November 8, 2024: Get ready to celebrate the Martian New Year. Plus, is melatonin safe for kids? —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | • Writing by hand activates a wide range of interconnected brain regions responsible for learning and memory. | 6 min read | | | • What a second Trump term could mean for Affordable Care Act insurance, Medicare, and other public health programs. | 5 min read | | | • Why focusing on body size in health care might be doing more harm than good, and the questionable science behind weight-loss drugs in our latest Science, Quickly podcast. | 25 min listen | | | Alones Creative/Getty Images | | | On November 12, here on Earth, it will be Mars's New Year and mark the start of its 38th year since astronomers created a calendar for the planet. A Martian year is about 687 Earth days, and because a Martian day (a sol) is a little longer than our own (24 hours, 39 minutes), there are about 668 sols in a Martian year.
How it works: The Red Planet's New Year coincides with its vernal equinox, a date that astronomers chose intentionally to start on April 11, 1955. Spring equinoxes, when the sun's position in the sky crosses the planet's celestial equator, are a nice, even way to track dates of celestial bodies, writes astronomer and columnist Phil Plait.
Who knew? Mars has four seasons like Earth, but they each last twice as long. Spring is particularly rough on the Red Planet–it's the start of the dust season, and dust storms can grow to encompass the whole planet. | | | In an analysis last year, researchers discovered that a sample of 25 melatonin supplements (in gummy form) contained a wide range of melatonin concentrations. Nearly every product contained more melatonin than listed on the label. One type of gummy was found to contain almost 3.5 times the labeled quantity. Melatonin is a hormone naturally produced in the brain in response to darkness, signaling that it's time to sleep.
Why this matters: Children have a lower threshold for overdose than adults because of their size. They also may be enticed by the fruity gummies, which could increase their risk of ingesting higher amounts of melatonin if not carefully monitored. Though risk of death is low, doctors reported that between 2012 and 2021, more than 27,700 emergency and clinic visits were linked to pediatric melatonin ingestion, with two of those children dying.
What the experts say: "There are other, more effective ways of getting kids to sleep," says Ken Sassower, a pediatric neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. As with other supplements, more doesn't necessarily mean better. If a low-dose gummy doesn't do the trick, popping another one probably won't either. | | | If you're enjoying all the science we cover in this newsletter, dive deeper with a subscription to Scientific American. You'll have access to all our articles and will be supporting crucial science journalism. | | | • International scientific cooperation is key to dealing with global problems such as nuclear weapons, pandemics, climate warming and misuses of artificial intelligence, writes Frank N. von Hippel, professor and physicist at Princeton University who was one of the U.S. scientists who brainstormed with Russian physicist advisers during the 1980s on steps to end the nuclear arms race. Authoritarian regimes like those in Russia and China make collaboration more difficult, he says, but we need to carefully consider how to keep working together. "We do have secrets that must be protected, but unnecessary barriers will weaken us at least as much as our adversaries—especially where they make it more difficult for scientists to share ideas about how to make the world more safe and livable." | 4 min read | | | If you kept up with Today in Science this week you're guaranteed a high score on today's science quiz. Also, here's today's Spellements puzzle. Remember to send any science words that are missing from the puzzle to games@sciam.com. This week, Iain in Hong Kong spotted osseous (consisting of or turned into bone). Great word. | | | MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE WEEK | | | • The International Space Station Has Been Leaking for Five Years | 6 min read | • Election Grief Is Real. Here's How to Cope | 7 min read | • Record-Breaking Prime Number, 41 Million Digits Long, Blows Mathematicians' Minds | 6 min read | | | • Diamonds form deep in Earth's crust, approximately 93 miles (150 kilometers) down. Eruptions of kimberlites bring diamonds up to the surface very quickly. Researchers used multiple computer models of Earth's deep crust and upper mantle and found that when tectonic plates pull apart, the base of the continental crust thins, creating a highly unstable region that triggers kimberlite eruptions and brings eruptions of diamonds close to the surface. | 3 min read | | | In less than two months many Earthlings will celebrate the New Year. But our lives are full of many new years: Each of our birthdays marks the start of another year of life; the start of spring in March in the Northern Hemisphere or September in the Southern Hemisphere signals a new year of plantlife's budding, flourishing and death; and a new year for kids and adults begins around labor day when school starts. Our time on Earth is full of beginnings like these and gives us plenty to celebrate. | Thank you for being on this journey of discovery with me. I love hearing from you, so keep the comments and suggestions coming: newsletters@sciam.com. See you back here on Monday! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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