighbors before they cause trouble or waste precious calories.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-brain-monitors-the-gut">How the brain monitors the gut</h2>



Most gut microbes cluster in the colon, where they break down leftovers and spin out vitamins that our bodies cannot make on their own. While they work, they shed fragments of protein that swirl through the intestinal stew. 



One of the most common of these bits is flagellin, the building block of the spinning tails many bacteria use for propulsion. 



<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/flagellin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flagellin</a> has long been known to trip immune alarms, but the speed of immune responses is measured in hours, not seconds. A faster line of communication had to exist if the brain were to react during a meal rather than after it.



Researchers at <a href="https://medschool.duke.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Duke University School of Medicine</a> have now traced such a line to neuropod cells - rare sensory cells embedded in the colon’s lining. 



Fewer than one in a thousand epithelial cells qualifies as a neuropod, yet those spies plug directly into fibers of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vagus-nerve-stimulation-offers-new-hope-for-severe-depression/">vagus nerve</a>, the major information highway connecting gut and brain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-sensors-with-big-influence">Tiny sensors with big influence</h2>



<a href="https://scholars.duke.edu/publication/1450088" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neuropod cells</a> in the small intestine are already famous for tasting nutrients. The new work shows that their cousins in the colon carry a receptor named Toll-like receptor 5 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toll-like_receptor_5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TLR5</a>), best known from immune cells that watch for bacterial flagellin.



When flagellin docks on TLR5, the neuropod releases peptide YY (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/peptide-yy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PYY</a>), a hormone that presses the brakes on appetite, and fires an electrical burst into the vagus nerve. 



In laboratory dishes, roughly one-quarter of isolated neuropods erupted with calcium sparks - an unmistakable sign of activation - within seconds of flagellin appearing. Block TLR5 and the flashes vanish.



“We were curious whether the body could sense microbial patterns in real time and not just as an immune or inflammatory response, but as a neural response that guides behavior in real time,” said Bohórquez, a professor of medicine and neurobiology at Duke University School of Medicine and senior author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flagellin-and-the-vagus-nerve">Flagellin and the vagus nerve</h2>



To see whether this microscopic relay mattered in a living animal, the scientists threaded a hair-thin tube into the colons of mice and dripped in purified flagellin. Within moments, electrodes on the neck picked up a surge of activity in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-gut-brain-communication-affect-emotional-well-being/">vagus nerve</a>.



The mice, which had fasted overnight, hesitated before taking their first bite and ate noticeably less during the next hour. The effect faded after about three hours - just long enough for the gut to clear its latest load of nutrients.



When the same experiment was run on mice genetically engineered to lack TLR5 only in neuropod cells, the nerve stayed quiet and the animals <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-do-some-foods-seem-irresistible-the-answer-is-in-your-gut/">kept eating</a>.



Over time, these mice gained weight even though their hormones, blood sugar, and gut inflammation stayed normal. Removing a single receptor from a tiny population of cells had quietly lifted a brake on food intake.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dissecting-the-gut-brain-pathway">Dissecting the gut-brain pathway</h2>



The steps in the circuit line up like dominoes: flagellin binds TLR5 on a neuropod cell, the cell releases PYY, PYY hits Y2 receptors on nearby vagus endings, and the electrical pulse races to appetite centers in the brainstem. 



Interfering at any point - blocking TLR5, preventing PYY release, or silencing Y2 receptors - cuts the signal. The speed of the response, measured in fractions of a second, sets it apart from hormonal cues such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-and-dogs-share-genes-linked-to-obesity/">leptin or ghrelin</a>, which rise and fall over hours.



By responding swiftly, the gut can keep a running tally of microbial activity and adjust intake before the next mouthful.



“Looking ahead, I think this work will be especially helpful for the broader scientific community to explain how our behavior is influenced by microbes,” said Bohórquez. 



“One clear next step is to investigate how specific diets change the microbial landscape in the gut. That could be a key piece of the puzzle in conditions like obesity or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-microbes-have-an-unexpected-link-to-anxiety/">psychiatric disorders</a>.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-neuropods-flagellin-and-appetite">Neuropods, flagellin, and appetite</h2>



The discovery slots gut bacteria alongside nutrients, stretch receptors, and hormones as direct contributors to appetite control. 



