An analysis of national U.S. health and diet data found a strong link between ultra-processed food consumption and cardiovascular disease. Adults whose diets were highest in ultra-processed foods—like sodas, packaged snacks, and processed meats—had a 47% higher risk of heart attack or stroke than those who ate the least, even after adjusting for other factors. The findings underscore ultra-processed foods as a major, preventable driver of heart disease and a pressing public health concern.

Researchers have developed a fully real-valued, end-to-end optical neural network chip that overcomes the physical limitation of non-negative light intensity to enable efficient, on-chip image generation.

Materials scientists at Saarland University are therefore working to develop environmentally friendly alternatives. By introducing finely dispersed iron oxide into tiny, highly porous, hollow carbon spheres developed by Professor Michael Elsaesser at the University of Salzburg, the Saarbrücken team has achieved some very promising results: higher storage capacities using materials that are both readily available and environmentally far less problematic. The results have now been published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.