The increase is far greater than the price of gold. Maybe one day we will have to say goodbye to chocolate... | Expo Daily

The increase far exceeds the price of gold.

Maybe one day I have to say goodbye to chocolate...

Extreme weather and disease caused by climate change are affecting global cocoa production, sending prices soaring.

West Africa is the world's largest cocoa producing region, but it has been hit by a series of floods and droughts, resulting in a significant reduction in cocoa production.

In December 2023, West Africa was hit by heavy rainfall, which flooded cocoa farms. In February 2024, the region was hit by a severe drought, with temperatures soaring above 40°C and the heat index reaching about 50°C, which is considered a "hazardous" level.

In addition to climate change, cocoa trees are also threatened by diseases such as black fruit disease and swollen shoot virus, which seriously affect cocoa yields.

The International Cocoa Organization predicts that cocoa production will not be able to meet global demand. Compared with 2022/23, cocoa production in 2023/24 is expected to fall by 11%, leaving a gap of about 330,000 tons.

Cocoa futures prices have soared from less than $3,000 per ton in April last year to more than $11,000 per ton in April this year, and the price increase has even exceeded that of gold during the same period.

Consumers may soon see higher chocolate prices and smaller bars or less cocoa content due to rising costs, manufacturers have warned.

Fortunately, scientists are growing cocoa tree cells in the lab and developing chocolate-flavored products that don't contain cocoa. When the day comes when we really say goodbye to cocoa trees, there may still be other products that remind us of the good old days.

Image source: pixabay

Raise zebrafish in a space aquarium.

Is it for entertainment?

The Shenzhou 18 manned spacecraft is carrying out the first in-orbit aquatic ecology research project in China, achieving a breakthrough in my country's cultivation of vertebrates in space and exploring its impact. In other words, it is raising fish in space. The space fish tank that went up to the sky this time is equipped with 4 zebrafish and duckweed.

Why choose zebrafish? Zebrafish is a common tropical fish with 87% similarity to human genes. It is easy to keep and has strong reproduction and regeneration capabilities. Biologists can conduct different experiments on the same generation of fish to study the evolution of the pathology and find the cause.

The "space fish tank" is actually a binary ecosystem consisting of zebrafish and duckweed in a small closed container. The duckweed produces oxygen through photosynthesis for the fish to breathe, and the fish's excrement provides nutrients to the algae.

In space, water cannot escape and can only be sealed inside, so it is difficult to put solid fish food in. Therefore, scientists designed a special toothpaste-like fish food, which is pushed in a little bit every day with a syringe, so that the fish can eat it up as much as possible. The excrement produced by the fish after eating can be transported to the gold duckweed through pipes to promote its growth.

In order to ensure that the oxygen content in the ecosystem can meet the survival needs of zebrafish, during the ascent of the manned spacecraft, the ascent aquatic support device will provide LED light sources for the duckweed to maintain normal photosynthesis of the duckweed. After entering orbit, the astronauts will transfer the experimental components to the small controlled life ecology experiment module of the life ecology experiment cabinet in the spacecraft to carry out on-orbit experiments.

Image source: Li Kepu

Father's gut microbes influence offspring's lifespan

More and more experimental evidence shows that the microorganisms in the human intestine may be the real masters of the human body.

In addition to their direct impact on the human stomach and intestines, they can also affect the human brain and endocrine system in a variety of profound ways, affecting the body from the inside out.

In previous animal studies, people have found that the microbial community in the intestines of pregnant female mice has a very important influence on the development of the fetus.

Since we already know that microbes can affect the brain, it may not be such big news that they can affect the fetus.

But what is unexpected is that scientists recently discovered that the microorganisms in the father’s intestines can actually affect the development of the fetus.

A team led by Jamie A. Hackett, a scientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Rome, Italy, used antibiotics to kill most of the microbes in the intestines of male mice and then allowed them to mate and produce offspring.

The results showed that compared with the offspring of normal male mice, the offspring of male mice that lost their intestinal microorganisms had lower birth weight and a shorter average lifespan.

