Watch the clock

MOST heart attacks occur in the morning. Depression and suicidal thoughts peak in the middle of the night. Travelling across time zones makes people feel out of sorts. While these appear to be different observations, there is one interesting phenomenon common to them all: a clock that constantly ticks inside of us.

Killing you sweetly

SUGAR is as much to blame for the diabetes epidemic in the world as unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. A study at Stanford University, in collaboration with University of California, Berkley and University of California, San Francisco, in the US, has found that additional sugar in diet may be raising the risk of Type-2 diabetes.

Danone, Unilever and Nestle top newly released nutrition index

In an index released on March 13, industry organisations have ranked companies Danone, Unilever and Nestle as top performers on both the obesity and under-nutrition rankings, in spite of their dubious reputations. The Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) was developed to rank global and regional food and beverage manufacturers based on their practices for increasing access to nutritious products.  Slamming the rankings, critics say the initiative is nothing but a whitewash and an attempt to promote business houses with dubious records.

New York apex court strikes down ban on large-sized sugary drinks in the city

Despite the increasing problem of obesity in the US, the Supreme Court of New York has struck down the implementation of a ban on large-sized sugary drinks. The city administration had banned selling sugary drinks of a serving size larger than 16 ounces or 475 ml in May last year. According to the New York City government, about 58 per cent of the population in the state is either obese or overweight.

Science and Technology - Briefs

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES Making waves

Denmark scraps tax on fat

IN A blow to the anti-obesity drive across the globe, Denmark’s tax ministry has scrapped tax on food high in fat content within a year of implementing it. The ministry also decided against the sugar tax it had proposed to introduce this year.

Science and Technology - Briefs

PHYSICS Fishy behaviour Survival of silvery fishes like sardines depend on their ability to reflect maximum light and remain nearly invisible to predators. But it is well known that reflective surfaces polarise light, a process which should have made the fish visible. The fish owe their survival to the presence of two types of crystals in their skin.

Science and Technology - Briefs

FOOD SCIENCES Buttery assault

Science and Technology - Briefs

HEALTH SCIENCES Diesel fuelling obesity

Junking the myth

A COMMON argument of proponents of fast food is that such products are not very different from oily food made at home. But scientists at University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health in the US say eating oil-laden home made French fries and burgers is not the same as gobbling up the same food at your favourite fast food joint.