Study casts doubt on nutritional benefits of organic food

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 20 (ANI): A new research has cast doubt on the nutritional benefits of organic food by showing that wild garden birds prefer conventional seed to that which has been organically- grown.

The three-year study by Newcastle University has found that wild birds are not swayed by the organic label, but instead prefer the more protein-rich, conventional food that will help them to survive the winter.

Lead researcher Dr. Ailsa McKenzie said the findings were likely to be of “considerable interest to the general public in the debate over the relative merits of consuming organic food.”

Dr. McKenzie, based in the School of Biology at Newcastle University said: “Our results suggest that the current dogma that organic food is preferred to conventional food may not always be true. Protein is an essential nutrient in the diet of all birds and mammals and getting enough of it – especially in winter – can be hard. We showed that when given free choice, wild birds opt for the conventional food over the organic, and the most likely explanation is its higher protein content.”

To carry out the study, the Newcastle team set up feeding stations in more than 30 gardens across the North of England. Organic and non-organic wheat seeds (both of the same variety) were placed in adjacent bird feeders and then the rate at which the birds ate the different seeds was monitored over a six week period.

Half way through the experiment the feeders were swapped around. The experiment was repeated in a second winter with different wheat samples.

The birds showed a strong preference for the conventional seed, eating significantly more of this than the organic. When the feeder positions were switched, the birds learned the new position of the conventional seed and continued to select it in preference to the organic.

Analysis of the wheat found the conventionally-grown seeds to have an average 10 per cent higher protein content than the organic seeds. Other differences between the samples (e.g. in mycotoxin levels, grain size, energy content or pesticide residues) could not explain the preferences shown by the birds.

The garden bird work was confirmed by laboratory studies on canaries, also showing a significant preference for conventionally- over organically-grown seeds.

Dr. McKenzie explained: “Conventionally-grown crops tend to contain significantly higher levels of protein than those grown organically due to the application of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers in conventional farming systems. This makes our findings potentially applicable across many food types and suggests the issues surrounding organic food are not as cut and dried as some might think.”

The study has been published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. (ANI)

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Report shows intern aired work worries before suicide

April 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New South Wales Health documents show a rural hospital intern who committed suicide had been told it was normal for a junior doctor to be in charge of two surgical teams over the Christmas period.

Dr William Huynh, 26, died at Wagga Wagga Hospital, in southern New South Wales, in January last year. His friends say the Newcastle University graduate was overworked and stressed, but health officials have rejected the claims.

The ABC has obtained a copy of the internal NSW Health report into the suicide. It shows a month before his death, Dr Huynh wanted to discuss his workload with hospital officials, as his upcoming roster had him covering and supporting two surgical teams.

He raised the issue again four days later and was told it was normal practice for a junior doctor to cover two surgical teams in a non-busy period and that it would be like working the weekend.

The matter was raised a third time, with Dr Huynh saying things were much better, but six days later he took his life.

The internal report shows the intern had slightly higher unrostered overtime hours compared to his peers but he did not deal with an excessive number of patients.

The investigation found the intern’s death was not predictable. It was unable to determine any causative factor for the suicide.

The report says the investigation into Dr Huynh’s death was limited due to the circumstances surrounding the event at a rural hospital.

It says family and personal issues were unable to be addressed due to the nature of the incident.

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Marine ecosystems under threat from ocean acidification

March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, March 29 (ANI): Experiments by a team of scientists has determined that acidification of the oceans as a result of increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) could have significant effects on marine ecosystems.

Postgraduate researcher Michael Maguire, together with colleagues at Newcastle University, performed experiments in which they simulated ocean acidification as predicted by current trends of CO2 emissions.

The group found that the decrease in ocean pH (increased acidity) resulted in a sharp decline of a biogeochemically important group of bacteria known as the Marine Roseobacter clade.

“This is the first time that a highly important bacterial group has been observed to decline in significant numbers with only a modest decrease in pH,” said Maguire.

The Marine Roseobacter clade is responsible for breaking down a sulphur compound called dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) that is produced by photosynthesising plankton.

This end product is taken up and used by numerous bacteria as an important source of sulphur.

A fraction of DMSP is turned into Dimethylsulfide (DMS) – a naturally occurring gas that influences the Earth’s climate.

DMS encourages the formation of clouds that reflect solar radiation back into space leading to a cooling of the earth’s surface.

Maguire’s group hypothesizes that the decline of the Marine Roseobacter clade through ocean acidification may alter the release of DMS into the atmosphere and affect the amount of available sulphur.

