Tag Archive for 'Diet'

Petrodactyle wellnhoferi. Scale bar - 10 cm. Image credit: Hone et al., doi: 10.26879/1251.

Jurassic Pterosaur Had Giant Bony Crest on Its Head

Jul 17, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of the ctenochasmatid pterosaur genus Petrodactyle has been described from an unusual specimen found in the Late Jurassic limestone beds...

Tiny placoid scales of Otodus megalodon compared to a tip of a 0.5-mm mechanical pencil lead on the bottom right corner. Image credit: Kenshu Shimada / DePaul University.

Study: Megalodon was Slow Cruising Shark with Occasional Burst Swimming for Prey Capture

Jul 12, 2023 by News Staff

Otodus megalodon, a megatooth shark that lived between 23 and 3.6 million years ago, was not a fast swimmer, but it had a mega-appetite explaining its...

The 2,000-year-old fresco in Pompeii showing what may be an ancestor of modern pizza. Image credit: Pompeii archeological park.

Pompeii Fresco Depicts ‘Possible Ancestor’ of Italian Pizza

Jul 11, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A 2,000-year-old still life fresco depicting a flat focaccia (Italian flatbread) has been found among the ruins of Pompeii, an ancient Roman city frozen...

Life reconstruction of Anomalocaris. Image credit: Katrina Kenny.

Cambrian Radiodont Was Speedy, But Not Strong Enough to Crack Trilobite Shells

Jul 5, 2023 by News Staff

Anomalocaris canadensis — the iconic 60-cm radiodont from the 508-million-year-old Burgess Shale of Canada — is one of the largest Cambrian...

Thompson et al. investigated whether supplementing older adults with monthly doses of vitamin D alters the incidence of major cardiovascular events.

Monthly Vitamin D May Prevent Heart Attacks in Older People, Study Shows

Jun 30, 2023 by News Staff

New research indicates that vitamin D supplementation might reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events, particularly myocardial infarction and...

Habitual coffee consumers justify their life choices by arguing that they become more alert and increase motor and cognitive performance and efficiency; however, these subjective impressions still do not have a neurobiological correlation. Using functional connectivity approaches to study resting-state fMRI data in a group of habitual coffee drinkers, Picó-Pérez et al. show that coffee consumption decreased connectivity of the posterior default mode network (DMN) and between the somatosensory/motor networks and the prefrontal cortex, while the connectivity in nodes of the higher visual and the right executive control network (RECN) is increased after drinking coffee; the data also show that caffeine intake only replicated the impact of coffee on the posterior DMN, thus disentangling the neurochemical effects of caffeine from the experience of having a coffee. Image credit: Sci.News.

Study: Boost from Morning Coffee Can’t Be Replicated with Plain Caffeine

Jun 29, 2023 by News Staff

Plain caffeine only partially reproduces the effects of drinking a cup of coffee, activating areas of the brain that make you feel more alert but not the...

Japanese Plum Juice Concentrate Improves Cardiovascular Health

Jun 14, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Fruit from the Japanese plum tree (Prunus mume) is a traditional food in Japan. Traditionally referred to as ‘Ume,’ the raw fruit contains toxins,...

Dopamine release following intragastric glucose and lipid infusions in lean participants and participants with obesity before and after weight loss. Image credit: van Galen et al., doi: 10.1038/s42255-023-00816-9.

Brain Responses to Nutrients are Severely Impaired in Humans with Obesity, Study Shows

Jun 13, 2023 by News Staff

Importantly, the impaired neuronal responses are not restored after diet-induced weight loss, according to a new study led by Amsterdam University Medical...

Life reconstruction of the extinct bear-dog Amphicyon ingens, a very distant relative of Eoarctos vorax. Image credit: Roman Uchytel.

Oligocene-Period Raccoon-Like Mammal Had Mollusk-Based Diet

Jun 8, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in the United States have identified a new genus and species of early arctoid from an exquisitely preserved skeleton found in North Dakota’s...

Dave et al. demonstrated that grape consumption does not perturb the eubiotic state of the microbiome with normal, healthy human subjects; grape consumption does change taxonomic composition of the microbiome, enzyme levels, KEGG pathways, and the metabolome. Image credit: NoName_13.

Grape Consumption Modulates Human Microbiome, Study Suggests

May 29, 2023 by Natali Anderson

In new research, scientists from Western New England University and elsewhere investigated the potential of grapes to modulate the human microbiome and...

