012345678Wine Beer SpiritsTropical Arid* Temperate Cold05101520Totaldrinks^ per^week0500100015002000250030003500Sunshine hoursSu
ns
hine^ hou
rsTropical Arid* Temperate Cold
Drinks per week13.9 16.2 14.7 18.TRENDING
BY ANNA GROVESThe popular notion that living in chillier areas leads to heavier
drinking may actually be true, according to a new study in
the journal Hepatology. Researchers from the University of
Pittsburgh compared datasets of drinking statistics from
the World Health Organization and other sources to look
for patterns in global alcohol consumption. They found
that, both worldwide and in the U.S., people who see fewer
hours of sunlight and live in areas that are cold (45 degrees
Fahrenheit on average), like Colorado or New York, or
temperate (55 degrees Fahrenheit on average), like Missouri
or Virginia, consume more booze.Cold Climate Dwellers
Do Drink More
Source: “Colder weather and fewer sunlight hours increase alcohol consumption and alcoholic
cirrhosis worldwide,” Hepatology, 2018* Data for arid countries presented here excludes 24 Muslim majority
countries where alcohol consumption is prohibited by religion and/or law.16 DISCOVERMAGAZINE.COM
Building Blocks
Build-A-Pancreas
In Type 1 diabetes, the
pancreas, which is made of
many cell types with different
functions, fails to produce
healthy levels of the hormone
insulin, which regulates blood
sugar. For years, researchers
couldn’t figure out how to
consistently and efficiently
create insulin-producing cells
in the lab. But a recent study
in Nature could hold the key. It shows how immature pancreatic
“progenitor” cells respond to different cues from their environment
that determine what cell types they develop into. This knowledge
can help researchers coax progenitors into the crucial insulin-
producing variety in the laboratory — a feat they hope will lead
to new Type 1 diabetes treatments.A New Way to Make
Fertilizer?
Since the 1940s, researchers
had been perplexed by a chemi-
cal reaction that sometimes
popped up in compost piles.
The reaction happens when
light hits two compounds: the
nitrogen in our atmosphere and
titanium dioxide, a naturally
occurring mineral. The result
is ammonia, a key ingredient
in fertilizers. But scientists struggled to understand why this
happened and replicate it in a lab. Recently, researchers from
the Georgia Institute of Technology solved the mystery. Titanium
dioxide must be contaminated with carbon, which is abundant
in compost. That’s why decades of sterile lab experimentation
never worked. If experts can harness this reaction, they could
use it to make ammonia with free nitrogen and light from nature,
potentially increasing sustainability and lowering the cost of
fertilizers worldwide.A Gentle Touch
We humans take for granted
our ability to pick up delicate
objects — like berries — without
squashing them. It’s a skill that
researchers have struggled to
replicate in robots. Recently,
researchers at Stanford
University created an
“electronic glove,” worn by a
robotic hand. The fingertips of
the glove house sensors that mimic the nerve endings in our skin.
Like our nerves, the sensors measure the direction and intensity of
pressure. They then send that information to the bot’s version of a
brain, so that it knows what kind of grip to use. The Stanford robot
successfully picked up a pingpong ball without crushing it, but it
hasn’t quite mastered the berry.Alcohol Consumption & Sunshine Hours
in Different ClimatesAverage Number of Drinks per Person per WeekFROM^ TOP
:^ D
ANSTEM;^ROB^ FELT/GEORGIATECH;^ C
OURTESY
OFBAO^ LABTHE CRUX