All posts tagged: junk

A Fancy Name for Junk Food

A Fancy Name for Junk Food

Published by Daniella Wilson

Once again, Americans are in a panic over what we eat. More than two-thirds of those surveyed now regard the industrially produced, ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, that dominate the U.S. food supply as addictive, according to a study published earlier this month in the American Journal of Public Health. That’s just the start of it. Most respondents said that UPFs are a major source of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. At least one-third blame these foods for causing cancer, ADHD, depression, and anxiety. And nearly half—corresponding to some 130 million American adults, if the survey’s findings can be extrapolated—believe that UPFs are simply “not what God intended for people to eat.” For the past couple of years, concerns about the potential health effects of UPFs have been highlighted in the media, and at nearly every level of the public-health establishment. New restrictions on the sale of UPFs have been introduced or passed in blue- and red-state legislatures alike. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said repeatedly that UPFs are …

I found gigabytes of invisible junk on my Android that the default manager never shows

I found gigabytes of invisible junk on my Android that the default manager never shows

Published by skeptic

Most Android users know when their storage is filling up. What you might not know is that the numbers your phone shows you are largely made up. The built-in storage manager groups everything into tidy categories that hide the underlying file system, and the default file manager won’t show you certain files. Luckily, there is a tool made just for cleaning your Android phone. Related I found Android’s hidden resource monitor and stopped installing cleanup apps Time to open Developer Options on your phone Android has storage blind spots The default view hides most of the mess Digvijay Kumar / MakeUseOf Android’s built-in storage manager doesn’t actually show you what’s on your device. It sorts everything into broad categories like Apps, System, and Media, which tells you almost nothing about where the real bloat is hiding. Manufacturer file managers make this even worse by applying custom filters that hide core directories altogether. So the heavy stuff sits buried in nested folders with no obvious way to find it. You’re left guessing which apps are hoarding …

The Trump phone is here. Critics say it’s junk

The Trump phone is here. Critics say it’s junk

Published by Sam Flores

Following months of controversy and delays, the new phone from Trump Mobile has finally shipped — though it faces immediate criticism of its quality and political scrutiny from customers and lawmakers alike. The T1 phone from Trump Mobile was first announced last June by the president’s son, Eric Trump, who said the device would “revolutionize” cell phones and “mobile calling.” “We’re gonna do it better, we’re gonna do it safer,” Trump said in a June interview, saying that the phone would be “cheaper” than competing models, along with having “more features.” “It is the biggest bang for the buck,” Trump claimed, calling the venture “one of the great tech platforms for the Trump Organization.” However, the phone’s release faced delays, with the launch date originally set for August 2025. It was pushed back to October but failed to be released a second time. Last week, the Trump family’s mobile phone company announced in a social media post that the phones would be “shipping this week” to customers who preordered the device. Reportedly, some 590,000 customers …

This DNS switch blocked junk on my smart TV and game console, and I didn’t need to install a thing

This DNS switch blocked junk on my smart TV and game console, and I didn’t need to install a thing

Published by skeptic

Smart TVs cost a lot of money, so you expect a good experience from them. Unfortunately, you’re not going to get the speed you could until you start looking at how you can stop advertisers in their tracks. You paid for the hardware, don’t let yourself get treated like the product. Changing your DNS settings is important, and one of the easiest ways to push back against that. Related Change These Settings to Instantly Make Your Smart TV More Private With just a few small tweaks, you can boost your smart TV privacy. Your smart TV has too many ads Hardware you own shouldn’t be a billboard for tracking and digital junk A smart TV can cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. You would expect that you now own this device and don’t need to worry about sales and finances, but the moment you boot up these devices, your screen is hijacked by intrusive advertisements, sponsored content, and auto-playing videos. It’s even recording what you choose to watch and when. Manufacturers are just …

Almost half of everything orbiting Earth is space junk

Almost half of everything orbiting Earth is space junk

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Nearly half of all known objects currently orbiting Earth technically classify as space junk, but the true amount may be even higher. Not only that, the debris continues amassing faster than it’s being removed. The latest red alert report comes from the engineering components company, Accu, and is based on information compiled from the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and its Space-Track database. According to their assessment, there are at least 12,550 tracked orbital debris fragments circling the planet “with no control or purpose.” That’s around 47 percent of the 33,269 known objects, which includes almost 17,690 satellites. But with many of those satellites now inactive along with nearly 2,400 jettisoned rocket bodies, the total space junk is likely worse than the current numbers suggest. Countries are racing to establish a long-term human presence in space and on the moon, but there are a lot of little problems to consider. More specifically, these issues range from the size of screws …