Yeung et al. examined the effect of daily multivitamin/multimineral supplementation on memory in older adults. Image credit: Ri Butov.

Daily Multivitamin Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults, New Study Finds

May 25, 2023 by News Staff

Multivitamin supplementation holds promise as a safe and accessible approach to maintaining cognitive health in older age, according to new research led...

Stelladens mysteriosus. Image credit: Nick Longrich.

Cretaceous-Period Mosasaur Had Unique ‘Screwdriver Teeth’

May 18, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described an unusual new species of mosasaur based on a fossilized partial jaw and associated tooth crowns from phosphatic deposits...

Neanderthals are commonly thought to have relied on dangerous close range hunting techniques, using non-projectile weapons like the thrusting spears depicted here; this hunting approach is thought to have brought them into violent contact with large mammals, resulting in high levels of injury especially to the head and neck when compared to modern humans; Beier et al found similar head injury levels in both Neanderthals and Upper Paleolithic humans, casting doubt on this hypothesis. Image credit: Gleiver Prieto.

Strontium Isotope Analysis Provides Insights into Hunting Habits and Diets of Neanderthals

May 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

In new research, scientists examined chemical properties locked inside tooth enamel of two Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals and a Magdalenian human from...

Watermelons. Image credit: Jorge Furber.

Regular Watermelon Consumption Improves Heart Health and Diet Quality, Two Studies Suggest

May 5, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Two new studies in the journal Nutrients suggest that watermelon consumption can increase nutrient intake and overall diet quality in both children and...

An artist’s impression of Mukupirna nambensis living in central Australia that was much greener 25 million years ago. Image credit: Peter Schouten.

Strange Wombat Relative Once Lived in Australia

Mar 30, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Mukupirna fortidentata looked a bit like a modern wombat crossed with a marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex). An artist’s impression of Mukupirna nambensis...

Life reconstruction of Ektopodon serratus (top left), a relative of Chunia pledgei, and the marsupial lion Wakaleo oldfieldi (right). Image credit: Peter Schouten / CC BY-SA.

Bizarre Possum Species Lived in Australia 25 Million Years Ago

Mar 29, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of ektopodontid possum has been described from Oligocene-age fossils found in central Australia. Life reconstruction of Ektopodon serratus...

Genetically predicted, lifelong, higher plasma caffeine concentrations were associated with lower body mass index and fat mass, as well as a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Image credit: Sci.News.

Study: Higher Blood Caffeine Levels Might Reduce Body Fat and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Mar 27, 2023 by News Staff

Karolinska Institutet researcher Susanna Larsson and colleagues investigated the potential causal effects of long term plasma caffeine concentrations on...

In two large population-based cohorts, Ochoa-Rosales et al. observed longitudinal associations between higher habitual coffee consumption and lower risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Image credit: Sci.News.

Coffee Consumption Reduces Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, New Study Suggests

Mar 24, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Coffee is among the most consumed beverages worldwide. Coffee consumption has been associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but underlying mechanisms...

Using an interventional study in healthy, normal-weight participants, Thanarajah et al. demonstrate that, independent of body weight gain and alterations in metabolic markers, exposure to high-fat/high-sugar food: (i) reduces preferences for low-fat food, (ii) plays a critical role in up-regulating brain responses to anticipation and consumption of highly palatable, energy-dense food, and (iii) has a generalized effect on the neuronal encoding of prediction errors in the context of associative learning and independent of food rewards. Taken together, repeated consumption of high-fat/high-sugar relative to isocaloric low-fat/low-sugar food, and in the absence of changes in body weight or metabolic state, can rewire brain circuits and thereby induce neurobehavioral adaptations. Hence, changing the food environment and reducing the availability of energy-dense high-fat/high-sugar food items is pivotal to combating the obesity pandemic. Image credit: Thanarajah et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.02.015.

Daily Consumption of Sweet and Fatty Snacks Alters Our Reward Circuits: Study

Mar 23, 2023 by News Staff

Western diets rich in fat and sugar promote excess calorie intake and weight gain; however, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. To close this gap, researchers...

Duan et al. identified a mechanism of intestinal Th17 cell differentiation that emerges from an intestinal epithelial cell-associated an unfolded protein response. Image credit: Duan et al., doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.02.018.

Xanthine Plays Important Role in Gut Health, New Study Suggests

Mar 15, 2023 by News Staff

Xanthine, which is found in coffee, tea and chocolate, may play a role in the generation of interleukin-17-producing T helper (Th17) cells, an important...

«‹4 567 8 ›»