【推荐1】We all know eating ultra-processed foods that make our lives easier -- such as sauces, and frozen pizza -- isn’t good for our health. Studies have found they can raise our risk of obesity, heart problems, diabetes and cancer. They may even shorten our lives. Now, a new study has revealed eating more ultra-processed foods may contribute to overall cognitive decline, including the brain executive functioning -- the ability to process information and make decisions.

“While in need of further study, the new results are quite compelling and emphasize the critical role for proper nutrition in preserving and promoting brain health and reducing risk for brain diseases,” said Tanzi, professor at Harvard Medical School. He was not involved in the study but he said in his book, “They are very high in sugar, salt and fat, promoting systemic inflammation, perhaps the most major threat to healthy aging. Meanwhile, since they are convenient and quick, they also replace fiber foods important for maintaining the health and balance of bacteria in your gut,” he added, “which is particularly important for brain health and reducing risk of age-related brain diseases like Alzheimer.”

The study, presented at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, followed over 10,000 Brazilians for 10 years. “In Brazil, ultra- processed foods make up 25% to 30% of total calorie intake. We have McDonald’s and Burger King. It is not very different from many other Western countries,” said coauthor Dr. Suemoto. Ultra-processed foods are defined as industrial formulations of food substances containing little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings and other chemical additives, according to the study.

“People consuming over 20% of daily calories from processed foods had a 28% faster decline in global cognition and a 25% faster decline in executive functioning compared to people who not,” said study coauthor Natalia. Those in the study who ate the most ultra-processed foods were more likely to be younger, women, white, had higher education and incomes, and were more likely to have never smoked, the study found.

“People need to know they should cook more,” Suemoto said, “And it’s worth it because you’re going to protect your heart and guard your brain she added”.

【推荐2】A dozen international coffee experts moved around a long wooden table, pausing at each steaming cup, heads dipping,smelling and tasting. In the wings, coffee farmer Yang Fan watches attentively as the judges’ circle, awaiting a decision on her latest crop of beans.

In recent years, China is fast developing a reputation as a top coffee producer. This tasting was a side event to the first ever Pu’er International Specialty Coffee Expo in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, which ran this winter and drew more than a thousand attendees, including industry aficionados (酷爱者) from across the globe.

“Coffee has huge potential in China,” says Liu Ying, who is working in private investment in Beijing to grow coffee in Pu’er five years ago. “The younger generation prefers to drink coffee in their offices much more than tea.” Still, Pu’er remains synonymous with tea. In a region of China known for thousands of years of tea growing, a new crop is beginning to change the country’s landscape: coffee. This town near the Laos border is surrounded by the green hills scored with tea plantations; it produces a variety of tea which is also called Pu’er. But the region’s mild climate is also perfect for growing Arabica coffee. And as China’s young people move away from traditional tea in favor of the invigorating coffee, Pu’er’s farmers are catering to the demand. Yunnan accounts for 98% of China’s coffee harvest, with half coming from the misty landscape around Pu’er. Today, China is the 13th biggest coffee producer in the world - rising from zero output three decades ago to 136,000 tons annually today.

In April, Seattle’s annual Specialty Coffee Expo decided to showcase China as its portrait country of origin. It follows on the heels of Starbucks’ launching its first single-origin Yunnan coffee last year after eight years of partnership with Yunnan farmers.

With global coffee prices at record lows, Yunnan farmers are processing beans in bespoke (定制的) ways to create distinct flavors -allowing them to enter the market of specialty coffee. “At current coffee prices, I can’t even feed my family,” says the farmer Yang. “My only way out is to produce specialty coffee, to make the best coffee beans.” That means letting beans dry in their cherries, thus producing a wild, fruity flavor, or allowing them to “honey” in their sugary inner layer, which adds a slight sweetness.

“If I told you this was Colombian or Panama coffee, nobody would argue with me,” says Samuel Gurel, CEO of Pu’er’s Torch Coffee Roasters, as Yang breaks into a laughter. “It’s a great example of how Chinese coffee is evolving.”

【推荐3】One in three UK consumers throw away food just because it reaches the use-by date (使用期限), but 60% of the food we throw away each year is safe to eat.

In order to help detect spoilage (变质) and reduce food waste for supermarkets and consumers, researchers have developed spoilage sensors for meat and fish packaging. The researchers say the sensors could also finally replace the use-by date — a widely used indicator of being fresh and eatable.

The sensors cost two US cents each to make. Known as “paper-based electrical gas sensors (PEGS)”, they detect spoilage gases in meat and fish products. The information provided by the electronic nose is received by a smartphone, and then you can know whether the food is fresh and safe to eat.

The researchers made the sensors by printing carbon electrodes (电极) onto a special type of paper. The materials are eco-friendly and harmless, so they don’t damage the environment and are safe to use in food packaging. The sensors, combined with a tiny electronic system, then inform nearby mobile devices, which identify and understand the data about spoilage gases.

Lead author Dr. Firat Guder of Imperial’s Department of Bioengineering said, “Although they’re designed to keep us safe, use-by dates can lead to eatable food being thrown away. They don’t always reflect its actual freshness. In fact, people often get sick from food-borne diseases due to poor storage, even when an item is within its use-by date. These sensors are cheap enough, so we hope to see supermarkets using them within three years. Our goal is to use PEGS in food packaging to reduce unnecessary food waste.”

【推荐3】The Forbidden City is well known for being full of Chinese cultural and historical relics. But Masters in the Forbidden City（《我在故宫修文物》）does not just focus on the stories of the past.

Instead, the documentary movie, which came out in Chinese cinemas on Dec. 16, focuses on ordinary people-the restorers（修复者）of relics and antiquities（古董）.

The stories are told at a slow and relaxed pace, reflecting the restorers’ work. Restoration of cultural relics and antiques can be time-consuming, and sometimes boring. Yet these restorers’ patience and peace of mind are especially precious in a society where everything is changing so fast.

“If you choose this job, you have to stand hours of work sitting on a chair. You need to be quiet and get used to being quiet,” says Wang Jin, an ancient clock repair expert.

A touching part of the documentary is the spirit of craftsmanship（工艺）in the restorers. “Years of humdrum work requires not only skill, but also faith and spirit,” China Daily commented. “Looking for preciseness and perfection, devoting yourself to work, patience, endurance（忍耐）, loneliness…All these qualities come from the craftsman spirit. ”

But unlike the popular idea of serious experts who sit around being serious, the documentary shows off the enthusiasm of the restorers. They play their guitars and make jokes about each other after a long day of restoration work.

One scene that has been very popular with Internet users features a young female restorer riding a bicycle through the empty Forbidden City on a Monday. While she is doing this, a narrator says, “The last person to do this was Puyi, the last emperor of the Oing Dynasty.”

Masters in the Forbidden City has proved wrong many people’s ideas about antique restorers, allowing them to realize that they are not old, dull professors, but people in their 40s, 30s and even 20s who can be quite pleasing to the eye.