Solar activity can predict when space junk falls to Earth

Solar activity can predict when space junk falls to Earth

Published by skeptic

A new study has found that when the Sun is more active, space debris around the Earth loses altitude much faster, which could help with planning future space operations. Old satellite debris and rocket parts litter the atmosphere. With over 140 million objects orbiting the Earth at an average of ten times the speed of a bullet, space junk poses a significant risk to new satellites and communication constellations, as well as new space launches, like the recent Artemis II mission. Any collision can cause massive damage and generates more debris, meaning the issue is only getting worse over time. There have been a variety of solutions posed to reduce the amount of space junk, from robots that will capture the debris to using ion beams to bring junk into the Earth’s lower atmosphere, where it burns up upon descent. But planning these missions still requires navigating the debris to prevent collisions, which have proven difficult to predict- until now. Brighter, hotter, faster, heavier A new study in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences examined …

Monkeys discover unusual tactic that lets them binge on junk food – don’t try this at home | UK | News

Monkeys discover unusual tactic that lets them binge on junk food – don’t try this at home | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Gibraltar’s famous Barbary macaques have hit upon a clever but dirty solution to the perils of tourist handouts: swallowing soil to settle their stomachs after gorging on chocolate, crisps, ice cream and other junk food. A University of Cambridge study has, for the first time, documented regular “geophagy” – intentional dirt-eating – among the only free-ranging monkey population in Europe. Troops with the closest contact with holidaymakers eat far more soil, with rates spiking during the busy summer season. Researchers believe the high-sugar, high-fat, low-fibre snacks disrupt the monkeys’ gut microbiome and cause digestive misery. Eating dirt appears to act as a natural buffer, lining the gut, supplying minerals and beneficial bacteria, and limiting the absorption of irritating compounds. Dr Sylvain Lemoine, a biological anthropologist at Cambridge, explained: “Foods brought by tourists and eaten by Gibraltar’s macaques are extremely rich in calories, sugar, salt and dairy. This is completely unlike the foods typically consumed by the species, such as herbs, leaves, seeds and the occasional insect.” The behaviour lets the monkeys keep bingeing on calorie-dense …

Raise tax on alcohol and junk food to cut deaths from liver disease, experts say | Health

Raise tax on alcohol and junk food to cut deaths from liver disease, experts say | Health

Published by Sam Flores

Governments in Europe should impose much higher taxes on alcohol and unhealthy food to tackle the continent’s 284,000 deaths a year from liver disease, experts say. Taxes on those products should rise sharply enough for the money raised to cover the huge costs they place on health services, the criminal justice system and social services. The call for tough action on common causes of serious liver disease comes from a commission of experts from the European Association for the Study of the Liver and the Lancet medical journal. They are urging governments in Europe to ensure all alcoholic products carry health warnings and stop under-18s being targeted with online advertisements for alcoholic drinks and junk food. Bold steps are needed to combat “an escalating and unsustainable burden of liver disease”, the commission says in a report published on Wednesday in the Lancet. The experts call on the EU and World Health Organization to encourage national governments in Europe to implement their recommendations. They say governments should learn lessons from the successful fight against smoking over …

Rethinking space junk in an age of satellite overload

Rethinking space junk in an age of satellite overload

Published by skeptic

From recycling old satellites in space to turning rocket parts into fuel or beaming debris back to Earth, researchers are exploring new ways to tackle the growing problem of space junk. For decades, we have been littering space with decommissioned satellites and rocket parts orbiting our planet. Now this space debris poses a growing threat to the satellites and spacecraft we rely on. But researchers believe some of this debris could be turned into a valuable resource. According to the European Space Agency, more than 2,700 dead satellites are currently orbiting Earth, along with around 54,000 objects larger than a golf ball and an estimated 140 million pieces bigger than a fleck of paint. Over the years, many solutions have been proposed – from new regulations to limit debris to technologies designed to remove it. However, two EU-funded research initiatives are taking a different approach as part of a European Innovation Council (EIC) push to tackle space debris. Through its support for high-risk research, the EIC is helping scientists test radically new ways to deal …

Monkeys eating soil to settle upset stomachs from junk food, says research | UK News

Monkeys eating soil to settle upset stomachs from junk food, says research | UK News

Published by skeptic

Monkeys in Gibraltar have learned to eat soil to settle their stomachs from all the junk food they consume, research suggests. Scientists believe the dirt helps the monkeys line the gut to stop irritation from foods which are “extremely rich in calories, sugar, salt and dairy”. The soil also provides bacteria and minerals missing from junk food offered or stolen from tourists, such as chocolate bars, crisps and ice cream. The snacks have negative digestive effects for the macaques and can cause symptoms from nausea to diarrhoea, but the food is “as delicious for them” as it is for humans, according to a Cambridge University study. Animals in frequent contact with Gibraltar’s visitors were observed to eat more dirt, with this behaviour higher during peak holiday season. Image: A macaque monkey finishing a packet of M&Ms. Pic: Martin Nicourt/Gibraltar Macaques Project/PA The researchers think the behaviour is likely to have been learned socially as different troops of monkeys have preferences for certain types of soil. Experts said the soil acts as a “barrier” in the …