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The Mirage of Ethanol
American corn ethanol generates as much if not more greenhouse gases (GHG) than gasoline, according to a study by the University of Wisconsin, in the United States. Biologists have analyzed the impact on corn cultivation of the regulatory obligation to include this renewable fuel in the supply in the United States. They conclude that this standard increased the area of cultivated land by 2.4%, increasing the price of maize by 30%, which made this crop more attractive. This change in land use leads to a decrease in the capture of GHGs by the soil. This makes ethanol’s GHG balance at best similar to that of gasoline, at worst 24% higher GHG balance than gasoline. The authors warn that other agricultural policies could also have increased the area of cultivated land. The study was published in mid-February in PNAS.
Quiz
What have Dutch researchers discovered about tourism in Antarctica?
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Tourism in Cuverville Island, in the North Antarctic Peninsula
Response
Tourism locally increases ice melt by 23mm (or 83 tonnes) per year, according to an analysis by the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Published at the end of February in the magazine NatureCommunications, the study measures the amount of soot on the snow of the North Antarctic Peninsula. The more a region is touristic, the more soot there is, due to ship emissions. Between 2016 and 2020, 53,000 tourists visited Antarctica each year, on average.
The number
32%
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Picture of Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berryfrom the 15thand century
This is the proportion of medieval European literary works that have been lost, according to a new European study. The English and Dutch linguists, who published their results in Science in mid-February, applied a method used in biology to estimate the number of extinct species. The cultures of the outer islands fared better: only 19% of Irish medieval works and 23% of Icelandic works were lost, compared to 47% of French works and 62% of English works.
Quebec discovery on malaria
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Mosquito that transmits the parasite responsible for malaria
An international team led by Université Laval has discovered a key protein in the parasite responsible for malaria. This protein, called PfPX1, allows the parasite to digest blood. This blood comes from the prey of a mosquito carrying the parasite. The Quebec researchers, who published their results in mid-February in the journal mBiothink that we could design a drug capable of blocking the PfPX1 protein.
The popular bad breads
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Breads that are too salty and low in fiber are popular.
Quebecers like bread that is too salty and low in fiber, according to a study by Laval University. Breads exceeding the recommended salt thresholds represent 27% of supply and 47% of sales, while those with insufficient fiber constitute 46% of supply and 73% of sales. The nutritionists who concocted this report, published in mid-February, believe that encouraging consumers to better read nutrition labels and legislating the use of certain terms such as “whole grains” could improve the picture. They relied on data from Protect yourself and Nielsen.