暑假第二份英文作業/2018.07.02-2018.08.24/邱申晴

2018/07/02-2018/07/06

WHO Plans to Ban Trans Fats in food by 2023

In May, the World Health Organization(WHO) announced their efforts to get rid of artificial trans fats from international food supplies by the year 2023. Health risks caused by trans fats in products used for cooking, like margarine and certain kinds of vegetable oil, are the reason for the ban. Global statistics show that artificial trans fats contributed to an estimated half-million deaths annually from heart disease. Developing countries are most at risk because of their limited access to resources and the prevalence of cheap processed food. Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, president of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative that is working with the WHO, told The New York Times, "If the world replaces trans fats, people won't taste the difference, food won't cost more, but your heart will know the difference.

2018/07/09-2018/07/13

Japanese Farmers Create Banana With Edible Peel

According to National Geographic, scientists at D&T Farm in Japan's Okayama Prefecture announced their most recent development of a banana with some properties that have made it a viral story. They successfully grew a banana fruit with a peel that people can eat. It took months of experimenting with a freezing-and-thawing method, which keeps the banana tree at extremely cold temperatures of -60 degrees Celsius followed by a dramatic heat increase to around 26 degrees. The result is soft and thin skin that hasn't fully developed.

The scientists' method mimics plant growth during ice ages or other long freezes. Cold temperatures slow plants metabolism; a sudden burst of sun and heat tends to lead to dramatic growth. In the banana's case, the fruit-which holds the seed-matures before the skin can catch up.