Because the neuropod pathway works locally in the colon and talks to the brain through existing nerves, it might one day be targeted without systemic side effects. 



Drugs that mimic flagellin’s signal, or dietary tweaks that favor bacteria whose flagellins hit TLR5 hardest, could help curb overeating in a more natural-feeling way than current appetite suppressants.



Emerging hints suggest the circuit may also converse with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trusting-your-gut-instinct-can-make-you-happier/">emotional centers</a>. The vagus nerve reaches brain regions involved in mood, and PYY has been linked to feelings of calm after meals.



If microbial flagellin can influence those areas too, the microbiome might steer not only how much we eat but how we feel while doing it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-we-learn-less-we-know">More we learn, less we know</h2>



The study used flagellin from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/salmonella-typhimurium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Salmonella typhimurium</a>, a species better known for food poisoning than for friendly gut housekeeping. Harmless commensal bacteria sport subtly different flagellins.



Do those variations tweak the neuropod response, dialing appetite up or down depending on which microbes dominate? And does the brain treat all flagellins as the same “slow down” cue, or can it distinguish between benign tourists and rowdy invaders?



Answering those questions will require tools that can swap microbial strains on demand and sensors that report neuropod activity in real animals during normal meals. 



As those tools come online, scientists expect to map a fuller picture of how bacterial voices blend with nutritional signals to fine-tune eating behavior.



To sum it all up, gut bacteria can tap a lightning-fast nerve circuit that tells the brain to put the fork down by flashing a protein badge. 



This discovery places neuropod cells at the heart of a freshly recognized “neurobiotic sense,” one that keeps the peace between host and microbes meal after meal.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09301-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Newly discovered "sixth sense" plays a vital role in human behavior and appetite

The human gut and the human brain share a hotline...

You’ve told yourself a thousand times you’ll change your behavior. But you don’t - even when the consequences are obvious. Why? A new study has dug into that question with a deceptively simple learning game - and what it reveals is uncomfortable but important. 



It turns out that some people don’t just make bad decisions. They keep making them. Not because they’re lazy or unaware, but because they can’t connect their actions to the consequences, even when those consequences are made crystal clear.



The study comes from researchers at <a href="https://www.unswcollege.edu.au/">UNSW Sydney</a>. It involved an online decision-making game designed to measure how people learn from negative outcomes. 



The goal wasn’t to test intelligence or willpower. It was to see whether people can recognize the link between what they do and what happens next - and what they do with that knowledge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learning-from-bad-decisions">Learning from bad decisions</h2>



Here’s how the game worked: participants had to choose between two planets. One planet led to a ship that gave them points. The other? It stole points they’d already earned. 



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-the-brain-identify-rewards-and-punishments/">punishment</a> didn’t happen every time, but it happened enough that most people could eventually, figure it out.



After enough rounds, a pattern emerged. Some players learned which planet was risky and avoided it. Others didn’t - at least not right away. And some kept picking the punishing planet, even after they were told exactly what it was doing.



“We found that some people just don’t learn from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/memory-is-shaped-by-both-past-and-future-experience-and-events/">experience</a>,” said Dr. Philip Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel of UNSW Sydney. “



Even when they’re motivated to avoid harm and are paying attention, they fail to realize their own behavior is causing the problem.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-learn-others-don-t">Some learn, others don’t</h2>



The researchers observed three distinct behavioral types. Sensitives were quick to recognize which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/navigating-uncertainty-how-to-make-transformative-life-decisions/">choices</a> led to losses and adjusted their behavior accordingly. 



Unawares didn’t figure it out on their own, but once the connection was explained, they changed their strategy. 



Compulsives, however, stood out - they continued making the same bad decisions even after being shown exactly how their actions were causing the problem.



“We basically told them, ‘this action leads to that negative consequence, and this other one is safe’,” said Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel. “Most people who had been making poor choices changed their behavior immediately. But some didn’t.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-brains-across-borders">Testing brains across borders</h2>



The original version of this experiment ran with psychology students in Australia. This new study expanded the pool: 267 participants from 24 countries, spanning a range of cultures, ages, and backgrounds - including people over 50.



This time, researchers added six-month follow-ups. After half a year, participants were invited to play the game again. 



