【推荐1】Prefer your coffee black? Then you probably like dark, bitter chocolate, according to a new research identifying a genetic basis for those preferences.

If that’s you, then congratulations — you are the lucky genetic winner of a sort that may offer you an advantage toward good health, according to caffeine researcher Marilyn Cornelis. Studies find moderate amounts of black coffee have been shown to lower the risk of certain diseases. But those benefits are likely to be more pronounced if the coffee is free of all of the milks, sugars and other fattening flavorings we tend to add.

In an earlier research, Cornelis and her team discovered that a genetic variant (变体) may contribute to why some people enjoy numerous cups of coffee a day, while others do not. “People with the gene metabolize (新陈代谢) caffeine faster, so the stimulating effects disappear faster, and they need to drink more coffee,” she said. “This could explain why some individuals seem to be fine consuming a lot more coffee relative to someone else who might become very anxious,” she added.

In the new study, Cornelis analyzed more precise types of coffee drinkers, separating black coffee lovers from cream and sugar lovers. “We found coffee drinkers with the genetic variant that reflects a faster metabolism of caffeine prefer bitter, black coffee,” Cornelis said. “We also found the same genetic variant in people who prefer dark chocolate over the milk chocolate.”

Cornelis and her team don’t think the preference has anything to do with the taste of plain black coffee tea. Instead, she said, people with this gene prefer black coffee and tea because they ae the bitter favor with the boost in mental comfort they desire from caffeine. “It’s possible these people are just very sensitive to the effects of caffeine and they also have that learned behavior with other bitter foods.”

Future studies will try to deal with the genetic preference for other bitter foods, Cornelis said, “which are generally linked to more health benefits.”

【推荐2】How does our memory work, and how can we use it to the best of our ability on a daily basis? This question is at the heart of many neuroscience (神经系统科学) research projects, and now the reward system is at the center of investigations.

By examining brain activity in healthy human subjects, scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have highlighted the lasting positive effect of a monetary (钱的) reward on individuals’ ability to store a variety of information.

“The positive influence of a reward on memory is a well-known phenomenon,” said Sophie Schwartz, professor at the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine, who led this work. However, the experiment addressed two questions: Does the effect last over time, and what role does the accumulation (累积) of reward play?

Using magnetic resonance imaging — an imaging technique that allows real-time observation of the brain in action — 30 healthy subjects were asked to remember associations between objects and people. Each correct answer earned points, and incorrect answers lost points. Participants were then asked to retrieve these associations to earn additional points. They were given monetary rewards based on their total number of points. Critically, the average number of points that could be gained varied over the course of the experiment.

Kristofer Aberg, the study’s first author, stated: “The best results were not associated with the highest accumulation of rewards.”

Schwartz added, “Our brain needs rewards to motivate us, but also challenges. If the task is too easy, motivation decreases as quickly as if it is too difficult.”

The hippocampus primarily manages memory, but when a reward is involved, the ventral tegmental area (腹侧盖膜区) of the brain releases dopamine (多巴胺): the hormone (荷尔蒙) related to satisfaction.“ It is the dialogue between these two brain areas that helps maintain motivation, improve learning, and consolidate (巩固) memories, even over time,” explained Aberg.

【推荐2】Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest leaders of America by many Americans. Yet people alive when Lincoln was elected in 1860 would probably be surprised by modern-day opinions about him. He had little formal education or government experience. During the presidential campaign, people made fun of his appearance and his simple way of talking.     1    

Born in a poor family, Lincoln taught himself by reading books and eventually became a lawyer. He was known for being tall and strong. And he was honest.     2     After he became a politician, Lincoln believed slavery violated the American Declaration of Independence, which said all men had the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Due to his political beliefs, the support of anti-slavery northerners gave him the presidency.     3     In response, 11 southern states withdrew from the Union and formed a new government. Then the American Civil War broke out between the South and the North. Neither side expected the fighting to last very long—a few weeks or maybe months.     4    

The war involved the entire country. At least four million men fought in it. Among the soldiers were African-American and Native-American men. The conflict divided families.     5     And hundreds of thousands of people died. However, the war changed the country. It completely affected American politics, economics, and society. Abraham Lincoln was the US president through all of it.

【推荐1】A food-tech startup in New York has developed technology to preserve food for months without a fridge and artificial preservatives (人工防腐剂). To cut down millions of tons of food waste worldwide, it also may transform agriculture in developing countries where refrigerated shipping containers and trains are rare or expensive.

Have you ever wondered why we don’t devote more farmland to growing fruits and vegetables since they’re much more nutritious? The reason is food’s spoilage (变质). Farther Farms’ unique CO2 pasteurization (巴氏杀菌法) technology isa simple fix that can spin out packaged foods’ shelf life at room temperature. Their first choice was French fries which would normally need to be frozen to survive trips between production facilities and supermarkets. They can’t be pasteurized like other goods. Instead, Farther Farms puts them into special packaging and fills it with specially made CO2, preventing damage from bacteria.

Growing up in India in a farming family, co-founder Vipul Saran developed Farther Farms as a student at Cornell University. His familiarity with the costs and the trouble of moving agricultural products from farms into towns and cities before they spoiled influenced his development of the technology.

“The whole goal is, basically, how we can look into new food processing technologies that can allow us to create value-added food products from these easily spoilt food products, which avoids the need and the dependency on freezing as much as possible,” Saran said.

Rather than packaging apples or potatoes in a plastic bag, the Farther Farms tech is ideal for value-added food products, not only because they require packaging of some kind, but also because they earn farmers more money. Rather than needing to transport them by refrigerated boxcar or shipping container, Farther Farms would ship them at any temperature, thus allowing food producers of all kinds to reach the maximal number of markets.

【推荐2】Carmakers, including BMW, Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot, warned that the worldwide semiconductor processor shortage will continue in 2021 and beyond. The shortage has affected both production and sales of automobiles.

Automobiles have become increasingly dependent on processors, also known as chips. They are needed for computers to help engines with better fuel economy and assist drivers in emergency braking. Without a good supply of chips, carmakers have centered production on higher-profit models. The higher prices keep their businesses going even though they are selling fewer cars.

Richard Palmer is the chief financial officer of Stellantis. The company sells cars, under 14 brands including Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot. He said the company did not expect chip supply to improve before the last three months of the year. That would mean a production loss of around 1.4 million vehicles for 2021.

The German carmaker warned that there will be more problems during the second half of this year. "The longer the supply bottlenecks last, the more tense the situation is likely to become," BMW chief financial officer Nicolas Peter said in a statement. “We expect production restrictions to continue in the second half of the year. Those restrictions will cause a lower number of sales,” he added.

German chipmaker Infineon Technologies confirmed the shortage. The company said the latest wave of COVID-19 cases slows the production of materials in Asia. And the amounts of goods available have now hit all-time lows. Reinhard Ploss is the Chief Executive Officer of Infineon. He told economists that a sharp limit of supplies is hurting the recovery of worldwide car markets. He observed that "it will take time to get back" to a balance between supply and demand. "In our view, this will take until well into 2022," he added.