Daily Read 9: Essay Aeon | 100 RCs for Practice - CAT PDF Download

Essay 1

Essay Name: The power of water
By: Giulio Boccaletti (Edited by Pam Weintraub)

A great river encircles the world. It rises in the heartland of the United States and carries more water than the Mississippi and Yangtze rivers combined. 

Read the full essay here: https://aeon.co/essays/a-quantitative-theory-unlocks-the-mysteries-of-why-we-sleep

Summary and Theme

The article discusses the role of water as a potent geopolitical force throughout history, shaping nations and feeding conflicts. It traces the concept of 'virtual water'—water embedded in traded goods like crops—which has been a silent player in the power dynamics between nations. The theme focuses on the historical and ongoing impact of water management and trade on global relations and national power, from ancient civilizations to modern geopolitical strategies.

Difficult Words

• Geopolitical: Relating to politics, especially international relations, as influenced by geographical factors.
• Proleptic: Representing or taking into account future developments or events.
• Hegemon: A leading or major power.
• Agrarian: Concerning land, agriculture, or rural matters.
• Assyriologist: An expert in the history and language of ancient Assyria.
• Theocratic: Relating to a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.
• Despot: A ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way.

Essay 2

Essay Name: Why do we sleep?
By: Van Savage, Geoffrey West (Edited by Sally Davies) 

Humans have long wondered why we sleep. A well-rested prehistoric mind probably pondered the question, long before Galileo thought to predict the period of the pendulum or to understand how fast objects fall.

Read the full essay here: https://aeon.co/essays/a-quantitative-theory-unlocks-the-mysteries-of-why-we-sleep

Summary and Theme

The article explores the enigma of why we sleep, examining the role of sleep in repairing bodily damage and reorganizing neural connections in the brain. It presents a new quantitative theory that suggests the amount of sleep needed varies across species and changes from infancy to adulthood due to metabolic rates and brain size. The theme revolves around the biological necessity of sleep, its impact on health, and the evolution of sleep patterns in relation to body size and brain function.

Difficult Words

• Allometric scaling: A biological principle that the relative growth of a part of an organism is related to the growth of the whole organism in a predictable way.
• Metabolic rate: The rate at which metabolism occurs in a living organism.
• Neural reorganization: The process by which the structure or function of neural connections in the brain is changed.
• Synapse formation: The creation of synapses, which are the points of communication between neurons.
• Prion protein: A normal protein that can become malformed and is associated with certain diseases.
• Haemorrhages: The escape of blood from a ruptured blood vessel, especially when profuse.
• Cerebral ganglion: A cluster of nerve cells in the brain.
• Antioxidants: Substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals.

Essay 3

Essay Name: The food wars
By: Amos Zeeberg (Edited by Pam Weintraub) 

Several years ago, Arla, one of the largest dairy companies in the world, set out to create a product to take advantage of an inviting opportunity.

Read the full essay here: https://aeon.co/essays/will-we-ever-get-a-clear-idea-about-what-foods-we-should-eat

Summary and Theme

The article delves into the complexities of nutritional science and the evolving understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet. It discusses the history of food processing and the shift from simply consuming enough food to focusing on the right kinds of food, highlighting the role of nutrition science in guiding these choices. The theme centers on the challenges of determining the healthfulness of food in an age where food is increasingly engineered by humans, and the struggle to reconcile scientific findings with dietary advice.

Difficult Words

• Nutritional epidemiology: A field of medical research that studies the relationship between diet and health in human populations.
• Confounding variables: Factors other than the independent variable that may cause a result.
• Neurological: Relating to the anatomy, functions, and organic disorders of nerves and the nervous system.
• Vitamine: An old term for vitamins, organic compounds that are essential for normal growth and nutrition and are required in small quantities in the diet because they cannot be synthesized by the body.
• Beriberi: A disease causing inflammation of the nerves and heart failure, caused by a deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine).
• Pellagra: A disease caused by a lack of the vitamin niacin (vitamin B3).
• Rickets: A disease of children caused by vitamin D deficiency, characterized by imperfect calcification, softening, and distortion of the bones typically resulting in bow legs.
• Scurvy: A disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, characterized by swollen bleeding gums and the opening of previously healed wounds, which particularly affected poorly nourished sailors until the end of the 18th century.