Researchers also asked them to describe their thought process - what they believed was happening, and what they thought the best strategy was.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-behavior-types-hold-steady">Behavior types hold steady</h2>



Despite the broader sample, the results were remarkably consistent. "We ran the same task with a general population sample from 24 countries – people of different ages, backgrounds, and life experiences,” Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel said.



“And what we found was that the same behavioral profiles emerged. Everything we’d seen in Australian psychology students replicated almost exactly.”



In the original study, 35 percent were Sensitives, 41 percent were Unawares, and 23 percent were Compulsives. In the international version: 26 percent Sensitives, 47 percent Unawares, and 27 percent Compulsives.



The small shift? Possibly due to age. Older participants - especially those over 50 - were more likely to be in the Compulsive group.



“This may be linked to cognitive flexibility – the ability to adapt your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daydreaming-is-linked-to-improved-brain-health-memory-thinking-creativity-mental-functioning/">thinking</a>. And that tends to decline with age,” said Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bad-decisions-repeat-for-a-reason">Bad decisions repeat for a reason</h2>



One of the biggest surprises came at the six-month follow-up. Most people showed the same behavior profile as before. That consistency suggested something deeper than random mistakes.



“That was one of the more striking findings,” said Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel. “It suggests these aren’t just random mistakes or bad days. They’re stable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/personality-traits-are-not-strongly-inherited-from-parents/">traits</a> – almost like personality types. This is not to say they’re fixed, just that they may require intervention to break.”



And no, these weren’t mindless decisions either. When asked why they chose what they did, even the Compulsives often described their (flawed) strategies in detail.



“We asked participants what they thought was the best strategy, and they often described exactly what they were doing - even when it was clearly the wrong choice,” said Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel.



In other words, the problem isn’t always awareness. It’s implementation. People know what they’re doing. They just can’t seem to stop.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-it-means-for-real-world-behavior">What it means for real-world behavior</h2>



The researchers are careful not to stretch the implications too far. Real life is more complicated than a game. But the behaviors they saw - ignoring evidence, repeating bad decisions - do show up in the real world.



“Of course, real life is far more complex than the simple game we devised. But the patterns we’re seeing, where people ignore both experience and information, are similar to what we see in gambling and other compulsive behaviors," said Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel.



This also sheds light on public health efforts. Many campaigns focus on informing people about risks - smoking, drinking, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unhealthy-diet-leaves-brain-feeling-foggy-frazzled-sad/">unhealthy eating</a>, overspending - assuming they’ll change once they understand the consequences. But that assumption may be flawed.



“We’ve shown that standard information campaigns work for most people - but not for everyone,” noted Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel. “For compulsive individuals, we may need a different kind of intervention.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-025-00284-9">Communications Psychology</a>.



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Bad decisions aren’t always a choice - they’re built into your brain

You’ve told yourself a thousand times you’ll change your behavior....

When thinking about the future, optimists - people who generally expect positive outcomes - may actually share more than just hope. 



According to a new study from Kobe University, optimists’ brains behave in notably similar ways. Pessimists - those who generally expect negative outcomes or focus on worst-case scenarios - show much more variation in brain activity. 



This difference may explain why optimists are often seen as more sociable and better connected.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-there-a-reason-for-the-similarities">Is there a reason for the similarities?</h2>



"Recent studies showed that the brains of people who occupy central social positions react to stimuli in similar ways," said psychologist Yanagisawa Kuniaki, from <a href="https://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kobe University</a>, who led the research.



"So it may be that people who share a similar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-decisions-are-shaped-by-optimistic-and-pessimistic-neurons/">attitude</a> towards the future, too, truly envision it similarly in their brains and that this makes it easier for them to understand each other’s perspectives.” 



The team’s two-part study used advanced techniques to measure how individuals mentally simulate future events.



They combined representational similarity analysis and multidimensional scaling to visualize <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-brain-literally-changes-based-on-daily-activities-and-lifestyle/">brain patterns</a>. Optimism levels were assessed through standard personality tests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-merging-brain-scans-and-psychology">Merging brain scans and psychology</h2>



The study joins social psychology with cognitive neuroscience. Yanagisawa built a team to investigate what he called a neglected question. 



“The main reason why this question has remained untouched until now is that it exists in a gap between social psychology and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/an-optimistic-outlook-can-break-the-vicious-cycle-of-procrastination/">neuroscience</a>," he said. "However, the intersection of these two fields enabled us to open this black box."



