Americans hear the same advice again and again - eat better and move more. Yet obesity keeps climbing. Almost 40 percent of adults live with it today. Healthcare costs soar past $170 billion each year.



Related diseases, including certain cancers, are rising too. If the answer were only diet and exercise, the trend would have reversed by now.



Scientists at <a href="https://www.uclahealth.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UCLA Health</a> argue that something else is driving the epidemic. They point to stress, inequality, and life circumstances that change how the gut and brain work. 



These forces don’t just influence choices. They shape cravings, motivation, and biology itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-obesity-tied-to-social-pressures">Obesity tied to social pressures</h2>



The new review, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, shows how social conditions affect obesity. Researchers call these conditions social determinants of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-childhood-obesity-rate-is-expected-to-soar-by-2050/">health</a>. 



These includes income, education, neighborhood safety, healthcare access, childhood adversity, discrimination, and isolation.



Think of them as the backdrop of daily life, where cheap food options dominate, streets feel unsafe, health care is hard to reach, and stress never fades. 



Each of these pressures pushes the body toward weight gain, shaping how people eat, how much they move, and how they cope.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gut-microbes-influence-brain-cravings">Gut microbes influence brain cravings</h2>



The body has a messenger system linking the gut to the brain. Microbes in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/obesity-is-linked-more-to-food-than-fitness/">gut</a> release signals. The brain responds with hormones and chemical shifts. Together, they steer appetite and cravings.



Dr. Arpana Church, who co-directs the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, describes this loop as central. 



“Our findings reveal that tackling obesity requires more than focusing on individual choices - it demands recognizing the powerful role that social and environmental forces play in shaping gut health, behavior and long-term health outcomes," said Dr. Church.



"Reversing the escalating obesity epidemic in America demands a dual approach - personalized, equitable care for individuals and bold, systemic policy reforms that address the root causes."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stress-fuels-obesity-patterns">Stress fuels obesity patterns</h2>



Financial stress shapes food choices. Families on tight budgets often buy processed meals because fresh produce costs more. 



Food insecurity makes obesity more common in both adults and children. Stress hormones then reinforce those eating patterns.



Neighborhoods also matter. Poorer areas often lack grocery stores, safe spaces, or healthcare. Violence and crime raise daily stress, pushing people toward food for comfort. Structural racism deepens the problem by concentrating disadvantage in certain communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-loneliness-changes-brain-responses">Loneliness changes brain responses</h2>



Isolation adds another layer. People without strong social ties process <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fat-soaking-microbeads-could-be-the-next-weight-loss-breakthrough/">food</a> cues differently. The brain becomes more sensitive to rewards, and food looks more tempting. 



At the same time, the gut microbiome loses diversity. Inflammation rises and cravings grow stronger.



“Research shows that social determinants of health - such as access to nutritious food, safe spaces for physical activity, access to resources such as education, grocery stores, and quality health care - are powerful drivers of obesity risk, underscoring the need to address the conditions in which people live, work and grow,” said Dr. Church.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stress-rewires-the-brain-and-body">Stress rewires the brain and body</h2>



Stress, poor diet, and discrimination don’t just change behavior - they rewire systems. Brain scans show less gray matter in areas that control motivation and self-control.



Chronic inflammation lowers dopamine, reducing satisfaction from normal rewards. Harmful bacteria flourish in the gut, weakening metabolism and insulin response.



Racism-related stress leaves its mark too. Repeated exposure alters <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-over-matter-brain-boosting-diet-could-enhance-focus-in-children/">brain</a> networks that handle emotions and decision-making. 



It also shifts gut chemistry, promoting inflammation. These biological changes make food an easy, almost automatic coping tool.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-childhood-stress-sets-obesity-patterns">Childhood stress sets obesity patterns</h2>



The review shows that these effects start young. Stress during pregnancy changes fetal development. Children may inherit altered metabolic responses before they’re born. 



After birth, breastfeeding, antibiotics, and early diet shape the microbiome further. Breastfeeding can lower obesity risk in adolescents, especially in disadvantaged families. 



Still, ongoing stress and poor diet often outweigh those protections. By the time children reach school age, the patterns are set.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-community-resources-reduce-risk">Community resources reduce risk</h2>



Dr. Church emphasized that policy shifts are vital. Health care must expand. Schools need <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/healthy-foods-can-be-staged-to-look-more-appealing/">healthier meals</a>, and neighborhoods need grocery stores and safe parks. But individuals can still act within limits.



Choosing affordable nutritious food, keeping social connections, and practicing stress relief can all help. Walking outside, journaling, and gratitude exercises are simple tools. 



"At the same time, healthcare providers have a vital role to play, not only by screening for current social determinants of health, but also by recognizing how these factors accumulate and evolve over time, which is rarely accounted for in today’s clinical practice," said Dr. Church.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mindfulness-and-therapy-show-promise">Mindfulness and therapy show promise</h2>



Clinics are trying new strategies. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tai-chi-reduces-inflammatory-risks-in-cancer-survivors/">Cognitive behavioral therapy</a> helps people change eating habits. Mindfulness reduces stress-driven overeating. 



Researchers are also testing probiotics and even fecal microbiota transplants to restore gut health.



“By understanding these influences and tailoring treatment plans to account for biological and psychosocial challenges, providers can offer more personalized plans that improve outcomes, empowers individuals to take control over their health,” noted Dr. Church.



The message is clear: obesity is not only about food or exercise. It reflects stress, inequality, and biology shaped by the world outside. Until those pressures shift, the numbers won’t change.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1542356525007323" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology</a>.



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New study claims obesity is driven by these two factors, not just diet and exercise, upending current beliefs

Americans hear the same advice again and again - eat better and move more. Yet obesity keeps climbing. Almost 40 percent of adults live with it today. Healthcare costs soar past $170 billion each year. Related diseases, including certain cancers, are rising too. If the answer were only diet and exercise, the trend would have reversed by now. Scientists at UCLA Health argue that something else is driving the epidemic. They point to stress, inequality, and life circumstances that change how the gut and brain work. These...

Our everyday food choices are often guided by taste, tradition, and convenience. However, beneath these choices lie hidden risks that many tend to ignore. There is growing evidence suggesting that even tiny amounts of processed meat, sugary drinks, and trans fats carry health risks. 



A team of researchers analyzed over 60 previous studies. They looked at how processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, and trans fats impact risks of type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer, and ischemic heart disease.



“Habitual consumption of even small amounts of processed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunflower-protein-could-change-the-future-of-sustainable-meat/">meat</a>, sugary drinks, and trans fatty acids is linked to increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease and colorectal cancer,” said Dr. Demewoz Haile, the study’s lead author from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Washington</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-risks-behind-daily-choices">Risks behind daily choices</h2>



The analysis revealed alarming <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-consumption-drove-an-evolutionary-leap-in-early-humans/">trends</a>. Eating just one hot dog a day increased type 2 diabetes risk by 11 percent. It also raised the risk of colorectal cancer by 7 percent. 



Consuming a daily 12-ounce soda raised type 2 diabetes risk by 8 percent and ischemic heart disease by 2 percent.



“This current research has shown, yet again and consistent with prior research, that to achieve health gains it is best to avoid or minimize the habitual consumption of each of processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and industrially produced trans fatty acids (TFAs),” said Dr. Nita Forouhi of the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Cambridge</a>.



According to Dr. Forouhi, there is no such thing as a “safe amount” of processed meat consumption.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-strong-and-consistent-health-risks">Strong and consistent health risks</h2>



The risks associated with eating processed meats may appear small. However, Dr. Mingyang Song from <a href="https://hsph.harvard.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a> explained why they are concerning.



“When we look at the actual data there, it’s really remarkably consistent and remarkably strong, and even in the lower dose of consumption, we can still see an increased risk of disease,” he said.



The study used a burden-of-proof method. This approach weighs evidence from several studies and considers their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-protein-boosts-survival-but-plants-boost-longevity/">quality</a>. Though conservative, the method strengthens the results.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-processed-meat-risk-remains">Processed meat risk remains</h2>



The study has limitations. For example, the research does not prove direct cause and effect. Dr. Gunter Kuhnle from the <a href="https://www.reading.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Reading</a> pointed out that participants had to recall their diets, which can lead to mistakes.



“Utilizing even ‘the most sophisticated techniques does not really solve the problem that the information about diet is rather limited - which is obviously a big problem in nutritional epidemiology in general,” said Dr. Kuhnle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-these-foods-are-harmful">Why these foods are harmful</h2>



Certain foods contribute to inflammation, which plays a role in chronic diseases. Processed meats often contain nitrites. These compounds convert into cancer-causing nitrosamines inside the stomach. 



Sugary drinks pose other dangers. They deliver large sugar doses rapidly, leading to weight gain and metabolic problems.



Trans fats worsen cholesterol levels. They lower good cholesterol and raise bad cholesterol, leading to heart disease risks.



Unhealthy diets often accompany other risky behaviors, such as smoking or low physical activity. Social issues like low income or limited healthcare access also raise disease risks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cutting-processed-meat-keeping-balance">Cutting processed meat, keeping balance</h2>



Though reducing these foods is strongly advisable, moderation is key. Song suggested that cutting back on such items makes sense. Kuhnle agreed and advised maintaining a balanced diet.



