Strawberry Moon 2025 captured across Wales
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Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Forget fat jabs, if you want to lose some weight take this VERY unusual pill (just ask Nicole Kidman!)
They are the miniscule sea creatures devoured by fish, seals, Nicole Kidman. Now scientists have discovered that adding a krill to your meals could be the secret to the perfect weight-loss diet. An experiment involving overweight Glaswegians found that taking supplements containing oil from the shrimp-like creatures helped the participants keep muscle mass while losing weight. Researchers found taking a daily krill pill maintained dieters' muscle and strength despite dramatic cuts to their food intake. Their study – published in the journal Obesity – concludes: 'Supplementation may offer a beneficial strategy to enhance the quality of weight loss.' Krill are tiny crustaceans that form a vital link in the food chain, feeding on microscopic plankton and then being hoovered up themselves by fish and sea mammals. They live in vast swarms and flourish best in the colder waters of the polar regions, also helping to slow climate change by fixing carbon in the seabed. The blue whale lives exclusively on krill, consuming as much as four tons a day. But their potential value to our own health is now emerging as their oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants that can nourish the brain, heart and joints. For the latest study – led by Dr Dalia Malkova, a senior lecturer in human nutrition - 41 middle-aged Glaswegians were chosen, all of whom were either obese or very overweight. All went on a special weight-loss regime for two months, in which they fasted on alternate days when they consumed only 500 calories. They also underwent physical tests of their strength both at the start and end of the trial. Roughly half the dieters were given four krill oil capsules a day with their meals while the others were handed placebo pills containing plant-based substitutes. After two months, participants in both groups had lost an average of ten pounds on the scales. But 96 per cent of the weight shed by the krill group was fat, compared with only 73 per cent in the group given a placebo. That additional muscle retention meant those taking the supplements lost next to no hand-grip strength, even as the others weakened markedly. And they also gained power in their legs while the placebo group showed no change. In an added bonus, the krill-takers saw their blood pressure and markers of inflammation drop faster too. The authors explain that weight-loss diets cause 'reduced muscle mass, potentially leading to diminished muscle strength [and] this could have adverse effects on metabolic health.' But the Glasgow results show that taking krill oil 'is a valuable strategy to mitigate some of the adverse effects of diet-induced weight loss'. Hollywood actress Kidman, 58 - who won a Best Actress Oscar for the 2002 movie The Hours - is the face of Swisse, an Australian health supplement company that sells oil capsules from krill harvested in the Antarctic. She starred in a television advert for the pills, dancing on a beach and running into the sea, alongside the slogan: 'Live healthy. Be happy.'
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Nepalese gardeners' compost praised for quality in Reading study
Gardeners from a town's Nepalese community have been taking part in a study into the quality of their homemade from the University of Reading, in Berkshire, found that mustard plants grown in composts, created from kitchen and garden waste, grew better than those in shop-bought Deepti Angra, from the university's department of crop science, said it showed that homemade composts can be a better medium to "supercharge plant growth".The researchers plan to analyse the nutritional content of the mature plants to determine whether the use of homemade compost has any effect on health when eaten. The research project involved the Integrated Research Development Centre (IRDC), which works with underrepresented communities in Reading, with a particular focus on the Nepalese initial trial saw mustard leaves - commonly grown and eaten by the Nepalese community - grown both in glasshouses and found that plants grown in the homemade composts developed more rapidly, produced larger flowers and leaves, and exhibited stronger root Angra said the study confirmed "what many gardeners have long suspected"."The nutrient composition analysis showed our community-made compost was at least comparable, if not better than store-bought options, as it exhibits higher concentrations of micronutrients," she said."This ensures soil enrichment, which better supports the growing plants."Through the project, community members learned to create two types of compost - one from wooden chips and garden waste, the other from kitchen waste, with both showing "excellent growing capabilities".Krishna Neupane, IRDC chair said: "This research has empowered our Nepalese community group to be personally involved in their own waste management and food production."The scientific evidence supporting our homemade compost practices gives confidence to households wanting to make more sustainable, more affordable choices." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Stunning space snap hides rare ‘one-in-a-thousand' secret – and it may be the first time it has ever been seen by humans
A STUNNING photo has captured a rare secret among the stars - and it could be the first time the phenomenon has ever been seen. Astronomers believe they have photographed the first ever birth of a supermassive black hole. While experts have gained an understanding of what these supersized giants are, they previously didn't know how they were created. A supermassive black hole weighs millions, to tens of billions, of Suns, and form the centre of almost every galaxy. It forms the gravitational centre for everything else - including stars and planets - to revolve around. However, scientists now believe they have seen a supermassive black hole being formed for the first time ever. 1 This could provide valuable insight into the space wonder. The process was captured in a pair of galaxies whose light has travelled for 8.3 million years according to Science Alert. The discovery was made by a Yale-led astronomy team, in a galaxy they've called "Infinity". Its name comes from its figure-eight shape, as three supermassive black holes can be seen as the galaxies collide. Within each galaxy a supermassive black hole can be seen at its nucleus, with a third glowing at their overlap. The team used a James Webb Space Telescope to observe the two recently-collided galaxies. CLOSE CALL 'It was a sign' - Clare girl, 10, spots surprise comet that 'shines brighter than Venus' Within the cloud of gas at its centre, they identified a supermassive black hole. Unusually, the black hole was not located at the nucleus of the vast galaxy, but rather in the middle of where they were colliding. This gave them an indication that they might be witnessing an unprecedented event. Yale astonomer Pieter van Dokkum said: "We think we're witnessing the birth of a supermassive black hole - something that has never been seen before." There are currently a number of theories regarding the formation of black holes. This includes the "light seeds" theory, in which small black holes are believed to have been formed when stars' cores collapsed and exploded. These smaller black holes are believed to have then merged into the supermassive versions. However, this theory has been somewhat debunked by research that found supermassive black holes that were born too early for this long-term merging to have taken place. Instead, the "heavy seeds" theory has been favoured by some astronomers. This argues that larger black holes can form when large clouds of gas collapse, although typically this is known to form stars. The Infinity galaxy could support the "heavy seeds" theory by showing how, in extreme conditions, a gas collapse could create a black hole. The team is pursuing ongoing research to confirm the findings.