Participants were asked to imagine future scenarios while undergoing fMRI scans. These scenarios included positive, neutral, negative, and death-related events. Scenarios were shown with either a self or partner perspective. 



This broad design helped reveal how differently brains reacted, depending on the type of future imagined and the emotional tone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-activity-of-optimists">Brain activity of optimists </h2>



The team observed something striking: optimists showed similar patterns of brain activity, especially in a region called the medial prefrontal cortex (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/medial-frontal-cortex" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MPFC</a>).



This region is linked to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/science-of-self-deception-how-cheating-can-make-us-feel-smarter/">self-reflection </a>and imagining the future. Pessimists, in contrast, displayed highly varied brain responses. 



These observations matched the <a href="https://technologyandsociety.org/the-anna-karenina-principle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anna Karenina model</a>. Only pairs of highly optimistic individuals showed high neural similarity when imagining the future.



Across two separate studies, higher optimism scores consistently linked with greater closeness in brain activity. Visual models showed that optimists clustered together in a shared brain-space, while pessimists scattered widely.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-optimists-are-literally-thinking-alike">Optimists are literally thinking alike</h2>



“What was most dramatic about this study is that the abstract notion of ‘thinking alike’ was literally made visible in the form of patterns of brain activity,” Yanagisawa noted.



But this similarity wasn't only about imagining any future. Optimists distinctly separated good from bad futures in their minds. 



Using a method called INDSCAL, the team found that optimists mentally pulled positive events away from negative ones more sharply than pessimists did.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-optimists-brains-buffer-negative-futures">Optimists' brains buffer negative futures</h2>



This suggests that more optimistic people perceive a clear distinction between good and bad futures in their brains. In other words, optimism does not involve positive reinterpretation of negative events. 



"Optimistic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/experts-identify-the-simple-emotion-that-gives-life-meaning-and-its-not-happiness/">individuals</a> typically process negative scenarios in a more abstract and psychologically distant manner, thus mitigating the emotional impact of such scenarios,” Yanagisawa said.



This neural distancing helps keep bad events from hitting too hard. At the same time, optimists picture good futures more vividly and concretely. This double approach could be one reason for their emotional resilience.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thinking-alike-builds-connection">Thinking alike builds connection</h2>



The MPFC’s role in shaping optimism may also explain its link to social bonds. Previous research found that people in central social positions often have brain responses that echo each other. 



This shared processing likely strengthens group understanding. Yanagisawa’s study shows that the same applies to optimism. Optimists may literally “think alike,” making it easier to build trust and connection.



“The everyday feeling of ‘being on the same wavelength’ is not just a metaphor," Yanagisawa said.



"The brains of optimists may in a very physical sense share a common concept of the future. But this raises new questions. Is this shared mechanism something they are born with or is it woven in later, for example through experience and dialogue?” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-optimism-s-neural-roots-in-the-brain">Optimism’s neural roots in the brain</h2>



Yanagisawa hopes future research will explore whether this shared brain style is learned or innate. 



“I believe that elucidating the process by which this shared reality emerges is a step towards a society where people can communicate better,” he said.



By uncovering how optimism shapes brain activity, this work opens new paths to understanding social connection, emotional health, and cognitive style. It turns out that optimism is not just a mindset. It is a shared neural signature.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2511101122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Optimists share similar brain patterns - but what about pessimists?

When thinking about the future, optimists - people who generally...

Space changes people in surprising ways. One of the most puzzling shifts that astronauts have experience on long missions is blurry vision. 



Many found themselves needing stronger reading glasses the longer they stayed aboard the International Space Station. Researchers began to investigate and found a pattern. The astronauts' <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/eye/">eyes</a> were changing shape.



Optic discs - where the optic nerve connects to the eye - were swelling. Eventually, these symptoms were grouped under one name: Space-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome, or <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/reference/risk-of-spaceflight-associated-neuro-ocular-syndrome-sans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SANS</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-microgravity-messes-with-astronaut-vision">Microgravity messes with astronaut vision</h2>



Scientists began digging deeper into what causes these eye problems. The key issue appears to be the effect of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microgravity-causes-big-problems-with-human-gene-expression/">microgravity</a>. 



In space, fluids in the body shift upward toward the head. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid don’t settle as they do on Earth. This headward fluid shift is now thought to be one of the main reasons behind SANS.



