Food for Thought
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Better Labeling of Major Food Allergens
A bill awaiting the President's signature would require that all U.S. food products identify in plain English the presence of major food allergens—and foster federal research on the incidence and impacts of food allergies.
- Health & Medicine
Seeing Red and Finding Fraudulent Fish
The sale of falsely labeled fish has implications for health, nutrition, and the environment.
- Health & Medicine
Don’t Expect Too Much of Soy
Two new studies find soy isn't an effective hormone-replacement alternative for postmenopausal women.
- Agriculture
A Maize-ing Travels
Corn, an American native, has taken root the world over and is becoming increasingly important to agriculture in nations beyond the West.
- Agriculture
Coming Soon—Spud Lite
A new variety of baking potato has about 25 percent fewer calories and 30 percent fewer carbohydrates per unit weight than the typical brown-skinned Idaho potato.
- Health & Medicine
Tea and a Daughter’s Puberty
The age at which a girl first starts her monthly menstrual periods is later among daughters of tea drinkers than among daughters of moms who typically choose coffee or another beverage.
- Health & Medicine
Cardiovascular Showdown—Chocolate vs. Coffee
Chocolate appears to be good for your arteries, whereas coffee—or at least its caffeine—does damage.
- Health & Medicine
Cinnamon Cleans the Breath
Cinnamon can kill oral bacteria, including germs responsible for a chemical that imparts the rotten-egg smell to the breath.
- Earth
Marsh Farming for Profit and the Common Good
A move is now afoot to get farmers to embrace wetlands as part of their business.
- Health & Medicine
Ironing Out Some Mental Limitations
Iron deficiency can subtly compromise how well a person performs multiple challenging tasks simultaneously.
- Health & Medicine
Tea Yields Prostate Benefits
Tea drinking appears to seed the body with compounds that retard the growth of prostate cancer.
- Earth
Chicken Farming, Ammonia, and Coastal Threats
Chicken farming can contribute significant amounts of ammonia to the environment, including coastal waters.
