January 30, 2025: A ranking of ultraprocessed foods, a threat to the world’s largest telescope, and a frog that walks on water by belly flopping. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor |
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Europe’s Extremely Large Telescope, as seen at night in June 2023 while under construction atop the summit of Cerro Armazones in Chile’s Atacama Desert. ESO (CC BY 4.0) |
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• Observatories in Chile’s Atacama Desert, including the world’s largest optical telescope, could be hindered by light pollution and other unwanted side effects from the proposed construction of a renewable energy megaproject. | 7 min read |
• RFK Jr., was grilled by U.S. senators this week, revealing the sweeping impact he could have on Medicaid, vaccines and other health care if confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. | 5 min read |
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• Venomous caterpillars, which can deliver a toxic chemical cocktail causing reactions ranging from rashes to lethal hemorrhages, are expanding their range due in part to global warming. | 6 min read |
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Ultraprocessed Foods, Ranked |
Nearly all cereals, breads and other food products on store shelves are highly processed, leaving consumers with few “healthier” choices among brands, according to a new study. A machine-learning algorithm was used to analyze and rank the degree of processing in more than 50,000 items sold at Whole Foods, Walmart and Target, reports freelance science journalist Lori Youmshajekian. Explore this illusion of choice by immersing in the interactive graphic in the story. The graphic, by Scientific American graphics editor Amanda Montañez, illustrates the “food processing scores” (FPro value) derived for several food categories.
Why this matters: Ultraprocessed foods are those that are heated, canned, frozen or otherwise modified using industrial methods. The result is a product that most of us couldn’t make at home and that usually is high in sugar, oil, salt, preservatives and/or other additives. The causal links are still being teased out, but diets heavy in ultraprocessed foods are associated with poor health.
What the experts say: Less processed foods are not necessarily healthy, says Maya Vadiveloo, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Rhode Island. “A cookie is still a cookie, no matter how processed it is,” as the story puts it, paraphrasing Vadiveloo. |
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High-Speed Belly Floppers |
Basilisk lizards that seem to “walk on water” have long captivated researchers (and readers like us). Cricket frogs also appear to defy physics as they skitter along the surface of ponds. New 500 frame-per-second images show that the frogs actually do a series of belly flops as they locomote, sinking below the surface momentarily before leaping and swimming out again. To better visualize this “porpoising” movement, see the slow-motion video in the story by science journalist Rohini Subrahmanyam.
Why this matters: Animals’ high-speed movements can trick our eyes. Careful analysis of such movements can help guide the design of various “bioinspired robots,” says organismal biologist Jasmine Nirody.
What the experts say: These frogs “don’t prepare for their landing at all; they sort of just belly flop. They don’t retract their legs fast enough to immediately jump again” from the surface itself, says Talia Weiss, a bioengineering graduate student at the time of the experiment. |
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• Our hips, knees and other crucial joints are "signs of anatomical triumph,” allowing us to flex rather than break, writes science journalist Bethany Brookshire. The essay tours unusual and crucial features of these intersections along our internal skeletons. | 5 min read |
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—Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor |
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