To test how this works, researchers launched the Thigh Cuff investigation. The study explores whether wearing snug cuffs around the upper thighs can redirect fluid away from the head. 



If effective, these cuffs could offer a simple, noninvasive way to prevent vision problems in space. And not just in orbit - this approach could also help patients on Earth who experience fluid buildup due to illness or extended bed rest.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eye-data-from-300-astronauts">Eye data from 300 astronauts</h2>



From 2015 through 2020, a project called Fluid Shifts documented how blood drains from the brain differently in space. 



Around the same time, the Vision Impairment and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/long-space-missions-in-microgravity-take-a-toll-on-astronauts-eyes/">Intracranial Pressure</a> (VIIP) study tested whether increased brain fluid pressure played a role in SANS.



To get answers, scientists used clinical eye exams - both with and without dilation - as well as imaging of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-retinal-cells-explain-complex-color-perception/">retina</a>, optic nerve, and surrounding blood vessels. 



Noninvasive scans helped measure the thickness of different eye structures. They also collected MRI data and surveyed nearly 300 astronauts about how their vision changed during missions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-astronaut-vision-issues">Understanding astronaut vision issues</h2>



In a paper published from this research, scientists noted that these tools have improved the understanding of SANS. They also discussed a new idea: a head-mounted virtual reality device that could someday assess SANS in real time using multiple types of data.



Another research group looked into the optic nerve sheath. They discovered that measuring its diameter might be a reliable way to track vision changes during space travel. 



The team also urged fellow scientists to standardize how these tests are done to make future studies easier to compare and repeat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-astronaut-s-unusual-vision-case">One astronaut’s unusual vision case</h2>



One study focused on a single <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronauts-can-survive-mars-space-journey-but-their-kidneys-will-be-permanently-damaged/">astronaut</a> who experienced more severe symptoms than most after a six-month mission. 



In this case, the symptoms began to improve mid-mission - possibly due to two factors: vitamin B supplements and a drop in cabin carbon dioxide levels after some crew members left the station.



“While a single case does not allow researchers to determine cause and effect, the magnitude of the improvements suggest this individual may be more affected by environmental conditions," said the researchers.



They noted that this may have been the first attempt to mitigate SANS with inflight B vitamin supplementation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-eye-tissue-softer-in-space">Is eye tissue softer in space?</h2>



Another study, SANSORI, which was led by the Canadian Space Agency, used <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554044/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Optical Coherence Tomography</a> to explore whether softer eye tissue might be part of the problem. On Earth, a loss of tissue stiffness is linked to aging and diseases like glaucoma or myopia.



Scientists found that long stays in space affected the stiffness of tissues around the eyeball. That change might help explain why eyes start to lose their shape during spaceflight. 



The results could also help doctors better understand vision problems in older adults here on Earth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-mice-and-artificial-gravity">Genes, mice, and artificial gravity</h2>



Meanwhile, researchers in Japan ran the <a href="https://osdr.nasa.gov/bio/repo/data/payloads/MHU-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MHU-8</a> experiment. They looked at how space travel affects gene expression in mice. 



After the mice returned to Earth, the team found changes in their optic nerves and retinas. 



Interestingly, the experts also tested whether artificial gravity might reduce these changes - and it did. This raises the possibility of using rotating habitats or other tools to simulate gravity during future missions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-vision-in-space">Protecting vision in space</h2>



SANS is still being studied, but every experiment brings scientists closer to understanding how space affects the human body - and how to protect it. 



The hope is that one day, astronauts headed to the Moon or Mars won’t have to worry about vision loss. And the same discoveries may help people on Earth too.



Information for this article was obtained from a NASA <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/vision-changes-on-space-station/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">press release</a>.



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Why astronauts get blurry vision in space

Space changes people in surprising ways. One of the most...

Recent archaeological discoveries challenge the idea that new technologies inevitably disrupt traditional ways of life. Japanese pots from the early rice farming period have preserved more than just traces of food. They hold memories of meals, choices, and cultural traditions.



Research from the University of York, the University of Cambridge, and Japan’s <a href="https://www.nabunken.go.jp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nara National Research Institute</a> reveals something striking. When rice farming spread from Korea to Japan 3,000 years ago, it did not immediately alter how people cooked or ate.



