Wednesday, 14 November, 2018

The Great Nutrient Collapse

The Great Nutrient Collapse

Posted on Monday, 18 September, 2017 by Zheluo Cai

The Great Nutrient Collapse.

This interesting article casts a warning shadow over the continual degradation of the nutritional value of our food supply given the current level of our enriched CO2 world. Mineral malnutrition stemming from undiversified plant-based diets is a top global challenge. In C₃ plants (3 carbon atoms plant life,e.g., rice, wheat), elevated concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO₂) reduce protein and nitrogen concentrations, and can increase the total non-structural carbohydrates (TNC; mainly starch, sugars). However, contradictory findings have obscured the effect of eCO₂ on the ionome—the mineral and trace-element composition—of plants. Consequently, CO₂-induced shifts in plant quality have been ignored in the estimation of the impact of global change on humans. This study shows that eCO₂ reduces the overall mineral concentrations (−8%, 95% confidence interval: −9.1 to −6.9, p<0.00001) and increases non-structural carbohydrates (TNC:minerals > carbon:minerals) in C₃ plants. The meta-analysis of 7761 observations, including 2264 observations at state of the art Free Air CO2 Enrichment centers, covers 130 species/cultivars. The attained statistical power reveals that the shift is systemic and global. Its potential to exacerbate the prevalence of ‘hidden hunger’ and obesity is discussed. Credit: Irakli Loladze published paper Hidden Shift of the Ionome of Plants Exposed to Elevated CO2 Depletes Minerals at the Base of Human Nutrition.

Read Article Here:

http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/09/13/food-nutrients-carbon-dioxide-000511

The Ainu, in the historical Japanese texts the Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and formerly the Kamchatka Peninsula). On June 6, 2008, the Japanese Diet passed a bipartisan, non-binding resolution calling upon the government to recognize the Ainu people as indigenous to Japan, and urging an end to discrimination against the group. Recent research suggests that the historical Ainu culture originated in a merger of the Okhotsk culture with the Satsumon, one of the ancient archaeological cultures that are considered to have derived from the Jōmon-period cultures of the Japanese archipelago. The Ainu economy was based on farming, as well as on hunting, fishing and gathering.

The Once and Future Stars of Andromeda.
Credit and Copyright: ESA/Herschel/ PACS/SPIRE/J.Fritz(U.Gent) / XMM-Newton/EPIC/W.Pietsch(MPE). The Andromeda Galaxy, aka M31, is a spiral galaxy a mere 2.5 million light-years away. In reddish hues, image data from the large Herschel infrared observatory traces enormous lanes of dust, warmed by stars, sweeping along Andromeda's spiral arms. The dust, in conjunction with the galaxy's interstellar gas, comprises the raw material for future star formation. X-ray data from the XMM-Newton observatory in blue pinpoint Andromeda's X-ray binary star systems. These systems likely contain neutron stars or stellar mass black holes that represent final stages in stellar evolution. More than twice the size of our own Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy is over 200,000 light-years across.

The national flag of Nepal is the world's only non-quadrilateral national flag. The flag is a simplified combination of two single pennons, known as a double pennon. Its crimson red is the colour of the rhododendron, Nepal's national flower, while the blue border is the colour of peace. The inclusion of the celestial bodies indicates Nepal's permanence and the hope that Nepal will enjoy the same longevity as the Sun and the Moon. Additionally, the stylized moon represents the calm demeanour and purity of spirit of the Nepali people, while the stylised sun represents their fierce resolve. The current flag was adopted on 16 December 1962, along with the formation of a new constitutional government.

The Last Judgment is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo, covering the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. There are over 300 figures, with nearly all the males and angels originally shown as nudes; many were later partly covered up by painted draperies. The work took over four years, between 1536 and 1541. Michelangelo began working on it twenty-five years after he finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and was nearly 67 at its completion. It was commissioned by Pope Clement VII but was completed under Pope Paul III.

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