That includes reducing sugary drinks, processed meats, and hydrogenated fats, even if trans fats are now less common. “The goal shouldn’t be perfection but rather a healthy and sensible dietary pattern that allows room for enjoyment,” said Dr. Kuhnle.



Good nutrition means not only cutting out unhealthy foods but also eating foods that help your body. Adding fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other healthy options keeps you strong and well.



“Wider research has shown us that overall dietary patterns that include higher consumption of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and fermented dairy products like yogurt are good for health and longevity,” said Dr. Forouhi.



Dr. Kuhnle offered a final reminder. “My general advice: don’t panic,” he said. “Food is not just (a) source of nutrients - it plays a central role in culture, pleasure, family life, and social connection. Reducing it solely to a list of health risks misses the bigger picture.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03775-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Processed meat can cause health issues, even in tiny amounts

Our everyday food choices are often guided by taste, tradition,...

Your eyes do more than show your brain what's happening in the world around you. They also reveal how well your brain may fare in the years ahead, including whether or not you might develop dementia.



A long‑running study of 8,623 adults has found that a subtle slowdown in detecting a faint triangle on a computer screen can hint at Alzheimer’s disease up to 12  years before diagnosis. 



Lead author <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk/schools/sport-exercise-health-sciences/people/eef-hogervorst/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eef Hogervorst</a> of Loughborough University says the simple test “could slot into routine checkups without adding a single drop of blood.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vision-timing-signals-brain-trouble">Vision timing signals brain trouble</h2>



Participants pressed a button when they spotted a triangle drifting amid random dots. Those who later developed dementia needed roughly two extra seconds - a gap large enough to raise their future risk by 56 percent.&nbsp;



The task measures <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3615057/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">visual processing speed</a>, the time the brain takes to register and respond to a stimulus. Sluggish scores predicted dementia even after researchers adjusted for age, education, and cardiovascular health.



“Visual sensitivity is related to memory performance,” noted Hogervorst. She adds that eyesight often declines quietly, leaving people unaware until memory falters.



A similar pattern appeared in an independent analysis showing that early amyloid plaques disrupt visual signals before <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/memory-isnt-only-stored-in-our-brains-other-cells-can-remember-too/">memory centers</a> suffer. Taken together, the findings suggest eye‑based tests could extend the warning window for preventive care.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eyes-offer-dementia-warning">Eyes offer dementia warning</h2>



The retina is an outgrowth of the brain, so toxic proteins can accumulate there first. Researchers now examine retinal layers for thinning, abnormal blood vessels, and microscopic deposits that mirror cerebral changes.



Damage often begins in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-a-brain-region-that-connects-all-the-senses/">occipital cortex</a>, the region that deciphers vision, before spreading to the hippocampus. That makes contrast sensitivity, color discrimination, and motion detection early casualties.



People with Alzheimer’s also struggle to ignore distractions. “These problems could increase the risk of driving accidents,” warned <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk/schools/sport-exercise-health-sciences/people/thom-wilcockson/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Thom Wilcockson</a>, a psychologist at <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Loughborough University</a>.



Eye-tracking research confirms the concern, showing that older drivers with dementia exhibit erratic saccades, longer fixations, and reduced scanning range - all linked to crash risk.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-slowing-detection-really-means">What slowing detection really means</h2>



Spotting a shape on a screen sounds trivial, yet it taps fast neural circuits shared with memory. When those circuits lag, forgetting names and appointments may follow. 



The Norfolk data showed the triangle test remained significant after standard memory exams were considered. In clinics, combining both could improve accuracy while saving time and cost.



Slower vision also correlates with trouble recognizing faces, a social cue often missed in early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/risk-of-dementia-is-much-higher-than-previously-thought/">dementia</a>. Patients skim past eyes and mouths, failing to “imprint” new acquaintances and later feeling lost in familiar rooms. 



Several groups are testing whether directed eye exercises can sharpen recall. Early trials of rapid left‑right movements report modest gains, though results remain mixed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smartphones-join-dementia-fight">Smartphones join dementia fight</h2>



High‑grade eye trackers once cost thousands of dollars. A California <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3491102.3502493" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">team</a> has squeezed similar optics into a smartphone app that uses the front‑facing infrared camera to measure pupil changes. 



The prototype walks users through a brief <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-link-pupil-dilation-to-brains-working-memory-levels/">pupil</a> dilation task, then uploads data for cloud analysis. Engineers hope the approach will let families monitor brain health between clinic visits.



Consumer wearables are also inching closer. Some virtual‑reality headsets already track gaze direction at millisecond resolution, offering another route for large‑scale screening. 



Still, technology alone is not enough. Experts stress the need for clear guidelines to avoid false alarms and protect privacy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fight-dementia-with-eye-health">Fight dementia with eye health</h2>



Lifestyle counts, too. A 14‑year <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8482376/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> of almost 2,000 older adults found those who read at least once a week cut cognitive decline odds by nearly half.



Reading, watching subtitles, or knitting forces the eyes to dart and refocus, a workout for neural networks. Longer education and regular exercise add extra cognitive reserve, buffering the toll of disease. 



Optometrists recommend annual exams after people reach 60 years of age.



Reporting new glare, color shifts, or slowed adaptation can nudge physicians to order broader <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/speech-pattern-wfd-that-is-a-clear-indication-a-person-is-in-cognitive-decline/">cognitive checks</a>.



Vision‑friendly habits help, too. Good lighting, high‑contrast text, and blue‑green filters reduce strain and may delay functional loss. 



Finally, keep <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/poor-diet-can-damage-our-blood-vessels/">blood vessels</a> healthy. Controlling blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol supports both retinal and cerebral circulation, tying the two organs together.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-55637-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>.



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Your eyes can reveal the onset of dementia up to 12 years in advance, according to research

Your eyes do more than show your brain what's happening...

Shower water carries more than suds. Every shampoo rinse sends long‑chain chemicals from our bathrooms into rivers where they can cling to the bodies of small aquatic animals.



A research team led by Hans Sanderson of <a href="http://Aarhus University https://g.co/kgs/wGFv7P9">Aarhus University</a> tracked what those ingredients do once they leave the drain, focusing on a class called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166445X24003485?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polyquaternium conditioners</a> that make hair feel smooth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-shampoos-tame-frizz">How shampoos tame frizz</h2>



Hair carries a natural negative charge, and damaged strands hold even more. Manufacturers add <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166248108701168" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">positively charged polymers</a> so those long molecules wrap around each fiber and neutralize static, leaving a sleek finish.



The most common sub‑group, polyquaterniums, numbers more than 25,000 variations. Together they support a <a href="https://www.businessresearchinsights.com/market-reports/polyquaternium-market-107659" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">market valued</a> at about $0.12 billion in 2024 and projected to grow steadily over the next decade.



Each molecule is huge by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-ocean-animals-connect-countries-and-continents/">chemical</a> standards, so toxicology screens once assumed they were harmless to wildlife because they cannot slip through cell membranes. Sanderson’s team asked whether sticking on the outside of a creature could matter just as much.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shampoo-harms-tiny-aquatic-animals">Shampoo harms tiny aquatic animals </h2>



Freshwater ponds and lakes are full of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2042/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">daphnia</a>, tiny crustaceans <a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Shampoo-animals.jpg">sometimes called water fleas</a>. They filter algae and bacteria, purify water, and form a primary food source for many small fish.



Because daphnia propel themselves with rhythmic strokes of their antennae, any extra drag can slow them down. 



The Aarhus experiments showed that a film of conditioner polymers glued to the animals’ shells, halving their swimming speed and hindering feeding.



“We have conducted the first study in the world to investigate this. The substances do not penetrate the animals’ cells, but rather stick to the surface of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-environment-day-2025-plastic-pollution-is-choking-our-planet/">animal</a>,” explained Sanderson. 



“This physically affects the animal, making it unable to move as well, and it impairs its ability to ingest food,” continued Sanderson.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shampoo-s-charge-makes-animals-vulnerable">Shampoo's charge makes animals vulnerable</h2>



The researchers ran complementary tests on two standard laboratory species, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2042/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daphnia magna</a> and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/483833-Ceriodaphnia-dubia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ceriodaphnia dubia</a>, using three <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166445X24003485" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polyquaterniums</a> of different designs. 



The team found toxicity thresholds as low as 0.05 mg per liter for the most highly charged polymer, while the same molecule with a lower charge was 400‑fold less toxic.



The pattern was consistent regardless of molecular weight. That result shifts regulatory focus from size to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/charge-density" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">charge density</a>, a parameter rarely documented on shampoo labels.



Organic matter in natural water, such as dissolved humic acids, partially blunts the polymers’ stickiness. Yet even moderate concentrations still impaired reproduction and growth during 21‑day chronic tests with both daphnia species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-shampoo-chemicals-move-to-animals">How shampoo chemicals move to animals</h2>



Wastewater plants intentionally add the same <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.macromol.3c01223" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cationic polymers</a> as a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/flocculant" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">flocculant</a> to clump particles together for easier removal. Ironically, what helps strip other pollutants out of sewage can persist in the resulting sludge or treated effluent.



