Billions malnourished
Some 2 billion people have been damaged by lack of essential vitamins and minerals, according to a report by UNICEF and the non-profit Micronutrient Initiative, published on Tuesday. Shortfalls of iodine and iron, for example, stunt brain development but could be corrected cheaply and easily by fortifying food, or with supplements.
Call for wheat reassurance
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Opposition to genetically modified wheat seems to be growing. The Canadian Wheat Board says 87 per cent of its customers now want guarantees that the wheat they buy is GM-free, up from 82 per cent two years ago. Buyers demanding the guarantee include Japan, Mexico, the UK, Italy, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Greenhouse surge
Carbon dioxide has reached record levels in the atmosphere, say scientists monitoring the gas from Hawaii鈥檚 Mauna Loa Observatory. Levels rose by about 3 parts per million over the past year 鈥� far faster than the 1.8 ppm annual average for the past decade. This could be just a blip, but some scientists suspect increases in fossil fuel burning in Asia, particularly China, could be to blame.
Close encounter
Hot on the heels of Sedna, the most distant object ever discovered in our solar system (New 杏吧原创, 20 March, p 15), has come the passage of the closest. On 18 March an asteroid about 30 metres across passed within 42,000 kilometres of Earth, around one-tenth the distance to the moon.
Suicide warning
The labels of 10 major antidepressants should carry suicide warnings, the US Food and Drug Administration said on Monday. It also urged doctors, families and carers to monitor people taking the drugs more closely. The decision is based on studies last year suggesting that antidepressants can sometimes trigger suicidal thoughts in children.