From a spider-goat to a twin town, see some weird experiments based on genetics.
Scientists create new life from a mouse that has been frozen for 16 years
"The soul was never put in the body to stand still."
—John Webster
dramatist
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"After carrying out the crime, the corpse was divided up"
Dieters Face Similar Problems as Drug Abusers
By RICK NAUERT PHD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on November 10, 2009
Researchers have discovered irregular eating of foods rich in fat and sugar can cause changes in the brain comparable to those observed in drug dependence.
According to Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) scientists, their findings may explain how abstinence from these foods contributes to relapse eating among dieters as well as related eating disorders.
The findings are reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Forms of obesity and eating disorders can be defined as chronic relapsing conditions with alternating periods of abstinence (dieting to avoid “forbidden” foods, rich in sugar and fat, also known as palatable foods) and relapse (compulsive, often uncontrollable, eating of highly-palatable foods) that continue despite negative consequences.
Although the positive reinforcing properties of palatable foods are well known, less attention has been given to the increased probability of a behavioral response produced by removal of an aversive stimulus (intake of palatable food to relieve negative emotional states).
The researchers used 155 rats to measure the neurobiological responses. The first group, the diet cycled subjects, repeatedly ate standard rat chow for five days, followed by a highly palatable, high-sugar, chocolate-flavored chow for two days.
The second group ate only standard food. The amount of food consumed was not restricted for either group. When the diet-cycled rats were fed standard chow, they showed less motivation to obtain it, refused it, although it was previously acceptable, and they exhibited anxiety.
However when the rats resumed eating the palatable food, they overate and their anxiety-related behaviors returned to normal.
The researchers then looked at the role of the brain’s stress system, which contributes to cycles of drug and alcohol bingeing and withdrawal, in driving these behaviors. They found that during abstinence from palatable foods, the rats showed increased corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) gene expression and peptide in the amygdala, an area of the brain involved in fear, anxiety and stress responses.
Similar to the anxiety, only when the diet-cycled group was fed palatable food did CRF levels return to normal. Importantly, the blockade of the CRF receptor 1 with a selective antagonist was able to prevent all the behavioral outcomes of palatable food withdrawal.
According to the researchers, CRF is a key stress neurotransmitter. “In observing the activation of the amygdaloid CRF system during abstinence from palatable foods, we understood the causes of recurrent dieting failures,” said study co-author Pietro Cottone, PhD, an assistant professor and co-director of the Laboratory of Addictive Disorders in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at BUSM.
“CRF activation during abstinence from palatable foods induces a negative emotional state which is responsible for signs of anxiety and contributes to relapse to ‘forbidden foods,’” added study co-author Valentina Sabino, PhD, an assistant professor and co-Director of the Laboratory of Addictive Disorders in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at BUSM.
“The stress experienced by frequent dieters in abstinence from palatable food has neurobiological similarities to the negative emotional state of drug and alcohol addicts.”
Source: Boston University Medical Center
“You’re too open-minded to be a Scientologist.”
TUAW has introduced several Quirky projects to you in the past. Quirky is a community of folks who come up with really cool ideas, and then the best of the ideas are fine-tuned by the folks who run the site and readied for manufacturing. Once a minimum number of customers commit to buy the product, it is put into production.
While looking at the headline for this post, you might think that we're talking about an oddly-painted BMW, but the Quirky Beamer is actually a case for the iPhone. Not just any case, mind you, but one with a built-in bright LED light that can act as a real flashlight or provide illumination for your nighttime photos.
Compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS, the Beamer uses replaceable lithium coin cell batteries to provide up to 10 hours of illumination without chewing up your phone's batteries. Pressing the button on the case once turns on the light for 10 seconds, enough to find your keys or take a picture of your buds. To turn the light on for an indefinite amount of time, press the button twice. A third press turns it back off.
Quirky won't produce the Beamer until 500 commitments at $32.00 are received on the site. As of 9 PM on Sunday night, 106 people had committed to the product. If you're looking for a way to flash your friends and not get arrested, the Quirky Beamer might just be the answer.
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