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Food

Red dye No. 3 is now prohibited in food and drinks

Gumdrops have been officially labeled as terrorist sympathizers. Red 3, a dye frequently used to color candies, foods, drinks, and ingestible medications like cough syrup, was banned by the US Food and Drug Administration due to its association with cancer in male lab rats.

From safe to sinister

The dye, officially referred to as erythrosine or FD&C Red No. 3, has been allowed in the United States for the past half century and is mainly used to give items an intense red hue.

• Because of its possible carcinogenic qualities, the FDA ruled in 1990 that the dye wasn't safe to use in topical medications or cosmetics.

  • Afterward, the agency thought a lawsuit could overturn the ban if they extended it to consumables, and then claimed the dye did not cause cancer in people.

Food manufacturers will have until 2027 to get rid of Red 3 in their products, however, many of them have already done so and replaced the dye with common alternatives, like carmine, beet juice, and other natural ingredients.

So, what can I not eat anymore?

While some products obviously contain the dye, like Conversation hearts (the Valentine’s Day candy), ring pops, or jelly beans, others are a bit more inconspicuous…

Here are some other products you won’t be able to chew on (for now):

• Betty Crocker’s Loaded Mashed Potatoes.

• Brach’s Candy Corn.

• Vigo’s Saffron Yellow Rice.

• MorningStar Farms’ veggie bacon strips.

• Some frosting on cakes and cupcakes and certain flavors of ice cream, like Kroger Neapolitan ice cream also have the dye.

There are plenty more… for a full list click here.

Hopping on the bandwagon: The European Union, UK, Australia, Japan, China, and New Zealand have already banned Red 3 in foods, and California became the first US state to ban the dye in October of 2023.

Space

Historic satellite that mapped the galaxy ends mission

The radically innovative satellite was the first to truly show us what our galaxy looks like. On Wednesday, after 12 years of observations, Europe's Gaia spacecraft ended its revolutionary mission due to the depletion of its cold gas propellant. 

The space observatory accurately cataloged over two billion objects in our galaxy, producing human history's largest and most comprehensive three-dimensional map of the Milky Way.

The end of an era

The observatory circled Lagrange Point 2, along with the James Webb telescope, around a million miles from Earth. While in orbit, an array of 106 detectors (that are about the size of a driver’s license) gathered information on the motion and luminosity of stars, quasars, exoplanets, asteroids, and other objects.

Initially launched in 2014, Gaia was only supposed to be active for five years, but researchers continually extended its mission length due to its numerous successes.

• Data from Gaia's scans has led to significant findings, including starquakes (see overview w/ video) and half a million new stars.

  • Gaia has conducted 70 scans of over a billion objects at a resolution 400,000 times lower than what is visible to the human eye.

• Analysis of the data batches also showed the Milky Way converged with another galaxy early in its development.

It will have a lasting impact: While Gaia’s years of observations ended, we still have yet to get all of the data collected from it. Gaia’s next data release will come in 2026, based on 10.5 years of observations, and will exceed its last data set in both volume and quantity.

Dr Johannes Sahlmann, a Gaia Process scientist, told IFLScience that as the observatory continues to release information, it “will continue to have a transformative impact on the study of the Milky Way,” and “help inspire new generations of scientists… to push the boundaries of space astrometry, in the spirit of Gaia's legacy.”

Economy

China is flooding the world with a record number of exports

Mainly because you’re still ordering cheap t-shirts off of Temu. China announced on Monday its trade surplus soared to nearly $1 trillion in 2024 as its exports swamped the globe.

Product proliferation

The nation’s trade surplus (the dollar amount of exports minus imports) reached a record $992 million, 21% higher than the year prior and more than double what it was in 2019.

• The number far exceeds that of any nation in the past 100 years, even Japan, Germany, and the US.

• According to the UN Industrial Development Organization, one-third of the world’s manufactured goods came from China last year.

China’s exports have been boosted by government subsidies and the looming threat of increased tariffs under the incoming Trump administration. American companies have been buying up Chinese goods in bulk in an attempt to get ahead of the new trade policies, resulting in a surge of exports:

• In December, exports to the United States reached about $49 billion, the highest level in over two years.

