Why dieters struggle to lose weight
NEW YORK - Dieters struggle to lose weight because a lack of nutrition forces their brain cells to eat themselves, making the feeling of hunger even stronger, scientists claim.
Like other parts of the body, brain cells begin to eat themselves as a last-ditch source of energy to ward off starvation, a study found.
The body responds by turning up the hunger signal in the brain and increasing the impulse to eat.
Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York said the findings could lead to new scientifically proven weight loss treatments.
Tests on mice found that stopping the brain cells from eating themselves - a process known as autophagy - prevented levels of hunger from rising in response to starvation.
This caused mice to become lighter and slimmer after a period of fasting, the researchers reported in the journal Cell Metabolism.
Dr Rajat Singh, who led the study, said that treatments aimed to recreate this process "might make you less hungry and burn more fat, a good way to maintain energy balance in a world where calories are cheap and plentiful".
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I feel that this research could prove useful to dieters as it might help in their process of losing weight. It is an interesting find as this method of stopping brain cells from eating themselves to prevent levels of hunger from rising is very unique. As brain cells begin to eat themselves for a last ditch source of energy, it actually makes the feeling of hunger even stronger. Hence, by utilising this process of autophagy, it can prevent brain cells from eating themselves, thus assisting these dieters in losing weight while maintaining energy sufficient for the body. However, more research has to be done to prove that this actually works. The test on mice has to be analysed more carefully before this process is meted out. Mice actually share 99% of the genes with humans and from this test, we can tell that it actually works, after the process of autophagy caused the mice to become lighter and slimmer after a period of fasting. If this research is successful, dieters would have an easier time losing weight and would not have to endure the feeling of hunger as compared to before.
Water flowing on Mars? Maybe ...
PHOENIX - New images of dark finger-like channels on Mars may be the strongest evidence yet of water flowing on its surface.
Images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show many long, dark "tendrils" a few metres wide, which scientists claim could be streams of water running down the sides of craters.
More than a thousand dark trails were observed running down some slopes in Mars's southern hemisphere during warm periods of the year, fading in the autumn.
There are more trails on the warmer, sun-facing parts of the planet, which would be consistent with water that flows in summer and freezes in winter.
Researchers from the University of Arizona said that salty water was the "best explanation" for the markings, which are between 0.5m and 5m wide and run for hundreds of metres down some craters.
Although the images do not provide definitive proof of salt water on Mars, scientists claim that temperatures on the sun-facing areas of the planet's surface would be too warm for frozen carbon dioxide and too cold for pure water.
Salt lowers water's freezing temperature meaning that despite the coldness of Mars, water as salty as Earth's oceans could melt in the planet's warmer season.
"The best explanation for these observations so far is the flow of briny water," said Dr Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona.
Scientists have long believed water probably flowed on Mars in its distant past but have so far only detected samples of frozen water near the surface.
"NASA's Mars Exploration Programme keeps bringing us closer to determining whether the planet could harbour life in some form and it reaffirms Mars as an important future destination for human exploration," said NASA spokesman Charles Bolden. THE GUARDIAN
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The possible presence of liquid water is certain to revive speculation that Mars is teeming with microbial organisms. For life to thrive in a particular place, we require liquid water, carbon-based molecules and a source of energy. There is plenty of ice on Mars, but the chemical reactions for life come to a halt when water freezes. So far, images from NASA orbiter suggest that water could be flowing in Mars, but it cannot be concluded until there is further evidence. Mother earth is in a crisis right now, hence we need another destination where human can thrive in. However, evidences have suggested that life would be impossible on other planets; hence the only hope left is on Mars. That is why scientists are desperately trying to get more information about Mars before they deem the place suitable for survival. However, this is very speculative since we really have no idea whether or not there are existing organisms on Mars or whether there was even life on Mars before. As technology gets more advanced, we will soon be able to solve this mystery with further observations and laboratory equipments. Whatever the result is, there is one thing I am sure of: Mars will be an important future destination for human exploration.
Most Europeans descended from King Tut: Study
LONDON - Up to 70 per cent of British men and half of all Western European men are related to the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, geneticists in Switzerland claim.
Scientists at Zurich-based DNA genealogy centre, iGENEA, reconstructed the DNA profile of the boy pharaoh, who ascended the throne at the age of nine, his father Akhenaten and grandfather Amenhotep III, based on a film that was made for the Discovery Channel.
The results showed that King Tut belonged to a genetic profile group, known as haplogroup R1b1a2, to which more than 50 per cent of all men in Western Europe belong, indicating that they share a common ancestor.
Among modern-day Egyptians this haplogroup contingent is below 1 per cent, according to iGENEA.
"It was very interesting to discover that he belonged to a genetic group in Europe - there were many possible groups in Egypt that the DNA could have belonged to," said Professor Roman Scholz, director of the iGENEA Centre.
Around 70 per cent of Spanish and 60 per cent of French men also belong to the genetic group of the Pharaoh who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.
"We think the common ancestor lived in the Caucasus about 9,500 years ago," Prof Scholz told Reuters.
It is estimated that the earliest migration of haplogroup R1b1a2 into Europe began with the spread of agriculture in 7,000BC, according to iGENEA.
However, the geneticists were not sure how Tutankhamun's paternal lineage came to Egypt from its region of origin.
The centre is now using DNA testing to search for the closest living relatives of "King Tut".
"The offer has only been publicised for three days but we have already seen a lot of interest," Prof Scholz told Reuters.
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I feel that this is a rather interesting discovery as it is wonder why most Europeans belonged to an ancient man from another continent. However, I feel that this might not necessarily be true. If we read up on genealogy, no one living today is actually a direct descendent from Tutankhamen. This merely demonstrates and shows that Tutankhamen belongs to the haplogroup R1b1a2. He is a very distant cousin of men living today who share that same haplogroup but not a direct ancestor of them. While some might argue that King Tut had many surviving children as a well-known stelae showed that King Tut, his queen and three of his daughters, all of which had children, I believe that this is highly unlikely. After reading this article, it has deepened my understanding of ancestors. After all, humans share common ancestors with other humans when traced back far enough, whether millionth cousin or closer. Hence, I feel that this data might not be reliable as a person with the same haplogroup does not mean that he is a direct decendent from another ancient person, as he can just be merely a distant cousin of them – which is shown in many species of animals.