If facilities discharge more than the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-impacting-marine-life-more-than-we-realized/">ecosystem</a> can buffer, sensitive invertebrates pay the price. Because daphnia sit near the base of the food web, their decline can ripple upward and reduce fish recruitment.



Laboratory work measured polymer levels that killed half a daphnia population within 48 hours at phone‑screen brightness‑level concentrations. Field monitoring remains limited, so nobody knows how often small streams approach those doses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-call-for-smarter-safety-tests">Call for smarter safety tests</h2>



European agencies already demand hazard labels for chemicals that penetrate cells, but large polymers still slip through many guidelines. 



The European Commission is reviewing <a href="https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/chemicals/chemicals-legislation_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polymer assessment rules</a> under its CLP and <a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/chemicals/reach-regulation_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">REACH regulations</a>, with updates expected this year.



The researchers argue that future protocols must mimic real‑world water containing organic carbon, rather than the ultra‑clean test media used today. 



They also recommend including movement and feeding endpoints, not just mortality, when assessing ecological risk.



Softening agents may never fully disappear from consumer goods. However, incremental tweaks, lower charge density, biodegradable side chains, or safer alternatives like amino‑based conditioners could cut harm dramatically. 



Manufacturers have incentives to act before formal limits arrive, because production lines adapt faster than legislation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reducing-shampoo-s-harm-to-animals">Reducing shampoo’s harm to animals</h2>



Reading an ingredient list will often reveal polyquaterniums by number, for example polyquaternium‑10 or ‑7. Lower single‑digit numbers usually carry higher charge density, although the label alone cannot quantify risk.



Choosing rinse‑off products certified for low aquatic toxicity is one stopgap, though Sanderson notes that even ecolabel formulations sometimes rely on the same chemistry. 



Reducing dosage helps too; a quarter‑sized blob of shampoo cleans most medium‑length hair, and conditioner is unnecessary every wash for many people.



Small behavior shifts add up because each bottle skipped prevents thousands of gallons of rinse water from picking up extra polymers over its retail life. 



Until wastewater infrastructure and regulations catch up, prevention at the source remains the surest shield for freshwater communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-toward-a-balanced-bathroom-shelf">Toward a balanced bathroom shelf</h2>



The story of sticky hair conditioners underscores a broader lesson in polymer safety. Size alone cannot protect wildlife if surface charge lets molecules hijack essential behaviors like swimming and feeding. 



Daphnia, though invisible from a shower stall, signal the health of entire lakes and streams. When their numbers fall, algae blooms can surge, water clarity drops, and fish lose a key snack.



Scientists now have lab tools to screen thousands of conditioning agents quickly, ranking them by how strongly they glue onto living surfaces. 



Policy makers can use that knowledge to set practical discharge limits, while industry chemists re‑engineer formulas for performance without collateral damage.



Every shampoo rinse cycle connects personal routine to planetary processes, affecting animals too. Balancing clean hair with clean water and protecting animals is no longer guesswork; the data are in view, and the solutions are within reach.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166445X24003485" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aquatic Toxicology</a>.



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Chemicals in shampoos and soaps are infiltrating rivers and killing aquatic life

Shower water carries more than suds. Every shampoo rinse sends...

A year‑long investigation following almost 20,000 adults has uncovered a clear link between getting to sleep early at night and doing more physical activity the following day. 



The recent <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2420846122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>, reports that volunteers who habitually nodded off near 9 p.m. accumulated roughly 30 extra minutes of brisk movement each day compared with people who stayed awake until 1 a.m.



<a href="https://lens.monash.edu/@josh-leota" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Josh Leota</a> of <a href="https://lens.monash.edu/@josh-leota" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monash University</a> led the project, working with colleagues across Australia, the United States, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-bedtime-matters">Why bedtime matters</h2>



Those <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sleep-during-naps-can-spark-insight-and-creativity/">early sleepers</a> also beat the sample average, clocking about 15 more minutes of moderate‑to‑vigorous physical activity <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.682233/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(MVPA)</a> than peers who usually fell asleep around 11 p.m.



Public‑health agencies <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/guidelines/adults.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advise</a> adults to rack up at least 150 minutes of moderate effort each week, or about 30 minutes a day, meaning the extra half hour observed in the early‑to‑bed group can single‑handedly meet the daily target.



Crucially, the data show it is not just what time you fall asleep most nights, but whether you shift that time earlier while still getting your usual amount of shut‑eye. This combination produced the highest next‑day MVPA totals in the sample.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-night-owls-under-pressure">Night owls under pressure</h2>



Your natural preference for early or late sleep, known as your <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/chronotypes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chronotype</a>, is not merely a quirk of habit. Research using accelerometers has <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-12267-5">linked</a> extreme evening chronotypes to more sedentary time and a higher ten‑year cardiovascular risk score in middle‑aged adults.



Another analysis of college students found that people who experience at least a two‑hour mismatch between work‑day and weekend sleep, known as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39321660/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social jetlag</a>, were less likely to hit either aerobic or strength‑training recommendations.



“Standard 9‑to‑5 routines can clash with the natural sleep preferences of evening types, leading to social jetlag, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-particular-sleep-stage-slow-wave-deep-is-most-important-for-preventing-dementia/">poorer sleep quality</a>, and increased daytime sleepiness, which can all reduce motivation and opportunity for physical activity the next day,” explained Dr. Leota.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-activity-gadgets-that-never-sleep">Activity gadgets that never sleep</h2>



The Monash team relied on a wrist‑worn wearable sensor called <a href="https://www.whoop.com/us/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHOOP</a> that logs heart rate, motion, and skin temperature every few seconds.



To confirm their findings, they repeated the analyses with almost 6,000 volunteers whose Fitbits fed data into the <a href="https://allofus.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. All of Us Research Program</a>. The patterns held firm across age, gender, and ethnicity.



Earlier <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4341978/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> has already shown that exercise and sleep travel a two‑way street: better sleep encourages movement, while regular movement deepens sleep quality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-work-schedules-make-it-worse">Work schedules make it worse</h2>



Evening‑type workers who are forced into early starts also face higher odds of metabolic trouble. Nurses who self‑identified as night owls had a 72 percent greater risk of developing diabetes than their early‑bird colleagues, although a healthier lifestyle cut that figure dramatically.



Adding vigorous workouts late in the evening can backfire too. An <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/05/10/working-out-night-sleep-quality/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> of 15,000 fitness‑tracker users found that strenuous activity inside the four‑hour window before bedtime delayed sleep onset by up to 80 minutes and severely reduced total sleep.



The <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/behealthy/physical-activity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Health Organization</a> notes that exceeding the weekly activity minimum of up to 300 minutes of moderate effort, delivers extra <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fitness-focused-medicine-physical-activity-reduces-chronic-disease-risk/">protection</a> against heart disease, depression, and several cancers. These benefits could be even easier to leverage if early sleep routines lead to increased daily activity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-sleep-tweaks-big-gains-in-activity">Small sleep tweaks, big gains in activity</h2>



Participants who advanced their bedtime by even 30 minutes, without shortening their total sleep, recorded noticeable lifts in activity the next morning.



“Our findings are consistent across different populations and show that if you can get to sleep earlier than usual whilst keeping your sleep duration the same, you may be more likely to increase your physical activity the following day,” said <a href="https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/elise-facer-childs">Dr. Elise Facer‑Childs</a>, senior author of the study. 



The pattern held regardless of age or fitness level, suggesting that a modest scheduling change is one lever almost anyone can pull.



If carving out time to exercise feels impossible, consider starting with the bedroom clock. An earlier lights‑out not only guards sleep duration but also builds momentum for next‑day <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-bursts-of-intense-exercise-can-slow-brain-aging/">activity</a>. 



This helps people reach or surpass the 150‑minute‑a‑week benchmark without adding another appointment to an already packed calendar.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-earlier-bedtimes-may-help-fight-obesity">How earlier bedtimes may help fight obesity</h2>



Mounting research connects <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3632337/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">obesity</a> with sleep habits, particularly the timing and quality of rest. People who sleep later are more likely to snack at night and less likely to engage in early‑morning activity, both of which can contribute to long‑term weight gain.



A 2020 <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7154640/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meta‑analysis</a> found that late bedtimes are linked to higher body mass index in both children and adults, even when total sleep time is adequate. Shifting sleep earlier may align eating patterns and activity schedules in a way that helps regulate metabolism and reduce excess fat storage.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2420846122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Early sleep times linked to enhanced activity during the day

A year‑long investigation following almost 20,000 adults has uncovered a...

Apple,Cider,Vinegar,On,A,Metal,Spoon,Above,A,Glass

Every year, tens of millions of people around the world wrestle with bad moods and various levels of depression. Prescription drugs help many sufferers, yet side effects, cost, and uneven results often leave patients and clinicians on the lookout for other solutions. 



Then one day, as with all urban myths, one person told another who told another about a home remedy that never seems to fail. If you want to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/is-depression-contagious-couples-may-share-it-through-kissing/">beat depression</a>, taking just one spoonful of vinegar every day will wash those blue away. 



When you stop and think about it for a minute, diet does seem like an obvious place to turn for cures to most any ailment. After all, the body and mind operate on what we feed them.