He believes this will have a significant impact on the ocean’s productivity and the overall global climate system.

“Ocean acidification will not only have large scale consequences for marine ecosystems but also socio-economical consequences due to changes in fish stocks and erosion of coral reefs,” he explained. (ANI)

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Typing tracker could spot paedophiles

March 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, March 26 (ANI): Paedophiles trying to lure children through the web may be tracked down in future by the way they type on a keyboard.

Professor Roy Maxion from the Newcastle University has developed a technique to identify typists’ age, sex and culture in just ten keystrokes.

Former Northumbria Police Detective chief inspector Phil Butler, who is the head of the universities CyberCrime and Computer Security department, explained how the system functions.

“Professor Maxion takes 50 people at a time and hooks their fingers up to electronic sensors, then videos, monitors and records their typing patterns, speeds and rhythms with a very accurate clock,” the Sun quoted him as saying.

He added: “He can now identify anyone using a keyboard within a 95 per cent accuracy within ten keystrokes.

“As soon as you type ten numbers or letters he can work out your sex, your culture, your age and whether you have any hand injuries.

“In general women”s typing tends to flow more and is a little quicker. You”d expect men”s typing to be a little more heavy-handed and apparently that”s the case.

“We”re looking at the application of the research, particularly in relation to internet grooming. If children are talking to each other on Windows Live or MSN messenger, Microsoft might be able to see if there”s an adult on there.”

The CyberCrime and Computer Security department, which was formed last summer, believes the new technology could also be used to prevent fraud at devices such as cash machines. (ANI)

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Seaweed can fight obesity

March 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, March 22 (ANI): Seaweed could hold the key to conquering obesity, scientists believe.

Their research shows that it can reduce fat uptake by more than 75 per cent.

Now, scientists at Newcastle University are adding the seaweed fibre to bread and launching trials to see if foods can be developed which can even help people lose weight.

The research team, led by Dr Iain Brownlee and Prof Jeff Pearson, has found that dietary fibre in one of the world”s largest commercially used seaweed could reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the body by around 75 per cent.

The team found that Alginate – a natural fibre found in sea kelp – stops the body from absorbing fat better than most anti-obesity treatments currently

available over the counter.

Using an artificial gut, they tested the effectiveness of more than 60 different natural fibres by measuring the amount of fat that was digested and absorbed with each treatment.

Brownlee said the next step is to recruit volunteers and study whether the effects they have modelled in the lab can be reproduced in real people, and whether such foods are truly acceptable in a normal diet.

“The aim of this study was to put these products to the test and our initial findings are that alginates significantly reduce fat digestion,” said Brownlee.

“This suggests that if we can add the natural fibre to products commonly eaten daily – such as bread, biscuits and yoghurts – up to three quarters of the fat contained in that meal could simply pass through the body.

“We have already added the alginate to bread and initial taste tests have been extremely encouraging. Now the next step to carry out clinical trials to find out how effective they are when eaten as part of a normal diet,” Brownlee dded.

The findings have been presented at the American Chemical Society Spring meeting in San Francisco. (ANI)

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Seaweed can fight obesity

March 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Seaweed could hold the key to conquering obesity, scientists believe.

Their research shows that it can reduce fat uptake by more than 75 per cent.

Now, scientists at Newcastle University are adding the seaweed fibre to bread and launching trials to see if foods can be developed which can even help people lose weight.

The research team, led by Dr Iain Brownlee and Prof Jeff Pearson, has found that dietary fibre in one of the world’s largest commercially used seaweed could reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the body by around 75 per cent.

The team found that Alginate – a natural fibre found in sea kelp – stops the body from absorbing fat better than most anti-obesity treatments currently available over the counter.

Using an artificial gut, they tested the effectiveness of more than 60 different natural fibres by measuring the amount of fat that was digested and absorbed with each treatment.

Brownlee said the next step is to recruit volunteers and study whether the effects they have modelled in the lab can be reproduced in real people, and whether such foods are truly acceptable in a normal diet.

“The aim of this study was to put these products to the test and our initial findings are that alginates significantly reduce fat digestion,” said Brownlee.

“This suggests that if we can add the natural fibre to products commonly eaten daily – such as bread, biscuits and yoghurts – up to three quarters of the fat contained in that meal could simply pass through the body.

“We have already added the alginate to bread and initial taste tests have been extremely encouraging. Now the next step to carry out clinical trials to find out how effective they are when eaten as part of a normal diet,” Brownlee dded.

