Today in Research: Saving Lives With a Penny-Per-Ounce Soda Tax

Discovered: Greenland's darkening ice, ballsy women don't get raises either, a penny-per-ounce soda tax would save 26,000 lives, divorce is bad for health, two new species.

• A penny-per-ounce soda tax would save 26,000 lives per year. Not the most popular legislation, as it targets low-income families, having just a $0.12 tax on a can of Coke would save lives. Researchers from UCSF estimate that the tax would decrease soda consumption by 15 percent among adults ages 25-64. That reduction would save 26,000 lives, prevent 95,000 coronary heart events, and  8,000 strokes, avoiding more than $17 billion in medical costs. [UCSF]

• Divorce is bad for you. Divorced individuals have a whole host of health problems, including a 23 percent higher risk of dying, found a meta-analysis of literature published about the health of separated couples. The researchers compared the public health risk of divorce to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Though, we imagine unhappily married folk would resort to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, or some other unhealthy habit, too, so it's a lose-lose either way. [University of Arizona]

Read the full story at The Atlantic Wire.