TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| A Lost European Culture, Pulled From Obscurity A little-known people existing before ancient Egypt and Greece’s glory worked with metal and had an evolved visual language. feeds.nytimes.com |
Science, atheism and ironed trousers | Adam Rutherford Listen to Adam read his contribution to The Atheist's Guide to Christmas, edited by Ariane Sherine. The book is out now in print, audio and on iTunes. The contributors and editor have donated their full share of the profits to the Terrence Higgins TrustAdam Rutherford guardian.co.uk |
Government to devise wrongful convictions policy The Queensland Government is moving to introduce a new policy next year to help it deal with criminal cases involving suspected wrongful convictions. abc.net.au |
The gel that makes you feel full Need to shed some pounds? Scientists at Birmingham University aim to help, with research into a diet-suppressing solutionThe season of peace, goodwill and over-indulgence has come and gone. In the cold dawn of January, 'tis the season to shape up and shed the pounds. Unfortunately, however, the more we eat, the more we want to eat. Many a dieter is struggling to come to terms with that paradox following an overindulgent Christmas.Scientists at Birmingham University's school of chemical engineering may, in the not-too-distant future, be able to help. They are one year into a four-year project to find an aid for those who want to cut back on the desire to snack.They have developed an aqueous solution that gels into a solid structure in the stomach, thereby helping to curb appetite. The target market is those for whom bingeing is not just for Christmas, but a habit that dogs them all year round. "But, yes, it could also be used short-term to get back on track after the festive excesses. Why not?" suggests Dr Fotis Spyropoulos, one of the project team.The four-strong team at Birmingham is headed by Professor Ian Norton, formerly chief scientist (foods) at Unilever, and the man who oversaw the development of Flora as an alternative to butter. Unilever is among a group of big manufacturers and retailers who are indirectly financing this and other universities to develop potentially health-enhancing products through the Diet and Health Research Industry Club, otherwise known as Drinc. Other members include Coca-Cola, Cadbury, United Biscuits and Marks & Spencer."To me that means that one or more of these companies see potential for future commercial application," says Spyropoulos. "Two or three years from now, we'll be looking to establish collaborations to market what might be a solution that could be mixed with milk and poured over breakfast cereal to keep you feeling full until lunchtime. Alternatively, it could be taken as one of those dairy-type drinks swigged down between meals when the urge to snack comes on." He adds: "Obesity is now one of the biggest drivers of food-based scientific research. As the issue has moved further and further up the national agenda, it seems to me that consumers have decided to blame the food and drink companies for making their products taste so good."You might think these companies would shy away from investing in any product that suppresses appetite. Not so."They realise that they have to keep consumers happy in all sorts of ways. It comes down to offering a choice. We are involved in developing products that are healthy alternatives to foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar. But we're also looking into reinforcing healthy eating habits and changing unhealthy ones. That's what this project is about."The Birmingham scientists have ﾂｭdeveloped a hydrocolloid, a substance that forms itself into a gel soon after impact with the stomach's acidic environment. They have used naturally occurring polyﾂｭmers that are found in a wide range of foods 窶 starch in bread, for instance. The idea is to make you feel fuller for longer, thereby suppressing the yearning to eat between meals."We now have to work on just how long that suppressant should last," Spyropoulos explains. "Should the effects be timed to wear off five or six hours from breakfast, or two or three hours from being consumed as a mid-morning drink? It's important to us to understand that process so that we can offer an alternative for the consumer."The gel needs to weaken progressively so that it can break down and pass through the digestive tract, allowing the desire to eat to return in time for lunch or dinner, he explains, before adding: "We're also looking at another key element of the formulation 窶 how to get the gel to release energy slowly. When the stomach is full, your brain is triggered to expect a reward in terms of energy. That was a problem encountered by one of the big soft-drink manufacturers when it produced a new range of low-calorie drinks. Consumers were expecting a boost in energy, which wasn't forthcoming. So what did they do? They binged on something else."So this project is about psychology as well as chemistry, he points out. "We've brought in two PhD psychology students to look at consumer habits. When people indulge in food such as chocolate, is it because they have a psychological need to eat something slightly unhealthy as a reward for achievement elsewhere? When you're celebrating, after all, you have a glass of wine or beer rather than a banana. If there is a psychological rather than a physical need to snack, then maybe we should be looking to offer a healthier alternative 窶 something that looks and tastes like chocolate, but isn't chocolate."Chocolate, strawberry or mango and passion fruit 窶 the taste of the appetite-suppressing liquid has yet to be decided. "Flavouring is usually the last stage of any new food development," Spyropoulos confirms. "But it has to be something that consumers would enjoy. Otherwise they won't buy it." You don't need a PhD in psychology to work that one out.ResearchHigher educationUniversity of BirminghamObesityFood scienceFood & drinkChris Arnotguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
New evidence suggests megafauna no match for humans Researchers claim there is now compelling evidence humans were responsible for the demise of Australia's megafauna. abc.net.au |