Could the same sour splash that wakes up a salad also nudge a weary mind toward optimism? 



Two small <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04706806" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clinical trials suggests</a> that the idea of treating depression with a spoonful of vinegar is definitely worth more attention from medical professionals and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-vinegars-impact-on-depression">Studying vinegars impact on depression</h2>



Fermented vinegars have had a place in folk remedies for centuries, prized for their ability to tame <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-this-amount-of-water-per-day-helps-control-blood-sugar-levels-in-people-with-diabetes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blood sugar spikes</a> and add zest without salt or fat. 



Scientific studies over the past decade have confirmed some metabolic perks, yet mental health has been missing from the conversation. 



That gap inspired a team of nutrition researchers to see whether swallowing some vinegar on a regular schedule could ease depression by influencing mood-related chemistry as well as subjective feelings.



Led by <a href="https://www.asu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arizona State University</a> dietitian Haley Barrong, the investigators recruited 28 overweight but otherwise healthy adults and randomly assigned them to one of two groups. 



Half drank two tablespoons of red wine vinegar diluted in water twice a day, while the rest swallowed a capsule containing only a trace of vinegar.



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



Over four weeks, all participants completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression questionnaire (<a href="https://nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/Mental_HealthV.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CES-D</a>) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (<a href="https://med.stanford.edu/fastlab/research/imapp/msrs/_jcr_content/main/accordion/accordion_content3/download_256324296/file.res/PHQ9%20id%20date%2008.03.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PHQ-9</a>).



Scores on the CES-D hardly budged, yet the PHQ-9 told another story. In the vinegar group, reported depressive symptoms fell by an average of 42 percent, compared with an 18 percent dip in the pill group. 



After reviewing the data, the authors wrote, “This data provides additional support that daily vinegar ingestion over four weeks can improve self-reported depression symptomology in generally healthy adults and that alterations in [<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vitamin-b-paradox-supplement-linked-to-heart-disease-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vitamin B3</a>] metabolism may factor into this improvement.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vinegar-depression-and-blood">Vinegar, depression, and blood</h2>



The team also collected blood samples to watch biochemical pathways at work. The most striking change was an 86 percent surge in nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3 that feeds into the NAD⁺ salvage pathway responsible for cellular energy recycling. 



Higher nicotinamide aligns with lower inflammation, a relationship that has caught psychiatric interest before. 



Two metabolites - <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-less-of-this-amino-acid-isoleucine-boosts-lifespan-in-mice-an-average-of-33-percent/">isoleucine</a>, a branched-chain amino acid, and <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Isobutyric-acid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">isobutyric acid</a> - shifted as well, hinting that vinegar tweaks broader metabolic networks tied to mood regulation.



“Depressive disorders are the most prevalent mental health conditions in the world,” write the researchers. 



“The commonly prescribed antidepressant medications can have serious side effects, and their efficacy varies widely. Thus, simple, effective adjunct therapies are needed.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-vinegar-might-lift-mood">How vinegar might lift mood</h2>



Several mechanisms could explain the modest improvements. Acetic acid, the defining ingredient in vinegar, activates AMP-activated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/studies-learn-the-exact-amount-of-time-you-should-spend-training-to-build-muscle/">protein kinase</a>, an energy sensor linked to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25308486/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NAD⁺ production</a>. 



More NAD⁺ means brain cells repair DNA damage more effectively and maintain healthy mitochondria. 



Another possibility involves the gut. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientifically-proven-tips-for-better-kombucha-brewing/">Acetic acid</a> can encourage growth of friendly bacteria that generate neurotransmitter precursors, forging a gut-brain feedback loop many neuroscientists now consider crucial to emotional balance.



Lab work in mice has already shown that boosting NAD⁺ protects neurons from stress hormones, while human studies connect higher dietary vitamin B3 with lower depression risk. 



The present human trial knits those ideas together: swallow vinegar, raise nicotinamide levels, and perhaps give the brain an energetic lift.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-depression-vinegar-and-health">Depression, vinegar, and health</h2>



None of this turns vinegar into a standalone treatment. The experiment lasted only a month, involved people with mild symptoms, and lost some statistical punch after adjusting for baseline scores. 



Still, swallowing a familiar pantry staple twice a day costs pennies and carries few risks for most adults. 



“Future research examining the effects of vinegar administration in clinically depressed or at-risk populations, and those on antidepressant medications, is warranted," the authors concluded.



“A focus on mechanisms and large patient samples will strengthen the science and provide the evidence to more firmly demonstrate vinegar's role in health promotion.” 



Until those larger trials wrap up, dietitians may simply remind clients that incorporating two tablespoons of red wine or apple cider vinegar into meals is safe for most, provided they dilute it and protect their teeth by rinsing with water.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-studies-on-depression-and-vinegar">Future studies on depression and vinegar</h2>



People interested in trying the routine might start by whisking vinegar into dressings or stirring it into a tall glass of water before lunch and dinner. 



Anyone with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/junk-food-diet-triggers-lasting-changes-in-the-brain/">acid reflux</a>, kidney issues, or current prescriptions should check with a clinician first. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-nature-heals-outdoor-activities-greatly-improve-mental-health/">Mental health</a> professionals could eventually blend such low-cost dietary tweaks with therapy and medication, tailoring care to each person’s biology and preferences.



The notion that mood can shift alongside something as ordinary as a mealtime condiment highlights how tightly body and mind intertwine.



Vinegar will never replace professional treatment, yet its potential to turn that frown upside down - especially for those reluctant to take pharmaceuticals - deserves the careful follow-up studies that this research team calls for. 



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/14/2305" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nutrients</a>.



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Study identifies a much easier and cheaper way to treat depression than with prescription drugs

Every year, tens of millions of people around the world...

Many people still believe that building muscle means living at the gym and constantly training. Fresh evidence shows that it's not quite that time-consuming.



The evidence comes from an eight‑week trial led by exercise scientist <a href="https://www.lehman.edu/academics/health-human-services-nursing/exercise-sciences-recreation/bradley-schoenfeld/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brad Schoenfeld</a> of <a href="https://www.lehman.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lehman College</a>, whose team asked healthy lifters to finish one demanding set of nine classic moves twice a week.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-muscle-training-minutes">Muscle training minutes</h2>



A muscle grows when stress outweighs its usual workload, a chain that starts with mechanical tension and metabolic stress, then ends with more contractile proteins. Short sessions that reach high effort check all those boxes, even if the calendar space is small.



Public health agencies already <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/guidelines/adults.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tell</a> adults to hit two days of resistance work, yet fewer than one in four Americans manage the target. Shaving sessions to thirty minutes lowers the barrier without watering down the stimulus.



A 2022 <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30153194/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meta‑analysis</a> on trained men and women reported that just three weekly thirteen‑minute bouts raised strength almost as much as forty‑minute routines when total effort matched. In other words, quality can beat quantity if each rep counts.



Schoenfeld’s experiment now confirms the principle over a longer eight‑week window and in a mixed‑sex sample. That widens the practical appeal beyond seasoned bodybuilders.



Cells respond to energy shortages created by <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10801605/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">intense contractions</a> by releasing adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase, a switch that boosts glucose uptake and supports muscle repair. Hitting that threshold does not require marathon workouts.



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



Forty‑two volunteers rotated through a lat pull‑down, seated row, shoulder press, chest press, triceps push‑down, supinated curl, Smith‑machine squat, leg press, and leg extension. Each visit lasted thirty minutes including brief warm‑ups and one‑minute rest periods.



Researchers used ultrasound to gauge thickness in the biceps, triceps, and quadriceps before and after the program. Strength, jump height, and endurance were also tested to see whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-fuels-neuron-growth-through-muscle-signals/">muscles</a> not only grew but performed better.



Half the group lifted until they could not complete another strict repetition, a strategy known as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weight-training-shields-the-aging-brain-from-dementia/">training</a> to failure. The other half stopped two reps short, counting repetitions in reserve as a safety buffer for joints and nerves.



“In our study, the workouts were sufficiently hard to challenge the participants’ muscles beyond their present capacity,” said Schoenfeld. 



Both muscle training strategies enlarged muscle fibers to a similar degree, supporting earlier <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30558493/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> showing that frequency and intensity make only small differences once weekly volume matches. 



A follow‑up analysis found that participants improved their ability to guess how many reps they had left, a skill that lets lifters train hard while avoiding form breakdown. That insight could help gym‑goers monitor effort without fancy devices.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-muscle-training-to-failure-vs-holding-back">Muscle training to failure vs holding back</h2>



Going to failure did provide a slight boost in vertical jump power, hinting that maximum effort might recruit more fast‑twitch fibers. 



A 2021 systematic <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33497853/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> echoed that idea but found little extra benefit for arm or leg size when sets finished one or two reps shy.



“By shortening the recovery time, it drives up metabolic stress,” noted <a href="https://publichealth.buffalo.edu/exercise-and-nutrition-sciences/faculty-and-staff/faculty-directory/lpryor.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luke Pryor</a>, clinical associate professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at the <a href="https://www.buffalo.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University at Buffalo</a>. 



