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Health Science

Hypertension’s Natural Fix

A new study from the University of Waterloo offers fresh insight into a well-known but often overlooked health tip: eat more potassium and cut back on salt. Researchers confirmed that maintaining a healthy potassium-to-sodium ratio plays a crucial role in managing blood pressure—especially in the context of Western diets, which are typically high in sodium and low in potassium. To better understand this dynamic, the team developed a mathematical model showing how this balance impacts vital functions like water retention, muscle contraction, and blood vessel tension.

The model also uncovered important differences between men and women. While men are generally more prone to high blood pressure, they respond more effectively to increased potassium intake. Women, by contrast, benefit more from reducing sodium. The researchers created a sex-specific model that maps out how the kidneys, heart, hormones, and nervous system all work together to regulate blood pressure—illustrating just how intricate the body’s electrolyte management system is.

The takeaway? Potassium is more than just a buzzword—it’s a key player in cardiovascular health, and most people aren’t getting enough. While bananas are often touted as the go-to source, better options include sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados, tomatoes, oranges, and coconut water. The study, published in Renal Physiology, reinforces that small dietary adjustments can make a big impact on long-term health.

Culture

American Photography's First 70 years

A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The New Art: American Photography, 1839–1910, opened on April 11 and offers a sweeping look at the first 70 years of photography in the United States. Featuring 225 rarely seen images, the show reveals how photography grew from a novel European invention into a powerful American tool for self-expression, documentation, and resistance.

Rather than spotlighting only famous names, curator Jeff Rosenheim draws from the William L. Schaeffer Collection to highlight lesser-known photographers working outside big cities—those who used the camera not just for art, but for memory, identity, and social commentary during a time of massive national upheaval.

The images on display are deeply human. One striking daguerreotype from the 1850s shows a young man posing proudly with a chicken, likely someone who couldn’t afford a painted portrait but found representation through this new medium. Others speak more subtly: a Black woman in a headwrap (a tignon), captured under laws requiring her to cover her hair, transforms the restriction into an emblem of defiant beauty. Post-mortem portraits, too, appear throughout the show—solemn reminders of how photography became a tool to preserve presence in the face of absence. Even accidents became art: Edward Steichen’s iconic 1903 portrait of J.P. Morgan, where a chair arm appears as a dagger, shows the unpredictable magic of the lens.

Beyond the personal, the exhibition also captures the broader American story. Photography followed railroads westward, documenting expansion and displacement, while innovations like the tintype made portraiture available to everyday Americans—workers, immigrants, and musicians who posed with the objects that defined them. And landscape photographers like Carleton Watkins offered majestic views of the untouched West, yet often included signs of environmental loss. Together, these images don’t just reflect history—they shaped how Americans understood their place within it. As Rosenheim puts it, “The more we release things that are not known, the more we learn about our own history.”

The New Art: American Photography, 1839-1910 is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York until 20 July 2025.

Environment

Elephants Protect Young

Security footage from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park captured a remarkable moment during a recent earthquake: a herd of elephants instinctively formed a protective circle around their calves as the ground began to shake. The 5.2 magnitude quake, centered just a few miles south of Julian, rippled through Southern California and into northern Mexico, catching both animals and humans by surprise.

At the zoo, three adult female elephants—Ndlula, Umngani, and Khosi—along with calves Zuli and Mkhaya, immediately responded with a behavior known as an “alert circle.” The adults positioned themselves back-to-back around the young, facing outward with tusks and trunks ready to confront any threat. This defensive formation is a natural behavior seen in the wild, typically used to protect against predators—but in this case, it was triggered by the unfamiliar tremor beneath their feet.

Elephants are highly sensitive to ground vibrations, which they detect through specialized receptors in their feet and trunks. That heightened sensitivity likely made the quake even more startling. Though regions like Botswana and South Africa do experience occasional seismic activity, this particular event was clearly unsettling for the herd. According to zoo spokesperson Emily Senninger, the elephants remained alert for several minutes before calming down, staying close together in a tight-knit group for comfort and security.

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Mind Stretchers

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What five-letter English word can be pronounced the same even with four of its letters removed?

Yesterday’s Answers to the Mind Stretchers:

Why did the bicycle fall over? — it was TWO TIRED 😂 Chris Hostetler got this correct! 🌞 

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