Science in the Week | Wild boars to be removed from the three lists

2021 Week 50 Issue 15 Total Issue 361

2021 is coming to an end. I wonder how the goals set by friends at the beginning of the year have been completed? The editor can provide you with a new option for next year's goals. Stick to reading interesting science popularization tweets every week to increase your knowledge. /shy.jpg

Okay, enough nonsense, here are the most popular or discussed scientific hotspots we selected from Weibo, WeChat, Zhihu, Baidu, Toutiao and other information websites this week:

#Starbucks admits to using expired ingredients#

#Wild boars to be removed from the three lists#

#The last large-scale meteor shower in 2021#

#Killing one overwintering mosquito is equivalent to killing thousands of second-generation mosquitoes#

1. Starbucks admits to using expired ingredients

On December 13, the "Starbucks privately changed ingredient labels and used expired ingredients" incident triggered public opinion. On the same day, Starbucks China's official Weibo responded that it was deeply shocked and confirmed the existence of violations. It apologized for this and stated that it had immediately taken six measures, including comprehensive self-inspection of all stores, organizing retraining, and increasing the frequency and scope of internal and third-party inspections. Expired ingredients are often affected by many factors, such as physical changes caused by food characteristics and external environment (such as bread getting damp and caking), chemical changes caused by transpiration and respiration of ingredients (sour taste, sour taste, etc.), and biological changes caused by microbial reproduction. Of course, different ingredients are affected to different degrees, so there will be a certain shelf life. For stores with more ready-to-eat ingredients such as Starbucks, once the shelf life of the goods has passed, it is very easy to cause a large number of microorganisms to reproduce, which can cause diarrhea or even endanger life.

Hotspot sources:

https://s.weibo.com/weibo

The editor has something to say: Fortunately, I can’t afford Starbucks.

2. Wild boars are planned to be removed from the three lists

Recently, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration released a new draft of the "List of Terrestrial Wildlife with Important Ecological, Scientific and Social Values" for comments. Among them, wild boars were removed from the list. According to public reports, wild boars have become the wild animals with the widest range of harm and the most serious losses in China. As a "three-protected" animal, wild boars are protected by law. "Pigs can steal food, but people cannot hurt pigs." Many netizens have said that they can finally realize the "freedom to hunt wild boars"! But in fact, although wild boars have been kicked out of the "have" list, they are still protected by the "Wildlife Protection Law", and wild boars living in the wild are themselves a huge "mobile virus library" and pose a certain threat to human health.

Hotspot sources:

https://s.weibo.com/weibo

The editor has something to say: The fighting power of the second brother is not as "docile" as the one you raise at home!

3. The last major meteor shower in 2021

On December 14, 2021, the last large-scale meteor shower of 2021, the Geminids, arrived. As one of the three major meteor showers in the northern hemisphere, the Geminids have a large flow rate (the flow rate can reach more than 150 at its peak), a slow flow rate, and a bright flow rate, often accompanied by fireballs (because large-mass meteoroids enter the Earth's atmosphere and do not have time to burn in the upper layers, they fall into the lower atmosphere and emit bright light). Unlike other meteor showers whose parent stars are "comets", the parent star of the Geminids is the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Compared with comets, it will scatter more large fragments when passing near the sun, resulting in more bright meteors.

Hotspot sources:

https://s.weibo.com/weibo

The editor has something to say: Have you watched the meteor shower with your loved one this year?

4. Killing one overwintering mosquito is equivalent to killing thousands of second-generation mosquitoes

With the arrival of winter, mosquitoes basically disappear from people's sight. However, in the warm season, mosquitoes will make a comeback. So where do these mosquitoes hide? Because mosquitoes prefer warmth to cold, in most cases, they hide in places such as cracks in the wall where they can avoid wind and cold, such as warmer and more secluded places indoors, such as the back of the wardrobe. In addition, mosquitoes will lay eggs in water, so that the next generation of mosquitoes will spend the winter in the form of eggs. Female mosquitoes only need to mate once in their lifetime to lay eggs for life, and the number of eggs laid each time can reach 200 to 300.

Hotspot sources:

https://s.weibo.com/weibo

The editor has something to say: mosquito eradication efforts are not limited to summer.

In conclusion:

① In reality, there are always some businesses that, under pressure to make profits or driven by profit, do not hesitate to break the law and take risks, and cut costs by damaging the rights of consumers. However, food safety concerns the lives and health of the people, and the red line must be adhered to;

② For wild boar prevention and control, scientific planning should be carried out, and measures should be taken according to local conditions to find a balance point for the peaceful coexistence of humans and wild boars;

③ Ordinary people can watch the Geminid meteor shower without the help of professional equipment, and can also enjoy the beauty of meteors crossing the sky with their naked eyes;

④ Containers that accumulate water at home should be cleaned up in time, such as flower vases, toilet wastewater, kitchen sewage, etc.;

Source: Interesting Science