Since Trump has promised to impose even higher tariffs on China when he takes office next week, Chinese companies may look to swamp other markets (like Vietnam) with cheap products to make up for some of the losses, especially amid their economic struggles.

On the flip side

While China’s export boom is good news in the short term, the country is still dealing with economic woes that have been shoved to the side, for better or worse:

• Following a recent housing market crash, poor consumer confidence caused imports to grow just 1% last month compared to the year before.

• Reduced prices on exported goods led to a nearly 5% decline in China's corporate earnings in the first 11 months of 2024 compared to 2023.

Despite shipping a record amount of domestic goods and products, the cost of goods and export prices have dropped, leaving exporters to get less money for their products.

Exasperating problem: According to a Bloomberg analysis of government data, China currently sells more items to over 165 countries than it purchases from them.

Grab Bag

Alzheimer’s cases are expected to double in the US by 2060

The debilitating disease already impacts 10% of all people over the age of 65. A new large-scale study released this week revealed that around two in five US adults over 55 will experience dementia at some point during their remaining lifetime.

According to the data, by 2060, the number of newly diagnosed cases will have doubled from roughly 500,000 to around 1 million per year.

Degenerative disease

Dementia refers to a broad category of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Huntington's and Alzheimer's, that impair cognitive function. About 25% of Americans are expected to be 65 or older by 2060, and according to researchers, the main reason behind the rise in cases is the US's aging population.

• The researchers also listed inadequate diets and inactivity as problems that have driven the increase.

• Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and alone makes up over 65% of all cases in the US.

Certain factors can increase your chances: Those who carry a gene (see here) that helps carry lipids and cholesterol in the bloodstream had a 45% to 60% likelihood of developing symptoms.

• Gender also plays a role, as women, who live five years longer than men on average, had a 48% chance, compared to 35% for men.

• Cases are expected to double for white Americans, while black Americans’ risk is expected to triple.

  • Black Americans report higher rates of heart disease, which some studies suggest is a risk factor for dementia.

From 2022 to 2050, global life expectancy is expected to increase by around five years, with it, the percentage of the population over the age of 85 is anticipated to grow rapidly.

Walmart debuted its new(ish) logo

Wow. If this isn’t the definition of brand overhaul idk what is. Slightly less subtle than Jaguar’s recent brand change, Walmart debuted its first new look in years and it might be more meaningful than you think.

Logo launch

Walmart hasn't redesigned its logo since 2008, when it eliminated the star from the middle of its name and dropped the “Wal-Mart”, instead making it one name. While the images you see above are virtually the same, Walmart also updated its typeface, changing to bigger, bolder letters (see here).

• The update is an homage to the company’s past and is inspired by the classic trucker hat that Walmart’s founder, Sam Walton, used to wear 40 years ago.

• The new color, which Walmart calls True Blue, is more bright and less muted than before.

The big-box retailer says the fresh logo shows its evolution, in both customer base and as a company and pays its respects to its founding ideals. Walmart claims to have begun implementing the new colors and branding in October of last year, beginning with its Springdale, Arkansas location.

Good timing: The change comes after Walmart's third-quarter sales climbed by more than 5%, reaching $169.6 billion, and online sales spiked over 22%. However, the refresh has also brought a fair amount of criticism (and memes) along with it.

Fast Facts

Milk Mates: The popularity of cottage cheese is soaring, with US sales of the food product surging 50% in the last half-decade. Not to toot my own horn but I’ve been an avid cottage cheese advocate for years.

Wait, What? Within the next six years, a $13 million research project supported by the European Research Council aims to develop small biological systems that can undergo "Darwinian evolution."

Squeeze Saver: Chick-fil-A used robots to squeeze 2,000 lemons a day for its popular lemonade, resulting in 10,000 hours of labor to be freed up each day across all of its restaurants and several finger injuries among employees. 

Changing Course: Ubisoft, the video game company behind Rainbow Six Siege and the Far Cry series, reportedly hired advisors to weigh strategic options, including a takeover.

Pretty Prison: The Netherlands is turning several prisons into art venues, with one, called the "dome prison", being transitioned into a podcast studio.