Metabolic by‑products like lactate and hydrogen ions may act as growth signals when they accumulate quickly.



Another <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8884877/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> from 2023 concluded that training frequency between one and three times per week yields comparable hypertrophy if the total number of quality sets is constant. 



That means busy professionals can cluster their lifts into two focused sessions and still progress.



Athletes chasing power for sprinting or jumping might sprinkle a third day of explosive work. Recreational lifters, however, can choose the schedule that fits job and family demands without fearing slower results.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-muscle-training-for-time-pressed-people">Muscle training for time‑pressed people</h2>



Select compound patterns such as squats, deadlifts, pushups, rows, and pullups, because they rally multiple joints and force the body to use more weight. Keep rests shorter than two minutes to maintain the thirty‑minute ceiling.



“I repeat this often: It doesn’t have to be the most to have a benefit,” said <a href="https://sohostrengthlab.com/bios/albert-matheny/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS</a>, co‑founder of <a href="https://sohostrengthlab.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SoHo Strength Lab</a>. Starting light lets newcomers learn form while still nudging muscles in the right direction.



<a href="https://frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.789403/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evidence</a> from 2022 shows that even two thirteen‑minute workouts can raise lean mass if they reach a hard effort, an encouraging benchmark for people who dread long sessions. Once technique improves, individuals can add a warm‑up set or increase load to keep progress steady.



Strength work does more than shape arms. It preserves bone density, raises insulin sensitivity, and helps older adults stay independent. 



The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/adding-adults/what-counts.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CDC</a> lists reduced anxiety, better sleep, and a lower risk of chronic disease among the bonuses of regular resistance training. Those benefits kick in long before a mirror shows new definition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-questions-that-remain">Questions that remain</h2>



The present study used mostly machine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/resistance-exercise-may-be-the-secret-to-relieving-depression/">exercises</a>, which guide motion and reduce stabilizer demand. Future trials will need to confirm whether free‑weight circuits of equal length give the same payoff.



The sample averaged twenty‑seven years old and had at least a year of lifting experience. Researchers will test the protocol in beginners and older adults, groups who often struggle to meet activity guidelines.



Scientists also want to track hormones like testosterone and growth hormone during such brief workouts, along with markers of satellite cell activation. Those data could explain why some <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-grapes-every-day-can-transform-your-muscles/">muscles</a> adapt faster than others.



For now, the simplest plan stands: warm up, pick nine movements that cover the whole body, perform eight to ten deliberate reps, and close the gym bag after thirty minutes. Consistency beats elaborate programming when the clock is tight.



The study is published in <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/abstract/9900/without_fail__muscular_adaptations_in_single_set.782.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Medicine &amp; Science in Sports &amp; Exercise</a>.



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Study learns the exact amount of time you should train to build muscle

Many people still believe that building muscle means living at...

Music can make a sleepy train ride feel romantic or turn a routine workout into an emotional burst of energy. 



Scientists have long wondered how a string of notes pushes the brain from one emotional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-doesnt-just-hear-music-it-becomes-the-rhythm/">feeling</a> to the next, and why the experience changes when the previous feeling was different. <a href="https://psychology.columbia.edu/content/matthew-sachs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matthew Sachs</a> of Columbia University and colleagues set out to <a href="https://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2025/06/19/ENEURO.0184-24.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">answer</a> that puzzle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-wordless-path-to-emotion">A wordless path to emotion</h2>



Music reliably raises specific <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32898679/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emotions</a> across cultures, making it a useful tool for lab work. Because melodies lack words, researchers can study pure feeling without the baggage of stories or language.



In recent <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1910704117" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">surveys</a>, listeners reported at least thirteen distinct emotional colors from songs, ranging from awe to tenderness. Those varied reactions let scientists choreograph controlled “emotional journeys” by arranging passages that lean happy, tense, calm, or sad.



The brain also treats music as a social signal, recruiting regions tied to empathy and perspective‑taking. That overlap makes findings with music relevant to understanding everyday interactions. 



Music’s precise timing helps investigators lock brain activity to exact seconds in a tune. Such temporal precision is important when studying transitions, which can unfold in a blink.



Finally, unlike pictures or movies, songs can be replayed in multiple orders without breaking logic. That flexibility allowed the team to test how a given passage feels when it follows joy versus when it follows anxiety.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music-changes-emotion-fast">Music changes emotion fast</h2>



Sachs’s group asked professional composers to craft two fifteen‑minute pieces split into thirty‑two “emotion events,” each one lasting about 30‑70 seconds. The passages covered calm, joy, sadness, anxiety, and a mixed nostalgic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/live-music-connects-people-emotionally-and-physically/">feeling</a>.



Two versions of each piece shuffled the same events so that a joyful segment might follow calm in one version but chase sadness in the other. 



This context swap let the researchers isolate the effect of prior mood. Thirty‑nine volunteers lay in an <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/25034-functional-mri-fmri" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fMRI scanner</a>, a technique that tracks blood flow as a stand‑in for neural activity. The scanner’s pulses were timed to the beat so listeners heard smooth audio through special headphones.



After scanning, the volunteers replayed short clips of music online and rated how strongly each clip made them feel the target emotion. Those ratings confirmed that the music hit its emotional marks at the intended moments.



To align brains that never look identical, the team used a <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/slp3/A.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hidden Markov model</a>, a statistical tool that spots stable patterns and the moments they shift. The model does not assume equal event lengths, matching how real feelings vary.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music-mapped-onto-brain-activity">Music mapped onto brain activity</h2>



Activity patterns in auditory cortex and the adjoining superior temporal gyrus stayed steady within an event but flipped sharply at composer‑defined boundaries. Those flips still appeared after factoring out pitch, volume, and harmony, meaning the brain was tracking emotion rather than mere <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/music-and-repeated-sounds-reorganize-your-brain-networks-in-real-time/">acoustics</a>.



The same temporal‑parietal strip has been linked to social meaning in speech and laughter. Current <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627317305937" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">findings</a> add music‑evoked emotion dynamics to its résumé. 



Elsewhere, frontal regions associated with self‑reflection lit up when feelings changed. That response supports prior work showing prefrontal roles in labeling and regulating emotion.



Importantly, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2768874/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subcortical reward hubs</a> showed general arousal but did not map fine‑grained transitions. Those areas may mark intensity rather than shifts in category. 



Together the data sketch a layered system: auditory regions sense change, temporal‑parietal regions label the new state, and frontal areas integrate the experience. That hierarchy resembles proposed models for narrative comprehension.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-past-emotions-change-how-you-hear-music">Past emotions change how you hear music</h2>



When a happy passage followed another positive passage, listeners’ brains switched to the new state about six seconds sooner than when the same passage followed a tense one. The volunteers also pressed the “happy” button nine seconds earlier in the same‑valence condition.



Context even changed the spatial pattern of activity during an event. Pairs of participants who heard a clip in the same order showed more similar neural signatures than pairs who heard it in opposite orders.



Such carry‑over echoes psychological <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31628982/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">findings</a> that earlier feelings bias how we perceive later stimuli. The study quantifies that bias down to single‑second resolution. 



Researchers call the stickiness of mood <a href="https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1027/0269-8803.23.1.7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">valence</a> persistence, and extreme persistence can tip into emotional rigidity. Depression is often marked by this rigidity, trapping individuals in negative states.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-treating-emotion-with-playlists">Treating emotion with playlists</h2>



“We know that people who suffer from mood disorders or depression often demonstrate emotional rigidity, where they basically get stuck in an emotional state" said Sachs. 



"Maybe we could take someone with depression, for instance, and use the approach we developed to identify neural markers for the emotional rigidity that keeps them in a very negative state.”



His comment matches growing interest in music‑based interventions. Unlike medications, playlists can be tailored rapidly and have few side effects. 



If clinicians can spot delayed transition signatures in vulnerable patients, they might train quicker shifts through neurofeedback. Past <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19646532/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> shows that people can learn to nudge targeted brain regions with real‑time feedback.



Therapists already use mood‑tracking apps; adding objective brain markers could improve accuracy. Personalized “emotion workouts” might teach flexible switching, similar to cognitive training for attention.



 Beyond clinics, the findings could improve soundtracks in virtual reality or adaptive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/video-games-can-rewind-the-clock-on-cognitive-performance/">games</a>. Systems might adjust musical cues to help users linger in, or exit from, certain feelings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-science-hasn-t-tested-yet">What science hasn’t tested yet</h2>



The study focused on adults in a scanner; children, musicians, or people with disorders may show different timelines. Future projects could compare those groups directly.&nbsp;



Only five emotion labels were used. Real life holds many blended states such as awe or envy that might map differently. Subcortical areas did not show clear transition patterns here, but that may reflect scanner noise or event length.&nbsp;



Higher‑resolution recordings could reveal subtler dynamics. Music is just one trigger; spoken stories, movement, or smell might drive other networks. 



Combining modalities could pinpoint common versus unique pathways. Finally, the team manipulated valence but not arousal. Experiments that cross calm‑excited levels might tease apart the role of energy versus positivity.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2025/06/19/ENEURO.0184-24.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eNeuro</a>.



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Music rewires the brain to quickly navigate emotion

Music can make a sleepy train ride feel romantic or...

