Pucker up

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today: New research says ultra-processed foods are bad for your muscles; The moon’s sharing some secrets; and it’s official…Maverick’s back!

Let’s get into it!

Older Americans are reportedly becoming increasingly targeted for identity theft by frauds across the country.

According to one study, Americans 60 and older lost about $7.7 billion last year to various types of scams, with identity theft specifically rising by up to 70% on annualized basis.

Credit card fraud is the most common mechanism used to steal someone’s identity, but older Americans are also frequently targeted for bank account takeovers, in which someone gains direct access to the victim’s bank account, and medical identity theft, in which Social Security and/or Medicare data are stolen and used for fraudulent purposes.

In the vast majority of identity theft cases, frauds will impersonate government officials or others in trusted positions of authority.

Bad actors are becoming more sophisticated in their endeavors, but there are several ways to remain protected from their advances. For example, never give out any kind of sensitive information—such as credit card, Social Security, or Medicare numbers—to anyone asking for it on an unsolicited call, email, or text message.

Furthermore, regularly check your bank and credit card statements to make sure you recognize all the transactions on it, enable multi-factor authentication for login credentials, and always be skeptical of anyone making urgent demands for money or information.

A study published in Radiology, by researchers at the University of California San Francisco, suggests that in addition to known health risks posed by ultra-processed foods, there are also threats to muscle health.

Muscles work with the help of two types of fat: intermuscular and intramuscular. The former is typically found in streaks between the muscles, and the latter in droplets found inside the muscles. The study zeroed in on how ultra-processed foods affect these types of fat.

The researchers recruited 615 study participants with an average age of 60, most of whom were either overweight or obese, and all of whom had a risk for osteoarthritis in the knees.

After analyzing the participants’ body mass indexes, diets, and exercise levels, they found that regardless of BMI or exercise frequency, those who consumed more ultra-processed foods had larger streaks of intermuscular fat, which negatively impacted the way the knee joints absorbed the force of thigh muscle movement.

“We thought maybe it was just obesity or belly fat, which you get with high caloric intake. But it was more than that,” said Dr. Thomas Link, chief of the musculoskeletal imaging section at the University of California San Francisco and the senior author of the study.

Both the Earth and moon are hit by space rocks all the time. The difference is that while the vast majority of them burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere, the moon doesn’t have an atmosphere—or wind, or weather—and ends up getting hit with the full force of each object.

Every now and then, an object really leaves its mark. After all, there’s a reason people like to say the moon is made out of Swiss cheese.

Most of its craters were formed millions or billions of years ago, including during the Late Heavy Bombardment. However, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) recently captured data revealing a crater that formed on the moon in the spring of 2024.

The crater is about 738 feet wide, making it by far the largest one detected by the LRO during the 17 years it’s been operating, and 140 feet deep. It’s surrounded by rocks that ejected from the hole during impact, which likely produced an explosion from the heat and energy released during the collision.

NASA researchers who presented their findings at a conference last week noted an impact of this scale typically only happens once every 139 years.

Top Gun 3 is officially in the works, with Tom Cruise returning once again to play Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the third instalment of the franchise that began in 1986.

The second instalment, Top Gun: Maverick, came out 36 years after the original during a time when movie theatres were in dire straits, both as a consequence of the pandemic and the slow-moving decline of in-theatre entertainment in general due to the rise of streaming.

Maverick grossed $1.5 billion around the world on a $170 million budget.

Given it came out 36 years later, the plot featured Maverick going back to the academy to help train the next generation of fighter pilots, including Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of Maverick’s best friend, Pete “Goose” Bradshaw, who died in the original film.

No plot details have been revealed about the script of Top Gun 3 yet, though it’s likely to be something of a conclusion to the story of California strike fighter school and its star renegade alumnus.

It’s 4/20, dude

It’s 4/20 and you know what that means…we’ve got a wacky quiz for you today. Sit back and get ready to laugh as we take a look at those high times from the ’70s and ’80s, with today’s trivia.

Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 eGift card.

Winner will be notified on Tuesday afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox and don’t forget to check your spam folder! *