Cooking pot residue from early Japanese settlements tells a story of cultural resistance. Despite the introduction of rice and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bronze-age-people-abandoned-meat-for-millet-3500-years-ago/">millet</a>, fish-based meals stayed central to the Japanese diet. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rice-farming-in-japan">Rice farming in Japan</h2>



Rice farming arrived in Japan through contact with the Korean Peninsula. Migrants from Korea brought rice and millet together. But while rice became widespread over time, millet faded from Japanese meals. This puzzled researchers.



“Organic residue analysis has been crucial to our investigation into the earliest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ideas-traveled-farther-than-people-in-the-early-days-of-farming/">impacts</a> of rice and millet agriculture. It allows us to capture how these crops were actually used, offering a direct window into the culinary practices and crop interactions of early Japanese society," noted Dr. Jasmine Lundy from the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of York</a>.



Seed impressions on pottery from the Final Jomon and Yayoi periods confirm both grains existed in Japan. Yet millet, a staple in Korean Bronze Age cuisine, rarely appeared in Japan’s food remains. Archaeologists wanted to understand why.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-japanese-people-chose-traditional-foods">Japanese people chose traditional foods</h2>



The absence of millet was not due to climate. Millet thrives in Japan’s environment, just as it does in Korea. 



“The absence of millet from Japanese food residues and human bones was a surprise to us, given that we knew both rice and millet had been introduced at this time,” said Professor Oliver Craig from the University of York.



“We know from isotope analysis of fats and oils in cooking pots that millet was a major part of the Korean diet, and continues to be eaten to this day, but it seemed that it made no impact on early Japanese cuisine."



“Environmental factors could be ruled out because we know that millet grows just as well in Japan as it does in Korea, so there was something else going on that provided a barrier to this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birth-of-farming-driven-by-humans/">crop</a> being adopted in Japanese cooking.”



This suggests social or culinary preferences shaped what foods were accepted. Even with Korean farming tools and pottery styles present in Japan, food habits stayed rooted in local customs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-stayed-the-main-food-in-japan">Fish stayed the main food in Japan</h2>



The team found that fish-based meals remained dominant, even as rice farming expanded. Cooking pots showed continued use for fish and wild foods. Few pots showed signs of cooking rice.



“There is evidence of Korean-style pottery and farming tools in Japan, but this didn’t line-up with changes to the way people cooked and ate. Yayoi pots were still used to cook fish and other wild foods, and few show signs of being dedicated to rice-cooking,” noted study co-author Dr. Shinya Shoda.



The findings reveal that technology alone does not reshape food habits. Even as tools and crops arrived, Japanese cooks kept preparing familiar dishes. Cultural memory and culinary <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cave-discovery-of-ancient-avocados-could-rescue-a-global-crop/">tastes</a> held firm.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-from-japanese-rice-farming">Lessons from Japanese rice farming</h2>



This phenomenon is not unique to Japan. In Southern Scandinavia, people kept fishing and gathering wild food long after farming arrived. By contrast, foragers in Britain quickly embraced agriculture.



“Whilst we see changes in pottery styles and other forms of material culture in Japan with the arrival of rice and millet, food culture remains remarkably consistent," said Professor Craig.



"And whilst Japan’s culinary history eventually catches up with the ‘rice boom’ that we see in Korea, it may have taken some time to have impacted everyday practices, suggesting food culture is deeply embedded and can survive major technological shifts."



These insights urge us to think differently about change. New tools may reach communities, but that does not guarantee quick transformation. Food culture, in particular, often moves at its own pace.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-the-spread-of-farming">Studying the spread of farming</h2>



The research supports the work of the ENCOUNTER project, led by Dr. Enrico Crema at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Cambridge</a>, which studies how farming spread and influenced life across ancient Japan.



“These latest findings add to our body of work in the <a href="https://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/current-projects/encounter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ENCOUNTER</a> project, which has so far shown the diffusion rates of farming within the Japanese archipelago, the demographic impact of farming, and how different cultural traits might have been conditioned by marriage practices,” said Dr. Crema.



The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.



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Japanese food traditions held strong despite the arrival of farming

Recent archaeological discoveries challenge the idea that new technologies inevitably...

More than half the world's population may be at risk of overweight or obesity by 2035, according to global estimates. Yet current treatments such as surgery, medication, or lifestyle changes do not work equally for everyone and remain out of reach for many.