The findings have been presented at the American Chemical Society Spring meeting in San Francisco.
ANI

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Tourists putting dolphins at risk in Zanzibar

March 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, March 17 (ANI): A study of bottlenose dolphins living off the coast of Zanzibar has found that the many tourist boats operating in the area are harassing the animals, preventing them from resting, feeding and nurturing their young.

The research, led by Dr Per Berggren of Newcastle University, also highlighted swimming with dolphins – in particular where tourists swim in very close and try to touch the dolphins – as being incredibly stressful for the animals.

This is the reason why tourists wanting to watch and swim with dolphins are now being urged to keep their distance in a bid to protect both the animals and the local communities whose livelihoods depend on them.

According to the researchers, regulation of the dolphin tourism industry is “urgently needed” to minimize the potential long-term negative impact on the animals.

“The current situation in Zanzibar is unsustainable. The local community is dependent on tourism – and therefore the dolphins – but unless the activity is regulated the animals will leave,” Dr Berggren said.

“Our study found that whenever the tourist boats were present the dolphins were very unsettled and spent less time feeding, socialising or resting. This has a negative impact, not only on individual animals, but on the population as a whole and long term it could be devastating,” he said.

“The problem is that any change needs to be tourist-driven. Many visitors will pay drivers extra in tips to steer their boats in close, herding the dolphins so they can dive right in amongst them. Our message is, keep your distance and put the dolphins first,” he added.

Watching the dolphins over a period of 40 days, the research team found that in the presence of the tourist boats, the time the dolphins spent resting dropped from 38 per cent of the time to 10 per cent while the time they spent foraging and socialising dropped from 19 and 10 per cent to just 10 and 4 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, travelling behaviour more than doubled in proportion, from 33 to 77 per cent, becoming by far the most dominant activity state during interactions with tourist boats.

“Overall, the dolphins are using more energy than they are taking in because they aren’t resting or feeding as much but are swimming more as they try to avoid the tourist boats,” explained Dr Berggren. (ANI)

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Ancient oceans yield clues to the origins of animal life on Earth

September 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 10 (ANI): Analysis of a rock type found only in the world’s oldest oceans has shed new light on how large animals first got a foothold on the Earth.

By analysing the isotopes of chromium in iron-rich sediments formed in the ancient oceans, a scientific team, led by Professor Robert Frei at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, has found that a rise in atmospheric oxygen levels 580 million years ago was closely followed by the evolution of animal life.

The data offers new insight into how animal life – and ultimately humans – first came to roam the planet.

“Because animals evolved in the sea, most previous research has focussed on oceanic oxygen levels,” explained Newcastle University’s Dr Simon Poulton, one of the authors of the research paper.

“Our research confirms for the first time that a rise in atmospheric oxygen was the driving force for oxygenation of the oceans 580 million years ago, and that this was the catalyst for the evolution of large complex animals,” he added.

Distinctive chromium isotope signals occur when continental rocks are altered and weathered as a result of oxygen levels rising in the atmosphere.

The chromium released by this weathering is then washed into the seas and deposited in the deepest oceans – trapped in iron-rich rocks on the sea bed.

Using this new data, the research team has not only been able to establish the trigger for the evolution of animals, but have also demonstrated that oxygen began to pulse into the atmosphere earlier than previously thought.

“Oxygen levels actually began to rise 2.8 billion years ago,” explained Dr Poulton.

“But, instead of this rise being steady and gradual over time, what we saw in our data was a very unstable situation with short-lived episodes of free oxygen in the atmosphere early in Earth’s history, followed by plummeting levels around 2 billion years ago,” he said.

“It was not until a second rise in atmospheric oxygen 580 million years ago that larger complex animals were able to get a foothold on the Earth,” he added. (ANI)

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Now, a simple computer game that can help stop smammers in their tracks

July 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, July 16 (ANI): Computer scientists at Newcastle University have come up with a simple game that can turn a tedious manual labelling task into a form of light entertainment, and simultaneously help companies improve their chances of tackling online spammers.

Dr. Jeff Yan and his PhD student Su-Yang Yu call their innovation ‘Magic Bullet’.

The researchers highlight the fact that commercial websites like Google and Yahoo use Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) to defend against malicious Internet bots, which spread junk emails or grab thousands of free email accounts.

They say that a common approach to testing its robustness is to try and attack or break the scheme.

According to them, this involves acquiring a set of labelled samples, but as computers find it difficult to recognise distorted test or images, this task usually falls to human researchers.