Parkinson's,Disease.,3d,Illustration,Showing,Neurons,Containing,Lewy,Bodies,Small

A cancer immunotherapy drug that is already on pharmacy shelves is showing fresh potential in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. 



In mouse experiments, <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109970">n</a><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109970" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ivo</a><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109970">lumab–relatlimab</a>, a fixed‑dose antibody combination used for treating melanoma, blocked the cell‑to‑cell spread of toxic protein clumps that drive the disorder.



More than <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/parkinson-disease" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">8.5 million people</a> worldwide are living with <a href="https://www.parkinson.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Parkinson’s disease</a>. Current drugs ease symptoms but do little to halt the relentless loss of movement, speech, and independence.



<a href="https://profiles.hopkinsmedicine.org/provider/xiaobo-mao/2777172" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Xiaobo Mao</a> of Johns Hopkins University led an international team that traced the blockade to a newly revealed partnership between two brain proteins, Aplp1 and LAG‑3. Their study offers a practical target for slowing disease progression.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-cancer-drug-blocks-parkinson-s">How cancer drug blocks Parkinson’s</h2>



<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41419-023-05672-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alpha‑synuclein</a> normally helps nerve cells chat across synapses, yet when it misfolds it becomes sticky and forms Lewy bodies. 



The group discovered that Aplp1 and LAG‑3 act like twin door handles, swinging the misfolded cargo into neurons together.



“Now that we know how Aplp1 and LAG-3 interact, we have a new way of understanding how alpha‑synuclein contributes to the disease progression of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pesticide-exposure-increases-the-risk-of-parkinsons-disease/">Parkinson’s </a>disease,” confirmed Mao.



Deleting either handle in genetically engineered mice cut protein uptake, but deleting both slashed it by 90 percent.



Using cultured neurons, the team showed that antibodies against LAG‑3 disrupted the partnership and kept most toxic fibrils outside. That hint of druggability set the stage for tests with the approved melanoma therapy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-repurposing-a-cancer-drug-for-parkinson-s">Repurposing a cancer drug for Parkinson's</h2>



Nivolumab–relatlimab, marketed as <a href="https://www.opdualag.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Opdualag</a>TM, won <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/fda-approves-opdualag-unresectable-or-metastatic-melanoma" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FDA clearance</a> in 2022 as the first combination to target PD‑1 and LAG‑3 checkpoints in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/computer-model-can-identify-tumor-fighting-immune-cells/">tumors</a>.



Because relatlimab binds LAG‑3, the Parkinson’s team wondered whether it could also short‑circuit the neural handshake.



They injected the antibody mix into mice previously dosed with pathogenic fibrils. Treated animals accumulated far fewer Lewy‑like inclusions, keeping the midbrain’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dopamine-enhances-brain-function-during-exercise/">dopamine</a> supply and motor skills intact.



“The anti‑LAG-3 antibody was successful in preventing further spread of alpha‑synuclein seeds in the mouse models,” said <a href="https://profiles.hopkinsmedicine.org/provider/ted-m-dawson/2708436" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ted Dawson</a>, also from Johns Hopkins.



The effect outperformed complete genetic knockout of LAG‑3 because the drug simultaneously disrupted its partner, Aplp1.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-protein-traffic-jam-in-the-brain">A protein traffic jam in the brain</h2>



The brain’s <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12034127/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">substantia nigra</a> houses dopamine‑producing neurons that fine‑tune movement. When alpha‑synuclein fibrils march from cell to cell, these neurons choke and die, triggering tremor and rigidity.



LAG-3 had been flagged as a fibril receptor before, yet blocking it alone left plenty of pathology. The new work clarifies that Aplp1 forms a complex with LAG-3, which creates a high‑affinity docking site for toxic cargo.



By filming neurons with pH‑sensitive dye, researchers watched fibrils enter healthy cells in minutes. Removal of either handle delayed entry, while removal of both stopped it almost completely.



The discovery may explain why single‑target strategies have struggled to translate. Therapies that ignore Aplp1 risk leaving a back‑door route open for disease spread.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-parkinson-s-is-so-difficult">Why Parkinson's is so difficult</h2>



Parkinson’s is diagnosed only after motor symptoms emerge, by which time over half of nigral dopamine neurons have perished. <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/lewy-body-dementia/lewy-body-dementia-causes-symptoms-and-diagnosis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lewy bodies</a> start forming decades earlier and appear to propagate along neural highways.



Scientists debate whether the fibrils cause disease or merely mark dying cells, yet the correlation is strong enough that reducing their spread remains a key goal. 



Animal studies that limit fibril movement often preserve motor behavior and cortical thinking.



The Aplp1–Lag3 duo offers a concise molecular explanation for long‑range propagation. It also supplies a measurable biomarker, their physical interaction, that drug developers can monitor.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antibodies-in-action">Antibodies in action</h2>



Preclinical success seldom guarantees human benefit, yet repurposing an approved therapy skips many safety hurdles. 



Opdualag’sTM pharmacokinetics, dosing, and adverse‑event profile are already mapped in thousands of cancer patients.



The antibody crosses the mouse blood–brain barrier at roughly 0.5 percent of plasma levels, similar to other <a href="https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-20642/immune-globulin-human-igg-intravenous/details" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IgG medicines</a>. That level sufficed to curb fibril uptake and protect motor performance in pole and cylinder tests.



If forthcoming primate and human studies confirm brain penetration, clinicians could move swiftly into small Parkinson’s trials using this cancer treatment drug. Outcome measures might track motor scores, cerebrospinal fibril counts, and imaging of nigral dopamine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parkinson-s-gets-help-from-cancer-drug">Parkinson's gets help from cancer drug</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/light-activated-molecules-kill-cancer-cells-with-precision/">Cancer</a> checkpoint drugs can unleash immune‑related side effects, including rash, thyroid imbalance, and fatigue. Whether similar events would occur at lower neurological doses remains unknown.



Another question is timing. Most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reprogramming-the-immune-system-to-attack-cancer-cells/">cancer antibodies</a> are delivered in pulses, whereas chronic neuroprotection for Parkinson's patients might require years of therapy.



Finally, fibril spread is only one facet of Parkinson’s biology. Mitochondrial stress, environmental toxins, and genetics also contribute, so a combination of treatments will likely be needed.



Even so, the ease of testing an off‑the‑shelf cancer medicine for Parkinson's patients makes this avenue irresistible. As Dawson observed, stopping spread “could significantly slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease.”



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49016-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Cancer drug identified that also works to slow Parkinson's disease, according to scientists

A cancer immunotherapy drug that is already on pharmacy shelves...

Most people assume they know what to expect from alcohol: drink enough, and your judgment gets fuzzy. But what if alcohol doesn’t affect everyone the same way?



A recent study from The University of Texas at El Paso (<a href="https://www.utep.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UTEP</a>) suggests that gender shapes how alcohol steers choices.



A research team led by Dr. Alexander Friedman set out to answer a simple but deep question. Does <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cure-for-alcohol-addiction-was-discovered-by-accident/">alcohol</a> sway decision making differently in males and females? Turns out, it does.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-alcohol-and-drink-selection">Alcohol and drink selection</h2>



Rats may not attend cocktail parties. Still, they make decisions just like humans do. Especially when rewards are involved.



Friedman’s team designed a clever experiment. They built the REward COst in Rodent Decision making system (RECORD). It is a special arena where rats pick drinks. 



At first, no alcohol was involved. The rats simply chose between drinks with different levels of sweetness. The researchers recorded their sober preferences.



But then came the twist. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-americans-now-link-alcohol-consumption-to-cancer/">Alcohol</a> entered the mix. The drinks now had different alcohol levels. They mimicked sweet cocktails people often enjoy.



Suddenly, male rats started to act differently. They chased stronger alcohol drinks. This happened even though they had earlier preferred sweeter options. Some males kept chasing those strong drinks for up to two months after the experiment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-females-stayed-the-course">Females stayed the course </h2>



Females, however, did not flinch. Despite drinking more alcohol per body weight, female rats stuck with their original choices. They were not tempted by the stronger stuff.



“Our findings demonstrate that acute alcohol consumption profoundly affects male rats’ decision making, suggesting a gender specific vulnerability to alcohol’s effects,” said Friedman. 



“In particular, this study is interesting because it helps us understand the neuronal underpinnings of decision making and how an alcohol induced state can bias our choices.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-alcohol-affects-our-decisions">Alcohol affects our decisions</h2>



This study is not just about rats moving through a lab arena. Friedman believes these findings go far beyond laboratory walls. He thinks humans might show similar behavior patterns.



Alcohol plays a big part in many situations where decisions matter. People <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-alcohol-in-moderation-does-not-prolong-life/">drink</a> at business meetings. They drink during family gatherings, and also drink at social events where important choices often happen. 



This research brings up a serious question. Could alcohol push men and women toward different decisions after drinking?



Friedman pointed out that alcohol at work events or social gatherings might cause men to act differently. He believes men could make choices under the influence that they would likely avoid if they were sober. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-nudge-toward-new-solutions">A nudge toward new solutions</h2>



Dr. Robert Kirken, dean of UTEP’s College of Science, feels happy about this work. “We’re incredibly proud of Dr. Friedman and his team for advancing our understanding of how alcohol impacts decision making,” said Kirken.



