Dangerously Hot Tea, Claustrophobic Cosmonauts
This week, we have two stories about health problems in Iran. In Tehran, more and more people are buying cars, which is causing air pollution and related illnesses. And northeast of Tehran, the province of Golestan is plagued by high rates of esophageal cancer, which a new study suggests results from a local custom—drinking extremely hot tea. Dr. Reza Malekzadeh tells us about his study.
Also: Good news about heart disease, which kills millions of people every year. A relatively new treatment that combines five pills in one—known as the polypill—reduces the risk of heart disease by treating high blood pressure and cholesterol all at once.
Scalding tea and high cholesterol may be bad for your health—but what about going to Mars? This week in Moscow, six men were locked into a space capsule. It’s an experiment to find out how astronauts might cope—or not cope—with a journey to and from Mars. They’ll try to stay in for 100 days, but the real voyage would take more than two years. Keep track of how the volunteers are doing by reading their Mars Diary, hosted by the European Space Agency.
Also this week: A mass toad killing in Australia. Citizens turned in thousands of the invasive cane toads, but researchers say ants may lend a hand—or a mandible—in the future. The Guardian posted video of ants attacking the baby toads. Also: rosy cheeks really do make you look healthy, and your brain may know what it wants before you do.
Music:
Bruce Springsteen, Trapped
T Bone Walker, Vacation
"If there isn’t an incentive to make live tigers worth more than dead tigers, we’ll lose tigers,” says 