After a few weeks, the intestinal flora of these male mice gradually recovered. When they were allowed to mate and produce offspring, the birth weight and average lifespan of these offspring returned to normal.

These positive and negative results indicate that the intestinal microorganisms of the mouse father do affect the development of his offspring.

So, how does this effect occur?

First, the researchers ruled out the possibility of bacteria entering the fetus, which is physically impossible because the digestive system and reproductive system are not connected.

The autopsy of pregnant female mice revealed that the developing placenta of the embryo was affected. In male mice whose intestinal microbes were altered, the development of the placenta was hindered during embryonic development, resulting in a lighter weight of the fetus at birth.

Scientists have proposed an epigenetic explanation for this phenomenon. They speculate that the metabolites of intestinal microorganisms can affect the biochemical processes in the body, and changes in the chemical environment in the body can cause modifications in genetic material.

Although this modification does not change the gene itself, it affects the expression of the gene. This modification in sperm cells may cause some problems in the development of the embryo, which in turn affects the development and lifespan of the offspring.

Changing the intestinal microbes of male mice has profound effects on their offspring (Image source: nature.com)

Will sunglasses age if exposed to the sun for too long?

Summer is coming, the sun is scorching, and as people's health awareness increases, more and more people wear sunglasses when they go out. But do you know that sunglasses will also age and become ineffective? Some people say that their lifespan is only two years.

The basic material of the sunglass lens can absorb some ultraviolet rays, and the lens coating can also reflect some ultraviolet rays. Many sunglass lenses also contain materials that absorb ultraviolet rays. In this way, most ultraviolet rays can be "kept out" and no longer harm our eyes. However, this protection is not permanent.

The UV protection of sunglasses will indeed gradually decrease with use, and it is necessary to replace them. Ultraviolet rays carry high energy, which will age the materials of sunglasses and reduce the ability of sunscreen ingredients to absorb UV rays. The shiny coating on the outside of sunglasses is actually the result of metal vapor deposition, and these coatings may wear and oxidize, and their reflective ability will decrease. All of these will reduce the UV protection of sunglasses.

But for most people in my country, it is not necessary to replace sunglasses every two years. The idea of ​​replacing sunglasses every two years comes from a research team at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. But they calculated it based on the working intensity of sunglasses in Brazil... that is, wearing sunglasses for 2 hours a day. However, Brazil is a passionate South American country with more than half of its land in the tropics, so sunglasses are of course a burden. Therefore, you can wear them for one or two more years before replacing them according to the actual situation.

Image source: Pixabay

Tyrannosaurus Rex is so fierce.

Why do you have such short hands?

"Tyrannosaurus Rex" refers to Tyrannosaurus Rex, a giant dinosaur that lived in the late Cretaceous period. As a well-known dinosaur, its image is deeply rooted in people's minds - big head, long tail, short arms, and scary teeth.

The body of Tyrannosaurus Rex is more than ten meters long, but its hands, that is, its forelimbs, are very short and look disproportionate to the whole body. However, the forelimbs of Tyrannosaurus Rex are still very powerful, with strong bones and large muscle attachment areas.

These little hands can't even tickle themselves, so are they a vestigial, useless structure, or do they have a unique function?

Structure is often adapted to function. By studying fossil evidence, scientists have proposed several hypotheses about the function of Tyrannosaurus Rex's forelimbs: (1) When Tyrannosaurus Rex was lying on the ground, its forelimbs could support the front half of its body so that it could stand up more quickly; (2) During mating, the forelimbs could fix the mate; (3) When walking, the forelimbs could hold objects; (4) When hunting, the forelimbs also had a certain auxiliary role.

Some scientists believe that Tyrannosaurus Rex may be a social animal that hunts together and shares food. If the forelimbs are too long, it is easy to be bitten by companions. Therefore, after a long period of evolution, Tyrannosaurus Rex has these "little hands" to avoid being accidentally injured when eating.

Image source: Science World

The content is compiled from China Science Expo Weibo, Global Science, Mechanics Science, Science Academy, and Science World

This article was first published in China Science Expo (kepubolan)