A new approach focuses instead on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-childhood-obesity-rate-is-expected-to-soar-by-2050/">prevention</a>. Scientists have created a genetic test called a polygenic risk score (PGS) that can predict the risk of future obesity in children as young as age five. The test uses genetic data to flag those most likely to develop obesity in adulthood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-obesity-and-genetic-testing">Obesity and genetic testing</h2>



The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39075585/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PGS</a> is based on genetic data from over five million individuals. It can identify children at high genetic risk for adult obesity well before <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childhood-obesity-rates-are-surging-worldwide/">lifestyle</a> or environment take over.



“What makes the score so powerful is its ability to predict, before the age of five, whether a child is likely to develop obesity in adulthood, well before other risk factors start to shape their weight later in childhood,” said assistant professor Roelof Smit from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Copenhagen</a>.



Smit added that intervening at this point could have a huge impact.



This insight opens doors for targeted prevention during early development. Childhood interventions are more likely to change long-term health outcomes than adult efforts.



This test comes from the <a href="https://giant-consortium.web.broadinstitute.org/index.php/GIANT_consortium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GIANT Consortium</a>, a worldwide network of over 600 researchers. They partnered with institutions and <a href="https://www.23andme.com/en-int/?srsltid=AfmBOop15BMfWIdbW6C08DWr0ACTjNo_VyqMxvNdcq_Hg9-1E47G3fF3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe</a>, using the largest and most diverse genetic database to date.



The team trained their model on data from millions of people and validated it across over half a million individuals. They used advanced statistical methods to improve prediction accuracy while also addressing genetic diversity challenges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-improved-accuracy-over-older-tests">Improved accuracy over older tests</h2>



The new PGS works like a calculator. It adds the small effects of thousands of obesity-related genetic variants to predict someone’s future risk. These include variants that act on the brain, influencing appetite and food preferences.



This new version was twice as accurate as older models at predicting who will develop <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/obesity-can-be-passed-down-from-parents-to-kids/">obesity</a>. It performed well across multiple global datasets.



"This new polygenic score is a dramatic improvement in predictive power and a leap forward in the genetic prediction of obesity risk, which brings us much closer to clinically useful genetic testing," said Professor Ruth Loos from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lifestyle-still-matters-for-obesity">Lifestyle still matters for obesity</h2>



Researchers also examined how individuals with a higher genetic risk for obesity respond to common weight loss strategies, such as changes in diet or increased physical activity. 



Their analysis showed that those with higher polygenic risk scores tended to lose more weight during structured interventions. These interventions included things like meal planning, exercise routines, and lifestyle coaching.



However, this success often did not last. When the support or structured program ended, these individuals were more likely to regain the weight they had lost. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-are-only-part-of-the-story">Genes are only part of the story</h2>



This pattern highlights an important point: while genetic factors may affect how someone initially responds to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/simple-text-messages-could-help-tackle-childhood-obesity/">weight loss</a> efforts, they do not fully determine long-term outcomes.



In other words, genes are only part of the picture. Daily habits, motivation, access to healthy food, and social support all strongly affect whether weight stays off or comes back. 



A person’s environment can either reduce the impact of genetic risk or make it worse. So, genetics shape tendencies, but choices and surroundings still matter deeply.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-genetic-obesity-scores-matter">Why genetic obesity scores matter</h2>



One limitation remains: performance differences across ancestry groups. The PGS works better for people of European descent than for those with African ancestry.



Although the model includes more diverse data than earlier efforts, this gap reflects broader issues in genomic research. Most global genetic studies still rely heavily on European datasets.



To address this, the authors used transfer learning techniques and ancestry-aware statistical tools. While this improved the score’s reach, results still vary across populations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-using-obesity-risk-in-real-care">Using obesity risk in real care</h2>



This research provides a powerful tool for public health and pediatric care. If used ethically and responsibly, early screening could allow healthcare systems to offer guidance before obesity develops.



To support long-term benefits, the study encourages inclusive datasets and equity-focused model development. It also calls for integration with environmental and behavioral data to enhance real-world impact.



This genetic score will not replace personal choices or medical advice. But it can serve as an early warning system, giving at-risk children a better chance at lifelong health.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03827-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Medicine</a>.



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New genetic test can identify children who are at risk of obesity well before it occurs

More than half the world's population may be at risk...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



-----



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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