January 3, 2025: New food labels are coming, lightning unleashes "killer electrons," and 2025 will be a big year for heliophysics. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab | | | • Repeated exposure to outrage-inducing news or events can lead to emotional exhaustion. An expert who studies online outrage says there are ways to cope. | 7 min read | | | Stricter "Healthy" Standards | | | Last month the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the first food labeling change in 30 years, altering which foods can be labeled "healthy." The new requirements for a health stamp call for more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, while also including low-sugar and low-saturated fat foods. The new rule also includes restrictions on added sugar. The change could stop many companies from marketing their breakfast cereals or yogurts as "healthy" on the packaging. Why this matters: The average U.S. adult gets nearly 60 percent of their daily calories from ultraprocessed foods. These foods–many currently labeled "healthy"--are designed by their manufacturers to contain extra sugar, salt, fat, artificial colors or preservatives, and are packed with other ingredients like hydrogenated fats, bulking agents and starches, to maximize deliciousness (called "the bliss point") and keep people eating.
What the experts say: Many countries, like the U.K., France and Australia include a ranking system on the front of food packaging to signal to consumers how healthy a food is. For example, the U.K. labels nutrients with a "traffic light" system (green, yellow, red). The U.S. lacks a front-of-package ranking system for food. "Nutrient profiling systems are promising tools to combat rising rates of metabolic disease," writes Christopher Damman, an associate professor of gastroenterology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. "Their use in Europe demonstrates their potential to shift consumer purchasing habits and inspire food companies to create healthier products." | | | Nutri-Score rates the nutritional value of foods from A to E. The system was first voluntarily implemented in France and has since been adopted by additional European Union countries. DPA Picture Alliance/Alamy Stock Photo | | | Lightning strikes in the atmosphere can trigger a rain of high-powered "killer electrons" in low-Earth orbit that form harmful streams of radiation. Scientists compared historical data of microbursts of so-called electron precipitation and found that it statistically corresponded with lightning strikes.
How it works: Electromagnetic waves unleashed by lightning travel up Earth's magnetic field lines from the atmosphere and into the region of the inner radiation belt (1,000 to 12,000 kilometers up), where their energy is enough to knock high-energy electrons out of their magnetic orientation.
What the experts say: "These high-energy particles are damaging to spacecraft and also to humans in space," says study co-author Lauren Blum, an astrophysicist at the University of Colorado Boulder. "Knowing when there are very high-energy electrons in the inner radiation belt would be helpful to know when to avoid it." | | | 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. | | | • In 2021 men made up 75 percent of employed computer scientists and 84 percent of employed engineers in the U.S. Based on a dataset of 145,000 children whose stereotypes had been measured in various ways, kids as young as six are more likely to see computer and engineering ability as "for boys," as a result of several cultural factors, writes David Miller, a senior researcher at the American Institutes for Research. "Research shows that early positive experiences with programming and robotics can ignite girls' curiosity and interests before stereotypes set in and drive girls away." | 5 min read | | | Did you read Scientific American during the holidays? Test your knowledge with this week's science quiz. Or challenge yourself with our hard Sudoku or today's Spellements puzzle. Remember to send any science words that are missing from the puzzle to games@sciam.com. This week, Louisa and Paul found dyad, which is a thing that contains two elements or parts. Impressive! | | | MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE WEEK | | | • Do We Live in a Special Part of the Universe? | 4 min read | • People Living in Las Vegas's Tunnels Urged to Get Medical Treatment | 5 min read | • Jimmy Carter, Who Has Died at Age 100, Spared Millions of People from Guinea Worm | 5 min read | | | Most of Maine's fisheries, from cod to local shrimp and wild mussels, are in steep decline. Some ocean scientists are devising new aquaculture-based techniques that could grow even more stock than traditional methods and save the local economy. Solutions range from a Christmas-tree-shaped growing apparatus to submersible rafts to grow mussels. | 18 min read | | | Mussel harvesting at Pemaquid Mussel Farms in Bar Harbor, Maine, is overseen by farm owner and marine biologist Carter Newell. The shellfish are grown on long ropes dangling into the water from a raft. The ropes are hoisted onboard and dropped in an enormous stainless steel bucket. Peter Essick | Though I don't believe in strict New Year's resolutions, I do think it's a good idea to periodically reassess your food choices. One simple food shopping trick I learned years ago is to stick to the "outside ring" of your grocery store. Start in produce, then keep to the outer edge, through the dairy and meat departments. Ultraprocessed foods tend to live on the inner shelves of the store's aisles. Though definitely dip in there for beans, whole grains and frozen veggies. | What are your tips for avoiding ultraprocessed foods? Send them to newsletters@sciam.com. See you Monday! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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