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THESE FOODS COULD
TAKE OUR MIND

Monday, November 27, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we discover a newly found toll of highly addictive ultra-processed foods; explore efforts to stop the predator eating coral reefs, discover a cursed gem at the heart of a best-seller ... and ask: why has society picked on short men?

A large group of ultra-processed and fried foods including pizza, burgers, fries, onion rings, and hotdogs

PHOTOGRAPH BY WILDPIXEL, GETTY IMAGES

This 1,600-calorie burger won’t kill me, right? Or frozen pizza? Or a 48-ingredient bar sold as nutritious?

They are all ultra-processed foods, and new studies show a diet of such addictive, highly advertised foods can bring on anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline.

Yes, they could take your mind.

How can we protect ourselves?

READ THE FULL STORY

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A man in red with a hat with feathers points as Napoleon pouts.

PRINT BY FRÉDÉRIC DUBOIS, THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Was Napoleon even short? Inside the history of discrimination against short men. (Above, a caricature.)

More than a century of engineering has radically re-shaped this natural wonder

Which leafy greens are healthiest—and which might make you sick?

The real cursed gemstone behind the lost jewel of ‘All The Light We Cannot See’

What is the world's richest shipwreck and why hasn't it been brought up yet?

This onetime skeptic became the driving force of early Christianity

Vitamins A and E: Why they may do more harm than good

How travelers can hunt for lost Mayan cities

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

A diver injects a coral reef predator with a toxin.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY, ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

The coral eater: In waters off the coast of Indonesia, a diver injects a dreaded predator with a toxin. This predator feeds on coral and is hard to check—but conservationists are fighting back. What is it?

A. Crown-of-thorns sea star
B. Crinoids
C. Brittle stars
D. Coelopleurus exquisitus

CLICK FOR THE ANSWER

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A colorized transmission electron micrograph of a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) particle.

MICROGRAPH BY AMI IMAGES, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

A sneaky killer: RSV (a particle of which is above) targets the respiratory systems of the very young and the very old. For decades, there were no effective preventive treatments. Now, thankfully, there are.

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY GUIDO MOCAFICO

Not a virus: This is an intricate model of a type of sea pansy. From 1863 to 1890, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka used glass to fashion their classroom models of sea animals. Today, the fragile pieces are prized by museum artists.

Today’s soundtrack: Heart of Glass, Dolly Parton and Debbie Harry

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter! It was curated and edited by Jen Tse, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard.

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