Be Well: Common Artificial Sweetener Aspartame Could Be Carcinogenic
Research has found that artificial sweetener aspartame is a potentially a carcinogenic ingredient. The sweetener is found in a variety of everyday items ranging from diet beverages to chewing gum. Dr. Deena Gupta-Adimoolam, primary care physician, joined Cheddar News to talk about the health ramifications of consuming aspartame.
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a private-public fund backed by Bill Gates, is planning to invest up to $15 billion in clean technology initiatives across the U.S., UK, and European Union. It will target four key areas and help fund large projects that otherwise would not be financially possible. Bobby Hollis, Director of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Washington Post Climate Reporter Sarah Kaplan joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss a stark climate report that definitively shows the earth is getting warmer.
Chicago schools opened their doors again following a dispute between the teachers union and the city over as the omicron variant continues to surge, but the safety issues they fought over weren't just limited to the Windy City. Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, family medicine and urgent care doctor, joined Cheddar in discussing concerns of parents, teachers, and students as schools try to operate amid COVID and noted what she's been observing as the number of infections among children rises. "I am seeing them contract the illness from so many different aspects," she said. "It could be from a fellow classmate. It could be from a parent. All of those things really play in the effect of transmission as well as contracting the illness."
One startup is working to reverse climate change one seed at a time. Terraformation is a global forest accelerator that provides tools, training, financing, and business support to help scale forest restoration projects worldwide. Forests naturally absorb carbon and Terraformation says that reforestation is a safe, low-cost, and scalable solution to the climate crisis. Yee Lee, VP of growth at Terraformation, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Dave Epstein, meteorologist and contributor to The Boston Globe, joins Cheddar News to discuss the arctic blast hitting the Midwest and Northeastern area.
2021 was an exciting year for space innovations, but 2022 could hold even more in store. Cheddar took a deep dive into the space mission on tap for the year ahead.
The United States purchased over 600,000 doses of a monoclonal antibody treatment from Glaxosmithkline and Vir Biotechnology, bringing the total worldwide doses purchased to 1.7 million. This comes as the country attempts to ramp up treatment options as cases of the omicron variant continue to surge. Dr. Asha Shah, Director of Infectious Diseases at Stamford Health joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
As the pandemic slammed the brakes on the nation's economy in 2020, America's greenhouse gas emissions reached their lowest levels in at least three decades. However, as the world, and the economy re-opened, 2021 told a much different story as emissions surged. Biden's flagship 'Build Back Better' act involves billions in spending on electric cars and renewables, in an effort to cut U.S. emissions, experts are still skeptical that the nation will meet the current 2030 target. Andrew Dessler, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, joins Cheddar News.
Amid the omicron surge, a new debate has emerged about whether or not throat swabs are more effective than nasal swabs for COVID testing. Dr. William Schaffner, MD, professor of infectious diseases, Vanderbilt Medical Center, sat down with Cheddar's News Wrap to weigh in on the dispute. "Should there be a change? You've got to do the studies, show that in the field [a throat swab] works as well or better than the nasal specimen," he said. "Let's not do it off our hips, as we say."
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is declaring a state of emergency after Monday's winter storm left hundreds of drivers stranded on the interstate for more than 24 hours.
The snow also knocked out power for many residents, with more than 100,000 outages remaining days later.
Michael Wehner, a climate scientist at Lawrence Berkeley national laboratory, discusses recent weather disasters.