“This work has the potential to inform more targeted approaches to addressing substance use and its consequences, and it exemplifies the kind of meaningful, translational science we strive to support.”



The study might lead to better treatments for alcohol related problems. Friedman thinks knowing these gender based effects could change how experts treat alcohol <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/even-small-amounts-of-alcohol-increase-cancer-risk/">misuse</a>. Treatments could get smarter and more personalized.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-alcohol-and-decision-making">Understanding alcohol and decision-making</h2>



The research opens the door to a completely new way of thinking about alcohol and its effects on decision making. 



The results suggest that alcohol does not simply blur choices in the same way for everyone. Instead, its impact appears to depend on deeper factors such as gender and brain biology.



Now, with this foundation in place, scientists have a chance to explore this subject even further. They can study the links between alcohol, brain circuits, and gender-specific behaviors in more detail. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-hidden-effects-of-alcohol">The hidden effects of alcohol</h2>



The findings might reveal surprising connections that could change how we understand alcohol’s role in human behavior. Looking ahead, there is hope that doctors and health professionals will one day use this knowledge to help people navigate alcohol’s hidden effects. 



Treatments and advice could become more personal, focusing on how alcohol affects different individuals instead of applying a one-size-fits-all approach. 



For now, one fact stands out clearly. Alcohol does not guide every person down the same path.



The project received strong backing from major institutions, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/alcalc/article-abstract/60/3/agaf017/8113315?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alcohol and Alcoholism</a>.



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Drunk decisions: Alcohol affects men and women differently

Most people assume they know what to expect from alcohol:...

Aging doesn’t look the same for everyone. Most people know someone who seems to age faster or slower than others. One person may still run marathons in their 70s, while another starts struggling with memory and energy in their 50s. 



This aging discrepancy raises a basic question: Is there a way to actually measure how fast someone is aging?



Scientists from <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a>, Harvard University, and the University of Otago in New Zealand have created a tool that uses a single brain scan to estimate how quickly your body and mind are aging. And it does this while you’re still in midlife, before major health problems show up.



“The way we age as we get older is quite distinct from how many times we’ve traveled around the sun,” said Ahmad Hariri, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aging-clues-hidden-in-a-single-scan">Aging clues hidden in a single scan</h2>



The new tool, called DunedinPACE Neuroimaging or DunedinPACNI, can be used with a standard MRI brain scan. It gives doctors and researchers a read on your aging pace and potential risk for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fitness-focused-medicine-physical-activity-reduces-chronic-disease-risk/">chronic diseases</a> long before symptoms appear. 



This kind of early warning system could give people a chance to make changes that might actually slow or prevent serious health problems.



“What’s really cool about this is that we’ve captured how fast people are aging using data collected in midlife,” Hariri said. “And it’s helping us predict diagnosis of dementia among people who are much older.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-most-aging-clocks-get-it-wrong">Why most aging clocks get it wrong</h2>



Many "aging clocks" already exist, but they mostly rely on things like blood tests or genetic markers collected from people of various ages at one point in time. That approach can be misleading.



According to Hariri, things that look like faster aging may simply be because of differences in exposure to things such as leaded gasoline or cigarette smoke that are specific to their generation. "We need to figure out how we can <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-technology-uses-eye-scanner-to-measure-biological-aging/">monitor aging</a> in an accurate way."



The new model avoids that problem by using data from a rare and detailed dataset: the Dunedin Study. This long-term project has followed more than 1,000 people born in Dunedin, New Zealand, between 1972 and 1973. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-scans-predict-rates-of-aging">Brain scans predict rates of aging</h2>



Researchers have been tracking the participants' physical and mental health for over 50 years. Every few years, the study measured things like blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, body mass index, kidney and lung function - even gum health. 



By analyzing how these markers changed over time, the researchers created a personalized aging rate for each participant.



The team trained DunedinPACNI to predict that rate of aging based only on brain scans taken when the participants were 45. Once the model was trained, it was tested on other datasets from the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Latin America.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-your-brain-keeps-the-score">Your brain keeps the score</h2>



The results held up across different groups. People who were aging faster, according to the tool, performed worse on cognitive tests, experienced faster shrinkage of the hippocampus - the brain’s memory center - and faced a higher risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/speech-pattern-wfd-that-is-a-clear-indication-a-person-is-in-cognitive-decline/">cognitive decline</a>.



In one sample of 624 older adults, those who were aging the fastest had a 60% higher chance of developing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/risk-of-dementia-is-much-higher-than-previously-thought/">dementia</a> and started showing symptoms earlier than their slower-aging peers.



When the team first saw the results, they were amazed. "Our jaws just dropped to the floor,” Hariri said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-than-just-the-brain">More than just the brain</h2>



The tool also revealed a strong link between brain aging and overall physical decline. People with high aging scores were more likely to suffer from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sugary-drinks-linked-to-millions-of-diabetes-and-heart-disease-cases/">heart disease</a>, lung issues, strokes, and other chronic illnesses. 



These individuals were 18% more likely to be diagnosed with a major disease and 40% more likely to die in the next few years compared with people aging at an average pace.



“The link between aging of the brain and body are pretty compelling,” Hariri said.



The model worked just as well across different racial and socioeconomic groups, including low-income and non-white participants in the U.K. and people in Latin America. "It seems to be capturing something that is reflected in all brains,” Hariri said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aging-populations-growing-problems">Aging populations, growing problems</h2>



Globally, the number of people over 65 is expected to double by 2050. That means more people will deal with diseases like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-benefits-alzheimers/">Alzheimer’s</a>, which already cost the world $1.33 trillion in 2020 and could climb to $9.12 trillion by mid-century.



“But because we live longer lives, more people are unfortunately going to experience chronic age-related diseases, including dementia,” Hariri said.



Current Alzheimer’s drugs don’t stop or reverse the disease - they mostly manage symptoms. One reason they may not work well is that they’re given too late. "Drugs can't resurrect a dying brain,” Hariri said.



That’s where a tool like DunedinPACNI could change things. If doctors can spot who’s at higher risk earlier, they could try new treatments while there’s still time to protect the brain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scans-may-identify-causes-of-faster-aging">Scans may identify causes of faster aging</h2>



Besides tracking dementia risk, the tool could help explain why certain factors - like poor sleep or mental health problems - seem to make people age faster.



“We really think of it as hopefully being a key new tool in forecasting and predicting risk for diseases, especially Alzheimer's and related dementias, and also perhaps gaining a better foothold on progression of disease,” Hariri said.



“More research is needed to advance DunedinPACNI from a research tool to something that has practical applications in healthcare,” said Ethan Whitman, a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at Duke and the study’s first author.



In the meantime, the researchers hope others will use the tool in studies that already have brain scan data but lack long-term health tracking. It could open a new window into how we age - and how we might slow the process down.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-025-00897-z">Nature Aging</a>.



Image Credit: Ethan Whitman, Duke University



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How fast are you aging? Brain scans reveal hidden clues

Aging doesn’t look the same for everyone. Most people know...

Fire has licked the planet’s surface for more than 400 million years, scorching forests, clearing grasslands, and lofting smoke into the upper air. Yet pinning down when people stopped fearing flames and started steering them has been surprisingly hard.



A fresh <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500042122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> of a 300,000‑year‑old sediment core pulled from the East China Sea finds a sharp surge in soot about 50,000 years ago, a signal that stands apart from normal climate‑driven wildfire patterns.



The work, led by Dr. Zhao Debo at the <a href="http://english.qdio.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Institute of Oceanology</a>, Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with partners in Germany and France, strings together chemical, archaeological, and climate evidence into one timeline.



“Our findings challenge the widely held belief that humans only began influencing the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ideas-traveled-farther-than-people-in-the-early-days-of-farming/">environment</a> with fire in the recent past, during the Holocene,” said Dr. Zhao Debo.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-humans-began-using-fire">When humans began using fire</h2>



Researchers tracked <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01343-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pyrogenic carbon</a>, the charred plant residue left when biomass burns incompletely, because rivers flush those tiny black flecks into coastal mud where they store a record of past fires.



Between 60,000 and 45,000 years ago that charcoal fraction doubled, then stayed high. The jump broke its long connection to East Asian monsoon strength, showing that weather alone could not explain the flames.



Parallel charcoal peaks in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Papua New Guinea–Australia corridor line up with the same window, pointing to a continent‑scale shift rather than scattered lightning <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birth-of-farming-driven-by-humans/">strikes</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fire-use-spreads-across-continents">Fire use spreads across continents</h2>



Archaeological <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/more-45000-years-ago-modern-humans-ventured-neanderthal-territory-here-s-what-happened" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hearths</a> from Bulgaria’s <a href="https://visitbulgaria.com/bacho-kiro-cave/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bacho Kiro Cave</a> to northern Australia’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Madjedbebe" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Madjebebe</a> site cluster inside the same interval, confirming that <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/more-45000-years-ago-modern-humans-ventured-neanderthal-territory-here-s-what-happened" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">campfires</a> had become routine parts of daily life.



