Current Event Connection, Main

11 Things We Learned This Week

This week, we learned …

… a history of sugar in 12 teaspoons. Read of the week!

Mmmm. Doughnut.
Photograph by Robert Clark, National Geographic

Why is sugar not so sweet for the Great Barrier Reef?

 

 

… the real cost of tuna.

Fish buyers use flashlights to examine tuna spread on a warehouse floor.
Photograph by Winfield Parks, National Geographic

Can bluefin tuna be sustainably fished?

 

 

… it’s harder than ever to dope your way to glory—but some athletes will probably get away with it anyway.

Why are performance-enhancing athletes in the news?

 

 

… in the 19th century, Canton and Massachusetts are at either end of an aquatic highway.

The Chinese junk Keying made several trips between Canton (now Guangzhou) and the East Coast of the U.S in the 19th century.
Illustration by Samuel Waugh, courtesy Wikimedia. Public domain

What did the Far East trade with the East Coast?

 

 

… Bitcoin could cost us our clean-energy future.

Are dollar coins a good energy investment?

 

 

… how 1,000 Volvos ended up in North Korea.

NGS Picture Id:1018203
People walk past a billboard proclaiming national pride in Pyongyang, North Korea. Volvos are a part of the landscape of North Korea these days.
Photograph by H. Edward Kim, National Geographic.

Why is North Korea going dark?

 

 

… it’s official. Girls are better than boys at solving problems together.

Girls cooperate at a boarding school in Tanzania.
Photograph by Stephanie Sinclair, National Geographic

OK, girls are better at cooperating to solve problems. Do boys have a better sense of direction?

 

 

… the 25 rules of archaeology.

No. 5: “The scholarly world is not a team of friends. What is your discovery is a loss for someone else. And this someone is usually a prominent and powerful person.” Here, archaeologists excavate a Neolithic site in Scotland.
Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic

How are students introduced to archaeology?

 

 

… x-rays are revealing a mummy’s secrets.

This CT scan reveals the deformed foot, broken knee, and elongated skull of King Tut.
Photograph courtesy the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, and National Geographic

How did CT scans reveal a new view of King Tut?

 

 

… giant viruses may have been the first life on Earth.

Some scientists think the ancient ancestors of viruses like adeno-associated viruses (in this pretty visualization) may have provided the raw material for the development of cellular life.
Image by Jazzlw, courtesy Wikimedia. CC-BY-SA-4.0

How are viruses still impacting our lives?

 

 

… the best books Bill Gates read this year.

What were our recommended reads for the holidays over the years?

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