October 11, 2024: The Nobel Prize for Peace goes to survivors of Hiroshima, and the science of how Hurricane Milton caused dozens of tornadoes. Plus, can fancy peaches convince us that Fukushima is safe? —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | A home is seen after it was hit by a tornado in Fort Myers, Florida, on October 9, 2024, as Hurricane Milton approached. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images | | | The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded today to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, which is a grass-roots group that represents survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 that killed more than 200,000 people. Since its formation 11 years after the bombings, the organization has sent representatives around the world to share their experiences of surviving a nuclear attack and help establish a "taboo" around using nuclear weapons. Why this matters: The choice for the Prize is timely: Global nuclear armament is undergoing a resurgence. The U.S. is embarking on a $1.5 trillion revamp of its arsenal, including an updated nationwide intercontinental ballistic missile system called Sentinel. Russia has suspended its participation in a 2011 treaty with the U.S. meant to reduce nuclear armament. And it's believed that China is increasing the size of its arsenal. Global powers treat nuclear weapons as bargaining chips, journalist Abe Streep wrote in our December issue. "History shows that one country's escalation follows its rivals'. The worst-case scenario is apocalyptic," he says.
What the experts say: "Russia and the United States have already been through one nuclear arms race. We spent trillions of dollars and took incredible risks in a misguided quest for security," former U.S. defense secretary William J. Perry wrote in 2016 in the New York Times. "There is only one way to win an arms race: Refuse to run."
More on nuclear weapons: Whoever wins the 2024 presidential election will face heightened nuclear geopolitics, deadlines on nuclear deals with Russia and Iran and decisions on a $2-trillion weapons-modernization effort. | 5 min read
Opinion: Congress needs to improve, and be held accountable for, fiscal oversight of the nuclear arsenal. | 5 min read
| | | A customer tries peaches from Japan's Fukushima prefecture at the luxury department store Harrods in central London. STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images | | | A Peach by Any Other Name | On March 11, 2011, the most powerful recorded earthquake in Japanese history triggered a 50-foot tsunami to hit the Fukushima nuclear power plant, triggering a meltdown and causing toxic radioactive materials to burst out and contaminate nearby soil, water, air and foliage. Almost immediately, crews began the cleanup process, removing radioactive material. The surrounding agricultural areas underwent intensive testing and as early as July of the same year researchers declared that the soil in Fukushima was safe. Radioactive material had only penetrated the top two inches of soil.
Why this is interesting: Since the meltdown, Fukushima agricultural land has become probably the most well-tested in the world, writes journalist Kate Graham-Shaw. The testing measures for a variety of radioactive materials and standards adhere to radioactive threshold levels far below the U.S. standards. Plus, food from the region is monitored by the International Atomic Energy Association, which is the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog.
And yet: "A radioactive reputation can be difficult to shake," Graham-Shaw writes. The high end U.K. department store Harrods is selling Fukushima peaches for $33 a piece, part of a reputation-building initiative launched by the Japanese government and owners of the destroyed Fukushima power plant. "When I first heard about the peaches, my gut instinct was 'no, thank you,'" she says. "But now I realize that Fukushima food has been tested within an inch of its life—and likely mine. I trust the science on this one, regardless of all the negative nuclear associations." | | | • Every 80 years or so, the star system T Coronae Borealis (T Cor Bor for short) explodes into one of the brightest objects we can see in the night sky. Predicting when the system will blow is a bit of a guessing game that astronomers play based on the dimming and brightening of T Cor Bor, which is actually a binary star system, writes columnist and astronomer Phil Plait. The system's latest dimming prompted predictions that it would explode by September this year, which has come and gone. "I'll speak up for all astronomers involved: oops," Plait says. "But we really don't have anything to apologize for—the estimate for T Cor Bor's explosive brightening is statistical in nature, so it's subject to considerable uncertainty." | 6 min read | | | • Do you know the answer to the first question of today's science quiz? Also, don't miss today's Spellements, and if you spot any science words that are missing from the puzzle, email them to games@sciam.com. This week, reader Betty, from Enfield, Conn., found oribi (a small, African antelope). Great eye, Betty! | | | MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE WEEK | | | • Human Longevity May Have Reached its Upper Limit | 5 min read | • How Rwanda Is Containing a Deadly Marburg Virus Outbreak | 5 min read | • Cannibalized Captain of Doomed Arctic Expedition Identified by DNA Analysis | 3 min read | | | • A giraffe's head is 2.5 meters above its heart, and pumping blood that distance takes a lot of pressure: the animals' normal systolic blood pressure soars at 200 to 280 mm Hg–a level that would be deadly in humans. Somehow giraffes make this work. Medical researchers are looking to giraffes and other animals for inspiration for treatments in human women–from preventing hypertension during pregnancy to treating cancer. | 13 min read | | | People as far south as Key West, Fla., reported auroras in the night sky last night! As did several colleagues here in the New York area. Solar activity has been ramping up for months, as the sun enters a solar maximum (part of its natural cycle). A particularly strong solar flare hit Earth yesterday. Did you spot any auroras? I'd love to see your photos.
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