Genetic <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09154-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> trace almost all non‑African ancestry to a single successful wave of Homo sapiens that left Africa about 50,000 years ago, matching the charcoal timeline.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/humans_fire_early-homo-sapiens_map-sites_credit-IOCAS_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/humans_fire_early-homo-sapiens_map-sites_credit-IOCAS_1s.webp" alt="Fire history of Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea–Australia and age distribution of archaeological sites since the last 300,000 years. Credit: IOCAS" class="wp-image-1976185"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Fire history of Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea–Australia and age distribution of archaeological sites since the last 300,000 years. Click image to enlarge. Credit: IOCAS</figcaption></figure>



While earlier <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/evidence-of-ancient-plant-farming-found-in-east-africa/">humans</a> played with sparks, evidence for habitual fire stretches back at least 250,000 years in Europe, those earlier experiments were local and intermittent. The new record shows the first moment when fire use scales with population growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-migration-cold-nights-and-campfires">Migration, cold nights, and campfires</h2>



The out‑of‑Africa travelers trekked into ice‑age Eurasia where nights dipped well below freezing. Fire kept predators away, cooked meat, dried hides, and allowed late‑night tool making.



“Even during the Last Glaciation, the use of fire had probably started to reshape ecosystems and carbon fluxes,” added <a href="http://english.qdio.cas.cn/people/jzg/202208/t20220803_310174.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Wan Shiming</a>, a co‑author on the study.



Controlled flame also opened new food groups. Roasting tubers breaks down starches, and heated stone cracks to yield sharper blades, advantages that likely boosted survival odds for the migrants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-burning-added-carbon-to-land-and-ocean">Burning added carbon to land and ocean</h2>



Modern wildfires already release between 116 and 385 teragrams of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-10455-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pyrogenic carbon</a> to land and sea each year, a sizable slice of the global carbon ledger. 



When ancient people started burning wood on purpose, they nudged that ledger long before industrial smokestacks appeared.



Charcoal is stable. Some pieces survive for millennia in soils, some drift as <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2305030121" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dissolved black carbon</a> into the deep ocean where currents can store it for thousands of years. 



By pushing extra charcoal into these sinks, early fire managers may have offset part of the carbon dioxide they released.



Climate models that begin counting human impacts only with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cave-discovery-of-ancient-avocados-could-rescue-a-global-crop/">farming</a> or factories might therefore miss a slow, earlier perturbation that started when nightly campfires became normal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-human-fire-use-shaped-climate">Early human fire use shaped climate</h2>



The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212682112000261" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">East China Sea</a> record shows that environmental influence is not a recent human monopoly. Small groups with stone tools and wooden spears were already altering regional fire regimes and, in turn, the carbon cycle.



That insight reframes today’s policy debates. If early people changed atmospheric chemistry with nothing but sticks and sparks, eight billion of us wielding fossil fuels carry far more leverage, and responsibility, than any ancestral hunter‑gatherer could imagine.



Fire management still shapes global climate in modern times. Prescribed burns reduce fuel loads but also emit smoke; savanna fires in Africa and Australia pulse <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-first-greenhouse-gas-detecting-satellite-is-now-in-orbit/">greenhouse gases</a> each dry season; boreal megafires now send record carbon plumes aloft. 



Understanding the deep history of intentional burning helps calibrate those modern choices. Fifty thousand years later we still gather around flames, but the scale has ballooned from glowing embers to global power grids.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500042122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Early humans learned to use and control fire much sooner than previously believed

Fire has licked the planet’s surface for more than 400 million...

Fish oil capsules have long been sold for heart and joint health, yet new evidence suggests they may also steady tempers and aggression.



A sweeping <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/7/2154" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meta‑analysis</a> from the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Pennsylvania</a> reports that a daily dose of omega‑3 fatty acids can shrink aggressive behavior by up to 28 percent. <a href="https://crim.sas.upenn.edu/people/adrian-raine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adrian Raine</a>, a neurocriminologist at the university, led the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mood-memory-and-fish-oil">Mood, memory, and fish oil</h2>



Brains run on fat, and two key omega‑3 molecules, eicosapentaenoic acid (<a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Eicosapentaenoic-Acid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EPA</a>) and docosahexaenoic acid (<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10776907/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DHA</a>), slip into cell membranes, helping neurons fire smoothly.



Low tissue levels of these fats have been tied to mood swings and impulsive violence, while diets rich in cold‑water fish tend to show the opposite pattern.



Because the body converts plant‑based <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24898228/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alpha‑linolenic acid</a> to EPA and DHA inefficiently, researchers have wondered whether supplements could fill the gap. 



Small trials dating back to the 1990s hinted at behavioral benefits, but sample sizes were too thin to guide policy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aggression-and-fish-oil">Aggression and fish oil</h2>



Raine’s team pored over 28 randomized controlled trials that enrolled 3,918 participates, from children to older adults. 



Across genders, diagnoses, dosages, and study lengths, the capsules produced a modest but reliable drop in both reactive and premeditated aggression.



“I think the time has come to implement omega‑3 supplementation to reduce aggression,” said Raine. 



The average effect size, about 0.22 on the standardized “g” scale, may sound small, yet public‑health experts note that even tiny behavioral shifts can matter when applied to millions.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-chemistry-of-calm">The chemistry of calm</h2>



EPA and DHA dampen production of pro‑inflammatory molecules that sensitize the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-your-brain-makes-a-decision-before-you-know-it/">brain</a>’s stress circuits. They also nudge serotonin and dopamine signaling toward a calmer set point, offering a biochemical explanation for the behavioral change.



Notably, the analysis found benefits at doses as low as 250 milligrams of combined EPA and DHA, an amount found in a single soft gel. 



Higher intakes did not guarantee bigger gains, hinting that individual genetics and baseline diet modulate the response.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-omega-imbalance">The omega imbalance</h2>



Most Americans don’t get enough <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/7/2154" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">long-chain omega‑3s</a> from food alone. The average U.S. diet is heavy on <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/expert-answers/omega-6/faq-20058172" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">omega‑6 fatty acids</a> - often in a 10:1 ratio to omega‑3 - which may fuel inflammation and irritability.



Experts recommend at least two servings of fatty fish a week, such as salmon or sardines. 



For those who don’t eat seafood, even a basic supplement may close the gap and improve both physical and mental health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-supplements-that-calm-behavior">Supplements that calm behavior</h2>



One six‑month <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4336833/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trial</a> in 8‑ to 16‑year‑olds reported a 59 percent drop in disruptive conduct that lasted half a year after the study ended. 



Similar shifts have shown up in adult parolees and nursing‑home residents, suggesting age is no barrier.



Public‑school cafeterias could offer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-like-rainbow-trout-suffer-extreme-pain-when-killed-by-air/">fish</a> twice a week, while correctional facilities might issue capsules at intake. Raine notes that such steps are “low cost, low risk,” especially compared with medications or restraint.



Beyond behavior, omega‑3s continue to earn cardiovascular praise. In the <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1812792" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">REDUCE‑IT trial</a>, 4 grams of purified EPA cut fatal heart attacks by 25 percent among statin users. 



A calmer mind and a stronger heart in the same pill has obvious appeal for clinicians.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fewer-risks-broad-access">Fewer risks, broad access</h2>



Compared to prescription medications for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dopamines-role-in-male-aggression-fades-with-fighting-experience/">aggression</a>, fish oil has fewer side effects and is easier to access. It doesn’t require a prescription, and many brands are available over the counter at grocery stores or online.



That said, fish oil should not replace professional treatment when serious behavioral issues are involved. It can be a helpful addition, but therapy, structured support, and in some cases medication are still essential tools.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-room-to-refine-dosing">Room to refine dosing</h2>



Omega‑3 is “not a magic bullet,” Raine warned, stressing that therapy, education, and social support still matter. Most studies followed volunteers for four months; researchers need longer follow‑ups to see whether tempers stay cool.



Scientists also hope to learn why some volunteers improve more than others. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetic-supergenes-power-explosive-evolution-in-some-fish/">Genetics</a> that alter fatty‑acid metabolism, baseline inflammation, and even gut microbiota may shape response. Tailored dosing could push the average benefit beyond today’s modest figures.



For now, experts say parents of an irritable child, or adults who catch themselves snapping, might consider swapping a sugary snack for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-young-salmon-break-the-typical-migration-rules-boosting-survival-chances/">salmon</a>, or adding a budget fish‑oil capsule to breakfast. The risk is tiny, the price is low, and the evidence is getting harder to ignore.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-needs-fish-oil-most">Who needs fish oil most?</h2>



Not everyone responds the same to omega‑3 fatty acids. Genetic differences, particularly in the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/3992" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FADS gene</a>, can affect how well the body makes EPA and DHA from plant-based sources.



People of Amerindian or African ancestry may have variations that change their conversion efficiency. 



For some, this means supplements could be especially important to meet their brain’s needs and reduce inflammation-driven behaviors.



The study is published in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38911617/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aggression and Violent Behavior</a>.



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Fish oil supplements shown to control aggression in human studies

Fish oil capsules have long been sold for heart and...

<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.

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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.

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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.



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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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" 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> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" 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> 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?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features 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

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features 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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[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

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

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