“Manually labelling samples is tedious and expensive. For the first time, this simple game turns it into a fun experience with a serious application as it also achieves a labelling accuracy of as high as 98 per cent,” says Dr. Yan.

Since spammers can misuse computer programs that can automatically bypass a heavily used CAPTCHA, it is important for researchers to understand and improve the robustness of the system in order to stay one step ahead.

To fully evaluate the robustness of a CAPTCHA scheme, at least 10,000 segments usually have to be labelled – a task that cannot be automated.

Dr. Yan and Yu say that their Magic Bullet is a dual-purpose online shooting game that can be played just for fun, but also contributes to solving a real problem.

Players are randomly pitched against each other, with two in each team. They cannot communicate with each other, and security techniques are used to ensure that they are geographically apart to reduce the likelihood of cheating.

Just in case there are not enough human players, one of two types of bots-a Data Relay Bot that replays data from old games or a Tailored Response Bot that acts according to an opposing team’s performance-will be introduced.

A randomly chosen segmented CAPTCHA character appears in each round, and shoots towards the target only when both players correctly identify it before their opponents.

Although the computer does not know which character each of the segments is, the answers given by the winning team can be accurate labels for the segments in the majority of cases.

The researchers have also included a high scoring table in the game in order to encourage players to return to improve on a previous score.

“An average game session produced 25 correct labels per minute, giving 1,500 per hour. Although this is not particularly fast, if touch typists were used it would be noticeably improved, and also players need time to get to know how the game works,” says Dr. Yan.

“As this game supports a large number of parallel sessions, which are limited only by the network bandwidth and game server’s CPU and memory, there is also a lot of scope to increase the labelling rate dramatically,” he adds.

A presentation on the research team’s findings were made at the ongoing IJCAI’09, a leading artificial intelligence conference in Pasadena, CA, USA. (ANI)

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Now, a website to help dads read bedtime tales to kids even when not around

July 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne July 12 (ANI): Fathers who fear not being able to get home at time to read their kids bedtime stories can sigh in relief for a new website offers them the chance to do so with remote reading.

British website FiveDads.com prompts fathers to read one of 15 popular stories into their computer’s microphone for a fee of about 10 dollars.

Hi-tech software then records the voice of fathers reading a story along with addition features such as music and sound effects.

The audio file is then emailed to the child.

Audio editor Chris Coombs came up with the idea for his daughter when he had to shift to Canada after the New York terror attacks.

“We realised we could be providing something for people to make a connection with their kids that otherwise they could never have,” News.com.au quoted him as saying.

But relationship experts seemed less convinced, saying the alternative could not take the place of the traditional story telling techniques.

Newcastle University families and fathers research program leader Dr Richard Fletcher said: “Reading involves a whole lot of relationship building, that is why it is important. It is not just because that is a way children build up their word skills and language functionality.”

He added: “But you wouldn’t mix up the effect of sitting physically reading with your child to getting an email about it. We want dads to read to kids so that they become a part of that world that children inhabit.” (ANI)

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Egyptian dig may reveal tombs of Anthony and Cleopatra

April 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, April 16 (ANI): Archaeologists are all set to search three sites in Egypt that they say may contain the tomb of doomed lovers Anthony and Cleopatra.

According to a report by BBC News, excavation at the sites, which are near a temple west of the coastal city of Alexandria, is due to begin next week.

Teams working in the area said the recent discovery of tombs containing 10 mummies suggested that Anthony and Cleopatra might be buried close by.

The teams also found a bust of Cleopatra and coins carrying her image.

The archaeologists from Egypt and the Dominican Republic have been excavating at the temple of Taposiris Magna, which was built during the reign of King Ptolemy II (282-246BC), for the last three years.

There they discovered a series of deep shafts in which it is thought that Anthony and Cleopatra might be buried, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities said in a statement.

Alongside the coins and bust of Cleopatra, a mask believed to belong to Mark Anthony was also found.

Anthony and Cleopatra committed suicide in 30BC after losing the Battle of Actium.

The coins found at the temple refuted “what some scholars have said about Cleopatra being very ugly,” according to Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s chief archaeologist.

“The finds from Taposiris reflect a charm, and indicate that Cleopatra was in no way unattractive,” he said.

A team of experts from Newcastle University said two years ago that another set of coins showed the beauty of Anthony and Cleopatra portrayed in popular culture to have been exaggerated. (ANI)

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Drop in daddy long legs devastating bird populations

March 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, March 27 (ANI): A new research has determined that warm summers are dramatically reducing populations of daddy long legs, which in turn is having a severe impact on the bird populations which rely on them for food.

