Edward Helmore – US increased weapons sales in 2015 despite slight drop in global arms trade

The sale of global arms dropped slightly last year to $80bn from 2014’s $89bn, according to a new congressional study, with the US maintaining its position as the world’s dominant supplier. But at $40bn the US market share of weapons sales amounted to about half of all arms agreements in 2015, and more than double the orders recorded by France, …

Sarah Boseley – Most countries get more calories from alcohol than soft drinks – study

People in the UK and many other countries get more of their calories from alcohol than from sugary drinks like cola and lemonade, according to new data which suggests that tackling Britain’s drink problem may be more important for health than cracking down on sugar consumption. Of 24 countries tracked by the data analysts Euromonitor International, all but one have …

The past, present and future of African dust

So much dust is scattered across the planet by the winds of the Sahara that it alters the climate. However, the emission and transport of this dust, which can reach the poles, fluctuate considerably. Although many hypotheses have been put forward to explain this phenomenon, no unambiguous relationship between this dust and the climate had been established until now. According …

High Fructose Corn Syrup Now Labeled as Fructose or HFCS-90

The Corn Refiners Association is now labeling high fructose corn syrup as fructose. Packing on products such as General Mills Vanilla Chex cereal now states the product contains no high fructose corn syrup, while the ingredients list contains the simple word, “fructose.” This fructose is actually a manufactured sugar called HFCS-90, and is made up of 90% pure fructose. High …