The new research, by a team of bird experts, including Newcastle University’s Dr Mark Whittingham, spells out for the first time how climate change may affect upland bird species like the golden plover – perhaps pushing it towards local extinction by the end of the century.

It also points a way forward to how we can attempt to strengthen habitats to help wildlife adapt to our changing climate and prevent such consequences.

Previous research has shown how changes in the timing of the golden plover breeding season as a result of increasing spring temperatures might affect their ability to match the spring emergence of their cranefly (daddy long legs) prey.

The new research shows the true effects are much more severe.

Higher temperatures in late summer are killing the cranefly larvae, resulting in a drop of up to 95 per cent in the number of adult craneflies emerging the following spring.

With these craneflies providing a crucial food source for a wide range of upland birds like the golden plover, this means starvation and death for many chicks.

“The population of Golden Plovers in our study will likely be extinct in around 100 years if temperature predictions are correct and the birds cannot adapt to feed on other prey sources,” explained Newcastle University’s Dr Mark Whittingham, who worked on the study with scientists from RSPB Scotland and Aberystwyth and Manchester universities.

“Our study models the impacts of climate change on the ecology of the animal. In this case, we show that higher August temperatures, as predicted from climate change models, are correlated with lower numbers of daddy-long legs,” he added.

“Daddy long-leg abundance is key for Golden Plover chicks in terms of growth and survival. Worryingly, our work is likely to apply to other upland bird species that also rely on daddy-long legs as a prey resource, such as Curlew,” he further added. (ANI)

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Cows with names produce more milk

January 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Jan 28 (ANI): Cows with names make 3.4 percent more milk in a year than those animals who’re not named, say UK scientists.

The research, which involved 516 dairy farmers, was conducted by Dr Catherine Douglas and Dr Peter Rowlinson at Newcastle University.

The study found that treating the animals as individuals also increased production.

The average amount of milk produced by a cow over its annual 10 month lactation period is 13,198 pints (7,500 litres). Those cows with names had an average higher milk yield of 454 pints (258 litres), reports the Telegraph.

Dr Douglas, from the School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development at Newcastle University, said: “Just as people respond better to the personal touch, cows also feel happier and more relaxed if they are given a bit more one-to-one attention.

“Many farmers dote on their cows and have long thought that such interaction helps, but it has never really been tested.

“The statistics were significantly different for those cows with name – there was nothing else which could explain it.”

The study, which looks at interaction between people and animals, found milk yield to be lower on farms where cattle were herded as a group.

The study has been published in the academic journal Anthrozoos. (ANI)

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Food ads promoting unhealthy lifestyles: Study

January 20, 2009 By 2 Comments

Washington, Jan 20 (ANI): A British study has found that food advertisements in magazines promoting healthier lifestyles are often contradicting the messages they are trying to put across.

Lead researcher Jean Adams, lecturer in public health at Newcastle University the ads are often promoting products high in sugar and salt and low in fibre.

“Nearly every magazine contains advice on a healthier lifestyle, yet we found the food adverts were for products high in sugar and salt and low in fibre such as ready meals, sauces and confectionary,” said Dr Adams.

“Obviously, it’s up to each of us to decide what we eat but if we’re constantly bombarded with images of unhealthy food every time we pick up a magazine then we’re going to be swayed in what we choose,” she adds.

For the study, the researchers analysed the data on the nutritional content of the foods advertised in 30 most widely-read weekly magazines during November 2007.

The findings revealed that foods in the adverts found that the products advertised were generally much higher in sugar and salt, and lower in fibre than the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.

Over a quarter of the food adverts (25.5pct) were for ready-meals, sauces and soups, which tend to be high in salt and sugar.

Almost 23pct of the foods advertised were categorised as “containing fat or sugar” including products such as ice-cream, chocolate bars, sweets and full sugar soft drinks.

More of these adverts were found in magazines with a higher proportion of women readers or readers of a lower social class.

In contrast, very few of the ads, only 1.8pct, were for fruit and vegetables and these were mainly in high-end magazines.

“Health bodies and the government are trying to encourage all of us to eat a healthier diet, yet we found that many of the magazines, especially those targeting lower-income families are full of adverts promoting food that is largely unhealthy,” said Adams.

“Families are facing so many social pressures that it’s a constant battle to stay on the right track when choosing and preparing meals and these adverts are doing little to help,” Adams added.

The study has been published in the European Journal of Public Health. (ANI)

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